The Inverted Dragon's Scale

Chapter 399: Admiring the plum blossom and solving the mystery!

“This is too much.” Soul haunting whip Luo Xu didn’t think the old guy of the Song family would not give any face to the Defense minister. In fury, he was about to charge up the steps and slam on the door again.

“Luo Xu.” Lu Xingkong called out.

“Master——” Luo Xu’s face was red with anger. A minister would rather die than see his monarch humiliated. As a man saved by Lu Xingkong from the pit of death, this was more difficult to accept than death. “Let me break in. I want to see what sort of place is the old residence of the Song family.”

Lu Xingkong with a smiling expression looked at the old door with paint was peeling off and softly said, “the Divine continent is vast, there are many towering figures and cultivators that want to burst through this door, but just how many can succeed?”

“I would rather die than submit.” Luo Xu fixed a fierce stare at the door.

“You also can’t get in if you’re dead.” Lu Xingkong said, smiling. “Do you know why the old residence of the Song family is not in the Tiandu city but is built outside the city gate of Tiandu?”

“Is it not to seek peace and quiet in a noisy surrounding.” Luo Xu smiled coldly. “I heard that the person of the Song family——likes quiet, so he moved out to live in the old residence.”

“If it were for the sake of quiet, then given the status of the State Minister how will he not find a better place in the city? The Xiang mountain next to the Grand Temple, the Jade mountain next to Golden lake, and the hunting garden behind the imperial palace, are these not all beautiful and secluded places to live in?”

“Then what is the reason?” Luo Xu asked.

“The Song Family is a gate.” Lu Xingkong stated in a low voice. “They are the first gate of the Tiandu city. Any enemy that comes to invade must first break through the old residence of the Song family. Only then can they attack the second gate——For thousands of years, the Song family’s old residence, this first gate, had never been breached, which means the second gate of the Tiandu city also had never been breached. As long as the Tiandu city is not breached, the Chu clan’s country will never waver.”

“A family and a clan keep the peace of a city and a country. Can other family and clan be compared? It is precisely because of this that the people of Tiandu extremely respect the Song family. The world all call the Song family as the ‘Kingdom’s Library’. In fact, in my opinion, the Song family is not only the West wind library, but also the iron gall bladder of the Kingdom. With this gall bladder, the West wind will have the courage to face any difficulty and setbacks.”

“The foreign enemy cannot break through the Song family’s old residence, how could the people of West Wind break through? What would the world think of us?”

“General——” Luo Xu was unwilling to let it go. He did not care what status the Song family had, or what status the old guy of the Song family had. Their General had been on horseback his entire life and had protected the borders of the country, but now that they had returned to the capital they could not even go through the Song family’s door? If this matter were to go out, the General and the Lu family would become the laughingstock of Tiandu.

“Isn’t the old guy in the Lu family powerful? How could he not even get through the door of the Song family residence?”

“Can the Lu family be compared with the Song family? I’m afraid they are not even worthy of scrubbing their shoes—”

“That person of the Song family gave a slap to the Lu family’s face——he already said he doesn’t like Lu Xingkong, but he had to go there and bring trouble to himself——”

All sorts of rumours, taunts and attacks will most likely come flooding over.

However, is the status of the Lu family and Song family that different?

“We just can’t let this go.” Lu Yi said at the side.

“It might not be a bad thing to not see us.” Lu Xingkong thoughtfully looked at the courtyard, as if his eyes could penetrate the walls and talk to the old man in the courtyard.

He had mobilised so many troops to come pay a visit but the other person refused to see him——How can that be a good thing?

Luo Xu couldn’t understand.

“Go back.” Lu Xingkong turned towards the black iron carriage.

“Yes.” Luo Xu answered, hurriedly dashed to pull open the curtain for Lu Xingkong and made an inviting gesture.

Throwing another fierce glance at the tightly closed door, Luo Xu leaped onto the shafts of the carriage, and urged the horse forward with his whip.

Go!

With a light shout, the black iron carriage began to move.

Behind were a dozens of troops of the Wolf army in heavy armour and wolf-faced masks.

When the clatter of hoofs had gradually faded into the distance, the old servant shook off the snow on him and headed over to the old man who was admiring the plum blossoms and enjoying tea in the courtyard.

“Master, they are gone.” The servant said with a smile.

“Yes.” Wearing an unlined garment, Song Gudu was sat on a mat under the eaves, intently gazing at the blooming plum blossoms in the snowstorm. “I know.”

“Master really won’t see them?” The butler could not help asking.

“I won’t see them.” Song Gudu with both hands held up the cup of tea that had gone cold, but he seemed to not care and carefully sipped a mouthful.

“This time, we will most likely offend the Defense minister.” The old servant said with a smile.

Song Gudu put down the cup, gently sighing, “what benefits will there be to see him?”

“Yes. What is the benefit of seeing him?” Song Tao came out carrying a kettle of boiling water and filled Song Gudu’s cup of tea. “Already torn into each other’s face, don’t tell me we need to meet together and drink and chat merrily?”

Song Gudu cast a glance over Song Tao. “The reason I won’t see him is because I know what he wants to see me for. If I won’t see him, he will know what I want to say to him. It is better this way. Saves some time, I can enjoy a little more snow, admire the plum blossoms a little longer, isn’t this happier?”

“Grandpa——” Song Tao felt a tightness in his chest again. Ever since coming back from the Thousand Buddha temple, witnessing blood bleed from the bodhisattva’s eyes, he had as much as possible tried to stay at his Grandfather’s side, because he was afraid his Grandfather would depart anytime.

Everyone knew what the Grandfather’s presence meant to the Song family and what it meant for the entire West Wind Kingdom. If his Grandfather was not able to get through this, then the Song family’s status was no longer guaranteed. After all, the Song family had no one who can reach the same level of cultivation as the Grandfather. Even Lu Xingkong himself may not be able to contend with this old man.

At that time, how the Lu family would get revenge on the Song family for so many years of repression was needless to be said, right?

“Don’t worry.” Song Gudu knew what his grandson was worried about. He smiled and said, “don’t worry. The day has not arrived, I still have a few more days——All the plum blossoms in the courtyard has not yet bloomed, how would I be inferior to even a few plum blossoms?”

Song Tao knew that the reason his Grandfather admired plum blossoms was because he admired the strength of plum blossom to bloom splendidly in the snow, as well as its spirit of never giving up.

Now his Grandfather was like a plum tree in winter and the coming tragedy was the snow that filled the sky. Whether or not he could, like these plum trees, endure the snow and wind to form a bud again next year, was still uncertain.

“I’m sure Grandfather will live to 200 years old.” Song Tao said in a consoling tone.

Song Gudu was already over one hundred years old, if he had said, ‘may you live to a hundred’ that would be cursing him to die early.

“Well. Let’s hope so.” Song Gudu said indifferently. “Even the eagle Lu Xingkong could not sit still, which indicates the outside has become a mess now, right? You don’t have to stay in this old residence to accompany me the old man. The great drama that we arranged——we must not let them make it go wrong. I have told you many times to not act easily and to not make an enemy of someone easily. However, every time you make a move, you must strive for a fatal kill and have some gain out of it.”

“Grandfather, don’t worry. Some dramas don’t need a story at all. We just have to put them on the same stage, and presumably they will act according to our wish.” Song Tao said with a smile. “But, since Lu Xingkong came to see Grandfather, then that proves Grandfather’s speculation is correct——Li Muyang and the Lu family really have some unspeakable secret?”

“Li Muyang’s parents used to be the servant and driver of the Lu family. On a night more than ten years ago, that is, the night that a girl called Qiji was born into the Lu family, Li Muyang’s parents and Li Muyang, who was born on the same night, quietly left Tiandu and lived in seclusion in Jiangnan——”

“I thought it was the couple who made a big mistake that led the Lu family kicking them out in fury. Although I had doubts but I did not take this matter too much to heart——I had no idea that, more than 10 years later, when Li Muyang killed Cui family’s Cui Zhaoren and when Li Muyang’s parents and family encountered the retaliation of the Cui family, the Lu family’s daughter-in-law Gongsun Yu would personally travel all the way to bring Li Muyang’s parents and sister to the Lu family’s residence and showed no hesitation to stand against the Cui family who was in a state of rage at that time. It wasn’t until now that I know that the reason the couple left so mysteriously was to hide another secret.”

“Lu Xingkong is not a man who only catches and does not let go. He is a clever enemy, also a formidable opponent. If a person does not know the way of choosing and giving up, there is no way he could climb to this position today——but, this time what he chose and gave up were completely not in line with his personal interests and the interests of the Lu family.”

“Just a pair of servants. Why whould they, at this critical moment, become enemies with the inside and outside, and even the Emperor is beginning to feel discontented with him? Why would they jump out and stand against the Cui family and the Emperor? What good is it for them? If you do not want to conspire against the state, is it necessary to disobey the Emperor? Is there a need to embarrass the Emperor? He could just throw out the few little fish to extinguish the fire between the Lu family and the Emperor?”

“So Grandfather told me to arrange this drama?” Song Tao asked with a glint in his eyes and a smiling expression. “You want to test the Lu family’s real attitude towards Li Muyang——”

“There is a saying in the Kingdom: A lie requires 100 lies to cover it.” The old man’s sight shifted again to the plum blossoms in the courtyard, continuing with a sigh, “however, a mystery has been solved and a new mystery has emerged. Just what is it for?”