Chapter 177: The Situation Has Changed

“Oh. Flesh-and-blood bodies can hardly escape worldly pleasures. Then I really should try it.”

Niu Youdao nodded in agreement. He looked around, and while they were crossing the canyon with no one nearby, he asked, “Innkeeper, you have treated me with such extraordinary courtesy that I am honestly overwhelmed. May I ask why?”

Chu Anlou smiled. “The Chief Steward instructed me to receive Mister properly. If there is anything to discuss, it can wait until Mister has rested.”

“The Chief Steward?”

Niu Youdao looked doubtful. “Why?”

“I do not know the details either,” Chu Anlou replied. “But when the Chief Steward says one, it is one; when he says two, it is two. Since he said to treat Mister well, then you will certainly be treated well. There is absolutely no malicious intent.”

Niu Youdao fell silent.

Did he truly not know what was happening?

There was probably no one who understood it better than he did.

Drawing Black Peony’s portrait in Star-Plucking City had never been the real objective. The objective had been Sha Huanli. Drawing Sha Huanli’s portrait had not been the true objective either.

The true objective was the Ice and Snow Pavilion.

From the moment he learned that Sha Huanli and Xue Luo’er, Master of the Ice and Snow Pavilion, were close friends, his thoughts had already ranged far ahead. The plan had begun taking shape.

The logic was simple. Once a woman obtained something beautiful and wonderful, how could she resist sharing it with a close friend?

He had not come here merely for the Scarlet Yang Vermilion Fruit. The greater problem was that he was simply incapable of contending directly with the power of the court of the State of Yan. From the moment he killed Song Long, he knew he had brought an enormous problem down on his own head.

But there were things a man must do and things he must not do.

Song Long had to die.

Even knowing it would bring tremendous trouble, Niu Youdao still had to kill him, because some matters left no room for retreat. No matter how far he backed down, it would never buy compromise from the other side. One side had to die.

Without the resolve and courage to smash the pots and sink the boats, he would never have become Master Dao.

Once the deed was done, he had to dare bear what he had done and face the consequences.

Even after learning that the court of the State of Yan had acted, even knowing how dangerous the road was, he had persisted all the way here. He had come precisely to sever that enormous trouble in one stroke, and also to give the court of the State of Yan a way to step down.

All those currents of trouble, visible and invisible, he intended to use this opportunity to suppress in one decisive show of force.

So it was not that he failed to understand.

He understood all too clearly.

That was why there was now a scene in which Chu Anlou personally accompanied him around like a guide.

Neither hurried nor anxious, he was steadily controlling the pace of events.

At the Tianyu Sect shop, shopkeeper Wu Kong stood at the entrance, likewise watching Chu Anlou’s party.

A disciple who had gone out to gather information hurried back and reported in a low voice, “Martial Uncle, can you guess who the man beside Chu Anlou is?”

Wu Kong shot him a sidelong glance. “Why play games? I have never seen him. How would I know who he is?”

“Martial Uncle, that is Niu Youdao—the man the sect sent word for us to find!”

“Ah!”

Wu Kong was startled. “Are you certain?”

“I asked around. The four people behind him are indeed named Black Peony, Lei Zongkang, Duan Hu, and Wu Sanliang. Aren’t those exactly the four people the sect said might be traveling with him? The young man in front also matches the description we received. Who else could he be besides Niu Youdao?”

The Tianyu Sect people stationed here had never seen Niu Youdao before.

When Shang Chaozong had asked Tianyu Sect for help, they had naturally needed identifying details. Yuan Fang had no reason to conceal anything at such a time and had given them the names and descriptions of the people traveling with Niu Youdao.

As for the Tianyu Sect people who actually knew Niu Youdao, they were still in Nanzhou of the State of Yan and could not possibly arrive in time.

More importantly, after discussing the matter, Tianyu Sect’s senior leadership had never intended to help Niu Youdao with its full strength.

They had not dispatched reinforcements in haste at all.

To Tianyu Sect, Niu Youdao was insignificant. One mere Niu Youdao was not worth mobilizing the sect on a large scale.

Seeking the Scarlet Yang Vermilion Fruit?

Was that truly important to Tianyu Sect?

Whether Hai Ruyue lived or died, whether Hai Ruyue’s son lived or died, none of that truly mattered to Tianyu Sect’s leadership. The crucial issue was that Tianyu Sect and Myriad Caves Heavenly Mansion had already reached a secret understanding.

To Tianyu Sect, it made no difference whom Myriad Caves Heavenly Mansion placed in control of Jinzhou. As long as Shang Chaozong, the man capable of training the Yingyang and Wulie Guards, remained in Tianyu Sect’s hands, that was enough.

The concerns Hai Ruyue and Shang Chaozong held for their own purposes, and the concerns of the people below them, simply did not exist from Tianyu Sect’s perspective.

Tianyu Sect did not want Shang Chaozong bound too tightly to Hai Ruyue either. Such a relationship would weaken the sect’s control over him.

For that very reason, Tianyu Sect’s senior leadership had been rather displeased that Niu Youdao had come here on his own initiative to seek the Scarlet Yang Vermilion Fruit.

Was recklessly provoking the Ice and Snow Pavilion supposed to be amusing?

If he caused trouble here, no one would be able to clean up the aftermath.

Add Niu Youdao’s status as a criminal who had killed an envoy of the State of Yan, and Tianyu Sect wanted nothing to do with the affair.

How could they possibly have sent people to rush here and support him?

Of course, Shang Chaozong still had to be given some face. That was why a message had been sent to the people stationed here.

But only so they could warn Niu Youdao of danger.

Nothing more.

“...”

Wu Kong stroked his beard in thought.

What was going on?

The present situation had already gone far beyond the sect’s instructions.

He watched Niu Youdao receding into the distance.

Even under normal circumstances, Wu Kong could not openly approach Niu Youdao in Tianyu Sect’s name. Now that he did not understand the situation and Chu Anlou was personally present, it was even less appropriate to go forward and greet him.

After thinking it over repeatedly, Wu Kong quickly turned and went back inside.

He needed to draft an urgent report to the sect.

At the shop of Myriad Caves Heavenly Mansion, deep within the premises, a woman sat cross-legged on a stone couch in meditation.

She was the shopkeeper, Gao Mulan.

A knock sounded.

Gao Mulan slowly withdrew from meditation and opened her eyes.

“Come in.”

A disciple pushed open the door, approached the couch, and cupped his hands.

“Martial Uncle, Niu Youdao has appeared!”

Gao Mulan frowned. “Have him come see me immediately.”

At the time, Shang Chaozong’s situation had been urgent. To be safe, his side had sent word to Hai Ruyue at the same time, asking her to have Myriad Caves Heavenly Mansion lend assistance as well.

Yet Myriad Caves Heavenly Mansion was equally unhappy with the matter.

Its senior leadership had long held two opposing views on Hai Ruyue’s rule over Jinzhou. Some strongly supported keeping her in place, while others advocated replacing her.

Now a man bold enough to kill Yan’s envoy in Jinzhou had actually come here to provoke trouble at the Ice and Snow Pavilion. If he caused a disaster, Myriad Caves Heavenly Mansion could not bear the responsibility.

Worse, they had learned that Hai Ruyue had arranged this without informing Myriad Caves Heavenly Mansion.

That had left the sect deeply displeased.

If Hai Ruyue had not enjoyed the full support of Elder Li Wuhua, the sect might well have taken this opportunity to teach her a lesson and make her suffer some embarrassment.

The message Gao Mulan had received from the sect was clear: once Niu Youdao appeared, she was to stop him from acting recklessly.

If necessary, she was authorized to kill him outright.

One mere Niu Youdao was equally unimportant to Myriad Caves Heavenly Mansion.

Under circumstances like these, how could the sect possibly have sent people to help him?

“This...”

The disciple looked troubled. “Chu Anlou, the innkeeper of Rainbow Inn, is currently accompanying him around. Summoning him here may not be very convenient.”

He still did not know exactly how the sect regarded Niu Youdao.

Gao Mulan froze. “What did you say? Chu Anlou is accompanying him? Where?”

“Right outside, circling through the Ice and Snow Pavilion canyon. From the look of things, Chu Anlou is treating him very politely.”

Gao Mulan immediately got down from the couch and went outside the shop.

She called the disciple over to point them out. He indicated a distant figure.

When the group turned toward the upper terrace, Gao Mulan immediately leaped up there and stood beside the road to wait.

At last Niu Youdao’s party approached.

As they passed, Chu Anlou happened to point toward a shop whose doorway was still being carved with a steady ring of hammer and chisel.

“This one is newly opened. Sects and schools rise and fall throughout the cultivation world, and many of the shopfronts here have changed hands again and again...”

The disciple moved close to Gao Mulan and whispered, “The four people behind him have already been confirmed as Black Peony, Duan Hu, Wu Sanliang, and Lei Zongkang. The young man beside Chu Anlou also matches the description. He must be Niu Youdao.”

To many people in the past, Black Peony and the other three had been nothing more than four independent cultivators beneath notice.

Now they had formally entered the sight of numerous factions and become people others paid attention to.

Gao Mulan was left almost speechless.

Chu Anlou was not merely being polite to Niu Youdao.

He was personally acting as his guide.

Niu Youdao had killed an envoy of the State of Yan.

Despite carrying such an offense, Chu Anlou was openly accompanying him around the Ice and Snow Pavilion.

What did Chu Anlou mean by this?

What did the Ice and Snow Pavilion mean by this?

Why did it feel almost as though they were deliberately sending a message to everyone outside that Niu Youdao was under their protection?

The situation seemed to have changed.

Gao Mulan did not dare make the decision on her own.

She immediately leaped back down, returned to the shop at speed, and began drafting an urgent report to the sect.

The distinguished guest room was spotless.

White jade covered the floor. There was a bathing chamber with a hot-spring pool, a study furnished with brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, and an elegant sitting room. Paintings and calligraphy hung on the walls. Every furnishing was exquisite, every detail carefully arranged.

Because the room stood inside the great dome rising above the inn, it overlooked the entire canyon. Open the window and one could see the Ice and Snow Pavilion valley below, while farther away lay a panorama of a thousand snow-covered mountains.

Lady Pei had finished inspecting every part of the room and could not help sighing inwardly.

She had stayed at Rainbow Inn before, yet had never known the place contained guest rooms of such quality.

No wonder they were reserved for honored guests and never offered to the public.

This time, they truly had basked in Xuanyuan Dao’s reflected glory and gained the chance to see one.

After bathing and changing clothes, the effeminate young master emerged.

Lady Pei turned and froze.

She had actually changed back into women’s clothing?

“Young Master, you are not pretending to be a man anymore?” Lady Pei asked curiously.

Wearing a long pink dress, the young woman walked to the dressing table and sat before the mirror.

She pouted. “That innkeeper saw at a glance that I was a woman. It is no fun anymore. I am done pretending. Come help me do my hair.”

Lady Pei was speechless.

You only realized that today?

She went to the dressing table, picked up a comb, and began arranging the young woman’s long hair.

“You look much prettier dressed as a woman.”

“Calling me ‘Young Master’ sounds strange now. Stop it.”

“Yes, Young Mistress.”

Lady Pei shook her head helplessly.

The young woman pointed around the room.

“Look at this. This is what an inn should be. What kind of rotten places were those we stayed in along the road? This place may be small, but even the style feels more refined than the palace.”

“They already told you this is reserved for distinguished guests,” Lady Pei replied. “Not just anyone can stay here.”

Once her hair was done, the young woman rose and spun in place.

Her graceful figure turned with the swirl of her skirt before the fabric floated back down.

Holding out the sides of the dress, she asked, “Well? Do I look good?”

Lady Pei set down the comb.

“You do. Young Mistress is the prettiest.”

The young woman immediately looked utterly satisfied.

“Come on. Let’s go find that Xuanyuan Dao and have some fun.”

She turned and headed for the door.

“Find him and have fun?”

Lady Pei thought she had heard wrong.

Had this girl suddenly changed personalities?

She caught her by the arm.

“Young Mistress, you have already lost one wager. That is one million gold coins. It will be very difficult to explain when we go back.”

“Oh, leave that to me. You do not need to worry.”

The young woman waved it away carelessly.

“Money is merely an external possession. Talking about money is so vulgar.”

[End of Chapter 177]