Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 137: Tang Clan of Gusu

“Although the Tang Clan may be in Gusu, we don’t actually own the place like the Cui Clan owns Qinghe.” Inside the carriage, Tang Buqi leaned against the arms of his little maid, leisurely sipping wine as he briefly explained the situation in Gusu to Zhao Changhe. “The Tang Clan isn’t comparable to a top-tier noble clan like the Cui Clan, so I suggest that you keep your eye on Cui Yuanyang. You better not think about anyone else.”

Zhao Changhe leaned against the wall of the carriage, speechless. He was already upset at seeing how Tang Buqi was behaving, but the young man’s words only served to further agitate him. “Weren’t you introducing Gusu to me? Why did you suddenly bring up the Cui Clan?”

Tang Buqi felt quite happy with himself. “Wouldn’t it be easier for you to understand the general situation if I were to make direct comparisons?”

“There’s no need for that. Everyone has heard of the Cui Clan of Qinghe, but has anyone actually heard of the Tang Clan of Gusu? What are you acting all like a cocky rooster for?”

“...At least the Tang Clan has a seat in the current dynasty! We have contributed to the imperial court! How could others not have heard of us? How dare a Beimang bandit like you call us cocky roosters?”

“Honestly, it’s just because you have Tang Wanzhuan, who is ranked in the top three of the Ranking of Earth at such a young age and became a high-ranking official. If not for her, your clan would have already collapsed a long time ago. If everyone was like you... Hmph, in the future, even the swallows under the eaves of the Tang Clan’s mansion would have ended up flying into the homes of bandits. It really isn’t that hard to imagine.”

Tang Buqi glared angrily. “Every clan has scholars, you know? It’s not like governance relies solely on martial arts!”

“Is that so? Then why was your aunt so eager to increase her cultivation that she ended up injuring her lung meridian? I sincerely suggest that your clan think about it carefully. Don’t fucking rely on someone else’s desperate efforts while leisurely enjoying grapes handfed by a little maid. All of you are practically drinking her blood.”

Tang Buqi was taken aback. His anger gradually faded away as he stared at the wine in front of him in a daze. He fell into deep thought and stopped talking.

Zhao Changhe looked at him for a while, ultimately deciding not to further push that topic. He went back to what they were initially talking about, “So there are quite a few small and large families in Gusu, right? By making use of the fact that the chief of the Demon Suppression Bureau is someone of the Tang Clan, your clan should have some considerable local influence, right.”

“...That’s right.”

“By the way, what about the Murong Clan of Gusu[1]? I believe they’re more famous than the Tang Clan?”

“I’ve never heard of them. Where did you hear this nonsense?”

“Do you have any clues about the suspected place with vicious qi? Is it the Tiger Hill Sword Pond?”

Tang Buqi was somewhat surprised. “Hey, how do you know so much about Gusu? Haven’t you been in the north all your life?”

“Hmm, did I guess right?”

“Guess right my ass! The Tiger Hill Sword Pond is right behind my clan’s mountain!”

“Damn.”

“But speaking of that, a long time ago...well, maybe I should say in the previous era, there were indeed rumors about there being an issue with vicious qi at the Tiger Hill Sword Pond, possibly due to a cursed sword hidden within. However, my clan has already investigated the area thoroughly for generations, and we have never found anything there. This matter should have nothing to do with it.”

Zhao Changhe rubbed his chin in thought. It might not necessarily be irrelevant. Based on my experience in the Ancient Sword Like, there might be a hidden space, but it’s just that his clan has set a perimeter of strong individuals and closed it off.

“Has there been any news of hauntings within your clan? Has anyone experienced an outbreak of vicious qi? Could your aunt’s illness be related to this?”

“I know what you are thinking, but that’s not the case. My aunt’s illness started last year in the capital, not at home.”

“Hmm...”

Zhao Changhe still felt that the possibility existed. Based on his experience, rumors related to the “previous era” were beyond what ordinary martial artists of this era could comprehend, so it would be perfectly normal for them to be unaware of certain things or confuse the matters.

Of course, this was just one possibility and did not necessarily reflect the truth. He still had to explore around Gusu to get a better picture of how things worked.

“What about other rumors? How did Fa Yuan determine that it’s more likely to be in Gusu?”

“How would I know how Fa Yuan made that judgment? The letter wasn’t even finished.”

As they were discussing, the maid who had been feeding Tang Buqi grapes seemed to hesitate about something, and after a few moments, she decided to open her mouth. “Actually, young master...before we left, there were some rumors. There was someone who suddenly went crazy and began attacking people in the southern part of the city. He was killed on the spot by the young master of the Lu Clan, who was passing by. Originally, it was thought to merely be an accident, but later on, Young Master Lu himself suddenly went crazy as well. There were people who said that he probably experienced cultivation deviation. After that, we left and I don’t know what happened next.”

Tang Buqi was startled. “What young master of the Lu Clan? Are you talking about Lu Shaoxiong? We’re actually friends, even though we aren’t that close, so why didn’t I hear about it?”

The maid glanced at him cautiously before saying, “Young master...at that time...you were drunk in Xunhua Lane for five days. The young mistress was crying at home... When you came back, the clan head scolded you and sent you out to gain experience in the outside world.”

Tang Buqi’s face suddenly turned red.

Zhao Changhe turned his head and took a glance outside of the carriage window.

Silence filled the carriage for the rest of the journey. The conversation had been completely killed off.

Incidents of people going crazy and cultivation deviation were quite commonplace, so they generally did not mean anything. However, since these two recent incidents were related, and in the context of the Maitreya Cult’s search for a location with vicious qi, it finally appeared to be something worth investigating.

*

Yangzhou and Gusu were not far from one another, so when the group hastened their pace, they quickly arrived.

However, the closer Zhao Changhe got to Gusu, the lighter the eerie atmosphere of the Maitreya Cult felt. He never saw any scenes of people worshiping the Maitreya Buddha, nor did he even hear anyone talk about Buddhism along the way.

And while they did pass by some temples, they were all deserted.

It seemed that even though the Maitreya Cult had spread throughout Jiangnan, they did not dare easily show themselves in Gusu, Tang Wanzhuang’s base camp. Even if they did exist, they were likely developing and infiltrating in secret rather than openly operating. It wasn’t ideal, of course, but it was a far better situation than in Yangzhou.

However, Zhao Changhe still intuitively felt that the Maitreya Cult would not simply wait until everything was ready.

The upheaval in Yangzhou must have been a huge blow to the Maitreya Cult. With the list of names and information seized during the crackdown, their many years of development near Yangzhou were in jeopardy. It was highly unlikely that their leader, Maitreya, would sit idly by and allow this situation to continue. There was a significant possibility that he would launch a preemptive strike.

During the upheaval in Yangzhou, Maitreya had been in Jinling searching for the vicious qi treasure, unaware of everything going on in Yangzhou. However, by now, he had probably gotten news of it, and it was likely that he had already returned to their headquarters to prepare their next move.

The trigger for this would probably be the information that Chi Li brought back. Once the northern barbarians moved south, the Maitreya Cult in Jiangnan would surely take action.

This was the logical deduction, at least on the surface.

In this process, the Maitreya Cult would definitely not overlook Gusu, a sanctuary surrounded by Jiangnan yet untouched by their cult. They would undoubtedly make a move on Gusu, and if appropriate precautions weren’t taken, the Tang Clan would go through tough times, and it could even meet its downfall.

At this moment, Gusu was likely the last bastion of tranquility.

Zhao Changhe didn’t know whether Tang Wanzhuan thought of this after receiving the report from Yangzhou. But as things stood, it seemed that neither Tang Buqi nor the Tang Clan had even thought of the possibility of such a thing happening.

When they arrived at the Tang Clan, there was not even the slightest hint of the ominous atmosphere of an impending storm. Servants came and went, and when Zhao Changhe’s group entered, the distant sound of a zither and a flute drifted from above. A large group of people immediately came and surrounded Tang Buqi, offering him warm greetings.

“The young master is back?”

“The young master must have had a tough journey... Oh, look at how tanned he is.”

“I heard that the young master single-handedly defeated the northern barbarians, solved the case of the magistrate’s assassination, and thwarted the Maitreya Cult’s conspiracy in Yangzhou!”

“The young master has truly bolstered our reputation!”

If Zhao Changhe were not around, Tang Buqi would have definitely held his head up high and basked in the adulation. But sensing Zhao Changhe squinting next to him with a smirk, Tang Buqi only wanted to cover his face. “Alright, alright, it was no big deal. Prepare a guest room and attend to my guest.”

The servants looked at Zhao Changhe. They clearly knew that he was the 38th hidden dragon and that he was far stronger than anyone present, but they could not help but reveal hints of contempt in their eyes.

The young master really can get along with anyone. He once suspected an old beggar to be a peerless master and even invited him home as a show of hospitality. In the end, it turned out the beggar was actually nothing more than an old beggar, and that left the young master incredibly angry. This time, he brought home a bandit from the jianghu...

Of course, none of them dared to show such an attitude in front of Tang Buqi. They all knew that he could be quite temperamental.

A steward nodded and bowed, “Young Master Zhao, please follow me. We have prepared a quiet guest room for you to stay in.”

Zhao Changhe took in all of their expressions and smiled slightly.

Noble families... So this is the clan being held up solely by Tang Wanzhuang.

He could not be bothered with these matters and simply said, “Any accommodation will do for me. I just need my horse properly taken care of. Other than that, I would like someone to take me to the back of the mountain. I want to take a look at the Tiger Hill Sword Pond.”

1. I believe that this is a reference to Jin Yong’s “Eight Books of the Heavenly Dragon” (天龙八部). Further explanation in Chapter 139. ☜