Chapter 168: Foreboding Crisis
Translator: DavidT Editor: celllll , DavidT
"Lass Chen, this young noble had been frustrated by your wretched song and I am feeling extremely sleepy. Go back and make the bed; this young noble wants to rest for a while. Hurry up!" Ling Tian interrupted at this very inappropriate moment.
Xiao YanXue was almost angered to death, "Such a magnificent song being insulted as such. Darn Ling Tian, I…" While she had the heart to make a scene, she was presently in the Ling residence, and Ling Chen was indeed Ling Tian’s maid. No matter how he chose to command his maid, it didn’t seem right for her to say anything!
"Miss Xiao, my young noble has some instructions for Ling Chen. May Miss Xiao forgive me!" Ling Chen said with a bow. While this was a bow from a maid to her master, there was a tinge of elegance and nobility within it.
How would Xiao YanXue be willing to witness such a beauty perform the duties of a maid. Helpless, she could only reply, "Sister Ling Chen doesn’t need to be so polite. YanXue was at fault for making an uninvited visit and will be taking my leave. I hope that I will have a chance to hear sister’s celestial melody again!"
Seeing Xiao YanXue’s figure disappear from the entrance of the courtyard, Ling Tian laughed and entered the room, "How close! I almost allowed that Xiao YanXue to have a handle on me."
Ling Chen then responded with a gentle smile, "Young noble, it wouldn’t matter if Miss Xiao knows. After all, don’t the Xiao Family Head already know about how you are extraordinary? Why is there a need to act like this!"
Ling Tian replied with a smile, "That’s different. While the Ling and Xiao families are cordial on the surface, both the families have their own intentions. It would be impossible to predict how the future will turn out. In fact, if not for the fact that I didn’t have enough strength on my hands and had a great need to develop my strength, I wouldn’t be willing to expose my strength to that old man. In such a sensitive time, where all the various powers are gathered in the Sky Bearing City, Xiao YanXue definitely has her motives for coming. Even if she hears about my abilities from her grandfather, she may not believe him. But if she were to witness it for herself and knows about my affairs, all of her plans would probably be against our Ling Family. Ah ah, Chen’er, do you want me to drag my family into danger just because of the heart of a lady?"
Ling Chen was startled as she whined, "Young noble, you obviously know that this isn’t my intention!"
Ling Tian laughed and said seriously, "To wield all authority under the heavens and have the company of beauties all around him is the dream of all men. However, there is a sequence to these two phrases! Only after wielding all authority under the heavens can one be surrounded by beauties! Hehehe, the sequence of this must definitely not be mixed up!"
Ling Chen responded with a ‘Mmm’ and looked as though she was considering Ling Tian’s words.
Ling Tian laughed and sat on the couch, "Chen’er, are there any news from the Ling Family Courtyard?"
"If young noble did not ask me, I would have forgotten about it." Ling Chen smiled. However, Ling Tian completely ignored that phrase of hers. This was definitely a complete joke. Ever since Ling Chen followed him ten years ago, she had never forgotten about anything!
As though she was performing a magic trick, a few strips of paper appeared in her hand. Unrolling the first strip, she said, "This is from Ling ShiYi. We have already caught 327 young sparrows which the young noble requested, and they are on the way to the Ling Family Courtyard."
Ling Tian then praised, "Not bad, this Ling ShiYi is becoming more and more capable. When he comes back, this young noble will give him a good reward. Why not you relay the blade works, which he had been eyeing on, to him."
Ling Chen giggled, "If ShiYi hears about this, he probably won’t be able to fall asleep for the next few days." Then, she opened up another slip of paper, "Due to the once in a hundred years rain yesterday, a few parties may be delayed. This is from Ling Ba. The ambassadors from the Western Han will arrive at the Sky Bearing City by noon tomorrow at the latest. The person leading them is the number two figure of the XiMen Family, XiMen BuRuo. His assistant is Han TieHong from the Western Han imperial family. Following their entourage is the number one expert from the XiMen Family, XiMen WuHen."
Ling Tian’s eyes narrowed as he responded with a soft ‘oh’.
"This piece of news is from Ling Jiu. Those from Eastern Zhao should be here by tomorrow afternoon. The one in charge is DongFang JingLei, clan brother of the Eastern Zhao Emperor. He is also a general in the Eastern Zhao army, and have a pair of expert twin brothers under him, He ChuLai and He ChuQu."
Ling Tian then smiled, "He ChuLai? He ChuQu? The names of these two brothers are interesting indeed. I wonder if they can be compared to the Xue Leng and Xue Fei brothers of the Yu Family." [1]
Ling Chen burst out into laughter as she imagined the scene of both the twins meeting. She then could not help but squat down from the laughter.
Ling Tian made a resolution in his heart to make the four of them sit on the same table facing each other, so he would be able to see their differences.
"Ling Qi says that those from the Wu Empire will arrive at the Sky Bearing City tomorrow afternoon. Their ambassador is BeiMing QingTian from the BeiMing Family. Following them is the expert from the BeiMing Family, BeiMing Kong."
Ling Tian opened his eyes as a divine light shone, "Ah ah, there aren’t any ordinary folks coming from all the different powers! This time, things will be interesting… Send a message to the three of them: Send me all the information regarding XiMen BeRuo, XiMen WuHen, DongFang JingLei, BeiMing QingTian and BeiMing Kong!"
Ling Chen then acknowledged the order, "There is a piece of news from The First Pavilion. It is from Ling Chi."
Ling Tian was stunned for a moment, "Why is it from Ling Chi? What about Ling Jian?"
Ling Chen unrolled the piece of paper and smiled, "Ling Chi’s letter was to explain this matter. The First Pavilion received a job to assassinate the wealthy merchant in the Yan region, Zhang DeShuai. Since Ling Jian was feeling bored, he made the trip personally."
Ling Tian burst out into laughter, "Looks handsome? Hahaha, after meeting Ling Jian, he probably won’t be handsome any longer." Ling Tian had never been worried about Ling Jian’s capabilities. In the past five years, Ling Jian had never disappointed him before and this time wouldn’t be an exception either! "Ah ah, but it probably isn’t because Ling Jian was feeling bored. It seems like the right time for those little fellows to make a breakthrough." Ling Tian said with contemplation. [2]
Ling Chen was also amused by the merchant’s name, bursting out into giggles.
Ling Tian then began to frown, "Yan region, that’s in the north, right? The Yan region which shares a border with Northern Wei?"
Ling Chen looked at Ling Tian with a doubtful gaze, "Yes, it is that Yan region. It is said that this Mister Handsome is the tyrant of the Yan region. He would oppress the people in the region, committing all sort of atrocities. This time, he wants to marry the only daughter of a wealthy merchant as his concubine, and this mission was issued by the in-law family supposed to marry this lady."
Ling Tian responded with an ‘oh’. For some unknown reason, he felt an inexplicable stifling feeling in his heart. As he stood up and paced around the room, he felt as though he could not suppress that feeling of frustration.
"Are there any news from the Yu Family?" Ling Tian suddenly asked without thinking.
"There aren’t any. It seems like the Yu Family isn’t interested in the matters of the Sky Bearing City. They may not be coming to the Sky Bearing City at all." Ling Chen replied.
"Oh!" Ling Tian frowned as the warning sirens began to go off in his head. Pacing around the room again he asked, "How long has Ling Jian been gone for?"
"Let me see," Ling Chen opened the piece of paper from Ling Chi and replied, "Ling Jian left at noon yesterday."
"Noon yesterday? With a distance of less than 500 miles, Ling Jian should already be done with his speed. Why is there no news?" The ominous feeling in Ling Tian’s heart grew as he felt his heart beat harder.
"Perhaps he may have been delayed by the heavy rain. Ling Jian’s martial arts improved recently and a mere tyrant shouldn’t give him any problems?" Ling Chen said with a doubtful tone. Looking at Ling Tian’s expression, she could not help but grow worried about Ling Jian.
"How could a mere rain stop Ling Jian!" Ling Tian denied that explanation without hesitation. Ling Jian had always been direct and efficient in his actions, and Ling Tian knew that Ling Jian would never delay matters! For such a simple mission, just how much of an effort would it require? "Send my command to Ling Chi, report any news about Ling Jian to me immediately!"
Just when Ling Chen wanted to walk away, Ling Tian stopped her and said, "Mmm… inform Ling Chi that he must give me an hourly report whether or not he has any news! He must not delay the matter!"
Seeing Ling Chen carry out his orders, Ling Tian sat on the chair slowly, feeling his mood grow disorderly. This was Ling Tian’s intuition; as long as this intuition appears, something big would happen for sure. This was tried and tested, without any doubts at all!
As time passed slowly, all the news from the Ling Family Courtyard had been the same: No news of Ling Jian!
Another four hours passed again!
At this time, the unease in Ling Tian’s heart grew and he decided to stop waiting, "Stay at home and I will go and take a look." Before Ling Chen could reply him, Ling Tian had already flown out!
While Xiao YanXue was able to find the person who blew the flute, the outcome was something completely disappointing! How could she let the matter rest like that? Standing in the yard, her brows were furrowed for a long time before she let out a long sigh and wanted to walk back to her room. She even had the heart to buy Ling Chen over from Ling Tian at a high price. But not to mention whether or not Ling Tian would be willing to sell her; even if he was willing to sell her, it would be an insult to a great expert like Ling Chen. Despite trying her best, she just could not come up with a plan.
All of a sudden, the neigh of a horse sounded as a black horse sprinted out, sprinting in the Ling residence at full speed!
With a look, Xiao YanXue saw that the person on the horse was a suave young man with sword like brows and a pristine white robe. Who else could it be but Ling Tian!
She could not help but sneer in her heart, "He is indeed a silkpants! He actually let his horse sprint at such speed in his own mansion!" Twitching her lips with disdain, she wanted to turn around and return to her room. However, she suddenly realized that something was wrong with Ling Tian’s expression. Looking at his face, she saw his worry filled eyes and her heart shook, "This pair of eyes are so familiar! Where have I seen them before?!"
Before she had a chance to think about it, the black horse had already flown past her side. At the gates of the Ling mansion, how would the guards dare delay as they saw Ling Tian speeding out. They quickly dodged to the side as the healthy horse flew into the air and dashed out of the gates with the crisp sound of a horse whip!
[1]: He ChuLai (何处来) and He ChuQu(何处去) means where should we come from and where should we go.
[2]: Zhang DeShuai can be pronounced as 张德帅, which is the merchant’s name, and 长得帅, which means handsome looking.