Chapter 256: Both Have Set Their Sights on It

Still staring at the map spread across the table, Niu Youdao nodded slightly. "Apart from warhorses, I can't think of anything else worth taking such a huge risk to move secretly through the State of Han."

Black Peony asked, "Are they getting them from the State of Qi?"

"The broader circumstances are the same, so everyone naturally faces much the same fundamental difficulties. At the strategic level, there aren't many other choices." Niu Youdao said, "His Highness's two commanderies are still counting on Qi for the warhorses they need. Beizhou controls far more territory, so it has even less room for another solution."

"This route practically cuts through the entire State of Han. Beizhou really has nerve!" Black Peony clicked her tongue as she stared at the map.

"Would someone without nerve have been able to swallow Beizhou?" Niu Youdao tapped the spot marking Beizhou and chuckled. "These are people who dared oppose both Han and Yan from the very beginning. Borrowing Han's waterways hardly counts as anything to them."

"This route couldn't possibly have been opened in a short time. They also wouldn't dare let Han discover it, which means it could only have been prepared quietly and gradually. My guess is that they've been working on this water route for a very long time."

"In other words, they planned for this long ago and were never afraid in the first place. They're practically acting as if the entire State of Han has no one capable of stopping them!"

Black Peony looked up. "If that's true, does Dachan Mountain have confidence it can obtain warhorses from Qi?"

"I'm afraid it may be more than Dachan Mountain. There may be an even greater and more mysterious force behind him..." Niu Youdao narrowed his eyes as he murmured to himself.

He had reasons for making that judgment. When Lu Shengzhong's affair occurred, Chen Guishuo had urgently sent a warning. Later, when he had time, he submitted a fuller account.

Chen Guishuo had stated clearly that he personally saw a group of mysterious people appear beside Shao Pingbo. Lu Shengzhong had not been so easy to capture, yet the arrival of that group led directly to his swift seizure.

Setting everything else aside, the fact that they possessed three flying mounts had been enough to make Niu Youdao secretly alarmed.

Flying mounts were extraordinarily expensive, easily costing more than ten million gold coins apiece. Dachan Mountain could not afford such extravagant resources.

Apart from the courts of the various states, the forces able to field flying mounts were basically those within the cultivation-world alliance that held seats in Misty Pavilion and possessed the qualifications to make their voices heard there. And this had not been one flying mount.

Three had appeared at once!

After that incident, Niu Youdao had realized deeply that an unfathomable force was still hidden behind Shao Pingbo.

Black Peony looked astonished. "Master Dao, you're saying there's a force behind Shao Pingbo even more powerful than Dachan Mountain? That can't be right. If such a force truly existed, there couldn't be no trace of it in Beizhou. Why would it let Dachan Mountain monopolize all the benefits there?"

"If Shao Pingbo really had that kind of force behind him, then when Master Dao opposed him, why would that force simply stand by and do nothing?"

"That's precisely why I say the force is mysterious. It seems unwilling or unable to surface openly." Niu Youdao pondered. "In any case, that force definitely exists. I simply know too little about it. I only have the feeling that its relationship with Shao Pingbo is somewhat awkward. As you said, I can't quite make sense of it either."

Black Peony did not know how he had learned of this mysterious force's existence. She could not help glancing at the secret message in his hand, wondering whether the information had come from the same person behind this report.

She was extremely curious. She had no idea when Niu Youdao had planted such a deadly spy beside Shao Pingbo. The man was practically lodged at one of Shao Pingbo's vital points. The reason was simple.

The water route Shao Pingbo had secretly established through Han had to be an absolute secret. Anyone Shao Pingbo did not trust would never have been sent to inspect it. If the spy could also come into contact with the mysterious force behind Shao Pingbo, that suddenly made perfect sense. And because of that, Black Peony abruptly felt delighted.

Master Dao truly regarded her as one of his own now. Otherwise, he would never have allowed her to learn of such a top-secret spy. Her mood suddenly became excellent.

Niu Youdao continued, "Someone like Shao Pingbo... from the very first time I met him, I understood what sort of man he was. He is absolutely no easy opponent. No matter how large or mysterious that force may be, Shao Pingbo will never let anyone manipulate him at will. Sooner or later, the two sides will test their strength against each other!"

Black Peony suddenly burst out laughing.

Niu Youdao blinked, then could not help smiling. "You seem to be in a good mood."

Black Peony threw him a flirtatious look. "I'm happy. Who is the spy beside Shao Pingbo? Don't worry. You could beat me to death and I still wouldn't tell anyone!"

Niu Youdao finally understood why she was so pleased and changed the subject. "Is that really worth laughing over?"

Black Peony gave him a disdainful look. When no outsiders were present, this woman could be somewhat unrestrained with Niu Youdao, teasing him with little flirtations now and then. That was an advantage women had. If a man tried batting his eyes flirtatiously at Niu Youdao, he would probably get beaten to death.

Seeing that he would not answer, Black Peony did not press further. She knew some things could not be made explicit.

Instead, she sighed. "I'm only thinking about something. Aren't you and Shao Pingbo mortal enemies? Listening to you just now gave me a strange feeling."

She had personally taken part in spreading the children's-rhyme rumors and knew how deep the grievance between Niu Youdao and Shao Pingbo ran. There was no need even to mention what had happened at the Ice and Snow Pavilion. She knew perfectly well the two were mortal enemies.

Niu Youdao looked suspicious. "What feeling?"

Black Peony sighed dramatically. "Why do I get the feeling that you two mortal enemies have both set your sights on that mysterious force, as if neither of you likes the look of it?"

Niu Youdao laughed too. "Have we?"

Black Peony nodded. "I don't know about Shao Pingbo, but you definitely don't like the look of that mysterious force."

"We don't even know what the situation is yet. There's nothing to like or dislike." Niu Youdao shook his head. "Since they haven't openly helped Shao Pingbo deal with me, they must have some scruples. The chances of them openly moving against me in the future are probably low as well."

His gaze returned to the map. "Can Dachan Mountain really obtain warhorses from Qi that easily? I'm only worried that this mysterious force will step in and help Shao Pingbo."

Black Peony said, "Isn't that easy to solve? Han certainly has to guard against foreign enemies driving straight into its heartland. Important points along the waterways must have inspection checkpoints and troops stationed there."

"It would be easy to stop Shao Pingbo from succeeding. We only need to leak the news to the Han court, and Beizhou will suffer endlessly! I refuse to believe that mysterious force could make Han sit still over something like this. If it truly had that kind of ability, there'd be no need for it to hide itself and pretend to be mysterious."

Niu Youdao fell somewhat silent. At first, he had indeed thought of doing exactly that. But he had quickly rejected the idea himself. If he did it, Chen Guishuo would very likely be exposed.

Deep down, Niu Youdao understood perfectly well that in some respects, he and Shao Pingbo were the same kind of person.

When different people face a problem, the greatest difference often lies in the logic they use to think about it. Some think point to point. Some think in a fan-shaped spread. But he and Shao Pingbo both thought in spiderwebs: touch one strand with the slightest insect, and the entire web reacts at once.

When Lu Shengzhong's affair went wrong, Wei Duo had cut the trail in time and kept Shao Pingbo from biting onto it. If this water-route secret were exposed as well, Shao Pingbo would probably lock onto the betrayer almost immediately.

It would not matter how many people were involved or how many might theoretically have leaked the information. None of that would conceal the truth. Niu Youdao believed Shao Pingbo had that ability. Planting eyes beside Shao Pingbo was extraordinarily difficult. The man's vigilance was too sharp, his logical reasoning too formidable—frightening, even.

To this day, Niu Youdao still could not understand how Shao Pingbo had so quickly inferred that he intended to go to the Ice and Snow Pavilion in search of the Scarlet Yang Vermilion Fruit. The humiliation Chu Anlou had inflicted on him at the Rainbow Inn had essentially been Shao Pingbo's doing.

Niu Youdao had remained silent for a long time and painstakingly prepared a counterstroke, only for Shao Pingbo to escape disaster again through the unimaginable method of killing Madam Ruan and her sons!

Against a man like that, Niu Youdao understood perfectly well that the chances of planting a second Chen Guishuo beside him were vanishingly small.

The grudge between Chen Guishuo and Niu Youdao had begun when both were insignificant, starting back in Shangqing Sect, when Niu Youdao and Shao Pingbo had not even known one another. Then came Nanshan Temple. Niu Youdao and Shao Pingbo still did not know each other. Then Jinzhou. They still had not met.

Even if Shao Pingbo were an immortal, he could not possibly believe the conflict back in Shangqing Sect had been arranged for his sake, nor could he think the ambush at Nanshan Temple had been part of a scheme against him, much less that the enormous incident in Jinzhou involving the killing of Yan's envoy had all been laid out for him.

Chen Guishuo's grievance with Niu Youdao had risen and fallen together with the Song family and had remained tied to the Song family throughout. Only after the Song household was exterminated had Chen Guishuo fled with Song Shu and taken refuge with Shao Pingbo.

Chen Guishuo's background was practically flawless—perfect to the point that every detail fit seamlessly and could withstand any scrutiny or suspicion. And now, the value Chen Guishuo had produced was enormous.

Without Chen Guishuo's reports, Niu Youdao would never have known that such a mysterious force was hidden behind Shao Pingbo. If he remained ignorant of that, he might suffer a disastrous loss in the future.

Without Chen Guishuo's reports, he likewise could never have learned the top-secret details of Shao Pingbo's water route, giving him the ability to deal Shao Pingbo a heavy blow whenever he chose.

"No!" Niu Youdao shook his head. "If necessary, I'd rather let Shao Pingbo obtain a large number of warhorses than expose that water route of his!"

Black Peony was shocked. "Why? Master Dao, once Shao Pingbo obtains large numbers of warhorses and possesses powerful military deterrence, Beizhou can very easily grow beyond control!"

Niu Youdao still shook his head. "There's no need. I'm not going to fight him over a momentary advantage."

"..."

Black Peony was speechless. He was actually willing to abandon such a good opportunity to cripple his opponent. There were some things Niu Youdao could not conveniently explain to her, but the reasoning was simple.

He did not believe losing those warhorses would doom Shao Pingbo beyond recovery. With Shao Pingbo's ability, he could absolutely rise again.

And Niu Youdao currently had no real way to deal with him. In fact, every attempt he had made against Shao Pingbo so far had ended in failure. To Niu Youdao, the most dangerous thing about Shao Pingbo was not how many warhorses he obtained. The most dangerous thing was Shao Pingbo himself. Unless Niu Youdao found an opportunity for a truly fatal strike, he would not casually expose Chen Guishuo.

"Master Dao, are you afraid the spy over there will be exposed?" Black Peony still could not resist trying to persuade him. "When it happens, couldn't you simply arrange for the spy to escape?"

Niu Youdao raised a hand. "Enough. Don't mention this again. Let it rot in your stomach. I'm not made of wood. Now that I know what he's trying to do, of course I won't simply sit by and let him succeed. As long as the warhorses are still inside Qi, when would it ever be Han's turn to seize them?"

Black Peony froze, then her eyes lit up. Of course.

Qi wasn't dead!

Niu Youdao clasped his hands behind his back and looked out the window. Slowly, he murmured, "Riding through the jianghu, come wind or rain! What I find strange now is why the guest I'm waiting for still hasn't arrived. How odd. Does Linghu Qiu truly have that much deterrent power?"

[End of Chapter 256]