Chapter 329

Chapter 329: Big Uncle Is Shocked

Jiang Yu Wei was completely lost, then said, “What do you mean by stealing fate? What is a formation core? And what is a Heavenly Thunder Talisman?”

Jiang Yu Chuan said helplessly, “I told you about this before, big brother.”

Back when Yu Zhi Yi told him someone had tampered with the mountain, he had told Jiang Yu Wei. But Jiang Yu Wei didn’t believe it. Judging by his look now, not only did he not believe it then-he had also forgotten it.

Only now did Jiang Yu Wei recall his brother mentioning a formation. He had thought it was absurd. He could believe the Demonic Cult was plotting to take down the Martial Alliance, but using some “formation” to steal fate and crush the Martial Alliance? That sounded like a fairy tale.

If there really were a formation that could steal someone else’s fate, the world would be chaos. Today you set one to steal mine, tomorrow I set one to steal his, the day after he steals another’s. Who would study, practice martial arts, or work? Everyone would just steal.

So he had tossed the matter from his mind.

He was about to press for details when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Yu Zhi Yi’s movement and jumped: “Jin’er, what are you doing?!”

His little niece had walked over and started rifling the corpse. Even in the martial world, where people weren’t so fussy, that was shocking. Most young ladies ran far away from a corpse, not closer-and definitely not touching it!

“I just want to see if he has anything that proves who he is,” Yu Zhi Yi said calmly. She stood and took a square handkerchief from her chest to wipe each finger clean.

“This is something we can handle,” Jiang Yu Wei said. “You’re a young lady. Go get some rest, and stay out of this.”

Yu Zhi Yi raised a brow. Before she could answer, Jiang Yu Chuan frowned at his brother and said, “Don’t treat all women like they’re too weak to lift or carry anything. Jin’er is very capable-no worse than any man. Besides, she’s the only one who understands formations. No one else can handle this.”

Jiang Yu Wei was speechless. His younger brother was praising his niece to the sky. Still, remembering that even Commandery Governor Song gave the girl face, he didn’t argue further. He only asked, “So did Jin’er find anything?”

Yu Zhi Yi took out a token and said, “This should point to an identity, though it could also be bait to mislead us.” Then she pulled out a dagger. “This is his weapon. But he didn’t use it just now, so I can’t be sure it’s his usual blade-maybe it’s also a cover.”

As she spoke, she unfolded a neatly squared talisman.

“What’s that?” Jiang Yu Chuan asked curiously.

“Spatial Talisman,” Yu Zhi Yi said.

Jiang Yu Wei blinked. He understood each word, but together they made no sense. Space… what? What kind of talisman?

“Just like it sounds,” Yu Zhi Yi explained. “A Spatial Talisman has a hidden space inside that can hold things. The size depends on the calligrapher’s skill and the runes used.” She spread the talisman flat and said lightly, “This is a low-grade Spatial Talisman. It has only one cubic unit of space.”

She brushed her hand along the rune surface, willed it, and the talisman’s contents tumbled onto the ground.

The two brothers were stunned by the trick of making items appear from nowhere. Even though Jiang Yu Chuan knew his daughter was strong and that mystic arts were powerful, he hadn’t expected you could use them to store belongings. If this kind of power spread, wouldn’t people stop carrying bundles on trips? With a couple Spatial Talismans, they could take everything from home except actual buildings.

Jiang Yu Wei, who had never taken mystic arts seriously, was even more shocked. So this really existed!

Yu Zhi Yi ignored their surprise. She glanced over the pile, and her eyes quickly locked onto a target. The talisman had held quite a lot: more than ten thousand taels of silver; two fist-sized white crystals radiating rich spiritual energy; a bunch of assorted books; many talismans; and a Peach Wood Sword made from lightning-struck wood.

But none of those made her blink. What caught her eye was a messy heap of hidden weapons-one piece in particular. She stepped forward and picked up that hidden weapon.

“What is it?” Jiang Yu Chuan studied the pile and asked, “Is there something wrong with that one?”

“It’s nothing,” Yu Zhi Yi said, pressing her lips together. “Its shape just looks familiar.”

She picked up the two white crystals next and felt the full spiritual energy inside them. Her eyes shifted.

“Big Uncle, his target was Mount Ming. Consider the gold and silver his apology,” she said. “As for the rest, you won’t use it, so I’ll take it.”

Her tone sounded like a suggestion, but she didn’t leave room to refuse. She put away the two crystals, the talismans and books, the Peach Wood Sword, and all the hidden weapons.

Jiang Yu Wei opened his mouth, then closed it. At the Martial Alliance, his word was law; only his younger brother sometimes pushed back. In moments like this-loot on the ground-the usual rule was that subordinates gathered everything and presented it to him to distribute. That was the habit. No one skipped him, divided the goods on their own, and told him only afterward.

But what could he say? He wasn’t the one who killed the man. And his niece was right-he wouldn’t use those items anyway. Plus, the Martial Alliance treasury had just gotten more than ten thousand taels of silver and at least a hundred taels of gold for free. He’d come out ahead.

So he finally said, “I’ll put the money into the treasury. Starting next month, everyone in Second House gets an extra ten taels in their monthly stipend.”

Yu Zhi Yi didn’t care much about that. Gold and silver were nice, but she couldn’t get them through robbery or other improper means. If Jiang Yu Wei hadn’t been here, she would have handed the money to her own father. But as long as her big uncle spoke for the Martial Alliance, she couldn’t make him resent her father. More importantly, the talismans, the two white crystals, and those hidden weapons were worth far more than the cash.

Jiang Yu Chuan agreed with both his daughter’s and his brother’s arrangements. Once the items were sorted, he said, “I’ll investigate this man’s identity from the token and the weapon. It might take work, but with clues, we’ll trace the mastermind sooner or later.”

Thinking of the one hidden weapon she had singled out, Yu Zhi Yi said calmly, “You don’t need to handle this.”

Jiang Yu Wei frowned. Yu Zhi Yi explained, “A luck-shifting formation is extremely vicious and goes against the will of Heaven. Now that it’s broken, the mastermind will suffer backlash.”

Jiang Yu Wei was shocked yet again.