Chapter 331: If You Do Not Fail Me, I Will Not Fail You

Guan Fangyi remained lying on her side. At first she had been rather expectant, but as time dragged on she grew bored.

"Hey, Niu Youdao!"

Niu Youdao kept drawing as he replied, "What servant addresses her master by his full name?"

Guan Fangyi sneered. "The indenture is gone."

"Keep testing me if you aren't afraid I'll draw you as an old granny."

"You..." Guan Fangyi flared up.

"Don't move. Go back to your original pose."

The woman, who had been on the verge of exploding to her feet, immediately choked back her temper. Grinding her teeth, she adjusted herself into the same pose again.

"Fine. Should I call you Lord Niu from now on?"

"Don't bother. Use what Linghu Qiu's people call me. Master Dao will do."

"Tch. How pompous and old-fashioned."

Niu Youdao stopped his brush. "Are you going to call me that or not?"

Guan Fangyi said in a strange, mocking tone, "Master Dao. Satisfied?"

"Can you speak normally? A little gentler."

Guan Fangyi immediately changed to an unbearably sweet voice, mockery written all over her face.

"Master Dao!"

Niu Youdao chuckled and shook his head. "That tone does suit your reputation."

"Tch!" Guan Fangyi scoffed again, then turned back to serious business. "Speaking of serious matters, you can't act recklessly over Wei Chu. If you want to court death, don't drag me down with you."

"You're afraid I'll fail?"

"With just the lot of you, you think you can kill him? Don't be ridiculous. Prince Jin is the eldest imperial son. Quite a few ministers at court support the proper order of eldest before younger and favor him. If you act against someone from Prince Jin's residence without authorization and something goes wrong, even Bu Xun won't be able to protect you."

Niu Youdao kept his hand moving and said carelessly, "If I can't kill him, naturally someone else can."

Guan Fangyi looked suspicious. "Who?"

Niu Youdao answered without hiding it.

"Linghu Qiu."

"Him?" Guan Fangyi lifted her head and laughed. "You're joking, aren't you? Those three, master and maids, are going to dispose of Wei Chu? Believe me, they'd have trouble even getting close enough to touch him. Do you think Wei Chu comes and goes alone? If he were that easy to kill, would he still be alive?"

"What if it were Xiaoyue Pavilion?"

Guan Fangyi froze. "You want to hire assassins from Xiaoyue Pavilion? Let me tell you first, they may not even accept a commission on someone like Wei Chu. Even if they do, for a target of his status the price would be astronomical!"

Niu Youdao abruptly threw out a sentence.

"Linghu Qiu is very likely someone Xiaoyue Pavilion placed beside me."

Guan Fangyi stared at him in shock and suddenly pushed herself upright.

"He's from Xiaoyue Pavilion?"

Niu Youdao stopped drawing, looked up, and waved her back down.

"Lie down. Same pose."

This time she obeyed willingly, without complaint. She settled back into place, tugged her clothes into order, smoothed the position of her hair, and restored the original pose. Her voice also lowered.

"Xiaoyue Pavilion planted someone beside you? What's going on? Are you really important enough for Xiaoyue Pavilion to treat you with such consideration?"

The brush returned to the paper with a soft scratching sound.

"There are some things I still can't confirm. Saying too much is pointless, and knowing too much won't do you any good. I came to you today because I wanted to tell you that by asking Linghu Qiu to kill Wei Chu, I've already driven him into a dead end."

Guan Fangyi blinked. "How so?"

Niu Youdao seemed wholly focused on the drawing, his tone casual.

"If he doesn't kill Wei Chu, then he has to kill me. If he never gets the chance to kill me, his only choice is to kill Wei Chu. Naturally, I won't give him that chance. So from today onward, I have to sleep in the same room as you. The appearance of a man and woman indulging in each other can serve as cover. Once that relationship is openly established between us, your behavior afterward will look perfectly natural. Remember this: from today onward, we not only sleep in the same room, you also need to bring reliable people and stay as close to me as possible. Do not let me be left alone. Do not give him a chance to strike. Here in the capital, he won't dare attack openly. As long as there are always people beside me protecting me, he won't find an opening. If he can't move against me, then the only way for him to keep earning my trust and accomplish his purpose is to kill Wei Chu."

Emotion churned through Guan Fangyi.

"Niu Youdao... Master Dao. I mean, Master Dao, what exactly is going on? What game are you people playing? Don't frighten me. I can't withstand storms this big. Just hearing this scares me!"

"You'll naturally know later. Asking now is meaningless. Just do what I tell you. Don't worry. When this is over, I won't treat you poorly."

"You trust me this much? Aren't you afraid I'll betray you and report everything?"

Niu Youdao raised his eyes slightly toward her, then lowered them to the drawing again.

"Riding through the jianghu, whether the road brings wind or rain, smooth passage or bitter storms, I've made it this far. Without at least some ability, I wouldn't dare walk this road. I'm alone in dangerous territory. I've reached a point where there's nowhere left to retreat, and for the moment I have no one at my side I can use. Since I chose you, I can only rely on you. Nor will I give you another choice. What I've told you today is frank and open. I'm entrusting my life to you, and I expect you to treat me with the same sincerity and give me your full effort. I may not be an upright gentleman, and I don't preach fairness, but I honor loyalty and obligation. Help me through this, and I'll give you a beautiful tomorrow. Betray me, and you know yourself that you don't dare leave this capital. If you aren't afraid Bu Xun will have you killed, feel free to try. I guarantee you'll die miserably."

The truth was just as Niu Youdao himself had said. He really was nearly alone, trapped in danger. He had to find a way to preserve his life while still finding a way to complete the mission from Qingshan Commandery.

On the surface, he appeared carefree and leisurely. He had the mood to wander the streets and even the leisure to tease this older woman. In reality, his situation was extraordinarily difficult.

Ever since arriving in the Qi capital, one incident had followed another. Not a single matter had been under his control. Everything had forced his hand, and every step had been perilous. An ordinary person would probably have died long ago. A vicious wolf waited beside him, watching for the chance to deliver a fatal strike.

And the Qi capital had not yet even shown him its truly ferocious face, yet it was already an enormous whirlpool capable of swallowing him whole if he made one careless move. Threats pressed from within and without, and there was no one beside him who could truly help.

Yuan Gang's ability to deal with matters involving the cultivation world was limited. Dragging Yuan Gang into this would only harm him. Niu Youdao could rely only on himself to maneuver through it. Things had reached this point against his wishes. His circumstances truly were difficult beyond words. He had not sought Guan Fangyi out because he was bored.

"Who did I offend?" Guan Fangyi looked grief-stricken and furious. "I don't even know what you're trying to do, yet you've dragged me into the water. Of all the people you could've chosen, why did you have to sink your teeth into me?"

Niu Youdao kept his gaze on the drawing, hand and mouth moving together, his voice mild and unhurried.

"This capital is a birdcage, and you're the golden canary trapped inside it. All these years, you've never once been able to spread your wings and fly freely. This capital will never give you the chance either. Are you really willing to stay locked in this cage for the rest of your life? Right now you can still sell smiles. You can still show a little chest, sway your waist, and twist your hips to make people look twice. But when the day comes that you no longer even have the right to sell smiles, show your chest, or twist your hips, you still won't have any power of your own. Then this capital will become a man-eating beast. It will bite down on your throat without mercy and devour you until not even scraps remain. Do you really think the fortune you've accumulated will still belong to you then? A beauty at dusk, a hero gone white-haired—few things beneath Heaven are more desolate. Why wait until that day, enduring everyone's cold eyes before remembering the past? Make your plans early."

Guan Fangyi smiled bitterly. "You just said you can barely protect yourself. If I follow you, what can you give me?"

"At the very least, I can give you something beautiful enough that this life won't have been lived in vain!"

As the words fell, Niu Youdao flicked his fingers and tossed aside the brush. He lifted the sheet of paper, turned it around, and spread it open before her with both hands. The portrait was finished. The woman on the couch stared blankly at the painting. Slowly, she pushed herself upright and walked over. Her fingers trembled as they touched the picture, and intense emotion filled her face. In the painting, a woman reclined languidly on her side upon a couch.

The folds of her skirt and the strands of her hair seemed alive. Half her soft breast was revealed with effortless allure.

There was freedom in her bearing, indolent ease in the way she savored the incense, and a strong sense of atmosphere, like a goddess amid curling fragrant mist. The woman in the painting had no wrinkles. Her charm and bearing had been made many years younger. She truly possessed peerless elegance. Alive upon the page was a breathtaking beauty in the full bloom of youth. Seeing her younger self as though alive before her, Guan Fangyi covered her mouth with one hand.

Tears shone in her eyes. Her voice trembled.

"You deliberately painted me younger. Am I really still this beautiful?"

Niu Youdao walked to her side and laid the painting flat on the table so she could continue admiring it. He spoke softly beside her ear.

"You were beautiful to begin with. I painted this by looking at you. No matter how beautiful a bird is, if it's locked in a cage, all people can do is watch its feathers fall day after day. Eventually they'll grow tired of looking. In the end, it gives one frail cry and collapses inside the cage. Falling beneath everyone's eyes like that is truly ugly. Leave the cage and come with me. Outside, Heaven and earth are vast. There are blue seas and blue skies, green mountains and clear waters. You can spread your wings and soar. You can sing as loudly as you please. You can grow old and die in the mountains and forests, falling amid fields of flowers in full bloom. Even death can be beautiful that way. If you do not fail me, I will not fail you. My promise is more reliable than all those men's fawning and sweet words."

Her fragrant shoulders trembled. Guan Fangyi sobbed softly. Through tear-blurred eyes she looked at the portrait and slowly shook her head.

"So beautiful..."

Tears streamed down her face as she wept. At first light, a Goldenwing pierced the dawn and descended into the courtyard. Not long afterward, Hongfu opened the door and entered. She walked to Linghu Qiu, who sat cross-legged in meditation.

"Sir, the higher-ups have replied regarding Wei Chu."

Linghu Qiu's eyes opened only halfway, as though his mind were still drifting elsewhere.

"What did they say?"

"Killing Wei Chu would be troublesome and involve too much. The higher-ups say it isn't convenient. Their meaning is that matters have already reached this point, so there's no need to drag things out any longer. Use the Spirit-Torment Pill directly and force Niu Youdao to reveal the truth."

Linghu Qiu's eyes snapped fully open. His arms swept in a broad circle and gathered before his chest, then his palms slowly pressed downward.

"Once we use the Spirit-Torment Pill, there will be no turning back. Niu Youdao isn't that easy to control. We'll be exposed."

Hongfu said, "The higher-ups mean that if Niu Youdao has nothing to do with that object, then once the Spirit-Torment Pill has forced out the truth, kill him immediately. If he really does know something, then after we obtain the information, kill him immediately as well. In short, no one can be allowed to learn that the organization was involved."

Linghu Qiu said, "And if Zhao Xiongge really is involved, what happens to the three of us? His relationship with Bu Xun is unclear too."

"That's exactly why no one can be allowed to know the organization was involved. The higher-ups say that afterward, the three of us are to disappear completely under new identities and never show ourselves again. If the object is in Zhao Xiongge's hands, the organization will find an opportunity to deal with him. That won't be our concern."

Linghu Qiu smiled bitterly.

"So after we use it this one time, we'll have no further value. Niu Youdao dies, we disappear, and whether we did it or not, everyone will assume we did. I'm afraid we'll never be able to see daylight again."

[End of Chapter 331]