Chapter 553: 506 Going Up the Mountain

"Azhao, what do you mean by this?"

Tu Fei was left bewildered by the condition Tang Zhao had suddenly proposed. He left behind the words, "You all had better think this over carefully," and departed for the time being. After he left, the group, including Jin Wu, gathered around and asked what Tang Zhao meant.

Jiang Shenyi was particularly direct, asking, "That proposal from those eight Sword Guests is just to squeeze us; why are you adding more people to it? Nine people? Eleven people? We can't scrape together that many, can we? That Wu-something-Shayu is just holding us hostage because we have few people. Regardless, we truly can't scrape together eight people, right? If it were four Sword Guests and four Fighters, that would be one thing, but where are we going to find eight Sword Guests? Are you bluffing him? But if he actually agrees, how will you wrap this up?"

Tang Zhao laughed and said, "If he agrees, he agrees. Once he agrees, we'll just call for reinforcements. These days, we've made contact with the other teams sent by the family; if it really comes down to it, we'll just borrow people. To the outside world, we'll say we hired them with money. We can definitely scrape together eight or ten. Even calling people over from Yunzhou now would be in time."

Seeing that the others were still full of doubts, Tang Zhao said, "It's not that I'm looking for trouble. I want to probe Sunset Manor to see if there are other shadows behind it."

Jin Wu asked, "You suspect he is in league with the thieves? That's true, Wu Shayu... that name sounds extremely detestable! However, what basis do you have?"

Tang Zhao said, "I can only say there are some suspicious shadows; it doesn't count as a basis. First, why was it exactly eight people that he proposed? Let's calculate it ourselves: if we followed the Young Master's original configuration, we could indeed only produce seven Sword Guests. By letting Wu Shayu propose eight, and then letting Tu Fei concede a little, it drops exactly to seven people—our bottom line—making it easy to accept all at once. I'm wondering if someone already knew our bottom line, is intentionally colluding with outsiders, and is trapping us by playing on our thoughts?"

Upon hearing this, most of the group understood; the words "knew our bottom line" pointed directly at Xing Cang.

Jiang Shenyi said, "So the one you suspect isn't the Turtle Bandits, but Xing Cang? That would be much simpler."

Bai Zhi, who was nearby, shook his head and said, "Forgive my bluntness, but this is too far-fetched. Eight and four are both common numbers; it might just be a standard condition, not necessarily any conspiracy. Taking a step back, even if there really were one, the strength of our party isn't hard to inquire about. With a little calculation, one could guess it quite accurately; it doesn't necessarily have to be leaked from the inside."

Tang Zhao said, "Yes, I also feel it might not be Xing Cang. But since there is suspicion, it wouldn't hurt to probe. There is another point: it feels to me that Sunset Manor's proposal is illogical and does not play to their strengths while avoiding their weaknesses. Outsiders all say Sunset Manor has a large estate and is full of talent, but as far as I know, Sunset Manor once experienced a catastrophe just half a year ago. They were burned and slaughtered, and the losses must have been significant. Under these circumstances, how many Sword Guests does Old Man Wu still have under his command? Even if he has more than eight, how can he bring out so many at once? You must know that every match carries the risk of injury to the Sword Guests. With his vitality not yet recovered, he still dares to squander his family foundation like this?"

"If he is just bluffing to force us to choose the option of four Sword Guests, that option is also unreasonable. You must know that his manor's outer perimeter was once breached, and he relied entirely on the internal defenses to survive. This means he has enemies outside eyeing him covetously. If I were him, I should build my home into a fortress where not even a needle could enter and not a drop of water could leak. How could he bring so many outsiders into the manor? If someone with ulterior motives were to destroy his foundation and then take advantage of the situation, wouldn't that be a disaster? No matter how you look at it, this 'either-or' is a trap for him. This is what I call illogical."

"Therefore, I think the other party might have another goal. I can't guess the specifics for now, so I'll test him. First, ask him how about nine Sword Guests each? If that doesn't work, eleven, thirteen... we can keep adding; if he wants to compete on foundation, we'll compete. Never mind eight Sword Guests, what about eight Sword Heroes? Anyway, we have backing." He glanced at the white fox.

The white fox raised a paw and said, "We don't have many people; we can produce at most six Sword Heroes."

Everyone smiled in unison.

At the card table, if your funds are sufficiently deep, it's not cheating, but it's just like cheating. No matter how skilled your card play is, it cannot compare to infinite resources.

Jin Wu nodded and said, "Good, then we shall test it. However, we don't have much time left. Investigating Sunset Manor is also a proper task; it should be finished before the Deep Shadow Society. If we keep haggling like this, it will be endless and delay other matters."

Tang Zhao nodded and said, "Yes. So, shall I make a trip to Sunset Manor?"

Jin Wu said, "Sending you to go with Tu Fei to Sunset Manor to negotiate? That is acceptable. You should go up Wangliang Mountain; we can't all keep cowering at the foot of the mountain. Moreover, Sunset Manor is a major target. You go and probe to see if it is as we guessed. If it's not, don't waste the effort; just tell him to call it off, and we won't compete. If there really is an aura of destruction, we may have to keep maneuvering. But if you go up the mountain, this side cannot do without you either."

Tang Zhao said, "Please let Your Highness make the decisions here. You have the protection of good fortune; if you are in a dilemma, you might as well trust your intuition. These companions of mine are all talents; assisting you will not go wrong... If you feel it is not enough, then I will take one more big trouble with me."

When Tu Fei came the next day to hear the answer, Jin Wu very calmly reiterated his conditions. Their Changfa Manor had plenty of people; what was there to fear about eight matches? Sixteen matches would also be fine. The location could be set in Yulang City, or on Wangliang Mountain, or even Sunset Manor would be acceptable. Changfa Manor would cover all the expenses for hosting the Sword Fighting, and even if they lost, they would still pay. However, the requirement was that the sooner, the better. If Sunset Manor dragged its feet, it would mean they were afraid of Changfa Manor and were making excuses to delay; then, don't blame Changfa Manor for making it known all over the city.

To show the sincerity and determination that this negotiation would definitely succeed, Changfa Manor dispatched two envoys to meet Manor Master Wu Shayu.

These two people were Grand Steward Xing Cang and Deputy Grand Steward Xing Qi. In Changfa Manor, they were big figures who were under one person and above ten thousand... no, a hundred people. With these two coming forward, how was it any different from the Young Master arriving in person?

Faced with the Young Master's generous reward, Tu Fei reluctantly agreed to make another trip.

Xing Cang was named by the Young Master to go to Sunset Manor to negotiate, and he was surprisingly calm. That was until the Young Master stuffed a white fox into his arms in front of him.

Xing Cang instinctively reached out to hold it, but the white fox stepped over him in annoyance and jumped onto Xing Qi.

"This is my Sword Image; you taking her is the same as me going personally. When you get there, just say what needs to be said; I will provide the backing. With me here, the sky won't fall."

Xing Cang glanced at the white fox, then at the Young Master, and said respectfully, "Yes."

Thus, Tang Zhao and the main force temporarily separated, and he went up Wangliang Mountain a step ahead. Because he took Xing Cang away, things became much easier over there, and they could act more flexibly. As for whether his leaving with Ling Baoyu would suddenly weaken the high-end combat power here—with Jin Wu present, how high is 'high'?

On the contrary, the reason Tang Zhao decided to take Ling Baoyu was that with two major enemies, Xing Cang and Sunset Manor, in front of them, and the possibility of them colluding, he needed to increase his combat power to feel secure while fighting on the away ground of Wangliang Mountain. Everyone agreed on this point.

After all, they had been at the foot of Wangliang Mountain for more than half a month and still hadn't gone up; this progress was quite dire. But after contacting Wei Zhangle and learning of the dangers of Changfa Manor, they couldn't go up easily. Now that the side information about Wangliang Mountain had been fully collected, they had to scout the front, and it was best to let Tang Zhao go ahead and pave the way.

To show Changfa Manor's wealth, the two stewards each sat in a carriage, with a Sword Guest following each carriage and eight sword slaves accompanying them, carrying precious gifts. The spectacle almost surpassed that of Changyi Manor, a First Rank Manor. If it weren't to avoid embarrassing Tu Fei, the Manor Head, it wouldn't have been difficult to prepare carriages for the two that exceeded those of the Manor Head.

Tang Zhao asked for Xing Wu to follow the carriage and let Xing Jiu follow Xing Cang; he didn't take his own people up the mountain. This trip up the mountain was considered scouting, and he himself was not yet certain. Letting those companions who were at most Sword Guests follow might not be of much use.

A group of several dozen people left Yulang City and headed majestically toward Wangliang Mountain.

After traveling for a dozen miles, they actually... hit a traffic jam.

Tang Zhao was greatly astonished. How could there be a traffic jam in a place like this?

Getting out of the carriage, Tang Zhao observed for a moment and realized that they had been too conservative. He had thought the carriages almost exceeding Manor Head Tu's was because they were too extravagant, but now, seeing the magnificent carriage processions ahead, he realized: perhaps Changyi Manor, this First Rank Manor, was just too poor.

There were actually only three or four processions ahead, but each had at least several hundred people, a dozen large carriages, and an endless number of slaves, Fighters, and even Sword Guests. These processions were queuing to enter Wangliang Mountain. It just so happened that the processions were not all from within Wangliang Mountain and all had to pass through the narrow restrictions in front of the mountain gate for inspection to enter; hadn't that blocked the road completely?

It was probably the first time Tu Fei had encountered such a situation, and he said indignantly, "Where did these bumpkin upstarts come from? A bunch of outsiders actually putting on such airs at Wangliang Mountain, thinking who they are? Do they really think that with the Deep Shadow Society imminent, no one can deal with them? If I didn't have important matters to attend to, I would have already..."

Actually, what he said was not wrong. If it weren't for the Deep Shadow Society and the unwritten rule of "not acting against the God of Wealth who delivers himself to your door," how would outsiders dare to put on such airs at the foot of the mountain? In the past, any wealth that approached Wangliang Mountain was tacitly assumed to be fish on the chopping block. No wealthy family lacking strength dared to approach Wangliang Mountain, which was known as the gathering place for all the world's evil. Someone like Tu Fei, who loved money more than his life, felt both jealous and greedy seeing these foreign fat sheep that he couldn't eat a single bite of.

Xing Cang, who had been sitting in the large carriage since leaving Yulang City, suddenly opened the door and got out, laughing: "Manor Head, we are all our own people; shall we take Yinglang Bridge?"

Tu Fei was stunned and hesitated slightly.

Xing Cang laughed: "Yinglang Bridge can lead directly to the first and second tiers; it doesn't take a detour, but is instead a shortcut. Although it will get close to that place, we are all servants of Lord Wangliang; what is wrong with getting a little closer?"

Tu Fei pondered for a moment and said, "That is indeed a shortcut, especially since it is close to Sunset Manor. It's just that I haven't walked it for a long time, and I'm afraid it's becoming increasingly difficult to travel. Forget it, you two be careful. Third-tier Manors don't have much of Lord Wangliang's favor."

Xing Cang said, "Yes." He turned to Tang Zhao and said, "Ah Qi, we won't see each other for more than half a month; why don't you get in my carriage and we travel together?"