Chapter 196: At Last, a Place to Call Home

Wu Kong returned to the shop and asked an attendant where Elder Chen was. He then went straight to the inner hall and stopped outside the Sect Leader's room.

After receiving permission to enter, he found the Sect Leader discussing matters with several elders. Whatever they had been talking about, the moment Wu Kong came in, every eye turned toward him. Wu Kong saluted everyone. Chen Tingxiu immediately rose.

“The liquor sold?”

Wu Kong nodded.

“All three jars sold. Fifteen hundred gold coins in total.”

He took out several gold drafts and presented them with both hands.

Chen Tingxiu accepted the drafts, quickly counted them, then urgently asked, “Five hundred gold coins a jar? They didn't think it was too expensive?”

Wu Kong answered respectfully, “Elder, according to your instructions, one jar was opened as a tasting sample. The other three were taken separately to three shops and recommended for trial sale.”

“When they first heard the price was five hundred gold coins per jar, every shop complained it was too expensive. But after tasting it, they all said it was excellent liquor and each wanted to buy several jars.”

“I told them the liquor was extremely difficult to brew and that we had no stock for the time being. They immediately asked to place advance orders. Some wanted ten jars. Others wanted a hundred.”

“This disciple did not understand the full situation and did not dare accept any orders.”

The senior figures of Tianyu Sect exchanged meaningful smiles. Chen Tingxiu laughed and waved a hand.

“Good. We understand. You may withdraw.”

“Yes!”

After Wu Kong left, Chen Tingxiu abruptly turned toward Peng Youzai.

“Sect Leader, it seems our worries were unnecessary. Five hundred gold coins may actually be too low. We can probably raise the price even higher.”

Peng Youzai smiled and nodded. Another elder stood.

“Sect Leader, I think this is workable. Even selling at five hundred gold coins means three hundred gold coins of profit on every jar. With ten thousand jars, that is three million gold coins a year!”

“Forget Guangyi Commandery and Qingshan Commandery. Even several commanderies combined could not scrape out that much money in a year.”

Peng Youzai looked around at the others.

“What do the rest of you think?”

Another man said, “Sect Leader, I believe it is viable.”

Chen Tingxiu nodded as well.

“Sect Leader, this business is worth doing. We can agree to his conditions. I'll call him over right now.”

“Wait.”

Peng Youzai raised a hand to stop him. Seeing that everyone had reached the same conclusion put him in an excellent mood. He chuckled.

“There is no hurry. We agreed to give him our answer tomorrow. If we rush over too eagerly, it won't look good. Let him stew for a day.”

That made sense. Everyone nodded. Chen Tingxiu suddenly sighed.

“The only problem is that Feng Lingbo may have to suffer some grievance.”

Most of the men fell silent. Feng Lingbo had governed Guangyi Commandery for years. He had rendered both merit and hard work. Stripping him of authority like this did seem somewhat unreasonable. And Feng Lingbo was the Sect Leader's son-in-law.

Even if he had been anyone else, Tianyu Sect could not treat a man who had served it for years without the slightest consideration. Peng Youzai waved a hand.

“I am Sect Leader of Tianyu Sect, and he is my son-in-law. For Tianyu Sect's greater interests, if I do not ask him to make the sacrifice, who else can I ask?”

“Others may be difficult to persuade, but he should make sacrifices for Tianyu Sect!”

“You need not worry about Feng Lingbo and Yulan. I will persuade them myself.”

The moment he said this, everyone understood the decision had already been made. The matter had been defined as Feng Lingbo making a sacrifice for Tianyu Sect. Naturally, the sect would not mistreat him afterward.

The next day, the sect leaders of Liuxian Sect and the other factions once again gathered at Tianyu Sect's shop. Tianyu Sect accepted Niu Youdao's conditions.

The three smaller sects were much weaker. Faced with a sect as powerful as Tianyu Sect, and with this matter potentially determining the future fate of their own sects, mere verbal assurances were not enough to take home and explain to their disciples. Only after repeated insistence did they finally sign written agreements with Tianyu Sect. Then they could truly relax. This was an agreement that might change the fate of all Nanzhou. Black Peony and the others, who had witnessed the entire process, secretly clicked their tongues.

When they looked at Niu Youdao again, their gazes had changed. There was awe in them now. Only at this moment did they truly understand how small they themselves had once been.

At the same time, they felt closer to him. Niu Youdao had not hidden such secrets from them. He had allowed them to witness everything and broaden their horizons. There was admiration as well.

Master Dao had turned his hand and summoned clouds, turned it again and brought rain. A group of people who had come here to kill him had, in the blink of an eye, been softened until they wound around his finger.

In truth, several cultivators from a handful of sects had simply sat behind closed doors and discussed matters among themselves, yet the decision they reached would alter the fate of who knew how many people in Nanzhou.

Once events actually began, no one knew how many families in Nanzhou would be ruined and how many people would die.

And when Feng Lingbo, who had ruled Guangyi Commandery for so many years, learned the truth, no one knew what he would think.

Would he regret ever “inviting the wolf into the house”?

After another round of discussions with Niu Youdao, the people of the three sects departed. They needed to hurry back and make preparations. Peng Youzai was preparing to leave as well. As Sect Leader of a major faction, he could not remain away from the sect's center for too long. Before leaving, however, he found Niu Youdao.

“When are you planning to return to Qingshan Commandery?”

Niu Youdao smiled.

“I cannot publicly show myself in Qingshan Commandery for the time being anyway. A little earlier or a little later makes no real difference.”

Peng Youzai said heavily, “Do not delay the liquor business. Return as soon as possible.”

“As for your safety on the road... you have stirred up no small amount of trouble. Should I leave several men behind to escort you back?”

Now that Tianyu Sect had confirmed the liquor was an enormous road to wealth, they were already growing impatient. Peng Youzai practically wished Niu Youdao would return immediately, start brewing liquor for them, and let the sect begin making money.

“There is no need for an escort.”

Niu Youdao said, “I still have to make another trip to the Ice and Snow Pavilion afterward. The Ice and Snow Pavilion will arrange security for the journey, so there should not be a problem.”

No wonder the bastard wasn't afraid and dared run around everywhere. The corner of Peng Youzai's mouth twitched. What exactly was his relationship with the Ice and Snow Pavilion? Unfortunately, it was awkward to ask, and he knew Niu Youdao would not tell him anyway. He could only let the matter go. Still, hearing that the Ice and Snow Pavilion would make arrangements put his mind at ease.

Even so, he urged once more, “Go back as soon as possible. Proper business comes first.”

“Good.”

Niu Youdao smiled and nodded. Peng Youzai turned and strode away. Once no outsiders remained in the room, Niu Youdao paced slowly beneath Yuan Gang's gaze. He picked up the treasured sword resting nearby and drew it several inches. The bright, mirrorlike blade reflected his face.

“Monkey, when we go back this time, we'll finally have our footing.”

“As long as we are in Qingshan Commandery and nothing unexpected happens with security, there should no longer be any major problem.”

“You and I finally have a place to call home.”

Yuan Gang remained silent. He knew how much thought Master Dao had put into creating the present situation. From the time they left Shangqing Sect until now, it had probably been less than half a year. After being surrounded by danger every step of the way, they had finally gained a stable foothold. It had not been easy.

Yuan Gang also knew clearly that if he had been in Niu Youdao's place, he would never have possessed the ability to accomplish this. In these matters, the gap between him and Master Dao was far more than a little. And in the process, Master Dao had also helped Shang Chaozong and Shang Shuqing. When those siblings learned what had happened, they would probably be very happy.

Images suddenly flashed through Yuan Gang's mind: a group of men fighting in the woods, the people who had saved his life, Guan Tie clutching his hand before death and making his final plea...

He cast the tangled images aside and asked, “When do we make our move on that thing?”

“Not now.”

Niu Youdao pushed the sword back into its sheath with a crisp sound.

“At the very least, we cannot act while we are still at the Ice and Snow Pavilion.”

“First wait for Wei Duo's information. We will decide after we leave this place.”

He turned and looked at Yuan Gang...

The next day, after disguising themselves, the group left the Ice and Snow Pavilion. Across the frozen wilderness, everyone flew and glided over the snow.

Yuan Gang burst out from the middle of a snowy peak, sending plumes of snow spraying behind him as he raced down the mountain and rapidly closed on the others.

Only now did Black Peony and the rest discover, to their astonishment, that Yuan Gang was not a cultivator at all.

He wore little more clothing than they did, yet he was racing directly into the freezing wind in such brutal cold. They could hardly imagine how a body of flesh and blood could endure it. The cultivators landed on a snowy rise, then sprang upward again and continued gliding forward. Behind them, Yuan Gang came rushing down the slope at tremendous speed. He shot up the snowy rise and, using the incline, launched diagonally into the air. He actually rose higher than the cultivators themselves.

Black Peony and the others all looked up in unison. Yuan Gang stood on two long boards, his body pitched forward and both hands held behind his back as he sailed through the air. A canyon opened ahead. The cultivators flew across and landed on the far side. All of them immediately turned around, hearts tightening on Yuan Gang's behalf. If he fell into that gorge, how could he possibly survive?

Whoosh!

Yuan Gang's figure sailed over their heads. He had cleared the canyon. Then he dropped from high in the air toward the snow below. Yet he did not smash himself half crippled or tumble head over heels as they had imagined. Snow exploded beneath him. Following the terrain, he shot away at astonishing speed without the slightest pause. When another snow slope appeared, he launched into the air again, effortless and graceful. Black Peony and the others stared, dumbfounded. To them, it was practically a feat of the immortals.

Niu Youdao smiled faintly. Monkey was simply showing off.

He leaped after him...

Once they left the snowy region and saw green country again, the group stopped. They did not hide in desolate mountains, nor did they enter a bustling city. Instead, they settled in a village near a small riverside town. Black Peony and the others had no idea what Niu Youdao intended to do.

Why had they stopped traveling?

Asking produced no answer. Niu Youdao only said they would understand when the time came. They also had no idea what Yuan Gang was doing. He often shut himself alone inside one courtyard and no one knew what strange thing he was working on. As for Niu Youdao, when he was not cultivating, he wandered around the sparsely populated village. Sometimes he bought wine in town and drank and chatted with the village elders. Sometimes he played with the children.

At other times, he carried a fishing rod to the river and spent the day fishing. In the blink of an eye, nearly half a month passed.

Under the setting sun, Niu Youdao strolled back with a fishing rod over one shoulder and a fish basket in his hand. The village children cheered and ran to meet him. They all knew he was extraordinarily good at fishing. As usual, the entire basket of fish was divided among the children. They skipped home happily, each carrying fish. It happened every time. Yuan Gang sat atop the courtyard wall watching the sun descend, his face filled with memories.

Niu Youdao stopped beneath the wall with his fishing gear and looked up.

“Finished?”

Yuan Gang nodded.

“More or less.”

He jumped down, took the fishing gear from Niu Youdao's hands, then pulled out a rolled sheet of paper and passed it over.

“News from Wei Duo.”

“Oh?”

Niu Youdao took the paper, entered the courtyard, and unrolled it. The farther he read, the deeper the smile at the corners of his mouth became. There was actually nothing extraordinary on the page.

It contained only basic information about Shao Pingbo: that he had a younger full sister born of the same mother, that his mother had died young, that the concubine his father later took had borne two sons, and that those two brothers had been heavily suppressed by Shao Pingbo, among other details.

“Interesting.”

Niu Youdao murmured, slowly rolling the paper back up.

“Have Wu Sanliang come over.”

Yuan Gang immediately left the courtyard. Before long, Wu Sanliang arrived and cupped his hands in greeting.

“Master Dao!”

[End of Chapter 196]