Chapter Seventy-Eight: A Deadly Trap

Before Ye Pei had formally established a cooperative relationship with the Wind family, he did not want anyone other than Yang Qin to know his true identity. So the name he gave was still "Pei Ye."

When Yang Qin heard that name, he sprang up from the table in shock and blurted, "Who did you say was here?"

The guard looked puzzled. "Pei Ye, Young Lord. Why such a reaction?"

Yang Qin rubbed his forehead. "Nothing. I’ll go meet him. Right, how many are there?"

"Three," said the guard.

"Three..." Yang Qin walked out. "And he comes here at a time like this? What is he here for..."

After the greetings were exchanged, Yang Qin led the three of them to his study.

"Brother Ye," Yang Qin said with a smile, "what brings you to find me? This is the Wind clan’s main city, and you’re still being hunted."

Ye Pei also smiled faintly. "I imagine many people still think I’m in the Land of the Dead Volcano."

Yang Qin laughed. "Quite a few already saw through your false news and left."

"So not everyone is foolish after all..." Ye Pei curled his lip. "This time I’ve brought you a major business opportunity."

Yang Qin said, "No need to rush into that. Brother Ye, could you tell me who this lady is? We parted in such haste back then, I’m sure she isn’t an ordinary person either."

Ye Pei glanced at Zi Qingrong. She gave a slight smile, then looked at Yang Qin and said, "This young lady is Zi Qingrong."

"Uh..." Yang Qin’s smile suddenly froze. "By the way... was my mother..."

Zi Qingrong curled her lip. "Yes. Your mother once sent someone to my family to propose marriage."

"Huh?" Ye Pei set down his teacup. "There was such a thing?"

"Oh, that," Zi Qingrong said with a wave of her hand. "When the Wind Matriarch sent someone, it happened to be around my sixteenth birthday. There were so many people coming to propose that I couldn’t even remember who he was. I only thought of it now because you mentioned it."

"Heh heh heh..." Yang Qin laughed awkwardly. "Brother Ye, why don’t you tell us what business you’ve brought..."

Ye Pei gave Yang Qin a strange look, then pulled Dongfang Boyi forward and said gravely, "Come, let me introduce you: Dongfang Boyi."

"Dongfang Boyi..." Yang Qin murmured. "Ah, the son of the Dongfang Seal chief."

"Exactly." Dongfang Boyi cupped his hands. "I have long admired Young Lord Yang Qin’s great name."

"Heh heh..." Yang Qin waved a hand. "I am unworthy, truly unworthy."

After a pause, Yang Qin asked again, "May I ask what matter brings you all here?"

Ye Pei said, "To destroy the Lin clan."

"..." Yang Qin blinked. "Brother Ye, you..."

"What I said is true. Take us to your father."

Yang Qin frowned. "That, huh? My father is a martial arts fanatic; for this sort of thing, my mother is far more reliable. Follow me." With that, he turned and headed out.

"Wait," Ye Pei said, reaching out to stop him. "I don’t want to start a fight the moment I meet your mother."

Yang Qin smiled. "Brother Ye, rest assured. I’m afraid my mother will thank you before anything else."

At that, Ye Pei froze for a couple of seconds, and then he more or less understood the hidden meaning. According to custom, the next ruler should be one of the two Wind brothers, Wind Tan or Wind Xiao, but Yang Qin’s mother was most likely trying to secure that position for her own son.

Then Ye Pei smiled. "Oh... so a son matters more than a nephew. In that case, may I tell you that your eldest cousin is dead too?"

At that, Yang Qin turned back in shock. "He was killed by you as well?!"

Ye Pei said, "He died at the hands of my people."

Yang Qin stood stunned for several seconds, then said, "The people around Brother Ye are terrifying indeed."

Not long after, Ye Pei met Yang Qin’s mother, Lady Wind Chu, in the receiving hall. Though she looked as if she could have been his elder sister.

"Yezi..." Zi Qingrong tugged at Ye Pei’s sleeve and whispered, "Why do I feel like everyone in the ruler’s family is so good-looking..."

Ye Pei had intended to answer later if nothing came up, but in the end he could not bear to leave her hanging. Lowering his head, he said, "After all, each generation brings in the finest beauties to marry into the house. Even if the first ruler were hideous beyond belief, the family would still be improved."

He and Ye Feilan had once discussed this very thing years ago, though back then they were talking about the imperial palace and the imperial line.

Then, under her mother’s puzzled gaze, Yang Qin dismissed all the servants.

Once he was sure the surroundings were safe, Ye Pei cupped his hands. "I am Ye Pei. Greetings, Lady Wind."

At the sound of that name, a sharp light entered Wind Chu’s eyes. She glanced at Yang Qin and said, "So it is Young Hero Ye. I have long admired you. Please, sit."

"Lady Wind, concerning Wind Xiaoyang..." Ye Pei still intended to probe her reaction.

With a graceful sweep of her hand, Wind Chu said, "There is no need to bring that up again. I presume Young Hero Ye did not come here to discuss the matter of my nephew’s death on Wangmai, did you?"

Seeing this, Ye Pei was greatly reassured. He was basically certain his guess was correct, and so he simply threw out another piece of news.

"Wind Tanyang was also killed by us."

"Pa!" Wind Chu could not help slapping the armrest, and a flash of delight crossed her eyes.

Before Wind Chu could say anything else, Ye Pei had already begun to lay out his plan. He knew that at this moment Wind Chu had no reason to oppose him, and in fact would only help him.

After hearing Ye Pei’s idea, Wind Chu was initially unable to conceal her shock, but she was no inexperienced woman and soon began to consider whether the plan could work.

"Young Hero Ye, you must understand that the war in the Firelands is not the same as the one on Wangmai," Wind Chu said thoughtfully, evidently about to discuss the scale of the conflict with him.

While she spoke, Ye Pei said, "I am already aware of that. Please, Lady Wind, proceed to the next step."

Wind Chu’s expression stiffened slightly, then she smiled. "In that case... Young Hero Ye, Lin Hezhi will be a very difficult problem to handle. You must understand, the instigator behind this upheaval is Dongfang, the Young Lord. My household commander cannot openly step forward, and as for troops, the Wind family cannot provide you with too many."

Ye Pei interlaced his fingers beneath his chin. "I understand. I already have a rough countermeasure for him, but I still need some assistance from the Wind family."

Wind Chu revealed a look of keen interest. "I would hear the details."

Ye Pei said, "Lin Hezhi’s tastes are infamous throughout the Lin territory. He likes women, and he likes hunting. I wonder... does the Wind family have any female spies?"

Wind Chu thought for a moment, then answered, "We do."

Though Ye Pei was pleased to hear this, he still stressed, "Lady Wind, this woman must possess beauty, courage, intelligence, alertness, composure, and decisiveness all at once. She must be skilled at concealing her thoughts, able to read her target’s mind, and even more able to seize a fleeting opportunity. She may also need hidden martial skill."

Hearing this, Wind Chu could not help but laugh. "Young Hero Ye, does such a person really exist in the world?"

In truth, when Ye Pei said that, I was thinking the same thing. Setting aside whether such a perfect woman even existed, even if she did, she would obviously be the heroine, and Miss Zi’s status would be in grave danger.

Ye Pei also smiled. "I know. It is the ideal female spy. Still, she should at least possess half of the abilities I described, should she not?"

Wind Chu slowly nodded. After a moment, she said to Yang Qin, "Tell someone to inform Ai Qi and have her come here within three days." Then she turned back to Ye Pei. "Young Hero Ye, the one I find may not be as perfect as you described, but I dare say she has at least half of it."

Ye Pei laughed. "Excellent, then."

Wind Chu asked, "Young Hero Ye, might you explain your plan in detail?"

Ye Pei nodded. "No rush, Lady. Please listen as I explain carefully."

Lin Hezhi’s preferences were no different from those of any ordinary foolish tyrant: beauty, fine wine, and hunting. These three things are indispensable to a ruthless overlord, and they are also the very reasons countless such men have perished.

The first two are easy to understand, so let us speak of the third.

History teaches us that hunting grounds are often battlefields where coups and conspiracies intertwine. King Tai Kang of the Xia went hunting, and Hou Yi seized his kingdom; Hou Yi went hunting, and Han Zhuo uprooted his lair; in the Spring and Autumn era, Duke Xiang of Qi was assassinated by Lian Cheng, Guan Zifu, and Gongsun Wuzhi while out hunting; the Xiongnu chanyu Modu seized power in a coup while his father was hunting. There have been many such cases in history. On the boundless hunting plain, killing intent lies everywhere. So long as one seizes a single opportunity, even an emperor may fall there.

After hearing Ye Pei’s plan, Wind Chu sighed. "Young Hero Ye is ingenious and resourceful. I am impressed."

After hearing Ye Pei’s first plan, and his second plan in case the first failed, Wind Chu’s way of addressing herself had already changed.

Ye Pei smiled. "You flatter me. Lady, the ability of this female spy will directly determine the success rate of our plan."

Yang Qin, who had just returned, heard this and said, "Brother Ye, you need not worry about Ai Qi’s abilities. At the very least, she can beat me in a straight fight."

Ye Pei recalled Yang Qin’s earlier display of superb hidden-weapon skill and his rather ordinary hand-to-hand ability, and said with a smile, "In a direct confrontation, I could defeat at least five of you. But when it comes to assassinating Lin Hezhi, that is not enough."

"..." Yang Qin pressed his lips together, unable to think of any rebuttal, and sat down sheepishly.

Seeing that her son and Ye Pei seemed to have already become quite close, Wind Chu merely smiled and said nothing.

Ye Pei went on, "Oh, and there is one more thing I must trouble you with, Lady."

"Please speak, Young Hero Ye."

Ye Pei said, "I hope you can use unofficial channels to release a message into the martial world: In the Wind clan’s main city, one leaf crosses the river."

Wind Chu replied, "That is no problem. Is Young Hero Ye looking for helpers?"

Ye Pei nodded. "Yes."

Once the main matters had been discussed, everyone relaxed somewhat. Wind Chu turned to Zi Qingrong. "May I ask who this young lady is?"

When Ye Pei first said he intended to strike the Lin clan, he had only introduced himself and Dongfang Boyi, and had not mentioned Zi Qingrong.

"Zi Qingrong, greetings to Lady Wind."

"Hm?" Wind Chu frowned in surprise. "You are the eldest daughter of the Zi family?"

Zi Qingrong answered, "I am."

Wind Chu’s expression at that moment was rather peculiar. "Miss Zi, how did you come here?"

Zi Qingrong’s cheeks reddened slightly, but her tone was firm. "Ye Pei is my betrothed."

"What?" Wind Chu’s expression was now one of clear astonishment. "I heard that when my people came to propose to you back then, you did not even spare them a glance. And now, for the man who has just arrived in the Firelands, you—"

Ye Pei smiled. "Lady Wind, I think matters of this sort are better left to young people to settle themselves."

"What do you mean? In Wangmai, are such important matters as marriage no longer subject to parental consent?"

Ye Pei spread his hands. "Exactly. A casual reference is enough."

He was utterly shameless when it came to lying; back then, Madam Ye had personally rejected the proposals of no fewer than twenty or thirty noble ladies, perhaps even fifty or sixty.