A Chaotic World 307 Gathering Of The Noble Families

Lu Tanzi watched as the young man slowly disappeared down the street, at the same time taking in a deep breath to calm himself down.

The whole Old Harpy incident had gotten him too riled up.

When he took a closer look around him, Lu Tianzi realised that this young man was really sticking out like a sore thumb, being the only one who was walking down the street without a care in the world.

I guess this is the reason why Old Harpy was so sure that I am not from Bog Town…

Hmm?

With his earlier thoughts no longer bothering him, Lu Tianzi quickly noticed something amiss with what he was seeing right now.

Considering how dreary the atmosphere was in Bog Town, would anyone really be in the mood to go around joking with random strangers?

The townsmen's cause to go against the n.o.ble families was not a game after all.

In fact, it would not even be an exaggeration to say that their lives were on the line here.

No matter how desperate they were to add to their numbers, surely they would not resort to bringing in all sorts of random people, especially complete strangers whom they knew nothing about!

Following that train of thoughts, it now seemed rather unlikely for Old Harpy to cheat him into going to the house.

Otherwise, what would they do if half their numbers ended up being spies sent by the n.o.ble families?

But if not that, then why would this young man suddenly say such things to him?

At this point, Lu Tianzi recalled that Old Harpy and Bald Falcon had spoken of a code of sorts when they first arrived at the house.

"…" Lu Tianzi felt the corner of his lips twitch wildly.

Could it be that he was really that unlucky?

Was he actually the one who had misled the old woman, and not the other way around?

What were the chances?

But if that really was the case by some sort of uncanny coincidence, then he might have chanced upon something rather interesting!

Lu Tianzi smirked.

Though it was surely not his original intentions, the young man's earlier words actually came true in the end.

After meeting the young man, Lu Tianzi's day had really gotten that much better!

Oblivious to Lu Tianzi's thoughts, the young man continued strolling down the street, the casual smile on his face growing wider as he took in the sights.

What a lovely town.

The streets were empty, and people were wary of each other. It seemed that the preparations had been done pretty well.

Just a little more, and Bog Town would finally be ripe for the taking!

***

"This way please," the servant pushed open the door, allowing the couple to step into the grand dinner hall.

But despite its size and grandeur, there was only a single round table within, positioned right at the centre of the dinner hall. On the table was an exquisite porcelain flask, and four men chatted casually while seated around the table.

Upon seeing the arrival of the two guests, the four men immediately cut their conversation short and stood up to greet them.

"Master Dongran, you are finally here!"

"Madam Dongran, you are here as well!"

"I'm sorry for making everyone wait," Master Dongran clasped his fists towards the four, who promptly returned the greeting.

"Don't worry about it. We are the ones who suddenly invited you here after all, it's only right that we wait. Come, have a seat!"

Master Dongran and Madam Dongran took their seats along with the rest, while a servant stepped forward to pour wine for everyone from the porcelain flask on the table.

After the servant was done, she retreated from the dinner hall without being told, leaving only the six of them behind.

"Now then, what has brought together the heads of the Dongluo Family, Dongxian Family, Beiyuan Family, and Guanlan Family?" Master Dongran leaned back into his chair and asked. "What is it that you want to hear from me?"

The four men exchanged quick glances before one of them spoke up. "Since Master Dongran is so straightforward, I, as head of the Guanlan Family, shall get to the point as well. We heard that Master Dongran was summoned by the town lord earlier. May I know the reason behind it?"

"Master Guanlan is asking about the town lord's instructions, but how can I reveal it?" Master Dongran answered calmly. "Won't that be betraying the town lord's trust in me? If you have any concerns, I can relay it to the town lord instead."

Master Guanlan narrowed his eyes. "The times have changed, Master Dongran. In this period of unrest, we all need to chip in to help out in any ways we can. This is the reason why we have come together to extend our hand to Master Dongran as well. But if Master Dongran thinks that our four families are only trying to dig secrets out from you, then I can only say that I am deeply disappointed."

"Master Guanlan is exaggerating," another of the four quickly interjected. "I am sure Master Dongran is only joking."

"I agree with Master Beiyuan. Please calm down, Master Guanlan. Things are already hard enough for everyone right now, let's not blow up matters and risk turning the n.o.ble families on one another."

"Master Dongxian is right. I believe that as fellow leaders in similar circ.u.mstances, Master Dongran surely understands where we are coming from. Isn't that right, Master Dongran?"

Master Dongran's face had remained unchanged as he looked on, watching the four of them act out their play in perfect harmony.

When the ball was finally thrown back into his court, he could only let out a deep sigh.

"All right, enough pleasantries. What have you already learnt?"

Hearing this, the faces of the four heads lit up all at once.

"Is it true that the Radiant Raven Sect is involved?" Master Dongluo asked.

"Do you guys think that is possible?" Master Dongran asked in return.

"Anything is possible," Master Dongluo smiled.

"Of course you would prefer that to be true," Master Dongran sneered. "I know what you are thinking. Your Dongluo Family has been hit the hardest so far. If the Radiant Raven Sect is found to be involved, your Dongluo Family would finally have an excuse to retaliate against the townsmen. But isn't that a little too short-sighted of you?"

"From Master Dongran's reaction, it seems like the information I received is true," Master Dongluo smirked. "But short-sighted? How so? Is Master Dongran afraid that the Radiant Raven Sect would come in and kill us all?"

"And you think they won't?" Master Dongran was a little angered at Master Dongluo's nonchalant att.i.tude. "The Radiant Raven Sect is known for their unscrupulous deeds, resorting to any means necessary as long as it helped them achieve their aims. If they really wanted to claim Bog Town for themselves, even the name of the Divine Storm Sect would not be enough to deter them!"

"That might be so, but in the end, all they want are benefits." Master Dongluo shrugged. "As long as we can give them want they want, I'm certain that they will not go too far. Surely they know that the goose is worth more than its eggs."

"But if what they want are the lives of the ma.s.ses?" Madam Dongran interjected. "Are you going to just sit by and watch as the Radiant Raven Sect did as they wished?"

"Wait, I think you are misunderstanding something here, Madam Dongran," Master Dongluo laughed. "We are on the same side. I am just trying to say that should the Radiant Raven Sect take action, there is nothing our families can do to stop them anyway. So as far as possible, of course I wouldn't want the Radiant Raven Sect in the picture as well. However, if the Radiant Raven Sect really is involved, we have to find that out as fast as possible and report it to the town lord so that he can seek out the Divine Storm Sect. Only then will there be any possibility of a counterplan."

"Master Dongluo's meaning is that you are willing to render your a.s.sistance in finding that out?" Master Dongran probed.

"Exactly," Master Dongluo nodded. "Not just me, but the other n.o.ble families have already expressed their willingness to help. As long as Master Dongran says the word, our forces will be at your command!"

"Haha, that's only because Master Dongluo is most eager to end this uprising, calling all of us here earlier just to convince us to lend our support!" Master Guanlan laughed.

The other men also laughed along as they agreed with what Master Guanlan just said.

Master Dongran's gaze scanned across the four leaders, carefully scrutinising the look on their faces.

Though their motives might differ, their goal was the same.

Since that was the case, he might as well accept their help for now!

"I will be relying on your help in the future then!" Master Dongran raised the cup of wine in front of him.

***

After setting up a simple concealing formation, Lu Tianzi sat down cross legged on his bed as he fell into deep meditation.

It had been a long day out, and after returning to the Dongran Residence, Lu Tianzi had spent quite a bit of time with Nanlan Qianxue, giving her pointers on the refinement of impurities within her liquid Slaughter Essence.

Of course, Nanlan Qianxue did not believe that she could form a true origin core like Lu Tianzi did. After all, this was a feat that even their master Xihuang Yuanfeng had failed to achieve.

But even so, she was hoping that she could at least learn something useful from Lu Tianzi's point of view.

On the arduous road of martial arts, every bit helped.

Since Nanlan Qianxue had asked, Lu Tianzi naturally shared everything he knew.

By the time he returned to his room, it was already late at night.

Even so, Lu Tianzi was not tired.

He was just planning to meditate and raise his condition to its peak state before starting to work on the poison materials that he had obtained earlier today.

But before he could do so, a message came in through his communication ring. It was from a communication mark that he had not recorded in his ring, so Lu Tianzi had no idea who it was on the other end.

"Is this White…?" the other party sounded slightly hesitant.

Lu Tianzi grinned.

"Yes, this is White Griffin. Who am I speaking to?" Lu Tianzi sent a message back immediately.

"Great, I got the right person then. You can call me Blazing Dragon. Or perhaps it would be easier if I introduce myself this way – I am the leader of Blazing Wings, the organisation that will soon be taking over Bog Town!"