Chapter 562: Chapter Five Hundred and Fifty-eight: Origin

The winter night always seemed long. When he entered Zhao Lingyan’s room, there was still sunset glow in the sky, but by the time he left, darkness had already crept in.

“Tianjiao, what’s the matter?” The maid who had been waiting outside the door looked at the high-spirited Tang Luo as he walked out and asked, puzzled.

Tang Luo glanced at her once and directly strode away. The maid did not dare to stop him and quickly rushed into the bedroom, only to find Zhao Lingyan buried her head in the duvet, crying.

Carts were always waiting at the Xiansang Mansion to pick up and drop off distinguished guests. Tang Luo casually climbed into one, stated his destination, and settled into the compartment.

It was only when he was inside the cart that he let the indifference fade from his face, and his expression turned solemn.

Because, based on his initial impressions, Zhao Lingyan’s reactions were flawless, very much like a truly innocent person.

Although he could not discern anything from her reactions, he didn’t leave the meeting empty-handed.

Before long, Tang Luo, who had taken a horse carriage, arrived back at the manor. Housekeeper Chang Fu had been waiting at the door. As soon as he saw his young master, he quickly greeted, “Young Master, the Patriarch and Director Tang Feng are waiting for you in the hall.”

“Thank you, Uncle Fu.” Tang Luo answered with a beaming smile as he dismounted the coach and walked towards the house.

Before he got closer to the hall, he could already see piles of documents on the table. The Patriarch and the head of the Wind Media were chatting and laughing with ease, and their hearty laughter could be heard from time to time. With Tang Luo’s keen hearing, he could even understand their words. Upon hearing their conversation, he felt they were being disrespectful, and not behaving appropriately.

He deliberately increased the volume of his footsteps and even occasionally coughed to signal his arrival and to effect that making fun of their one’s person’s affairs wasn’t good.

However, to his disappointment, the two men, more amused than deterred by his presence, continued as they were.

“Tang Zu, you flatter me,” Tang Luo said, amused. Recently, he had been betting with Tang Feng about when he would return from his first experience of indulgence. One guessed dawn, the other midnight, and to their surprise, he returned as soon as dusk fell, which was quite a pleasant surprise.

Tang Feng, the director who lost the bet, heard the winner’s praise and stated grumpily, “The beautiful woman is as soft as cheese, carrying a sword around her waist to kill the foolish man. Although Zhao Lingyan is only in her mid-twenties, her cultivation in the Martial Realm is exceptional. The inexperienced Minister Luo is no match for her, I fear he has been consumed.”

Tang Feng, because of his close friendship with Tang Luo, found his greatest pleasure in teasing him. Emphasizing his own understanding of the gossip about this peerless genius, he recounted their previous exchange of views on women.

A young man’s carousing attitude drew everyone’s envy. Unexpectedly, his words were equally ruinous. He suffered a huge defeat so soon that he even lost a lot of money, which was disappointingly uncharacteristic.

Tang Luo rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache coming on. Facing two elderly people who insisted on discussing frivolous matters left him feeling awkward. He could only try to change the topic, “Let’s talk about the main issue.”

Immediately, Tang Zu and Director Tang Feng’s expressions turned serious, and they looked as if someone else had made the inappropriate remarks earlier. The quick change in their demeanor was quite impressive.

If they had such good acting skills, why didn’t they gather intelligence themselves? Tang Luo muttered under his breath, then began, “From my encounter tonight, I wasn’t able to find any flaws in Zhao Lingyan. Instead, it was her maids that gave something away.”

“These maids, who are barely more than children, all have the strength of those at the peak of the Mortal Realm. Their martial potential exceeds that of any ordinary martial force one might encounter. Such a collection of martial artists is not something that a music house should possess. My initial suggestion was for the Wind Media Department to focus on the dancers and musicians of the Yunyin Mansion. But seeing Tang Feng’s expression it seems he has already uncovered the background of the Yunyin Mansion and Yun Piaopiao. So I will not say more on that subject.”

Throughout the conversation, Tang Luo kept an eye on their facial expressions, and suddenly realized.

If they hadn’t already uncovered the truth, how could they be sitting here, chatting happily before he arrived? If they still knew nothing about Yunyin Mansion and Yun Piaopiao, how could Tang Feng have the leisure to sit here and make fun of him?

Seeing Tang Luo’s sudden realization, the two men exchanged a smile. Director of the Wind Media Department, Tang Feng, brimming with excitement, declared, “We can’t hide anything from you. Indeed, we have investigated the origins of Yun Piaopiao and Yunyin Mansion – we guarantee you’ll be surprised.”

“It’s a coincidence. The Wind Media Department’s job is to monitor the powerful individuals in Xiling, so we keep detailed records of every individual from the Fierce Realm. However, Yun Piaopiao, who is not an outsider, does have the cultivation of a Martial Ancestor, appearing out of nowhere like a ghost. There are few Martial Ancestor-level individuals in Xiling that haven’t been documented by our Wind Media Department – no more than five. After cross-checking, we concluded that Yun Piaopiao is very likely one of the assassins from the Mi Clan!”

Tang Luo was startled. Even with all his guesses about Yun Piaopiao’s background, he was shocked to hear that she might be the assassin from the Mi Clan, “And the Yunyin Mansion?”

“Correct.” Tang Feng was pleased to see that Tang Luo had caught on quickly. “Yunyin Mansion is the secret Wind Media base of the Mi Family that we’ve been unable to find. I have to admire Yun Piaopiao’s audacity – she actually moved the entire Wind Media Department to North Mountain before the battleground was even established!”

No wonder Tang Feng was excited. Up until this point, everyone had thought of Yunyin Mansion as nothing more than a normal music house. One could only imagine the disaster of having a group of assassins, trained in stealth, emerging from within one’s own territory during a war and attacking while the Martial Ancestors were recovering from injuries. The thought itself was terrifying. But now that this elite Wind Media force had been exposed, it was only a matter of time before they would be dealt with.

“Inconceivable.” Tang Luo chanted in a daze, pointing at the documents on the table, “So these are the files of the special Wind Media?”

“Exactly.” The more Tang Feng talked about it, the more excited he became. “Who would have thought that the Mi Clan’s special Wind Media were all hidden in the households of important figures of various clans, and many of them have even become influential characters akin to matriarchs. Just counting North Mountain alone, more than ten clans have been infiltrated by Mi Clan’s Wind Media. Such horrifying progress in just twenty years. This woman is truly terrifying.”

Information was always like this – either absolutely clueless with no progress, or after one breakthrough information could be cross-referenced, producing the most realistic results. Originally finding Mi Clan’s special Wind Media was like a blind man groping an elephant. After knowing about Yun Piaopiao and Yunyin Mansion, it was like seeing the clear sky. The progress made in this short period of time was more than the cumulative progress of the past ten years.

Looking at the Mi Clan’s infiltration into Xiling by this special Wind Media, Tang Feng had a feeling that this woman’s goal was not just to help Mi Clan overthrow the Tang Clan, but that she had a more extraordinary ambition.