Qin Shi Ambitious

Page 75

The disciples guarding the main hall treated him with great courtesy, but because Zhou He was still in seclusion, he was unable to pay his respects.

...

Qin State, Xianyang.

The Moon Goddess sat in meditation inside the carriage, while the Yin-Yang School disciple who was driving the horses did his best to keep the carriage stable and prevent any outside noise from disturbing her cultivation.

Upon returning to the Yin-Yang School headquarters, the Moon Goddess did not pause for a moment. She walked through a corridor with exquisite murals and stopped in front of a bronze door with reliefs of ghosts and gods whose faces were indistinct.

The supreme ruler of the Yin-Yang School, the Eastern Emperor, is waiting for her inside the bronze gate...

Chapter 97 Tian Meng Disappears

"I sigh deeply as I ascend, my heart lingering and lost in thought; the sounds and colors are delightful, and the onlookers are so engrossed that they forget to return."

Enveloped in a black robe, Donghuang resembled an eternal statue, his figure appearing immense against the backdrop of the starry sky behind him.

"Moon Goddess, you're late."

"Yes," the Moon Goddess stopped far away on the star path formed by Yin-Yang magic, her left hand in front of her chest forming a hand seal: "After I fought with her, I met that special star in Ji City. He has already learned the Five Virtues."

"Once the Five Virtues are in place and the Yin-Yang School is imprinted, there is no escaping them."

Behind Donghuang, the star map lit up, and countless stars shimmered, like the Milky Way falling to earth, a dreamlike spectacle. The Moon Goddess knew that this master of Yin and Yang was deducing the workings of the cosmos.

Her astrological laws can only track the trajectory of one star, while Lord Donghuang can connect all the stars and overlook the fate of all living beings.

"Now is not the time to bring Dongjun back." The two long golden ornaments hanging from the chest of Donghuang's black robe swayed gently. His tone was calm and clear, unchanging: "In the Fire Department, Da Siming can return to his position. You, go down first."

"Yes." The Moon Goddess calmly turned and left.

As she stepped out of the ancient bronze gate, she turned halfway back, gazing at the indistinct ghostly figure on the gate. A strange glint flashed in her purple pupils beneath the veil: Even the Eastern Emperor couldn't fathom that pure Five Virtues Inner Qi...

...

At the headquarters of Gonggong Hall in Daze Mountain, Lu Wei waited in his room for Lü Qing, who had returned from Shennong Hall.

"Steward, I just met with the head of the Zhu family. He has important matters to discuss with you."

Sitting and watching Lü Qing's fluid tea-making movements, Lu Wei nodded slightly and took the teacup: "When did the Zhu family return?"

“Yesterday, after he returned, he went to Lieshan Hall first. This morning, when he learned that you had not yet arrived, he invited me to come and discuss some cooperation with Wei.”

"After he came back, he went to Lieshan Hall first?" Lu Wei toyed with the scalding hot teacup, feeling no burning sensation at all thanks to the skillful use of the Ice Palm technique. "And when did Hall Master Tian Meng return?"

"Tian Meng, the hall master, hasn't returned yet." Lü Qing shook his head.

He keenly sensed that both the Zhu family head and the steward's attitudes were somewhat off when they heard about Tian Meng, the head of the Lieshan Hall. There was probably a secret hidden behind it, but it was something he couldn't get involved in.

"Tian Hu, the hall master, returned to Daze Mountain two hours earlier than the steward. According to his disciples, after his return, he went to Lieshan Hall in a menacing manner."

"Hmm." Lu Wei had known about this news in advance: "Uncle Qing, you've worked hard. How many of the hall masters from Daze Mountain have returned now?"

"Only the Zhu family hall master and the Tian Hu hall master are here. However, according to the Zhu family hall master, the Situ hall master has some trivial matters in Wei and will probably not be back for another two or three months."

"It seems the task the leader gave Situ Wanli is quite troublesome..."

Lu Wei was chatting with Lü Qing when a disciple suddenly came to report: "Liu Ji, the head steward of Shennong Hall, has come to visit."

The two people who were chatting looked at each other, smiled, and weren't too surprised.

If Lü Qing could get news of Tian Hu's return from his disciples, then naturally the Shennong Hall could also get news of Lu Wei's return.

"It's a bit slower than I expected." Lu Wei stood up, gripping the Jade Soul Sword. "It seems we spent more time looking for this Manager Liu at the casino."

"Master Steward, shall we arrange a banquet tonight?"

Before he left, Uncle Qing suddenly asked a question.

"No need, I'll definitely be back later."

"Understood." Lü Qing nodded. On the surface, he was asking about something as trivial as 'whether to arrange a banquet,' but in reality, he was asking whether to send a disciple to help the steward escape at an appropriate time.

Just like the banquet hosted by the Tian family at the end of the year before last...

...

"Brother Zhu called me over in such a hurry; I had just sat down in Gonggong Hall!"

He walked alone into a secluded courtyard of the Shennong Hall headquarters. Inside, only Zhu Jia was there, his hands supporting his chin, a blue, sorrowful mask on his face.

"Hey, Brother Lu Wei's here." The short, stocky man's sorrowful mask instantly transformed into a joyful one: "Knowing you've been working hard, I specially went to the lake and caught a few big fish myself. The fish soup will be brought over shortly~"

With a flick of his short fingers, Zhu Jia closed the door automatically. Before the door slammed shut, his face turned a sorrowful blue: "Alas, Brother Lu Wei, something terrible has happened to the farmhouse!"

"Lieshan Hall?"

"It's Lieshan Hall!" Zhu Jia unconsciously lowered his voice: "Tian Meng has disappeared!"

Steward Lu bent over and sat cross-legged opposite the Zhu family, carefully concealing his true thoughts upon hearing the news, only showing a slight frown:

"Missing?"

"Brother Lu Wei, you know that last year, Tian Meng and I were tasked with going to the State of Chu."

Zhu Jia paced back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back, sighing. After seeing Lu Wei nod, he said, "Although we went to the State of Chu together, I went to Shouchun, while Tian Meng went to the old Wu and Yue region."

"So you separated halfway, but what about this disappearance?"

Lu Wei recalled his time in Shouchun last year and estimated the speed at which the Zhu family traveled from Dazeshan to Shouchun, but found no problems with the Zhu family.

"Don't rush, let me explain slowly." Zhu Jia's mask turned yellow, then red, revealing the myriad emotions within him:

"The leader of the Xia Kui rarely sends his trusted men to give orders to our hall masters. Since he has given the order this time, we hall masters naturally have to do as he says."

"Among the five hall masters, only Tian Meng and I are going to the same country. Although our final destinations are different, we can still travel together within the territory of Qi."

"On the way, I noticed that Tian Meng was acting strangely. Out of brotherly affection, I wanted to check on him, but Tian Meng seemed to have become a different person. He didn't even maintain a polite facade and took the Lieshan Hall disciples with him during a rest break."

As Zhu Jia spoke, the mask on his face changed repeatedly, but ultimately he only had four faces: 'joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness,' and he couldn't express complex emotions.

“I felt that there was something wrong with Tian Meng, but at that time a friend from the State of Chu came to ask for help, and I thought that there was still a long time to go, so I let him go.”

"Later, my mission in Shouchun went very smoothly. A powerful and influential person I had a good relationship with helped me a lot."

At this point, he stroked his mask and beard, then turned to look at Lu Wei: "My trip to Shouchun made me realize that Brother Lu Wei has done something really big, actually getting involved with the Xiang clan."

"I made friends with him while carrying out the mission to become a chivalrous leader, so it's not a big deal." Lu Wei replied seriously, then asked Zhu Jia, "Judging from your tone, this powerful Chu nobleman who helped you with the mission isn't from the Xiang clan, but his status is even higher than theirs?"

"Hehe, I know you're smart, Brother Lu Wei, but don't ask too many questions about this matter, and it's best not to think about it too much."

Zhu Jia raised his hand and slapped his forehead, shaking his head and turning around: "It's not that I wanted to hide it from you, brother."

"This was arranged directly by the leader of the Xia clan. Although I accepted the help of that nobleman, I didn't know who he was, and I didn't even meet him."

"I will naturally heed Brother Zhu's teachings." Lu Wei smiled with narrowed eyes, "I won't ask about this matter anymore, but what does this have to do with Tian Meng?"

"Don't rush, don't rush, we're almost there."

Zhu Jia continued pacing: "After I finished my mission, I wanted to visit Brother Situ of Wei, but before I could even set off, Tian Meng suddenly came over and said that the leader of the chivalrous sect had ordered me to return to Daze Mountain with him first."

"Then, he actually took out the Xia Kui's token. I checked it carefully and there was no problem, so I followed him to Daze Mountain."

"By the way, I also want to observe his previous unusual behavior further."

"But who could have imagined that on the very first night after we set off, Tian Meng would suddenly disappear, leaving behind only a dozen or so Lieshan Hall disciples."

"Moreover, the key point is that, according to those disciples, the last time they saw him was at 9 PM, when Tian Meng said he had something important to discuss with me and went to my room!"

"But I didn't see him at all!"

Zhu Jia spoke in a high-pitched and soft tone at the end, as if he had been greatly wronged.

"However, Brother Lu Wei, as you know, it's not unusual for us chivalrous people to not return home all night."

"After I learned about the situation, I sent my disciples out to search while I waited where I was, thinking that Tian Meng might have discovered something unusual. I didn't have time to explain before I went to track him down..."

"But for three whole days, there was still no news from Tian Meng!"

Zhu Jia lowered his voice: "It's as if they've vanished into thin air!"

"After returning to Daze Mountain, I immediately went to Lieshan Hall, but the disciples of Lieshan Hall haven't been able to contact Tian Meng since he left Qi territory..."

"It has been almost a year now."

"The last time I saw him was a month ago..."

“This is indeed strange…” Lu Wei raised his hand and tapped his forehead. “But why is Brother Zhu so worried?”

"Tian Meng is missing. We can't possibly suspect Brother Zhu of doing something just because of a sentence he said before he disappeared."

“Brother, the crux of the matter is right here!” Zhu Jia returned to his seat and sat cross-legged: “When Tian Meng took his disciples to Shouchun to find me, he told them that I had sent a message to him, asking him to come and help!”

"This..." The steward paused in his head-tapping motion: "Did Tian Meng deliberately disappear to frame you?"

"Someone is trying to use Tian Meng to frame me!" Zhu Jia's mask turned furious: "I was careless. Only he and I knew about the letter from the chivalrous leader that Tian Meng brought!"

"Didn't you confirm that the letter was from the Heroic Leader?" After saying this, Lu Wei silently added in his mind: Unless this frame-up was arranged by the Heroic Leader Tian Guang...

"I was certain at first!" Zhu Jia's mask fell away. "But after considering this information, I'm not so sure anymore..."

“This method is clumsy…” Lu Wei stroked his chin, glancing upwards: “But the key question is, what was the purpose of the person who devised this method?”

"Brother, do you believe what I'm saying?" Zhu Jia lunged forward and lay face down on the table.

“Of course,” Lu Wei nodded, “At this point in time, leaving so many flaws is clearly a setup.”

“That’s right, but…sigh…” Zhu Jia squatted back down: “Ordinary disciples don’t have the same level of knowledge as us. Most of them can’t even read. Once this gets out, they won’t think that way!”

"Especially Tian Meng's younger brother, Tian Hu!"

"I'm not afraid of him, but to be wronged for no reason, sigh... there are too many strange things about this."

"Brother Zhu, there's no need to worry. It involves the life and death of the leader of my Farmer's Clan. He will definitely handle it personally."

Lu Wei calmly shrugged and said, "Brother Zhu wouldn't suspect the Heroic Leader, would he?"

"The leader of the Heroic Sect is fair and just, I naturally trust him~" Zhu Jia looked up and met Lu Wei's gaze. Even though the mask was covering his eyes, the steward could still sense that he didn't trust Tian Guang as much as he said.

After all, if what the Zhu family said was true, the first person he would suspect would be Tian Guang.

Only a chivalrous leader has the power to command Tian Meng in this way.

But here's the question: as Lu Wei just asked, what is Tian Guang's purpose in doing this?

Moreover, Lu Wei knows that Tian Meng is fake. Would a fake Tian Meng cooperate with Tian Guang?