Chapter 635: Second Master Tang
The National Academy was unusually lively tonight. First, Chen Changsheng disappeared, leading to a standoff between the imperial army and the National Academy cavalry. Then Chen Changsheng returned, but not long after, he vanished again. Countless screams and terrifying fluctuations of energy erupted from the autumn woods beyond the academy walls, yet by the time the National Academy cavalry and Tang Thirty-Six and the others rushed over, there was nothing to be seen but corpses and blood.
The imperial army still surrounded the National Academy on the periphery. From the main street outside Hundred Flowers Lane to the walls of the Imperial Palace, people were everywhere. Traces of sporadic clashes could occasionally be seen on the streets and walls. Tang Thirty-Six stood at the entrance of the National Academy, gazing into the night. His handsome face, which usually bore an air of indifference, was now grave to the extreme.
Su Moyu was calming the teachers and students, while Zhe Xiu and the disciples of the Southern Creek Sect patrolled the area. The entrance of the National Academy was heavily guarded by the National Academy cavalry. In theory, no one would dare launch a direct assault from here, but Tang Thirty-Six knew very well that tonight, the National Academy would not find peace so easily. Something else was bound to happen.
Beside the lane in front of the National Academy stood a teahouse. During the autumn tournament of the previous year, the two National Church heavyweights, Mao Qiuyu and Priest Siyuan, often drank tea there to ensure the situation stayed under control. But clearly, the Li Palace tonight was in turmoil, and those two heavyweights would certainly not be in the teahouse.
Yet suddenly, a sound came from the teahouse—the sound of footsteps.
Someone was coming down the stairs.
Tang Thirty-Six narrowed his eyes slightly. The uneasy feeling grew stronger. He felt he had heard those footsteps somewhere before.
The wooden door of the teahouse was opened from within, and the teahouse owner respectfully saw someone out.
It was a very handsome man, with features somewhat similar to Tang Thirty-Six's, but clearly much older. He might have been middle-aged, yet he was still enough to captivate countless women in the world.
The National Academy cavalry at the gate immediately tensed up. Tonight, the imperial army held the outer perimeter, and the National Academy cavalry guarded the inside. It was hard for anyone to approach the National Academy. Yet who would have thought that, right between these two forces, someone had been drinking tea all night in this teahouse at the academy's entrance?
When he stepped out of the teahouse, it meant he had broken through the imperial surveillance and arrived directly at the National Academy.
Tang Thirty-Six looked at the man, his emotions becoming extraordinarily complex.
He had anticipated that someone would come, but he never expected it to be him.
The man was from Wenshui—Second Master Tang.
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"Second Uncle, why are you here?"
Tang Thirty-Six looked at the man with a smile, but his heart was filled with extreme vigilance.
With the situation in the capital so tense, he knew someone from the Wenshui family would come, but he never imagined it would be this person.
He least wanted the family to send this man.
The Tang family of Wenshui was the foremost of the four great clans, with immense power. Old Master Tang's name could terrify half the world and make the other half grovel, but Old Master Tang's three sons were not particularly renowned—far less so than Tang Thirty-Six. Especially Second Master Tang; many people didn't even know he existed.
The people of Wenshui City knew that whenever travelers spoke of Tang Thirty-Six's exploits in the capital and marveled at his debauchery, the locals would sneer and say that compared to his second uncle, he was hardly a wastrel at all. If you wanted to know what true squandering looked like, you only had to look at Second Master Tang's childhood.
But that, too, was a facade.
Only the most direct descendants of the Tang family knew just how terrifying Second Master truly was.
Within the Tang family, Second Master had the highest cultivation talent, and he also wasted that talent most thoroughly. Zhuang Zhihuan, the current dean of the Heavenly Academy, once visited Wenshui over a decade ago and, after meeting him, gave this assessment: "To waste such astonishing talent so completely—such a person is truly terrifying."
That statement seemed nonsensical, but it was actually profoundly true.
When one cares about nothing, one fears nothing. Such a person is the most terrifying of all.
Tang Thirty-Six was the Tang family's only grandson, raised in the palm of the entire clan's hand. Yet even he was reluctant to face his second uncle.
After arriving in the capital, he didn't even want to think about having such an uncle.
Tonight, Second Master Tang had come to the capital, descending from the teahouse.
This meant the Tang family had entered the fray. They would join this war with the coldest posture and the most ruthless means.
This was what Tang Thirty-Six least wanted to see.
"What does the family intend to do?" he asked again.
Second Master Tang shook a paper fan, surveying the scenery of the National Academy like a spoiled young master, but the words that came out of his mouth could never have come from such a person.
"Since we can't stay out of it, we have to do something. I found this matter somewhat interesting, so I came."
Tang Thirty-Six asked, "Aren't you worried that Grandfather might think you've gone mad?"
Second Master Tang snapped his paper fan shut with a crisp sound, holding it in his hand, and smiled at him. "In such chaos, who but a madman like me can break through it?"
Tang Thirty-Six's expression remained unchanged, but his heart sank.
If it had been his father or his third uncle who came to the capital, he was confident he could persuade them to prioritize Chen Changsheng's safety. After all, the Wenshui family probably didn't know Chen Changsheng had only a few days left to live. If Chen Changsheng could survive this storm, he would be the strongest contender for the Great Zhou throne—an excellent outcome for the Tang family.
But it was Second Master Tang who had come.
He knew very well that this uncle of his never cared about anyone's life or death.
"The capital is vast," Tang Thirty-Six said. "You didn't have to come to the National Academy."
Second Master Tang gazed at him calmly. "You are the Tang family's only weakness in the capital. Before I do anything, of course, I have to take you away first."
Tang Thirty-Six met his eyes directly. "You said yourself that the capital is in chaos right now. I am the academy's superintendent. How could I possibly leave at a time like this?"
Second Master Tang laughed.
His laugh was distinctive—especially bright and open, his mouth wide, completely unguarded. But... there was no sound.
A silent, wide-mouthed grin could be innocent, or it could be guileless. Sometimes, it could also be terrifying.
"Superintendent, huh..." Second Master Tang's smile faded, and he looked at him expressionlessly. "Haven't you played enough yet?"
Hearing the word "play," Tang Thirty-Six naturally recalled the conversation he had with Chen Changsheng under the big banyan tree last autumn, and then remembered that on the eve of the conflict between the National Academy and the Tianhai family, Luoluo had been forced to move out and into the Green Leaf World within the Li Palace.
In the eyes of their elders, everything the young people of the National Academy did for it—it was all just play in the end.
Tang Thirty-Six thought many things, but his expression didn't change. His hand, which had been behind his back, quietly made a gesture.
In the night wind weaving through the National Academy, a hint of bloodlust suddenly appeared, as if some beast had silently crept into the scene, ready to strike at any moment.
Dozens of sharp sword intents erupted from the grassy shore of the lake, ready in an instant to form a formidable sword formation.
A trace of mockery suddenly appeared on Second Master Tang's face. Without anyone noticing, he had already moved to Tang Thirty-Six's side, his right hand resting on the back of his nephew's neck.
Tang Thirty-Six felt that hand was exceptionally cold, somewhat slimy—not like a snake, but like moss on a pond stone.
His heart sank.
He knew his second uncle was terrifying, but he hadn't expected him to be this powerful. In his presence, he had no ability to resist.
Second Master Tang looked at the big banyan tree in the night. "Are you that wolf cub?"
Zhe Xiu stepped out from behind the banyan tree. His eyes were bloodshot, and a savage aura radiated from him. The arms exposed by his short sleeves were covered in long hair; he was already prepared to transform. The disciples of the Southern Creek Sect also emerged from the darkness, gripping their swords, watching the middle-aged man who had subdued Tang Thirty-Six with a mix of tension and confusion.
This middle-aged man must be from the Tang family. They wondered why Tang Thirty-Six had secretly signaled them to prepare to act.
But before Zhe Xiu or the Southern Creek disciples could make any move, the middle-aged man had casually taken control of the situation.
Zhe Xiu glanced at Tang Thirty-Six.
Tang Thirty-Six's expression didn't change. He looked back, conveying a very clear message—he didn't want to leave the National Academy, especially not now.
Zhe Xiu's gaze shifted to Second Master Tang's face, and he took a step forward.
"I really hate that look in your eyes. It's too primitive, too savage, too uncultured..."
Second Master Tang looked at Zhe Xiu and said, "Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't mind crushing every bone in your body. But out of consideration for my dear nephew, I won't do anything to you. However, if you take another step forward, or if these young ladies from the Southern Creek Sect raise their swords again, then I'll have no choice but to kill him."
Up to this point, Zhe Xiu and the Southern Creek disciples still didn't fully grasp the situation. They thought, what use is it for you to subdue Tang Thirty-Six? Can you really threaten us with him? Then they heard him speak that sentence so calmly—so calmly that, though they couldn't believe its content, they had no choice but to.
"He's your own nephew," Ye Xiaolian said, looking at Second Master Tang as if he were a monster.
Second Master Tang smiled at her gently. "He is my most beloved nephew."
Tang Thirty-Six suddenly said, "Second Uncle, have you always wanted me dead?"
"What nonsense is this?" Second Master Tang said softly, looking at him. "This is your grandfather's order. I have full authority to handle matters in the capital. Whether it's you or anyone else, if you don't obey my commands, I can kill you on the spot. Matters concerning the family's legacy for a thousand generations—some sacrifices are inevitable."
Tang Thirty-Six laughed. "I am the Tang family's only grandson. If you kill me, how will you explain it to the family?"
Second Master Tang seemed genuinely troubled. After thinking for a long time, he said very seriously, "Then I'll just have another one."
Tang Thirty-Six stopped laughing and looked at him calmly. "Have another one? It seems you really do want me dead, Second Uncle."
Second Master Tang smiled and said, "For the sake of the Tang family, your third uncle and I have never had children. We've doted on you and spoiled you, but that doesn't mean we intend to raise you into a brat. Don't be willful."
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(There will be another chapter at eight in the evening. Truly... it's been a while since we had two chapters in a day.)