Today, the Tradition Academy was very lively. First, Chen Chang Sheng disappeared. The army of the Imperial Court and the Orthodoxy cavalry confronted each other. Then, Chen Chang Sheng returned. Not too long after, he disappeared again. In the autumn forest outside the academy walls, countless screams and terrifying ripples of Qi could be heard. However, when the Orthodoxy cavalry, Tang Thirty-Six, and the others rushed over, they saw nothing but corpses and blood.
The army of the Imperial Court was still surrounding the Tradition Academy. From the main street outside of Hundred Blossom Street to the walls of the Imperial Palace, people were everywhere. Occasionally, traces of conflict could be seen on the street and the walls. Tang Thirty-Six stood in front of the gate of the Tradition Academy and looked into the night. His handsome face no longer had the usual nonchalance. It was extremely serious.
While Su Moyu was comforting the teachers and students, Zhexiu and the disciples of South Stream Temple were patrolling the area. The gate to the Orthodox Academy was heavily guarded by the Orthodoxy cavalry. Logically speaking, no one would dare to attack from here, but Tang Thirty-Six was keenly aware that the Orthodox Academy would not be able to obtain peace today. Something else was bound to happen.
There was a tea house by the alley in front of the Orthodox Academy. During the All-School Martial Exhibition last autumn, Mao Qiuyu and Daoist Siyuan, two Prefects of the Orthodoxy, would often drink tea there to ensure that the situation did not get out of control. However, it was very obvious that the Li Palace was assuredly in a storm tonight, so these two Prefects of the Orthodoxy would definitely not be in the tea house.
Suddenly, there was a sound in the teahouse. It was the sound of someone coming down the stairs.
Someone was coming downstairs.
Tang Thirty Six squinted his eyes. The feeling of uneasiness grew stronger and stronger. He felt like he had heard these footsteps somewhere before.
The wooden door of the teahouse was opened from the inside, and the teahouse owner respectfully sent someone out.
He was a very handsome man. His eyes and brows were similar to Tang Thirty Six's, but he was obviously much older. Maybe he was already middle-aged, but he was still able to charm countless women in the world.
The Orthodoxy cavalry in front of the academy instantly tensed up. Tonight, the armies of the Imperial Court guarded the perimeter while the Orthodoxy cavalry guarded the interior. It would be very difficult for anyone to approach the Orthodox Academy, yet who could have imagined that right between these two great powers, someone would be drinking tea in the tea house in front of the Orthodox Academy for an entire night?
When he walked out of this tea house, he had broken through the surveillance of the Imperial Court and arrived directly at the Orthodox Academy.
Tang Thirty-Six looked at the man, and the emotions on his face became extremely complicated.
He knew that someone would come, but he didn't expect that it would be him.
This man came from Wenshui, the Tang Second Master.
…
…
"Second Uncle, why are you here?"
Tang Thirty looked at the man and asked with a smile, but in his heart, he was extremely vigilant.
The situation in the capital was so tense that he knew that someone from the Wenshui clan would assuredly come, but he had never expected it to be this person.
He didn't want his family to send this person over.
The Wenshui Tangs were the head of the Four Great Clans and possessed incomparably powerful strength. The name of the Tang Old Master could frighten half the people of the world to death, while at the same time, the other half would try to curry favor with him. However, the Tang Old Master's three sons did not have very great reputations, and they were all far inferior to Tang Thirty-Six. This was especially true of the Tang Second Master, many people did not even know of his existence.
The people of Wenshui City knew that every time a foreign traveler mentioned Tang Thirty-Six's deeds in the capital and sighed over his hedonistic ways, the people of Wenshui City would say with extreme disdain that compared to his second uncle, he wasn't a hedonistic at all. If they wanted to know how the word 'prodigal' was written, they just had to look at the Tang Second Master when he was young.
But this was still an illusion.
Only the direct descendants of the Tang clan knew just how frightening a person the Second Master was.
In the Tang clan, the Second Master had the highest talent in cultivation, but he had also wasted it the most thoroughly. The current Principal of the Heavenly Dao Academy, Zhuang Zhihuan, had gone to Wenshui as a guest ten-some years ago. After meeting this person, he had once commented: To waste such astonishing talent, this sort of person is truly too frightening.
These words seemed unreasonable, but they were actually very reasonable.
If one did not care about anything, one would not revere anything. This sort of person was the most frightening of people.
Tang Thirty-Six was the sole grandson of the Tang clan and had been raised in the palm of the Tang clan, but he was not even willing to face his second uncle.
After coming to the capital, he was not even willing to think that he still had this uncle.
Tonight, the Tang Second Master came to the capital and went downstairs.
This meant that the Tang clan had gone downstairs. They were going to use the cruelest attitude, the most merciless methods, to enter this war.
This was the thing that Tang Thirty-Six wanted to see the least.
"What does the clan want to do?" he asked again.
The Tang Second Master waved his paper fan as he took in the sights of the Orthodox Academy. He seemed very much like a hedonistic young master, but the words he spoke could never come from the mouth of a hedonistic young master.
"It's impossible to stay out of it, so I have to do something. I felt that this matter was rather interesting, so I came."
Tang Thirty-Six asked, "Is Grandfather not worried that Second Uncle will go crazy?"
The Tang Second Master closed his paper fan with a clap and held it in his hand. He smiled at him and said, "In such a chaotic situation, besides a madman like me, who can resolve it?"
Tang Thirty-Six's expression did not change, but his heart sank.
Whether it was his father or his third uncle who came to the capital, he was confident that he could convince them to prioritize Chen Changsheng's safety, because the Wenshui clan probably did not know that Chen Changsheng did not have many days left to live. Thus, if Chen Changsheng could survive this storm, he would become the strongest successor to the throne of the Great Zhou. To the Tang clan, this was an extremely good thing.
But the one who came was the Tang Second Master.
He was keenly aware that his second uncle had never cared about anyone's life or death.
"The capital is very large. Sir does not necessarily have to come to the Orthodox Academy," Tang Thirty-Six said.
The Tang Second Master calmly gazed at him and said, "You are my Tang clan's only weakness in the capital. Before I do anything, I naturally have to take you away."
Tang Thirty-Six stared straight into his eyes and said, "Sir also said that the capital is in a state of chaos. I am the superintendent of the Orthodox Academy, so how could I leave at a time like this?"
The Tang Second Master began to laugh.
His laugh was very unique. It seemed especially sunny and cheerful, his mouth opened especially wide and made no attempt to conceal it, but … there was no sound.
A noiseless grin could be naive, it could also be innocent, and at times, it could also be very frightening.
"Ah, superintendent …" The Tang Second Master's smile faded, and he expressionlessly said, "Have you still not had enough fun?"
Hearing the word 'fun', Tang Thirty-Six very naturally recalled the conversation he had with Chen Changsheng on the great banyan tree of the Orthodox Academy last autumn, and then he recalled the night before the conflict between the Orthodox Academy and the Tianhai clan broke out, Luoluo was forced to move out of this place and live in the Li Palace's Green Leaf World.
In the eyes of the elders, everything the youths of the Orthodox Academy had done for the Orthodox Academy had always been for fun.
Tang Thirty-Six thought of many things, but the expression on his face did not change. At some point, the hand behind his back had stealthily made a gesture.
The wind blowing through the darkness of the Orthodox Academy was suddenly tinged with the stench of blood. It was like some vicious beast had at some point sneaked into the field and was ready to unleash its most powerful attack at any moment.
Several dozen clear and chilling sword intents burst forth from the grass by the lake. In just a few moments, they could form into an awe-inspiring sword array.
A hint of derision suddenly appeared on the Tang Second Master's face. At some point, he had already arrived at Tang Thirty-Six's side, his right hand resting on the back of his neck.
Tang Thirty-Six felt that this hand was exceptionally cold and also somewhat sticky. It did not feel like a snake, but rather like moss on a rock in a pond.
His heart sank.
He knew that his second uncle was very frightening, but he had not expected his second uncle to be this powerful. In front of him, he had no ability to resist.
The Tang Second Master gazed at the great banyan tree in the darkness and asked, "You're that wolf cub?"
Zhexiu walked out from behind the great banyan tree. His eyes were blood red and his body exuded a ruthless Qi. The arms that were exposed from his short sleeves were covered in long hair. He was already prepared to transform. The disciples of South Stream Temple also emerged from the darkness. Gripping their longswords, they looked at the middle-aged man restraining Tang Thirty-Six, somewhat nervous and somewhat perplexed.
This middle-aged man was probably from the Tang clan. For some reason, Tang Thirty-Six had secretly sent out a signal for everyone to prepare to attack.
Yet before Zhexiu or the disciples of South Stream Temple had time to do anything, the middle-aged man had casually taken control of the situation.
Zhexiu glanced at Tang Thirty-Six.
Tang Thirty-Six's expression did not change. He continued to stare at Zhexiu, sending a very clear message: he did not want to leave the Orthodox Academy, especially at a time like this.
Zhexiu's gaze shifted to the Tang Second Master's face and he took a step forward.
"I very much dislike that sort of gaze of yours, because it's too primitive, too barbaric, too uncultured …"
The Tang Second Master looked at Zhexiu and said, "Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't mind crushing all the bones in your body, but out of respect for my nephew, I won't do anything to you. But if you take another step forward, or if these girls from South Stream Temple raise their swords again, then I can only kill him."
Even now, Zhexiu and the disciples of South Stream Temple were not particularly clear on the situation. They thought, what use is there in restraining Tang Thirty-Six? Do you think you can use him to threaten us? And then, they heard their opponent very calmly say these words, so calm that although they found it impossible to believe the contents of these words, they had no choice but to believe them.
"He's your nephew," Ye Xiaolian said to the Tang Second Master like he was a monster.
The Tang Second Master faintly smiled at her and said, "He's my most beloved nephew."
Tang Thirty-Six suddenly asked, "Second Uncle, have you always wanted me to die?"
"Where did these shameful words come from?" The Tang Second Master gently said to him, "This is the Old Master's order. I have full authority to handle the affairs of the capital. No matter who you are, as long as you do not obey my orders, I can kill you on the spot. This matter concerns the great undertaking of the clan for tens of thousands of generations, so a few sacrifices are unavoidable."
Tang Thirty-Six began to laugh. "I am the sole grandson of the Tang clan. If you kill me, how will you explain it to the clan?"
The Tang Second Master truly did seem troubled. After thinking for a very long time, he very seriously said, "Then, I'll just have another child."
Tang Thirty-Six no longer laughed. He calmly looked at him and said, "Have another child? It seems that Second Uncle really does want me to die. "
The Tang Second Master faintly smiled. "For the sake of the Tang clan, your third uncle and I have never had a child. We love and pamper you, but we don't want to pamper you into a brat. Don't be willful."
… …
… …
There's still one more chapter at eight in the evening. Truly … two updates after so long.
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