Chapter 595: Argument
Chapter 595: Chapter 595: Argument
Su Qing listened quietly to the two men. She’d never imagined that everything happening in these mountains was actually because of Ye Yuefeng.
From the sound of it, Ye Yuefeng’s family was planning to do something against Hua Country to avenge him.
Su Qing’s eyes narrowed. She already despised these Japanese dwarves and was itching to deal with a few more. Now that this whole affair was a result of her killing Ye Yuefeng, she certainly couldn’t just stand by and watch.
But as Su Qing continued to listen, she heard no more useful clues. After all, these two were just small-time lackeys who didn’t know much. If she wanted to find out what these people were really doing in the mountains, she’d have to find someone with more information.
Su Qing turned her head toward Hua Country. It was a thousand kilometers away, and across the sea. ’What could they possibly be planning from such a great distance?’
Su Qing controlled her vines, which silently wrapped around the two lackeys’ necks. Before they could even react or make a sound, the vines twisted, snapping their necks. Neither man understood what was happening as they drew their last breath, and then the vines dragged their bodies underground.
After eliminating one patrol, Su Qing didn’t let her guard down. She commanded her vines to search the area and soon found three more groups. She dealt with them in the same ruthless fashion, showing no mercy to the men from Japan and dispatching them one after another. Afterward, Su Qing quickly located their camp.
In a sizable valley, dozens of tents were pitched haphazardly. More than ten people slept in each one. Su Qing did a rough count and estimated there were three to four hundred people in total. Their clothing was very similar to that of the eight men she had just eliminated.
By a mountain stream on the eastern side of the valley stood four separate tents. Just as Su Qing was about to direct her vines to investigate them, a sharp voice barked from one of the tents, "Who’s there!"
Before the sound even faded, an old man in his sixties or seventies with a half-white beard and hair rushed out of the second tent from the left. He scanned his surroundings vigilantly, his eyes narrowed as he spoke in a cold voice, "Who’s sneaking around? Show yourself if you have the guts!"
"What’s wrong? What’s going on?" The old man’s voice woke the occupants of the other three tents, who hurried out to see what was happening. A middle-aged man with a neatly trimmed mustache quickly asked, "Elder Ye Yue, what happened?"
The man called Elder Ye Yue was the old man with the half-white hair and beard. He continued to survey the area before saying, "I just sensed an unfamiliar presence approaching, but now it seems to be gone."
Su Qing didn’t dare move her vines. ’I can’t believe he’s this powerful,’ she thought. ’All I wanted was to scout things out, and he already detected me.’
’Elder Ye Yue?’
’So this old man is an elder of the Ye Yue Family... a kinsman of that Ye Yuefeng!’
’Hmph!’
Su Qing sneered inwardly. ’Ye Yuefeng was a real piece of work, and it looks like the rest of his Ye Yue Family are birds of a feather.’
"Heh, Ye Yue Taidou, would you stop being so jumpy? Who could possibly be out here in the middle of the night? I didn’t sense anything." The speaker was another old man, about the same age as Elder Ye Yue. He snorted and said to him, "I’ve already laid a Maze around the perimeter of Putai Mountain, with patrols guarding it. Who could possibly get past the Maze and the patrols to find this valley? You must have been dreaming."
"Hmph, Shengchuan Gong! Do you think I sleep like a log, just like you? You think laying a Maze and posting a few patrols means everything is foolproof?" Ye Yue Taidou shot Shengchuan Gong a glare and continued, "There are plenty of powerful people in this world. Just because you haven’t run into them doesn’t mean you’re number one. You’re so full of yourself all the time. Just how great do you think you are?"
"Bah! The Shengchuan Family may not be the most powerful, but at least we haven’t had a junior member die mysteriously in Hua Country, with no clue as to who the killer is. If that happened in the Shengchuan Family, it would be an utter disgrace." Shengchuan Gong rolled his eyes and made a spitting gesture at Ye Yue Taidou.
"Say that again, you bastard, I dare you!" Shengchuan Gong’s words had struck a nerve with Ye Yue Taidou. Ye Yuefeng had been an exceptionally brilliant junior of the Ye Yue Family, ranked among the top Onmyoji in all of Japan. He was not only powerful but also incredibly talented and hardworking. Given time, it wouldn’t have been impossible for him to become Japan’s number one Onmyoji. But now, he had died mysteriously in Hua Country, and they hadn’t even found the killer. It was enough to make the Ye Yue Family utterly furious.
Since they couldn’t find the murderer, they would just take revenge on Hua Country as a whole. After all, he had been killed in Hua Country, so it was a logical target. That was why Ye Yue Taidou had proposed the plan against Hua Country to His Majesty the Emperor, which in turn led to this mission on Putai Mountain.
"So what if I say it again?" Shengchuan Gong sneered. "Am I wrong? Didn’t that Ye Yuefeng of your Ye Yue Family die in Hua Country?"
"You son of a bitch! No matter what, my Little Feng was better than any of the trash from your Shengchuan Family. Forget the younger generation; even you, Shengchuan Gong, have the nerve to call yourself an elder? You can’t even set up a proper Maze! Didn’t a few ordinary people wander in just the other day? If I were you, I’d be too ashamed to hold the title of elder. What a disgrace!"
The two of them grew angrier as they spoke, and their argument escalated.
Seeing the elders of the Ye Yue and Shengchuan Families arguing, the man with the neatly trimmed mustache sucked in a sharp breath. He quickly interjected, "My lords, my lords, please calm down! Don’t be angry. We are all working for His Majesty now. We should be concentrating our efforts on Hua Country."
In Japan, while the Onmyoji families held considerable influence, they were still expected to show respect to the Imperial Family. The man with the neatly trimmed mustache had been sent by His Majesty to assist them, and though he was an ordinary man, he had the Emperor’s backing. Ye Yue Taidou and Shengchuan Gong couldn’t completely disregard him. Thus, after exchanging cold snorts, they both turned their heads away and ignored each other.
The man with the neatly trimmed mustache sighed in relief at the sight. ’This is exhausting,’ he thought. ’The Ye Yue Family and the Shengchuan Family are both powerful Onmyoji families, and neither is willing to yield to the other. They used to just compete in secret, but now they can barely keep up the appearance of harmony. What am I supposed to do about this!’
Su Qing didn’t make a move, silently listening to their shouting match. She narrowed her eyes, thinking back to when she first entered the mountains.
’It seems... I don’t think... I ran into any Maze at all!’
’Maybe because my Wood Ability lets me merge with the forest, the Maze had no effect on me?’
Su Qing didn’t understand the intricacies of Feng Shui or the Onmyoji arts, so after failing to figure it out, she stopped trying. ’In any case, nothing in this forest can hurt me,’ she thought. With that, she shifted her attention to the woman who had emerged from her tent but remained silent the entire time.