Chapter 241: The Double-Cross

She could still vividly remember the scene when Han Bing, Chief Steward of the Ice and Snow Pavilion, had personally come to Jinzhou. If even Han Bing had been alarmed, the gravity of the matter was obvious.

How could Myriad Caves Heavenly Mansion possibly take that risk? They would certainly kill both mother and son. Only with her son dead would there be no question of anyone having been cured by the Scarlet Yang Vermilion Fruit. And once they killed her son, how could they possibly allow her to remain alive? They would inevitably bury her along with the secret.

Hai Ruyue looked at her son, who was eating with great appetite, but she could no longer smile. She paced back and forth, the ashes on the floor stirring with the hem of her skirt.

She was trying to work out who had done this. Whoever it was had wanted to cure her son, yet had refused to reveal their identity.

The first person she suspected was Niu Youdao. The rumor that had alarmed Han Bing had pointed straight at him, and Niu Youdao truly had gone to the Great Snowy Mountains.

If it really was Niu Youdao, if he truly had gotten his hands on the Scarlet Yang Vermilion Fruit, she could scarcely imagine how. What kind of place was the Ice and Snow Pavilion? How could that fellow possibly steal the Scarlet Yang Vermilion Fruit from their hands? It was simply too unbelievable! Suspicion was only suspicion. She had no evidence whatsoever.

She very much wanted to send people after Mr. Ming and seize him, to drag the identity of the mastermind out of him. But she did not dare. Capturing Mr. Ming would mean exposing the truth of her son's treatment, which would bring the same danger and trouble. She was caught between advance and retreat...

More than ten li outside the city, Mr. Ming galloped into a mountain forest. Once beneath the trees, he removed the rattan case from his back and casually tossed it onto the ground, then looked around.

A short while later, someone flashed out from the shade deeper in the woods. It was none other than Duan Hu. He greeted him cheerfully. "Brother Wan."

Mr. Ming jumped down from his horse and shook his head. "That was damned dangerous. I spent the whole time with my heart in my throat."

Duan Hu chuckled. "Brother Wan is an old hand at swindling and trickery. Since when are you afraid of this sort of thing?"

Mr. Ming snorted. "Are you praising me or insulting me? Is this even comparable? That was the Provincial Inspector's Residence in Jinzhou, with plenty of experts from Myriad Caves Heavenly Mansion inside. Could the jobs I used to pull compare with this? Tell me, did you check properly? No one's following me, right?"

"I checked. No one followed you. Relax. So long as they believe you're the Ghost Doctor's disciple and the medicine works, it'll be enough to intimidate them. They won't dare act recklessly."

Mr. Ming pulled two gold drafts worth ten thousand each from his sleeve and handed one to Duan Hu. "Twenty thousand in hand. We agreed to split it evenly. I'm fair enough, aren't I?"

Duan Hu checked the note, tucked it into his robe, and grinned. "We're rich!"

Mr. Ming secretly laughed to himself. Did Duan Hu not realize what kind of place that was? The Provincial Inspector's Residence in Jinzhou! Asking for only twenty thousand would have been far too petty.

The two had agreed beforehand to swindle twenty thousand and split it evenly. Instead, he had swindled a full hundred thousand, secretly kept eighty thousand for himself, and given Duan Hu only ten thousand.

Still, he had his reasons. He was the one who had gone in and risked his life. Naturally, he deserved a larger share.

"All right. You said yourself that the fake Scarlet Yang Vermilion Fruit can suppress the condition for only seven or eight days. Once that time passes, the trick will be exposed. We'd better get moving." Mr. Ming waved a hand and started to mount his horse.

Duan Hu caught hold of him. "As long as you gave Hai Ruyue the letter, she'll be frightened into believing it really was the Scarlet Yang Vermilion Fruit and won't dare make trouble. The important question is whether you exposed yourself. If you did, we can't use the official roads. We'll have to flee through the wilderness and mountains."

Mr. Ming said, "Relax. I followed the plan exactly. Nothing should have gone wrong. I know how far to go with something like this. Come on, let's leave. Who's the next mark you mentioned?"

Duan Hu smiled. "If I hadn't told you there was another mark to keep you interested, would Brother Wan have come looking for me? You'd probably have taken the money and run off on your own."

"What kind of man do you take me for?" Mr. Ming pretended to be offended, then suddenly froze and looked suspicious. "You mean there isn't another mark?"

Duan Hu nodded. "There is. Not far away, either. Ready money!"

Mr. Ming's eyes lit up. "Who? Tell me now. We can plan it out properly on the road."

Duan Hu enunciated each word. "Far at the edge of Heaven, close before your eyes."

Mr. Ming stared at him. His expression changed drastically in an instant as he realized Duan Hu meant to double-cross him. In a flash, he shot away.

He had not expected a figure to appear directly ahead. A hand swept out, and a blade of sword qi came cleaving toward him. It was Lei Zongkang.

Mr. Ming was horrified. Only now did he understand that Duan Hu had not been acting alone. They had prepared this trap for him from the beginning. He hated himself for being greedy. Once he had succeeded in Jinzhou City, he should have left immediately.

Then again, if not for greed, why would he ever have taken such an enormous risk and entered the Provincial Inspector's Residence in Jinzhou in the first place? This entire affair had been a carefully prepared trap! Duan Hu drew his sword and attacked from behind. Another figure shot in from one side and joined the fight. It was Wu Sanliang.

Seeing that he was in grave danger and could barely hold out, Mr. Ming shouted, "Gentlemen, isn't it money you're after? I'll give you everything I have. Show mercy and leave me a road to live!"

Duan Hu sneered. "We're not interested in money. We're interested in your life!"

Even the way he spoke had changed since following Niu Youdao. In the old days, if they were double-crossing someone, he would certainly have said something like, "We want your money and your life." He would never have claimed they were not interested in money!

The three surrounded Mr. Ming in a vicious battle. Trees crashed down in swathes, and before long Mr. Ming fell with them.

"Duan, even as a ghost I won't let you off! I..."

Mr. Ming lay on the ground and screamed the curse bitterly, but before he could finish, Lei Zongkang drove a sword through his heart. His voice dwindled into a dying whimper beneath the blade.

Lei Zongkang kicked Mr. Ming away when the man grabbed the sword, pulled the blood-soaked blade free, then looked back at Wu Sanliang. "Old Wu, you all right?"

A long bloody gash ran across Wu Sanliang's chest. He had nearly been cut down. Shaking his head, he said, "I'm fine. Another inch and I wouldn't have been!" He planted his sword in the ground and slowly began opening his clothes.

Lei Zongkang sheathed his sword and helped tend the wound.

Duan Hu crouched beside Mr. Ming and searched him. He soon pulled out a stack of high-denomination gold drafts. "Look at this. The odd notes are probably his own, but this neat amount definitely isn't. Mm, eight notes. I knew it. The bastard must've demanded a hundred thousand and only gave me ten. I knew he wasn't that generous. He hid the rest, just as expected."

They dug a pit on the spot and buried Mr. Ming's body so it would not be discovered too soon. Once Wu Sanliang's wound had been treated and he had changed his clothes, the three swiftly disappeared into the depths of the forest... Several days later, early in the morning, the three returned to the valley outside Qingshan Commandery.

The door of the thatched cottage opened and Niu Youdao stepped out. Seeing the three of them, he smiled faintly. "You're back."

"Master Dao!" All three cupped their hands in greeting.

Niu Youdao smiled. "How did it go?"

"We followed Master Dao's instructions. Nothing went wrong. It went smoothly." Duan Hu nodded, then produced a stack of gold drafts and offered them over. "The odd notes should have belonged to the man surnamed Wan. The other hundred thousand must have come from Hai Ruyue. Altogether, it's a little over one hundred and three thousand."

They had never intended to pocket the money. For that matter, it would have been difficult to hide. If Master Dao ever openly discussed the matter with Hai Ruyue, he might easily learn the amount.

Niu Youdao did not take the notes. "You've all worked hard. Split it among yourselves."

The three exchanged smiles. They knew what Master Dao was like. Since he had told them to divide it, there was no need to stand on ceremony, so they kept the money.

It was another substantial windfall. They had often double-crossed people in the past, but never for such enormous returns. Ever since following Master Dao, things truly had become different. Now whenever money came into their hands, it was counted in tens of thousands.

The level at which they operated was different to begin with. In the past, how could they ever have dared target the Provincial Inspector's Residence in Jinzhou? Not even if someone beat them to death.

Now? They had even conned the Ice and Snow Pavilion. What was left to fear? Their appetites had grown. Small-time jobs no longer interested them. And with Master Dao behind them, they possessed an inexplicable confidence as well.

So long as Master Dao was there, even if they failed and were exposed, they believed Hai Ruyue would not be able to do much to them. That was what confidence meant.

"Old Wu, your complexion doesn't look right. Were you injured?" Niu Youdao's gaze settled on Wu Sanliang.

Wu Sanliang smiled bitterly. "Got bitten once. Nothing serious."

Duan Hu said, "We underestimated the man surnamed Wan. I didn't expect the three of us together would still let him injure Old Wu. He almost cut Old Wu down with one stroke. It was close."

"Be more careful with this sort of thing in the future. Think things through. If there's no need to take a risk, avoid taking one. All right. You've been traveling hard. Go get some rest." Niu Youdao waved them away.

"Yes!" The three acknowledged him, cupped their hands, and withdrew.

They had been absent from the valley these past days precisely because Niu Youdao had sent them to handle this matter. It was not something suitable to entrust to outsiders. Only people who already knew about the theft of the Scarlet Yang Vermilion Fruit could be used. There was no reason to expand the circle of people who knew. Niu Youdao slowly walked to the edge of the cliff and watched the three descend the mountain.

Just then, someone else arrived. Shang Shuqing was coming up the slope.

When the two met, Shang Shuqing walked to his side, her voice as pleasant as ever. "Master Dao!"

Her face, unfortunately, truly was rather ugly. When she was not going out, she did not wear a veiled hat to conceal it. With that face constantly moving about in front of people, it was difficult to look directly at her, yet deliberately avoiding one's gaze would also be awkward for fear she might think too much of it.

Niu Youdao asked, "Does the Commandery Princess need something?"

"I just returned from the Commandery Governor's residence. My brother said he received a message from Hai Ruyue. She plans to come personally and inspect the Yingyang and Wulie Guards. It sounds as though she's already set out and is on the road. The Yingyang and Wulie Guards haven't formally begun yet. When she arrives, we'll have nothing to show her, which may make things difficult. My brother asked me to see what Master Dao thinks."

She had come to raise the matter because Niu Youdao had previously said he would handle Hai Ruyue himself and that Shang Chaozong did not need to worry about her.

Niu Youdao stood with his hands clasped behind his back and looked toward the distant mountains. Interest appeared in his eyes, and a strange smile curled at the corner of his mouth. "Looks like that woman has panicked. She can't hold herself together anymore!"

Shang Shuqing found his smile peculiar and asked in confusion, "Panicked? Can't hold herself together? Is Myriad Caves Heavenly Mansion pressuring her?"

Niu Youdao shook his head and chuckled. "Commandery Princess, tell His Highness to put his mind at ease and continue doing things at his own pace. He can deal with the Yingyang and Wulie Guards however he sees fit. It'll pass easily enough. She isn't coming for the Yingyang and Wulie Guards. She's coming for me. She won't make things difficult for His Highness."

Shang Shuqing nodded and committed the message to memory. She had confidence in Niu Youdao. Since he had said so, she relaxed. Even so, she could not help asking, "She's coming for you, Master Dao?"

Niu Youdao only smiled and said nothing. He knew that once the matter surfaced, that woman would suspect him before anyone else...

[End of Chapter 241]