Chapter 441: Cautious and Solemn
Translator: chuchutrain Editor: DavidT, Rock
"He… he… he said, that if Family Head still has any more schemes in stock, to… to better go back to the drawing board… and put in more effort…." The guy slammed his head back on the floor, not even daring to raise it right now. He did not dare to hide the truth from the Head, yet he did not know what would happen now that he had said these things.
"Just these words? Hahaha…" Out of his expectations, Yu ManLou suddenly guffawed, and within his laughter, one could sense a sort of satisfaction from meeting a worthy opponent.
"What a good Ling Tian! You indeed lived up to my effort of treating you favorably!" Yu ManLou laughed out loud, before indifferently addressing the person behind him without even turning his head, "Go back and have a rest."
"Thank you Family Head for your grace!" The man acted as if he had received an amnesty, immediately retreating out. Where he previously kneeled on the ground was an obvious pool of water, formed by his cold sweat.
Yu ManLou only shook his head, as though his mood was suddenly all better as he dryly laughed, "Ling Tian has been pressuring his way into Bright Jade City all this way, and even killed sixteen of the best assassins from Blood Slaughter Pavilion in one go, but allowed so many of the men to come back and report. Haha, this little fellow is definitely interesting, an interesting opponent. I've never met such an interesting person in such a long time!"
To have Yu ManLou chain three 'interesting' labels to a person, this was something too rarely seen!
As for the black-robed men standing behind him, they acted as though they did not hear a single word. After following behind Yu ManLou for such a long time, they naturally knew that this was just his method of expressing his own opinion, and not looking to make conversation. However, they who understood Yu ManLou's character the most knew that he was indeed very interested in this character called Ling Tian!
"This kid Ling Tian is clearly waging war against me! And he actually has already chosen the battleground for our fight, which is Bright Jade City! Right now, he's just waiting for me to accept the challenge! Using favorable geographical and social conditions to allow the enemy to be fully prepared! What an arrogant kid! And what courage!" While his words sounded insulting, there was a hint of praise in his tone.
"To actually dare to challenge me within the Yu Family's base of operations, Bright Jade City, one must require a lot of courage to do so! At least, the Xiao and Shui Families would never dare to perform such an insane move!" Yu ManLou continued to hoot in laughter, "But Ling Tian actually dares! Not only does he dare, he has already done it! His only advantage lies in the fact that I cannot face him openly! While this time he puts it as a war challenge, it is actually more like Ling Tian giving me a demonstration of his might! Hmph hmph… he thinks to let me, Yu ManLou, suffer willingly here at Bright Jade City? Let's not talk about whether you can, in this world the people able to do so are even less than what can be counted on one hand! Do you think that you're Justice?"
"Even if it's Justice himself, he would still need to weigh his options carefully!"
Yu ManLou grinned broadly, before taking quick steps out as he spoke, "Go, go over to the Martial Pointer Pavilion. Gather all the various Pavilion and Hall Heads and tell them that I'll be discussing something important. No one is to be absent!"
"Now?"
"Yes, right away!"
Minute spasms appeared on the faces of the black-robed men as their expressions contorted slightly. It was in the middle of the night!
Ling Tian was in the end still too young and has experienced too smooth a road of success, hence making him hot-headed! Yu ManLou smiled coldly to himself. You might have avoided the pursuit of Justice temporarily, but you should have focused on hiding yourself, instead of appearing before anyone! Even if you wanted to appear, you shouldn't have provoked my Yu Family, and even worse, come running over to Bright Jade City! If you had secretly infiltrated, so long as you didn't speak, I would still be unaware, but you actually chose to rush in and openly set yourself against my Yu Family's authority! Don't blame me for killing you then!
Ling Tian, this might be the matter you will regret doing most in your entire life! Or even worse, you might not even get the chance to regret! Don't think that just because you've escaped from the grasp of Justice that you're number one under the heavens! I'll have you know that the foundation of a millennium-old family like the Yu Family is not something a grassroots family like you can uproot!
This old man here is not that Justice, who is solitary and lacks manpower. This old man here has the full authority and influence of Bright Jade City. Since you've come here, then stay here forever!
As Yu ManLou took large strides towards the Martial Pointer Pavilion, he felt the blood that had long cooled down in his body beginning to bubble and boil up again. While Ling Tian's actions might have been mad, but he, Yu ManLou, was definitely not going to slight him, or it should be that he did not dare to! Such a young opponent, but every step of his was bold and imaginative, unconstrained and untrackable, yet so clever and wonderful!
Yu ManLou had all along believed that Ling Tian was the first formidable opponent that he had faced in his entire life! Even the Shui Family with their millennium of hatred against them, or the number one financial magnate the Xiao Family, did not give Yu ManLou as much pressure as Ling Tian!
All of this was because Ling Tian was too young!
Age could also be considered a form of capital! Because age represented limitless potential! There were some matters that Yu ManLou himself, the Shui Family Head Shui LianTian, as well as the Xiao Family Head Xiao FengHan could not afford to wait for but Ling Tian had the capital to be extravagant! If one were to ask what Yu ManLou was afraid of, it would be that of Ling Tian choosing to hole up and bide his time, waiting for another decade or so. If that really happened, then Yu ManLou would probably lose his appetite and sleep in fear! As such, Ling Tian coming to Bright Jade City this time was a god-sent opportunity. He could not allow him to leave the place alive no matter what!
This could be the last chance he would have before they met on the battlefield where their armies would clash, and also the best chance he had of succeeding!
Thus, he couldn't let it go! He definitely couldn't let it pass just like that!
...
Ling Jian's skinny figure was tightly plastered on a magnolia tree within the Yu family's inner courtyard. Around him were a few more magnolia trees as well as pear trees.
This magnolia tree was not very big, with a width of one person at most, but its lush leaves were clustered together densely, making it an optimal place for a night ranger. Furthermore, the growth of its leaves was exceptionally good, with every leaf possessing a deep dark green color, wide and thick. With Ling Jian's night clothes, it seemed as though he had truly melted to become part of the tree, inseparable. Even if someone were to stand below the tree with their eyes wide open, chances were that under the lush blanket of leaves, they would not be able to see him.
In the end, Ling Jian did not adhere to the time limit of two hours. Indeed, the time limit given was in the first place insufficient for him to use. Ling Jian had set his own time limit of three hours, from 12 a.m. to 3 a.m.. Even before 12 a.m., he had already successfully infiltrated into his current location. It was just that his sneaking in this time frightened his hardened self to no end!
Just merely vaulting over the wall into the compound, he had already met four different groups of patrolling guards, crisscrossing over each other. This arrangement ensured that at every hour, in every place, that there would be people in constant surveillance!
If it was just these guards, Ling Jian would naturally not place them within his eyes, as he had countless methods to avoid them. What gave him a headache was actually the path he was walking on!
At random distances, there would be the existence of a few slim and nearly transparent lines stretching out. They were not placed high, around sixty centimeters off the ground, but this height was a boundary! Even for a martial expert, they were in the end still human, and would not be able to continuously keep their bodies levitating off the ground. This was especially true for any night rangers, as using any movement techniques would create the sound of clothes rustling against the wind. Wasn't that as good as telling the enemy your location? The Yu Family might not have many things, but they sure didn't lack experts!
And since you can't pass through the entire pathway in one move, then you could not avoid these tripwires! The most frustrating part about this was the tiny bells placed on every single tripwire. So long as something even gently brushed the wire, these bells would sound, and alarm the entire Yu Family!
The Yu Family's guards were surprisingly almost virtually the same as the ones in the Ling Family Courtyard, each with their own merits! The moment Ling Jian discovered this, he almost felt like committing suicide! As the Pavilion Head of the First Pavilion, he naturally knew how strict the security in the Ling Family Courtyard was. It was to the point that even if Justice wanted to secretly infiltrate and attempt to search every place without being spotted, it was virtually impossible. Even someone of Justice's caliber might not be able to escape from the almost limitless number of ambushes set up!
And Ling Jian's worst experience in infiltration so far was him being sent into the Golden Bell Formation. Ling Tian had set the rule that starting from midnight he was to enter the formation, and if he touched a bell, then he would be punished by having to practice his sword for 1,000 times. If he touched two bells, then the punishment would be 3,000 times, and so on! God knows how he survived that period of training, even a whole day of brandishing his sword he couldn't complete his punishment! During that time, his forearms were so swollen they could be compared to his thighs!
However, when Ling Jian discovered the presence of the bell traps in the Yu Family, he began to secretly thank the many sleepless nights he spent in the Golden Bell Formation! While splitting one's attention to watch for any arriving guards and to watch his footing was a nightmare, he still managed to pass the zone without a hitch, arriving at his current location on the magnolia tree!
Not far ahead of him was the Moon Climbing Star Picking Tower. Ling Jian lightly closed his eyes, revolving his body's internal energy to the limit, pulling himself into his best condition. He had already calculated that in another ten breaths of time, there would be a group of guards that would pass by underneath the tree he was currently at. That would be the best chance, but he only had thirty breaths of time! This time wasn't considered short, but neither was it long. If he were to display his movement techniques to the limit, he would only require three breaths of time to reach the Moon Climbing Star Picking Tower from his current position. He could make it!
But at this moment, a light, almost imperceptible sound of footsteps sounded from afar.
Expert! Ling Jian immediately realized. There were three of them, and judging by the minute sounds made when they walked, their martial arts had to be of a top-tier expert! These people definitely couldn't be compared with the heavy patrolling footsteps of the guards!
It is already so late, so why would there be three experts passing by this area? There are no residences around here! A hint of suspicion surfaced in Ling Jian's heart, as his breathing quickened by a notch.
Scattered fragments of conversation could be heard as they drew closer.
"... Da Hun, the family head summoned us even though it is already so late in the night. What do you think he wants to talk about? Are there any important matters that happened?" The voice sounded curious, even excited, not at all sounding like someone who had grudgingly got out of bed.
This person is not simple! Ling Jian immediately evaluated.