Chapter 305: Requiring Immediate Action
Translator: chuchutrain Editor: DavidT, Rock
A jolt went off in Shui QianRou's heart, finally allowing her to awake fully from her dream state. However, the moment she remembered how cruel and ruthless Ling Tian was towards her when he had interrogated her, she couldn't help but fume once again. "Young noble Ling is all-knowing, why would you need to ask me for such a small matter?"
Ling Tian's face immediately turned cold, "Miss Shui, I'm not joking right now. This matter involves my father as well as the disciples he has groomed over the years and it's no minor problem. I beseech Miss Shui to speak the truth, so I'll be able to save my father. In the end, I Ling Tian do not wish to be irreconcilable enemies with you."
'I Ling Tian do not wish to be irreconcilable enemies with you.' This sentence triggered fanciful thoughts in Shui QianRou. He doesn't want to be enemies with me, don't tell me… he has something for me in his heart?!
The lost spark of inspiration in her dreams just now was rekindled, and she realized that there was actually no blood feud between them as of now. However, if General Ling Xiao were to really lose his life there, then the feud between the two families would never be resolved. With the same line of thought, if she were to sell Ling Tian this favor that was considered as big as the heavens themselves, then not only would their feud be solved, but she herself could also...
Thinking to this point, Shui QianRou felt her face warm and she chided herself, What are you thinking? This is just to appease the feud between our two families… there's nothing more about this. Being together with Ling Tian is just a bonus…
Seeing Shui QianRou's face alternate between pale and red, finally settling on a pinkish hue, he thought to himself, What ailment does she have now? Did her injuries just flare up again?!
"Since that's the case, then QianRou will fulfill your wish to help your father, so long as young noble agrees to my two requests!" Shui QianRou sneakily glanced at Ling Tian, before straightening her feelings and saying out. "If young noble Ling agrees to it, then I'll tell you everything I know, without deceit or half-truths in the matter. Rest assured, my requests are not demanding, and in fact to your benefit!"
Ling Tian questioned, "What requests?"
Shui QianRou replied with a resolute face, "My request is first, for young noble to forgive us, and as long as young noble doesn't go against our interests, the Heavenly Wind continent will definitely not obstruct young noble in anything he does! If possible, we are even willing to establish an alliance with you! For young noble to achieve his plans of conquering all below the heavens, you will require the help of either the Water of Heavenly Wind or the Jade of Heavenly Star, you do know that fact don't you?"
Ling Tian's eyes shone as he replied, "And the second?"
A hint of pleading now appeared in Shui QianRou's tone, "The second request is regarding this mission. While I was sent over to Sky Bearing, my brother Shui QianHuan was sent to Northern Wei's side; I hope that young noble Ling will agree not to harm my brother or any of my family members."
Ling Tian let out a bitter smile as he coldly snapped, "With all your preparations and tens of thousands of troops at your command, to get my father out safely would already be a miracle. How would I even think of harming them?"
"Others might not be able to, but I believe that young noble Ling has the ability to! I QianRou only have this one brother, and just as young noble Ling would like to save your father, I too want to save my brother. If you do not promise me as such, then I don't dare to reveal anything!"
"Ok!" Ling Tian solemnly replied. "I promise you that, on my current expedition to the north, I will definitely not lay a finger on your brother. However, this is on the premise that my father is unharmed! And this oath will only last until I ensure my father's safety! If your brother Shui QianHuan doesn't know when to stop, then I will not go easy on him!"
Shui QianRou took a deep breath in relief. "That's good enough! My brother is definitely not someone who cannot adapt to the circumstances."
Ling Tian snappily spoke, "Shui QianRou, I want to know all your plans now!"
Replying with furrowed brows, Shui QianRou muttered, "Ever since the Northern Wei Empire was founded, my Shui Family has always been sending people over to the best of our capabilities so as to limit the Yu Family. However, due to our outstanding personnel, this has allowed Northern Wei to continuously grow stronger. The only problem lay in the fact that all the monarchs of the Empire were cowardly, with no guts to actually go head-on with the Yu Family. Hence, we selected a person full of ambition and guts, who was the crown prince Wei ChengPing."
"Oh…" Ling Tian began to see the light. No wonder Wei ChengPing dared to send assassins after Yu BingYan and Yu ManTian. It turns out that it was because he had the Water of Heavenly Wind at his back all along.
"While Wei ChengPing has a huge ambition, he is, in fact, a one hundred percent idiot!" Shui QianRou's mouth curled up in disdain as she spoke. "With so many years of continued guidance from us, while he might have picked up some shrewdness, but his plans are all child's play, nothing to be proud of. Thus, as Northern Wei's revenue grew, Wei ChengPing grew all the more unsatisfied with his position. Likewise, our family saw through him and decided to use Northern Wei to wage war against Sky Bearing. This would ensure that when the Heavenly Star Continent fell into chaos, we would then take the authority from Wei ChengPing, and use his troops to sweep the Yu Family off the face of the earth! By conquering Heavenly Star, and Heavenly Wind being our roots, it wouldn't be a difficult matter to become a true hegemon, ruling the entire world!"
"What a huge ambition!" Ling Tian mused as he stroked his chin. Indeed a millennium old aristocratic family, they actually have the same plan as me!
"Thus, I secretly snuck into Sky Bearing a month ago. I was tasked to find out all affairs regarding Sky Bearing. My original intent was to ally with the weakest aristocratic Ling Family, then use them to get rid of the Imperial and Yang families, finally controlling the Lings to lead Sky Bearing into being a vassal of Northern Wei." Shui QianRou continued.
"Ally with the Lings? Then what made you change your idea?" Ling Tian asked in astonishment.
"That's because before my preparations were complete, a heaven toppling event occurred in Sky Bearing! The originally weak Ling Family was suddenly exposed to have immensely deep roots, deeper than I ever thought possible. This was especially true for young noble Ling, to suddenly cover the skies of Sky Bearing with one hand, not only with absolute authority but with absolute strength! It was then I realized that young noble Ling was actually an expert the likes of which even I couldn't fathom! This sort of figure wasn't someone I could control, and I might even end up being controlled myself! Thus, I changed my target."
Ling Tian rubbed his nose as he let out a bitter smile. To think that this entire matter had started because he had revealed himself! What a good chance he had missed! If Shui QianRou had chosen to work with him, then everything would have turned out differently from the start, right?
This was really akin to the saying, 'All matters of life are akin to a game of chess'! Ling Tian sighed inwardly to himself.
"I went to the Yang family, but after having contact with them, I found out that other than the elderly Yang KongQun, there was no one else capable, and the head of the Yang family also didn't have much ambition," Shui QianRou continued, not noticing Ling Tian's inner monologue, "Thus, I snuck into the Imperial court one night. As I passed by Long Xiang's study, I overheard him gritting his teeth while scolding you. Thus, I took the chance and jumped in, using my sword to hold him hostage."
Ling Tian's smile became even more bitter. What perfect timing, that was probably the time when Long Xiang had begun to have lustful thoughts towards Ling Chen! Because Ling Tian had mercilessly disregarded his face by asking Ling Chen to offer tea to his father, of course, Long Xiang would be holding much hatred! Cursing Ling Tian in the palace wouldn't be a big deal, but to think that he would get caught by Shui QianRou while doing so! Was it that Shui QianRou's luck was too good, or that he had immensely bad luck?
"I put out the terms of helping him destroy both the aristocratic families here in Sky Bearing, allowing his position to stabilize, and even to ally with Northern Wei. The only condition was that he had to agree to submit being under Northern Wei as a vassal state. To think that he didn't even consider for long before agreeing!" A mocking smile appeared on Shui QianRou's lips.
"Childish! Extremely childish!" Ling Tian shook his head as he scolded viciously. "To agree to such terms, Long Xiang is indeed a pig brain!"
"Hmph, could he have disagreed?" Shui QianRou couldn't help but proudly reply. "I had already fed him with a poison and told him it was something which would flare up in a year. Other than me, no one else had the antidote! Even if he didn't believe me, he could only agree."
"I see!" Ling Tian realized what was going on. After the poisoning incident, Long Xiang had naturally been scared out his wits upon being told that he was poisoned. In addition, with the growing influence of the Ling Family, it had also turned into a thorn in his heart. Since agreeing to the matter would be an added benefit for him, it would be surprising if Long Xiang didn't jump aboard the pirate ship! He couldn't help but ridicule her though, "Miss Shui is really dependable when doing such things. What a seamless plan!"
Shui QianRou only huffed and ignored him, continuing to narrate, "Under the pretext of Northern Wei sending troops over, Long Xiang would send Ling Xiao out to battle. However, the three generals under Ling Xiao would be Long Xiang's men, and once the battle started, these three would then lead their troops to desert the army and break their morale! Finally, when they retreated, they would cut off Ling Xiao's path of retreat, such that even if he would be able to escape from Northern Wei's encirclement, they would still eventually fall to their own countrymen's ploy!
Ling Tian felt a chill. What a vicious plan! Even if it was him, he would have fallen for it!
"As for Northern Wei, in addition to their 200,000 strong army, they have also secretly raised another army of 200,000 to ambush along the retreat route. Northern Wei has also allied with Western Han, taking another 100,000 strong from them to do a pincer attack! My brother is also leading over twenty experts from the Shui Family, commanding the 400,000 strong army to encircle and annihilate Ling Xiao's 100,000 troops! Their mission is to not let even a single soldier back to Sky Bearing!"
"F**k me!" Ling Tian spat out a vulgarity. "You guys are really godd*mned evil!"
Shui QianRou immediately turned red from the insult, and she tried to placate him by saying, "In two sides of a war, any possible means can be used…"
"You want to say that to each his own, and that I shouldn't blame you, right?" Ling Tian interrupted her, his tone full of ridicule. "What sort of excuse is that? You guys are merely a bunch of ambitious f**ks! Let's skip those pompous excuses, I'm better than you guys would ever be in that area."
Shui QianRou shot him a vicious look as she angrily replied, "Then after we have annihilated Ling… your father's army, the experts from the Shui Family would then rush over to Sky Bearing and ally with the Yang and imperial families to wipe out the Ling Family! After that, with the combined alliance of three countries, they would send out their troops together! To achieve world dominance! This is the entire plan, are you satisfied now, young noble Ling?"
"No I'm not!" Ling Tian was literally exuding anger, his eyes already bloodshot. This plan was so ruthless that it had long exceeded all his expectations towards it. While he had long expected the ambush to be a large scale one, he had never thought that this wouldn't be manageable, given the large number of personnel he had over in the north. However, in this scenario, even the neighboring Western Han empire also had to stick a foot in! And there were even spies in the Sky Bearing army! With both internal and external problems, Ling Xiao would probably only have a 10% chance of surviving! Maybe even lesser! He had to calm down!
"Where's your ambush located? Specific details of your troop strength? Who's the general? How do you guys communicate?" Ling Tian's handsome face had already distorted in anger, a wave of killing intent billowing out from him. He immediately grabbed onto Shui QianRou's slim neck, a glint of madness in his eyes as he screamed, "Tell me!!!"
---
Ling Tian rushed out of the secret chamber like the wind, and from outside came the sounds of a bugle, his orders firing out rapidly like lightning during a thunderstorm!
Shui QianRou ignored the excited calls from Die'er who was ecstatic over her recovery, instead massaging her neck where Ling Tian had tightly gripped it while wheezing out, "I hope he makes it…"
At this moment, Shui QianRou seemed to have forgotten her identity, and the fact that she played a crucial part in this entire operation. In her heart, she only fervently hoped that Ling Tian would be able to save his father. This was because if Ling Xiao were to die, then Ling Tian would hate her for his entire life!
Even though it wasn't possible for anything to happen between them, but Shui QianRou still hoped that Ling Tian wouldn't hate her for life!
"Little Princess, do you think he will make it? With such a large disparity in their forces, will there be any danger?" Die'er carefully scrutinized Shui QianRou's face as she timidly spoke. This lass had a quick wit and having followed Shui QianRou since she was young, naturally could tell which direction her heart was leaning. She too began to feel anxiety.
A trace of hesitation could be heard in Shui QianRou's voice as she spoke, "I think there won't be…? No, there definitely shouldn't be! No matter what, Great General Ling has about 70,000 elite soldiers, and all are under his personal command, their battle prowess unbelievably strong. Out of the total strength from Northern Wei, almost half are new recruits, to attempt to swallow those 70,000 soldiers? Laughable! As for that brat, I don't even need to worry about him, instead, his enemies should be worried! All in all, I think he would make it because my brother is using his original plan…" A ray of light flashed past her eyes in remembrance. She had vehemently opposed his plan at the start, almost coming to blows with her dear brother. Thank god that her brother was obstinate enough to still carry on with his own plan! Or else…
"Little Princess, you…. you really fell for that fellow Ling Tian already, just look at what you're saying…" Die'er cautiously whispered.
"Hmph! After all the shame and humiliation he has given me, you still want me to fall for him? Dream on! Don't talk nonsense, lest you pollute your own mouth!" Shui QianRou obstinately refuted.
"But you always used to call Ling Xiao as 'that stupid mule', but today you suddenly changed to calling him Great General Ling, isn't that loving the house and its crow?" 1 Die'er imitated Shui QianRou's tone to perfection.
"You… you're dead, you lass!" Shui QianRou's face reddened, and she made a strangling gesture with her hands. Die'er grinned and immediately scuttled away.
Suddenly, Shui QianRou's face tightened as though she had thought of something else, and flopped back down, speaking in depressed tones, "Ling Tian this person, he's filled with profound mystery, definitely not some simple person! Die'er, the decision this time by the family clan was as good as creating for themselves an insanely strong enemy! The exact strength of Ling Tian, if we were to just base it on his stronghold here, while it might not compare to the Yu Family's strength, it definitely wouldn't be below the other aristocratic families! We made an error in judging the strength of the Ling Family the last time, thus we made such a choice. However, if we were to really succeed in assassinating his father, then our two families will have created a lifetime of hatred, one that will not end until one party is wiped off this earth! Based on the current strength of the Ling Family, if they form an alliance with the Yu Family, it would be enough to bury our Shui Family if they were to attack. At that time, misfortune will be definite! The best solution from the start would have been to win over Ling Tian, whether we wanted to guarantee our survival or to dominate all on earth. A pity, it's too late…"
Die'er was completely puzzled at this point, asking in confusion, "How could Ling Tian form an alliance with the Yu Family? In the black pine forest, didn't Ling Tian silence the two Yu family elders mercilessly? This is a blood feud, how could they resolve it?"
Shui QianRou laughed bitterly, "The matter of killing the two Yu Family elder was only witnessed by us and no one else. How could the Yu Family even know that it was Ling Tian who dealt the killing blow? Did you think that Ling Tian would set us free for us to broadcast this fact? Furthermore, Ling Tian could be considered to be the future husband of Yu BingYan, and that alone proves that his ties with the Yu Family will run extremely deep. The reason why they have not formed any alliances so far is that Ling Tian probably doesn't wish to be under someone else. However, if you push him to the corner, the alliance with the Yu Family will naturally turn into his number one choice! Why wouldn't it be so? There should be a great chance of that happening!"
"Taking another step back, with the current Yu Family Head Yu ManLou being such an ambitious and ruthless character, even if this matter gets uncovered, he might not even pursue this matter, instead choosing Ling Tian's friendship over the blood feud! Only if our Water of Heavenly Wind doesn't exist at that time, then there might be a chance that he would pursue Ling Tian. However, before that happens, the Yu Family will definitely not choose to pick a war with Ling Tian! This is even before considering the fact that Ling Tian is entwined with Yu BingYan now. Sigh!" At the last part, even Shui QianRou couldn't help but let out a long sigh full of meaning.
Die'er sat in silent contemplation for a while, before saying, "Was it that our family looked down on Ling Tian too much from the beginning?"
"We didn't just belittle him!" Shui QianRou felt like crying but no tears could come out. "We literally treated a fierce tiger as a fluffy rabbit for us to gobble up! It would be surprising if we didn't get gobbled up in return! This was also my fault as I didn't spot this malignancy early, leading to such a situation! I only hope that Brother Huan will not kill general Ling so quickly, or else not only brother Huan, but I and even our entire Shui Family will be in mortal danger!"
"This sort of person, this sort of capability; if we don't have the chance of finishing him in one blow, then the best idea would be to placate him, then slowly draw him in." Shui QianRou muttered. "And now, if Ling Tian really becomes the in-law of the Yu Family, and with the Shui Family offending him, then our doomsday is not far off."
"So our little princess intends to… sacrifice herself?' There was a hint of laughter in Die'er's voice
"It isn't a sacrifice…" Out of her expectations, Shui QianRou didn't even refute her, instead saying, "It's a sort of good fortune I guess, because Ling Tian is the only person in this world who can probably fulfilll my criteria in both the martial and civil areas. Furthermore, not only is he good at calculating and scheming but also knows how to prudently move, only aiming for the most effective result. After the event, not only will you not hate him but in fact, only have admiration for such a genius. I have a good opinion of him, and being married to such a man would not be cheapening myself in any way. This is also a good way to curb the Yu Family. I could potentially kill so many birds with one stone!" Upon talking about her potential other half, a trace of shyness shone in her eyes, but she still spilled everything without the bashfulness of a female.
"Little Princess, do you really not hate him for all the humiliation he has given you in the last few days?" Die'er asked in shock.
"Hate him? Why should I?" Shui QianRou smiled drily. "Die'er, I also mentioned before that, standing in my position, what I did was definitely not wrong; but in his position, this was a despicable and heinous crime. In the end, we were the ones who first plotted against his father and him, even to the entire Ling Family. Thus, in order to save his family, he could only resort to such a cruel method. This is still not overboard because after all, all that came out were merely words. If he were to use the normal method of waiting for me to talk, then when I finally opened my mouth, how many days would that have been? Three? Four? At that time, even the corpse of his father wouldn't be found, much less having a chance to save him!"
Shui QianRou lifted up her head and lowly whispered, "As such, his choice of action was definitely correct, and that this would be the only way to scare me. Torture would only be a joke! While I know that he was only trying to scare me, as a woman, I couldn't take the chance."
"Scare you?" The round eyes of Die'er grew even rounder. "You mean…"
Shui QianRou laughed, "If he didn't scold Ling Chen, as well as kick his guards; I'll still have believed that he was lying to me. However, the kick he gave was just too conspicuous." Shui QianRou leisurely spoke. "How could a person, who already knows how to endure from a young age, have lost control of his emotions like that? Sadly, even if I knew, I didn't dare to bet! Because after all I'm a woman, and we have much more to lose! While I refused to admit that in the past, right now, I have no choice but to do so!"
Die'er opened her mouth in shock. She suddenly had this strange feeling that both her little princess as well as Ling Tian were monsters in human skin. How could it be that their thinking was so profound, but yet could talk about it in a tone that was used to describe the weather?
Shui QianRou, however, continued speaking in an apathetic tone, "In this chaotic world, one cannot define a person's side just by judging whether he is good or bad. The same goes for their methods used. Only the victor at the end will be a hero, no matter what he has done before! As such," Shui QianRou summarised, "in this world, there are no definite angels nor devils. Anybody can be a saint or a villain! Since you have taken the initiative to participate in this bloodfest, then don't be hypocritical and criticize someone else! There's actually nothing to criticize either, because using morals and virtues to attempt to define a fellow competitor would an extremely foolish thing, and it will only hasten your death!"
If Ling Tian could hear this conclusion of Shui QianRou, he would definitely applaud in admiration, exclaiming on how well they understood each other.
However, Ling Tian no longer had the patience nor time to idle around, for he was already burning up with anxiety! Shui QianRou's words had already caused his mental state to crumble! Such treacherous plans and such poisonous layers of ambush! Once the plan was to start, Ling Xiao would definitely have a 90% chance of dying!
Right now, Ling Tian only hoped that his father would be able to endure for a longer period of time and that the four men he employed, from Ling Nineteen to Ling Twenty-two would be able to protect his father until he arrived!
Time was of the essence! The army of the Outer Courtyard stood orderly, waiting for Ling Tian's command to rush out like a cannonball!
"Ling Chen! Bring Ling Lei and Ling Dian and guard Sky Bearing, stabilizing the Ling Family! Bring 2,000 troops with you, and the moment you sense any movements, kill without exception! In addition, employ the fastest speed you can find to inform those on the northern and western sides, whatever the price, to rush to the battlefield immediately! Move!"
"Yes!"
"Feng Mo, go together with Wang Han and lead 15,000 troops to set off right now, whoever blocks your path along the way, kill! Do not tangle with anyone, rush to the battlefield to provide assistance at the fastest possible time!"
"Yes!"
"Ling Six, Seven, Eight, Nine!"
"At your command!"
"The four of you are to gather all your subordinates, and so long as they are nearby the battlefield, even if it's only one report, they are to send it to me at the earliest possible time! Report the intelligence back to me constantly!"
"Yes!"
"Ling Jian, Ling Chi, Ling Feng, and Ling Yun!"
"Present!"
"You four will follow me to set off now, with the lightest weight you can have, and the fastest speed! We head towards Nine Swallow City! Ling Chen, notify the north-western ranch, and tell them to prepare their best five warhorses at the junction when we pass by!"
"Yes!"
"Yes!"
With the sounds of neighing horses, five steeds rushed forward, disappearing in the blink of an eye! A plume of dust was generated in their wake, lingering on for a long time!
One peerless expert and four asuras of the current generation had set off!