novelraw Chapter 668: Love Triangle — The Loyal and Righteous Enforcers Who Want Revenge for Jian Suixin
Chapter 668: Love Triangle — The Loyal and Righteous Enforcers Who Want Revenge for Jian Suixin
Taking a look at the Golden Finger where the word "Dangkang" was displayed.
"Others have the butterfly effect, you have the dead pig effect."
If it weren't for this Dangkang.
Lu Ding estimated that his return trip to Great Han would yield no gains, a one-sided waste of effort, only managing to deal with the Dragon Keeper Clan and the Su Family.
But with the Dangkang, it became a double-sided profit.
Going there brought gains, and returning brought gains too.
Dangkang, originally an auspicious beast, can also be called Danggeng.
Ancient texts like "Shilin Guangji" and "Classic of Mountains and Seas" have records of it.
In the "Classic of Mountains and Seas, East Fourth Classic" it says:
["There is a beast, its shape like a pig but with tusks, its name is Dangkang, its cry calls its own name, and the world will have a great harvest."]This thing, originally an auspicious beast, whenever it came out of the mountains grunting and squealing all the way, that year was likely to have a bountiful harvest.
And a major harvest at that.
Although by this nature, Dangkang is good.
But not all Dangkangs under heaven are good;
within a race, there are good ones and bad ones.
Moreover, the higher the cultivation, the deeper the spirituality, the more thoughts arise, making it hard to maintain purity.
In the mountains, it is an auspicious beast.
Once it descends the mountain, takes human form, becomes a person, that's not necessarily the case anymore.
The young man who, on a snowy night, startled others, dared to assassinate Dong with a heart full of passion in his youth, would, in his old age, also be startled awake from nightmares by the image of that young man holding a dagger entering the tent, shouting vows to kill the Han traitor, opening a pair of dragon eyes.
Lu Ding shook his head and shot straight up into the sky.
Not long after he left.
The thick, pungent smell of blood from the butcher shop attracted passersby to investigate.
Upon entering.
The sight that greeted them was a mess of minced meat and debris, thoroughly frightening the overly curious.
Before long.
Lady's Temple 749 investigators arrived.
They filed the case, made records, finished their spiel: "Don't be afraid, everyone, go back and wait for news, we will definitely catch the perpetrator and bring them to justice."
Alright, done.
Although Lu Ding didn't see it, he could imagine it.
If the people from Lady's Temple were truly determined to investigate, that would be strange.
Having finished his business, Lu Ding wasn't in a hurry to return. He was going to catch the second act later anyway.
He casually found a lakeside, sat down on a bench, enjoying a moment of peace.
And at the same time.
On the other side.
Fierce Pursuit Hall.
Originally, the Fierce Pursuit Hall had four Guardians. Now, only three remained.
In the main hall.
A coffin held the body.
God knows how much effort the mortician spent piecing Jian Suixin back together.
Purely a technical job.
Her face, exposed and devoid of any trace of blood, was covered in dense, meticulous stitch lines.
Standing on either side of the coffin were three men and one woman.
They were, respectively, the Mountain-Searching Guardian Yue Heng, the Moon-Hanging Guardian Hu Jin, and the Benevolent Guardian Jiang Ren of the Fierce Pursuit Hall.
The last one was the Hall Master of Fierce Pursuit Hall, Dragon-Chasing River-Crosser, master of both fists and feet, Xue Hen.
Hu Jin spoke with agitated emotion: "Brother Xue, we cannot leave Suixin's death unavenged!!?"
Among the four Guardians of Fierce Pursuit Hall, she and Jian Suixin were both women and had the closest relationship. Now that her good friend was dead, how could she stand by and do nothing?
Jiang Ren also gritted his teeth in agreement beside her: "Lu Ding has gone too far, casually killing a Guardian of our Fierce Pursuit Hall. If we let this matter drop without giving a proper explanation and plan, I'm afraid Fierce Pursuit Hall will become a laughingstock for idle gossip among our peers in the martial world."
Jiang Ren, known as the Benevolent Guardian, had seen many powerful geniuses, heroes, and outstanding figures. He had close relationships with both men and women.
Perhaps because of this.
Jiang Ren instead felt the strongest attraction towards Jian Suixin, the woman who kept her distance from him.
What you can't have is always what stirs you up the most.
Although he knew that Jian Suixin, despite being a woman, did not like men, he had always been trying.
Even.
To have common topics and opportunities to spend time with Jian Suixin, he often went with her to listen to Feng Yueming's operas.
As for this woman, Feng Yueming.
Jiang Ren did not like her;
in fact, he despised her. Not because of Jian Suixin, but because he felt this woman was too calculating.
More than once, she had sent him certain signals, both overtly and covertly.
Each time, Jiang Ren had brushed it off.
Until last time, when Feng Yueming pulled some inexplicable stunt again, almost causing a misunderstanding with Jian Suixin. That's why this time, Jiang Ren didn't go with Jian Suixin.
To avoid awkwardness.
And that separation turned out to be a parting of life and death.
If Feng Yueming hadn't died as well, Jiang Ren would have made sure she paid with her life for Jian Suixin.
To put it bluntly, Feng Yueming's sexual orientation was normal, but among those who liked her, Jian Suixin had the highest status.
Helpless, she went along with Jian Suixin.
Since Jiang Ren came often, she thought he was also interested in her.
The result was: she rather liked Jiang Ren—capable, wealthy, high-status, handsome, and a man—but Jiang Ren wasn't interested in her;
he liked Jian Suixin.
And Jian Suixin wasn't interested in men;
she liked Feng Yueming.
A perfect love triangle.
After the two finished speaking, the final Guardian, Mountain-Searching Guardian Yue Heng, who was as sturdy as an iron tower, spoke up:
"What's with the tone in your words, pressuring the Hall Master like this?"
"The vengeance, it's not about not seeking it, but about seeking it slowly, with a plan, waiting for the right opportunity."
"Direct confrontation is unfavorable;
swallowing our pride is unacceptable. So we need to wait, wait for an opportunity."
As he spoke, Yue Heng silently walked over to stand beside Xue Hen.
"Although our Fierce Pursuit Hall is dominant in the Lady's Temple area, our upper limit is also locked in. The nearby territories have long been carved up clean by other forces."
"Now that Path of Dry Bones 749 has been wiped out, the situation is in chaos. We should seize this opportunity to expand into the Path of Dry Bones. That is the top priority."
"The Broken Branch Guardian's vengeance is not urgent. Only after Fierce Pursuit Hall establishes a firm foothold in the Path of Dry Bones will we have the capital to go toe-to-toe with Lu Ding."
"After all, under his command, he has the entire White Ridge 749. Do you think, just with you, or just with us, we could defeat White Ridge 749 Bureau Chief Qian Jin, or White Ridge 749 Deputy Bureau Chief Hou Dehai?"
His words were like a bucket of cold water poured over the heads of the other two.
Finally, Xue Hen spoke up, cutting off Yue Heng who wanted to continue.
"Enough, Yue Heng. Watch your attitude. Your words are a bit harsh."
At this point, he looked at the other two. "Lu Ding, as a special envoy of White Ridge 749, his jurisdiction and enforcement area is White Ridge."
"He is now enforcing laws across districts. Plus, with all the recent gossip spreading wildly outside, comparing White Ridge 749 to other 749 branches, I believe the people at Lady's Temple 749 probably aren't too happy with him either."
"Our immediate priority is expanding into the Path of Dry Bones. So I think we can manipulate the situation a bit. What do you two think...?"
Since Xue Hen had put it this way.
If Jiang Ren and Hu Jin said anything more, it would be disrespectful to him as the Hall Master.
They could only nod.
But Jiang Ren still added a line: "So what should we do?"
"You don't need to worry about that. I have my own arrangements. What you need to do now is take people to the Path of Dry Bones and plant the banner of our Fierce Pursuit Hall on that land!!!"
The trust built up over time made Jiang Ren and Hu Jin have no further questions. They only replied with one word: "Yes!"
They believed that as long as Xue Hen promised, he would definitely avenge Jian Suixin.