Chapter 187: Can You Pull It Off?

Niu Youdao froze. He was just about to ask Yuan Gang how he intended to get the fruit when Black Peony suddenly knocked and opened the door again.

From the doorway, she reported, “Master Dao, Innkeeper Chu is here.”

Niu Youdao and Yuan Gang exchanged a look. The subject would have to wait.

“Invite him in!”

“Haha!”

Chu Anlou’s laughter arrived before the man himself. He strode in quickly with a broad smile and cupped his hands.

“I heard Mister spent the whole day running about selecting scenery. Hard work, hard work. Did everything go smoothly?”

He had previously brewed a pot of tea in the pavilion beside the river behind the inn and waited there. Who would have thought Niu Youdao would not return by the same route, instead coming back to the inn from another direction? The moment an inn attendant informed him, Chu Anlou hurried over to ask how things had gone.

Niu Youdao said, “Quite smoothly. I selected several locations. Tonight I’ll think them over carefully and narrow them down. Tomorrow I will make sure the Pavilion Master is satisfied.”

“Good, good, good!”

Chu Anlou nodded repeatedly. Hearing that everything had gone well put his mind at ease.

“Mister should rest properly. I won’t disturb you while you put your mind to the work. If you need anything at all, simply instruct the inn. We will handle it for you immediately.”

He cupped his hands and was about to leave when Niu Youdao called, “Please wait.”

Chu Anlou stopped.

“Is there something Mister needs?”

Niu Youdao walked over and took out the stack of gold drafts he had received earlier. Without counting them, he simply split off more than half and pushed the larger portion into Chu Anlou’s hands. Chu Anlou stared in surprise, not understanding what he meant, and hurriedly tried to refuse.

“What is this?”

Niu Youdao forced the drafts into his hands.

“I was only able to earn this money because Innkeeper Chu acted as the go-between and made the introduction. A small token of appreciation. Please don’t think it too little.”

The moment Chu Anlou realized they were sharing the benefits, his fingers instinctively tested the thickness of the stack and his heart heated. This fellow was truly no ordinary kind of generous.

Without even looking or counting, he had split off more than half of a million gold coins and handed it over. That was genuinely lavish.

The matter was still within Chu Anlou’s control, so there was nothing about the money he dared not accept. If it had been some other inexplicable, dangerous affair whose consequences he could not predict, he truly would not have dared touch it. He smoothly tucked the gold drafts away, though naturally he still had something to say for appearances.

“If I refuse, Mister may feel uneasy, and that could affect the Pavilion Master’s portraits. Let us do this: I’ll hold the money for the time being. When Mister leaves, I’ll return it to you.”

The painting had not yet been completed, after all. Chu Anlou first left himself a retreat in case anything went wrong, explicitly stating in advance that he did not intend to keep the money.

Niu Youdao said, “Innkeeper Chu is too serious.”

Yuan Gang’s brows drew together. He could never do something like this—smile and hand over money after someone had slapped him in the face. No matter how he looked at it, the whole thing sat badly with him. He turned his head aside. Chu Anlou glanced over and noticed Yuan Gang’s reaction. Folding both hands over his abdomen, he suddenly sighed.

“By rights, once the paintings are finished, Mister should move out of here. But if Mister can satisfy the Pavilion Master, Rainbow Inn should also show proper hospitality.”

“How about this? After the paintings are done, stay a few more days. Settle your own affairs first, then leave as soon as you reasonably can. That much I can still decide for myself.”

Niu Youdao was delighted inwardly. That was exactly what he wanted. It sounded as though Chu Anlou had not helped much, but in truth he had helped enormously. The man was someone who understood how things worked. Niu Youdao immediately cupped his hands in thanks.

“I will remember Innkeeper Chu’s words. I would never dare remain too long and impose.”

“I won’t disturb Mister further.”

Chu Anlou smiled, nodded, then turned and left with his hands clasped behind his back.

“Black Peony, see Innkeeper Chu out for me.”

Niu Youdao immediately waved for her to escort him. Without turning around, Chu Anlou waved a hand.

“No need.”

He strolled out of the room and disappeared. Black Peony stood awkwardly, glancing toward the doorway and then back at Niu Youdao. After a stretch of silence, Niu Youdao flicked his hand again.

“You can withdraw for now.”

“Yes.”

Black Peony accepted. Before leaving, she secretly glanced at him, sighing inwardly. Where had he gotten so much money again?

From painting?

Just how much had been in that handful of gold drafts he gave away? He had been slapped in the face by Chu Anlou, yet he could still smile and hand the man such an enormous sum. Once Black Peony left and the door closed, Niu Youdao took out the remaining gold drafts and counted them. Of the original hundred drafts, only forty-three remained. More than half had vanished in the blink of an eye. He gathered them together and casually handed them to Yuan Gang.

Yuan Gang accepted them. He knew Master Dao had never liked carrying money himself, so he put them away. At the same time, he said gloomily, “Master Dao, after you paint for Xue Luo’er, Chu Anlou won’t dare do anything to you inside the inn. Was there really any need to lower yourself like this?”

“Lower myself?”

Niu Youdao stood by the window with his hands behind his back, watching the light gradually sink from the horizon. In the dimming glow, his expression shifted between light and shadow.

“I don’t feel lowered at all. It isn’t that you don’t understand. You simply refuse to accept it.”

“This is a place where people devour people. Letting others see us carrying such an enormous fortune is no good thing. There is a reason people say you can scatter wealth to avert disaster.”

“Feed him well. Let him take the larger share. Then he has no reason to create extra trouble, and we stay safe.”

“You understand our position. We’ve been exposed. The Liuxian Sect and people like them are already prepared. If negotiations fail, our chances of getting away are extremely slim. When the time comes, we may still need to think of some way to ask this Innkeeper Chu for help.”

“Which matters more, your life or money? How much money can buy your life?”

“Besides, he just promised to help us quietly. That gives me a few more points of confidence that the negotiations will succeed.”

Yuan Gang asked, “You aren’t afraid he’ll go back on his word afterward?”

“Go back on it?”

Niu Youdao gave a faint laugh.

“After swallowing such a huge sum, he won’t dare. If the matter blows up, he’ll have trouble explaining himself too.”

Yuan Gang slowly lowered his head.

After a moment, he said softly, “Master Dao, I’m sorry.”

In their previous life, by the time Master Dao had nearly retired, who in either respectable society or the underworld would not give him at least a little face?

People might speak rudely to him from time to time, but being publicly slapped in the face was almost unimaginable by then.

This time, if Yuan Gang’s own stubborn insistence had not dragged Master Dao into the matter, the humiliation from Chu Anlou would never have happened. That scene had lodged in his heart like a thorn.

“Once you set foot on certain roads, there is no turning back.”

Niu Youdao sighed softly.

“Either you fall from the path, or you keep moving forward. Saying sorry means nothing.”

He reached out and closed the window, then turned.

“You were talking about the Scarlet Yang Vermilion Fruit. You have a way?”

Yuan Gang raised his head.

“Those Snow Fiends probably won’t stop me from picking it.”

Niu Youdao shook his head.

“Too dangerous. The Snow Fiends may not stop you once you get close, but before you approach they’ll still make plenty of noise.”

“And there are cultivators guarding the mountain. You cannot move across snow without making a sound. The cracking and crunching while you climb will never escape their ears, and you don’t know where the sentries are posted.”

“We can descend from the sky,” Yuan Gang said.

“Judging by the surrounding distances, even a Golden Core Realm cultivator would have to touch down before reaching the summit. You can’t land directly on top unless we borrow a flying mount.”

“We certainly can’t afford to buy one. Whether we borrow one or buy one, either way attracts attention...”

Niu Youdao stopped halfway through. A light flashed in his eyes. He stared at Yuan Gang as though something had just occurred to him.

“Can you pull it off?”

Yuan Gang nodded.

“There shouldn’t be any problem.”

Niu Youdao paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, thinking it through. In the end, he still shook his head.

“No.”

“If the Scarlet Yang Vermilion Fruit disappears, with Shao Pingbo watching from the shadows, the Ice and Snow Pavilion will identify its target very quickly.”

“Getting the fruit would be no different from not getting it. We could never let Xiao Tianzhen use it.”

Yuan Gang said, “Then destroy the Scarlet Yang Vermilion Fruit tree along with it.”

Niu Youdao abruptly turned.

“What do you mean?”

He knew Monkey would not casually say something unreliable.

“Something like a natural disaster,” Yuan Gang replied.

“A natural disaster?”

Niu Youdao looked doubtful.

“What kind of natural disaster would keep the Ice and Snow Pavilion from becoming suspicious? What sort of natural disaster could you even create on that mountaintop?”

“When I blew up Liufang Guesthouse in Jinzhou, I asked around after reaching this place to learn what people were saying back there.”

Yuan Gang said, “The story spreading through Jinzhou is that a meteorite fell from the sky and struck Liufang Guesthouse.”

“...”

Niu Youdao suddenly understood.

Yuan Gang continued, “I’m confident I can get the fruit. My only concern is that no matter how carefully we arrange this, you and I both spent time in Jinzhou.”

“If the same kind of incident happens in Jinzhou and at the Ice and Snow Pavilion, and both incidents can somehow be connected to the Scarlet Yang Vermilion Fruit, suspicion is still possible.”

“So there is some risk.”

Niu Youdao walked slowly to a chair and sat down, leaning back and closing his eyes. Silence lasted a long time.

His fingers lightly tapped the armrest as he murmured, slowly and repeatedly, “Shao Pingbo... Shao Pingbo...”

“If this man isn’t removed, he’ll remain a problem.”

“I should still go to Beizhou,” Yuan Gang said. “I’ll find a way to deal with him.”

“Too dangerous.”

Niu Youdao slowly shook his head and opened his eyes.

“I’ll play with him myself.”

“I want to see how he survives this one.”

“Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles. I need a general grasp of Shao Pingbo’s situation.”

“The Shangqing Sect is in Beizhou. Arrange for Wei Duo to return there as soon as possible. Once he reaches Beizhou, tell him to show his face as little as possible. Explain clearly how careful he needs to be.”

Yuan Gang understood what he meant.

“And the Scarlet Yang Vermilion Fruit?”

“We can’t rush to act.”

Niu Youdao replied, “If we move now, it would be difficult not to draw suspicion. First find out what’s happening around Shao Pingbo. I’ll decide what to do about everything else once I understand the situation.”

Yuan Gang nodded, turned, and left at a brisk pace. He returned to his own room and found Wei Duo. Before long, Wei Duo left Rainbow Inn beneath the cover of night, accompanied by Duan Hu, Wu Sanliang, and Lei Zongkang. The group did not immediately leave the area. First they went to Myriad Beasts Sect and bought a Goldenwing.

Afterward Duan Hu and Wu Sanliang escorted Wei Duo out of the dangerous frozen region, while Lei Zongkang returned carrying a cork box and handed it to Yuan Gang. Yuan Gang opened the long box. Nestled in the padding inside was an oval piece of black stone. He took out the black stone. A seam circled its middle. Gripping both ends, he twisted them apart and removed an egg from inside. It was a Goldenwing egg.

He screwed the two halves of the black stone back together and returned the stone shell to the box, then placed the egg into a hollow in the padding. This kind of black stone could block the Goldenwing’s ability to sense its egg. Once the egg was removed, the Goldenwing could sense it again. By taking the egg out or sealing it away, they could control when the Goldenwing flew back and forth... Early the next morning, Chu Anlou came to the door again to personally invite Niu Youdao over.

The sky was still only beginning to brighten. Niu Youdao opened the window, looked outside, then turned back.

“Innkeeper Chu, isn’t it a little early?”

Chu Anlou gave a bitter smile.

“Better to go early and make all the preparations that need making. We can hardly wait until the Pavilion Master arrives and then dawdle around wasting her time, can we?”

Niu Youdao could understand his anxiety. He had no choice but to cooperate. He nodded.

“Very well.”

[End of Chapter 187]