Chapter 53: Decent Talent, I'll Take It

The "Eye for an Eye" trait could be ignored.

However, what was going on with that Son of Destiny? A golden talent?

To actually encounter a golden talent right here.

And it was a golden talent blessed with profound great fortune.

Looking closely, this youth named Zhao Tian appeared to be around fourteen or fifteen years old. Though his features seemed ordinary and unremarkable, his eyes flashed with shrewdness.

Even though he kept hiding behind the crowd, he was secretly observing the reactions of the Brocade-Uniform Guards before him.

A thoughtful expression flickered in his gaze from time to time.

As expected, that spiritual artifact must be in the possession of this Zhao Tian.

At this thought, a smile curled the corner of Ye Liuyun's lips, and he gestured for Si Nan to come over.

"My lord!"

"Go and gather some information about that youth."

Ye Liuyun motioned toward Zhao Tian's direction with his eyes.

Seeing that Ye Liuyun had asked him to investigate such a seemingly plain and ordinary youth, Si Nan felt puzzled, but still nodded earnestly in acknowledgment.

"Understood, my lord!"

Although Zhao Tian had not noticed the situation on Ye Liuyun's side, he inexplicably felt a surge of danger. He stepped backward, shrinking behind the crowd to make himself appear even more inconspicuous.

Meanwhile, over on the side of Northern Pacification Commander Lei Zheng.

Because they had failed to gather any useful information within the village, and it was impossible to stay here indefinitely.

Someone nearby began to analyze the situation for Lei Zheng.

"Commander, perhaps the object is not here after all. Why don't we search the surrounding area instead?"

Lei Zheng pondered for a moment, then nodded. He led everyone out of the village and began searching the vicinity.

Seeing the Brocade-Uniform Guards depart, the villagers could not help but heave sighs of relief.

...

Ye Liuyun lingered at the back of the procession, slacking off.

Since the location of the spiritual artifact had been confirmed, there was no need to rush.

Very soon.

Si Nan, who had gone off to gather information, returned.

However, his appearance upon returning caught Ye Liuyun somewhat off guard, prompting Shi Sheng beside him to blurt out directly:

"Goodness, you didn't get waylaid and robbed halfway, did you?"

He had looked perfectly fine when he left, but upon returning, Si Nan was covered in dirt and grime, his clothes bearing varying degrees of wear and tear. Not only did he look like he had been robbed,

it was as if he had been thoroughly bullied by someone.

"Screw you!"

Glaring at Shi Sheng with annoyance,

Si Nan wore a bitter expression as he reported to Ye Liuyun:

"My lord, I don't know what happened either. I was simply walking down the road to gather information about that youth, when somehow I fell right into a pit. I wanted to find a small lake to wash up, but then my foot slipped and I fell right in again."

"..."

If Si Nan were just an ordinary person, experiencing such events might simply be chalked up to bad luck.

However—

"Is your cultivation fake or something?"

Shi Sheng could not resist making another sarcastic remark.

Even if Si Nan's cultivation realm wasn't exceptionally high, he was still a martial artist nonetheless. Falling into a river was simply too humiliating.

"I have no idea what went on. It was as if I unconsciously forgot to circulate my inner energy."

Thinking back on it now, Si Nan felt as though he had been hexed; his bad luck had simply been off the charts.

Looking at the dejected Si Nan, a thoughtful look flashed in Ye Liuyun's eyes as a realization dawned on him.

This was most likely due to the "Son of Destiny" talent trait. Because Si Nan had intentionally set out to investigate Zhao Tian, the protective fortune of the Son of Destiny caused anyone harboring intent against Zhao Tian to suffer extraordinary bouts of bad luck to varying degrees.

No wonder.

None of the numerous previous search parties had noticed anything amiss with Zhao Tian.

Interesting. This golden trait of the Son of Destiny was truly even more fascinating than Ye Liuyun had imagined.

I'll take it!

At this thought, Ye Liuyun narrowed his eyes slightly.

It was not easy to run into such a golden trait; letting it slip by would be far too regrettable.

"Oh, right, my lord, I did manage to uncover some information about that youth."

Si Nan did not forget the task Ye Liuyun had assigned him, and spoke earnestly:

"The youth's original name is Zhao Tian. I heard he was abandoned by his parents in this small village when he was an infant, and he practically grew up eating meals provided by the entire village."

No wonder he was the Son of Destiny; this was practically the standard starting setup for a protagonist.

"After growing a bit older, he goes into the forest every afternoon to gather firewood and hunt, and he is very well-liked among the villagers."

So, he must have found that spiritual artifact while gathering firewood or hunting, then.

The afternoon?

Glancing up at the sky, it was currently noon, leaving a little while before afternoon.

"I understand. None of you are to make any moves yet—wait for my command!"

"Understood, my lord!"

Although Shi Sheng was filled with questions, seeing that Si Nan was relatively unharmed, he obediently nodded in agreement.

Taking advantage of the noon break when everyone was resting,

Ye Liuyun sought out Lei Zheng.

"Commander!"

Seated upon a section of dead timber, Lei Zheng raised his head to look at Ye Liuyun.

"You must be Ye Liuyun?"

Clearly, Lei Zheng knew of Ye Liuyun, though he had simply never paid him much mind.

After giving him an up-and-down glance, he asked directly:

"What is the matter?"

Having failed to find any leads on the spiritual artifact, Lei Zheng was in a foul mood, and his tone turned somewhat harsh.

Yet Ye Liuyun acted as if he noticed nothing, speaking with an undisturbed expression:

"Commander, this subordinate merely feels that the terrain here is vast. Although there are many of us, if we continue to search by clustering together like this, I fear it will be difficult to achieve results in a short time. We might as well disperse and search separately."

"Disperse and search?"

A thoughtful look crossed Lei Zheng's eyes.

Searching in dispersed groups indeed offered a higher chance of success.

While the others might not have any objections to this, Wan Feiliang had always been at odds with Ye Liuyun.

Therefore, upon hearing this proposal, he immediately sneered and mocked:

"Commander Ye, how can you be so certain that others won't hide the treasure if they find it?"

In truth, very few people present were genuinely loyal to Lei Zheng; most operated in their own factions, working for the powers behind them. If those people really found it, they would only hide it away.

Did he seriously expect them to hand it over to the public treasury?

Yet such practices were only done behind closed doors; no one would ever bring them out into the open.

Feigning astonishment, Ye Liuyun turned his head to look at Wan Feiliang.

"What does Thousand-Household Wan mean by this? We followed Commander Lei here, and naturally, any item we find should be reported to the Commander. Could it be that Thousand-Household Wan harbors ulterior motives and is disloyal to the Commander?"

Disloyal to your grandmother.

Who are you putting on a show for? Acting as if you are genuinely devoted to serving Lei Zheng.

However, Wan Feiliang could not voice these thoughts now, because Lei Zheng's gaze was already fixed upon him.

"This subordinate harbors no such meaning whatsoever!"

Wan Feiliang hurriedly cupped his fists and bowed, looking over.

Dammit! He had originally wanted to trip up Ye Liuyun, but ended up trapping himself instead. No matter what, Lei Zheng was the Northern Pacification Commander and technically his superior.

Furthermore.
When it came to backing and factions,
although the Eunuch Wang behind him held immense power, the Grand General Defending the Frontier behind Lei Zheng was no slouch either.

If he were to be executed here, even if Eunuch Wang came looking for trouble later, he would hardly extract any favorable outcome.