TFWYH – Chapter 428 Tang’s Father Disappears

The leading masked man in black looked coldly at Tang Hongba. When she spoke, however, a woman’s voice came out:

“General Tang, it’s been a long time. His Majesty requests that you bring the item and come back with us.”

Tang Hongba watched them warily, yet replied, “What General Tang? I don’t understand what you’re talking about!”

“Still pretending?” The leader’s tone turned sinister as she pointed her sword at the unconscious Tang Tianyang. “We’ve already captured the eldest young master. As for the younger one, he’s now in our hands as well. If General Tang continues to resist stubbornly, I wouldn’t mind letting you experience the pain of losing your sons.”

“You… despicable!” Tang Hongba gathered his strength, preparing to attack.

But at that moment, the woman in black thrust out her sword, piercing Tang Tianyang’s brow.

Tang Hongba choked back his movement at once and stopped, fury filling his face. “The dignified Dark Phoenix Guards—who would have thought you’d be so despicable!”

“We’re merely avoiding unnecessary conflict while in a foreign land,” the leader replied calmly, completely unbothered. “The Dark Lord is already in the Heavenly Dynasty. Do you really think you can escape?”

Hearing this, Tang Hongba’s expression turned even uglier.

He knew… he truly could not escape.

The Dark Phoenix Guards were an organization equivalent to the Heavenly Dynasty’s Dragon Shadow Guards, answering only to the reigning emperor.

No matter how capable he was, he was no match for the Dark Lord.

Not to mention that both his sons were in their hands.

The only thing that comforted him was that Tang Wan was not in Xiangxi Town—and it seemed the enemy did not even know of her existence.

It looked like the eldest couple hadn’t revealed anything after all.

With that thought, Tang Hongba gave up resisting.

“I’ll go with you. Just don’t hurt my sons!”

“And the item,” the woman in black reminded him.

After a brief hesitation, Tang Hongba walked into the pigsty and dug into a corner of the ground. Buried beneath the soil was a square little box, so eroded by dirt that its original appearance was no longer recognizable.

The moment he took the box out, a gentle breeze swept past him. When he looked again, the box had already vanished from his hands.

At the same time, all the black-clad figures dropped to one knee.

“Dark Lord!”

Tang Hongba turned stiffly around. A middle-aged woman dressed in black stood there, holding the box, her gaze calm and indifferent as she looked at him.

Seeing her, Tang Hongba slowly knelt and kowtowed.

“Dark Lord… forgive my offense!”

“Your punishment will be decided by His Majesty,” the Dark Lord said. With a flash of movement, she disappeared from sight.

Only then did the black-clad guards rise, seize Tang Hongba and Tang Tianyang, and leave.

The lively little courtyard moments ago became cold and silent.

The entire Tang family had been taken away—without anyone noticing.

The small town of Xiangxi remained as bustling as ever.

By the time the neighboring Qin family realized the Tang family had vanished, ten days had already passed.

…

Meanwhile, Tang Wan had already arrived in Weng City and checked into an inn.

There were still ten days before the provincial examination, yet Ling Yu did not shut himself away studying like the other scholars. Instead of cramming at the last minute, he took Tang Wan and Ling Yue sightseeing around the city, letting them experience Weng City’s local customs and culture.

Su Yangyu also wanted to take Yuan Yuan out for fun, but Xie Wenjie stopped him.

“You came here to take an exam, not to play. There are only ten days left, big brother! And you still want to go sightseeing? How big is your heart?”

Su Yangyu curled his lips. “Brother Ling went out to have fun too. Why can’t I?”

“Brother Ling is a genius. Are you? Brother Ling ranked first in all his previous exams. Did you?”