Three hours after Zhao Shengtian met with the elder, invitations were delivered to the five great families and the 'Buliang Ren' (the Troublemakers). The sender was Zhao Shengtian, and the content contained only sixteen characters: "September ninth, the Double Ninth Festival, ascend Dengtianlong Tower, gaze into the distance."
Zhao Shengtian was a wanted criminal, known to all. Yet, he sent invitations to everyone at this juncture, which stunned them all. They couldn't fathom what game Zhao Shengtian was playing.
However, since Zhao Shengtian had extended an invitation, the five great families and the Buliang Ren had to attend, regardless of the circumstances. They wanted to see what intricate plan Zhao Shengtian was orchestrating.
What the five great families and the Buliang Ren did not know was that besides them, Shen Lang, who was at the courtyard, also received an invitation. Even the Cihang Jingzhai, and within it, Song Shadao, received invitations as well.
The ninth of September was the Double Ninth Festival, and the next day was indeed September ninth. Thus, the five great families and people from various major factions headed towards Dengtianlong Tower.
Shen Lang departed with Qin Cangjing. The Qin family, besides Qin Cangjing, was accompanied by more than a dozen retainers, all of whom were peak Heavenly realm experts.
When Shen Lang and Qin Cangjing arrived at Dengtianlong Tower at nine o'clock the next morning, they were the first to arrive. Upon their arrival, they saw only Zhao Shengtian standing at the highest point of Dengtianlong Tower, overlooking everything below.
"Patriarch Qin, Young Master Shen, you've arrived so quickly."
Seeing Shen Lang and Qin Cangjing arrive first, Zhao Shengtian was slightly surprised, then greeted them with a smile.
"Young Master Zhao, could you come down to talk? You're standing too high, and we have to crane our necks to speak to you. It's very uncomfortable for our necks."
After Zhao Shengtian finished speaking, Shen Lang wore a helpless smile and said, "It's too much effort for us to go up, so why don't you come down?"
"Since Young Master Shen has invited me, how dare I disobey? I shall come down now."
With that, Zhao Shengtian slapped the railing with his right hand and leaped down from a height of over twenty stories, landing steadily before Shen Lang and Qin Cangjing. His demeanor was that of an dashing young noble, not a wanted criminal at all.
"Young Master Shen, knowing that a distinguished guest like you was coming to Longdu, I missed you dearly. You were the very first person I invited. Today, we must have a good long talk and drink three hundred cups, not parting until we are drunk."
Looking at Shen Lang before him, Zhao Shengtian displayed a wild smile and said, "We don't leave until we fall down today."
"Drinking is no problem, but there must be a reason for it. If you invite me here to drink without a pretext, I may not be able to drink with you today."
"A pretext? Of course, there is! It's to celebrate my successful escape from prison. What do you say, is this pretext acceptable?" Zhao Shengtian laughed heartily upon hearing Shen Lang's words. "Young Master Shen, don't feel any burden. Although your actions led to my current predicament, I still admire you for pushing me to such desperate straits. At the very least, you are absolutely worthy of my respect."
"You admire me, yet you tried to assassinate me?" Shen Lang frowned upon hearing this and asked.
"Assassinate you?" Zhao Shengtian chuckled. "Young Master Shen is joking. If I wanted to kill you, I would do it openly and let the whole world know it was me. Why would I arrange for someone to assassinate you? That's not my style."
"I suspect you have too many enemies, and this is their territory. So, as soon as you arrived, you were targeted."
"Young Master Shen, rest assured, we are chess partners who have played together. Assassinating you is like assassinating me. I will definitely find the mastermind behind this and chop them to pieces."
"Good, I believe you."
Shen Lang smiled and said to Zhao Shengtian, "Please take care of my safety in Longdu for me during this time."
"No problem. We are chess partners. If you were to die, who else would play chess with me in this world?"
Zhao Shengtian and Shen Lang chatted and laughed, so much so that an uninformed observer would think they were close friends. In reality, Zhao Shengtian wished he could dismember Shen Lang, torture him to death, and then grind his bones to dust.
Without Shen Lang, he would already be engaged to Chu Ge and have that unique girl.
Without Shen Lang, he would still be the infinitely glorious eldest young master of the Zhao family, and the matter of the biological laboratory would not have been exposed, nor would their biological soldier program have been halted.
In short, all his misfortunes were due to Shen Lang. However, to be honest, he couldn't truly hate Shen Lang.
Shen Lang was not likable, but an opponent like Shen Lang was unparalleled in the world. If he could kill Shen Lang with ease, Zhao Shengtian would actually find everything meaningless.
After saying all this, Zhao Shengtian turned his gaze to Qin Cangjing. He noticed that after more than twenty years, Qin Cangjing had become even more profound and formidable. It was no wonder he could so easily take control of the Qin family upon returning to Longdu.
"Brother Qin, I heard you've returned and even become the family patriarch. My brother congratulates you."
There were few people in this world whom Zhao Shengtian held in high regard. The former number one prodigy, Qin Cangjing, was the first. In his youth, he genuinely admired the man and always wanted to surpass him, only to find that the man was like a towering mountain, awe-inspiring and unattainable.
It could be said that if not for the changes Qin Cangjing had undergone, Zhao Shengtian, Qi Tuojiang, and Kong Wudao would all have been overshadowed by Qin Cangjing's brilliance and served as mere foils.
"Thank you."
Qin Cangjing naturally remembered Zhao Shengtian, a defiant yet intelligent and mad individual. He just didn't expect Zhao Shengtian to have taken a wrong path. However, as a former elder brother figure, he accepted the man's congratulations.
"Young Master Zhao, we heard you were out, and we brothers came to see you immediately. How do you plan to spend this Double Ninth Festival?"
After Qin Cangjing finished speaking, Kong Wudao, dressed in black, walked over with a smile and said.
Beside Kong Wudao was Qi Tuojiang, dressed in white and holding a white folding fan. His face always wore a gentle, jade-like smile that was very pleasant to behold.
"Yes, we brothers haven't had a proper gathering in years. Let's take this opportunity of the Double Ninth Festival to get together."
Qi Tuojiang smiled and said, "In the past, I would always lament, 'I know my brothers are climbing high, with chrysanthemum wine in hand, but one is missing.' It seems I won't need to today."
"Yes, Young Master Qi speaks wisely. We must have a good gathering today."
Kong Wudao echoed with a smile.
After speaking, Kong Wudao looked at Shen Lang with a surprised expression and said with a smile, "So Young Master Shen is also here. It seems we truly are destined."
"Destined for what? If I had known you damn fool would be here, I wouldn't have come empty-handed. I would have brought a forty-meter-long saber, let you run thirty-nine meters, and then split you in half with a single blow."