Chapter 88: The Silver-Maned Man

Tong Ge and the bewildered Dong Fangshuang stood nearby, feeling as though their attempt to steal the bride had ended in a far greater disaster. This had already surpassed the bounds of their understanding.

“There are some things I needn’t say outright. You should understand,” Dao Dezi said softly. Some truths, he implied, did not need to be spoken aloud.

The others looked at him as if to say: even if you don’t say it, we still don’t understand. Yet no one dared ask.

If they asked now, wouldn’t that only make them seem foolish?

So they nodded, then pretended to weigh the advantages and dangers of the matter.

Since Dao Dezi had said as much, someone must certainly have wanted them dead and unable to return. But that did not quite fit either; nothing particularly unusual had happened today.

“Oh yes, who took the lead in today’s matter?” Dao Dezi asked, lifting a wine flask from the top of his cane and beginning to drink.

“I did,” Yan Chengtian said frankly.

“Just you alone?” Dao Dezi sounded doubtful.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

At the question, anger flashed in Yan Chengtian’s eyes. In a low voice he said, “Because six years ago, I received a message from Ye Ming. He wanted my daughter to marry his son!”

Tong Ge and the three juniors were also astonished after hearing this. So this marriage had been settled six years ago.

Dong Fangkuo asked curiously, “What’s wrong with that? Back when Ye Ming was still in Tai Jing, you followed him around all day. How impressive was that?”

Yan Chengtian let out a cold snort. “But I am no longer the same underling I was back then! Yet he still spoke to me in the tone of an order! That is my daughter, not some object! If he says my daughter must marry, must I obey? Must I not resist him?”

Ye Yang only gave a faint reply after hearing that. “That’s just the sort of person he is.”

Dao Dezi took another drink and said calmly, “If you hadn’t followed Ye Ming back then, you wouldn’t have accumulated the connections you have today. In the end, you simply feel that Ye Ming is in trouble now and no longer has the power to command you, so you resent it. Don’t make others sound so vile. Everyone has hard times. Besides, Ye Ming is not truly in a dire position now; you only think he is.”

Tong Ge hurriedly cupped his hands and asked respectfully, “Senior, is there some other secret in this?”

“Children should concentrate on their cultivation. By the time you are qualified to know, you won’t want to know anymore.”

Dao Dezi’s words left Ye Yang and the others silent. It seemed the matter ran very deep and was far from simple. Coming here with Yan Chengtian now did seem too hasty, even like stirring the grass to startle the snake.

Just then, Dao Dezi’s furrowed brow tightened all the more.

“They’re here!”

At those words, everyone jolted and immediately looked around, their right hands resting on their sword hilts as they stared into the depths of the woods.

Apart from a faint hissing sound coming from the forest, there was nothing else.

But precisely because of that, everyone’s hearts grew even heavier. Still, with Dao Dezi here, they could relax a little.

If even Dao Dezi could not handle it, then probably no one in Tai Jing could.

Who exactly wanted to kill them and silence them forever?

While everyone was racking their brains in confusion, a gale suddenly swept in. Towering trees toppled under it, and the group was dragged backward by the force, sliding across the ground. Only Dao Dezi remained as steady as a mountain; despite the wind battering him, it could not shake him in the slightest.

After several breaths, the gale finally seemed to die away. Everyone waved their hands to scatter the dust, and through the drifting haze, a figure could be made out.

It was a man with very long hair.

One glance at the swaying arc of it was enough to tell, and one could even see the cape behind him billowing in the wind. The group was bewildered.

Who had come?

Enemy or ally?

Ye Yushu had already been blown to the ground. He shook his head to clear it, then looked around. The forest had become strangely open.

The trees had been ripped out by their roots, and no one knew where they had been blown off to.

Watching that figure in the distance, everyone wondered what kind of spell this person had used to create such terrifying power.

In truth, this was merely my Brother Kun having stopped in his tracks.

That was right: Ye Kun, running at full speed, had abruptly halted, and the force of that single stop was enough to inflict severe damage on everything before him. If Dao Dezi had not secretly bolstered them just now, they would not merely have slid backward—they would have been carried away along with the trees.

When the dust finally settled, everyone could at last see the visitor clearly.

A man in silver leather armor?

Ye Kun had finally seen the group, and especially when he spotted Ye Yushu lying on the ground, the fire in his belly seemed ready to rise to his mouth and burst forth as flames.

“Who are you!” Ye Yang demanded in a deep voice.

Ye Kun lowered his voice and said coolly, “The one who will kill you.”

“Sir, we have no grudge against you... why...” Dong Fangkuo said softly, sensing how powerful this man seemed to be.

“In my view, killing you requires no reason.”

Dong Fangshuang was not convinced and shouted, “You’re already going to kill us! Is it that hard to give a reason? Make one up if you have to! Do you look down on the dead or something?”

Dong Fangkuo’s eyes nearly rolled clean out of their sockets. Nephew, could you please stop talking?

He immediately struck Dong Fangshuang with a pebble and knocked him unconscious.

My Lord Shuang was unconscious again...

Ye Kun had originally come in a blaze of fury, but at the sight of Dong Fangshuang collapsing, he suddenly found it absurd.

My Brother Kun had carefully built the atmosphere, and you shattered it all.

“I am Dao Dezi. May I ask how you are addressed, sir?” Dao Dezi finally stepped forward. Everyone present was probably no match for this man; perhaps only he had a chance of contending with him. Who exactly had sent him? A sage? Or some ancient monster from the Heavenly Net Academy?

Ye Kun did not particularly want to make things difficult for Dao Dezi, after all, he had once seen that his teacher had some connection with him.

But since he had been asked, he still needed a name. His father had the title of King of Hell, and as for his mother, he did not yet know her title—she probably was not as narcissistic as his father.

What should he call himself? He had not considered this at all before.

Everyone stared at the armored man before them. Did he need to think so long just to give a name? It seemed he still had reservations.

“Call me the Silver Man,” Ye Kun said in a low voice. Strangely enough, his voice had a trace of magnetism to it, rather attractive in its own way.

The moment they heard the title, the others had never heard of it. A newly risen figure?

“Very well, Silver Man. Would you be willing to grant this old Dao Dezi some face?”

“No.”

Ye Kun wanted to, but these people were simply too detestable.

Dao Dezi sighed lightly and said to the others, “Step farther away. I’m afraid you’ll be caught in the crossfire.”

The group hurriedly cupped their hands in acknowledgment. With Dao Dezi making a move, things were secure.

Ye Kun fixed his gaze on Dao Dezi, feeling a little nervous inside. After all, this was the foremost expert of the Great Way in Tai Jing.

“Hearing your voice, you seem quite young, yet you possess such cultivation. Young man, turn back while you still can. This old man does not hold back his hand. Losing an arm or a leg would be quite normal,” Dao Dezi said softly as he rehung the wine flask on his cane.