Somewhere in the snowy mountains, a small hole was torn open in the deep night by a torch.
Tianhai Zhanyi stared at Zhu Ye, his complexion abnormally nasty. He said in extreme anger and humiliation, "You're leaving just like that?"
Zhu Ye expressionlessly looked at him and said, "That day in the Myriad Willows Garden, who was it that said this person was in the south?"
Tianhai Zhanyi said nothing.
On that day, he had relayed the words of the Prince of Xiang. This highly esteemed Prince represented the thoughts of the Great Zhou Dynasty — the Imperial Court had always believed that Chen Chang Sheng was hiding in the Tian Nan, either at Holy Maiden Peak or Scholartree Manor. No one had expected him to appear in these mountains, and to be the master of the Cinnabar Pill at that …
Ning Shiwei looked at Zhu Ye and silently asked.
"There are too many people."
Zhu Ye's answer was very simple and contained many unspoken meanings.
This place was already very far from the garden, but it was still not far enough. At the very least, it was not a thousand miles away, so he was very careful with his words.
Ning Shiwei and Tianhai Zhanyi both understood.
There were too many people, so I left. If there were fewer people, would there have been a different ending tonight?
Tianhai Zhanyi clenched his teeth and hatefully said, "Those merchants of the Tang clan are truly sinister."
In his view, since the Cinnabar Pill had come from Chen Changsheng's hands and the Wenshui Tangs were in charge of distributing the Cinnabar Pills, the Tang clan naturally knew of this secret, or at the very least had some evidence. Thus, the Tang Seventeenth Master's forbearance and avoidance was naturally to bait them into a direct conflict with Chen Changsheng.
Zhu Ye and Ning Shiwei also thought the same.
If it weren't for their quick reflexes, thick-skinned, and resolute decision to retreat, the situation at the lakeside might have gotten out of hand.
This had nothing to do with a comparison of strength. Chen Changsheng's talent in cultivation was naturally extremely high, and that black-clothed girl was probably that legendary figure. Even so, she was not necessarily a match for all of them working together, yet under the gazes of so many people, just who could bear the crime of disrespecting the Pope?
But was he really going to leave just like that?
Zhu Ye suddenly said, "Tonight made me think of that storm in Xunyang City many years ago."
This was naturally referring to the old matter of the entire world trying to kill Su Li.
The current situation was naturally different from back then, and the positions of Chen Changsheng and Su Li in this world were also different, but the two matters had their similarities.
Whether it was Su Li or Chen Changsheng, as long as they revealed themselves in the world, there would naturally be many people who wanted to kill them.
Even if he couldn't do it openly, he could do it secretly. He couldn't do it in front of many people, but he could do it secretly.
Everyone understood Zhu Ye's meaning.
He had no choice but to leave. He had to show his attitude, but in reality, it was also very difficult for Chen Chang Sheng to leave this snowy mountain tonight.
What they needed to do now was to spread Chen Chang Sheng's location as soon as possible, and at the same time, prepare for an ambush in this dark and cold snowy mountain range.
At this moment, the sound of a zither suddenly came from the mountain path hidden in the darkness.
The sound of the zither was very flat, very light, like water condensed into snow, snow frozen into ice, covering the road, cold and dangerous.
…
…
The Tang family did not know that the master of the Cinnabar Pill was Chen Changsheng. At least before tonight, they, like the Imperial Court, believed that Chen Changsheng was definitely hiding somewhere in the south. Only when they obtained a complete Cinnabar Pill and analyzed it, suspecting that the red crystal threads within were blood coral did the Tang Seventeenth Master think of this possibility for the first time.
It was just a guess, a possibility that could not be completely eliminated, and it was even more impossible to prove, so he did not take it too seriously, at least not on the surface.
But in reality, this conjecture had given birth to an idea.
Once this idea appeared, it was impossible to eliminate, impossible to suppress. Like a wildfire, it burned more and more fiercely, burning his heart with an unbearable itch.
Would the Tang clan end up in the hands of the chief branch or the second branch?
This depended on the difference in strength between the two sides and the attitude of the Old Master, but it was also closely related to the assistance the two branches received from the outside world.
In the last two years, the second branch had won the deep trust of the Old Master and constantly grown in power. Why? It was because the Tang Second Master had the support of the venerable Daoist master.
Who was the backer of the chief branch? Many years ago, the First Master had sent his only son, Tang Tang, to the Heavenly Dao Academy to be raised by Zhuang Zhihuan. From this, it was clear that the First Master had a good relationship with the Orthodoxy. This was even more true now. Everyone knew of the relationship between Tang Tang and Chen Changsheng. No matter how great the pressure from the Imperial Court was, no one would be stupid enough to abandon their friendship with the Pope.
If the second branch wanted to surpass the chief branch and take over the entire Tang clan, it first had to resolve this matter. As the Tang Second Master's most trusted arm, the Tang Seventeenth Master had thought of this problem countless times, so when he realized this possibility, he very naturally had an idea.
If that person really was Chen Changsheng, then … could he think of a way to kill him?
No one dared to attack the Pope in broad daylight. Tianhai Zhanyi did not dare, Ning Shiwei did not dare, Zhu Ye did not dare, and not even the Tang Second Master dared.
The Tang Seventeenth Master naturally did not dare, but on that night, when he saw his own eyes gradually sinking from ambition and fear in the copper mirror, he finally made up his mind.
If it wasn't Chen Changsheng, then he would fight for it. If it really was Chen Changsheng, then he would watch … watch Chen Changsheng die.
He did not tell this idea to anyone, not even writing a letter to his second brother. This way, he could pretend that he knew nothing.
He truly had not done anything. He had only failed to conceal the news that he had found the Cinnabar Pill's master too perfectly, allowing the news to spread.
Thus, many people came tonight.
Although Zhu Ye and the others had left, he knew that Chen Changsheng would find it very difficult to leave these mountains.
Those people would hide in the darkness, waiting for a chance to strike.
Most importantly, there would be more people coming tonight.
This statement was not particularly accurate, because the people coming were not humans.
No one dared to attack Chen Changsheng in broad daylight, but those were not humans, but demons.
Before the mist of the lake dispersed, no one knew that the current Pope, Chen Changsheng, lived in such a remote place deep in the mountains.
But the master of the Cinnabar Pill lived here.
The Tang Seventeenth Master firmly believed that as long as the demons knew of this news, they would assuredly dispatch true experts.
The demons had not come here to steal the Cinnabar Pill or the pill formula, but to kill.
The Tang Seventeenth Master gazed into the darkness to the north. He seemed to see something, but in reality, he saw nothing at all.
The sky there was perpetually covered in snow and clouds that obscured the starlight. Even those perilous snowy peaks were difficult to see.
The northernmost peaks of Mount Han were the natural barrier between the human world and the land of demons.
This place was frigid and bone-chilling winds. Even among the innately hardy demons, only a few experts could cross it.
At this moment, on the other side of the mountain range, several black, mountainous figures seemed to be moving slowly, but were actually cutting through the darkness with incredible speed as they headed south.
… …
… …
(I love that song to death. In every novel, there are always two or three scenes like this.)
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