Chapter 319: Stung

Hongxiu said, "Sir, there really is no need to make this so troublesome."

Linghu Qiu turned to look at her. "What do you mean?"

Hongxiu's bright eyes swept the surroundings before she lowered her voice. "If Sir truly suspects he has something to do with that object, you could simply subdue him and force the truth out of him. There is really no need to keep wasting time beside him."

Linghu Qiu's brows shifted slightly. "Force him how?"

"His food and drink are in our hands now. We could deal with the matter without anyone noticing. If that still isn't enough, we can apply to the organization for a Spirit-Torment Pill. Once he swallows it, no matter how stubborn he is, he'll tell us everything. Afterward, we can silence him permanently. No gods or ghosts would ever know what happened."

Linghu Qiu snorted and laughed at himself. "You think I haven't considered that? Before I went to find him, I'd already prepared a Spirit-Torment Pill. From the beginning, I intended to use it on this fellow. Unfortunately, people followed him everywhere, guarding him at close quarters, so there was never any opportunity to act. We finally stop here, and the bastard turns out to be a lump of dog shit that draws flies. Not only did he attract a swarm of people, he dragged in one damned mess after another. How was I supposed to make a move? If he didn't shoulder those troubles, was I supposed to shoulder them for him?"

Hongxiu said, "What about now? The trouble he caused seems to have been settled, and there is no one else left beside him."

"Zhao Xiongge!" Linghu Qiu sighed weakly. "Is that madman Zhao Xiongge someone we can casually provoke? And the Demon Sect behind him is no easy thing to offend. If the person who taught Niu Youdao his cultivation art really was Zhao Xiongge, then Zhao Xiongge didn't merely teach him an art—he even transferred cultivation to him. I have no choice but to weigh the significance of that kind of favor. Now everyone damned well knows I'm his sworn brother. Everyone knows I'm staying with him. If this fellow suddenly vanishes, the last people seen with him will immediately be watched. Think carefully. Could my relationship with him withstand investigation? Everyone in Qingshan Commandery knows I suddenly went there and immediately swore brotherhood with him. Anyone looking at that would find it suspicious. Then, after all that, this fellow mysteriously disappears while staying beside me. If Zhao Xiongge truly did take that object, and the object really is extraordinary, do you think a man with something to hide wouldn't become alert? We cannot alert the snake by striking the grass. And never mind whether Zhao Xiongge would come settle accounts with me. Right now, only the ghosts know what this fellow is secretly discussing with Bu Xun and the others. If he disappears and it turns out to involve something important, do you think Bu Xun's people won't seize us and get to the bottom of it?"

Hongxiu pondered for a moment. "Then don't kill him yet. First pry open his mouth, then use the Spirit-Torment Pill to keep him under control. Once we find the right opportunity, we can make him disappear."

Linghu Qiu sighed again. "You have to consider who you're trying to control. You can only control someone who has no way to deal with you. This fellow isn't a soft persimmon. He won't be that easy to control. Do you think he's some vegetarian who never touches blood? He's the kind of man who sticks his head out and licks blood from another man's blade. Once he turns ruthless, he even dares kill Kunlin Shu! If we cannot kill him to silence him, do you really think you can control him? At any moment he can bring a whole crowd down on us and have us controlled instead. Then they'll force us to hand over the antidote. If we have one, they still won't let us off. If we don't, then he's dead either way. Do you think he'd spare us? Hongxiu, the Spirit-Torment Pill isn't something we can use recklessly when we don't have absolute confidence. If anyone could be controlled with a Spirit-Torment Pill, wouldn't our organization have conquered all beneath Heaven long ago? The moment we use one and fail to keep the target under control, our identities will be exposed. At that point, we'll immediately become discarded pawns. You understand that much."

After hearing his analysis, Hongxiu wilted somewhat. "Then what are we supposed to do? Keep following behind him like a tail forever? We spend every day frightened out of our wits, taking risks alongside him, and on top of that we have to wait on him like he's our ancestor. Look at the way he orders my sister and me around whenever he pleases, and he's always harboring crooked ideas about us too. What kind of life is this?"

"This cannot be rushed. We can only proceed gradually. I'll first sound out his background and make certain there won't be any problems. It won't be too late to act afterward."

"And if it is never convenient to act? Are we supposed to keep trailing behind him and running errands forever?"

"Ah! Slowly. Slowly. There will always be an opportunity." Linghu Qiu lowered his head and muttered the words toward the ground, then raised his face and heaved another long sigh.

He was beginning to regret things. He regretted going to Qingshan Commandery in the first place, and regretted even more that he had damned well turned himself into that bastard's sworn brother. Now the situation was neither soft nor hard, neither raw nor cooked. He could not swallow it down, yet neither could he spit it back out. It was tormenting.

They had only just been talking about Niu Youdao ordering the sisters around whenever he pleased when Niu Youdao himself appeared—and promptly did exactly that to Hongxiu again.

First, he had Hongxiu prepare a green lantern and hang it at the top of a tree. Then he sent her into the city to find someone. She spent quite some time searching through the darkened streets.

The person she eventually brought back was a Wuliang Mountain disciple carrying a Goldenwing for communications, one of the covert eyes Wuliang Mountain had planted in the Qi capital.

Niu Youdao now intended to transfer the man to his side for direct use, which effectively exposed the man's hidden identity. There was no helping it. Niu Youdao needed to maintain contact with Gongsun Bu's side... The night was deep and still, broken only by the occasional bark of a dog.

At the residence of Prince Jin, Hao Qi, eldest son of the emperor of Qi, lanterns hung brightly before the main gate while someone slipped through a side entrance under cover of darkness.

A lean man passed through layer after layer of courtyards and headed straight for the inner residence, only to be stopped by a eunuch waiting on duty outside the private quarters.

"Mr. Wei Chu, it isn't that I refuse to report your arrival. His Highness retired less than two hours ago. Disturbing him now really isn't appropriate. If this isn't urgent, why not wait until His Highness rises in the morning?" The eunuch repeatedly cupped his hands, pleading with the man not to make things difficult.

The lean man called Wei Chu stroked the sparse goatee beneath his chin. "If I've come to see His Highness at this hour, naturally it is important. Report it immediately. If you delay a serious matter, you won't be able to bear the blame."

The eunuch looked troubled. "Could you at least tell me what it concerns? Then I'll have something to report to His Highness."

"Don't ask what you shouldn't ask. Are you going to report it or not? If not, I'll leave. When His Highness asks afterward, you can bear the entire blame yourself." Wei Chu turned as though to go.

"Mr. Wei, please stay!" The eunuch hurriedly called him back and sighed. "Fine, I'll report it. At worst I'll take another scolding afterward. Please wait here."

He motioned for another attendant to keep an eye on Wei Chu, then turned and hurried away. Wei Chu paced outside the inner residence, occasionally lifting his eyes toward the stars as he waited. He was a cultivator retained by Prince Jin's residence.

Daqiu Sect, Xuanbing Sect, and Tianhuo Sect were the principal protectors of Qi's imperial house, but from Prince Jin's perspective, those people all stood on his father's side. There were certain matters he could not let the three sects know. Privately retaining a few cultivators loyal to himself, people who could handle discreet personal affairs, was unavoidable.

After a while, the eunuch came trotting back. "Mr. Wei, His Highness will see you."

The lamps inside the hall of the private residence had already been lit. Hao Qi sat there with his hair loose and only a robe casually thrown around his shoulders. He yawned, plainly exhausted from being awakened before he had rested enough.

Wei Chu entered and cupped his hands. "Greetings, Your Highness. Disturbing Your Highness's rest in the middle of the night is truly an offense."

Hao Qi rubbed both hands over his face and waved. "No matter. If Mr. Wei is in such a hurry to see me at this hour, it must be important. Speak."

Wei Chu glanced to either side.

Hao Qi understood. He took a gulp of tea to clear his head, then waved toward the servants and maids around him. "All of you, withdraw."

"Yes!" The attendants filed out.

Only then did Wei Chu step closer and lower his voice. "Your Highness, there is news concerning Niu Youdao."

Hao Qi seemed to wake fully at once. He asked in a deep voice, "Have you discovered why Bu Xun went to see him?"

For some people, the depths of the imperial palace were the safest place imaginable. For others, they were also the most complicated.

It was a nexus where interests from all beneath Heaven intertwined, where the interests of every side were represented and handled. Wherever interests intertwined, complexity followed, and countless eyes watched openly and from the shadows. Bu Xun had left the palace quietly, but he had not escaped Hao Qi's eyes. Hao Qi did not truly put Niu Youdao in his eyes. What he cared about was Bu Xun.

The Chief Steward of the Inner Palace wielded considerable influence over the question of who would become heir apparent, and to a certain extent Bu Xun's actions often reflected the emperor's intentions. For a man competing for the supreme position, failing to understand the emperor's intentions was far too dangerous.

That was why Bu Xun's unusual movement had drawn Hao Qi's close attention. He had ordered people to investigate long ago.

Wei Chu shook his head. "This isn't about Bu Xun. Someone from Prince Yu's residence went to see Niu Youdao. Your Highness, guess who."

Hao Qi immediately became alert. "Who? Don't tell me Second Brother went personally."

"Not Prince Yu, but close enough. It was Princess Consort Yu. She remained at Niu Youdao's residence for a full two hours before leaving."

Hao Qi rose and paced back and forth, suspicion churning across his face. "She's a woman and a dignified princess consort. What does it mean for her to go see Niu Youdao in the middle of the night?"

Wei Chu said, "Your Highness, the real point is that the people who escorted Princess Consort Yu there were the very same people who escorted Bu Xun during the day."

Hao Qi jolted. He abruptly stopped and turned around, staring at Wei Chu with flickering eyes. His voice sank.

"This must be Father's intention! What is Father trying to do?"

Wei Chu said nothing. He did not know and had no desire to speak recklessly. But he understood Hao Qi's feelings. The prince was undoubtedly stung.

Whenever the emperor had something that needed doing, the two brothers competed to take it on. They competed to show their ability. No matter how bitter or exhausting the task, they embraced it gladly, hoping only to execute it beautifully and win the emperor's appreciation.

If the emperor gave a matter to one brother but not the other, the one left out would inevitably feel uneasy. Matters conducted openly, matters whose purpose everyone could understand, were still tolerable. What frightened them were secret affairs entrusted to only one side. To the two brothers, that seemed to reveal which son the emperor held closer in his heart. Especially for Hao Qi. As the eldest imperial son, seniority was on his side.

If the position of heir apparent did not fall to him, how could he possibly accept it? If he could not discover what this affair was about, Wei Chu knew the prince would probably lose sleep and appetite over it.

Wei Chu also knew that this was the worst possible time to report such news. Once Hao Qi heard it, he would inevitably toss and turn through the rest of the night.

But if he failed to report it promptly, Hao Qi would become furious afterward and blame them for incompetence. Because this was something he cared about too deeply.

Hao Qi sat back down, braced his elbows on his thighs, bowed his head, and said dully, "Find a way to discover what they're doing."

[End of Chapter 319]