Chapter 239: All Schemers
Yun Ce smilingly accompanied Cao Kun by his side, greeting the guests together with him, but as they kept greeting, Yun Ce felt something wasn’t quite right.
Because the arriving guests were simply too numerous.
Among them, many were giant men over two meters tall; these people moved like the wind, their arms swinging powerfully, and even though they were extremely careful walking through the crowd, they still gave the impression of charging straight through.
If these people put on armor, they would each be human tanks.
Yun Ce felt these were a group of dangerous figures, yet Cao Kun wore a smiling face, not only pulling their hands one by one to chat, but also having Cao Ling, following behind them, lead these people one by one to the innermost banquet hall that best displayed intimacy.
After another group of strong men of this build was led away by Cao Ling, Cao Kun said to Yun Ce, “This is the Tiger Guards of He Tian’s family.”
Yun Ce pointed to his head and said, “Didn’t they say…”
Taking advantage of the gap with no guests, Cao Kun sneered, “How many people do you think would drive a nail into their own head for mere money?”
“So, the Tiger Guards of He Tian’s family actually have a problem.”
Cao Kun continued sneering, “Coercion and inducements, He Tian uses every possible means; such insidious and cunning beasts are perfect for us young tigers to sharpen our teeth on.”
1 “Got it, these are people unwilling to join He Tian’s Tiger Guards, right?”
1 Cao Kun laughed, “If it were Yu’er, what virtue or ability would I have to bring these true Tiger Guards under my command?”
1 “So, today, the main thing isn’t the betrothal, but taking in these Tiger Guards who haven’t had nails driven into their heads yet? He Tian worries about their betrayal and drives nails into their heads, aren’t you worried?”
1 Cao Kun looked at Yun Ce strangely and said, “Why should I worry? He Tian is the one who cruelly trained them, He Tian is the one who tormented them viciously, and He Tian is the one who drove the nails into their heads.
1 He Tian knows this would cause mutiny, so he uses the Beast Supervision’s secret method to turn them into brainless death warriors. I don’t do that; I give them money to settle their families, I treat them as people, equip them with the best armor, provide the best weapons, and the best money and grain the military can offer.
1 Most importantly, I won’t drive nails into their heads; it’s only natural they fight for me, so of course I’m not worried about their mutiny.
1 You know, this idea of mine came from you.”
1 “From me?”
1 “That’s right. People say Thunder Smoke Beasts are hard to tame due to their wild nature, so the Beast Supervision developed a method of driving nails into Thunder Smoke Beasts’ brains to ensure their loyalty.
1 I used to think that way too, but later I saw the Thunder Smoke Beast you rode, which was clearly more spirited and intelligent than ordinary ones, lively and full of spirit.
2 After asking you, I learned your Thunder Smoke Beast hadn’t used the Beast Supervision’s secret method at all.
2 It was from that moment I realized Thunder Smoke Beasts don’t necessarily need the Beast Supervision secret method to ensure loyalty.
2 So, I thought of the Tiger Guards under He Tian; their situation is the same as the Thunder Smoke Beasts. Since your Thunder Smoke Beast can ensure loyalty without the Beast Supervision secret method, what about those freshly trained Tiger Guards who haven’t undergone the final procedure?
2 The result, you’ve seen.”
2 Seeing another seven or eight dusty strong men approaching from ahead, Cao Kun grinned, revealing a mouth of white teeth, stepped forward to greet them, his hands already extended, as if extremely eager for their arrival.
2 Yun Ce watched Cao Kun’s performance from the side, praising profusely on his lips; some people are born leaders, born masters at grasping hearts. It’s hard to find fault with such people’s success—quite enviable.
2 As more strong men entered Cao Kun’s City Lord’s Mansion, Cao Kun proudly flashed Yun Ce an eight sign with his hands.
2 “Oh, that’s eight hundred full?”
2 “Heh heh heh, He Tian has only three thousand Tiger Guards in hand.”
2 “Congratulations, congratulations.”
3 “Nothing to congratulate yet. Wait until I take Lingzhou and hang He Tian and Tan Shou together on the flagpole to dry in the wind, then congratulate me.”
3 Yun Ce laughed heartily, “When I entered the city, I was quite worried you’d serve me dishes made from Tan Shou’s corpse as reception.”
3 Cao Kun laughed along, “Doesn’t Brother Yun think devouring the flesh of vassal lords is the heroic spirit we should have?”
3 Yun Ce grinned, “I don’t eat human flesh, not even if it’s made into fancy dishes—pass on that, you do it.”
3 Cao Kun shook his head at Yun Ce and said, “You really left Chang’an young, left the environment you should have lived in, and picked up too many habits on the Chuyun Prefecture Wasteland that don’t belong to people like us.
3 Brother Yun, you need to learn to adapt to things you really dislike, and foods you’ve never eaten.”
3 Yun Ce admitted Cao Kun’s words made a lot of sense: if one isn’t pure as a person, one can’t be pure in actions; people impure in both person and actions can’t shoulder great responsibilities.
3 Yun Linchuan had said similar things before, but he said one must have faith, firmly hold to it; once faith is chosen, follow that path without doubt or retreat—even if there’s no road ahead, pave a new one with your blood, flesh, and bones.
3 Only then does one not waste one’s life.
3 Yun Linchuan’s words were refined from his long life, very incisive.
4 Cao Kun’s words are still somewhat scattered now, like what he said last night: ‘It’s not impossible, just endure and it’ll pass’—that suits Yun Linchuan’s taste.
4 A long convoy of horse carriages drove in from the street head; Cao Kun nudged Yun Ce with his shoulder and said, “In a bit, take a look at my little Yu, praise her a couple times—she brought me eight hundred Tiger Guards.”
4 Yun Ce had killed many people lately, making him extremely sensitive to the dead; when the convoy was still three hundred meters from the City Lord’s Mansion gate, he already felt very uneasy, sensing the convoy was deathly still.
4 Turning to look at Cao Kun, who still wore a joyful expression, he nudged his shoulder and said, “I feel something’s off.”
4 Cao Kun was stunned for a moment, then immediately asked, “What’s off?”
4 “The people in the horse carriages don’t seem alive.”
4 Cao Kun’s face changed abruptly, and he quickly said to Cao Ling behind him, “Act according to plan.”
4 Yun Ce saw Cao Ling signal several hand gestures backward; soon, vague figures appeared on the City Lord’s Mansion walls.
4 Seeing Cao Kun wasn’t unprepared, Yun Ce continued smilingly standing by his side, waiting to welcome his fiancée’s arrival.
4 The driver of the first luxurious horse carriage was an old man; Cao Kun whispered to Yun Ce, “He’s the He Clan’s second steward, said to be a formidable guy.”
5 Yun Ce laughed, “I don’t need you to handle me; have you figured out where to run?”
5 “Something will really happen?”
5 “Really, I can tell you for sure now: the first horse carriage has only corpses, no living people—the bloody smell is too strong, can’t be covered even with lots of perfume.”
5 “I need to go see; can you protect me?”
5 “They’re all dead, and you still want to see?”
5 “I just want to confirm if that little girl He Yu deceived me; this decides my next steps.”
5 Seeing Cao Kun clearly panicking yet forcing himself to calm down, willing to take risks for the next actions, made Yun Ce further see this guy as a talent.
5 The convoy reached the City Lord’s Mansion gate, and a group of wedding maids shook their fans joyfully toward the first horse carriage to welcome Cao Kun’s fiancée He Yu.
5 The He Clan old butler carried a red wooden plate, following closely to stand before Cao Kun, kneeling on one knee and raising the wooden plate high: “Please, son-in-law, verify the birth chart.”
5 Cao Kun smilingly reached out to take it, but just as his hand extended, Yun Ce beside him heavily kicked toward the He Clan butler’s head; Cao Kun startled, quickly withdrew his hand as a gleaming dagger slid past it. The hand gripping the dagger meant to follow up, but Yun Ce’s foot ruthlessly kicked over; the He Clan butler had no choice but to drop the wooden plate held in one hand and roll away on the ground.
6 “Ah—dead people!”
6 At that moment, the wedding maid lifting the carriage curtain suddenly let out a shrill scream, instantly turning the previously festive City Lord’s Mansion gate into chaos.
6 Under Cao Ling’s guard, Cao Kun reached the horse carriage, lifted the curtain, and his eyes showed grief; then he dropped the curtain, striding back toward the City Lord’s Mansion while roaring at Yun Ce, “Brother Yun, help me take down that old thief—Cao Kun will never forget this favor.”
6 By now, the situation was clear: the wedding escort people tore off their outer joyful robes, revealing various armors, drew weapons from the gift baskets and horse carriages, and pounced on the Cao Clan soldiers guarding the City Lord’s Mansion.
6 Yun Ce hadn’t expected a perfectly good betrothal ceremony to turn into this.
6 He Yu was dead, and Cao Kun rushing back meant the Tiger Guards welcomed in earlier also had issues; the people at the City Lord’s Mansion gate were nothing—the eight hundred strong men inside his home were the deep-seated trouble.
6 With Cao Kun openly acknowledging the favor before so many people, Yun Ce felt he couldn’t just stand by; abandoning the thought of watching the show, he formed a claw with one hand and went straight for the He Clan butler’s face.
6 This was an almost insulting grip technique; the He Clan butler flew into rage, hiding his dagger reversed in his right elbow, smashing a fist with his left toward Yun Ce’s claw.
6 The fist and claw didn’t meet; Yun Ce’s claw enveloped the steward’s fist, and before the steward could release his strength, he swiftly clamped down—the iron-hoop-like claw crushed the steward’s fist.
6 Just as Yun Ce smilingly pulled the steward closer to let Doggy steal this thousand-man general strength steward’s internal breath, unexpectedly, this steward was a ruthless one: he yanked back, and unable to break free from Yun Ce’s claw, roared and with his right hand slashed upward, actually severing his own left hand at the wrist.
7 Yun Ce tossed away the mangled left hand, continuing to close in while saying, “This is my favor to you; today, you can’t run.”
7 There’s more
