Chapter 352: At Any Cost

Across the vast land, night could already be felt descending. High in the sky, however, the disciples of the three major sects riding five flying mounts still bathed in the lingering brightness at the edge of the heavens, while the earth below was already half swallowed by darkness. A Goldenwing flew ahead. The five flying mounts followed far behind. A massive sleeping dragon appeared across the land below: another long, winding mountain range.

"Below!" a Daqiu Sect disciple suddenly shouted a warning.

Everyone quickly looked down. Several dark shapes shot from the mountains below, growing clearer as they climbed.

Five more large flying mounts!

Each carried three masked men dressed in black. Fifteen people in all.

"Who are you?" someone among the three sects shouted sharply.

On each of the five mounts climbing diagonally toward them, one man flipped a clumsy-looking great bow into his hands. Each reached to the quiver on his back, seized three arrows at once, nocked all three to the string, and drew in one swift motion. No one knew what the thick black bowstrings, like coarse ropes, were made from. The moment they were drawn taut, faint mist curled around them.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Fifteen arrows shot out together. The disciples of the three sects immediately circulated their arts and prepared to defend. But the fifteen incoming arrows seemed to sink into the sea like clay oxen, dissolving the moment they met water. Starting from the arrowheads, all fifteen abruptly melted away in midair. From point to shaft to fletching, they vanished just like that, dispersing like smoke. The disciples quickly realized they had not disappeared. They had broken apart. Each arrow had transformed into countless hair-fine needles.

Fifteen arrows became a sweeping rain of needles!

"Heavenly Mechanism Aura-Breaking Arrows! Careful!" someone from the three sects screamed in alarm.

Those countless specially forged ox-hair needles were tiny and razor-sharp. Provided they were launched with enough force, they could pierce protective qi. They were extraordinarily difficult to guard against. Used in an ambush, Heavenly Mechanism Aura-Breaking Arrows were vicious weapons. They were also extremely difficult to make. Even one was rare.

The disciples of the three sects had never dreamed anyone would fire fifteen of them at once just to deal with their group.

By the time the rain of needles had drawn close enough for them to recognize what it was, it was already too late. A broad sheet of ox-hair needles swept over them. The disciples swung their weapons desperately, but there were simply too many needles to block them all.

"Ungh..."

"Ah!"

One man was struck by more than a hundred needles and gave a muffled groan of pain. Another failed to protect his face in time. Both eyes were hit. Fine needles studded his cheeks, blood poured from his eyes, and he screamed in agony. Amid a metallic clatter, disciples of Xuanbing Sect controlled the scales of their armor to form spinning shields. Sparks sprayed across their surfaces under the impact. They managed to protect their vital points, but their reaction had still been hurried.

Every one of them was struck by at least a few needles.

"Skreee..."

The five flying mounts shrieked miserably in the air. If even the disciples of the three sects could not fully defend themselves, the mounts' condition could easily be imagined. All five lost control, flapping and veering wildly through the sky. The fifteen disciples launched themselves into the air.

Except for the blinded man, who rode his qi and glided toward the ground, the others rushed together toward the attackers. The Heavenly Mechanism Aura-Breaking Arrows were vicious, but they had a weakness. Their destructive force was limited. The needles were too fine. Unlike a slash from a blade or sword, a single strike was not normally fatal.

The moment the needles entered their flesh, the cultivators locked them in place with spiritual power through their own bodies, then forced them back out. But the masked ambushers had never intended to fight a prolonged battle. The moment their first strike succeeded, they turned their flying mounts and fled.

"Poison!" a Tianhuo Sect disciple shouted.

The tiny wound on his face where a needle had entered was already turning black, and the black stain was rapidly spreading across his skin. The others sensed it too. Numbness spread from every place the needles had struck them, racing through their bodies. Now this was truly fatal. Who still had the heart to chase the enemy? Keeping themselves alive was already difficult enough. The disciples of the three sects immediately dove toward the ground.

By the time they landed, every one of them was staggering. The man struck by the greatest number of needles could no longer even land normally. He crashed into the earth near the ground and rolled in a bloody heap. The five flying mounts wheeled back down with wings spread wide. Fifteen figures shot from their backs. Fierce sword qi slashed through the air. Some disciples of the three sects lost their heads. Some were split diagonally apart. Others were severed at the waist.

Blood sprayed everywhere. They toppled like cut straw, without the slightest power to resist, one after another collapsing into pools of blood.

Bang!

A birdcage dropped from someone's hand and shattered on the ground. Several Goldenwings inside were minced into bloody pulp by a streak of sword qi. Another dying man managed to open the cage on his back and release several Goldenwings. Several lines of sword qi shot upward in pursuit. Blood mist burst in the sky. Feathers drifted down. All fifteen disciples of the three major sects were killed. Not one survived. Not one of the Goldenwings they carried for communication escaped either.

The fifteen masked attackers flashed together and gathered in one place. They all nodded. One person lifted his head and released a sharp whistle.

The five flying mounts circling overhead immediately swept down in a line, skimming just above the ground and racing toward the group. As they approached, all fifteen men leaped into the air and landed three to each mount.

The five great birds swept past the earth like a gale, beat their wings, climbed, and quickly disappeared into the depths of night... At dawn, inside the imperial palace. Hao Yuntu rose early, washed, dressed, and changed into formal court robes in preparation for morning court. Bu Xun entered the room and dismissed the attending eunuchs.

He personally helped Hao Yuntu arrange his robes as he reported, "The fifteen disciples dispatched by the three major sects have all lost contact."

Hao Yuntu looked at him.

"Didn't they send back word yesterday that they'd already scored one success?"

"That was the last message. They said they were following the trail upward, but after that there was nothing. The disciples of the three major sects were acting together, and each sect was required to report once every six hours. Their reporting times were staggered, meaning one sect or another should have sent a message every two hours. Yet until now, none of them can be contacted."

"Something happened?"

"Almost certainly. The three major sects have already sent people to investigate along their route. There's more. The five prisoners the three sects captured alive were supposed to be escorted back, but the people sent to receive them have also lost contact. Something likely happened there too. I'm afraid those five prisoners have already been rescued."

Hao Yuntu tightened the belt at his waist with both hands and gave a cold snort.

"Xiaoyue Pavilion. I truly underestimated them."

Bu Xun said, "The three major sects are probably furious this time. Should we give them the lead on Among the White Clouds?"

Hao Yuntu gave him an indifferent sidelong glance.

"Is there any need? What benefit do I gain by giving it to them? Just so they can avenge their dead? If you hand it over now, do you think they'll be grateful to you and remember your favor? They'll only think it was what you should have done. Bu Xun, human desire is never satisfied. Once we reach the point where there is nothing left to give, we'll be the ones in trouble."

He continued, "To control a state this large, with powers tangled through every level, balance is necessary. Neither you nor I possesses the luxury of drawing clean lines between love and hate. At our level, there are no eternal friends and no eternal enemies. If the three major sects go too far, there would be nothing wrong with me making friends with Xiaoyue Pavilion when the time is right. If Xiaoyue Pavilion grows too unrestrained, I also need something in hand with which to beat them. They need to understand that it isn't that I cannot move against them, but that I choose not to. Only while they remain uncertain how much we truly know will they continue to fear us..."

At Among the White Clouds, a rockery shifted aside in a secluded corner, revealing the water-filled tunnel beneath. Su Zhao emerged from it and restored the rockery to its original position. She had only just returned to the door of her room when Qin Mian hurried over and saluted.

"Proprietress, you're finally back."

The two entered the room together. Su Zhao sat at the dressing table and began undoing her hair. She was still dressed as a man.

Qin Mian followed her and asked, "Did everything go smoothly with the warhorses?"

"Well enough." Su Zhao nodded. "I only hope the rest goes smoothly too."

Qin Mian had no real concern for that matter. Hearing that things had gone well, she let it drop. Her expression turned grave.

"The higher-ups sent word. Linghu Qiu is one of our own!"

Su Zhao froze with a hairpin still in her hand. She looked at her reflection in the mirror, eyes flickering. In truth, she had known this long ago. Shao Pingbo had already warned her.

At first she had only half believed him, but now, thinking back on his judgment, she could not help sighing inwardly. He had actually guessed correctly. How could the difference between people be so great? Her hair fell loose over her shoulders. Su Zhao turned back with an astonished expression.

"How is that possible?"

There were matters between herself and Shao Pingbo that Qin Mian knew, and matters Qin Mian did not.

Qin Mian said, "If the higher-ups have said so, there can be no mistake."

Su Zhao asked suspiciously, "Why did the higher-ups place Linghu Qiu beside Niu Youdao?"

"They didn't say. And that isn't what we need to worry about right now. The higher-ups believe Linghu Qiu has already been exposed and very likely fallen into the hands of the court of the State of Qi."

Su Zhao's expression tightened.

"Could this implicate our side?"

Qin Mian waved a hand.

"No. Linghu Qiu and we belong to two separate lines. That's why no one told us about him from the beginning."

Su Zhao immediately asked, "What about Niu Youdao?"

She suspected Linghu Qiu's exposure was connected to Niu Youdao. Shao Pingbo had long suspected that Niu Youdao had seen through Linghu Qiu's identity.

But because Su Zhao had harbored plans to deal with Niu Youdao at the time, she had deliberately pretended not to understand and had never reported Shao Pingbo's suspicion upward. Now she felt uneasy. If Niu Youdao truly had exposed Linghu Qiu, then she had effectively interfered with the higher-ups' affairs.

Qin Mian said, "Niu Youdao is gone."

"Gone? Where did he go?"

"We don't know. Only that he left. The moment I received the higher-ups' message, I sent people to investigate Fufang Garden. The place is empty. Niu Youdao, Guan Fangyi, and the others are all gone. Prince Yu's residence is currently looking for a buyer for Fufang Garden. They say Niu Youdao and Guan Fangyi entrusted them with the sale. That's precisely why the higher-ups informed us. They ordered every force under our control here to move immediately and search for both Niu Youdao and Linghu Qiu. I didn't know when Proprietress would return, so I made the decision on my own and already ordered our people throughout this region to begin searching. The higher-ups' instruction is that so long as they're still within our territory of responsibility, we are to find them at any cost!"

"At any cost?"

Su Zhao was deeply shocked. Qin Mian nodded slowly, her expression extremely grave. There were some things she knew that Su Zhao did not. Wei Chu's death had been faked. Linghu Qiu had exposed his identity as a member of Xiaoyue Pavilion. That meant Niu Youdao had to die. Otherwise, Wei Chu could never show himself again. And Wei Chu was simply too important.

[End of Chapter 352]