Chapter 325: Demon

"Brother, there's really no need to lose your temper like this," Linghu Qiu advised from the side.

Niu Youdao said calmly, "I'm only testing something."

"Testing what? You..." Linghu Qiu stopped halfway through, seemingly realizing something. Suspicion entered his voice. "You think she knows what Wei Chu and I discussed?"

Niu Youdao tipped his chin toward the night outside. "We'll know within two hours."

Linghu Qiu fell silent. If Niu Youdao's earlier questions had not been so pointed, and if he had not now plainly said he was testing something, Linghu Qiu would never have understood why he had suddenly made such an enormous threat. So it really was a test. Linghu Qiu, who had already grown impatient from waiting, now settled down to watch with interest.

Hongxiu, standing nearby, did not quite understand the riddle-like exchange between the two men. With Niu Youdao present, however, it was not convenient for her to ask.

They did not need to wait the full two hours. Roughly one hour later, hoofbeats sounded outside. In the deep night, the noise of a carriage was particularly clear.

Niu Youdao gave a cold laugh. "Looks like she's here."

Linghu Qiu slowly rose, his expression solemn. A carriage stopped on the road outside. A Moon Butterfly fluttered nearby for light.

A woman in splendid skirts came walking gracefully toward them. The moment she spotted the people in the pavilion, she gave them a charming smile from afar and quickened her pace.

"Is that her?" Niu Youdao asked blandly.

Linghu Qiu gave a quiet "Mm."

Niu Youdao smiled. "Since she's come, things are simple. Just when I was getting sleepy, someone delivered a pillow. Interesting."

Linghu Qiu asked, "You're really this interested in her?"

Niu Youdao did not answer. He studied the approaching woman carefully. She truly looked as though she had just crawled out of someone's bed. Her hair was askew and disheveled, her clothes not properly arranged.

Though she was already past her prime, with faint wrinkles on her face and a little looseness to her skin, the foundation was still there. Her myriad charms had not faded. It was easy to imagine how, in her youth, her beauty had once made crowds of men fall beneath her skirts.

"Linghu, why are you summoning me like my life depends on it? Ruining my pleasures in the middle of the night." Guan Fangyi walked over and immediately complained to Linghu Qiu.

Linghu Qiu tilted his head toward Niu Youdao. "Don't blame the wrong man. I wasn't the one who ruined your pleasures. He was." His tone had turned somewhat cold.

Guan Fangyi had failed to withstand Niu Youdao's threat and had indeed arrived within two hours. That told Linghu Qiu that Niu Youdao's judgment had been correct. This woman truly did know what he and Wei Chu had discussed.

Guan Fangyi had actually noticed Niu Youdao long ago. Only now did she openly study him. "This must be Brother Niu Youdao?"

Niu Youdao smiled. "That's me."

Guan Fangyi immediately giggled. "Brother Niu killed the Yan envoy, slew Zhuo Chao, and defeated Kunlin Shu. I've admired your name for a long time. Meeting you today, I see you're every bit the imposing man the rumors describe."

Niu Youdao said, "Those are all empty things. Didn't you still leave me waiting for most of the day?"

A hint of coy embarrassment appeared on Guan Fangyi's face. "Aiya, what bad timing. I ran into two pretty young men today who were exceptionally good at serving a woman. They kept me tangled up and I couldn't get away. Brother Niu, don't laugh at me."

Niu Youdao said, "Men and women taking pleasure in each other, each willing and consenting. You haven't done anything against Heaven and reason, nor anything shameful that can't see daylight. There's nothing to laugh at."

"Heh, heh..." Guan Fangyi shook with laughter.

Her playful gaze swept around and met Hongxiu's. She noticed the undisguised contempt in Hongxiu's eyes as they fell toward her chest. Guan Fangyi's laughter faltered. She tugged at the fabric over her chest to cover herself better.

"I've come to meet guests with my clothes in disarray. Truly discourteous. If the matter isn't urgent, allow me to tidy myself first."

Niu Youdao said, "I've already waited this long. A little longer makes no difference. There's no hurry. Please."

Guan Fangyi smiled and turned to leave.

Then Niu Youdao added from behind her, "You can't run away anyway."

Guan Fangyi's body stiffened slightly. Her expression changed for an instant.

She called out, "Why haven't you served tea to our honored guests?"

Then she descended the steps and left. Tea was soon brought into the pavilion.

Niu Youdao instructed the person who served it, "Please bring me a full set of brush, ink, paper, and inkstone."

"All right!" The man agreed and hurried away with his tray.

Before long, the writing implements arrived. Niu Youdao sat down, personally dripped water onto the inkstone and ground the ink. Then he spread out a sheet of paper, dipped his brush, and began writing. Black characters appeared upon white paper, his handwriting neat and handsome. Linghu Qiu and Hongxiu moved to either side of him to see what he was writing. Neither understood why he had suddenly decided to write something in the middle of the night.

Once the general meaning became clear, the two looked at each other in disbelief. By the time Niu Youdao finished the final character, Guan Fangyi had returned. When she entered the pavilion again, she was neatly dressed and properly composed.

Smiling, she asked, "Brother Niu, what are you writing in the middle of the night?"

Linghu Qiu and Hongxiu both turned to look at her, their expressions peculiar enough that Guan Fangyi herself began wondering whether something was wrong with her makeup.

"Nothing much. I'm merely giving you a future." Niu Youdao gestured for her to sit, lifted the sheet of paper, blew gently across the wet ink, then handed it to her. "Take a look. If you have no objections, sign it."

Sign what?

Curious, Guan Fangyi accepted the paper, opened it, and began reading carefully. The more she read, the uglier her expression became. Linghu Qiu and Hongxiu watched her reaction closely. They had seen every word on the page as Niu Youdao wrote it. If they had not witnessed it themselves, neither would have imagined such a thing. Put plainly, it was an indenture.

Its general meaning was that Guan Fangyi voluntarily chose to follow Niu Youdao, voluntarily entered his service as a slave, and would suffer retribution if she ever betrayed him. Guan Fangyi's chest rose and fell rapidly.

She had only just met this man. She had not even managed to ask why he had sought her out before a document like this was placed in front of her. She put down the indenture and stared at Niu Youdao.

Her voice sank. "Brother Niu, are you joking?"

"I'm not joking. What did you think I came here for?" Niu Youdao shook his head and held out the brush. "Sign it. Then put down a bloody handprint."

Guan Fangyi said bitterly, "This is the future you're giving me?"

Niu Youdao asked in return, "If this isn't a future, what is? Do you truly think you can keep drifting around the Qi capital like this for the rest of your life?"

Frost spread over Guan Fangyi's face. "I connect clients, arrange transactions, and help people buy and sell. I do not sell my own freedom."

Niu Youdao said, "Do you think I came here to negotiate with you? Do I need to negotiate with you?"

Guan Fangyi abruptly stood.

Her silver teeth bit her lip as she said angrily, "Niu Youdao, don't push people too far!"

Niu Youdao held the brush between two fingers and raised it before her chest.

"If you refuse to sign, no one in Fufang Garden will see tomorrow's sun. If you sign, all of them will remain unharmed. Only you will suffer the small grievance of losing your freedom. The people who have remained with you in this capital for so many years must all be people you trust. Why drag them down with you?"

"Even if I do nothing to you, Prince Jin's residence isn't deaf or blind. Whatever I know, they already know as well. Perhaps they'll move against you tomorrow. Here in the capital, is there anyone willing to oppose Prince Jin's residence for your sake? If you follow me, things are different. Whether I have the ability to protect you, you already know in your heart. Once you're one of my people, Prince Jin's residence won't dare act recklessly against you. At the very least, here in the Qi capital, they won't lightly touch someone who belongs to me."

"So this isn't me pushing you too far. I'm trying to help you. There aren't many people in the Qi capital as warmhearted as I am. You don't have another choice anyway. What is there left to think about?"

Niu Youdao reached out, caught her wrist, and pulled her hand up. He forcibly stuffed the brush into it.

"Don't worry. I never mistreat my own people. Sign."

His words and gestures, especially that amiable face and gentle voice as he coaxed her, sent a chill through Linghu Qiu. At that moment, this bargain-price sworn brother suddenly looked like a demon in his eyes. He truly devoured people without even spitting out the bones. To Hongxiu, Niu Youdao likewise resembled a demon coaxing some pitiful little girl step by step into the abyss. Even now, Hongxiu still had not entirely understood what was happening.

She could not understand how things had somehow reached this point between two people who had only just met for the first time. The brush trembled in Guan Fangyi's hand. She stared at the paper on the table, grief and fury filling her eyes. Gradually, tears welled within them. She had lived cautiously in the capital for many years. There were things she never dared touch and disputes she always avoided.

She knew perfectly well that once she became involved, she might fall into an abyss from which there was no return. For years she had used her beauty to amuse men and herself. She might have looked glorious, but in truth all of it was hollow. She could not afford to play with real power. And yet, in the end, she had still been dragged in. Walk often by the river, and sooner or later your shoes get wet. She understood that principle.

She simply had never imagined the day would arrive so suddenly, much less in this manner. It was difficult to accept.

Niu Youdao urged from beside her, "Sign quickly. The longer you delay, the more room there is for trouble to grow in the night."

Guan Fangyi turned toward him. Tears streamed silently down her face.

"Niu Youdao, you and I had never met before today. We had no old hatred and no recent grievance. Why are you forcing me like this?"

Niu Youdao said, "I've already told you I'm doing this for your own good. If you refuse to sign, I won't force you. I can leave right now. But once I walk out of Fufang Garden, another group of people may be the ones coming in."

"Whether I have you or not makes little difference to me. This chance comes only once. Decide for yourself."

Guan Fangyi, however, remained unable to choose. She only stood there shedding tears.

"It seems I'm forcing someone against her will. Fine." Niu Youdao waved. "Second Brother, let's go."

Then he turned and walked away.

Was he serious?

Linghu Qiu and Hongxiu exchanged doubtful looks. Still, they followed him. The three had only descended the pavilion steps when Guan Fangyi's anguished voice came from behind them.

"Stop!"

They turned. Guan Fangyi had already bent over the paper and set brush to it. Once she finished, she tossed the brush aside. She raised one palm before her face.

"Pfft!"

A spray of blood burst from her mouth and stained her delicate palm crimson. Then her broad sleeve swept aside.

Smack!

A bloody handprint landed upon the indenture. She braced herself against the table, head lowered. Tears fell. A drop of blood hung at the corner of her mouth. Her face was filled with unbearable humiliation as she shook her head. Niu Youdao walked back into the pavilion. He caught her wrist and lifted it slightly, then pulled the indenture free from beneath her hand. He held it up and admired it as though admiring a masterpiece.

He seemed to be muttering to himself, yet also speaking for her benefit.

"Where in this world is there a bargain that lets you keep doing business forever without asking where anyone comes from or what is right and wrong? The fact that nothing has happened to you until now only means you've been lucky. Keep going like this and sooner or later you'll provoke trouble you cannot afford to provoke. Form is emptiness; emptiness is form. Once all the smiling pleasures are over, what remains is emptiness, loneliness, and cold. I suspect even you have never felt truly settled in your own heart. Good. Now you can feel settled."

[End of Chapter 325]