The Wang village was as quiet as usual.
A hidden guard came over and whispered to Asan, who left for a moment and soon came back, entering the room to report to Ning Shaoqing.
"Lord, we found two people sneaking around in the forest near the village."
Gloom flashed in Ning Shaoqing's heart, but his expression remained unchanged. He didn't talk, fingers tapping gently on the table, and waited to hear more.
"I planned to capture them alive, but to my surprise, they killed themselves by biting their tongues. It's my fault. Please punish me."
Ning Shaoqing raised his eyes, gestured Asan to get up, and said calmly, "Have you figured out who they were?" Although the people died, there must be clues that couldn't be concealed.
"Thanks for forgiving me." Asan stood up and replied loudly, "I've carefully examined them. They turned out to be men of sacrifice from the Xie family."
"Already here?" Ning Shaoqing stood up and paced, murmuring to himself, as if this was exactly within the scope of his prediction.
People would come sooner or later, but he hadn't expected that the first batch should be people—men of sacrifice, of the Xie family! It seemed that those two people were going to every extreme in order to put him to death.
The heartless woman's surname was exactly Xie. Since the two dead men came from the Xie family, then they must have been sent over by the disgusting mother and son.
However, they must have never thought that borrowing power from the Xie family would only lead the wolf into their own room.
The noble families valued benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom and trust most, at least on the surface. Now with this sin of plotting to murder his own brother, even if Ning Shaoyu really took over the power and became the master of the Ning family, he would still be held captive by the whole clan.
Over time, the Ning family would be controlled by the Xie family.
What a hideous plot of the Xie family! Once the Ning family fell into its hand, it would not only cease to thrive but also lose its foundation that had been laid by ancestors through centuries.
The stupid mother and son!
Concern and anger passed by. The sense of responsibility surged to Ning Shaoqing's heart. Since he was going to take back what he deserved, then he wouldn't allow any trace of harm done to his possessions.
He had given them a chance, so if they didn't appreciate it, then don't blame him for being merciless.
However, as he frowned and displayed ruthlessness on his brow, an ominous idea occurred to him.
Ning Shaoqing smelt a rat, pulling his face and shouted in a low voice, "No!" Meanwhile he rushed out.
Outside the room, he leaped to stand on the wall, taking a glance at Asan who chased out from the room, squinting his eyes and ordered in a second.
"There is a change. We're setting off in a moment. I'm going to pick up lady. You and Shiwu pack up everything and quickly catch up. Let's meet on the way to Tianxiang."
Upon finishing, Ning Shaoqing's body had already sprinted meters away, leaving behind him a illusion of prolonged figure. Certainly, the shadow guard followed with him.
**
The people behind her was catching up. Mo Qianxue took a deep breath, stopped and turned around.
She didn't know light kungfu. In such a short distance, it was nearly impossible for her to escape.
Only two men caught up. Probably, they believed two men were enough to catch a woman who didn't know martial art. Or probably the others were intercepted by Chuyi.
When in a dead end, a person's brain got clearer. While stopping, Mo Qianxue secretly clamped silver needles between her fingers.
At this time, she only had herself to rely on. It would be good to solve either one of them.
In view that Mo Qianxue stood there motionlessly, the two men became hesitant and didn't come up at once but slowly paced towards her after exchange a look to each other.
As Ning Shaoqing, hurrying over, saw in a distance two men approaching Mo Qianxue, coldness crawled to his heart.
At such a long distance, even to carried out palm wind at this moment, it couldn't reach that far. Besides, Qianxue was so close to them, so she would get hurt too.
He carried out full internal strength to accelerated his steps. The Chill Sword was already drawn out. He hoped it wasn't too late.
The two men had long confirmed that Mo Qianxue didn't know martial art, so as they approached her, Mo Qianxue stood still, eyes losing focus. They sneered at the fact that a village woman who was scared to numbness should make them so alerted.
The two laughed at each other, standing on both sides and reaching out for Mo Qianxue. In the nick of time, the silver needles in Mo Qianxue's hand flashed and shot right into their hands.
This was one of the three moves that Mr. Wang had taught her.
She only had one chance!
Mr. Wang said that taught her three moves, but in fact each move contained three minor ones, so altogether there were nine tricks, each and every of which would catch the enemy by surprise and was unpectedly ruthless and cruel.
The first move Death contained three steps, to attack at neck, at forehead and at heart respectively. Whichever of the three, once hit the target, would kill the enemy at once.
The second move Numb also included three steps, to attack at hand with three needles, at back with two needs and at neck artery with one needle. With any of these three points was hit, the enemy would instantly turn numb as if being frozen. According to the executor's power, the effective period varied. A person who didn't have internal strength like Mo Qianxue, the enemy would only stay frozen for ten seconds at most.
The third move Dizzy was the same, to attack at ear, at armpit, and at elbow.
To become proficient, she had practiced these nine movements for thousands of times, not only using the right hand, but also the left one. She was a person who became increasingly calm when in an emergent situation. Therefore, although this was the first time to really face enemies, she didn't panic at all.
The two men rashly held out their hands, a movement to present their numb acupoints to her.
Mo Qianxue, sharp-eyed and quick-handed, shot three needles respectively on their approachign hands.
As the needles penetrated through the skin, the two men turned numb at once, the sneer frozen on their face. Standing there, unable to move, they blinked beams of surprise as well as fear.
At the moment they were turned numb, Ning Shaoqing's Chill flew over, pierced through their bodies and flipped back. Ning Shaoqing caught it, put back into the sheath, swirled down and took Mo Qianxue into his arms.
Only when confirming that Mo Qianxue was fine did his heart rest at ease.
Mo Qianxue was so excited that she didn't act like a little girl to cry in his arms and seek for comfort, but urged him in a hurry, eyes red, "Hurry. Awu, nanny and Chuyi…"
Ning Shaoqing lightly touched her forehead with his lips and comforted in a trembling voice, "The shadow guard has gone to help them." Heaven knew how nervous he had been just now. If the two men hadn't paused for a second, probably Mo Qianxue now had been caught by them.
Paused? Uh?
Ning Shaoqing released her, looking calm and staring at her, "Just now you did it?" It was more of a conclusion than a question.
"Yes." She knew what he meant.
Ning Shaoqing thought for a second and figured the answer, "Mr. Wang taught you?"
Mo Qianxue nodded indifferently. She didn't mean to hide it from him. She had been too busy and she wasn't proficient in using needles yet, so she didn't tell him because she feared he might laugh at her.
Ning Shaoqing smiled in relief, "It's good that you can defend yourself."
Mo Qianxue tried to calm down, but there were still worries in her eyes, "Let's go to take a look."
"Okay." On replying, Ning Shaoqing already carried her to fly towards the carriage.
By the time when they arrived at the location, the shadow guard had settled everything.
There was blood on Nanny Mo and Awu. Obviously they were injured. Chuyi had passed out on the road and been taken here by the shadow guard after he dealt with the several men who were going to chase after Mo Qianxue.
Under the instruction of the shadow guard, two hidden guards and Awu were digging pits. They must remove all the traces here in order not to leave any clue to the people who would come on searching. After hearing nanny Mo's report and judgment, Ning Shaoqing sweated cold sweat. He had overlooked the situation. Luckily, these people wanted to catch them alive and didn't intend to kill.
And luckily, he had arrived in time. If Mo Qianxue was caught by them with a knife placing against her neck and an ambush was set, then the consequences would be painful to imagine.
*
Afterwards, more hidden guards arrived one after another and began to, as instructed by the shadow guard, burry the bodies of the attackers and clear away all the fighting traces around.
Nanny Mo woke up Chuyi and cleaned her wounds. On the hillside, Ning Shaoqing stood there against the evening glow, rays of light reflecting on him and glimmering. He, head slightly raised, looked over the whole mountain forest.
Unusually, his eyes were full of determination, and a sense of righteousness formed a kind of pressure and emanated from all over him.
The gentleness, indifference and aloofness from the worldly competition were all replaced by the current sharp vigor and dominance.
He was no longer the gentle and detached school teacher Mr. Ning, but the first lord of a super-noble family, a future master that didn't need to kneel before the Emperor.
This pressure made Chuyi and Shiwu shuddered. They couldn't believe their eyes. But it also filled the eyes of nanny Mo, who subconsciously nodded, with a smile of appreciation.
The shadow guard, Asan and Awu all looked gratified. Their lord was back.
This flexible handling of internal strength suggested the highest level of a powerful martial artist!
Mo Qianxue had a feeling that he was the real king of this land, who was reviewing over everything that belonged to him.
She had a mixture of all kinds of feelings but didn't want to disturb his mood at this moment, so she stood quietly behind and to 'review' with him the mountain forest.
She had promised—
If he stayed, she would accompany him to appreciate the beautiful landscapes in seclusion.
If he went for competition, she would give him a hand in the mountain of swords or sea of flame.
In a while, Asan and Shiwu rushed over, one pulling a carriage, and the other riding a horse while pulling another, followed by four black-suited rider guards.
When everything was prepared, Ning Shaoqing held Mo Qianxue's hand and went into the carriage. Awu drove it, and Chuyi, injured, sat on the rafter of the carriage.
Nanny, Shiwu, and Asan all rode a horse to guard around the carriage. The shadow guard no longer hid himself in the dark but also rode a horse and followed behind the four black-suited guards.
Ning Shaoqing put his arm around Mo Qianxue, "This carriage is specially made to prevent ordinary swords. If there is an emergency on the road, you mustn't come out."
"Thank you."
"Don't…"
Clear evening breeze said goodbye, and the team of people, under the cover of the night, flew towards the capital at a high speed.
**
The exquisitely sculptured beams, painted columns, red corridors, jade bridges, green willow trees, and guard towers every few steps all together constituted a majestic and solemn picture.
In the middle of the layers of palaces, behind the jade-beads curtain, in the lofted majestic chair, a middle-aged man in yellow smiled to the person sitting below.
"Any news about the eldest lord Ning?"
The person below trembled for a second, coldness flashed in his eyes, and forced a smirk, "Your majesty is wise as a god."
The emperor laughed, "Should I congratulate you, master Xie, that you'll soon control the Ning family to take possession of all the wealth of the world?" The smile and tone sounded so chilly that it almost frozen the feet of the listener.
Master Xie became silent all of a sudden, face pale, struggled to remain calm for a long while, and finally smiled, "Your majesty misunderstands. Even if the eldest lord Ning encountered misfortune and deceased in the wilderness, there would be another Ning to become the heir. It has nothing to do with the Xie family."
The emperor stretched his arm too long. It seemed that after getting back home, he had to eliminate some bold trash in the family who had let the cat out of the pocket and pushed him into a passive postion.
"Master Xie is being humble. Let's put it on the table." Slyness flickered in the eyes of the Emperor who laughed inexplicably, "Everyone knows the second lord Ning is a son of a Xie. If he takes over the family, certainly he must rely on the power of your Xie family."
With patting and stroking, the beat was right to the point.
Master Xie maintained his smiled, "The affairs of the Ning family is out of Zideng's reach! Not to mention whether the second lord Ning is a candidate for the next master, even if he did become the master, he wouldn't necessarily recognize Xie as his mother clan."
There were only three people in the country who didn't call themselves subordinates or slaves in the face of the Emperor, that was the three masters of the super families. However, being exempted from kneeling before the Emperor didn't mean that they could talk nonsense before the Emperor or act unruly to embarrass the Emperor. They should still pay due respect to him.
Seeing the Emperor didn't respond, master Xie added, "Your majesty doesn't know that although Concubine Xie is from my family, she isn't a legal daughter or even a daughter of a concubine. She's only an abandoned girl from our minor branch. What's more, ever since she got married, she has cut off all the relations with the Xie family and never contacted us."
The Emperor gave a scornful glance at master Xie and ironized, "Master Xie, you're a resourceful man who is able to control and win a battle thousands of miles away. Wasn't it your plan to turn a legal daughter into an abandoned one. Do you need any reminder?"
Turn a legal daughter into an abandoned one! These words were as sharp as a knife stabbing into his heart. Master Xie disconcerted. He had always believed that his plot wasn't known to anyone and never expected that others were peeking at it until now. How could he not sweat?
Although the relations between the super families were inextricably intertwined, they didn't directly forge marriages between each other, not even a concubine or dowry girl.
Many years ago, concubine Xie marrying to the Ning family was a meticulous elaboration.
To this end, the Xie family had made painstakingly efforts to make sure that she gave birth to a son. And they really hadn't contacted each other for ten years.
How did the Emperor know?
Time seemed to be frozen. Cold sweats sprawled onto master Xie's forehead. The Xie family relied heavily on human resources, on a batch of officers in the court as well as on the power of the royal family.
The Xie family didn't boast financial resources as the Nings or the military power as the Sus, so in order to maintain its current status, it could only curdle up with the royal family.
Seeing he didn't talk, the Emperor snorted, "The Ning family's power is too huge for you alone to devour! I'm afraid you're biting off more than you can chew."
Weighing the good against the bad and making a new calculation, master Xie struggled to fight back his anger and put on a calm face, standing up and bowing, "Please inspire me, your majesty."
The Emperor nodded with satisfaction, "You help me crack down the Ning family, and I promise to let your family thrive forever and unshakable."
He certainly smelt the wrath and dissatisfaction, but it didn't matter. From the beginning to the end, the Xie family was merely a chess piece pinched in the loyal hand.
"Thank you so much, your majesty. Zideng will try best to serve you." Master Xie didn't think too much, approving verbally but didn't look happy, "I still have domestic affairs to handle. If there is nothing else that you need me to do, I may leave now."
The Xie family only existed because of the support of the royal family, but without the Xie famliy's taking his side, the court wouldn't be peaceful either.