Chapter 356: The Pressure of an Army
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Seeing that Venerable Lord Snow was grinding his teeth while pondering over the matter, Yun Yang faintly smiled and uttered, "Well, I shouldn’t interrupt your ruminations and deliberation. However, there is not much time left. Venerable Lord Snow, I would suggest that you decide quickly. Also, don't forget the compensation for the damage caused by the Four Seasons Tower towards the Residence of Yun. The Residence of Heavenly Clouds is deemed as the head of marquises in Yutang there were treasured goods stored in it for many years. This poor, insignificant chap would find it absolutely impossible to explain to my father how it all went missing when he returns."
The teeth of Venerable Lord Snow almost fell off. He was cursing endlessly in his heart. How dare you? You already stated your three conditions! As if it wasn't enough, you are now asking for compensation for the damage caused to Residence of Heavenly Clouds. How glad your father would be to have a son that took such great care of the family assets!
However, Yun Yang had managed to locate the sore point in Venerable Lord Snow’s heart. As he had rightly said, there wasn't much time left!
"Very well, three conditions it is!" Venerable Lord Snow tried to swallow his rage, "First, hand over the antidote!"
"Hold it right there. Now, the fourth condition has come about. You have been taking too long to decide!" Yun Yang was calm and unruffled. Now that the other had already expressed his willingness to submit, he intended to milk the cow dry!
Venerable Lord Ice leaned over and whispered in Venerable Lord Snow’s ear, "Why do we have to humble ourselves so? Let us take these people as hostages and kill a few of them if he is unwilling to give the antidote. Kill a few more and let’s see how hard his heart can be. How easy it would be if we used this method to get hold of the antidote!"
Venerable Lord Snow sighed. He wasn't such a fool that the thought of aggression hadn't crossed his mind.
However, the problem lied in the fact that this bunch was now at a dead end, only having the antidote as their last resort. Once it had been given out, they would immediately become lambs led to the slaughter, without having to care much about life and death. With this as the prerequisite, why would they even care about how many people were going to lose their lives?
This was especially true of Yun Yang, a ruthless character who could, by no means, be threatened by the prospect of death!
If that was not the case, why had he helped Lei Dongtian when he knew that he would become rivals with the Four Seasons Tower? He wasn't even willing to give up when Lei Dongtian faced crushing defeat. From the start until the end, he had persevered and remained strong. With such a character, how could he even be moved by the mere numbers?
Venerable Lord Snow had already analyzed the situation thoroughly.
Instead of attempting something that was evidently futile, it was better to solve the problem as soon as humanly possible.
Yun Yang could be seen smiling faintly at the side, "Has Venerable Lord Ice suggested some great idea to Venerable Lord Snow? I wonder if Venerable Lord Snow will seize some of my compatriots here in exchange for the antidote? Well, this is a great idea. I have always been loyal to my friends and will never leave them behind. This would really be a great opportunity to get me to surrender! "
Venerable Lord Ice looked up instantly, wide-eyed, "How do you know?"
Yun Yang grunted negligently. Just by looking at that sneaky and ill-intentioned face of yours, it's almost as if all your plans were written on it. Was it really that difficult to guess your intentions?
Venerable Lord Snow took a deep breath and said, "There is no point for us to cause enmity. I hereby promise you that all your conditions will be met. However, I will need to take a look at the antidote first!"
Yun Yang's smile grew wider as he said, "You are joking, aren't you, Venerable Lord Snow? How could I possibly do that?"
The antidote was, in fact, the only life-saver that Yun Yang had on his side. How could he let it go so easily? If he really did so, it would be tantamount to giving it freely to others and letting the other side slaughter all his men!
Venerable Lord Ice had just managed to treat the wounds all over his body. Furiously he uttered, "The one with the surname Yun. Don’t you dare push your luck!"
Yun Yang snorted and chuckled derisively, "Venerable Lord Ice. Being idiotic is an illness. Don’t you ever hesitate or try to avoid medical treatment! If you don’t know how to speak or are really unable to see the immediate situation, it is best for you to shut up! The immediate situation is obvious. Such exchanges can only be achieved if you are sincere. If we renege on our word, you can have us killed at any time. However, if I were to give out the antidote first, who else is there to ensure our safety? The names of the five Venerable Lords are glamorous indeed, but your credibility... leaves much to be desired."
Venerable Lord Ice was angered by the words of Yun Yang to the extent of almost falling down. Ever since he had met Yun Yang, not only was he unable to catch up in the chase, he had been unable to win the battles of the saber. Now, even on the verbal battlegrounds, the strong and weak were incredibly disparate. He was not even the opponent against a great-leveled figure. Venerable Lord Snow grunted and did not get unduly incensed. Apparently, he felt that the remark Yun Yang had made, made sense.
In fact, Venerable Lord Snow had thought of betraying his promises once he had gotten hold of the antidote, since the other side would by no means, have the ability to free themselves from the power he and a few others shared!
However, Yun Yang had taken precautions earlier on. This way was no longer feasible.
"Not to mention ... even if one were to buy vegetables, it would only be proper for one to hand over the money while exchanging the goods!" Yun Yang rolled his eyes and uttered, "Now that it is such a big deal, how can we neglect this part? Hence, an oath of heaven is definitely necessary, at the very least!"
Yun Yang looked at Venerable Lord Snow, who then made the oath with God as a witness. With a beaming expression on his face, he then received a considerable amount of ten million banknotes!
Yun Yang would naturally not care much about the specific amount of the silver taels as compensation. What he cared about was that miserable look and also the interesting expressions displayed on Venerable Lord Snow's face when he took out the banknotes.
Was this revenge? This was clearly an enthusiast who came, scattering money all around!
How could there be such poor take on revenge? Don’t forget, we are the Four Seasons Tower!
Where was might that could subdue the world by force and bloodshed in the martial world?
"Once the deal is struck, it will then be imperative to save people's lives. Right, where is he?"
Once the mood of Yun Yang had turned pleasant, of course, he would have to settle the important matter first. After all, Yun Yang was now the one who had more concerns over the injury of Venerable Lord Sword. No accident should happen to this brother. If Venerable Lord Sword were to quit and die first, Yun Yang would n't be far behind him!
"He’s in the Residence of Yun!" Venerable Lord Snow was extremely depressed, his spirit dampened.
He had been threatened and forced to make an oath by God’s will. No one would have been able to withstand such shame if that were to happen to him!
However, Venerable Lord Snow did not think that he was wrong in this matter, nor did he think that it would cause any significant loss to the Four Seasons Tower if he were to free Yun Yang and not to find any trouble with him.
After all, in his mind, Yun Yang was just a small player unfortunate enough to be caught in the heart of a conflict.
Even if he was a common man of Yutang or the aristocrat of Yutang, it wouldn't have mattered in the slightest.
The most important thing was Lei Dongtian.
Even if he had to leave Yun Yang alone, what was the worst that could happen?
At best, they would remain like the streams of the lake and the well, where their waters did not mingle.
You would continue your stay in Tiantang City while we name ourselves kings and dominate the martial world!
If Yun Yang was determined to become the Four Seasons Tower's rival and to conspire with Lei Dongtian, he would definitely work against the Four Seasons Tower. When such a time came, the oath would be void and he would never him let go.
However, judging from what Yun Yang had said, it seemed that he only wished to escape...
As you wish then.
As long as you come in between Lei Dongtian and me, we were, in fact, unwilling to become enemies with a dynasty’s aristocrat.
Being an influence in the martial world, it would never be worthwhile to become enemies against a dynasty.
After all, there were still a lot of transactions that needed to be carried out in the secular worldly. If the Empire of Yutang were determined to go against the Four Seasons Tower and ordered a complete freeze on their assets, the Four Seasons Tower would have to bear huge losses.
After that, by guarding the entrance of the Residence of Yun, they would then exert the four major fiefs simultaneously together the moment Lei Dongtian appeared. The bastard wouldn't stand a chance.
As the masses receded, Yun Yang naturally took the lead, greatly picking up in speed.
Initially, he had thought that the Residence of Yun would have been destroyed all at once; never would he have imagined that there would be a day when the Residence would revert back to its rightful owner.
Previously, he was content to merely to let the Whiteys grow increasingly lethal and enhance their defensive capabilities. That, in itself, was sufficient for him.
What a miracle claw, what a great stroke of luck!
Venerable Lord Ice and Venerable Lord Snow were walking with him, side by side.
Bai Yixue was carrying Lei Dongtian while Lao Mei and Fang Mofei followed beside Yun Yang. The faces of these few looked weak, their battle strength was less than a third of their usual capacities.
Beside them came Dong Tianleng and the other three. Yun Yang stared menacingly at these four young masters of a great brotherhood with his knife-like glances. The gallant pride to accompany their big boss to their deaths had long been replaced by their fear.
One after another, they could be seen tucking their heads in like quails, pulling at each other while following behind.
As for the seventeen people who were following the progeny of the four major families, they all felt relieved, trailing behind with a particularly relaxed mood.
They came with the mindset that they would die on the field. As it turned out, to their surprise, that they did not have to meet Death today.
Such relief was unspeakable.
No matter who it was, no matter how great the reasons were if one was able to complete a fatal task and escape death without being harmed at all, he would definitely be exhilarated and glad. Furthermore, their young masters were looking at them with such amicable expressions, the situation seemed to have taken a lighter tone.
If their young masters were to have control over the family power in the future, they would definitely become the most unwavering and trusted of aides!
With such loyal young masters that had a reliable friend like Young Master Yun, how could they not succeed?
It would be a joke upon them if they did not manage to shine under such circumstances.
It was only when they returned to the Residence of Yun that their expressions grew grim.
There were crowds gathered before the door of the Residence, almost blocking the ruins from sight.
The only thing that could be seen was shiny armor, equipped with increasingly murderous vibes!
All kind of weapons, sabers, swords, spears, and halberds were all gleaming with a chilling glint, shocking and terrifying, causing one to tremble even without the cold!
A large, well-disciplined, military team had gathered at this place. At a rough glance, there were at least thirty thousand people milling around... and more.
They surrounded the entire Residence of Yun, causing it to resemble an anthill!
There were two men leading. They had white hair, yet they stood upright like two tall and straight pine trees. One was armed with a long spear while the other was armed with a large saber, waiting in a solemn manner. The elderly generals' expressions were tranquil like the still water. Their eyes were burdened with grief and indignation.
Who else would it be beside Qiu Jianhan and Leng Daoyin?
Within the long deserted Residence of Yun, a strong aura of tension flowed, emanating from the people that stood there, washing over the rubble and dust.
The voice of Qiu Jianhan carried an anxiety that could barely be suppressed, "You, who reside within! Listen to me! You have been surrounded! Step out and surrender yourselves quickly!"
No one inside had answered. Either it was empty, or it was an intention of complete ignorance.
Qiu Jianhan's expression was ugly and unsightly. He could no longer suppress his worry for Yun Yang. With a wave of his large hand, he motioned his soldiers forward to prepare for an all-out charge.
After knowing that Yun Yang's Residence of Yun had been attacked and had been reduced to ashes, Qiu Jianhan had almost collapsed on the spot.
After getting along with each other all this while, Qiu Jianhan had treated Yun Yang as his own nephew. Upon suddenly hearing that there had been an accident here today, the ache of his heart made it seem as if it was going to split apart and was difficult to suppress.
Without informing His Majesty about his intentions, he flexed his influence and mobilized thirty thousand members of the royal army to march and surround the Residence of Yun!
He wished only to locate the murderer and wring an explanation out of him.
The old marshal was furious and anxious; if Yun Yang were to have encountered any misfortune, he would definitely help this youth to seek vengeance, even at the cost of his own life!
Regardless of the price!
Regardless of the consequences!
Even if all of Yutang had to go up in flames, he would do it, without any hesitation or regret.