Chapter 148: Intercept and Kill

Dusk had already fallen when Niu Youdao’s group appeared on a sloping stretch of road.

They had ridden hard down from the mountainous terrain and were finally leaving the most precipitous region behind. The land ahead grew gentler, and a river lay across it like a ribbon.

Black Peony pointed toward a stone bridge over the water. “Master Dao, do we continue straight or cross the bridge?”

“Cross it!”

The party reached the bridge, abruptly changed direction, thundered across the stone span, and raced away trailing a rolling cloud of dust.

In the forest overlooking the fork, a man in black slid down a tree trunk from the canopy.

Before long, a Goldenwing shot from the woods and flew into the distant sky...

On the far side of Duyun Mountain, Hou Qingtian led more than twenty men out of the mountain range.

They had cut straight across the terrain by the shortest route and arrived in the region designated by the intermediary.

Inside a forest, Hou Qingtian paced back and forth with his hands clasped behind him while the others sat around on the ground, bored and waiting.

After some time, one man rose and walked over. “Cave Master, what is this supposed to mean? How long are we expected to wait?”

Hou Qingtian replied, “We wait. If no message comes, no one can blame us. We already have the deposit in hand.”

He had barely finished speaking when a Goldenwing descended from the sky.

Someone raised a hand and caught it, removed the secret message, and handed it to Hou Qingtian.

After reading the contents, Hou Qingtian pointed in one direction. “The target will pass through Three Bends. If we reach it before the hour of the boar, we can intercept them. Move!”

The group rapidly left the forest. They crossed a stretch of open plain, entered another mountainous region, then glided and bounded through the terrain at speed, taking the straightest possible line toward their destination.

Roughly two hours later, they landed atop a mountain and looked out.

Under the moonlight, an official road wound along the contours below. Three distinct bends twisted through the mountains. This was Three Bends.

Hou Qingtian sent lookouts to the mountains ahead while everyone else rested where they were and waited.

Less than one hour passed before one of the scouts flew urgently back.

“Cave Master, someone is coming. It may be the target.”

“Prepare.”

Hou Qingtian gave the order. The group rushed down the mountain and concealed themselves on both sides of the road. Gradually, the rumble of hoofbeats grew louder. Closer. Closer still.

On a hill, Hou Qingtian concealed himself behind a large tree and leaned out to watch. The riders came nearer.

The moonlight was not enough to make out their faces clearly, but he could already count them. Twelve horses. Six people. Exactly as the message had said. The target was supposedly the youngest-looking member of the party. Hou Qingtian sprang down the mountain.

Taking two men with him, he stood directly across the road at the bend, swords and sabers drawn, blocking the way. The approaching party was naturally Niu Youdao and the others. They had no idea an ambush was waiting ahead.

The moment they rounded the bend and saw figures under the moonlight blocking the road with gleaming weapons, everyone hauled sharply on the reins. Their horses stopped in confusion.

Figures immediately rushed from every direction and surrounded them on the spot.

“We’re only after a little wealth,” Hou Qingtian said indifferently. “Surrender without resistance and you can keep your lives.”

It was nothing more than a lie to lower their guard.

Black Peony and the others were alarmed and immediately drew their swords.

Yuan Fang pulled out his monk’s saber, a vicious expression on his face. In the past, he had been the one robbing others.

He had never imagined the day would come when someone tried to rob him. Niu Youdao had originally remained calm. His cold gaze swept the surroundings.

The face of the man blocking the road had already seemed faintly familiar despite the darkness. The instant the man spoke, Niu Youdao’s eyes abruptly narrowed.

“Hou Qingtian, what are you trying to do?”

One hand slowly settled on the hilt of his sword. Killing intent began rising in his eyes. At the name, Yuan Fang and the others looked blank. They had no idea who Niu Youdao was talking about.

Black Peony, however, stared fixedly at the man blocking the road. The demon cultivators surrounding them were all startled.

The target had called out their Cave Master’s name in a single breath.

He knew Hou Qingtian?

Hou Qingtian himself froze. He immediately released a Moon Butterfly and sent it flying toward Niu Youdao to investigate.

As the glowing butterfly approached, its light clearly illuminated the face of the man seated on horseback. Hou Qingtian was left utterly speechless.

He sent the Moon Butterfly circling around the rest of the group as well. No mistake. Twelve horses. Six people. And Xuanyuan Dao really was the youngest-looking one among them. The assassination target was actually him? Hou Qingtian gradually found the situation almost laughable.

This man had handed over two hundred thousand gold coins as a greeting gift the moment they met.

Killing him for a measly few tens of thousands might actually be a losing proposition.

Besides, without an order from Yun Huan, Hou Qingtian could hardly lay hands on his master’s sworn brother.

He hurriedly waved both arms at the surrounding demons and shouted, “Put them down! Put them down! The flood has washed into the Dragon King’s temple—our own people failed to recognize one another!”

He sheathed his own sword as well and hurried toward Niu Youdao with cupped hands.

“Master Dao!”

Our own people?

What was going on?

The demons slowly lowered their weapons and looked at one another in confusion.

None of them had ever seen Niu Youdao before and had no idea where this “Master Dao” had appeared from.

One demon sheathed his saber and whispered smugly to the man beside him, “See? I told you there was something strange about this job. Someone was probably trying to set us up.”

On Niu Youdao’s side, everyone except Black Peony was equally confused.

Yuan Fang and the others looked from one another to Hou Qingtian, unable to make sense of the exchange.

The man in charge of Duyun Mountain should have been Yun Huan, shouldn’t it? And Master Dao was Yun Huan’s sworn brother? Niu Youdao’s hand never left his sword hilt.

He stared coldly at Hou Qingtian. “Did my elder brother send you to kill me?”

Hou Qingtian hurriedly waved both hands. “How could that be possible? You and our master are sworn brothers. The master could kill anyone, but he would never kill you!”

The surrounding demons were shocked again. This man was their master’s sworn brother? Yuan Fang and the others were stunned. They understood even less.

Niu Youdao said, “Then why are you blocking my road?”

Hou Qingtian gave a dry laugh. “Master Dao, a misunderstanding. It truly is a misunderstanding. I was only bringing the brothers out to find a little wealth. We set up here to rob passing travelers. Who would have guessed we’d accidentally run into you? A grave offense. Truly a grave offense.”

Niu Youdao replied, “You’re remarkably fast.”

“I left Duyun Mountain before you did, yet somehow we still meet here. You must have cut directly across Duyun Mountain by the shortest route.”

“And by pure coincidence, you happened to intercept me perfectly.”

“For a little highway robbery, you rushed all the way here in such a hurry and made a special effort to arrive before me. That couldn’t have been easy.”

Hou Qingtian smiled bitterly. Put that way, the excuse truly did not hold together.

He cupped his hands. “I won’t hide it from Master Dao. The mountain happened to accept a job shortly after you left. Someone paid us to rush here and intercept a target.”

“We genuinely had no idea the target would be you. Had we known, how could we possibly have come here to offend you?”

Niu Youdao believed that much. Otherwise, he would already have attacked instead of wasting words.

Someone was watching him!

The thought flashed through his mind like lightning.

His voice sank. “Have your people search the nearby mountains. See whether anyone suspicious is hiding here.”

“...”

Hou Qingtian paused. For a moment he thought, Do you really think becoming our master’s sworn brother makes you our master?

Still, he turned and barked at the others, “Are all of you deaf? Didn’t you hear Master Dao? Search! Go search!”

“Yes!”

The demon cultivators obeyed. They split into two groups and rushed into the forests on both sides of the road.

Niu Youdao jumped down from his horse and slowly walked over to Hou Qingtian.

“Who hired you to kill me?”

Hou Qingtian replied, “Master Dao, I genuinely don’t know. Given what happened, I’d like to know who wants you dead too. I imagine our master would as well. But the intermediary could never tell us.”

“What kind of person is the intermediary?”

Hou Qingtian sighed. “Master Dao, don’t ask me that.”

“First, anyone capable of acting as an intermediary in this line of business inevitably has substantial backing. They aren’t easy to offend.”

“Second, these are businesses that cannot see the light of day. People don’t casually reveal their identities. I don’t truly know who the intermediary is.”

“And every trade has its own rules. Even if I did know, I couldn’t tell you. Breaking the rules would bring trouble to Duyun Mountain.”

“Besides, even if you found the intermediary, the buyer probably wouldn’t reveal his identity to the intermediary either. You still might not learn who hired us.”

Niu Youdao considered it. The explanation made sense.

He stopped pressing that point and asked instead, “How much is my life worth?”

“Heh-heh.”

Hou Qingtian looked somewhat embarrassed. “Thirty thousand gold coins. If we’d known the target was Master Dao, even if we meant to accept the job, there’s no way we would have taken it at that price.”

“If you don’t kill me, how will you explain yourselves afterward?”

Hou Qingtian sighed. “We accepted a ten-thousand-gold deposit. By the rules, if the job fails, naturally we don’t receive the remaining payment, and we have to return double the deposit.”

“Of course, our master would never harm his own sworn brother for such a small amount of money.”

Niu Youdao turned his head. “Black Peony.”

She jumped down from her mount and walked over. “Master Dao.”

“How much money do you still have on you?”

“A little over fifty thousand gold coins.”

Niu Youdao knew that was essentially everything she carried. He had called her rather than Yuan Fang because there were times when one should not reveal how much wealth one possessed.

He tipped his head toward Hou Qingtian. “Give him fifty thousand.”

This man truly spent money viciously. Black Peony sighed inwardly. Still, there was nothing to argue over in a situation like this. She took out her gold drafts, kept the loose remainder, and handed five full-value drafts to Hou Qingtian.

Hou Qingtian made a show of pushing them away. “How could I possibly accept this?”

Niu Youdao said, “I can’t let you suffer a loss because of me. If I tell you to take it, take it.”

“Since Master Dao puts it that way, then I’ll shamelessly thank you.”

Hou Qingtian cupped his hands and accepted the drafts. Inside, he was delighted. They had not lost money at all. They had even made a profit. The trip had not been wasted. It had been worth every bit of the trouble.

Niu Youdao asked, “When did you receive this job?”

Hou Qingtian tucked away the drafts. “Not long after you left Duyun Mountain.”

Niu Youdao’s eyes narrowed slightly. Something strange flickered in his gaze. They chatted beside the road for a while. Eventually the demons searching the mountains returned one after another. They had found nothing. No suspicious people had been discovered.

After hearing the reports, Hou Qingtian asked, “Master Dao, what do you plan to do now?”

“You can head back first.”

“Very well.” Hou Qingtian nodded.

Then he gave a serious reminder. “Master Dao, you may already be under surveillance. Be careful on the road.”

“We failed this time, so the buyer may hire someone else to act.”

“Mm. Give my regards to Elder Brother when you return.”

“Of course! Then we’ll take our leave here. Master Dao, take care on the road!”

Niu Youdao watched the demon cultivators disappear into the mountains. Then he pointed toward Duan Hu and Wu Sanliang, signaling the two to follow at a distance and make sure they had truly gone.

Only after the pair returned and confirmed Hou Qingtian’s group had left did Niu Youdao mount again. Seated on horseback, he stared down the unknown road ahead. His gaze flickered unpredictably. Then, without warning, he turned his horse around.

“Move!”

He did not continue along the road ahead. Instead, he led the group back the way they had come. Strictly speaking, they did not retrace the route for long.

Partway back, Niu Youdao found a suitable opening in the terrain and led the entire group off the road and deep into the mountains.

[End of Chapter 148]