Chapter 165: No Such Person

Qin’an County was a small county seat with old, dilapidated walls. The last glow of sunset bathed the town while cooking smoke curled lazily into the air.

Inside an inn room, Niu Youdao soaked in a bathing tub before an open window, watching the sun sink in the west. As usual, a pot of wine and his sword rested nearby.

The crimson light streamed into the room and dyed even the man in the tub red.

Knock, knock.

A knock sounded at the door, followed by Black Peony’s voice. “Master Dao!”

“I’m soaking in the water. If it isn’t important, we’ll talk later.”

Creak!

Black Peony opened the door and came straight in. She shut it behind her, and her footsteps approached.

Niu Youdao casually took the towel draped beside him and spread it over himself beneath the water. “Whatever it is, stand there and say it.”

Black Peony sauntered right up to the tub and peered inside. Seeing that the important parts were covered, she said disdainfully, “More bashful than a woman.”

Niu Youdao did not shrink away. He continued soaking calmly. “If you have something to say, say it. I don’t like you acting this way.”

Black Peony dragged over a stool and sat beside him. Rolling up both sleeves, she took another towel, wet it, and began wiping his shoulders and arms. “You don’t even like being waited on?”

Niu Youdao turned his head and looked at her. “You’d better observe some propriety.”

Black Peony countered, “Do you know what it means for me to do this? Maybe it looks a little shameless, but in the end, a woman’s best destination is still to follow a man. I think highly of you. I’m willing to follow you wholeheartedly. I already regard myself as your woman. You still don’t like that?”

She continued without embarrassment, “Of course, I hope you’ll regard me as yours too—as one of your own. I like seeing them misunderstand our relationship. I mean that sincerely.”

Niu Youdao fell silent for a moment, then asked, “You’re back this quickly. Did you finish the job?”

Black Peony pushed lightly at his shoulder and began wiping his back. “You underestimate me too much. How could such a trivial matter cause any trouble? I disguised myself, found a few loafers, gave them some money, and told them to go handle it in different places.”

“Those loafers love easy money. They especially like jobs that take no effort. I told them there would be a reward if they did it well. Of course, there won’t actually be any reward. By the time they come looking, we’ll already be gone.”

“I followed them for a while to check. They bought candy just as I told them and used it to coax the children into playing along. It worked well. The children are already hopping around the streets singing the rhyme!”

Niu Youdao gave a quiet “Mm.”

Black Peony blinked her large eyes. “Tang Yi really is beautiful. She has the bosom, the waist, the face, the bearing... everything.”

“She just doesn’t have a brain.”

“That depends on who you compare her with, doesn’t it? Compared with you, perhaps she falls a little short. But if she truly had no brains, could she keep an entire sect under control?”

Black Peony laughed. “Not everyone can be like you. Of all the people I’ve met, you’re the most uncanny one.”

Niu Youdao asked, “What are you trying to say?”

“With a woman that beautiful, how could a man not like her? If you truly think it’s dangerous for her to stay around Shao Pingbo, why not simply take her away?”

“You listened to quite a lot.”

“You weren’t exactly avoiding us.” Black Peony leaned closer. “Master Dao, you do still have feelings for her, don’t you?”

“You’re thinking too much. Whether she lives or dies has nothing to do with me.”

“Your mouth says one thing and your heart another. I could tell Shao Pingbo pursuing her made you unhappy.”

“Should I have been happy?”

Niu Youdao paused, then said, “It isn’t really about being happy or unhappy. Think of a dog passing through somewhere and pissing on the ground. Whether or not that patch of land actually belongs to it, if another dog barges in, it’ll still bark a couple of times.”

“My emotions were disturbed a little. That itself gives me a headache. I thought there would be nothing between her and me anymore, but after running into this matter, I realized that having the nominal status of husband and wife with her is troublesome. It leaves me feeling pinned in place.”

“I genuinely don’t want anything to do with her, yet somehow I’m still entangled. Tell me—if something happens to her, do I intervene or not?”

Hearing him put it that way, Black Peony understood. He truly did not have that sort of feeling for Tang Yi.

She clicked her tongue. “That’s the difference between one person and another. The man I was with before probably wouldn’t have looked back even if someone held a blade to my neck.”

“Master Dao, if you ask me, there isn’t anything to agonize over. If you know she needs help and it’s within your power, lend a hand in passing. If you don’t know, then don’t force it and don’t go looking for trouble on purpose. Face it naturally. That would mean you had truly let go. There’s no need to make things difficult for yourself.”

“Face it naturally...” Niu Youdao considered the words. “There’s some sense in that. I was the one getting caught in appearances.”

“But if you truly think Shao Pingbo is dangerous, I still think you should find a way to separate her from him.”

Black Peony’s tone grew more serious. “I understand men far too well. A woman that beautiful will sooner or later become meat in Shao Pingbo’s mouth. Some crooked methods are impossible to guard against. I’ve suffered that kind of loss before.”

“That part doesn’t worry me.”

Niu Youdao said, “As long as Shao Pingbo can’t deal with me, he won’t dare touch her. It isn’t that I can personally intimidate Shao Pingbo. But while she and I have not severed our relationship, he won’t casually use underhanded methods on her.”

“If he truly enrages the person behind Tang Yi, those retainer cultivators around Shao Pingbo probably won’t be enough to save his life. In a sense, so long as I keep myself alive, I’m also keeping Tang Yi safe.”

Black Peony leaned to his ear. “You mean Zhao Xiongge?”

Niu Youdao turned and looked at her. “How do you know?”

Back in the kitchen, Tang Yi had spoken that name very quietly.

Black Peony said, “Zhao Xiongge was originally an expelled disciple of the Shangqing Sect. I heard that when the Liuxian Sect attacked the Shangqing Sect, Zhao Xiongge himself didn’t even show his face. Only his mount appeared, and that alone frightened the Liuxian Sect into retreating in panic. One of their elders even severed his own arm to apologize.”

“Apart from Zhao Xiongge, who else connected to the Shangqing Sect could make a regional lord surrounded by experts feel wary and afraid? Someone who has reached Zhao Xiongge’s level of strength is terrifying. Even thousands upon thousands of troops might not be able to stop him!”

“Zhao Xiongge came from the Shangqing Sect, yet his strength is far beyond anything the Shangqing Sect should have been capable of cultivating,” Niu Youdao said. “I’m afraid even the Shangqing Sect’s founding patriarch might not have been his match. That is rather abnormal. Have you ever heard what happened?”

Black Peony shook her head. “No. It really is strange. He probably encountered some opportunity outsiders know nothing about.”

Niu Youdao suddenly looked back at her. “You just said you’ve suffered from underhanded methods before?”

“Master Dao, now you’re uncovering my scars.” Black Peony sighed and held three fingers in front of him. “Three times. I was raped three times.”

Niu Youdao asked, “By one man, or three?”

Black Peony scrubbed his back harder. “Three different men. Twice, I was careless and someone drugged me. The other one was someone I couldn’t afford to offend. I was afraid of dying and didn’t dare resist. He kept me and used me for several days before letting me go. It was miserable. I still hate remembering it.”

“You didn’t take revenge?”

“Later I gathered Duan Hu and the others. We found one and killed him. Another died before we could make our move; I heard someone else killed him.”

“As for the one I couldn’t afford to offend, I still can’t afford to offend him. How would I dare go looking for revenge? Thinking about it now, I was lucky enough just to keep my life. What happened has happened. Once bitten, twice shy. I can only be more careful in the future.”

Niu Youdao raised an eyebrow slightly. “Who was the one you couldn’t afford to offend? Tell me.”

“Forget it. I don’t want to talk about him. There’s no point. We can’t afford to provoke him.”

“Mm. Tell me when you think the time is right. I’ll see whether I can help you settle that score.”

“I appreciate the thought. Truly, there’s no need. It’s all in the past.”

Black Peony shook her head, a trace of bitterness in her expression.

Niu Youdao heard the heaviness in her tone and chuckled. “What kind of taste did that man have? Even someone as dark as you interested him?”

Black Peony’s eyes widened.

Her hand suddenly plunged into the water and yanked away the cloth covering Niu Youdao.

Niu Youdao was speechless. He lowered his head and looked at the now-uncovered part beneath the water, but he remained seated without moving.

Black Peony openly stared twice. Her face stayed expressionless, though a faint flush appeared on her cheeks. Then she tossed the cloth back.

Niu Youdao slowly spread it beneath the water and covered himself again. “Are you bored?”

Black Peony said, “Feel like you suffered a loss? How about I take everything off and get in the tub with you? Am I truly that unbearable to look at? My skin is only a little dark. My face isn’t bad either. You just haven’t seen the rest of me. There’s plenty there.”

“Are you trying to seduce me?”

“I already told you. Whenever you want me, I’m willing.”

Niu Youdao shook his head slightly. “There’s no point talking about this. Listen carefully. From the moment you began following me and handling affairs at my side, this became impossible.”

Black Peony splashed water onto him and continued wiping. “Why? Do you truly find me that unappealing? I told you I’m willing. I wouldn’t cling to you afterward. I only want a little sense of security.”

“It has nothing to do with whether I find you appealing. I don’t touch women who work at my side.”

Niu Youdao said, “A rabbit doesn’t eat the grass beside its burrow. Gnaw that grass bare, expose the entrance, and you invite trouble.”

Black Peony curled her lip. “Only an idiot refuses meat already delivered to his mouth. You’re so young, yet you live like an old man. What’s the point?”

“You don’t like even someone like Tang Yi. Why do I get the feeling you have no interest in women at all?”

Then she asked with deliberate seriousness, “Tell me the truth. Is there something wrong with you in that department?”

Niu Youdao closed his eyes and said nothing.

There was no winning this argument.

Where had that woman who cried at Inviting Moon Inn gone?

He conceded defeat...

Beizhou Prefectural Capital.

Shao Pingbo’s party thundered into the city. Guards at the gates stood rigidly to either side and let them pass. No one dared obstruct them.

They rode straight to Lingbo Residence, Shao Pingbo’s own estate, then dismounted together and went inside.

Steward Shao Sansheng was already waiting at the entrance. His smile looked somewhat forced. “Eldest Young Master has traveled a long road. You’ve had a hard journey.”

Shao Pingbo glanced at his expression. His cloak swayed behind him as he strode onward without slowing, heading directly for the main hall.

On the way, one cultivator raised a hand and caught a Goldenwing. After reading the secret message from its leg tube, he hurried after Shao Pingbo.

“Eldest Young Master, word has come from the Zhao capital. They checked. There is no one named Zhang San among Zhuge Xun’s people. They also confirmed that Zhuge Xun has no cultivator that young serving around him. No such person exists.”

Tang Yi, Su Po, and Tang Susu, who followed into the hall, quietly exchanged glances.

Shao Pingbo reached the main seat, removed his cloak, and passed it to the steward. Then he turned and sat down, looking sidelong at Shao Sansheng.

“If something happened, say it.”

Shao Sansheng hesitated.

He glanced at the other people present, then finally took a sheet of paper from his sleeve and offered it with both hands for Shao Pingbo to read himself.

Shao Pingbo accepted it.

First he looked at the steward’s face, then slowly lowered his gaze to the paper.

He began reading aloud in a measured voice.

“King of Beizhou, King of Beizhou,
one piece of candy, one piece of candy.
Above has no answer, below has no way,
two pieces of candy, two pieces of candy.
Yun is false king, Bo...”

His voice stopped abruptly.

His pupils contracted.

The hand resting on his knee clenched instantly into a fist, and his cheeks drew tight.

[End of Chapter 165]