Chapter 248: Have Faith in Master Dao

The subject had somehow circled right back around. Niu Youdao simply refused to let go of Linghu Qiu's two maids.

Linghu Qiu smiled. "They aren't ordinary maids. Both have reached the Golden Core Realm and serve as my protectors while I travel. Their value isn't something that can be measured by how much money you offer."

"So that's how it is." Niu Youdao looked both surprised and regretful.

Linghu Qiu smiled. "Since I came here, I came sincerely to make a friend. Little Brother doesn't need to keep circling around the point. This is all because of the warhorses. You want me to accompany you on a trip to Qi!"

Niu Youdao gestured toward the tea. "I was being presumptuous. Mr. Linghu, please have some tea."

The matter they had just been arguing over so heatedly was discarded as casually as though it had all been nonsense.

Linghu Qiu waved a hand. "Calling me 'Mister' is too formal. I came sincerely to make a friend. If Little Brother doesn't mind, we can simply address one another as brothers."

Niu Youdao immediately seized the opening. His spirits lifted. "If Sir doesn't mind, how about we swear brotherhood despite our different surnames?"

His eyes were full of expectation.

"..."

Linghu Qiu froze. Hongxiu and Hongfu exchanged looks.

Fei Changliu, Zheng Jiuxiao, and Xia Hua all wore rather marvelous expressions. Their "Master Dao" truly had endless business to conduct. In only a short while, one act after another had come spilling out.

Linghu Qiu laughed, then nodded once. "Good!"

Niu Youdao immediately turned to Black Peony. "Set up an incense altar!"

"Yes!" Black Peony left.

Not long afterward, Shang Shuqing stood at the railing of the upper floor and watched the two men kneeling side by side before an incense altar in the courtyard below. Her eyes flickered with thought. Fei Changliu, Zheng Jiuxiao, and Xia Hua stood nearby as witnesses. They watched the two men finish their bows, rise, clasp each other's arms, and address one another as brothers. The whole scene felt like watching a play.

How long had Linghu Qiu even been here? The two men had been complete strangers, yet in the blink of an eye they had sworn brotherhood and now acted as though they regretted not meeting years earlier. What kind of affair was this?

Still, whatever else might be said, from this moment on, at least in name, Linghu Qiu, the celebrated gentleman of the State of Jin, had become Niu Youdao's sworn elder brother.

"Black Peony!" Niu Youdao, arm linked with Linghu Qiu's and looking extraordinarily delighted, suddenly turned and called out. "Go tell Yuan Fang that my elder brother has arrived. Have Nanshan Temple prepare the finest wine and dishes!"

"Yes!" Black Peony accepted the order and left.

After that, Niu Youdao personally showed Linghu Qiu around his home and the estate, accompanying him on a leisurely tour of the grounds. Fei Changliu and the other two stood at the estate gate and watched them go.

Footsteps sounded behind them. The three turned and saw Shang Shuqing approaching. Each inclined slightly in respect. "Commandery Princess!"

Shang Shuqing returned the courtesy, then descended the mountain accompanied by her attendants.

Xia Hua said, "She probably went to the commandery city to report the sworn-brotherhood affair to His Highness."

Fei Changliu and Zheng Jiuxiao nodded. That was almost certainly the case.

Fei Changliu turned his gaze toward the distant figures of the two "brothers" touring the estate and sighed softly. "I hear this man was originally the Sect Leader of Shangqing Sect, but because they disliked his shallow seniority, he was pushed aside and eventually squeezed out of the sect. If he had truly been allowed to lead Shangqing Sect, with his ability, that sect would probably look entirely different today."

"Shangqing Sect truly missed the man who could have led its revival. I dare say they'll regret it sooner or later!"

Xia Hua and Zheng Jiuxiao had both once belonged to the Song family's side. They too had originally wanted Niu Youdao dead and knew something of what had happened to him within Shangqing Sect, so naturally they understood Fei Changliu's meaning.

Zheng Jiuxiao nodded and sighed as well. "I doubt Linghu Qiu himself expected this turn of events when he came here. At first, I couldn't understand what our 'Master Dao' was trying to accomplish by circling around like that. Now I see it."

"He brought up the warhorses. Linghu Qiu repeatedly said the matter was difficult. So Master Dao immediately latched onto the man's maids and refused to let go, raising the price again and again. When Linghu Qiu rejected him yet again, Master Dao immediately asked to become sworn brothers."

"He'd already refused twice in a row right after meeting him. If he refused again, what would become of all that talk about coming here to make friends? In that sense, was he not practically forced into becoming sworn brothers? Our 'Master Dao' is formidable!"

The three did not normally address Niu Youdao as "Master Dao" the way Gongsun Bu of Wuliang Mountain did. Their sects had more standing, and the form of their attachment here was different.

For them to say "our Master Dao" now showed how genuinely impressed they were.

Xia Hua nodded too. "Linghu Qiu refused at first. Now they're sworn brothers. If a sworn younger brother runs into trouble and asks for help, it'll be much harder for that sworn elder brother to refuse. After all that circling, it still comes back to the warhorses. He simply changed methods in the blink of an eye to reach the same objective!"

Fei Changliu said, "One was willing to strike and the other willing to suffer it. Why did Linghu Qiu come visit him instead of us? Niu Youdao becoming famous beneath Heaven for killing an envoy of Yan was certainly one reason, but Linghu Qiu must have discerned some other value in him as well."

The other two understood the implication. Linghu Qiu must have seen some sort of worth in Niu Youdao. Otherwise he would not have come to the door, much less agreed so readily to become sworn brothers.

Zheng Jiuxiao said, "From Niu Youdao's attitude, the warhorse problem has made the crisis imminent. He knows the present balance is about to break and that he can't keep hiding away in seclusion. Otherwise he wouldn't have called us here today to discuss this. Looks like he's going to act personally!"

Xia Hua giggled. "That's a good thing! Our people are fighting for their lives in Qi while this one has been hiding here, ignoring worldly affairs and focusing entirely on cultivation. The Qi problem can't be solved through brute force. If he finally comes out of the mountains, then I have some expectations!"

"You've all seen how capable his methods are."

Fei Changliu looked toward the commandery city. "It won't take long for Tianyu Sect to learn that he and Linghu Qiu have become sworn brothers. That's another weight added behind him. Tianyu Sect will be even less willing to move against him casually!"

Xia Hua laughed again. "That's good for us too. At least right now he stands on the same side as us in resisting Tianyu Sect. Once the interests here expand, internal struggles over benefits will be unavoidable. Tianyu Sect holds overwhelming strength around Commandery Prince Yongping, while this man has no small influence over the prince either. It's necessary for us to band together."

The other two nodded slightly in agreement. Everyone understood perfectly well that if they wanted to establish themselves here, then under Tianyu Sect's overwhelming strength, the three sects could not do without Niu Youdao's influence over Shang Chaozong.

So long as Niu Youdao remained, Shang Chaozong could never casually listen to Tianyu Sect and throw the three sects out.

Likewise, Niu Youdao could not do without the support of the three sects either. He needed them to provide protection and security.

And by the same logic, they believed Shang Chaozong also needed Niu Youdao's side as a counterweight to Tianyu Sect's influence.

No mundane power could directly contend with cultivation forces. Even the courts of the various states had to use the major sects to restrain and balance one another. Without that, even an emperor might not know whether he would still hold his throne the next morning.

In truth, Niu Youdao had already been serving precisely that role, checking Tianyu Sect's influence to a certain degree. Otherwise the two commanderies would never have developed into what they were today.

It was unlike the days when the three sects had attached themselves to the Song family. Back then, they had competed with one another. Here their interests were aligned, forcing them to huddle together for warmth. Old grievances had long since been put aside...

"Haha, Your Highness, looks like Master Dao is finally coming out of the mountains. I'm afraid he'll personally take charge of the warhorse affair!"

Inside the Commandery Governor's residence, after listening to Shang Shuqing's report, Lan Ruoting spoke excitedly to Shang Chaozong.

Shang Chaozong turned toward the map, his eyes likewise shining. He nodded. "I didn't expect it to happen this quickly. We only mentioned the problem, and Master Dao has already started with this Linghu Qiu. From the look of things, Master Dao intends to go personally to Qi. I look forward to seeing what he does!"

Hearing this, Shang Shuqing, who was standing nearby, looked alarmed and uncertain. "Brother, did the two of you say something to Master Dao?"

Shang Chaozong and Lan Ruoting exchanged a glance.

Shang Chaozong turned back to his sister and sighed. "Qing'er, you know the situation yourself. Several sects have dragged this out for so long without giving us a definite answer on the warhorses. They've been vague the whole time. I know it must be extremely difficult. How could bringing warhorses out of Qi possibly be easy? They refuse to say it plainly because they don't want to look incompetent. I can understand that."

"But Qing'er, this cannot continue. We can't drag it out much longer. Sir Lan and I have calculated it. If the situation continues like this, we have at most another two years before major trouble inevitably arrives."

"I've actually wanted to discuss the matter with Master Dao for a long time. But he has been cultivating in seclusion and doesn't allow people to disturb him casually, so I never found the right opportunity to speak. Today he came over himself. Naturally Sir Lan and I complained to him. The threat is imminent, and it affects his ability to cultivate in peace as well. I believed he would take the matter seriously. I simply didn't expect him to react this quickly."

Shang Shuqing had not realized that her brother's side had deliberately been laying the groundwork. Anxiety appeared on her face. "Brother, Tianyu Sect put in so much effort, and the three sects joined in too. Even with the combined strength of all four, they've met obstacle after obstacle and still can't accomplish it. What do you expect Master Dao to do?"

"Don't you know how dangerous it would be for Master Dao to go to Qi and handle this personally? Among all the lords beneath Heaven, we certainly can't be the only ones who want Qi's warhorses. Qi is a place where all manner of powers converge. Sending Master Dao into a place like that is far too dangerous!"

Lan Ruoting pondered, then said, "If it were easy, the sects would already have settled it themselves. Precisely because it isn't easy, we hope Master Dao will come out and act."

"Commandery Princess, the sects have refused to give us a clear answer all this time. That tells us they still have no real solution, which means we can't make our own next-stage plans either. Circumstances are forcing us. We cannot keep delaying."

"We had no other choice. Even if Master Dao hadn't come today, once the city-expansion matter was settled, His Highness and I were already preparing to go speak with him. Marshal Meng feels the same."

He sighed. "Going to Qi is certainly dangerous, but Commandery Princess needn't underestimate Master Dao either. His Highness and I don't place our hopes in him without reason."

"Think of everything since we escaped the capital: scheming to secure the Princess Consort's marriage, borrowing troops from Guangyi Commandery, establishing ourselves in Canglu County, joining hands with Jinzhou, taking Qingshan Commandery, seizing authority over the two commanderies, forcing Tianyu Sect to agree to tax reductions so the two commanderies could develop, and all the other matters besides. I doubt I need to explain the ability Master Dao has displayed."

"If even several sects cannot accomplish something, then if we don't place our hopes in Master Dao's ability, who else can we turn to? If we invite other forces to interfere, Tianyu Sect would be the first to refuse!"

"Master Dao has methods capable of turning clouds and rain. Letting a man like that remain hidden deep in the mountains without using him would be a waste. The realm is unsettled, and he has long since been drawn into its disputes. How long can he truly hide?"

"Sooner or later, he'll have to come out and measure himself against the great figures beneath Heaven. Master Dao understands that perfectly well himself. Otherwise a man like him wouldn't have been moved by a few words from us. In the end, it was still his own decision."

Lan Ruoting looked at Shang Shuqing and concluded, "Commandery Princess, have faith in Master Dao!"

[End of Chapter 248]