Chapter 15

"Yingjian, did you deliberately choose this knife?"

Leidian San curiously asked, and Yingjian honestly shook his head: "Of course not. If I could tell which knife is good, I would be very happy to fulfill Aunt Zhaigong's request and deceive him."

"But if you use this knife... will anything go wrong?"

"It won't." Yingjian rubbed the boy's head, "This knife is not a good knife, but it's not bad either. Besides, when I go back, I might have a new knife, so I don't want to waste a precious knife in my hands."

"Why?"

"Most famous knives have spirits, and samurai often take pride in their matching with their blades. I think it should be the same with knives?" Yingjian thought for a moment, raising his head slightly, "If it feels compatible with me, but I choose not to use it, it would be a bit unkind."

Leidian San heard this kind of reasoning for the first time, but he quickly understood.

"Just like how Lord Baru created me, I have a spirit, so I can't simply be used as an object, right?"

Yingjian halted at Leidian San's understanding.

"You're making a good analogy... It's true, but it's still a bit strange." Yingjian thought for a long time but couldn't find the right words to express the inexplicable feeling in his heart. "Anyway, you can't compare yourself to an object, can you?"

"That's how I thought when I first gained consciousness."

"What about now?"

"As a puppet, I should compare myself to humans." The boy placed his right hand on his chest, "As a creation, I should do my best to become the most satisfying existence for Lord Baru."

"Not bad~" Yingjian was extremely pleased, feeling the joy of seeing his little brother grow up.

"And also," Leidian San looked at Yingjian and said, "As Yingjian's friend, I should also strive to meet the standards of a lover."

Yingjian said, "...You're struggling with this matter, aren't you?"

"I'm serious."

"Okay, okay, then keep working hard." Yingjian raised his hand and pointed to the village not far away, "That should be Kantan Village, let's go."

The boy was somewhat dissatisfied with Yingjian's visibly perfunctory response, but Yingjian had already started walking forward, so he could only quickly follow.

When they arrived in the village, they quickly attracted the attention of the villagers. Just as Yingjian was preparing to ask someone, someone took the initiative to ask first.

"May I ask who you are...?"

The one who spoke was a woman who looked to be around thirty years old. She noticed the two completely unfamiliar faces and saw that they were dressed simply but with fabrics that ordinary people couldn't afford. She was afraid of offending them, so she asked, "May I ask what brings you here?"

"We are passing adventurers who saw the commission on the guild board and took it. We want to investigate the recent incident at Shadowkeep Mountain," Yingjian nodded slightly and politely asked, "Do you know where the person who came back alive from Shadowkeep Mountain is now?"

"That person is my husband." The woman wiped away the tears from the corner of her eyes and said, "Thank you for accepting this commission...but this may not be something you can solve. The adventurer who went before has not returned yet. You should go back."

Yingjian looked at the somewhat awkward Leidiansan and gently tugged on his sleeve without saying anything. "What do you think we should do?" she asked.

Leidiansan was taken aback, realizing that Yingjian wanted him to speak. After hesitating for a moment, he said to the woman, "We are here to investigate on behalf of General [Xiangling]. Please rest assured."

"Well, that certainly is a straightforward method to give the other party confidence, although it's not quite what she imagined," Yingjian didn't stop him from saying that.

"But by doing so...this matter must be completed. Otherwise, it will damage Mama's reputation," Yingjian thought.

Sure enough, when the woman heard Leidiansan say this, her eyes widened slightly, and even the villagers who were watching nearby became excited upon hearing these words.

"These are people sent by General [Xiangling]!"

"General [Xiangling] favors us. This matter will definitely be resolved...may the heavens bless the Gantian Village!"

The woman calmed down her excited heart and then bowed, "Thank you for General [Xiangling]'s favor...please come this way."

Although Yingjian had long known about General [Leidiansan]'s reputation, she couldn't help but feel moved by experiencing the affection ordinary people have for their own nation's deities. It was not until she heard a small voice from the young man beside her.

"Yingjian, did you intend for me to speak?"

Yingjian thought for a moment and realized he was referring to what had just happened, so she nodded.

"Well, since I can't ask you to help me fight for now, can you at least talk for me?" he said, a hint of a smile appearing in his purple eyes.

Of course, that wasn't her true intention. She simply wanted the young man to interact more with others.

In the past month, although he had communicated with humans, it was not very much. When she was talking to the woman just now, she clearly felt his awkwardness, so she naturally wanted him to communicate more.

"Sure." The young man nodded, his purple eyes curved. "As long as I can help you, it's fine."

"We're here," the woman said as she stopped in front of a small wooden house.

"My husband hasn't been clear-headed since he came back...no matter what we ask him, he just repeats those few sentences and refuses to answer anything else," the woman said with a hoarse and tired voice. "Thank you for your help."

"Don't worry." Leidiansan said, "Leave it to us."

When they arrived at the bedside, the man's eyes were lifeless. Hearing the movement, he glanced at them and then lowered his head again, saying nothing.

"Husband...they are people sent by General [Xiangling]," the woman said softly. "They can definitely solve this matter. Please tell them everything you know."

When the man heard the words "General [Xiangling]," his body visibly stiffened for a moment, and his hand holding the teacup began to tremble slightly. He lowered his head even further.

"Husband..."

"You should leave first," Yingjian said to the woman. "Leave it to us."

The woman looked worriedly at the man, nodded, and left, closing the door behind her. Leidiansan looked at Yingjian with a hint of confusion in his eyes.

"It seems that Yingjian is not in a very good mood."

"Let me introduce myself first. What is your name?"

"Xiao...Xiaobianhui..."

"That's quite clear." Yingjian sat on a chair, clasping her hands on her knees, and continued, "So, what happened at Shadowkeep Mountain?"

"Shadowkeep Mountain...that...that wandering warrior killed Ayou! Then, then...then he chased me...I..."

"As General [Xiangling] has entrusted this task to me, I am here representing her. If I show disrespect to General [Xiangling], it would be an unforgivable offense," Yingjian said. "Your trembling hands...it's more than clear."

The man's hands trembled even more violently. Just at that moment, Yingjian felt a gentle pressure on her shoulder and looked up to see the young man's pained expression.

"Yingjian...I..."

"San, there are not only good people in this world..." Yingjian initially intended to discuss this with him, but seeing his distressed expression, the words that were on the tip of her tongue couldn't be spoken. In the end, she sighed and softly said, "You should go out first, I'll handle things here."

"...I don't want to."

"Huh?"

"It's alright, this is a learning experience." The young man said, "Besides, you wouldn't make a mistake in what you do, right?"

"Yeah." Understanding the young man's meaning, Yingjian smiled helplessly. Then, she took the teacup from the man's hand and placed it on the table.

"It's easy to tell if someone is lying, Mister." Yingjian looked quietly at the man who was lowering his head deeply, and said, "Eyes, tone, heartbeat, even breathing—I don't know what you're hiding. But you must feel guilty towards the person who died."

As Xiaochuan's breathing became more rapid, Yingjian spread her hands and said, "Otherwise, you could just act like a normal warrior testing their blade and killing someone. You could even say they were killed by a monster, that it has nothing to do with you, right?"

"N-No, that's not it..."

"Since you hold reverence for the person who died, I believe that if you knew adventurers were dying because of your vague words, and they were trying to uncover the so-called truth... you would feel even more distraught, wouldn't you?"

The scent of the lie gradually dissipated, replaced by a dense sadness.

"How could this happen... I-I didn't intend to kill him..." Xiaochuan held his head in anguish, his widened eyes bloodshot, tears streaming out uncontrollably. "I-I don't understand... I was the one who discovered it first, I was the closest to him, why did he die instead of me..."

This newly revealed information was quite significant. Yingjian furrowed her brows slightly, "Calm down."

"I know the blade in Xiaotu's hands better than anyone." Xiaochuan said absentmindedly, "It's a famous blade passed down in my family for generations. Even though it has been missing since my great-grandfather's time, I could never mistake it."

"Are you saying that the blade Xiaotu used for the test was your family's famous blade? And it deliberately didn't attack you... was it someone from your family?"

"N-No, it's not!" Xiaochuan's voice grew louder, his tone filled with excitement. "Absolutely not, I've never seen that sword technique before, I don't recognize him at all. There's no way someone from the Xiaochuan family would stoop to this kind of behavior!"

"Alright, alright, calm down." Yingjian said, "Do you have anything else to say?"

"I've already told you everything..."

Yingjian looked puzzled, "So the reason you've been hiding it is because you don't want to lie and bring shame to the Xiaochuan family's reputation?"

"Yes..."

"Oh, then the death of the adventurer has nothing to do with you. Even if you were to tell him about it, he wouldn't have any leads, just like me now. Don't put too much pressure on yourself." Yingjian patted his shoulder, comforting him.

"At least you didn't lie about the incident at Yingxiang Mountain, right? Leave the rest to me. If anyone else wants to come here for a mission, find a way to make them leave. After all, they might end up dead if they go, and by preventing them from going, it's another way of redeeming yourself, right?"

"Uh... what?"

"Don't worry, if even General Gan's trusted aide can't be trusted, then it would be troublesome." Yingjian stood up and waved her hand, "I'll leave first."

Before Xiaochuan could react, Yingjian had already closed the door. She looked towards the complex expression on Lei Diansan's face.

"How was it? Did you find anything?"

"I did and I didn't, it's just... people are complicated." The young man said, "Humans are truly complicated."

"Indeed." Yingjian spread her hands, "Human intelligence is reflected in their 'complexity'. Most of the people you've encountered before were kind to you, but it's not the case in every environment."

"Yeah." Lei Diansan nodded with a seemingly partial understanding, "I think you're easy to understand because you're not complicated, right?"

"Of course, it's because I won't lie to you... Wait, you're not saying that I lack intelligence, are you??"