The Glory After Rebirth [ɇÇ”Ÿä¹‹Å°Šè£] Chapter 217- 219

Chapter 217: The Official Horse Race and a Short Bolt

The line-ups of the two sides would be decided by drawing lots; the first three of each round would advance to the next round, and the race would end when the top three were decided.

There were six participants in the first round, three from the Imperial College, and the other three the Oriental Rite Academy.

Ling Zhang’s round was among the last few, while Xun Huo who was not very good at this sport was to ride in the second round, which was fretting him so badly that he could scarcely get on his horse.

“Relax, just do as we previously agreed,” Ling Zhang consoled him.

“Take it easy. Just stay out of their way and focus on riding. Put your safety first,” Ji Feng also said.

All the others came to Xun Huo’s comfort as well, telling him not to be nervous. Xun Huo inclined his head, took a deep breath, swung himself onto the horseback and trotted his horse to the starting line with great caution.

Since so many of them gathered together, a lot of people were tossing glances at them. Seeing Xun Huo’s tense face, almost all of them had a shrewd idea of what was going on.

Students of the Oriental Rite Academy were very happy, while their opponents furrowed their eyebrows. One of the other two students of the Imperial College who were going to ride in this round with Xun Huo said, “What is wrong with you, Xun Huo? If you can’t ride, quit right now so someone else can replace you. We don’t need you to hold us back.”

“I know how to ride. I’m just a little nervous, and I might not be able to ride as fast as you do,” said Xun Huo, his face going scarlet.

“I don’t know how you have the nerve to tell us you cannot ride fast. You want us to lose?!”

“You’ll be an absolute disgrace to our college. I think you should withdraw.”

The two students didn’t respond to Xun Huo’s candidness with understanding. Instead, they were annoyed and suggested Xun Huo quit.

Xun Huo, who had just relaxed somewhat, went nervous once again, his hands gripping the reins tightly.

“He’d only be an absolute disgrace to the Imperial College if he chickens out. Why are you instigating him to back out? Is it because you’re moles planted by the Oriental Rite Academy?”

Suddenly, a voice was heard. Xun Huo’s countenance instantly grew relaxed. He twisted his head back and saw Ling Zhang, Ji Feng and the others walking over. Ling Zhang was the one who spoke.

The other two students of the Imperial College, seeing the speaker was Ling Zhang, were noticeably less cocky. One of the two huffed, “Cut the nonsense. Given the state Xun Huo is in, wouldn’t it be better if he lets someone else substitute him? He’d only waste an opportunity if he rides.”

“All students of our college present are allowed to ride in this race. Anybody withdrawing will be wasting an opportunity. If you’re afraid to lose face, why don’t you just outride your opponents?” sniffed Ling Zhang.

The speaker still wanted to say something, but was stopped by his friend, so he had no choice but to shut his mouth, unconvinced.

Ling Zhang said to Xun Huo, “Ignore them. Just do what you’re supposed to do.”

Xun Huo gave an earnest nod. “Thank you.”

Ling Zhang smiled, “For what? We’re friends, remember?”

Xun Huo also couldn’t help but give a faint smile. “You’re right.”

Seeing the two schoolmates of theirs didn’t dare say anything else, Ling Zhang and the others returned to their original positions.

“These bastards always bully the weak but cower before the tough,” Ji Feng huffed, glaring at the two schoolmates of his.

“Let them be. There’s no need to get angry because of people of their kind,” said Zhao Jiusi.

“They’re getting close to the finish line,” Yuwen Jin reminded them.

Ling Zhang and the others hurriedly looked in the direction of the finish line of the racetrack. The hunting ground was vast, and there was more than enough room for holding a horse race. The finish line was rather far away from the starting line, and people with average eyesight might not be able to see clearly the situation near the finish line, but Ling Zhang had a very distinct view of that area.

“Two of the students of the Oriental Rite Academy finished in the first and the second places. One of us came in third.”

“You don’t say! Are you sure you’re right about this? Why couldn’t I see it clearly?” Yuwen Jin jumped up straining to get a clearer view.

“I’m sure,” replied Ling Zhang with certainty.

Since Ling Zhang’s tone was positive, naturally none of the others doubted him. The Oriental Rite Academy had got the upper hand after the first round, which rendered Ji Feng and the others rather unreconciled to the situation. They felt that a start like this did not bode well for their college.

“It’s okay. At least one of them advanced to the next round.”

“Bah, what are you talking about?”

Soon the next round started. Xun Huo, in his nervousness, could barely keep his horse running forward and didn’t dare pick up speed, so he lagged behind immediately after the race started, which made him rather conspicuous.

When he finished one third of the course, those ahead of him were approaching the finish line. Though repeatedly telling himself to take it easy, he was still sweating buckets with anxiety. People in the stands, seeing his sweaty face and his lousy riding skills, generally guessed what was going on.

Many students of the Imperial College were discussing this, and their words were not very kind.

Ling Zhang and the other five, with sullen faces, shot dark glances at their schoolmates. Those who made eye contact with them sensed something and shut their mouths, but there were also some big-mouthed ones still complaining. Yuwen Jin, who had a short temper, rolled up his sleeves intending to teach them a lesson but was stopped by Ling Zhang.

“His Majesty is in the stands. Control yourself.”

Ji Feng and the others also helped keep Yuwen Jin from losing his temper. “Chill out. Don’t be impulsive. We’ll fix those big mouths after we get back. Currently the race is the most important thing.”

It was after hearing these words that Yuwen Jin managed to calm down. “Those guys really could use a beating.”

Ling Zhang was somewhat resigned. Yuwen Jin’s temper was indeed rather short. Exactly whom did he inherit this from? Neither his father nor any of his brothers was impulsive.

Xun Huo steeled himself staying on horseback and finally made it to the finish line, drenched in sweat all over. His tense face instantly relaxed and his hands went rather limp. Sitting on the back of the horse, he could barely keep his balance, swaying. Fortunately, those responsible for protecting participants at the finish line saw this, ran up to him, steadied his horse and helped him dismount. No sooner had Xun Huo got off his horse than he sat down onto the ground, raised his head and wiped the sweat from his face. “Finally, it’s over.”

“This is no place to sit. You might get run over by riders of the next round.”

Xun Huo was heaved to his feet and went to where the crowds were to rest. Seeing him, one of the two schoolmates of his who’d just ridden with him coldly snorted, “What a disgrace.”

Of course Xun Huo heard him, but he made no response. He just sat there quietly, trying to recover himself.

His silence deepened the disgust on the two students’ face, but neither of them made any further remarks due to their misgivings about the warning that Ling Zhang, a man who had even had a professor expelled, had given them a while ago. Although unconvinced, they were also afraid to end up on Ling Zhang’s enemies list.

Next, Zhao Jiusi, Xie Qing, Zhao Turui, Ji Feng and Yuwen Jin rode one after another, and to their delight, all of them advanced to the next round.

Then it was Ling Zhang’s turn. As soon as he set foot on the track, countless spectators’ eyes were drawn to him, not only because his horse Snowflake was very imposing but also because a lot of people had been covertly having half an eye on him. Now it was no exaggeration to say that Ling Zhang was quite the celebrity in the capital city.

Except for a glance at Yuwen Tong in the stands, Ling Zhang showed a total disregard for all spectators. He mounted Snowflake in an unhurried manner and reached out his hand to give it a pat. “We’ve got to try our level best in this race, buddy. If we win, I’ll give you something good to eat and a nice bath after we return.”

Snowflake neighed, as if responding to his words, growing excited.

As its spirits rose, Ling Zhang also felt his blood involuntarily pumping. He cast a few appraising glances at his opponents, got a general idea of the situation and then shifted his gaze to the finish line. Having just watched so many rounds, he was now very familiar with the track.

“Ready, go!”

As soon as the starter gave the order, Snowflake with Ling Zhang on its back hurtled forward like a shooting arrow. It went into the lead at the very beginning and its lead was commanding.

All Ling Zhang was doing was cooperate with Snowflake. Yes, he was cooperating with Snowflake rather than the other way around.

Snowflake was a very intelligent horse capable of understanding its master’s will and feeling what its master felt. During the past few days, what Yuwen Tong had been teaching him most of the time was how to bond with Snowflake. Snowflake knew what it was supposed to do, and it was also the fastest horse, so all it would take for Ling Zhang to win this race was to trust Snowflake.

And the fact soon confirmed this. Snowflake, the horse easiest to ride, carrying Ling Zhang, dashed out like greased lightning, with all spectators’ eyes fixed on it, and valiantly streaked towards the finish line.

Ling Zhang felt a kind of unbridled pleasure which was making not only his blood course violently through his veins but also his heart hammer. ‘If only the finish line were further away and I could gallop a while longer with Snowflake,’ he thought.

At the time when he was getting close to the finish line, and a beam of thrill was spontaneously widening on the face of Ling Zhang indulging himself in the delights of riding, a faint anomalous sound of something being fired came from the wood not far away to his left. A sense of dire, life-threatening danger made Ling Zhang’s blood freeze and instantly put him on the alert. Almost at the same instant, he mobilized all his internal energy and unleashed it forming it into a protective shield of Qi around him. What spectators saw was that the space within a short radius of Ling Zhang seemed to briefly twist, as if a sudden wave of scorching heat erupted from the ground changing the density of the air.

Snowflake gave a long neigh and reared up on its hind legs. The snow-white horse, as if startled, abruptly came to a halt.

Meanwhile, Ling Zhang felt something hit his shield of internal energy and kept from going any further. He gripped the reins tightly with both hands to prevent himself from falling off the horse, cocked an eye at it and found that it was a short bolt which was very thin and totally different from common bolts. It had been aimed at his temple and would probably have gone straight through his head by now had it not been deflected by his internal energy.

Ling Zhang’s face darkened. He instantly grabbed the short bolt as Snowflake’s forelegs sank back to the ground where they’d been.

It was in a single instant that this unforeseen change had happened. Nobody else had yet come to realize what had just occurred.

Ling Zhang shot a piercing look in the direction of the wood and spotted a black figure hiding in there, who unhesitatingly shot a second bolt at him the moment his eyes darted towards the wood. This time, Ling Zhang saw distinctly that the attacker hiding in the shadows was holding a very special crossbow.

No sooner had that short bolt shot out of the wood than a sharp sword was swung downwards in mid-air and cut it in half. A figure of quite soldierly bearing had rapidly lunged into the wood.

For an instant Ling Zhang was dumbfounded and with that a voice was heard. “Keep riding.”

Ling Zhang’s countenance abruptly changed. At this time, his competitors had caught up with him. Ling Zhang raised his horsewhip and yelled, “Let’s move, Snowflake!”

Snowflake once again proved itself to be an intelligent horse. It immediately sprinted forward once again, instantly outran its rivals and eventually was still the first one to cross the finish line.

Chapter 218: Complicated and Confusing Circumstances

It was not until this moment that spectators came to realize what was going on.

“Assassin!” Someone bawled.

Palace guards immediately ran to the protection of the emperor and courtiers in the stands, and the horse race was suspended. Everybody was looking in the direction of the wood that Yuwen Tong had just torn into.

“Hurry! Go and protect the Marshal! Enter the wood and seize the assassin!” bawled the emperor.

Guards of the hunting ground streaked towards the wood. At this time, Ling Zhang had turned at the finish line, galloping for the wood as well.

“Stop! Don’t go in there!” yelled the emperor subconsciously, taken aback.

However, Ling Zhang, as if not having heard him, disappeared into the wood in the twinkling of an eye.

At this time, the whole place was in a babble of voices. Some were yelling “Protect His Majesty!”; some were shocked to see Ling Zhang dashed into the wood; and there were also some who were still perplexed as to what was going on. Students were gathered together, under the protection of guards.

“BROTHER ZHANG!” Yuwen Jin made an attempt to run out but his arms were tightly gripped by Ji Feng and the others.

“Don’t do this. It’s dangerous!”

“Both my cousin and Brother Zhang are in there!” Yuwen Jin was losing it with anxiety.

At this moment, Yuwen Tong in the wood had caught up with the assassin, but the man had poisoned himself already, his crossbow nowhere to be seen.

Snowflake was faster than guards of the hunting ground, so Ling Zhang was the first to find Yuwen Tong. At a glance he saw the body of the assassin. With a frown on his face, Ling Zhang dismounted his horse and quickly walked up to Yuwen Tong. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. The assassin poisoned himself,” said Yuwen Tong.

Ling Zhang, after confirming Yuwen Tong was unharmed, heaved a sigh of relief. His eyes vigilantly swept around and then appraised the corpse on the ground. “His crossbow is gone.”

“What kind of crossbow was it?” queried Yuwen Tong.

After a few moments’ recollection, Ling Zhang gave a sketchy account of what had happened a while ago and finally made a summary. “… It was very special, unlike any crossbow I has knowledge of, and it was very dainty as well.”

Saying this, he handed the short bolt to Yuwen Tong, who took it, scrutinized it for a while, put it away and said with a grim face, “The daintier a crossbow is, the harder it is to make. At that time this assassin was quite far away from you, but the bolt still had such momentum when it approached you, which showed that his crossbow was not only dainty but also very powerful. It’s impossible to produce weapons of this kind in large quantities. I’m sure there are only a small number of them.”

Yuwen Tong paused after making these remarks.

Ling Zhang, who could feel that Yuwen Tong had something else to say, was just about to ask him when he found that a group of guards had arrived. He instantly understood why Yuwen Tong didn’t continue.

The guards clustered around the two of them. “Are you hurt, Marshal?”

“Is this… the assassin’s body?”

“He poisoned himself,” said Yuwen Tong. “There’s nothing suggesting his identity on him. Judging by his features, he’s probably a subject of the Great Yue. Bring his body back. Send for a court physician and have him find out what kind of poison this assassin ingested to commit suicide.”

“Yes, Marshal!”

“Scour this wood as quick as possible and see if there are any accomplices. I want every inch of this place searched.”

“Yes, Marshal!”

Then Yuwen Tong held Ling Zhang’s hand. “Let’s get out of here.”

Actually Ling Zhang wanted to join the search, but Yuwen Tong was firmly drawing him towards the outside, so he had no choice but to leave, bringing Snowflake with him.

Though there were a few questions in his mind, Ling Zhang couldn’t ask any of them on this occasion and had to keep silent for the moment, not with the guards escorting them outward.

After returning to the stands, the two of them had an audience with the emperor, and Yuwen Tong gave him a general report on what had happened in the wood and also handed the halved short bolt to him.

The emperor cast an appraising look at the short bolt and furrowed his brow. He had some acquaintance with weapons, though not much. “This bolt is so short.”

The first bolt fired at Ling Zhang had been caught by him but nobody had noticed, for it had happened too quick, and some spectators’ view had been partially blocked, and the space around Ling Zhang had seemed to be twisting in that instant. The emperor and courtiers around him all believed that this short bolt had been taken from the assassin by Yuwen Tong.

“When I found the assassin in the wood, he was already dead, and the weapon he’d used to fire this kind of bolts was gone. Although I didn’t find his weapon, I guess it was probably some sort of crossbow that fired this bolt.”

“But there’s no crossbow that could fire a bolt this short, is there?” The King Duan expressed his doubt.

The others shared his opinion. After all, currently, nobody had made a crossbow that could fire a bolt of such short length.

Yuwen Tong, after a few moments’ silence, said, “This is just a conjecture of mine, Your Majesty. It might have been some other kind of weapon. Pity it was nowhere to be found. Either the assassin had hidden it somewhere before his death or his accomplice took it. No matter which one is the case, this place is dangerous. I petition you to return to the palace, Your Majesty. Your safety is of supreme importance.”

After hearing Yuwen Tong’s words, all other people naturally tried to convince the emperor to go back to the imperial palace.

The emperor raised his hand to hush them. He said, “There’s no hurry about returning to the palace. Mingyuan, take some men and search that wood. Find whatever it was that fired this short bolt.”

“Yes, father,” answered Zhou Mingyuan, also known as the King Duan.

“Your Highness,” Jiang Changfeng called him to a pause and then said to the emperor, “Your Majesty, there might still be the assassin’s accomplices in the wood. The King Duan is a member of the imperial family after all, which makes it inadvisable to let him take such risks.”

But the emperor sniffed, “They’re just a couple of assassins, and I’m still here, what should he possibly be afraid of? Go.”

The King Duan answered “Yes, father” once again and then left.

Jiang Changfeng, seeing the King Duan had walked away, made no further remarks.

Ling Zhang kept feeling that by saying these words, Jiang Changfeng, rather than helping the King Duan, seemed to have kept others from trying to convince the emperor into sending someone else to scour the wood. A couple of courtiers had originally wanted to say something, but now they had all refrained from making suggestions.

“Just now the assassin was aiming at Ling Zhang?” The emperor looked at Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong.

Ling Zhang replied, “Your Majesty, the short bolt did seem to be fired at me. My horse is quite intelligent and also very vigilant. It sensed danger before I could and gave me a warning, which was why I promptly found that something was wrong.”

“Maybe that was not the case. Given the speed of Brother Zhang’s horse at that moment, it was impossible for that bolt to hit him,” said Yuwen Tong.

Nobody else had seen the first bolt, but the second one had been seen by some people when it was fired. And it was also the second bolt that Yuwen Tong had shown the emperor. Although Ling Zhang was confused as to why Yuwen Tong was keeping the first shot secret from others, he naturally, considering the circumstances, chose to cooperate with Yuwen Tong.

“I think you’re right. Had Snowflake not come to a sudden halt, I would indeed have galloped by before the bolt could approach me.”

The emperor stared at the halved bolt, pondering over something.

“It’s so strange. That direction… ” hesitated the King Hui. Then, after some recollection of the attack, he inquired, “Apart from Ling Zhang who would ride past that place, was there anybody else who might’ve been the target?”

On hearing his words, all others seemed to see the light. Immediately, some men were dispatched to look into it.

Soon the answer was found out. Someone reported, “Your Majesty, there were two others in that direction: Marshal Yuwen in the stands, and the president of the Oriental Rite Academy.”

A while ago Ling Zhang had indeed happened to be riding past the stands, and that short bolt had been fired diagonally. Given the angle, it was indeed possible that the assassin had been aiming at Yuwen Tong, or the president of the Oriental Rite Academy, or the principal of the Imperial College standing beside him, but the principal’s position had been a little off that direction.

“Was the target my cousin, by any chance? Someone wanted to assassinate my cousin?” Yuwen Feng exclaimed in alarm.

An attempted assassination of Yuwen Tong was no less severe than that of the emperor. After all, everybody was fully aware of the situation in the north-west. Once Yuwen Tong died, the north-west would definitely be thrown into chaos, and apart from everything else, the Wan Kingdom would surely take advantage of the opportunity and wage another war.

Face of everybody present changed.

“But that wood is quite far away from the stands. Could this bolt really cover a distance that long? If that’s the case, whatever fires this kind of bolts would be horrifyingly powerful. What kind of weapon could it possibly be?!” Someone was taken aback.

The emperor’s countenance also noticeably changed.

“If this kind of thing does exist, then… This place is too dangerous! Your Majesty, maybe you should return to the palace right away!” Even Jiang Changfeng involuntarily paled.

The emperor, however, staring at the short bolt, still hesitated for quite a while. “Let’s wait a while longer.”

Ling Zhang, seeing him staring at that short bolt all along, wondered whether or not the emperor was trying to figure out what it was that had fired it.

But Ling Zhang, who knew what had happened, was aware that no weapon whatsoever had a shooting distance that long, and it was indeed him that had been the target of that short bolt.

Due to this turn of events, Ling Zhang was confused once again. Though who wanted him shot was still unknown to him, clearly the situation was even more complicated now.

It took quite some time for the guards to scour the wood. The horse race had been suspended. It was not until noon that the search was over. Everybody was starving, but since the emperor hadn’t mentioned anything about leaving, nobody dared to take his leave. They had no choice but to endure hunger along with the emperor.

“Father, we searched every inch of that wood three times but still didn’t find that weapon,” reported the King Duan, a rather awkward look on his face.

“Third Elder Brother, the wood is such a small place. How is it possible that you didn’t find it? Are you sure you searched it carefully enough?” said the King Hui immediately.

The emperor also shot a piercing look at the King Duan.

The King Duan, breaking out in a sweat, explained, “There’s no way that the assassin hid the weapon somewhere far away, given how little time he had and the fact that the Marshal was chasing him. I even had the whole place dug over and also carefully checked each and every single tree in there. Eventually, to prevent omissions, we also scoured the whole wood as well, but we indeed didn’t find the weapon. If you don’t believe this, Fourth Younger Brother, you may ask any of the palace guards conducting the search. Father, I suspect that it was taken away by accomplices of the assassin.”

‘The King Duan doesn’t seem to be lying,’ Ling Zhang thought.

“Your Majesty, His Highness might be right. It’s very possible that the assassin had some accomplices,” said one of the courtiers who had previously intended to come to the King Duan’s support but been stopped by Jiang Changfeng.

“Then let’s wait for reports from palace guards conducting the search. After all, this is a huge hunting ground. If the assassin’s accomplices want to hide themselves, capturing them will take some doing,” said Yuwen Tong.

The emperor nodded. “Okay, then. Let’s wait.”

‘So this means that… we’re still not leaving?’ All courtiers appeared distressed.

“Father, noon has passed, and you haven’t had lunch yet. Would you like me to have them prepare it?” asked the King Hui.

The emperor inclined his head and the King Hui immediately went to make arrangements.

The King Duan resentfully sneaked a glance at him from behind, bitter and vexed.

“Your Majesty, the court physician might have got something. Maybe we should ask him what kind of poison the assassin ingested.” Yuwen Tong made another suggestion.

The emperor instructed, “Get the court physician.”

Chapter 219: A Direction? Yuwen Tong’s Conjecture

Soon a court physician hastened over, named the poison and explained, “Your Majesty, what the assassin consumed was a poison of an extremely high level of toxicity. It was not difficult to prepare. Anybody with the right formula can get all the ingredients in any drugstore.”

All other people’s faces slightly darkened at the court physician’s explanation. This meant that tracking down the culprit by tracing the source of the poison was no longer an option.

“Court physician, does this kind of poison has any defects?” Yuwen Tong suddenly asked.

The court physician replied, “Well, speaking of defects, this kind of poison inflicts great misery on the consumer before their death, which is why in the ordinary course of things people tend not to give it to a member of a death squad. On top of this, ingredients need to be added in strict orders and very precise amounts during the process of compounding it, because even the minutest error would cost its efficacy of inducing instantaneous death, which means people might be able to rescue the consumer, so normally, members of a dare-to-die corps don’t use this kind of poison to commit suicide. It’s too risky. Because there’s a very high chance that the amounts of ingredients haven’t been handled with required precision and they won’t be able to die an instant death.”

After hearing the court physician’s answer, all others lapsed into contemplation.

The emperor inquired of Yuwen Tong, “Was it because something occurred to you that you asked about this, Aiqing (a term of endearment used by an emperor or an empress to address an official in feudal China)?”

Yuwen Tong said, “Your Majesty, I just felt that since the assassin was carrying a weapon nobody had ever seen before, those he served are definitely no common people, and they don’t seem like the kind who would use this sort of ordinary poison. This is slightly against common sense, so I asked the court physician that question, whose answer made this departure from reason even more distinct. Therefore, I conjecture that the mastermind’s identity is very special. They have at disposal the kind of poison specially compounded for a death squad, but they don’t dare to use it, because once they use it, they would instantly be identified. What kind of poison would result in sure exposure of the consumer’s identity? Maybe the kind that is uncommonly rare and unique – the growing areas of the herbs needed to prepare it are easy to ascertain, for example, or maybe those people are the only group in possession of this kind of poison, and it has become one of the symbols of their identity.”

Light suddenly dawned on Ling Zhang who had been standing on the side listening. Yuwen Tong was right. The mastermind clearly was aware that this kind of poison had the defect the court physician had just mentioned that would probably led to exposure of their identity, but they had chosen to use it anyway, which showed that use of the poison they had at their disposal was even likelier to cause exposure of their identity than that of this defective poison!

“The Marshal is right. I think the schemer is probably still in the city, and he or she has under their command someone adept in compounding poison. Otherwise they wouldn’t have used this kind of poison and ensured the assassin’s death,” observed Jiang Changfeng.

“But this doesn’t make much sense. I mean, he or she could have chosen to use another kind of poison of more reliable toxicity instead of this kind. After all, there are drugstores everywhere in the capital city. Maybe the reason was that this kind of poison was the only choice the plotter had rather than that he had misgivings?” said the King Duan.

Yuwen Tong commented, “You’re neither right nor wrong.”

“What do you mean?” asked the King Duan.

Yuwen Tong explained, “Maybe it’s true that this poison was the only choice he had, but that would be because this is the only kind of poison his subordinate is capable of preparing that is both common in the Great Yue and made from easily accessible ingredients.”

After Yuwen Tong said this, faces of others grew thoughtful once again, and this time they seemed to have come to a new understanding of the situation. Even the emperor appeared to be deep in thought.

Ling Zhang felt that by making this remark, Yuwen Tong was faintly insinuating something.

Unsurprisingly, the court physician said, “Indeed, just like the Marshal said, there are many widely-known poisons in our country that could cause instantaneous death if ingested, any of which could’ve ensured immediate death of that assassin and been a safer choice than the one consumed by him, unless the behind-the-scenes mastermind had no acquaintance with any of those virulent poisons or was incapable of compounding any of them, but given that they’d managed to successfully prepare this poison of a high failure rate, they must have a very high level of proficiency in compounding poisons – at least in the Great Yue, it’s very unlikely that someone with this degree of mastery is not capable of preparing other poisons. Assassinating people under the nose of Your Majesty is a very risky task, and the schemer should know very well what consequences they’d have to take once their identity is exposed. As long as there’s an alternative, I believe they would never have chosen to use this one.”

There was even more manifest insinuation in the court physician’s remarks.

Everybody present was no fool and came to realize whom he was referring to.

At this moment, Yuwen Tong added, “Of course, we should not exclude the possibility that the mastermind was so conceited as to be one-hundred-percent sure that his poison would produce the desired effect.”

This could indeed have been one of the reasons, a less likely one compared with the previous conjectural one, though.

The emperor said, “No matter what, first the court physician is to make a list of the ingredients of the poison, and then a citywide search is to be conducted to find out who has recently purchased medicinal herbs required to compound it.”

Naturally, someone immediately left to execute the orders given by the emperor.

Though nobody present expressly pointed it out, almost all of them, including the emperor, actually had begun to suspect the Wan Kingdom.

Moreover, in the eyes of those who didn’t know any inside information, the attempted assassination had been targeted at Yuwen Tong, and the possibility of the president of the Oriental Rite Academy being the target had been completely ruled out by all others. Who else could hate Yuwen Tong so much apart from people of the Wan Kingdom?

In the sight of others, this was a very reasonable deduction, and a conclusion could almost be drawn.

But Ling Zhang was aware that he was indeed the one that the assassin had tried to kill, that he was indeed the target. Judging from the poison, it was very likely that the Wan Kingdom was behind this, but why did the Wan Kingdom want him dead? Because he was Yuwen Tong’s betrothed? But what difference could it possibly make if he died?

As a result, Ling Zhang himself was more inclined to believe that the preparer of the poison had been so wildly arrogant as to be positive that the poison would kill the assassin had he failed, and this also meant that this person was probably one of those in the capital city.

After the discussion about the poison, the emperor had palace guards pitch some tents for him and officials to rest in. Yuwen Tong naturally had a tent of his own. Ling Zhang followed him heading for the tent to get some rest. He happened to have a lot of questions to ask Yuwen Tong. All those remarks made by Yuwen Tong a while ago had been aimed at the Wan Kingdom, which greatly puzzled Ling Zhang. Had Yuwen Tong by any chance found something else?

While leaving, Ling Zhang could sense that a lot of people’s eyes were fixed on him. All their gaze was different from the one they’d given him previously. It was somewhat inquiring.

Ling Zhang guessed that this was probably because his using internal energy to defend against that bolt had been a trifle conspicuous and might have aroused some people’s suspicions.

But he decided not to dwell on this matter for the moment. After all, nobody could forbid him from practicing kung fu.

After entering the tent, Ling Zhang, bursting with impatience, was just about to ask questions when Yuwen Tong raised his hand and stopped him, saying, “You must be frightened at that time, weren’t you? It’s okay now.”

Ling Zhang fixed Yuwen Tong with a confused gaze. Seeing Yuwen Tong was looking out of the tent, Ling Zhang realized why he’d said this and answered, “I was almost scared to death. Just now Snowflake suddenly halted and I nearly fell off its back. I’m worried about you, for someone wants you assassinated. This place is too dangerous. Let’s just go back, shall we? How about you tell His Majesty about it?”

Yuwen Tong said, “It’s fine. We’ve got palace guards here, and His Majesty is still here as well. There won’t be any more assassins.”

Ling Zhang cooperatively made some further remarks and then said he was tired and could use some rest. Yuwen Tong conveniently told him to have a nap, saying he would wake him up when the food was delivered to the tent.

And then the tent fell quiet. Ling Zhang pricked up his ears, listening to audible signs of activity nearby.

After quite a while, a faint sound reached his ears, followed by an utter hush.

Ling Zhang was secretly astounded. After all, his hearing was amazingly good now, but just now he still hadn’t heard this eavesdropper’s breathing, which was an indication that this person’s internal energy was greater than his.

“He left,” said Yuwen Tong in an undertone.

Ling Zhang gave a bob of his head, heaving a sigh of relief. “You sensed his existence on entry? I couldn’t even hear that guy’s breathing.”

Yuwen Tong said, “Though faint, it was still audible. You’ll be able to detect it as well after you reach a higher level of proficiency in internal energy. The eavesdropper was probably one of the emperor’s secret bodyguards. There are not many of them, but they’re all kung fu masters. From now on, you have to be careful about what you say when you’re not at home, unless I’m by your side.”

Ling Zhang solemnly inclined his head.

“You used your internal energy back there. All those having discerning eyes should have noticed, and it’s impossible to keep it from coming to the knowledge of the emperor as well. In the future you may just let nature take its course, and there’ll be no need for you to conceal the fact that you have internal energy, for you might arouse people’s suspicions if you do,” Yuwen Tong added.

Ling Zhang nodded again. “All right.”

And then he couldn’t help but ask, “Why did you say that just now? And why didn’t you show them the short bolt I gave you when we were in the wood? Why did you mislead them into the belief that the assassin was aiming at you?”

Yuwen Tong answered, “I hid the short bolt for two reasons. First, I want them to believe that I was the one the assassin tried to kill, which makes it difficult to explain why this bolt was found; second, it might prove helpful in conducting further investigation. As regards why I misled them into believing that the assassin was aiming at me, naturally it’s because I want to find out who sent the assassin.”

Ling Zhang was perplexed. “Find out who sent the assassin?”

Yuwen Tong gave a nod. “Ever since I took you out of that wood, I’ve been observing each and every move of everybody around us, including the emperor and those in the stands. If it was one of them who sent the assassin, he would surely, no matter how great restraint he has, give himself away when I tried to mislead others into believing I was the target – at least he wouldn’t be able to keep the change of his breathing from being detected by me. Besides, afterwards I also brought up the poison and insinuated that the Wan Kingdom was behind this. If the behind-the-scenes mastermind was in the stands just now, he definitely would have taken advantage of the opportunity pushing the boat with the current.”

Ling Zhang carefully replayed in his mind what everybody had said just now. The King Duan had expressed some of his doubts, but all others had been quite silent, and none of them had appeared suspicious.

Yuwen Tong said, “Either the mastermind is too cunning or he is indeed not among them. I tend to believe the latter is the case.”

Ling Zhang asked, “Why? And who do you think is the best suspect?”

Yuwen Tong responded, “The Wan Kingdom.”

Ling Zhang widened his eyes. “But wasn’t that what you deliberately misled them into believing?”

Yuwen Tong smiled, “Although I was intentionally misleading them, some of my words were facts – for example, the poison, and the crossbow you talked about.”

Ling Zhang fixed him with an earnest gaze, waiting for him to explain.

Yuwen Tong continued, “I don’t know much about the situation in other countries, but when it comes to people in the Great Yue – as least these people in the capital city – I’m fully aware of whether they’ve been covertly developing new weapons or not. Most weapon developers hidden by the Ministry of War are top weapon makers in the Great Yue, and if they invent something new, I would definitely be informed. I’m absolutely positive that currently no such crossbow exists in the Great Yue. Given that the assassin sacrificed his own life to delay me buying time for his accomplice to transfer that crossbow, it is not only precious but also something the schemer has to do whatever they can to make sure it doesn’t fall into the hands of me or anybody else serving the Great Yue.”