Chapter 221: A Pre-emptive Strike

Translator: DragonRider

Ling Zhang secretly heaved a sigh of relief in the knowledge that Yuwen Tong was not personally going to the Wan Kingdom. He suddenly realized that he couldn’t do without Yuwen Tong. The very thought of a separation of some time from Yuwen Tong made him feel upset.

Ling Zhang said, “That kind of weapon doesn’t exist. If by any chance the truth is found out, His Majesty would know that the a.s.sa.s.sin’s target was me rather than you. Would it be regarded as the crime of deceiving the emperor?”

Yuwen Tong said, “They themselves were the ones who drew the conclusion that I was the a.s.sa.s.sin’s target. From start to finish, that short bolt was the only thing they saw. Given the circ.u.mstances back then, if you hadn’t stopped and I hadn’t cut the second bolt in half, it indeed would’ve missed you, which is an unquestionable fact. The worst case scenario is they suspect us. Without evidence, n.o.body could accuse us of deceiving the emperor.”

Ling Zhang was still worried. “What if the mastermind is seized and then states their intentions?”

Yuwen Tong said, “Again, there’s no evidence, is there?”

Ling Zhang did a double take. Indeed, those people wouldn’t be able to show any proofs, because that short bolt was now in their hands.

After the two of them finished dinner, Yao Yi returned, telling them that there had been no message from the courier hostel so far, and news of the attempted a.s.sa.s.sination in the horse race had spread to the capital city. It had come to the knowledge of people in the courier hostel, but Shan Congwen, who was very poised, as yet had been behaving as usual.

Yuwen Tong asked, “What about those going in and out of the courier hostel?”

Yao Yi replied, “The diplomatic corps of the Wan Kingdom are the only customers staying in the courier hostel today. Shan Congwen hasn’t received any invitations and been in the courier hostel all day along with other members of the diplomatic corps. As regards people going in and out of the courier hostel, apart from a small band of people delivering food there in the morning, there were also a group of people going there to transfer goods at night. Both the two bands only stayed in the rear yard for a very short time. There were n.o.body else.”

Yuwen Tong queried, “Did you look into the background of those delivering food and those transferring goods?”

Yao Yi answered, “Yes, but nothing anomalous has been found so far. Tonight n.o.body has entered or exited the courier hostel except for the band of people going there to transfer goods, and the communication between them and staff members of the courier hostel were under our close watch.”

Yuwen Tong, after a few moments’ contemplation, said, “Shan Congwen’s being quiet is itself something abnormal. Keep an eye open for them. These days the emperor’s men as well as people of other sides definitely have all been staking out the courier hostel. Be careful not to be exposed.”

Yao Yi nodded. “Yes, Marshal.”

Nothing unusual happened the rest of the night. All sides were very quiet, as if waiting for someone hiding in the shadows to make their move.

The next day, Ling Zhang had to go to school. Yuwen Tong accompanied him there, and they paid a visit to Ji Yin once again.

The princ.i.p.al, after being informed that Yuwen Tong had come again, was almost as alarmed as the last time. Given the serious incident the day before, he started to fret the moment he heard about Yuwen Tong’s arrival. For fear that an a.s.sa.s.sin might show up in his college, he hurriedly had Feng Zhangs.h.i.+ instruct college security guards, who were few in number, to stay close to Yuwen Tong providing protection.

Ling Zhang, on seeing the sweat on the princ.i.p.al’s forehead, felt some sympathy for the princ.i.p.al who was clearly in panic.

The first thing Ji Yin did as he laid eyes on Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong was also ask about the a.s.sa.s.sin.

Neither of them told him the a.s.sa.s.sin’s target had been Ling Zhang. After hearing their words, Ji Yin said, “It’s rumored that the a.s.sa.s.sin was sent by the Wan Kingdom. Was it true?”

Yuwen Tong said, “All those are just speculations. There’s no proof that the Wan Kingdom was behind it.”

Ji Yin inclined his head. Though Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong’s arrival had come as a surprise to him, he was very pleased to see them.

Ling Zhang stated the purpose of their visit, telling his grandfather that he’d encountered some difficulties during the process of cultivating the second layer of the mental cultivation method of internal energy.

Ji Yin, after hearing it, answered all Ling Zhang’s questions one by one in the presence of Yuwen Tong and then said, “You’ve reached the second layer after cultivating for merely one month. There’s no need to hurry. You’ll naturally enter the third layer in due course. Your comprehension is very impressive, far better than that of any of your peers in the Millennium Pavilion. More haste, less speed. I suggest you maintain composure and take baby steps.”

Ling Zhang, after hearing Ji Yin’s replies to his questions, came to understand a lot that had been puzzling him previously. Feeling that he was seeing the light, Ling Zhang took Ji Yin’s advice willingly without any contradictions.

“Grandfather, it was Professor Gu who recommended you. Does he know who you truly are?” asked Ling Zhang.

Ji Yin responded, “He doesn’t. To his knowledge, I’m a scholar well-known in Youzhou. A few years ago he encountered a crisis in Shengzhou and I saved his life, which was why this time around when I asked him to help me land a job in the Imperial College, he came to my help without asking any questions.”

Ling Zhang gave a nod. “This is where you’re living, grandfather? I’m afraid people might find something out about your ident.i.ty if you stay in this place for long. You–”

Ji Yin smiled, “There’s no need for such worries. If anything does happen, I can always leave and hide. You may rest a.s.sured that your grandfather is still robust and knows a thing or two about making himself scarce.”

Ling Zhang recalled what Ji Yin looked like when not wearing disguise. He was more than just robust; he was literally quite young!

“You know where I live, and given your kung fu skills, it’ll be very easy for you to find me. If trouble comes, please don’t hesitate to go to the Ling Mansion.”

Ji Yin inclined his head, very glad to receive this invitation from his grandson. “I will.”

“I’ve sent a letter back to the clan stating your request. It’ll take a couple of days for the reply to arrive.”

Ling Zhang gave a bob of his head. Even if he had got the permission already, he wouldn’t be able to depart for the Millennium Pavilion right away, for currently it was inconvenient for him and Yuwen Tong to leave the capital city.

“By the way, I heard that since yesterday the horse race was canceled in midstream, the princ.i.p.al consulted with the president of the Oriental Rite Academy and the two of them agreed that a second horse race shall be held in a few days. I think you’ll hear people talking about it very soon,” said Ji Yin.

Ling Zhang was amazed. A second horse race?

It seemed that the princ.i.p.al actually set great store by this horse race, probably because he wanted the Imperial College to win.

Unsurprisingly, after returning to the cla.s.sroom, Ling Zhang heard the news from Yuwen Jin and others.

“It’s said that this time the venue is not the hunting ground in the western suburbs but a racecourse in the eastern suburbs,” said Ji Feng.

“A racecourse in the eastern suburbs? Is it broad enough?” asked Ling Zhang, privately mulling over another matter.

Those a.s.sa.s.sins’ target was him. Would they make another attempt in this race? Secretly, Ling Zhang was somewhat excited, having an intuition that this might be an opportunity to lure the enemies out.

“Yes. That’s a racecourse registered in the name of the General Zhongwu (AKA the General of Loyalty and Valor). It’s exceptionally s.p.a.cious. The princ.i.p.al specially paid a visit to the General Zhongwu and also pet.i.tioned His Majesty before he could convince the General Zhongwu to agree to lend the racecourse to him,” Ji Feng said.

Ling Zhang nodded. He had once heard of who the General Zhongwu was, and had a general idea about why he had such a large racecourse to his name.

“This time His Majesty and those big shots won’t be there to spectate. There’ll be only students of our college and those of the Oriental Rite Academy present, so the mood will be a lot more relaxed, and the bet we made with Brother Tao and his schoolmates that day is still unfinished yet,” Ji Feng added.

Absence of those big names meant less tight security. If he were the a.s.sa.s.sin, he would definitely make another attempt.

Ling Zhang’s mind was racing. He had already thought of how he should talk with Yuwen Tong about his plan for catching the a.s.sa.s.sins this time.

“Have they fixed a date?” inquired Ling Zhang.

“In three days,” answered Ji Feng.

Three days was not too long, but neither was it too short.

…

“So what do you think?” said Ling Zhang, eyes on Yuwen Tong.

Yuwen Tong didn’t agree immediately. After all, this was too dangerous.

“There’s three days before the event. If it was really those from the Wan Kingdom that attacked me, they no doubt would take action again, for a chance has presented itself right in front of them. You and your men could take advantage of this opportunity to track them down as well, which I believe is a far better move than waiting pa.s.sively, isn’t it? Also, we have a trip to the Millennium Pavilion to make with my grandfather, so it’s best if we settle this as soon as possible,” said Ling Zhang.

Yuwen Tong let out a sigh, looking at him. The price of settling this matter as soon as possible was to use Ling Zhang’s own life as bait, which was a decision he found it impossible to make.

Ling Zhang, who could understand his misgivings, said, “We’ll make watertight preparations. If that still doesn’t sound rea.s.suring enough for you, I’ll have my grandfather go with us. With him protecting me overtly and you protecting me covertly, there should be nothing to worry about.”

Yuwen Tong was aware that Ling Zhang was trying his best to convince him, and he also knew Ling Zhang was right – it was wiser to launch a pre-emptive strike than to wait pa.s.sively.

“This time we’ll be fully prepared. If we keep waiting pa.s.sively not knowing when they’ll make another attempt, we might not be able to defend against their attack when it comes,” Ling Zhang added.

Of course Yuwen Tong understood this. After quite a while, he said, “Let’s do it your way.”

Ling Zhang smiled, “Then first let’s talk about the preparations we need to make. Tomorrow I’ll pay another visit to my grandfather.”

Yuwen Tong bobbed his head, walked into the study with Ling Zhang and fished out a map of the capital city. In the normal run of things, maps of the capital city were accessible to only the emperor, the commander of the city patrol and the commander-in-chief of the Palace Guards, so Yuwen Tong’s possession of this map needed to be kept secret from others.

Beside every mark on the map were minute notes, and there were even many secret alleys explicitly indicated. On seeing this, Ling Zhang came to know that drawing this map must have taken a lot of doing.

The racecourse of the General Zhongwu was located in the eastern suburbs. There was also a topographical map of the eastern suburbs, on which the location of the racecourse and its surroundings were also clearly indicated, but Yuwen Tong was still worried.

“Tomorrow I’ll pay a personal visit to that place.”

“Then you need to be careful not to be spotted.”

With the map convenient at hand, the two of them briefly consulted on the plan. Meanwhile, Yao Yi and some others were staking out the courier hostel. News of a second horse race between the Imperial College and the Oriental Rite Academy undoubtedly would spread through the whole city in no time, and maybe those living in the courier hostel would make their move very soon.

Of course, Yuwen Tong was also having other sides under constant watch, for after all, there was a ten-percent chance that the Wan Kingdom was not the one responsible for the attempted a.s.sa.s.sination.

No matter what, the truth would be revealed three days later.

At night, after Ling Zhang fell asleep, Yuwen Tong got out of bed, returned to the study and watched the map, his face somewhat apathetic, gently drumming his fingers on the table, pondering over something. After quite some time, he summoned Yao Yi and gave him some instructions in a quiet voice.

Yao Yi’s face slightly changed, but he soon collected himself and inclined his head. “I’ll do it straight away.”

The next day, Ling Zhang, under covert protection of guards, arrived at the Imperial College and paid another visit to Ji Yin, inviting him to watch the horse race that was going to be held three days later.

Ji Yin fixed Ling Zhang with a gaze, a thoughtful expression on his face. Ling Zhang held his breath, waiting for Ji Yin to ask the reason, but eventually Ji Yin didn’t ask any questions but just undertook that he’d be there.

Ling Zhang secretly felt a sense of relief, deciding to tell Ji Yin the truth after this matter was settled.

After Ling Zhang returned to the cla.s.sroom, Ji Feng informed him, “Our afternoon lessons of this day and the next two have all been changed – we’re going to the Back Hill to practice riding.

“The Back Hill?” Ling Zhang had little acquaintance with the hill behind the Imperial College.

“There’s an open s.p.a.ce there which could pa.s.s as a field broad enough for riding, though it’s not as convenient as a racecourse,” explained Ji Feng, “and there’s a wood there, which I think we’re going to circle around.”