Chapter 88: Outside the Prime Minister’s Residence

Eunuch Feng asked, “Would you like this old servant to send men first to investigate the background of the envoys from each province?”

Tang Yu nodded. “If it can be done, that would be best, especially those three provinces: Chao Province, Dai Province, and Shan Province. I imagine they must already know that I now know about He Tiansheng. For them to make no resistance at all and submit meekly to arrest—it is almost beyond belief to me.”

...

“Fellow Daoist Kai, bring us the mirror stone placed in this cave by the Taiyi Sword Garden so we may inspect it. That way, we can determine whether there is any other possibility to the situation you just described!” Seeing that Kai Wa’s words were becoming increasingly fantastical, Gongsun Luoyi said coolly.

An ink-dark firmament draped the city in jade-green light, lending the night a dreamlike poetry. Yet tonight, this jade dream was different. From time to time, it gave off the crisp crackling of something breaking. At moments it sounded like a sudden fall. At others it rasped like a blade carving glass, or murmured on and on like silkworms gnawing leaves.

“Wasn’t this meeting arranged in advance?” Chen Ke was somewhat surprised. In theory, all the schedules should already have been set—how could there suddenly be an adjustment to a Politburo meeting?

Qiao Muyu’s breathing grew increasingly rapid. Ye Zeming placed his other hand behind her head, and Qiao Muyu cooperatively looped her arms around his neck; her boneless body softened and collapsed in his embrace, pressed tightly against him.

Li Zhonghe pinched out his cigarette and quietly looked at the pale red curtain hanging inside Ren Ying’s window. He was thinking that Ren Ying must already be asleep by now.

“Damned trash from the Yamaguchi-gumi branch in this country, and you still dare act so arrogant before me? Even Yamaguchi-gumi’s Toshiya Ichiro would have to treat me with respect if he saw me. What the hell do you think you are?” Ignoring the fury of the Yamaguchi-gumi boss, Tang Tianyang’s disdainful voice rang out.

Flan said nothing. She simply opened her mouth and bit into the artery in Ren Pindi’s neck.

Bai Jie’s father took several drags from his cigarette, then lifted his head to glance at Bai Jie and Ye Qingquan before lowering it again without saying a word.

Great golden shadows of axes cleaved through the air, carrying irresistible force; wherever they passed, the giant ants were hacked to pieces. In the blink of an eye, only one of the dozen or so ants attacking remained, and under the white flames summoned by the figure in blue-green, it was instantly frozen into a block of ice.

“Good.” Yang Yi and Cui He also understood how important this uncle was to the operation, and immediately nodded.

Ling Jiantong thought to herself: just how much suffering must be in the heart of the person playing this zither, to produce such a melody that moves its listeners to tears?

“That will do. I also think it best to keep it secret for the time being. Still, I have one question.” Guo Songshan felt the matter had not yet been fully discussed. Seeing that Daoist Zhang seemed ready to end the topic, he raised another question.

Mu Jinghong took a memorial from his sleeve and presented it to the eunuch, who received it and handed it to Mu Zhan.

Even more unexpected was the fact that they did not receive reinforcements from Zhao Yihuan; instead, Gu Canglan arrived. That was the true cause of her defeat.

Ling Luo looked around. Behind them was a waterfall like a white brocade hanging in the air, still roaring incessantly; directly ahead was a smooth stone wall stretching up to the mountain peak, with what appeared to be a cave opening in its middle.

“In truth, that side effect isn’t anything especially harmful. It merely causes the soul of the one eroded by black flame to become utterly loyal to that mysterious force, to the point that even abandoning one’s life would not matter.” Meng Wuming said with a faint smile, speaking words that made both Qing Yue Ling and Yin Gu change color.

“A heated greenhouse? How would you build one?” Quan Te was very concerned about this. Winters were hard on them too; the caves were bitterly cold, and keeping a fire going made little difference. The hunting-dog clan and the seal-cat clan lived near the sea, where winter winds and snow were fierce. If a heated greenhouse could be built for the fish clan, then perhaps they could build one for themselves as well.