Chapter 150: Sure Enough, Something’s Wrong

Everyone stared at Niu Youdao as though looking at some strange creature. The most unsettling part was that he looked so young.

If she herself had not been so much older, Black Peony thought she might genuinely have fallen for this young man. Precisely because she was older than him by a fair margin, she had never entertained such presumptuous thoughts.

But remembering the so-called one-night proposition back at the Inviting Moon Inn, and comparing it with how well she understood him now, she suspected that if he made the same offer today, she might actually agree.

Black Peony blinked her large eyes. “Master Dao, what do we do next?”

“The other side can track our route with precision. That means this has gone far beyond merely discovering us,” Niu Youdao said. “There must be eyes positioned along the road. For now, we don’t show ourselves. We stay hidden here for a while.”

Duan Hu said, “Master Dao, I think abandoning the horses and quietly slipping away on foot would be safer.”

“From the moment they discovered us to the moment they locked onto our trail, they were able to mobilize killers almost immediately in a remote area like this.”

Niu Youdao shook his head.

“Whether it was the intermediary organization or the people behind the purchase of my life, whoever did it possesses no ordinary reach.”

“If we don’t understand the cause and don’t know how to avoid the danger, more trouble may be waiting farther down the road. We have to remove this hidden threat, or we won’t be able to move an inch.”

“When it’s time to pull our heads into our shells, then we act like turtles for a while.”

With that, he ignored whether the others agreed, lifted his sword, and slowly walked outside. The people inside the cave looked at one another.

Yuan Fang instead turned toward Duan Hu and Wu Sanliang. “Open the map again.”

Once the map was spread out, everyone gathered around it and stared at the circles of every size drawn across the surface. Some things were not difficult to understand.

None of them were fools. When Niu Youdao had been drawing earlier, they had roughly grasped what he was trying to do. They had simply never seen anyone work that way before.

Now that they examined the map carefully, one after another fell into thought. All felt they had learned something useful. Night passed into morning. The group took turns keeping watch...

At Duyun Mountain, inside Yunxiao Cave Residence, Yun Huan sat cross-legged on a stone couch and stared at the fifty thousand gold coins in drafts Hou Qingtian was offering with both hands. The corner of Yun Huan’s mouth twitched.

When he did not take the drafts for some time, Hou Qingtian looked up at him.

Yun Huan frowned. “Say that again. You’re telling me the target of this assassination job was Niu Youdao?”

Hou Qingtian laughed. So his master really did not take that sworn brother very seriously. He had even gotten the man’s name wrong.

“Master, that’s wrong. Not Niu Youdao. Xuanyuan Dao. Who else could be this generous?”

Yun Huan’s face darkened. “Xuanyuan Dao is Niu Youdao. Niu Youdao is Xuanyuan Dao. That bastard is the same Niu Youdao who killed an envoy of the State of Yan in Jinzhou!”

“...”

Hou Qingtian stared at him, dumbfounded. “How... how is that possible?”

“How is it impossible?”

Yun Huan briefly explained what had happened.

Then he snatched the gold drafts into his hand and tapped them against his palm, muttering, “People chasing him from behind, people intercepting him ahead. The bastard is barely grown and already has this many enemies? And he still dared run to my Duyun Mountain to swagger around and swindle me!”

Seeing Hou Qingtian still somewhat stunned, Yun Huan waved him away. “Go. This matter isn’t your fault. You didn’t know.”

“But do not let word of the sworn brotherhood leak. We may not be afraid, but there’s no reason to invite that trouble.”

“Yes!”

Hou Qingtian nodded repeatedly and withdrew. The moment he left the cave residence, he hurried away at speed.

A whole group of people had witnessed what happened at Three Bends. Who knew whether any of those fellows had been talking since returning? He needed to order them to shut their mouths immediately...

The following evening, Niu Youdao, who had spent the day cultivating cross-legged inside the cave, slowly walked outside.

He looked up at the blazing sunset filling the sky, then followed the stream upstream in search of quiet.

When he reached the upper end of the valley, he found a pool ahead.

A wet head protruded from the water beside the bank, long hair hanging loose around it.

It was none other than Black Peony, who was currently on watch.

They had spent so long traveling through dust and wind that when she discovered this clear mountain pool, she had been unable to resist washing herself.

She had assumed that because it was her turn on watch, the others would not come over. So she had indulged herself without restraint. Then she suddenly heard footsteps.

Startled, she quickly sank deeper into the water and left only her head exposed. Looking out, she saw Niu Youdao strolling toward her.

“Master Dao, don’t come any closer. It’s inconvenient!” Black Peony called.

One glance told Niu Youdao what she was doing. He ignored it and kept walking. Black Peony immediately panicked.

With a tug of spiritual power, she pulled her clothes from the bank and used them to cover her body.

Niu Youdao, however, walked calmly past the edge of the pool without turning his head even once. He continued upstream as though she were not there.

“...”

Black Peony was speechless. She had never met a man like this. Then she tossed the clothes back onto the bank. To hell with him. She continued washing. She did, however, speed up. After finishing quickly and dressing, she followed him upstream.

She did not find him until she reached a cliff farther above.

Niu Youdao stood there with both hands resting on his sword, facing the crimson sunset. Black Peony quietly studied his expression. There had been a trace of bewilderment on his face.

Niu Youdao smoothed it away without turning. Still looking ahead, he said calmly, “I looked at you. You looked at me. We’re even.”

Black Peony was both annoyed and amused.

She tried teasing him. “Master Dao, when you walked past just now, didn’t you want to look?”

“Look at what?”

“At me bathing. Aren’t all men the same?”

“What is there to see?”

“Oh? You think I’m ugly?”

“I think you’re dark.”

“...”

Black Peony rolled her eyes. “I’m only a little dark, all right?”

Niu Youdao said, “I didn’t look because you were already covering yourself with your clothes. I knew I wouldn’t be able to see anything either way, so there was no point. Better not to look and earn myself a bad reputation.”

He turned his head slightly.

“There. Does that explanation satisfy you?”

Black Peony burst out laughing. “Oh, spare me.”

Then she looked at him with open curiosity.

“Master Dao, forgive me for asking, but you’re at exactly the age when a man’s blood runs hot. Don’t you ever want a woman?”

“What do you want me to say?”

“Is there any woman you like?”

“No.”

“How is that possible?”

Niu Youdao finally glanced at her. “Why are you asking? Planning to play matchmaker? Or has spring stirred your heart, and now you want an old cow to eat tender grass?”

Black Peony laughed. “If I were going to play matchmaker, you’d first need to have someone you liked.”

“As for whether spring has stirred my heart... maybe a little. I do have a good impression of you.”

“But the age difference between us isn’t right. Otherwise, I definitely wouldn’t let you escape.”

She smiled provocatively.

“Of course, if you’re willing to let this old cow eat your tender grass, I wouldn’t object.”

Niu Youdao laughed despite himself and gently shook his head. He remembered the woman who had cried so miserably back at the Inviting Moon Inn.

Black Peony nudged him lightly with one elbow. “I’m not joking. I really do like you.”

“I can understand that a man your age has needs. If there’s no woman around and you ever want one, then if you don’t mind me, you can come to me.”

“Don’t worry. It would be my own choice. I wouldn’t cling to you afterward.”

“I mean it.”

“Truly a daughter of the jianghu...”

Niu Youdao turned toward her with a smile and nodded. “I understand what you mean.”

Black Peony asked, “So are you agreeing or not?”

A trace of amusement entered his smile. “Guess.”

Black Peony rolled her eyes again. “Boring.”

Then she turned and jumped down from the cliff. By the time darkness began falling and Niu Youdao returned to the cave, Black Peony was roasting food beside the fire as though absolutely nothing had happened. Lei Zongkang, however, was looking at Niu Youdao rather strangely. Niu Youdao sat cross-legged in the principal position.

Yuan Fang, who had also been sitting cross-legged, immediately rose and sidled over with a furtive air. He leaned close to Niu Youdao’s ear.

“Master Dao, Black Peony said bad things about you.”

“Mm?”

Niu Youdao looked surprised.

Yuan Fang lowered his voice further. “When they changed watch just now, Black Peony said you secretly watched her bathe.”

He watched Niu Youdao’s face while speaking.

“Heh.”

Niu Youdao chuckled, glanced at Black Peony—who was pretending nothing had happened—and did not bother defending himself. Naturally, Black Peony knew exactly what Yuan Fang had whispered. She genuinely had to hand it to Niu Youdao.

Even something like this could not make him lose his composure. For someone so young, he was absurdly steady.

For the next several days, Duan Hu and Wu Sanliang also kept looking at Niu Youdao strangely...

Several days later, one morning, the group finally left the mountain forest where they had been hiding.

They returned to the official road and retraced their original route. They traveled without stopping.

When the relay station they had targeted finally appeared in the distance, Niu Youdao made a hand signal.

Duan Hu and Wu Sanliang immediately split away to the left and right.

Once inside the forests on either side, both abandoned their horses and moved rapidly toward the relay station under concealment. Niu Youdao and the others did not stop.

They slowed only when they reached the entrance, then turned directly into the relay station.

One after another they dismounted and sat beneath a shelter, ordering food. Black Peony once again went to find the station master. They were changing horses.

After filling their stomachs and replacing their mounts, the group swung back into the saddle and charged out of the station. This time, however, they did not go far.

Only several li away, once no one was around, they immediately turned into the forest and concealed themselves. Black Peony and Yuan Fang remained there.

Niu Youdao moved through the woods at speed, heading back toward the relay station. Upstairs inside the station, a window opened. A Goldenwing was tossed out and soared into the sky.

The relay attendant who had released it leaned from the window and looked around.

The instant he shut it again, Duan Hu flashed from concealment in the forest behind the station and landed directly outside the window. With spiritual power, he lifted the window open. In the same instant, he slipped inside. The relay attendant spun around in shock.

Before he could make a sound, a burst of finger force from Duan Hu struck him and knocked him down. Duan Hu reached out with five fingers.

A pulling force caught the falling man and lowered him slowly to the floor without making a sound.

The relay attendant lay rigid on the ground, jaw clenched, unable to move. Duan Hu returned to the window and checked outside.

Then he flashed out again and drifted onto the station roof. He signaled toward Wu Sanliang in the forest opposite.

After receiving a confirming signal in return, Duan Hu slipped back into the room.

Moving through the mountains toward the station, Niu Youdao noticed Wu Sanliang reveal himself on the opposite side. He immediately circled toward the rear. There he saw the open upstairs window. He also saw Duan Hu inside.

With one flash, he crossed the gap and slipped through the window.

“Master Dao.”

Duan Hu cupped his hands quietly and pointed toward the relay attendant lying on the floor.

“Just as you expected. There really is something wrong with this relay station.”

Niu Youdao asked, “You didn’t alert the snake by striking the grass?”

“Rest assured, Master Dao. No one in the station was alerted.”

Niu Youdao walked over to the fallen attendant. Then his gaze caught a trace of dark red blood seeping from the corner of the man’s mouth. His expression changed.

He crouched at once, gripped the man’s jaw, and forced his mouth open. Inside, he saw a crushed tooth socket.

Duan Hu was startled as well and immediately tried to save him. Niu Youdao slowly rose.

“Forget it. There was a poison capsule hidden in the tooth socket. He was prepared in advance never to fall alive into an enemy’s hands.”

“He can’t be saved.”

[End of Chapter 150]