60 Revenge of a Broken Leg
Hua Lang raised his hand and finally took off the mask of the man in black.
A beautiful face was revealed. After not seeing her for many years, her complexion became even more beautiful, and it was almost difficult to tell whether she was male or female.
"...Yan Rong?"
What surprised Hua Lang the most was that Yan Rong's pupils, which were once amber, had now turned pure black. At this moment, these still elegant eyes contained some emotions that she only understood after experiencing the vicissitudes of life.
"You hate me, why?"
Hua Lang looked at Yan Rong in astonishment.
Anyone could hate her, except Yan Rong, who she never thought would hate her.
It seemed as if it was just Hua Lang's illusion. When she looked again, Yan Rong's expression had returned to normal. It was familiar to her, just like the gloomy silence nine years ago.
Wu Tingque spoke at the right moment: "Junior Sister Hua, Yan Rong is now a retainer of my Wu family."
Hua Lang finally remembered this. She looked at Wu Tingque. Although she wanted to ask about Yan Rong, now was not the right time. Instead, she asked, "The Wu family has so many followers. Why did you choose to send him to Guiyuan?"
Wu Tingque stroked the ring on his finger. He didn't answer Hua Lang directly, but said, "In a small city like Tiancheng, the name Rong Cheng Yunwen alone can stir up a storm of bloodshed. Although Di Palace and Yujing have supported the Zhaoming Envoy in recent years, the major families are always mixed. Your days in Zhongzhou will not be peaceful."
Hua Lang vaguely sensed the danger hidden in his words, "Are you planning to let Yan Rong follow me? I thought you would send someone else."
Wu Tingque didn't mind her suspicion, but smiled and said, "If it were any other guest, Junior Sister Hua would definitely be resistant. Since you were once master and disciple, I think Junior Sister won't refuse."
This was indeed the truth. Hua Lang considered it carefully and said, "Let's leave the remaining two conditions with Master Wu first. I don't think Master Wu will do anything treacherous."
Wu Tingque nodded: "Of course, a gentleman's promise is more important than nine tripods."
"Let's go, Junior Sister Hua, we've arrived at Di Palace."
Wu Tingque pushed the wheelchair and the door opened. When he passed by Yan Rong, the restraints on his body loosened by themselves without waiting for Hua Lang to do anything.
Hua Lang fell half a step behind. She helped Yan Rong up and looked at him secretly.
She thought of the time in Guiyuan.
At that time, the killing array was complete and the teleportation array was completely destroyed. Xie Hanjing was surrounded by Cangluan's people and no one cared about her.
At that time, she had already caught a glimpse of a group of extremely strange men in black standing behind Cangluan's disciples. They stared at her for a long time but remained idly by.
Before closing his eyes, he saw the leading man in black coming towards the killing formation.
Now seeing Yan Rong unharmed, Hua Lang wondered, could it be that his cultivation had reached the point where he could move freely in the killing array?
No wonder he could become a retainer of the Wu family.
Yan Rong stood up. He was no longer the thin and short man he used to be. Now he was even taller than Hua Lang.
Nine years had passed, leaving Hua Lang somewhat dazed. Did this mean that she had truly changed Yan Rong's fate? At this rate of cultivation, Yan Rong might even become a renowned venerable in Zhongzhou.
Although he still had some grudges in his heart, Hua Lang softened his heart when he thought about how much Yan Rong must have suffered in the past nine years to have achieved what she has today. "If you don't want to follow me, I can refuse Wu Tingque on your behalf."
Yan Rong lowered her eyes and stood still for a long while before she whispered, "No need... following Master is my own choice."
Hua Lang finally felt somewhat comforted. She nodded and asked, "Now that you've become a retainer of the Wu family, is there any cure for the cold poison in your body?"
Yan Rong was stunned for a moment, as if she didn't expect her to mention this. After a pause, she said, "Cold poison..."
"What's wrong?" Hua Lang asked in confusion.
"Nothing." Yan Rong didn't expect Hua Lang to still remember this. In nine years, no one had asked him about the cold poison, and he himself was almost forgetting it. "After so many years, I've gotten used to it."
Hua Lang regained his composure. Now that Yan Rong had become a retainer of the Wu family, the matter of his possession by the devil should have been resolved. However, as long as the cold poison was not removed, he would suffer for one more day in vain.
Seeing Wu Tingque's back disappear in front of him, Yan Rong seemed unaccustomed to people's concern. He hurriedly said what he had been holding back for a long time: "Don't trust Wu Tingque."
Then he took something out of his sleeve and handed it to Hua Lang.
Hua Lang wanted to take it, but found that he was holding it very tightly and didn't seem to want to let go.
Hua Lang looked up in confusion, only to see Yan Rong also frowning. She looked carefully and realized that this thing, covered in blood and mud and unable to recognize its original appearance, was now holding the corner of Yan Rong's clothes tightly, which prevented him from letting go.
"...coal?"
Yan Rong whispered, "Let go!"
When the coal was finally pulled out, there was a piece of cloth in its mouth.
Hua Lang took off the rag and returned it to Yan Rong. She suddenly remembered something and glanced at the corner of Yan Rong's clothes. Sure enough, there was a piece missing there.
In Guiyuan, Xie Hanjing and Yan Rong did meet each other.
The two of them had already walked outside the funeral carriage, with Wu Tingque in front. Yan Rong glanced at his cuffs unhappily, then lowered his eyes again. Without saying a word, he passed Hua Lang and went in another direction.
"This must be Di Palace."
The funeral carriage passed through the sea of clouds, and Hua Lang finally saw the entire Di Palace.
As the gathering place of powerful families in Zhongzhou, Di Palace is dotted with cloud halls, fairy pavilions are scattered throughout, and rainbow bridges and jade roads are interconnected. Every brick and stone is as exquisite as carved jade.
As Hua Lang and Wu Tingque stepped onto the Rainbow Bridge and headed towards the Wu family residence, Wu Tingque spoke, "On the last day of the Zhongzhou Dao Conference, I will announce the return of the Zhaoming Envoy to everyone. Junior Sister Hua, please rest at the Wu family for the next few days. I will discuss the rest of the matters with you after dinner."
Hua Lang had been waiting for Wu Tingque to ask him why he became a mortal, but he seemed to have already known it and had no reaction to it. He even arranged dinner properly.
"I've been asking Mr. Wu questions all along the way. Doesn't Mr. Wu have anything to ask?"
Wu Tingque said, "If I want to know something, I will go and find the answer myself."
Since they met, he had been fond of giving Hua Lang some advice. "After spending enough time in Zhongzhou, Junior Sister Hua will understand that what others say is often not the truth. Ultimately, you have to answer many questions yourself."
Hua Lang seemed to be lost in thought. She had wanted to ask some more questions, but Wu Tingque's words made her give up the idea.
Since this person wants to use her, he will definitely give her the information she needs. As for the things he doesn't want to say, she probably won't get the truth even if she asks.
Thinking about it this way, it is better to find the truth yourself.
"Hua Lang is grateful for your advice. Master Wu, we'll see you tomorrow."
Wu Tingque, who had wanted to meet up tonight, frowned slightly, but still agreed gracefully, "I look forward to seeing Junior Sister Hua again tomorrow."
After dinner, Hua Lang slowly took out a book called "On the Way of Life" and a piece of coal from his arms.
She placed the coal on the bed and surrounded it with the quilt. "This is Zhongzhou. You must not run around."
No evil monster in Zhongzhou, not even a pet monster, is allowed to set foot inside. After much deliberation, Hua Lang could only temporarily place the coal in the house.
After giving the instructions, Hua Lang started to read "On the Way of Life".
I originally thought it was a boring and lengthy manual, but unexpectedly, this book is like a landscape record, recording all the different places and things. "All things have spirits, mountain spirits, sea monsters, beasts, plants, and trees. Spiritual energy comes from them. Killing will dissipate spiritual energy, while giving birth will restore it..."
In this way, it was almost dawn. Although Hua Lang had practiced for half a day, she did not find any other use except that it relieved her drowsiness from not sleeping all night.
Sighing, Hua Lang turned to look at the coal block, which was running around in the bedding circle in a very anxious manner.
Hua Lang was confused, "Coal, what's wrong with you?"
The coal lump climbed up her arm and directly to the top of her head, but it still refused to settle down. Hua Lang couldn't even hold it down. It was as if there was something in the room that made the coal lump extremely uncomfortable.
The man and the demon quarreled for half the morning. When Hua Lang was about to go out, she had no choice but to lock the coal tightly in the house.
Hua Lang and Wu Tingque met in a rather remote and elegant building in Yujing. As soon as she sat down, she understood Wu Tingque's intention.
There is a teahouse opposite the window, and Hua Lang can hear a lot of things if he listens carefully. After a little sorting out, he has a general understanding of the current situation.
The first one she was about to deal with was the Rong Cheng family. Strangely enough, although the Rong Cheng family had a true immortal, their power was not as great as that of the Wu family. One reason was that they had very few followers, and the other was that their bloodline was extremely special. Although they were highly gifted, their descendants were few and far between, and they had no branches or collaterals. For hundreds of years, their family lineage had been passed down from one person to another.
The people below quickly followed the topic and talked about Rong Cheng Yun Wen. Hua Lang's hearing was not as good as before, so she turned her head away again.
"These days, rumors that Envoy Zhaoming is still alive are getting more and more intense. What do you think, Brother Zhang?"
Noticing that their table was gathering more and more people, the man surnamed Zhang raised his voice, fanning himself, and said, "In my opinion, this is all the work of the Wu family!"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's eyes turned to him. Hua Lang simply stopped hiding and lay directly on the windowsill.
"When she died, Zhang saw it all clearly. The Wu family is acting like this now, they're really treating everyone like fools!"
Someone hesitated and asked, "But...but isn't Murong Jun still alive?"
Suddenly hearing the familiar name, Hua Lang thought she had misheard, but the next second, the man surnamed Zhang continued, "Murong Jun was able to conceal her true identity and break the Dao to cultivate the devil, which means she is not dead at all. How can she be resurrected? Nine years ago, the Wu family used the fact that Murong Jun was not dead to spread rumors that the Zhaoming Envoy was still alive. Now they are saying that she will appear at the Dao Discussion Conference. How ridiculous!"
Murong Jun is not dead, and he is practicing magic?
Hua Lang was caught off guard by the news, and the people below were still talking about it.
"The tomb of the Zhaoming Envoy was probably opened by the Wu family themselves!"
Upon hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement.
Someone asked again, "The Wu family has already taken control of Zhongzhou, why would they do such a thing?"
The topic gradually deviated, and Hua Lang frowned - since no one believed that the dead could be resurrected, why did Wu Tingque think he could hide it?
The man surnamed Zhang was still talking at length. "I dare say today that the reason behind this is something none of you here would believe! Back then, the Wu family was far less powerful than it is now. To curry favor with the Rong Cheng family, Wu Tingque even sacrificed his legs in exchange..."
Before Hua Lang could finish listening, the window suddenly closed automatically, and the sound below was instantly blocked out.
She turned around and saw someone pushing Wu Tingque into the house.
Hua Lang muttered, "I haven't finished listening yet."
Wu Tingque said, "If Junior Sister Hua has anything you want to know, why not ask me directly?"
Hua Lang looked at his legs, thought for a moment, and changed the subject, "How many days until the Dao Conference ends?"
Wu Tingque: "Three days."
Time passed a little shorter than Hua Lang had expected. She then asked, "At the moment, even with Murong Jun in front of us, no one would believe that the dead can be resurrected out of thin air. Do you have any plans for this matter?"
Wu Tingque shook his head and asked, "Why should we let these people believe it?"
"At the Dao Discussion Conference, all the major families and the four heads will acknowledge your identity. You will live in the Rong Cheng family and inherit Rong Cheng Yunwen's power. By then, what does it matter whether it's true or false?"
Hua Lang frowned. This was probably the thinking of a superior. As long as they held power, what was wrong with calling a horse a zebra?
Moreover, as long as you sit firmly in a high position, over time, won’t the fake become true naturally?
Hua Lang said, "Young Master Wu already possesses immense power. I'm afraid it's not as these people say, that he's trying to use Rong Cheng Yunwen to gain power. Furthermore, judging by the reactions of the ordinary people in the city, Rong Cheng Yunwen's reputation doesn't seem to be much of a help to Young Master Wu. I'm curious, what exactly is Young Master Wu trying to gain by going to all this trouble?"
Wu Tingque stroked the Kelan on his ring. He didn't care about those mortals. "Junior Sister Hua, don't worry about filling the city. Rong Chengyunwen died while suppressing demons. Yujing and Di Palace have been commemorating her for more than ten years. In Yujing, no one has a better reputation than her."
"As for what I want..." Wu Tingque took off the ring. He turned the ring over, and Hua Lang saw that there was a very obvious groove on the fingertip of the ring, as if it was left by the person who carved the ring accidentally.
"Now that Wu is in a high position, I have no other desires. I just want to know the truth behind it."
After saying that, he pushed the ring towards Hua Lang.
"What does Master Wu mean?" Hua Lang was puzzled.
"This ring can command the Wu family's followers. Although Yan Rong and you have a master-disciple relationship, his actions are unpredictable and cannot be fully trusted," Wu Tingque's eyes were gloomy. "Zhao Ming must be careful in the days ahead. If they can kill you once, they can kill you a second time."
Hua Lang took the ring and was stunned for a moment before realizing that he had changed his address.
There were too many important points in this passage. Putting aside Yan Rong, Hua Lang asked, "Who killed Rong Cheng Yun Wen?"
Wu Tingque gave Hua Lang an unexpected answer, "Zhao Ming died in the battle between Zhongzhou and Tianhu."
Sky fox?
But the Sky Fox clan has been wiped out, who can Hua Lang still guard against?
The remaining followers of the Sky Fox clan, or... the Sky Fox young master Xie Hanjing, who only she knew was still alive?
After parting with Wu Tingque, Hua Lang asked Wu's followers to dismantle several demon-suppressing formations found in the room, which made the coal block calm down. She spent the rest of the time in the room studying "The Theory of Life".
The situation is unclear now, and she is just a mortal. No matter who the enemy is, he can kill her with just a flick of his finger. No matter what, she must learn to protect herself!
In a blink of an eye, three days passed.
Whether it was a coincidence or intentional, Hua Lang only discovered after learning the location of the Taoist conference that Zhongzhou's Taoist conference was actually held in the Broken Tower.
Someone came to help Hua Lang change her complicated clothes. When it was done, the maids were waiting outside the door. She looked at the coal lump hiding under the quilt.
Hua Lang naturally couldn't bring it to today's Taoist meeting. After repeatedly instructing Meikuai, Hua Lang finally stepped out of the house.
Hua Lang sat in the funeral carriage and did not forget to take out "On the Way of Life" to read.
"Squeak", there was a light sound of the door being pushed open. Hua Lang turned around and saw that it was Yan Rong.
"Why are you here?" Hua Lang suddenly remembered that he was going to Rong Cheng's house with him today, so he said in a daze, "Did Wu Tingque ask you to come?"
Yan Rong shook her head solemnly, "No."
The look on his face inexplicably made Hua Lang feel uneasy, "What's wrong?"
Yan Rong had already walked in front of Hua Lang. He suddenly pulled Hua Lang up and whispered, "Master, while there is still time, run away!"
Hua Lang staggered as he pulled her. She said in disbelief, "Wait, Yan Rong, what exactly do you want to say?"
Yan Rong asked anxiously, "Master, do you know why Wu Tingque went to so much trouble to do this?"
Hua Lang has heard this question three times in the past few days. The first time was in the teahouse, the second time was when she asked Wu Tingque, and the third time was now.
Yan Rong gave an answer that was completely different from Wu Tingque's.
"When the Wu family was at the bottom of power, Wu Tingque used his legs to secure a marriage contract with Rong Cheng Yunwen. However, before the Wu family could capitalize on the marriage contract, Rong Cheng Yunwen died. Now the Rong Cheng family has a Xuanyuan Envoy. If you go to the Dao Discussion Conference, you will have to repay Rong Cheng Yunwen for his legs!"
【Author’s words】
Changed to a new cover [Come on]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
