Ze Tian Ji (Way of Choices)

Chapter 848 – The True Identities of the Two Old Guardians

Grandpa Jiu of Jia’er Alley wiped the sweat off his forehead and said, “Little Tang, have you perhaps made a mistake? An outsider like me is not so bold as to involve myself in the clan’s business.”

Tang Thirty-Six smiled at him and replied, “I say, Grandpa Jiu, at this point, can’t we all speak a little more simply? Ning Shiwei was the son of your wife’s sister. After you led him down such a path, do you think your wife will let you go? You should quickly think about how to withdraw.”

Before the Tang Seventh Master had a chance to speak, Tang Thirty-Six drew back his smile and said very seriously, “Seventh Aunt has been sleeping with Second Uncle for so many years; didn’t you know?”

The Tang Seventh Master at first had a very unsightly expression, but unexpectedly, after a few moments, he calmed back down.

“Of course, I know that you know, but before, not many people besides me knew. Now, if I announce this matter, can you still pretend you don’t know?”

Tang Thirty-Six gave him a pitying glance, then said, “How can you resolve this matter now? Helping me get rid of Second Uncle is your only choice.”

The old Guardian from the Tang clan had been standing by the mahjong table this entire time.

No matter how intimate the secrets discussed in this conversation over mahjong, his expression did not change in the slightest.

But in the end, when he looked at Tang Thirty-Six once more, there was still a bit more admiration in his eyes.

The three elders that Tang Thirty-Six had called over to the ancestral hall were rather unremarkable presences in the Tang clan. Very few people knew that they were the Tang Second Master’s true assistants. Moreover, in this conversation with these elders, not too much thought had gone into his plans, nor were his methods particularly outstanding, but… they were extremely suitable.

He knew these three elders’ truest fears, truest cares, and truest personalities.

This sort of understanding was most frightening, and it was also a necessary quality for someone that aspired to be head of the Tang clan.

Two hours was finally up.

Wenshui City left Tang Thirty-Six’s hands and returned to the Tang Old Master.

The gate of the ancestral hall was closed once more, and no one knew if a day would come in which it would open again.

Three elders, each with their own emotions and concerns, took their leave, the final game of mahjong left unfinished.

The Tang clan’s old Guardian did not leave. He remained standing behind Tang Thirty-Six.

He was waiting for news from the old estate.

This news would decide what he would do.

This had nothing do with right or wrong, only victory or defeat.

Such was the way of merchants.

The winner would feast while the loser would leave.

If Tang Thirty-Six won, he would leave alive.

If he lost, his relationship with Chen Changsheng meant that he probably wouldn’t die, but there would never be a day in which he would leave.

……

……

The mahjong game in the Tang clan’s old estate had ended earlier, when the Tang Old Master heard that Tang Thirty-Six had sent someone to Chicken Crow Nunnery to order a vegetarian meal.

In truth, even when the two hours came to an end, that vegetarian meal was still in the rear kitchen of Chicken Crow Nunnery, unable to be finished in time.

The snowstorm fell in the small courtyard of the old estate without a sound, not alarming anyone, just like the arrival of the thin elder.

Linghai Zhiwang stared at the elder’s face, feeling it more and more familiar.

The emaciated elder entered the room, and several pairs of eyes cast their gazes toward him.

Even Zhexiu felt somewhat nervous, not because of the elder’s identity, but of what he was about to say.

Chen Changsheng did not feel nervous, only silently prepared himself. If what happened next was unable to make the Tang Old Master change his mind, he could only use other methods.

He did not want to use this method. Although he had a very powerful helper outside Wenshui City, he did not want things to reach that point.

But no matter what, he would not allow Tang Thirty-Six to continue being imprisoned in the ancestral hall.

The thin elder first bowed to the Tang Old Master, then to Chen Changsheng, just like he had done when he had first appeared at the old estate.

Chen Changsheng did not know the true identity of this elder, but seeing how respectfully the Tang Old Master treated him, he knew that this person’s background was assuredly extraordinary, so he seriously returned the greeting.

The Tang Old Master asked, “What was the result?”

The thin elder indifferently replied, “His Holiness the Pope spoke correctly. First Master truly was poisoned, and it was arranged by Second Master. I have already sent someone to the Longevity Sect to demand the antidote.”

Hearing this, Chen Changsheng and Zhexiu glanced at each other, finally relaxing somewhat.

The Tang Old Master did not visibly react. After quietly thinking for a few moments, he said, “I’ve troubled you.”

He did not ask the elder for any specifics, like evidence or motivation.

It was like the thin elder could say anything, and he would believe it.

Outside the room, Linghai Zhiwang felt even more curious. Just who was this emaciated elder, just what was the Tang clan’s Torture Hall, and why did the Tang Old Master trust him so deeply?

The elder walked out of the old estate.

Seeing his back, Linghai Zhiwang finally realized who he was, and his expression shifted. He asked, “You are Minister Wei?”

An Lin’s expression suddenly changed at this question and she cast her gaze towards the elder.

The elder acted like he had not heard, his footsteps not even pausing for the briefest of moments. He swiftly vanished in the snowstorm outside the old estate.

Chen Changsheng did not know who Minister Wei was, but given Linghai Zhiwang’s and An Lin’s large reactions, he felt that this must be quite an extraordinary person.

But he did not have the chance to ask, because the moment the thin elder left, another visitor came.

Just like the thin elder, they arrived silently, with neither the two Prefects of the Orthodoxy nor Chen Changsheng’s group of three noticing.

The visitor was the blind zither player.

The zither player did not pay any attention to the other people in the room, nor did he bow to Chen Changsheng. He straightforwardly said to the Tang Old Master, “That monster was hidden in Second Master’s estate. It truly is descended from the Yellow Springs, and cultivates the techniques of the Longevity Sect. It is not a good thing.”

The Tang Old Master thought for a few moments and then said, “It is unreasonable for it to have escaped.”

The meaning of these words was very clear. In the Old Master’s view, since the blind zither player had acted, the monster should never have been able to escape, no matter how troublesome it was.

After a very long time, the blind zither player finally said, “I found it somewhat unbearable.”

The Tang Old Master became rather melancholy at these words. “The events of the past no longer exist, so why remember them?”

The zither player answered, “That was the last wisp of Junior Brother’s soul. I cannot help but want it to remain in the world for a little longer.”

Chen Changsheng heard this conversation, but it took a while for him to understand its meaning, deeply shocking him.

Based on his judgment and analysis, Chusu was a descendant of the Yellow Springs, and was most likely to have been the result of the Corpse-Beheading attempted by the previous Sect Master of the Longevity Sect.

This blind zither player had said that it was the last wisp of his junior brother’s soul… Didn’t that mean that his junior brother was the previous Sect Master of the Longevity Sect?

Did this not mean that the blind zither player was the sect master’s senior brother?

Then he had an extremely high status in the Longevity Sect, even being one of the only elders from the previous generation?

Such an individual was actually hiding in the Tang clan, working as a Guardian?