Chapter 240: The Treasure Vault Found

Morning. The weather was clear, a rare cloudless day stretching ten thousand li across the Tianduan Mountains.

Yao Zizhan slowly woke atop Fan Li’s shoulders.

Looking somewhat bewildered, he asked, “Where are we?”

Fan Li turned his head, glanced at the old man, and said, “Don’t know. You gave the directions.”

“But this old man only just woke up.”

“You gave them while you were asleep.”

Yao Zizhan looked doubtfully toward Hero Chen, who was carrying Miss Su nearby.

Hero Chen nodded, confirming that Fan Li was telling the truth.

“Tsk. This old brain of mine. I remember having a nightmare last night after we escaped. Scared the life out of me.”

“Here. Have some water.”

Zheng Fan held a waterskin out to Yao Zizhan.

At the sound of Zheng Fan’s voice, Yao Zizhan inexplicably shuddered. Then he accepted the waterskin.

He pulled out the stopper but did not drink immediately. Instead, he held it beneath his nose and sniffed.

Only after confirming that it really was water did he tilt his head back and gulp down several mouthfuls.

After drinking, Yao Zizhan regained some energy. He looked around again, then realization dawned on him.

“Looks like I really did give the directions. I remember where this is now. Little Brother Zheng, look at those mountains ahead. What do they resemble?”

Zheng Fan studied the range before them for a moment.

“A saddle?”

Mountains—especially mountain ranges—more or less tended to resemble humps or saddles.

“It is clearly an axe!”

“Oh!”

Zheng Fan nodded, while inwardly wondering, How the hell did you manage to see an axe in that?

“This mountain is called Falling Axe Mountain.”

“Is there a story behind the name?”

“Naturally. There are countless peaks in the Tianduan Mountains, but only a handful have ever been recorded in official histories. This is one of them.

“More than two hundred years ago, the Jin general Helian Qing led thirty thousand elite Jin troops as the vanguard and pursued the wild savages all the way here. Back then, the wild savages were not nearly as useless as they are now. They had a king.

“Here in these mountains, Helian Qing crushed the savage army and captured their king alive. Then, atop that mountain, he personally took up an axe and beheaded him!

“From that day onward, this place was known as Falling Axe Mountain.”

“Oh, so that’s how it got its name. Then why did Master Yao ask me what the mountain looked like?”

It was called Falling Axe Mountain because of a famous historical event, not because it looked like anything!

“Ahem…”

Yao Zizhan coughed twice.

“To lead into the story.”

“I see.”

“Little Brother Zheng, the Helian Clan treasure vault you’ve been dreaming about is actually inside Falling Axe Mountain. Helian Xiongbi once took me inside to have a look. Heh. There were three thousand suits of fine armor stored in there alone, not to mention enough gold, silver, pearls, and jewels to dazzle the eyes.”

Zheng Fan nodded, closed his eyes, and inhaled deeply, as though he could already smell them.

Still, he could not resist teasing, “Looks like Master Yao truly was very close to Helian Xiongbi back then. Ah, this junior forgot. We’re in the State of Jin.”

“…”

Yao Zizhan.

At that moment, Xue San returned from ahead and reported, “Master, there’s no one around that mountain.”

Falling Axe Mountain was famous as the place where the savage king had been beheaded, so there were no wild-savage settlements nearby. The savages might give the impression of being somewhat lacking in culture, but even they understood the concept of an ill-omened place.

The group continued onward.

By afternoon, they arrived at the foot of Falling Axe Mountain.

Zheng Fan looked toward Yao Zizhan and asked, “Master Yao, where is the entrance to the treasure vault?”

Yao Zizhan’s old face reddened.

“How many years ago was that? How could I possibly remember now? All I know is that Helian Xiongbi and I rode together to the foot of Falling Axe Mountain that day.

“There should be a door somewhere around here.”

Zheng Fan looked at Yao Zizhan with a half-smile.

Yao Zizhan immediately put on a solemn expression.

“Little Brother Zheng, this old man has already brought you all the way here. There is no reason for me to obstruct you at this point. I genuinely cannot remember.”

Zheng Fan nodded.

He thought to himself, Back then, when you were together with your beloved, I suppose you really had no attention to spare for anything else.

“Blind Man, San’er. I’ll trouble you,” Zheng Fan ordered.

The Blind Man set Helian Baozhu on the ground, then headed up the mountain with Xue San.

San’er knew how to rob tombs, and his physique was well suited to the trade. After all, grave-robber tunnels were generally not very large, and in some places they could not be widened for fear of causing a collapse.

In Xue San’s original comic, there had been plenty of grave-robbing storylines.

As for the Blind Man he was essentially a detector.

Zheng Fan believed that as long as the treasure vault truly lay somewhere within Falling Axe Mountain, the abilities of these two Demon Kings under him would definitely uncover it.

A’Ming went to the outer perimeter to keep watch.

Hero Chen set Miss Su down.

She had remained unconscious the entire time. No one knew whether Fan Li’s kick had given her a concussion or whether the effects of the snake venom had yet to fade. She remained dazed and insensible.

But that was a good thing.

As long as she did not speak, everyone could relax.

Fan Li went off to gather firewood nearby.

Zheng Fan and Yao Zizhan sat facing each other.

Yao Zizhan rubbed his forehead. Perhaps revisiting an old place had stirred too many memories, because emotion suddenly began welling up inside him.

A great literary master, after all. Without rich emotions, how could he have written so much poetry?

“Alas. Such an enormous Helian Clan, practically a state unto itself. And just like that, it’s gone. I had even been thinking that when Helian Xiongbi celebrated his birthday next year, I would personally come offer my congratulations.”

“My condolences,” Zheng Fan comforted him. “After all, the State of Qian might end up the same way.”

“…”

Yao Zizhan.

Hero Chen, meanwhile, looked at Zheng Fan with some curiosity.

“You’re already Seventh Grade?”

“Yes.”

“Last time, you seemed to be only Ninth Grade.”

“Mm.”

“Very fast.”

“Mm.”

Having completed his awkward attempt at conversation, Hero Chen turned his head away and resumed watching Miss Su.

Yao Zizhan pulled a handful of fennel beans from his robe and shared some with Zheng Fan.

“Little Brother Zheng, you don’t strike me as a pure Yan man.”

Zheng Fan put a fennel bean into his mouth and slowly chewed it.

“What makes you say that?”

“You intend to swallow that old bastard Helian’s treasure vault all by yourself.”

“Yes.”

Zheng Fan admitted it openly.

“Then it seems Little Brother Zheng is a man of great ambition.”

“Heh.”

“Come, come. This elder brother can have a proper discussion with you. The Helian Clan’s treasure vault is one thing, but if you could also obtain support from my State of Qian, then in the future…”

There was not the slightest excitement on Zheng Fan’s face.

He merely said calmly, “Why would a wolf seek cooperation with a sheep?”

It was true that after the previous war, beginning with the Emperor of Qian himself, the State of Qian had launched a vigorous campaign to reorganize its armies and prepare for war.

But Zheng Fan did not believe that in only a few years Qian could genuinely conjure up a million mighty troops.

Even if the padding in the army registers had been reduced, elite troops and capable generals were not things that could simply be mass-produced.

Yao Zizhan raised both hands in front of his chest as though cupping a pair of breasts.

“Because sheep produce milk.”

“…”

Zheng Fan.

Yao Zizhan then scratched at his arm and continued, “And sheep can be sheared for wool.”

“Mm…”

Zheng Fan.

“Little Brother Zheng, let’s speak plainly. Great Yan may be riding high right now, but in the end all of that rests upon three men. If something happens to those three, who can say whether this blazing, oil-fed prosperity can truly last?

“This elder brother refuses to believe that, as someone inside the Yan military, you haven’t sensed the undercurrents yourself.

“To put it plainly, all my Great Qian wants is to remain secure in our own corner and protect ourselves. Cooperating with you would simply mean hoping that one day you can establish a power base of your own. Better yet if Great Yan breaks apart entirely. That would be best of all.

“Even if my Great Qian does harbor the ambition to march north, annex Great Yan, and unify all beneath Heaven, until the day that truly begins, there is no reason we cannot be friends. No reason we cannot cooperate.

“As for how things ultimately turn out, everyone will simply rely on their own ability and leave the rest to fate.”

The offer could hardly have been more direct.

Yet Zheng Fan remained unmoved.

If they cooperated, both sides would inevitably end up holding leverage over the other.

The Qian court did not care. It was the supreme authority within its own territory. If the matter ever became public, the Emperor of Qian could simply grab some minor vice minister from the Ministry of War and throw him out to take the blame.

But Zheng Fan?

Tian Wujing could purge his own ranks in a heartbeat.

As long as Tian Wujing remained above him, City Defender Zheng truly did not possess the courage to rebel.

The psychological shadow Tian Wujing had left on him was simply too deep.

“Too far.”

The distance was too great.

He was at the northernmost edge of central Jin, while Qian lay far, far away.

If he were the City Defender of Nanwang City, perhaps he could secretly cultivate such a relationship.

“Distance is no problem. We can discuss the specifics slowly after we return to Shengle City. My Great Qian may lack other things, but we certainly have enough silver to support one more regional military command.”

“Master Yao, you’re a representative of literary refinement. Why are you doing the sort of pimping usually carried out behind red curtains?”

“No matter how beautiful the paper pasted over a window may be, it is still only paper. It can never be as sturdy as a door plank. A man still has to eat.”

Zheng Fan shook his head.

“We’ll talk about it later.”

“Fine. We have plenty of time ahead of us.”

Fan Li returned with dead branches and firewood.

Just as he was preparing to start a fire, Xue San and the Blind Man returned.

Xue San darted forward.

He overtook the Blind Man and rushed up to Zheng Fan, eager to be the first to report the good news.

But the instant Xue San skidded to a halt in front of him, Zheng Fan muttered to himself, “All right. Got it.”

“…”

Xue San.

Fuck! Blind Man, you cheated!

Behind him, the corner of the Blind Man’s mouth curled upward.

Trying to beat me at reporting to Master? You’re still too green.

The Blind Man had already transmitted the location directly to Master through mental power.

Zheng Fan stood.

“Master Yao, we found the entrance.”

Yao Zizhan slapped the dust from his backside and stood as well.

“Fine. This old man will go in and have another look.”

As he spoke, Yao Zizhan pointed toward Helian Baozhu, who was sleeping on the ground.

“Bring this girl too. There is one thing I remember very clearly. When Helian Xiongbi took me inside all those years ago, he opened the door with his own blood. There should be a formation restriction sealing the treasure vault.”

Xue San stared at him speechlessly.

“So you forgot where the place was, but you remember that part perfectly?”

The Blind Man added another stab.

“Probably because his heart ached so badly when he saw the blood. That’s why the memory stuck.”

“…”

Yao Zizhan.

[End of Chapter 240]