Bloodline Tree – [Clan Building]

‘Strange…If they were here, someone should have seen them, right? It doesn’t make sense for them to come here and stay hidden. They should have asked about me at the Sword School.’

Shu Yang frowned. He couldn’t help but have a bad feeling. No one he had asked had any recollection of ever seeing Tianxu and Zhangye around.

‘Tianyue wouldn’t lie about them coming after me. So did something happen along the way? They wouldn’t have gone into the Black Beast Mountains on their own, right?’

Shu Yang couldn’t think of anything else to do but head back to Fugu City and search for any signs of them along the way. 

‘A tracking trait seems more and more desirable.’ Shu Yang thought with a sigh. He could feel that Tianxu was alive just like he could with all of his children, but he had no idea where he was or whether he was safe or not.

‘I guess there is no rush to get home. The war should still be a bit away, and Tianhu can warn everyone to make them prepared. They should be more open to the idea of moving with war on the horizon.’

Shu Yang left the Sword School and headed south again. He stayed on the main road but would occasionally divert into the nearby trees to see if there were any signs of his son and friend.

‘This is too large an area to cover…It’s going to take me forever to find them.’ Shu Yang thought with a sigh.

‘All I can do is try. I hope they’re not in danger, and they just got delayed by something.’

…

Several days passed, and Shu Yang had no success. He hadn’t found the slightest clue along the way.

‘Maybe I should have paid more attention to Shen Ye when he was tracking his children; it would be a useful skill to have.’

He had lit a fire and was warming some of the smoked meat he still had left. Now that he was back in the Yan Kingdom, he didn’t feel the need to be as cautious anymore. He actually hoped someone would spot his fire and approach him; he might be able to find some information about his missing son and friend that way.

But the hours passed, and the night seemed to be turning into another lonely one. 

Then, suddenly, a small rush of power rose from his bloodline.

‘What’s this?’

Shu Yang connected with the Bloodline Tree and felt that another grandchild had been born.

‘So Tianan’s child has been born…I guess the next one isn’t far off, then. Chu Jing and Ye Hua should be giving birth pretty close to each other.’

Shu Yang felt that this child was a boy, and there weren’t any new traits this time around either.

‘I guess if I actually got a tracking trait at a time like this, I’d begin to worry that something was amiss.’ Shu Yang thought, shaking his head. ‘Hopefully everything went well with the childbirth. I’ll have to have a word with Tianan when I get back to keep an eye out for Tianyi, so she doesn’t take charge over his children like she has with Tianren’s kids.’

Shu Yang started to miss home, and he really just wanted to find Tianxu and Zhangye as soon as possible so they could all reunite as a family once again. Tianyi had never even seen her brother Tianhu yet. 

Just as Shu Yang was about to close his eyes to get some rest, he noticed something in his peripheral vision. He turned his head, and to his surprise, the black fox was there, staring at him.

“So you actually followed me,” Shu Yang said with a smile. He hadn’t seen the little guy since leaving the Black Beast Mountains, but it seems it had followed him at a distance all this time. 

“Do you want some meat?” Shu Yang asked, offering some of his food.

The black fox treaded toward him, but it didn’t bite down on the meat in his hand. Instead, it bit down on his sleeve, and started pulling on him.

‘Is it feeling playful?’

Shu Yang tried to tussle its head, but the black fox dodged and once again bit down on his clothing, pulling him harder this time. 

‘Does it want me to go somewhere? What’s it doing?’

Shu Yang looked into its eyes, and the beast looked back. Those intelligent eyes were now filled with grievance and scolding.

‘Am I reading too much into it? Why would it feel that way? And since when can I see such distinct emotions in the eyes of anyone?’

But the eyes were there, and Shu Yang couldn’t help but see those emotions.

‘Whatever.’ Shu Yang thought with a sigh, rising to his feet.

“Alright, little guy. Let’s go for a little walk. Lead the way,” Shu Yang said.

—

“This is your last chance. I won’t dawdle out here for another night. Kill him, and let’s go back,” General Gong said.

Tianxu looked back at the man knocked unconscious on the ground. A man he had never seen before.

“Who is he?” Tianxu turned to General Gong and asked.

“Does it matter? He is weak, so he will die at the hands of the strong. It’s nature. Just get on with it, or you will remain weak, and this will be you one day, offered up as a sacrifice to some snot-nosed brat.”

Tianxu stared down at the man on the ground. Since he was unconscious, he wouldn’t have to look into his pleading eyes as he killed him, at least. But it still didn’t sit right with Tianxu. How could it?

‘What will Uncle Zhangye say? Did his sacrifice have no use?’

‘What will Mom and Dad think of me if I do this?’

‘I guess that’s another matter. I might not even get to live to see them again.’

Tianxu turned his eyes to General Gong once again. 

‘Will he really kill me? Or is he bluffing? I know I’m talented, but these people have Innate warriors among them. Master Wu might even be a Master. I’m definitely not indispensable.’

Looking down at the man on the ground again, Tianxu faced the same dilemma he had wrestled with for weeks.

‘If it’s me or him…Should I kill him? He won’t get to live either way. I’m sure General Gong will kill him after he kills me.’

‘But is a life following this group of people even a life worth living?’

Tianxu had never felt so lost before. He wished his father were there to answer all his worries. He would know what to do.

“Do you think I’m bluffing? You think too highly of me,” General Gong said with a stern face when Tianxu didn’t make a move.

“Will you bring me to Uncle Zhangye after this is over?” Tianxu asked.

He hadn’t seen Uncle Zhangye since the time his uncle had killed all those men for him. After a day of imprisonment, Tianxu had been brought out only to see that everyone but General Gong and him had left.

“Of course,” General Gong said with a nod.

“Where is he? What did you do to him?” Tianxu asked, trying to get some information. General Gong seemed a little more approachable to answer his questions now that he was close to succeeding in his mission.

Of course, Tianxu would be willing to keep talking just to stall for a while longer. Anything that would take him out of having to make a decision, if only for a moment.

“He is one of us now. Obviously, he went with us to our new hiding place. We keep moving so we won’t be discovered after we have killed and converted a few people. You’ll be one of us too once this is done. You and your uncle can be together, and grow strong together. I’m sure your uncle would be heartbroken if I came back with your corpse. If not for yourself, you should do it for your uncle, right?”

“Where-” Tianxu tried to continue, but General Gong cut him off.

“Enough! You have five seconds. Five, four…” General Gong started counting down.

Tianxu felt his stomach drop. He really felt that General Gong would kill him in a few seconds if he didn’t do it.

‘What do I do?’

Tianxu felt how his body moved, seemingly intent on killing the man, like some survival instinct deeply ingrained inside him. 

But just as he was about to raise the knife in his hand, Tianhu’s face appeared in Tianxu’s mind, and he heard the words he had spoken to him a long time ago.

‘It’s not about the sword, it’s how you swing it.’

Tianxu didn’t understand what those words meant. But he knew that killing this unconscious man wasn’t how he swung his sword. 

‘Fine. That’s at least a reason.’ Tianxu thought, closing his eyes. He had finally made his decision. He would die, and he would bring sorrow to his family, but he wouldn’t bring shame to them.

But the seconds passed, and nothing happened. 

Tianxu carefully opened his eyes, and saw a wide back in front of his face.

“What exactly is going on here?”

‘That voice…’

“Dad!?” Tianxu called out. He wasn’t sure if he was imagining things or not, but even if he was, he was glad that his father would be with him in his final moments. 

“Ha…” General Gong let out a low chuckle, “Hahaha! Your father was actually a Master? My luck is…truly something else.”

“Who are you?” His father asked. Tianxu started to feel more and more that his father had actually arrived for real.

“I call myself General Gong. Don’t worry, I haven’t hurt your son. I’m just trying to convince him to join our organization. You don’t seem to be an Official; why don’t you join us as well? You’ll be granted a top position; I can assure you of that.”

“Dad,” Tianxu finally pulled out of his daze. He pulled his Dad’s shirt and rushed to get the words out, “He’s in some kind of killing organization. They took me and Uncle Zhangye against our will. They want us to kill innocent people to practice some kind of killing art. They already got to Uncle Zhangye, he is kept somewhere, but I don’t know where.”

“I really should have killed you,” General Gong said, looking at Tianxu with cruel eyes. But the eyes soon lost their spark, turning more and more dull.

His father hurriedly stepped up to General Gong. But he fell to the ground before he got there.

“Poison?” His father asked aloud, feeling the pulse of General Gong on the ground. His eyes were now completely empty of life.

“Dad…I,” Tianxu said in a shaky voice, he could feel himself choking up. Everything that had happened lately was too much.

But the worst of it all was the guilt.

“Dad…Uncle Zhangye. I don’t know where they took him, and…and it might be too late for him. He…” Tianxu tried to continue talking, but his throat couldn’t get the words out. Tears started streaming down his cheeks.

“It’s okay. It will be fine,” His father said in a calm voice, standing up and hugging him.

“It’s not your fault.”