Chapter 317 - 250: Nowhere to Be Found

Chapter 317: Chapter 250: Nowhere to Be Found

Feeling Tang Wen’s fiery gaze land on her lips.

Hu Lan’s heart inexplicably fluttered. She glanced away, unable to meet his eyes.

Tang Wen smiled. ’Looks like this Saintess has never been in love!’

’All the more reason to go.’

He grabbed Hu Lan’s wrist and pulled her toward Hongfen House.

THUMP-THUMP, THUMP-THUMP

The Saintess, who was unrivaled among all Sixth Grade cultivators, suddenly recalled the image of that young couple’s lips meeting. A wave of heat traveled up from her wrist, so scalding it sent her heart into a frenzy. ’What’s wrong with me? What am I afraid of? No, it doesn’t feel like fear...’

She looked down at Tang Wen’s hand gripping her wrist.

A strange feeling welled up inside her.

Having never been touched by a man in her entire life, Hu Lan didn’t understand the attraction between sexes, or the rush of hormones.

"This way, my esteemed guests!"

A flash of stunned admiration crossed the worldly shopkeeper’s eyes.

"Young Master, Miss, you two make a truly beautiful pair!"

Tang Wen said, "Do you have rouge? Help me pick out a few suitable shades. And be quick about it."

He couldn’t wait to get a taste of that rouge.

"One moment, my esteemed guest. I’ll go get them right away!"

The shopkeeper brought over seven or eight boxes at once, each a different shade of pink, blush, and rose.

Tang Wen casually opened a box and glanced at Hu Lan’s full, pink lips.

The shopkeeper said, "Just take a little on a fine pin and apply it to the young lady’s lips. I guarantee she’ll be prettier than the most beautiful plum blossom."

Tang Wen took out several golden leaves and handed them over.

The shopkeeper’s compliments came pouring out, as if they were free.

"Such a beautiful young lady!"

Before Hu Lan could apply the rouge, a jarring voice shattered the mood.

The newcomer was a young man with a lecherous, flippant expression.

The shopkeeper’s face fell, but not daring to be obvious, she shot Tang Wen a look and quickly scurried aside.

With the mood shattered, Hu Lan’s expression turned to ice once more.

Fire blazed in Tang Wen’s eyes. "The Huang Family? Such arrogance... you must be from the Direct Lineage! Who sent you? Are you here to cause trouble? An assassination attempt? What is the Huang Family planning?"

He hurled one accusation after another.

The newcomer froze. He was arrogant, but he wasn’t an idiot.

Just as he was about to ask who Tang Wen was.

A figure rushed forward and clamped a hand on his shoulder.

It was a Sixth Grade expert. "Huang Ke of the Huang Family, paying my respects to the White Tiger Saintess and Young Master Tang Wen. This is a misunderstanding, a complete misunderstanding. My young master didn’t recognize you. Please allow me to apologize on his behalf."

Saying this, he ignored his own young master’s expression, forced a smile, and cupped his hands in a fist-and-palm salute.

"Oh? So you’re not trying to tear up our agreement?"

"You jest, Young Master Tang," the Huang Family’s Sixth Grade expert sent a private message. "The White Tiger Tribe will leave eventually. It would be wise for Young Master Tang not to burn his bridges."

Tang Wen’s gaze was sharp as a knife. He spoke aloud, "Huang Ke, was it? Is that a threat?"

"I wouldn’t dare, I wouldn’t dare! It’s a misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding." Huang Ke’s face was a mask of false smiles, but a vicious glint flashed in his eyes.

’As if the great Huang Family can’t deal with the likes of the Black Water Gang?’

’You just wait!’

’Once the White Tiger Race is gone, we’ll see who’s really in charge of Ganshan City!’

Hu Lan’s beautiful face was frosty as she leveled a calm gaze at Huang Ke.

The look sent a chill deep into his bones.

Only after the two had walked far enough for their shadows to disappear did Huang Ke curse, "A kept-man pretty boy who lives off women! You think I can’t take care of you once that pack of White Tiger women is gone?"

Beside him, Young Master Huang stared in the direction they had left, his face dark and overcast. "This is the first time I’ve ever had to apologize to anyone in Ganshan City!"

"The Huang Family is used to throwing their weight around, bullying men and taking women as they please."

As they left the Rouge Shop, Tang Wen kept a firm grip on Hu Lan’s hand, refusing to let go.

Her hand was slender and cool like soft jade, a pleasant sensation.

Hu Lan said, "I could have killed him back there."

Huh?

Tang Wen glanced around before sending a mental message, "How many Fifth Grade masters does the White Tiger Tribe have?"

Hu Lan replied, "My people live deep within the Ten Thousand Mountains. Fifth Grade Exotic Beasts are numerous there; almost every mountain has one."

"So, are there twenty of them?" Tang Wen guessed.

Hu Lan’s gaze was like ice. "You want to move against the Huang Family?"

"The Huang Family’s influence is too great. They probably already hate my guts."

After a moment of silence, Hu Lan said, "Ganshan City needs the Huang Family for the Demon Cave beneath it. They are needed to fight with their lives on the line."

"Fight with their lives? If that day ever comes, it’s more likely they’ll abandon the city and flee."

"They won’t," she said, her tone calm and certain.

Tang Wen was confused. "Why?"

Hu Lan didn’t answer. "I will leave two White Tigers here under your command."

Their hands didn’t part until they arrived back at his home, and even then, he still hadn’t figured out the true strength of the White Tiger Tribe.

’Winning over a powerful backer isn’t easy!’

’The Tiger Race clearly doesn’t consider me one of their own yet.’

That night, Tang Wen donned his Night Traveler’s Clothes and slipped out over the wall.

He made his way to a deserted courtyard not far away, opened a cellar door, and climbed down.

CHIRP CHIRP CHIRP CHIRP

Inside four or five crudely made cages, a flock of hummingbirds flapped their wings, tripping over each other as they opened their beaks to cry out.

A quick glance counted eighty-seven of them.

They had mutated once, and their current strength was equivalent to that of a Low-level Exotic Beast.

He activated his Beast Taming Skill, calming and taming them.

Time passed slowly.

The hummingbirds grew hungrier, their chirping incessant.

Tang Wen thought for a moment. He opened the cages, lifted the cellar hatch, picked out two of the birds, and quietly released the rest.

The Giant Rock Martial Arts Hall was still relentlessly searching for the whereabouts of Huang Shiqi.

This place was dangerously close to his residence.

Besides, he didn’t have the high-quality nectar needed to raise them.

And the best place to hide a flock of hummingbirds was within an even larger flock.

CHIRP CHIRP CHIRP CHIRP!

The pair of hummingbirds Tang Wen had kept grew agitated, as if asking, ’Why did the other birds get to go eat while we have to stay?’

He extended a finger, gently rubbing their tiny heads. "Alright, you two can go as well."

The last two hummingbirds flew off in succession.

He chopped up the cages and burned them before promptly leaving the area.

’Now, how do I let the Giant Rock Martial Arts Hall know that I can tame hummingbirds?’

With all the hummingbirds gone from the courtyard, he slowly tidied up, leaving no trace behind.