Chapter 371: Talent Like This Is Hard to Come By!

Lan Ruoting smiled. "Master Dao is dependable when he handles matters. Since he says he obtained the warhorses, the ten thousand His Highness needs should all be there."

Shang Chaozong nodded repeatedly. "Exactly!"

Meng Shanming inclined his head slightly. "That should be so. Your Highness, assemble the troops and make preparations."

"Good! Pass down the order. The army is to assemble!"

In another residence directly behind the Commandery Governor's Residence, the senior figures of Tianyu Sect all looked toward Peng Youzai as Bai Yao, just returned from Shang Chaozong's side, presented the message he had brought back. Bai Yao had already told them: Niu Youdao was back, and he had brought warhorses with him. That was why every eye in the room was now fixed on Peng Youzai.

It was difficult to describe the expression on Peng Youzai's face. After reading the secret message, he fell somewhat silent, then casually passed it to the next person and sighed. "Have a look, all of you."

There was little in the message. One or two glances were enough to finish it. They passed it from hand to hand. One after another, they fell silent, though some looked astonished.

Feng Entai was the most troubled of them all. His sworn brother—his own Third Brother—had gone and pulled off something like this.

Peng Youzai swept his gaze over the group. He guessed none of them had expected this either. They had detained Niu Youdao's people during the day, only to receive a message that very night saying Niu Youdao was coming back. The timing was almost too perfect.

Chen Tingxiu suddenly asked, "Junior Brother Feng, nominally you're still his sworn elder brother. You stayed beside him for so long. Are you telling me you never heard the slightest hint about how he was arranging the warhorses?"

Feng Entai said helplessly, "It's not that I failed to hear anything. He simply never revealed a word of it to me."

Chen Tingxiu frowned. "For a matter like this, Tianyu Sect offered to give him our full support, yet he refused and instead sent our people back. What exactly did Niu Youdao mean by that? Could it be that he didn't trust Tianyu Sect? Would Tianyu Sect sabotage its own interests?"

Feng Entai gave a bitter smile. "Perhaps after our side went back on its word several times, he no longer dared trust us."

Chen Tingxiu's brows tightened. "Junior Brother Feng, why do I get the feeling you have objections to the Sect Leader's decisions?"

Feng Entai said, "Senior Brother Chen, don't slap labels on me. I'm only putting myself in his place and considering how he would see it..."

"Enough. Stop arguing." Peng Youzai cut them off and rose to his feet. With a sigh, he said, "He kept silent, quietly got the job done, and left us nothing to say. One has to admire him. It's a pity he isn't a disciple of Tianyu Sect. And it's a pity about the disciples we lost in the State of Qi over this matter. If we'd known things would turn out this way, we should have sent that fellow to Qi to handle it from the beginning."

Everyone remained silent.

Who could possibly have known? Before Niu Youdao went, who would have dared guarantee he could succeed? It was only after they had truly run out of alternatives—and because of the struggle over the liquor profits—that they had finally let him go. Everyone in the room understood that perfectly well.

"Getting the warhorses is a good thing. We can't let something happen to them now that they're already this close. We're in Qingshan Commandery at the moment. If something goes wrong right under our noses, we won't look good either, and trying to obtain more warhorses afterward will be even harder. Gather the manpower here and make arrangements. We'll go welcome them too—let's receive our great contributor."

Peng Youzai waved a hand.

Feng Entai cupped his hands. "Sect Leader, his people are still being detained by us. What should we do about them?"

At the mention of this, Peng Youzai could only shake his head with a bitter smile. They had not yet forced Yuan Fang and the others to surrender the secret formula.

Tianyu Sect still styled itself an orthodox and reputable sect. Using methods for the sake of profit was unavoidable, but with so many eyes watching, they could not simply act without any justification at all. They had promised ten days, and they had not yet forced those monks to reveal the formula. Trying to pressure them now would already be meaningless.

"The warhorses haven't actually arrived yet. Release them after we confirm it," Peng Youzai decided.

Feng Entai asked, "Sect Leader, could this make Niu Youdao turn against us?"

Peng Youzai said, "You're thinking too much. That boy is clever. He still needs Tianyu Sect to shelter him from the wind and rain. Otherwise he wouldn't have handed us the largest share of the profits. He won't fall out with us over something that caused him no actual loss. With the foundation he has now, let him try turning against us and see what happens!"

Very soon, the various sects gathered their people. Together with Shang Chaozong's large force, they rushed through the night toward the coast.

A movement on such a scale could not possibly be concealed. It also alerted the agents of the various powers hidden throughout Qingshan Commandery, and reports went out through the night... The ship rocked among the waves.

Several Goldenwings from Qingshan Commandery pierced the night one after another and descended onto the vessel. At last, Qingshan Commandery could communicate with them again.

Sitting beside the lamplight, Niu Youdao read through one secret message after another, then tossed them aside with a cold snort. "Tianyu Sect truly refuses to give up its thieving designs."

Guan Fangyi picked them up and read them. Then she began complaining. "What kind of situation is this? Is Qingshan Commandery even safe to go back to? Don't drag me into some pit!"

They had not even arrived yet, and trouble was already brewing in Qingshan Commandery. How could she not be worried?

Niu Youdao lifted his chin toward the window and mocked, "If you truly don't want to go, I won't force you. It's not too late to get off the ship and leave now."

Bang!

Guan Fangyi slapped the table, brows raised. "What do you mean by that? Where was this attitude earlier? I've already offended Xiaoyue Pavilion because of you, and now you want to drive me away? You used me up and now you want to tear down the bridge after crossing the river?"

Niu Youdao said, "Then why are you making so much noise? I'll ask you one thing: are you coming with me or not?"

Bang!

Guan Fangyi slapped the table again and shot to her feet. "I'll decide depending on my mood!"

She turned and stalked away, hips swaying.

Niu Youdao shook his head and muttered, "I heard countless men used to worship her like a goddess. Just how many blind men were there?"

Gongsun Bu, standing nearby, barely managed not to laugh. At the seaside pier, heavy troops stood guard while banners snapped in the sea wind.

The open shoreline had been cleared. Every large and small vessel had been moved away to make room for the approaching horse transports.

Shang Shuqing, Lei Zongkang, and Wu Sanliang stood on the shore, repeatedly scanning the sea in every direction. Niu Youdao had never said from which direction he would arrive.

Lei Zongkang and Wu Sanliang paced back and forth. Shang Shuqing stood quietly gazing out at the sea, expectation bright in her eyes. Her skirts fluttered in the wind while waves broke against the shore below.

The others were waiting elsewhere—some at the relay station on the pier, some in inns, others inside the warehouses.

Niu Youdao had not given an exact arrival time. He had only said he would arrive today. The group had reached the pier before the latter half of the night was over, but dawn came without any sign of him. They waited through most of the morning and still saw nothing. Heaven knew what hour he would arrive. In the end, people gradually found places to rest rather than continue standing uselessly at the pier.

Lei Zongkang looked at the sun, then walked over to Shang Shuqing. "Commandery Princess, the sun is strong. Why don't you go inside and rest? The moment the ships arrive, I'll notify you."

She had not rested all night and had traveled a long way besides. Fatigue showed plainly on Shang Shuqing's face, though her spirits seemed good.

She shook her head. "I'm fine. I'm not tired."

Her bright eyes continued sweeping the sea. Suddenly, her gaze fixed on something. A figure was flying toward them over the water—one of the Liuxian Sect disciples who had been sent out over the sea to scout.

The man flew ashore and called loudly, "The ships are here!"

Shang Shuqing immediately asked, "Which direction?"

The newcomer pointed southwest.

Shang Shuqing quickly looked that way, but could not see anything yet.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Drums abruptly thundered across the pier, sounding the signal.

Very quickly, the people in the relay station, inns, and warehouses poured outside. Wearing a cloak, Shang Chaozong ran all the way to the shore and asked, "Where are the ships?"

"They're still some distance away. You can't see them yet."

Someone pointed out the direction.

The leaders of the three sects arrived at an unhurried pace. Tianyu Sect's senior figures came as well, along with Lan Ruoting and Meng Shanming in his wheelchair. All of them stood at the pier and looked toward the sea.

Shang Chaozong turned and shouted, "Light the smoke!"

With several low whooshes, braziers atop crude raised platforms were ignited. Columns of thick smoke rose and drifted with the wind, guiding the approaching ships toward the harbor. Before long, a broad spread of sails appeared on the horizon.

As the vessels drew closer, one enormous ship after another became visible. The scale of the fleet was startling—a dense mass of large ships bearing down on the coast. Few people present had ever witnessed anything so magnificent.

Peng Youzai asked, "Your Highness, how many warhorses did you ask Niu Youdao to obtain?"

Shang Chaozong answered, "Ten thousand!"

Meng Shanming, seated in his wheelchair, said, "Judging by this scale, there must be four or five hundred large ships. Ten thousand warhorses shouldn't require this many vessels of this size."

Lan Ruoting said, "Master Dao is always thorough. Perhaps the extra ships are carrying supplies as a precaution."

Everyone nodded slightly.

That seemed reasonable. Obtaining ten thousand warhorses should already have been difficult enough. It was unlikely Niu Youdao would deliberately create more trouble for himself.

More precisely, it was not merely a matter of trouble. Beyond the extra time and effort involved, the more warhorses he obtained, the greater the commotion, and therefore the greater the risk. But as the enormous fleet continued pressing closer, everyone gradually sobered. Hearing about something and seeing it with one's own eyes were entirely different.

Only now did everyone truly understand. To assemble a fleet of this scale and use it to move warhorses out of the State of Qi without the many watching eyes discovering the plan—how much effort, thought, and preparation must that have taken from beginning to end? Arranging the ships alone was an enormous undertaking. The senior figures of Tianyu Sect looked at one another.

Previously, when they received reports that Niu Youdao was dawdling on the road, then lingering in the Qi capital without making a move, all of them had harbored doubts and complaints.

Now they thought they understood.

Niu Youdao's delays had not been without reason. No one knew how many detailed and meticulous preparations he had been making in secret. No one now believed he had wasted time.

The Tianyu Sect elders silently weighed the matter in their hearts and knew the truth. If Tianyu Sect had been asked to do the same thing—to quietly assemble such an enormous fleet in the short amount of time Niu Youdao had used—it would have been nearly impossible. The difference in capability was obvious at a glance. This time, they were genuinely convinced.

Feng Entai stared dumbfounded. Never in his dreams had he imagined that Niu Youdao had arranged something on this scale right under his nose while he remained completely unaware.

Peng Youzai slowly exhaled and sighed. "This Niu Youdao... talent like his is hard to come by!"

Meng Shanming nodded slightly. "Sect Leader Peng is right. The intelligence networks of the various states aren't blind. Just this fleet alone must have cost him no small amount of effort and exposed him to enormous risk. Now I finally understand why he cut off every line of communication with the outside world. He truly could not afford even a single mistake. This affair really has made things difficult for him."

Shang Chaozong and Lan Ruoting were visibly moved as they stared ahead. What she saw before her and what she heard beside her made Shang Shuqing's nose sting.

Her eyes reddened.

[End of Chapter 371]