Chapter 56 I’m Worth It
Everyone could clearly sense Tan Xilai’s irrational fury.
In the hearts of those who knew him, for example, Liu Dongyu, Tan Xilai always appeared gloomy and sinister. Of course, he had gotten angry, but it was not as obvious as it was today.
His eyes were bloodshot and he was short of breath. The chilly killing intent was fermenting in him, and it made him look like a wild beast that was going to swallow people.
He stormed out of the bar. An usher who was wearing a low-cut cheongsam in front of the door saw that he didn’t look right. Therefore, she took a step forward consciously. Before she could ask, Tan Xilai had slapped her and knocked her unconscious on the ground.
He was panting for breath and kept mumbling to himself. Then, he went to his car and started it. Before leaving, he took a look at Ning Qiancheng, who was behind him.
Ning Qiancheng followed him without hesitation and expression.
After walking out of the bar, Ning Qiancheng drove Han Xinyan’s red sports car. Wang Yuetong didn’t say anything this time and let Li Tianlan get on the car Ning Qiancheng drove. She, however, drove along with the others behind Ning Qiancheng.
Gu Youlan and her men drove cars alongside Tan Xilai.
The two groups of people were divided into two fleets of cars. They left the bar and ran about wildly in the city.
No one cared about Zhong Shaofeng’s injuries from beginning to end, be it Li Tianlan or Gu Youlan. They seemed to have forgotten the fact that Young Master Zhong was a dying man who was seriously injured.
In fact, this was only the beginning.
Ning Qiancheng drove behind Tan Xilai’s Lexus and couldn’t help looking at Li Tianlan once again.
Li Tianlan looked out the window at the lights with a calm expression. Just as Ning Qiancheng could not help asking, he suddenly asked in a low voice, “Are you confident?”
Ning Qiancheng took the cigarette from Li Tianlan and lit it. He took a deep breath and answered slowly, “Absolutely.”
“Hm?”
Li Tianlan raised his eyebrows and shot Ning Qiancheng a glance.
“I’m telling the truth.”
Ning Qiancheng said softly. Mixed emotions could be sensed from his tone.
Li Tianlan took a drag on the cigarette and said with a smile, “I believe in you.”
“I mean I have really slept with his mother.”
“Cough... Cough...”
Li Tianlan had just drawn the smoke into his lungs. Hearing this, he coughed violently. Thick smoke swirled in his throat and caused his voice to become hoarse. “What?”
Ning Qiancheng was in a trance. He looked sad, pleased, and a little bit helpless. He took a look at Li Tianlan, whose eyes were wide open with amazement, and said with a smile, “To be precise, Tan Xilai’s mother is my first woman. Tianlan, you know who I am, right?”
Li Tianlan couldn’t come to his senses at all and he just nodded his head subconsciously. His roommate, the one in front of him, was more than an officer in the Border Praetorian Corps. In terms of family background, he was really a capable young man from a distinguished family of generals.
He was the son of General Ning Zhiyuan, the Commander of the Eastern Theater of Operations amongst the five theatres of operations in Zhongzhou State.
However, for an unknown reason, Ning Qiancheng had broken with his family downright a few years ago and joined the Border Praetorian Corps. He never went home once for years.
So when people viewed the younger generation of the six groups, they would subconsciously think of Ning Qiancheng as a member of the Dongcheng Clan and the Giant Group rather than a member of the Ning family and the Southeast Group.
“Is it because of Tan Xilai’s mother that Ning Qiancheng broke with his family?”
Li Tianlan got a headache.
Tan Xilai’s father was Tan Qinghua, the Deputy Commander of the Eastern Theater of Operations and also a capable man in the Prince Group. He was Ning Zhiyuan’s main opponent and assistant in the Eastern Theater of Operations.
However, such a big shot became a cuckold due to Ning Qiancheng.
“What the hell is this matter?”
“In our courtyard, and even in the entire Jinling city, Tan Xilai’s mother was a famous beauty back then. Although she was not young, she had put a lot of effort into skin care. As such, she looked like she was in her late twenties. When we were together, I was still in high school. I had long forgotten how it started.”
Ning Qiancheng added calmly, “But I did get that woman by using tricks. So if you say I’m despicable, Tianlan, I don’t think there’s anything to deny. I am indeed despicable. I was young and a little fond of going to extremes back then, so I felt she deserved it. Of course, even now, I don’t think she’s innocent. But when she is mentioned now, my hatred has already gone.”
“Does Tan Xilai know about this?”
Li Tianlan asked, not knowing how to express what exactly he was feeling.
“Yes, he does.”
Ning Qiancheng twisted the corners of his mouth into a distorted smile. “We had once had sex right in front of Tan Xilai. I performed sexually with his mother in his parents’ bedroom, right under his father’s wedding picture. He’s not blind, how come could he not know? Aside from him, his father Tan Qinghua knew that latter. After all, there’s no such thing as an airtight wall in the world. I had had sex with his mother for two years and it’s normal for his father to know about this.”
Sensing the ferociousness in Ning Qiancheng’s tone, Li Tianlan wore a wry smile and asked, “What happened later?”
“What happened later? There’s no follow-up. I had dated her for about two years, and in the first year, Tan Xilai saw what we were doing. I really don’t know what he was thinking at that time because he didn’t tell his father the truth. Therefore, I did that more recklessly. I went to his home as long as Tan Qinghua was away. Tan Xilai seldom went home since then. If I hadn’t deliberately left the woman’s underpants on Tan Qinghua’s car, he probably wouldn’t have figured out this matter. After that, I left Jinling. Tan Xilai’s parents got divorced within less than a year. The woman is said to have gone to Jia State. She had left me her contact information, but I threw it away.”
Ning Qiancheng took a drag on a cigarette and laughed wildly. “Tianlan, believe it or not, if I still have the woman’s contact information, all I need to do is to make a call to her, and she will come over from Jia State at once and let me do whatever I wanted to. That’s not a boast.”
Li Tianlan didn’t make any remark about that. He just stared at Ning Qiancheng, whose eyes were filled with bitterness, and asked, “Why did you do this?”
“I used to have a sister.”
Ning Qiancheng said in a deep voice after remaining silent for a long while.
“Used to?”
“She’s dead now. She was gang-raped, bleeding profusely.”
“By Tan Xilai?”
“Hehe...”
“Then did your father...”
“For the sake of unity and promotion, and for the good of the family, what does it matter if a daughter that is not biological suffered such a tragedy?”
They stopped talking about this topic.
And the car was plunged into dead silence.
This story was definitely not so wonderful, and it even sounded a little sad. However, it was no doubt the cause that Ning Qiancheng broke with the Ning family, and also the beginning of his feud with Tan Xilai.
Li Tianlan rolled down the car window and let the night wind howl into the car to clear his head.
“So I’m going to kill Tan Xilai anyway, sooner or later. He should have died years ago. If his mother hadn’t been in bed begging me to show him mercy, I wouldn’t have lost to him that time either. I lost to him once for the sake of that woman, but he must die this time around!”
Ning Qiancheng suddenly said, “I actually want to thank you, too. If you hadn’t helped me find this opportunity, I wouldn’t be killing him now even if I wanted to.”
“How do you know I’m not taking advantage of you?”
Li Tianlan asked placidly.
“You’re my brother, so how will you do that to me?”
Ning Qiancheng shook his head and narrowed his eyes, adding, “I’ll do that if you need me to make a move. Furthermore, I can avenge myself. It’s killing two birds with one stone. I’m not the only one who harbored this thought. Li Baitian probably has the same thought. There are not so many schemes relating to interests between brothers. Your business is our business. Nevertheless, I’m curious to know what you really want to do. I understand why you disabled Zhong Shaofeng, but are there any other intentions for you to provoke Gu Youlan unceasingly?”
“Yes, there are.”
Li Tianlan replied and laughed gently. “But it’s not that complicated. I just want to take this opportunity to make a big deal out of this matter and to see if we can sound someone out. This is also good for our future.”
“I’ll explain the reason why I let you fight Tan Xilai to you. As you know, I’ve disabled Zhong Shaofeng and offended the Prince Group, thus, I’ll be digging my own grave if I were to attack someone from Kunlun City voluntarily. However, I want to get Kunlun City involved. Thus, I can only let you attack Tan Xilai actively. I was hoping I could fight Gu Youlan a life-and-death battle, but I did not expect that your words would infuriate Tan Xilai. Although it wasn’t the best result, it doesn’t look bad now.”
“Sound someone out?”
Ning Qiancheng murmured thoughtfully.
“After you kill Tan Xilai, the people behind you might get involved. In a way, that’s what I want most. If I just disabled Zhong Shaofeng, the people behind me may not be willing to protect me, but it will be a different story if I get one or two superpowers involved. You have the Giant Group and the Southeast Group to back you up, and from this point of view, you are the best candidate.”
Li Tianlan was telling the truth. He looked at Ning Qiancheng’s profile and added honestly, “If you’re unwilling to do so, it won’t be late if you stop the car now.”
Ning Qiancheng glanced at Li Tianlan with a weird expression in his eyes. He laughed gently after a long while and said, “No one in the Border Praetorian Corps is coward and no one will say that what I have done is wrong if I fight for my brothers and comrades. But I wonder who you’re trying to sound out.”
“Many people, be it those who hide in the dark or those in the light, no matter they are good or evil, even including you and Baitian.”
Li Tianlan looked through the window and continued in a low voice, “Qiancheng, we are different. I’m from a desolate place where birds even don’t shit. I do have a good family background, but it’s useless temporarily. So when I came to Huating, I was not used to it.”
“I really don’t understand when you guys mentioned about the Wang family of Beihai, the four Gods in Zhongzhou State, the six groups, the Dongcheng Clan, and Sigh City. Of course, I knew them now, but it’s no different than not knowing.”
“You don’t understand the panic I felt when I heard you talk about Zhongzhou State. I grew up here from childhood, but I always feel out of place. After I came to Huating, this kind of feeling became even more strong. Because of an older member of my family, I want to integrate into society. Tonight is an opportunity. Maybe it’s not good enough, but I don’t want to wait anymore. I don’t want to get anything from everything I’m doing tonight, I just want to test some people’s bottom line and see some things better. I can’t see through anything at present. I’m feeling not good, really.”
Ning Qiancheng remained silent.
The two fleets of cars had been gradually out of the downtown area, faster and faster.
“Did you ever think what you would do if the people behind you don’t want to protect you even though you have gotten the powers behind me involved?”
Ning Qiancheng asked suddenly. “Zhong Shaofeng enjoys high status in the Zhong family. His injury tonight will certainly make the big shot in the Zhong family rage.”
“He deserves it.”
Li Tianlan continued calmly, “Whether the people behind me will protect me or not, he won’t receive a second result.”
He took his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed a number. While waiting for the call to get through, he said gently, “Rest assured. I have a sense of propriety.”
Ning Qiancheng nodded and said no more.
The phone went through soon and a soft, gentle voice reached Li Tianlan’s ears. “Tianlan, what’s the matter?”
“I am in trouble.”
Li Tianlan closed the car window and said straightforwardly.
“Huh?”
Zhuang Huayang seemed somewhat surprised. He laughed and asked, “What trouble can you make on the second day of the vacation?”
“I hurt Zhong Shaofeng.”
Li Tianlan continued placidly, “He seems to be the son of Zhong Yongming.”
Zhong Yongming!
That person was a member of Zhongzhou’s Decision Making Committee, the top leader of Huating, and also the towering tree that sheltered the Zhong family from wind and rain.
“Who?”
Zhuang Huayang’s breathing stopped abruptly. He had remained silent for half a minute before uttering the word.
“Zhong Shaofeng.”
Li Tianlan said once again.
Zhuang Huayang took a deep breath and laughed bitterly, asking, “How are his injuries?”
“His skeleton was shattered. He can survive, but can’t do anything else.”
Li Tianlan spoke frankly.
“You’re really good at making trouble.”
Zhuang Huayang gasped in shock. Such being the case, it made no sense to ask why at all. He asked decisively, “What are you going to do?”
“I’m worth it.”
Li Tianlan said calmly, “Here’s the thing, what should we do?”
Zhuang Huayang kept quiet.
Sitting in the car, Li Tianlan looked out of the window at the rapidly receding lights and night scene, waiting for Zhuang Huayang’s answer with a poker face.
He was not so mad as to cripple Zhong Shaofeng just in order to test Zhuang Huayang and the Academics. Even if he hadn’t had a talk with Zhuang Huayang, he hadn’t joined the Academics, he was still a common freshman who had nothing and no backer, or he hadn’t slept with Qin Weibai last night, by virtue of Zhong Shaofeng’s words alone, he should have ended up like this.
Qin Weibai was the most beautiful scenery in Li Tianlan’s heart. He would never allow anyone to insult her.
He didn’t have the big picture. His priority was to guard the things and people that he thought was worth cherishing.
“The glory of the Li family is indeed important, but isn’t my woman important?”
“To weigh the importance of both?”
“Why? Why should I compromise?”
Even if it was Zhong Shaofeng’s father who insulted Qin Weibai, Li Tianlan had the guts to fight him as well.
At any cost!
Now that things had gotten to this point, Li Tianlan naturally wanted to test how strong the support that the Academics had for him.
He would not regret what happened tonight, no matter whether the Academics would shelter him or not.
If there was no support, he would have to adopt unconventional methods facing the possible consequences.
“You’re worth it?”
Zhuang Huayang responded by asking after keeping silent for a long while.
“Yes!”
Li Tianlan compared himself to an item in a flat tone.
“I’m willing to support you.”
Zhuang Huayang said slowly, “And it’s not just an intention. I will also show you practical action and my attitude. However, I can only speak for myself. I’m not certain about the Academics’ attitude.”
He paused for a while and continued, “I’ll call the chief right away.”
The situation in Huating today was extremely sensitive and the Zhong family was a focus. In recent months, two key members of the younger generation of the Zhong family had been disabled. Under the current situation, it was really hard to predict the Zhong family’s reaction to all this. If the Zhong family took a tough stance and demanded the Sky Academy to hand over Li Tianlan to them, he really could not do much without the support of the whole Academics.
Zhuang Huayang looked serious. He was pondering what the Academics would choose to do under the pressure from the Zhong family and the Prince Group.
Chances were that every possibility would come true.
Perhaps the Academics would be inclined to hand over Li Tianlan to quell the conflict with the Zhong family.
Li Tianlan’s potential was infinite, and his Wind and Thunder Veins promised him a promising future. It was clear that the Academics knew this very well. But the problem was that no matter how horrifying the Wind and Thunder Veins were, it still took time for Li Tianlan to grow. His realm was too low currently and nobody knew whether the ten-year-scheme within the groups could be done by him. Moreover, they were wondering was it worth for them to clash with the Zhong family due to Li Tianlan.
But Zhuang Huayang would not be surprised if the chief made a decision to support Li Tianlan.
Ten years was neither long nor short and anything could happen during that period. At least before today, the group members had high hopes for the newly-joined Li Tianlan.
And a few months ago, Wang Xiaoyao had crippled Zhong Youwei from the Zhong family as well. Currently, the Wang family of Beihai was also under some pressure. If the Academics were going to protect Li Tianlan, they probably could reach an agreement with the Wang family of Beihai to some extent. This would facilitate their action of protecting Li Tianlan.
But more than anything else, although Li Tianlan’s grandfather Li Honghe had been stuck at the border for years, if the Academics could take this opportunity to obtain the gratitude of such an invincible expert, they would definitely not refuse.
“What will the chief choose to do?”
Zhuang Huayang was deep in thought, his brows knitted.
“Where are you now? Go back to the Sky Academy at once. I’ll deal with the Zhong family about this matter.”
Zhuang Huayang sighed and asked in a deep voice.
“I’m on the way.”
Li Tianlan narrowed his eyes with a smile and added slowly, “Qiancheng and Tan Xilai are going to solve the grudge they harbor against each other through a life-and-death battle!”
Ning Qiancheng!
Dongcheng Clan!
Zhuang Huayang recalled the phone call and the strange instruction he had received from the Zhongyuan Province the first day of school, his eyes lit up all of a sudden.
If he could handle the trouble this time well, it would become an opportunity for the Academics instead of an annoyance.
“Open your Credit-counting Watch and I’ll go there right now.”
Zhuang Huayang took a deep breath and said in a deep voice.
“H’m.” Li Tianlan asked hesitantly, “How about the chief?”
“I’ll try my best to convince him!”
Zhuang Huayang sounded as if he was making a promise.
Li Tianlan was slightly touched. No matter how many inside stories there were relating to him joining the Academics, at least Zhuang Huayang alone, the old headmaster, was nice to him.
He took out a cigarette and lit it. Then he laughed and said, “Headmaster, I’ll give you a chip to make your job of persuasion a little easier.”
“Oh?”
Zhuang Huayang, who had gradually thought some things through, was in a good mood. He laughed and replied, “I knew you have some tricks up your sleeve. Tell me.”
“My realm is low, but it wasn’t like this before.”
Li Tianlan looked the scenes through the window and said in a low voice, “I have once entered the Thunder-shocking Realm. Although it only lasted for less than half an hour, I was once really in the Thunder-shocking Realm.”
He continued after a pause. “I was seventeen years old back then, in Beijiang’s desert.”
Zhuang Huayang instinctively held his breath, but his heart knocked frantically.
“A seventeen-year-old expert in the Thunder-shocking Realm...”
Li Tianlan leisurely opened the watch on his wrist and added, “You know what I mean, right?”
“Of course.”
Zhuang Huayang said without hesitation, “It’s not hard to guess. Just wait for my messages! I’ll go find you at once.”
Li Tianlan put away his phone silently and his eyes became brighter than ever.
The lights in the surrounding area gradually became few and scattered.
Tan Xilai’s Lexus finally stopped ahead of them.