Free Web NovelChapter 79: Chapter 73: Killing with a Borrowed Knife
Lanlos cried out, "That’s it! That’s it! I had the same feeling before. I thought it was just an Illusion Technique inherent to the Howling Moon Celestial Wolf!"
"Now that you mention it, that does seem strange..." Xue Dangdang nodded in agreement.
Shen Lang’s brow furrowed slightly as he said, "This item is no small matter. None of you are to breathe a word of this to anyone—especially you, Lanlos. If you prove untrustworthy, I might just add a little something to your tea. You know I’m capable of it."
A cold sweat broke out on Lanlos. "You must be joking, Young Master Lang. I’m not that kind of person! Rest assured, I would never, ever tell anyone about this. You can count on it!"
"I hope so..." Shen Lang said with a dismissive smile.
Suddenly, a pair of hands reached over from his right, grabbed his cheeks, and stretched them forcefully outwards.
"What are you doing? Stop messing around. Let go..." Shen Lang swatted Xue Dangdang’s hands away.
"Giggle! It’s just that ever since you had that dream, you’ve been acting so strangely and always love keeping people in suspense... I wanted to see if you were wearing a disguise or possessed by some old demon..."
Seeing how close the two were, a shadow passed over Shui Qingwu’s eyes, and she hastily took a sip of tea to conceal it.
As the auction drew to a close, the Giant Potion and the Giant Potion Formula finally brought the event to its climax.
After a fierce bidding war, the Giant Potion ultimately ended up in the hands of Sima Yan from Tayun Academy.
’The old man probably wants to take this Giant Potion back and study it.’
’Since he couldn’t get the formula, settling for the next best thing, he should at least be able to figure something out from the potion itself.’
It was said that the potion’s formula only required some common materials to create. For that reason alone, the value of this single bottle of Giant Potion far surpassed that of others that had appeared elsewhere.
As for the formula, after an explosive bidding war between five Profound Iron Level Influences, the price not only soared to two hundred and fifty thousand Low Grade Spirit Stones—a sum that made even Shen Lang’s eyes widen—but it also ended up, of all people, in the hands of Yao Chengjie, the Young Sect Leader of the Holy Light Sect!
’What a cruel twist of fate...’
Fortunately, Shen Lang’s will was now firm and his mind at peace, so after a brief moment of surprise, he returned to his usual calm.
Had it been anyone else, the matter of the Silver Eyes of Truth or the auction price of the formula would have been enough to drive them mad.
...
The moment Shen Lang stepped out of the private room, all eyes in the main hall turned to him once again.
Xue Dangdang, however, intentionally held Shui Qingwu back in the room. She whispered something mysteriously in Shui Qingwu’s ear for a moment, then said with a challenging look, "Do you dare?"
Shui Qingwu wore a curious expression, looking slightly tempted. "If you dare, why wouldn’t I?"
"Go do what?" Shen Lang turned back and asked in a low voice. "Are you going to cause trouble?"
His question wasn’t just a wild guess. He had known since not long after meeting Xue Dangdang that she was from the Imperial Capital and that the influence behind her was far from simple.
Could a person who made several of Tayun Academy’s top figures eagerly trail after her like lackeys be a simple person? freёwebnovel.com
At today’s auction, for instance, Mo Liusheng was someone who dared to berate even members of Profound Iron Level Influences, yet in front of Xue Dangdang, he had his beard plucked and could only chalk it up to bad luck...
As for Shui Qingwu, putting everything else aside, the fact that she could scare Yin Kuang’s group of five—who themselves had a formidable background—into smashing a window to escape, clearly meant her own background was at least on par with theirs.
Hearing this, the two girls feigned ignorance; one put her hands behind her back and stared at the ceiling, while the other simply smiled, lowered her head, and sipped her tea.
Shen Lang sighed and added in a low voice, "I’m not against a little mischief, just don’t take it too far."
"Giggle! I know, I know!" Having gotten his approval, Xue Dangdang happily sat back down.
Just then, people began emerging from the private rooms on the second floor.
From the Holy Light Sect’s group, Yao Chengjie shot Shen Lang an arrogant glance and said in a sneering tone, "I hear this reckless punk is named Shen Lang?"
"Yes, Young Sect Leader. The kid’s name is Shen Lang, from the Shen Family of Celestial Phoenix City," a young man beside him said, bowing and scraping.
"Very good, very good..." With a flick of his wrist, Yao Chengjie opened his folding fan and fanned himself with a flourish.
Down below, the faces of the people heading for the exit changed. The Young Sect Leader’s words were dripping with threat. Shen Lang had really been marked!
’Poor kid. So what if the Treasure Pavilion has taken a liking to him?’
’Being targeted by a mighty Profound Iron Level Influence is a death sentence... He’ll probably wish for a quick death when the time comes, but won’t get one!’
To everyone’s surprise, however, Shen Lang said nothing, and the faint smile on his face never wavered.
’I’ve already been insulted, and I’ve already gotten the upper hand. Doing this all over again seems pointless...’
But just because he didn’t care didn’t mean others felt the same. The silver-haired youth from the Profound Dao Sect, who had an almost unearthly beauty, suddenly pushed past the group from the Holy Light Sect and moved to the front, stunning everyone who witnessed it.
Yao Chengjie stumbled from the collision, his face flushing with anger as he roared, "Mo Ge, did you do that on purpose?!"
The silver-haired youth called Mo Ge replied coldly without turning his head, "No."
Yao Chengjie’s expression eased slightly. He seemed a little wary of the silver-haired youth. He snorted coldly and said, "I knew you wouldn’t dare!" freewebnσvel.cѳm
But then Mo Ge, who had only taken two steps forward, added in the same ice-cold voice, "It was intentional."
"..." The people remaining in the hall froze, then desperately stifled their laughter. Many were trying so hard not to make a sound that tears welled up in their eyes. It was a truly bizarre sight.
"Mo Ge, don’t get too arrogant! Sooner or later, we’ll teach you a lesson!" one of the young men beside Yao Chengjie barked.
"Idiot," Mo Ge said flatly, without even turning his head.
The group from the Holy Light Sect was fuming, sputtering with incoherent rage.
However, there was obvious fear of the silver-haired youth in their eyes, so they only followed behind him, cursing under their breath.
Shen Lang glanced back at the silver-haired youth and couldn’t help but smile. ’This kid is quite a character... That said, where on earth have I seen him before?’
Today’s auction was destined to be the most extraordinary one Celestial Phoenix City had ever seen.
And as for the man once known as Celestial Phoenix City’s infamous good-for-nothing, the way every person and every power looked at him had done a complete one-eighty.
In an instant, members of many family factions were scurrying about, beginning to spread the story of what had happened with him at the Treasure Pavilion.
On the surface, Celestial Phoenix City was as calm as a still well, but beneath, a storm was brewing.
"Excuse me, make way..."
Mo Liusheng and Sima Yan strode forward and, flanking him on either side, practically dragged Shen Lang up to a private room in Tingfeng Restaurant as if they were kidnapping him.
Just as Shen Lang and the other two were about to enter Tingfeng Restaurant, a flicker of killing intent flashed in Ye Xue’s eyes from within the crowd. She then gave a subtle glance to Tang Sheng beside her, and the two of them, with a silent understanding, moved toward an empty corner.
"Uncle Tang, what are your thoughts on this Shen Lang?" Ye Xue asked via Divine Thought transmission.
Tang Sheng made no effort to hide the venom in his eyes as he replied with his own Divine Thought transmission: "Even with the Spirit Medicine the City Lord provided, my son’s leg was saved, but his future in Martial Arts is ruined. He’ll never have any significant achievements. I won’t be able to eat or sleep until I get revenge for this!"
"But he’s under the protection of those two old monsters from Tayun Academy, and it seems the Treasure Pavilion is trying to recruit him as well..."
"That kid was originally a good-for-nothing who couldn’t cultivate, and the diagnosis of his Celestial Vein Sacred Body was absolutely correct... The Dean of Tayun Academy himself confirmed it! The only reason Tayun Academy is paying him any mind is likely due to some talent in a trade like Artifact Refining, but that’s all. If we strike now, while their relationship isn’t set in stone, and we do a good job of covering the assassin’s tracks, neither Tayun Academy nor the Treasure Pavilion will make an enemy of us over a dead man!"
A smirk played on Ye Xue’s lips. She nodded slightly and transmitted, "Very good. I’ll leave it to you, then. Remember to be clean about it and leave no loose ends. I don’t want my father to blame me..."
The two exchanged a smile and quickly departed.
Poor Tang Sheng. A dignified Guard Commander of the City Lord’s Mansion, yet he was being used as a pawn by a seventeen-year-old girl. With just a few simple words, she sent him down a path of no return, while he believed his grand revenge was finally within reach...
Shen Lang, already seated in Tingfeng Restaurant, had anticipated all sorts of scenarios. On the contrary, he was perfectly clear on the movements of the various factions, the intentions of people like Ye Xue, and even the reaction from the Holy Light Sect.
But he paid them no mind.
’Xue Dangdang will naturally deal with the Holy Light Sect and Evil Wind Valley. As for Ye Xue and her lot...’
’I was already planning to investigate the truth of what happened back then. Even if they hadn’t come to me, I would have gone looking for them.’
Right now, however, he was far from idle.
On one side, Sima Yan was holding the bottle of Giant Potion, laughing his head off—he just couldn’t stop...
Mo Liusheng, meanwhile, was trying to watch both of them. One moment he would glance at the Giant Potion and chuckle foolishly, the next he would stare intently at Shen Lang’s hands for ages—Shen Lang was practicing Talisman Making!
The table before him was covered with talisman paper, Cinnabar, and other materials, and he was completely absorbed, his hands moving nonstop.
"I say, Xiaolang, are you even listening to me? This is no ordinary Giant Potion, you know! This Giant Potion..."
"I’m listening. You’ve already said it five times, old-timer. The Giant Potion was created with a unique Secret Technique using very common materials like Spirit Grass, turning something worthless into a miracle. The formula is the one that ended up with the Holy Light Sect... The real question is, what on earth do you plan to do? Really try to study it? Are you sure you can figure anything out from that thing?"
Shen Lang didn’t even raise his head, fiddling with the talisman papers as he spoke in a leisurely tone.
