"Xiaojun… Why do you look so displeased to be inside the Gu family estate?" Zhen Ji asked, staring at him with curiosity. His monocle glinted in the light. His eyes narrowed, and his playful smile began to fade.
Xiaojun felt like a small silver fox cornered by a dragon. He was far too young to hide anything from a man like Zhen Ji. At his core, Xiaojun was still just a six-year-old orphan who had lived only for his sister.
"N-no... I'm just... amazed by how lavish the interior is. I used to live in a slum camp at the harbor. I never imagined I'd ever step foot inside a noble's home." Xiaojun scrambled for excuses to convince the dragon. He knew that trying to deceive Zhen Ji was a dangerous game.
"Fine! The Gu family are collectors of such luxuries, so don't be shy. Get used to it." Zhen Ji's smile returned, his face beaming like a blooming flower. He skipped out of the room like an innocent child who had just been praised by his parents.
"Come, Xiaojun! Don't just stand there! Follow me downstairs to meet the rest of the family!"
'Meet the other members of the Gu family?!'
The two walked through corridors lined with opulence—a stark contrast to the dark, underground cave where Xiaojun had been imprisoned. These halls were lit by gold-plated candle stands and decorated with paintings from legendary masters.
It was said that the Qin Empire possessed ten of the greatest martial artists—the strongest beings under the heavens. They were fiercely loyal to the Emperor, whose word was absolute law. To protect their families, the Empire kept their identities a secret.
However, one of these masters was a painter of high renown. He possessed the skill to imbue a painting with a person's soul. A painting inhabited by a soul was as good as the physical presence of the person depicted. He had painted the other ten masters, creating guardian spirits to protect the Emperor in their physical absence.
While the common folk could view the paintings of the lower-ranked masters, the portraits of the top ten were forbidden. Anyone who forced themselves to look upon them would find their soul lost in an endless cycle of death, never to be reincarnated. The Gu family possessed two original paintings: those of the 10th and 7th ranked masters. The rest were merely replicas.
"Do you know who these people in the paintings are?" Zhen Ji asked suddenly, his voice tinged with boredom.
"No... who are they?"
"They are the reason the people of the Qin Empire prefer Cultivation over Science... They are also the ones who have executed scientists who refused to obey the Emperor's commands regarding their research!" Zhen Ji's tone suddenly sharpened, making the air in the corridor feel heavy—not because of the space, but because of his suppressed rage.
Xiaojun slowed his pace, backing away slightly as the atmosphere grew suffocating.
"That is why I will prove that science is more useful than cultivation!"
Just as Zhen Ji's anger reached its peak, the sound of footsteps approached. The stride was like calm water, yet carried a hidden lethality.
"Hey! Zhen Ji, you foolish scientist!" The voice was rough and heavy, like waves crashing against stone.
"Hoh... if it isn't Brother Bai Ming," Zhen Ji raised an eyebrow, spreading his arms mockingly. "Haven't you had enough of Father's beatings after failing to become a general in the southern territories?"
The man speaking to Zhen Ji was Gu Bai Ming, the second son of the Gu family. He was a brilliant tactician but a terrible leader; he had failed his promotion exam because his rigid coordination led to the deaths of many soldiers on the battlefield. Bai Ming was a mountain of a man—tall, massive, with rock-hard muscles rippling beneath his skin.
"Oh? You've grown bold, haven't you..."
The tension in the corridor tightened until it felt like a ticking bomb, ready to detonate at any moment.
'Damn! Why did they have to meet now?!'
Bai Ming's sharp gaze landed on Xiaojun. "Hoh! Is this your new toy, Zhen Ji?" He sneered.
"What's it to you, Bai Ming, you 'failed product'?"
'New toy? What does he mean by that?!' Xiaojun thought.
"Whoa!" Bai Ming's expression shifted instantly. His gaze became sharp and cynical. The corridor fell into a brief, deadly silence. The fuse of the bomb seemed to have been cut.
'Finally... they've calmed down,' Xiaojun exhaled in relief.
But it was only the beginning.
Bai Ming moved with such speed he seemed to vanish. A violent gust of wind swept toward Zhen Ji's back, but the scientist remained nonchalant, as if he had predicted the move.
'Damn! The bomb exploded!'
Suddenly, Xiaojun's body teleported behind Zhen Ji. Exactly as Bai Ming swung his fist, Xiaojun appeared to take the blow. The punch was heavy, feeling as though a royal galleon had crashed into his chest.
Khuak!
Xiaojun spat out blood, the liquid dripping from beneath his mask onto the floor.
"Not bad, this toy of yours!" Bai Ming chuckled. The walls of the corridor cracked from the sheer shockwave of the impact. Bai Ming stepped back.
"Hahaha! See? My creation is magnificent, isn't it!" Zhen Ji shouted, his eyes bulging with manic joy.
Meanwhile, Xiaojun felt his arm bones shatter. 'Damn it! Why did my body move to protect him on its own?!' Before he could finish the thought, Bai Ming lunged again from the side.
Just like before, Xiaojun's body shifted instantly without his consent. Yet, in that same split second, his previous injuries vanished, healing without a trace.
Brak!
Xiaojun's feet sank into the floorboards as debris flew everywhere.
"Impressive... quite durable!" Bai Ming stepped back again, ending his assault. "Let's stop here. Look, the corridor is a mess."
"Hahaha! Fine! I'm heading out to buy materials for my experiments anyway!" Zhen Ji laughed, proud to have countered brute strength with knowledge.
"Be gone then! I'm going to train in the back. We'll fight again later—prepare yourself!" Bai Ming glanced briefly at Xiaojun before leaving.
'These people really are demons, just like Mother and Father said!'
The two brothers chatted as if nothing had happened, while Xiaojun—despite his rapid healing—felt as though he had just looked death in the face. His chest felt tight, and his breath came in heavy rasps. The physical wounds were gone, but the mental trauma of the battle was horrifying.
As Zhen Ji and Xiaojun headed toward the massive exit of the Gu estate, a strange thing happened: the cracked walls and broken floorboards began to mend themselves, returning to their original state as if the fight had never occurred.
"You know, Xiaojun... my other siblings are much worse than Bai Ming. I hope we don't run into them. That would be... complicated." Zhen Ji sighed, looking weary of the charade of noble life.
After a few more steps, they reached the courtyard. It was vast, filled with lush grass, ornate seating areas, and bamboo trees that seemed to pierce the sky.
"Is this really just a courtyard?!" Xiaojun's jaw dropped behind his mask. He was mesmerized by the sheer scale and grandeur.
"Don't be such a peasant. Let's go to the capital to find my materials."
"Ah! Right!"
They traveled to the capital on warhorses that could reach speeds of 45 km/h. The journey from the mountain-top bamboo forest where the Gu estate was hidden took about an hour. It was a treacherous path, requiring them to navigate steep slopes and dense foliage.
Finally, they reached a gateway marked: 'Capital of Qin, Han Lian Village.' They dismounted and left their horses outside the city walls.
As they entered, the air was filled with the cries of vendors and the laughter of children playing with paper windmills.
'I'm back here again... I hope I can find Xiao Mei...'
Zhen Ji led Xiaojun south, toward a district untouched by the Empire's patrols. It was a place for illegal transactions—everything from forbidden drugs to the machinery found in Zhen Ji's lab came from here. Zhen Ji dropped five gold Zhang just for a broken silver hand mirror and picked up several gears he had commissioned from a blacksmith in a neighboring village.
"Master, are you sure about buying from these people?" Xiaojun asked, worried.
"Relax, Xiaojun. I've been dealing with them for years."
"Alright then! Where to next?"
"The traditional medicine shop."
"Which one? There are at least fifteen in the capital."
"First, the Wang family pharmacy," Zhen Ji said.
'The Wang family? They own half the businesses in the Empire. They are master merchants from the Blood Moon Night Sect. That sect has its own economic structure, almost like a sovereign nation led by martial artists. They moved to the Empire and settled here.' Xiaojun recalled the political lessons his father had taught him. He held onto those stories tightly; in a world this dangerous, knowledge was survival.
They headed southwest. Soon, a towering, conspicuous building with plants hanging from every balcony came into view.
"This shop is massive, Master!" Xiaojun stared up at the structure.
"Don't gawk. Follow me."
As they reached the door, a female attendant approached and immediately took Zhen Ji's arm, using her charms to lead him to a luxurious seating area. She poured him a cup of Night Star Flower tea.
"Hey, beautiful! Bring me the wing feathers of a Purple Lightning Firebird!" Zhen Ji announced loudly, as if he owned the place.
'Truly unbecoming behavior for a nobleman!' Xiaojun facepalmed and sighed.
"You heard the young master! Quickly, find the Purple Lightning Firebird feathers!" the attendant shouted to the others. Twenty servants scrambled, searching through the three floors of medicinal storage.
Suddenly, a booming voice echoed through the shop. "What is all this racket?!"