The Ancestral Legacy Begins in the Wild West

Chapter 96 I'm Stop Pretending, I'm Laying the Truth

Xiao Ju sheathed her knife, looked down at the two people, and then looked up at Zhang Chang'an.

Under the moonlight, his face was pale and his breathing was slightly erratic, clearly indicating that he had struggled quite a bit with those attacks. However, his attacks seemed to lack any structure and he had obviously rushed over, yet he hadn't even been touched by the hem of the clothes of the two men he had just faced.

Zhang Chang'an didn't know whether he was good or bad.

"Mr. Zhang." He opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end he just scratched his head: "Are you alright?"

""

Zhang Chang'an looked at him and calmly shook his head. He hadn't made a move, so of course nothing happened.

The two men, understanding each other implicitly, remained silent, picked up the weapons that had fallen to the ground, lifted the two men up, and walked towards the main road. As expected, they encountered Shinsengumi members on patrol when they dragged the two ronin to the main road.

The squad member nodded, took the person over without even asking his name, because there were too many things like this tonight. Even if a craftsman who knew Captain Okita got into trouble, they wouldn't be able to help him. They would just take the person back.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Even after Zhang Chang'an and the others turned around and walked back, they had not completely shaken off the effects of this incident.

They opened the shop door and went inside, but immediately stopped in their tracks.

The room was a mess; tools on the workbench were swept to the ground, and parts on the shelves were scattered everywhere.

The wooden table he used for drawing blueprints was overturned, and one of its legs broke off. Several kimonos hanging on the wall were also torn down, and there were a few footprints on them.

He glanced around, his gaze lingering for a moment on an inconspicuous corner of the room: "The hidden compartment is still in its original place, untouched, so the dredging device and blueprints are also fine."

Relieved, he looked away, bent down to pick up a few tools from the ground, and casually put them back on the shelf.

Xiao Ju was also silently helping him tidy up, propping up the broken table and leaning it against the wall.

So the two of them quickly made room for each other. Zhang Chang'an poured himself a cup of cold tea. Xiao Ju, holding his plain longsword horizontally, sat opposite him.

Moonlight streamed in through the window, illuminating the space between the two men, making them appear so distant for the first time.

Of course, Zhang Chang'an wasted no time. After putting down his teacup, he immediately said, "Just get to the point. What brings you here so late?"

Xiao Ju paused for a moment, then replied with a rather strange expression, "Mr. Tie Zhou, what you're saying is—"

He scratched his head: "Am I the strange one?"

As he spoke, he placed the knife across his lap, looked up at Zhang Chang'an, and asked with a rare seriousness in his eyes, "Where have you been since you got back so late?"

Zhang Chang'an remained silent, having anticipated this somewhat.

After all, Patriarch Zhang Zhouzhou was very kind to the ordinary people here, and the relationship between neighbors was good. But when it comes to true friends, he didn't have many. Xiao Ju was one of the people who understood him exceptionally well.

His actions during this period have not been foolproof, especially after this incident tonight. It's perfectly normal for him to have some suspicions.

However, he certainly couldn't admit, "Where else can I go? I'm just a craftsman with poor health—"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Ju simply picked up the teapot and poured tea quite naturally, then changed the subject: "I'm not particularly capable, but my eyesight is pretty good and my hearing is sharp. Having lived on this street for so many years, I know quite a bit about who everyone is."

He paused, looking into Zhang Chang'an's eyes: "So, Mr. Tiezhou, you are a good person. I believe you can rest assured about that, but you are certainly not an ordinary person either."

Zhang Chang'an did not respond.

Xiao Ju wasn't in a hurry and continued, "After Western technology came in, I knew that those things could do a lot of things. They could even turn people into steam ghosts."

At this point, he lowered his voice slightly: "Mr. Sakamoto said publicly a few days ago that Steam Demon has nothing to do with their Zunyao faction, but he admires this person. So anyone could be this person, it might just be you."

"I know that from the very beginning when I met you, I knew that you were not some simple, weak craftsman."

The moonlight shone on Zhang Chang'an's face, on his hand holding the teacup, and on his calm eyes, yet he remained unmoved.

Xiao Ju's words were, of course, basically an open statement that he suspected he was a steam ghost.

However, this suspicion is not unreasonable. Besides the reasons mentioned above, Tie Zhou Gong himself is indeed no ordinary person.

In this respect, he is the same as the previous ancestors. Every time he travels back in time, he is doing things for his ancestors with his own abilities, but in the normal timeline, many of the things he does are things that his ancestors did with their own abilities.

The current Japanese version is naturally different, since it's impossible for Tie Zhougong to obtain technology from London and develop dredging equipment.

This entire instance is very special, probably because the overall timeline is different, and there has never been a reward that pops up due to a change in the timeline.

However, something went wrong in this timeline, which could have caused him to fall ill and die prematurely, in a normal timeline.

Iron Boatman may not have become the fearsome steam ghost he is known for, but he may have accomplished other astonishing feats.

He doesn't have as much martial arts skill as Zhang Chang'an, but his talent in steam machinery is absolutely amazing.

Ju Qinglan has known Zhang Tiezhou for too long, so it's understandable that she would have such suspicions.

But how could he answer? Admit that he was a steam ghost? After all, what he had done was too unusual to just casually mention.

However, just as he was thinking this, Xiao Ju continued, "Mr. Tie Zhou, I do have this suspicion about you, because I have known you for so many years and know that you are not a craftsman without any ability."

But I can guess that even if you did those things, there must be some other reason. The Mr. Zhang I know isn't a bad person after all.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chang'an remained silent for a moment: "The Eye of Death truly showed no reaction whatsoever—which means he genuinely meant me no harm. Now that things have come to this—"

Zhang Chang'an raised his hand and gently touched his chest. Under the moonlight, half of the iron Nuo mask was finally revealed.

Xiao Ju's self-glow naturally fell on the mask, and the expression on her face immediately lifted, showing some excitement, as if she were saying, "Just as I thought."

He leaned back, relaxing from his rare seriousness, and grinned, revealing his usual roguish smile.

"I knew it."

However, at the same time, Zhang Chang'an's sleeve also slipped down a bit, revealing a section of his wrist.

The bluish-black veins were clearly visible beneath the pale skin, like winding serpents extending deep into the sleeve.

His gaze quickly caught this detail, and he seemed to have a clearer understanding of the situation before him.