Meng LiGe frowned a little awkwardly, and after shooting a glance behind him, he bitterly replied, "This one doesn't dare to not comply, but right now I don’t have the freedom to act independently, this…."
How smart was this approach used by Meng LiGe? He had long found out that he was trapped and in great danger. His past few years had been spent giving advice to Wei ChengPing, helping him step by step to his current position now as well as the development of his potential. In Northern Wei, the Crown Prince Wei ChengPing could already cover the skies with his one hand! Right now, it was his plan to use this strength to slowly devour the surrounding cities, until he fulfilled his aim of ruling everything under the heavens!
Now that Wei ChengPing had the court officials as well as the military under his roof, with as many strategists as there are clouds, and as many valiant generals as there is rain, Meng LiGe’s value had dropped considerably in the eyes of Wei ChengPing, almost like that of an insignificant ant! However, having been beside the crown prince and plotted many schemes with him, he inadvertently knew too many of the crown prince's secrets. As such, Wei ChengPing was already plotting to have him silenced even though he had not fully outlived his usefulness!
However, Wei ChengPing was never aware that whatever Meng LiGe had planned and prepared for him was barely half of his accumulated knowledge! Meng LiGe actually had the greatest knowledge of trickery and tactics, army warfare and formations, logistics and supplies. His knowledge in those areas far outstripped anyone else by miles! This was Meng LiGe’s real ace in the hole, and also his strongest suit.
But Wei ChengPing was blissfully unaware of all this, or maybe he refused to believe it. With his growing strength as well as absolute authority, he had long become drunk with power after his initial successes! If not for the huge stumbling block that was the Yu Family, Wei ChengPing would most likely have already blown the horns of war! But before that, Meng LiGe who was privy to too many of his secrets had to be silenced! Thus, handing the final task for Meng LiGe to come into contact with Yu BingYan was just for show, for whatever the outcome, he had to die! In actual fact, even if Wei ChengPing didn't take action, the fact that Meng LiGe was overseeing this assassination of Yu BingYan would cause the Yu Family to hunt him down!
Thus, Meng LiGe could be considered to be already dead!
While Meng LiGe might have an ocean of experience as well as deep plans and foresight, in the end he was just a frail scholar. To be stuck in this sort of danger, while he might have the intelligence to plan his escape, he didn't even have the strength to truss a chicken and was without support as well, so how could he escape from Wei ChengPing's surveillance?
However, Ling Tian’s timely invite could be considered the best chance for Meng LiGe! As long as he was able to leave the sight of his watchmen, hiding in Ling Tian’s chambers, that would increase his chances of keeping his life by a whole ninety percent! Of course, if he were to come under Ling Tian’s wing, then it would be guaranteed that he would be able to survive! However, after going through this trial, Meng LiGe’s heart had long turned cold. The cruelest people in history were always the imperial families, without exception! Meng LiGe now fully understood the meaning of such a saying, and now he had developed the desire to live in seclusion for the rest of his life! This was the only hope left in him!
Seeing Meng LiGe’s countenance, Ling Tian came to a decision. He immediately stood up, facing the soldiers from Northern Wei, and arrogantly asked, "This young noble is now going to invite Mister Meng to my pavilion for a chat, so anyone who has any objections can come out now!" He displayed an overbearing gesture as he spoke as though he was informing more than asking!
The cloth partition of Heavenly Moon Chamber slightly rustled, as though someone inside was listening to every action from Ling Tian! Ling Tian’s eyes slightly twitched, and a thought immediately rose up within him: There was someone with relations to the Northern Wei inside the Heavenly Moon Chamber!
A look of helplessness flashed across the face of the Vice Ambassador of the Northern Wei, "Young Noble Ling, this… our two countries…"
Ling Tian’s eyebrows jumped, but he didn't turn to face him, instead rebutting, "Oh? Does it mean that you’re admitting that Northern Wei and Sky Bearing are now enemies? Ambassador Shi, please be careful with your words, for this concerns the diplomatic relations between our two countries! Or else there might be rumors spreading tomorrow, saying that our two countries are at war with each other!"
The Vice Ambassador’s face showed a frantic expression, with cold sweat beading on his forehead. Right now, news of Ling Tian’s prowess had already spread throughout the whole of Sky Bearing. Even for the youngest noble of the XiMen family, he had killed him without speaking a word, let alone a mere vice ambassador of the Northern Wei! His eyes darted left and right as he tried to signal to the various generals to help him to alleviate the situation.
Since Ambassador Shi doesn't deign to reply, this probably means that you have tacitly agreed." Ling Tian spoke as though talking to himself. "Mister Meng, Mister Qin, please!" Pulling on the two of them, he started walking out.
The Vice Ambassador gave a light cough, and two guards immediately stood up to bar their way!
Ling Tian’s face chilled as a wave of killing intent shot out. Glaring at them, he forcefully spoke, "Scram!"
The words spoken didn't sound peculiar to anybody besides them, but to the two guards, it sounded like thunder on a sunny day, making their heads spin. Under the penetrative gaze of Ling Tian, a sense of defeat rose up within them, and they could only lower their heads and stand at the side.
This was another application where if one employed the voice shrinking technique, with only a slight bit of internal energy, one would disrupt and shatter the souls of those weaker than them. How could the guards, who had never cultivated, fend against it?
Ling Tian leisurely turned back, "Seems like the Ambassador Shi's throat isn’t feeling too good? Do you need this young noble to help you? Oh, I forgot to mention that this young noble is also well versed in medical arts. I guarantee that after I’ve tended to you, those minor ailments would never occur ever again!
Beads of perspiration the size of soybeans appeared on the Vice Ambassador’s head as he thought, ‘How to treat? The young noble probably wants to take off my head, isn’t that it? Or else why would he mention that those minor ailments would never occur again?’
He could only fake a laugh as he stammered, "I… I wouldn’t dare to accept such a prestigious invitation. There’s nothing to worry about with this… this little one." He actually wanted to address himself as this official, but thinking twice, decided that it would be better to lower his status instead.
Ling Tian uttered an ‘oh’ in response, "Pity, pity!" It wasn’t certain as to whether he was expressing sympathy at the fact that he had no chance to employ his abilities, or the fact that the Vice Ambassador had lost a great chance. Pulling at both Meng LiGe and Mister Qin, he walked off!
A low sigh sounded from the Heavenly Moon Chamber, followed by a clear and melodious voice speaking out, "Decisive and ruthless, not a single shred of hesitation; to achieve his objectives, any methods are possible, and he doesn't even care about his status. This person is indeed outstanding and hard to deal with! Life is akin to a battlefield, and to have such an opponent to pit myself against, one couldn't ask for more! Ling Tian, a great opponent!"
"Clang!" The ring of a copper gong sounded.
Most of the people had already gathered, and the doors of the Smoky Thea Tower started to close!
Ling Tian laughed out loudly, appearing extremely joyous!
Yu BingYan asked in curiosity, "Brother Tian, what are you laughing about? Are you that happy?"
Ling Tian laughed out, "Hearing that copper gong, I suddenly remembered those old streetside performances. Every time you see them on the streets, they always ring the gong once, before a person will jump out and say, ‘Rely on parents at home, relying on friends outside. This little XiMen Qing here had no parents since young and has learned the ability to perform monkey shows. All great officials, if you have the money do donate generously, and those who don’t, supporting me in person is also good!’ AHAHAHA...."
Ling Tian’s voice shrinking had already reached the apex, thus while his voice was not loud, it was long and drawn out, his echo clearly heard. This was especially so for his ‘Relying on parents at home’, he had actually imitated XiMen Qing’s voice, and even to perfection! The over thousand people in Smoky Thea Tower heard it clearly!
A moment of silence blanketed the area before everyone burst out into raucous laughter!
XiMen Qing, who was about to step out from the Extreme Joy Chamber, suddenly stiffened at the door, staring daggers at Ling Tian with an ashen face and a poisonous expression! He couldn't help but wish that he could rip off Ling Tian’s head in one blow!
Ling Tian nonchalantly smiled, since he had already killed an important character of the XiMen Family, there was no point in trying to patch things up any longer! Even if the XiMen Family were to suppress their animosity, Ling Tian had no thoughts about leaving such a loose end untouched! He understood the theory of failing to kill a snake and ending up being bitten very well, so since he had already created a feud, then let it be carried to the end!
Yu ManTian suddenly hollered, "Grandmother, hurry up, this Third Master is waiting to participate in the scholarly meet and show off my awesome skills…"
The moment his voice sounded, before anyone could respond, Yu BingYan had let out a ‘puchi’ sound, and doubled over in laughter!
When the audience glanced over, they were greeted with his gorilla-like features and his towering iron-like build, and couldn't help but gape in silence. Such an uncouth and brash man; could he also attend a scholarly meet? Where was his elegance?
Yu ManTian looked at everyone who was staring at him as though watching a monkey in the zoo, and couldn't help but shout out in frustration, "What are you guys looking at, do you want to fight?!"
The crowd all knew that they were unable to offend this Master, and thus could only turn their gazes elsewhere. They started to stare at the Extreme Joy Chamber, wondering why XiMen Qing had not come out. Could the XiMen Family have gotten cold feet after hosting this meet?
The curtains of the Extreme Joy Chamber flapped once, and a thirty-odd-year-old scholarly man walked out with a forced smile on his face. Stepping onto the platform, he cupped his fists towards all present, before speaking, "I’m indebted to all of you present here. We are all gathered in Smoky Thea Tower today…" After speaking for a bit, he seemed to have regained his wits, and started to blabber non-stop.
Ling Tian slumped comfortably in his chair with lidded eyes, as though he was asleep; suddenly a clear voice sounded, "Hey, are you going to finish? Hurry and announce the opening, how the scholarly meet is being carried out and the rules, why bother with so much rubbish?!"
The crowd once again cast their eyes over and saw a scholarly youth seated at the Heavenly Dream Chamber of the Yu Family. He stood ramrod straight, with a slightly sunburnt face. That was precisely Ling Chi!
Seeing that the members of the Yu Family were the ones interfering, the person immediately panicked, saying, "For this scholarly meet today, young noble XiMen Qing will be the one setting the questions. Making friends through culture, making friends through poems; with the Four Arts of a scholar, in front of all heroes under heavens, let us see who will be the champion!"
The Chinese word of literary/literature is made up of two separate Chinese words, elegance (雅) and culture (文).