120 Opportunity? (1/2)
(TL' note: This chapter is written in a very metaphoric manner, so might have to read up one idiom to understand it better. But I've done my best to reduce it normal reading standard, since the context revolved around a typical Chinese idiom, which can be hard to find on the internet.)
Apart from this one, there was another piece of news which was causing a sensation.
Unexpectedly…..
There were riots inside the Tian Xiang imperial city a little while ago, and the northern part of the city was destroyed overnight. The Tang Family had gone on an unbridled and unrestrained man-hunt and this whole incident had caused them some serious losses in man-power. It would appear that they had lost something very valuable.
This item turned out to be a ninth grade Xuan Beast's Xuan Core.
Even though this news wasn't confirmed, someone had mentioned this to be the reason behind the unrest, and the rumor quickly grew wings and spread throughout the continent in a very short period of time.
”This is a great opportunity! We must seize the Xuan Core!”
Inside the imperial tutor's house, Li You Ran was sitting on Li Shang's bedside.
”Really? Our last venture ended up a case of the 'mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind', how can you be so sure that this is a good opportunity for us?” Li Shang's health was a lot better now, but he was still very weak. Even though he hadn't been able to return to his normal health, he was still talking in a normal tone. At the moment, his eyes had a look of glimmer inside them, as he watched his grandson, and waited for his reply. (TL's note: the quoted text in the para is a Chinese idiom. I'd explain it in detail, but that would make it another story altogether. It basically means that you make a small term gain only to realize that it comes back to bite you later on.)
Since that day, after the damage to his Dan Tian, his health had stabilized after undergoing several treatments, but his physical health was still on the declining end of the curve. Li Shang was quite disheartened to know about the state of his physical body, and knew that he wouldn't be able to carry on for long, which is why he was using his time to educate his dearest grandson, Li You Ran. No matter what the issue at hand would be, he would first ask Li You Ran for his views on the matter, and would then point out the flaws in it.
This time however, Li You Ran didn't let him down and there was a massive progress in his previously finite thinking ability. Even though his understanding was limited on most matters, he was showing a keen interest in learning, which was warming Li Shang's cold heart and was coming as a consolation to him since it seemed that he had finally found his successor!
”Right now, the situation is very clear. The Tang Family's Xuan Core was stolen. I believe that only three gangs are capable of stealing something like this, but neither of them is stupid enough to allow the matter to leak out to the public since it would cause them a great amount of trouble, especially at the hands of the Tang Family. The Xuan Core is too important, even more than its owners estimated, and if one of these three gangs had stolen this Dan and the other two found out, then they would try to steal it from the original thief. So it seems that this item was stolen by someone else.”
”In other words, we should be able to seize the Xuan Core if we were able to identify this party!”
”On the day of the theft, the person manages to steal something important without anyone noticing it, and then managed to disappear without a trace. So it's not surprising that there was no further news on this matter for a while. But now, suddenly, there is more news on this subject, and identity of the item has been revealed: a Xuan Core from a ninth rank Xuan Beast. This is a very surprising thing since that person managed to disappear without a trace on the day of the theft, and has chosen to wait this long to make his move… there must be a hidden intention behind this!”
”His intention…..your grandson is still quite stupid, and has only been able to identify a few reasons….firstly, although a Xuan Core was stolen, the person didn't know how to use it, or may even have not known its true utilities. In the pursuit of finding out its usage, he must have attracted too much attention, and the news could have spread out from that end. This could be a possibility, since the Xuan Core is a very mysterious treasure, and even the Tang Family had been researching its true potential for the last few decades and still haven't understood it fully. Even us, if we hadn't had our knowledge, then maybe even we wouldn't be able to understand its true value.”
”Go on.” Li Shang's eyes revealed a color of appreciation.
”Secondly, this person could belong solely to the Tian Xiang city, and is unlikely to a low level man, and in fact is a very high level expert, maybe even as high as the Sky Xuan or something similar, or could be preparing for a major breakthrough right now. Otherwise, he wouldn't have revealed this information, and would have definitely built a cocoon around him and would have patiently waited for this incident to calm down…. So based on that, I can only think that this person is about to make a major breakthrough.”
”Yes! And is there a third possibility?” the shade of appreciation in Li Shang's eyes was getting denser.
”Third… this person belongs to a very power clan, and knows that they he will have the backing of a very strong network! This looks like the most likely situation at present! There are several very powerful and wealthy families and characters in the city, but we would be looking for someone who can muster the entire strength of their family, since only such an individual could be capable of acting so boldly.” Li You Ran's voice was very low and careful-sounding.
”Very well analyzed. As a result, it can be said that the number of targets can be reduced to very small number.” Li Shang was tapping the center of his palm with his other hand with a pleased look on his face. ”Do you have any suspects in mind?”