Chapter 598
Chapter 598
*Crack!*
The ground, a hundred mu in area, buckled upward. Then, the hundred-foot-tall Silver Pagoda suddenly tilted and began to collapse.
*Rumble...*
The entire process was incredibly swift, taking only a few seconds. The Silver Pagoda, which had stood tall for a century, crashed violently to the ground, shattering into a ruin. Then came a sound like the wailing of ghosts as countless people let out sharp, tragic screams.
As the Silver Pagoda fell, an astonishing scene unfolded. Hundreds of martial arts masters suddenly leaped out as if taking flight. In an instant, it looked like hundreds of startled birds taking wing. However, those who escaped the collapsing pagoda were only a fraction of the highly skilled martial artists; the rest were buried in the rubble as the structure came down around them. A moment later, a fierce wave swept over the ruins, causing numerous casualties and creating an even more hellish scene.
Huang Dong was safe. No, actually, he wasn't. The moment the ground began to rise, he had leaped from the Silver Pagoda without hesitation. He was too high up to jump for the ground, so he threw all his strength into leaping for a tree beside the pagoda, but that tree soon toppled as well. He clung to the tree as it fell and sprained his ankle. He had no other injuries, yet he couldn't stand up.
*‘This… this is terrifying.’*
He knew Shen Lang would make a big move, but he never imagined it would be *this* big. This was the Hidden Yuan Society's branch in the State of Yue, a towering structure that had stood for over a hundred years, seemingly indestructible. Many even said that the grand hall of the royal palace might fall, but the Silver Pagoda never would.
*‘This is the work of ghosts. What in the world just happened? It’s too frightening. Young Master Shen, weren’t we friends? How could you leave me at the scene of such a catastrophe without a word of warning beforehand? Young Master Shen, how did you do this? The Silver Pagoda had nine massive iron pillars, each as thick as a thigh, driven dozens of feet into the ground. Even if you told Li Qianqiu to chop them with an axe, he couldn’t get through a single one in an hour, and no axe in the world is that strong. Even if you had both Gudu Huan and Li Qianqiu try to saw through them, they wouldn’t budge. And weren’t you worried that I, Huang Dong, might die in this disaster?’*
***
Xu Baidao had just finished a game of Go in a nearby pavilion and was stepping out, intending to head for the Silver Pagoda. The pavilion was just across a wide street from the Silver Pagoda. And so, with his own two eyes, he witnessed an utterly thrilling and miraculous scene.
An earth dragon suddenly rose. The hundred-foot-tall building collapsed violently before anyone could react, and the magnificent headquarters of the Hidden Yuan Society was reduced to rubble. Then, a fierce wave crashed in, and the Society’s branch seemed to be completely leveled.
“Ugh!”
Xu Baidao, an elder of the Hidden Yuan Society, lost all his senses in an instant. He couldn't even feel pain. The scene before him was so absurd that it felt as if it had nothing to do with him. For a fleeting moment, the building that had collapsed before his eyes didn't feel like *his* Silver Pagoda. Only after a long while did reality begin to seep back into Xu Baidao, and he began to tremble uncontrollably.
*‘That… that’s our Hidden Yuan Society branch. The Silver Pagoda, which stood for a hundred years, has been completely flattened.’*
“Ah… ah…”
Xu Baidao clutched his chest, unable to breathe, and collapsed to the ground. Yan Wuji, who was beside him, was completely stunned. Only one phrase came to his mind.
*‘Well, I’ll be damned…!’*
As a Decorated Scholar and a truly cultured man, he had never uttered a curse word in his life. But right now, no other words could express what he was feeling. It was just too frightening. Only after Xu Baidao collapsed did Yan Wuji rush to his side.
“Lord Xu, Lord Xu!”
“Shen Lang, you thief! I cannot live under the same sky as you!”
Xu Baidao coughed up a mouthful of blood and fainted completely.
***
Meanwhile, Shen Lang was holding Shen Mi, accompanied by Bing'er, Mistress Zhuo, Wulie, Han Nu, and others, already waiting at the highest point of the Marquis of Changping's estate. On the terrace, they had set up a table with tea, sunflower seeds, and other snacks, chatting as they waited.
“Young Master Shen, the baby can’t have sunflower seeds.”
Mistress Zhuo had lost count of how many times she had stopped Shen Lang. The baby hadn't grown any teeth yet, and his soft gums looked utterly adorable. Shen Lang was cracking open seeds—watermelon, pumpkin, and even sunflower. The sunflower seeds had been brought by a merchant from the West; they weren’t yet widely cultivated in the East, so only a profligate spendthrift like Shen Lang could afford to eat them, paying one silver tael for a handful.
After tasting the saltiness of a sunflower seed, the baby seemed to have discovered a whole new world. His little face went blank for a moment, then his large, jewel-like eyes lit up. The baby sucked on a single seed for a full ten minutes. Finally, Mistress Zhuo couldn't bear it any longer and took the baby away. Babies weren't supposed to eat salty things yet.
Shen Lang was an unreliable father, and Bing'er wasn't much better, simply following his lead. Even as Mistress Zhuo carried him away, Shen Mi's eyes darted back and forth, fixed on the sunflower seeds. The two children, Ye Huiling and Ye Jiajia, were expertly cracking seeds with their mouths, shells flying everywhere, while stuffing a handful into their pockets and holding another in their hands. But just then!
*Boom!*
A loud crash echoed as the hundred-foot-tall Silver Pagoda collapsed. In that instant, both Bing'er and Mistress Zhuo stopped talking, and all sound ceased. The two children, happily cracking seeds, also froze mid-motion. Only Shen Mi remained still, his eyes still fixed on the sunflower seeds. Then, everyone's gaze turned to Shen Lang. The Silver Pagoda had finally fallen. The astonishing retaliation against the Hidden Yuan Society had finally succeeded. Shen Lang took a deep breath. At that moment, a single thought surfaced in his mind.
*‘How satisfying. You can seek revenge all you want. I feel as relieved as if all the cicadas have fallen silent in late autumn. So this is why aliens always blow up the White House or the Eiffel Tower when they invade Earth. I never knew destroying a symbolic landmark could be so gratifying.’*
Feeling the others' stares, Shen Lang said.
“What are you looking at? I didn’t do it. This has nothing to do with me!”
***
Of course, there were people who felt even more satisfaction than Shen Lang. They were the common folk watching the waves from the shore. They had originally been so envious and jealous of the people watching from atop the Silver Pagoda that it bordered on resentment.
*‘Why are we on the ground while you look down on us from the top of a hundred-foot tower?’*
But they never expected to witness such a spectacular scene.
*‘I’m so glad I came to watch today. Am I bewitched? How could the Silver Pagoda, which stood for a hundred years, collapse just like that? I must be seeing things, right?’*
They quickly realized it wasn't a hallucination. The tragic cries of those trapped in the collapsed pagoda were all too real.
*‘What a spectacle! This is more exciting than watching the waves. A heaven-shaking event has occurred. The Hidden Yuan Society’s building, which stood for a hundred years, has fallen!’*
***
Of all the people who heard the news, the most shocked was King Ning Yuanxian. He knew Shen Lang would seek revenge, but he never imagined it would be this drastic. Shen Lang hadn't given him any prior notice, so Ning Yuanxian had no idea what was going to happen at the Hidden Yuan Society's branch. However, he too had been keeping an eye on the Silver Pagoda. Why? Because he was inwardly displeased. He had secretly warned his ministers not to attend the wave-watching gathering organized by the Hidden Yuan Society. But what was the result? While no active ministers attended, their families did. Moreover, retired old officials also went.
*‘Are you all ignoring My words?’*
Such situations were common. It wasn't the first or second time an emperor's command had been disregarded. Even a great emperor like Zhu Yuanzhang sometimes had to sigh in helplessness in such situations. Zhu Yuanzhang had repeatedly ordered that only women, the elderly, and civil officials of the third rank or higher could ride in sedan chairs; all other officials were to ride horses. But countless people disobeyed the order, to the point that Zhu Yuanzhang himself had to go out into the streets to arrest the offending officials in their sedan chairs.
Similarly, faced with this situation, Ning Yuanxian could only sigh. Should he issue a royal decree to punish the noblewomen and retired old ministers who went to the Silver Pagoda to watch the waves? How many more years did those elderly officials have left to live? So the king could only watch the Silver Pagoda from afar, resentful in his heart. But then, the entire Silver Pagoda suddenly collapsed, and King Ning Yuanxian was completely stunned. For a fleeting moment, he felt a chill run from his toes to the top of his head, as if it would crack his skull.
*‘I, I… Shen Lang, you… you madman!’*
The king had expected Shen Lang to retaliate by robbing one or two of the Hidden Yuan Society's secret vaults and killing a hundred or so of their people. But to completely level the Hidden Yuan Society's branch in the State of Yue? It was unimaginable.
*‘The important thing is, how did you even accomplish this, Shen Lang? It’s too insane, too shocking! But haven’t you gone too far? If this gets out of hand… even I, Ning Yuanxian, won’t be able to protect you. That damn rascal always causes heaven-shaking trouble.’*
Instead of joy, Ning Yuanxian was filled with nothing but shock.
*‘He’s gone too far. The Imperial Capital will be furious, and I might truly be unable to protect you.’*
***
The Crown Prince and the Third Prince, upon seeing the sight, had only one thought.
*‘Shen Lang, that bastard is a madman. A complete lunatic. To retaliate so fiercely. But did he really do this? Those nine thick iron pillars of the Silver Pagoda are supposed to be unbreakable.’*
***
The collapse of the Silver Pagoda, the Hidden Yuan Society's branch, caused an astonishing uproar. The capital, already like a turbulent lake, now felt as if someone had thrown a massive boulder into its waters. It instantly suppressed all other commotions, and a dead silence fell over the city. Soon after, a torrent of rumors erupted. Not just the capital, but the entire State of Yue was discussing the event, yet strangely, Shen Lang was not mentioned in any of the rumors.
The most widespread theory was that the Hidden Yuan Society had tried to suppress the two Dragon Kings, angering them and causing the Silver Pagoda to collapse. Another theory claimed that an ancient seal beneath the Silver Pagoda had been suppressing two River Gods, preventing the annual great waves from turning into a disastrous flood. But the seal had been weakening, allowing the two River Gods to break free and tear the Silver Pagoda to shreds. Not a single common person thought this incident had anything to do with Shen Lang. How was that possible?
*‘We saw it with our own eyes. None of Shen Lang’s men even went near the Silver Pagoda. He’s not a god, so how could he have caused it? It must have been the work of an Earth God turning over or the River Gods’ wrath.’*
However, the influential figures in the capital held a different view. Dozens of casualties among the powerful families and hundreds within the Hidden Yuan Society resulted from the pagoda’s collapse. Their first instinct was to think of Shen Lang.
*‘This is definitely Shen Lang’s revenge. He lost thirty-seven hundred people with the Blank Bloodline, so he retaliated in this heaven-shaking manner.’*
But they all soon dismissed the thought. Because at the time, Shen Lang was nowhere near the scene. Shen Lang had been fuming at the Marquis of Changping's estate, while the Sword King Li Qianqiu, Gudu Huan, and others had attacked one of the Hidden Yuan Society's secret vaults, causing many casualties. There was proof that none of them had been present. Thus, no matter what theories were proposed, they could never pin the blame for the Silver Pagoda’s collapse on Shen Lang.