Chapter 32: The Celestial Gate Banner!
Tang Zhenguo personally led Ye Tianci and the others into the private elevator and took them upstairs.
No matter how high their status or position, none of the other guests invited to the banquet had ever been granted such privilege!
The guests stared in a daze at this scene, taking a long while to recover their senses.
“Who on earth is that young man, to be treated with such respect by the head of the Tang family?”
“If it had been someone else who slapped his granddaughter in public, Old Master Tang would have crippled him at the very least. But instead, not only did he not pursue the matter, he punished his own granddaughter severely and personally led the way for this young man. I truly can’t fathom why.”
“Today is General Tang Qiong’s apprenticeship banquet. Could it be that the young man is the one General Tang Qiong is about to become a disciple of?”
“Idiot! If you had half a brain, you wouldn’t think that!”
“Exactly. If that kid is really the one General Tang Qiong is to call master, I’ll jump off the roof right now!”
“Enough talk, let’s go, let’s find out just who that boy really is!”
…
The guests buzzed with curiosity, pushing and shoving as they entered the Longxiang Grand Hotel and crowded into the elevators.
Tang Qiong’s apprenticeship banquet was being held in the banquet hall on the top floor of the Longxiang Grand Hotel, the one hundredth floor.
After leaving the elevator, Lin Qingqian mustered her courage and asked curiously, “Old Master Tang, do you know Ye Tianci?”
Tang Zhenguo replied with a kindly smile, “Mr. Ye’s master, the Ghost Hand, is an old friend whom I haven’t seen for many years.”
“Miss Lin, I have a few things to discuss with Mr. Ye regarding the elder Ghost Hand.”
“I see. Then I’ll leave you to it,” Lin Qingqian said, no longer puzzled, and entered the banquet hall with her father.
Tang Zhenguo and Ye Tianci withdrew to a quiet corner, where Tang Zhenguo handed Ye Tianci a small booklet.
“Sect Master, these are all the records on the Qi family. Please have a look.”
Ye Tianci flipped through it. The information about the Qi family’s influence was much the same as Lin Qingqian had described, but even more detailed—every member of the Qi family was listed!
Closing the booklet, Ye Tianci said coldly, “There are forty-seven members in the Qi family, young and old. I want to break every bone in their bodies and erase the Qi family from Shucheng!”
Tang Zhenguo frowned slightly, a hint of worry in his voice. “Sect Master, do you really intend to annihilate the Qi family?”
“Are you afraid?” Ye Tianci looked at him calmly.
Tang Zhenguo immediately bowed his head. “If it were only the Qi family, the Tang family would have nothing to fear.”
“But the Qi family has always been allied with the Song family, whose strength is on par with ours. If we destroy the Qi family, the Song family will surely intervene.”
“Furthermore, Qi Changling’s grandson, Qi Xian, is the disciple of Duan Peng, the head of the Zhenwu Hall in Southern Province—a martial arts grandmaster!”
“A single grandmaster is trouble enough, not to mention that Shucheng’s Xuntian Pavilion and the Southern Province War District are all connected to the Qi family.”
“The Qi family truly isn’t one you can simply wipe out.”
Ye Tianci’s expression remained calm. “It seems Heaven’s Gate has been dormant for far too long—even you, the Tang family’s general, have lost your edge and your courage.”
“How can your Tang family hope to remain among the Eight Generals of Heaven’s Gate?”
Tang Zhenguo’s face changed drastically and he immediately knelt on one knee. “I was wrong, Sect Master! Please punish me!”
Ye Tianci helped Tang Zhenguo up and handed him a Spirit Essence Pill. “I can tell you’re carrying old injuries, your strength greatly diminished. This pill will heal your chronic wounds and help you slowly regain your former power.”
“Your granddaughter Tang Qiong may be a rising star, but her strength is not enough. Within seven days, I will help her reach the rank of Grandmaster!”
“No one can stop the resurgence of Heaven’s Gate! The destruction of the Qi family will be the first blow I strike to restore Heaven’s Gate’s glory!”
Ghost Hand had tasked him with reviving Heaven’s Gate and assessing the old Eight Generals. Ye Tianci knew that simply relying on his status as the new Sect Master would not suffice.
Sure enough, this blend of kindness and authority won Tang Zhenguo’s total loyalty.
“Sect Master, just now I was timid and lost heart. I, Tang Zhenguo, swear here and now: no matter what dangers lie ahead, no matter how many powerful foes, the entire Tang family will stand united and defend Heaven’s Gate to the death!”
“Destroy the Qi family! Restore Heaven’s Gate’s glory!”
Tang Zhenguo’s gaze was sharp as a blade.
Ye Tianci patted him on the shoulder and asked in a low voice, “Are all thirteen of Heaven’s Gate’s Guards still alive?”
Tang Zhenguo hesitated. “Most of the Thirteen Guards have disappeared and lost contact, but one of them, Yuan Zhonghuang, is still in Shucheng. However, my relationship with him…”
He trailed off.
“Not on good terms?” Ye Tianci asked.
Tang Zhenguo sighed. “A few years ago, Yuan Zhonghuang’s brother was injured saving my daughter and ended up paralyzed. He wanted to marry my daughter, but I refused.”
“I gave his brother ten million, but after that, Yuan Zhonghuang turned against me, and we haven’t gotten along since.”
Ye Tianci asked no more, but said seriously, “You still have the Heaven’s Gate banner, don’t you?”
“Of course, Sect Master. Are you planning—?”
Tang Zhenguo furrowed his brow deeply.
Ye Tianci replied calmly, “Raise the Heaven’s Gate banner.”
“When that banner is raised, the Thirteen Guards, the Eight Generals, and all disciples of Heaven’s Gate in hiding will know.”
“We’ll see how many of the old guard we can rally.”
Tang Zhenguo flushed with excitement, unable to contain himself. “After more than a decade in obscurity, the Heaven’s Gate banner will finally see the light again!”
“Sect Master, I’ll go raise it at once!”
He hurried off to see to it personally.
The Heaven’s Gate banner, like the Sect Master’s ring on Ye Tianci’s hand, was a unique symbol of Heaven’s Gate.
The difference was that only Ye Tianci possessed the Sect Master’s ring.
Each of the Eight Generals, however, held a Heaven’s Gate banner of their own.
No matter which General raised the banner, it signified a major event for Heaven’s Gate and summoned the officers to assemble!
Soon, atop the Longxiang Grand Hotel, a large black-and-white banner embroidered with a Taiji pattern billowed in the wind!
The great flag snapped and flapped loudly!
Tang Zhenguo had someone take a photo of the raised banner and post it on the “DouShou” social platform.
It was quickly forwarded, spreading quietly far and wide.
Downstairs in the banquet hall, Ye Tianci returned to Lin Qingqian’s side.
“Finished talking?” Lin Qingqian asked with a smile.
Ye Tianci nodded.
“No wonder you were so confident yesterday. It turns out Old Master Tang and your master are old friends,” Lin Qingqian said, her smile gentle.
Not far away, Chen Kai, watching the two of them chatting and laughing, snapped a photo and sent it to his girlfriend Lin Weiwei.
Though the Lin family had been thrown out, Chen Kai had managed to sneak back in with his family.
“Look at your cousin and her crippled fiancé laughing together. Just looking at them makes me angry,” Chen Kai messaged Lin Weiwei.
“Honey, go mock that Ye fellow. Make him lose face in front of all the guests!” Lin Weiwei’s reply came quickly.
“I can’t. Tang Jiao tried to mess with him and Tang Zhenguo put her in her place.”
“Honey, do you really think Tang Zhenguo wanted to punish his own granddaughter? He only did that for show. You’re not the same as Tang Jiao—you’re a guest. Even if Tang Zhenguo’s furious, he won’t do anything to you. This is Tang Qiong’s apprenticeship banquet, after all.”
“Good point!”
“Honey, hurry up and slap Ye Tianci in the face for me and my brother!”
“Don’t worry, babe. I’ll go humiliate that cripple right now and make sure he’s ashamed in front of everyone!”
After replying, Chen Kai straightened his collar, picked up a glass of red wine, and strode confidently toward Lin Qingqian and Ye Tianci.