Chapter 386: Anyone Who Acts Without Authorization Dies!

After finishing the letter, Linghu Qiu stood there in a daze. Was this truly a letter from Niu Youdao? Had Niu Youdao really made Xiaoyue Pavilion promise not to trouble him?

"Sir, is it really a letter from Niu Youdao?" the filthy Hongxiu asked tentatively.

"Read it yourselves." Linghu Qiu remained lost in thought and casually handed the letter to them.

The two women took it and immediately leaned their heads together to read. When they finished, they looked at one another.

Hongxiu voiced the same doubt. "Will those above really let us go?"

"I don't know. Even if we're going to die, we should die with some dignity. Let's find somewhere to wash first." Linghu Qiu sighed, then shook a banknote from the envelope.

Its denomination was one hundred. The writer had clearly anticipated that anything they had carried would have been stripped away and would never be returned. It was not much money, but the gesture had plainly been thoughtful.

One man and two women, all in ragged clothes and barefoot, walked away.

By the time night fell, all three had washed and changed and were sitting in an inn eating.

Whether Niu Youdao's words were true or false, the three understood something clearly.

If Xiaoyue Pavilion truly intended to deal with them, isolated as they were now, they had nowhere to run.

After months without a decent meal, they ate their fill, then returned to their room. The instant they pushed open the door, all three felt a chill.

A figure wrapped in a black cloak stood by the window with his back to them.

They immediately went on high alert, watching both inside and outside the room.

"Come in," the black-robed man said in a low, hoarse voice.

All three had heard that voice before. The moment they realized what sort of person had come, their hearts tightened and their nerves stretched taut. They wanted to flee, yet their feet felt heavy. In the end, they slowly entered the room one by one.

Once the door was shut, the black-robed man said, "From this day forward, the three of you have nothing more to do with us. If you don't want to die, forget everything you should not remember. You were fortunate this time. Conduct yourselves well."

That was all. As soon as he finished speaking, he flashed out through the window and vanished like a ghost. The three remained frozen for a long time.

Only after quite a while did they gradually seem to wake from a nightmare. Hongxiu lit an oil lamp.

Their Moon Butterflies were gone. When they left prison, the only things left on their bodies had been the ragged clothes they wore. Hongfu quickly shut the window. Lamplight fell across their faces. All three still looked badly shaken.

Hongfu finally broke the silence. "Sir, it seems what Niu Youdao wrote was true."

They knew perfectly well that very few people ever left the organization and survived. Without extraordinary circumstances, it was impossible.

Linghu Qiu slowly walked to the lamp and sat down. He took out Niu Youdao's letter again and read it once more.

Now that he knew the contents were true, countless feelings surged through his heart.

Back in prison, he had refused to loosen his tongue no matter what because he knew he had no road to survival. Even in death, he had intended to drag Niu Youdao down with him.

What angered him even more was that the bastard Niu Youdao had actually laid hands on his women.

That humiliation was something he could not swallow, and it had also been one of the reasons he had stubbornly refused to confess.

But now, looking at this letter, he could finally see the sincerity in it. Niu Youdao had truly wanted to preserve his life.

Otherwise, with Linghu Qiu already worthless, Niu Youdao had no reason to seek out trouble for himself. Yet not only had he gotten Linghu Qiu out, he had even settled matters with Xiaoyue Pavilion on his behalf. The effort behind it was obvious.

Only now did Linghu Qiu truly calm down enough to reconsider the line in the letter:

"When you sought to harm me, how was I supposed to conduct myself?"

Thinking back calmly, it had indeed been their side that intended to use seduction to harm Niu Youdao. That was why Hongxiu and Hongfu had suffered humiliation. Niu Youdao had merely played along for the sake of preserving his own life. One sheet of paper had achieved an astonishing effect. The resentment in Linghu Qiu's heart truly dissolved like smoke. He could no longer summon any desire for revenge.

He raised the letter to the lamp and set it alight, watching it slowly turn to ash.

With a bitter smile, he said, "Everything is over."

He had truly let go. But whenever the two women remembered the humiliation they had suffered that day, the memories remained unbearable, filling them with shame and anger.

Hongfu bit her lip lightly and asked, "Sir, are we really going to let Niu Youdao off just like this?"

Linghu Qiu asked in return, "What else do you want to do? Even those above failed to keep him in the State of Qi. Even they couldn't do anything to him. He has so many people protecting him. What can the three of us possibly do? I'm afraid we wouldn't even have a chance to get near him. If we keep smashing our heads against him, remember this: he even dared kill an envoy of the State of Yan. And do you remember Kunlin Shu? If you push Niu Youdao too far, he is not some softhearted man."

The two women fell silent. Thinking it over, they had to admit he was right. Taking revenge on Niu Youdao was not so easy.

Even when they could borrow Xiaoyue Pavilion's strength, they had failed to do anything to him. Now that they had no power behind them, moving against him was almost hopeless.

Hongxiu asked, "Sir, where do we go from here?"

Linghu Qiu remained silent for a long time.

At last, he slowly rose and stared at the lamplight. "You could call it release. We're free now..."

"We still have some savings in the money house. We won't live as independent cultivators anymore. We'll walk our own road and found a sect of our own! If Niu Youdao could do it, I refuse to believe we can't..."

At Fufang Garden, Dugu Jing stood beneath the eaves and waited quietly. The door opened.

Mr. Yucang, freshly bathed, stepped outside and stood on the stairs, looking up at the bright moon in the night sky.

Dugu Jing said, "Master, Linghu Qiu has been released."

Mr. Yucang had no interest in Linghu Qiu at present. He asked, "Has everyone nearby been cleared away?"

Dugu Jing said, "No one is around. People are guarding the perimeter. No one will be allowed to approach."

Only then did Mr. Yucang descend the steps and walk to a water vat that had been filled beforehand with clear water.

He looked up at the moon again, then slowly circled the vat, apparently searching for the correct angle. After a while, he stopped.

He looked around once more to confirm no one was nearby, then drew the bronze mirror from his sleeve.

He aimed the mirror's face toward the bright moon overhead and directed its reverse toward the water vat. Dugu Jing did not understand what he was doing. Then suddenly his eyes widened.

Nine points of light had faintly appeared on the surface of the water. He leaned closer, staring intently. But Mr. Yucang abruptly flipped the mirror and drew it back.

Holding the bronze mirror in both hands, he ran his fingers over it, emotions surging as he murmured, "It's real. It truly is real. We found it. We truly found it. Lost for more than two hundred years, and at last we've found it."

Tears even seemed to glimmer in his eyes.

Only after his emotions settled somewhat did Dugu Jing cautiously ask, "Master, that strange phenomenon just now...?"

Mr. Yucang slipped the bronze mirror back into his robes and lowered his voice. "I don't know the full details either. I only know that once the place where Shang Song broke Heaven is found, this object is the key to opening the Heavenly Gate. That is why it ranks foremost among the Eight State-Protecting Divine Artifacts."

"As for exactly how this object opens the Heavenly Gate, even the nine supreme experts who once examined it did not know. I'm afraid the answer can only be found by locating the place where Shang Song broke Heaven and comparing the mirror against the site itself."

"Those nine points of light should be crucial. Unfortunately, no one has ever been able to find the place where Shang Song broke Heaven..."

The towering imperial palace seemed especially deep and somber beneath the night. A burst of hurried footsteps broke the silence. Bu Xun rushed straight toward the imperial bedchamber.

The men behind him stopped outside. Only Bu Xun climbed the steps and knocked on the tightly shut doors.

"What is it?"

Hao Yuntu, who had been in the midst of tender company, suddenly sat upright and barked the question, apparently waking fully in an instant. The consort beside him was still somewhat dazed.

Hao Yuntu knew that at this hour, no one would disturb him without urgent cause.

Bu Xun's voice came from outside. "Your Majesty, something has happened at Prince Ying's residence."

Very soon, Hao Yuntu emerged through the doors with his hair loose. He had only thrown a robe around himself.

His gaze was cold and sharp. "What happened?"

Bu Xun bent at the waist. "The Princess Consort of Prince Ying was assassinated... She is dead!"

The final words came heavily.

Hao Yuntu's expression changed. Fury erupted almost at once. "They couldn't even protect my daughter-in-law? What are the guards there for? Who is the killer? Have they caught the culprit?"

Bu Xun said, "No assassin was seen, and no killer was found. Only the murder weapon. Someone presented a box to the prince's residence. When the box was opened, there was a doll inside that could rotate on its own. Prince Ying was away, so naturally such a curious object was brought before the Princess Consort. Who could have expected that after the box was opened and the doll spun several times, a great spray of poisoned needles would suddenly shoot out in every direction like a rainstorm? The needles carried a virulent toxin. By the time the retainer cultivators tried to save her, it was already too late. Several servants died at the same time. No one present survived."

Hao Yuntu roared, "Something was brought into the residence and no one knew to inspect it?"

Bu Xun said heavily, "The box was made with extreme ingenuity. The first servants who received it opened and examined it without incident. It was opened and checked again afterward, still without incident. It did not activate until it was finally presented before the Princess Consort. It was almost impossible to guard against. Fortunately, the two young princes had worn themselves out playing during the day and went to sleep early. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unthinkable."

Hearing that his grandsons had nearly been murdered as well, Hao Yuntu felt a surge of lingering fear. Then his fury exploded even more violently.

"I asked you whether the killer has been caught! Who did this?"

Bu Xun said, "The person who presented the box did not flee and has already been arrested. But from the look of things, that person seems to have been used by someone else."

"Investigate! Drag the killer out!" Hao Yuntu bellowed.

When a ruler raged, the entire Qi capital lost its peace. Troops poured into the city and began searching everywhere. Torches blazed in every direction. Doors were hammered on, thrown open, and houses searched.

Large numbers of Moon Butterflies flew in from the surrounding mountains as the three major sects dispatched cultivators in force.

Retainer cultivators stationed throughout the city stood atop high roofs and coldly surveyed their surroundings. From time to time, screams rang out.

Some people who fled for reasons no one understood were instantly cut down beneath volleys of arrows. Cultivators with bad tempers were beheaded on the spot.

Anyone who resisted the searches was seized if they could be seized. Those who proved difficult to capture were, in most cases, killed without mercy.

For a time, no one knew how many innocent people died unjustly as a bloody storm swept through the Qi capital.

At Among the White Clouds, Su Zhao stood high in a pavilion gazing at the moon and listening to the turmoil outside.

Qin Mian hurried upstairs and whispered into her ear, "Proprietress, it's done."

Su Zhao gave a slight nod. Judging from the commotion outside, she could already guess most of what had happened.

She asked, "Everyone on our side who needed to withdraw has withdrawn?"

"Everything was arranged in advance. Nothing on our side can be traced." Qin Mian finished reporting, then added a warning. "We just received an order from above. The order is strict: from now on, unless permission is granted, no one is to make a move against Niu Youdao!"

Su Zhao turned in surprise. "What does that mean?"

Qin Mian said, "They didn't explain. They only said: anyone who acts without authorization dies! ..."

Su Zhao was speechless. She simply could not believe it. They had suffered such an enormous loss at Niu Youdao's hands, and he had killed several hundred of their people. Yet those above were simply letting it go? Not only that, they were forbidding anyone from moving against Niu Youdao. What kind of reasoning was this?

Just then, a squad carrying torches forced its way in through the front. It was one of the imperial search parties...

[End of Chapter 386]