Chapter 85: Someone Wants to Kill Me

The Hall of Martial Valor bore a plaque inherited from Prince Ning. It was a restricted place where major military affairs were planned. Shang Chaozong and Lan Ruoting stood before a map, working through the various situations they might encounter in the future.

Shang Chaozong now had more than a thousand former subordinates of Prince Ning under his command, along with over a thousand newly recruited able-bodied men maintaining local order. He lacked neither people to drill the new recruits nor capable hands to manage Canglu County's civil affairs. He occupied terrain easy to defend and difficult to attack, with the Tianyu Sect and Feng Lingbo behind him. His circumstances had changed enormously. At last, he possessed room to establish himself, maneuver, and begin planning for the long term.

Ordinary people were forbidden from entering such a military planning center without permission. Shang Shuqing was plainly an exception. She could walk in without even being announced. After she explained what had happened with Niu Youdao, Shang Chaozong looked astonished.

"He delayed his secluded cultivation because something came up?"

Lan Ruoting, who had been studying the map, slowly turned as well.

"Commandery Princess, did he say what matter caused the delay?"

Shang Shuqing said, "He didn't say, and I didn't ask. You both know what he's like. If he doesn't want to tell you something, asking won't get the truth out of him."

That was indeed the problem. Shang Chaozong and Lan Ruoting exchanged a glance, both wondering what business Niu Youdao could possibly have here. Surely it was not because of the vegetable garden.

Recently, Yuan Gang had been leading the Nanshan Temple monks in planting vegetables with considerable enthusiasm. Shang Shuqing had originally planned to use that empty plot for flowers and ornamental plants, but once Yuan Gang took it over, she had simply kept quiet and told the people below to leave him alone. Delay a cultivation breakthrough because of vegetables? No matter how they thought about it, that seemed unrealistic.

Just then, someone outside requested an audience. A personal guard entered and reported, "Your Highness, Yuan Gang came to our people and asked us to investigate a stationery shop called Quiet Ink Studio. He repeatedly emphasized that the inquiry must be handled carefully and that no one is to alert the snake by striking the grass!"

Shang Shuqing froze on the spot, her bright eyes full of suspicion.

"Quiet Ink Studio?"

Shang Chaozong muttered the name.

"Why does that sound familiar?"

Lan Ruoting stroked his beard and reminded him, "Your Highness, it's the one connected to 'Once I had known the vast sea.'"

"Oh!"

Shang Chaozong suddenly remembered. They had all praised that poem. But that only made him more puzzled.

"Why investigate a perfectly ordinary stationery shop?"

Lan Ruoting shook his head slightly.

"This sort of inexplicable action is probably not Yuan Gang's idea, but Master Dao's. Master Dao has a habit of doing things that leave everyone baffled beforehand."

Shang Chaozong agreed wholeheartedly. No one understood that better than he did. Master Dao had supposedly gone to Guangyi Commandery to borrow troops and somehow arranged a marriage alliance instead. Then he had reminded Shang Chaozong about the bridal chamber and somehow ended up drugging the bride. Shang Shuqing turned toward the personal guard.

"Follow his instructions."

Seeing that Shang Chaozong did not object, the guard cupped his hands.

"Yes!"

He turned and left quickly. Shang Chaozong and Lan Ruoting both looked at Shang Shuqing.

She considered the matter and said, "His postponing the seclusion may have something to do with Quiet Ink Studio."

Lan Ruoting looked surprised.

"What makes you think so?"

Shang Shuqing said, "Not long ago, I mentioned that poem and asked him to appreciate it. He even asked where it came from and praised it as a fine poem."

Lan Ruoting found that stranger still.

"What does that have to do with investigating Quiet Ink Studio? Even if the poem is excellent and he wants to meet its author, why specifically warn people not to alert the snake by striking the grass?"

Shang Shuqing said, "There's something you don't know. Just before that, I mentioned going to the secret realm, and he had already agreed. He had agreed to go before I brought up the poem. After I mentioned it, he suddenly changed his mind. 'Don't alert the snake by striking the grass'... It seems very likely he noticed something wrong with that shop."

Silence briefly settled over the Hall of Martial Valor while all three considered the matter. In truth, each of them wanted to ask Niu Youdao what was happening. Yet just as Shang Shuqing had said, if Niu Youdao did not want to explain something, they were unlikely to get an honest answer from him.

In the end, Shang Chaozong slowly said, "Then we'll watch and see what happens."

By that afternoon, information had already come back. Yuan Gang returned to the small courtyard. Beneath the shade of a tree, Niu Youdao reclined leisurely in a lounge chair with his eyes closed, seemingly dozing.

His treasured sword stood beside the chair's armrest. The fingers resting over its hilt tapped slowly in a steady rhythm, proof enough that he was not asleep. A stool had already been placed beside the chair.

Yuan Gang walked over and sat down, close enough to speak beside Niu Youdao's ear. He wasted no words.

"Quiet Ink Studio is the best shop in the city for scholarly supplies. The original proprietor isn't there. Supposedly the recent turmoil in the county seat frightened him, so he temporarily returned to his hometown to avoid trouble. There have been quite a few similar cases in the city lately. The current proprietor is said to be the original owner's maternal cousin, temporarily watching the shop for him. The neighboring businesses say he's handling the place alone for now and haven't seen any assistants working there. That's everything we've confirmed so far. To avoid alerting the snake by striking the grass, we haven't investigated too deeply."

Niu Youdao remained silent, looking as though he had fallen asleep. Yet the five fingers resting on the sword hilt continued moving. When those fingers finally stopped, he spoke.

"Don't investigate any further. We still don't know what arrangements the other side has made. Dig too deeply and we'll alert the snake by striking the grass. Just place hidden watchers around the shop."

Yuan Gang asked, "Master Dao, how do you want to handle this?"

Niu Youdao slowly opened his eyes. "The other side probably doesn't know that poem has anything to do with me. Otherwise, they wouldn't have brought it out and alerted the snake by striking the grass. So why produce that poem at all?" He answered his own question. "They want to use it to get close to this side and find an opportunity. Otherwise, they have no way to approach us. That proves something else as well: whoever came is wary of the Tianyu Sect's strength and doesn't dare act rashly. In other words, the force they've brought is limited and cannot contend with the Tianyu Sect. We're safe inside this estate."

Yuan Gang listened without interrupting, waiting for the actual plan.

Niu Youdao gave a soft chuckle and continued unhurriedly, "Thinking of approaching through a stationery shop is fairly clever. Consider it. With so many people here, brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones have to be purchased. Sitting there and waiting is enough to make contact with us naturally, without easily arousing suspicion. I wonder who came up with the idea. Interesting. I'd actually like to meet him."

He sat up and rose from the lounge chair. The chair rocked gently behind him as he planted both hands atop his sword and gazed into the distance.

"They know the Tianyu Sect is protecting me and still dared come. It seems that as long as I remain alive, the Song clan will never willingly let the matter go."

He turned toward Yuan Gang, who had risen with him.

"Find a way to arrange a meeting between me and that shopkeeper. Say the Commandery Princess likes his poetry and is inviting him here to make friends through verse. Oh, and invite a few other reasonably well-known local scholars too. Make enough noise to be noticed, but not enough to look ostentatious. Don't publicize it, but don't keep it secret either."

Yuan Gang understood what he meant and turned to leave. Niu Youdao left the courtyard soon afterward as well and headed directly for Bai Yao's residence within the estate.

This was not somewhere he could simply walk into. The guards at the entrance stopped him and asked his business.

Niu Youdao said, "Please announce me. Niu Youdao requests an audience with Senior Bai Yao."

After waiting outside for a short while, someone emerged and invited him in, leading him to a pavilion. Bai Yao was seated opposite a fellow disciple, apparently discussing something. Niu Youdao cupped his hands.

"Greetings, Seniors."

With his back still turned, Bai Yao held a cup of tea and asked indifferently, "What is it?"

Niu Youdao smiled.

"Someone wants to kill me!"

Bai Yao paused, then slowly turned his head...

"I'm making friends through poetry?"

Inside the Hall of Martial Valor, Shang Shuqing was rendered speechless when the report reached her. Niu Youdao was blatantly using her as a pretext to deceive someone.

He had even ordered Shang Chaozong's people to arrange the event, making it obvious he had no intention of hiding the matter from them. If that was not openly borrowing her name to lure someone in, what was? Lan Ruoting frowned.

"He even invited other scholars as cover. If he's being this cautious, it seems there truly is something wrong with that shop."

Just then, another messenger arrived.

"Your Highness, the retainer cultivator has gone to see Cultivator Bai Yao."

Lan Ruoting immediately asked, "Did Cultivator Bai summon him?"

"No. The retainer cultivator went there on his own."

The three looked at one another. This was the first time any of them had seen Niu Youdao voluntarily seek Bai Yao out. Instead of coming to them, he had gone to Bai Yao.

Combined with everything else happening before their eyes, all three sensed very strongly that Master Dao was preparing to stir up trouble. The problem was that they had no idea what was actually going on. Niu Youdao's way of doing things really was infuriating...

Inside the county seat, a narrow, secluded alley twisted between humble homes. A thin scholar in clothes washed nearly white hurried down it with wind beneath his feet. Reaching his house, he shoved open the little courtyard gate with a bang, startling a brood of chicks into scurrying toward their mother hen.

A sallow-faced young woman in the courtyard was taking clothes down from a bamboo pole. The noise frightened her too. Seeing it was only her husband, she glared, patted her chest, and released a breath.

"You scared me to death! I thought people had started arresting and killing again and somehow reached our house. Are you trying to knock the gate down?"

The scholar was beside himself with excitement. He waved an exquisite invitation in his hand, opened it, and showed her the writing inside.

"Madam, look! Do you know what this is?"

The young woman rolled her eyes.

"I can't read. How would I know? Your face is that red—did you eat rat poison?"

Ignoring his wife's mockery, the scholar said excitedly, "An invitation! Commandery Princess Shang Shuqing sent me an invitation. She's inviting me tomorrow to Commandery Prince Yongping's mountain estate to gather and make friends through poetry!"

The young woman froze, somewhat surprised, then immediately looked disdainful.

"'Make friends through poetry'? Isn't that just refusing to speak like normal people and saying things nobody understands, then eating and drinking afterward? What use is that? At best it'll fill your stomach for one meal. Will it keep the whole family from going hungry? If you ask me, a sack of white flour would be far more practical!"

The scholar's enthusiasm collapsed.

He snapped, "Vulgar!"

She sneered.

"If you're so capable, then show me how refined you are. Go make friends through poetry, eat one meal, and then don't eat again for a whole year!"

The scholar waved the invitation, neck stiffening.

"A woman's narrow view! Do you think just anyone can receive an invitation from the Commandery Princess? Look at who controls Canglu County now. If my literary talent wins the Commandery Princess's appreciation, in these chaotic times that could be better than traveling to the capital for the examinations. I might become an official directly. Then I'll draw a government salary!"

At the words "become an official," the young woman became suspiciously interested.

"Really?"

The scholar pointed outside.

"Didn't Wu Fu, who used to run a restaurant, become County Magistrate just like that?"

The young woman's eyes blinked a few times.

She immediately said, "Well, you don't have any proper work anyway. Go, then. Treat it as a chance to eat and drink. Mm. Tomorrow, wear that set of clothes packed away for New Year."

Just then, the mother hen led her chicks past them. The scholar's eyes lit up. He pointed at the hen.

"Kill the chicken. I'll eat it tonight and nourish my brain so I can perform well tomorrow."

The young woman exploded at once.

"We're counting on her to hatch chicks! We're counting on her to lay eggs we can sell! You don't even earn as much money as that chicken. If I killed you and sold you, you wouldn't fetch what she's worth..."

[End of Chapter 85]