Chapter 407: Did Niu Youdao Send You?

Shang Shuqing soon arrived after hearing the news as well, but Yuan Gang was bathing. Naturally, she could not simply barge in to see him the way Yuan Fang had.

By now, Guan Fangyi could tell that Yuan Gang was unquestionably one of the central figures here. The attitudes of the people around Niu Youdao made that perfectly clear.

When he saw Shang Shuqing, Niu Youdao made a small request. "Commandery Princess, let me borrow your qin for a while."

Shang Shuqing froze. She had never seen Niu Youdao play any instrument before, though she had heard Yuan Gang say that Niu Youdao actually knew how to play quite a few. That had always puzzled her somewhat.

She had seen the surroundings of Peach Blossom Spring. There had been no sign of musical instruments there. Could Small Temple Village possibly have offered conditions for learning such things?

In truth, the backgrounds of Niu Youdao and Yuan Gang had always left many people here with questions. A person's abilities and refinement in early life were inevitably connected to the environment in which he grew up, yet there were things about these two that simply did not fit what their origins should have produced. Surprised though Shang Shuqing was, she happily agreed. She wanted to hear his skill on the qin. It was rare for him to volunteer.

A qin was brought over. Niu Youdao took it and left, heading to the top floor of the pavilion. Before long, a single resonant note rang out from above. Dong. It opened into a melody like the clear chiming of spring water. Shang Shuqing tilted her head to listen. Guan Fangyi, who had been strolling through the courtyard, stopped and slowly looked up toward the pavilion. It was a tune she had never heard before.

Music for this kind of qin usually emphasized artistic conception, yet what came from above seemed to place greater weight on the arrangement of pitch and rhythm, producing an entirely different feeling. The melody immediately reminded Shang Shuqing of the poem Yuan Gang had recited years ago, the one beginning with the rolling Yangtze sweeping eastward. She fitted the words to the melody in her mind. They matched. The poem's mood suddenly became even clearer and more vivid to her.

"Not bad," Guan Fangyi remarked to Shang Shuqing. "A little strange, though. I wouldn't have guessed that fellow with a bellyful of devious schemes could do something like this."

Following the music, Shang Shuqing slowly recited: The rolling Yangtze sweeps eastward,
Its waves washing all heroes away.
Right and wrong, success and defeat—
All turn empty in the blink of an eye.
The green mountains remain unchanged;
How many times has the sunset reddened?
White-haired fishers and woodcutters on the river isles
Have long watched autumn moons and spring winds... Guan Fangyi's round fan stopped moving.

She listened to Shang Shuqing's words and to the music from above, combining the two in her mind. Only then did she realize that the tune and the verse belonged together. After Shang Shuqing finished the quoted lines, she fell silent.

Guan Fangyi muttered, "Old-fashioned. No youthful vigor at all. Doesn't sound like something from a young man."

Shang Shuqing's expression dimmed. Music revealed the heart. She could hear it. Deep down, Master Dao still had no interest whatsoever in the princely ambitions of her brother and herself. Everything he was doing now was not truly what he wished to be doing... Yuan Gang finished bathing. By then, food and wine had already been laid out on the top floor of the pavilion. Yuan Fang stood at the railing, swaying his head to the music. Yuan Gang came upstairs. He looked at Niu Youdao's back and fell silent.

It had been a long time since he had heard Master Dao play the qin. He knew Master Dao was in a good mood because he had returned safely. That was why he had this rare leisure to play. Naturally, Yuan Gang understood the tune as well. After everything he had experienced, regret had begun to grow in him. Master Dao was precisely like the white-haired fisherman or woodcutter on the river isles, long accustomed to watching autumn moons and spring winds.

Now Yuan Gang regretted having dragged him into the water back then and entangled him in all these rights and wrongs.

"Go downstairs and keep watch. Don't let anyone come up," Yuan Gang told Yuan Fang when he reached him.

"All right!"

Yuan Fang immediately thumped his way downstairs. Before leaving, however, he could not resist looking back at Yuan Gang several times. He could not explain why.

He had always been somewhat afraid of Yuan Gang, but there was something about Yuan Gang after this return that made the pressure he gave off feel even heavier. The moment Niu Youdao heard Yuan Gang's voice, the music stopped abruptly. He lifted his hands from the strings, rose, and walked over to the low table where the food and wine had been arranged. He beckoned.

"Don't tell me I still have to invite you to sit."

Yuan Gang sat opposite him, picked up the wine flask, and poured him a cup.

Then he said, "Master Dao, I was wrong."

The admission carried two meanings. First, he should never have dragged Niu Youdao into these affairs. Second, his refusal to heed advice had led to Su Zhao's death.

Niu Youdao said, "You were the one determined to stand with the Shang siblings. You're not someone who gives up halfway. You only wanted to do everything you could in your own way. You were never going to abandon this place and walk away. I knew you'd return sooner or later. In any case, coming back alive is enough. Nothing else matters."

Yuan Gang said, "It was my fault. Master Dao should have been a free cloud and wild crane. Back at Nanshan Temple, I shouldn't have dragged you into this."

Niu Youdao waved a hand.

"You're overthinking it. I only wanted to live freely. But in a chaotic age like this, truly avoiding everything is impossible. As long as I still have the desire to cultivate, there will be no avoiding it. If you want to be a free cloud and wild crane, you first need the qualifications to live as one. Sooner or later, I'd have been drawn in anyway. There's no point talking about that now. Tell me about you instead. I heard Among the White Clouds was confiscated in the State of Qi, and the Tofu House was surrounded on the same day. Then I couldn't contact you at all. Did something happen?"

When Niu Youdao had heard the news from the Qi capital, he had in fact been extremely anxious. But anxiety alone accomplished nothing. He truly had been unable to contact Yuan Gang. Now that Yuan Gang had returned safely, the relief Niu Youdao felt was genuine.

Yuan Gang said, "Su Zhao is dead."

Niu Youdao paused. "You killed her?"

"More or less. I caused her death."

Something about that answer was wrong.

Niu Youdao raised a brow slightly. "What exactly happened?"

"After you left, I went directly to Among the White Clouds..."

Yuan Gang gave him a detailed account. He told him how he had gone to see Su Zhao, how he had slept with her, how he had been poisoned with the Spirit-Torment Pill, and everything that followed until the disaster in the desert and his eventual return alone. Niu Youdao's expression became extraordinarily colorful. His brother had actually turned Su Zhao into his woman? Was that supposed to count as using a honey trap in reverse? That was not remotely Yuan Gang's usual style. Then there was the Spirit-Torment Pill.

It had actually had no effect on this fellow. Could the hard qigong he cultivated somehow purge the Spirit-Torment Pill's poison? And Yuan Gang's present strength could already clash head-on with Golden Core Realm cultivators? He could summon sand scorpions and even ride the Scorpion Emperor? The whole thing was bizarre enough. Niu Youdao had never imagined that Yuan Gang would experience so much after leaving his side. He picked up his cup and drained the wine in one swallow, as though needing it to steady himself.

After setting the cup down, he sighed. He knew Su Zhao's death had struck Yuan Gang hard. For once, even Niu Youdao did not quite know what to say.

Truthfully, if Yuan Gang had never become involved with Su Zhao that way, then given the opportunity, Niu Youdao himself might not have spared her either.

That woman had done no shortage of ugly things alongside Shao Pingbo. Among the people who had caused trouble for him in the Qi capital, she had unquestionably played a part. What truly surprised him was that Su Zhao had actually betrayed Xiaoyue Pavilion for Yuan Gang. Niu Youdao gave a bitter laugh.

"I say, Monkey, you've got quite the charm. Tell me the truth. Is there something going on between you and Hai Ruyue too? Whenever she writes to this side, she always finds some roundabout way to bring you up."

"No," Yuan Gang said. "There was some entanglement, but I have no interest in her. What is true is that she once had something going on with Prince Ning, Shang Jianbo..."

He then related the story Hai Ruyue had once told him about her past with Shang Jianbo. Niu Youdao understood. That woman probably did harbor a certain interest in Monkey.

He chuckled. "Your face being red isn't a bad thing. Maybe it'll stop you from attracting so many women."

He meant it sincerely. Red-faced Yuan Gang really was less handsome than before. He looked rather unusual now. As the two continued talking, Niu Youdao suddenly raised a hand and pointed toward a distant slope.

"See that grave beneath the tree on that hill? It's new."

Yuan Gang followed the direction of his finger. There had been no grave there before.

He asked suspiciously, "Whose?"

Niu Youdao replied calmly, "Black Peony's."

Yuan Gang was shocked. "What happened?"

"We ran into some trouble while escaping back from the State of Qi..."

Niu Youdao explained what had happened, then sighed.

"Riding through the jianghu, whether wind or rain, you and I have seen enough life and death by now. As for Su Zhao, if you can let it go, then let it go. If you can't, keep it in your heart."

"There's no meaning in a living person becoming no different from the dead."

"Like you've said yourself, do something meaningful. For the living to do something meaningful on behalf of the dead matters more than anything else."

"I don't believe you're the sort to spend your life sunk in mourning."

Yuan Gang said, "Su Zhao betrayed Xiaoyue Pavilion because of me. I'm afraid this may bring trouble to you."

Niu Youdao said, "Su Zhao is already dead. That matter is over. I'll give Xiaoyue Pavilion whatever explanation it needs."

"It's a small matter. I can settle it. There won't be any trouble."

The two spoke of various other things after that. Niu Youdao especially asked about Xuan Wei. As for Yuan Feng and the others, they had not yet returned.

Yuan Gang had withdrawn later than they had, but because he had benefited from Xuan Wei's help, he had instead arrived back in Qingshan Commandery before them... Star-Plucking City, Inviting Moon Inn. Linghu Qiu led Hongxiu and Hongfu out of the inn.

Although the three had been expelled from Xiaoyue Pavilion, they had accumulated a fair amount of savings over the years. They could still afford to stay at Inviting Moon Inn. After wandering through the city, they arrived before a wall display. Written across the top were five large characters: ROGUE AND HERETIC LIST Below them was a dense list of names and backgrounds. Anyone whose name appeared on this list had violated the rules of the cultivation world and was marked for extermination by cultivators beneath Heaven.

Establishing a sect was not so simple. Financially, the three of them could manage it. The difficult part was completing the required tasks. There were thirty tasks in all.

At first, they had hoped to buy completed tasks from others, but none of the independent cultivators they approached was willing to part with them easily. Those proofs had been earned at the risk of their lives. Why would anyone sell them cheaply? More importantly, Linghu Qiu wanted absolute control over the sect once it was established. He did not want anyone else constraining him again. That point was difficult to negotiate. They had first gone to nearby Boundless Pavilion.

When matters failed there, they came to Star-Plucking City to look for another opportunity. The result was almost exactly the same. Either no one would agree, or the price demanded was so high that Linghu Qiu could not afford it with the savings he had on hand. People who had risked their lives naturally would not sell the fruits of that risk for a pittance. After thinking it over again and again, Linghu Qiu decided to complete the tasks on the Rogue and Heretic List himself.

He had spent many years in Xiaoyue Pavilion. With Xiaoyue Pavilion's resources supporting him, those years had not been wasted. He had built up a considerable network of contacts, which could provide assistance in completing the tasks. After copying down the entire list, the three prepared to return to the inn and decide which targets to pursue.

On the way, Hongxiu lowered her voice. "Sir, someone is following us."

Linghu Qiu's face tightened. He said nothing. The three quickly returned to the inn. Unexpectedly, the person following them entered the inn as well. In the corridor outside their room, Linghu Qiu abruptly turned and stared at the approaching man.

"Friend, is there something you want?"

The newcomer reached up and tore away the false mask covering his face. Linghu Qiu and the two women froze. The man was none other than Duan Hu, one of Niu Youdao's people. The three had met him before. In the end, Duan Hu followed them into their room. No one offered the guest tea.

Linghu Qiu sat in a chair and asked coolly, "Did Niu Youdao send you?"

Duan Hu took out a brocade pouch and placed it on the table.

"Master Dao heard that Mr. Linghu had encountered some difficulties. He sent me to deliver this, in the hope that it might be of some help."

[End of Chapter 407]