Chapter 287: You Don't Know the Heights of Heaven or the Depths of Earth

"Really?" Huyan Wei froze for a moment, then could not help laughing. Where could this woman possibly have met Niu Youdao? With a face full of mockery, he said, "I'm impressed. Of course I'm impressed. You're a princess. Would I dare not be?"

He did not look impressed in the slightest. The sarcasm was obvious.

Hao Qingqing instantly bristled and pointed at him angrily. "Fur-face, what's with that nasty tone?"

Huyan Wei said, "Heh!"

Hao Qingqing flared up. "You're not allowed to laugh!"

Huyan Wei asked, "Which law says I'm not allowed to laugh?"

Shing!

Hao Qingqing drew the ornamental dagger at her waist and prepared to teach him a lesson. "I'll help shave all that fur off your face!"

How could Lady Pei let her succeed? She immediately pressed a hand onto Hao Qingqing's shoulder and pinned her in place.

Everyone nearby shook their heads at the pair of enemies. Those who knew them were well aware that the two fought every time they met.

Naturally, Huyan Wei was usually the one who suffered. There was no helping it. She was the Grand Princess. He could not insult the imperial family by cursing her back, much less strike her in return. He was bound to come off worse.

Elsewhere below, several people surrounded and guarded the disguised Su Zhao.

Su Zhao glanced repeatedly at the rising sun and quietly asked Qin Mian, who was likewise disguised, "Why hasn't he come yet?"

Qin Mian said, "I don't know. Could he have changed his mind?"

Su Zhao had nothing to say to that. She truly could not rule out the possibility... Bloodstains from yesterday still remained among the flowerbeds in the residence. Linghu Qiu and Feng Entai paced around the main courtyard, glancing at the sky from time to time.

The sun was already high, yet Niu Youdao still had not appeared. Was he going to Flying Waterfall Terrace to accept the challenge or not? They waited quite a while before Niu Youdao and the others finally emerged from the inner courtyard. Seeing the two men waiting outside, Niu Youdao cupped his hands in greeting.

Linghu Qiu said, "Little Brother certainly made us wait."

Niu Youdao looked surprised. "What were you waiting for me for?"

Linghu Qiu rolled his eyes. "Aren't you going to Flying Waterfall Terrace to fight Xuan Zichun? We're waiting to watch Little Brother display his might!"

"Heh. So you're in a hurry to watch the excitement." Niu Youdao laughed, then turned toward Duan Hu, who led the group behind him. "You go on ahead. Be careful."

"Yes!" Duan Hu answered.

He carried two bundles in his hands and departed with ten experts from the three sects. Feng Entai looked puzzled. Niu Youdao had sent his subordinates ahead?

"When are you leaving?" he asked.

"Naturally, I'm leaving now. Are the two of you coming with me?"

"Of course!" One answered aloud while the other nodded.

"Good. Then let's go together." Niu Youdao gestured invitingly.

The group followed his lead through the courtyard and out the gate. Mounts had already been prepared outside. Everyone swung into the saddle, and the steady clop of hooves carried them through the prosperous streets of the Qi capital without haste. After they had ridden for a while, Feng Entai realized the route was wrong. He had spent quite some time in the Qi capital and was already fairly familiar with its layout.

"Little Brother, this isn't the road to the north gate. Where are you going?"

Niu Youdao said, "To visit an important person in the city, of course."

Linghu Qiu looked up at the sky yet again. "At this hour, you still have the leisure to visit someone? The people at Flying Waterfall Terrace are probably getting impatient."

Feng Entai chuckled. "Is Little Brother deliberately putting on airs and making Xuan Zichun wait? If so, it's fortunate we didn't go ahead of you. Who knows how long we'd have been waiting?"

To their surprise, Niu Youdao asked in return, "You two don't actually think I'm going to Flying Waterfall Terrace to accept her challenge, do you?"

The words left both men dumbstruck. One on either side of him, they stared in utter disbelief, almost wondering whether they had heard correctly.

Feng Entai looked as though his jaw might drop. "You're not going?"

Niu Youdao spread one hand. "Does Elder Brother really think I'm that bored? Why would I go? Some random person runs over to challenge me when I don't even know who she is. I'd have to be sick in the head to play along."

What the hell?

What kind of situation was this? This was completely contrary to common sense.

Linghu Qiu's thoughts tangled for a moment before he sorted them out enough to ask, "Then why did you agree to her challenge? You used the fact that you'd already accepted her challenge as a shield to refuse all the others. By now the news is practically public. The entire cultivation world in the Qi capital probably knows."

"With your present reputation, I can guarantee that people from every major faction in the capital have gone to Flying Waterfall Terrace to watch. If you break your word now, you're publicly slapping yourself in the face. It'll be terrible for your reputation. Wherever you go afterward, people will point at your back and curse you!"

Niu Youdao smiled. "Then I'll tell people Brother Linghu is my sworn elder brother and that sworn brothers share hardship together. If anyone points at my back and curses me, remember to explain things on my behalf."

"Sworn brothers?" Feng Entai froze.

His gaze moved back and forth between their faces. He had not known the two had sworn brotherhood, nor had Tianyu Sect mentioned it.

The corner of Linghu Qiu's mouth twitched. Still unwilling to believe this, he said, "I'm being serious. Stop fooling around. You're really not going?"

Niu Youdao said, "You know why I came here. I have serious business to handle. Where would I find the mood to play games with those people?"

Linghu Qiu pointed northward. "There must be a huge gathering of cultivators over there. So many people are waiting, and quite a few may be important figures. If you make fools of all of them and anger half the capital, do you still expect to get anything done here afterward?"

Niu Youdao shrugged. "I didn't invite them there. How is that my fault?"

Linghu Qiu was completely speechless. He pointed at Niu Youdao, tapped the air several times, and finally gave him a look that said, Fine, you're ruthless.

Feng Entai, however, had another question. "You two really are sworn brothers?"

"Don't we look like it?" Niu Youdao swayed lazily in the saddle and asked back, then joked, "We weren't born from the same mother. It's understandable if we don't resemble each other."

Behind them, Black Peony covered a smile with her lips. Linghu Qiu could only nod helplessly at Feng Entai, confirming it.

Then he turned back to Niu Youdao. "Don't change the subject. Let's talk seriously. Forget making fools of everyone. Once the people who want to challenge you see you fail to appear, they'll be even more convinced you're afraid to fight. At that point, I doubt you'll be able to get anything done at all."

Niu Youdao sighed. "Elder Brother worries too much. This matter isn't worth worrying about. I'll sweep it clean myself."

His sleeve flicked lightly, as though a mere wave of it could flatten the whole problem. Before long, they reached another residence that stood quiet amid a busy district. A plaque over the gate read Zuo Residence. The party halted outside.

Niu Youdao looked up at the plaque, then turned and asked, "Confirmed?"

Black Peony replied, "Confirmed. Lord Zuo is at home."

Niu Youdao gestured. Black Peony jumped down from her mount and went to the gatehouse to deliver his calling card. Linghu Qiu and Feng Entai exchanged a glance. So he had not been joking. He really had come to visit an important person.

Feng Entai said heavily, "This is the residence of Zuo Desong, Grand Herald of the State of Qi. Niu Youdao, what are you playing at?"

Niu Youdao only smiled and said nothing. He dismounted and waited outside the Zuo Residence...

At Flying Waterfall Terrace, Duan Hu and the others skimmed up the mountain. Ignoring the great crowd that had come to watch, they entered the open space suitable for the contest directly. The moment they appeared, many people who had grown impatient immediately perked up. The crowd stirred. Huyan Wei, watching from high ground, also became alert.

Originally, after Hao Qingqing's arrival, he had grown too irritated to remain. Unfortunately, Heng Tianduan was not someone he could order around at whim. Huyan Wei could pester him into bringing him here, but he could not simply demand to be taken away whenever he pleased. Heng Tianduan wanted to see how the affair unfolded, so Huyan Wei could only stay.

Now that someone had finally stepped onto the field, he was rather eager to see the legendary man who had dared kill the envoy of an entire state.

He quickly asked, "Which one is Niu Youdao? The one in front?"

Heng Tianduan was also studying the arrivals, trying to identify Niu Youdao, and could not answer. Hao Qingqing looked them over, discovered Yuan Gang was not among them, and immediately seemed dissatisfied.

She scoffed. "Niu Youdao isn't among them. The one in front is his subordinate, Duan Hu. Niu Youdao is much younger than him."

Everyone around her turned to look. Huyan Wei did the same. He had not expected her even to know the newcomer's name.

Surprised, he asked, "You really know Niu Youdao?"

"Hmph!" Hao Qingqing lifted her chin proudly and looked as though she could not be bothered replying.

Hearing this, Heng Tianduan looked toward Lady Pei. Lady Pei gave a slight nod, confirming that Hao Qingqing was right.

Down among the crowd, Su Zhao quietly asked Qin Mian, "Is the man in front Niu Youdao?"

Qin Mian looked uncertain. "I've never seen him either, but I don't think so. From the descriptions our people gave, Niu Youdao should be much younger."

Similar whispers were sounding almost everywhere around them. Duan Hu stood still and swept a cold gaze over the surroundings.

Then he infused his voice with spiritual power and shouted, "Where is Xuan Zichun?"

People looked around. Suddenly, a woman flashed out from one corner and landed before Duan Hu. She raised a hand and peeled away the false face covering her features. It was Xuan Zichun. She had been waiting here for a long time, yet Niu Youdao had never appeared. At this moment, Xuan Zichun was deeply excited. So many people were watching her. Whether she would achieve fame and success depended on today.

Even though only Duan Hu and the others had appeared and Niu Youdao was nowhere in sight, that did not matter to her.

If Niu Youdao never appeared because he did not dare accept the challenge, then her name would still soar after today. In the future, whenever people beneath Heaven spoke of Niu Youdao, they would inevitably mention Xuan Zichun and say that Niu Youdao, the man who killed Zhuo Chao, feared her and did not dare fight! Xuan Zichun swept her gaze around. Countless people were watching her. Never in her life had so many cultivators focused their attention upon her. Her blood surged at the sight.

Her heart pounded with excitement.

She demanded sharply, "Why hasn't Niu Youdao come? Is he afraid of death and too frightened to fight?"

Duan Hu's face was full of contempt. He tossed the two bundles in his hands, sending them tumbling to the ground before her.

"Look for yourself!"

Xuan Zichun frowned. She struck twice through the air with her palm.

Bang! Bang!

The wrapping cloth burst apart beneath the force, scraps fluttering through the air like butterflies. Two severed heads lay exposed before everyone. The instant Xuan Zichun recognized them, all color drained from her face. She staggered backward two steps in shock.

Someone among the spectators who recognized the heads cried out, "They're Xuan Zichun's two companions!"

"You..." Xuan Zichun jerked her head up.

She did not understand what the other side intended, but danger screamed through her instincts. Duan Hu sneered.

"Master Dao isn't someone the likes of you can provoke. You ignorant thing who doesn't know the heights of Heaven or the depths of Earth. If you insist on courting death, you have no one else to blame!"

He gave a hand signal. The ten Golden Core cultivators behind him shot forward at once and attacked Xuan Zichun simultaneously. There was no question of mercy. The moment they moved, every strike was meant to kill!

[End of Chapter 287]