Lost (Part 1)
“How does he kn-”
“Shut up!”
Yan Jiangnan lowered his head.
Yan Jibei already received one of the three promised pages from Jiang Chen, so he had evidence that the latter genuinely possessed the pages. Else, how else were the twins supposed to believe Jiang Chen could hold up his end up of the deal? While the pages might’ve been less useful than scrap paper to everyone else, to the twins who felt they had reached a point of diminishing returns in their training, it was enough for Jiang Chen to have them hook, line and sinker with the single aforementioned page.
Owing to his personality, Yan Jiangnan was still his usual self after receiving the first page of the mental cultivation. In contrast, Yan Jibei wanted to master the teachings straight away. Thanks to his efforts, Yan Jibei had improved considerably in mere months. That said, he was far from being overpowered due to it only being one page. Therefore, he was eager to finish the job for the remaining two pages.
It was easy for Yan Jibei to identify what the captive was mumbling when he had spent months reading the connected text over and over. In the same vein, he could recognise the parts not included in the page he received. Rather than question how the captive knew the mental cultivation, Yan Jibei immediately started trying to memorise what was recited, so it was understandable for him to flip out at his brother when he was interrupted. Frankly, Yan Jiangnan shouldn’t have had to bear all the blame because Yan Jibei’s memory was never great, not to mention his excitement also stealing part of his processing ability.
It was apparent the captive was familiar with the discipline because he had recited seven, maybe eight, pages worth by this point, far more than Yan Jibei could possibly memorise in one sitting. Hence, he choked the captive and, in a muffled voice, questioned, “Who exactly are you?! How do you know my clan’s mental cultivation?!”
Yan Jibei’s shaking made the captive cry, “D-don’t kill me! I didn’t mean it…”
Yan Jiangnan: “Brother, how about we let Zero kn-”
“Shut up! How stupid can you be?! How can we let outsiders know of he’s connected to our clan?”
“Don’t kill me. Don’t kill me…” the captive continued muttering.
Yan Jibei: Could this guy have been scared out of his wits? I can see that he’s been subjected to some serious torture by someone strong, but how can an adept be such a coward?
“I shall spare you. What’s your name?” inquired Yan Jibei.
“My name is Yan… Yan Nima, courtesy name Gua Liao.”
What the hell? Is that even a name for humans?
Instead of wasting time on a pointless topic, Yan Jibei continued, “Why were you captured?”
“I won’t do it again. Pl-please don’t kill me.”
“That wasn’t the question! Keep acting up and I’ll kill you right now.”
The captive tried to break free to no avail.
His arms and legs are as good as done, so it’s impossible for him to resist, but I need to prevent him from screaming.
Yan Jibei squeezed the captive’s throat with one hand. “Answer my question!’
“Yes! Yes! Th-this one is a farmer in the west beyond the Great Wall. He has always been diligent in his duty.”
Beyond the Great Wall? That’s where our clan is located. He carries the ‘Yan’ surname, too. Is he my clansman?
“Cut the nonsense! I didn’t ask if you’re diligent or not! Tell me what I want to know.”
“Right, right. Three years ago, this one noticed something strange about the burial hole, so he boldly entered and came across a golden tablet with text carved onto it.”
The brothers looked to each other.
Carving onto golden wood is a habit of our ancestors. If he found it while cleaning the tomb, he’s definitely a clansman.
“What happened next?!”
“This one’s ancestors are martial artists. It seemed to be a martial arts manual, so this one took it home. It was so scary how incredible the discipline seemed that this one threw it into the valley. Last year, an adept came and accused this one of a crime, forcing him to hand over the tablet. He refused to believe this one didn’t have it, so he forced this one to write the contents out.”
Yan Jibei: If he didn’t learn “Sinister Soul Breaker Palms”, he wouldn’t be in this sort of situation. It would seem Jiang Chen didn’t recruit us solely for our schools. He must’ve taken away this person’s awareness so that he can’t tell us anything even if he ends up in our hands. Unluckily for that conniving bug, he has given us the best gift we could ask for. Wait… if Jiang Chen has the entire manual, why give me only pages? The pages are old enough to prove they have existed for a long time. Did he find the fragmented pages first and then went beyond the wall to find the rest? That makes sense, but… we were also beyond the wall last year, yet we never heard anything… Hmm, given the vast land and small population, news never travelled very fast. Still, something doesn’t add up! His injuries are, at most, from two years ago; some wounds are still healing, even. If he was hurt last year… the times don’t match up.
“Second Brother… Second Brother!”
Yan Jibei choked the captive again because the latter screamed. “What are you screaming for?! Want to die?!’
“Second Brother… Don’t kill me! Didn’t you tell me you’d spare me if I wrote it out for you?! Please! I won’t tell anyone what I know! Please spare me! I won’t tell anyone you seduced your sister-in-law!”
Yan Jibei looked back at Yan Jiangnan with his eyes double their usual size.
Glossary
Nima – It’s a homophone version of “your mom” as in the usual “your mom” diss.
Gua Liao – Means “dead”.
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