Chapter 328: Dusk Has Fallen

Behind the Tofu House, several deep residential compounds had been opened into one another. Beneath the shade of the trees, a group of young men each sat on a small stool before a small table. A blackboard stood at the front. Every man held a quill pen and copied the writing from the board. Huyan Wei swaggered in. Not everyone was allowed to enter this place, but Huyan Wei was an exception. He could come and go whenever he wished. No one stopped him.

After finding the place and spotting Yuan Gang moving among the young men beneath the trees, Huyan Wei was about to call out from afar when Niu Lin stopped him and made a shushing gesture. Huyan Wei nodded. Curious, he slowly entered the shaded area and looked at what everyone was copying. What interested him most were the quill pens in their hands. Dip one in ink and it could write such fine characters. His face filled with curiosity.

He walked to the blackboard, picked up a quill, dipped it in ink, and copied a few strokes. Immediately he grinned. The quill really was a useful thing.

Its hollow shaft could draw in ink, and when one wrote, the ink flowed gradually out through the hollow tube in just the right amount.

Without another word, he grabbed a handful of the prepared quills, wrapped them in a sheet of paper, and was about to stuff them into his sleeve. The back of his collar suddenly tightened. Yuan Gang seized him by the collar and dragged him aside.

"What are you sneaking around for?"

Huyan Wei held up what he had just taken and grinned.

"It's only a handful of goose feathers. You're not going to be this stingy, are you?"

A handful of feathers truly was not worth much. Yuan Gang released him.

Huyan Wei smoothly stuffed the bundle into his sleeve and asked curiously, "Why not let them use brushes? They don't cost that much. If you're reluctant to spend the money, I'll pay for them. There's no need to make things look this shabby. If word spreads that I won't even provide my people with proper brushes and make them pull goose feathers instead, I'll become a joke. I can't afford that kind of humiliation."

Yuan Gang said, "They all came from poor families and never studied. Their foundation is too weak. Using a brush properly takes skill and a great deal of practice. This is simpler and more convenient for learning. If they ever have the means and want to learn brushwork later, they can do it themselves."

At the mention of their poor foundation, Huyan Wei suddenly reacted. Suspicion entered his voice.

"I don't remember hearing of any shop that considers teaching its workers to read and write part of the job. What are you trying to do?"

Yuan Gang said, "An army without learning is an ignorant army. An army that cannot think can do nothing but rely on brute courage."

"Stop!" Huyan Wei hurriedly thrust out a hand and cut him off.

Then he warned him solemnly, "Brother An, don't do anything reckless. I'm telling you, these are shop workers, not soldiers. You can say that sort of thing in front of me, but don't go talking nonsense outside. The charge of raising a private army is no joke!"

Yuan Gang changed the subject.

"I haven't seen you for several days. Shopkeeper Gao said your family confined you?"

"Ah!" At that, Huyan Wei could only shake his head repeatedly. "A formidable fellow came to the capital recently. I merely had a little contact with him, and my family locked me up. What kind of nonsense is that?"

Yuan Gang asked casually, "Who?"

Huyan Wei chuckled. "A cultivator from the State of Yan. This fellow has guts. He once killed an envoy of the State of Yan in the State of Zhao. And I hear that on his way here, he killed a first-rate expert from the Golden Core Ranking too. Bah, why am I telling you this? Do you even know what the Golden Core Ranking is? I could explain and you still wouldn't understand."

Yuan Gang's brow shifted slightly. His voice remained calm.

"I've heard of it. It's a ranking of Golden Core Realm cultivators. The man who killed the envoy of the State of Yan in the State of Zhao was Niu Youdao."

"Eh?" Huyan Wei looked surprised. "You even know that?"

Yuan Gang said, "When I was with the border army, I heard that Niu Youdao killed an envoy of the State of Yan. It happened in Jinzhou of the State of Zhao, didn't it?"

"Oh!" Huyan Wei thought about it and found that reasonable enough.

The incident had caused quite a sensation at the time. There was nothing strange about Yuan Gang having heard of it.

Yuan Gang asked, "How did a cultivator from the State of Yan get you confined?"

"Ah, don't even mention it. The moment that fellow arrived in the Qi capital, people started making trouble for him. After word spread that he'd killed an expert from the Golden Core Ranking, a whole crowd wanted to challenge him..."

Huyan Wei rambled through the entire sequence. He spoke of the challenge arranged at Flying Waterfall Terrace, of agreeing to take Niu Youdao around Among the White Clouds, and of being confined by his family afterward. Then came the exit permits for one hundred thousand warhorses. Niu Youdao had been surrounded by danger on every side and auctioned the permits at Heavenly Mirror Lake.

During the auction, Kunlin Shu of Tianhuo Sect had provoked him, and Niu Youdao had beaten Kunlin Shu into a severe injury.

Ordinarily, Huyan Wei would not have paid much attention to any of this, and no one would have deliberately reported it to him. But he had met Niu Youdao. He had been confined because of Niu Youdao.

With nothing else to do at home, he had naturally grown curious and asked about the man, if only to understand why he himself had been locked up. That was how he learned what had happened. The more he followed the matter, the more interested he became. Something was always happening around Niu Youdao. It was lively. It was entertaining. Yuan Gang listened in silence, though waves rose inside him. He currently had almost no access to news from the cultivation world.

Only today did he learn how many things had happened after Niu Youdao reached the Qi capital, and how many dangers he had encountered. Now Yuan Gang understood somewhat better why Master Dao had earlier ordered him to prepare to burn the city.

"I was allowed out today because the trouble caused by His Majesty pressuring Niu Youdao has already passed. And before I left home today, I heard Niu Youdao had caused another sensation. He actually subdued Hongniang of Fufang Garden. Hongniang personally admitted that she'd sold herself to him as a slave!"

Yuan Gang asked, "Who's Hongniang of Fufang Garden?"

Huyan Wei chuckled. "She's a cultivator too. I hear she's a famous broker among cultivators in the Qi capital. Cultivators who come and go through the capital like doing business through her. When she was young, her beauty was famous everywhere. Of course, I never saw what she looked like back then. But I've seen her now. She's sexy as hell and full of fire—big tits, a high ass, and when she walks, that waist twists like you wouldn't believe! I hear she's almost sixty, but she still looks like she's only in her thirties or forties. Even now she's always spending the night with pretty young men. If thinking about her age didn't make me feel a little strange, and if my father hadn't always forbidden me from provoking people from the cultivation world, I'd honestly like to have a taste myself. With my handsome and elegant looks, how am I inferior to those pretty boys?"

By this point Yuan Gang more or less understood. He knew Niu Youdao. Master Dao had always liked collecting strange, disorderly people and dealing with all manner of people from the three teachings and nine schools. There was nothing surprising about him taking an interest in someone like Hongniang.

Yuan Gang asked, "Subduing this Hongniang was enough to cause a sensation?"

Huyan Wei looked astonished.

"Hongniang is a local power among the cultivators of the Qi capital. I hear plenty of powerful men from the older generation had affairs with her. There are even rumors that some famous figures in today's cultivation world were once guests behind her curtains. I've heard that years ago, some important man wanted to take her as a concubine. She refused no matter what. She would only become a principal wife, never a concubine. Damn it, with her reputation, who would dare marry her as the principal wife? Would the man ever be able to hold his head up again? A woman who wouldn't even agree to become someone's concubine has now become Niu Youdao's servant. A flower no one managed to pluck all these years has finally been plucked by Niu Youdao. How could that not cause a sensation?"

He suddenly raised a hand and rubbed his full beard.

"Though that Niu Youdao may be just a little more charming than I am."

Yuan Gang gave him a somewhat surprised look. Getting this fellow to admit another man was more charming than himself was not easy.

"Are you very familiar with Niu Youdao?"

"Not exactly familiar, but I've met him and talked with him. There's something about him that's hard to describe. He draws people in. Being around him feels comfortable. He makes you feel at ease. Based on all my years making friends, he's someone worth befriending! It's not impossible to understand why Hongniang would take a liking to him."

"Some things people say, and some things people see, aren't necessarily the truth." Yuan Gang turned to leave. "That Hongniang is someone who has lines she won't cross. She probably isn't as bad as people make her out to be."

Huyan Wei froze, then immediately chased after him.

"How would you know? You don't even know her!"

"Instinct."

Dusk had fallen. At Fufang Garden, Niu Youdao and the others were wandering through the grounds when Guan Fangyi came toward them from the direction of the entrance. Linghu Qiu smiled.

"Guests have probably been coming nonstop to ask questions. She must've spent the whole day dealing with them."

Guan Fangyi was about to cross paths with them when she turned her head aside, pivoted, and took a small side path instead.

Niu Youdao called after her, "Hongniang, what's the meaning of deliberately pretending not to see me?"

Guan Fangyi paused. Then she entered a nearby pavilion, sat down, and began pounding her legs. The others walked over and entered the pavilion. Niu Youdao sat beside her.

"You weren't deliberately hiding from me all day, were you?"

Guan Fangyi replied in a strange, mocking tone, "Thanks to you, I spent the entire day dealing with guests asking questions. I had to explain things properly, didn't I? Isn't that exactly what you wanted to see? I'm exhausted. I had no time to meet you. I hope Master will forgive me."

She suddenly rose, dropped into a quick half-curtsy, and said, "This slave greets Master. What are your orders?"

Linghu Qiu and the others smiled. Niu Youdao burst out laughing.

"No need to be so polite! A little exhaustion is good. It's only this once. From now on, you won't need to deal with them anymore. You're finally free of it all. You feel more settled now, don't you?"

Guan Fangyi rolled her eyes.

"Just tell me directly. Why did you sink your teeth into me? Don't tell me you actually want me to sleep with you."

Niu Youdao said, "Look at you, acting as though you've suffered some enormous grievance. Let me tell you, there are people who want to follow me that I wouldn't even look at. Being able to follow me is your good fortune."

"Mm!" Linghu Qiu nodded repeatedly. "Hongniang, I can testify to that. Once you get the chance to visit Qingshan Commandery, you'll discover that the finest wine beneath Heaven is there, and so is the finest food. After you visit, you'll realize you've wasted all these years living in the Qi capital."

Guan Fangyi looked unconvinced and said contemptuously, "That poor, war-torn backwater?"

Linghu Qiu clicked his tongue and shook his head.

"You don't believe me now. Once you go, you'll know I'm not lying."

"Future matters can wait for the future." Guan Fangyi dismissed the subject irritably, then stared at Niu Youdao. "You're not going to follow Prince Yu? You're still returning to Qingshan Commandery?"

Niu Youdao said, "If I don't return to Qingshan Commandery, where would I go?"

Guan Fangyi glanced around. Then she suddenly lowered her voice.

"The matter Wei Chu was investigating—did you tell him?"

"No."

Guan Fangyi covered her face with both hands and let out a miserable groan.

"Of all the people you could offend, why did you have to offend Prince Jin? It's over. You're going to get me killed this time."

Niu Youdao looked back toward Linghu Qiu.

"Is Prince Jin really that difficult to deal with?"

Linghu Qiu pondered briefly.

"According to rumor, Prince Jin is fairly mild-tempered. As for using a few improper methods in a struggle over the succession, that's understandable."

"You don't know shit!" Guan Fangyi dropped her hands and glared at him.

"How many years did you even spend in the Qi capital? When it comes to the big and small figures here, there are very few people who understand them better than I do."

She turned to Niu Youdao and sighed.

"Let me tell you something. Prince Jin looks amiable in front of people. He looks courteous and gracious. That's all surface appearance. Plenty of people have been fooled by it. He is not broad-minded at all. He is a genuinely petty man who repays even the smallest slight! Do you know why the emperor of Qi has delayed naming an heir for so long? No one knows a son better than his father. He wants to establish the eldest, but he has misgivings and cannot bring himself to make the decision. Yet if he passes over the eldest and establishes a younger son, he fears it will cause disorder. That is what created the present vacancy in the succession. If you don't believe me, just wait and see. You offended Prince Jin. Prince Jin will never let you go!"

[End of Chapter 328]