Chapter 122 - 99: Experts Appear One After Another
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Ye Jingshuang wanted to punch him right then and there!
From her perspective, the situation was this: Liu Wenshan had been unconscious. The location he named the moment he woke up was a place Jiang Ran should have had no way of knowing.
Much less would he have changed his disguise and be lying in wait here, as he was now.
But as things stood, he had clearly known about this place for a while and had already made his preparations.
There was only one possible explanation for this outcome.
The two of them had been in cahoots all along.
They had deliberately lured Tong Wanli and his group to this place.
As for when they started colluding...
’It must have been while I was asleep.’
At this thought, Ye Jingshuang couldn’t help but glance at Liu Wenshan.
"Uncle, when did you wake up?"
"I woke up on the second day."
Liu Wenshan smiled faintly.
"It’s just that, given the situation, I didn’t dare open my eyes."
"The second day."
Ye Jingshuang looked at Jiang Ran again.
"When did you find out?"
"Hm? He was faking it. I saw through it at a glance, of course."
Jiang Ran smiled. "Did you think I was a fake doctor?"
"I see."
Ye Jingshuang sighed.
"You’re both so clever, making a fool out of everyone else."
Liu Wenshan glanced at Jiang Ran and then jutted his chin toward Ye Jingshuang.
Jiang Ran could see that Ye Jingshuang was displeased. After all, she had been kept in the dark, so it was only natural for her to be a bit upset.
He coughed and said:
"Shuang’Er, look. Those ’friends’ of Tong Wanli’s are truly skilled martial artists."
"You’re right. I’m afraid any one of them is at least as skilled as Zhang Dongxuan."
She still sounded unhappy as she said this, but her brow furrowed after she finished speaking.
"That’s not right. Where on earth did he meet these people?"
"I’d guess... the Heartless Ghost Mansion,"
Jiang Ran said quietly.
"The Heartless Ghost Mansion..."
Ye Jingshuang’s expression changed abruptly.
"You’re saying... Tong Wanli is colluding with the Heartless Ghost Mansion? But how could... No, the Jiaowei qin!?
"He wants the Jiaowei qin, and so do the people from the Heartless Ghost Mansion?"
As she said this, her face had become deathly pale.
She carefully recalled the events of that night.
And then she was struck by a question she had never considered before.
These people emerged from the Heartless Ghost Mansion after being absent from the martial world for at least a few years. They had never been to the Ye family estate before, so how could they be so familiar with it?
From the entire, sprawling Ye family, not a single person besides her had managed to escape.
Every single escape route the Ye family had prepared was guarded by their men.
She had to fight her way through a bloody battle just to barely escape with her life.
How did this group manage to know the Ye family so well?
If Tong Wanli had colluded with them, then everything made perfect sense.
The Tong and Ye families had been on good terms for many years. Ye Konggu often visited the Tong family, and Tong Wanli, in turn, was a frequent guest at the Ye estate.
It was just that Ye Jingshuang was training at the Liuyun Sword Sect and didn’t come home often, so they rarely met.
But Tong Wanli’s knowledge of the Ye family was undoubtedly profound.
If he had started plotting for the Jiaowei qin years ago, then who knows how many preparations he made in secret.
It would only be natural for him to know the Ye family inside and out.
Thinking of this, Ye Jingshuang gritted her teeth. She looked out at the unfolding battle, her expression turning to one of confusion.
"But if that’s the case, how did Tong Wanli get in touch with this group from the Heartless Ghost Mansion?"
"I’m afraid we’ll have to ask Tong Wanli himself that."
Jiang Ran said with a smile:
"Shuang’Er, just be patient. All we have to do is wait a little while."
Ye Jingshuang took a deep breath and glanced at Jiang Ran again.
"That group over there is clearly no match for Tong Wanli’s men. Who are they?"
"They accepted the Heterodox Order from Heterodox Manor and came to Benma County to look for someone and something."
Jiang Ran smiled.
"They each had their own objectives, but they all held back, pinning their hopes on other avenues.
"I pulled a few strings, guided them all to the same destination, and with that little something I shouted just now... they started fighting instantly.
"Of course, some of the smarter ones will eventually figure out what’s going on.
"But by then, they’ll be in too deep to stop...
"They’ll have to fight this battle, whether they like it or not."
Ye Jingshuang thought for a moment. The voice that had shouted, "We have uninvited guests! Probably here for that thing, too!" did indeed sound a lot like Jiang Ran.
She couldn’t help but let out a laugh.
"Brother Jiang, you’re too wicked..."
"You smiled."
Jiang Ran was delighted. "Does that mean you’re not angry anymore?"
Ye Jingshuang froze for a moment, only then remembering she was supposed to be angry with Jiang Ran for keeping things from her.
But in the space of a few words from Jiang Ran, her mood had shifted so much that she’d forgotten she was angry in the first place.
Since she had already laughed, she couldn’t very well go back to being angry, so she just shot him a sly glare.
Seeing this, Liu Wenshan couldn’t help but smile as well.
"Young Hero Jiang, truly brilliant."
For a moment, Jiang Ran couldn’t quite tell what exactly he meant by "brilliant."
He could only look back toward the battle.
They were situated at a rare vantage point.
The mist in the Valley of Rebirth reduced visibility to an appalling degree...
...but they could still barely make out the changes on the battlefield.
These people from Heterodox Manor each had some unorthodox skills.
Unfortunately, the group Tong Wanli had gathered were all highly skilled martial artists, each one with a unique specialty.
As a result, although the men from Heterodox Manor were numerous, they were being utterly slaughtered. By now, the battle was almost over.
However, just then, a burly man who was on a killing spree suddenly stopped in his tracks, stood frozen on the spot, unable to move.