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Chapter 4
The Twelve Uglies of the Central Plains
(1)
There was a small pond in front of Biling’s place.
The pond water in the dark looked like ink.
Tang Yu didn’t like writing, and he didn’t like ink.
And so he didn’t like seeing this pitch-black as ink pond in the dark.
Actually, even though the pond was small, its water was incredibly clear and beautiful.
Tang Yu stood at the edge of the pond and saw a tealgowned person sitting on the opposite end of the pond.
He was sitting there quietly by the water’s edge, seemingly asleep.
But Tang Yu could see that his eyes weren’t completely closed, and his right hand rested on a sword hilt.
By his posture, he seemed ready to kill at any time, or that someone could be coming to kill him at any time.
Who was this person? Why was he sitting outside Biling’s bedchamber? Could he be one of Boss Sha’s men sent to keep an eye on Biling?
Tang Yu quickly dismissed that theory.
Sha Bu’e’s men would never be someone like this, and this person was by no means an ordinary swordsman.
(2)
Tang Yu couldn’t resist walking up to him. The first thing he said to the tealgowned man was, “Are you hear to keep an eye on Biling or to protect her?”
The tealgowned man sighed and said slowly, “Sir, your nose doesn’t seem to be working. Do you not smell that pungent stench?”
Tang Yu laughed. “This old fellow’s nose might not be as acute as a dog’s, but it has smelled the reek of blood.”
“Yep, that’s the smell that human blood gives off.”
“be it human blood, dog blood or pig blood, the smell is pretty much the same.”
“Nope!” The tealgowned man said coldly, “Human blood stinks worse than dog or pig blood.”
“Oh?” Tang Yu smiled faintly. “Why does Your Excellency say that?”
The tealgowned man said coldly, “I’m not willing to expound on that. Anyway, Biling’s room has already become a place strewn with dead bodies.”
Tang Yu sighed. “Was it your work?”
The tealgowned man said, “There were twelve of them altogether. I investigated it earlier. All twelve of them are arch villains who eat people up bones and all.”
Tang Yu said, “You know who they are?”
The tealgowned man said, “They are the Twelve Uglies of the Central Plains, masterhands of the dark path recruited by Sha Bu’e two years ago.”
The Twelve Uglies of the Central Plains?”
“Yep.”
Tang Yu looked uncertain. “With Your Excellency’s sword in hand, you could manage to kill all twelve of them?”
“No.” The tealgowned man suddenly stood up slowly. “My swordplay could take on the twelve of them, but to kill them all at once, I’m powerless to do that.”
Tang Yu’s eyes flashed cold. “In that case, Your Excellency must have had some helpers?” The tealgowned man nodded.
Tang Yu asked, “Who were they?”
The tealgowned man said, “Not that, it was just one person.”
With that he reached out and pointed over to the woods off to the left.
An old man in a gray robe strolled out from the woods.
The graygowned old man had a pinewood red-tasseled spear in his hand.
The spear shaft was straight, and the graygowned old man’s back was as straight as the spear shaft.
Tang Yu’s eyes lit up and he blurted out, “Old Tang of Hangzhou?”
The graygowned old man laughed and said in a clear voice, “Tang Yu, you haven’t forgotten me!”
The graygowned old man was none other than Old Tang, the old patriarch of the Hangzhou Tang family.
Tang Yu hadn’t forgotten Old Tang.
They were not only distant cousins, in their younger days they had roamed the jianghu together and done a number of earth-shaking, eyebrow-raising things.
Now they were together again. Though they were meeting in the dark, daybreak would soon be upon them…
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