Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 1417 - 1410: The Path of Diexiang

Chapter 1417: Chapter 1410: The Path of Diexiang

"Wait a minute, isn’t this normal?" Not sure if it was a difference in understanding, but Cheng Ziang actually felt that the actions of the Yichuan Clan from Yin State were not wrong at all.

In their traditional view, studying to become an official has been the dream of scholars for thousands of years. They aspire to become members of the civil officials of the Empire, using their knowledge to manage this vast empire and its people.

But for Yichuan Ying, this had become a shameful thing. Not cultivating, but instead pursuing a civil official role was seen as disgraceful. Could someone who had succeeded in cultivation but was illiterate manage a country well?

Moreover, it had been proven that the system of the Dongsheng Empire was very effective, greatly extending the life of the empire. Although the empire was currently facing huge contradictions both internally and externally, the country had not yet disintegrated, and it hadn’t reached the point of collapse.

If the civil officials of the Dongsheng Empire could initiate a new reform to eradicate the internal maladies of the empire, then Cheng Ziang felt that it wouldn’t be a problem for the Dongsheng Empire to last another hundred years. After all, a typical feudal dynasty lasts about two to three hundred years.

"This is not normal. A member of a grand nobility should be devoted to cultivation, enhancing their own strength, instead of learning these useless things and using schemes and tricks to control the Imperial Court," Yichuan Ying earnestly stated.

"That’s not schemes and tricks, that’s called politics... Never mind, you wouldn’t understand what politics is anyway," Cheng Ziang sighed helplessly, feeling he could no longer find the words to express his perspective.

"Alright, I won’t trouble you any further. You rest well; you can go back if you want, we’ll send you home tomorrow. If you don’t go back and stay here, that’s fine too, but I have only one request—please, please do not think about suicide; it’s not worth it," Cheng Ziang said earnestly.

"Thank you..." Yichuan Ying sincerely expressed her apology.

"Of course, don’t plan any nonsense. That little girl over there is a master of the Royal Dao; you should know what being a master of the Royal Dao entails," Cheng Ziang remarked as he turned to Feng.

"Master of the Royal Dao, you actually have a master of the Royal Dao!" Yichuan Ying exclaimed, her eyes wide with surprise as she looked at Feng, who was facing away from her.

"Yes, we never consider there to be any difference in status between cultivators and non-cultivators; we are very good partners," Cheng Ziang stated.

While talking, he noticed the skewer of meat Yichuan Ying had been holding which might have turned cold. He then took the skewer from her hand and handed it to Hu Daoke saying, "Bring a freshly cooked skewer over here, this one needs reheating."

"You rascal..." Hu Daoke had just finished cooking a skewer and was about to eat it. But, with Cheng Ziang’s remark, he felt too embarrassed to bite into it and exchanged it with Cheng Ziang, grinding his teeth in frustration.

After some hustle, the group then gathered around the campfire and drifted into dreams. Feng, still maintaining her sensory awareness, was in a light sleep, which was sufficient to cover most of her resting needs. It was only when she was with Luo’er or Tangmo that she would deeply and peacefully sleep.

The next day, when Cheng Ziang opened his eyes, Yichuan Ying had already woken up and was sitting blankly by the campfire. Although her eyes still appeared red and her expression was a bit haggard, she seemed much more subdued at that moment.

Hu Daoke, accepting his loss in a wager, had started cooking porridge. They had intercepted a lot of grains from a convoy, which sufficed their daily consumption. However, because of Hu Daoke’s hoarding tendencies, he had packed their hideout full, stocking enough to last them several months.

It seemed that because of Cheng Ziang, both Hu Daoke and Feng had taken off their hood and mask, revealing their true appearances, no longer hiding from Yichuan Ying.

"Decided yet whether you’re going back or staying here?" Cheng Ziang, after yawning, asked.

"I can’t go back; it would ruin my father’s plans," Yichuan Ying’s eyes flickered, then she quickly became despondent.

"It doesn’t matter; we have plenty of ways to make sure your father’s plans fail anyway," Cheng Ziang shrugged, unabashedly stating.

"Aren’t you afraid I’ll go back and tell my father your plans?" Yichuan Ying propped her face on her knees, tilting her head as she asked.

"That would be even better. We’d be glad for you to go home," Cheng Ziang spread his hands as he spoke, "after all, we can’t possibly take care of a damsel in distress out here in the wilderness forever."

"I’m not some damsel in distress; I told you last night, I’m a failure who can’t cultivate, I don’t even qualify for an arranged marriage..." Yichuan Ying said, her expression forlorn.

"If you keep seeing cultivation as the only path to success, then just resign yourself to being a failure," Cheng Ziang sighed, helplessly concluding.

Feng was sitting next to Hu Daoke, staring eagerly at the porridge he was cooking. Suddenly, as if sensing something, she turned around, drew her long knife, and then dashed out of their hiding place.

"What’s wrong?" Seeing Feng’s unusual behavior, Ziang quickly stood up and chased after her to ask.

"Something is not right..." Feng shook her head gently and pointed toward the distant woods, where Ziang noticed birds startling into the sky, clearly something was there and it seemed to be moving in their direction.

"This is..." Ziang squinted his eyes, and suddenly furrowed his brow as if he had thought of something, then he turned around and strode back into the hiding place, staring at Yichuan Ying and demanding, "Did you leave marks along the way?"

"Yes," Yichuan Ying admitted straightforwardly, her head lowered, taking out a small porcelain bottle from her bosom and speaking hesitantly, "Diexiang, the fragrance can form a trail on the ground, and it’s difficult to dissipate even with wind and rain..."

"I trusted you so much." Ziang was calm and did not erupt immediately, instead he spoke with an expressionless face.

"I never thought it would turn out this way, I never thought you would consider me a friend, advising me not to go to my death... I’m sorry..." Yichuan Ying lowered her head, choking up with shame.

"Let it be, it’s not entirely your fault, we were careless," Ziang sighed.

Yichuan Ying must have used the Diexiang while they were in the carriage, yet it was only at night that he managed to persuade her. Under those circumstances, it was understandable that she didn’t consider herself a friend and took precautions.

"No wonder the guards were able to follow us yesterday," Ziang nodded and pondered.

"Damn, what’s going on, this girl schemes against us, why not just kill her first." Hu Daoke, holding his weapon, rushed to Ziang’s side, pointing at Yichuan Ying and asked.

"Calm down, killing her would play right into Yichuan Hong’s hands, we need to make sure the other two aristocratic families know that we treated a member of the Yichuan Clan well." Ziang shook his head.

"Are your moral principles led by your senses?" Hu Daoke stared at him, frowning.

"What do you think?" Hearing this, Ziang also got irritated, turned his head to stare back coldly.

"Fine, fine, I’ll go out and see if I can help somehow." Hu Daoke knew Ziang had his plans, and it wasn’t the time for jokes, so he quickly admitted he was wrong.

"Any idea who might follow us?" Ziang continued.

"It could be guards, cultivators, because only they can sense the Diexiang..." Yichuan Ying replied, her head still lowered.

"Cultivators, huh..." Hearing this, Ziang scoffed dismissively.

"Aren’t you afraid?" Yichuan Ying looked up at him, a bit puzzled.

"You always think of cultivators as the winners of this society. Today I’ll show you how easily we handle these so-called social winners," Ziang spoke with a confident expression on his face.

Outside the hiding place, Feng stood on the clearing with her knife in hand, eyes closed, sensing the looming danger. When she heard Hu Daoke rushing out, she blocked his path with her sword and said, "Let me handle them, please give me this opportunity."

"Are you sure you can handle this, Little Fengye?" Hu Daoke held his weapon, blinking as he asked.

"Please trust me." Feng nodded in response.

"Alright, I’ll support you from behind; run to me if you’re overwhelmed." Hu Daoke shrugged.

"Thank you." Feng sincerely expressed her gratitude.