Chapter 99: A Chess Move Off

Yu Lang stood from his seat, his heart racing at an unprecedented pace, faster even than the moment he had first glimpsed any maiden. Here, before him, stood the greatest villain of the Tang court. One swift stroke of the blade would alter countless destinies.

The elderly figure who had once held the entire fate of the Great Tang in his single hand now appeared so fragile, as though a mere brush against his form could shatter him into fragments.

To Yu Lang, this vulnerability was a temptation of immense proportions. Li Linfu had arrived at Du Fu’s residence unarmed and unattended, a lone traveler seeking confrontation. With his demise, at worst Yu Lang could flee Chang’an and vanish into the shadows of the world.

Li Linfu detected the sudden blaze of killing intent radiating from Yu Lang. It seemed he had foreseen it all, his gaze steady and profound. Though merely an aging mortal without cultivation or the strength to bind a chicken, no one dared belittle him. Even An Lushan, when entering the capital, would tremble in fear and kneel upon the ground to receive Li Linfu’s stern admonitions.

A cultivator transcending the upper three realms, one who should have felt nothing but contempt for the ordinary, now feared an ordinary person to such an extent. It was sufficient to reveal Li Linfu’s extraordinary cunning.

Du Fu stepped aside to block Yu Lang and Li Linfu, shielding his companion behind him. “Why would the Prime Minister’s daughter come here to toy with the two of us?”

“Toy?” Li Linfu shook his head. “I lack the leisure to amuse myself by trifling with the two of you young fellows. I retrieved Li Chun from the hands of the Tibet National Master. The boy misses his brother Lang dearly. As for myself, I have come to invite Yu Lang to a simple meal at my residence tomorrow. I fear the servants there may not recognize you and will fail to invite you, so I had to come in person.”

Yu Lang felt a surge of suspicion. “What virtue or merit do I, a humble country bump, possess to earn such regard from the Prime Minister?”

Li Linfu refused to elaborate further. “More words will have to wait until you visit the Prime Minister’s residence tomorrow. Here, it is not safe.”

Li Linfu walked with his hands clasped behind his back into the courtyard, gave a gentle signal, and suddenly a sedan chair and four bearers materialized. He boarded it, murmured softly, “Return to the mansion,” and the five of them vanished into thin air within a single conveyance.

Du Fu closed his eyes and sensed for a time, then nodded. “Strange. None of the four bearers showed any trace of internal energy. Ordinary people who do not cultivate, how could they possibly teleport Li Linfu and an entire sedan chair across such a distance?”

It was indeed peculiar. Even pinpoint teleportation over such a span of ground, with Yu Lang’s present early stage of comprehending the profound, lay beyond his reach. Since the people themselves were not the issue, the anomaly must lie with the sedan. Li Linfu’s residence abounded with rare treasures and artifacts; it was only natural that they had gathered a conveyance endowed with supernatural abilities.

The strangeness extended far beyond this. Yu Lang refused to believe Li Linfu had come merely to extend a casual invitation. He recalled every moment from their first words until entry into the courtyard. The man’s emotional shifts had flowed with perfect smoothness, without the slightest trace of artifice. If anything stood out as amiss, it was the faint urgency that had tinged his tone when he proactively requested entry.

Under what circumstances would I feel such urgent need to enter another person’s home? Yu Lang sank into deep contemplation. Perhaps I long to see someone inside, or to obtain something inside, or… perhaps I seek protection.

To this point Yu Lang felt a stir of unease. He asked cautiously, “Old Du, do you know who the former owner of this residence was?”

Du Fu replied, “I was thinking the same. This residence originally belonged to Li Linfu’s family.”

“That sedan, even if it possessed the teleportation ability of a supreme spiritual treasure, still requires Dao patterns to be inscribed in the void beforehand. This residence was once Li’s property, and Dao patterns remain within. Li Linfu’s desperate wish to enter was to harness those patterns and summon the sedan for escape.” Yu Lang laid out his complete deduction.

After hearing these words, Du Fu walked to the spot where Li Linfu had vanished and sensed for a while, then nodded. “Dao patterns are indeed present here. Your guess appears correct.”

Almost at the same instant, the two pushed open the gate of Du’s residence and stepped inside.

Both wore the garb of jianghu figures, faces masked by black cloth, each clutching a short blade. They paid no heed to Du Fu or Yu Lang, scoured the surroundings, and returned to the entrance in frustration.

One, a long-haired swordsman, inquired, “Did you see an old man?”

Yu Lang, unaware of the man’s origin, replied deliberately, “Are you asking about Li Linfu?”

The long-haired swordsman seized Yu Lang’s sleeve at once. “Damn you, are you this old fellow’s lackey? Where did he hide? Be sensible and hand him over, or I will take your head.”

Yu Lang studied the pair for a moment. He could not credit that these two reckless fools could force Li Linfu to seek refuge in Du’s residence.

“Brother Lang?” The other swordsman, who had remained silent until then, suddenly cried out in delight.

Yu Lang was taken aback. The face did seem familiar. “Are you Little Jia from the Tian Ce Army?”

Little Jia smiled. “I have left the Tian Ce Army behind. Now I eke out a living in Chang’an with my martial skills.”

He turned to the long-haired swordsman to explain. “Brother Chen, this Brother Lang is an outstanding disciple of the Xi Yue Academy and the brother-in-law of Jiedushi Huangfu Weiming. He once aided the Crown Prince in defeating the Tibetans severely. He certainly is not Li Linfu’s man.”

Brother Chen’s demeanor shifted instantly upon learning of the man’s ties to the Crown Prince and Jiedushi Huangfu. He offered a smiling apology. “I was crude. Please forgive me, Brother Lang.”

Although Yu Lang disliked the man’s servile shift in attitude, mindful of his allegiance to the Crown Prince’s faction, he spared him further harshness. “It is nothing. Li Linfu naturally deserves death, yet surrounding and killing him in broad daylight may be too rash. After all, he is the Prime Minister of the realm.”

“Brother Lang, the mastermind behind this surround and kill is a high expert, not merely ourselves. We two were simply posted along this route. The designer of the trap is an unparalleled strategist. Li Linfu had already been driven into a difficult position, but we do not know where the mistake arose. That is all I can say. Since Li Linfu is not here, we will take our leave. There are other places to search.”

Little Jia spoke at greater length than necessary, yet he was a straightforward man who believed every word Yu Lang said. He immediately took Brother Chen and departed Du’s residence.

Clearly, the surround and kill plan carefully laid by the Crown Prince’s faction had suffered a flaw, and the flaw had occurred inside Du’s residence.

Yu Lang sat motionless in the courtyard for a long time, then suddenly spoke. “Old Du, I believe I have done something wrong this time. Even if I cannot kill him, I should not have let him leave so easily.”

Du Fu said, “Although Li Linfu does not cultivate, he has mastered the art of reading human hearts to perfection. Consider from the gate to the main hall: every word and gesture he made was controlling our every thought. It appeared we held the initiative, yet the real power always remained in his hands.”

“Precisely so. As strangers, it is difficult to hate him. Even knowing his true identity, you could not summon killing intent. Even if you did, you could not truly act. His evil deeds lie too far from us. How could we possibly harm a frail old fox we had only just met less than half a shi, whose conduct had been strangely interesting?” Moreover, even now, Yu Lang felt that had he truly struck at that old fox, he would have been the one who perished. At the instant he had generated the killing intent, the terrifying sinister gleam that flashed through Li Linfu’s eyes had left an indelible mark upon his soul.

“Will you attend the banquet at the Li mansion at noon tomorrow?”

Yu Lang looked up at the sky and exhaled a heavy breath. “I will go.”