Chapter 2: So They Say You’re the General’s Long-Lost Son

[Item: Soaring Dragon Reaches the Clouds Movement Technique]
[Grade: Profound-Tier, Middle Grade]
[Description: As nimble as a dragon gliding through clouds, revealing the sun.]

“What a find!” Ji Huo’s eyes shone with excitement. He had searched for many years and barely come across a few profound-tier martial techniques, yet the system was being so generous this time.

Could it be that now that I’ve suddenly become a rich young master, my luck has improved as well?

Over the years, the system’s lottery had produced many strange items, but it was truly rare to receive a proper martial arts manual. Without hesitation, Ji Huo instantly clicked to learn it, pouring in a vast amount of cultivation points and force-feeding the technique to the perfected stage.

[All Rivers Return to the Sea: Learn a hundred martial arts and cultivate them to perfection (88/100)]

In his mind, images appeared of people moving with the grace of dragons weaving through clouds, leaving afterimages behind as their bodies flickered with astonishing speed.

Not bad, Ji Huo nodded in satisfaction. This was the benefit of having a system: forcibly absorbing experience instantly was no different from decades of training. The proficiency was maxed out in a blink.

He glanced at his cultivation points—one hundred thousand spent to upgrade Soaring Dragon Reaches the Clouds, but over a million remained. A small price to pay.

The group traveled all day, and as dusk fell, they finally found an inn and settled in for the night.

“Please rest in your room, Young Master Ji. We’re in the wilderness here; it’s best not to wander about,” the officer said earnestly, having arranged a room for Ji Huo alone.

A short while later, a servant brought up dishes and quietly departed. A plate of roast chicken, twice-cooked pork, and cabbage soup—by local standards, a hearty spread.

As the servant left, Ji Huo glanced out. Two soldiers stood guard at his door, evidently to prevent him from escaping.

He shook his head. After a long, hungry day, he eagerly fell upon the food.

Suddenly, a red glow flickered inside the room, and a spinning red oil-paper umbrella appeared out of thin air. The umbrella was a vivid crimson, as if dyed by countless drops of fresh blood.

As the red umbrella dipped, a little girl materialized beneath it. She was dressed all in red, a red ribbon tied in her hair, her skin as fair and delicate as porcelain—she couldn’t have been more than ten years old.

She was barefoot, her feet hovering inches above the floor, completely at ease, as natural as breathing.

With a casual wave of her hand, the girl spread her internal energy, sealing off all sound in the room. Only then did she close her umbrella, settle primly on a nearby chair, and fix her gaze unblinkingly on Ji Huo.

“So quick, Little Red Candy, you’re here already,” Ji Huo said with a smile, reaching out to pat her head, then realizing his fingers were greasy. He pulled back, tore a drumstick from the roast chicken, and offered it instead: “A reward for you.”

Little Red Candy took the greasy drumstick with her small hand, muttering in a soft, aggrieved voice, “I followed you all the way, just like a bride entering her wedding palanquin. I’ve been at it all day—my legs are about to fall off.”

Ji Huo rolled his eyes. This girl floated everywhere all day long; how could her legs possibly be tired?

Little Red Candy took a bite of chicken, then looked up at Ji Huo, her words muffled, “This chicken is poisoned.”

“Yes, highly toxic,” Ji Huo replied nonchalantly, taking another swig of wine. “The vegetables are poisoned too, and so is the rice. What a shame about this bottle of white porcelain wine—after being dosed with poison, the taste just isn’t the same.” There was a note of regret in his tone.

Little Red Candy dropped her gaze, muttering again, “I followed you all day, my legs about to break, finally get to rest, and you give me poisoned meat… Typical man.”

With a vengeance, she took another hefty bite of chicken, savoring it.

Ji Huo’s mouth twitched uncontrollably. He couldn’t help but say, “Hey! Stop reading those street romances. Those lines are way too melodramatic for you.”

Little Red Candy ignored him, munching meat and eyeing the white porcelain wine, her eyes sparkling.

“You’re not old enough to drink,” Ji Huo quickly snatched the bottle away and lectured her.

“I followed you all day, my legs about to break, finally get to rest, and you give me poisoned meat and won’t even let me drink… Typical man.” Her childish voice piped up again.

Ji Huo could only rub his aching temples. She used to be such a good kid when he first looked after her. Who knew that hanging around those other brats would turn her out like this?

Casually, Ji Huo said, “Have the Tiangang Squad move toward the capital. Our intelligence network is too thin there; it’s time to expand it.”

“All right,” Little Red Candy nodded.

“What about the Heart-Killing Sword Manual?” Ji Huo asked.

“That’s an assassin guild’s forbidden secret. Unless you’re one of their top assassins, it’s nearly impossible to obtain the full manual. Earth Seven and Earth Fifteen have only managed to get the first three levels so far,” Little Red Candy replied, swinging her feet as she nibbled the chicken, her tone disgruntled. “We’ve clashed with the assassin guild several times; both sides have suffered losses. Getting this martial art is just too difficult.”

Ji Huo shook his head. “We need a suitable technique for our kids to practice, and the Heart-Killing Sword Manual is just right. Isn’t the assassin guild’s main headquarters near the capital? Have the Disha Squad come to the capital—I’ll handle it personally.”

Little Red Candy blinked at him. “You’re going to take on the assassin guild?”

“Yes. With the Heart-Killing Sword Manual, it’ll be a boon for all of them.”

Little Red Candy made a sound of acknowledgment, then suddenly asked, “I heard you’re the general’s long-lost son.”

Ji Huo spread his hands, looking helpless.

“You’re going to the capital to live as a young master now,” Little Red Candy repeated, her childish voice sing-song.

Ji Huo rubbed his temples again. “I have no idea what’s going on. I was minding my own business in Western Sichuan when trouble fell from the sky. Tell the Tiangang Squad to expand operations in the capital—something is definitely up, or people wouldn’t be coming for me out of nowhere.”

“You’re going to the capital to live as a young master now,” Little Red Candy said again in her childish voice.

Ji Huo replied, “It’s not certain yet. I might not even be Ji Xiaoxiong’s son.”

“You’re going to the capital to live as a young master,” Little Red Candy repeated, tossing away the chicken bone, sitting up straight, fixing her eyes on Ji Huo, and repeating her words once more.

Ji Huo blinked, thoughts churning, then finally understood. With a sigh, he said, “All right, all right—even if I become a rich young master, I won’t abandon you all.”

“Yay!” Little Red Candy’s face lit up with a bright smile, and she immediately grabbed another chicken wing to nibble on.

This child… Ji Huo shook his head with a smile.

“They’re not with the Flying Bear Army,” Little Red Candy suddenly remarked out of nowhere.

The Flying Bear Army was Ji Xiaoxiong’s force, renowned across the land for their battle prowess.

Ji Huo replied carelessly, “The people who came for me are wearing the capital’s imperial guard armor.”

Little Red Candy added, “The ambushers outside are stronger than them.”

“Never mind them. Just eat in peace.”

“Okay.”

Outside the room, sounds of fighting had already broken out. The two soldiers who guarded the door had vanished without a trace.

Suddenly, the wooden window shattered. A shadow, black as ink and sharp as a sword, shot straight inside, blade gleaming coldly as it swung for Ji Huo’s neck!

Clang!

Ji Huo raised his left hand, spreading his middle and index finger, and lightly pinched.

He missed—the blade landed between his fingers, hitting the flesh with a metallic ring, but didn’t even leave a white mark.

Little Red Candy looked on with undisguised disdain. “You’re so weak.”