“Old Marshal, would it be possible for us to go with your army when you set out? To cheer you on!?” Zhuo Fan looked as guileless as a newborn blinking those big eyes of his.
Dugu Zhantian’s face froze, slapping himself with his calloused hand, and stammering to find the right answer. He just had to go and brag about getting justice for Luo clan. Now, he got his just desert. Just what excuse was good enough to get out of this one?
Dugu Lin felt his godfather predicament and said with a roll of his eyes, “Steward Zhuo, are you sure it’s Hell Valley? Do you have any proof? This is a very serious matter. Attacking the seven houses without a reasonable charge, the whole empire will rise up against us!”
“Right, that’s my concern as well!”
Dugu Zhantian recovered quickly and stared on the steward and the siblings as he asked tense, “Do you have any proof?”
Looking at each other, Zhuo Fan and the siblings frowned. The three houses’ elders and Venerables were wiped out. How would they get evidence now?
After muttering for a while, Zhuo Fan spoke, “They fled too fast and left nothing behind.”
Dugu Zhantian sighed in relief, then gestured at Dugu Lin in appreciation for lifting that rock off his heart, “Since there’s no proof, I…”
“Although…”
Zhuo Fan’s interjection got Dugu Zhantian on the edge, “However fast they ran, their spies, the Sun clan and Cai Rong, our former elder, with his son, were left behind and are in our custody. That should be enough proof.”
“Uh…” Dugu Zhantian hinted at Dugu Lin for help. Dugu Lin was the wisest and most level-headed among the Four Tigers. It now fell onto him to uphold the reputation of the Dugu Army, to let this matter die.
Dugu Lin shook his head, “A spy of no importance, that has absolutely no relation with anyone from Hell Valley, can hardly be considered proof.”
“Exactly!”
Dugu Zhantian shook his head in dismay, “I’m not trying to avoid this, but my hands are tied without hard evidence. Or I would’ve set out with my army at once, trampling Hell Valley into the ground.”
Roaring with such zeal, Dugu Zhantian sighed at the end, while giving Dugu Lin a thumbs up on the sly.
Dugu Lin gave a covert nod as well.
Their ol’ Marshal was a military man, hating evil to the core, but not a hot headed one. He couldn’t just attack the important seven houses on a whim.
Or it would ruin Tianyu!
While Zhuo Fan couldn’t care less. The world could burn for all he cared, as long as his enemies perished in the fire. Seeing Dugu Zhantian not easily pushed to make an enemy out of Hell Valley, pointing out one lame excuse after another, Zhuo Fan frowned.
[What to do? How can I make Dugu Zhantian and those bastards get in a conflict? Even a minor skirmish is better than nothing.]
Zhuo Fan’s plan was similar to what he did during the battle in Windgaze City. This time though, the grudge between the Luo clan and the seven houses would shift into the grudge between Four Pillars’ Dugu Zhantian and the seven houses.
[That’ll keep Luo clan safe and sound for a few years at least.]
Zhuo Fan saw it was far fetched to get rid of Hell Valley any time soon and didn’t make all these preparations for that. He wanted Dugu Zhantian to be the face of Luo clan and let everyone know they’d have to go through Marshal before getting to them.
[But this old goat keeps skirting around instead…]
Zhuo Fan’s eyes darted around in deep thought.
“Steward Zhuo, our scouts report three floating lights above Windgaze City. What are they?” Captain Pang burst into the tent.
Zhuo Fan raised an eyebrow and everyone went outside.
Up above, three light indeed spiraled in the sky. They had erratic movements, as if flies with no way home.
“That’s a messaging jade slip!” Dugu Zhantian was shocked, “Feng’er, grab them and see who sent them.”
“Understood!” Dugu Feng cupped his hands.
But before he acted, a figure flashed in the sky with a rumble. It caught the jade slips and was back in a flash.
Dugu Zhantian and the four generals were dumbstruck. Zhuo Fan was just a 5th layer of Bone Tempering cultivator yet, could fly as fast as a Profound Heaven expert.
And his Lightning Wings could turn in mid air, as if alive. It was shocking enough for Clan Head to set up the 5th grade arrays and no one was expecting such a skill from the young steward.
One had to wonder what faces they’d make when they realized his speed wasn’t limited to match the Profound Heaven Stage, and that he had killed many renowned Profound Heaven experts in Tianyu.
But since they only now returned from the battlefield, they were still out of the loop as to how dreadful this devoted and fervent servant of the Luo clan was.
Chuckling at their reactions, Zhuo Fan took the lead to look into the three jade slips then he snickered.
“Marshal Dugu, weren’t you looking for proof? Here it is, he-he-he…”
Dugu Zhantian took the three jade slips skeptical. But when he read them, his face darkened and cursed inwardly.
[Are these three houses packed with idiots? Couldn’t they have taken these jade slip with them before leaving?]
These were Hell Valley, Pill King Hall, and Merry Woods’ three house leaders sending their orders to their elders and Venerables.
When a messaging jade slip arrived, only their respective house elder could retrieve it through a specific gesture. In the case when no one was there to take them, the jade slip would float around for two hours before finally returning to the sender.
It was a pity that these important elders and Venerables in Windgaze City had long since kicked the bucket. The jade slips floated about idly and Zhuo Fan took them as the much needed irrefutable proof to set Dugu Zhantian into motion.
“Marshal Dugu, is this enough?” Zhuo Fan’s smiled inside, but his face calm as ever.
Dugu Zhantian spoke with hatred, “Enough!”
“Is this proof, foolproof?”
“It is!”
“So when can we expect you to charge on Hell Valley?”
“Uh…” Dugu Zhantian’s face was solemn, “I will need His Majesty’s approval to move the army. Don’t worry, I will take the proof to court and definitely bring justice to the Luo clan.”
Zhuo Fan beamed, [As long as you do it.], “Marshal, won’t it be convenient to deal with Pill King Hall and Merry Woods as well since you’re at it? Look, the foolproof also involves them as well…”
Dugu Zhantian felt a headache coming, [Hell Valley is bad enough, now you want those two dealt with as well? Why not repeat history and jump straight to a full blown war with the seven houses like the one a thousand years ago?]
Dugu Zhantian smiled dejectedly, “I will report to His Majesty and abide by his ruling!”
“Oh, that’s also fine!” Zhuo Fan nodded. Then he recalled something, “But Marshal, since you’re returning to the court, mind including one little thing in your report?”
“What, there’s more?” Dugu Zhantian was speechless. [Just how many houses did you step on anyway?]
Zhuo Fan scratched his nose, “This might be a bit tricky though. We knew they were working behind the scenes, but there’s no solid proof about them. It’s up to Marshal if you wish to mention them.”
“The one behind three houses? Who?” Dugu Zhantian’s voice trembled.
Zhuo Fan smiled and spoke vaguely, “Ha-ha-ha, to Marshal it is no one important. But to us, a small clan, it is a colossus. Only under Marshal’s wing can we survive.”
“Who exactly are they?” Dugu Zhantian was growing anxious.
“Regent Estate!”
Sss~
Gasping, not just Dugu Zhantian, but even the generals were in complete shock. [Did the Luo clan poke the heavens or something? Not only offending the three houses, but even Regent Estate!]
Dugu Zhantian may not fear Regent Estate, but his losses would be disastrous.
His Dugu Army was the defense of the nation, how could it be worn down in civil war?
“What’s wrong, Marshal Dugu?” Zhuo Fan blinked his large eyes.
Dugu Zhantian hurriedly walked away with his four godsons for fear Zhuo Fan could read his mood, “You guys sure are awesome, but I can’t make a rash decision in this. I will return to camp and think it through. Oh, why do I suddenly feel so dizzy.”
“Marshal Dugu, if you disregard us, what about the promise you made in front of Clan Head’s spirit tablet to bring us justice?” Zhuo Fan shouted as he showed them out.
Luo Yunhai cried, “Godfa-, Marshal, you promised me…”
“Fine fine, I am a man of my word. However, let me wrap my head around it first. My camp is only ten miles from here. With me here, no one will bother you. Let’s leave it at that, goodbye.”
Dugu Zhantian cupped his hand in a rush, then ran away. The Four Tigers of Tianyu gave Luo Yunchang one last look then followed suit.
They vanished the next second.
Zhuo Fan grinned seeing them gone in a blink, “This Marshal Dugu may not want to contest with the seven houses, but he did promise us safety at least!”
“Big bro Zhuo,” Luo Yunhai said, “Do I really have to join Marshal’s army?”
“Of course. It is your fortune to be trained by Dugu Zhantian, the man who held the frontiers for decades, with Four Tigers under him.”
“Why don’t you do it then? Wasn’t he fascinated by your arrays?”
Zhuo Fan snorted, “As the saying goes, a good man doesn’t enlist. Why the hell would I go for?”
(StarReader: points at him being an honest to God, faithful and righteous man who does no evil. Or he’s one hell of a smart guy to avoid enlisting.)
“Then what about me?”
Shooting him a look, Zhuo Fan spoke coldly, “You either go with Dugu Zhantian, or cultivate twenty hours a day.”
“Army, here I come!” Luo Yunhai ran out in fear.
Luo Yunchang smiled, then muttered, “Zhuo Fan, what if… making him a godson fails? Would you have married me off to make a tie with Four Pillars?”
“Perhaps.” Zhuo Fan spoke as if it was obvious, “In regards to political marriage, using you to get the Four Pillars on our side is as good a move as any. In fact, we’d be the ones truly winning here. We can even go a step further and get the best out of it by having you marry Dugu Huo. He is so impulsive and easy to use…”
“Go to hell!” Luo Yunchang glared at him and kicked him off the mountain before leaving in a huff.
Zhuo Fan ate dirt before he got to crawl to his feet and shouted behind her, “What the hell? Isn’t it all for Luo clan? Besides, what difference does it make who you aren’t even marrying… “
This only worked to fuel Luo Yunchang’s rage as she stomped faster…
In another place, Dugu Zhantian’s group descended the mountain post haste, in fear Zhuo Fan would go after them with more excessive demands.
Suddenly, Dugu Lin stopped with a frown, “Marshal, why do I have the odd feeling we’ve been played?”
The others stopped as well, now noticing something was very off about all this. In their trip to Blackwind Mountain, they didn’t get anything cleared up, yet ended up with a godson and a heavy responsibility. At the end of the day, they were now tied with Luo clan.
To the point they’d be fighting four houses together!
[What’s going on here?]
Dugu Zhantian and the tigers scratched their heads in complete loss…
