Ways To Be Powerful

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Duan Tianrao was outstanding, but when compared to Si Bai, he was no competition at all.

“Could it be that… the annulment of the engagement wasn’t initiated by Duan Tianrao? Could it be because of Ye Qingtang and Si Bai’s close relationship that she broke off the engagement?”

“Yeah, there’s no way! If you were Duan Tianrao, would you be willing to give up such an extraordinary beauty like Ye Qingtang and marry Ye Xun, the second choice? You must be blind if you choose Ye Xun!”

“Si Bai is way better than Duan Tianrao. I pitied Ye Qingtang just now, but… should I pity Duan Tianrao now?”

A burst of discussion filled the crowd. At this point, no one believed that it was Duan Tianrao who initiated to cancel the engagement.

Duan Tianrao’s face turned to a shade of green and white. The sound of the discussions which traveled to his ears was like endless ridicule.

The humiliation that should have happened to Ye Qingtang all happened to him instead.

“Darling Duan…” Ye Xun anxiously looked at Duan Tianrao’s frozen side profile with worry.

Duan Tianrao took a deep breath and turned around. “Let’s go,” he said without even looking at Ye Xun.

Shock filled her, but she could only hang her head low and leave with Duan Tianrui and Duan Tianrao.

From that day on, Duan Tianrao became the biggest joke in Lin Town.

Before leaving the worship stage, Ye Qingtang told her father Ye Ling that she was going to the Si residence. Ye Ling was in an extremely good mood, so, of course, he would give in to her. Once he gave Ye Qingtang his permission, he went back to the Ye residence in high spirits.

Let’s see who would still dare to say that his daughter was ugly from then on?!

Ye Qingtang, Si Bai, and Si Ye returned to the Si residence together immediately.

At the Si residence’s hall.

“Are master’s words true?” Ye Qingtang, who was called to the Si residence, asked with widened eyes. Unable to hide her smile, her lips tugged up.

Master Si nodded slightly and replied delightedly, “I called you here today to let you know that Lord Mu Su has agreed to meet you. He should be in Lin Town in a few days.”

Ye Qingtang saved two people from the Si family. If Mu Su did not agree, it would be difficult for Master Si to tell Ye Qingtang about it. It was good that everything was successful.

“Thank you very much, master.” This time, Ye Qingtang thanked him from her heart. If not for the Si family’s connections, she would not have the opportunity to interact with a powerful figure like Mu Su.

As long as she could see Mu Su, she could officially begin on her plan!

“There’s no need to thank me,” Master Si said with a smile. “Qingtang, you’re no longer a stranger to the Si family. From now on, don’t address me as ‘master’ anymore. Just ‘grandfather’ like my grandsons will do.”

A hint of a smile flashed in her eyes as she said with a clear voice, “Yes, Grandfather Si.”

Master Si could not help but let out a cheerful laugh while remembering to say, “Qingtang, allow Grandfather Si to be long-winded. Since you wish to meet Lord Mu Su, you must meet him with an honest heart. Lord Mu Su is open-minded and dislikes it when others scheme against him. You must remember this.”

“Alright.” Ye Qingtang knew that Master Si was reminding her.

Praise filled Master Si’s eyes. Even though Ye Qingtang came from the Ye family which he disliked, it could not be denied that the more he interacted with Ye Qingtang, the more he liked the intelligent and alert girl. In her, he could not see a single trace of clumsiness and ignorance despite these being the characteristics of people her age.

Master Si even intended for Ye Qingtang to stay and have a meal, but she politely rejected the offer.

Since there is news from Mu Su, she should start her preparation. She estimated that the “thing” was about to be born. If she went late, she might miss it again as in her previous life.

“Grandfather Si, I will not stay any longer today. I still have some matters to settle,” Ye Qingtang said.

“Just go ahead,” Master Si replied.

Ye Qingtang nodded and left the Si residence after bidding Master Si goodbye.

Humming along the way, Ye Qingtang arrived at the Dead Leaves Forest.

This time, she did not come to the Dead Leaves Forest to distract her thoughts, but to obtain a baby that she missed out in her previous life!

Stepping on the soft leaves, Ye Qingtang moved freely in the dense forest. At the back of the forest was a series of tall rolling hills which were like a line that divided heaven and earth.

In the past few days, heavy rain showered upon Lin Town, and the steep mountains were greeted with a series of landslides which caused many trees at the foot of the mountain to collapse. The floor was covered with a mix of soil, gravel, dead leaves, and broken branches; it was an utter mess.

Lifting the hem of her skirt, Ye Qingtang walked towards the disorderly mountains and stopped in her tracks when she reached a half-buried stone cave.

In her previous life, when the Great Elder returned and ordered for Ye Ling and Second Elder to be murdered, Ye Qingtang was also forced to flee for her life and escaped into this Dead Leaves Forest.

In the darkness, she fell into the stone cave which was buried by the densely packed trees. After hiding in the cave for many days while enduring the pain and hunger, she finally escaped when she confirmed that the people that the Great Elder sent had left.

And it was at the moment when she was fleeing that she saw something for a brief moment. However, she was frail and had problems staying alive then, so naturally, she did not take further notice of it. Yet, it turned out that she missed out on the only treasure which could have changed her destiny in her previous life.

In this life, she would not miss it again!

Ye Qingtang’s lips curled up slightly as she stretched out her fair hands and searched through the messy gravel.

After a moment, a shiny and bald “egg” which was about the size of a palm appeared before her eyes.

The egg was very small, and despite being covered with soil, the interlacing blue and white pattern was still visible.

Ye Qingtang’s eyes glistened when she saw the egg.

“I finally found you!”

This was an egg, a dragon egg with a living dragon baby in it!

This was a lightning dragon egg that had been buried in the mountains for god knows how many years and was strewn out in the storm in the past few days. Ye Qingtang saw it in her previous life as well but missed the opportunity to bring it back as she was escaping for her life. When she returned, the dragon egg had died from prostration as it was exposed outside for too long.

Many years later, Ye Qingtang once saw a lightning dragon that someone raised, and its ferocity left many speechless. The breeder was only at Martial Qi Level 2 but was able to wipe out nearly ten thousand people who encircled him and leave in one piece simply by relying on the violent lightning dragon.

Ye Qingtang was extremely regretful at that time. If she had taken the lightning dragon egg away with her in time back then, she would not have ended up being driven to a dead end by Ye You and the many people she led.

In this life, she would not let the same regret happen again.

Ye Qingtang carefully dug the lightning dragon egg out from the soil and carried it in her arms.

As long as she managed to successfully hatch and raise the lightning dragon egg, she would have another card in her hand!

“Little thing, this is a change for both you and me this time around. I won’t let you die from prostration before you’re even born,” Ye Qingtang murmured while stroking the bare egg with a smile.

Ye Qingtang kept the dragon egg carefully. There was still some time before the dragon egg would hatch, and in the meantime, it needed to be near a body at all times as a form of incubation using the body heat. Otherwise, if she was even slightly careless, the dragon egg would lose its life once again.

After finding the dragon egg, Ye Qingtang immediately returned to the Ye residence. Just as she entered the main door, she suddenly felt that the atmosphere became strange.

Ye Qingtang’s expression changed slightly, and she walked straight to the front hall.

In the front hall, Ye Ling was sitting on the chair for the highest ranking position. Other than Ye Ling, an old man with a cold expression was present as well.

“Tang Tang, you came back at the right time. The Great Elder has just returned today.” Ye Qingtang looked at Ye Qingtang helplessly but appeared to sound calm.

Ye Qingtang stopped in her tracks and looked towards the Great Elder who was sitting in the hall.

When Ye Xun conned Ye Qingtang to leave the Ye residence, it was the Great Elder who personally captured her and allowed his granddaughter, Ye You, to snatch Ye Qingtang’s spirit root away.

It could be said that the Great Elder was the initiator of Ye Qingtang’s misery in her past life. Seeing the Great Elder again today, Ye Qingtang was no longer short-tempered like before. She quietly calmed her fluctuating emotions, acting as if there was nothing wrong, and greeted politely,

“Great Elder.”

The Great Elder was already over eighty years old. Although all his hair had turned white, he was still sharp and spirited, leading people into believing that he was at most slightly over fifty at first look. His sharp eyes glanced over at Ye Qingtang, and a strange expression flashed across his eyes when he noticed that the birthmark on Ye Qingtang’s face had disappeared. However, he did not react much and only nodded briefly.

“The journey to send little You to Yunxiao Sect was tough. The Great Elder should rest early,” Ye Ling said with a smile although he raised his guard against the Great Elder.

Expressionless, the Great Elder replied, “Thank you for your concern. It is our Ye family’s honor for little You to be favored by the Yunxiao Sect Sect Master. I ought to work hard.”

Ye Ling smiled.

“I am quite tired today and will go back to rest first,” said the Great Elder coolly as he left on his own without waiting for Ye Ling to respond.

After the Great Elder left, Ye Ling finally relaxed.

“Tang Tang, leave the house less in these few days when the Great Elder is back. When your second uncle ends his seclusion a few days later, we will fetch him together.” Ye Ling was filled with concern. His deteriorating health coupled with the Second Elder’s seclusion had allowed the Great Elder to act with increased arrogance in the Ye family.

Ye Ling was not a fool; he had faintly sensed the Great Elder’s ambitions.

However, he was simply unable to fight with the Great Elder now. The only way to deal with the Great Elder was to be submissive temporarily and wait until the Second Elder ends his seclusion.

Now, Ye Ling was most worried about Ye Qingtang. He was very afraid that the Great Elder would secretly take Ye Qingtang’s life as she was the successor to the family master position, and, thus, he specially warned her.

Looking at her extremely worried father, Ye Qingtang naturally sighed in her heart.

She knew that Ye Ling’s compromises were all for the sake of ensuring her safety. Even when the Great Elder had usurped Ye Ling’s power as the family master in Ye Qintang’s past life, Ye Ling did not resist much, and all of this was for her safety.

However…

How would her father know that she had already secretly fallen victim to the Great Elder?

In her previous life, Ye Qingtang did not dare to tell Ye Ling about the truth behind her stolen spirit root because of the Great Elder’s warning; in this life, she was unwilling to let her father have any more worries.

“I understand.” Ye Qingtang nodded obediently.

It was only then that Ye Ling was slightly relieved.

“You performed very well at the Worship Ceremony today. Even I did not expect that you would become this strong. You must be tired already, go back early and rest. Stay at home and prepare these few days. everything will be okay once your second uncle ends his seclusion.”

“Okay.”

Ye Qingtang nodded obediently, but deep down, she was not as relaxed as Ye Ling.

Ye Ling had tolerated up to then as he was waiting for the Second Elder to suppress and control the Great Elder once the Second Elder ends his seclusion. However, how would the Great Elder not be clear about this?

In the previous lifetime, the Great Elder secretly sent people to assassinate Ye Ling one day before the Second Elder ended his seclusion and made the Second Elder carry the blame for Ye Ling’s death. This allowed the Great Elder to get rid of two people at once, hitting two birds with one stone.

This time, Ye Qingtang would definitely not allow the Great Elder’s scheme to succeed.

At that thought, Ye Qingtang could not help but narrow her eyes as she briskly walked back to her room.

The medicine that she prepared for Ye Ling were mixed in his tea on normal days. Those medicines could slowly remove the remaining poison in his body. Perhaps Ye Ling himself had not realized that his complexion these past few days was way better than before.

However…

This was far from enough. To deal with the Great Elder, Ye Qingtang must have even more preparations in place!

Ye Xun returned from the Duan family and not a trace of a smile could be seen on her face.

Previously, it was she who secretly told Duan Tianrao about Ye Qingtang’s broken spirit root, and she was also the one who hinted to Duan Tianrao that Ye Qingtang was ugly.

Yet today, Ye Qingtang had embarrassed her publicly. While Duan Tianrao did not say it, Ye Xun already felt the change in Duan Tianrao’s attitude towards her.

“Ye Qingtang, why do you always have to spoil my plans.” Ye Xun took a deep breath quietly, worked to sort out her emotions, and then walked into the Ye residence.

When she just entered, she heard news of the Great Elder’s return, and her unhappiness vanished into thin air instantly.

She had long sided with the Great Elder and was obviously aware of his ambitions. Now that he was back, both Ye Ling and Ye Qingtang would not have good days ahead.

Chapter 15

The Great Elder, who wanted the position of the family master, would definitely not allow Ye Qingtang to live.

At that thought, Ye Xun immediately went to meet the Great Elder.

The Great Elder, who was sitting in the study room, looked at Ye Xun without any emotions.

“I didn’t know that grandfather was coming home in advance and could not welcome you. It’s my bad,” Ye Xun sought forgiveness from the Great Elder gently.

“Rise. I didn’t think of returning early as well, it’s not your fault.” The Great Elder raised his hand slightly to signal for Ye Xun to stand up after curtsying to him.

Ye Xun said obediently, “Grandfather must be tired from the journey. Now that sister You entered Yunxiao Sect, her future must be limitless.”

The Great Elder was pleased by Ye Xun’s words. “In the time that I was gone, was Ye Qingtang well-behaved?”

“She was relatively obedient, and she hadn’t told Ye Ling that her spirit root was actually stolen,” Ye Xun replied truthfully, not daring to blab.

The Great Elder nodded slightly, but his tone turned cold suddenly. “Seems that she knows what’s good for her. If she can’t watch her mouth, then she can’t blame me for being heartless.”

Looking at the Great Elder’s sinister face, Ye Xun suddenly said, “Ye Qingtang was obedient regarding the spirit root incident, but… during the worship ceremony today, Ye Qingtang’s abilities were a little weird.”

“Weird?” the Great Elder asked with raised eyebrows.

Ye Xun instantly told the Great Elder everything about Ye Qingtang’s performance during the worship ceremony.

After listening, the Great Elder’s expression turned grim.

“Connate Level 7.”

Ye Qingtang’s spirit root is already gone, how was it that her ability was that of a Connate Level 7?

However, the Great Elder was not too concerned. Even if Ye Qingtang was Connate Level 7, she still could not match up to him. What he was truly concerned about was the Second Elder’s ending of seclusion a few days later.

In the whole Ye family, only the Second Elder’s abilities were above his. Furthermore, the Second Elder was extremely supportive of Ye Ling.

If the Second Elder ended his seclusion, it would definitely affect the Great Elder’s scheme to usurp authority.

“Noted, you may leave first,” said the Great Elder.

“Alright.” Ye Xun retreated obediently.

Sitting in the study room alone, the Great Elder narrowed his eyes.

There were two more days until the Second Elder’s ending of seclusion, and once he returned, the Ye family would completely land in his hands.

The Great Elder sneered and called upon his henchman at once.

“Go to the east of the city and visit the Qin Luo Pavilion for me…” Then, the Great Elder wrote a letter and placed it into the hands of his henchman. When the henchman understood the meaning of this, he left immediately.

Sitting on the chair, the Great Elder smirked quietly.

On the surface, the Qin Luo Pavilion was merely an ordinary teahouse. But in reality, it was a hidden assassination organization whose leader, Qin Luo, was highly skilled and had many talented underlings. There was no assassination task that Qin Luo was not able to complete.

The Great Elder had ordered someone to go to the Qin Luo Pavilion to complete his subsequent scheme.

The following night when it was in the dead of the night, most of the lights in the Ye residence were put out.

Ye Ling sat in the study room alone with his eyebrows furrowed. As he looked at the high-quality wine that he had just ordered people to prepare, his tightly pressed lips finally eased a little.

The next morning, the Second Elder would come out from his seclusion. As long as he returned to the Ye family, everything would be stabilized in the Ye family.

Ye Ling slowly heaved a sigh as he looked at the wine jug on the table and put off the lights, preparing to return to his bedroom to rest.

However, just when Ye Ling exited the study room, he suddenly felt a faint, abnormal breath in the late night wind.

Ye Ling’s eyes instantly sharpened, and he instinctively held the sword hung on his waist.

Suddenly, there was a movement in the wind, and a few black figures jumped down from the roof of the Ye residence’s study room.

In the blink of an eye, Ye Ling was surrounded by four men in black.

“I wonder, what business have you come here in the late night for?” Ye Ling tried to appear collected while silently sweeping his gaze over the courtyard, only to find that there was not a single Ye family guard at the door of the courtyard where they were usually supposed to be at. Other than himself, there were only the four uninvited men in the huge courtyard.

“Are you the Ye family family master, Ye Ling?” asked the leader of the group.

“Yes, that’s me,” Ye Ling replied.

The leader’s eyes sharpened. Making eye contact with his partners beside him, the four men took out their swords at the same time and stabbed towards Ye Ling without any word.

Alarmed, Ye Ling immediately took out his sword to fight them.

In the blink of an eye, the sharp light from the four swords struck at him like the stars’ sparkle.

The four men were highly skilled. Even if Ye Ling’s abilities had not declined, it would still be hard to fend off them. Furthermore, Ye Ling’s abilities had reduced greatly over the years, and he was simply not on the same level as the other four. Shortly, he was already dripping with cold sweat.

The leader of the black-clothed men suddenly sent Ye Ling flying with a kick. Ye Ling landed on the floor with a heavy thud as he saw the four men attacking towards him and thought that he was going to die there and then.

But just as the four swords were about to pierce through his chest, a light flashed across the Ye residence.

A sharp clatter followed, and the black-clothed men’s swords were directly deflected by that bolt of cold light.

Then, a figure flew from the top of the courtyard walls and stood in front of Ye Ling.

Ye Ling took a clear look of the person and astonishment filled him.

“Tang Tang! Leave! Don’t care about me.” Ye Ling did not think that his own daughter would suddenly appear there. The four men were far stronger than he, and even if Ye Qingtang was at Connate Level 7, she definitely would not be able to win against them.

Ye Qingtang wore a cold expression as she stood beside Ye Ling. Under the moonlight, her cold and empty gaze swept across the four murderous men before her.

“Little girl, do you wish to die?” The leader of the four men frowned as he looked at Ye Qingtang, who suddenly appeared, with a deepened murderous intention.

Ye Qingtang stood rooted in front of Ye Ling without moving an inch. In her previous life, it was this night that her father was assassinated in the residence by the killers sent by the Great Elder. How could she let the tragedy repeat now that she was reborn?

However…

Ye Qingtang did not strike. She was understood clearly that she was not these four men’s opponent at all given her current ability.

Then, Ye Qingtang suddenly said, “You all wish to take my father’s life merely because you all accepted someone’s money and are acting under their orders. I know who hired you, but I wonder… how much did they pay for you all to actually disregard the Ye family’s reputation and directly enter the Ye residence to assassinate someone.”

“Little girl, what has the price others paid got to do with you? Since you know our intention of coming and now that you are here, it’s just your bad luck.”

However, Ye Qingtang replied, “Qin Luo Pavilion’s price must be pretty high. To be able to hire you, the pavilion master, and your three highly skilled underlings, I guess it must have cost more than ten thousand gold?”

Ye Qingtang’s words indeed stumped the four men.

The four of them came masked, so how did that girl know their identity?