Purple Cloud Wings, Assassin's Creed

A year may seem long or short, but it's enough time for many things to happen. After telling his own story, Chen Guan also inquired about the outside world.

He had hurried back so quickly that he hadn't had time to gather much information.

Originally, he thought things wouldn't differ much from the original plot, but Yao Ye's answer surprised him.

"There's not much else to say, but there is something you might find interesting."

"After you went missing, I received word and led a team into the Magical Beast Mountain Range to search for you. Unfortunately, after about a month, we still found nothing. At that point, I even began to suspect that maybe you'd been eaten by one of the magical beasts."

"Because our royal family's actions were quite noticeable, both the Yunlan Sect and the Mitel family couldn't sit still. They thought we had discovered some secret opportunity and joined in as well. Later, even the Lion King Yan Shi showed up, making the search team grow larger."

"At that point, I thought, 'Well, free labor, why not use it?' So we played along with them."

"But, unexpectedly, after half a month of searching, we actually stumbled upon a hidden opportunity. It seemed to be the remains of a powerful Dou King or Dou Emperor. I almost thought our royal family had truly gotten some inside information."

Yao Ye laughed as she spoke, as the coincidence was truly absurd.

Chen Guan paused for a moment, suspecting that the opportunity they had found was likely the same cave that Xiao Yixian had discovered in the original plot.

On reflection, it wasn't so surprising.

With so many people searching the mountains, it would have been more unusual if they hadn't found anything.

"Was the haul good?" Chen Guan asked.

"It was decent. The remains inside the cave were valuable, but since we hadn't anticipated this, with the Yunlan Sect and the Mitel family around, we had to share. In the end, each party made a small profit."

"That makes sense. What was inside?" Chen Guan asked casually.

While the other items didn't interest him much, he certainly didn't want to miss out on the fragment of the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame map.

When he had chosen Qingshan Town for his training, that fragment and Xiao Yixian had been his targets—besides improving his strength, of course.

Unfortunately, plans don't always go smoothly, and there had been some unexpected turns.

"There were some medicinal herbs, gold coins, a scroll of the 'Seven-Colored Poison Manual,' a mid-tier Xuan-level flying Dou Technique called 'Purple Cloud Wings'—which is rare—and a high-tier Xuan-level Dou Technique called 'Roaring Lion Howl.' That's basically it. Oh, and there was also a mostly useless fragment of a map."

"Since everyone assumed we had found the opportunity first, I didn't explain otherwise. So when it came time to divide things, we royal family members got first pick."

"In the end, I chose the rarer 'Purple Cloud Wings.' It's a good thing you returned in time; if you had been a few days later, I might have started practicing it myself. Now that you're here, it'll be more useful for you. It'll make me feel more at ease knowing you have a stronger means of protection."

Yao Ye didn't hide anything and even offered the "Purple Cloud Wings" to Chen Guan.

The "Purple Cloud Wings" were indeed a rare flying Dou Technique and quite valuable. But, as Chen Guan had mentioned before, even the most valuable item is only useful if it can be put to good use.

Yao Ye seldom left the Holy City of the imperial capital, so she wouldn't have much need for the "Purple Cloud Wings." It would be far more practical for Chen Guan.

Her reasoning made sense, but Chen Guan didn't actually need the "Purple Cloud Wings" much.

If it had been before he had acquired the legacy of Master Shu Tianhe, he would never have turned it down.

But now, it was pretty much useless.

"Yao Ye, you should keep it and cultivate it. Did you forget about the puppets I have with me? With them around, the 'Purple Cloud Wings' won't be of much help to me."

"Oh, I forgot to mention, my teacher was pretty lazy, so these puppets have a small flaw: they can't fly. But they can jump really fast, almost as fast as a regular Dou King flying. If I do encounter danger, it's more convenient for me to rely on them, and I won't have to consume any Dou Qi."

"Though it might not look very dignified, when your life's at stake, who cares about appearances? You're different, though. If you were to hop around on a puppet, well... that'd be, um, quite an eyesore."

Chen Guan couldn't help but laugh at the thought.

In conclusion, he really didn't need the "Purple Cloud Wings."

Other than letting him show off a little when flying, it had no real use.

After hearing Chen Guan's reasoning, Yao Ye's expression turned a bit strange, as if she too was imagining the scene. She immediately gave up insisting.

"Our royal family kept the 'Purple Cloud Wings,' the Yunlan Sect took the 'Roaring Lion Howl,' and each family got a copy of the 'Seven-Colored Poison Manual' as compensation. The Mitel family got the fragment of the map, and the remaining gold and herbs were divided between them and Yan Shi."

This, right here, is why background matters.

Even though Yan Shi was an experienced Dou King, in this distribution of fortunes, he barely got any scraps.

Since the map fragment ended up with the Mitel family, Chen Guan knew he'd have to pay them a visit.

Suddenly, he thought of someone.

At this point, had Yafei already gone to Wutan City? When he did the math, it seemed about right. After all, in another two years, Xiao Yan would make his comeback.

"Not bad, the distribution seems fair. Could you have someone make me a copy of the 'Seven-Colored Poison Manual' later?"

"What do you want with that? I skimmed through it; it's mostly about concocting various poisons and strange medicines, along with some anecdotes. But I suppose it's interesting if you want to broaden your knowledge," Yao Ye replied.

Chen Guan simply explained, "I have a friend who might like it."

"The Little Fairy Doctor in Qingshan Town?"

"You know about that?"

"Of course! Even though I'm in the capital, I know all about your affairs. And I heard that before someone went missing, they visited the Myriad Medicine Pavilion every day. I even stopped by myself when I was in the area—she's quite the beauty. If you're interested, should I tie her up and bring her to you?"

Yao Ye raised an eyebrow, teasingly proud.

Chen Guan rolled his eyes.

But inwardly, he thought to himself, You only see the first layer. I'm at least on the fifth.

"We're just friends for now. Who knows what the future holds. I'll just let things unfold naturally."

After chatting with Yao Ye for a long time about both serious and trivial matters, Chen Guan finally left, more than an hour later.

He had managed to calm down the eldest princess, but there was still the younger princess waiting for him.

Just as he was thinking about how busy the day had been, he noticed a familiar-looking guard pacing suspiciously outside the palace gate.

Recalling the second will and the reason for the man's untimely death, Chen Guan's smile faded, and he rubbed the ring on his finger as he walked straight toward the guard.

Yunlan Sect, Assassin's Creed?

(End of Chapter)