HPDBC Chapter 281: Suspicion is a Seed
Chapter 281: Suspicion is a Seed
"There is a saying that planning lies with mankind but the outcome is determined by the heaven."
"Did Mu Rongtian fail, and is everything really over?"
Of course not. Mu Rongtian had long anticipated the possibility of such an occurrence and had even prepared a contingency plan, which involved sacrificing dozens of Imperial Capital Guards he had cherished for years, in order to put into motion an even greater strategy.
"Are you, Ye Feng, not arrogant and decisive in your killing?"
But have you ever considered that the more swiftly you kill, the deeper the thorn in Duan Tian’s heart will lodge? With three hundred thousand soldiers of the Northern Border raging outside, and now with forty-five unjustly killed Imperial Guards, suspicion is inevitable.
Mu Rongtian let Mu Tian continue to ponder over the game in rewinding wonder, as he turned and walked up to the attic, casting his gaze upon this middle-aged man, whose comfortable and peaceful smile seemed only to appear incredibly "fitting."
A view of the entire Inner Capital lay before him.
Doubt in this world is like a seed, which takes root and sprouts slowly in the depths of a person’s heart, until trust is no more.
You, Ye Feng, boast that the Imperial Capital is a great bird’s nest, and now that the eagle has arrived, will you, who have outspokenly professed your love for your country, be the dove that claims the nest, or will you allow the people here to be oppressed and battered?
Many contingencies, await and watch.
"Tian’er, why have you always been reluctant to kill Ye Feng?"
With his hands clasped behind him, Mu Rongtian looked up towards the sea of clouds on the horizon.
"Has father ever mingled among the secular world?"
Rather than answering, Mu Tian asked a seemingly irrelevant question.
"What do you mean by that?"
Mu Rongtian was not disturbed by speculation.
"There’s a saying that a gentleman does not reap the fruits of coercion. I’ve traveled to many places and seen many unfortunate people in this world, yet not all of them meet their end in failure."
"I am rather curious if such actions will lead to the opposite effect, inadvertently propelling Ye Feng towards an unprecedented height."
Mu Tian quietly stepped beside his father.
He looked up at Mu Rongtian’s towering Sky-Piercing Crown, smiled subtly, and then shook his head, turning his gaze towards the distance.
Father and son, one looking at the sky, the other at the earth.
As the ancients said, it is colder at the top.
Mu Tian knew his father’s ambitions soared higher than the heavens, and his actions were more ruthless than anyone else’s. But he was different; he was Mu Tian, an earthly presence among men. He had walked firmly on the ground, and had even felt the warmth of the secular world in the Northern Border.
Not killing Ye Feng was certainly not out of soft-heartedness.
Rather, it was because killing Ye Feng meant denying his past self. In Mu Tian’s heart, he had always seen Ye Feng as a reflection of his former self.
"Do you not want to deny your past self?"
It cannot be denied, the father knows his son best; with just one glance, Mu Rongtian guessed the thoughts deep within Mu Tian’s heart.
"Dare I ask, father, when have I ever been inferior to others?"
Mu Tian retorted.
"Excellent!"
"There’s nothing better than being the best. Tian’er, why not stand with Ye Feng on the same side and try to outwit me in a game?"
Mu Rongtian looked at his only son with a smile, his eyes possessing unusual depth.
The Northern Cloud Residence occupied no less than ten acres. For Ye Feng, accommodating a dozen people in it would only make him feel the confines of his own small space.
Entering the villa, one could see a landscape of desolation; the maple leaves had turned yellow and fallen, until they turned to mud on the ground, a thick layer of it. Fortunately, it was winter, and there was no foul stench emanating.
It was evident that no one had been here for a long time.
"In these years, while I was at the Utility Pavilion, I was either in secluded cultivation or attending some important meetings, and I seldom went out," Shi Yehong sighed from the bottom of his heart at the scene before him.
"Is Weiwei still in the Utility Pavilion?" Ye Feng suddenly asked.
Ning Weiwei, the only daughter of the Old Northern King Ning Wuya, was someone Ye Feng still did not understand to this day; why did she refuse to acknowledge her father?
During the Old Northern King’s funeral, Ning Weiwei only made a brief appearance before vanishing completely. Ye Feng knew that she had entered the Utility Pavilion, and over the years, while visiting the Lie Ying Tomb to pay respects to the Old Northern King during Qingming, he never saw Ning Weiwei visit once.
The Old Northern King did not ask Ye Feng to take care of his daughter for all her life before he died because to a man that meant something all too clear. However, he repeatedly asked Ye Feng to ensure Ning Weiwei’s safety at all costs.
Yet Ning Weiwei had gone to the Utility Pavilion, where no one would dare to take her life given her identity. Furthermore, Ye Feng felt somewhat resentful in his heart.
What kind of daughter refuses even to light a stick of incense for her own father after his death?
"She is there, and she is doing well," the Second Sect Leader directly answered the question weighing on Ye Feng’s heart.
"It’s a bit desolate, but it’s peaceful."
"Later, let’s all clean together. I warn you all; this is the Old Northern King’s legacy. Whoever dares to screw it up should deal with it themselves," Ye Feng said, with more than a dozen people following behind him.
"Okay!"
Hearing that it was the Old Northern King’s former residence, many people became excited.
"Forget it, I see that your men are at least officers, who would hardly be doing any rough or dirty work. I’ll call for some people to come and clean up and bring some necessary supplies," the Second Sect Leader shook his head.
Whether it was the number of times he came to the Northern Cloud Residence or the emotional attachment to it, he was no less committed than Ye Feng.
"Sure!"
Ye Feng did not refuse. Had it not been for that incident, he would have undoubtedly gone to the dwelling arranged by the General’s Mansion.
"Little Martial Uncle, I want a big, big room."
"Pfft, no, that’s not right. I don’t want a room, I want to sleep with Sister Qingyan," Long Nannan changed her mind faster than anyone could, like a naive child.
"May I ask, Miss, where are you from?"
As the group began to enter the Inner Courtyard, two of them simultaneously slowed their pace.
"Don’t you already have an answer in your heart?" Feng Yuan said nonchalantly, facing the Second Sect Leader’s stern expression.
"People from the Northwest have always stayed out of worldly affairs, haven’t they?"
At such an age, her cultivation level was even above his own.
If such a person were in the Nine Great Sects, using current terms, she would have been a celebrity of the moment. Nevertheless, regarding Feng Yuan, the Second Sect Leader was utterly clueless from beginning to end.
Aside from those who came from that place, there was no one else in the whole Xuanyuan Nation!
"Are you implying that I am now meddling in worldly affairs?" Feng Yuan asked with her arms crossed and a meaningful tone.
"Stepping into the mortal world is getting involved," the Second Sect Leader stated outright.
"No matter what you say, it’s you. Whatever you do is up to you. But I really want to know, how do you intend to deal with a ’criminal’ like me?"
Suddenly, the clouds in the sky burst into a shade of rosy red.
In the front courtyard, Ye Feng abruptly turned around, his gaze enigmatic, while Long Nannan, who was still talking and laughing, instantly darkened, her big eyes blazing with anger.