Sowing Discord / A Chain of Ambushes

This bat is smaller than a mouse, yet it manages to catch it and fly with it, and quite fast at that; it looks rather Anomalies.

"Stay!"

Si Ming leaped up, trying to catch both of them, but the bats seemed to have precognitive abilities; they swayed and turned with a tiny dodge, dodging in advance.

Unable to escape the effects of gravity, Si Ming could only fall from the sky, watching helplessly as the other person disappeared into the night.

"A rat and a bat... could they correspond to the Earth Bat of the Woman and the Sun Rat of the Emptiness of the Twenty-Eight Mansions? Then wouldn't their leader be the Black Tortoise?"

Recalling the powerful demons he encountered during the demon tide in Tange City last time, Si Ming had a guess in his mind.

Chapter 245 Sowing Discord

"Damn it! By what right, by what right do you take back my military command?"

Huyan Lü angrily slammed his palm down, shattering the solid ebony table into pieces.

"Why! I'm clearly more capable and smarter than my older brother, so why won't he let me inherit the position of gang leader? Is it just because he was born a few years earlier than me? How despicable! How despicable! How despicable!"

Unable to quell his rage, Huyan Lü unleashed a series of palm strikes, shattering the furniture in the room into pieces, as if a storm had swept through, leaving almost nothing intact.

A moment later, there was a knock on the door, followed by the voice of the messenger, who was afraid of being blamed. "Young Master, Elder Lou requests an audience."

"I won't see him! I won't see anyone, he can go to hell!"

Huyan Lü roared, grabbed an ashtray, and slammed it against the door with a loud thud.

The messenger replied hastily, "Understood, let him leave immediately."

Wait a minute!

Huyan Lü managed to retain his composure. Remembering that he couldn't drive the man away now, he had to fight for even the slightest hope and couldn't allow himself to be isolated and helpless. So he used his internal energy to calm his mind and cool his head, then said calmly, "Take Elder Lou to the study next door first. I'll be there right away."

He was clearly not in a good state to meet guests, otherwise he would give the impression of being furious and frustrated. He quickly asked someone to bring him a new set of clothes, changed into them, tidied himself up in front of the mirror, and returned to his normal appearance. Only after calming down did he walk towards his study.

"Elder Lou, what a rare guest! I thought that from now on, no one would want to see me anymore."

Upon entering the study, Huyan Lü greeted Elder Lou with great enthusiasm, treating him like an old friend, even though the two did not actually have much private interaction.

Elder Lou was neither a member of the eldest son's faction nor the second son's faction, but rather an old subordinate of Huyan Lie.

"Ah, life is like the sea, with its ebb and flow. Setbacks are normal. Who hasn't had their share of humiliation? The Second Young Master has only temporarily lost power and had a small misunderstanding with the Gang Leader. Once the misunderstanding is cleared up, everything lost will come back. Those who betrayed the Second Young Master in his time of crisis will surely regret it in the future," Elder Lou comforted him.

"I'm afraid they'll regret not getting out of this quagmire sooner."

Huyan Lü thought to himself that this was no misunderstanding; if it were, he would be happy.

Elder Lou smiled slightly and said, "Second Young Master, why be discouraged? No matter how bad your current situation is, can it be worse than that of King Zhuang of Qin?"

King Zhuang of Qin, Ying Chu, was not favored by Lord Anguo. Neither the eldest nor the youngest son, he was ranked among his twenty-odd brothers, neither particularly important nor dispensable. As a result, he was sent to Handan, the Handan of State of Zhao, as a hostage. At that time, relations between Qin and Zhao deteriorated, with frequent wars. Ying Chu suffered greatly, lacking carriages and daily necessities, living in poverty and despair. However, with the help of Lü Buwei, he eventually ascended the throne, staging a magnificent comeback. Afterwards, he worked diligently, conquering cities and territories, eventually giving birth to First Emperor of Qin.

Huyan Lü sighed, "Even if I were King Zhuang of Qin, I would still need an Lü Buwei who understands the value of rare commodities. Right now, everyone thinks I'm inferior or defective, and they all fawn over my elder brother. Why would they be willing to assist me?"

After speaking, he glanced furtively at Elder Lou, hoping to get the answer he wanted.

Elder Lou didn't respond, saying indifferently, "It's all about human effort. Second Young Master, don't give up. As long as you persevere, there is still hope."

Huyan Lü was agitated and didn't want to test the waters, so he said directly, "As long as my elder brother is still alive, there is no hope! Anyone with eyes can see that my father's attitude is extremely biased. They are both his sons, but he would rather choose a good-for-nothing who only knows how to grow flowers, plants, and make tea than me, who has made numerous contributions."

Elder Lou paused for a moment, then took a book from the bookshelf, quickly flipped through the pages, and said leisurely, "So, as long as the eldest young master is gone, doesn't the second young master have hope?"

Upon hearing this, Huyan Lü's eyes lit up. This was practically a surrender, but he couldn't understand why the other party would take a liking to him. Did they really think he was a "rare commodity" to be hoarded?

He wouldn't mind being King Zhuang of Qin for a while, but he was afraid that the other party wouldn't have the ability of Lü Buwei.

"If something happens to my elder brother, Father will immediately suspect me. Even without evidence, he will believe I did it, and I will be unable to defend myself and will only face even harsher imprisonment."

"Therefore, we need evidence to prove that everything has nothing to do with you, Second Young Master, and that it was all done by someone else. That way, the gang leader will have no choice but to choose you, Second Young Master, to succeed him."

Who is this 'other person'?

"Of course, the answer that everyone can easily accept is— the Black Earth Gang."

Huyan Lü's gaze suddenly turned stern as he stared at Elder Lou and said, "So Elder Lou was an informant planted by the Black Earth Gang. I never imagined you'd been with Father for so many years..."

"Those who walk different paths cannot make plans together; this matter is not important."

"Isn't it important? What if I tell Father about this...?"

"Your father will praise you, but he will also be more wary of you. And no matter how great your achievements are in the future, the position of gang leader will have nothing to do with you."

Elder Lou approached and lowered his voice, saying, "Second Young Master, wake up! Don't you understand now? As long as the Eldest Young Master is alive, that position will never be yours! Just like that day when the Chief was willing to sacrifice you to protect the Eldest Young Master."

When asked about his most pressing concerns, Huyan Lü's breathing quickened. He glared fiercely at the other man. "You want to instigate internal strife within the Thousand Ren Society so that the Black Earth Gang can reap the benefits?"

"Yes, I do have such thoughts, but so what?" Elder Lou frankly admitted, then countered, "If you, Second Young Master, successfully succeed to the position of gang leader, this sacrifice of interests is insignificant. If you fail, it will harm the interests of the First Young Master, so what does it have to do with you? Or is it that you, Second Young Master, are born with a hatred for the Mohist School, willing to sacrifice your own future rather than let the Mohist School gain the slightest advantage? If that's the case, then I'm willing to lend you my head for a while."

He had long seen through what kind of person Huyan Lü was.

Yu Shuying saw through this as well, which is why she set her sights on Huyan Lü. Otherwise, she would never have agreed to cooperate with his brother, Huyan He.

Influenced by propaganda and public opinion from a young age, Huyan Lü harbored hostility towards the Mohist School, but this hostility was not enough to affect his decision-making.

He paced back and forth in the room more than a dozen times, finally making a firm decision, and asked, "What are your plans? Is there anything I can do to cooperate?"

Elder Lou smiled and said, "It's simple. As long as you, Second Young Master, hold off the gang leader and create an opportunity for us to kill the Eldest Young Master, the rest will be handled by the Black Earth Gang. I guarantee you will be 'completely unaware' of this matter."

Chapter 246 A Series of Ambushes