Chapter 150: Chapter One Hundred and Forty-Six:
Opportunity
Translator: 549690339
Li Shaoyuan looked at Mi Hou, who was grinning from ear to ear simply because Gong Zheng’s issue was resolved, and felt some contempt inside.
The man was completely oblivious to the golden opportunity that lay ahead, which was a testament to his mediocrity. Perhaps it was because Mi Hou wasted all his energy on pleasure, which enabled him to be so clueless about the world of power and plotting.
However, being the chief strategist of the Mansion, it was his duty to offer a reminder: “My lord, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity is right before us, would you like to seize it?”
Upon hearing Li Shaoyuan’s words, Mi Hou, still revelling in the fact that Gong Zheng won’t reveal his secrets, looked puzzled.
Li Shaoyuan looked at Mi Hou’s confused expression and knew that the man was entirely unconscious about the implications, and thought it necessary to give another reminder: “This conflict – though instigated by the Righteous Gang and Tang Luo – ended up involving the four families of Lu, Feng, Wu, and Feng.”
With a sneer, Mi Hou dismissed their significance: “What could these minor clans do, even after losing a warrior of the Fierce Realm and a large number of mortal realm reforming squad?”
Even though the Wind Media found only two clan leader corpses on the shattered plain, how could the intelligence network of the Mi Family not know that four warriors of the Fierce Realm perished in this battle? Tang Sen’s might was unmatched. While everyone knew that the Sect Head of the Tang Clan would not be a useless person, it was still shocking and panic-inducing for the other clans.
The death of the clan leader and the loss of a large number of Mortal Realm reformers cut the strength of these four minor clans in half. Even with some decayed old people in the clan, they couldn’t hold the situation. If a fault line appeared, these four families would completely disappear from the history of Xiling. Such occurrences were not rare.
“My lord, Tang Sen brazenly killed the warriors of these four families. It can be imagined how deeply these four families detest the Tang Clan. If Lord Hou steps forward to uphold justice, a call to arms would unite these families. After all, even a thin camel is bigger than a horse. If we can win over these four families, the prestige of our mansion could soon exceed that of Gongzi’s,” Li Shaoyuan earnestly advised.
Perhaps Mi Hou really had no intention of vying with Mi Shen, but as the strategist of the Mansion, how could he lack ambitious aspirations?
Mi Hou looked at Li Shaoyuan, knowing that the man had not given up on competing with Mi Shen, and let out a sigh: “Shaoyuan, even if we join forces with these four families at their highest peak, it is still insignificant compared to the military power of Tang Sen’s mansion.”
When the Lunjiang Martial Arts Arena was crushed by the Tang Clan, he too wanted to lead an attack on Tang Sen’s mansion to seek justice. However, the intelligence revealed by Mi Hu completely extinguished his ambition.
Merely considering the power displayed in the intelligence report was enough to make anyone feel an icy fear. Thus, he resolved to reject his strategist’s proposal without giving it a second thought.
Looking at the terrified Mi Hou, Li Shaoyuan once again advised: “Of course we can’t, but what if the Mi Clan takes action? Although Xiling is divided by the river, there is an iron rule among the clans that we can’t recklessly confront each other, and Tang Sen, as the First Head of the Tang Clan’s Martial Hall, can’t easily break this rule. We have the moral high ground here; Xiling is currently unstable, and all the clans are afraid to voice their anger despite fearing Tang Sen’s strength. All that’s missing is a figure of enough weight to rally the cause of justice. This is the perfect opportunity for you, my lord.”
After some thought, Mi Hou still refused: “It’s not appropriate. If I get into a conflict with Tang Sen, I don’t have enough lives to spare.”
Notwithstanding the seemingly glorious appeal of a call to arms, it puts oneself in a highly visible position. The mere thought of facing the First Head of the Tang Clan’s Martial Hall brought about an inexplicable fear, even though he was morally right.
Looking at Mi Hou’s cowardly demeanor, Li Shaoyuan felt a surge of anger fill his chest. He angrily said, “The Mi Clan’s strength is on par with the Tang Clan, and now a large number of Xiling clans stand with us. What is there for you to fear, my lord? With just a call, even if we fail, we would still gain a huge reputation. Why does my lord not wish to seize this opportunity?”
“No! No! No!” Mi Hou, having made up his mind, shook his head repeatedly: “It’s too risky.”
Li Shaoyuan was so vexed that he took two steps back, dropped to his knees, and kowtowed with a loud bang!
“Shaoyuan, what are you doing? Get up quickly!” Mi Hou was taken aback and urged him to rise.
Li Shaoyuan, with his mere Mortal Realm strength, had already left a bloody mark on his forehead from the force of his kowtow. However, the pain in his heart was a thousand, ten thousand times worse.
As a vassal, he shared the glory and disgrace with his lord; and all this strategising and governing was it meant to secretly control hooligans? In the end, which strategist didn’t want to govern thousands of miles under his watch.
But Mi Hou easily gave up this readily available huge reputation which frustrated him. How could he accept it?
If Mi Hou had no ambition to compete, then what was his existence as a strategist!
“My lord!” Li Shaoyuan was imploring in his voice.
“Since childhood, Shaoyuan has served you without making any requests. Now, I only ask for this one thing. I just need you to make a high-profile announcement in alliance with the four families. I will take care of everything afterwards!”
Seeing the bloody patch on Li Shaoyuan’s forehead yet he still refused to raise his head, Mi Hou panicked and hurriedly agreed: “What are you doing? I agree, I agree. Please get up now.”
Tang Luo said goodbye to Xu Lao Ying two streets away from the Mansion and returned to the Battle Hall dormitory. A young boy came up to him excitedly as soon as he entered the door.
“Big brother!”
“Hmm?”
“I defeated Tang Zhen!”
“So soon?” Tang Luo was pleasantly surprised.
With his head held high, the young boy proudly held up three fingers on his right hand and declared with pride: “Because I’ve mastered the Three-Finger Strike, and with just one attack, I sent her flying.”
“And then?”
“What next?” The young boy asked, not understanding.
Rubbing his chin, Tang Luo smirked and asked, “So, merely sending her flying, and not sending her to the Medicine Hall?”
“Why would I send her!” The boy’s face turned red, defiantly denying him.
With a grin on his face, Tang Luo sat down on a chair, “True, you don’t have money. Even if you sent her to the Medicine Hall, she wouldn’t receive treatment.”
“Who said I don’t have money!” The boy called out, arms flailing.
“Oh?” Tang Luo looked surprised, and casually asked, “How much did you spend?”
“Fifty gold!” The boy held up five fingers, expressing his proud achievement.
“Tsk tsk.” Tang Luo looked at the boy with a slightly mocking smile, bantering, “But didn’t you say you didn’t send her to the Medicine Hall?”
“Ah!” The boy let out a cry and ran back to his room, slamming the door shut.
Gazing at the young boy’s naivety, Tang Luo couldn’t help but sigh. Young love is so simple!
My wish is to defeat you, but I couldn’t help caring even when I’ve merely repelled you.
The Mansion’s secret dungeon cell
A woman clutching a girl was huddled in the corner of the cell. They held each other tight.
“Mom, I’m scared.”
“Don’t be scared, Jing’er. Papa will surely come to save us.”
“When is papa coming?”
“He will come.” The woman patted the child’s head gently, rocking her gently to sleep..
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