Chapter 331

Chapter 331: Splitting the Spoils

Yu Zhi Yi didn’t take the antiques and paintings. She kept only the five-hundred-year-old ginseng and the jades. After thinking a moment, she said: “These already exceed the value of saving a life. How about this-come again in two days. I’ll make each of your family members a Defensive Jade Pendant. At a critical moment, it can save your lives.”

The Song father and son were overjoyed. After what had happened today, they no longer thought she was speaking without proof. With her promise in hand, they thanked her again and again and left.

Once they were gone, the air in the hall turned delicate and hard to read. Jiang Yu Wei looked at Yu Zhi Yi, wanting to speak several times, but in the end he only said: “It’s late. Go back and rest.”

After Yu Zhi Yi and her family left, Jiang Yu Wei let out a long sigh.

Lin Jing Xuan looked at him in puzzlement: “Husband, haven’t you always wanted a good relationship with the commandery governor’s household? Now that they’re on good terms with Jin’er, you should be happy. Why are you so down?”

Jiang Yu Wei frowned: “You don’t understand.”

He did want a friendly tie with the commandery governor-but he wanted the first branch to have it. In his mind, he and Commandery Governor Song would be sworn brothers, the commandery governor would treat him with great respect, not bow and scrape to a junior from the second branch right in front of him.

His seat as alliance leader had never been very stable. Back then, it took great effort for the old alliance leader to pass the position to him. He knew his talent and martial skill were not as good as his second brother’s. Many in the Martial World were secretly waiting for him to step down so his second brother could take the seat. If Jiang Yu Chuan gained the commandery governor’s support, then maybe…

After a pause, Lin Jing Xuan said softly: “I think husband worries too much. Second Brother doesn’t seem to have any thought of taking your place. And no matter who gets along with Commandery Governor Song, the Martial Alliance benefits in the end, right?”

Jiang Yu Wei’s frown deepened. After a long moment, he repeated: “You don’t understand.”

Lin Jing Xuan shook her head. [My husband is getting obsessed.] She knew him too well after so many years of marriage. He understood that he was not as capable as his second brother, and that he had the position only because Jiang Yu Chuan did not want to be Martial Alliance Leader. But those words could never be said aloud.

She could only sigh in her heart, hoping he wouldn’t make a foolish mistake. [I hope he doesn’t stray onto the wrong path. That little niece does not look easy to cross.]

At that moment, the not-to-be-provoked Yu Zhi Yi was sorting through the items in her Spatial Talisman. She had handed over the gold, silver, and other common valuables to Jiang Yu Wei; those things were useless to her. The rest, though, were excellent.

First, the pile of hidden weapons had been forged with special materials and methods. They cut iron like mud and could easily pierce armor made of black iron. Then there were two stones-Spirit Stones, treasures most people only hear about in legends. A Spirit Stone, as the name suggests, is a stone filled with abundant Spiritual Energy.

Across her previous life and this one, this was the first time she had actually seen Spirit Stones. Oh right-she had seen one once with her master, but he hadn’t left it to her because she’d been too weak to protect it. She had thought she wouldn’t see such a legendary treasure again until she finished her mundane affairs and went to the Heavenly Secret Sect. This was an unexpected joy.

There was also a stack of twenty-eight talismans: eight Lightning Command Talismans, four Fire Command Talismans, ten Purification Talismans, and six Earth Shield Talismans. Though all of them were low-level talismans, to ordinary people they were priceless.

The Lightning Command and Fire Command Talismans were attack types. In danger, if you throw one, it can blast an unprepared person to pieces. In fact, even if the target is prepared, it hardly matters; the methods of the Mystic Sect are not something ordinary people can dodge. Usually, once the attacker chooses a target, the talisman locks on automatically. Unless the target reacts fast enough to dissipate the force before it lands, death is almost certain.

As for the Purification Talisman, it does what its name says-it cleans you automatically. People of the Mystic Sect often use it for personal cleaning. Even in places with almost no water, they won’t stink with one of these.

The Earth Shield Talisman is defensive. In a deadly crisis, throw one, and a wall of earth will rise at once. It may be called a dirt wall, but the walls made by the Mystic Sect aren’t easy to break. You can use it to block the enemy and counterattack, or to run. You can even make a small sealed space and trap the enemy inside, then turn the tables.

Yu Zhi Yi had heard of these talismans but couldn’t draw them before. The low-level talisman compendium her senior brother gave her contained only seven kinds: a Defense Talisman, a Heavenly Thunder Talisman, a Spatial Talisman, a Winter-Warm Summer-Cool Talisman, a Protective Talisman, an Evil-Repelling Talisman, and a Healing Talisman. The Healing Talisman also had spin-offs for specific body parts, like a Heart-Healing Talisman and a Liver-Healing Talisman.

Still, after she studied the new talismans closely, she realized something: [They don’t seem that hard to draw. I’ll try later when I get back.]

Jiang Liu Yun had been called over and was eyeing the items on the table with curiosity. Yu Zhi Yi explained the uses of all the talismans except the Lightning Command Talismans. She left those out because her own Heavenly Thunder Talisman was stronger; she didn’t plan to give her family the weaker Lightning Command ones.

She gave each person one Fire Command Talisman. Her mother, Xiao Qing Xuan, received four Purification Talismans. The remaining six Purification Talismans and six Earth Shield Talismans were left for her father, Jiang Yu Chuan, to distribute.

The Purification Talisman might look trivial, but who doesn’t have to travel sometimes? On long journeys, when washing is hard, it’s a huge help. No woman would refuse such a tool. As for the Earth Shield Talisman, most of its use is defense. With Defensive Magical Artifacts already in the family, Earth Shield Talismans are the real “chicken ribs”-not useless, just not essential. Their better use is in setting up a trap and counterattack, since a raised earth wall can block, pin, and capture.

All four of them agreed with this distribution. Yu Zhi Yi then divided the hidden weapons evenly among the four-except for one.

From the moment she spilled everything out, she had noticed a single hidden weapon that felt different from the rest. It contained a terrifying power. Her master had told her before: some clans or sects with long inheritances will seal a powerful strike into a weapon and give it to the younger generation for self-defense. The force sealed in this one was even more fearsome than a full-power blow from someone at Foundation Establishment Peak. [That was why she had felt a chill in the back mountain earlier.]