"Brat, you actually dare to slander our Yu Family? How bold! Report your name if you really have the guts!" A black-robed individual remained seated and roared. His voice was extremely loud but it was filled with dense killing intent. When his voice traveled into the ears of those present, they could immediately feel an extremely oppressive aura in the hall.
"Yu Family?! There is actually someone from the Yu Family here?!" The group of people at the two tables quietened down immediately and their gazes shot over.
One of the Yu Family then burst out laughing, "How interesting. How coincidental. HAHAHA, let's see all of you continue bragging. Look at how all of you bragged until the point the main character appeared. Didn't you say that the Yu Family was worthless? Hurry up and go settle them!"
The moment these words were said, many people from the two tables could not help but laugh at their misfortune. However, there was something extremely clear. Even when the Yu Family members were in front of them, these individuals were not bothered at all!
The ten members from the Yu Family immediately had their doubts diminished. They originally thought that these bandits were provoking them intentionally after noticing their presence. However, it seemed like that wasn't the case. However, they would definitely not let the person who proclaimed that he robbed the Yu Family escape. They would rather kill an innocent party than risk letting him go.
The entire Yu Family was thrown into chaos because of this. Now that they had a clue, how could they let him escape?
"Brat, you were the one who said that you robbed our Yu Family's grain? Yes or no?" The black-robed individual asked coldly.
"Not bad, it indeed was this daddy! Military grain? Hahaha, it has already entered the cycle of Samara! What about it? You want to take me in?" That boorish teen laughed maniacally, "I am afraid that you don't have that ability!"
The ten Yu Family individuals stood up at the same time. In their trip to Sky Bearing, while Yu ManLou had instructed them to be extremely careful and not stir trouble before they could contact the members of Above Heavens, they were unable to keep their cool in front of the robber who had stolen their military grain!
Seeing that both parties were about to break out into a fight, a gentle voice suddenly sounded, "May all our honored guests quell your anger. The Ling Family is about to set up their empire and has given strict orders to prevent any mess in Sky Bearing. If any fatalities were to occur in either party, this Smoky Thea Tower will probably have to be shut down. Regardless of the enmity between both parties, it would be best if both parties can take a step back and find another place to settle your scores! I shall thank all of you here!"
The person who spoke up was the owner of the Smoky Thea Tower, Gu XiYan. While she sounded like she was trying to stop both parties from fighting, there was another hidden layer to her words. Rather than say that she was trying to stop the fight, she was giving advice to the various individuals present. As long as there were no fatalities, it wouldn't be considered a mess. As for finding another place to settle scores, both the Yu Family members and the youth would probably be unwilling...
Indeed, one off the youths burst out into laughter, "Rest a.s.sured beauty, this king here will only teach these Yu Family sc.u.m a lesson and will definitely not kill. While we do not place the Yu Family in our sights, we will not dare to provoke young n.o.ble Ling. In Sky Bearing, who would dare to not give young n.o.ble Ling some face?"
These words had enraged the ten members from the Yu Family further! These words seem to imply that Ling Tian was far more powerful that Yu ManLou! Outrageous!
Gu XiYan smiled without saying another word. After saying the previous words, her mission was already accomplished and she would naturally take her leave.
"Dammit! The Yu Family actually dares to come to Sky Bearing to catch my brother! Brothers, fight it out with them!" A youth shouted.
"Cripple them all! Look at their ghastly appearances! Looking at them makes me sick! So it turns out that they were from the Yu Family. No wonder they have such an evil appearance!" Another individual added on.
"Fight! Beat them all up! Beat them up from north to south to..." The more than ten bandit leaders cried out and charged forward with stools in their hands.
The members of the Yu Family flew into a rage! These bandits had actually charged forward before they had even taken action! They obviously didn't place our Yu Family in their eyes! Unwilling to back down, they charged forward as well and the place fell into a mess.
The three souls and seven bodies of the Yu Family were all famous experts and any one of their martial arts wasn't to be underestimated. When they were fighting together, they even had a formation that they had learned. With the aid of the formation, their collective strength was far greater than the sum of their individual strengths! However, they never expected the more than ten bandit kings to work together flawlessly with a great deal of chemistry between them. Their defenses and attacks were well coordinated and the chemistry between them wasn't lesser than the chemistry between the three souls and seven bodies!
In just a short instant, both parties had injuries all over but none of them were willing to back down.
Of the three souls and seven bodies, the bearded elder in the middle of the formation felt depression in his heart. While the ten of them were not considered top-notch experts in the Yu Family, their combination attack was something that even Yu ManLou would not dare attempt.
Furthermore, if their strength were to be ranked in the entire world, they would definitely be able to rank in the top 100! Now that the ten of them were working together, not only were they unable to gain the upper hand, they actually felt as though their hands were tied up and restrained! This was an extremely puzzling matter!
As the bandit kings took action, while their actions seemed like a complete mess, their actions actually followed an orderly pattern that came from strict training. For example, when the pale-faced teen charged forward, looking as though he was launching an attack and revealing large openings, his flanks were actually covered by the two companions beside him who were unleas.h.i.+ng their own attacks. Each of their attacks had covered the opening of the other and formed an extremely well-hidden trap. If anyone attacked the place where the opening was, he would definitely face the combined attack of the three!
If these bandits had only met each other in pa.s.sing, how would they be able to work together with such chemistry? But if they were intentionally stirring trouble to fight them, what was their motive?
Just when he was in thought, a youth shouted loudly, "These fellows from the Yu Family are too powerful. This daddy can't beat them and my nose is already red. Shall we escape?"
Another one laughed out loud, "It doesn't matter if your nose is red. As long as your little bird does not see red."
A furious roar sounded, "Nonsense! Even if we can't win, you can't say escape. You should say retreat!"
"What retreat? It is obviously a strategic repositioning. Tsk, don't you even have the slightest bit of culture?!" another person corrected.
"Then... shall we make a strategic repositioning?" A few cried out together. "I can't take it anymore. This battle is too intense and I am already severely injured. Look at how big my bruise is!"
"Alright! Since the fight is so tough, listen to my orders. One, two, three. Brothers, let us scram!" All of a sudden, the sound of retreating footsteps could be heard and the benches came flying towards the Yu Family's three souls and seven bodies like rain. When they had blocked the incoming benches, there was no one left in front of them.
All of a sudden, a voice sounded from afar, "Dammit, don't you know how to give a proper order? It should be strategic repositioning! Do you understand? What do you mean by scram? Do you think that we are a gang?"
...
The ten individuals from the Yu Family looked at each other pathetically. Apart from their clothes being tattered, every one of them had injuries on them. While their injuries weren't severe, a few of them could see red.
"This doesn't make sense!" The ten of them did not understand what was going on. Why did they fight such a strange battle? Furthermore, the other party did not show any signs of losing before disappearing without a trace."
The ten of them were completely puzzled. One of them asked, "Should we tell Third Master when he returns?"
"What's the point of letting him know? Talking to a piece of wood is better than talking to him," another individual replied. After discussing the matter for a long while, they still weren't able to come to a conclusion. However, all of them felt that this matter was truly a strange one.
On a street outside the Smoky Thea Tower, more than ten figures were sneakily gathered in a concealed corner.
"How about it? Did you guys do it?" someone asked.
"Of course. Hehehe, can this be faked?" someone replied delightfully.
"What about all of you? Did you miss anything?"
"Nope, I checked carefully and every one of them was seeing red. This is definitely true!"
"I don't care whether or not they saw red! I am asking you guys if all of you applied the medicine. Are you sure that not a single one of you are missing?"
"No one is missing for sure! From now on, only a single person will be needed to follow them," all of them replied together.
"Young n.o.ble, the plan today was extremely successful and everything has been arranged appropriately." In the Ling Family Courtyard's secret chamber, Ling Jian appeared with a strip of paper.
"Mmm, very good. Did you investigate the others in the Yu Family's envoy?" Ling Tian threw a ledger on the desk and asked lazily, "Is there anyone else to take note of? This is an important matter and you must not be careless!"
"Apart from Yu ManTian and the ten top-notch experts, there are 500 members in the envoy party. Adding together the thirty carriage drivers, two doctors, and one flag bearer, there are a total of 544 individuals. Apart from the ten experts, the others definitely wouldn't have any problems. None of them has profound martial arts and even the flag bearer only has peak purple jade cultivation!" Ling Jian said with confidence.
"Mmm, that's good!" Ling Tian frowned, "Do you understand what to do next?"
Ling Jian stood up straight, "There won't be a problem! We can carry on as planned! I believe that we will be very successful!"
Ling Tian smiled and said, "Then I shall hand everything over to you. I need to go and pacify the fortune deity now. The fortune deity is about to blow her top and she had already thrown the ledger on my table!"
"We ran out of money? That can't be right?" Ling Jian was surprised.
"Only the head of the household will know how expensive rice is. Our expenditure is truly too large this time." Ling Tian sighed, "From repairing the entire palace to purchasing of the materials to the decorations of the ceremony, we will spend a total of 30,000,000 taels of silver! This doesn't include the officials and the military's salary. If we consider our normal expenditure as well, it would be a full 50,000,000 tales of silver! Old Master Ling won't do anything and is only waiting to sit on that throne. While my dad has returned, he goes drinking with his old subordinates and returns home dead drunk every day. Even if he isn't drunk, he acts as though he is! Besides, even if he has the heart to help, I wouldn't dare to allow him to touch something that requires meticulous effort. Everything is naturally being directed to the Ling Family Courtyard. Even if this place of mine is a courtyard, there isn't a treasure gathering pail, money tree or money printer! Haiz, why is my life so miserable?!"
Ling Jian stood up straight and wondered to himself without saying a thing. While the treasure gathering pail and money tree can be related to money, what is this money printer? Is it even more amazing than the previous two?!
"In the past, it would be rare for us to even spend 10,000 taels of silver and even 100,000 would be considered extravagant. As for anything in the millions, it would be practically non-existent! But now, we are actually spending in the tens of millions! Ah'Jian, do you think that this is extremely frightening? May the heavens rain down gold coins!" Ling Tian lamented.
Ling Jian's face remained cold as though he was listening to his young n.o.ble's rant. However, the corner of his gaze was looking towards the door and the frosty figure of his 'heart demon' floated in his brain. Who knows why that la.s.s was appearing in his head at this moment. I shall go and see her later. Hehe, yes. I shall do just that.
"Ah Jian, managing a courtyard, a family, and an empire are completely different things." Ling Tian grumbled and ranted about all of his grievances in his heart, "I have not even sat on that seat! The old saying goes: Only the individual on the throne would need to consider about politics! Now, the one on the throne has gone fis.h.i.+ng and the other one about to ascend to the throne has gone drinking. As for me who is not even on the throne to have to work my a.s.s off, is there still justice in the world?"
Ling Tian's voice paused. Just as he was describing his troubles vividly, he raised his head up and noticed Ling Jian being trapped in his fantasies with a slight smirk on his face...
If Ling Jian did not say a single word in response and listened silently, it was extremely normal for this expressionless First Pavilion Head. However, to think that there was actually a slight smile on his face. Furthermore, it was extremely gentle and amiable...
This young n.o.ble is extremely frustrated over here and it would be one thing for you to not empathize with me. To think that you are actually daydreaming over here? Fantasizing about your fantasies? What are you thinking about that would give you such a perverted smile?
Young n.o.ble flew into a rage in that instant! His eyes were fixed on Ling Jian as though he wanted to eat Ling Jian up alive. Two words were then forced out of his mouth, "LING JIAN!" His voice sounded like thunder and the entire Ling Family Courtyard shook. Ling Tian was a peerless expert indeed and his inner qi wasn't ordinary!
Ling Jian stood up straight as though he was an old monk in seclusion. Apart from the slight smile on his face, his appearance wasn't any different from before. However, his inner thoughts were a world of difference. He was currently trapped in his endless fantasies and was currently thinking to himself, "If she wants to talk to me, how should I respond to her? If she wants to kill me, how should I react..." All of a sudden, Ling Tian's loud roar shook his soul and Ling Jian snapped out of his fantasies. He lifted his head up in a fl.u.s.tered manner only to see Ling Tian glaring at him furiously. With a chill in his voice like the winds which blew out from h.e.l.l, Ling Tian said slowly, "What are you thinking about? Why are you so focused? Do you think that I am right? Does what I say make sense?!"
"Err... yes yes yes, young n.o.ble's foresight is amazing and your words make plenty of sense. Your plans are extremely detailed and Ling Jian is thoroughly convinced." Ling Jian burst out in a sweat and tried to reply appropriately.
"Amazing foresight?! Detailed planning?! You! You are going to anger me to death!" Ling Tian blew up in anger. The moment Ling Tian blew up, it wasn't something ordinary.
Peng peng peng...
Following that, the busy Ling Family Courtyard saw an extremely strange scene. Ling Jian, who everyone feared as though he was the living King of Hades, was now being kicked around like a ball. He rolled along the road and the moment he got up and wanted to escape, a faint figure appeared behind him. With a few kicks and punches, Ling Jian rolled out again like a ball...
Ling Jian used his arms to guard his face and curled himself up like a ball. He was like a small blade of gra.s.s being kicked around in a category 5 typhoon.
The storm was over and Ling Jian who was in the middle of the storm was covered in bruises with his clothes tattered all over. His entire head swelled up like he was the Sakyamuni Buddha.
Ling Tian's anger had not subsided and he grabbed onto Ling Jian, "In three days time, you had better investigate the plot of the two families. You had better find eighteen beauties like elder sister FuRong! This daddy here will let them take turns to have their go at you! I will make you die from over-exhaustion!"
Ling Jian was immediately fl.u.s.tered. While he did not know who elder sister FuRong was, he could guess that she wasn't a good character. He wanted to cry but no tears could come out, "Young n.o.ble, you said five days yesterday..."
"Yesterday is yesterday! Today is today! It seems like you think that three days is too long. Two days then! Things shall be settled as such!" Ling Tian said fiercely before leaving.
Ling Jian stood up with a stomach full of regret. Looking around at the crowd watching which included Meng LiGe and FengMo, Ling Jian flew into a rage, "What are all of you looking at? What's there to see?! Is this a good show? Do you want me to re-enact the scene?!"
If the scene was re-enacted, they would definitely become the parties being kicked around. None of them were fools and immediately escaped in all directions!