1072 Heading To Yangzhou Part 1 (1/2)

w.a.n.g Jinglue said, ”Despite the fact that he is extremely powerful, I can help you to locate him. Just like what we have discussed, you have to make a few more attempts if you fail to kill him during the first shot.”

Ning Que shook his head as he said, ”You will kill yourself.”

”I'm not afraid of dying. I should have lost my life when Master Yan Se drew the 'Well' Talisman when I was in Chang'an. I should've died when Xiong Chumo killed General Xu s.h.i.+ years ago. That night when the entire Qinghe Prefecture was painted with fresh blood, I… have already died.”

w.a.n.g Jinglue gazed at the South as he said, ”I don't mind to die again and again as long as I can kill him.”

Ning Que paused briefly before he replied, ”He's not worth it.”

Then, he dismounted and released the big black horse from the rein and let it rest freely. He followed behind w.a.n.g Jinglue and headed toward the military base that was located at the side of the canyon opening.

The moment he entered the military base, he was swamped with an anguished wail before he was able to greet the five elder brothers.

With his trembling fingers, Beigong Weiyang pointed at Ning Que. Howling out of sadness and rage, he parted his quivering lips and said, ”What took you so long?! What took you so long to reach here?!”

One's sorrow was only genuine when one lost his voice after crying. To be able to speak clearly with barely any tear on his cheek, it was obvious that he was faking his tears. Annoyed, Ning Que responded, ”I almost cracked my b.u.t.tock to try to reach here as soon as possible. Is that not quick enough for you?”

Despite being exposed, Beigong Weiyang did not feel embarra.s.sed at all. Instead, he condemned Ning Que furiously, ”You people, who are good at battle, spend all your time loitering around the north and the west. Then, you left this area, the most important one, to us, the scholars. You are so shameless! I don't care. We were sabotaged and you have to avenge our loss.”

Ning Que looked at the four elder brothers who were lying on the bed, badly injured. He said helplessly, ”How can I revenge you?”

Before Beigong could reply, Song Qian, the fifth brother, spoke in a cold tone, ”Of course you have to kill him!”

Subconsciously, Ning Que threw a glimpse at w.a.n.g Jinglue before he asked out of confusion, ”The war summary that I received says that Elder brother won the battle and successfully took down Hengmu. Why do you sound as though you were wrecked instead?”

Frustrated, Beigong Weiyang said, ”You were the one who designed the array and the scheme together with Senior Sister. How can you not know about the details? That is the exact reason why we failed to kill him and were crashed terribly. We have brought shame to our Academy and that is an absolute loss. Youngest Brother, you have to help us to reclaim our dignity.”

Ning Que received a bowl of ginseng soup from w.a.n.g Chi and finished all of it at once. Immediately, he felt as though his energy had recovered profoundly. Then, he took over the hot tower from Xu Jialun and wiped his face with it before he looked at the group and asked, ”Before this, w.a.n.g Jinglue swore to kill him. And, now, Elder Brother expressed your wish to kill him too. Without question, he will be killed. But, why is everyone dwelling on this issue? You told me to kill him. Yet, you repeatedly emphasize that it is difficult to kill him. What is your true objective?”

Beigong Weiyang praised Ning Que, ”Despite the fact that you rhymed it poorly, your sentences rhyme nonetheless.”

Ning Que disregarded him and tossed the towel back at Xu Jialun as he said, ”You're flattering the enemy and depleting our own morale. What do you want exactly? Can you be more straightforward?”

As Song Qian was the eldest among them, everyone turned to look at him in synchrony.

He said sternly, ”I'm emphasizing this, hoping that you can be cautious. Hengmu is too powerful. Maybe, it's better for us to defend temporarily for now... Verdant Canyon can act as a natural s.h.i.+eld for us. Equipped with our arrays and poisons, we should be able to stay safe until elder brother's arrival.”

Abruptly, an important question flashed across his mind, ”Where is Elder Sister?”

”She is mildly injured and needs to rest for a period of time,” Ning Que answered. ”Regarding your plan to defend… I disagree. It is against our initial arrangement and I am certain that Elder Sister will not agree with your suggestion either.”

”Despite the strength of the Golden Tribe Royal Court, Elder Sister was hurt… I would have sympathized with you if she came alongside you. You'll be free to make your decision to attack Yangzhou. But now, I will not concur with you.”

”Why not? Nonetheless, we are heading south.”

Laughing, Beigong Weiyang applauded as he saw that Ning Que had no intention to amend his plan. Beigong Weiyang then said, ”I foresaw that Youngest Brother would not agree with our decision. No matter what, we will have to figure out how to kill Hengmu.”

Ning Que replied, ”I've never disagreed with this.”

Song Qian responded, ”The concern now is the way to kill him… In my opinion, the best and most feasible method now is to utilize the Thirteen Primordial Arrows and take w.a.n.g Jinglue as the bait.”

With a grin on his face, w.a.n.g Jinglue took a step forward.

Song Qian stood up with the help of w.a.n.g Chi and walked toward Ning Que. He said, ”If w.a.n.g Jinglue fails to do it, the four of us will take over and use our arrays to force the state out of him.”

Ning Que paused for a long while before he finally spoke, ”For a very long time, you have been talking about how powerful Hengmu is. Is that your plan to convince me to accept your arrangement?”

Song Qian was brazen like everyone else from the Back Hill of the Academy. He remained a straight face as he said, ”Hengmu has always been a strong dude. And our arrangement is considerably good.”

Realizing that the atmosphere had turned rather depressing, Beigong Weiyang made another compliment, ”Now, you rhymed it well.”

Ning Que spoke without any contemplation, ”I beg to differ.”

Song Qian exchanged gazes with his brothers before he heaved a sigh and said, ”We've scripted this entire drama because we were worried that you might disapprove with our plan. Why can't you be thoughtful for us?”

Ning Que gave Beigong Weiyang, who was about to speak, a glare before he said, ”Don't bother me with the rhymes. I don't agree with your decision to defend, not to mention to sacrifice your lives in exchange for Hengmu's life.”

He looked at w.a.n.g Jinglue and said, ”Just like what I've told you just now, he's not worth it.”

The audience remained silent as the plan they made with strenuous effort was a lack of success and they had now run out of options. Concerned, Song Qian asked, ”So, how can we take Hengmu's life?”

Ning Que answered, ”How to take one's life? Of course we have to kill him.”

His words sounded like nonsense. In fact, it was nonsense. However, nonsense made the best sense in this world. For instance, the best way to love a person was to love the person…

”He has surpa.s.sed the Five States.” Song Qian recalled the great force that came from nowhere when he was in the array that day. His expression turned sombre as he looked at Ning Que and said, ”I know about your proficient battle skills. But, how do you want to compensate for the difference between the states?”

”Abbey Dean has acquired serenity. For the past thousand years, the only people who are stronger than him are teacher and uncle. But, if Eldest Brother and Senior Sister were to work together, they will certainly be able to compete with him. And, I can use wreck him using Chang'an.”