Chapter 129: Chapter 102: The Madam’s Credibility
Chen Sheng slowly withdrew from his meditative state and opened his eyes. A condensed white arrow of air shot from his mouth, dissipating about a foot away.
Madam Yang was as alluring as ever. A well-tailored, embroidered long dress perfectly accentuated her voluptuous and graceful figure. Anyone with eyes could see she had dressed meticulously for this visit.
Chen Sheng’s gaze swept over her, and he instantly understood the purpose of her visit.
’Looks like the madam’s stock has gone up again.’
"Commander Chen."
Madam Yang glanced around. Seeing no one else in the tent, she dispensed with formalities and gracefully swayed to Chen Sheng’s side, sitting down quite naturally right against him.
The round curves of her body strained against the fabric, and a fragrant scent quickly wafted from her.
Chen Sheng’s eyes were instinctively drawn down.
’It seems the peach blossoms are in bloom again.’
"Are you here today because the Yang Family’s merchant ships were robbed?" Though all sorts of stray thoughts ran through his mind, Chen Sheng’s expression betrayed nothing as he cut straight to business.
"You... How did you know?"
Hearing this, a flicker of surprise flashed in Madam Yang’s beautiful eyes.
"The whole city is buzzing with the news. As the commander of the Military Preparation Camp, wouldn’t I be derelict in my duty if I didn’t even know this much?" Chen Sheng said calmly.
In fact, not only did he know the Yang Family’s merchant ships had been robbed, he was also keenly aware that this was merely a bait set by the men of Cyan Wolf Stronghold, intended to lure him out of the city.
Behind it lay a plot targeting him.
Seeing that Chen Sheng already knew, Madam Yang stopped beating around the bush. A worried expression appeared on her pretty face.
"That’s right. The Yang Family’s merchant ships have been repeatedly robbed these past few days, and our losses have not been small. My brother sent people to negotiate with Cyan Wolf Stronghold, hoping to pay them off to end the trouble, but those water bandits showed no respect at all. Their attitude was unyielding."
"Therefore, my brother suspects... there’s a trap. It’s likely aimed at you. He specifically sent me here to warn you: you must not fall into their trap and rashly leave the city."
Yang Yi had operated in Changshan County for many years and had extensive experience dealing with all manner of water bandits.
For Cyan Wolf Stronghold to act so abnormally this time, not for money, meant they must have another motive. Considering that Chen Sheng had annihilated the Black Snake Water Stronghold, and all the changes that followed...
Yang Yi quickly zeroed in on Chen Sheng as the target.
After all, everyone in Changshan County now knew that the Yang Family had already bowed their heads to Chen Sheng. To make a move against the Yang Family was to disrespect Chen Sheng, yet these water bandits stubbornly pressed on.
From there, guessing the truth was simple.
Hearing this, Chen Sheng was genuinely a little surprised.
He had originally thought the Yang Family had sent Madam Yang to ask him to dispatch troops to eliminate the bandits and recover their losses. He never expected Yang Yi’s insight to be so sharp. Not only did he have no such intention, he had instead sent someone specifically to warn him of a trap.
As expected, none of these old foxes who thrived in the local scene were simple characters.
"Why that expression?"
Madam Yang noticed the subtle change in Chen Sheng’s expression and couldn’t help but shoot him a flirtatious glare. "You didn’t actually think the Yang Family was here to beg you to leave the city and fight bandits, did you?"
With the Gao and Huang Families destroyed one after another, the other powers in Changshan County were too intimidated by Chen Sheng’s might to make any rash moves. As a result, a massive amount of profit and resources naturally flowed to the Yang Family.
As long as the Yang Family could steadily consolidate these gains, it was not impossible for them to not only restore their former glory but even surpass the era when the Three Clans of Changshan stood dominant.
Moreover, Yang Yi knew full well that all of this stemmed from Chen Sheng’s presence holding down the fort.
Without an ’Evil God’ like Chen Sheng keeping them in check, the other powers in Changshan County would have made their moves long ago. Compared to that, losing a few boatloads of goods and having to swallow their pride for the moment was nothing.
"It’s nothing."
Chen Sheng smiled. "It’s just that I happen to have also made preparations to dispatch troops and eliminate the bandits."
He had held back before, firstly because he hadn’t yet broken through to the Innate realm and lacked the strength. Secondly, after his breakthrough, he needed time to stabilize his realm and had planned to first refine the Snow Lake Flower to increase his power.
But since the enemy was now in such a rush to die, he would naturally accommodate them.
After all, he, Mr. Chen, had always been kind-hearted; he couldn’t bear to see others waiting in bitter anticipation.
Besides, news of his breakthrough to the Innate realm had likely already reached the Prefecture City.
This was the perfect time to score another major achievement.
Annihilating the Changshan Water Bandits who plagued the region was no small merit. If he could slay an Innate master, it would be even more extraordinary. When the time came, considering his achievements, the higher-ups wouldn’t be able to just assign him some random post.
After all, when it came down to it, he could now be considered a man with connections.
It was just that these connections were somewhat tenuous, for now amounting to only Wu Kuang’s network.
But even that was enough.
In his eyes, these water bandits were no longer just common thugs; they were stepping stones on his path to a higher position of power!
"But... my brother already said there’s a trap, that it’s clearly aimed at you."
Seeing that Chen Sheng was actually going to make a move, Madam Yang grew anxious and hastily tried to dissuade him.
"Rest assured, Madam."
Chen Sheng waved his hand, his tone brimming with immense confidence. "Since I dare to go, I naturally have no fear of any ambush they might set."
"But this time, it’s likely that multiple groups of water bandits have joined forces and laid an inescapable trap! I know you are powerful, but even a fierce tiger can’t fend off a pack of wolves. You absolutely must not act impulsively."
Worry was written all over Madam Yang’s face.
Ever since they became involved, she had given him her heart completely and absolutely did not want him to go take such a risk.
"Set your mind at ease."
Chen Sheng gently patted the back of Madam Yang’s hand, which rested on her lap, speaking in a reassuring tone.
Looking at his expression of complete and commanding confidence, Madam Yang found that despite her thousand worries and ten thousand words of caution, she could no longer bring herself to say a single one.
After all, what she found most captivating about Chen Sheng was precisely this masculine spirit of his, this aura of being able to control everything.
Whenever she saw Chen Sheng like this, she felt something overflow from within her, something she could barely control.
"Then... just be careful."
A thousand unspoken words were ultimately distilled into that one simple, worried instruction.
"Your visit today wasn’t just about this one matter, was it?"
Chen Sheng changed the subject, his gaze seeming to pierce right through to her heart.
"Are you... are you a mind reader? How do you know everything?"
Madam Yang was stunned once again. It was one thing for Chen Sheng to know about the merchant ships being robbed, but this second matter... she was still hesitating whether to even bring it up.
"I can tell from your expression."
Chen Sheng said coolly.
This wasn’t an empty boast; he could indeed read something in her expression.
Madam Yang hesitated for a moment, but ultimately told him the truth.
"Yesterday... Lin Shou paid a visit to the Yang Family and said some things to me."
"What about?"
"He... he said he doesn’t want to divorce..."
In a low voice, Madam Yang recounted the details of Lin Shou’s visit the previous day, relaying their conversation word for word.
To summarize, after witnessing Chen Sheng’s breakthrough to the Innate realm, Lin Shou had concluded that he was destined for a promotion to the Prefecture City.
He also believed that for the sake of his future, Chen Sheng would be unwilling to bear the stigma of ’seizing another man’s wife.’ He used this to ’persuade’ Madam Yang to give up the idea of divorce, implying that he could turn a blind eye to her affair and whatever came after.
After all, with Chen Sheng’s aptitude and potential, it was a given that plenty of Noble Families would be willing to arrange a marriage with him.
At the same time, Lin Shou also made a demand that could only be described as absurd.
If Madam Yang were to have a child with Chen Sheng in the future, he hoped the child could take his surname, Lin, and be raised by him to carry on his family line.
After all, though he had no interest in women, he was unwilling for the Lin Family line to die out.
After listening, Chen Sheng couldn’t help but sneer, his tone filled with unconcealed mockery.
"Heh... The old fool really knows how to dream."
Then, Chen Sheng’s tone turned cold.
"You don’t need to worry about this matter. Just leave it to me."
’It seems this Lin Shou has forgotten his place.’
’Isn’t it enough for him to sit there obediently and take his cut? How dare he harbor such wild delusions. He really needs to be taught a lesson.’
’Even if I leave Changshan, it won’t be Lin Shou’s turn to call the shots here.’
’A puppet should look and act like a puppet.’
As for children... Chen Sheng had never considered them a part of his current plans. In his view, they were nothing but a burden—an emotional attachment that would only hinder his pursuit of the peak of the Martial Dao.
"I understand."
Reading his expression and seeing his resolute attitude, Madam Yang said no more on the matter. Instead, she pursed her lips and said in a low voice,
"Chen Sheng, I... hmm... I’ve thought things through."
The corner of Chen Sheng’s mouth curled into a smile.
"Perfect. I’ve thought things through as well."
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