hotmtlnovel Chapter 134 Taking Action
Chapter 134 Taking Action
Watching the departing figures of the Songshan Sect members, Yan Shifan curled his lip in disdain: "A bunch of crude and uncouth brutes, daring to swagger around here. Father, in my opinion, these people are completely unreliable. Relying on them to kill Zhao Yu is unlikely to accomplish anything significant."
Yan Song sighed, his face full of worry: "How could I not know? It's just that His Majesty's favor towards Zhao Yu is growing stronger every day, and he almost listens to everything Zhao Yu says. Zhao Yu is by His Majesty's side every day, using the guise of cultivating immortality to bewitch His Majesty's heart."
"Now, under the guise of praying for His Majesty's well-being, he's extorting money from all officials, demanding donations of grain and money. If this continues, and he takes the opportunity to interfere in politics, my position as father and son will be in jeopardy."
"What ambitions could a Taoist priest have?" Yan Shifan said dismissively.
"What do you know?" Yan Song shook his head. "He's so young, yet he possesses such cunning and skill, capable of gaining His Majesty's complete trust. That in itself is no small feat. Who can guarantee he doesn't harbor even greater ambitions?"
Yan Shifan's face was sinister. His father was old, so Zhao Yu wasn't a big threat, but he was still young.
Yan Shifan, this junior Grand Secretary, still aspires to become a real Grand Secretary, but he cannot tolerate Zhao Yu blocking his way.
All things considered, Zhao Yu was the biggest threat to him.
"Father is right. Since that's the case, why don't we just go all the way and let those people from the Songshan Sect..."
As he spoke, Yan Shifan raised his hand and gestured across his neck, quite decisively.
"No rush."
Yan Song disagreed with his son: "His Majesty's health is not yet fully recovered. Taking action now would be too conspicuous. Moreover, Zhao Yu is right beside His Majesty; a slight misstep could backfire. This matter requires careful consideration. Have you found the renowned physician I asked you to find?"
Yan Shifan was somewhat embarrassed upon hearing this.
"We found a few, but they all have very strange tempers. Especially that so-called murderous doctor, although he has a big reputation, he is very difficult to deal with."
Hearing this from the rooftop, Zhao Yu's lips curled into a cold smile.
It seems that Yan Song and his son planned to cure Zhu Houcong first, and then turn on themselves.
He stopped listening, gently placed the glazed tile back in its original position, and then, with a swift movement, silently followed behind Ding Mian and the others.
Since Yan Song and his son wanted to harm him, he couldn't just sit and wait to die.
However, Yan Song cannot be killed yet; he still needs to coordinate the supply of provisions among all the officials of the Ming Dynasty.
Today, let's give them a warning first, and tell them to behave themselves.
Ding Mian and the others clearly did not expect that they were being followed.
They grumbled and cursed all the way back to the secluded courtyard where they had settled in the capital.
As soon as he entered the courtyard, Lu Bai couldn't help but burst into curses: "Those Yan father and son are simply going too far! Do they really think our Songshan Sect is easy to bully?"
"Exactly! Every year he makes us kill people for him, and now he's complaining about us."
"Alright, stop arguing!"
Ding Mian waved his hand, his face grim as he stopped everyone: "What's the use of saying all this now? When you're under someone's roof, you have to bow your head. Once we kill Zhao Yu, we'll naturally have the confidence to continue negotiating with them."
"But Senior Brother," Lu Bai said helplessly, "Yan Song has suddenly reduced our offerings by 30%. How are we going to explain this to Senior Brother Zuo when we get back?"
"Explain?"
Ding Mian suddenly laughed, a greedy glint in his eyes: "What's so hard about explaining this? Zhao Yu is deeply favored by the emperor and receives countless rewards. Once we kill him and confiscate his Taoist temple, we can make up for it with ten or even a hundred times the amount of offerings, let alone thirty percent. Who knows, we might even make a fortune in the end."
Lu Bai's eyes lit up: "That's right! Senior Brother Ding really thinks ahead."
"Clap clap clap!"
Just then, a crisp round of applause suddenly came from a corner of the courtyard.
"A brilliant plan, truly a brilliant plan." Zhao Yu slowly emerged from the shadows.
"As expected of the Pagoda-Bearing Hand, the leader of the Thirteen Protectors of Mount Song, you're quite adept at this business of murder and robbery. Killing me wasn't enough; you also wanted to seize my family's wealth. I just wonder, has your right hand healed yet? And how much silver can you still lift?"
"Zhao Yu!"
The members of the Songshan Sect changed their expressions drastically, drawing their long swords and surrounding Zhao Yu as if facing a formidable enemy.
Ding Mian's face twitched, and he instinctively covered his right hand.
Although the severed hand has been reattached, the meridians are completely destroyed, making it difficult to even lift heavy objects, let alone circulate internal energy.
This is a pain that will forever remain in his heart.
Suppressing the hatred in his heart, Ding Mian forced a smile at Zhao Yu: "Young Master Zhao, it's a misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding. I never expected that after parting ways at Hengshan, we would meet again in the capital."
"My fellow disciples and I came to the capital to hunt down a notorious gangster, but he escaped. We're here discussing where to pursue him."
"Oh? Is that so?" Zhao Yu shook his head with a smile. "Ding Mian, you've been in the underworld your whole life. Do you think I'd believe your nonsense?"
His smile gradually turned cold: "Zuo Lengchan is really unlucky, running into me time and time again. First Liu Zhengfeng, then Dongfang Bubai. It seems that your Songshan Sect's luck is indeed not very good."
"Today, I will kill you all as a warning to Zuo Lengchan. Let him stay in his Songshan Mountain and not come to the capital to seek death again."
"You surnamed Zhao! Don't be so arrogant!" Lu Bai roared. "It must have been that witch from the Five Poisons Sect who betrayed us. Senior brother, stop wasting time talking to him! Let's attack together and kill him! Avenge Junior Brother Fei!"
In their view, Fei Bin's death in Hengshan could not have been caused by anyone other than Zhao Yu.
After all, there are very few people in the entire martial arts world who could kill Fei Bin, the Great Songyang Hand, in one move.
At that time, only Zhao Yu in Hengshan had both the ability and the motive.
As for Mr. Mo, everyone assumed he was at odds with Liu Zhengfeng, and no one suspected him at all.
"Wait!" Ding Mian quickly stopped Lu Bai.
He bowed deeply to Zhao Yu, his attitude extremely respectful: "Young Master Zhao, this matter was indeed our fault. We were blind to your greatness and should not have tried to take advantage of you. Our Songshan Sect admits our mistake."
"We will leave the capital immediately and return to Mount Song. From this day forward, we will never be enemies with you again, young hero. Would you be so kind as to spare our lives?"
Zhao Yu chuckled: "Ding Mian, how can you still be so naive? Do you think that now that I'm here, I'd let you leave alive?"
Before he could finish speaking, a cold glint flashed in Ding Mian's eyes.
With a sudden flick of his left hand, three poisoned bone-piercing nails shot towards Zhao Yu's face, throat, and heart like meteors!
"Let's do it!"
With a loud shout from Ding Mian, the members of the Songshan Sect, who had already received the signal, launched their attack simultaneously.
Countless throwing knives, darts, and silver needles rained down on Zhao Yu.
In an instant, the courtyard was filled with flashes of cold light and the sound of powerful energy cutting through the air.