Chapter 348: Niu Youdao, Do You Think I Should Hate You?

Inside a private room at the Tofu House, a bowl of tofu pudding sat before Niu Youdao as he slowly ate. It was the same private room Su Zhao had once asked them to arrange. Niu Youdao had disguised himself as a bearded man and come alone, secretly using Guan Fangyi's underground passage. When he emerged from the tunnel, he had not even dared alert the household at the exit.

Guan Fangyi could not confirm whether the Office of Investigation knew about that passage. If they did, no one could guarantee there was no problem with the family living there.

He would rather let the Office of Investigation discover that he had met Prince Ying in secret than let them discover his connection to An Taiping of the Tofu House. For now, he did not want Guan Fangyi to know that either. Nor did he want to arrange some meeting with Yuan Gang elsewhere, for fear Yuan Gang might be under surveillance. From Niu Youdao's perspective, the safest place for Yuan Gang to meet him was paradoxically Yuan Gang's own Tofu House. Creak.

The door opened. Yuan Gang entered and stared at him for a moment. Once he recognized the disguised Niu Youdao, he casually closed the door and sat opposite him.

"Master Dao."

"This familiar taste really brings back memories." Niu Youdao lifted the bowl, drained it in one swallow, and set it down with a sigh. "Tell me, if we died one more time, could we go back?"

Yuan Gang asked, "You want to try?"

"Heh!" Niu Youdao laughed and shook his head. "I've thought about it, but I don't dare. A life isn't something to gamble with. Is it safe to talk here?"

Yuan Gang said, "Every corner of this room has been checked. Brothers are watching outside... You normally wouldn't ask me a question like that. You're wound very tight."

Niu Youdao smiled faintly.

"We haven't been able to meet all this time, so there were things I never got the chance to say. How are things on your side? Are you safe?"

"With the Huyan clan backing me, as long as they don't move against me themselves, there aren't many people in this capital who dare touch me. I should be fine for now. It's your side that feels like one trouble after another keeps wrapping around you."

"For now, everything is within my control. Nothing will happen."

Yuan Gang asked, "What's going on with Hongniang? I heard you're going to marry her?"

He could understand Niu Youdao bringing Guan Fangyi under his control. Marrying her surprised him. Niu Youdao laughed.

"Whether I marry her or not isn't important. Let other people say whatever they want. But that woman is interesting. She suits me better than I expected. Maybe because she's around the age I originally was, psychologically it's easier to feel close to her. For me, she's a better fit than Black Peony, and more mature too. A man surrounded only by men gets too yang-heavy. Having a woman around balances things out. It's convenient when handling matters too, and it makes the mood easier. Heh. When I'm with her, I can't even stay serious when I want to. She's always causing some commotion. I feel as though I've become quite a bit younger myself."

Yuan Gang said, "If Black Peony heard that, she'd probably be unhappy."

Niu Youdao gave him a look of contempt.

"Listen to you, as though you understand women."

His fingers tapped lightly against the tabletop.

"Being compatible is one thing, but I still don't trust her as much as Black Peony. Black Peony's background is simple and easy to investigate. This woman's past is too complicated. I can't guarantee there isn't some problem hidden in it, and the same goes for the people around her. We'll have to see whether this affair in front of us goes smoothly. Only if we return safely to Qingshan Commandery can I truly relax."

Yuan Gang understood. Niu Youdao had not yet treated Hongniang completely as one of his own. That was also an indirect answer that marrying her was impossible.

But what concerned Yuan Gang was the phrase "return safely."

"Is it dangerous?"

"Danger is everywhere." Niu Youdao brushed the matter aside with one sentence.

Then he raised his eyes and fixed them on Yuan Gang.

"I probably won't remain here much longer. If nothing unexpected happens, I'll be leaving soon. I came today because I want to ask you: what are you planning to do?"

Yuan Gang asked, "What do you want me to do?"

"Go back. Immediately!" Niu Youdao's voice hardened. "I opposed your coming here from the beginning. You insisted, and I couldn't say too much. But you should understand this: swim in the waves long enough and sooner or later you'll choke on water. The people most likely to drown are the ones who think they know how to swim. You've shown your face beside me before. Sooner or later, someone will recognize you. This place is too dangerous for you!"

This was the reason he had made a special trip here today.

"There's nothing on this side you need me to do?"

"You already did what I needed. The preparations you made last time gave me enormous room to maneuver. There's no need for you to take any more risks afterward."

"But I never actually made a move."

"Monkey, you should understand. This world is different from the one we knew. This world is controlled by cultivators. Your abilities have limits here. As Shang Chaozong's power expands, the level of the cultivation world I have to deal with will inevitably rise higher and higher. Monkey, go back. Move behind the scenes. I'll take the front."

Yuan Gang placed both hands on the table and lowered his head. He understood what Niu Youdao meant. His present strength could no longer keep pace with Master Dao. Put more plainly, if he continued like this, he would become a burden. There was one thing beyond any doubt. He understood Master Dao too well. If anything happened to him, Master Dao would never stand by and ignore it.

That one sentence, "Move behind the scenes. I'll take the front," left his emotions in turmoil.

In their previous life, whenever Master Dao needed something done, Yuan Gang had been the one to step forward. Whenever there was fighting, killing, or danger, he had always been the one charging at the front. Now he felt like a useless cripple.

"Master Dao, you go back. I want to try on my own."

At those words, the muscles in Niu Youdao's cheeks tightened sharply. He reached across and rapped the table in front of Yuan Gang, anger entering his voice.

"Yes. I once promised you that if the day ever came when you no longer wanted to stay beside me, you could leave whenever you wished. But the situation is different now! Monkey, I don't want to interfere with your freedom, but I don't want to see anything happen to you either. Ideals are good things. They're beautiful. But you still have to take reality into account. If you insist on being rigid about everything, you'll end up harming the men under you too. You have to think about your brothers!"

Yuan Gang kept his head lowered.

"Master Dao, let me try."

"You..."

Niu Youdao shot to his feet and pointed at him. His finger remained raised for a long time. In the end, he flung his sleeve and strode away. But just as he reached the door and was about to open it, he stopped.

With his back still turned, he said, "It's still the same promise. If one day you no longer want to stay beside me, you can leave at any time. So I respect your choice. But if something happens, don't shoulder it alone. We've lived two lives, and we're brothers for life. If you need something, remember to contact me!"

With that, he opened the door and left. Yuan Gang raised his head, abruptly stood, and chased after him.

"Master Dao!"

Niu Youdao's figure disappeared around the bend below the stairs. He did not stop. He did not turn back. Because he knew Monkey far too well. If Yuan Gang could think it through, he would naturally listen and leave. If he could not, then saying more would accomplish nothing. There were things Monkey refused to do that even Niu Youdao could not force him to do. Nor would he force him.

Boom!

Yuan Gang suddenly threw a punch. Brick and timber exploded outward as his fist smashed a hole straight through the wall.

By the time Yuan Feng and the others rushed upstairs, Yuan Gang had both hands braced against the wall, head lowered, eyes closed...

"What did you sneak out to do last time? Your mood has seemed a little off lately."

At Fufang Garden, Guan Fangyi walked beneath the shade of the trees and asked the question.

"Has it?" Niu Youdao looked up from where he sat.

Guan Fangyi reached for the wine flask sitting on a stool nearby. She raised it and tipped back her head. A line of wine arced through the air and poured into her mouth. Niu Youdao looked up from the reclining chair, appreciating the graceful yet faintly heroic motion. Then he paused. After swallowing several mouthfuls, Guan Fangyi suddenly swept her sleeve and threw the flask into the distant pond. She wiped her lips with her sleeve and sat down beside him.

"We have the man. Old Second Wu and the others have already moved him elsewhere."

Niu Youdao could tell her mood was strange too.

"Everything went smoothly?"

"We almost had a disaster! The old servant beside Zhang Xingrui was actually a cultivator secretly protecting him, and a powerful one at that. If I hadn't given Old Second Wu and the others a talisman beforehand as a precaution, this might have fallen apart completely. And Zhang Xingrui carried a white-bone protective talisman. As long as the talisman remains on his body, Ghost Mother can locate him at any time. If he opens it, Ghost Mother will know that something has happened to him."

Niu Youdao's expression turned grave.

"Ghost Mother knows?"

"Fortunately not! Zhang Xingrui had never encountered anything like this before. He panicked and failed to open the talisman in time. Old Second Wu and the others restrained him before he could. His behavior made them suspicious, so they forced the truth out of him. Only then did they learn Ghost Mother actually possesses such a strange, sinister art. I'm certain even the three major sects don't know she can do this. At the very least, the disciples from the three sects around Prince Ying didn't know, or they would've warned Old Second Wu and the others. It was far too dangerous. They broke into a cold sweat afterward. If they hadn't known and Ghost Mother had come looking for him, how could any of them have survived?"

That had been close. Far too close. Niu Youdao tensed hard as well, then finally exhaled in tremendous relief. If Ghost Mother had learned Zhang Xingrui was in trouble and this side failed to contact her quickly enough, she would inevitably have reached out to the Prince of the Western Court, Hao Yunsheng, and asked what had happened. The entire operation would have been exposed at once.

And if the other side had then turned the trap back on them, the question would no longer have been merely whether they could seize the warhorses. Every one of them might have lost his life.

"We should leave too. Start moving the people of Fufang Garden out," Niu Youdao said as he rose.

Guan Fangyi stood with him. Her bright eyes fixed on him with unusual seriousness.

"Niu Youdao, if I leave with you this time, I'm staking all my wealth and my life on you. Can I trust you?"

Niu Youdao seemed to understand at last why her mood had been so strange.

"I'll say the same thing as before: if you do not fail me, I will not fail you. Besides, all you can do now is trust me. You have no road back. What use is regret now? Forget everything else. You already know too much and are involved too deeply. If something happens to me and the affair is exposed, do you think Xiaoyue Pavilion will believe you if you say you knew nothing about certain secrets?"

Guan Fangyi did not answer. She slowly turned and looked around Fufang Garden, her gaze drifting into a daze.

She murmured, "I've lived here for so many years. So much joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness was poured out in this place. And now I'm finally going to leave. Even in my dreams, I never imagined I'd leave in a way like this."

Her eyes remained on the garden.

"Niu Youdao, do you think I should hate you?"

[End of Chapter 348]