"Young miss, take the kid to his training. I'll go take a look!" Zhuo Fan looked to Luo Yunchang.
She gave a nod then dragged Luo Yunhai out by the ear. The Marshall of Tianyu may have come, and despite the ever-present shock, Zhuo Fan was here to assuage all her worries.
Regardless of the magnitude of the coming storm, nothing could last long in the face of Zhuo Fan's meticulous planning. This belief had evolved into blind faith in the man, a faith deep-rooted in the hearts of all Luo clansmen.
Dragged away and through glistening eyes, Luo Yunhai's last cry at Zhuo Fan was, "Big bro Zhuo, you single-handedly ruined my life!"
"You twerp who hasn't ever grown hair down there, what ruin?" Zhuo Fan teased. He turned to look down Blackwind Mountain and took slow steps downhill.
Hum~
With a ripple, the Poison Dragon Array's miasma parted. Zhuo Fan walked before the four as he sized each one of them, "I am Luo clan's steward, Zhuo Fan. And sirs…"
"Oh, we are the four generals under Marshal Dugu. Hearing of the Luo clan's peril, he ordered us to rescue you. Greetings, I am Dugu Feng!" The man in blue cupped his hands.
The man with the fan did as well, "I am Dugu Lin!"
"Dugu Huo!" The redhead stout fellow rumbled a reply.
As for the last and the biggest man, "Dugu Shan!"
"Wind, forest, fire, mountain? The Four Tigers of Tianyu?" Zhuo Fan cried as he started making calculations in his mind.
(Starreader: reference to four phrases from Sun Tzu's The Art of War: "as swift as the wind, as gentle as a forest, as fierce as fire, as unshakable as a mountain.")
He had heard his fair share of stories regarding the renowned Four Pillars. Second of the Four Pillars, Dugu Zhantian, was married to his military career. He had no children, but four godsons of great bravery and power. Given their talent, they weren't the least bit lacking to the geniuses raised inside the seven houses. Perhaps even surpassing them.
The four had repeatedly rendered great military services that earned the people's gratitude in the form of the Four Tigers of Tianyu title.
Dugu Feng, the eldest, was swift as the wind and excelled in surprise attacks – nicknamed Storm Tiger. Dugu Lin, the second, was as gentle as a forest, knowing the art of war by heart. For his calmness of mind, he was known as Crouching Forest Tiger. Dugu Huo, the third, burned like fire, and was just as blazing in temper as well. For his boldness, he was known as Raging Tiger. Dugu Shan, the fourth, was as steadfast as a mountain, hard as stone. Proficient in defense, he was known as Mountain Tiger!
No endeavor the four had worked on ever failed. They were almost matching the God of War in their renown.
Many times, the emperor expressed his desire to lift them to the ranks of commanders, and joined Dugu Zhantian in becoming Tianyu's Five Marshals, only to refuse each time. They would rather stay as Marshal Dugu's tigers, rather than be alone as Tianyu Empire's four lion kings!
They were always inseparable from Dugu Zhantian. If the four of them arrived, then Dugu Zhantian…
Checking his surroundings, Zhuo Fan's obvious thoughts were easily noticed by Dugu Lin who tapped the fan in his palm, "Steward Zhuo, there's no need for you to look. We are the only ones here. Our orders carried us thousands of miles to rescue you all. Marshal Dugu and his forces are running a little late, I'm afraid."
"Oh, so Marshal Dugu is gracing us with his presence!" Zhuo Fan nodded and laughed, "I understand. Then I shall inform the young miss and young master post haste. You may return!"
Zhuo Fan waved as he left. The four were startled, even shocked.
The four of them were hailed as the Four Tigers of Tianyu everywhere in the empire, with even the seven houses bound to showing them some respect. But here, in this backwater Luo clan, not only were they not allowed entry, the door was slammed into their face. To top it all off, he even said he'd inform someone.
Wasn't this a little bit too absurd?
Rage had stirred in the hearts of the four. Dugu Huo, who had a notoriously fiery temper, cursed on the spot, "What kind of steward are you to act so unreasonably? We came all this way to help you yet not only you did not show any appreciation, you even slam the door behind you. That is no way to treat a guest!"
"Guest, you say?"
Zhuo Fan quirked an eyebrow, turning his head to give them a closer eye, "You're telling me you came to save us and I'm supposed to believe that? We just had a hard battle on our hands not a couple a days ago, with blood and bodies everywhere. Letting you in might drown the Luo clan in flames!"
The four gasped. So the steward wasn't slighting them, but was overly cautious. That reason was enough to dampen their rage.
Dugu Feng cupped his hands again, "We are Marshal Dugu's four generals. He has always been a frank and open person and we are under strict orders. We are not the enemy here. Are you perhaps doubting Marshal Dugu's integrity?"
"Marshal Dugu is a pillar of our empire, in charge of defense, which my clan admires him greatly. Our young miss and young master burn incense and pray every day for Marshal's health, to keep our nation safe!"
Zhuo Fan cupped his hands at the heavens, shouting with zeal, just like a true Dugu Zhantian fanboy. His action earned the nods of the four, even approval points.
[It's good that the Luo clan holds our godfather in such high regards. It makes our trip worthwhile.]
Then, Zhuo Fan flipped his tune out of the blue. His face was cold, his eyes accusingly, "And how am I to know you are the real Four Tigers of Tianyu? Have you seen how many copycats have cropped up nowadays?"
"Please look over Marshal Dugu's token!" Dugu Feng quickly offered a copper badge. But Zhuo Fan didn't even glance at it, only curled his mouth, "Like I said, there are many copycats around these days. If you yourself can't prove who you are, what good would a token do?"
"Hey, stop messing around, punk. Us Four Tigers of Tianyu have roamed the empire for so many years, but not once has there been a case of someone copying us. You only have your ignorance to blame for not knowing who we are. You won't let us in, is that it? Wanna see how I make my way through, breaking those arrays of yours?"
Dugu Huo barked, having reached his already short limit of his slight patience. Zhuo Fan staggered back, putting on a perfect fearful face, "See, see?! You now show your true colors and still dare pretend? Marshal Dugu's army runs under strict orders, bearing the love of the people. How can there be such brash people wanting to barge into someone's home in his army? You're no different from bandits!"
"You…" Dugu Huo gnashed his teeth.
Dugu Feng frowned and shouted, "Third brother, stop nagging. Are you going to stain Marshal Dugu's name by charging into one's home?"
Dugu Huo glared at Zhuo Fan with burning hatred, but his feet remained in place.
Dugu Feng bowed, "I apologize for my third brother's lack of courtesy. Please do not take it to mind, Steward Zhuo. Can you trust us now?"
"Trust? Humph, you almost had me there, but fortunately, I caught on to your game. Is that how Marshal Dugu's generals behave, playing the good guy bad guy routine?"
Flushing red, the four were left speechless. Even Dugu Huo found it so embarrassing that he forgot to complain.
Zhuo Fan snorted, "Didn't you say Marshal Dugu is on his way. We'll just have to wait for him to prove your identities."
With that said, Zhuo Fan vanished into the Poison Dragon Array, and the miasma blocked the four's sight.
They wanted to shout at him but he was already gone.
The four were left downcast behind.
Who'd ever seen it coming? They, who were revered even in the seven houses, were now forced to stand on the doorsteps of some backwater Luo clan.
And they couldn't complain either. The clan just went through a hellish battle and their nerves were taught. And best of all, the Luo clan was a die-hard fan of the Marshal. How could the four burst in and ruin their godfather's image?
Sighing, Dugu Huo turned to Dugu Feng, "Big brother, what do we do now?"
"What else? Stay in a Windgaze City's tavern."
"But how are we going to give a full report to Marshal when we can't even get in to assess the situation?"
"We'll report facts!" Dugu Lin shot Dugu Huo a glare, "Luo clan is more than it seems. It's best we wait for Marshal's personal intervention!"
The other's hearts chilled recalling the four 5th-grade arrays and nodded.
Putting aside this place having such astonishing arrays, the fact the order was sent for the four tigers to come here was proof enough of the real threat that the Luo clan was under.
Yet, even after going through such a gory battle, it was clear from their steward's appearance that the clan wasn't suffering so much. This pointed out that the Luo clan was more than met the eye.
Being generals themselves, the four could tell of this mysterious clan's power.
In another part, Zhuo Fan returned to the hall and convened with the rest. Great changes happened throughout the clan as entire rooms were thrown into chaos.
He made the four tigers back off just so he could make preparations. Since the Four Pillars were here, there was no way they were gonna miss this chance of leaning on a great mountain.
Yep, it was all about clinging to power. Although, different tactics were needed depending on the target. Zhuo Fan's methods weren't as crude and tasteless as those narrow-minded Cai and Sun clans.
He wanted Dugu Zhantian to be eternally tied to the Luo clan.
Luo Yunchang watched the people rush about as they were close to tearing down the whole of Blackwind Mountain. She turned to Zhuo Fan in puzzlement, "What… this…"
Zhuo Fan said before she could continue, "Young miss, you're just in time. Tell that kid to switch from cultivation and hit the books for the next few days!"
"Read, what?" Luo Yunchang was dazed.
Zhuo Fan grinned, "Just some matters of circumstances, like war books…"
Achoo~
Not a hundred mile out of Windgaze City, a wizen man rode his large horse when a sudden sneeze caught him off guard and a shiver ran through him, "Guard, how long until we reach Windgaze City?"
Everywhere around him was crawling with thousands upon thousands of soldiers. A general close by reported, "Marshal, we will arrive in three days!"
The old man nodded, but the frown never left him, "I have come out of countless battlefields with honors, so why is it that this small Windgaze City is putting me on edge…"