Chapter 818 - Si, The Observer (1/2)

Si, The Observer

Now that they were alone, Gui He turned to look at Robber Seven. “Speak. If it’s worth it, we’ll return the item to you.”

“Really?” Robber Seven stared at Gui He questioningly, then looked at Shao Xuan.

“But that’s only if your information has value. Or else…”

“Of course it has value! I can guarantee that it is worth it! Even if it isn’t, I can just give you another piece of information. Like how Si is as a person.” After his failures associated with the Flaming Horns, he would prepare himself sufficiently before every other mission. This time, he too prepared himself thoroughly for the sake of stealing from Si.

Seeing that Gui He and Shao Xuan had agreed to his offer, Robber Seven ignored Ao’s frown and sorted out his thoughts. He spoke of what he knew.

“Si is a close associate of King City’s new lord, Ji Fang.”

Robber Seven’s intel was a surprise to Gui He and Ao. Shao Xuan, on other hand, wasn’t too shocked. It made sense for a noble slave master to be close to a slave trader. However, Robber Seven’s tone had suggested that Si and Ji Fang were working together. Perhaps the reason why Ji Fang could successfully take the throne had much to do with Si’s assistance.

Those involved in the fight for the throne would definitely receive a surplus of benefits. It was no wonder that ‘Bi’ could become the largest slave-trade organisation.

“So you mean it was Ji Fang’s order that brought the slave-traders to our tribes?!” Ao’s brows were raised so high it was about to be perpendicular.

“No, that’s not it.” Robber Seven shook his head and continued to report what he had eavesdropped- “Si was the one who gave orders to capture slaves. Ji Fang had summoned him after finding out about the order and told Si to bring everyone from the Flaming River Trading Point over. Si was not to sell the tribesmen off. While Si was not too keen on it, he did not reject Ji Fang. It was during then that I found out that your party was coming.” Despite that, Robber Seven wasn’t expecting the Flaming Horns to approach from Chao Qiu City’s direction.

Ah, he should’ve run as far as he could.

“Is that all you have for us in return for this lock?” asked Shao Xuan.

“Calm down! There’s more!” Robber Seven scratched his head. He continued, “About Ji Fang… Other than receiving help from many associates, there is also another important factor behind his success in taking over the throne—- His sword.”

“Sword?” Shao Xuan was perplexed.

“That’s right. It is all thanks to the sword that the Ji family could become the head of the six clans in King City back then and later sit on the throne. A century or so back, many would’ve known about the Ji family’s sword. It was also known as the King’s Sword, their clan started the aristocrats’ interest in swords.”

“Wasn’t the Ji family sword forged by the Gongjia family?” asked Gui He. He had learned this from Gongjia Ren some time ago.

“No.” Robber Seven looked absolutely smug. After all, he had done extensive research before making his move. It was through various channels that he attained these secrets.

“Before the Gongjia family appeared in King City, the Ji family sword had allowed them to reign as the head of all six clans in the city. The other clans had feared the Ji family, but of course, the Yi family excluded- the Yi family could not be bothered with it. The other four tribes were not as powerful as the Ji family, which is why the Ji family was able to reign supreme.”

“Now, the Ji family’s advantage has grown. The Yi family, the only family that could threaten the Ji family, is in shambles due to internal and external conflicts. Aside from some of the figureheads, the current Yi family is left with not many members. There are no longer six aristocrat families of the King City, the city is only left with five main families now,” sighed Robber Seven.

“Okay, let’s put the Yi family aside and talk about the Ji family sword. Could it be that the Ji family’s sword forging skills were better than the Gongjia members?” Gui He was rather particular about this issue. Regarding the Yi family, Gui He had heard insights and forecasts from Yi Cong before. Hence, he wasn’t all that shocked to hear what happened to the Yi family.

“Not necessarily. With it comes to techniques, the Gongjia family is the best. But the swords forged by the Ji family could definitely break some of Gongjia’s creations! This is because the Ji family forge their swords with blood. Specifically, the Ji family members could use their own blood to forge swords!”

“Forging swords with human blood?!” Shao Xuan was dumbfounded. He had always thought that blood from only a few rare types of special beasts could be used in sword creation. It was truly a surprise to learn that human blood could be used to forge swords. Was it really possible? Anyhow, Shao Xuan’s blood wouldn’t work.

Possession of the core seed had also meant owning a mine. Along with the ability to forge swords with blood and strong logistics, they were able to own a gargantuan amount of grain fields. It wasn’t hard to imagine the amount of power the Ji family had over the population.

“But…” Robber Seven’s tone became more unsettling, his face morphed into something unsightly. “The glorious times where every member of the Ji family could weld swords had become a bygone era. After the Ji family built King city, members who could not weld swords with their blood began to appear in the family.”

Robber Seven seemed exceptionally excited to be speaking of gossip and nasty things about other people. His saliva and spit were close to getting splattered all over Shao Xuan and the others. However, if everything Robber Seven said was true, it was indeed intriguing.

When the earliest occurrence of the inability to forge swords with blood had birthed suspicions and self-doubt among the family descendants. However, they soon found out that many of their clan members had experienced the same issue. Later on, for the sake of maintaining their pride, the Ji family had brought the Gongjia family into King City. With that being said, the reason why the Gongjia family was able to settle down fast in the city was mainly owed to the Ji family.

Since they could no longer forge swords with their blood, they would hire the best blacksmiths to create excellent swords. It was a tradition for the Ji family to brandish swords.

While the issue had been solved on the surface level, many still felt guilty towards the Ji family ancestors.

Were the Ji family ancestors rolling in their graves wondering why their descendants were nothing but a useless bunch? Perhaps they were not even part of their bloodline! The family’s ability to weld swords out of blood was equivalent to their right to the throne. How did a bloodline that could not forge swords come into existence?