Chapter 345: Negotiation
Translator: DavidT Editor: DavidT, Rock
Ling Tian walked into the stone room and asked the two guards in charge of guarding Shui QianRou, "How has Miss Shui been?"
"Good, she is good."
While Ling Tian was asking about Shui QianRou's physical condition, he never expected the two guards to reveal such a bitter and pitiful look. Seeing their unsightly expressions, Ling Tian couldn't help but ask, "What happened?"
The burly man was startled, and he began to stutter, "No...nothing…"
"Eh? Nothing?!" Ling Tian frowned, "Speak! I want to know every detail!"
Both the guards were shocked and quickly recounted everything. As Ling Tian heard what they said, his frown became tighter and tighter.
It turned out that the injuries to Shui QianRou's body weren't very serious and only her internal injuries were serious. However, her internal injuries had already been meticulously treated by Ling Tian. Together with her almost XianTian cultivation, her recovery rate was naturally speedy. In just a short while, her injuries were almost fully recovered!
But following her full recovery, the days of the guards gradually grew bitter. Miss Shui's requests were all spoken as though her requests were requirements. Didn't your young noble Ling say to take good care of me? As a woman, cleanliness is naturally important to me, and I have to take a bath! Bring a bathtub and fill it up with warm water! After taking my bath, I will naturally need a fresh set of clothes right? I also want to change my undergarments! How can a woman not have some makeup? How can there be no mirror or dressing table in my room? How can there be no comb? How can…
As her body gradually recovered, she had more and more requests, and her tone became more and more forceful as though her requests were fully justified. Thus, all of the guards became extremely busy as they let out bitter cries. If it was just ordinary tasks, they wouldn't have too many complaints. However, a women's undergarment was a large taboo for a male in the ancient times. It can be imagined just how awkward it would be for a few burly men to go out and purchase women's undergarments…
The root of this problem was a single instruction which Ling Tian gave before leaving: "As long as you don't let her out, you can fulfill all of her requests. More importantly, you must take good care of her injuries." At that time, Ling Tian already treated Shui QianRou as an important chip to bargain with the Shui Family. How would he allow any harm to fall upon her? Furthermore, Ling Tian had always felt a strong sense of threat from the Yu Family and he did have the thought of forming an alliance with the Shui Family or even to reap benefits from the fight between the Yu and Shui Families!
Of course, all of this was conditional on the fact that his father would be able to return safely. If his father couldn't return safely, there would be no room for negotiations. After this battle, while Ling Tian achieved a great victory and had abundant rewards, he felt more and more worried in his heart. The strength of the Yu Family was powerful to the point that Ling Tian was shocked. Just a single general of Western Han grasped a third of the Western Han Army! If that's the case, then there was no doubt that the Yu Family definitely had spies in the Northern Wei army! However, what about the Eastern Zhao? The Wu Empire? The Southern Zheng? Or even his Sky Bearing Empire?!
Thinking about that, Ling Tian couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine! The strength of the thousand-year-old Yu Family was far beyond his expectations! He had underestimated them far too much!
Ever since his return, Ling Tian had been pondering over this problem. Both the Yu and Shui Families would definitely be his greatest barrier to ruling the world! Currently, he couldn't let go of his relationship with anyone from either family, but he also couldn't grow too close to them! If not, he would definitely suffer the attacks of the other family!
While Ling Tian was confident that he didn't need to fear any one of the two families, he didn't want to suffer from any unnecessary losses! The best plan would be for him to sit on the fence. Having a peaceful relationship with the Yu Family and not rejecting the Shui Family either. However, he couldn't participate in the battle between the families. As time passed, both of these ambitious families would definitely end up in a full-on conflict with each other. At that time, as long as he could make good use of that opportunity… Ling Tian began to formulate a plan in his heart.
However, such an outcome would only be possible if both the Shui and Yu Families played along. If not, he would only become a sacrificial lamb in the war between both families. Especially with how his present relationship with the Shui Family was extremely tense, it was impossible to tell how their relationship would develop in future.
As he came to the Ling Family Courtyard to meet Shui QianRou today, he was considering the possibility of his plan being successful. Thus, he intended to first test Shui QianRou's attitude first before deciding his future plans. But upon finding out about Shui QianRou's odd actions in the previous few days, Ling Tian couldn't help but frown, Just what is this lass thinking about?
After thinking for a long while, Ling Tian shook his head and said, "Open the door."
"Miss Shui, you seem to be looking healthier than before. Are you used to your stay here? It seems like my Ling Family's delicacies are really to your liking." Ling Tian said with a chuckle, "Looking at Miss's tender appearance, I really feel like taking a bite to have a taste."
"Really? Then does young noble Ling want a bite?" Shui QianRou was dressed in a purple dress. While she was seated down silently, she exuded a graceful and charming bearing with a trace of stubbornness on her face. While her words were extremely playful, her tone was extremely cold.
"No no," Ling Tian shook his head obediently and said with a righteous tone, "my teeth aren't so good and I may end up cracking them. At that time, I wouldn't be able to enjoy any more delicacies."
"Really?" Shui QianRou clenched her teeth and said, "Looking at young noble Ling's radiant appearance, you probably achieved a great victory on the battlefield, right?"
"With Miss's blessing," Ling Tian said with a wide smile, "I won a small battle and it is nothing to brag about."
"Is your father okay?" Shui QianRou said with a simmering temper.
"With Miss's blessing, my father is extremely healthy." Ling Tian walked once around the room before taking a seat. Ling Chen then stood behind Ling Tian as usual.
Shui QianRou suddenly flew into a rage, "Since your father is alright, then why isn't young noble Ling letting us out?"
"Mmm?" Ling Tian ruffled his hair, "Please forgive me for my poor memory. When did I say that I was going to let the both of you out?"
Die'er, who was by the side, began to pout. "How can you be like that, not upholding your promises?! Who was it who said, 'if not for the fact that this concerns my father's safety, I wouldn't be willing to become enemies with Miss'! Now that your father is alright, you are still holding us captive, how shameless! You…" she originally intended to continue mocking Ling Tian but her mouth was immediately sealed by Ling Tian's sharp gaze! Ever since she was slapped and scolded by Ling Tian, this little lass was truly afraid of him.
Ling Tian only responded with a perfunctory tone, "Did I say that before? With my bad memory, perhaps I really said that. However, it seems like only both you master and servant pair were present at that time. No matter what, you guys hold the advantage in numbers and I may have been coerced at that time! With the power of the Shui Family, how would a small family like my Ling Family dare to provoke you? Even a lass dares to scold the host, and the prestige of your Shui Family can be seen!"
The thickness of Ling Tian's skin was indeed unprecedented!
Shui QianRou didn't bother to quibble with him and said with a snicker, "Justice is in the heart of everyone. How would you be able to rule the world without trustworthiness?! Since young noble said that he didn't say it, we will just take it that young noble didn't say it. However, how long does young noble Ling plan to play host to us? We have left our home for a long time and even if the Ling residence can treat us like family, we still miss our home. Can young noble please give us an exact time?"
Ling Tian responded with a sneer, "I thought that only your brother knew how to joke but never expected Miss to be even more humorous. With Miss's status, you can naturally stay for as long as you want. However, even if you don't want to stay here any longer, you should still seek the approval of the host right? This host hopes that I can have both of you here for a good three to seven years!"
Shui QianRou's gaze turned cold immediately. "Young noble Ling, let us all be open with each other! Don't forget that you are holding someone from the Shui Family captive! You should be clear of what the consequences are!"
Ling Tian rubbed his chin as he sat with his legs crossed. "Of course I am clear, I have been clear from the very start! I am indeed holding someone from the Shui Family captive. At the same time, the people that I killed on the battlefield also belonged to the Shui Family. But so what about that? The feeling of killing them is about as wonderful as slicing up watermelons! Killing them is no different from killing anyone else!"
"You killed my Shui Family members?" Shui QianRou became nervous, "Who did you kill? How many did you kill?"
"Don't worry, I didn't kill your beloved brother, Shui QianHuan! I didn't kill too many of them, just a dozen or so." Ling Tian shook his head in disappointment, "However, they were far too weak and there wasn't any thrill at all."
"You! Young noble Ling is trustworthy indeed! I have finally seen your true appearance!" Shui QianRou's eyes narrowed to a slit, "Ling Tian, do you know that you have offended the Shui Family greatly! Wait for the bloody revenge of our Shui Family! Facing our enemies, we never show any mercy! There hasn't been an exception in a thousand years, and your Ling Family wouldn't be the first one either!" Just a dozen? There weren't many who came to the Heavenly Star Continent in the first place! Shui QianRou was angered to the point she began to shiver.
"I'm scared! I'm really scared!" Ling Tian said with a playful tone and shrugged his shoulders, "I am afraid to the point I'm trembling."
Shui QianRou let out a helpless sigh. If Ling Tian was really afraid of her threats, he wouldn't hold her captive. Those words of hers certainly wouldn't have any effect!
In this period of time where she was held captive, Shui QianRou constantly wondered about what kind of a person Ling Tian was. To say that he was a low profile individual, he was indeed more low profile than anyone else. With his unrivaled talent and exceptional martial arts, he was actually willing to have the title of number one silkpants for over ten years. To say he was a careful individual, it was indeed the truth as well. He was far too careful indeed! With his current strength, there was no longer a need for him to be so careful. To say that he was arrogant, there was probably no one more arrogant than him! Of the two most powerful families in the world today, he had offended them both. He killed the elders of the Yu Family without any hesitation, and the experts of the Shui Family were like ants in his eyes. Even the little princess of the Shui Family was held captive by him. Even though the process of her being held captive was pretty complicated.
This fellow was indeed a reckless individual!