Chapter 400: Sky-High Price
Translator: chuchutrain Editor: DavidT, Rock
Inside the hollow tree might be moist and cramped, but it could roughly fit one person seated. To have such a safe place to hide oneself could be considered a silver lining, but the problem was that there was a terrible smell inside, making people nauseous! Ling Tian sighed and revolved his Divine Shocking Dragon Formula at a rapid speed. Instantly, the temperature of the cubby hole rose shockingly, and the moist area began to dry out. At the same time, the unbearable stink was expelled outward with the activation of his internal energy!
Ling Tian then went back to the entrance and gestured with his palm. From the grass opposite the hole, a piece of bark was attracted to his palm, flying in the air and smacking onto the tree, seamlessly closing the gap. The entire tree then seemed to become a natural whole, without the existence of any cubbyholes visible...
In the darkness, Ling Tian sniggered, thinking that it was a pity that he had too many things to handle. If he had no problems to settle and with enough rations, he believed that he could easily hide for a year at least in the hole, and Justice would still probably not be able to find him!
Justice, do you think you can represent the will of the heavens?
Ling Tian slightly shook his head with a bitter smile on his face. No matter what, he had to first recover, so treating his internal energy was his priority!
Entering a cultivating state, a wisp of pure internal energy slowly rose up from within his dantian, and after winding along for a cycle, Ling Tian once again entered a profound mental state. In a short moment, his head began to emit white steam, congealing without dissipating. His breath began to slow down and finally disappear, and only his chest area twitched slightly from time to time. He had entered the mysterious XianTian fetal state...
No void, no sound; no body, no me!
It was unknown how much time had passed, but a warning bell suddenly rang in Ling Tian's mind. His internal energy turned sluggish, and he suddenly woke up. Turning his gaze inward, he felt that the internal energy in his body was bubbling excitedly, as though he had been reborn. His body felt so light as though he could literally soar into the air right now, and the suffocating feeling he had in his chest had disappeared completely. Sensing that his injury had completely recovered, he could not help but rejoice.
Ling Tian suddenly picked up a cluster of footsteps coming from afar, walking towards his general direction. Some footsteps were light, some heavy and clumsy. Obviously, it was a group of people together. All of them seemed to be versed in martial arts, though their skills differed. A rough voice sounded, "Elder Brother, I don't understand why we're searching around like headless flies. Do you think we still can coincidentally meet with that thief Ling Tian? Isn't this wasting our time?"
Looking for me? Ling Tian's heart jumped. Which of the major powers are they from? Why are they looking for me, and why am I being labeled a thief? This is outrageous!
A mature voice replied, "Why are you so anxious? The intelligence stated that he is still within Western Han, so how could you say that we're blindly searching? Besides, our head only wants to confirm the death news of Ling Tian himself and didn't say that we have to personally kill him! No matter what, so long as we receive news of his demise, then we can return to report. Being hunted by the Martial Order Medallion owner, how long can he live even though he is highly skilled? From past to present, who has ever escaped the grasp of the Martial Order Medallion owner's pursuit? Who knows, maybe he has already lost his life!"
But the rough voice continued to grumble, "D*mmit, I've ridden on horseback so many days that my butt is hurting, and now we have to run all around to search blindly, this is killing me! Elder brother, let's rest here for a while. Since we only need a confirmation, why bother to search as though our lives depended on it?" A thud was then heard as a weapon was thrown on the ground nearby Ling Tian. Following that was a sigh as a person heavily sat down with his back leaning against the tree Ling Tian was in.
The other people sat down one after another, and Ling Tian silently counted in his heart. Six people, all coincidentally huddling against the same tree that Ling Tian was hidden in.
Who out of the six would have thought that the very person they were searching for was actually encircled by them right now, just like a group of rowdy soldiers encircling a bomb and setting up a campfire right there...
The steady voice sounded again, "Aiii, you guys. Fifth bro, it's not that I want to pick at you, but think about it, how many times have you suffered because of that temper of yours? Can't you change a little? Because of your hot-headedness, the head has never entrusted you with something important. Every time the head presents rewards, have you ever been called up?"
The rough voice chuckled awkwardly before a shuffling sound was heard. Likely, the person had actually laid totally down on the ground. A low muffled voice was heard, "What's the point of passing any important tasks to me? Isn't it more fun to come out with a bunch of people? So long as I, Old Fifth, have wine to quench my thirst and food to ease my hunger, that's good enough for me. Why do I have to care so much? Rising as an official and getting rich, this brother here knows his limits, and I have not even considered it. When any of you brothers strike it rich, if I still have my life, then just let me come over to your house to eat my fill, that would be enough."
The rest of the people let out sounds of laughter and assent, speaking out, "That's right, Old Fifth is someone who can be revived by drinking horse piss. It's ok if he has no interpersonal skills or talent. Hahaha!"
Another one said, "Old Fifth just wants to mooch off someone, but likely it's only Big Bro that can do so. Not only Old Fifth, the rest of us brothers don't have much to brag about, and besides, what's so good about an official position? When the time comes, I would rather forsake my position and gather with my good brothers to drink and spar, living the rest of my life out this way. One must know how to be content!"
"One must know how to be content?! What a bunch of good-for-nothings!" The big brother could not help but laughingly scold, and the bunch of brothers let out more laughter. Halfway through, one of them spoke in a heavy tone, "Big brother, I feel however that this mission is quite weird. That Martial Order Medallion owner is already bent on killing Ling Tian, so what is the point in our head asking us to investigate so early? As long as we wait, news will come eventually. For the head to send us out, and with such a severe command, what is his true purpose? If it's to deal with the Martial Order Medallion owner, then how could we even be able to do so? While us brothers think highly of ourselves, we all know our limits. If it's just to investigate, then it's not only superfluous but also using a sledgehammer to crack a nut!"
"Naturally, this does not involve pure investigation. Our purpose out here is mainly the wishes of the second master." The big brother's voice sounded, "I don't know why, but the second master has a premonition that the Martial Order Medallion owner might not be able to kill Ling Tian! Thus, he has insisted that we send someone out. Other than us, the second master has also secretly sent a few other experts, and even he himself might personally act! There is only one objective, that in the event Ling Tian still remains alive, then we have to sacrifice our lives to ensure his death!"
Within the tree, Ling Tian let out a bitter laugh in his mind. He thought, This second master really overestimates me, but who could it be? Xiao Family? Yu? NanGong? Or some others? Ling Tian could only laugh to himself. It was all good when he didn't count, but once he started counting, he realized that there were just too many!
"The Martial Order Medallion owner cannot kill Ling Tian? Hahahah…" One of them laughed as though he had heard the world's biggest joke. "Second master might be overly cautious this time. Even if Ling Tian had descended from the heaven and started to cultivate in the womb, he has only cultivated for a total of sixteen years. Others might not know this, but the Beyond Heavens Martial Order Medallion owner was acknowledged a long time ago as the number one expert of the world, at least for sixteen years and even longer! How can they be compared? The second master really is… hahaha!!!" A bout of frenzied laughter sounded, and he did not continue, but the crowd could easily guess his meaning.
"What are you laughing about?" The big brother snapped. "Second Master has always been prudent, and he has a reason for everything. Since he believes that the Martial Order Medallion owner might not eliminate Ling Tian, he definitely has a reason for suspecting otherwise! Cautiousness will allow a ship to sail for ten millennia. If there's anything to be suspected, then we should rather believe in that minor chance than to ignore the danger! Furthermore, before we left, I overheard something. It's because of this that I too feel that there exists the possibility of Ling Tian surviving."
"What did you hear?" The other five chorused.
"Regarding the Martial Order Medallion owner chasing Ling Tian, the second master had contacted the famed Crystal Pavilion, the number one intelligence organization, and was willing to offer the shocking amount of one million taels of silver in order to obtain a definite report. However, not only did the Crystal Pavilion refuse his price, they requested a sky-high price of a million taels of gold in order to get a proper report on this matter! That's as good as paying 20 million taels of silver!" The big brother spoke in an odd voice.
"One million taels of gold! 20 million taels of silver! Why don't they go and rob the state treasury, d*mmit, even the filthy rich Xiao Family couldn't possibly afford such news! The Crystal Pavilion must be so poor that they've gone crazy!" The other five people clamored and began to grumble. "This old me has lived my whole life trying to save up money, and I probably can't even get together 10,000 taels of gold, but one report from the Crystal Pavilion would require 1 million taels of gold immediately! This is completely ridiculous!"
Hiding inside the tree hole, Ling Tian could not help but snigger silently. If the Crystal Pavilion were to sell this information so easily, then that would really be ridiculous!
The big brother's voice was heard once again, "It's because of this incident that the second master was even more sure of his own conclusion. You guys must understand that if the Crystal Pavilion dared to ask for such a price, then it means they outright rejected the huge amount offered to them. And why would they do so? There are only two reasons. The first is that the Crystal Pavilion has no guarantee in tracking them and being the first to obtain the news. The second is that they have no idea who between them would actually be the final victor. So, tell me, which one is it?"