Seeing this, the old deacon felt a tinge of regret.
He had already guessed at the identity of the mute servant, but he had never imagined that these assassins were once subordinates of the Envoy of Heavenly Secrets.
The old Guardian took in a deep breath and shouted to the mute servant, "Liu Qing, come and fight!"
He was truly worthy of being an expert half a step from the Divine. Even though he had been heavily injured by the sneak attack, his voice was still thunderous and dignified.
The cold winter wind blew through his hair in a frenzy.
Yes, the mute servant was Liu Qing, once the leader of the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets' assassin organization.
After Su Li and that mysterious assassin vanished, he became the continent's most frightening assassin.
Only he could successfully launch a sneak attack on such a powerful individual, but he had also paid a heavy price.
Tang Thirty-Six stood up and asked Liu Qing, "Are you alright?"
Liu Qing said nothing, only expressionlessly nodded his head.
"Fight your ass! Fight!"
Tang Thirty-Six brushed off the snow on his body and looked at the blood-soaked old Guardian. "Now it's our turn to gang up on you."
After saying this, he high-spiritedly waved his hand.
Liu Qing and the seven assassins charged up the stone steps.
At the same time, the gate to the ancestral hall was pushed open, allowing even more people to surge in.
Fierce and sinister sword intents would occasionally leave marks on the walls of the ancestral hall.
Crossbow bolts and hidden weapons whimpered in the snowstorm.
Blood was everywhere, and it seemed like the white walls needed to be painted again.
After some time, the cacophony finally died down and the ancestral hall regained its peace.
It was so quiet that one could hear the snowflakes falling to the ground and the panting of the crowd.
There was blood everywhere. Everyone was injured. Tang Thirty Six was no exception. He had two broken ribs.
In order to attract the old Guardian's attention, he did not permit himself to retreat to the back.
The facts proved that his method was effective. Not a single person in the encirclement had died.
The old Guardian was dead, leaning against the incense burner table in the ancestral hall. His body was covered in wounds, his blood already drained. He looked abnormally wretched.
His eyes were still open, and one could faintly see regret and frustration in them.
… …
… …
The people who came to help were all from the Tang family.
In this half a year, no more stones were thrown into the wall, and no kites flew through the sky. But since the mute servant was Liu Qing, Tang Thirty-Six naturally kept in close contact with the eldest branch. The houses near the ancestral hall were already under the control of the chief branch. They were just waiting for the moment to strike.
But Tang Thirty Six really didn't expect that the old master would become Second Uncle's man.
If not for Liu Qing being here today, he would have died without a doubt.
Tang Thirty-Six ordered the people of the eldest branch to leave the ancestral hall. He looked at Liu Qing and said, "Brother idol, you've worked hard these past six months."
When he had gone to Mount Han to participate in the Boiling Stone Summit, he had seen this legendary assassin for the first time.
At that time, Liu Qing wanted Chen Changsheng to be the new leader of the assassin organization. Of course, Chen Changsheng didn't agree.
Tang Thirty-Six really wanted to get Liu Qing's contact information.
Chen Chang Sheng clearly knew what he was planning, so he didn't agree.
But after Tang Thirty Six was imprisoned in the ancestral hall, the situation changed. Chen Chang Sheng's thoughts were naturally different.
As a result, Tang Thirty-Six and Liu Qing got in touch.
Liu Qing expressionlessly said, "I'm just taking money to do my job."
Tang Thirty-Six suddenly asked, "Do you have any thoughts of becoming a Guardian of my Tang clan?"
Liu Qing glanced at him and said, "Wait until you become clan head." “
In this half year, in order to protect Tang Thirty-Six, Liu Qing had pretended to be a mute servant in the ancestral hall, so he naturally couldn't speak.
Whether in front of or behind others, in front of or behind the courtyard, in his solitary room, or even after he slept, he didn't say a single word.
This was not an easy thing to do.
It was also from that day onwards that Tang Thirty-Six stopped speaking.
Some members of the Tang clan believed that he was like this out of despair, while others believed that this was a silent resistance.
No one knew that he just wanted a period of quiet reflection and to accompany Liu Qing.
Tang Thirty-Six turned to those injured assassins and said, "After I become clan head, I will take care of you for the rest of your lives."
These assassins had originally belonged to the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets, but now they were subjects of the Imperial Court. Today, they had acted on Liu Qing's orders, which was tantamount to treason and would assuredly invite the full pursuit of the Imperial Court. Although they were used to living in the dark, if they were to live like this for many years, who would be willing to become a wandering ghost?
Tang Thirty-Six's words were very direct. Although it seemed rather distant, it was still a promise.
The assassins nodded to him, looked at Liu Qing, and then vanished into the snowstorm.
Liu Qing asked Tang Thirty-Six, "What do we do next?"
Tang Thirty-Six gazed at the closed gate of the ancestral hall. After a few moments of silence, he said, "Wait."
Liu Qing glanced at him, said nothing, and also left the ancestral hall.
Everyone dispersed.
There was only him in the ancestral hall, as well as the corpses strewn all over the ground.
He walked to the stone steps, moved the old Guardian's corpse away from the incense table, and took a new prayer mat from under the table.
The snowstorm silently descended upon the courtyard.
He sat on the prayer mat, gazing at the snowy landscape outside the door, his expression calm as he waited for the final conclusion.
… …
… …
News of what had happened in the ancestral hall quickly reached the old estate.
Chen Changsheng gazed at the snowy landscape outside the door, the expression on his face gradually relaxing. He was like a wintersweet struggling free of the thick snow, radiating a delightful luster.
The steward of the old estate looked at the Tang Second Master, lowered his head, and said, "Eldest Young Master has a message for Second Master."
The Tang Second Master said nothing. He gazed at the scattered tablets on the table, seemingly thinking of something.
The Tang Old Master asked, "What witty words does this child want to say?"
Hearing this, Chen Changsheng turned to glance at the Tang Old Master.
From this form of address, it was obvious that the Old Master's attitude toward Tang Thirty-Six had already changed.
No one knew the exact details of the assassination in the ancestral hall, but it was assuredly bloody and cruel.
Everyone, including the Tang Old Master, believed that Tang Thirty-Six would be killed by the Tang Second Master. Although Chen Changsheng knew that Liu Qing had been at Tang Thirty-Six's side this entire time, he still felt that the situation was extremely dangerous.
But the outcome of the assassination in the ancestral hall was completely different from what everyone had expected.
The steward whispered, "Eldest Young Master said that assassins are only useful if you raise them yourself. In the end, what others give you is not your own, just like ability."
These words were rather confusing. Just what sort of ability was it referring to?
Others might not understand, but the Tang Second Master could.
Knowing the outcome of the ancestral hall, no matter how shocked he was, he still maintained a calm expression.
But now, upon hearing Tang Thirty-Six's words, he could no longer maintain his composure, his face instantly paling.
No matter how intelligent or skilled one was in scheming, if one's own strength was insufficient and one could only use others to do things for one, problems would arise sooner or later.
He thought of the words Wang Po had said on the snowy street three years ago and the words Zhexiu had said in the Daoist church two days ago. He couldn't help but become somewhat absent-minded, thinking, have I really been wrong all these years?
Minister Wei did not come. The ones who came were those bashful youths from the torture chamber.
The Tang Second Master had been taken away.
No one knew where he would be imprisoned, when he would once more appear before the eyes of the world, or perhaps he would die tonight.
It was just like the words the old Guardian had thought of when he saw Tang Thirty-Six in the ancestral hall.
The Tang clan walked the path of merchants. The winner would take all while the loser would leave nothing behind. This was how it was.
It was also like the words that Tang Thirty-Six had brought to the Tang Old Master: free evaluation of one's heart. There was no need for any evidence, and there had never been any true reasoning.
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