Chapter 254: The Cold Shoulder

I cracked the whip across the horse’s flank, and Kuba’s mount shot forward instantly. Gripping the reins with one hand and swinging the whip with the other, I galloped across the vast expanse of the grasslands. As soon as I surged out, I heard the locals shouting behind us on the prairie, drinking mare’s milk wine and cheering with laughter.

The horse followed the trail Tian Xiaoqi had left for about a li. Once the locals’ campfires faded out of sight, I spotted her in the distance, leading her horse back and forth on a ridge. When she saw me riding up, she froze in place.

I pulled the horse to a halt and jumped down. After looking around to make sure the locals and the crew were far off and hadn’t followed, I pulled the pouch from inside my coat.

Feigning a casual tone, I handed it over. “You dropped this. I picked it up for you.”

Tian Xiaoqi was clearly startled when she saw the pouch in my hand. Everyone in the Tian Family was smart, and Tian Xiaoqi was no exception. Certain things between us didn’t need to be stated plainly; bringing them into the open would only hurt both our pride. A clear hint was enough.

She took the pouch from my hand and clutched it, staying silent for a long time. The two of us stood facing each other for several minutes like that. Just as I was deliberating whether to speak up, Tian Xiaoqi beat me to it.

“Why?”

I weighed my words before saying, “Given the Tian Family’s current situation, with its numerous pankous and complex web of relationships, you’re isolated and without any trusted confidants. Without outside help, it will be hard for you to secure your position as Clan Head. I told you before, if you need help, just say so. I’ll talk to Fourth Brother and try to advocate for you. The Gan Clan and the Tian Family have been allies for generations, so he has no reason to refuse. We can sit down and talk things through properly. You didn’t need to use a method like this.”

“Among all the descendants of the Five Masters, you and I are the only ones with such similar experiences. I understand your pain and inner struggle all too well. So I really don’t want you to be forced to settle with someone you don’t love just for your family’s sake. This is one of the few things in life we get to choose for ourselves.”

A cool breeze swept through the horses’ manes and brushed into the soft grass, as thick clouds parted to reveal a smattering of stars. Tian Xiaoqi looked at me and spoke slowly, smiling. “You got half of that right, but the other half wrong. How do you know I wasn’t being sincere?”

On the way over, I had already rehearsed this scenario. I had anticipated she might say something like this, so when the words actually left her mouth, I wasn’t terribly surprised. Blame lay with me alone for failing to keep proper boundaries when we interacted, whether during our time on the grasslands or back in those moments of extreme danger.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t accept that. At least, I can’t right now,” I heard myself say.

Tian Xiaoqi and I were close in age, so emotional impulsiveness ought to have been a common thing. She was proactive, smart, and sharp; no man, no matter how good, was worthy of her. People around me, like He Yu and Hairigu, had both held feelings for her at some point.

As for me, I couldn’t even understand myself. I didn’t know how to describe this emotion, or rather, it was a feeling I wanted to avoid altogether. I knew I was still mired in mysteries and barely able to take care of myself, leaving me with no capacity to deal with other trivial matters. Amid so many uncertainties, I had no other choice but to refuse.

So I could only shake my head and speak truthfully. “All this time, I wanted to become strong so I could protect the people around me. But later I realized I couldn’t protect anyone. If he hadn’t taken a bullet for me, Old Man Tian wouldn’t have died. If he hadn’t drawn those freaks away from us, Tian Yuqing wouldn’t still be missing, his fate unknown.”

Tian Xiaoqi watched me, listening without saying anything. Her reaction made it even harder to tell what she meant, whether she agreed with what I said or thought I was just dodging responsibility.

I really didn’t know how to handle it. Scratching my head, I began to feel anxious instead. “Neither of us is thinking straight tonight. Let’s go back and get some rest, and pretend I never said any of this and nothing happened. Okay?”

After a long pause, she nodded silently.

We climbed onto our horses and rode back, one behind the other. The whole thing left me utterly gloomy, and I tossed and turned with insomnia all night. A relationship we had only just patched up a few days ago was once again on the brink of breaking down.

The next day, however, Fourth Brother summoned everyone. Inside a local’s yurt, almost every prominent figure of the Five Masters turned up to hear his orders. Even the few expert professors were sitting up straight and formal for once, everyone looking dead serious.

Old Qian came to find He Yu and me, and the three of us sat together. He was travel-worn and caked in dirt, looking like he’d just hitched a ride back on a local’s motorbike. A few weeks ago, Fourth Brother had sent him off to who knew where.

I asked him about it right away. He said he had just returned from a field trip to Shaanxi with Wu Yili and the others. The reason was that the age of the Burial Bone Testament was impossible to determine, and the script of the A-Surname Tribe was obscure and difficult to decipher. On top of that, fully reading the map required a deep mastery of Heavenly Star Feng Shui, which had long been lost. Wu Yili’s team had studied it for over half a month and confirmed that the human skin map pointed to Northern Shaanxi, but that was as far as their research could go.

In the end, he suggested to Fourth Brother that seeking outside help would be more reliable. That reminded Fourth Brother of Old Qian’s father, who might be able to decipher the final portion of the map. When Wu Yili heard this, he immediately planned to pay the old man a visit.

Old Qian’s father, Qian Shizhong, was eighty years old now. Arranged marriages were standard back then. Supposedly, as soon as Old Qian’s grandfather, Qian Chuanzi, turned sixteen, his family got him married, and the elder Qian was born the very next year. Those were turbulent times, and the elder Qian remembered things from an early age. His father worked under Ye Yuzhu, so the elder Qian often trailed along as his father ran all over the place.

Ye Yuzhu was famous for looking after the younger generation, and during holidays and festivals, he always asked Qian Chuanzi to bring the child along to join the festivities. So day after day, Qian Shizhong tagged along with his father and uncles, soaking it all in until he had developed quite an understanding of the long-lost art of Heavenly Star Feng Shui.

According to Old Qian, Wu Yili and the others had gone to visit Qian Shizhong a few weeks ago. But his father was old and often confused. No matter how many nice things Old Qian said, the old man absolutely refused to let their people in. He got so angry his beard puffed up as he thundered his cane against the floor, shouting that he didn’t know these outsiders. The senior professors ended up getting turned away at the door, returning empty-handed.

“My dad has ruined me! Do you have any idea how I’ve had to walk on eggshells these past couple of days? It’s been awful!” Old Qian grumbled to me in tears. “But he’s old and just has that temperament, so what can I do? Young Master, you’ve got to put in a good word for me in front of Fourth Brother!”

I laughed. “It’s normal for old folks to act like kids sometimes as they get older. Don’t worry, my Fourth Brother isn’t like that. He won’t hold a grudge against you over something like this.”

He Yu leaned over and asked Old Qian, “So what do we do next?”

“This time, Fourth Brother likely intends to go in person,” Old Qian said. “Along with Boss Tan, Boss Yu, and the Seventh Miss. You two might even be coming along. These bosses are all leaders of the Five Masters. Oh, man… I just hope my old man doesn’t stir up any more trouble. If he acts up again, I’m completely finished!”