Chapter Twenty-Three: A Night Visit to the Meng Residence

"Hey, Tong, speaking of these clothes, I bet no one could spot us. Why on earth did those assassins wear night gear to attack us in broad daylight?" Meng Yan Yu asked, puzzled.

Li Qiutong shook his head, equally baffled by the assassins’ foolishness.

This time, the failed assassination couldn’t really be blamed on the assassins’ incompetence. As the top assassin organization of Qin—the Dark Moon—their professionalism was renowned. Not only were they formidable, but their plans were always meticulous, with almost no record of failure. Even this time, they sent enough men to kill Meng Yan Yu.

A martial master skilled in archery, two martial masters adept at close combat, plus a team of well-trained fighters. Such a lineup would suffice to assassinate an unprepared martial grandmaster, let alone a martial master. That’s why they dared to strike as soon as they found Meng Yan Yu’s residence, and even the presence of a few young people nearby didn’t give them much pause.

But the result was a disaster: Yang Ruiyun intercepted the ambush, Li Qiutong thwarted the assassination, and the entire force was wiped out. It was one of Dark Moon’s greatest humiliations since its founding.

The Meng residence stood at the center of the tribe, a symbol of the Meng clan’s leadership among the Southern Barbarians. In the old days, the Southern Barbarians were scattered in small forest tribes, each with its own ethnic identity. When people from the mainland discovered the resources of the Southern Barbarian forest, they began to plunder them relentlessly. Later, the Meng clan’s ancestor gained the approval of the forest’s sacred beast and led the Southern Barbarians to defeat the invaders from the mainland countless times, establishing the first Southern Barbarian tribe. From then on, the Meng ancestor became the tribe’s first chieftain, a position always inherited by the Meng clan’s descendants.

The current chieftain, Meng Zhan, had two sons: Meng Yan Feng and Meng Yan Yu. The elder, Meng Yan Feng, was twenty-eight, already a martial grandmaster, a commander of the Southern Barbarian army, and highly capable in administration—long considered by the elders as the next chieftain. The younger, Meng Yan Yu, just turned eighteen, already a martial master, but often neglectful of his duties, busy flirting with girls or adventuring in the forest, showing none of the qualities expected of a chieftain’s heir. Moreover, his mother’s outsider status led the tribal leadership to constantly ostracize him.

Led by Meng Yan Yu, the two arrived at the gates of the Meng residence. There, too, stood a fence as tall as two men, with patrolling soldiers.

"Tong, do you have a way in?" The two crouched in the grass nearby, conferring.

"Don’t you know of any backdoor?"

Li Qiutong’s question sparked a thought in Meng Yan Yu, who carefully led him in a particular direction. Following Meng Yan Yu, they found a small hole in the grass behind the Meng residence.

"I dug this hole ages ago to sneak out. Can’t believe it’s still here."

Li Qiutong eyed the hole with a mix of amusement and disbelief. "Are you sure we can fit through?"

"We should be able to."

Li Qiutong sighed, glanced around, and saw no one nearby.

"Hold on to me. We’ll fly in." With that, Li Qiutong grabbed Meng Yan Yu and leapt high. The martial essence of Wind flickered around them, and a large wind bird carried them over the fence, landing them inside the Meng residence.

"Tong, the density of your martial essence is incredible. I’ve seen my father’s martial manifestations—realistic, yes—but lifting people directly? Impossible." Meng Yan Yu exclaimed.

Li Qiutong had no desire to explain further—even he hadn’t figured out why he was so different from others. He pulled Meng Yan Yu toward the nearest building, sneaking along.

The Meng residence was vast. Beyond the encampments of the guarding troops was a broad central plaza, with a huge statue at its heart. In one corner of the plaza stood a grand duplex bamboo lodge, composed of three buildings facing east, south, and west, five times larger than the outer bamboo lodges, with an inner courtyard. The two now approached this bamboo lodge.

"Yan, where is your father’s room?" Li Qiutong whispered.

"Right nearby. Follow me."

Crouching low, they crept forward. Though their stealth wasn’t expert, their professional attire and the patrols’ laxity let them slip into the bamboo lodge.

With Meng Yan Yu leading, they reached a room in the main building, its lights still on. Meng Yan Yu gestured for Li Qiutong to be cautious—someone was inside.

Li Qiutong nodded, and they waited quietly outside.

Inside, three men were present. One lay on the bed, his face ruddy but twisted in pain, clearly suffering greatly. The other two: one burly, his clothes taut, the other gaunt and pale, as if stricken by illness.

They were Meng Yan Yu’s father, Meng Zhan; his elder brother, Meng Yan Feng; and the physician from Qin, Zhao Tianshi.

Zhao Tianshi was observing Meng Zhan’s condition, while Meng Yan Feng stood coldly by, watching silently.

"How is it?" Meng Yan Feng asked as Zhao Tianshi rose.

"It’s fine. Still under my control," Zhao Tianshi replied.

Meng Yan Feng smiled, relieved. "Good. But you’d better explain why that fellow from Canaan noticed something was wrong. Didn’t you say no one would ever suspect?"

Zhao Tianshi answered coolly, "I underestimated him. Didn’t expect he’d notice Meng Zhan’s abnormal state."

Meng Yan Feng’s smile faded. "You underestimated him? If he discovers anything else, what about our plan?"

"It won’t happen. Once my blood poison takes effect in five days, unless the Medicine Sage returns, no one will see it was poisoning." Zhao Tianshi said confidently.

"It had better be so. Have you heard from the assassins sent after Meng Yan Yu?"

Zhao Tianshi shook his head. "Not yet. But as Qin’s top assassin organization, Dark Moon dispatched three Earth-level assassins and five Human-level ones. That’s more than enough for a martial master. Maybe they have other tasks and haven’t reported in yet."

Meng Yan Feng grew more irritable at the answer. "Hmph. Let’s hope your assassins live up to their reputation."

Zhao Tianshi retorted, "We’re just partners, not your subordinates. You’d best mind your attitude. And how are your own responsibilities proceeding?"

"I’m nearly done. I’ve been expanding the army. As soon as the old man dies, I’ll seamlessly inherit the chieftainship, and all the tribe’s forces will be under my command."

Zhao Tianshi spoke earnestly, "Now that our country is at war with Han, time is short. Once the Han front stabilizes, we’ll attack Chu. Your elephant cavalry will be a crucial force against Chu—you must prepare for war swiftly."

Meng Yan Feng caught the note of distrust in his words and cursed, "If not for that stubborn Gu Ming, I’d already control the elephant cavalry."

Zhao Tianshi nodded. "Gu Ming is indeed a menace. We must deal with him soon; otherwise his character and abilities will surely disrupt our plans."

"It’s not that I don’t want him dead, but only the chieftain and the elephant cavalry leader know the training methods and command tactics. If we kill him, who’ll command the elephants?"

Zhao Tianshi pressed, "Isn’t there any written record?"

Meng Yan Feng replied helplessly, "No. Everything is passed orally from chieftain to successor." He turned, glaring angrily at his father on the bed. "And this old man actually wants to hand the position to my useless brother. But in the end, it’ll be mine. In five days, we’ll summon Gu Ming, tell him Father is dead, and I’m the new chieftain. Given his loyalty, I should get what we need. Then I’ll conveniently kill the tribe’s top warrior."

"As long as you keep our agreement."

A strange clang sounded outside.

"Who’s there?" Meng Yan Feng rushed out.

But the courtyard was quiet, nothing amiss. Meng Yan Feng searched carefully and found nothing unusual, only a cold wind blowing.

"Just the wind, I think. The winds here can be quite strong," Zhao Tianshi said, stepping out.

Meng Yan Feng searched a bit more, found nothing, and returned to the room, worried.

Right under the floorboards where he’d just stood, two figures dressed in black lay atop a green bird. Hearing the door close, Li Qiutong breathed a sigh of relief. Earlier, Meng Yan Yu, unable to accept what he’d overheard, nearly burst in to confront Meng Yan Feng. Thankfully, Li Qiutong knocked him out in time, though the commotion drew attention from inside.

After waiting a while with no further changes, Li Qiutong had the wind bird carry them out of the Meng residence.

"Hey, did you just see a big bird in the sky?" one guard asked another in confusion.

"You must be drunk. What bird? I saw nothing. Hurry up and finish your shift—go get some sleep."

The guard rubbed his eyes, yawned, and said, "Maybe I was seeing things."

Luckily, the two remained undiscovered, safely returning to Canaan’s bamboo lodge.

Li Qiutong carried the unconscious Yan back and knocked on the door.

"Quick, Second Brother, help me out."

Yang Ruiyun hurried forward to take Meng Yan Yu and asked, "Big Brother, why is Yan out cold? You two didn’t get into a fight, did you?"

Li Qiutong sat down, waved his hand, still shaken. "No, I knocked him out myself. Nearly got caught, though. Give me a moment."

It was Li Qiutong’s first time doing something like this. Before, at most he’d sneak around with Tian Baishu, peeking at people bathing—nothing like infiltrating the Meng residence. Once he calmed down, Li Qiutong recounted what he’d overheard to Yang Ruiyun.

Yang Ruiyun was indignant. "I can’t believe that guy not only sent assassins after his own half-brother, but poisoned his father as well. Truly despicable."

Li Qiutong sighed deeply. "Now we can only hope that Master Canaan finishes the antidote soon."