Hearing the old pavilion master's cry, the personal guards outside the door rushed in. They saw Wang Xingde sitting on the bed in his pajamas, his hair disheveled, his eyes red and bloodshot.
The guard quickly asked, "Pavilion Master, what's wrong?"
Wang Xingde's expression was grim. He said coldly, "Summon the eldest and second sons!"
"Now? It's so late, will the eldest and second masters..."
The guard hesitated. It was already close to midnight, and he was worried that the eldest and second masters had already gone to bed.
Wang Xingde glared with his old eyes, "Are you telling me what to do?"
"This servant dares not!" the guard said repeatedly.
Wang Xingde snorted, "Go and summon them immediately. No matter where they are, I want them in front of me within ten minutes!"
"Yes!"
The guard took his orders and left.
Within ten minutes, the eldest son, Wang Tianwen, and the second son, Wang Tianwu, appeared before Wang Xingde.
"Father, what's wrong? You're not sleeping in the middle of the night, has your poison acted up again?"
As soon as they entered, Wang Tianwu asked with his tiger-like eyes.
Wang Tianwen also looked confused but remained silent, standing aside with his head slightly bowed, awaiting his father's command.
Wang Xingde scanned his two sons. His mind had calmed down. He then slowly said, "I had a nightmare. I dreamt that your third brother had an accident. Quickly contact him for me."
Upon hearing Wang Xingde's words, the eldest and second sons breathed a sigh of relief.
The second son even complained, "Father, you just had a dream? You called us here in the middle of the night, and we thought something big had happened! Isn't the third brother in Qingcheng? And he took so many skilled men with him, what could possibly happen?"
Wang Xingde frowned. Before he could speak, Wang Tianwen reprimanded him, "Second brother, if Father tells us to make a call, just do it. What's with all the nonsense?"
Wang Tianwu glared at his elder brother, but fearing his father's presence, he didn't dare to say anything more. He immediately called their third brother.
The call went through, and after ringing for a long time, no one answered.
"Strange, no one's picking up? I wonder where this brat, the third one, is fooling around again?"
Wang Tianwu said indignantly. Being dragged out of bed in the middle of the night still irked him.
Especially since there was a beauty waiting for him in his bed, and they were in the middle of things. He was eager to rush back and continue.
Wang Tianwen also said, "Father, it's so late, the third brother might have already fallen asleep. Why don't we call him tomorrow morning to inquire?"
"No!"
Wang Xingde said with a firm tone, "Quickly send people to look for him, to ask. If I don't get news of the third brother for a moment, I will not have peace for a moment."
The eldest and second sons exchanged glances. They had no choice. They dared not disobey their father's words, so they nodded and complied.
...
On the other side, Chen Xiao and his group had returned to the city and were currently drinking and eating late-night snacks at a hot pot restaurant.
Li Qin had been in the mountains for over half a year. Although there was wild game to eat, she lacked modern technology and culinary delights. Her mouth was practically numb from the blandness.
Therefore, among the four of them, despite her being the only young lady, no one ate as much or as quickly as she did.
Little Black was also hiding under the table. Li Qin would occasionally throw pieces of meat down, and Little Black would eat them with contented bleats.
"Mr. Chen, I'll toast you. I offended you greatly today. This glass is my apology!"
Li Mu raised a glass and said respectfully.
Chen Xiao didn't speak. He clinked his glass against Li Mu's and then drank it all in one go.
"Mr. Chen, what are your plans now? We killed Wang Tianying and annihilated so many Cangjian Pavilion disciples. Wang Xingde will definitely not let us off..."
Li Mu said with concern.
After Li Mu asked this question, Li Qin and Gu Zhendong's gazes all converged on Chen Xiao, awaiting his decision.
Chen Xiao took a sip of wine and said, "Let's strike while the iron is hot and attack Cangjian Pavilion!"
Li Mu was startled. He didn't say anything, but his eyes darted away, clearly showing hesitation.
Li Qin, however, was very forthright, "Yes, let's strike while the iron is hot and attack Cangjian Pavilion, catching that old beast Wang completely off guard!"
Gu Zhendong also nodded in agreement, "Yes, it's better sooner than later. While he's injured, finish him off!"
"Alright, then we'll rest tonight and set off tomorrow!"
Chen Xiao decided.
"Brother, you don't need to go on tomorrow's mission."
Li Qin said casually while eating meat.
Li Mu frowned, "Sister, what are you saying? Yes, your brother may not be capable, and he's timid, but you can't look down on me like that!"
"No, no!"
Li Qin quickly shook her head and explained, "This mission is uncertain. If I fail, I hope our Li family can still have a spark of hope to continue the revenge plan!"
Li Mu picked up a bottle of wine, drank half of it in one gulp, then slammed the bottle onto the table, his eyes red.
"Brother, what are you doing?"
Seeing her brother like this, Li Qin felt bad too.
Li Mu gave a wry smile, "It's alright, sister. I understand your intentions. You don't need to find an excuse for me. If you can't get revenge this time, it will be even harder for me to get revenge in the future, harder than climbing to heaven!"
"Fine, even if I go with you, I won't be able to help much. Tonight, I will send you off and wish you success!"
...
The next morning, Wang Tianwen, who had been busy all night, finally received definite news about their third brother.
"Father, I'm sorry... our third brother... alas..."
Wang Tianwen met Wang Xingde, and as soon as he spoke, he let out a series of sighs.
Wang Xingde's heart lurched, and he almost collapsed onto the bed. He was only holding on by sheer willpower, which prevented him from showing excessive grief.
However, his cloudy, tear-filled eyes revealed the depth of his pain at that moment.
Wang Tianwu, still carefree, asked, "Eldest brother, what happened to our third brother? Just say it, don't just sigh!"
He wasn't slow-witted or unable to understand the meaning behind Wang Tianwen's words.
He simply felt that their third brother shouldn't have had an accident. After all, he had taken over a thousand Cangjian Pavilion disciples, most of them skilled fighters, enough to sweep across Jiaodong. How could something have happened?
Wang Tianwen, suppressing his grief, said with a trembling voice, "Ten minutes ago, the people I sent out saw the third brother's body on the outskirts of Qingcheng. It was unrecognizable, a horrific sight..."
At this point, Wang Tianwen couldn't continue. Among the four brothers in their family, he had the best relationship with their third brother. With his third brother's death, he, as the eldest brother, felt his heart being twisted with pain.
"What about those over a thousand Cangjian Pavilion disciples? What were they doing? How could so many people fail to protect the third brother?"
Wang Tianwu asked, his eyes wide.
Wang Tianwen gave another wry smile, "They have all disappeared without a trace, as if they vanished into thin air."