Chapter 174 - 119: Commander Bai’s Secret

Chapter 174: Chapter 119: Commander Bai’s Secret

The cold wind of the last lunar month swept through Yin Mountain City. The lead-gray clouds hung low, looking like it was about to snow.

In the Lu Mansion’s study, a copper charcoal basin burned brightly, occasionally spitting out a few sparks.

Lu Huaiqian sat behind a sandalwood desk, clutching a secret letter that had been rushed from the Provincial City.

His fingertips were pale. He had been silent for nearly fifteen minutes.

The Hu Family invited the Lu Family to join forces and assassinate Commander Bai.

He had read those twelve words over and over again.

The characters were written in the finest pine-soot ink, the strokes so powerful they nearly bled through the paper.

In place of a signature was the private seal of the Hu Family’s Patriarch: a mythical beast walking through fire, its scarlet-red ink a glaring sight.

Naturally, Lu Huaiqian, like his son Lu Jing’an, had considered this before.

If they were truly pushed to the brink, assassinating Bai Ting might be the only way to break the stalemate.

But now that the invitation was so abruptly laid before him, that ruthless thought in Lu Huaiqian’s heart was suppressed by a deeper sense of unease.

’It’s too fast.’

All told, it had been less than two months since the Bai Family first moved against the Hu Family.

The Hu Family had been entrenched in the Provincial City for decades. Their roots were deep and their resources profound—far beyond what the Lu Family, secluded in Yin Mountain, could ever hope to match.

Even the Lu Family, if they were to fight back regardless of the cost, could probably hold out for a month or two.

’The Hu Family is dozens of times larger than the Lu Family. How could they have been forced to take such a desperate measure so quickly?’

The study door was pushed open gently, letting in a gust of cold air.

Lu Huaisan strode in, radiating a palpable anger.

He shut the heavy, carved wooden door behind him, cutting off the sound of the wind.

"Third Uncle, did you send them away?" Lu Jing’an asked, rising from the rosewood armchair by the window.

Lu Jing’an was dressed in an indigo cotton robe today, his posture tall and straight.

In the firelight, his features seemed especially serene.

"Sent them packing!"

Lu Huaisan spat and walked over to the charcoal basin.

He held out his large hands to the fire, cracking his knuckles loudly.

"A bunch of scumbags! They think that just by digging up some old dirt and whispering a few sweet nothings,

I, Lu Huaisan, would lead my men to die for them?

In their goddamn dreams!"

Lu Huaisan snatched the long-cold teapot from the table and chugged a large gulp straight from the spout.

But even the icy tea couldn’t seem to quell the fire in his heart:

"Let them wait!

Let them wait for their goods to rot in their warehouses.

Let them wait for their creditors to come knocking, and let them wait to go bankrupt and jump off a building!"

Lu Jing’an lifted the copper kettle that was warming on a small, red-clay stove, poured a fresh cup of hot tea, and pushed it toward Lu Huaisan.

"Third Uncle, have something hot. Calm down. They’re not worth it."

Lu Huaisan took the cup and downed it in one gulp before turning to Lu Huaiqian, who had been silent all this time.

"So, about the Hu Family. What’s the deal?"

Lu Huaiqian gently placed the secret letter on the desk and tapped it with his index finger.

"They want us to set out by boat on the night of the Little New Year.

We’re to rendezvous with their experts at Muddy Dragon Beach and ambush Bai Ting’s personal vessel."

"That’s it?" Lu Huaisan’s thick brows furrowed.

"What about the plan?

The deployment of our men?

How will we confirm Bai Ting’s movements?

Is this how the Hu Family asks for a favor?

They want to use us, but they don’t trust us. Goddamnit..."

Lu Huaichuan, who had been sitting in a Grandmaster’s Chair in the shadows, finally spoke.

His voice was as steady as ever, yet heavy with gravity:

"The key issue right now isn’t whether the Hu Family trusts us.

It’s that we must decide on a course of action, and quickly.

Do we agree, or not?

And if we agree, how?"

As Lu Huaichuan finished speaking, his gaze fell upon Lu Jing’an.

Lu Huaiqian and Lu Huaisan looked over at the same time.

Without anyone realizing it, this young nephew had, through one crisis after another, earned the absolute respect of the family’s inner circle with his judgment and his methods.

Hearing Jing’an’s thoughts on any major issue had practically become routine.

The study fell quiet, the only sound the occasional CRACKLE of the charcoal fire.

Outside, the sky grew darker. It seemed the snow really was on its way.

Lu Jing’an met the gazes of his three elders but did not answer right away.

He walked to the desk, picked up the secret letter, and studied it again.

The paper carried a faint, medicinal scent unique to the Hu Family’s special stock, which was said to be resistant to insects, water, and fire.

"Father."

Lu Jing’an looked up, his question cutting straight to the core of the matter.

"Did the Hu Family explain how they know for certain that Bai Ting will pass through Muddy Dragon Beach that night?

And that he will definitely come in person?"

Lu Jing’an didn’t need to state his position directly.

The question itself already hinted at his leanings.

’We can cooperate with the Hu Family’s assassination, but we must clarify the critical details first.’

A complex emotion flickered in Lu Huaiqian’s eyes—what seemed like relief, yet also a touch of strangeness at his son’s decisiveness.

Lu Huaiqian mulled it over for a moment before saying, "The Hu Family has offered no proof.

They want to confirm our intent to cooperate before they reveal any more details."

Lu Jing’an’s fingers unconsciously stroked the edge of the letter. "How does the Hu Family want to confirm our intentions?

Do they need us to send someone to the Provincial City as a hostage?"

Lu Huaiqian nodded, his gaze fixed on Lu Jing’an’s face, not missing the slightest flicker of his expression.

"What the Hu Family means is that if we are sincere about cooperating,

they hope... that you will go to the Provincial City to be a guest of the Hu Family."

The answer did not surprise Lu Jing’an.

’If our positions were reversed, I would also demand their most important and indispensable person come forward, both as a show of good faith and as a hostage.’

"You want me to go, Father?" Lu Jing’an’s voice was calm.

Lu Huaiqian exchanged a look with Lu Huaichuan and Lu Huaisan, then said in a low voice:

"Your second uncle, third uncle, and I have discussed this.

If we truly decide to go down this path, we knew the Hu Family would inevitably make such a demand.