Chapter 21
As for tonight's reconnaissance to the Eastern Treading Court, Ling Tian felt that his harvest was still considered to be on the good side. After all, it was his first time going forth to spy on people, and to already catch wind of such news made him very satisfied. In fact, Ling Tian could not help but fantasize in his heart, "Don't tell me everyone who crossed through world are so lucky? Receiving such important news in just a casual reconnaissance."
The crux of this lay in the fact that Ling Tian's timing was perfect. Firstly, Ling Zhen got himself beaten up for no rhyme or reason, and thus must have acc.u.mulated quite a bit of hatred in his heart! Second was the fact that Ling Kong would feel a pain in his heart for the condition of his child and thus try to console him.
As for the timing that Ling Tian himself chose, he was very clear that the content that Ling Kong and his son would discuss today would be regarding unscrupulous matters which would cause the both of them to be buried without a tombstone if revealed! Hence, to be careful, they only left such matters to be discussed in the dead of the night.
Thus Ling Tian planned his time accurately; just as both father and son had just opened the curtains to the discussion on their betrayal, Ling Tian was already noiselessly perched on top of their roof.
Ling Tian pondered over this. The news obtained today was enough to prove that both father and son did not harbor any good intentions in their hearts, to the point that the reason Ling Xiao and Chu Ting'er had been married for so long but did not bear any offspring was also plotted by Ling Kong himself!
In addition to that, Ling Tian realized that Ling Kong had been scheming as such, working behind the scenes for over a decade, aiming to take control of the various income-generating businesses of the Ling family! The Northwest Ranch, which was considered one of the main sources of revenue for the Ling family had also now fallen into Ling Kong's grasp! If Ling Tian were to make a rash moves, just these pillars of strength which Ling Kong controlled definitely had the ability to plunge the Ling family into chaos!
Both Ling Kong and son were harbouring malicious intents. They secretly plotted to wrest away control of the Ling family's businesses as well as cause irreparable damage to Chu Ting'er! Both father and son would have to pay for their crimes with death! However, Ling Tian knew that this timing was not the most opportune moment to expose them. Only by disclosing those working undercover under the orders of Ling Kong and catching them in one fell swoop, could he avoid any future repercussions. This would be the best way to go about doing things.
With Ling Tian's current strength, wanting to let Ling Kong and his son disappear without a sign was as easy as merely lifting a finger. But this way, the undercover forces of Ling Kong, the people who were in cahoots with them to betray the family, would also sink under wraps and would never surface to surrender themselves. Thus, it would be immensely difficult to deal with all of them!
Furthermore, one had to take into consideration the reaction of Ling Zhan; after all, Ling Kong was his G.o.dson. Thus, if he were to take action without proper proof, his grandfather would fly into a rage without doubt...
At this point, Ling Tian merely smiled coldly. If that's the case, then let me treat it as raising a pig for the slaughter. Sooner or later, your life will still end in my hands! Since I can't silence you both for the moment, then I shall treat it as though I have obtained another two playthings!
As soon as the second day started, after Ling Tian had finished with his meal, he proceeded towards the study room. Mister Qin was dressed in a green robe today. Standing by the door watching the tiny figure of Ling Tian plodding towards him, he had a complicated expression in his eyes.
Naturally, only Ling Tian turned up for lessons today. Even if one threatened to beat Ling Zhen to death, he probably would never want to stay in the same room as Ling Tian for study ever again.
As for the matter of Ling Zhen not turning up, Ling Tian's response was apathetic, as though he had long expected it, or had been forewarned. Mister Qin secretly sized up this student of his and found out that he was getting more and more mysterious. At such a small age, his actions were ruthless, yet his intelligence was beyond the roof with the gift of the gab. However, he was stubborn and unyielding, and liked to do things his own way. This was the impression Mister Qin got from his student at that particular moment.
Seeing Ling Tian sitting there prim and proper with an unrestrained face, Mister Qin suddenly felt as though Ling Tian had come into this lesson completely prepared. His previous methods were to first talk about the greater meaning behind studying, so as to motivate the student to study harder.
However, facing this kid, Mister Qin somehow felt that he could save his saliva by eliminating all that nonsense...
Clearing his throat, Mister Qin put his hands behind his back and straightened his expression, saying, "For the first lesson, this old man will first lecture about etiquette. From the past till the present, manners were never disregarded. It is widely believed and known that to be human means to have manners, and manners is the first of many…" He continued gabbling non-stop.
Ling Tian naturally understood why Mister Qin started talking about etiquette in the very first lesson. This was due to him being too willful yesterday, plus the fact that he mauled his cousin, Ling Zhen, for no apparent reason. Thus, the old man decided to put in some effort in an attempt to guide him towards the correct path. Thinking up to here, Ling Tian's natural restless state began to calm down. Although the old man did not truly understand the actual application of his lecture, such a dedication was admirable. It could be seen that even though Mister Qin was a very rigid person and overly conventional by nature, he definitely lived up to the name of a learned scholar. Ling Tian's heart warmed at his effort and he
As for Mister Qin, he had gabbled non-stop for quite a while now, to the point that his spittle was flying everywhere, but he did not reduce the speed at which he was speaking. Ling Tian's guts twisted as he involuntarily felt the urge to laugh. This was undoubtedly a plan to attack Ling Tian's confidence, and, if he guessed correctly, the old man was already preparing to bombard him with questions.
Indeed, once the old man snapped the book shut on his hands, he put on a stern face and coldly asked, "As to what teacher had said previously, can you remember them all?"
Ling Tian immediately started laughing inside; this was proceeding exactly like how he guessed it! Putting on a sincerely respectful face, he replied, "Just now, like sir was saying, from the past till the present, manners were never disregarded. It is widely believed and known that to be human means to have manners, and manners is the first of many…" That little mouth suddenly started gabbling non-stop, regurgitating whatever Mister Qin spoke moments ago without missing out a single word.
Mister Qin was overwhelmed with shock! Pointing at Ling Tian, his tongue moved but he was unable to get a word out. The expression in his eyes was one of extreme shock. However, that lasted only a while before it turned into one of extreme joy!
For a student to find a good teacher might be difficult, but for a teacher to find a good student required double the effort! The difficulty could be described as though a horse connoisseur has spotted a herd of thousand-mile colts. Mister Qin originally thought that with the Ling family up and coming, and their businesses booming, it was just a matter of circ.u.mstance for him to come over to teach. The first impression he personally witnessed of Ling Tian yesterday also left him disappointed beyond belief. But who knew that by testing him today, he would find out that this student was intelligent beyond compare? With such a good memory, what's more one where he could memorize sentences just by hearing them once, Mister Qin was overcome with utmost joy.
Seeing the elation on Mister Qin's face, Ling Tian was glad and could not help but think to himself: Seems like crossing through worlds does bring about quite a lot of benefits. No wonder those novels always comment about people crossing through different worlds having an impeccable memory. Seems like there is an element of truth in it. At least for me, wasn't what just happened a very good example?
Mister Qin was obviously gratified. He stroked his beard, smiling so hard that his eyes were reduced to slits as he exclaimed, "Tian'er, you have a gift blessed by the heavens. So long as I personally guide and groom you for the next five years, I'm afraid that the imperial court would definitely want to rope you in for a major role!" Talking up to this point, he suddenly felt as though he was uttering gibberish. It was the son of the great general Ling Xiao, grandson of old master Ling and the nephew of the royal concubine he was talking about; if he did not have a major role to play when he entered the imperial court, then that would be weird beyond belief. With his heart so pleased, he did not even realize that he had changed the way he addressed Ling Tian, now calling him "Tian'er" instead.
With a childish smile on his face, Ling Tian replied, "Tian'er has felt Mister's heart and effort, and knows that only by seriously studying can I repay Mister's effort spent on teaching me and not sully Mister's name."
Mister Qin was jolted as he heard Ling Tian's words and glanced at him in interest before asking, "Share with me, what type of heart and effort have you felt within Teacher?" He was extremely curious. At such a tender age, having such a heaven-blessed memory was already rare enough. If he were to even have such acute and profound senses towards one's emotions, then Mister Qin could only label him as a freak. Although he thought this way, Mister Qin was still filled with expectations to the answer in which Ling Tian would give.
On Ling Tian's face appeared a smile full of intelligence as he spoke, "Tian'er once heard that usually when Mister teaches your students, you would first start from letting them familiarize themselves with words, going through the four books and five sutras in order. However, when Mister started lessons today, you instead started talking about etiquette. There must be some inner meaning to this."
By now, Mister Qin could no longer contain the waves in his heart as he thought: Could it really be that such a genius can exist in this world? He could only continue questioning, "So, what inner meaning do you think teacher would have by doing this?"
Ling Tian leisurely continued, "I a.s.sume Mister must have seen me being willful and even beating up an innocent person yesterday, and deduced that I was not being taught properly in the past, and thus decided to start with talking about etiquette and manners in order to alter my mind…"
Mister Qin's heart nearly stopped beating right there and then! His pair of eyes opened wide till they looked like saucers, as though he just met a sort of demon!
Ling Tian only gave a noncommittal smile before he continued dropping bombsh.e.l.ls, "When I met Mister yesterday, Tian'er had already found Mister to be an upright and trustable man. This was in addition to the fact that Mister has students everywhere and yet still has the reputation of being just and honest. Thus, Tian'er could not bring himself to deceive you. I would like Mister to help me to protect this secret. I will not disappoint Mister as well as the teachings you have imparted, and will make your name resound throughout the lands under heaven!"
Ling Tian had seen through this old man long ago; inflexible he might have been, but he was definitely someone he could trust. Besides, Ling Tian still had quite a number of years to spend with this old man and thus some things could not be hidden for long. If that was the case, it was better to say it out openly so that they could clear the air.
Mister Qin was so moved that his body started trembling involuntarily. With tears in his eyes, he said, "From the time I started teaching till now, from those of low backgrounds all the way to those descendants of n.o.bles, I have never seen a person whose intellect can match yours, Tian'er. To be able to have such a fine student in my life, this old man has no more regrets in this life."
A snow white brow, however, creased, "If so, why did you do that yesterday…?"
Ling Tian merely gave a brief smile, saying, "Mister, I had to divert the tiger's attention and give a signal to those people with hidden meanings. The Ling family's descendant, after all, is only me, Tian'er. This is to prevent matters from blowing up and increasing the unhappiness of everyone.
The meaning of Ling Tian's sentence was extremely obvious, and although Mister Qin might have been an inflexible person, he was in no way devoid of sense. Always aware of and up to date with the current news, he obviously knew what Ling Tian implied. He could not help but look at this child with admiration.
Now Ling Tian laughed, "Let me first inform Mister that from today, I will be a lazy and idle good-for-nothing, with no motivation whatsoever to improve himself. Will Mister please forgive me at that time?"
This came as another bombsh.e.l.l to Mister Qin, causing him to be stunned silly. He could only reply, "Why would you do such a thing?"
His eyes turning cold, Ling Tian replied, "Don't tell me Mister cannot see the situation that my family is currently in? Though we may look glamorous on the outside, we are actually surrounded by danger. Any slightest pretext would cause our clan to be destroyed and our members to be killed, consigned to eternal d.a.m.nation! Might I ask teacher, if a genius appeared in the Ling family at such a time, and rumors were to spread, what kind of scenario would we see?"
Mister Qin instantly trembled in fright! As an outsider, he could of course see the situation that the Ling family was currently in! However, because the previous two generations of the Ling family members were all courageous without a sc.r.a.p of being scheming, and along with their unswerving loyalty to the royal family, everyone chose to let things go as per normal. If one were to eliminate the Ling family without careful consideration, the resulting chaos would be on the scale of affecting the entire empire and would even shake the very foundations of it. As a monarch, that was not something they would want to see. In addition, since all the members were under the control of the royal family, while they might seem to be in a precarious position, they were actually extremely stable.
However, Ling Tian's appearance would be enough to shatter this balance! With his intellect, he had already exceeded the baseline of the other major powers' tolerance! Even Mister Qin could not predict what sort of scenario would happen when Ling Tian receives the baton for the head of the family! This sort of character was akin to a dragon in the heavens; how could he be satisfied with living while being below someone?
Thus, once word about Ling Tian spreads, the Ling family would meet with a disaster! Being a five-year-old, and yet having his sights set so far even to the point of meticulously planning and preparing a set of strategies in advance, this sort of intellect could be considered fearful!
Thinking to this point, Mister Qin suddenly realized that he had been unknowingly chained onto the broken boat that was the Ling family, and that he had no way of escaping! He could only point a shaking finger in the direction of that despicable fellow in stupefaction, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, "Haiz! Without knowing, this old man was actually pulled into your plans… You… You this…"
The face of Ling Tian now broke into a smile that resembled a sly smile from a fox, "Mister now understands, right?"
Mister Qin could only slump down on his chair, wanting to cry but not having any tears coming out!
Suddenly, Ling Tian stood up and solemnly bowed towards Mister Qin, "This matter concerns the life of my family clan and our tens of thousands of lives. Hence, your student has no choice but to carry out such a method. If I had insulted Mister in any way, then please forgive me! Your student here swears that, as long as the Ling family lives for a day, we will ensure that you and your family are protected! May Heaven curse me if I go back on my word!"
Mister Qin hurriedly helped him up, sighing as he spoke. "What you did was forced by your circ.u.mstances, so who could blame you? Forget it, I am also getting old, I do not have much days left. For the most brilliant student I've ever had in my life, this old man will make a gamble for once, how about that?"
Breaking into a beaming smile, Ling Tian replied, "Mister will definitely live to a ripe old age!" As he spoke, the smile on his face looked like it could be taken by one's hands, and with the ruddy complexion on his little face, it made him look unbelievably cute.
Mister Qin could only stare directly at him, before finally letting out a great sigh, "Are you a five-year-old child, or a thousand-year-old fox in disguise?"
Maintaining the smile, Ling Tian flashed his teeth at him, "Why don't Mister try guessing?"