The Glory After Rebirth [ɇÇ”Ÿä¹‹Å°Šè£] Chapter 229- 231

Chapter 229: Wang Deguang

On hearing the servant say that Tao Yi looked very anxious, Ling Zhang hastened outside to meet him in the belief that something bad had happened.

“What’s wrong? Did anything happen?” Ling Zhang directly asked Tao Yi at the sight of him. The two of them were friends with years’ acquaintance, which made pleasantries totally unnecessary.

Tao Yi, seeing Ling Zhang walk out, said with a guilty face, “I’m the one to blame for what happened in the Taibai Tavern earlier today.”

Ling Zhang was perplexed. “What are you talking about?”

Tao Yi replied, “Someone tried to poison you in the Taibai Tavern, and there’s only one explanation for that: one of us disclosed to others that we’d stand you a meal there. I sounded them out and the one who paid the bill today told me in private that one of my schoolmates divulged our bet.”

Ling Zhang, whose face remained unchanged, remarked, “None of us had ever said the bet should be kept secret, so it’s not really surprising that one of us mentioned it to other people. This is not your fault.”

Tao Yi said, “But I feel very upset about this matter, and I wouldn’t be able to find peace of mind if I don’t come here and inform you of it.”

Ling Zhang queried, “Who told others about the bet?”

Tao Yi answered, “Wang Deguang.”

Ling Zhang, after a moment’s recollection, came to know which one that person was.

“Maybe Brother Wang did that unintentionally. It’s best if this stays between me and you. I’ll have this matter looked into later. You should pretend this talk never happened in the presence of Wang Deguang. If you don’t and it turns out to be a misunderstanding, we’d be in a very awkward situation.”

Tao Yi inclined his head. “I understand.”

Tao Yi indeed had every reason to feel distressed after what happened earlier this day. If it was really because one of his schoolmates had disclosed their whereabouts that had nearly caused Ling Zhang to be poisoned, he would have a terrible conscience knowing he’d put his friend in danger and would be ashamed to see anybody for the rest of his life.

Ling Zhang said, “Don’t overthink it. Let me be honest with you – someone wants me dead, and nothing could prevent them from finding out my whereabouts. Also, that bet was never really confidential.”

“Who wants you dead? Is it Jiang Yu?” asked Tao Yi, a grave look on his face.

It had never crossed Ling Zhang’s mind that Tao Yi would link it to Jiang Yu. He shook his head. “He and I do have history, but I don’t think he has anything to do with this.”

Tao Yi persisted, “Then do you know who that person is? Does the Marshal know?”

Ling Zhang responded, “We have a vague guess, but it’s inconvenient to talk much about it in these circumstances. I’ll tell you when the truth is ascertained.”

Seeing Ling Zhang was insistent on keeping it back from him, Tao Yi, though anxious, had no choice but to give up asking for more details. He said, “Is there anything I can do for you?”

Ling Zhang said, “We can handle this by ourselves, so stay out of it. It’s dangerous. And do not visit me again in the next few days. If by any chance you come to any harm, I wouldn’t be able to show my face in front of Lord Tao.”

Tao Yi observed, “We’re friends.”

Ling Zhang responded, “That’s the very reason I need you to do this. The knowledge that my friends are safe is the only thing that can help me get rid of the worries behind. If you’re dragged into this because of me, I would be bound hands and feet and have to worry about you as well.”

Tao Yi widened his eyes. “You might as well directly say that I’m utterly useless!”

Ling Zhang smiled, “It surprises me that you got the undertone.”

After glaring at Ling Zhang in annoyance for quite a while, Tao Yi said, “Fine, but you must let me know when you need my help. Although my powers are limited, I have my teacher at my back, so there’s got to be something I can be of assistance to you.”

Ling Zhang nodded. “All right.”

Tao Yi was right about this – his teacher at his back was a big shot keeping a low profile, who could be of help to them in a lot of things, but this was also the very reason why this old lord never exerted his influence unless there was a very good reason for doing it. Otherwise the emperor wouldn’t have still been relying heavily on his service till this day.

After seeing Tao Yi off, Ling Zhang told Yuwen Tong about Wang Deguang.

“Currently I’m not quite sure whether or not it had anything to do with him. How about you have him looked into?”

Yuwen Tong said, “Yao Yi has already sent some men to look into the couple of students, and the results should come out by night. I’ll have him pay extra attention to Wang Deguang.”

…

The news of the unsuccessful attempt to poison Ling Zhang in the Taibai Tavern hadn’t spread yet. All those present on the scene that day kept this matter secret of their own free will.

But the sudden suicide of that waiter of the Taibai Tavern had still attracted a lot of people’s attention. For the moment, nobody had connected it with Ling Zhang.

At night, people sent to look into the couple of students of the Oriental Rite Academy returned, not empty-handed.

Some of Wang Deguang’s family members worked in the Department of Court Artisans. All the horse-drawn carriages and pleasure-ships that the King Hui and Shan Congwen used to go sightseeing a few days ago had been provided by Wang family. The relations between Wang family and the King Hui were not simple. During these years, the former had been offering monetary support to the latter on a regular basis.

It had indeed been Wang Deguang, and Tao Yi had guessed right. Wang Deguang had always been fairly unobtrusive when staying with Tao Yi and the others, and it was not very obvious that he was from a quite wealthy family. The couple of schoolmates of his, however, were more inclined to attract people’s attention.

Yuwen Tong instructed, “Dig into Wang family’s recent dealings with the King Hui.”

Yao Yi answered, “Yes, Marshal.”

…

Ling Zhang had an application for leave delivered to the Imperial College and stayed at home on the pretext of nursing his arm injury. Yuwen Tong dispatched almost all his bodyguards to the Ling Mansion to provide security.

Ji Yin, on arrival at the Ling Mansion, was slightly surprised to see that this place was so heavily guarded.

“Grandfather,” called Ling Zhang.

A smile broke across Ji Yin’s face as he caught sight of his grandson, his mild and loving eyes watching Ling Zhang walking towards him.

But at the thought of the incident in the Taibai Tavern, he went somewhat worried. “I heard what happened in the Taibai Tavern. Did you come into contact with the poison?”

Ling Zhang shook his head. “No. I detected it. Besides, I was carrying the medicinal jade given to me by my mother.”

Ling Zhang fished out the blackish green jade pendant around his neck and showed it to Ji Yin, smiling.

A reminiscent look of grief gleamed in Ji Yin’s tender eyes as they fell on the jade pendant. “Every member of the Phoenix Clan carries a jade pendant like this. It was the previous clan leader who personally put this pendant around your mother’s neck the day she was born. At that time, your grandmother was still alive. Now both of them are gone. So many years have passed but it feels like an instant.”

After hearing this, Ling Zhang, in the knowledge that he had unintentionally evoked his grandfather’s painful memories, stuffed the pendant back into his clothes and said to Ji Yin, “Grandfather, you still have me keeping you company.”

The reminiscent expression of grief on Ji Yin’s face was replaced by a happy smile. “Your willingness to call me grandfather is a great gratification to me.”

Ling Zhang heaved a sigh in his heart. Those things had happened many years ago, which made it so hard to judge who had been in the right or who had been in the wrong. No matter what, this old man had saved his father’s life and also gifted him with a handbook on internal energy. He was his benefactor, so of course he was willing to call him grandfather and spend more time with him.

“Grandfather, the loyalty of all people in this residential compound has withstood strict test, and they won’t breathe a word of what they’re not supposed to disclose. You may come and stay here for a couple of days whenever it’s convenient for you.”

On hearing this, Ji Yin bobbed his head with a beam on his face. “Okay.”

With his kung fu skills, he could sneak into the Ling Mansion unseen with the greatest ease.

“Let me have a look at your right arm,” said Ji Yin.

Ling Zhang stepped closer to him and swiveled aside.

Ji Yin lightly pressed his hand onto Ling Zhang’s arm and stroked it all the way down to his wrist, asking Ling Zhang how he felt.

Ling Zhang described his sensations one by one. Ji Yin said, “Your wound worsened somewhat during the couple of rounds of horse race earlier today. You must not use this arm again in the next few days.”

Ling Zhang promised he wouldn’t. “I won’t do anything other than nursing my arm injury before a full recovery.”

Yuwen Tong, who had gone out to look into the relations between the King Hui and Shan Congwen, was not in at this moment. Ji Yin, seeing that he was absent, asked, “Where’s Marshal Yuwen?”

“He is investigating who tried to poison me.”

Ji Yin queried seriously, “You found out who want you dead?”

Ling Zhang inclined his head. “We have some suspects.”

Ji Yin inquired, “Who are they?”

Ling Zhang thought for a brief moment and then said, “The King Hui and Shan Congwen from the Wan Kingdom.”

Ji Yin knitted his eyebrows and immediately identified the key point. “There’s no conflict of interests between you and the Wan Kingdom. It must be because of someone else that Shan Congwen wants you dead. As for Zhou Mingci, he wants to kill you probably to seek revenge for his younger sister’s being sent into the imperial temple.”

Ling Zhang gave a nod of agreement. This was also what he had speculated. The King Hui’s motive was easy to guess, but that of Shan Congwen wasn’t. And it surprised him that his grandfather knew so much about this matter as well, so he expressed his confusion. “If it’s because of Yuwen Tong’s previous deeds that Shan Congwen wants me dead, then his intention would purely be to vent his anger and reduce Yuwen Tong to grief and fury. But it’s unmistakably detrimental to him and the Wan Kingdom to infuriate Yuwen Tong merely because of this. Surely he knows better than that?”

Yuwen Tong had once said that Shan Congwen was actually not a fool, that otherwise he wouldn’t have been put in charge of the diplomatic corps dispatched to the Great Yue to negotiate. A lot of tricky issues had to be settled first before a peace accord could be achieved by the two sides. As long as the Wan Kingdom had even the faintest idea of struggling for interests, they would never have sent a fool to the Great Yue.

As a result, although Shan Congwen got kicked by Yuwen Tong for his tart words on the day they’d just arrived in the capital city, that had been because Shan Congwen held him in icy disregard and didn’t know Yuwen Tong was in that horse-drawn carriage that day. Compared with Yuwen Tong, Shan Congwen was at a disadvantage, though he was smart, which was why he was kept down by Yuwen Tong. Otherwise the Wan Kingdom wouldn’t have sustained a defeat that disastrous.

Ji Yin said, “Shan Congwen bears the title of the King Ming’en in the Wan Kingdom. Rumor has it that the emperor of the Wan Kingdom doesn’t really think highly of him, but according to some secret intelligence reports of the Millennium Pavilion, Shan Congwen is actually very much in the emperor’s confidence. A man like this is by no means a fool.”

Ling Zhang was surprised. “Grandfather, hasn’t the Millennium Pavilion already decided to stay in seclusion for eternity? How come you still have so much acquaintance with the situation of the outside world?”

Ji Yin smiled and then let out a sigh. “It’s true that the Millennium Pavilion will stay secluded, but we cannot be utterly blind to the political situation in the outside world. We do this to better protect ourselves. Otherwise the Millennium Pavilion wouldn’t have enjoyed hundreds of years’ peaceful life.”

Though now was not the right time to change the topic, Ling Zhang still couldn’t help but ask, “You said that in the previous dynasty the Millennium Pavilion was under the control of the imperial family, forced to serve the ruler against their will, but to my knowledge, the Millennium Pavilion wielded enormous power in the previous dynasty and were highly revered by the whole country, and even the then emperor was respectful of its authority and trusted its members very much. Why…”

Ji Yin, not surprised by Ling Zhang’s curiosity about this, replied, “You said it yourself – the then emperor trusted the Foreseers Agency very much, but it’s not easy to gain people’s trust, especially that of an emperor, not to mention all previous emperors’ great trust in the Foreseers Agency. Although this involved some secrets, the fundamental reason was that the head foreseer himself was under the control of the imperial household. Foreseers, though respected by all, were in fact no more than puppets of the imperial household, which was why when the Xia fell apart, all members of the Foreseers Agency still alive unhesitatingly chose to leave. And they loathed the idea of getting involved in any political strife as well, because none of them wanted to lose their freedom again.”

Though unaware of what those secrets were, Ling Zhang could understand what Ji Yin meant. The Foreseers Agency, which had been world-famous in the Xia dynasty, had actually been a tool of the imperial household at that time.

Chapter 230: Pointers from His Grandfather and a Real Eye-opener

Ling Zhang, who had a sense of propriety, didn’t persist with his questioning but said, “Since Shan Congwen is in the emperor of the Wan Kingdom’s confidence and not a fool, this suggests that Yuwen Tong was not the reason why he tried to kill me. Even if he did that because of Yuwen Tong, venting his anger was not the purpose. There was some deeper reason, and I was just a springboard for it.”

Ji Yin remarked seriously, “This is the tricky part. Given that Shan Congwen has stayed in the Great Yue for such a long time, he must have some ulterior motive. It was undoubtedly to a certain end that he waded in, so he probably would stop at nothing to take your life.”

Ling Zhang saw what Ji Yin meant. Shan Congwen had attempted to kill him for a purpose, one he would resort to whatever means necessary to achieve.

Shan Congwen was the King Ming’en of the Wan Kingdom and represented the interests of the Wan Kingdom. What was motivating Shan Congwen to do this was, without doubt, beneficial to the Wan Kingdom and detrimental to the Great Yue.

If only he could ascertain what Shan Congwen’s intention was exactly.

The King Hui was in league with the Wan Kingdom… Wasn’t it no different from a hen cooperating with a weasel? Was he not afraid that the Great Yue would be put at a disadvantage again? After such a heavy price was paid to bring a turnabout of the situation between the Great Yue and the Wan Kingdom, he intended to hand this advantage to the enemy on a silver platter?!

Ling Zhang’s impression of the King Hui worsened even further.

Ji Yin kept nothing back while instructing Ling Zhang in internal energy. Though Ling Zhang was still recovering from arm injury, it was no hindrance to him mobilizing his internal energy. Ji Yin stood right beside him, carefully offering him useful tips. This was different from Ling Zhang cultivating alone. With Ji Yin instructing him, he was getting twice the result with half the effort. Ling Zhang had got a general idea of how far away he was from the third layer.

Ji Yin was the best mentor. He was not only experienced but also capable of identifying at a glance which part Ling Zhang was not doing right. No matter what question Ling Zhang asked, he could always give an answer that struck home.

As a result, during the next two days, with Ji Yin in the Ling Mansion, Ling Zhang made great progress in his cultivation of internal energy, though he couldn’t go outside.

Two days later, Yuwen Tong seemed to have found something during the inquiry, but he was still not back.

Ling Zhang guessed that he must be very busy – after all, it was a prince that he was working against. The King Hui couldn’t hold a candle to Yuwen Tong, but because he had a great number of followers who formed a very complicated network in the imperial court, bringing him down was not something that could be done in a day or two, though he was not really a formidable opponent.

Ling Zhang patiently waited, but on this day Ji Yin told him that he would teach him martial formations after he finished the cultivation of the second layer and reached the third layer.

Ling Zhang, who could comprehend the many formations his mother had taught him all by himself, was somewhat confused. Were there any formations he needed to reach the third layer of the mental cultivation method first to be ready to learn, by any chance?

Ji Yin didn’t answer him directly but took him to the drill ground.

It had come to the knowledge of almost everybody in the Ling Mansion, except for some servants, that Ji Yin was grandfather to their young master. They also knew that their young master’s grandfather was a kung fu expert with formidable martial arts prowess, who gained entry into the Ling Mansion unseen by all of them every day.

The first time he’d made his appearance, Yao Yi and the other bodyguards had been reduced to cold sweat.

Now seeing Ji Yin and Ling Zhang walking over, all of them stopped at the same time what they were doing, as if there was some kind of tacit agreement among them. “Young Master, Mr. Ji.”

There was a confused look in their eyes. Ling Zhang, who was also perplexed, looked at his grandfather.

Ji Yin didn’t utter a word, but all of a sudden he raised his hand and, without moving an inch, transferred a couple of boulders from a side of the drill ground to the middle of it, as if by telekinetic powers. The positions of those boulders didn’t seem to follow a particular pattern, but as they landed, both the space and the atmosphere on the drill ground changed. The drill ground, which had been quite spacious a moment ago, instantly made Ling Zhang feel that he had just entered a forest of boulders. Not only were people around him out of sight, even what he saw, heard and sensed was different now. At the same time, he went restless and subdued in spite of himself.

Also, he didn’t know when, but gusts of wind accompanied by sand had started howling outside the drill ground. Weirdly enough, the dusty wind was whirling around the drill ground like a gigantic tornado, engulfing the whole place.

Ling Zhang, who had been standing beside his grandfather all along, had a vague idea of what Ji Yin had done to conjure up this tornado, but there were still many details he couldn’t comprehend for the moment. More importantly, this formation had been finished in an instant and almost with the greatest ease. In his eyes, it would require concerted efforts of quite some men to finish a formation like this, but Ji Yin had made it happen all by himself.

Ling Zhang, watching the drill ground in shock, raised his hand to shield his eyes against the dusty wind, mind filled with incredulity.

“Grandfather, h–how’s this possible?”

Ji Yin smiled, “This is just one of the most common containment formations. After you reach the third layer, you’ll master more and more formations every one of which you could finish laying in a flash all by yourself, each more powerful than the last. When you reach the same level as mine, it’ll even be possible for you to lay a containment formation holding enough power to trap a city.”

Ling Zhang widened his mouth in astonishment. Some day he could do that as well?

Ji Yin said, “Your comprehension of the formations taught to you by your mother is at a decent level, but you still need more men to realize their full potential. The formations you’re capable of laying by yourself could only trap one or two men. As regards formations of larger scales, you need cooperation of multiple helpers to lay them in an acceptable amount of time, and the helpers have to have adequate acquaintance with the formations and the teamwork between you and them has to be good enough, too. Neither of them could be achieved in a short time. They require years’ practice. But if the level of your internal energy is high enough, you’ll be able to lay these formations unaided, and only when laying a formation of a very large scale – the kind Marshal Yuwen uses on the battlefield, for example – will you need many others to cooperate with you.”

Ling Zhang’s eyes were glinting with excitement. The existence of such formations had never crossed his mind before. This was a real eye-opener!

The dusty wind around the drill ground slowly died down. Ling Zhang had seen Ji Yin throw a couple of palm strikes generating lasting and powerful currents which stopped the dusty whirlwind. After Ji Yin removed those boulders as well as some other items that he had previously transferred here in a seemingly telekinetic way, the drill ground returned to normal, spacious and open, and those who had been stuck in the formation finally could see the situation outside the formation now, all of them sweating buckets from horror.

When trapped in the formation, all of them had been scared to death lest Ji Yin might bottle them up in the formation and abduct Ling Zhang…

As for why they’d been worried Ling Zhang might be abducted, they had no idea. They just had had an inkling that it might be the case.

They didn’t dare imagine what kind of punishment the Marshal would mete out to them after return had Ling Zhang been taken away from under their noses.

When the drill ground returned to normal and they saw Ji Yin and Ling Zhang standing where they’d been, they felt their hearts landed back into their chests from their mouths.

“Childe Ling, Mr. Ji, what was going on just now?” queried Xie Shi. “Was it a formation?”

Ling Zhang inclined his head. “My grandfather did that. Awesome, right?”

Xie Shi and the others exchanged glances in dismay and then all nodded at the same time.

Of course it’d been awesome. It’d nearly scared the life out of them!

Ling Zhang’s eyes glinted with excitement at the prospect of him wielding such great powers, as sparkling as stars in the night sky, making it difficult for people to tear their eyes away from them.

“Someday I’ll be just as awesome.”

All the others were sent into a brief trance of astonishment and then looked at Ji Yin.

Ji Yin said, “Zhang’er is right. I’ll be teaching him myself.”

The first reaction of Wang Dashan and his men was to congratulate Ling Zhang, every one of them delighted, while the joy of Yao Yi and other bodyguards was mingled with concern. This old man’s kung fu was so good – virtually better than that of their marshal. If some day Childe Ling became as adept at kung fu as him, wouldn’t their marshal be outshone? In that case… when Childe Ling was unhappy, would the Marshal still be able to overpower him?

Ling Zhang was unaware of what Yao Yi and the others had in mind. Right now he couldn’t wait to make a breakthrough and reach the third layer, but he hadn’t cultivated long enough, and he still needed to deepen his comprehension of the mental cultivation method and accumulate more experience as well, so there was really a long way to go before he could reach the third layer.

Of course Ling Zhang wouldn’t be deflated because of this. Now that he had a clear goal in mind, all he had to do was strive for it, ignoring all other matters. Though currently he was not quite there yet, he had no doubt that someday he’d meet the requirements and make a breakthrough as long as he worked hard enough at it.

Ling Zhang suddenly started cultivating internal energy even more diligently then before. A door to a new realm had been opened in front of him, and he was eagerly anticipating the day he would step over the threshold.

Yuwen Tong bustling outside was still unaware that when he’d been occupied with other business, his wife-to-be had found the gate to a new realm and couldn’t wait to explore it. When this came to his knowledge, his inquiry into that matter was coming to an end.

In a sense, he had that student named Wang Deguang to thank for it. If it weren’t for this clue which had led Yuwen Tong to Wang family, he wouldn’t have found out so soon what kind of deal the King Hui had struck with the Wan Kingdom.

What he needed to do next was evict Shan Congwen from the Great Yue, and tar and feather the King Hui who had dared to beard the lion in his den, having them know the consequences of attempting to harm his sweetheart over and over again.

After returning to the Ling Mansion, Yuwen Tong filled with longing to see Ling Zhang asked his bodyguards where he was. They all replied, “Childe Ling is in closed-door cultivation.”

Yuwen Tong, who had been given the same answer the last two times he’d returned, fell speechless.

Someone in the residential compound told him, “Ever since Childe Ling’s grandfather came, he’s been even more obsessed with his cultivation of internal energy.”

Yuwen Tong furrowed his brow. “Why’s that?”

Yao Yi informed him of what happened in the drill ground that day.

A surprised look appeared on Yuwen Tong’s face. He immediately realized what this was about, and it was also at this moment that he came to know that formations could be laid in this way, and the internal energy of the Millennium Pavilion seemed to conform to this approach and complementary to it in a natural way.

“No wonder he got excited and has been in closed-door cultivation for so many days,” muttered Yuwen Tong. Though aware of the reason now, he still had an urge to hold Ling Zhang in his arms and give him a good long kiss.

Yuwen Tong, who knew better than to disturb Ling Zhang when he was cultivating, went sulky, his face dark.

Fortunately for him, Ling Zhang, as if having sensed Yuwen Tong’s displeasure, finished this stint of closed-door cultivation a short while later. His eyes lit up at the sight of Yuwen Tong. “You’re back. Have you had dinner? Have you bathed? Do you want me to have them–”

Before he could finish speaking, Yuwen Tong took him in his arms with care, holding him tight, but not too tight so that Ling Zhang’s injured arm wouldn’t be affected. Then he comfortably sighed, “Those things can wait. Let me have a hug first.”

He only mentioned a hug, but actually after merely a few moments he lowered his head and gave Ling Zhang a kiss, a rather vigorous one.

Chapter 231: Figure Out a Way to Kill Them

Ling Zhang, who hadn’t made out with Yuwen Tong for so many days, missed him very much. Yuwen Tong was kissing him passionately, and he kissed him back with even more passion, which sent Yuwen Tong to the verge of losing control of himself, leaving him no choice but to hold Ling Zhang tighter.

How long their kiss lasted was unknown to both of them. When Ling Zhang came back to his senses, he found himself no longer in his original position. He didn’t know when, but he and Yuwen Tong had transferred to the bathroom, and not only were his robes undone, the skin on his collarbones was covered with hickeys. Yuwen Tong was sucking and biting him, which was giving him an intense arousal.

“Bathe with me.” Yuwen Tong gazed at him, his voice husky with longing, his eyes aflame.

Ling Zhang, watching his handsome face which was drenched with sweat from his efforts to suppress his desire, felt that he was unbelievably attractive. On hearing Yuwen Tong’s words, he craned over and gave him a kiss in response.

Yuwen Tong thoroughly succumbed and the two of them stripped naked in the blink of an eye…

Because of Ling Zhang’s arm injury, their relationship was still not consummated on this occasion, but they did help each other, which was somewhat inevitable. At the end of this bath, Ling Zhang could even feel his legs trembling, and the air in the bathroom was almost unbearably hot. Originally the bathwater had merely been tepid, but now it actually felt a little scald. Was it because of their unduly high body temperature or the unduly fevered mood?

Anyway, it wasn’t over until they eventually had the bathwater changed and had a second bath.

Yuwen Tong dressed Ling Zhang and another spasm of desire washed over him as he felt Ling Zhang wearily leaning against him as though he was too tired to move. Seeing the pink flush on his ears and cheeks which made him as charming as a lotus flower, Yuwen Tong felt that what they’d just done was far from enough. He still had a longing for more.

Ling Zhang was even more surprised, even somewhat distressed. Just now he and Yuwen Tong had helped each other, but why was Yuwen Tong still so energetic as though he could go directly outside and run around the whole city dozens of times when he was so exhausted?

“I’m hungry,” said Ling Zhang.

He had finished a stint of closed-door cultivation a while ago and hadn’t had dinner yet.

Yuwen Tong took him in his arms and the two of them made out for another while before leaving the room heading for the dining room.

After they took their seats, Yuwen Tong said, “I heard that your grandfather demonstrated to you how to lay a formation with internal energy. Was it true?”

Ling Zhang inclined his head, his eyes brightening. “You have no idea how awesome it was because you weren’t there to see it. My grandfather is so badass. He said that I’ll be able to lay a formation with internal energy as well once I reach the third layer.”

Yuwen Tong, seeing his excited and expectant face, was happy for him. “It seems that both the mental cultivation method and formations of the Millennium Pavilion are indeed unique skills handed down from ancient times and are out of the ordinary.”

Ling Zhang, with a longing look in his eyes, said, “I can see how far away I am from the third layer now, and I believe after some time I’ll be ready to try laying formations with my internal energy.”

Yuwen Tong sincerely felt happy for him. As a man of broader outlook and more experienced than Ling Zhang, he offered a lot of constructive suggestions when they were assuming the situation after Ling Zhang reached the third layer.

Ling Zhang, overjoyed, rewarded him with a piece of meat.

Yuwen Tong happily ate the piece of meat given by his wife-to-be and asked, “May I have another piece?”

Ling Zhang replied, “When the fruit is scarcest, its taste is sweetest. I’ll reward you the next time.”

Yuwen Tong’s eyes crinkled in a smile. He promised that he would seize the next opportunity when it presented itself and try his best to earn another reward as soon as possible.

After joking with him for a few moments, Ling Zhang queried, “You came back so early today. Was it because you found something?”

Yuwen Tong gave a nod and informed Ling Zhang of what he had ascertained, mainly the deal between the King Hui and Shan Congwen.

Ling Zhang, after hearing it, coldly snorted, “Shan Congwen has been daydreaming a lot lately.”

It turned out that this was what Shan Congwen had been after. He was indeed a henchman of the emperor of the Wan Kingdom. The emperor had sent him here to make mischief.

Ling Zhang told Yuwen Tong that Shan Congwen was in the emperor of the Wan Kingdom’s confidence, which Ji Yin had previously informed him of. Yuwen Tong, who was unsurprised, nodded and said, “Shan Congwen could indeed be regarded as one of the emperor’s henchmen. Although this guy does stupid things from time to time, it’s inadvisable to take him lightly.”

Ling Zhang said, “From the vantage point of the present, the reason why he’s prolonged his stay in the Great Yue is that he wants to figure out a way to drive a wedge between you and the emperor, but it seems that me coming to this city with you upset many of his plans.”

Yuwen Tong observed, “So you’re my lucky star.”

But Ling Zhang didn’t think so. Before he died in his last incarnation, he hadn’t heard Yuwen Tong come to any harm, which meant that Shan Congwen hadn’t had his way at that time.

However… Never mind, there was no point dwelling on those things in his last life.

“The King Hui’s choosing to cooperate with Shan Congwen is synonymous with willingly let Shan Congwen get the goods on him. In the future – at least in the first five years after his enthronement – he’d be like a puppet of the Wan Kingdom. And at that time if you really…” Ling Zhang gave a cough and then continued, “The five years would be more than enough for the Wan Kingdom to make a long drive all the way into the Great Yue and subject this country to its rule.”

Ling Zhang was very indignant. He really couldn’t understand why the King Hui had resorted to cooperating with an ambitious schemer like the Wan Kingdom. At a disadvantage as the Wan Kingdom currently was, it would undoubtedly stage a comeback if the occasion arose.

“Of course he knows this. He did it anyway because it’s very difficult for him to best the King Duan, the King Yu and the Crown Prince and successfully accede to the throne.” Yuwen Tong made a very practical and realistic remark.

Ling Zhang curled his lip. No matter what, as a subject of the Great Yue, he would never do anything that might contribute to the subjugation of this country by the Wan Kingdom.

“Now it has come to our knowledge why they want me dead. How should we counter-attack?” asked Ling Zhang.

There was no reason he should swallow the spate of attempts on his life of Zhou Mingci and Shan Congwen. Shan Congwen was an envoy sent by the Wan Kingdom, whose mission was to achieve a peace accord. The current peace was hard-earned. Not only the Wan Kingdom but also the Great Yue needed time to recuperate and regain strength. In order to prevent the outbreak of another war, they couldn’t let Shan Congwen die in the Great Yue, but it was very hard to get revenge without killing him.

Ling Zhang lapsed into rumination, his chopsticks poised.

Yuwen Tong said, “Actually there is a way to have him disgraced and ensure he suffers from shame for the rest of his life even if he returns to the Wan Kingdom.”

Ling Zhang immediately fixed Yuwen Tong with a gaze, his eyes glinting.

Smiling, Yuwen Tong looked from Ling Zhang to his bowl.

Ling Zhang, “…”

‘Very smart. Very good at creating opportunity, marshal.’

He picked up a piece of meat and put it into Yuwen Tong’s bowl. “Your reward. Now talk.”

With a happy and relaxed countenance, Yuwen Tong enjoyed the meat and then leisurely told Ling Zhang about his plan.

Ling Zhang’s eyes glittered more and more excitedly as he listened. Eventually, he couldn’t help but give Yuwen Tong an awestruck look. “This is just brilliant!”

Yuwen Tong lifted his eyebrows, enjoying the look of admiration and compliment from Ling Zhang.

“Then when do we take action?” Ling Zhang inquired, bursting with impatience.

Yuwen Tong responded, “There’s no hurry. Let me send that stupid Zhou Mingci to meet his Maker first.”

Ling Zhang’s ears pricked up at this reply. “How are you going to do that? He’s a member of the imperial household.”

Yuwen Tong said, “Nobody would blame me if he stews in his own juice, would they?”

Ling Zhang looked at him. “You got a plan for that as well?”

Yuwen Tong said, “I wouldn’t call it a plan. I’ll just create an opportunity which Zhou Mingci will take and walk to his doom.”

Ling Zhang’s curiosity was boosted as Yuwen Tong talked. “What kind of opportunity?”

Yuwen Tong flicked another glance at his bowl.

Ling Zhang quickly picked up two pieces of meat and put them into his bowl!

“A handsome reward. Can you tell me now?”

Yuwen Tong, who was evidently pleased with the handsome reward, slowly enjoyed the two pieces of meat beneath Ling Zhang’s gaze which he found just as enjoyable, and then unhurriedly confided his thoughts.

After hearing it, Ling Zhang sighed, “Well, Zhou Mingci has only his bad luck to blame.”

He’d messed with Yuwen Tong entirely on his own volition, hadn’t he?

“Once this plan succeeds, the political landscape in the imperial court will undergo another radical change. With only the King Duan and the King Yu remaining in the game, the strife will surely be even more intense.”

Yuwen Tong said, “Not necessarily.”

Ling Zhang looked at him in puzzlement. “Why?”

“You forgot that invalid,” said Yuwen Tong.

Ling Zhang realized who he was referring to. “You mean the Crown Prince?”

When talking about the Crown Prince, Yuwen Tong had a noticeably more serious face than he’d had when talking about the King Hui and the King Duan. “Zhou Mingtang is smarter than his brothers. He’s just been ill. During the period of his illness, first the Sixth Prince was brought down, and the King Hui will soon follow – two opposing forces down and he doesn’t have to do anything.”

Ling Zhang said, “But this is just because he’s ill. It’s you who’s behind all this, not Zhou Mingtang.”

Yuwen Tong’s countenance was inscrutable. “I might’ve been used. Who knows?”

Ling Zhang was startled. What did Yuwen Tong mean by this remark?

Yuwen Tong looked at him. “Relax. The mantis stalking the cicada might fall prey to the siskin following in its wake, but who knows whether or not there’s a hunter eyeing the siskin? You may rest assured that I know what I’m doing.”

Ling Zhang felt a sense of relief, but after hearing these words of Yuwen Tong’s, Ling Zhang finally grew slightly wary of the Crown Prince who was rumored to be too sick to get out of bed.

…

During Ling Zhang’s stay at home on leave, Yuwen Jin, Ji Feng and some others had paid him a couple of visits.

“Brother Zhang, you probably don’t know this – the Imperial College has been boringly quiet lately. All those who used to make trouble on a daily basis have been laying low – no quarrel, no fight, and I’m being bored out of my mind.”

“You sure it’s not because the teacher told on you to your father informing him of your poor academic performance and then you got beaten up by your father?” said Ji Feng.

Ling Zhang looked at Yuwen Jin in astonishment. “Your father beat you?”

Yuwen Jin clapped a hand to his hip almost reflexively and then took it off with a pretence of indifference. Straightening his neck, he replied, “My father was just trying to scare me into working harder. He would never really beat me.”

However, Ling Zhang who had already seen that reflexive movement didn’t believe him at all. He thought, ‘Yuwen Jin is such an anomaly. Both his father and elder brother are of manifest academic demeanor and are gifted scholars, too, but Yuwen Jin is totally uninterested in a literary career and has every intention of joining the army and going to the battlefield like Yuwen Tong did.”

Ji Feng and the others, without any consideration of Yuwen Jin’s face, had dissolved into snicker. “Then who was the guy that didn’t even dare sit down and stood in the Horse Stance in the classroom for a whole morning yesterday?”

Yuwen Jin went purple in the face. “I was practicing kung fu!”

“How very diligent of you. Your father wouldn’t have beaten you had you shown as much diligence in your schoolwork,” said Xie Qing.

Yuwen Jin gave him a dirty look. “You’re lecturing me as well?”

Xie Qing looked at him, an innocent expression on his face. What was wrong with him saying that?

Zhao Jiusi said, “I’m really curious about this – what did the teacher tell your father exactly? Why did he beat you so hard?”

Yuwen Jin’s countenance changed at these questions, his face twisting in distress, probably because something unpleasant had just occurred to him.

Ling Zhang, however, found his interest piqued at the sight of this reaction of his.