Chapter 299: What Do You Mean?

Black Peony leaned closer to look. Sure enough, the map even showed the deeper parts of the inner residence that outsiders normally were not allowed to enter, and the routes were marked very clearly.

She could not help asking, "Can customers who pay to enjoy themselves at Among the White Clouds wander through the inner residence too?"

Niu Youdao shook his head. He did not know how Yuan Gang had obtained such a detailed layout either.

"What do these places drawn in faint outline mean?" Black Peony pointed at several locations on the map.

Niu Youdao set the map down and picked up the other sheet of paper, which was densely covered in writing. The script looked strange to Black Peony, and she could not read it. Niu Youdao knew at a glance that Yuan Gang had written it himself, because it used the simplified characters familiar to both of them.

The message said that Yuan Gang had already made contact with Su Zhao and had personally entered Among the White Clouds to investigate.

Among the White Clouds was not as simple as it appeared on the surface. The inner residence was watched both openly and covertly, and some of the servants did not seem ordinary either. Yuan Gang had made a few small tests and suspected that many cultivators were stationed in the more important parts of the inner residence. Judging by certain reactions in hearing and movement during those tests, he also suspected that both Su Zhao and Qin Mian were cultivators.

Whether Su Zhao's relationship with the Prince of the Western Court was truly what the rumors claimed was therefore worth questioning. There was more.

One courtyard in the inner residence appeared to contain a considerable number of Goldenwings. Keeping several Goldenwings for communication was understandable. Keeping an entire flock was another matter.

Yuan Gang had not seen them with his own eyes, but back in Qingshan Commandery he had been responsible for handling messages on Wuliang Mountain's side and had dealt with large numbers of Goldenwings. From the sounds alone, he could make a rough judgment.

The Goldenwings kept by Wuliang Mountain had also reacted strongly to Yuan Gang at first. Once they grew accustomed to him and realized he posed no threat, they stopped reacting. The Goldenwings at Among the White Clouds clearly were not yet accustomed to his presence.

After putting together all the details and signs, Yuan Gang's preliminary judgment was that the interior of Among the White Clouds resembled a secret stronghold. Of course, he also stressed that this was only an initial suspicion and had not yet been confirmed.

As for Su Zhao herself, there was only so much he could probe during a first meeting. Yuan Gang's meaning was that he needed time to make contact gradually and would slowly think of ways to investigate further.

The places shown only in faint outline on the map were precisely the areas Yuan Gang had been unable to enter. More accurately, they were the places Among the White Clouds had not allowed him to approach. One of them was the location where the Goldenwings appeared to be kept.

Yuan Gang also said he had clearly memorized Su Zhao's appearance. Unfortunately, he was not skilled enough at drawing, nor did he have anyone around him who could reproduce her face from a verbal description.

He wanted to find an opportunity to meet Niu Youdao in person. Yuan Gang would describe her, and Niu Youdao would draw.

At the end, Yuan Gang warned him that many unidentified people had been loitering around the residence where Niu Youdao was staying. He asked whether something had happened. Yuan Gang genuinely did not know what was going on.

Some events caused a great commotion, but unless one had status or position, ordinary people had difficulty learning the truth. Those who did know generally would not spread it carelessly. Huyan Wei, who would normally have been useful for gathering information, had also been confined at home. Otherwise Yuan Gang might have learned something through him. Niu Youdao did not want him to know either. He did not want Yuan Gang getting involved.

Comparing the contents of the note with the map for a while, Niu Youdao narrowed his eyes and murmured, "Cultivators... they may be cultivators..."

He put the papers down and paced slowly with his hands behind his back. If Yuan Gang's suspicion was correct and Su Zhao really was a cultivator, then her relationship with the Prince of the Western Court truly did deserve scrutiny.

If she were an ordinary woman, there would be nothing strange about a man of the Prince of the Western Court's status keeping her as his exclusive woman. Even keeping a female cultivator as such would not in itself be impossible.

But keeping a female cultivator as his woman and then having that same cultivator run a brothel was difficult to explain.

Black Peony could not read the note, but she had heard Niu Youdao muttering and tentatively reminded him, "Misty Pavilion's rules prohibit cultivators from conducting business in the secular world."

Niu Youdao answered casually, "If Among the White Clouds is said to belong to the Prince of the Western Court, then they could simply be counted as his retainer cultivators."

"If cultivators are guarding the place, how did Master Yuan get into the important parts of Among the White Clouds?" Black Peony was still curious. "And how did he manage to draw the layout in such detail?"

In her eyes, Yuan Gang was only an ordinary mortal, yet he seemed filled with things she could not understand. Niu Youdao shook his head without answering. He was thinking instead about Yuan Gang's request to meet him. Given his current situation, with so many eyes fixed upon him, how could he possibly meet Yuan Gang?

At that moment, Gongsun Bu appeared in the doorway. "Master Dao!"

Niu Youdao turned and beckoned him inside.

Gongsun Bu reported, "Master Dao, nearly three hundred large ships have already gathered at the island! And those are only the empty vessels undergoing modification. More large ships continue to arrive. These newer vessels sit much deeper in the water and appear to be fully loaded with cargo. They've gathered and anchored off to one side without any sign that they intend to be modified."

"That's quite a large operation." Niu Youdao gave a low chuckle. "Looks like the scale is far greater than I imagined. Whoever is handling this really has considerable ability. They can actually move that many warhorses out of the State of Qi."

He then reminded him, "Remember, your people don't need to do anything. Just watch. Don't alert the snake by striking the grass."

"Yes!" Gongsun Bu accepted the order and left.

Niu Youdao returned to the table and studied the map of Among the White Clouds one more time, fixing the layout firmly in his memory. Then he burned both sheets.

Watching the flames inside the brazier, he muttered, "Why hasn't Tianyu Sect's reply arrived yet?"

Waiting had begun to make him restless. Linghu Qiu's warning had been correct. The emperor would not let him keep dragging matters out indefinitely. If this continued and the emperor lost patience and made another move, Niu Youdao's situation would become extremely dangerous. In this affair, Niu Youdao genuinely felt that the emperor had left him with very little room to maneuver. They operated on completely different levels. When an emperor moved, what followed was momentum. He used momentum to crush people.

Under the weight of the greater trend, there was nowhere to hide. One thing Niu Youdao could more or less infer now was that the emperor had probably learned from Lady Pei and the others about how Chu Anlou had humiliated him, and therefore knew that Niu Youdao's relationship with Ice and Snow Pavilion was not what Niu Youdao had deliberately led others to believe. Otherwise, the emperor would at least have harbored some misgivings and would not have dared play with him this way.

Black Peony said, "I'll go ask again."

Niu Youdao waved a hand. "No need. Just keep an eye on Feng Entai and his people. I'll wait at most another two days. If no answer comes by then, I'll have no choice but to look after my own survival first."

Black Peony glanced toward the door. "There are so many people watching outside, and so many people want those permits. Why has no one come to ask for them after two or three days?"

Their side had already sent someone out to test the situation. The moment the man left the city, he had been seized and searched. Only after the other side confirmed that he was not carrying anything was he released. The test had proven beyond doubt that they were being watched tightly.

Niu Youdao sneered. "Ask for them? Don't you understand yet?"

"No one dares ask for these things openly. They can only try to seize them in secret."

"Whoever openly steps forward and takes them immediately becomes the target of every arrow. Everyone understands that perfectly well."

"Even someone who merely comes through this gate will be searched from head to toe once he leaves."

He had only just settled back onto his reclining chair when hurried footsteps sounded outside. Feng Entai's voice arrived from far away.

"Little Brother! Brother Niu!"

Niu Youdao shot to his feet. Feng Entai strode in with two disciples behind him, and Linghu Qiu followed as well, probably because he had been watching Feng Entai's side all along. The moment Feng Entai entered, he seized Niu Youdao by the arm.

"Little Brother, word from the sect has arrived."

Niu Youdao immediately asked, "Have they made a decision?"

"They have!" Feng Entai nodded, then shook his head with a bitter smile. "Naturally, they gave me a furious scolding first."

Niu Youdao said, "You deserved it. If it were me, I'd throw you out of the sect altogether."

"You..." Feng Entai pointed at him.

Niu Youdao slapped the pointing hand down. "Old Feng, spare me the nonsense. If we drag this out much longer, that emperor is going to lose patience, and people will die."

"He can invent an excuse at any moment to drive us out of this residence, or even expel us from the capital entirely. Then we'll really have something to enjoy."

"Speak. Quickly. What exactly does Tianyu Sect mean to do?"

Feng Entai said, "The sect's meaning is very simple. The whip cannot reach this far. Tianyu Sect's influence can't cover this place."

"The Sect Leader has directly ordered us to abandon everything."

"Not one of the exit permits for those one hundred thousand warhorses is to be kept. All of them are to be given up. Dispose of them however you like."

"The important thing is to make everyone outside understand that the permits have already been transferred away and are no longer in our hands."

Niu Youdao mocked him, "Didn't you still want to sell them for money? After going in a full circle and keeping everyone hanging for this long, your sect's decision turns out to be exactly what I told you from the start!"

Feng Entai cupped his hands in surrender. "Little Brother, count it as this old brother's mistake. Stop laughing at me. Serious business!"

He caught Niu Youdao's hand and patted the back of it.

"Serious business comes first. Just as you said, if we keep waiting, the emperor may really drive us out of the city. People will die!"

Linghu Qiu let out a breath. "You should have done this from the beginning."

Feng Entai turned toward him. "Brother Linghu, you have to understand my difficulty too. These are exit permits for one hundred thousand warhorses. Without the sect's approval, could I simply decide to throw them away? Who could bear that responsibility?"

"Fortunately Tianyu Sect still has some sense and hasn't been blinded by profit." Linghu Qiu chuckled and dusted off his hands. "Then dispose of them quickly."

Niu Youdao immediately turned and nodded to Black Peony. She went into the rear rooms and brought out the ten hidden permits, then handed them to him. Niu Youdao counted them once, caught Feng Entai's hand, and slapped the entire stack into his palm.

"Not one missing. Check them carefully yourself."

"No need!" Feng Entai immediately pushed them back. "Little Brother, you can handle them."

Niu Youdao stared at him. "Don't start with me. I'm not looking for trouble where none exists."

Feng Entai kept pushing them back. "This isn't my decision. It's the sect's."

Niu Youdao's eyes widened. "Explain yourself clearly. What do you mean?"

Feng Entai beckoned. One of his disciples handed him a sheet of paper. Feng Entai passed it to Niu Youdao.

"This is the secret letter we just finished translating. Tianyu Sect's meaning is all written inside, word for word. I haven't concealed a single character. Little Brother will understand once he reads it."

Niu Youdao snatched the letter and began reading. The farther he went, the darker his face became. Linghu Qiu hurriedly leaned over as well, craning his neck to read alongside him.

At the beginning of the letter, Tianyu Sect indeed gave Feng Entai a vicious scolding and said his punishment would be decided after the situation in the State of Qi was settled. What followed was far more interesting. Tianyu Sect ordered Feng Entai to hand the entire matter over to Niu Youdao.

Regardless of whether Feng Entai had signed any agreement with him, he was to make Niu Youdao hand it over immediately and destroy it. Tianyu Sect intended to sever itself completely from the affair. No matter how the matter was ultimately resolved, Niu Youdao and the three sects were to bear it themselves.

[End of Chapter 299]