Chapter 88: A Sudden Turn of Events

“You are a disciple of the Immortal Heaven Sect?” Yu Shiyu asked softly. There was no trace of fear in his voice; rather, his fighting spirit surged sharply in his eyes.

“Leng Yan of the Immortal Heaven Sect,” Leng Yan replied succinctly. A teasing glint flickered in his gaze. As Yu Shiyu’s aura burst outward, he gave a light laugh and said, “Your younger sister, Yu Youwei, I have met her. She is in our Immortal Heaven Sect at present.”

The pressure vanished at once. Yu Shiyu complained weakly, “Brother Leng, you can’t play people like this.”

Leng Yan chuckled. “When have I ever played you?”

“You’ve seen my ninth sister. How is she?”

“As a non-sect disciple, she can enter the Scripture Pavilion and the Blazing Mirage Realm. What do you think?”

“You’re messing with me?” Yu Shiyu still did not believe him. “My ninth sister does have good talent. If your Immortal Heaven Sect took her straight into the inner sect, that would be normal enough. But to say she is not even one of your sect’s disciples, and yet can enter those two important places? I’d have to be mad to believe that. Come, brother. A meeting by chance is better than an invitation. Let’s have a drink together.”

“I still have matters to attend to. Another time. When I next come to the Imperial Capital, I will certainly pay a visit.” With a polite clasp of his hands, Leng Yan took his leave with a smile. The other disciples of the Immortal Heaven Sect departed with him.

Once they had left the city, one of the Immortal Heaven Sect disciples asked in confusion, “Why was Senior Brother Leng so courteous to that Yu Shiyu?”

“Yu Youwei was able to catch Senior Brother Ning Baixia’s attention. That alone shows she is no ordinary person,” Leng Yan said coldly. He did not tell the others that he had heard rumors of several mountain lords vying to take her as a disciple. He could not have foreseen that this small incident would greatly affect the rise and fall of the great families in the Imperial Capital, and would also sow a bond of goodwill for himself, one that soon brought him rich returns.

Compared with Leng Yan, an elite disciple of the Immortal Heaven Sect, taking the initiative to build ties with Yu Shiyu, the fact that Wu Shunhong had been killed by Yu Shiyu was hardly a major event. The great clans and the Emperor of Qian were all pondering the words Leng Yan had spoken.

Old Master Yu was so excited he seemed to have been injected with blood and vitality, pacing the hall like a lion trapped in a cage. He paced so much that Yu Shiyu’s eyes spun, and he simply closed them and went to sleep.

“You brat, who do you think Grandfather should send to the Immortal Heaven Sect to meet the ninth girl?” Very naturally, the foolish girl’s title had been replaced with ninth girl, making it sound much more affectionate. Old Master Yu had completely forgotten that he had never even met this granddaughter, raised away from the family as a concubine-born child.

“Grandfather going himself would show more sincerity,” Yu Shiyu said with his eyes still closed. He had been called over by the old man after finishing a fight in the street, and after hearing those same few lines repeated over and over, he felt as though they had all but formed calluses in his ears. In any case, whatever the old man wanted to know, he either did not know, or knew and would not say.

“After all, your grandfather is an elder. Would personally running to the Immortal Heaven Sect to see the ninth girl be a bit much?” Old Master Yu worried over it very seriously.

“You know it would be a bit much?” Yu Shiyu yawned, stood up, and said, “Grandfather, this is not something you need to concern yourself with. She values Yuyan the most. Next time you meet your grandson’s wife, just show a little face and don’t make things hard for Yuyan, and that will be enough. After all, the ninth sister is Fourth Uncle’s blood. As long as nothing happens to the Yu family, that is one thing. But if anyone truly dares to press us, she will protect the Yu family just as Fourth Uncle did.”

“You little death-brat, you must know something else and just refuse to tell this old man.”

“If your grandson knows it, doesn’t that mean you know it too? In any case, the Yu family will be handed to me eventually. Stop worrying about things you should not worry about. The Yu family will surely reach a higher level in my hands. That is your grandson’s guarantee.” Having said that, Yu Shiyu hurried off.

Old Master Ning was in the middle of talking about Yu Shiyu. “That boy from the Yu family is decisive and ruthless. He is not far behind the few of us from the Baixia line.”

The legitimate eldest grandson of Ning Family Second Master, Ning Jinchun, said indignantly, “The Yu family is too vile as well, using a concubine-born daughter as a substitute bride. I do not believe a word of what Leng Yan said, that the Yu family’s concubine-born daughter is in the Immortal Heaven Sect and can enter those two important places. It is clearly only to cover for that dull, cough, for Mo Fei.”

“If we are to be exacting, then it is the Ning family who loses face. If Leng Yan is covering for them, he is also showing consideration for the Ning family. Drive out those fools from the Imperial Capital who were used as weapons by the useless members of the Wu family,” Old Master Ning commanded without room for dispute. The Ning family head commanded the Cloud Wasteland Army and guarded the frontier; the family head’s eldest son watched over the ancestral residence. In the Imperial Capital, it had always been him who held the reins and managed affairs, and he cared more for the interests of the family than for the interests of the second branch.

Relying on the fact that he was Old Master Ning’s direct grandson, Ning Jinchun said unhappily, “They were also angered that the Ning family was being toyed with by the Yu family. They were trying to protect the family’s reputation.”

Eighth Uncle Ning said impatiently, “Jinchun, it is fine if you form cliques and make small moves within the family, but on matters like this, it is best not to play tricks. Baixia has never tolerated even a grain of sand in his eyes. Mo Fei went to the Yu family to collect his bride, and he was the one who accompanied him. You want to make him the next laughingstock too? If he finds out you are making a spectacle of Mo Fei’s marriage, crippling you would be the lightest punishment.”

Perhaps Old Master Ning would not have cared about other words, but this struck the very point of pain. The old man roared with the force of a mountain and a river: “Anyone in the Ning family who dares spread such rumors again will be expelled from the family. Anyone outside who dares spread them again will be killed!”

Not only did the Ning family stamp out the rumor, they also pursued the matter with great diligence, tracing it back to its source and discovering that the rumor had been spread by the Wu family. The entire Wu household then united in its account and pushed the blame onto the already-dead Wu Shunhong. The plan to join forces with the Ling family to demand justice from the Yu family on account of his death was never mentioned again.

Wu Shunhong had died, and died in vain.

Even Yu Shiyu himself had not expected that killing Wu Shunhong would be as easy as killing a stray dog. After several peaceful days, he prepared to return to the Imperial Sword Sect. Just as he found the old man to take his leave, someone outside announced that Hong, the mountain lord of Heavenly Flame Peak of the Immortal Heaven Sect, had come calling, accompanied only by Leng Yan.

Leng Yan’s visit seemed perfectly normal to the Yu family grandfather and grandson, but for the mountain lord of Heavenly Flame Peak of the Immortal Heaven Sect to personally come to their door was pure fantasy. If he were to visit anyone, it would have to be the Ning family!

Once host and guest were seated, Mountain Lord Hong got straight to the point. “How much do you know about Yu Youwei’s situation?”

Old Master Yu could not help glancing at his own grandson.

Could the identity of Ninth Sister’s poisonous foster mother have been exposed? Yu Shiyu grew tense, but asked without showing it, “We do not know much about her situation after she married into the Ning family.”

“I know everything about that girl’s life after she married into the Ning family. What I want to know is whether she ever took a master,” Mountain Lord Hong said.

Yu Shiyu shook his head without hesitation. “No. She cultivates a broken technique passed down from the family’s ancestors. Among all the family’s younger members, only she succeeded in cultivating it, and there is no one in the family who can instruct her.”

Old Master Yu began to admire his grandson. To lie through his teeth in front of Mountain Lord Hong, and do it without the slightest flaw, was truly impressive.

Mountain Lord Hong smiled in satisfaction. “That is best if she never took a master.”

“This is a good thing. I will tell her. However, you probably also know Ninth Sister’s temperament. She is far too opinionated, and may not necessarily listen to what her family says.”

“That is true,” Mountain Lord Hong agreed.

Facing the leader of the Assassin Alliance without the least fear, she had thrown a spirit stone engraved with a Blazing Explosion Talisman and blown the leader of the Assassin Alliance into vomiting blood and fleeing. Merely thinking of it was mad enough. If her calculations had been even slightly off, there would have been nothing left but bones and ashes. If anyone claimed this girl was the sort to be handled at will, that would truly be a joke.

After a warm reception, the Yu family grandfather and grandson saw Mountain Lord Hong and his companion out. When they returned, they sat staring at each other for a long while. At last, Old Master Yu said, “What on earth is this all about?”