Chapter 55: Underhanded Substitution

The silhouette was fully dressed in black and masked; he stood tall and straight, materializing at the enclosure wall in the evening light, like a disembodied spirit.

Nobody had realized he had appeared, not until he raised his right arm as shards of frigid rays shot out like fairy lights. At the same time, he cried out, "Chu Tianlang!"

Chu Tianlang turned his head upon hearing his name, his spirits immediately lifted. Although he did not know what was happening, he instinctively realized that the cavalry was here.

However, he was not alone in his realization; everyone present felt the same way. The hundreds of secret weapons unleashed by this man in black had injured many of there, leaving those unharmed scurrying away for cover.

Within the few moments that he had been seen, the specter on the wall jerked his hand as a rope flew out like a flying dragon, reaching Chu Tianlang before anyone could react.

"Hold on!"

Even before hearing his order, Chu Tianlang had moved forward in desperation and held onto the lifeline. His body floated lightly as the man on the wall pulled on the rope.

Then the man disappeared from where he was standing.

Chu Tianlang was like a large kite drifting through the sky, the rope on the other end being pulled by the man who was now sprinting away.

The final glimpse of light had finally descended into the horizon; nightfall had arrived.

"Give chase!" Ximen Wanli ground his teeth so hard they almost broke.

He had been so close to success! How could he have been thwarted like this?

Everyone sprung up at almost the same time, hopping over the wall to see that Chu Tianlang was still drifting through the air under the darkening evening sky as the person pulled on the rope, desperately sprinting into the forest.

"Stay right there!"

Rays of sword light shot out as hundreds of shadows gave chase. However, these people were carrying their exhaustion from the battle but the man had been waiting in leisure - their distance began to widen with the increase of time.

By the time the party had given chase up to the fringes of the forest, they had lost all traces of Chu Tianlang and the mysterious man.They had disappeared like a drop of water into the deep ocean the moment they entered the forest.

"Search carefully!"

Ximen Wanli's expression was dark.

"Have some people up the trees to look around! Once there are any traces of them, blow a long whistle to alarm the rest."

"Yes!"

...

As they reached the forest, Chu Tianlang could feel his body falling in a straight vertical line as the man below caught him without missing a beat. Chu Tianlang wanted to speak but felt that they were still falling down.

There was actually a tunnel under the pile of fallen leaves. The two of them had entered the tunnel almost immediately as fallen leaves covered the entrance once more with a soundless turn above the tunnel.

In the tunnel, the mysterious man was sprinting swiftly pulling Chu Tianlang along.

"Who is your honorable self1? My saving grace..."

Chu Tianlang was puffing breathlessly.

"Do not speak." A slightly older voice said hurriedly, "Chu Tianlang, remember. This is too great a risk. They are four great families, their powers are immense. If not for this tunnel, we would definitely have been caught."

"Therefore, I will think of a way to divert a portion of the enemy after we get out of this tunnel. You need to head immediately to Emerald Bamboo Hill. It's only about a dozen miles or so; even if you have to sprint until you lose your breath, you must enter Emerald Bamboo Hill. There will be someone receiving you there. Can you remember?"

Chu Tianlang's heart skipped a beat as he answered, "Yes. Your honorable self is?"

"Who I am is of no concern." The mysterious man said, "The exit is just in front. You must prepare at once." As he spoke, he took out a medicinal pill and stuffed it into Chu Tianlang's mouth.

"This could unleash your potential. Chu Tianlang, it's up to you now whether you live or die."

They had come to the end of the tunnel.

"Go!"

The mysterious man stretched his arm as the earth above them upended. He flew right out pulling Chu Tianlang with him. With a push from his right hand, he sent Chu Tianlang away. "Run, quick!"

Chu Tianlang realized he was headed towards Emerald Bamboo Hill while the push had allowed him to drift some ten feet away without using much energy.

He immediately lowered his body to sprint towards the direction of Emerald Bamboo Hill. Turning his head amidst the haste, he saw the mysterious man sprinting in the opposite direction. He was already several hundred feet away but his hand still held onto the rope and a man's form was actually still attached to the other end of it, floating like a kite!

Chu Tianlang breathed a sigh of relief.

Behind him, shouts could be heard. "Over there! Over there! Still floating on the rope! Give chase! ...

As predicted, a portion of the party broke away to give chase.

There were also people standing on tree branches or those on the lookout hovering in midair who had spotted Chu Tianlang dashing in the opposite direction.

"There's also one over there!"

"They've separated... one of them must be a decoy!"

"Divide into half and go over there!"

Chu Tianlang dashed forward while staying close to the ground; he could feel his heart beating quicker in short rapid beats as the fog in his mind grew thicker, he could not support himself any longer.

He desperately kept himself up, his heart feeling like it would burst, and sprinted all the way into Emerald Bamboo Hill.

His pursuers were getting closer.

Just as he dashed right into the hill, his body gave up on him as he collapsed.

Yun Yang had been waiting here for some time as he caught Chu Tianlang and said in a low voice, "Be silent.."

With a flip of his body, a hole appeared on the ground next to them. Both of them fell, rolling into it. The hole disappeared as Yun Yang kicked upwards. The pit was approximately a dozen feet deep; there seemed to be an exit further away that blinked with a glowing light.

As they neared the bottom of the pit, Yun Yang stretched his arm as another opening appeared at the height of a person from the ground. He dashed in, grabbing onto Chu Tianlang.

Then the opening vanished.

After they entered, Yun Yang struck the back of Chu Tianlang's head and the latter fainted without a sound. Yun Yang carried him and sprinted inwards; as he did so, the outer layer of soil continued to fall and covered the tunnel.

The tunnel came to its end with a turn upwards, the exit stopping short a foot from the surface of the upper ground. Yun Yang was already worn out. However, he took in a deep breath right away and turned into a cloud.

There was no sound coming from either of them; an unconscious person and another in cloud form.

After searching around, those who were pursuing them had finally discovered a pit under a rock. They entered right away, giving chase through the tunnel and exited from the other end. Shouts and cries could be continuously heard as they were being exchanged back and forth. Finally, the noise quieted down after another fifteen minutes.

Yun Yang did not let his guard down and continued to remain unmoving.

An hour later, he regained his human form from the cloud and took in a deep breath, imploring Emmie to send him a gush of air of vitality from his subconscious to relieve the pressure from exhausting himself. He then turned into a cloud once again.

Another five hours had passed and it was already late in the night when Yun Yang finally resurfaced on the ground, carefully carrying Chu Tianlang on his shoulder.

The surrounding was quiet and empty as the night breeze blew cold.

The four great families had clearly given up their search.

Yun Yang sighed in relief and looked at Chu Tianlang who was unconscious but at peace, his face relaxed. He was obviously rejoicing at the fact that he had escaped.

An icy smirk hung on the corners of Yun Yang's lips.

Relaxed?

You'll soon realize that it would have been better if you had been killed by Ximen Wanli and the four influential families rather than to fall into my hands.

Yun Yang very cautiously made his way through a short route as the sound of wheels rolling came from afar. Lao Mei had recovered his original face and was coming on a carriage. On the carriage were bags upon bags of goods. They stuffed Chu Tianlang into a large sack and placed him on the carriage, covering him with a few bags. Yun Yang turned and left immediately.

Lao Mei rode the carriage as he made his way towards the city gate leisurely.

Along the path, people from the four great families were on a search like headless flies; no one realized that their target had entered Tiantang City openly on a carriage right under their noses!

The carriage passed them by, leaving a trail of medicinal aroma.

The goods were all authentic medicine.

...

Ximen Wanli and the rest of his cohorts wore dark expressions, feeling infuriated as they looked at the overturned Manor of Sirius.

They had killed everyone but the most important target, Chu Tianlang, had escaped!

It had all been for nothing.

"Young master, we have found Chu Tianlang's treasury of gold," a subordinate had come to report the good news.

"Treasury of gold?" The young masters' gaze radiated with greed.

Even Ximen Wanli who was fuming had his attention diverted and turned around at once.

"How much treasure is there?" Ximen Wanli asked, trying not let his interest show.

"The treasure? Quite a fair bit, actually." The subordinate was more than a little shaken. No one could have thought that there were so much wealth and treasure in a mere Manor of Sirius.

Without saying a word, the young masters turned and headed towards the treasury.

"Brother Ximen, this fortune..."

"We shall divide it equally." Ximen Wanli remained stoic.

"Is this not inappropriate? We have come to help you and you still want to share it equally with us?"

"The Ximen family has suffered the most losses. By sharing it with everyone, we would be at even more of a disadvantage."

"B*llshit! This has been your family affair anyway. You have a lot of deaths, so do we! Besides, your family should have people dying for you but the deaths in our families are those of innocent men!"

"F*cking b*llshit, what do you mean by that? Should my family have people dying? Can you f*cking talk like a human being?"

"What about it? Is this not the case? Ximen Wanli, what do you want? Say it out loud! I'll make it clear for you; I will not budge if you give me any less!"

The four great families were engaged in a dispute over the distribution of loot. However, it was only a dispute, naturally, they would not resort to physical violence. After much bickering, Ximen Wanli could only take a step back.

"After tallying the treasure, the Ximen family will take twenty percent. The remaining eighty percent will be distributed among the three families, agreed?"

"Now, that's more like it!"

"However, whoever comes across Chu Tianlang in the future must not hesitate to apprehend him. He is now our mutual enemy."

"Of course!"

All was harmonious again.

While the deal was being sealed, Lao Mei had already entered Tiantang City into the Residence of Yun, riding the coach.

Yun Yang had his arms behind his back as he looked coldly upon the approaching carriage.

Translator Note:

1your honorable self (尊驾zūn jià): honorific used to address the other party when avoiding to address them directly as a form of respect.