Chapter 112: A Firefly in the Night

Niu Youdao knew perfectly well that he could not force Hai Ruyue to agree on the spot. This was no small matter, nor was it something Hai Ruyue could decide entirely on her own. She would inevitably need the consent of Myriad Caves Heavenly Mansion behind her.

Hai Ruyue remained expressionless and silent, which amounted to tacit acceptance.

Niu Youdao added, “There is one more small matter for which I need the Grand Princess’s word.”

Hai Ruyue said, “Can you say everything you have to say all at once?” There was a trace of anger in her voice.

She seemed finally to understand the suffering Shang Chaozong and the others had endured. They had long since discovered Niu Youdao’s habit of never saying everything at once. One thing after another always came afterward, enough to make anyone thoroughly sick of it.

The first time he came seeking an audience, he claimed he had brought a skilled physician. Only after they met did he tell her the physician had been captured and that she needed to help rescue him. Once the physician was rescued, the physician was in a bad mood and refused to treat the patient until Song Long was killed. After Song Long was killed, she thought they could finally proceed properly, only to discover that the skilled physician was not the skilled physician at all; the physician had somehow become Niu Youdao himself. Changing physicians would have been one thing, but the replacement still could not cure the illness. Then he set aside her son’s problem altogether, switched to “treating” her instead, and announced that he would resolve her worries.

After circling around such a great loop, the condition she had placed on Shang Chaozong—that he find a way to cure her son—had somehow been diluted until it no longer seemed important. Sending troops to help Shang Chaozong seize Qingshan Commandery had once again become the first priority. What kind of business was this?

And now the man had another request. How could she not be angry?

Niu Youdao smiled. “Among the people detained from Song Long’s side is a cast-off disciple of the Shangqing Sect. I would like to see him alone.”

“Discuss that with Zhu Shun.” Hai Ruyue threw down those words, rose, and left at once, lest the man suddenly produce yet another matter to trouble her with.

With the mistress gone, Niu Youdao could only confer briefly with Zhu Shun. After they reached an understanding, he left first to wait for Zhu Shun’s arrangements.

On the way to the quarters prepared for them, Fang Zhe remained silent throughout, feeling that he had failed the trust His Highness had placed in him.

After listening to the exchange just now, he could see that Niu Youdao had basically persuaded Hai Ruyue. All that remained was the final decision from Myriad Caves Heavenly Mansion. Fang Zhe had spent so long in Jinzhou pestering Hai Ruyue to no effect. He had nearly gone down on his knees to beg her, and still it had been useless. Then he looked at Niu Youdao. The man had only arrived today, and so many things had happened besides, yet in just a few moves he had already forced the matter toward a resolution.

Before this, Fang Zhe had believed he had done everything he could and that Hai Ruyue simply could not be made to change her mind.

Now he finally understood the difference between one person and another. He at last understood why His Highness had sent word ordering him to cooperate fully with Niu Youdao. His Highness had sent a genuinely formidable persuader!

Because of that, Fang Zhe was deeply frustrated with himself. He hated his own incompetence, hated that his failure on this mission had cost His Highness so much precious time and had nearly ruined His Highness’s great undertaking.

When he looked at Niu Youdao again, his eyes were filled with respect. He would never again think the man was merely fooling around and stirring up trouble.

Yuan Fang, following behind Niu Youdao, was likewise sighing inwardly. Earlier he had been terrified, afraid that failing to cure the illness would cost them their heads. He had never expected the whole matter simply to pass like this. Somehow, treating the illness no longer seemed important. Had the entire question of treatment actually been led off in another direction?

It was obvious enough. With matters twisted into their present shape, even if they failed to obtain the Scarlet Yang Vermilion Fruit, what then?

The more Yuan Fang thought about it, the more impressive he found Master Dao. Following him today had truly opened Yuan Fang’s eyes. There was still so much he needed to learn from Master Dao.

Now he finally understood why Yuan Gang—that cold, hard, unapproachable and proud man who submitted to no one—submitted only to Master Dao.

After all the turmoil, the night was already deep.

In a secluded, quiet courtyard, Hai Ruyue stood alone beneath the moon.

Zhu Shun approached softly and said in a low voice, “Madam, the instructions have been given.”

Hai Ruyue asked mildly, “What do you think?”

Zhu Shun said, “He came as a persuader, but what he said was not without reason.”

A trace of melancholy appeared on Hai Ruyue’s face. “In Prince Ning Shang Jianbo’s day, he had men like Luo Shaofu on the civil side and Meng Shanming on the military side. Civil governance and martial prowess complemented one another, and his armies were invincible wherever they went. If he had not lacked sufficient backing from the cultivation world, I fear the State of Yan truly might have changed masters. Now his son Shang Chaozong also has capable men around him. When I first received word that Shang Chaozong had been released from Yanjing, I did not think highly of his prospects.”

Zhu Shun sighed as well. “Indeed. He had only five hundred men with him and faced suppression from the court of the State of Yan. No one thought well of his chances. Everyone believed his fief would become his burial ground, or that he would be forced to flee. Yet step by step he has come this far without disorder, steadily and methodically, securing one foothold after another. First he married Feng Lingbo’s daughter and borrowed Feng Lingbo’s troops. Then he forcibly established himself in Canglu County. Now he intends to swallow Qingshan Commandery. He cannot be underestimated.”

Hai Ruyue said, “I fear his ambition is not limited to one little Qingshan Commandery. I suspect his next target will be all of Nanzhou! Once he takes Qingshan Commandery and the news reaches Yanjing, I wonder whether the emperor of the State of Yan will regret releasing a tiger back into the mountains. Such is often the nature of great affairs: a single stratagem from a worthy and capable man can be worth a hundred thousand elite troops. I command all of Jinzhou. Am I truly inferior even to Shang Chaozong? Why have no worthy men of great ability come to offer me their service? Is it only because I am a woman?”

Her words carried the implication that she felt she lacked capable people at her side.

Zhu Shun remained silent. That was not a subject on which he could easily speak.

Hai Ruyue suddenly asked, “I wonder whether the plan used to persuade me came from Luo Shaofu’s disciple Lan Ruoting, or from Niu Youdao himself?”

Zhu Shun pondered for a moment. “It does not seem like Lan Ruoting’s idea, nor like Shang Chaozong’s. Madam, consider it: if they had already possessed this plan, why would they not have used it earlier instead of waiting until now?”

Hai Ruyue nodded. “Reasonable. If the idea came from that side, there would have been no need to send Niu Youdao personally. Fang Zhe could simply have presented it on their behalf. Sending Niu Youdao when matters were deadlocked means they must have confidence in him. The unexpected affair with Song Long already shows something of his ability. That incident was impossible for Shang Chaozong’s side to foresee, yet this fellow looks young and still turned every step into an opportunity, resolving one problem after another. I cannot deny it. He has already persuaded me.”

She lowered her face from the sky, slowly turned, and fixed Zhu Shun with her gaze. “My conditions here are far better than Shang Chaozong’s. Do you think I can recruit him to Jinzhou and have him serve me?”

Zhu Shun hesitated, then slowly shook his head. “Madam, I fear that is impossible for the moment. He just killed Song Long, the State of Yan envoy. It would not be appropriate for us to keep him here.”

Hai Ruyue said, “We can still prepare in advance. Make arrangements. Send people to the State of Yan and find a way to investigate his background thoroughly. Cultivation resources, money, beautiful women—whatever he likes, I will give him. I refuse to believe my terms cannot surpass Shang Chaozong’s.”

“Yes. This old servant will arrange it immediately.” Zhu Shun nodded, but inwardly he sighed. It was not as though no one ever came seeking service here. As steward, he had received plenty of such people.

The reality was that few possessed any genuine ability. Most could only be sent off to serve as minor clerks, and once real work was placed in their hands, some proved incapable of handling even that. Among those who came offering their services, however, there was never any shortage of men who thought highly of themselves. After this side politely refused them, the rejected men would blame everyone but themselves and nurse all manner of resentment.

Niu Youdao himself proved the point perfectly: a truly capable person was like a firefly in the night.

Naturally, after being escorted to the Provincial Inspector’s Residence, Niu Youdao and the others would not be returning to Liufang Guesthouse. Who knew whether Song Long’s side still had hidden agents lurking somewhere? It was unsafe, so they were temporarily kept at the Provincial Inspector’s Residence.

Inside one of the rooms, Fang Zhe worked late into the night by lamplight, bent over the desk and writing rapidly.

The door creaked open. Niu Youdao stepped inside.

Fang Zhe looked up, immediately stood, and cupped his hands. “Master Dao, do you have instructions?”

Niu Youdao glanced at what he was writing and smiled. “Writing a report to send His Highness?”

Fang Zhe looked a little awkward. Naturally he had to report everything that happened today to His Highness, and much of it inevitably involved Niu Youdao. He had no idea whether the man would be displeased after learning that. Fang Zhe nodded awkwardly. “Yes.”

“Sit, sit. Keep working. Go on writing.” Niu Youdao cheerfully gestured downward, then added, “Remember to include one more message for His Highness.”

Fang Zhe hurriedly said, “Please tell me, Master Dao.”

Niu Youdao said, “Have His Highness put out word that I have left his service and no longer have any connection with him.”

“Ah!” Fang Zhe stared in shock. “This...”

Niu Youdao waved a hand and sighed. “Don’t misunderstand. I never expected to run into Song Long here either. After what happened, the State of Yan will put pressure on His Highness. Formal affiliation is not important. It does not prevent me from continuing to handle matters for him. Send the message as I said. His Highness will understand.”

That night was destined to leave many people unable to sleep.

Huang Xusheng and the others, as direct participants in the incident, were each taken from their cells in turn and questioned about what happened.

Chen Guishuo was naturally no exception. Before the interrogations began, Huang Xusheng and the others had already warned everyone what could be said and what could not.

Although Chen Guishuo was brought into an interrogation chamber, he was not tortured. They were, after all, members of another state’s diplomatic mission.

After the questioning ended, Chen Guishuo assumed he would be taken back to his cell. Instead, someone entered and whispered a few words to the interrogators. Every one of them then left, leaving him alone to stare around at the implements of torture filling the room.

With a clang, the iron door opened again.

In the dim light beyond the doorway, a figure came strolling slowly inside.

When the torchlight within the chamber finally illuminated the newcomer’s face, Chen Guishuo’s expression changed drastically.

It was none other than Niu Youdao, wearing a faint smile.

Terror rose in Chen Guishuo’s face. Hadn’t Niu Youdao been arrested? How could he move around a place like this as he pleased?

He was no fool. He quickly understood that the Provincial Inspector’s Residence had to be involved.

“Nice surroundings.” Niu Youdao chuckled as he surveyed the interrogation chamber. He walked along a row of instruments, casually picked up a branding iron used for punishment, and went over to the brazier. He placed the iron into the coals, waved away the sparks that rose, and said mildly, “Senior Brother Chen, after we parted at Nanshan Temple, I never imagined we would meet again here. We really do have fate between us.”

Chen Guishuo said nervously, “What do you want? I am part of the State of Yan’s diplomatic mission. If something happens to me in this prison—”

Before he could finish, Niu Youdao cut him off. “Senior Brother Chen, how have you managed to grow more foolish with age? I even dared kill Song Long. Do you really need to worry about this on my behalf? So what if something happens to a diplomatic retainer in prison? You were killed while attempting to escape. In these chaotic times, do you truly expect anyone to pursue justice without end for an insignificant little man like you?”

[End of Chapter 112]