Chapter 378: Niu Bandit! I, Shao, Swear I Will Never Coexist with You!

"Was she your woman?"

Guan Fangyi appeared beside Niu Youdao and asked the question while looking at the gravestone. She had many thoughts about the woman lying quietly buried here.

First, she admired Black Peony's loyalty and sense of duty. Then there was everything Duan Hu had told them after returning.

Strictly speaking, the woman really had acted on her own initiative. It would not have been wrong to say she had brought the disaster upon herself. Yet Niu Youdao had still insisted on taking the risk of waiting for her.

And although Black Peony had been barely clinging to life, and knew perfectly well that the ship's appointed departure time had already passed, she had remained certain Niu Youdao would still be there waiting. Guan Fangyi did not know whether that counted as two hearts somehow knowing one another. But looking now at the divide between living and dead, her chest was full of emotion.

Niu Youdao said, "Yes, and no. More precisely, she was one of my people."

Guan Fangyi looked at him in surprise. "What does that mean? Is there a difference?"

Niu Youdao did not answer.

He turned away, and his wandering gaze happened to rise toward a high pavilion inside the villa. Ghost Mother stood at the railing, staring directly at him.

Niu Youdao understood.

She had fixed her attention on him and had no intention of letting up. Until the matter of Zhang Xingrui was settled, she would not stop watching him.

"Did you send Old Second Wu the instructions I gave you last night?" Niu Youdao asked.

Guan Fangyi said, "I did."

Niu Youdao nodded, then asked, "Can you contact Xiaoyue Pavilion?"

"How could I contact them? You know how secretive that bunch is. You want to reach them? What about the one at Among the White Clouds..."

"Not her." Niu Youdao cut her off. "We can't expose her yet. We need to leave that tail where it is for now. This isn't the time to tug on it. Xiaoyue Pavilion is an assassin organization. They must have contact points below that accept commissions. You spent so many years in the Qi capital working as a broker. Don't tell me you don't know how to contact one of those places."

"I do know how to contact the one beneath them in the Qi capital. But I only know the Qi capital. I don't know about anywhere else."

"That's enough. Come with me."

Niu Youdao turned and walked away. The two returned to the villa together and entered Niu Youdao's room. Niu Youdao once more set out brush, ink, paper, and inkstone and sat down.

Guan Fangyi looked around the room, then suddenly smiled. "I came looking for you this morning and happened to see something through the window that I probably shouldn't have. What exactly does it mean that the Commandery Princess was arranging your hair?"

"It means she was arranging my hair."

"Tsk, tsk. A dignified Commandery Princess, daughter of Prince Ning, Shang Jianbo, personally arranging your hair, and there's no other meaning to it?"

"You're thinking too much. Do you not understand how the Shang siblings win people's loyalty?"

"Oh." Guan Fangyi looked enlightened, as though everything now made sense.

When she thought about it, that did seem reasonable. A woman that ugly, ugly enough to frighten people—what man would take a fancy to her? There should not be the kind of relationship Guan Fangyi had been imagining.

Niu Youdao wrote several lines, lifted the sheet, and handed it to her. "Send this to Old Second Wu. Have him find a way to deliver it to Xiaoyue Pavilion's contact point in the Qi capital."

Guan Fangyi took the paper and read it over, murmuring aloud, "What you want is in my hands. I'm willing to hand it over. Send someone to talk. Shang. Niu Youdao."

She looked up, thoroughly puzzled. "What does this 'Shang' mean? Did you write it by mistake, or are you referring to the Shang siblings?"

"This isn't for you to understand. It's for Xiaoyue Pavilion. Send it as quickly as possible. Also, have Yuan Fang come see me."

"Tear down the bridge after crossing the river..." Guan Fangyi left, muttering curses under her breath.

Yuan Fang arrived not long afterward.

His solemn, proper appearance instantly dissolved into a broad grin as he hurried forward and saluted. "Master Dao!"

Niu Youdao said, "Send a message to Chen Guishuo. Tell him that unless we contact him first, he is forbidden to contact this side no matter what happens over there. For the next year, he is not to initiate any communication with us whatsoever."

"All right. Anything else, Master Dao?"

"Go do it immediately."

"Yes!" Yuan Fang answered and hurried away.

Niu Youdao slowly leaned back in his chair and frowned in thought. Black Peony was dead. Yuan Gang was gone. Some confidential matters would have to be handed over to someone else. He could not personally handle everything, nor did he have the time.

Yuan Fang's attention was simply not focused on this sort of work. There were some matters he was not suited to handle.

At the Provincial Inspector's Residence in Beizhou, Shao Pingbo stood before the map in his study, staring at the silver needle. His expression was unusually grave. Shao Sansheng stood quietly nearby, stealing a glance at him from time to time.

Shao Pingbo turned his head. "According to the position marked by the needle, the fleet should have reached the river mouth yesterday. Why hasn't there been any message from the people waiting to receive it? Ships that large entering such a small river mouth could hardly go unseen."

Shao Sansheng lowered his head.

There were some things he simply did not dare say. Shao Pingbo sensed that something was wrong. He slowly turned, slowly walked up to Shao Sansheng, and studied every reaction on his face.

"Are you hiding something from me?"

Shao Sansheng raised his head with difficulty. He hesitated for a long while before finally saying, "Eldest Young Master, we've already received a reply. The ships... the people at the river mouth never saw the fleet arrive."

Shao Pingbo's eyes widened slightly. He raised a hand and pointed at the silver needle on the map. "Then what is this? The messages from the fleet clearly say they've already reached the river mouth. How could no one have seen them?"

Shao Sansheng seemed unable to answer.

Shao Pingbo suddenly seized him by the front of his clothes. His teeth clenched as he said, one word at a time, "You know perfectly well how serious this is. Have you grown senile? You dare be vague with me over something like this?"

Shao Sansheng said with difficulty, "Eldest Young Master, there truly has been no sign of the fleet at the river mouth."

"Then why are you still standing here? Go verify the situation immediately!" Shao Pingbo roared.

He shoved Shao Sansheng away so hard the older man nearly stumbled to the ground, then pointed at him.

"At the same time, contact Sister Zhao and ask what exactly is going on!"

Shao Sansheng still did not move.

His face was bitter. "Eldest Young Master, our agents in Qingshan Commandery have also sent word. Niu Youdao has returned to Qingshan Commandery."

Shao Pingbo froze for a moment, then snapped, "You've followed me for all these years. Can you still not tell what matters more and what matters less? Warhorses! Warhorses! Warhorses! Ignore him for now. First find out what happened to the warhorses!"

Shao Sansheng swallowed dryly. His next words came with equal difficulty.

"The agents in Qingshan Commandery say Niu Youdao brought back an enormous fleet, perhaps four or five hundred ships. He brought back around thirty thousand warhorses. It seems... it seems to match our fleet rather closely."

By the end, his voice had become truly heavy. He had received this news some time ago. But he was no fool. Otherwise, he could never have remained at Shao Pingbo's side for so many years. The moment he combined that information with the report from the river mouth, he understood. And precisely because he understood, he had not dared report it. He had been afraid the man before him would not be able to withstand the blow.

"You... you..."

Shao Pingbo's face instantly turned deathly pale. His eyes opened wide. Slowly he raised one hand, the finger trembling as he pointed at Shao Sansheng. Even his voice shook.

"You... what did you say? Say that again!"

Shao Sansheng lowered his head.

He knew Shao Pingbo had heard and understood perfectly well. With Eldest Young Master's intelligence, how could he fail to see what was wrong?

Shao Pingbo's Adam's apple bobbed.

Slowly, he turned back toward the map and pointed at the State of Qi. His chest rose and fell violently. For a long time he held it in. Then at last, a grief-stricken roar burst from him.

"Su Zhao! What exactly have you been hiding from me?"

He turned and pointed at Shao Sansheng again.

"You... all of you... excellent! Every one of you hiding things from me!"

Shao Sansheng's face crumpled with worry. "Eldest Young Master, your health cannot take anger like this. You mustn't work yourself into a fury!"

"Niu bandit! I, Shao, swear I will never coexist with you! Ah..."

Shao Pingbo suddenly clutched his chest. A cry of agony tore from him. His neck stiffened, his head twisted, and he collapsed on the spot. By the time Shao Sansheng heard the cry and lunged forward, it was already too late. Shao Pingbo had hit the floor stiff as a board.

"Eldest Young Master!"

Shao Sansheng cried out, dropped to his knees, and hurriedly pulled Shao Pingbo into his arms. Shao Pingbo's entire body was rigid, both fists clenched with all his strength. His eyes remained tightly shut as several coughs forced themselves from his throat. With each cough, bright red blood spilled from his mouth, while his face was as white as paper.

Shao Sansheng threw up his head and screamed, "Men! Someone come! Quickly!"

Several figures flashed in from outside. They were cultivators from Dachan Mountain. The sight of Shao Pingbo coughing blood shocked them.

They were responsible for protecting him. If anything truly happened to Shao Pingbo, not one of them would escape responsibility. They immediately descended into frantic activity, using their spiritual power to save him. The moment something happened to Shao Pingbo, every senior figure in the Provincial Inspector's Residence was alarmed.

Shao Dengyun came.

Zhong Yangxu, the Dachan Mountain elder stationed at the Provincial Inspector's Residence, came as well.

Shao Liuer came too.

After sitting beside the bed and carefully examining Shao Pingbo, Zhong Yangxu slowly rose and said to Shao Dengyun, "Brother Shao, in his rage, Eldest Young Master's qi and blood surged against his heart. If the retainer cultivators had not acted in time, and he had failed to catch that next breath, I'm afraid he would already be gone."

At the side, Shao Sansheng wiped away tears. He had known he should not tell him. But he could only hide the matter for a while, not forever. It was impossible to conceal completely. Eldest Young Master checked the fleet's progress every day.

Shao Dengyun, his hair already graying, asked, "What is his condition now?"

Zhong Yangxu said, "His life is not in danger for the moment, but the meridians of his heart have been badly damaged. He needs quiet recuperation."

Shao Dengyun asked, "When will he wake?"

Zhong Yangxu looked at Shao Pingbo lying unconscious with both fists still tightly clenched.

"Illness of the flesh can be treated. Illness of the heart leaves us helpless. Right now, he seems trapped in a nightmare. When he wakes depends on when that nightmare releases him."

He turned toward Shao Sansheng and narrowed his eyes.

"Tell me the truth. What exactly happened that drove Eldest Young Master into such a fury?"

Shao Sansheng wiped his tears. "We received news from Qingshan Commandery that Niu Youdao returned from the State of Qi and brought back a large number of warhorses. Then... then..."

He began to falter.

The fact that they had secretly arranged warhorses from the State of Qi behind Dachan Mountain's back was something he absolutely did not dare reveal.

"Heh." Zhong Yangxu gave a cold laugh.

He turned to look at the unconscious Shao Pingbo and sighed with feeling.

"Eldest Young Master, Eldest Young Master. You simply cannot bear to see Niu Youdao do even a little better than you. To work yourself into this state over such a small matter—why torment yourself? Your heart is far too narrow. What would you have this old man say about you? Ah!"

With a sweep of both sleeves, he clasped his hands behind his back and walked away, shaking his head helplessly.

[End of Chapter 378]