Chapter 196 - 195: I’ll Try to Hold Back a Little
Chapter 196: Chapter 195: I’ll Try to Hold Back a Little
Wu Chen’s first thought upon hearing of the Secret Pattern was the mark on Hong Ling’s arm, which resembled a Blood Palace Seal.
The only difference was that the seal on the young woman’s arm served as a tracker, allowing one to sense her position from a great distance.
But the Barbarian Race’s Secret Pattern that Zhou Hu spoke of could temporarily boost one’s strength, which was clearly something else entirely.
Wu Chen sat up straighter, his interest piqued. "Secret Patterns? Tell me about them."
"Sir, that’s a thing of the Northern Barbarians... I don’t know much myself. After all, I’m just a guard at the Linwei Garrison..."
This time, Wu Chen had hit upon a blind spot in Zhou Hu’s knowledge.
’But what Zhou Hu couldn’t understand was why this young master was asking him such a question. Logically speaking, the information networks of you young masters from the great clans are no weaker than the Demon Suppression Bureau’s. Shouldn’t your knowledge be far greater than that of a mere guard at the Linwei Garrison like me?’
’Ignorant and incompetent! Lazy and spoiled!’
That was Zhou Hu’s private assessment.
But no matter what, the man sitting across from him was his superior. Zhou Hu didn’t dare put on airs and began to recount everything he knew about Secret Patterns:
"I’ve heard a Captain from the Demon Suppression Bureau mention these barbarian Secret Patterns a few times. He said it’s a kind of technique."
"Their Great Barbarians—warriors with strength comparable to a Cloud Pattern Captain—can bestow a trace of their essence upon a subordinate who has rendered meritorious service, allowing them to fuse with it."
"The closer the bloodlines, such as between a father and son, or the more essence that is fused, the greater the boost in strength when the barbarian pattern is activated."
"As for the more detailed aspects of the Barbarian Race’s Secret Patterns, that’s beyond my knowledge."
Zhou Hu spread his hands, indicating that was all he knew about the barbarian patterns.
’So that’s how it works... Interesting!’
Wu Chen stroked his chin, his eyes growing brighter and brighter.
From Zhou Hu’s fragmented account, he could still tell these barbarian patterns were something good.
’I have to learn it.’
’I might not need it for myself, but after I learn this Secret Technique, I can squeeze out some of my most refined essence and leave it inside Hong Ling’s body.’
’Well, you get the idea.’
’That way, with my essence inside her body, the young woman won’t have to stay cooped up in Refining Valley, boringly practicing her martial arts.’
’She’ll have a life-saving measure when she goes down the mountain to adventure and explore, and I’ll be able to rest a little easier.’
’But for now, it looks like I’ll probably only be able to learn this Secret Technique by going over to Qingzhou.’ After mulling it over, Wu Chen suppressed his excitement.
’After all, this Secret Technique doesn’t seem simple. It’s impossible that I’d be able to get this strange Secret Technique from the hands of a mere Blood Coagulation Realm spy.’
’To obtain the complete legacy, I’m afraid I’ll have to go outside the Qingzhou State City and clash with those Great Barbarians from the Barbarian Race. Only then will it be possible to gain a deeper understanding of these barbarian patterns and learn them.’
"Continue telling me about the last operation to hunt down the Barbarian Race spies." Wu Chen didn’t dwell on the Secret Technique, asking about the matter at hand instead.
"Sigh, there’s not much worth telling."
Zhou Hu sighed. Apparently, the encirclement of the barbarians hadn’t gone well, and the casualties had been heavy.
Although Zhou Hu said there wasn’t much to tell, after a long sigh, he began to explain to Wu Chen anyway:
"The situation at the time was rather complicated. The Demon Suppression Bureau knew from a tip that three spies from the Barbarian Race had arrived, but they only managed to find two of them in the city."
"In addition to the spies, there were people in the city acting as their contacts. These contacts weren’t from the Barbarian Race; technically, they could even be considered people of our Great Yun."
"If it had just been them, it would have been manageable. After all, a Gold-Carved Captain had personally taken action, and the Demon Suppression Bureau was in the city. No matter how strong those few were, how big of a wave could they have made?"
At this, Zhou Hu sighed, downed his cup of wine, and continued:
"But unfortunately, there was a young master with the surname Zhao, who was supposed to just stand in the back and get some easy credit for the barbarian hunt."
"But that guy, greedy for glory, recklessly rushed forward at the most critical moment, getting more than twenty Linwei Garrison guards and three Wolf-Head Captains killed."
"After the hunt for the barbarians was over, Captain Li Youtao, in a fit of rage, beat that young master Zhao half to death."
"If others hadn’t held him back, that Zhao fellow probably wouldn’t have survived the day."
"But because of this incident, Captain Li Youtao’s promotion to Gold-Carved Captain—for which he had already accumulated enough merits—went up in smoke."
"Not only that, but he was also demoted to Wolf-Head Captain and sent here to the Linwei Garrison..."
"And that Zhao fellow, he leaped up the ranks to become a Tiger-Head Captain. Sigh, those sons-of-bitches from the great clans—!"
Zhou Hu recalled the day they hunted the barbarian spies. Even though a month had passed, the memory still filled him with lingering fear.
He himself had nearly died on the spot. It was only thanks to Captain Li Youtao turning the tide that they managed to subdue the desperately struggling barbarians.
He sighed repeatedly, feeling indignant on Li Youtao’s behalf, but as a guard of the Linwei Garrison, he was powerless. He could only drink his sorrows away, and as he spoke, he couldn’t help but pound his chest and blurt out the curse.
But he quickly came to his senses. Wasn’t the man sitting right across from him a young master from who-knows-which clan!
His body went weak with fright. He looked up, only to find Wu Chen’s expression unchanged, as if he hadn’t heard a thing.
"So that’s what happened."
Wu Chen nodded, having understood the full story. Now he knew why the guards of the Linwei Garrison had reacted so strongly to the arrival of a young master.
’So there was such a major incident behind it all.’
Wu Chen was only concerned with the current mission. He continued, "You said there were three spies. What about the last one? If they couldn’t find any trace of him in the city, is the Demon Suppression Bureau still searching?"
Zhou Hu nodded. "Yes. Although the mission’s grade was lowered from ’A’ to ’Upper-B,’ any Captain with free time will take a sensing stone and go search for the barbarian spy’s whereabouts."
"After all, for a Barbarian Race spy to be able to bypass the Qingzhou border defenses and reach Cangwu City means they must be planning something big. No one dares to treat it lightly."
"But deploying all our manpower for a wide-scale search for the remaining spy isn’t practical, so it’s left to whoever has the free time to look for him."
"As long as no major chaos breaks out in Cangwu City, it’s enough to have something to report to the capital."
After hearing the whole story, Wu Chen realized he had accepted what was essentially an open mission.
However, he also deduced that the barbarian spy was most likely no longer within Cangwu City. Otherwise, with that stone that could sense the Barbarian Race, the Captains operating in Cangwu City, both in the open and in secret, would have already found him.
’It seems the spy outside the city probably has contacts as well. In any case, he’s not alone.’
Wu Chen stroked his chin, lost in thought for a long moment before looking at Zhou Hu. "For this Demon Suppression Bureau mission, they want the target captured alive, correct?"
Zhou Hu nodded. "Naturally. The Demon Suppression Bureau needs him alive for interrogation."
"If you hand over a dead body, the mission reward will be significantly reduced."
"But even so, the reward won’t be small. After all, he’s a barbarian at the Perfection stage of the Blood Coagulation Realm who also has a Secret Pattern to boost his strength."
’Capture him alive?’
Wu Chen muttered to himself, "That’s a bit troublesome, then."
After all, he was used to killing with a single, decisive blow and collecting the reward with a severed head.
He hadn’t much practice in capturing people alive. He’d probably be a bit out of practice when the time came.
Zhou Hu didn’t understand what Wu Chen meant by "a bit troublesome." He just thought it sounded a little arrogant.
Still, he asked cautiously:
"Sir, are you saying you don’t have a way to capture him alive? To be honest, in a life-or-death battle, you don’t have to take him alive. A dead one..."
"No, I have a way."
"...What way is that?"
"I’ll just try to hold back a little."
Wu Chen replied.
Hearing this answer, Zhou Hu was momentarily speechless.
He had assumed Wu Chen’s answer would be to mobilize his clan’s power to capture the barbarian, which wouldn’t be a difficult task for a young master from a great clan and would also help pave the way for his own career.
He never expected the man’s boasting to reach such a level.
’Does he really think he can take on a barbarian at the Perfection stage of the Blood Coagulation Realm, one who even has a barbarian pattern to boost his power, all by himself?’