Chapter 241: Bloodline?

The entrance to the treasure vault lay halfway up Falling Axe Mountain, on one of its steep faces. With several neighboring peaks screening it from the other directions, there was almost no way to notice anything unusual about this part of the mountain unless someone actually descended to this spot.

“Now this is the true art of feng shui! Mountains and rivers as the medium, seas of cloud as the bridge—hidden here in greatness, buried here in greatness, treasures concealed here in greatness! Borrowing nature’s own miraculous craftsmanship to form the pattern of a treasure vault. Marvelous! Marvelous! Marvelous!”

Yao Zizhan spoke with tremendous excitement.

“Master Yao, watch your footing. Don’t fall.”

Zheng Fan walked behind Yao Zizhan, one hand hovering near him in case he needed support.

“Oh, oh. This old man got carried away. Carried away.”

Xue San, who was leading the way, teased, “Don’t tell me you said exactly the same thing the first time you came here decades ago?”

Yao Zizhan nodded.

“Of course. I was trying to stay alive back then. I had to flatter that bastard Helian Xiongbi for all I was worth. Naturally, I had to rack my brains for pretty words praising his eye for choosing such a place.”

The Blind Man asked, “Did Helian Xiongbi build this treasure vault, or did his ancestors?”

“It had existed for a very long time already, but Helian Xiongbi expanded it.”

“I see.”

Not one member of the group was left behind as they arrived at a recessed platform halfway up the mountain.

Before them stood an imposing bronze gate.

Zheng Fan looked it up and down and sighed with emotion.

“Now this has the feel of *The Grave Robbers’ Chronicles*.”

Xue San immediately picked up the reference.

“But Master, this time we don’t have to hand anything over to the state. Hehehe.”

Zheng Fan did not respond.

The Blind Man, meanwhile, said disdainfully, “That joke is ancient, and you’re still using it.”

Xue San glared at the Blind Man several times, but the Blind Man was blind and genuinely acted as though he had not seen a thing, leaving Xue San thoroughly frustrated.

A’Ming had already advanced.

Fan Li could be ruled out first.

At present, Xue San and the Blind Man were the ones competing, so naturally there was a faint smell of gunpowder between them.

Yao Zizhan stepped forward, bent down, and began wiping the ground with his sleeve.

Zheng Fan and Xue San both moved closer and watched as Yao Zizhan wiped and wiped.

Then, from about two meters away, the Blind Man prodded the ground beneath his own foot with his toe.

“Master Yao, are you sure you aren’t wiping the wrong place?”

Hearing that, Yao Zizhan hurriedly stood and walked over.

Because the Blind Man had scraped the ground earlier, something resembling a bronze mirror had appeared beneath his foot.

“Oh. I really did remember the wrong spot. It’s here.”

“…”

Xue San.

“…”

Zheng Fan.

Yao Zizhan knelt down and continued wiping with his sleeve until the bronze mirror embedded in the platform was completely clean. A person’s reflection could almost be seen in its surface.

“Back then, Helian Xiongbi dripped his own blood onto this bronze mirror. Only then did the bronze gate before us open.”

Fan Li understood immediately and carried Helian Baozhu over.

“Cover her eyes,” Xue San said.

Fan Li’s enormous palm covered Helian Baozhu’s entire face.

Xue San took out his dagger, grasped Helian Baozhu’s hand, and made a light cut across her palm.

Blood began dripping onto the bronze mirror.

Helian Baozhu neither cried nor struggled, as though she could not feel anything at all.

Once Xue San judged that enough blood had fallen, he applied medicine first, then bandaged the wound in her palm.

Fan Li looked down at the bloodstained bronze mirror, then at the bronze gate before them.

“No movement?”

Xue San guessed, “Maybe we need to wait for the blood to seep through?”

A’Ming said, “Could the mechanism inside have broken?”

The Blind Man spoke.

“Let’s wait a little longer.”

And so, they waited about fifteen minutes.

The bronze gate still showed no reaction.

Xue San slapped his forehead and sighed.

“Great. The mechanism inside must’ve broken after so many years without maintenance. The Helian Clan really was lazy. Couldn’t they send someone to inspect the thing regularly?”

“Could the surface of the bronze mirror have weathered away and become less sensitive?”

As the Blind Man spoke, he began trying to send his mental power into the bronze mirror to inspect it.

Yao Zizhan smacked his lips.

“That shouldn’t be possible. Back then, Helian Xiongbi only had to drip his blood onto it and the gate opened immediately.”

At that moment, Zheng Fan suddenly chuckled twice.

“There’s another possibility.”

Everyone immediately looked at Zheng Fan, Yao Zizhan included.

Zheng Fan turned slightly and pointed toward Helian Baozhu.

“Old Master Helian fathered a daughter in his old age. Looks like there might have been a little problem there.”

Realization struck everyone at once.

None of them had genuinely considered that possibility before.

They had all been wondering whether the mechanism had broken.

Not one had considered that this young lady, whom the Helian Clan’s deathsworn guards had sacrificed their lives to protect, might not actually have Helian blood flowing through her veins.

“Fuck me! Wasn’t Old Master Helian screwing everyone over?” Xue San cursed. “That cuckold’s hat of his really picked the worst possible time to show itself.”

After speaking, Xue San walked to the bronze gate, poked his dagger into the seam, then tapped around it.

He said helplessly, “Master, this gate is integrated into the mountain itself. It’ll be difficult to deal with. I don’t dare dig a robber’s tunnel either. There’s nowhere to start.”

That was the professional assessment of San’er, their resident tomb-robbing expert.

The Blind Man narrowed his eyes.

He first looked at Helian Baozhu, then at Yao Zizhan.

Afterward, he silently sat down and took an orange from his pocket.

“Blind Man, how come you never run out of oranges?” Xue San asked irritably.

“I brought a lot.”

The Blind Man continued peeling his orange.

Fan Li voluntarily walked up to the bronze gate, raised his axe, and began smashing the gate with the back of the axe.

“Bang!”

“Bang!”

“Bang!”

“Bang!”

He struck it again and again, making an enormous racket, but the gate did not budge in the slightest.

Xue San patted Fan Li on the calf.

“Stop wasting your strength. Save it.”

Yao Zizhan sighed, sat down, and held his forehead.

Zheng Fan frowned and sat as well.

They had already climbed the mountain and carefully made their way onto this platform. Everyone was more or less exhausted.

“Alas. That old bastard Helian Xiongbi. When this old man dies and goes below someday, I’m going to laugh him to death. When he fathered a daughter in his old age, he even wrote me a letter saying he was still young and no worse than he had been back then…”

The Blind Man suddenly interrupted.

“You tried him back then?”

“…”

Yao Zizhan.

Zheng Fan looked at the Blind Man.

Seeing his perfectly composed expression, Zheng Fan suddenly relaxed as well and looked toward Yao Zizhan.

“Isn’t that obvious? Otherwise, why would Old Master Helian tell Master Yao how he compared to back then?”

“Are you people demons?!”

Yao Zizhan finally exploded.

There was only so much a man could endure!

“All right, all right. Continue reminiscing. Continue mourning him.”

Zheng Fan raised a hand.

“Alas. Once I go below, I’ll laugh that old fool to death. Brilliant his entire life, only to have someone lay an egg in his nest at the very end without him even realizing it. And he treasured her like a jewel. Truly, a lifetime of fame completely ruined.”

Zheng Fan rubbed between his brows to ease his fatigue.

“This counts as ruining his reputation? Then what do you call being chased a thousand li by the Marquis of Zhenbei and the Marquis of Jingnan over the course of ten days, only to have his head cut off in battle by Qingshuang, a commanding general of the Zhenbei Army?”

“Little Brother Zheng, do you have to argue with this old man over everything?”

“I’m only discussing the facts.”

Zheng Fan pointed toward the bronze gate.

“Thinking you can rise again with nothing but a treasure vault is a little too fanciful anyway.”

Yao Zizhan pointed at Zheng Fan and laughed.

“Sour grapes.”

“I can’t get inside, so yes, I’m sour. I’ve wasted several days for nothing. Feels like I’ve taken a loss.”

Yao Zizhan immediately said, “Great Yan needs time to recuperate. The Three Jin lands need time to recuperate. In this old man’s estimation, for the next several years, aside from some friction among the smaller states and the princes of Chu still fighting over the succession, the overall direction among the three great states of Yan, Qian, and Dacheng will be peace.

“Once the wars stop, the trade routes will reopen. Shengle City may be remote, but it is still a fortress along the Tianduan Mountains. In earlier years, countless merchants and wagon caravans passed through there.

“As long as Little Brother Zheng gives the word, within a few months there will be an endless stream of merchant caravans setting out from the State of Qian to do business in Shengle City.”

“Master Yao, I’m sitting here worrying because I’ve found a mountain of treasure but can’t get inside, and you’re still trying to recruit me? That isn’t very decent of you.”

“Is this one mountain the only treasure in the world?”

“Fine. Since Master Yao thinks so highly of me, I shouldn’t keep hiding my true intentions either.

“Let’s put it this way. Once the senior and junior ministers of Great Qian can lead their armies to destroy the Jingnan Army and wipe out the Zhenbei Army, and once the armies of Qian have their blades pointed straight at Yanjing—the troops of my Shengle City will naturally bring their own provisions and weapons and come over to join you!”

“…”

Yao Zizhan.

At that moment, A’Ming walked over.

“Master, what do we do next? Head back? I think the troops of the State of Dacheng should be somewhere nearby.”

The men of Dacheng had destroyed Geda Mountain and turned Gesang.

Naturally, their objective was also this treasure vault.

There was no chance they would simply give up.

“Are you out of wine?” Zheng Fan asked.

“Almost. We haven’t seen any wild-savage settlements along the way either.”

Yao Zizhan rubbed his old waist.

“Then let’s head back. In the future, when an opportunity presents itself, Little Brother Zheng can simply bring a great army here and cut open the mountain. This treasure vault will still end up in your pocket eventually.

“As for this old man, I’m already itching to taste the delicacies of Shengle City. Just thinking about them is making me hungry.”

Zheng Fan ignored Yao Zizhan and looked at A’Ming instead.

“Then go borrow some blood.”

The corner of A’Ming’s mouth curled into a smile.

“Whose?”

Zheng Fan pointed toward Miss Su, who was still lying in a daze beside Hero Chen.

“Hers.”

Yao Zizhan hurriedly said, “Miss Su is already so weak. She can’t withstand any more torment.”

Hero Chen also looked at Zheng Fan.

Zheng Fan said directly, “I promised you I would protect Master Yao. I never promised that woman would remain unharmed as well.

“But I can promise you this: as long as she stops doing stupid things, I won’t take her life. Right now, I’m only borrowing a little blood.”

“Master, have some orange.”

The Blind Man held a segment of orange to Zheng Fan’s lips.

Zheng Fan opened his mouth and swallowed it.

The Blind Man even used a finger to wipe the corner of Zheng Fan’s mouth before withdrawing his hand.

Watching from the side, Xue San felt his teeth ache.

“Disgusting,” he muttered.

The Blind Man put another orange segment into his own mouth and said disdainfully to Xue San, “Idiot.”

A’Ming walked over to Miss Su.

Hero Chen frowned, but only asked, “You only need a little blood? Mine will work too.”

Zheng Fan shook his head and answered firmly, “I only want hers.”

“Heh… hehehe…”

Yao Zizhan suddenly let out a bitter laugh.

He looked at Zheng Fan.

“Little Brother Zheng, this old man is very curious. How exactly did you figure it out?”

Zheng Fan planted both hands on the ground behind him and shifted into a more comfortable position.

“Actually, I felt something was off quite a while ago.

“The three of you traveling together.

“Hero Chen is stupid, but he can fight.

“You can’t fight, but you’re clever.

“Then what about her?

“Why would the two of you bring someone who’s both stupid and useless in a fight along with you?”

[End of Chapter 241]