Chapter 143: Niu Youthief

Everyone’s mood was heavy. They could already guess that the other two shops were probably in much the same state, but Gao Sucong refused to give up his last sliver of hope. He dismounted as well and glared viciously at Cui Yuan. “Where are the goods from our shop?”

Cui Yuan dropped to his knees with a thud. “Martial Uncle, the goods were still there when we left!”

Gao Sucong clenched his fists, then slowly released them again. He raised a hand and slapped his forehead. This truly was enough to give a man a headache.

Liao Sen sat motionless on horseback, his face dark. He doubted there was any point clinging to hope. If the other two shops had met with disaster, Fuyun Sect’s was hardly likely to have escaped unscathed.

At the moment, the sight of Gao Sucong made his teeth itch.

Why had the man dragged them into this mess in the first place?

All three factions benefited to some extent from the Song family, but because Liu Lu’s son cultivated with the Liuxian Sect, the distribution of those benefits favored the Liuxian Sect. The feud with Niu Youdao belonged to the Liuxian Sect as well. Yet this time Fuyun Sect and Lingxiu Mountain had been dragged down with them. Where were they supposed to go to complain about that?

Smack! Smack!

Gao Sucong paced back and forth, striking his forehead hard. Then he turned toward Cui Yuan, still kneeling on the ground. “Who would dare do something like this in Star-Plucking City? Did word leak when you left? Think carefully. Who is most likely to have stolen the goods?”

The merchandise from three sect shops was worth no small sum. A rough estimate would put it at several million gold coins. If they could recover it, of course they had to.

Cui Yuan shook his head repeatedly. “Martial Uncle, no word could possibly have leaked from our side. I truly don’t know who stole the goods.”

Gao Sucong pointed at the Scent-Seeker perched on one disciple’s shoulder. “Then what is going on with the scent bait? Weren’t you following a scent trail yourselves? Why is there still scent bait all along the road drawing the Scent-Seeker onward?”

“This...” Cui Yuan froze.

Inwardly, he cursed Niu Youdao like mad. What the hell was that lunatic doing? Stealing the goods was one thing, but why leave a trail afterward?

He stammered, “Martial Uncle, how could that be possible? We followed Niu Youdao all the way here and fought him with our lives on the line. We truly know nothing about what happened back in the city!”

Still seated on his horse, Liao Sen said, “In that case, whoever has been leaving scent bait along the road may very well be connected to whoever robbed the shops.”

Gao Sucong frowned. That was certainly possible. He asked Cui Yuan, “Wasn’t the scent bait given to Lei Zongkang? Isn’t he traveling with Niu Youdao?”

“I personally handed the bait to Lei Zongkang. There can be no mistake,” Cui Yuan said. “And he was indeed traveling with Niu Youdao. But I truly don’t know anything about this trail Martial Uncle is talking about. I really don’t!”

Liao Sen dismounted and walked over to Gao Sucong. “Could Niu Youdao have returned to Star-Plucking City, with Lei Zongkang leaving another trail for us? But that still doesn’t make sense. How would they know there was no one in the shops? Could they have accomplices inside the city watching our three shops?”

He shook his head. “That doesn’t fit either. If they had known our movements that clearly from the beginning, how could our men have tailed them in the first place? They can’t possibly have planned from the outset to empty all three shops. Our two factions weren’t even involved at the beginning.”

The affair had been unreasonable from the start, with one mystery tangled around another. Too many explanations seemed possible, and no one could say for certain what had actually happened. The more they thought about it, the more confused they became.

Wu Qianhao paced back and forth nearby, his face taut. “Find out when their fight occurred, and find out who has been leaving the scent bait. Once those two points are clear, we should have the outline of what happened.”

Liao Sen looked at him. “Clear? Which matters more right now—recovering the merchandise, or killing Niu Youdao?”

“Both matter,” Gao Sucong said. “For all we know, Niu Youdao stole the goods. We handle both at once. Brother Wu, take some men to the battle site and verify what happened there. Brother Liao and I will continue following the scent trail. We’ll keep in touch by Goldenwing. What do you both think?”

The other two nodded. Everyone mounted again, and the party thundered away. Yet as they rode, something gradually began to feel wrong.

The force that had intended to split into two groups never actually separated.

The direction the Scent-Seeker kept taking was precisely the same direction Cui Yuan and Yao Youliang had indicated. The two routes overlapped almost perfectly.

They left the Gobi, crossed onto the grassland, and reached the foot of the hill. The Scent-Seeker, which was preparing to fly onward in another direction, was temporarily recalled. The group inspected the site of the battle. There were indeed clear signs of fighting.

As members of the same sects, they needed only one look at certain marks to recognize whether they had been left by techniques used by their own disciples.

Cui Yuan and Yao Youliang could not confirm whether the others were alive or dead, and no corpses remained at the scene.

Even if bodies had once been there, in a place like this they might already have been divided among wild beasts and vultures.

Both men knew they themselves had been placed under suspicion. Otherwise, there would have been no need to inspect the battlefield and verify their story.

Once the traces confirmed that disciples of their factions had indeed fought here, Liao Sen asked the two, “When did the battle occur?”

They thought for a while before answering one after another.

“About ten hours ago.”

Gao Sucong, Liao Sen, and Wu Qianhao exchanged glances. That much time was more than enough for Niu Youdao to make a round trip to Star-Plucking City. He could have made two.

Gao Sucong’s voice sank. “Ten hours? And the two of you only made it that far? By rights, you should have reached Star-Plucking City long ago.”

Cui Yuan hurriedly explained, “We were fleeing for our lives. How could we dare retrace our original route? We circled around from another direction, which delayed us.”

He pointed one way and gestured a broad detour with his hand.

Gao Sucong said, “Niu Youdao had more than enough time to commit the theft. If he did it, how did he know the shops were empty? After fighting here, he turned around and went back to Star-Plucking City to steal from us. What enormous gall! If he hadn’t learned something, why would he dare such a thing? Did you leak the information?”

Cui Yuan’s voice took on a sobbing edge. “Martial Uncle suspects this disciple betrayed the sect and leaked our information? If I really had leaked it, I attacked Niu Youdao with killing intent! Why would Niu Youdao ever let us leave alive?”

Yao Youliang nodded repeatedly toward Wu Qianhao, whose eyes also held suspicion. “Exactly, exactly, Martial Uncle! We escaped by sheer luck. We truly did not leak anything.”

As soon as those words left their mouths, both men wailed inwardly.

So long as the truth never came out, perhaps they could survive. If it was exposed, they were dead! Yet the argument did dispel much of the others’ suspicion. It made sense.

If someone who had tried to kill you fell into your hands, why would you let him go so easily?

A madman who even dared kill an envoy of the State of Yan would hardly have scruples about these two.

The gazes directed at Cui Yuan and Yao Youliang softened considerably.

They had gone out to fight for their sects, nearly lost their lives, and then returned only to be treated as suspects. Anyone could imagine how that felt.

Wu Qianhao patted Yao Youliang on the shoulder. “Youliang, don’t take it to heart. You know how serious this has become. I have to get the facts straight.”

Yao Youliang nodded, looking aggrieved. “This disciple understands. I can understand Martial Uncle’s position.”

Gao Sucong, Liao Sen, and Wu Qianhao moved aside to confer again. Their investigation had established that the battle occurred here. The scent trail led here as well. The two matched perfectly. There could hardly be so many coincidences.

Add the fact that Niu Youdao had ample time to commit the theft, and it became difficult not to conclude that he was responsible. That created a new question.

If Cui Yuan and Yao Youliang had not leaked the information, then one of the other disciples must have.

After Cui Yuan and Yao Youliang escaped, another disciple might easily have fallen into Niu Youdao’s hands and revealed things that should never have been said. But whose disciple had betrayed them?

The three factions were acting together now. This was hardly the time to start shifting blame and damaging their cooperation. Besides, there was no way to assign blame yet.

The missing disciples were neither seen alive nor found dead. Who the hell knew which one had talked?

The three men exchanged glances and tacitly suppressed the issue for now.

“That wretch is simply too arrogant!” Liao Sen ground out between clenched teeth.

The other two factions at least still had one survivor each. He alone had no disciple returned to him.

“I say that wretch shouldn’t be called Niu Youdao anymore. From now on, call him Niu Youthief—the ‘thief’ kind of dao!”

Gao Sucong said grimly, “It’s very possible Lei Zongkang still hasn’t been exposed and is continuing to leave us a trail. We shouldn’t delay any longer. Keep pursuing.”

Wu Qianhao said, “Or the trail could be a deliberate trap meant to lure us in.”

Gao Sucong spread both hands. “Then what does Brother Wu suggest? Shall we forget the whole thing and stop here?”

Wu Qianhao rolled his eyes. What nonsense. Of course he wanted to stop.

But could they?

Three factions had joined hands and still failed to catch one man. They had lost disciples, and now even their shops had been emptied.

Stop here?

Was a dignified Golden Core Realm cultivator really supposed to be demoted back to his sect to guard the mountain gates?

Liao Sen’s face was bitter. “At this point, even if the road ahead is a mountain of blades and a sea of fire, we still have to jump in. Keep chasing. If we catch Niu Youdao, there’s still a chance to recover what we lost, and at the very least we can atone through merit. If we fail to catch him, then everyone had better pray for himself.”

If they had known Niu Youdao had already dumped the three shops’ merchandise at fire-sale prices, the three men might have coughed blood from rage.

Trying to redeem the goods from sects like the Ling Sect at the same low prices would be impossible.

Even combining all three factions, their strength could not compare with the Ling Sect’s.

Gao Sucong looked at Cui Yuan and Yao Youliang. “We need these mounts fresh enough to rotate along the road. The two of you can walk back slowly.”

Both men were still seriously injured and would be of little use even if brought along. They were simply left where they were.

Cui Yuan and Yao Youliang watched the group thunder away into the distance. Then they looked at each other.

“Whew!”

Both let out a heavy breath. They had finally bluffed their way through.

But when they looked around at their surroundings, they were left speechless again.

After all that wandering, they had somehow ended up right back here. The previous stretch of walking had been for nothing.

Now they had to turn around and walk the same road all over again.

Beneath a brilliant field of stars, the two continued on together under the moon...

By then the sky had brightened, the rising sun spilling light over a large relay station at an important junction.

Dust-covered from the road, Niu Youdao’s group rode directly into the station yard and dismounted one after another. All twelve horses were breathing hard. They ordered some hot food and drink.

Relay stations often conducted some business for passing travelers on the side.

The others ate while, at Niu Youdao’s signal, Black Peony went to find the station master and arrange a change of horses.

They had alternated mounts along the way, but horses had limits to their endurance. After being pushed through the entire night, the animals truly could not take much more. The group had no intention of stopping, so their only option was to change mounts.

They had passed smaller relay stations along the way, but those stations did not keep enough horses. A major station like this was different. Its stables held plenty of fresh, well-fed mounts.

Of course, relay-station horses were government property. They could hardly be exchanged with outsiders, and even offering to buy them would normally be refused.

Then Black Peony pushed one hundred gold coins across the table to the station master. Everything became easy.

It was only an exchange, after all. The station would not lose a single horse. The outsiders’ mounts were good horses too, merely exhausted. Give them time to rest and they would recover.

“These are secret imperial couriers with official business to conduct. Go help them change their horses!”

The station master called over one of the relay attendants and invented a reason on the spot.

The attendant immediately led Black Peony away to make the exchange. The group stopped only briefly.

Once their horses had been changed, they mounted again and thundered out of the relay station.

Outside the fence, an attendant holding a broom had been sweeping the ground.

As Niu Youdao and the others passed nearby, the man lowered his head.

Only after they had gone did he look back after them.

Then he picked up the broom and hurried toward the station building.

[End of Chapter 143]