Chapter 020: Coughing Up Blood

The scarf was now stained with dark red blood. Although Du Fan didn’t understand medicine, he could tell that the clan leader was likely seriously ill…
Ringtone whispered beside him, “Father… maybe we should give up. You rest first. I’ll take him away now and bring him back tomorrow, how about that?”
Du Fan hadn’t expected the shaman priest who had called him “little guy” all along to have such an expression. Though his face was hidden behind a mask, his actions suggested he was also nervous.
But wasn’t he a shaman priest? Couldn’t magic cure diseases?
Du Fan thought for a while but came to no conclusion. In his awkward position, he didn’t dare say much and simply stood there with his head lowered, as if he couldn’t hear or see anything.
It seemed the clan leader took some time to recover. He waved his hand, pushing Ringtone away, then glanced at Du Fan and said, “Little guy… what’s your name…”
He hesitated for a moment, and Ringtone quickly whispered a few words in his ear.
The clan leader then continued, “Your name is Du Fan, right?”
Du Fan nodded. “Yes, Lord Clan Leader.”
The clan leader asked, “You’re the third son of Duke Old Green, right?”
Du Fan frowned. “Yes…”
“I see…” The barbarian clan leader let out a soft sigh, his gaze becoming somewhat distant. “I witnessed Duke Old Green’s bravery in the great battle back then. Though we were on opposing sides, I’ve always admired his courage. Even though he eventually used various schemes to defeat us Karans, I still admire him greatly… Young Master Du Fan, look… this scar on my chest was left by Duke Old Green back then…”
As he spoke, the clan leader slightly pulled back his black robe to reveal fine leather armor underneath. He lifted the armor slightly and gestured for Du Fan to take a look.
Du Fan glanced over and saw a wound about an inch long on the left side of the barbarian clan leader’s chest. The area around the wound had rotted, revealing the bare bones beneath. A beating heart could be faintly seen, and the flesh seemed to be slowly decaying.
However, near the wound was a pattern resembling a magic circle—several runes that seemed to be some kind of magic preventing further decay.

Du Fan took only one glance and immediately recognized it as the work of his own father. The Duke Grein practiced the star combat energy passed down through the Grein family. Although its cultivation speed was slow, this type of combat energy was extremely peculiar—once it injured someone, unless the person who practiced star combat energy intervened, the wound would never heal. Though this trait wasn’t unique to star combat energy, it was after all a hereditary form of combat energy, so Du Fan couldn’t possibly mistake it. Noticing Du Fan’s strange expression, the clan leader laughed heartily, covered up the wound, and said, “I remember that if it weren’t for the mercy shown by the Duke Grein back then, I would have lost my life in that battle. It’s truly rare to meet an old acquaintance again today!” Du Fan sighed inwardly—what old acquaintance? This was clearly an enemy. He feared that after this clan leader finished speaking, he would prepare to inflict severe punishment. Du Fan understood the principle of “the son repaying the father’s debts.” Unexpectedly, after the barbarian clan leader finished speaking, he didn’t order anyone to act. Du Fan glanced at him, puzzled. It seemed as though the clan leader could see through Du Fan’s thoughts. He said, “Young Master Du Fan… are you wondering why I’m not ordering someone to capture you now to avenge this sword wound?” Du Fan was stunned. He didn’t expect the barbarian clan leader to be so direct. After thinking for a moment, he said, “I indeed thought about it, but I can’t understand why you, sir, wouldn’t do so.” The barbarian clan leader seemed to smile and said, “In the eyes of the Roland people, we Karans may be barbarians, but we wouldn’t do such a thing. If I wanted to seek revenge, I would naturally go after your father. Why bother with you, a mere child?” Du Fan sneered inwardly—hypocritical. If it weren’t for those two moves of mine, you would have acted long ago. Several doubts arose in his mind. After pondering for a while, he took a deep breath and said, “Sir, although you say that, I still have a few things to say.” The barbarian clan leader glanced at Du Fan and said, “Go ahead.”

Du Fan sneered coldly, “Then allow me to speak frankly. You barbarians have been invading the borders of our Gavin Empire for years, burning, killing, and plundering—committing every kind of atrocity. If there truly is an irreconcilable hatred between our two tribes, it lies with you barbarians. Moreover, the war six years ago was also started by you barbarians. Our father was a hero throughout his life, with astonishing military tactics and strategies. Your defeat at his hands only proves your stupidity, not that our father used any deceptions. As for the wound on our clan leader, it can only be said he brought it upon himself… You simply don’t have any right to speak of revenge!!!”

“Dare you!”

As soon as Du Fan finished speaking, Ling Yin roared in anger. He raised his hand, ready to strike. The other two shaman priests might not understand the Roland language, but upon seeing Ling Yin’s action, they prepared immediately.

Yet Du Fan merely snorted, not even glancing at them, his gaze fixed on the barbarian chief.

The barbarian chief trembled all over, clearly furious at Du Fan. But after a moment, somehow, he gradually calmed down. He slowly waved his hand and said, “Back off, all of you… Young Master Du Fan is our honored guest… You can’t do this…”

Ling Yin hesitated for a moment before still waving his hand, and the shaman priests slowly lowered their hands.

Seeing them retreat, the barbarian chief seemed to smile and said, “Young Master Du Fan, is everything you just said truly what you think in your heart?”

Du Fan nodded and said, “It’s not only my thought. I’m afraid almost every Rolandian shares this view…”

“Is that so… I see…” The barbarian chief touched his beard and sighed suddenly. “What you said isn’t entirely without reason. Indeed, in the eyes of you Rolandians, our Karans’ behavior is hardly any different from that of beasts. You call us barbarians, and there’s some truth to that. But… Young Master Du Fan… do you know anything about our Karans’ situation?”

Du Fan sneered coldly and said, “Not cultivating fertile land while living off oppressing Rolandians every year—sure, that’s quite a ‘good’ situation.”

The barbarian chief remained silent for a while before suddenly smiling slightly and saying, “Young Master Du Fan, are you implying… there are vast stretches of empty land outside our tribe?”

“Isn’t that the case? If those lands were cultivated, wouldn’t they be rich enough?”

The barbarian chieftain gave a bitter smile and said, “Indeed, those lands are extremely fertile and vast. If they could be cultivated, not to mention our current population of the Kara tribe, even if it were ten times larger, we could still feed everyone. But Young Master Du Fan… if we really could do that, would we still need to go out and raid and oppress others?”
Du Fan frowned and asked, “Chieftain, I don’t understand what you mean.”
The barbarian chieftain sighed, “Even though the land is fertile, there’s no water source. What can we do?”
“Isn’t there the Submerged River?”
“The Submerged River…” The chieftain’s expression changed slightly as he suddenly sighed and said, “Never mind, Young Master Du Fan. Let’s not ruin our relationship over this… You’re not one of our people, so you naturally don’t understand our situation. No matter how much I explain, you won’t get it… All I can tell you is… if we don’t go to your Roland people’s territory to steal, we Kara people won’t survive… It’s a deadlock with no solution… Arguing is pointless. You have your stance, and we have ours… Right?”
As he spoke, the barbarian chieftain seemed to age several years. He waved his hand weakly and said, “Enough… I thought I could have a few words after meeting an old acquaintance, but if it’s just arguing, there’s no need… Ling Yin, arrange a place for Young Master Du Fan to stay. Take him to the Great Divine Temple tomorrow. After finishing what you need to do, send him back as soon as possible…”
With that, the barbarian chieftain slowly closed his eyes.
Du Fan never expected that his words would make the chieftain seem somewhat… sad? This was truly strange.
This chieftain seemed like an imperial scholar at first glance, yet he was also a barbarian chieftain who relied on strength. It was indeed puzzling. There must be countless intricate relationships behind this, ones he couldn’t access.
Du Fan thought for a moment before gently sighing. With his current situation, where was there time to ponder such things? But why did he have to go to the Great Divine Temple? What exactly was this so-called Great Divine Temple?
Book 10: Choice of Fate