Chapter 81
end to s.h.i.+ft everyone to a place of safety first, then come back to search. We’ll leave behind a sign for Little Three, so he’ll know where we are," Lu Quanan replied with a straight face. He also couldn't bear to leave his third son, but the situation was looking very dire. The two soldiers on sentry were no average Joe; both were hulking, strong men. Yet, they had disappeared without any sound.
This was not an ordinary occurrence.
He suspected that he and his men had been swept up into some sort of trouble.
"Old Master!" w.a.n.g Yanyu pleaded.
"We must leave! Now!" Lu Quanan ordered resolutely.
Under the command of Brother Song and him, the crowd swiftly gathered back into formation. Pulling along the ox carts and horse carts, they left the abandoned village at a steady pace.
Lu Quanan specially left behind a horse and some food and water for Lu Chenxin and the two soldiers, which he placed next
At the Crimson Whale.
Inside the s.p.a.cious meeting hall, the old Sect Master, Chen Ying, a few other External and Internal Affairs Emissaries, as well as Lu Sheng, were all gathered together.
First thing that morning, the old Sect Master had dispatched people to inform all the high-ranks of the sect to gather for a meeting.
No one in the group had any inkling about what was going on. After scurrying over, each of them waited at their seats.
Lu Sheng sat at the sixth External Affairs Emissaries seat, which had previously belonged to Wu San.
Cool rays of the sun shone in from the side of the big hall. It pa.s.sed through the stained gla.s.s windows, reflecting all sorts of colorfully distorted images on the ground.
Servant girls scampered around, serving piping hot tea and cakes before retreating.
The old Sect Master’s gaze was dignified and commanded respect from all present. He scanned over the group.
"Alright, those who have no business here, leave," he signaled with his hand.
All the servant-girls promptly obeyed and withdrew from the big hall. Only Crimson Whale Sect’s high-ranks remained.
The main doors slowly shut tight with a dull ‘BAM’, closing completely. The atmosphere in the main hall seemed to grow heavier with each second ticking by. Everyone present could tell that something was off in the old Sect Master’s expression.
"Just what has happened?" Frowning, Chen Ying took the initiative to ask.
"Sect Master, has there been developments in the North?" Another External Affairs Emissary asked.
"No, it’s one of the areas under our purview. There’s been a problem," the old Sect Master’s voice was tense. Gingerly, he retrieved from within his sleeves a silver-colored letter. This letter was very unique; it was actually not made from paper, but a bizarre silver-colored gold.
"Everyone here knows who stands behind Crimson Whale Sect. This time, the information was transmitted precisely by them," Hong Mingzi’s voice was not loud, but the message it contained caused the hearts of all those present to tremble.
"This information was transmitted by them?" Unaware of it himself, Chen Ying’s large hands had gripped tightly onto the handles of his chair. "They sent out news once ten years ago, which resulted in the deaths of over a thousand in our Sect. And there’s news again this time…" his face turned ugly.
Lu Sheng’s eyes narrowed into a slit.
"The n.o.ble Family—Zhen Family," the old Sect Master Hong Mingzi replied.
'n.o.ble Family…' Lu Sheng was thoroughly shaken. Indeed…
Everyone else grew solemn. As for the term ‘n.o.ble Family’, only those of such high rank like them would understand its implications.
Heavy faces could be seen on all the people present.
"The Zhen Family members usually hardly make an appearance. Once they do, it means the situation has come to a head. Don’t tell me that now…" Elder w.a.n.g said gravely.
"The situation now is indeed in an extremely bad shape," Hong Mingzi replied soberly. "I’ve only just received the news. In just one night, in the entire Northern lands from the Xichuan Manor to the Donglin Manor, as long as it’s within our Crimson Whale Sect jurisdiction—in just one night, eight forbidden zones have sprung up!"
"EIGHT FORBIDDEN ZONES???" Chen Ying’s eyes bulged in surprise. Unable to contain his shock, he had involuntarily stood up.
It wasn’t just him. The others were also in an uproar.
What was a forbidden zone? The Song Manor that left Lu Sheng wounded previously was one of them; in fact, it was considered a rudimentary forbidden zone that had been just formed. The Northern lands, in its entirety, were such a vast area that originally already had quite a few forbidden zones. Now, eight more forbidden zones had sprung up all of a sudden. This meant that on any day, someone could easily take a wrong route and accidentally enter a forbidden zone.
By the time the person realized and tried to escape, it would depend on the person’s luck. If his luck were bad, then there wasn't even any way of knowing how he would die.
Lu Sheng also understood the gravity of the situation. His posture was tense as he listened intently to what the old Sect Master continued to share with them.
"The Zhen Family views this as a severe provocation towards them, and thus has sent out specialists to settle the matter," Hong Mingzi explained briefly. "The n.o.bleman representative they have dispatched to look into the matter is surnamed Zhen, first name Xun. He asks that we deal adequately with the aftermath of the new eight forbidden areas' appearance. He seeks our full cooperation to ensure that there will be no widespread panic."
"Just he alone would be able to settle it?" Chen Ying asked doubtfully.
"There’s indeed just this Young Master Zhen Xun from the Zhen Family who was sent here. However, according to how it’s usually done, this Young Master Zhen Xun should be the one in-charge, but there will be others dispatched under him. Otherwise, with so many places to cover, merely running to and fro each location would take up quite a ma.s.sive amount of time," Hong Mingzi replied. "Here are the details on the eight forbidden zones—everyone, take a look."
He handed over the letter to Chen Ying, who scanned through it and pa.s.sed it over to the next person. This cycle repeated itself.
Very soon, the letter landed in Lu Sheng’s hands. He unfurled it gently.
On the letter was a map of a greater part of the Northern lands. On it, eight small red dots had been distinctly indicated.
He was looking through it when suddenly, his eyes focused on one particular red dot.
"There’s also a forbidden zone between Nine Links City and Mountain-Edge City?" He couldn't help but ask.
"Yes," the old Sect Master Hong Mingzi nodded. "Junior Apprentice Brother, you best inform your family to make a detour around that place."
Lu Sheng was somber as he nodded.
This was the first time that he officially got into contact with a n.o.bleman—excluding Duanmu Wan. Just what sort of difference existed between them, the average person, and the martial arts pract.i.tioners? He wasn't sure.
Perhaps, he would be able to identify the crux of the matter this time.
After making the situation clear, the old Sect Master promptly a.s.signed the individuals responsible for managing the aftermath around specific forbidden zones.
Lu Sheng likewise was a.s.signed a mission. Probably out of consideration for him, he was deployed to that forbidden zone between Nine Links City and Mountain-Edge City.
After they dispersed from the meeting, Lu Sheng swiftly chose his men and horses. There was a total of twenty men, making it twenty-one including him. Five of them were Strength Proficiency experts of the Soaring Eagle Squad, while the rest were all strong, elite saber masters. Twenty men on twenty horses made a dash for the location at full speed.
He wanted to see how exactly were the n.o.blemen different from the average people.
The horses ran at full pelt without making any rest stops. By the time it was almost noon, Lu Sheng had finally arrived at the forbidden zone.
In the abandoned village.
After Lu Quanan’s entourage left steadily, it was nearly noontime when the village by the main road again received another guest.
Under the gloomy gray sky, a perfectly black horse trotted unhurriedly into the little village.
On top of the horse sat a young, smiling Young Master of a mild disposition.
"Is this the place?" The smile was plastered on the Young Master’s face, almost as if it were frozen. It was consistently the same smile.
He was dressed in green robes and entirely unarmed, with nary a piece of metal to be found on his body. With only a piece of dark green jade hanging from his waistband, he looked entirely plain and simple.