The Glory After Rebirth [ɇÇ”Ÿä¹‹Å°Šè£] Chapter 184- 186

Chapter 184: On Your Knees

At this moment, Zhang Liu felt an urge to hit his head hard on a wall to punish himself. Had he known earlier that they would encounter Yuwen Qi and people of Su family in the Taibai Tavern, he would never have let Ling Zhang come.

Ling Zhang softly threw a quick glance at him and asked, “Why are you being so anxious?”

It was not until this moment that Tao Yi finally came to sense that something was not quite right with the mood at the table. “What’s going on?”

Ling Zhang smiled, “Nothing.”

But Tao Yi had a thoughtful expression on his face. He tossed a look at the landing, pondered for a few moments and remarked, “Let’s go to the book market for a walk. There happens to be some books I need to buy, and you’ll have to go to the Imperial College soon. We can go there together and see if there are any books suitable for you.”

Ling Zhang gave a bob of the head. “That might not be a bad idea.”

Seeing the nervous face of Zhang Liu, Ling Zhang believed that if he sat here for a while longer, Zhang Liu’s anxiety would go above the threshold and reduce him to running to Yuwen Tong’s report.

The four of them left the Taibai Tavern together, heading for the book market in the third east alley.

On arriving at the book market, Zhang Liu secretly heaved a sigh of relief, feeling that he had rid himself of the risk of being punished after returning.

“Young Master, please slow down a little bit. You must stay close to us in a crowded place like this.” Wang Dashan, however, involuntarily tensed his back. There were too many people in the book market. Though at first glance all of them seemed to be students, crowdedness was synonymous with danger.

Tao Yi, after tossing a backward glance at Wang Dashan and Zhang Liu who were closely following in Ling Zhang’s wake, said to Ling Zhang, “These two bodyguards of yours are pretty conscientious in their work.”

Ling Zhang responded, “Elder Brother Wang is my bodyguard, but Guard Zhang is not. He’s just here to render me protection.”

After hearing this, Tao Yi craned over and asked under his breath, “Is he by any chance the Marshal’s bodyguard?”

Ling Zhang inclined his head.

Tao Yi cast another backward glance at Zhang Liu, who calmly looked back at him. Tao Yi immediately gave a smile at him. Zhang Liu fell speechless.

There were bookstores and book stands everywhere in the book market. Scents of ink and paper were mixing together, shrouding this place in an intense air typical of the literati.

Ling Zhang secretly sighed in sentiment. Except for some occasional short-time reading at night, from his last incarnation until the present day, he hadn’t done any serious reading for a long time. Speaking of which, he was actually somewhat worried that he might not be able to keep pace with the tempo of teaching of teachers in the Imperial College.

“I wonder what they teach in the Imperial College,” Ling Zhang said. Had he known, he could buy some books and start learning in advance.

Tao Yi knew something about it and recommended several books to Ling Zhang. Ling Zhang purchased them all.

Estimating that these might not be enough, he decided to consult with Yuwen Tong about hiring a private teacher to teach him after he returned.

Inside the Taibai Tavern.

“Let’s go out for a walk, cousin.” Su Yaoyao, standing beside the window of the private room, egged Yuwen Qi on to take her to the streets to stroll around.

Yuwen Qi responded, “My mother’s been expecting you at home. We’d be keeping her waiting if we go to the streets for a stroll.”

A disappointed look appeared on Su Yaoyao’s face. “Fine.”

Yuwen Qi’s heart ached as he saw the disappointment on her face, so he said, “Just a while then. After that, we go back.”

“Great! Thank you, cousin!” Su Yaoyao said delightedly.

The look in Yuwen Qi’s eyes briefly changed as he saw a happy smile light up Su Yaoyao’s pretty face.

“Yaoyao, did your mother mention how long you’re allowed to stay in my home?”

Su Yaoyao answered, “My mother just told me to spend as much time as possible with my aunt. She didn’t say anything else.”

“I’m sure my mother will be very happy to hear this. She’s been talking a lot about wanting to see you recently,” commented Yuwen Qi. Of course, her mother had, inevitably, mentioned another person when talking about Su Yaoyao, the thought of which made Yuwen Qi’s face fell slightly sullen.

Su Yaoyao observed happily, “I always know that aunt is the kindest to me.”

“What about me?” Yuwen Qi looked at her.

Su Yaoyao immediately replied, “You’re also the kindest to me, cousin.”

“That’s the answer I want to hear,” said Yuwen Qi.

As the conversation was steered to the topic of things in Yuwen family, Su Yaoyao recalled something and faintly flushed. There seemed to be a particular question she would like to ask Yuwen Qi, but eventually, she swallowed back the words on the tip of her tongue in embarrassment. “Cousin, I’d like to go to the Jinyu Fang and take a look.”

“All right. I’ll go there with you.”

…

At this time, Ling Zhang and Tao Yi were still shopping in the book market. Wang Dashan had already had a high stack of books in his arms.

Ling Zhang, who saw this as he twisted his head back, hurriedly halted and remarked, “Elder Brother Tao, I think these are enough. If we buy any more books, Elder Brother Wang and Guard Zhang won’t be able to carry them for us.”

Tao Yi gave a bob of the head. “Okay. Let’s go. There’s a teahouse outside this book market. We may have some rest there.”

Ling Zhang, who had observed the terrain of this book market on their way, queried Tao Yi, “Is this place filled with shoppers every day?”

“Yeah. There are several book markets of considerable scale in this city. This one in the third east alley is one of the two largest. In addition, this place is actually not far away from the Imperial College, so many people come here to buy books.”

“The Imperial College?”

Tao Yi pointed in the direction of the college, where high garrets and cornices could be vaguely seen. “It’s right there.”

Ling Zhang gauged the approximate location of it and lodged it in his mind.

‘So many people come to this place every day. Is it advisable to buy a property nearby and open a drugstore? But almost all people coming here are students. These people are probably only interested in books and may not necessarily pay any attention to a drugstore. I should give this some more thought…’

While he was thinking, the four of them had walked out of the book market and turned into the street where the teahouse Tao Yi had mentioned was. This street was slightly broader than the one the book market was on. Apart from a teahouse, Ling Zhang also saw plenty of jewelry stores. ‘It seem that this is also an area for jewelry merchants and antiquarians. It’s indeed not the right place to open a drugstore,’ Ling Zhang thought.

The four of them were just about to cross the street to go to the teahouse when a horse-drawn carriage drove around the corner.

Ling Zhang didn’t pay any special attention. He merely tossed a quick glance at it and then paused.

This was so coincidental. They encountered that horse-drawn carriage of Su family once again. If he saw right, it was the very carriage parked in front of the Taibai Tavern previously. There were guards and maidservants following in its wake, which was sheer ostentation and extravagance.

“Eek? Will we never be rid of them?” Tao Yi also noticed the carriage.

Zhang Liu appeared as if he were faced with a formidable enemy. Seeing the carriage heading their way, he was only too anxiously to rush over, push it back into the alley and make sure it never came out.

They were just about to go to the teahouse when the horse-drawn carriage drove over and blocked their path. It seemed that the destination of passengers inside the carriage was the Jinyu Fang on the side, which was why the carriage was parked there blocking the street.

Yuwen Qi jumped off the carriage and saw Ling Zhang at a glance. With that, his countenance instantly changed. “It’s you?”

“Who is it, cousin?” Su Yaoyao got out of the carriage. Seeing the look on Yuwen Qi’s face was not quite right, she turned around in confusion and her eyes raked Ling Zhang and other three.

“A sparrow wishing to fly onto a high branch to become a phoenix,” replied Yuwen Qi flintily.

On hearing this, Ling Zhang felt an urge to roll his eyes upwards. ‘What kind of lousy metaphor is this? Yuwen Tong is not an emperor. How can I possibly become a ‘phoenix’ by marrying him? Besides, I’m a man. This whole ‘phoenix’ thing is nothing but bullshit,’ he thought.

The very sight of Yuwen Qi made him bored. Ling Zhang, who couldn’t be bothered to make a reply, said to Tao Yi, “Let’s just ignore him and go.”

“Ling Zhang!” However, Yuwen Qi was agitated by the indifferent look on Ling Zhang’s face. He flied into a temper and let out a cry. “Now you know you don’t have the nerve to show your face now? It didn’t cross your mind that you’d be reduced to this situation when you swaggered around in my home yesterday, did it? Now you want to leave?”

On hearing Yuwen Qi’s remarks, those guards instantly gathered around.

Seeing this, Tao Yi stepped to the front of Ling Zhang and said disgustedly, “What do you think you are doing, Yuwen Qi? You want to assault us on a street? Have you no shame?”

Ling Zhang was briefly surprised as Tao Yi hurried to his protection. He raised his hand and patted Tao Yi on the shoulder. “This is between me and him. You should stay out of this. Otherwise your name might end up on the target list of that rabid dog.”

Tao Yi refused to move, believing that Yuwen Qi harbored evil intentions.

“You think I can’t see you when you’re hiding behind someone else’s back? Weren’t you pretty cocky when my cousin was by your side? Now you’re afraid? Let me tell you something. You need to get back to Tanyang immediately, otherwise I’ll break your legs where you stand and you’ll be confined to bed for the rest of your life.” Yuwen Qi walked over and stared at Ling Zhang, a ferocious look in his eyes.

Yuwen Qi had been harboring grudges against Ling Zhang due to the humiliation inflicted on him in Tanyang that day. On top of that, after Yuwen Tong gave him a kick the day before, he had been consumed with anger all along. Therefore, seeing Yuwen Tong was no longer by Ling Zhang’s side, he was unable to subdue his rage and all he wanted to do was beat Ling Zhang up.

Ling Zhang held Tao Yi’s arm, put forth some of his strength and, giving Tao Yi no chance to speak, drew Tao Yi aside, stepped forward and coldly looked at Yuwen Qi, “Those are quite some big words, Second Childe Yuwen. I’m not going back to Tanyang. What are you going to do about it?”

“Then I’ll beat you until you beg me to stop!” Yuwen Qi smiled sinisterly with a sullen face.

“Then do it. I’d like to find out whether you’d be able to survive tomorrow after beating me today,” commented Ling Zhang frostily.

“That’s ridiculous. Your life is of no more value than that of an ant. You think I’d have to pay with my life after beating you to death? Stop dreaming,” Yuwen Qi responded. With a wave of his hand, those guards around them started closing in on them.

Wang Dashan immediately stepped forward and thundered, “How dare you! The Marshal will not let you get away with it even if you touch a single hair of my young master!”

“The Marshal? I don’t believe Yuwen Tong would still have his eye on you after I disable you. Boys, teach him a lesson!” Yuwen Qi instructed.

“Stop!” Zhang Liu cried flintily and exerted his internal energy on the guards around them, deterring them from getting closer.

“Childe Qi, I advise you not to be so slow-witted as to make trouble for Childe Ling. Otherwise the Marshal will make you pay for it even though you are a member of Yuwen family.”

“Who the hell do you think you are? How dare you threaten me!” Yuwen Qi was consumed with anger.

“You are utterly impervious to reason. Younger Brother Zhang is Marshal Yuwen’s betrothed, and his grandfather once saved your grandfather’s life, yet this is how Yuwen family is supposed to treat him? Now I see the true colors of you. You are an absolute disgrace to Marshal Yuwen. You are ruining Marshal Yuwen’s reputation! Marshal Yuwen is the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the Great Yue, the incarnation of the God of War in the Great Yue. How come he has family members like you people? This is unbelievably disappointing. You people are utterly unworthy of being Marshal Yuwen’s family!” Tao Yi, angered by Yuwen Qi’s conduct, flushed scarlet, glaring at Yuwen Qi as if he were an enemy who owed him a huge debt of blood. He could barely keep from rushing over to eliminate this degenerate for Marshal Yuwen.

“What did you say?!” Yuwen Qi raged, slowly stressing each syllable, and his face instantly went murderous. “Who the fuck do you think you are?! You are in no position to speak! Guards! Beat this talky fly to death!”

“Guard Zhang, restrain Yuwen Qi and bring him to me,” Ling Zhang said frostily, his fists clenched.

Zhang Liu gave a bob of his head. None of the others saw exactly how he did it, but when they were about to react, Yuwen Qi had already been brought to the front of Ling Zhang by Zhang Liu.

Yuwen Qi was taken aback. “You goddamn flunkey! Let go of me! What do you think you are doing?!”

“On your knees.”

Ling Zhang coldly walked over and gave the hollow of Yuwen Qi’s knee a hard kick. With that, Yuwen Qi’s legs buckled and he slumped to his knees.

Instantly, a deathly hush descended over the whole street.

Chapter 185: Yuwen Qi’s Venomous Snake

“You are courting death, Ling Zhang!”

At this moment, Yuwen Qi’s eyes were blood-red, sheer murderousness glinting in them. All of a sudden, a small eerily blue snake shot out of nowhere like greased lightning and bit Ling Zhang’s wrist!

“Young Master!”

“Younger Brother Zhang!”

Zhang Liu, Wang Dashan and Tao Yi were taken aback. None of them saw how that snake appeared, and neither was any of them able to react promptly to stop it. Besides, this snake was giving off a strong foul odor and of a weird color. Anybody could tell at a glance that it was venomous! Many venomous snakes had virulent venom which could cause instantaneous death!

Ling Zhang himself had also never expected that a snake would shoot out of nowhere to bite him, so he was caught off guard. The pointed sharp fangs of the venomous snake penetrated through the skin of his wrist. Not only was it causing him stabbing pain, his whole arm immediately went numb, which showed how high the level of toxicity of this snake’s venom was! Feeling dizzy, he briefly staggered and nearly lost his footing, his vision blurring…

Wang Dashan tossed aside the books in his arms and quickly stepped forward to support Ling Zhang with Tao Yi. Wang Dashan rapidly gripped the neck of the venomous snake. He did it with so great strength that the snake’s neck was directly broken. With that, the snake let go of Ling Zhang’s wrist but its fangs were still in Ling Zhang’s flesh. Wang Dashan removed it, heavily threw it to the ground and stamped it flat.

Zhang Liu, too worried to keep Yuwen Qi under control, kicked him aside and hurriedly went to check Ling Zhang.

After being kicked aside, Yuwen Qi picked himself up. Seeing the body of the snake, he was both painfully regretful and furious, but when he saw Ling Zhang suffering from the poison, he instantly had a smug look on his face, fully enjoying the feeling of being avenged. Through gritted teeth, he remarked, “Ling Zhang, this is what happens when you mess with me. My precious snake was far more valuable than your life. You should count yourself lucky.”

“Yuwen Qi, hand over the antidote!” Zhang Liu, seeing Ling Zhang’s life was hanging in the balance, gripped Yuwen Qi and demanded that he hand over the antidote.

At this time, Ling Zhang had regained his footing. He fished out the jade pendant around his neck with his other hand that was not numb and put it into his mouth. Immediately, a stream of mild but energetic medicinal power coursed through all veins inside his body and with that his mind instantly cleared, and the numbness in his arm also dissolved. The black poison of the snake was forced back to his wrist, flowed out of the wound and then disappeared thoroughly.

“Young Master… Yo–You recovered?”

“The poison was detoxified?”

Wang Dashan and Tao Yi, who had been supporting Ling Zhang, saw with their own eyes that the snake poison inside Ling Zhang instantly disappeared. The two of them were overjoyed, feeling as if their hearts had gone back to their chests from their mouths.

“I’m okay now. You may let go of me.”

Ling Zhang patted Wang Dashan and Tao Yi, who were supporting him, on the arm, as a sign for them to let go of him, and then, beneath the shocked gaze of everybody, he walked towards Yuwen Qi.

“Thi–This can’t be happening. How did you come to survive that?! The venom of this snake is the most virulent in the world! Without specially prepared antidote, you would surely be dead! Why are you still alive?!”

Yuwen Qi was both astounded and furious. Ling Zhang had already taken the jade pendant out of his mouth and put it back into his collar. Yuwen Qi had not seen it because Zhang Liu blocked more than half of his view. He had no idea whatsoever how Ling Zhang had detoxified his body.

All this had taken place so quick. Before any of the onlookers who had seen this could figure out exactly what was going on, the situation took another drastic turn. All guards of Su family whipped out their sabers and pointed them at Ling Zhang and the other three. Su Yaoyao also ran to the side of Yuwen Qi and nervously stood beside him. “Cousin!” she called.

“Yuwen Qi, you are so vicious! You set a venomous snake on him. What kind of benefits could you possibly gain from Younger Brother Zhang’s death?!” Tao Yi’s heart was hammering. He was still suffering from the shock. The very thought that Ling Zhang would’ve been dead by now had he not had a special jade pendant which could detoxify poison struck terrible fear into his heart. Even his hands and feet were icy cold with fright. As a result, he hated Yuwen Qi very much.

“Benefits? I’d be happy if he dies. You tell me what benefits I could gain. It’s such a pity. I wonder what kind of evil thing you used to detoxify the poison immediately. My snake died for nothing,” said Yuwen Qi with a sepulchral face.

“Yuwen Qi, originally I merely wanted to teach you a lesson and then let you go, but now that you tried to poison me… Guard Zhang, I’m afraid I’ll have to trouble you to bring him to me once again,” Ling Zhang observed, eyeing Yuwen Qi flintily.

Without saying anything, Zhang Liu hurtled into the circle of protection formed by guards of Su family.

“What are you doing? Do you know my cousin is the second young master of Yuwen family? If you dare to make another move, both Yuwen family and Su family will make you pay for it!” yelled the lady of Su family as she saw Zhang Liu charged over.

Zhang Liu’s kung fu was far better than that of any of the guards of Su family. He had restrained Yuwen Qi once, and he could definitely do it again.

Seeing Yuwen Qi was grabbed, Su Yaoyao screamed, “How dare you! Let go of my cousin!”

Zhang Liu, showing a total disregard for her, brought Yuwen Qi up to Ling Zhang and said, “He’s all yours, Childe Ling.”

After saying this, he looked at Ling Zhang somewhat worriedly. What Yuwen Qi had just done was far beyond the pale. He feared that Ling Zhang wanted to take Yuwen Qi’s life. If that was the case, he really didn’t know whether he should stop him or not. This incident was bound to escalate as well. However, though having such worry, Zhang Liu didn’t dare to say it out before Ling Zhang actually tried to do it.

“Ling Zhang, if you dare to touch a single hair of mine, not only you but also all your family members will pay with your lives!” Yuwen Qi, whose vital acupoints had been hit by Zhang Liu, couldn’t move an inch, consumed with rage. ‘These guards of Su family are all good-for-nothings! They couldn’t even stop one man!’

Ling Zhang’s countenance grew increasingly colder as he heard these words, his face full of anger. “You should count yourself lucky that you are Yuwen Tong’s cousin. Apart from everything else, I still have to take his face into consideration. Otherwise I would never let you get off like this after what you did today. Guard Zhang, bring him with us. We’re going to the residential compound of Yuwen family!”

“Yes!” Zhang Liu, after hearing that Yuwen Qi was merely going to be brought to the residential compound of Yuwen family, felt a sense of relief.

“Cousin!” Su Yaoyao ran up and stopped them. “Let go of my cousin!”

“Step aside!” Ling Zhang instructed coldly.

Su Yaoyao fixed him with a resentful stare. “You are nothing but a shameless man. You think just because you are engaged to the Marshal gives you the right to wilfully do whatever you like? The Marshal hasn’t married you yet, and he’s definitely not going to take someone like you as his wife. Let go of my cousin!”

Ling Zhang gave a sneer and asked rhetorically and explicitly, “Surely you don’t imagine he’d marry you instead of me, do you?”

“Yo–You!” Su Yaoyao flushed scarlet with embarrassment, at a loss for words of contradiction.

“I said ‘step aside’. If you don’t, I won’t go easy on you even though you are a woman. I have Yuwen Tong at my back, so be smart,” observed Ling Zhang.

“Shame on you!” Su Yaoyao blushed furiously.

Ling Zhang rolled his eyes upwards, and then his face darkened as he fixed his icy eyes on Su Yaoyao.

Beneath his gaze, Su Yaoyao was somewhat scared, and surprisingly, when Ling Zhang started walking forward again, she didn’t dare to stop him any more but just eyed Ling Zhang in resentment with her lower lip clamped between her teeth, as if Ling Zhang had just committed a heinous crime.

Ling Zhang, showing a total disregard for her, took Yuwen Qi and headed for the residential compound of Yuwen family.

“What do you plan to do, Childe Ling?” asked Zhang Liu. “Do you want me to have someone inform the Marshal of this?”

Tao Yi on the side also remarked nervously, “If we go to the residential compound of Yuwen family just like this, we might end up losing out, don’t we? I think we should inform the Marshal and go there with him!”

“That’s Yuwen family’s place, so what? Yuwen Qi tried to have our young master poisoned. Our young master has every right to go there and get justice, doesn’t he?” commented Wang Dashan.

After an unsuccessful attempt to free himself, Yuwen Qi observed frostily through gritted teeth, “Get justice? With your power? Don’t be ridiculous. Ling Zhang, I suggest you release me right now, or you will regret it.”

Ling Zhang replied without even a backward glance at him, “Regret? You know what, I do feel somewhat regretful. I regret not having directly broken one of your legs a moment ago.”

Zhang Liu’s eyelids involuntarily twitched. He had an intuition that Ling Zhang was telling the truth.

“Then what kept you from breaking his leg, Young Master?” asked Wang Dashan angrily. “Yuwen Qi tried to poison you!”

Ling Zhang made no reply. He wanted more than just breaking his leg – he wanted Yuwen Qi dead. Yuwen Qi had not only tried to poison him but also threatened him with deaths of all members of Ling family in Tanyang, which was something he found most unforgivable. However, Yuwen Qi was Yuwen Tong’s cousin. If he beat him to death or disabled him, Yuwen Tong would be put in an awkward position. No matter what, he shouldn’t be the one who did that.

‘Let people of Yuwen family account for this action of his!’ he thought.

Of course Zhang Liu had not been the only one that Yuwen Tong had dispatched to go out with Ling Zhang, which was why when Ling Zhang escorted Yuwen Qi to the gateway of the residential compound of Yuwen family, Yuwen Tong also showed up, along with Xie Shi who had been hastily told to come.

“Cousin, help me!” yelled Yuwen Qi at the sight of Yuwen Tong.

Yuwen Tong threw a flinty glance at him. The iciness and bloodthirstiness in his eyes transfixed Yuwen Qi, as if he were frozen by some kind of enchantment. Feeling chills run through him, he stuttered, “Cousin…Yo–You…”

“Xie Shi.”

Xie Shi had walked up. He first felt Ling Zhang’s pulse, and then briefly examined him. Feeling relieved, he said, “It’s nothing serious. The poison in Childe Ling has been detoxified. It’s just that his body will be somewhat weak after detoxification and he needs tonics to help him recover.”

Ling Zhang put down his wrist and looked at Yuwen Tong. “I’m fine.”

Yuwen Tong took his hand and the two of them walked into the front gate of the residential compound of Yuwen family.

Thus Yuwen Qi was escorted into the residential compound.

Both Yuwen Zhi and Zheng shi were caught off guard by their arrival, especially when they saw Yuwen Qi pushed to the ground, who cut a sorry figure.

“Qi’er! What are you doing?! What did you do to my son?!” Taken aback, Zheng shi hastened up to Yuwen Qi, helped him to his feet and hastily examined him from head to toe. “Qi’er, are you all right? What did they do to you?”

Yuwen Qi’s hands, which had been tied at the back all the way to this place, had gone numb some time ago. Having just been released, he was unable to speak due to the itch, numbness and pain in his hands.

“What’s this supposed to mean?” Yuwen Zhi was not as talkative as his wife was, but he also stared at Yuwen Tong with extremely deterrent eyes.

“Uncle, aunt!” At this moment, someone called from outside and with that Su Yaoyao ran into the living room helter-skelter.

“Yaoyao?” Seeing the tears on her cheeks, Zheng shi inquired of her, “What happened to you?”

“Aunt, that Ling Zhang guy is a shameless wretch. He injured my Second Cousin and refused to let him go, saying that he wanted to take Second Cousin here and seek justice,” Su Yaoyao huffed, pointing at Ling Zhang.

“What?” Zheng shi’s face instantly went angry and her penetrating eyes glared at Ling Zhang. “You dared hurt my son?”

Chapter 186: Choices Offered by Yuwen Tong

Ling Zhang didn’t even cast a glance at Zheng shi. He directly ignored her, raised his head and coldly said to Yuwen Zhi, “Lord Yuwen, even if you people of Yuwen family disapprove of the engagement between me and Yuwen Tong, I’m sure there’s no need for any of you to poison me on sight, is there? Or has this been Yuwen family’s intention all along?”

Yuwen Zhi had ignored Ling Zhang when Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong entered the living room a moment ago. It was not that he had not seen Ling Zhang but that he had deliberately pretended not to notice with the intention of showing his disdain for Ling Zhang and humiliating him, but now he had no choice but to look at Ling Zhang. “What did you mean by that remark?”

“I was just walking on a street, not doing anything else, but Yuwen Qi showed up and threatened to beat me and disable me. After being restrained by Yuwen Tong’s bodyguard, he even set a venomous snake on me, which gave me a bite. Had I not carried on me some medicine that can detoxify any poison, I would have died on the street by now. You people of Yuwen family are really good at doing one thing before a man’s face and another behind his back. In the presence of outsiders, you told me that you didn’t dare forget my grandfather’s great favor of saving your father’s life, that you would see it decently returned, but when there’s nobody else around, your son resorted to every means to have me killed. After he failed to beat me to death, he made an attempt to poison me, which was a real eye-opener for me.”

Ling Zhang looked at Yuwen Zhi, sarcasm glinting in his eyes. “How do you explain this, Lord Yuwen? Am I not supposed to come here to seek justice after what happened?”

“Yo–You are lying! My cousin didn’t cause you any harm.” Originally, Su Yaoyao supporting Yuwen Qi had wanted to hurl abuse, but she immediately swallowed back the words on the tip of her tongue as her eye fell on Yuwen Tong. Looking at Yuwen Tong, she accused Ling Zhang of lying.

Ling Zhang gave a sneer. “Miss Su, no barefaced lie can help you become Yuwen Tong’s wife. All those who have eyes saw what happened on that street. It’s okay if you people of Yuwen family are unconvinced. Originally, in order to save Yuwen Tong’s face, I didn’t want to make too big a fuss about this matter, which was why I came to this place to seek justice. If you are unconvinced, I don’t mind reporting this to the yamen. Given that a great many people saw the incident, I think people of the yamen wouldn’t dare to close this case without an intensive investigation and they would probably have to refer it to His Majesty. If you are not afraid of this matter coming to the knowledge of everybody in this country, do whatever you want. I, Ling Zhang, will take you on right to the very end.”

“Yo–You… That’s bullshit!” Su Yaoyao, whose true thoughts had been exposed, flushed scarlet, cheeks burning with embarrassment. Deeply worried, she looked at Yuwen Tong, fearing that Yuwen Tong believed Ling Zhang’s words but also hoping that Yuwen Tong would look at her. ‘If he looks at me, he’d see how pretty I am and know that I’m far better a choice for him than Ling Zhang is, who’s a man knowing nothing about being tender or gentle,’ she thought.

However, Yuwen Tong didn’t even glance at her, as if she were as invisible as air, which rendered Su Yaoyao angry, annoyed and ashamed.

“Uncle, what’s your opinion? Younger Brother Zhang is not only my betrothed but also the eldest grandson of the man who once saved my grandfather’s life. Do you want this matter settled here or in the court of law?” queried Yuwen Tong.

Yuwen Tong’s tone of voice was very flinty. At this moment, he was trying hard to subdue his anger. Had Ling Zhang not taken Yuwen Qi to this place to seek justice, he would have broken Yuwen Qi’s legs some time ago.

“Yuwen Tong, Qi’er is your cousin. How could you side with an outsider instead of coming to his support?!” Zheng shi looked at Yuwen Tong, unable to believe his words. “Exactly what kind of sweet talk did he use to beguile you? Why do you always take this outsider’s side at every turn?! And what kind of lifesaver is Ling family anyway? Is that petty favor really worth bringing up again and again? They’re just taking advantage of it to do just as they please. You–”

“Enough!” Yuwen Tong icily looked at her.

Both Zheng shi and Su Yaoyao were taken aback by the bloodthirstiness and murderousness in Yuwen Tong’s eyes. They not only gave a gasp of horror but also recoiled two steps, afraid to utter another word due to the deterrent effect of the expression in his eyes.

At this time, Yuwen Qi, who had recovered, demanded, “Why on earth are you so insistent on marrying this Ling Zhang guy, cousin? What is it that you see in him, anyway?! Yaoyao is ten thousand times better a choice for you than he is!”

There was not a shred of regret in his voice.

Anger surged inside Yuwen Tong and he could barely keep from losing his temper. Yuwen Feng, who suddenly returned in haste, walked up and slapped his younger brother across the face. “Shut your mouth! You did something wrong yet have no intention of mending your ways?!”

“Ah!”

“Qi’er!”

Su Yaoyao and Zheng shi, who were standing on the side, let out a scream. That slap given by Yuwen Feng was very hard, which broke Yuwen Qi’s mouth, blood spattered.

Ling Zhang furrowed his brow. ‘The timing of Yuwen Feng’s return was perfect.’

“Cousin, my younger brother is ignorant. I apologize for his words and deeds. From today onwards, he’ll be locked up in the ancestral hall introspecting about his faults. Under no circumstances will we let him leave the hall without your consent. I hope you and Childe Ling could let go of your anger. We are family, and things didn’t reach the point where a life-or-death fight is unavoidable,” remarked Yuwen Feng.

“I’m afraid you’re mistaken, Childe Feng. It’s not that things didn’t reach the point where a life-or-death fight is unavoidable. Your younger brother almost got me killed on the street just now. He wanted me dead, which was something everybody present saw with their eyes,” said Ling Zhang.

Yuwen Feng looked at him, bowed down and replied, “I know. It was all my younger brother’s fault. I’ll throw him into the prison of the yamen myself as long as you give the word, but please take into consideration his kinship with my cousin and forgive him this time.”

“Are you out of your mind, Feng’er?!” Zheng shi screeched.

Ling Zhang’s brow corrugated in a frown once again. ‘If I don’t pardon Yuwen Qi, would I strike others as a narrow-minded person who seeks revenge for the smallest grievance?’ he wondered.

“Yuwen Feng.” Yuwen Tong suddenly spoke and he directly called Yuwen Feng by his full name. Yuwen Feng jolted, straightened himself and looked at Yuwen Tong.

“There are circumstances when you cannot expect others to let things go for your sake,” Yuwen Tong commented, looking him in the face.

Yuwen Feng paled visibly. Of course he knew what Yuwen Tong meant.

“It’s a fact that Yuwen Qi stopped Younger Brother Zhang on the street threatening to disable him and force him to go back to Tanyang, and so was that he tried to have Younger Brother Zhang poisoned with a venomous snake. It’s impossible for me to pretend that neither of these happened. Today I have no intention of talking with you people about anything else. I just want to ask you one question, uncle. How do you plan to punish Yuwen Qi?”

Yuwen Tong’s eyes were no longer on Yuwen Feng but on Yuwen Zhi.

Yuwen Zhi had an uncommonly sullen look on his face. “What do you want to say?”

“Break a leg of Yuwen Qi’s, have him introspect about his faults in the ancestral hall for a month, and from now on, none of you are to lay any comment on or interfere in the marriage between me and Younger Brother Zhang, or introduce any unsavory women to me, for they will only serve as eyesores to me. Do these and I’ll let this go; we’ll still be family; I’ll render Yuwen family protection as long as I still draw breath; and you’ll still get the power, status and reputation that you want. If you’re unwilling, then from today onwards, the secondary Yuwen family and I will go our separate ways, which is not without precedents in our family history, and nobody will deem it inappropriate. After that, you’ll have to move out of the residential compound of Yuwen family. The promise I made my father will still stand – unless any of you do anything life-threatening to me or Younger Brother Zhang, I’ll do my best to keep you alive, even if you poked holes in the sky. Think this through, uncle.”

After Yuwen Tong finished speaking, there was a deathly hush in the room. Everybody was shocked.

Yuwen Qi was the first one to react. His face instantly went frighteningly pale and with that he immediately looked at his father, an imploring expression in his eyes. “Father!”

‘I don’t want my leg breaking! I don’t want to be a cripple!’

Zheng shi stepped to the front of Yuwen Qi and vigilantly eyed Yuwen Tong. “You are going too far, Yuwen Tong. He’s your cousin! Have you taken leave of your senses?!”

Su Yaoyao was terrified out of her wits, and the two words of Yuwen Tong’s – ‘unsavory women’ – were as hurtful as a sharp splinter sticking right in her heart, which rendered her face both ghastly white and embarrassed.

Yuwen Feng and Yuwen Zhi were the only ones remaining silent.

Yuwen Feng was astounded by Yuwen Tong’s decision, for Yuwen Tong had said that he’d part with the secondary Yuwen family. Nobody knew better than they did about what Yuwen Tong’s separation from their family meant. Everything they currently had was based on Yuwen Tong’s illustrious military exploits, which was a fact that Yuwen Feng had an increasingly clearer conception of as he rose through the ranks. Meanwhile, he had also seen clearly many turbulent undercurrents. In fact, currently Yuwen family was like a house built on the frozen surface of a lake, which could collapse at any moment. Despite the semblance of glory and wealth, Yuwen family actually was faced with many dangers, and the most crucial factor in all this was Yuwen Tong. It could be said that every decision he made was a matter of life and death for Yuwen family!

“Cousin, please don’t be impulsive,” Yuwen Feng tried to persuade him.

Yuwen Tong’s eyes were still on Yuwen Zhi. “Uncle, it’s your call.”

The sullenness on Yuwen Zhi’s face was beyond description. He fixed Yuwen Tong with a stare and said, “Have you any idea what you are talking about? You think you can separate this family as you please? His Majesty will not allow it.”

“There’s no need for you to worry about that, uncle. As long as I’m willing, His Majesty will definitely consent to the separation between us,” commented Yuwen Tong.

“You’ll hand over the command of the armies? You cannot do that!” Yuwen Zhi huffed.

“You’re overthinking it, uncle. I’m the one who’s supposed to consider these things. All you have to do is make a decision.” Yuwen Tong was unwilling to let the conversation be steered away.

“Yuwen Tong!” Yuwen Zhi was consumed with rage. He had never expected that Yuwen Tong would dare to push him so hard – he was trying to pressurize him into making a choice between breaking his son’s leg or separating this family!

Once he and Yuwen Tong went their separate ways, no matter how it would affect Yuwen Tong – and he didn’t really care – he would definitely no longer be the patriarch of Yuwen family but just patriarch of an offshoot family! His identity and status, along with everything else, would be different. Yuwen Zhi didn’t want to see any of these happen, and neither would he allow any of them to. What angered Yuwen Zhi even more was that Yuwen Tong had removed a fig leaf ruthlessly revealing a fact that was as humiliating to him as a slap across his face: he and his family owed everything they enjoyed to Yuwen Tong, and his status was vitally interrelated with Yuwen Tong as well; once Yuwen Tong was no longer on their side, he would lose everything!

This was virtually more embarrassing for Yuwen Zhi than slapping his face, and it was also a fact that Yuwen Zhi had been unwilling to admit all along. However, now Yuwen Tong had brought up the separation of Yuwen family. No matter how unwilling Yuwen Zhi was to face these facts, they had been put right before him.

‘Yuwen Tong is threatening me – either I accept Ling Zhang or I lose everything.’

Fists clenched tightly, Yuwen Zhi stared fixedly at Yuwen Tong. “Good. Good. This move of yours is very good.”

‘No wonder the old man designated him to be trained as a successor before death,’ thought Yuwen Zhi. Yuwen Tong was aiming at his Achilles heel. Now, conversely, he had to fawn on Yuwen Tong and take Ling Zhang into this family on my own initiative. Ling Zhang and he had instantly switched positions. As Yuwen Tong’s uncle, he meant less to his nephew than an outsider did now.