Chapter Ninety-Two: A Trap for the Unwary

Fearing that Lingxiao might refuse, Shen Qingshan spoke again.

“Young Master Ling, I’m afraid you do not know what sort of man Ma Changlong is. He is vicious to the core. At first, merely to satisfy his appetite, he persecuted the Cai family in the northwest. Later, when the Cais fled to Jiangzhou and were saved by you, his son immediately sent men to assassinate you. I wonder whether you ever encountered them.”

“How did you know about this?”

“Answering the young master, all of this came from the intelligence my people in the northwest gathered from the Ma family.”

Lingxiao said nothing. Zhang Daochu waved a hand.

“Shen Qingshan, you and your men should wait outside for now.”

“Yes.”

After Shen Qingshan left, Zhang Daochu stepped forward at once.

“Young Master, I did not wish to burden you with this matter, but it is of great importance, and I dared not conceal it from you.”

“The northwest is vast, but it has long been under the control of Mount Kongtong. I fear it will not be easy to take. Moreover, as for Shen Qingshan, no one knows what is truly in his heart. So I hope the young master will think twice before acting.”

Lingxiao closed his eyes slightly and tapped the redwood armrest, the faint drumming sound impossible to read.

After a long while, he finally spoke.

“When meat is delivered to your door, and you refuse to eat it, you insult the one who brought it.”

Zhang Daochu shuddered.

“But, Young Master, the northwest is Mount Kongtong’s territory. If you go there, might you not be ambushed by Kongtong?”

Lingxiao suddenly opened his eyes, two sharp beams of light flashing forth.

“I only wish he would come and provoke me. Tell Shen Qingshan that one week from now, I will personally go to the northwest.”

“Yes!”

...

The reason he had not gone at once was mainly because of Mu Yiren.

Now that the two had recognized each other, Lingxiao could not rule out the possibility that someone would target Mu Yiren.

So over the course of a week, Lingxiao forged a protective spirit jade. With his own essence blood, he inscribed a formation within it, sealing spiritual energy inside in an endless flow. Should Mu Yiren encounter any danger, the spiritual power would at once shield her firmly within it.

...

One week later, five Rolls-Royces rolled into the northwest under the cover of night, bringing a different air to this already turbulent land.

The five luxury cars raced along the streets, drawing countless glances.

Only when they reached the Northwest Grand Hotel did they finally stop.

Three people stepped out of the cars.

Two men and one woman.

The men were naturally the elegant Lingxiao and the towering Ming Cheng.

But the woman was not Xiu'er; it was Cai Xiaoya.

As Lingxiao was setting foot in the northwest for the first time, he naturally needed a guide.

Looking at the brilliantly lit hotel and the traffic flowing back and forth along the surrounding streets, Cai Xiaoya could not help but sigh.

“The northwest, this place of contention—I thought I would never come back here in this lifetime.”

Ming Cheng licked his lips, a fierce light showing in his eyes.

“The more contentious the place, the more interesting it is.”

Seeing Ming Cheng like that, Cai Xiaoya’s sigh only deepened.

With the arrival of these two, the northwest was likely to be swept once more by a storm of blood and violence.

“When will Shen Qingshan arrive?”

“I have already called him, Young Master. He can be here within ten minutes.”

Lingxiao nodded.

“Then we will wait.”

While they waited, several more luxury cars arrived.

A group of handsome men and beautiful women stepped out, and from their clothes alone it was clear they were all second-generation rich heirs.

Seeing them, Cai Xiaoya’s expression grew more solemn, and there was even a trace of... anger?

Lingxiao said indifferently, “You know them?”

Cai Xiaoya clenched her silver-white teeth.

“The one in front is Ma Changlong’s son, Ma Yinglong! If not for their Ma family, my grandfather and I would never have been driven to abandon everything we owned and flee to Jiangzhou!”

As she spoke, the group reached the hotel entrance as well. Seeing Cai Xiaoya, Ma Yinglong’s eyes lit up.

“Cai Xiaoya! It really is you! I never expected that after my father sent men to Jiangzhou to seize you and failed, you would come back to the northwest yourself and walk straight into the trap. How amusing! Today, I’ll catch you and present you to my father as a gift, as an early celebration of his impending rise to the throne of King of the Northwest!”

Cai Xiaoya’s delicate fists tightened as she fixed Ma Yinglong with a deadly stare.

“Ma Yinglong, don’t be too arrogant. Be careful you don’t get your retribution.”

“Hahaha...”

Ma Yinglong and the others burst out laughing at once, as if they had heard the funniest joke in the world.

“Cai Xiaoya, it seems all those days in Jiangzhou have made your brain rusty! Why don’t you go out and ask around? My father, Ma Changlong—what sort of figure is he now in the northwest? Looking across the entire region, who dares lay a hand on me?”

“That’s right. Lord Ma is the unquestioned choice for the new King of the Northwest! Soon the northwest will belong to the Ma family, and all will bow to Lord Ma. Who would dare provoke Young Master Ma?”

As soon as those words fell, a voice rich and magnetic rang in everyone’s ears.

“Oh? Then I’d rather like to provoke you and see.”

The laughter cut off abruptly, and all eyes locked on Lingxiao.

He stood where he was, not looking at them at all, only lowering his head to toy with the spatial ring on his thumb.

Ma Yinglong sized him up from head to toe, and jealousy flickered in his eyes.

This boy in front of him was actually more handsome than he was.

And that was not all.

The windbreaker Lingxiao wore was actually a top-tier Swiss royal luxury brand, custom-made in private.

He had wanted to buy that brand’s clothes for a long time, but unfortunately he did not have the qualifications.

Still, he was unafraid.

Right now his father was a favorite of Mount Kongtong, and would soon become the King of the Northwest. By then, what could he possibly not buy?

With a cold snort, he finally spoke.

“Who are you? Who gave you the courage to shout in this young master’s face?”

Lingxiao slowly raised his head, his gaze carrying a trace of cold indifference, as though the few people before him were no different from dead corpses.

“I can’t be bothered to waste words with you. Conveniently, I also have a debt to settle with your Ma family. Ming Cheng, send him on his way.”

“Gladly.”

Ming Cheng licked his lips, savage light gleaming in his eyes.

Ma Yinglong frowned slightly.

“You want to kill me? You’ve got some nerve! Do you know what you’re making yourself into? In the northwest, if you dare touch even a hair on my head, I’ll make sure you never walk out of here. Believe it or not?”

Ming Cheng walked up beside Ma Yinglong and lifted a leg straight into a kick.

“Who are you trying to scare?”

Boom!

Ma Yinglong was sent flying by the kick, crashing hard into a car and coughing up a mouthful of blood. His face instantly turned wan.

“You... you dared hit me? I will never let you go!”

He cursed fiercely, but in reply Ming Cheng simply brought his foot down.

“Then die.”

With one stomp, Ma Yinglong’s chest was crushed beneath Ming Cheng’s foot.

He spat out a mouthful of blood violently, his eyes bulging wide.

“You... you...”

Before he could finish, his breath was gone.

The remaining people screamed at once.

“Aaah! Murder! He killed Young Master Ma!”

“Quick! Call the police! Call the police and have them arrest these people!”

Terrified out of their wits, they went pale as paper and hurriedly dialed their phones.