Chapter 758: When the Fog Is Thick, Kill Without Sound
So many people had been hidden around Snow Lake all along.
Since they were hidden, it naturally meant they had arrived long ago.
These people came from Gaoyang Town, from Xunyang City, from Songshan Military Prefecture, from Hanqiu City, and even the capital—all of them were experts and masters.
But they were merely attendants to the truly great figures.
The great figures had been standing in the night among the mountain ridges all along.
Tianhai Zhanyi wore a thin robe, and snowflakes that landed on it drifted away, making him look quite dashing.
Young people always liked to use various methods to display their elegance and boast of their cultivation level, but as the master of the Zhu Clan, Zhu Ye had no need for such things. Dressed in an extremely valuable fur coat, Divine General Ning Shiwei, despite the bitter cold, remained fully armored, looking especially grim and murderous. He gazed at the courtyard below in the valley, shrouded by mist as if it were a fairyland, and frowned, saying, "This place is so desolate and close to the demon domain—how could such a place be built here..."
"Who owns this place is not important. What matters is who can own that person after tonight."
Tianhai Zhanyi glanced across the pine forest, not hiding his mockery and contempt.
Even the dullest person could imagine that the mysterious master who could refine a treasure like Cinnabar Pill was no ordinary person.
But they represented the Zhu family, the Tianhai family, and the Prince of Xiang—equivalent to half the Great Zhou Dynasty. What they needed to consider was not how to snatch that precious formula and, more importantly, that person, but how to prevent others from snatching them.
Those others were on the opposite side of the pine forest.
Tang Seventeenth Master looked at them with a half-smile and said, "I never imagined that someone would dare to rob the goods of our Wenshui Tang family."
It seemed that the Tang family had already lost control of the night's situation. Even if he had prepared in advance, he probably hadn't expected that the court's great figures would place such importance on that person and the formula, to the extent that Zhu Ye and Ning Shiwei, with their status, had secretly come to this nameless snowy mountain range.
Tianhai Zhanyi looked at the Tang family experts beside him and sneered, "If your Tang family had continued to honestly distribute Cinnabar Pills as in the past, then you could indeed call them your goods. But now that you yourselves have developed a desire to seize the treasure, do you still have the face to stop others? Guarding the treasure and stealing it yourself... that sounds even worse."
Tang Seventeenth Master's smile faded, and he said, "I am speaking to you on behalf of the Tang family."
Since their encounter in the snowy mountains, Zhu Ye's face had worn a faint smile. When he heard these words, his smile suddenly grew wider, and he said, "When your second brother finally poisons your eldest brother to death, and then goes into the ancestral hall to kill poor little Thirty-Six, then you can come and say you represent the Tang family—it won't be too late."
Hearing these seemingly ordinary but actually sharp and utterly contemptuous words, Tang Seventeenth Master took a deep breath, and his gaze grew cold. This was Tianliang County, and he was neither the First Master nor the Second Master; even his status in the Tang family was far inferior to Tang Tang's. He could only endure these words, but...
At that moment, Ning Shiwei suddenly turned around, looked down at the courtyard in the snowy valley, and snorted, "Trying to leave?"
Before his voice faded, his fist, carrying the flavor of cold iron, slammed heavily into the cliff face. With a loud crash, a piece of rock was blasted loose and tumbled downward.
From the snowy valley came the faint sound of collapse. The lake seemed to stir, and the wooden bridge snapped in two.
"Let's go. We'll meet the master of this place."
Ning Shiwei headed toward Snow Lake without even glancing at Tang Seventeenth Master.
But Tang Seventeenth Master knew that this iron fist was actually meant for him—a warning and a display of resolve.
Tianhai Zhanyi shook his head with a mocking smile and walked past him.
Zhu Ye looked at him calmly, nodded in greeting, and then left as well.
The former chief instructor of the Hall of Martial Valor glanced at Tang Seventeenth Master, who remained motionless, with some worry and some confusion.
Watching the torches around Snow Lake being lit one by one, watching the mist grow thicker as the lake water churned, Tang Seventeenth Master suddenly frowned.
...
...
The rock had smashed the wooden bridge, startled the lake, and stirred up a heavy fog. The courtyard, beautiful in all seasons, was enveloped in water mist. The dim yellow light from countless torches scattered into a dreamlike scene, even more ethereal than before—though, depending on one's mood, it could also be seen as more eerie.
Tianhai Zhanyi stood by Snow Lake, looking at the two faint figures barely visible on the broken bridge in the mist, and raised an eyebrow slightly. "You, sir, are undoubtedly an extraordinary person—a free spirit, a recluse beyond the mundane world. But alas... how can anyone truly live without worldly concerns? Since you must eventually enter the mortal realm, why not walk with us?"
He felt this speech was quite elegant and was rather pleased with himself. But the reply from within the mist showed it had not achieved the effect he desired.
The black-clad girl's voice was as emotionless as she was, yet it easily stirred others' emotions: "Are you a demon? Can't you speak human language?"
Tianhai Zhanyi was furious at this and snorted lightly, ready to act, but was stopped by a look from Zhu Ye.
"Let's keep it simple. No matter what you think, since you've seen the light of day, there's no going back to the night."
Zhu Ye looked calmly at the two figures in the mist. "No one can keep Cinnabar Pill for themselves. The Tang family can't, I can't, no one can. This belongs to the court. All we want is the merit of the first offering. As for your reward, not a single coin will be missing. You might even earn the appreciation of the Dao Venerable."
The water mist was silent for a long time.
Then the young man's voice rang out.
"This is my thing."
Zhu Ye showed a gentle smile, like a teacher patiently explaining to a junior: "When I said no one, that includes you."
The young man in the mist asked, "What kind of reasoning is that?"
Zhu Ye said solemnly, "Since it is a treasure of the world, it should belong to the world."
The mist fell silent again.
Tianhai Zhanyi sneered, "If you carry a great treasure and are unwilling to share it with the world, you should hide it more carefully. Otherwise, you are courting death."
No matter how elegantly, tactfully, or patiently they spoke, the great figures' reasoning was always clear.
Cinnabar Pill was a treasure of the world. Without corresponding strength or power, one had no right to keep it. If you tried to hold onto it by force, then die.
The black-clad girl's voice sounded again from the mist, answering Tianhai Zhanyi: "Ah! Are you really a demon?"
Still the same joke about not speaking human language. Tianhai Zhanyi was enraged and shouted, "Hand over the formula, and I'll spare your life!"
As he said this, he made a secret gesture behind his back.
He had no intention of waiting for an answer. He wanted to strike suddenly.
Zhu Ye and Ning Shiwei both saw it and raised their eyebrows slightly, but did not stop him. They also wanted to see what would happen—even a probe would yield some response.
A Tianhai family expert silently skimmed across the lake surface and vanished into the water mist with eerie subtlety.
And then... he simply vanished.
Nothing happened. No sound arose.
Time passed slowly. The mist remained quiet. Where was any response?
Everyone felt a true sense of eeriness.
Tianhai Zhanyi's face turned extremely ugly.
Zhu Ye and Ning Shiwei's expressions grew more serious.
Suddenly, there was the sound of water. In the mist, lotus leaves stirred gently, and the corpse of that Tianhai family expert floated out from within.
Like a small boat, wherever it passed, the lake water gradually stained a vivid, eye-catching red.