Chapter 541: 495 Sudden Occurrence

Xing Cang emerged from the Young Master's quarters, his expression respectful and without a hint of displeasure; no one could find a single flaw on his face.

In truth, he was not particularly displeased either.

At most, he felt a bit of sentiment.

These manor owners, whether old, young, new, or old, always had some new tricks. Each one was so unreasonable, so bastardly, and the direction of their bastardy was different for everyone.

This one's direction was a lack of awareness of the height of the heavens and the depth of the earth, as if he wanted to flip the world upside down with a single word, treating all things in the world as his playthings, seemingly feeling that he was even more formidable than Wangliang.

May he still be able to say that after he goes up Wangliang Mountain.

"Xing Qi said he... resembles his father?" Xing Cang recalled the assessment Xing Qi had given him.

That fellow Xing Qi had grown in ambition after going out once, but his judgment had not grown; on the contrary, it was getting worse and worse.

How did this junior resemble his father?

His temper was more impulsive than his father's, his patience was worse than his father's, and his brain was actually more prone to whimsical ideas than his father's—a kind of whimsicality that could not distinguish north from south. He knew nothing, so he dared to say anything and dared to do anything.

The destruction he caused might be greater than his father's, but in the final analysis, he was easier to deal with than his father.

Just now, a thought had even flashed through Xing Cang's mind—the moment he said he wanted to use that method from the outside to replace the Sword Slaves, he had already handed over a handle. As long as he leaked even a tiny bit of this, he feared the Young Master would be able to follow his father into the afterlife within a few moments.

It was just... never mind.

If that happened, Changfa Manor would also be in peril.

How could he break the jade vase just to strike at a mouse?

And after so many years, with success imminent, he did not want to have to change a manor owner at this time.

At the very least, this one had to hold out until after the Sacrifice, right?

It was only that little bit left, after all.

He returned to his room with the intention of waiting to see how things developed, ate something steadily, and rested until the evening, when he saw Xing Wu come to pay him a visit.

Seeing him come, Xing Cang was in a good mood: it was good that he still knew to come on his own initiative. Previously, when he encountered Xing Wu and Xingshao strolling in the street together, that was mostly a solicitation act by Xingshao to sow discord between the two. It seemed Xing Wu had now realized it and wanted to explain to him.

Since he had come voluntarily, he was still sensible, and he would also offer some kind words of comfort to resolve this barrier. After all, this person Xing Wu had no crooked intentions; to put it nicely, he was simple, and to put it bluntly, he was a bit stupid—he believed whatever others said. This was also the reason he could live until now. Moreover, his strength was not bad; stupid, but useful, so he was still worth retaining.

Who would have thought that as soon as Xing Wu entered, he said directly: "Grand Steward, I need to go up the mountain."

The Grand Steward glanced outside and saw the bright moon hanging high, already approaching the second watch, and said: "Now? Go up Wangliang Mountain?"

Xing Wu said: "Yes, it is the Master's order. He told me to go up the mountain to call Xing Jiu and the others to come down."

Xing Cang frowned and said: "Why?"

Xing Wu said: "He said the Master wants to see them at the foot of the mountain. He said that people seen on the mountain are all distorted shapes under the shadows, and it is clearer to see them under the Sunlight at the foot of the mountain, so he decided to call them down to see them for the first time. They will also have a seat at the banquet later."

What kind of bullshit reason was this?

How old was Xing Cang, and how many things had he experienced? He guessed eight or nine out of ten just by hearing it: this Young Master must feel that the manor was his own base, a net spread out waiting for him to enter, and he was unwilling to throw himself into it, wanting to call the people inside out first, divide and conquer, and it would be best to prune all his wings before going up the mountain cleanly.

This was truly...

Measuring a gentleman's belly with a petty man's heart. Did he think he had such a small stature too?

Fool, there was nothing wrong originally, but being so suspicious would actually provoke people into causing trouble.

Xing Cang sneered inwardly and said: "Oh, since it is Xingshao's instruction, then you must go. The day is late, you should rest for a while and go up the mountain tomorrow morning."

Xing Wu said: "Since it is the Master's instruction, I dare not rest; I will go up the mountain now. I am reporting to you so you won't be unable to find me these two days. I am going now." Having said that, without waiting for Xing Cang to speak again, he left in a hurry.

This was called reporting to put it nicely; to put it bluntly, it was just notifying Xing Cang.

Xing Cang watched him leave, his gaze gradually darkening, and suddenly said: "Go and bring Twelve here."

His trusted servant went out and found Xing Twelve.

Xing Twelve arrived quickly, his face flushed, as if slightly tipsy. This Sword Guest was the second youngest in Changfa Manor, and he was short, so his youth could be seen from his face. But he was more like a Sword Guest in the traditional sense of Wangliang Mountain. Even though his face was red from drinking, one could still feel that he was pale and cold, and unlike Xing Wu, who always carried a sense of dullness, he was undoubtedly extremely sharp.

Xing Cang looked at him and said: "You've been drinking?"

Xing Twelve lowered his head and said: "That Sword Guest Fang brought by Xingshao invited me to drink."

Xing Cang said: "After drinking, can you still hold your Sword?"

When Xing Twelve heard "hold Sword," his eyes lit up, as if two Lamps had been lit: "Of course."

Xing Cang said: "Good, go and kill someone for me."

Xing Twelve said: "Yes! Who?"

Xing Cang spat out one word: "Five."

Xing Twelve's brows furrowed slightly, and Xing Cang pressed: "You don't want to go?"

Xing Twelve said: "No, I am not confident."

Xing Cang turned back, took a short Sword from a box, and said: "Take this. Use this Sword; if you can kill him, kill him, if not, then withdraw. If you want to leave, Xing Wu cannot stop you. I will tell you a technique to break his Sword Art." Having said that, he spoke for a while.

Xing Twelve listened carefully and said with a solemn expression: "As you command." Without saying more, he turned and disappeared into the night.

Xing Cang watched him leave, his fingers moving lightly, as if there were something he was hesitant about. After pondering for a moment, he shook his head and muttered to himself: "It's just to teach him a lesson."

Xing Twelve was gone, and he relaxed slightly, but he did not rest; instead, he called for someone to pour him a cup of strong tea and drank it while sorting out his thoughts.

Originally, he had planned to meet all changes with the unchanged, deal with this kid for a month or two, and complete the Sacrifice. Once the Sacrifice was completed, he would completely grasp the initiative.

But Xing Wu's change just now made him change his mind: he should still do something. If he didn't, if one Xing Wu was lost, he was lost, but what about Xing Jiu? Twelve? If they were gone one by one, the hearts of the people would scatter.

Although the hearts of the people on Wangliang Mountain didn't count for much, and even the people themselves didn't count for much, if he let the other party push forward inch by inch, with the Young Master's resolute style, he might invade his own head in these one or two months, and he feared he would ruin the big event.

It was better to advance instead of retreating, and suppress him with thunder. Rather than waiting for a month in a dilemma, it was better to let this ignorant Young Master endure a month in panic.

Although when the time came, the result would be the same. But it was better for him to be uncomfortable than for himself to be uncomfortable.

Let's start from tonight.

Xing Cang was planning the subsequent matters when he was suddenly startled, as if he had remembered something, and stood up from his seat abruptly.

Then, his body stiffened, and he stood in front of the chair, beginning to daze.

After a while, he shook his head with some dejection and said: "Could it be that I am really old, and have forgotten some things? Even if a thought flashed by, I can't remember it in the blink of an eye? No..."

Xing Cang's gaze gradually deepened: "It is not like this. I cannot just grow old and dull like this. It is time to do something." He took a cyan letter paper from his sleeve and began to write on it.

At this time, in the main hall of Golden Crow.

The small meeting of a few people was about to end, the night was already deep, and Tang Zhao was just about to leave when he suddenly froze.

Beside him was Jiang Shenyi, who was suddenly blocked by him.

Jiang Shenyi asked curiously: "What is it?"

Tang Zhao suddenly reached out, pulled a silk ribbon from his sleeve, then pulled out a pen, flipped the silk ribbon over, and quickly wrote something on it.

Jiang Shenyi was right by his side, and in the blink of an eye, he saw characters continuously appearing on the front of the silk ribbon, as if an invisible pen were writing them. He recognized it as a Communication Artifact that had been developed to maturity and was currently supplied exclusively to the Yunzhou government offices, used for transmitting confidential messages; both sides held a ribbon, and what one side wrote, the other could see. At this moment, it must be that someone inside the Yunzhou government had suddenly sent a message, and it was a confidential, urgent matter.

Jiang Shenyi was at most an externally hired Expert, so it was inconvenient for him to view internal messages; what he should know, he would naturally know, and what he should not know, he was not interested in. He was only puzzled: Why did Tang Zhao not read the message first, but instead write on the back first? Could he write a reply without reading the letter?

Who would have thought that after writing only two characters, Tang Zhao lifted his pen and paused, as if his train of thought had stalled.

"Sigh..."

After pausing for a while, he did not manage to continue his train of thought, and in the end, he gave up after writing only two characters. Jiang Shenyi watched from the side, and it seemed one of the characters was: "Old".

Tang Zhao gave up on writing, only then flipped it over to look at the text on the front, frowned after reading it, and said: "This old thing, why is he suddenly going crazy?"

As he spoke, he rolled up the silk ribbon and said to the crowd: "An internal line has sent intelligence that Xing Cang has sent Xing Twelve to ambush Xing Wu. We must naturally protect the person the enemy wants to kill. I will make a trip."

The crowd was startled. On one hand, they were astonished that Xing Cang had suddenly taken action, and it was a killing blow right from the start, directed at his own people—Xing Wu was considered Xing Cang's trusted subordinate; let alone not having defected to the Golden Crow side, even if he had, it would be only natural given the master-servant status, and Xing Cang had absolutely no reason to make a move. If this person acted suddenly, did that mean he was going to tear off the mask?

On the other hand, they were also surprised: wasn't the internal line of the Land Inspection Division at Wangliang Mountain? How could they know of Xing Cang's actions in time? Xing Wu had only just set off, and Xing Cang's order must have been given only a moment ago; could that internal line be one of those servants following by Xing Cang's side? Had Tang Zhao already made contact quietly today?

Golden Crow said: "Xing Wu is heading up to Wangliang Mountain; I advise you not to go. Your Sword Image is Sunlight, which is too conspicuous in a place like Wangliang Mountain. Change the person."

Tang Zhao pondered for a moment and said: "Fine, then I will ask Lady Ling to make the trip."

Besides Tang Zhao and Golden Crow, the strongest person here was Ling Baoyu, a standard Sword Hero who could crush a Sword Guest. Her abilities were also very suitable for operating at Wangliang Mountain, and she was the most covert; depending on the situation, she could choose to reveal herself or remain hidden, making it easy to adapt to circumstances.

Ling Baoyu agreed: "Fine, saving Xing Wu and killing Xing Twelve will be enough, right?"

Tang Zhao stuffed a remote Art Tool into the white fox's ear and said: "That is the plan for now; it may change depending on the situation. Let us keep in touch at all times."

The white fox jumped out the window and left, and the others also dispersed as they each had tasks. Before Tang Zhao left, Golden Crow asked: "What were you going to write just now? Who were you writing to?"

Tang Zhao revealed a rare bitter smile and said: "I do not know."