Chapter 53: It’s Him! Operation: Kill Chu!
Translator: Whatsyourissue Editor: ICheah
It was just before daybreak. A chilling silence lingered in the tavern that the Ximen family had resided in.
Ximen Wanli gazed hungrily at the people standing in front of him, like a famished wolf.
“Is the investigation done?”
“We… we have just checked up on the people who fulfilled the characteristics and listed them down. Our analysis is not yet complete…”
“Speak.”
“There is a total of seven people who matched those characteristics. Among them, there are two who appear to be possible suspects. One of them is an unknown, while the other is Chu Tianlang… of the two it’s more likely to be Chu Tianlang.”
Ximen Wanli’s eyes glinted with suppressed glee, his voice strangely flat as he said, “Tell me about this Chu Tianlang.”
“Chu Tianlang is none other than the master of the Manor of Sirius, located outside of Tiantang City. He’s skilled in the use of long and short swords; he’s hefty and well built, a central figure in the modern world of martial arts. Moreover, legend has it that Chu Tianlang has a radically unique skill hidden up his sleeves, a mysterious weapon literally concealed in his sleeves. We are uncertain if he has any other secrets or tricks…”
Ximen Wandai’s gaze shone brightly. “Long and short swords… The assassin used long and short swords as well... Radically unique skill in his sleeve… Didn’t the assassin also unsheathe something from his sleeve too?”
“Chu Tianlang’s cultivation base is incredibly high; he is estimated to be at least at the sixth peak.”
“Sixth peak, at the very minimum… This also means that there is a big possibility he’s in seventh heaven or seventh peak heaven too. It wouldn’t be too far-fetched to say that he could be in the eighth heaven, would it?”
“No, it wouldn’t.”
“Was ol’three and Chu Tianlang at conflict? Or perhaps any of those that ol’three had harassed and offended is related to Chu Tianlang?”
“From the surface, nothing related. But both of them like beautiful women…”
“When nothing is related, that is when it’s the most suspicious.” Ximen Wanli huffed in anger, his gaze fiercely gleaming.
“Second young master, although Chu Tianlang’s characteristics match the assassin’s, it’s too big of a coincidence. There is something remarkably fishy about this, like someone wished to frame him,” someone said, frowning.
“Frame him?” Ximen Wanli hummed coldly. “What about it? Chu Tianlang is still the first in our list, he’s still our first target.”
“If this had been done by Chu Tianlang, we kill him and things end here. If it wasn’t Chu Tianlang, we capture him and begin searching among his enemies. We’ll find the real culprit sooner or later. Therefore, whether it’s him or not, we must apprehend this Chu Tianlang!” Ximen Wanli said with conviction.
“We could… discuss it, perhaps?” someone suggested, with hesitation.
“Discuss?” Ximen Wanli smirked. “If he is alerted to our plans, are you going to be held accountable?”
The expert from the Ximen family wore an ashen look. “I… dare not.”
“Then keep silent!” Ximen Wanli snorted and said sternly, “If any our intentions are leaked, you’ll be at fault!”
The person paled immediately, regretting his words.
Ximen Wanli paced around slowly, his gaze fiery. “There has been no news from the family yet but I guess they are already on their way.”
“Someone has to pay the price, now that something of such magnitude has occurred.”
“We must have Chu Tianlang in our hands before the experts from the family come!”
“Otherwise, no one will come out of this unscathed!”
Ximen Wanli’s voice was eerily calm, but everyone present came to an unpleasant realization.
The main issue at hand right now was not to find the real culprit for revenge but to identify a scapegoat before the members of the family arrived, to pacify their rage.
If they failed to do so, it would be doomsday when the members of Ximen Family arrived.
There wasn’t much time left, and that meant it had to be Chu Tianlang. Even if he wasn’t the one who had done it, his fate was sealed. No one else had such strikingly similar characteristics!
“Gather information regarding Chu Tianlang and the Manor of Sirius… be quick!” Ximen Wanli commanded, his voice void of emotion.
“Yes!”
“Make the best use of the time you have for analysis!”
“Yes!”
However, once the analysis had been carried out, all of them gasped collectively. The Manor of Sirius was nothing compared to the entire Ximen Family but with the number of people they had now, they were no match against it.
The Manor of Sirius was a monstrous creature around these parts!
The experts were as countless as relationships were complicated; like tangled roots and branching stems, their defenses were strictly guarded as well!
“Send my calling card and invite Young Master Dongfang, Young Master Nangong, and Young Master Beiye here.” Ximen Wanli ordered, “We will have a discussion about. How could a mere Manor of Sirius stand up to the might of the four great families? At most, I would be in their debt.”
“Young master is wise.”
…
Just as the sun rose, the four great young masters had already completed their plans. All four noble families would each send fifty experts to decimate the Manor of Sirius!
However, there was only a seventh peak elder from the Dongfang family who came but he had refused to help. The other experts from the four families with the highest cultivation base were only, at most, at the sixth peak.
“If so, what about asking the elder to stay at the sides as support?” Ximen Wanli came to a compromise.
“That would be good too.”
“Then we’d have six sixth peak experts, eight fifth peak experts, and the rest are all fourth peak experts. This will be enough to take on the Manor of Sirius!”
Dongfang Qingkong waved his folding fan. “If so, we should go watch the excitement too.”
“We still have to inform Tiantang City’s officials. If the military appears when we attack the Manor of Sirius… it would be terribly inconvenient.”
“Don’t worry, I’ve made arrangements for this already.”
“Thank you all. I, Ximen Wanli, shall do my best should you have any requests in the future.” Ximen Wanli palmed his fist in absolute seriousness.
“No worries, Brother Ximen. This is what we ought to do…”
“It should only be so; helping each other out among the four noble families like we are one.”
“When do we begin our operation?”
“This afternoon. Afternoon, before the sun sets, we begin our operation. We must end the battle before nightfall.” Ximen Wanli wore a cruel smirk. “I don’t want to attack at night, I want to destroy them all in the light of day!”
“I want to let the world know the consequences of provoking the four great families!”
“Brother Ximen, your domineering ways and your valiance reaches the very clouds!”
“It is decided!”
…
When afternoon arrived, a battle of far-reaching impact had suddenly begun.
The Manor of Sirius was utterly defenseless as it was attacked from all four sides. Four troops attacked from four different directions, killing anyone in their path as they made their way towards the heart of the manor, leaving a trail of blood.
Before the Manor of Sirius could even react, blood had already flowed like a river.
Chu Tianlang had a feast with a group of men from the martial arts world just this noon, still inebriated from the delightful drinking and was sleeping on his bed. The sudden roar of fighting had him springing up and then stumbling from the abrupt action and his hangover. An intense headache kept him wobbly on his feet.
“What’s going on?” Chu Tianlang hollered and jumped up. With a stretch of his arm, his sword was already in his hand. His mystical skill surged violently, white mist reeking of alcohol exuded from his body. At the same time, with a wave of his left hand, an icy force was unleashed; a cup of water on the table froze into ice as he crumbled it and applied it on his face.
With a cold shudder, he sobered up.
A manor worker stumbled into the foyer. “Manor master, it’s terrible. There are invaders attacking our manor, they’ve already made their way in!”
“Invaders?” Chu Tianlang was perplexed. “Invaders from where?”
It had been peaceful for so many years, the Manor of Sirius maintaining its intimidating aura in the area. Who dared pull the whiskers of a tiger? How could there be a large group of invaders?
“We don’t know where the invaders are from. All of them have a high cultivation base. There are already countless deaths and injuries in the manor. The enemy’s attacks are vicious and without mercy. Fifth Elder Qin has also fallen in battle.”
The young man was shivering all over.
With a loud roar of grief, Chu Tianlang shot out of the foyer.
Bells and whistles blared loudly in a combined cacophony. The sheer force of the Manor of Sirius was tested from all sides as they went head on with the four families that had charged in, shouting their battle cries.
Chu Tianlang had already arrived at the bell tower, the highest point of Manor of Sirius, and looked down. All he could see was smoke and blood flowing in all four directions, battle cries booming like thunder.
Wherever his eyes took him, dead bodies were there.
The ordinary guards of the manor were no match against such a formidable enemy, falling almost immediately.
Several shadows charged out like lightning; the experts of the manor had finally shown themselves.
Chu Tianlang howled long into the sky then flew out like a meteor, choosing to head in the direction where the slaughter was at its wildest and heaviest, livid with anger.
Two rays of sword light streaked from the sky; before they landed, two men were sliced into half by the light. Chu Tianlang landed with a thunderous crash, his sword landing harshly on the steel of another man’s sword and sent it flying, the hapless man barely able to hold onto it.
“Stop!” Chu Tianlang roared and hollered. “Who are you? Why do you invade the Manor of Sirius without reason?”
These people were killing blindly. They were vicious in their attacks, more so than those in the other three directions. Their mystical skills were prominent. Chu Tianlang really could not recall the last time he had offended people such as these!
The opposing force had halted their attack. A middle-aged man in white stepped forward with arms behind his back and looked at Chu Tianlang with his long, thin eyes.
“You are Chu Tianlang?”
Chu Tianlang held his gaze and answered, “Right. And you? had there been a misunderstanding?”
The man in white wore a teasing smirk. “Misunderstanding?”
As he smirked, he looked at the pair of swords in Chu Tianlang’s hands; a long sword was in his right hand while a short sword was in his left. His gaze then shifted to the latter’s well-built and hefty body. Studying him for a brief moment, the man in white suddenly turned and stepped back as he cried, “Kill him! Leave no man alive throughout the entire Manor of Sirius!”
Chu Tianlang hissed with fury. “You!”
The members of the attacking force had already begun charging over. A frenzied old man was in the lead, his eyes bloodshot as if he bore the resentment of patricide and the grudge of adultery against Chu Tianlang; the old man roared and rushed him furiously.
Clang!
Chu Tianlang blocked the old man’s attack and hollered in frustration, “Shouldn’t there at least be an explanation? We are all martial artists, everything should have its causes and effects!”
However, his voice was quickly drowned by the battle cries, no one cared about what he had said. Within an instant, most of the manor guests who had come out with Chu Tianlang had already fallen.
Oh how livid, upset and confused Chu Tianlang was! What was actually going on?