Volume One: The Emperor’s Sword Chapter 35: Uniquely Shameless

Found him?

The group was taken aback, casting puzzled glances at Yun Que.

“Found who?” Mu Qingyao asked in confusion, seeing no one else around.

“The little lord, Zhou Yuanliang,” Yun Que replied, stepping back a few paces and pointing to a scar on the tree bark shaped like an eye. “Use this as the head and carve out a human shape, make it large—don’t cut too small.”

Mu Qingyao nodded and was about to start when she was stopped.

“Let Luo Xiaoyu do it,” Yun Que said, offering no further explanation as he took out a lower-grade dagger he’d gotten from the Blood Savage, handing it to Luo Xiaoyu.

Though puzzled, Mu Qingyao chose to trust Yun Que.

Luo Xiaoyu had once cut through vines to save someone and was no stranger to chopping wood at home, so she was skilled in handling trees.

Despite being merely a lower-grade weapon, the barbarian dagger was exceptionally sharp—it could slice through gold and jade, so cutting through wood was effortless.

At the base of the tree, Luo Xiaoyu measured carefully. Following Yun Que’s instructions, she outlined a rough human figure from the scar and drove the dagger in.

Unexpectedly, as the blade struck, a surge of fresh blood oozed from the tree!

Crimson streaks trickled down the bark, leaving Luo Xiaoyu frozen in shock and at a loss for what to do.

At that moment, the scar on the tree seemed to come alive—the lines within it contracted, resembling a human eye’s pupil narrowing!

“Make the area larger, keep cutting,” Yun Que’s calm voice gave Luo Xiaoyu courage, and she resumed her task with renewed determination.

As the bark split open, vibrant green vines spilled out, swaying slowly like venomous serpents.

It turned out—the tree was just a disguise, woven from countless vines!

Only then did Mu Qingyao fully understand. She realized at last why Yun Que hadn’t let her handle the task—anyone else would have been attacked by the vines.

Her gaze at Luo Xiaoyu grew astonished. This frail girl, for some reason, didn’t provoke the vines’ hostility!

“Junior sister Luo is special—she can’t be parasitized by the vines. She even saved a teammate in the cave,” Yun Que explained simply.

Mu Qingyao nodded, not pressing for details. Her own Floral Spirit Root was unusual enough; surely, there were many with unique constitutions in this world.

“Maybe junior sister Luo is so weak, she doesn’t have enough life force for the vines to care?” Wu Dachuan speculated curiously.

Both Yun Que and Mu Qingyao shook their heads.

No matter how slender, Luo Xiaoyu was very much alive.

In Yun Que’s view, there must be something about Luo Xiaoyu that the vines found especially repellent, even abhorrent.

With a steady rhythm of slicing, a human-shaped figure finally fell from the trunk.

No sooner had it hit the ground than it landed on all fours and scurried away with astonishing speed.

“A demon—a demon beast!” Wu Dachuan shouted in alarm, fumbling for his sword.

Mu Qingyao’s spiritual energy surged, her Floral Spirit Sword ready to strike at any moment.

From the posture, it did seem like a four-legged beast, but the voice that followed revealed the truth: it was a person—a familiar one.

“Marquis Yun! My savior, at last!” Zhou Yuanliang, bleeding from the shoulder, crawled out of the tangle of vines and flung himself upon Yun Que’s leg, refusing to let go, almost pulling down his only pair of shorts.

Wu Dachuan and Luo Xiaoyu stared in shock.

A disciple of the Southern Academy had been trapped inside a tree!

Every scar on the tree was an eye!

Once more, Mu Qingyao looked upon Yun Que with amazement. If not for his keen observation, who knew when they would have found a clue?

At that moment, Wu Dachuan finally understood, slapping his forehead.

No wonder Wangcai kept barking at the tree—the little dog had long since smelled living people inside, but no one had guessed they’d be hidden in a tree.

Zhou Yuanliang quickly collected himself, regaining the composure of the first young master, though he looked more like the first beggar.

“My deepest thanks for your rescue!” He bowed his fists in gratitude, then asked, full of curiosity, “Marquis Yun, you’re astute to have guessed there was someone in the tree, but how did you know it was me?”

The others also looked on, eager for the answer.

There were scars on many trees, each a possible eye—how could someone identify a person from a single eye? It was an extraordinary feat.

Yun Que answered honestly, “The look in your eye.”

Everyone suddenly understood.

Zhou Yuanliang struck a pose of enlightenment, “Is it that my gaze is too melancholy, too deep, too enchanting—unforgettable at a glance?”

Yun Que glanced at him and replied blandly, “Your look is uniquely shameless.”

Zhou Yuanliang looked as if struck by lightning, his eye twitching as the others pressed their hands to their foreheads.

“Next time I’ll roll my eyes, so you can recognize me even more easily,” he joked.

Zhou Yuanliang quickly bandaged his wound—the cut Luo Xiaoyu had given him was on the shoulder and not serious.

Luo Xiaoyu apologized, a little embarrassed, “Senior brother, I’m sorry, I was careless. Are you badly hurt?”

“It’s nothing—just a scratch!” Zhou Yuanliang replied with a roguish grin. “Anywhere but my descendants, junior sister may stab as she pleases!”

No one doubted now how Yun Que had recognized him—his shamelessness was truly one of a kind.

“Are all the other disciples trapped here too?” Mu Qingyao pressed.

“They should be nearby. Only you, junior sister Mu, fell underground. The rest of us were entangled by the vines and turned into ‘vine trees,’ unable to move, left waiting for death,” Zhou Yuanliang explained their predicament.

“We’re counting on you,” Mu Qingyao said, bowing to Luo Xiaoyu.

To have the Southern Academy’s top sword-bearer bow to her was overwhelming for Luo Xiaoyu, who threw herself energetically into the task, chopping tree after tree.

Only Luo Xiaoyu was immune to the vines’ attacks; the others could do nothing but wait from a safe distance.

A gentle breeze rose, bringing a refreshing coolness.

The mountain mist grew noticeably thinner.

“This place is pure evil—where did all these vines come from? If not for Brother Yun, we’d all be finished, and not a single Southern Academy disciple would make it out alive,” Wu Dachuan said, sitting on a rock to rest, not forgetting to credit Yun Que.

“Absolutely right! I always said Marquis Yun was brilliant—destined for greatness!” Zhou Yuanliang chimed in, all the while rummaging through the broken vines at his feet. Flattery was free, and he could keep it up endlessly.

“What are you looking for?” Wu Dachuan craned his neck to ask.

“My pouch fell somewhere—not that there’s much money in it,” Zhou Yuanliang muttered, then his eyes lit up.

He pulled something from the vines—a pebble-like object, jet black, attached to a slender vine. At first glance, it might be mistaken for an ornament.

Just as Zhou Yuanliang grinned in triumph, a hand reached over.

The black stone was snatched by Yun Que.

“Missing a stone for my flowerpot—this’ll do nicely,” Yun Que said, weighing it in his hand as he put it into his storage pouch, giving Zhou Yuanliang no chance to protest.

Zhou Yuanliang’s mouth twitched. He forced a laugh. “I was thinking of using it for my flowerpot too. Heh, Marquis Yun, you take it.”

Though Yun Que didn’t recognize it, he was sure the black stone was a rare material, or Zhou Yuanliang wouldn’t have coveted it so much.

“Marquis Yun, how did you end up with Mu Qingyao? Our Southern Academy’s top sword-bearer always acts alone, never joining others,” Zhou Yuanliang asked in a low voice. “If not for a bunch of junior sisters begging her for days, she wouldn’t have led a team. I’ll admit it—I just wanted to tag along for some benefits, and nearly died for it.”

“It’s a long story. We were avoiding demon beasts and ended up in a cave…” Yun Que gave a brief account, then asked, “Why insist on following Mu Qingyao’s group instead of the other sword-bearers?”

He’d heard something odd in Zhou Yuanliang’s words.

Apparently, many Southern Academy disciples believed there was profit to be made by following Mu Qingyao.

And Mu Qingyao, with her innate coolness, didn’t seem the type to lead a group.

Zhou Yuanliang glanced at Mu Qingyao in the distance, then leaned close to Yun Que’s ear to reveal the unique trait of the Southern Academy’s top sword-bearer.

This wasn’t exactly a secret among Southern Academy disciples, but it was the first time Yun Que had heard of it.