Chapter 296: This Emperor Really Knows How to Screw People Over

Feng Entai looked deeply troubled. "I had the authority to accept these things, but I don't have the authority to give them away!"

Niu Youdao found that bizarre. "Didn't you just say you wanted to give them back to me?"

Feng Entai answered guiltily, "Giving them to you is giving them to you. How can that be the same as giving them to someone else?"

Niu Youdao understood immediately. This old fellow wanted to shove the responsibility back onto him. If Niu Youdao took the permits and then gave them away, Tianyu Sect would naturally have plenty to say about the liquor profit-sharing agreement. Feng Entai could pretend last night's arrangement had never happened.

Niu Youdao sneered. "Old Feng, that's quite a calculation you've made. You're trying to screw me over!"

Feng Entai smiled bitterly. "I'm not trying to screw you over."

"These are exit permits for one hundred thousand warhorses. You understand their weight without me explaining it."

"If I simply give them away like this, how am I supposed to explain myself to the sect?"

"I understand what Little Brother means, but I genuinely don't have the authority to decide something this large. I have to wait for the sect's decision."

"Are you joking?" Niu Youdao swept one sleeve toward the outside.

"A Goldenwing message needs two or three days to go there and back. Do you think the people watching us like tigers will wait that long?"

"Believe me or not, someone may come knocking before long and force you to give an answer!"

Feng Entai sighed. "Little Brother, that's precisely why I hope you'll bear the matter for now and not make our agreement public."

"Once word from the sect arrives, we can decide what to do."

Niu Youdao gave a cold laugh. "Old Feng, do you have any shame left?"

"Who was it last night who absolutely insisted I accept the deal?"

"Oh, when there's a benefit, it belongs to you. When there's trouble, it becomes mine."

"Do you still have any sense of reason?"

Feng Entai said, "Isn't that why I'm discussing it with you?"

Niu Youdao said, "Does it need discussion?"

"No."

"I definitely won't agree!"

Feng Entai let out a miserable sigh. He knew perfectly well that he was being unreasonable.

After brooding for a while, he asked, "How many should we give away?"

Niu Youdao was confused. "How many of what?"

Feng Entai said, "There are ten exit permits. How many do you think we should give away, and how many should we keep?"

Niu Youdao stared at him. "You still want to keep some?"

"We've already been targeted. Keeping even one is trouble."

"Give all of them away!"

Feng Entai was shocked. "Not keep even one? Give them all away? How could that possibly work?"

At this point, Niu Youdao finally understood the emperor's intention on a much deeper level. One look at Feng Entai told him everything. Even under circumstances like these, the man still could not bear to let go. One could imagine what everyone else would be like. Greed was what made people swallow the bait. Then again, Niu Youdao himself had been greedy too. Otherwise, he would have rejected the offer decisively the previous night. In short, whoever grew greedy over this affair was asking for disaster.

By now, everyone could probably see that the exit permits for one hundred thousand warhorses were bait. Bright, obvious bait. Yet people would still bite the hook. Even Tianyu Sect's own people could not believe they would be allowed to carry such things away smoothly.

"Fine. Do whatever you want." Niu Youdao swept his broad sleeve and turned to leave.

"Little Brother!" Feng Entai grabbed his arm.

Niu Youdao spun around sharply. "What do you want?"

"Kill me to silence me?"

"Or seize the agreement back by force?"

"I'm warning you. If we actually fight, your people may not gain much of an advantage."

"And don't forget, this is the Qi capital. Once the commotion starts, none of you will have an easy time either!"

Linghu Qiu immediately spoke in a firm voice. "Old Feng, I advise you not to do anything foolish. He's my sworn brother!"

"At a time like this, we're supposed to be helping one another through the crisis. Why would I kill you to silence you?" Feng Entai firmly denied having any such intention.

He looked solemnly at Niu Youdao.

"Little Brother, think this through carefully."

"This isn't only Tianyu Sect's problem."

"If Tianyu Sect is destroyed, how is Commandery Prince Yongping supposed to protect himself?"

"The three sects—Liuxian Sect, Fuyun Sect, and Lingxiu Mountain—aren't enough to hold up the situation."

"When that happens, what will Little Brother do?"

"Take another ten thousand steps back."

"If Little Brother refuses to share adversity with Tianyu Sect today, then how is Tianyu Sect supposed to share prosperity with Little Brother in the future?"

Niu Youdao flung his hand away and nearly cursed aloud. Why had he kept the truth from the three sects earlier? Why had he come here to persuade Feng Entai? Precisely because of this. If Tianyu Sect collapsed, Shang Chaozong would be finished too. And then Niu Youdao himself would not have an easy time. The moment this affair broke, he already knew he had been dragged into the water. At a time like this, he and Tianyu Sect were grasshoppers tied to the same string.

Even so, he sneered. "Old Feng, are you threatening me?"

Feng Entai hurriedly waved his hands. "Absolutely not. I'm only stating the facts."

"Little Brother is an intelligent man. I genuinely want to discuss a way through this with you."

Niu Youdao said, "I told you to give the things away. You refuse. What else is there to discuss?"

Feng Entai suddenly lowered his voice. "How about this?"

"You go forward and stabilize the situation for now. I'll secretly have people dig a tunnel, and we'll slip away from here quietly."

Niu Youdao said, "The monk may run, but the temple remains."

"I'm afraid before we even escape the State of Qi, someone will already be at Tianyu Sect putting pressure on them."

Feng Entai said, "That's why I need you to hold things here for the moment."

"Once Tianyu Sect has opened the route for transporting the warhorses, and once the horses have left the State of Qi, those ten exit permits will already have fallen into different hands."

"The deed will be done."

"Who would still run all the way to the State of Zhao to intercept the warhorses?"

"Everyone else would have no choice but to let the matter drop."

Niu Youdao said, "Not a bad plan."

"How about we switch roles?"

"Tianyu Sect stays here and bears the pressure while I go open the route for transporting the warhorses. What do you think?"

There was no possibility Niu Youdao would accept Feng Entai's proposal. If he were truly foolish enough to stay here drawing everyone's fire, then even if Tianyu Sect eventually succeeded, Niu Youdao would have made fools of so many people in the capital that he could forget about leaving alive.

"..."

The two men stared at each other, neither willing to give an inch. Linghu Qiu could barely suppress his amusement. The corners of his mouth kept threatening to rise. He had discovered that this conveniently acquired sworn younger brother of his was extremely difficult to deal with. There was no easy way to fool him.

Feng Entai said, "Giving all these things away is impossible. I can't explain that to the sect."

"How about this? We sell all of them."

"If we obtain a huge sum of money, I'll at least have something to show the sect."

Niu Youdao badly wanted to ask whether Feng Entai wanted money so much that he no longer wanted his life. The words reached his lips, then he swallowed them again.

"Fine. I support that."

"If you have no other objections, then we'll settle it this way."

"I'll publicly announce that the permits have already been transferred to Tianyu Sect, and you can prepare to sell them."

He cupped his hands and started to leave.

"Wait!" Feng Entai called after him.

"It still isn't time to make the matter public."

"We still don't know what decision the sect will make. I genuinely cannot afford to make another mistake!"

Niu Youdao gave a dry chuckle. "From what you're saying, you still want me to carry this for a while first?"

Feng Entai cupped his hands in appeal. "Little Brother, at a time like this we have to stay in the same boat and help one another. We can't fall into internal conflict ourselves!"

Niu Youdao nodded. "Fine. Since Brother Feng has put it that way, I'll take one step back."

"I can bear the matter for a while until Tianyu Sect's reply arrives, and then we'll make the final decision."

"But you have to hand the ten exit permits back to me."

"I'll keep them."

"Otherwise, what if your people secretly run away? Who am I supposed to look for then?"

As long as the permits returned to his hands, Niu Youdao could dump the burden at any moment. Under those conditions, bearing it temporarily was not entirely unacceptable.

Feng Entai said, "Does Little Brother distrust me that much?"

Niu Youdao asked, "Aren't you the one who distrusts me?"

"If you don't plan to run, what difference does it make if the permits are in my hands?"

Feng Entai said, "What if you secretly sell them?"

Niu Youdao said, "Sell them secretly without letting anyone know they've changed hands?"

"What, is there something wrong with my head that I'd deliberately keep the trouble attached to myself?"

"Go ahead and secretly sell one for me. I'd like to see how you manage it!"

Feng Entai gave an awkward laugh. That was true. These things could only be disposed of openly. Otherwise, selling them and not selling them would make no difference.

"If you truly don't trust me, you can post people beside me day and night and watch me."

"I certainly won't be thinking about digging a tunnel and running away."

Niu Youdao finished speaking and held out his hand, demanding the permits. Feng Entai put a hand inside his robe, hesitated, then withdrew it empty.

"Little Brother should write me a receipt first."

"If Little Brother later refuses to acknowledge taking them, I won't be able to explain myself."

Niu Youdao mocked him. "Old Feng, now do you know which one of us doesn't trust the other?"

That was what he said, but he still wrote the receipt. Some matters were too serious to be measured by whether one trusted the other. Their friendship was not remotely deep enough for that. In the end, one man handed over the permits while the other handed over the receipt. Feng Entai watched Niu Youdao and the others leave. Then he looked down at the receipt in his hand and nearly wanted to cry.

After going in a full circle and getting himself covered in trouble, this single piece of paper was all he had left.

Back in Niu Youdao's courtyard, Linghu Qiu asked, "Little Brother, even if those things are sold, everyone will know a vast sum of money exists."

"I'm afraid carrying that money away won't be easy either."

"I refuse to believe no one would covet it."

"My advice is still to give the permits away directly."

Niu Youdao said, "Let's see what Tianyu Sect decides."

"If Tianyu Sect insists on taking that money and chooses wealth over life, that's their business. It has nothing to do with me."

Linghu Qiu said, "These things are simply too hot to hold."

"If you openly give them away, other people may not even dare accept them."

"If you sell them, no one will dare buy them openly either."

"Everyone knows that whoever openly obtains these permits will inherit an enormous problem."

"These things are destined to provoke secret slaughter and frantic fighting!"

Niu Youdao asked, "What if we organize an auction?"

"Sell them openly, but let interested parties bid and buy in secret. Once a buyer obtains them, he can leave secretly."

Linghu Qiu stared at him. "Leave secretly?"

"Hao Yuntu is plainly trying to stir up a storm of blood. Do you think he'll let this affair end quietly?"

"Do you think he'll simply give away one hundred thousand warhorses for nothing?"

"This is his territory."

"No matter who secretly buys those things, once the permits change hands, do you really think they can escape his eyes?"

"He won't stand by and do nothing."

"He'll definitely push matters along from the shadows. Nine times out of ten, the buyer will be exposed."

"Little Brother, let me remind you of something."

"Once you accept Hao Yuntu's chess pieces, you can only move according to Hao Yuntu's intentions."

"Move the way he wants. Satisfy him, and you may keep your life."

"Defy his intentions and make him lose face, and you can forget about leaving the State of Qi alive!"

"So my advice is simple."

"Don't fight him."

"You don't have that kind of strength yet!"

The warning came at exactly the right time. Niu Youdao's expression grew solemn. He suddenly gained another layer of understanding regarding how serious the situation truly was. It was not only the countless cultivators outside watching hungrily. The pair of eyes inside the imperial palace was watching too. Feng Entai's idea of digging a tunnel and escaping with the permits was a joke.

"This emperor really knows how to screw people over!" Niu Youdao could not help sighing.

The two spoke for a little longer.

After Linghu Qiu left, Black Peony asked, "Master Dao, are we still going to visit those important people?"

"Visit what?" Niu Youdao shook his head and sighed.

"After Hao Yuntu pulls something like this, even if I go to their doors, not even a ghost will agree to see me."

Then he turned back.

"Arrange for someone to go outside and test the waters. See what the situation is like now."

"Yes!" Black Peony answered and turned away to make the arrangements...

[End of Chapter 296]