Chapter 370: The Warhorses Have Arrived!

Everyone understood.

Tianyu Sect had suddenly made this move because it had discovered that this side had completely lost contact with Niu Youdao and had finally found a perfectly legitimate opportunity to act.

Ten days?

They were clearly certain Niu Youdao could not possibly bring the warhorses back within ten days. Even if Niu Youdao himself returned, he would come back empty-handed. So first they would seize control of Yuan Fang and the others.

Tianyu Sect held both the greater principle and every smaller justification. What could anyone say was wrong with their argument? The warhorse matter truly could not be dragged out indefinitely. They had already said that if this side failed, they would send disciples to the State of Qi and handle it themselves. They had also given more than enough time to make contact. All they wanted was an explanation from Niu Youdao, and the moment they received one, they would release the captives.

Was that really excessive?

They were acting for the sake of the larger situation. Who could criticize them? And with the harder fist, they were naturally well suited to talk reason.

Zheng Jiuxiao said heavily, "For now, our only option is to contact him, contact him, and keep trying. We have to keep trying whether it works or not. Hopefully we can reach Niu Youdao as soon as possible."

Fei Changliu and Xia Hua silently nodded. There was nothing else they could do.

Shang Shuqing ventured, "Could something have happened to Master Dao?"

Xia Hua smiled bitterly. "Commandery Princess, that's truly hard to say. By all reason, the fact that he sent the people from Fufang Garden here means he must have planned something in advance. But so many people have gone months without sending a single word. No one knows what happened."

Shang Shuqing's eyes were full of worry.

Xia Hua placed both hands on her shoulders and sighed. "Commandery Princess, you've grown quite a bit thinner lately. Don't worry too much. That fellow Niu Youdao, whatever else one may say about him, does have some ability. He should be all right."

Comfort was comfort.

The reality confronting the three sects remained cold. The Goldenwings they released circled once in the sky and came back down.

They released them again.

Again, the birds returned.

They still could not make contact. Inside the Commandery Governor's Residence, Shang Chaozong paced back and forth through the room, angrily denouncing Tianyu Sect's arrogance and domineering conduct. Meng Shanming sat in his wheelchair and listened quietly.

When Shang Chaozong finished, Meng Shanming said mildly, "Your Highness, don't be impatient. Everyone has interests of his own. Strictly speaking, they haven't done anything wrong."

Lan Ruoting stroked his beard. "In the end, what we lack is a sect capable of checking Tianyu Sect. That said, we cannot afford to support too many sects at present. It's still too early to speak of balancing them. Right now, we need Tianyu Sect's support. Your Highness, you must endure for the time being. Once we possess enough interests to distribute, a force capable of balancing them will naturally emerge."

Shang Chaozong dropped heavily into a nearby chair, leaned back, and sighed toward the ceiling. "I understand the reasoning. But if Niu Youdao returns and learns that I watched his people be arrested without doing anything, how am I supposed to face him? He has exhausted himself for my sake and risked his life outside, yet I can't even protect his people. What face will I have left?"

Meng Shanming shook his head. "Your Highness is overthinking it. Niu Youdao is a rational man. He should understand that he himself left a gap in the matter, allowing the other side to exploit it and claim the justification. There was nothing Your Highness could do to stop them, nor were you capable of stopping them. The real question now is what has happened on Niu Youdao's side. If something truly has happened to him, what meaning would there be in Your Highness falling out with Tianyu Sect now? If Niu Youdao truly cannot return, Your Highness can only stand with Tianyu Sect. Could you really stand with the three sects and oppose Tianyu Sect instead? To begin with, the three sects themselves don't have that courage. Otherwise they wouldn't have watched Tianyu Sect seize those people right under their noses."

Shang Chaozong asked, "And if Niu Youdao does return?"

Meng Shanming said, "After all this time, hasn't Your Highness seen it yet? Never mind distant matters. Just look at what happened in the State of Qi. Is Niu Youdao some harmless man who can be dealt with casually? Even the Qi Emperor Hao Yuntu failed to do anything to him. Do you think he'll be afraid of Tianyu Sect? I've watched for a long time. Tianyu Sect may look powerful, but when it comes to Niu Youdao, they're strangely lacking in confidence. They've never really been able to get a grip on him. Otherwise, why would they need to make a move this furtively? Such a large sect—why don't they dare suppress Niu Youdao openly? That alone says a great deal. Perhaps Tianyu Sect itself hasn't realized it and is still feeling smug. Your Highness needn't worry. If Niu Youdao never returns, so be it. But if he truly does, Your Highness won't need to step in when he arm-wrestles Tianyu Sect. Who wins and who loses is far from certain."

Lan Ruoting nodded. "Marshal Meng is right."

Shang Chaozong fell silent.

Gradually, he calmed down.

Outside, atop one of the pavilions, Bai Yao stood with his sword in his arms and gazed into the distance. His feelings were somewhat complicated. He had witnessed everything that happened earlier.

To some extent, even he had to admit that his sect's methods were somewhat underhanded and hardly open and upright. Yet he also understood that some things had no absolute right or wrong.

Were the three sects right merely because they had exhausted every method to cut flesh from Tianyu Sect's share of the profits? Were Tianyu Sect's decision-makers wrong to protect the interests of Tianyu Sect? Speaking realistically, the disciples of Tianyu Sect needed people willing to defend their interests in exactly this way. There were things Bai Yao could do nothing about. He let out a quiet breath, still feeling stifled.

Seabirds cried overhead, and the sea stretched broad enough for fish to leap as they pleased. Clothes snapping in the wind, Niu Youdao stood at the bow with his hands clasped behind his back. He watched fish chasing alongside the ship leap from the water from time to time.

The sight seemed faintly familiar.

Guan Fangyi kept an extremely close eye on Niu Youdao. Wherever he went, she followed. Her external communications were now under control, and she had been dragged into the water with him and made an enemy of Xiaoyue Pavilion. If Niu Youdao harbored some crooked idea and slipped away, who was she supposed to turn to?

So she watched him carefully.

Still, she looked perfectly relaxed.

A chair had been set out for her. She sat with one leg crossed over the other, holding a cup of tea and enjoying the sea breeze while her skirt fluttered in the wind.

After being cooped up in the Qi capital for so many years, seeing scenery like this put her in a fairly good mood. Gongsun Bu emerged from the cabin and strode over.

He nodded to Guan Fangyi.

She tossed him a flirtatious look, making him smile bitterly.

"Master Dao, the shipmaster says we are no more than one day from Qingshan Commandery."

Almost there?

Guan Fangyi's bright eyes blinked.

She was actually rather looking forward to it. She vaguely remembered Linghu Qiu talking about how wonderful the place was.

She had asked Gongsun Bu as well. He had told her that other matters aside, when it came to food, if Master Dao's villa claimed second place beneath Heaven, no one would dare claim first.

"One day..." Niu Youdao nodded slightly.

He considered the difference in timing. By the time a Goldenwing from here flew back, even if the news leaked and hostile parties sent word onward and began reacting, it would already be too late.

"Send word to the fleet ahead. Have them gradually slow down and wait for the ships behind to catch up so the fleet can regroup."

Then he issued a second order.

"Send messages to His Highness, Liuxian Sect, Fuyun Sect, Lingxiu Mountain, and our people back home. Tell them the warhorses have arrived. Have them come receive us. Mobilize heavy troops to clear the area, and gather cultivators from the various sects to stand guard."

He sent the same news to several parties at once in case any one message failed to arrive.

"Understood!" Gongsun Bu answered, then asked, "Do we keep sending messages along the false northern route?"

"Send them. Why wouldn't we?" A strange smile appeared at the corner of Niu Youdao's mouth. "Keep sending until we arrive."

For one brief instant, his thoughts turned to Shao Pingbo. He could almost sympathize with the pressure Shao Pingbo was about to endure.

"All right!" Gongsun Bu smiled and nodded. Seeing there were no further orders, he turned and left to carry them out.

Guan Fangyi leisurely drank her tea and said lazily, "We're finally almost there. Rocking and swaying all day long—if we drift much longer, my bones are going to fall apart."

She did not understand the development pressure confronting Beizhou and Qingshan Commandery. Nor did she know what the loss of this batch of warhorses would mean for Shao Pingbo.

That night, five Goldenwings came flying one after another from the same direction. Four successively darted toward Wuliang Mountain, Fuyun Sect, Liuxian Sect, and Lingxiu Mountain. The fifth streaked toward Qingshan Commandery's city.

"Sect Leader! Sect Leader! News from Niu Youdao!"

Outside a quiet room, a Liuxian Sect disciple shouted excitedly.

Creak.

The door opened, and Fei Changliu quickly stepped out. A Moon Butterfly flew out with him.

"News from Niu Youdao!" The disciple presented the decoded secret message with both hands.

He knew how long his sect leader had been waiting for this message. Fei Changliu had asked about it every day.

Any disciple with the slightest sense understood that if Niu Youdao never returned, Tianyu Sect might kick their entire sect straight out of Qingshan Commandery. Everyone in the sect had been on edge.

Some things were impossible to understand until circumstances tested them. Only then could one see who truly stood above the rest.

People who had once looked down on Niu Youdao had finally understood who was actually capable of holding the situation together here. Authority and prestige were built invisibly in exactly this way. Fei Changliu snatched the message and read it.

Then his spirits soared. "He got the warhorses! Good! Good! Good! This brother of ours is something. He really didn't disappoint us!"

He abruptly raised his head and pointed at the disciple. "Go! Notify the other two sects. And send someone to the Commandery Governor's Residence immediately. Tell His Highness to assemble troops and rush to the seaport to escort the shipment!"

He still thought the others had not yet heard.

"Yes!" The disciple cupped his hands and ran off.

Fei Changliu shouted again, "Men! Assemble all Liuxian Sect disciples immediately!"

Almost at the same time, the other two mountain peaks also erupted into activity, with Moon Butterflies rising everywhere.

Apart from those who had to remain behind, the disciples of the three sects gradually converged in the valley. More than a thousand cultivators gathered together, Moon Butterflies dancing brilliantly above them. Fei Changliu, Zheng Jiuxiao, and Xia Hua were talking excitedly when all three looked back in succession. Shang Shuqing was making her way over the uneven ground accompanied by two Wuliang Mountain disciples.

Xia Hua smiled. "Commandery Princess, Niu Youdao is returning with the warhorses. He should arrive tomorrow."

Shang Shuqing nodded with a smile. "I already know. The cultivators from Wuliang Mountain told me. I'll go with you to welcome Master Dao."

Xia Hua hesitated. "It's quite a journey there and back. Commandery Princess, perhaps you should wait here. Master Dao should reach this place tomorrow anyway."

Shang Shuqing said, "It's fine. I'm not some delicate woman. Riding that distance is nothing."

The three sect leaders exchanged glances and said no more.

Fei Changliu said, "Let's go see His Highness first and discuss the arrangements."

At the Commandery Governor's Residence, Shang Chaozong stood in the hall with the secret message in his hand and threw back his head in wild laughter.

"Warhorses! My warhorses have arrived! The day my Yingyang and Wulie Guards rise again is within sight! Master Dao truly has not betrayed my hopes!"

Meng Shanming and Lan Ruoting were smiling as well, both filled with emotion. Tianyu Sect and the three sects had spent so much effort without accomplishing what Niu Youdao had actually managed to do. Everyone knew this had not been easy. He must have endured no small number of hardships along the way.

Outside the hall, Feng Ruonan stood at the doorway listening secretly. Naturally, she understood what warhorses meant to the two commanderies. She also knew Niu Youdao had gone to arrange the matter.

He had truly succeeded.

Even she could not help feeling deeply moved. She found herself remembering the first time she had met Niu Youdao. In the blink of an eye, looking back on it now felt almost like a dream.

Inside the hall, Meng Shanming asked, "Your Highness, did Niu Youdao say how many warhorses there are?"

"Uh..." Shang Chaozong paused and looked down at the secret message. "He didn't say."

[End of Chapter 370]