Chapter 82. Blood is Thicker Than Water (1)

Chapter 82. Blood is Thicker Than Water (1)

"Wait, someone really came looking for Shengji?"

Zhuge Yun, the current patriarch of the Zhuge Family, was doubtful once he heard that a guest was visiting his son.

"Could this guest be a scammer targeting the Family?"

While he felt sorry for his son, he couldn't help but be a little suspicious.

Whether as his father or even as just someone from the murim, no matter how he looked at his son, Zhuge Yun felt Zhuge Shengji wasn't spectacular or trustworthy.

Still, as a member of the Zhuge Family, Zhuge Shengji was a genius. But that wasn't the main concern.

It was an open secret within the Family that Zhuge Shengji wasn't interested in anything other than trap mechanisms, refusing to learn anything else.

He showed no interest in the basics like tactics, let alone formations. The same was true for techniques and cultivation. Even after going missing six years ago after the Nine Water Gangs' attack and returning a year later, he showed no signs of change.

Zhuge Yun had given up on Zhuge Shengji early on.

He had tried various methods, from scolding him to saying things he could never take back, but nothing changed.

Unlike his older brother or sister, he seemed to have no notable points, leaving Zhuge Yun to wonder what he could gain from a child who excelled at nothing useful and only focused on strange things.

At best, all Zhuge Shengji had to his name was the Zhuge reputation, a member of one of the Five Great Ancient Families.

The silver lining was that since Zhuge Shengji was always confined to his room and rarely met people, there were barely any opportunities for him to be taken advantage of.

"His name is Zhou Xuchuan from the Mount Hua Sect.”

“Zhou Xuchuan?”

Zhuge Yun mused for a moment.

“Hmm.”

It wasn't long before he was able to recall why the name sounded familiar.

"Is that the young man who won the bet against the Poison Phoenix?"

He was reminded of a rumor he had heard recently.

"Oh, and he's also that young fellow who went missing alongside Shengji six years ago and brought him back alive. Could he have come by to check on his friend while on his way to Hubei?"

Zhuge Yun's worry quickly faded.

"Did he come alone?"

"Yes."

"From the looks of things, he's most likely on his cultivation journey. But, most disciples will travel around with their disciple brothers and sisters... it seems this young man is quite... eccentric as well."

Zhuge Yun swallowed what he really wanted to say.

Birds of a feather flock together.

“But, Patriarch. It seems that Zhou Xuchuan didn't come just to visit the Young Master."

"What do you mean?" Zhuge Yun asked, his head tilted to the side.

***

While Zhou Xuchuan was walking around the scenic path within the Zhuge Family Estate with Zhuge Shengji, he suddenly heard someone call out to him.

"It's been six years, Young Master."

This isn't good for my heart.

As soon as he turned around, he almost gasped.

A beauty with impressively clear and calm eyes reminiscent of a tranquil lake stood before him with an expressionless visage.

Zhou Xuchuan instinctively recognized her as Zhuge Shengji's older sister, Zhuge Xiuluan, who would later be called the Phoenix Advisor.

While he might have been entranced by her beauty at any other time, he held himself together, not wanting to be teased for drooling over his sworn younger brother's sister.

While the Phoenix Advisor was also an incredible talent that anyone would want on their side, Zhou Xuchuan knew he didn't have to coax her onto his side as she would eventually work for the Righteous murim in the future anyway.

His shoulders were still slumped, his posture betraying no confidence.

However, his eyes met hers directly, shining brightly like they did when he studied his mechanisms.

“It's what I want," he replied.

Zhuge Xiuluan looked at her younger brother quietly, then slowly nodded and smiled softly.

"Father is reviewing your request. He'll most likely see this as a good opportunity for you to build relationships with the major sects, so you don't have to worry. He's probably just deciding which bodyguards to assign you, so his decision should come soon."

Zhuge Shengji looked baffled. This was the first time he had ever spoken with his sister at such length, even though this exchange was so short it couldn't even be counted as a conversation.

“Well then, please enjoy your stay, Young Master Zhou.”

Zhuge Xiuluan turned around, having finished her business.

Zhuge Shengji watched Zhuge Xiuluan's departing back, then patted his chest and let out a sigh of relief.

"Hehe."

Zhou Xuchuan smiled and patted Zhuge Shengji on the back.

"I never thought it would really turn out as you said. Just how did you know that would happen?"

Zhuge Shengji gave Zhou Xuchuan a puzzled look.

He had accepted Zhou Xuchuan's offer to go out into the gangho yesterday without any hesitation.

After all, Zhou Xuchuan had come all this way to him, the useless outcast, to ask him for help, promising endless support for his study of mechanisms. He had no reason to refuse.

Although the current view of the art of mechanisms had improved compared to before, the Family still looked down on them.

Studying the art of mechanisms required creating and testing them, which was costly.

It wasn't just a tael or two, either, as his allowance was a drop in the bucket compared to what he needed. When he had asked the Family for support, he was rejected. He was told that their funds couldn't be used for such trivial things.

This sort of response hadn't just happened once or twice, either.

However, Zhou Xuchuan had promised to solve his problem of lack of funds. Rather than rejecting his ideas, he welcomed them with open arms.

So, Zhuge Shengji readily agreed without hesitation.

Still, he had been worried about whether the Family would allow it.

Zhou Xuchuan had listened to his concerns and advised him not to worry and to simply express his desire to leave. He also warned him about the possibility of Zhuge Xiuluan, or even his father, Zhuge Yun, visiting him after his request.

As expected, Zhou Xuchuan's prediction soon became a reality. It was only because he had been warned beforehand that Zhuge Shengji was able to make eye contact with his sister and express himself.

“Even if your Family neglects you, blood is still thicker than water. They were bound to be concerned, even if it was only a little. I figured someone would come to find you."[1]

Unless their relationship really had reached a point of no return, there was no way that the Zhuge Family would completely give up on their bloodline. No matter how important or useless one's child may be, there was always at least one small part of every family that would be worried.

Moreover, no matter how cruel or uncaring one was, blood always had a chance of swaying one's decisions, whether good or bad.

That was what it meant to be one's flesh and blood.

While I don't know much about the Patriarch, Zhuge Yun, at least for Zhuge Xiang or Zhuge Xiuluan, they definitely cared more than they let on.

Whether in the past or the future of his previous life, Zhuge Shengji had been exploited in many ways and eventually met a miserable end.

The Zhuge Family had received criticism then for neglecting such a genius, but Zhuge Xiang and Zhuge Xiuluan were the exceptions.

It was said that the two often took care of Zhuge Shengji while they were in the Family before they were eventually called to take on important positions as the murim's advisors.

Of course, while they also hadn't recognized his genius and the importance of mechanisms, they still were able to provide some form of protection for him.

In fact, even in this timeline, the adults in the Family often advised them not to indulge their younger brother.

Although Zhou Xuchuan hadn't been able to verify the rumor, it was said that both Zhuge Xiang and Zhuge Xiuluan blamed themselves for not recognizing their younger brother's genius and helping him grow.

Of the three siblings, not just one, but all three of them were geniuses of the era, to the point where Zhou Xuchuan could remember many anecdotes about them.

"Okay, so now that we've even received their blessings, let's pack our bags so we can leave at any time."

1. While the title and this phrase are both translated as "blood is thicker than water," they're slightly different. Please see TL notes. ☜