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Ling Zhang replied, “I’ve been cultivating internal energy.”

Tao Yi widened his eyes which were full of incredulity. “The internal energy people talk about?”

Ling Zhang inclined his head.

Tao Yi was very excited. “This kind of thing really exists? What’s internal energy like? Tell me more about it.”

Tao Yi asked Ling Zhang a lot of questions pestering him for details. Eventually Ling Zhang ran out of patience and stopped talking, fixed him with a calm stare.

It was not until this moment that Tao Yi came to realize that he had asked too many questions. He scratched his head in embarrassment. “You’re still recovering and need more rest, so I’ll stop disturbing you. When you’re better, I’ll pay you another visit. By the way, it seems that the horse race will be held as scheduled. You won’t be participating, I suppose?”

Ling Zhang said, “I will.”

Tao Yi wore a worried look on his face. “But wouldn’t your injured arm be a problem?”

Ling Zhang replied, “Not if I don’t use it. Snowflake is very intelligent. I’m sure I’ll survive one lap.”

Tao Yi was still somewhat disapproving, but seeing Ling Zhang was insistent, he realized that if Ling Zhang was really not in a fit state to take part in the competition, Yuwen Tong would be even less likely to let him. As a result, he said no more.

...

The day before the competition, the cause of those horses running wild was identified – the grass beside that brook.

The grass there was the kind that horses liked, so theoretically it shouldn’t have been a problem, but for some unknown reason, all the grass beside the brook had been contaminated with some kind of poison which would cause horses to go mad if ingested. It seemed that the brook had washed the poison ashore. Therefore, investigators had specially walked upstream to look into it.

So far the search had been fruitless.

Strangely enough, people in the courier hostel had been quiet all along as well. Ling Zhang was beginning to suspect that it was not those people from the Wan Kingdom who wanted him dead, that he and Yuwen Tong had wronged them.

Ling Zhang was not in a good mood. Originally he had wanted to lure his enemies out, but what if the enemies refused to take action? Wouldn’t all his efforts be in vain?

But Yuwen Tong was much more composed than him. “People in the courier hostel hasn’t made any move, but it doesn’t mean that the assassins haven’t either.”

Ling Zhang felt that Yuwen Tong had got a point. Even if they’d really had a wrong guess and those people from the Wan Kingdom were not responsible for the attempted assassination, those who wanted him dead would no doubt still take action, and all he needed to do was wait to see who would betray himself.

On the day of the horse race, Ling Zhang arrived at the racecourse in the eastern suburbs promptly, which astonished a lot of people. His arm injury was known to many, and they wondered why Ling Zhang was still participating in this event. Even the principal was sent into a brief trance of surprise by his appearance.

“Brother Zhang, here!” Yuwen Jin yelled, his arms lifted above his head.

Ling Zhang, followed by Miao Shiba and some others, walked up to him, spotting Ji Yin standing behind the principal on the way.

“You really did come here, Brother Zhang. It surprises me that my cousin agreed to let you do this,” said Yuwen Jin.

Ling Zhang said, “I’m only going one round, and I won’t be using my right arm. Snowflake will carry me to the finish line, so there’s nothing to be worried about.”

Ling Zhang was appraising this racecourse and its surroundings all along while saying this.

Previously he had read the map of Yuwen Tong’s and roughly come to know that at one side of this racecourse was a hill, which in fact was just a mound covered with trees. It was slightly higher than the hillock behind the Imperial College. At another side of it was a row of stables close to the hill, which people could look through and see what was behind, and which was not really the perfect place for hiding. The other two sides of the racecourse were completely unobstructed, with large areas of meadows outside, the grass on which was fairly lush, and which didn’t seem barren. Therefore, if anybody was going to make underhand arrangements in this place, they would surely choose to hide somewhere near the small wood. The side of that small hill facing this racecourse was rather steep and difficult to climb, with plenty of rocks and barely any footholds, looking as if it had been hewed by people a long time ago. However, climbing-unfriendly for common people as it was, people with some kung fu skills and masters of lightness skills could get up and down the hill along this side quite easily.

Most of Ling Zhang’s attention was on that grove. Sure enough he wasn’t staring straight in that direction but was observing it out of the corner of his eye.

Yuwen Tong had told him that he had made adequate arrangements in this racecourse, details of which Ling Zhang was unaware of. It seemed that apart from students of the Imperial College, the only ones present were students of the Oriental Rite Academy, the headmasters of these two schools, some riding instructors and some security guards; there was nobody of any other particular identity in sight.

“Brother Zhang?” Yuwen Jin called, noticing Ling Zhang’s mind was wandering.

Ling Zhang wrenched his attention back, looking at him.

“Brother Tao and the others are coming,” Yuwen Jin informed him, pointing in the direction of students of the Oriental Rite Academy.

Tao Yi, accompanied by the couple of schoolmates of his, walked over. Ling Zhang’s injury had come to the knowledge of them all, so they first politely asked Ling Zhang about it.

And then a schoolmate of Tao Yi’s said, “We have to count Ling Zhang out because he’s wounded. Does the bet still stand for the rest of us?”

“Of course it does. A bet is a bet. There’s got to be a winner today,” said Ji Feng.

“Good. That’s the spirit!” Students of the Oriental Rite Academy were very pleased. After reconfirming the number of participants, they took their leave.

“They thought we’d be afraid to lose and back out of it. How’s that even possible?” Ji Feng rolled up his sleeves in a combative mood, eager to make his riding skills known.

But Ling Zhang was thinking that if assassins did show up later during the horse race, this private competition of theirs would once again be interrupted. He felt a trifle guilty, but it was inconvenient for him to disclose these things to any of them, so he had no choice but to keep silent.

Just now his eyes had searched the whole racecourse, but Yuwen Tong’s men were nowhere to be seen, and he hadn’t even spotted Yuwen Tong.

“These guys are so good at hiding,” he mumbled under his breath and then looked at Miao Shiba and a couple of others behind him. After a moment’s thought, he still said to Yuwen Jin and the others, “There’s something I need to consult Professor Li about. I’ll be back in just a little while.”

Yuwen Jin and his other schoolmates didn’t suspect anything. Ling Zhang, accompanied by Miao Shiba and a couple of bodyguards, walked away.

Originally Ling Zhang had wanted to bring only Miao Shiba as he usually did, but eventually he’d still decided to have Xie Shi and a couple of others go with him. Firstly, the situation might get very dangerous in a while, and secondly, as Yuwen Tong had reminded him previously, the assassins were fully aware that he knew they were going to make another attempt on him, which meant that he would arouse their suspicions if he went alone without bringing any guards with him, so he might as well have more men accompany him.

This was why on this occasion Ling Zhang had a group of bodyguards in his wake wherever he went. All students of the Imperial College were somewhat familiar with a scene like this, and they recalled someone else who had done such a thing before Ling Zhang – Jiang Yu of Jiang family. Currently Jiang Yu, because of his injuries, was staying at home confined to bed, and Ling Zhang had taken his place doing the same thing. Moreover, all the bodyguards behind Ling Zhang seemed to be even tougher than those of Jiang family. Because of this, students of the Imperial College were sneaking appraising glances at Ling Zhang, their countenance somewhat subtle.

Ling Zhang, who was aware that many students were staring at him, was not disgruntled, for he had anticipated this situation.

The principal, however, seeing him walking in his direction, mistakenly believed that Ling Zhang was coming to talk to him, but Ling Zhang merely bowed to him in salutation and then turned his head around to look at Professor Li beside him.

“May I have a few moments of your time, professor? There’s something I’d like to consult you about,” Ling Zhang said to Ji Yin.

Ji Yin, who guessed that the matter Ling Zhang wanted to talk with him about was probably supposed to be kept in confidence, rose to his feet and led Ling Zhang a couple of steps away.

The principal suspiciously looked at them. There had been several occasions when Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong went to meet Professor Li in private, and the principal had some time ago suspected that the relations between them were not common. Now he was even more certain of this. But he was perplexed as to what kind of relations Ling Zhang had with this new professor exactly.

“Grandfather, there might be some trouble in a while. You need to be careful, and you should remind the principal to evacuate students when it happens,” Ling Zhang said to Ji Yin.

Ji Yin, who seemed to have some time ago guessed something, inclined his head. “I’ll give him a prompt reminder. Is the trouble coming for you?”

Ling Zhang gave him an honest answer. “Yeah. Someone wants to kill me.”

Ji Yin knitted his eyebrows. Soon something occurred to him and he asked, “In the hunting ground of the western suburbs, the assassin’s target was not Marshal Yuwen but you?”

Ling Zhang nodded. “I have no idea who it is that wants me dead, but I think they’ll make another attempt today, given how good an opportunity this is.”

A piercing and disgruntled look flitted across Ji Yin’s eyes. Clearly news of someone intending to kill Ling Zhang displeased him. “There’s nobody you suspect?”

Ling Zhang hesitated for a brief moment. “There is someone, but neither I nor Yuwen Tong knows why he wants to kill me.”

Ji Yin said, “I see. I’ll keep a close watch on these students, and I think it’s needless for me to remind you that you should be careful not to get more injuries – you’ve already hurt your arm.”

“I’ll be cautious,” replied Ling Zhang in the knowledge that his grandfather was saying this out of concern for him.

Ji Yin’s eyes moved to the bodyguards behind him. He sized up all of them one by one and then withdrew his gaze.

Miao Shiba, Xie Shi and the others, who were appraised, noticed a formidably piercing look suddenly appear in the eyes of this nondescript-looking old man who seemed to be seeing straight into their souls. This made all of them jumpy, a mixture of dismay and wariness involuntarily rising inside them.

But Childe Ling called this old man grandfather...

The old man withdrew his gaze after sizing them up, the air about him mild and restrained. He didn’t strike them as hostile.

Miao Shiba, Xie Shi and the others still had instinctive trust in Ling Zhang, so although astonished by the awe-inspiring martial-arts attainments that this old man had briefly displayed, they managed to maintain their usual demeanor.

“These bodyguards are pretty good. You probably have your own plans. Remember that safety always comes first, whatever the circumstances,” said Ji Yin.

Ling Zhang smiled, “I will.”

Since it was inconvenient for the two of them to have a long talk, Ling Zhang soon parted from Ji Yin and returned to the side of Yuwen Jin and his schoolmates.

“Brother Zhang, the horse race will soon start, and there will be a second draw,” said Yuwen Jin.

Ling Zhang gave a bob of his head and walked up to the draw-pot with Yuwen Jin and the others, ready to draw lots for a second time. However, he was just about to reach into the draw-pot when Xie Shi stopped him and said, “Allow me do it for you, Childe Ling.”

Ling Zhang was briefly surprised and then withdrew his hand. “All right.”

The teacher standing behind the draw-pot, who was also fleetingly astonished, furrowed his brow and wanted to say something, but Xie Shi had already fished a piece of bamboo out of the pot and show him the number on it.

The teacher had no choice but to hold back the words that had sprung to his lips, pretending he hadn’t noticed.

Some of the other students were not very happy about this, but none of them said anything, for Ling Zhang was now a celebrity in the Imperial College, and they all knew what Ling Zhang was capable of and didn’t dare offend him for no good reason. Besides, Ling Zhang had a group of bodyguards at his back, who they could tell at a glance were no common people. A lot of students were muttering in their heads, ‘Marshal Yuwen is spoiling Ling Zhang. He’s actually sent his bodyguards here. Is it really necessary? And Ling Zhang seems to be getting better at putting on a show.’