Chapter 405: Conspiracy
It was actually a list of goods. Numerous goods were to be dispatched from various areas and converge into a caravan which would then continue its shipment. The items on the list actually included black crystals, mithril, and other strategic resources that could only be obtained through special channels. There was also a large batch of grade two to three origin armaments enough to equip a regular division!
Although Song Zining was indifferent toward her during the past year, Ye Mulan had wielded some authority before. The immensity of the lists’ value shocked her out of her wits—it was actually enough to cancel out several years of Ningyuan Group’s profits. As she continued flipping through the pages, she found that the destination was, just as she had anticipated, Blackflow City.
Ye Mulan wasn’t a stranger to Blackflow City because for the past year, Song Zining had invested almost everything there. Was he going to convert all of his assets into arms and have them delivered to Blackflow?
She was very clear that there was only one reason for this: Qianye!
Countless thoughts tangled up immediately within Ye Mulan’s heart. Even she herself was surprised at her own calmness amidst all this confusion. Her hand didn’t even tremble for a moment or leave any traces on the list.
She carefully replaced the paper. She meticulously examined it for a while and corrected its position before withdrawing from the study, closing the door behind her. Afterward, she flipped her hand and sent the chinaware on the tray crashing onto the floor. Then, with a raised voice, she proceeded to summon the two maids on duty to clean up the mess while she herself returned to brew a new pot of tea.
When Ye Mulan returned with a new pot of tea, Song Zining had returned from the courtyard and was sitting on the desk. That list had long since disappeared.
“Zining, here’s your tea.” Ye Mulan poured the steaming jade-green tea and said in a gentle voice, “This is the year’s new tea from Mount Jun, and the water is also collected from a mountain spring there. The taste is excellent since they complement each other very well.”
Song Zining took a sip, offered some praise, and then asked Ye Mulan to put the teapot down. “You go and rest first. I want to read a while longer.”
However, Ye Mulan didn’t move. Instead, she drummed up her courage and said, “Zining, the bloody battle has begun and the clan requires people. Why don’t we go back? It’s not a good long-term plan to stay here all the time!”
Song Zining smiled indifferently and said while pointing beneath his feet, “The Ningyuan Group is my own foundation. This is the true long-term plan. Why would I go back to the clan?”
Ye Mulan replied hurriedly, “But won’t this be like letting others take the clan lord position?”
“There’s already my elder brother above me.”
“Zining, you can’t say it like that. Everyone knows that none of your brothers of the same generation can surpass you in terms of talent. Song Zicheng only has the advantage of age. You might take a step forward in the next assessment as long as you continue trying hard. The clan lord’s position isn’t necessarily out of reach!”
Song Zining, however, wore an indifferent expression. He waved his hand and said, “There’s no need to say more. I have no interest in the clan lord’s position. Just let my brother have it.”
“Zining!”
Song Zining’s face turned cold. “This is not a matter for you to speak out of turn. Leave!” He had rarely, if ever, spoke with a harsh voice, but his countenance at this moment was solemn—an invisible suppressive might suffused the area and made it difficult to breathe.
Ye Mulan bit her lips lightly and lowered her head in silence. After a moment, she turned around and left the study with a soft “Yes”.
Song Zining continued reading his book as though nothing had happened. It was as though there were ten thousand taels of gold and jade-like beauties within it.
After nightfall, Ye Mulan quietly left the residence. After roaming through half the town, she walked briskly into a dark alleyway and knocked on a small door.
The small door opened to reveal a beautiful face within—it was actually Ye Muwei. Ye Mulan entered swiftly, locked the door behind her, and peered cautiously at the street through the observation hole. Only after confirming that everything was normal did she follow Ye Muwei into the room.
“Xiaolan, I’ve been waiting for so long. You’ve finally arrived. Do you have any news?” Ye Muwei asked eagerly as the two sat down.
“I do have news, but I wonder if you two can take it.”
“Does it have to do with that brat?”
“Very much so.”
Ye Muwei said, “Liyu has recently made a lot of powerful friends. There are quite a few on that side too. So rest assured, we can digest any kind of news.”
“Very well then.” Ye Mulan’s eyes were cold. “Recently, the Ningyuan Group will be dispatching a caravan to Blackflow City. I want to make sure that the motorcade never reaches Blackflow City.”
“Is this caravan very important?”
“It includes the entirety of Song Zining’s fortune. You tell me,” Ye Mulan replied.
This time, it was Ye Muwei’s turn to be astonished. “Xiaolan, we’re only seeking revenge on Qianye, but you’re hurting Song Zining instead!”
Ye Mulan gritted her teeth. “I know! But Song Zining is actually unwilling to fight for the clan lord’s position. He’s also been dragging our marriage out. What use do I have for him?! He… where has he placed me? All of these for Qiqi’s male pet!”
Ye Muwei was surprised.
Ye Mulan took a deep breath and calmed down her emotions. “Hence, not only will I harm him, but I also want to kill him! He won’t ever be able to climb back up if something happens to this caravan.”
Ye Muwei patted the lady’s shoulder to comfort her. “Rest assured, Gu Liyu will definitely find a way to devour him no matter how many guards he dispatches.”
“Good!” Ye Mulan nodded. Then, she added, “I want half the share after everything is over.”
“Let me discuss this matter with Liyu,” Ye Muwei said awkwardly, “the escorts for such a high-value caravan won’t be weak. You know that soldiers and channels all need money to operate.”
“Four parts at least. That’s my bottom line!” Ye Mulan was adamant.
Ye Muwei observed Ye Mulan for a moment and said with a sigh, “You’re right. Us women have to grasp some things in our hands to feel reassured. None of the men in this world are dependable. I’ll talk to Liyu about this.”
Ye Mulan’s expression was frosty as she described the route and stops of the caravan to Ye Muwei before leaving in a hurry.
After the room door was properly closed, a cabinet on the wall suddenly opened—it was actually a secret door. Gu Liyu walked out from within and said with a cold smile, “Your sister is truly ruthless, greedy, and stupid. She has nothing apart from her somewhat presentable face. Humph! She dares dream of swallowing half of Song Zining’s properties.”
“Liyu, what shall we do? Are you confident?” Ye Muwei said with a worried frown. “This is related to the Song clan. Why don’t we stay away from it?”
Gu Liyu snorted and said with a cold voice, “So what if it’s the Song clan? Not to mention the fact that their clan is already in a sharp decline, with the commotion he caused at the examination last time, it’s not even certain if their clansmen will chase after the assailant or hit him while he’s down should something happen to him.”
The smile on Ye Muwei’s face clearly froze. “Liyu, don’t tell me you’re trying to take Xiaolan?”
Gi Liyu laughed loudly and said, “Two sister-flowers growing from the same stem is everyone’s dream!” He softened his tone after seeing Ye Muwei’s forced smile. “I’m only kidding, Xiaowei. I won’t ever mistreat you.”
After exiting Blackflow City, Qianye passed Silverflow Fjord and traversed Count Stuka’s land as he pushed deeper into dark race territory.
The blood battle regions on the western side were now more or less clear—Count Stuka’s borders formed the battle line across wherein the dark race and the imperial warriors were doing their utmost to kill one another. Qianye’s position at this moment was equivalent to having snuck behind enemy lines. It was an extremely dangerous endeavor since he could easily fall into a helpless and isolated situation once he had been compromised.
But Qianye was very familiar with the surroundings—an advantage the aristocratic soldiers couldn’t compare to—and this allowed him to calmly traverse the dark race territory.
At this moment, he was traveling through a desolate and primitive forest. There wasn’t a single racial settlement here, only native wild beasts. Even dark race patrols weren’t willing to come to such a place. Qianye warped through the treetops as though he were flying, his feet never touching the ground. This method left the least number of traces and kept him out of the way of frenzied wild beasts.
But as he marched on, Qianye suddenly heard a faint clamor coming from the side. His heart stirred as he halted his steps and listened intently for a moment before heading toward the source of the noise.
Moments later, he arrived close to the origin of the sounds. It was an open space within the forest where a dozen-odd profusely sweating werewolves were digging a hole. A big pit over ten square meters in area and over a meter in depth had already appeared in the center of this clearing.
A number of vampires stood to one side with folded arms, looking on and rebuking the werewolves from time to time. Qianye’s eyes were suffused with a sparkling blue hue as he scanned the dark race members in the clearing. He found that the most powerful vampire was only rank-seven.
Qianye edged closer.
At this time, he noticed that there was a pile of ten or so corpses occupying a certain corner of the open space. He felt he had seen these people somewhere. There were two human heads and a pile of ears beside the corpses, likely items to serve as proof of their military contributions.
A number of low-ranking vampires were currently taking inventory and packing the ears into a box. Moreover, the container appeared rather luxurious and was apparently treated with quite a bit of importance. As the heads were being moved, Qianye caught a glimpse of their faces and was momentarily shocked. It was actually Li Pei and his clan uncle!
Qianye had just parted ways with them a while ago. Who would’ve thought his combat squad would’ve been wiped out during this short period? It seemed none of them managed to escape since even the rank-thirteen uncle had fallen in battle here.
Qianye’s heart couldn’t help but tremble. One had to know that it wasn’t easy to surround and kill a rank-thirteen champion in an ordinary chance encounter unless the disparity in strength was too great or one party decided to fight to the death.
But judging from the traces at the scene, there weren’t any signs that Sky Demon’s clone had been alarmed which meant that the battle hadn’t taken too long. That being said, just what degree of combat strength did the assailant have to be in order to slaughter Li Pei’s entire group of experts?
This area was extremely dangerous!
Qianye immediately retracted his aura and pulled back little by little. He was very patient and put covering his tracks above all else.
It was at this time that a series of footsteps rang out from the opposite forest as a tall vampire warrior emerged and arrived in the clearing.
Clad in a magnificent heavy armor, he had two handguns at his waist and a two-handed greatsword as his melee weapon, a rarity among vampires. There was a dark golden datura flower on his chest—it seemed he was a soldier from the ancient Monroe clan.