Chapter 426: I Know Him. Ling Zhaowu’s Rich Experiences (II)
Translator: DragonRider
“I wouldn’t blame those people for being that cruel. At that time, some people even dismembered him and ate his flesh. It was a very gory sight, but most people felt that by doing that, they vented their indignation and resentment, that they got their revenge. It could be said that w.a.n.g Xiangxin got his just deserts,” remarked Ling Zhaowu in an unconcerned tone.
A growing suspicion rose in Ling Zhang’s breast as he heard this. “How did you come to know about all these details, Father? You witnessed the whole thing?”
Ling Zhaowu subconsciously inclined his head, but he had just finished half of his nod when he noticed Ling Zhang’s unblinking stare at him and paused. “Sort of,” he answered.
Ling Zhang knitted his brows. He could immediately tell from his father’s facial expression that the latter was concealing something from him.
“I want you to be honest with me about this, Father. Did you play a part in the operation of killing w.a.n.g Xiangxin in your last life?”
Beneath Ling Zhang’s gaze, Ling Zhaowu was rendered somewhat resigned and replied, “I happened to pa.s.s by, so I offered them a little bit help.”
“Is that so?” Ling Zhang looked incredulously at him. Recalling his father’s tone just now, Ling Zhang gradually came up with an answer that he could hardly believe to be true. “Then why did you cough when you got to the part of those killers’ deaths a moment ago? Were you involved in that matter as well?”
Ling Zhaowu, “…”
Ling Zhang stared at him. “Don’t you lie to me, Father. Tell me what happened. Now.”
Ling Zhaowu was willing to do anything for his son. Ling Zhang’s stare made him unable to keep anything back. Also, he didn’t want to lie to his son, so he responded with a bob of the head, “Well, previously I promised you I’d tell you more about my last incarnation if the occasion arose. I was indeed involved in the matter of w.a.n.g Xiangxin, and it was me who located those killers. Although right now I look like someone who doesn’t even have enough strength to truss up a chicken, in my last incarnation I was a kung fu master as well, one no less powerful than Yuwen Tong actually.”
The last remark was the point, so Ling Zhaowu made it with emphasis.
Ling Zhang came to understand. “And? So you killed all those killers with your bare hands?”
Ling Zhaowu was a trifle disappointed. Why didn’t his son ask him more about his kung fu skills? But he couldn’t refuse to answer this question of Ling Zhang’s.
“Of course not. I didn’t want to get a single drop of those people’s blood on me. I had my men do it.”
Ling Zhang’s face took on a dramatic expression of dawning comprehension. “Ooooh, you had your subordinates do it. So you also had a group of bada.s.s sidekicks. Didn’t you say you were a businessman? Since when have businessmen become so bada.s.s?”
Ling Zhaowu, who felt somewhat uneasy beneath Ling Zhang’s gaze, said, “I WAS a businessman. I was pretty good at business actually, but I needed help to survive in troubled times. Businessmen who had no other skills didn’t live long in those turbulent days, and their business wouldn’t thrive too, which was why I had a group of men at my back. All of them were kung fu masters as good as those subordinates Yuwen Tong currently has.”
Ling Zhang, “…”
Why did his father care about kung fu so much and keep comparing his skills with Yuwen Tong’s?
“I believe you. You must be really good at kung fu, and so were your men.”
Ling Zhaowu inclined his head. That was indeed the point he was trying to make.
“But that was the case only in your last incarnation. Right now your first priority is to nurse yourself back to health.”
Ling Zhaowu, “…”
“Since you were the one who had those killers located and killed, you must know about them very well. Tell me what their kung fu skills were like, so that I could brief Yuwen Tong on it, have him make preparations accordingly and settle the matter of Jiangzhou,” Ling Zhang added.
Ling Zhaowu was totally unconcerned with the matter of Jiangzhou, w.a.n.g Xiangxin or those killers, and his face wore an uninterested look when Ling Zhang mentioned it, but as his son wanted to hear it, he got his act together and answered the question earnestly.
“Those killers of w.a.n.g Xiangxin’s are from several notorious Jianghu forces. Some of them are professional killers, and some are good at using underhand methods. You said that they’re adept at hiding themselves, but actually they just never met any real masters. Leaving everything else aside, if you utilize those formations at your command in the correct way, none of them would be able to escape.”
Ling Zhaowu thought back to those days carefully, a frown on his face. He wasn’t really very interested in his memories of his last incarnation, and sometimes, when he tried to recall those events, that part in his memory seemed to become completely blank. Previously he couldn’t even be bothered to try recollecting any of those things, but now, since his son was by his side, this feeling became very different. It was as though all those monochrome, bleak recollections gradually began to a.s.sume other colors and grow interesting.
While calling those days to his mind, he related to Ling Zhang which forces those people were from, what their fighting styles were like, how to deal with them, down to the smallest detail. Ling Zhang listened carefully, memorizing the information.
“Well, that’s all. Actually they’re just a disorderly rabble. They scare n.o.body but common people having no kung fu skills,” concluded Ling Zhaowu finally.
Ling Zhang, who had lodged all the information about those people in his mind, exhaled deeply and said, “Thank you, Father. You’ve been very helpful.”
Ling Zhaowu waved his hand. “It’s nothing. Actually those men under Yuwen Tong’s command are pretty good. Given some more time, they’ll be able to locate those people and waste them all.”
Ling Zhang said, “The Wan Kingdom and the Luohai Kingdom are wading in, so time is something we don’t have.”
Ling Zhaowu replied, “You mean Shan Congyi and that… Mu Rongfeng guy, right? Don’t worry. Soon they’ll no longer be a problem.”
Ling Zhang smiled, “Yeah. We won’t let them be a problem for long.”
Those two hotheads seemed to be tired of living.
“Incidentally, I seem to remember w.a.n.g Xiangxin promoted a guy named Zhu You or something. There is such a person, right?” Ling Zhaowu suddenly said.
Ling Zhang hurriedly nodded. “Yeah. w.a.n.g Xiangxin made him the Jiangzhou governor.”
“That figures. That Zhu You guy seems to have a lot of money. n.o.body, not even w.a.n.g Xiangxin, knows where he got it. In my last life, after Zhu You’s vault was found and opened, the people of Jiangzhou flooded into it and s.n.a.t.c.hed all the money away. I was there to see the whole thing and, as far as I could tell, there was approximately several hundred thousand taels of silver in there,” recalled Ling Zhaowu.
Several hundred thousand taels of silver? That was a lot of money! Ling Zhang was shocked.
Since Ling Zhaowu was talking about this matter, the several hundred thousand taels of silver definitely existed. He needed to inform Yuwen Tong of it and tell him under no circ.u.mstance should he forget to search Zhu You’s house and confiscate his property.
Ling Zhang, after getting the information he needed from Ling Zhaowu, promptly returned to the imperial palace, without even paying his aunt a visit to wish her good health.
…
“…That’s all my father told me. What do you think? How should we deal with this matter?” Ling Zhang, propping himself with his hands on Yuwen Tong’s table, had talked non-stop for quite a while. After finis.h.i.+ng the story, he picked up Yuwen Tong’s teacup and took a gulp of tea to ease his thirst.
Yuwen Tong reached out a hand and wiped the tea from the corners of Ling Zhang’s mouth. “Slow down a bit. There’s plenty of time. What’s the hurry?”
“So what do you think? With this information, it should be a lot easier to locate those killers, right? My father also said that Zhu You has several hundred thousand taels of silver hidden in his vault. If only we could find it. We’re so short of money,” said Ling Zhang.
Yuwen Tong sighed, “This time around my father-in-law did do us a great favor.”
But it also made him feel faintly jealous. People who’d been reborn did have a lot of advantages over people who hadn’t. Not only did his father-in-law know about those things, he’d actually experienced them. How was he supposed to compete with someone like that?
It could be said that in this regard Yuwen Tong and Ling Zhaowu seemed to share some kind of weird telepathic bond. They both couldn’t help but compare their skills and experiences.
Ling Zhang said, “I still have no idea what my father did for a living exactly in his last incarnation. He told me he was a businessman, and he had a large group of bada.s.s sidekicks. Also, he had consummate kung fu skills. If truth be told, I always have the feeling that my father was somewhat mysterious in his last life.”
Yuwen Tong said, “Since your father said some day he’d tell you everything, you should show patience. Sooner or later you’ll come to know about it.”
Ling Zhang agreed with a bob of the head. “Yeah. Right now he doesn’t dare keep anything back from me anyway.”
Yuwen Tong gave a little cough, reminding Ling Zhang that his tone was inappropriately c.o.c.ky.
Ling Zhang smiled, “It’s okay. My father can’t hear me from here.”
Were Ling Zhaowu able to hear him from here, he probably wouldn’t do anything about it and would still answer all his son’s questions.
Yuwen Tong, who could empathize with Ling Zhaowu to a certain extent, gave Ling Zhang a playful pinch on the cheek and asked, “I’d like to hear your opinion about what we should do.”
“That’s exactly what I just asked you.” Ling Zhang removed Yuwen Tong’s hand from his face, refusing to let Yuwen Tong give him another pinch. “Previously I said I wanted to go there, but you wouldn’t let me. How am I supposed to come up with any ideas when I’m forbidden to go there? I have no idea what we should do.”
Yuwen Tong shook his head resignedly. “Just give me some more time to think about it.”
Ling Zhang curled his lip. How much more time did he need?
“We’ve got the personal characteristics of those killers. I’ll have Qi San send a message there. w.a.n.g Xiangxin must die, and Zhu You’s property shall be confiscated. Since the Wan Kingdom and the Luohai Kingdom have got involved, they’ll have to pay the price too.”