Bloodline Tree

Three weeks passed. Shu Yang and his group traveled at a quick pace the entire way.

They were somewhat delayed by Xiaoshi’s hunger, though. Everyone else could at least go for a few days without food if they needed to, but she woke up every day starving. Tianhu and Shen Ye were both very attuned to Xiaoshi’s mood, so it became a habit to head into the nearby towns to buy food every few days.

Shu Yang was, of course, more than happy to oblige as well. He knew the reason for Xiaoshi’s hunger, and he was very happy to see that the baby inside her belly was already starting to show its appetite. When Qianyue was pregnant, her appetite didn’t increase until much later.

Either way, the detours to get food didn’t take too much time, and they had managed to reach Fugu City without much delay.

“Looks like the war situation has become known to most people,” Shen Ye said as they entered the city. Not many people were on the streets, and those who were all looked gloomy and worried.

“They shouldn’t know the full extent of it,” Shu Yang said, “Or things would look a lot worse.”

“True,” Shen Ye said, “They probably just heard about the war reaching our border, but no one would announce the existence of enemy cultivators.”

Shu Yang felt strange walking home. He knew he should probably be running home at full speed, but for some reason, he wanted this final part of the journey to last a while longer.

‘Everyone is safe at home, waiting for us. I’m just scaring myself for no reason.’

Shu Yang had a bad feeling, but he was always prone to worry, so he was convinced it was just his imagination, as usual.

“Are you leaving straight away?” Shu Yang asked.

“Just letting my sister know the situation, then I’ll head to the capital,” Shen Ye answered.

“I’ll come back to get you guys once I’ve settled everyone,” Shu Yang said, “Just wait in Lady Jiangxi’s courtyard if you get back before I do. If the situation changes, just head into the Black Beast Mountains. You should be able to find us on your own eventually.”

“Right. Thanks,” Shen Ye said.

Shu Yang had already explained his escape plan to Shen Ye, and he had agreed to settle there with him for the time being. But he would need to head to the capital for his wife and son first.

Fortunately, Xiaoshi would stay behind. Shu Yang really didn’t want her out of his sight.

“I’ll head over to my sister first; I’ll come over before I leave,” Shen Ye said as they reached a crossroad.

“See you later,” Shu Yang said, nodding.

Shen Ye took Xiaoshi with him, and Shu Yang walked home with his son.

Tianhu would look in the direction Xiaoshi had left from time to time.

“Can’t bear to separate for even an hour or two?” Shu Yang asked.

“Well…I’m just worried,” Tianhu said.

“It’s a blessing and a curse to have something to worry about,” Shu Yang said.

He hadn’t told his son about Xiaoshi’s pregnancy. He figured it was better to let the couple discover and reveal it on their own.

“Do you think they’ve left for the Black Beast Mountains already?” Tianhu asked as they arrived outside the Shu Family’s courtyard.

“They should still be here,” Shu Yang answered. While he couldn’t feel his family members' location through the Bloodline Tree, there was still a vague feeling that would emerge from time to time. When it came to determining if basically all his family members were right in front of him or over a hundred miles away, he was pretty certain he wouldn’t make a mistake.

There were two guards outside, and they seemed to recognize Shu Yang, as they only looked surprised when they saw him, but didn’t stop him from entering.

Shu Yang didn’t see anyone immediately, but that wasn’t strange in such a large estate. He took a deep breath and called out, “I’m back!”

Straight away, one head after another popped out from different windows. He saw both children and grandchildren smiling as they spotted him.

Shu Yang smiled when he saw them all running over.

But his smile didn’t last long. The expressions on his family didn’t look right.

When he saw his wife Qianyue running toward him, he knew for certain that something was wrong.

Qianyue collapsed in his arms, and Shu Yang looked left and right; every child that appeared was a weight off his shoulders.

But it soon became apparent that two of his children weren’t around. Tianxu was nowhere to be seen.

But he was an adult; he might have gone to do something and was out for the moment.

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The one whose absence was impossible to explain away was his youngest daughter.

With a cracking voice, Shu Yang asked his wife, “Where is Tianyi?”

“Be careful not to miss your step, or you’ll be a goner,” Wangli said as he opened up the large flask filled with blood and poured it on the ground.

“Hurry up, it won’t last forever,” Quangzi said from behind him.

“Right,” Tianxu nodded and stepped on the bloody sand where Wangli had just stepped the moment before.

‘I can’t believe this actually works. I suppose only an organization full of killers could discover something like this.’

Wangli kept pouring blood onto the dusty sand, which created a red paste that Tianxu could just barely step on for a moment without sinking.

“You have to be quick on your feet,” Quangzi said from behind, “Stay too long on one spot, and you’ll sink.”

Tianxu felt that these people were mad. He almost regretted coming along.

Crossing the Dust was said to be impossible, so when he heard that there was a way, he had been too curious to not come along. Besides, this might be his only chance to go to the Far West. He needed to take a chance. His Uncle Zhangye might be over there, after all.

Tianxu didn’t know if he had bad luck or something, but he had barely traveled for a month or two before he came face to face with that same group of killers who had caught him so long ago.

Either they were everywhere these days, or Tianxu just had some kind of fate with them.

It wasn’t the exact group that had captured him four years ago, but he could tell from their haggard faces that they came from the same background.

Either way, Tianxu didn’t have a chance to fight against them; they had several innate warriors among them. So he had done the only thing he could think of, and claimed to be one of them.

Luckily, those people didn’t question him much when he told them about the killing art, and the details of his joining four years ago. Perhaps it was unheard of for anyone to manage to get so far in their recruitment and then be rescued.

He had traveled with that group for a few days before joining up with a larger group. Since he came with other members, no one questioned him at that time either.

Tianxu spent a lot of time thinking about whether he should make a run for it, or try to find out more about his uncle.

In the end, he decided to stay. There was no strict control over the coming and going of the different members. Tianxu guessed that a lot of people died and were recruited every day, and it was impossible to keep track of everyone.

As long as he didn’t have to actually kill anyone innocent and start using the killing art for real, Tianxu was okay with sticking around.

After asking around in various roundabout ways for his uncle for a few weeks, there was surprisingly some news. Tianxu remembered that the man who had been in charge of the group that captured him and Uncle Zhangye had been called Master Wu, and he was apparently somewhat of a big shot.

The people Tianxu talked to didn’t know quite what made him special, but he should have some kind of impressive background.

Thanks to that, his movements weren’t as hard to dig up as he had feared. Tianxu found out that Master Wu had gone to the Far West a year ago for some reason.

If his uncle were still alive, it was very likely that he had gone with him.

At least that was a lead of some kind.

So when he caught wind of Wangli needing to go to the Far West to deliver a message, he had volunteered to come along. Tianxu would never be able to get to the Far West on his own.

“Will the blood be enough?” Tianxu asked worriedly.

“Don’t worry, I’m very experienced,” Wangli answered, “Besides, the Dust is very narrow here. It won’t be much longer until we’re on solid ground again.”

‘Let’s hope so.’

Tianxu looked out over the landscape in front of him and couldn’t help but feel awe.

He was nervous, scared, and felt he was in over his head.

But he was about to reach a land no one back home had ever gone to before.

Tianxu had to admit to himself, he was very excited.

“You’re right. She’s still a virgin,” The old man with long white hair said.

Jiangxi pulled her arm away from him, scowling.

“You’re lucky. You should be able to find a much better marriage this way,” Another of the long-haired men said, looking down at Jiangxi with a smile

Jiangxi didn’t answer; she huddled closer to the rest of those who had been captured. She clutched the little girl tightly in her arms and tried her best to stop shaking. She couldn’t let it show that she was scared, too.

“She’s the one with that…Shen bloodline, was it?” Another man came up and asked while looking at Jiangxi.

“Yes, Elder Wushi,” The one who had captured her answered with a bow.

“Good find,” Elder Wushi said with a nod. “Who is the girl in her arms?”

“They should be unrelated,” Her captor answered. “We found her when we noticed that she could see through our stealth talisman.”

“Oh? That’s interesting. We’ll see what the tests show once we are back home. If she has a desirable trait, you’ll be rewarded,” Elder Wushi said.

“Thank you, Elder.”

The Elder walked away, and the other long-haired men also left. But that didn’t help much. Jiangxi couldn’t escape.

They were in some sort of magical ship, soaring high up in the clouds.

‘It might be better to just jump.’ Jiangxi thought to herself. ‘I might be able to make it before they can stop me.’

But she didn’t entertain the idea for very long.

If she were gone, who would look after the little Shu girl?

“Aunt Jiangxi, are they gone?” Tianyi asked, her head buried in Jiangxi’s chest.

“Yeah,” Jiangxi said, stroking Tianyi’s back comfortingly.

“Where are they taking us?” Tianyi asked.

“I don’t know,” Jiangxi answered.

“Will Dad be able to find us?” Tianyi asked.

Jiangxi was silent for a moment before answering, “Of course. But it will be difficult, and it might take some time. We’ll just have to stay strong until then.”

‘I might be doomed. But Tianyi is still a child. She should be safe for the coming years. I just need to find a way to help her escape before then.’

As for waiting for Shu Yang? Jiangxi knew he would never find them.

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