Chapter 2321 - Toothless Tiger
Chapter 2321, Toothless Tiger
Translator: Silavin & frozenfire
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
With a faint smile, Yang Kai said, “Everyone can speak about reason. However, there aren’t many who can actually put it into action.”
Shi Cang Ying looked at him and replied, “Looks like you’re not bad to actually be able to say such words. From the looks of it, you’re sensible and reasonable, so this Old Master will get straight to the point…” Talking up to here, his expression sank as he waved his hand, “Thousand Leaves Sect does not welcome you all. Scram back to wherever you came from.”
“Vice Sect Master Shi!” Ye Hen could not help himself from letting out a cold shout, his face blanketed in fury.
It wasn’t easy for Ye Jing Han to invite Yang Kai to come over to repair that World-Crossing Space Array. If this attempt was successful, Thousand Leaves Sect would definitely be able to turn their current situation around and would no longer have to struggle just to eke out a living for themselves. This was the most important matter for the future of their Sect! If not, why would he personally come out to welcome Yang Kai and his group? However, never in his wildest dreams did he expect Shi Cang Ying to cause havoc regarding this matter. Therefore, there was no way for him to not be infuriated by this development.
Ye Jing Han’s pretty face also sunk as she looked over towards Shi Cang Ying, “Martial Uncle, Young Master Yang is a friend I’ve invited over, so would you please treat them with more courtesy.”
Shi Cang Ying sneered, “This Old Master would naturally be courteous if they were your genuine friends; however, this Old Master doesn’t wish to see people that will cause disaster to befall our Sect. Make them leave.”
Ye Jing Han shouted back, “That is impossible. Martial Uncle, please hurry up and apologize to Young Master Yang.”
“Impudence!” Shi Cang Ying burst into anger, before glaring at Ye Hen, “Is this the good daughter that you’ve brought up, Sect Master? She’s so rude and disrespectful to actually shout at her Martial Uncle like that! Highly improper!”
A gloomy look descended on Ye Hen’s face as he replied, “Jing Han has always been kind and gentle. Therefore, she definitely has her reasons to be this angry.”
“You… You…” Shi Cang Ying’s beard shook as an utterly infuriated appearance radiated from his entire being.
“From the looks of it… this Young Master’s appearance has caused some disharmonious notes to appear in your noble Sect.” Yang Kai said with a faint smile while rubbing his nose.
“Stop with your cynical remarks, you brat,” Shi Cang Ying growled and shot an exceedingly foul look towards Yang Kai.
This caused Yang Kai to laugh, “Old thing, you’re already advanced in age, it would be better for you to not get too worked up and injure your body as a result.”
“Stop with your false pity. If you really are Ye Girl’s friend, you should be considerate to her and quickly leave our Thousand Leaves Sect!” Shi Cang Ying seemed to be hell-bent on wanting to chase Yang Kai away as he made no attempt to hide that thought, with the word ‘leave’ being in almost every sentence coming out from his mouth.
Yang Kai grinned in response, “I already told you to not get worked up, right? Just a few days ago, an old fellow by the name of Ke Tian got worked up like you, just before… He died!”
Shi Cang Yang’s expression changed drastically immediately upon hearing those words, before he retreated vigilantly a few steps and shouted anxious, “What is your meaning here?”
Although Yang Kai’s words carried no malicious intent with them, the hairs on Shi Cang Yang’s body stood on their ends when they echoed in his ears while cold sweat drenched through his robes. Even Ye Hen’s expression had drastically changed, appearing as though he was afraid that Yang Kai would really take action right here.
All of them had received news of Yang Kai killing quite a few people in the City Lord’s Mansion. Among those killed was Sky Peak Temple’s Ke Tian. Originally, they did not dare to believe the information they had received; however, after hearing those words from Yang Kai’s mouth, they had no other choice but to believe them.
Yang Kai sneered, “According to what you said earlier, Seniority demands respect, but strength is always king. This Young Master is stronger than you, so you should know your place before this Young Master. If not… this Young Master doesn’t mind showing to you the disparity between us.”
As soon as she heard his words, Chi Yue immediately proceeded to stir up even more trouble, “Yang Boy is a big tree. Do you want to lean on him, old fart? Don’t miss out on this opportunity, if not, you’ll regret it when it’s too late.”
Gui Zu sniggered and chimed in, “If you have any daughters or granddaughters you can try to push them to get married to Young Master Yang. You’d best understand how lucky you are to have this opportunity before it’s gone.”
These words immediately caused Ai Ou and Chi Yue eyes to shoot daggers at him and snap simultaneously, “Big Brother! Are you still wishing for people to look after you during your last days!?”
Cold sweat appeared on Gui Zu’s forehead as he replied in embarrassment, “Just treat it as my nonsensical rambling.”
Their words unleashed a series of stabs and beatings as they took turns to ridicule Shi Cang Ying, causing the latter’s face to alternate between green and red with rage and embarrassment. Source Qi proceeded to gush out from his entire body, and he appeared to be on the brink of taking action; however, the thought of Ke Tian dying at Yang Kai’s hand and how the youth’s true strength could not be judged by his cultivation realm caused fear to fill his heart, preventing him from really making a move. This vexed Shi Cang Ying so much that he nearly coughed out blood as a result. Unable to do anything, he had no other choice but to clench his teeth and growled angrily at Ye Hen, “Sect Master! Are you going to stand by and watch these outsiders humiliate your Vice Sect Master like this?”
Ye Hen quickly replied, “Brother Shi, if you really are thinking about the Sect, you should withdraw. Young Master Yang is a friend that Jing Han specially invited over, which means he is our Sect’s guest. Our Sect does not treat our guests like this!”
“You…” Shi Cang Ying glared furiously at Ye Hen. Suppressing the rampant Qi within his body, he roared out, “Since Sect Master treats this Old Master’s good intentions as farts, you can deal with this on your own!”
Finishing his sentence, he turned around, flung his sleeves, and walked off, disappearing without a trace in the blink of an eye.
Seeing Shi Cang Ying leave just like that, Ye Jing Han could not help but exhale deeply, before looking sheepishly towards Yang Kai and said, “Young Master Yang…”
Right as she was about to speak, the words she was trying to say became stuck in her throat as she noticed Yang Kai staring coldly right back at her with an exceedingly unhappy look on his face.
“Sister Ye, you’d best give me a proper explanation for this. If you are unable to give this Young Master a satisfactory answer, he will immediately turn around and leave!” Yang Kai said in a cold voice.
At this moment, he had a stomach full of grievances.
Originally, he had accepted to come to Thousand Leaves Sect to repair their World-Crossing Space Array only due to Ye Jing Han’s persistent efforts; however, no one could have expected that he would be threatened by their Vice Sect Master before he had even set foot into their Sect. Although he did not suffer any losses from this incident, nor lose any face, it had made Yang Kai feeling exceedingly irritated.
If not for the miraculous coincidence of being able to find Chi Yue and his other Seniors, which could be counted as a contribution by Ye Jing Han, Yang Kai would not have been that long-winded with them at all. With the attitude and tone Shi Cang Ying had used earlier, he would have already taken action to kill him.
The faces of Ye Jing Han and Ye Hen changed drastically upon hearing Yang Kai’s words. Brimming with dread, Ye Jing Han hastily replied, “Please calm yourself, Young Master Yang. Martial Uncle Shi has always been at odds with father, which resulted in…”
Ye Hen patted on Ye Jing Han’s shoulder to interrupt her explanation. Looking at Yang Kai, he gave a sigh, “This Ye can understand the anger Young Master Yang is feeling right now. All of this is this Ye’s fault for the unsatisfactory reception that caused grievances for Young Master Yang. This Ye apologizes to Young Master Yang and his companions and hopes Young Master Yang will give one more chance to our Sect.”
After finishing his apology, he made a deep bow in a show of extreme sincerity.
A slight frown appeared on Yang Kai’s face. Sensing the sincerity from Ye Hen had extinguished the majority of the flames of anger burning in his heart, “There’s no need for Sect Master Ye to do this. Truthfully speaking, I’m just very curious why a trivial Vice Sect Master is able to be that arrogant before the Sect Master, that’s all.”
Ye Hen gave a bitter laugh in response, “Will anyone be afraid… of an old tiger that has lost its fangs?”
“Father…” Ye Jing Han let out a sob-filled cry as tears filled her eyes.
Ye Hen smiled at her and said, “To be born, grow old, get sick and die is part of life, there is no need for you to feel sad.” After saying those words, he turned back to look at Yang Kai, “During our prime, our Thousand Leaves Sect excelled in the Dao of Puppetry and our reputation was well known throughout the Southern Territory. However, due to our failure, we lost our core inheritance and gradually declined. Despite assuming command of Thousand Leaves Sect, it is all due to this Ye’s inability that the Sect has yet to be returned to its former glory. Therefore, it is unavoidable for some dissenting voices to appear within the Sect. Vice Master Shi’s faction feels that we should discard the Dao of Puppetry and seek out other paths, learning other Secret Arts or Techniques in order to rebuild our Thousand Leaves Sect. However, the Dao of Puppetry is something that our ancestors passed down to us, so how could this Ye dare to abandon it? If I did so, not only would I be unfilial, unrighteous, and unbelieving, I would also have no face to meet our ancestors when I enter the next life.”
A pensive look appeared on Chi Yue’s face, “When the Sect Master and Vice Sect Master have different plans, how could the Sect develop successfully?”
Ye Hen followed up with yet another bitter laugh, “That is precisely the point. The current Thousand Leaves Sect has already been split into two factions, one of which wishes to preserve our heritage, the other which hopes for change. Although these two factions aren’t completely incompatible like fire and water, there is some disharmony between them.”
“Combined with your old age, that allows your Vice Sect Master to show not a single bit of face to you? To the point of wanting to suppress your authority?” Ai Ou was gradually understanding the current situation within Thousand Leaves Sect.
“I apologize for airing such unpleasant matters of our Sect before you all,” Ye Hen replied with a depressed look on his face.
Standing to the side, Du Xian and the other Thousand Leaves Sect disciples had ashen looks on their faces, with their fists all tightly clenched. Clearly, they were not feeling very well after the whole spectacle.
Ye Hen continued to speak, “Although this isn’t this Ye’s intention, being the Sect Master of the Thousand Leaves Sect, this Ye cannot escape from this responsibility. If Young Master Yang really does not want to work with our Thousand Leaves Sect ever again, this Ye will not continue to impose. Though, I truly hope for Young Master Yang to be magnanimous and give our Sect one more chance.”
Looking right back at him, Yang Kai replied with an indifferent tone, “Although Vice Master Shi has irritated me, his words were not completely incorrect. I have just offended quite a few people. Is Sect Master Ye not afraid of drawing danger to befall your noble Sect?”
Ye Hen lightly replied, “Even without Young Master Yang coming here, our Sect has already become a thorn in those people’s eyes. It is just a matter of time before they take us to the chopping board. Furthermore, many have already witnessed Young Master Yang and my daughter working together during the matter that happened in the City Lord’s Mansion, so even if Young Master Yang leaves right now, our Thousand Leaves Sect will not be able to extricate ourselves from this matter.”
Yang Kai grinned in response, “It seems Sect Master Ye has better foresight than Vice Sect Master Shi.”
Ye Hen continued, “Vice Sect Master Shi believes that everything will be fine if he takes the initiative to rebuff you. The only thing this Ye can say is that he is too naive in his thinking.”
Yang Kai asked, “And what if I am incapable of successfully completing the matter you wish to cooperate on?”
Ye Hen turned silent for a while before replying, “Time and fate are interlinked, let nature take its course and do not force what is impossible. At the very least, when I meet my Sect’s ancestors in the next life, I can say to them with conviction that this Ye did his best!”
“Alright. This Young Master will make an effort then,” Yang Kai said and nodded his head.
Ye Jing Han cried out in excitement upon hearing his reply, “You’re staying, Young Master Yang?”
Ye Hen chuckled heartily, “Why are you still asking? Silly girl.” As he said those words, he stood aside, “Please, Young Master Yang.”
No longer putting up the imposing and intimidating front like he did earlier, Yang Kai gave a courteous reply, “Alright then, Sect Master Ye.”
Ye Hen hesitated for a bit before proceeding to walk alongside Yang Kai into Thousand Leaves Sect.
As they travelled along, Gui Zu and the others glanced around in curiosity, while shocked looks gleamed constantly within their eyes.
Although they had already been in the Star Boundary for two to three years, they had only been moving about in the vicinity of Sky Crane City and had never seen a big Sect in the Star Boundary.
Although Thousand Leaves Sect was currently in decline, it had once been a first-class force in the Southern Territory. As such, the heritage present within could not be matched by other small Sects. The lofty and ancient constructions as well as the continuous and twisting paths seemed to transcend space and time, linking the past and the present, allowing people to have a taste of the various splendours of the time hundreds and thousands of years ago.