Chapter 181: Duan Ling Tian's Dreams
Duan Ling Tian was unaware of the undercurrents that were currently brewing outside.
Deep into the night, Duan Ling Tian was lying on the lawn in the rear courtyard, hugging Ke Er on the left and Li Fei on the Right. His legs were crossed above him as he looked up into the heavens with a slightly blurred gaze.
A full moon shone high in the sky, and a dense array of stars stood out in the night sky.
"Scoundrel, why didn't you go out tonight?" Li Fei asked curiously.
She remembered that last night and the night of the day before yesterday, Duan Ling Tian went out with the two men the Divine Might Marquis sent him.
Tonight, however, he departed from his usual habit and actually had time to accompany her and Ke Er to gaze upon the stars here.
She had heard of the matter of the two Su Clan direct descendants being killed, which gave rise to much discussion outside, and she subconsciously felt that it was very likely to be linked to this man.
"Little girl, you want me to go out so badly?" Duan Ling Tian's right hand slightly exerted more force. He pulled Li Fei into his embrace before lightly slapping the little girl's sexy buttocks and simultaneously grabbing it twice....
Instantly, Li Fei's sensitive and delicate figure trembled, and her face flushed crimson; it was as if it would drip out blood at any moment.
"Young Master, you're bullying big sister Fei Fei again." Ke Er's clear and melodious voice sounded, causing Duan Ling Tian to feel refreshed in spirit.
He hoped so much that this moment could become eternal.
Holding the two girls within his arms until the heavens and earth gets old, and until the sea dries up and the rocks decay. [1]
But unfortunately, he was clear that this was only an extravagant hope, and there were still many things that were waiting to be done by him.
What he wanted to do now was create a place of his own in this world where the strong were revered.... And only when he stands at the peak of this world will he be able to bring along these two girls to travel to every corner of this world and fully see the wonders of the world.
Only that was truly living, truly free and unfettered!
At that time, there wouldn't be anyone capable of posing a threat to him, and everyone could only look up to him....
"Ke Er, do you think that this is unfair to your big sister Fei Fei? Don't worry, I won't favor one of you over the other." As Duan Ling Tian spoke, he had an evil smile on his face. He raised his hand and slapped Ke Er's buttocks before lightly grabbing it....
"Young Master, you're so bad." Ke Er threw herself into Duan Ling Tian's embrace out of embarrassment, and was shy to raise her head for a long time.
Duan Ling Tian stopped flirting with the two girls and seriously said, "Alright, give me your Spatial Rings. I'll help you two inscribe an inscription tonight."
"Young Master, what inscription are you inscribing for us?" Ke Er's gaze shone, and after she removed her Spatial Ring, her watery eyes were filled with curiosity.
Li Fei looked at Duan Ling Tian as well. After being together with this man for so long, she'd long since been accustomed to how miraculous he was, but she was still curious about what inscription he was going to inscribe for them.
"Bone Corrosion Inscription!" Duan Ling Tian received the Spatial Rings the two girls passed to him and lightly smiled.
Subsequently, he introduced the effects of the Bone Corrosion Inscription to the two girls... For a moment, both the girls were frightened to the point that their faces went pale.
Duan Ling Tian shook his head with a smile, as he wasn't surprised by the two girls' reactions.
Duan Ling Tian stood up and returned to his room with the two Spatial Rings, and after he withdrew the pile of materials from his own Spatial Ring, he started inscribing....
Inscribing two Bone Corrosion Inscriptions in a single night greatly consumed Duan Ling Tian's Spiritual Force.
After completing the inscribing process and returning the Spatial Rings to Ke Er and Li Fei, Duan Ling Tian couldn't hold on any longer and directly fell soundly asleep on Ke Er's bed.
Ke Er lied beside Duan Ling Tian. Her eyes stared at Duan Ling Tian's handsome face, and a smile of happiness appeared on her beautiful face.
It was precisely because of this man that her life underwent a tremendous change...And her entire life would be lived for this man without regret even until death!
At dawn the next day, when Duan Ling Tian woke up, he felt dizzy. Only after sizing up the surroundings did he realize that he wasn't in his own room, and he recalled what happened last night. "Right, I fell asleep in Ke Er's room last night."
Duan Ling Tian noticed the young girl sitting cross-legged in cultivation at the side after he stood up.
Duan Ling Tian hugged the young girl from behind, causing the young girl's delicate figure to tremble and was jolted awake from her cultivation. "Young Master, you're awake."
"Yes." Duan Ling Tian nodded as he greedily took a deep breath. The young girl's natural body fragrance was always so pleasant to smell....
Duan Ling Tian and Ke Er went out together to have their breakfast after Ke Er helped him change his clothes, and only after that did he walk out of the house and walk towards Paladin Academy.
A regular day passed just like that.
At dusk, after walking out of Paladin Academy's gate, it was calm and tranquil like yesterday. Besides Zhang Qian and Zhao Gang, he didn't notice any other third parties watching him from the shadows.
Duan Ling Tian didn't dare be careless, as he was clear in his heart that the more calm it was, the more likely it was that it was a calm before the storm.
Suddenly, Zhang Qian appeared and respectfully said to Duan Ling Tian, "Young Master, the Marquis requests your presence."
Duan Ling Tian's brows knitted, but he didn't feel it to be unexpected, as presently the Su Clan was on guard as if faced with a formidable enemy, and this was something well-known to every household within the Imperial City, thus the Divine Might Marquis Estate would have naturally heard of the news.
That Uncle Nie of his would surely put his suspicions on Duan Ling Tian because of the fact that Duan Ling Tian got the information of the Su Clan's various businesses and the person in charge of those businesses from him.
"You two didn't sell me out, right?" Duan Ling Tian looked at Zhang Qian with a burning gaze and spoke in a manner that if Zhang Qian were to say yes, then he would drive both Zhang Qian and Zhao Gang out.
"No." Zhang Qian hurriedly shook his head. The matter of the Su Clan was not only related to Duan Ling Tian, but also to the lives and possessions of himself and his family, so he wouldn't dare to speak carelessly.
"That's good." Duan Ling Tian nodded in satisfaction.
Zhang Qian once again concealed himself in the shadows, and Duan Ling Tian instead walked towards the Divine Might Marquis Estate.
At the Divine Might Marquis Estate's main gate, Duan Ling Tian noticed that the soldier on guard was a familiar face... It was precisely the young soldier that was slapped on the head by the older soldier the last time he came here.
"Halt!" Right at this moment, another soldier stood out and blocked Duan Ling Tian's way.
Slap!
Under Duan Ling Tian's stupefied gaze, the young soldier who was slapped by the older soldier the other time gave this soldier that blocked Duan Ling Tian a slap on the head...
Under the furious gaze of the soldier that was slapped on the head, the young soldier respectfully looked at Duan Ling Tian. "Young Master Ling Tian, please enter."
Duan Ling Tian nodded and glanced deeply at the young soldier. This fellow, and that slap earlier, he couldn't have done it on purpose, right?
As expected, the furious expression on that soldier that was slapped vanished instantly. He had a perturbed expression as he looked at the young soldier and asked, "Brother Zhi, who is he?"
"He's Young Master Ling Tian, the Marquis's nephew... Kid, look properly next time and don't be rash again." The young soldier acted like an elder as he spoke.
As he spoke, he rubbed the back of his head with a lingering fear in his heart... I've experienced it as well.
Divine Might Marquis Estate, within the audience hall.
When Duan Ling Tian walked in, he noticed that Divine Might Marquis Nie Yuan was already waiting for him, and couldn't help but ask, "Uncle Nie, is there anything you called me here for?" with a smile.
"Little Tian, be honest with your Uncle Nie, did you bring along Zhang Qian and Zhao Gong to kill the Su Clan's Su Lie and Su Yong?" At the same time that Nie Yuan asked, his eyes stared fixedly at Duan Ling Tian as if wanting so discern something from Duan Ling Tian's face.
But unfortunately, he didn't discern anything.
"Uncle Nie, if you don't have any proof, then don't make irresponsible remarks," Duan Ling Tian said in all seriousness.
"You, kid... Zhang Qian and Zhao Gang won't say a word. It's an order you gave, right? No wonder you said that you wanted absolute control when you asked for them from me. You had already planned everything at that time, right?" Nie Yuan said angrily. Even though Duan Ling Tian was unwilling to admit it, Nie Yuan knew that he'd guessed correctly.
"Uncle Nie, all this is only your guess." Duan Ling Tian's face remained unfazed before saying, "Uncle Nie, if there isn't anything else, then I'll be leaving...."
"Wait!" Nie Yuan stopped Duan Ling Tian before shaking his head with a laugh. "I didn't call you over to ask you that. Since Zhang Qian and Zhao Gang won't speak a word, I already guessed that even if you came, you wouldn't be honest... The reason I called you over this time is because I wanted to talk to you about the war at the northwest border." As he finished speaking, Nie Yuan's expression became serious.
Northwest border?
Duan Ling Tian couldn't help but recall that teacher Sima of his Star Mastermind Department had once mentioned this to him. "Uncle Nie, why are you speaking to me about this?"
"There's naturally a reason why I'm speaking to you about this. This war in the northwest border is hard-pressed, and his Majesty has given me full authority to be responsible for dispatching reinforcements... A portion of these reinforcements will be mobilized from your Paladin Academy. If there's a student that's able to apply what he has learned, especially if the student is from your Star Mastermind Academy, then one person would be equivalent to an army on the battlefield!" Nie Yuan glanced deeply at Duan Ling Tian. "When I discussed with the Vice Dean Zhan of your Paladin Academy... he vigorously recommended you to me. Of course, he doesn't know of the relationship between you and me."
"He recommended me?" Duan Ling Tian was dazed, but he was enlightened. After thinking about it, he figured that it must've been Teacher Sima who recommended him to the Vice Dean.
"Right, he recommended you. How about it? Are you interested in going to experience it? At the time, these reinforcement troops will be led by your big brother Nie." Nie Yuan looked at Duan Ling Tian with an extremely complicated gaze.
At the beginning, when that Vice Dean Zhan recommended Duan Ling Tian, he was skeptical. But later, when the Vice Dean Zhan mentioned the strategy of 'crossing the sea while deceiving the heavens' that Duan Ling Tian thought of, it caused him to be overwhelmed!
Never had he imagined that this nephew of this, whose natural talent in the Martial Dao and natural talent in alchemy were heaven-defying, had such a terrifying natural talent in the art of strategy....
"Of course I'm interested." Duan Ling Tian hurriedly nodded. "Uncle Nie, when are the reinforcements heading to the northwest border?"
"In a month... If you want to go, then prepare properly during this time," Nie Yuan said.
"OK." Duan Ling Tian nodded before bidding his farewell and leaving.
On the way home, Duan Ling Tian couldn't help but be slightly excited. The battlefields of this lifetime were completely different from the battlefields of his previous lifetime.
He had taken part in some of the battlefields in his previous lifetime, but that was practically only contending with firearms and was far from the hot-bloodedness of the battlefield of this lifetime that used coldarms! [2]
Within Duan Ling Tian's heart, there had always been a dream.
He hoped that one day, he would be able to gallop his horse to kill his enemies on the battlefield like how it was done in the ancient times of his previous world and battle until the last moment, fully venting the hot blood within his entire body!
Now he had finally obtained the opportunity!
[1] TL Note: It's a way people vow a vow of eternal love, and means for a long, long time and no matter what happens.
[2] TL Note: The word coldarms is something I made up, it actually refers to an aggregate term used in Chinese to refer to the class of weaponry that are physical in nature and do not rely on any form of chemically explosive material.