Chapter 124: What Are You Trying to Do?

The three men looked at one another. In the end, they decided Black Peony would not deliberately lead them into a pit.

Purely out of trust in her as a person, they hesitated one after another, then all agreed to stay. Not one chose to leave.

Seeing that none of her old brothers intended to part ways, Black Peony was delighted. She took out the four gold drafts and handed one to each of them, keeping one for herself.

The men looked at the drafts in surprise. “Boss, what’s this supposed to mean?”

“He gave them to us. Told us to stop standing outside looking shabby and move inside.” Black Peony chuckled. “See that? From now on, we’re people who go in and out of the Inviting Moon Inn too.”

They compared the denominations and found that each draft was worth one thousand gold coins.

“Heh!” One of them laughed. “Generous enough! Boss, that was underhanded. You were testing us just now!”

“Testing my ass!” Black Peony raised a brow. “After all these years, don’t you know what kind of person I am? I wasn’t deliberately testing anyone. He has rules, that’s all. And he isn’t wrong. If people aren’t of one heart, they shouldn’t get on the same boat. Otherwise everyone ends up uncomfortable.”

Her bright eyes swept over the three men.

“I’ll say the ugly words first. You all know what accepting this money means. No one gives benefits for nothing, and no one keeps idlers. There are independent cultivators everywhere beneath Heaven. He doesn’t need us in particular.”

“He has his rules. Since we’ve chosen to follow him, what happens from now on won’t be ours alone to decide. What should be done and what shouldn’t, what should be said and what shouldn’t—you all need to learn to read the situation.”

“He’s kept room in his words and doesn’t want to reveal his background. I truly don’t know where he comes from. I simply think highly of him myself. We’ve been together all these years; I have no reason to deceive you. That’s the situation. You’re all sensible people, so I don’t need to explain the principles.”

“It still isn’t too late to regret this. Think it through carefully. Anyone unwilling, count it as me having wronged you. I’ll repay you if I ever get the chance. All the money we have goes to whoever leaves, and the credit for those thirty completed missions goes with him as well. If you can accept being bound by rules, stay. If you can’t, leave. There’s no point saying more between us.”

The men could see that this time she had truly made up her mind.

But it was still the same reason as before: they trusted her. All three decided to follow her.

The result delighted Black Peony. The reason was simple. If anyone had chosen not to come, she would have felt guilty. They had spent so many years struggling toward the same goal. Her decision to abandon it would inevitably have harmed whoever withdrew.

With everyone agreed, Black Peony happily waved a hand. “We follow his arrangements. Move inside. Let’s go!”

The three men followed her straight into the Inviting Moon Inn.

When the attendant saw them, he immediately came forward to block the way and gave Black Peony a bitter smile. “And this is...?”

Black Peony said with perfect confidence, “They want rooms too. Is that not allowed?”

Ignoring him, she led the men directly to the front desk and paid for two more rooms. She even specifically requested that her own room be moved next door to Niu Youdao’s.

After following the attendant to confirm their rooms, Black Peony brought the three men over to pay their respects to Niu Youdao.

They knocked. Yuan Fang opened the door and saw Black Peony smiling outside. “I brought them over to meet Master Dao.”

Yuan Fang turned and asked inside. After receiving an answer, he came back to the doorway and said, “Master Dao says it’s late. He won’t see anyone tonight. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

Yuan Fang could not understand why Niu Youdao refused to meet them. The man was clearly doing nothing but standing by the window enjoying the night view. They had already spent the money, so meeting them and getting acquainted seemed only natural. It would hardly take any effort.

Black Peony took it well enough, but that single response made the other three men feel an invisible pressure.

With no other choice, Black Peony let the matter drop. Then she glanced back at the elegant, tranquil gardens and her eyes lit up. Pointing toward them, she said, “Go get our things. We’ll drink some tea here too!”

The others immediately brightened. It was not that the place surpassed all those spiritually blessed mountains and rivers they had seen. It was simply that the inn normally would not even let people like them through the door. Naturally, they wanted to experience it...

The next morning, Yuan Fang opened the door and found Black Peony and her three companions already waiting outside.

Niu Youdao emerged shortly afterward.

Black Peony beamed. “Morning, Master Dao!”

She waved the three men forward. “These are the brothers who’ve been with me for years: Lei Zongkang, Wu Sanliang, and Duan Hu. This is Master Dao, and this is Brother Jin.”

“Master Dao. Brother Jin.” The three men wore cautious smiles as they cupped their hands together in greeting.

Niu Youdao looked them over. Black Peony had dark skin, while these three looked considerably more weathered. All were clearly middle-aged men. Black Peony actually looked younger than any of them, yet all three accepted her as their leader. That made Niu Youdao give Black Peony another look.

“From now on, we’re all on the same side.” He chuckled once, which counted as greeting them, then turned and walked away.

He was not the sort of man who tried to grow close to everyone around him. Take the people from Nanshan Temple: he dealt with Yuan Fang, while barely speaking to the other monks. There was no need to spend his time and energy on every person. As for these three, he intended to deal through Black Peony.

Yuan Fang allowed Black Peony to walk beside Niu Youdao, then stepped sideways and inserted himself directly behind Niu Youdao, separating the three strangers from him.

He had failed to capture the spirit of Yuan Gang’s conduct beside Niu Youdao, but he had learned the outward form. At least he knew how to imitate what he had seen. The three men could only follow at the rear. Black Peony glanced back at them once.

Niu Youdao wandered around the circular inn for a while before looking toward the tiered, castle-like structures rising with the mountain behind the gardens. He smiled. “What’s that place? Let’s go take a look.”

A trace of sweat appeared on Black Peony’s brow. She guessed this might be Niu Youdao’s first visit here and hurried to warn him. “Master Dao, the front section is the inn. Behind it is where the City Master, Sha Huanli, lives. Outsiders aren’t allowed inside. Trespassers are killed without mercy!”

Niu Youdao gave a soft “Oh.”

The Shangqing Record of Gleanings did not record every tiny detail of the cultivation world, but it did mention Sha Huanli: the City Master of Star-Plucking City and granddaughter of Luo Qiu, one of the nine Nascent Soul Realm experts beneath Heaven.

“Can’t one enter even to request an audience?” Niu Youdao asked.

“Who knows how many people in this city want to climb that high branch. If she met everyone, how could she ever finish? Most people probably can’t even get a message through before the attendants below stop it.”

Black Peony shook her head, then glanced at Niu Youdao. Her eyes flickered, and she cautiously added, “Of course, if Master Dao’s background carries enough weight, and your name is reported properly, the City Master might agree to see you.”

Niu Youdao nodded to show he understood. “What background do I have? By the way, have you seen her before?”

“Quite a few times. Every so often she walks through the city. There isn’t any fixed schedule.”

“What does Sha Huanli look like? Is she beautiful? Is she married?”

Another trace of sweat appeared on Black Peony’s brow. Was this really a suitable subject to discuss in a place like this? Lowering her voice, she said, “She looks ordinary enough. Nothing particularly beautiful. But with her status and position, even an ordinary face carries an air no common person can compare with. I’ve never heard that she married.”

Niu Youdao asked again, “What does she like?”

Now Black Peony was growing nervous under the questioning. She hurriedly lowered her voice even further. “Master Dao, can we discuss things like this somewhere else? If anyone overhears us, they may think we’re plotting something and we’ll bring trouble on ourselves.”

“Just speak quietly.” Niu Youdao laughed and turned back the way they had come. Since he could not enter, there was no reason to force the issue.

Walking beside him, Black Peony kept her voice extremely low. “I don’t know what she particularly likes. But someone who lacks neither food nor clothing and never has to worry about cultivation resources—what sort of interests can such a person have? Probably the usual so-called refined amusements. It’s not as though she would count dull, tedious cultivation itself as a hobby.”

Niu Youdao nodded in agreement, then asked, “What is she like as a person? I don’t really know. She seems fairly easygoing, though. Whenever she appears in the city and people on the road speak to her, she doesn’t act especially high and mighty. Do you know whom she normally associates with?”

Black Peony paused.

He really was specifically gathering information about Sha Huanli. What was he trying to do?

Suspicion stirred in her heart, but she still replied in a low voice, “That I really wouldn’t know. Independent cultivators like us have no way of knowing whom she deals with privately. But I’ve heard she is good friends with Xue Luo’er, Master of the Ice and Snow Pavilion. Xue Luo’er comes here often. I’ve personally seen Sha Huanli accompanying her around the city several times, so the rumors are probably true.”

“Master of the Ice and Snow Pavilion?” Niu Youdao murmured.

A peculiar look flashed through his eyes. Then he stopped asking questions altogether.

As the group passed through the inn’s main hall, the innkeeper and attendants all looked over.

Niu Youdao himself was not especially eye-catching. What drew their attention was the sight of Black Peony and the others following at his side.

The innkeeper watched them leave through the doors, shook his head, and sighed. “Young men really can’t withstand sweet talk. Looks like those people actually succeeded.”

An attendant beside him laughed. “Who cares? We already warned him. If he wouldn’t listen, whatever happens afterward has nothing to do with us.”

The moment Niu Youdao and the others descended the steps outside the inn, scattered people nearby immediately converged on them, gazes full of expectation as they looked toward Niu Youdao.

One glance was enough for him to understand. They had come for the same reason as Black Peony and her group.

Without breaking stride, he said coldly, “I have no interest in your affairs. Get lost! Anyone who keeps pestering me—kill them!”

The words landed without the slightest courtesy and left no room for negotiation.

The people approaching looked awkward. Unable to judge Niu Youdao’s background, they scattered and opened a path.

Walking beside him, Black Peony and her companions seemed to straighten their backs a little. Somehow, they already felt that they were no longer the same as those people.

The crowd watched them go.

Someone sighed bitterly. “Looks like Black Peony really got to him first! If we’d known, we should’ve gone inside last night too. What good would that have done? Black Peony’s still got some looks. Who knows how she entertained him all night? Look at how radiant she is today...”

Snide, sour remarks aimed at Black Peony began drifting through the crowd, most of them born from envy and jealousy.

All around the ancient city stood broken walls and ruins weathered by years beyond counting. One could still tell that the original structures had been built from massive stone blocks. Most of the shops now standing in the city had obviously been rebuilt atop those ruins, largely from timber and stone.

Many people wandered the streets. Quite a few looked this way and that as though searching for a particular target, occasionally leaning together to whisper.

Black Peony explained that those people were probably independent cultivators. They might have goods they did not want to sell cheaply to the shops purchasing merchandise, so they were looking for suitable private buyers.

[End of Chapter 124]