Guilin, the sun shone brightly.
A group of people followed the winding horse path, weaving through the lush green peaks of the mountains.
"Thinking of using me as bait to lure Yang Ge into the trap? Granny!"
Yang Tiansheng straddled the Red Charcoal Fire Dragon Colt, rippling with muscles like a well-trained robust man, and toyed with a golden gourd flask, shiny and smooth, in one hand. With a rascally air, he chuckled at Wei Xin, "You really think I’m witless?"
Upon hearing this, Wei Xin subconsciously turned his head and glanced at the flag behind him that flamboyantly stated "Yang Erlang was here" with red background and black characters, covering his face in shame... If one looked closely, they would notice in between the big characters "Yang Erlang" and "was here", there was a line of smaller text: ’His brother Yang Tiansheng’.
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freёwebnovel.com.
Put together it read: ’Yang Erlang’s brother Yang Tiansheng was here’.
Yang Tiansheng noticed Wei Xin’s subtle gesture, and discontentedly said, "What’s that supposed to mean?"
Wei Xin always spoke truthfully in front of Yang Tiansheng, so this time too he chose to tell the blunt truth, "I’ve seen many shameless people, but someone as shameless as you... this is truly the first time for me."
Yang Tiansheng gave a snort of disdain, "So getting beaten into the ground gives you face? Or does letting the Five Poisons Cult take someone and having Yang Ge come all the way to the south to ransom them give you face?"
Wei Xin, after weighing it in his heart, admired him and raised his thumb, "The Hall Master truly possesses wisdom disguised as foolishness, impervious to honor or disgrace, I was indeed presumptuous."
Yang Tiansheng ’hmph’ed lightly, struggling to suppress a smile wider than an AK.
Catching a glimpse of him out of the corner of his eye, Wei Xin quietly inquired, "Hall Master, there’s something I still don’t understand. If you were unwilling to wade into these muddy waters, why didn’t you just flat-out refuse the sect’s orders? With your… with your contributions, even rejecting the sect’s orders, I doubt anyone in the sect would gossip. Houtu Hall and Fiery Fire Hall haven’t followed sect orders in two or three years, it’s only logical for them to take this task!"
Yang Tiansheng shook his head, "If the sect order comes down to me, and if I don’t take it, wouldn’t outsiders think Yang Ge is afraid of the Five Poisons Cult?"
"Just for that reason?"
Wei Xin looked at him speechlessly, thinking to himself, you were just praised for being impervious to disgrace and yet here you are, putting yourself in danger over a little face?
Yang Tiansheng glanced at him and calmly replied, "What do you know? If this trip was truly a life-or-death situation, would I foolishly come here to die? And have you thought about it, what reason does the Five Poisons Cult have to offend Yang Ge to death? Also, with the way they’re acting like headless chickens, do you think they’re afraid of the Ming Sect and White Lotus Sect joining hands?"
"To do something well, you can be bold and reckless strategically, but tactically, you must be cautious and move step by step, paying attention to the big picture, contending every step of the way; you have to watch your head and your back!"
Staring at him with wide eyes, Wei Xin wondered, ’Are you really our Hall Master? Are you a stand-in impersonating him?’
Yang Tiansheng pretended to look disdainful, lifting his head, but inside he felt as good as if he had drunk a big bowl of chilled sour plum soup in the middle of summer.
Just then, in the distance among the green mountains, a man with dark lips dressed in black robes, his beard bristling, stood on the mountaintop, keenly watching Yang Tiansheng and his entourage from afar.
A disheveled man in black, carrying a crescent blade, bowed deeply and said, "Hall Master, shall we make a move?"
The bearded man waved his hand and laughed lightly, "Forget about it, it’s rare to meet someone so frank."
The man in black was taken aback, then smiled obsequiously, "Indeed a remarkable man!"
The real old hands of Jianghu never look down on those martial second-generations who rely on connections and backgrounds.
Instead, they truly despise those who, despite having connections and backgrounds, insist on hiding their advantages and pretending to be unassuming, as well as those who rely on their connections to live carelessly, yet absurdly try to prove they can make their own way without their backgrounds.
Aren’t these fools harming themselves and others?
Wouldn’t it be better if everyone were as straightforward as Yang Tiansheng of the Ming Sect?
If you have the background and connections, then lay them out openly; whoever dares, let them come. No one should cry foul if they lose their life.
And at this critical juncture, the Five Poisons Cult... truly did not want to provoke Lu Ting, the mountain lord.
After all, no grandmaster is a mere trifle; losing one would be a major loss, and losing another could bring the whole structure down!
Moments later, the man in black spoke again, "Hall Master, the Poisonous Snake Hall has sent a message that the ’Quanzhen Sword Immortal’ Li Qing has already headed south on a donkey. It is speculated that Taoist Master Feiyun has left the Qinling Mountains, requesting that our Scorpion Hall rush to assist urgently."
The bearded strong man stroked his scraggly beard and said with a smile, "No hurry, let that sly old fox play his tricks a little longer!"
The man in black upon hearing this, also showed a malevolent smile on his face.
...
Lu Ting, snowflakes fluttered down.
Yang Ge stood in front of his bedroom door, a chicken nest hairstyle atop his head, maintaining the posture of opening the door for a long while.
It was the first snowfall in Lu Ting.
Overnight, a blanket of white enshrouded everything.
The vital energy of heaven and earth, drifting and swirling in between heaven and earth, also with this snowfall, transitioned from the desolation of late autumn to the forbidding chill of early winter.
For a grandmaster like Yang Ge, whose perception of the vital energies was exceptionally acute, this change which was gradual yet intense, was like a person stepping out from a quiet, soothing environment by pushing open heavy soundproof glass doors into a noisy, vibrant nightclub...
The uproar was deafening!
"I’ve got it!"
Yang Ge, who had stood for an indeterminate length of time, suddenly spoke up, murmuring to himself, "The crux of uniting the five elements isn’t balanced at all, but lies in the cycle of generation and restriction - the endless rotation."