59 Marquis Yun. Alehouse! (1/2)
Yun Yang’s heart was heavy. These bits and pieces of information had genuinely upset him.
Advisor of the crown prince, officials from imperial court, generals in the military, servants of the palace… and the so-called General Zhenbei of the twentieth of the first month. Yun Yang was sure it was a fake alias.
Yun Yang had planned to call for the Nine Heavens Dictum and have them investigate the situation once he came across any hints.
He dared not do so now.
It was not that he was afraid to go against these people.He simply did not dare to let the Nine Heavens Dictum do it.
The involvement was becoming too widespread.
If those children got to know that their most respected bosses were killed by these people whom they had been protecting, only God knew what they would do.
It was for certain, though, that Empire of Yutang would be in mayhem.
He thought about His Majesty the Emperor who had spat blood and fainted several times, about the old marshal who had overworked and worried himself sick for this, about the millions of citizens of the Empire of Yutang who would be sacrificed once havoc erupted…
Yun Yang gritted his teeth and gulped down all the despair in his heart.
“I shall bear this alone!”
“Watch as I single-handedly plunge this world into chaos.” Yun Yang thought about Heaven’s Inquisition’s words and could not help but enunciate it word by word, “I… shall… reign... unchallenged.”
…
Yun Yang stood under the flower canopy; he was in the heart of Tiantang City, the lights were bright and merry around him. Yet at this moment, he felt extremely lonely.
It was a despondent sense of loneliness.
Yun Yang had a feeling that he was the only one that existed under the many stars in the night sky.
He was the heart of heaven and earth.
Despite the crowd and overwhelming tide of people, he was entirely alone.
Yun Yang heaved a faint sigh.
Lao Mei stood behind him quietly. Looking at Yun Yang, he could distinctly feel Yun Yang’s loneliness; it was a desolate loneliness that resided in the heart. He could not help but feel sad for him.
He could tell that his young master was shouldering a burden as heavy as the mountains.
“Young master,” Lao Mei spoke softly.
“What is it?” Yun Yang did not turn around.
Lao Mei was silent for while, before he said in a low voice, “I’m really rather curious about young master’s identity.”
Yun Yang smiled to himself. “Curious?”
“Yes. Throughout this whole year, I’ve sent hundreds and millions of fortune out under young master’s instructions.” Lao Mei said, “Now, we have taken down Li Changqiu and captured Chu Tianlang. Although young master has always stayed behind the scenes, these people aren’t insignificant characters in any sense of the word.”
“Young master has seized both of them without much effort and does not allow anyone to be near during interrogation.”
Lao Mei said seriously, “I know that young master is doing something important and does not want anyone to know about it, but Lao Mei is no outsider after all. I want to help young master as well.”
Yun Yang smiled warmly. “I know.”
He then looked at Lao Mei. “Lao Mei, you are one of the people I trust most regardless of the situation. I’m not letting you know anything now because… I am uncertain myself. It is not yet time.”
“One day, you will know. I shall let you know.” Yun Yang said gently, “Lao Mei, please wait patiently. If I didn’t trust you, I wouldn’t have you involved in so many things…”
“Lao Mei understands,” Lao Mei replied.
“Don’t tell Marquis Yun these things,” Yun Yang said softly.
Lao Mei’s heart skipped a beat.
“Marquis Yun!”
Yun Yang had called Yun Xiaoyao as Marquis Yun!
What did this mean?
…
Thousands of miles away from Tiantang City, a tall silhouette dressed in black was flying in it’s direction. With a tiptoe, his entire being had skipped over a distance of a hundred feet like he was flying. Each step took him a hundred feet away!
There was not a single misstep.
He moved with the wind in this place where human activities were scarce.
His black clothes fluttered, his handsome face calm with eyes black and deep; he wore a long black robe, a black belt tied around his waist as a long sword in a black scabbard hung by his side.
Just as he entered the forest, rustles came from the fringes as a dozen men in black appeared from every direction. The man in the lead shouted, “Is the man in front Marquis Yun?”
The person’s gaze lifted slightly and did not answer but everyone could feel his bold stare answering for him, “I am!”
“Absolute Swordmaster Seven Stroke Death Yun Xiaoyao… A swordsman from the martial arts world, now ranked as an official in the imperial court, you have enjoyed enough wealth. You are to come with us.”
The masked man in black laughed maniacally.
With a wave of his hand, he shouted, “Capture him!”
Marquis Yun who stood on the opposing side looked calmly at the dozen men in black charging towards him; within a heartbeat, he was floating in the air.
With a flutter of his black robe, he raced serenely towards them. With an elegant swipe of his right hand against his waist, a ray of sword light appeared in his hands. There were sounds of the air splitting as he raised them high.
Sha, sha, sha.
Sky-blue lightning bolts suddenly cut through the air, brightening the night sky.
Just as the men in black clashed with Marquis Yun, each of their throats spurted blood simultaneously; their eyes sparkling with disbelief.
The chilling tip of Marquis Yun’s sword had already pierced the leader’s chest with an elegant sky blue aftertrail.
The blade was as cool as water, the blue glow throwing gentle sparks about.
The two of them stared at each other with a sword in between them.
The man in black’s gaze was hopeless and disbelieving; Marquis Yun’s gaze was calm like snow, nothing in it had changed.
“You… you are… are not at the sixth peak… you… you’re ninth…” The man in black spoke with great difficulty. Looking at the sword in his chest, he could only feel the depletion of his energy as his life leaked out.
It was all a joke, and he had been the butt of it.
A ninth heaven otherworldly expert. Who was it that said he was only a sixth peak? And they were foolish enough to try to ambush a ninth heaven expert?
This… this was a setup!
“I was never a sixth peak.” Marquis Yun spoke lightly, “Who sent you?”