Volcanic Age

"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.

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.

***

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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.

She may not end up right by his side, but at the very least, she would strive diligently for the Righteous Faction.

"O-oh, Young Lady Zhuge. It's good to see you after all this time," Zhou Xuchuan greeted happily.

She's probably sick of hearing people praise her for her beauty, so let's refrain from commenting on her face.

He chose his words cautiously, knowing that a wrong turn could leave a bad impression. It would be better not to be remembered at all than to leave a negative impression.

Moreover, if he needed her strength later, Zhou Xuchuan realized he could obtain it somehow through Zhuge Shengji.

His consideration caught Zhuge Xiuluan's interest.

Regardless of age, most men showed similar reactions, irrespective of whether they were from a large sect, a small or medium-sized force, or a similarly ranked noble family.

Those younger or similar in age would be mesmerized or blush before slowly coming to their senses and praising her beauty until they ran out of saliva. Even middle-aged bachelors reacted the same, although they could hide their feelings slightly better, still revealing their secret greed with disgusting gazes.

However, Zhou Xuchuan reacted differently.

He wasn't overly animated and lustful, nor was he timid and bashful. Instead, he looked her straight in the eye and answered respectfully.

It was a refreshing reaction to her presence.

“Yes, I can't believe it's been six years.”

She remembered that even when she met him six years ago, he hadn't been ordinary.

"Is the Young Patriarch also here? If he is, I'd like to greet him."

“It’s been a while since my brother went to the Martial Alliance in Anhui. He only comes back to the Family about once a year.”

"I see. Now that I think of it, I hear that the Young Patriarch has already been recommended as an advisor for the Martial Alliance. He really is impressive."

The Young Patriarch, Zhuge Xiang, had spent some time under the Family’s protection after the Nine Water Gangs incident but had quickly returned to the gangho.

He contributed to several missions alongside other members of the Righteous Faction and was soon recognized for his contributions and promoted to the Martial Alliance headquarters.

"He's not called the Knowledge Dragon among the Five Dragons and Three Phoenixes for no reason.”

The Five Dragons and Three Phoenixes were established roughly around the time Zhuge Xiang had begun his journey around the gangho, where he achieved the feat of becoming the First Dragon upon being recognized as a dragon.

Zhuge Xiuluan nodded carelessly instead of answering. She was accustomed to hearing praise for her brother wherever she went.

Zhou Xuchuan also knew that, so he only made a few comments out of courtesy and didn't continue once he had fulfilled his duty.

Zhuge Xiuluan turned her head slowly and spoke to her younger brother, who shrugged his shoulders and looked unconfident.

"I heard that you wanted to leave the Family and head out to the gangho."

Zhuge Shengji's expression changed, as if the scolding he had been expecting was finally coming. His older sister continued to question him, her eyes boring directly into him.

"And whose idea was that?"

Zhuge Shengji found it challenging to answer. It had been a while since he had actually spoken to his sister.

He rarely left his room due to his introverted nature, making interactions with his family awkward and difficult.

Being compared to his genius older brother and sister since birth made the difficulty of this interaction more obvious. Whenever he faced his two siblings, he felt infinitely smaller.

"Or… is it Young Master Zhou's idea?"

Zhuge Xiuluan continued to press her younger brother. Her gaze remained on Zhuge Shengji, unflinching.

Zhuge Shengji repeated his sister's words in his head before raising his eyes to meet hers. Looking deep into her eyes was like staring at a ten-thousand-year-old boulder resting on a cliff.

Although the boulder seemed impossible to approach, terrifying both in its size and proximity to the cliff, it stood with unwavering composure, utterly ambivalent to the danger of its location.

Her ambivalence wasn't forced, nor was it filled with disdain. However, wasn't an empty gaze, either.

She looked at her younger brother, her gaze reflecting his with tranquility, as unwavering as a calm lake.

Zhuge Xiuluan waited for Zhuge Shengji's answer quietly.

Zhuge Shengji took a deep breath and let it out.

He didn't stand up straight or puff out his chest.

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. ☜

Cyncoco's Thoughts

The title of the chapter is 혈농우수(血浓于水), or the Sino-Korean form of the Chinese proverb (taken from the German saying) "blood is thicker than water."

Now, you may think, wait, that's the same thing as the ref we just made earlier.

HOWEVER, in Korea, the Sino-Korean version and the Korean version of the saying refer to two different things.

The Korean one is the one everyone is familiar with—family ties are stronger than any other ties.

However, the Sino-Korean version is a message rooted in patriotism and encapsulates what it means to fight for one's country, people, and future.

The revered Korean independence activist Lyuh Woon-Hyung penned the message in the guestbook of the Koma (Koryo) Shrine in Japan during the occupation.

Here, it refers to the blood of all Korean people, the spirit of independence, and love for one's nation, defying the Japanese occupation's assimilation efforts.

Eventually, the saying has been co-opted into many murim/hero novels, referring to the righteous battle for peace and prosperity.

The usage of the quote as a title is meant to juxtapose the ties and responsibility the Zhuge Siblings have for their younger brother and Zhou Xuchuan's responsibility for the protection of those he loves and the world as a whole.