Chapter 218 – Remarkable Coincidence
“I suspect so; therefore I’ve been planning on going to the Imperial Palace so I can take a look at that knife and see if it’s similar to this one!” Li You Ran’s eyes blatantly revealed his intentions as he continued: “If it’s not the same, then we won’t have any clues.”
“Yes, if it’s similar to this one then that would mean that this sly bastard probably has an association with Princess Ling Meng, and since he helped her out once, I doubt that he would sit idly and watch if the Princess was to be met with danger again. If we can control such a situation then we could force that despicable bastard to show up again!” Lei Jian Hong fiercely nodded as an ominous glint flickered inside his eyes.
“However, young Li is trying to woo Princess Ling Meng and therefore we must consider Young Li’s personal interests in this matter as well. Big Brother, you have to measure all proportions here… if we act rashly and hurt the Princess, then it would be very detrimental to our Little Brother’s marriage.” The woman quickly glanced at Li You Ran, and leisurely stated as she re-adjusted her gaze to the ground.
“Yes, the Third Sister is right; we’ll have to give this matter a lot of thought.” Lei Jian Hong nodded. One has to admit that this man wasn’t very assertive by nature, and was willing to take everyone’s interests and opinions into his evaluation.
“I disagree with the Third Sister.” Li You Ran stated in a self-righteous tone: “Although her appearance and status are impressive, but she is still an outsider at the end of the day; even if she was to really come into the Li Family someday, we are still Brothers first, and hence I will only agree with whatever the Big Brother decides when it comes to avenging the deaths of my four elder brothers. I won’t object to Big Brother’s decision, nor will I spare any effort to meet his orders! If a bit of blood is necessary to avenge our four brothers, then I’m willing to shed it; whether it is Ling Meng’s or my own!”
“Little Brother!…..” Lei Jian Hong was already quite moved, and seeing the look in Li You Ran’s eyes only made him more excited: “Little Bother’s remarks will not go in vain, and will take us a thousand miles forward! Although our four Brothers are dead, but they will now sleep peacefully in the hell below!”
Everyone nodded in approval upon seeing the look on Li You Ran’s face, and then slowly turned soft and affectionate towards him.
“Master has stated that he will come in person to deal with the matter surrounding the Sixth Brother, but I’m afraid that it will take a few days’ time for him to arrive in the Tian Xiang City. Brothers and Sisters, please suppress your sorrows for the time being, and don’t act rashly. As for the matter regarding that ‘Throwing Knife’, kindly leave that to me.” Li You Ran sighed: “However, I feel most guilty for disturbing Master’s practice…. It’s a crime that I cannot even be punished for with a thousand deaths…..”
“Little Brother, don’t you know that the Master has always pampered you more than any other disciple?” everyone warmly spoke up together to comfort Li You Ran; the atmosphere had suddenly changed to a very harmonious one.
The Li Family had been supplying for the livelihood and all other necessary resources of Lei Wu Bei’s school ever since Li You Ran had been accepted as his disciple. Given the amount of patronage he had shown to his Master over the years, Li You Ran’s relationship with his Master had changed to that of a family member, and although they were separated by mountains and valleys, Lei Wu Bei would act like a Family member would in case the Li Family required it; in fact, he’d probably do more.
It could be said that Lei Wu Bei had really over-pampered Li You Ran, and had played an even bigger role in spoiling the young man’s temper than his own grandfather had.
“However, we cannot sit idly before the Master’s arrival.” Li You Ran’s eyes revealed the blatancy of his desires: “Brothers, you know that the current sources of our information are very limited, and our people are facing severe restrictions even within the scope of the Tian Xiang City. Thus, your Younger Brother is now in need of a very urgent help from you, but I’ve already failed you once, and to ask you for this now… I don’t have the words…..”
“We are brothers, so how’s your Family matter not ours? Tell us, what bothers you?” Lei Jian Hong asked in a genuinely dissatisfied tone. He was already quite emotionally moved at this point, and therefore, he was likely to promise Li You Ran for anything that the latter asked for!
“Thank you Big Brother.” Li You Ran’s face seemed to be covered with state of difficulty and distress: “My problem resides with the underground world of this city. I had been using the City’s underground gangs to control the northern part of the Capital City, but a freak combination of factors ever since the incident at the Tang Family have resulted in my networks going idle, which is causing me a lot of inconvenience. Even if I could still get the news in a timely manner, but I still cannot…..”
“A few underground gangs? Ha ha, what kind of a problem would they be!” Lei Jian Hong smiled fiercely: “These last few days have been very depressing for us since we cannot provoke a foe of the Solitary Falcon’s strength, but these shrimps would act as a good way for us to vent out our anger, so don’t worry Little Brother, we will unite the City’s underworld for you before the Master arrives in the City! And then we’ll hand it over to you!”
“Thank you for your help Big Brother! Now I can finally remove this big rock I’ve been carrying on my heart! The Li Family’s strength will rise to new heights because of your help my brothers and sister!”
Li You Ran thanked his companions in joy, and then gnashed his teeth with grief and indignation: “I shall immediately focus on getting into the Palace to investigate the enemy of our Brothers, but each day will now pass like a year for me…. If I can’t even find out about the enemy who took the lives of my Brothers, then what good would I be?”
“There’s no need to be so formal with your family, Little Brother! Since you’ll be entering into the Palace with such a big objective in mind, I urge that you be very careful while exploring and investigating this matter surrounding the ‘Throwing Knife’; we will wait for you to come back with the good news upon your success!” Lei Jian Hong and the others stood up; their faces revealing a very earnest and concerned expression.
“Yes Big Brother. Although we want this power, but the Li Family cannot come out in the open in this regard, and we can only manipulate the scene from backstage….” Li You Ran smiled as he warned his companions of this very critical point: “Therefore the actions taken in this matter must be cautiously evaluated.”
“Indeed, we clearly understand the nature of this task! Little Brother, don’t look so serious; we will take care of this.” Lei Jian Hong broke into laughter.
Once has to the note the remarkability of this coincidence!
Li You Ran and Jun Mo Xie, two potential opponents, each mutually unaware of the other’s involvement, had decided to pick the same option and at the same time! Moreover, they had both chosen the same goal!
The Capital’s underworld!
Moreover, the means of these two youngsters were also surprisingly similar!
Jun Mo Xie had lured and enticed Hai Chen Feng with favors, and had then decided to take advantage of the situation; then, he made very cumbersome calculations to gain favors with the Solitary Falcon, and had chosen to use his identity to safeguard the Jun Family’s position and managed to achieve his goal somehow.
Li You Ran on the other hand, had played on the emotional sentiments of his fellow apprentices to achieve the same objective.
Although the means used by each man had its own merits and demerits, with neither method being superior or otherwise, but both sets of strategies were equally shameless and despicable in nature.
Jun Mo Xie had achieved his goals by hook or by crook.
Li You Ran had achieved his’ by being self-centered; leaving no space for the needs of his own friends!
Another surprising coincidence would be in the fact that both men would unleash a bunch of Sky Xuan experts in the capital city! The difference is that Jun Mo Xie’s soldier, Hai Chen Feng would have a higher starting point, whereas Li You Ran’s side had better numbers. At this point, the game resided in balance.
Both men were abundantly confident of their position at this point, already feeling that they had achieved their objective!
The shadows of these two youngsters had been associated with most of the major events that had taken place in the city in recent times, and one could sense that their actions would inevitably lead to several more. Had any man been lesser than the other, the storm wouldn’t have been this terrifying! However, even though these two men were provoking such a huge storm inside this paradise, neither man had any knowledge of the other man’s involvement.
In fact, these two men were thinking the exact same thing: they both wished to manipulate the circumstances from behind the scenes, but neither man seemed willing to appear in flesh. Even though Jun Mo Xie was aware of Li You Ran’s existence, and was fully aware that Li You Ran was the Li Family’s protégé, but he’d never consider Li You Ran to be his opponent since Li You Ran didn’t deserve that position in his mind!
What would an insignificant man like Li You Ran be worth in the eyes of a proud man like Jun Mo Xie?
On the other hand, even though Li You Ran was also aware of Jun Mo Xie’s existence, Jun Mo Xie’s worth was even lesser in Li You Ran’s eyes…..
How could a debauchery be a worthy opponent in the eyes of the Young Master Li? He too had obviously completely ignored Jun Mo Xie!
Even though they were unaware of each other’s actions, they already despised each other; however, they were both doing the same thing, and that too, using similar methods. The first real battle between these two men was just about to begin.
And even though this real collision between these two men was about to take place, it was destined to take place in the dark, with both men already having chosen to remain hidden……
Even their Xuan Qi’s were at the same level; the peak of the Gold Xuan Realm, and yet both men had mobilized Sky Xuan experts in their support. Jun Mo Xie was being supported by Hai Chen Feng, with the Blue Master, Meng Hong Chen standing behind them, whereas Lei Jian Hong was being supported by the Cold Blooded Master, Lei Wu Bei.
Even in this regard, the playing field was again leveled!
Who would win? And who would lose?
Irrespective of the victor and loser, two of the Eight Great Masters, Lei Wu Bei and Meng Hong Chen were destined to a path of hatred in all this confusion!
The scramble for the control of the City’s underworld between these two Young Masters was about to unleash a plethora of earth-shattering characters, which would obviously trigger a huge storm; one has to say – such a wonderful act can only be choreographed by the heavens above; this had to have been an act of providence!
~ The Jun Family ~
Hai Chen Feng had already snuck out after receiving his treatment, and was already flexing his muscles to unite the City’s underworld.
The Solitary Falcon had taken residence with the Jun Family, and Hai Chen Feng was unlikely to come looking for trouble with him unless he was strong enough; this of course was one aspect Jun Mo Xie could control at his whim.
The Solitary Falcon had already completely immersed himself in his practice, and even though Jun Mo Xie had tried to incite him a few times, the Solitary Falcon had paid no attention to any of it since his practice had taken him over like an obsession; to the point where he didn’t even care about his own bodily weaknesses.
The Little Lolita would serve the tea, and would then tip-toe her was backwards; Fatty Tang was doing his best to lay low next doors, so much so that he would even try to control the sound of his own breathing, let alone find the courage to cough or fart, fearing that even the slightest of movement may provoke a disaster and might land him a one-way ticket straight to hell……
Things had momentarily calmed down at the Jun residence…..
The reason being that none of this involved Jun Mo Xie’s exceptional talents……