Chapter 110 — Trouble [Second Update]

The entrance of the Shangguan family was surrounded so tightly that not a drop could have seeped through.

A great crowd of youths had gathered there, every one of them richly dressed and attended by veritable clouds of servants and retainers; at a glance there were more than two hundred of them. Every face was unfriendly, every expression dark.

Before long, Tang Tang and Shangguan Qian, with Shangguan Wei and the others in tow, arrived at the gate.

Tang Tang narrowed his eyes at the sight of so many people. "Looking for trouble?"

Tang Yan knew that as his combat experience grew richer, the moment he stirred his will, a grim, killing intent would spill out of him unbidden. Uncle Qian was startled by Tang Duo's killing aura; in the old days Tang Xuan had been a super-delinquent and an outrageous school bully, ferocious enough in his way, but that Tang Tang had possessed not a shred of killing intent.

"Let me ask first," Uncle Qian hurriedly forestalled Tang Tang. Somehow he felt that Tang Tang at this moment was charged with a nameless peril.

But when Uncle Qian's gaze swept across the crowd, his heart plunged, and a sense of foreboding rose in him.

These people... not one of them came from a simple background!

The youth on the left in a thin pale-green silk robe was Ming Zichun, eldest son of the Ming family. The Ming family, though not so illustrious as the Shangguan family had once been, was an evergreen tree of Perseus, all but never suffering a trough. The Ming family was a force in Perseus not to be ignored, and Ming Zichun had joined the family's affairs at an early age. He had once paid a formal visit to the Shangguan household, and had been utterly captivated by the Young Miss.

Two paces away stood a red-haired youth with the air of a cynical rakehell: Huoyan Guang, second son of the Huoyan family, violent of temper, deeply doted upon by the Huoyan matriarch, and wholly lawless from childhood. The Huoyan family was likewise one of the oldest houses in Perseus, its foundations deep.

A pace beyond him was the young master of the Yun family, Yun Yiyao. The Yun family was founded upon commerce, the foremost great merchant house of Perseus; so immense was its wealth that even the Shangguan family could not catch its coattails.

The Chu family, the Hao family, the Shen family, the Qi family...

Looking across the crowd, it seemed every family in Perseus of even modest standing had come. Against such a formidable array, Uncle Qian's heart pounded in fright. Many of these families were not even from White Rainbow Star.

There is a conspiracy here!

In an instant, Uncle Qian understood that someone was pulling strings in the shadows. But for the other side to have the power to muster nearly the whole strength of Perseus, Uncle Qian could not help but quail inwardly. The combined strength of these families was something even the Young Miss, were she here, could not possibly withstand.

But Uncle Qian was long since not the Uncle Qian of two years ago. His face betrayed nothing; he forced down the turmoil in his heart and strove to speak calmly: "Young gentlemen, why have you gathered before the gate of the Shangguan household?"

Huoyan Guang gave a cold snort. "Cut the act. Which one of you is Tang Tang?"

Tang Tang was rather taken aback. So it was aimed at him? He was puzzled; he had only just arrived on White Rainbow Star and ought not to have provoked anyone. Yet these people had come looking for him?

Uncle Qian was startled too, but he quickly collected himself: "May I ask what business you gentlemen have with my family's son-in-law?"

"Son-in-law?" Ming Zichun cut in, his tone full of malice. "I should like to see for myself just what sort of creature this family servant is, that he could become the husband of Miss Qianhui!"

Yun Yiyao stepped forward and bowed, then declared in a ringing voice: "Greetings to Uncle Qian. We have come this time simply to see this so-called son-in-law of the Shangguan family. Miss Qianhui is the person your nephew holds in the highest esteem; not just anyone is fit to be worthy of her."

"Exactly! For some stray cat or dog to pop up and think it can lay claim to Miss Qianhui, they had best first ask whether our fists agree!"

"A toad dreaming of swan meat! Miss Qianhui is a figure out of fairy tales; I refuse to believe there is a man in this world who deserves her!"

"If he wants to marry Miss Qianhui, he had better ask me first!"

"Where is that bastard Tang Tang? If he has the guts, let him come out!"

"This fellow isn't getting away today. The very thought of it makes my blood boil! If I don't beat him senseless, I won't be easy in my mind!"

...

The crowd seethed with indignation; curses of every kind filled the air, and every face was contorted with furious excitement.

Watching the mood swell higher and higher, this crowd like a powder keg that a single spark would set off, Yu Zeqing, hidden among them, was filled with glee. Especially when he saw the panic in the eyes of the Shangguan disciples, he was so excited he nearly moaned aloud.

Tang Tang is dead for certain this time!

He knew these spoiled young masters all too well, because he was one of them. They were not greatly wicked men, but they cared desperately about face, and in a fit of rage there was absolutely nothing they would not do.

To have orchestrated this affair himself in the shadows, and then to see his plan succeed so splendidly, that sense of accomplishment was something he had tasted for the first time in his life.

It was marvelous!

On the rooftops in the distance, spectators could be seen everywhere, watching the excitement from afar. Among the crowd, Gao Cen and the mustachioed man were mingled.

"Yu Zeqing does have some skill," the mustachioed man said with a smile.

"I don't care for that kind of person," Gao Cen said, shaking his head.

"But he is very useful," the mustachioed man said dismissively. "And that is enough!"

"Mm." Gao Cen sighed. "Tang Tang is in trouble."

The Shangguan family had been surrounded by fully two hundred men. These two hundred were not, perhaps, the strongest of martial artists, but they had numbers and momentum behind them, and the servants and retainers attending these young masters were all of quite decent strength. Moreover, the Shangguan family dared not raise a hand against these young lords at all; offend all these families at once, and the Shangguan family would have no place left to stand in Perseus.

From yet another angle, the Shangguan family had already lost this round. And after this affair, the blow to the Shangguan family's reputation, still in the midst of recovery, would be absolutely fatal.

One need only look at Shangguan Qian's ashen face and the cold sweat on his brow to know how far the situation had deteriorated.

The Shangguan family is finished this time!

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Tang Tang listened for a while, and understood what these people meant.

Suddenly he grinned, baring two rows of gleaming white teeth.

But the blood in his body was now so scalding it could have melted steel, and his eyes were like a wilderness set ablaze. Those furious, impassioned curses came to his ears, every word distinct.

It had been a long time since he had been this angry...

His heart was a frozen tundra, austere and cold, and the smile he wore was full of arrogance and an edge like a blade.

He took a step, walked out from the crowd, the half-smile still on his face. He looked around, and his tone betrayed not the slightest concealment of his mockery and contempt: "Since when does the matter between me and Qianhui fall to you trash to point fingers at?"

The surroundings fell silent at once.

Everyone stared at Tang Tang, dumbstruck; not one of them believed their own eyes.

No one had expected that under such circumstances this family servant would not only leap out but actively provoke them. Had this fellow's brain gone bad? Was he tired of living?