Chapter 408: What Must Be Endured Must Still Be Endured

"I don't need his help," Linghu Qiu said.

Despite the words, all three pairs of eyes had already fallen on the brocade pouch lying on the table.

Duan Hu said, "Why not open it and have a look?"

Linghu Qiu asked, "What's inside?"

Duan Hu replied, "Before we followed Master Dao, my brothers and I spent time living as independent cultivators too. We once considered establishing a sect of our own, so we completed tasks from the list. The proofs for those completed tasks are all inside."

After they began following Niu Youdao, they had originally intended to sell those proofs. Niu Youdao stopped them. His reasoning had been simple. They were not desperate for money, so there was no need to casually sell something they had risked their lives to obtain. They should keep them. No one had expected those old proofs to become useful now. Liuxian Sect, Fuyun Sect, and Lingxiu Mountain all maintained shops at Boundless Pavilion. The entire cultivation world knew Linghu Qiu was Niu Youdao's sworn elder brother.

The moment Linghu Qiu appeared at Boundless Pavilion, word soon reached the shops belonging to those three sects. After Niu Youdao learned of it, he told them to pay attention to what Linghu Qiu and the two women were doing. They soon discovered that the three had been contacting independent cultivators. People from the three sects approached some of those independent cultivators and asked questions. The moment the report came back, Niu Youdao guessed Linghu Qiu's intention. He wanted to establish a sect and begin again.

So Niu Youdao had Duan Hu bring the proofs for those completed tasks and deliver them to Linghu Qiu. It was that simple. Hongxiu and Hongfu exchanged a glance.

Linghu Qiu remained silent for a while before saying, "I appreciate his goodwill. Take it back."

Duan Hu said, "Master Dao said that if you want to keep these things, keep them. If you don't, throw them away. He also left instructions concerning the sect that will sponsor you. Whether Liuxian Sect, Fuyun Sect, Lingxiu Mountain, Wuliang Mountain, or Tianyu Sect, any of them will give Master Dao some face. There is no need for you to trouble anyone else and owe another favor. Master Dao has also already spoken to the shops belonging to Liuxian Sect, Fuyun Sect, and Lingxiu Mountain in various places. If you ever need emergency funds, you may go to any of those shops and draw up to one hundred thousand gold coins at any time."

Hongxiu and Hongfu both stole glances at Linghu Qiu. Linghu Qiu pressed his lips together.

Then he asked, "Anything else?"

Duan Hu cupped his hands. "Master Dao also asked me to pass on one sentence."

Linghu Qiu said impatiently, "If you've got something to say, say it. If you've got a fart, let it out!"

Duan Hu spoke word by word.

"These are Master Dao's exact words: while escaping from the State of Qi, Black Peony died at Xiaoyue Pavilion's hands."

He cupped his hands again.

"I won't disturb you any longer. Farewell."

Black Peony was dead?

Linghu Qiu, Hongxiu, and Hongfu all raised their heads and stared at Duan Hu. To outsiders, and in their own eyes as well, Black Peony had lived with Niu Youdao. Naturally, they regarded her as Niu Youdao's woman. Duan Hu had already turned and left. On his way out, he closed the door behind him. Silence settled over the room. Linghu Qiu reached out, took the brocade pouch from the table, and opened it.

He poured out a pile of specially made inscribed tokens, each about the size of a coin. The right to print currency notes beneath Heaven was controlled by the nine supreme experts, and the money houses beneath Heaven were likewise under their control. Anyone who completed a task on the Rogue and Heretic List could go to the nearest money house and have the result verified. Once the completion was confirmed, the money house would issue a proof token.

After collecting enough tokens, one could submit them at a place such as Inviting Moon Inn in Star-Plucking City, and they would count as completed tasks. Linghu Qiu counted them. Thirty special proof tokens. Not one was missing. For the three of them, that meant this requirement had already been fulfilled. The remaining matter was finding a sect willing to sponsor their establishment. Given Linghu Qiu's connections, that was not particularly difficult. What truly left Linghu Qiu without words was the news of Black Peony's death.

Black Peony had been Niu Youdao's woman. She had died at Xiaoyue Pavilion's hands while escaping Qi. Could the three of them honestly say the matter had nothing whatsoever to do with them? At the time, they themselves had been members of Xiaoyue Pavilion, and they had deliberately plotted against Niu Youdao. Niu Youdao had told them Black Peony was dead without saying why. Yet all three understood what he meant.

If they still brooded over the humiliation Hongxiu and Hongfu had brought upon themselves, then should Niu Youdao not settle the account of Black Peony's death with them as well? Not only had he refrained from settling that account, he had pulled them out of the Qi capital's prison. He had also resolved their trouble with Xiaoyue Pavilion. And now, after helping them back into the saddle, he was going so far as to send them another stretch down the road.

In truth, Niu Youdao had never needed to do any of this. He could simply have left them to die in the Qi capital's prison and eliminated all future trouble.

Thinking of the letter Niu Youdao had sent them back then, then looking at the tokens before them now, Hongxiu and Hongfu were filled with complicated feelings. Neither spoke.

"Third Brother is a righteous man. I don't measure up to him!" Linghu Qiu raised his face and let out a long sigh.

He had spent so many years in the cultivation world, yet this was the first time he had encountered someone who repaid resentment with virtue to this degree. Niu Youdao had handled the matter so thoroughly that Linghu Qiu could find nothing to criticize. The last trace of resentment in him finally disappeared. He was truly convinced. Hongxiu and Hongfu both understood.

Now that their master had once again called him "Third Brother," he had finally accepted Master Dao as a brother in his heart.

The old grievance was completely over... Provincial Inspector's Residence in Beizhou. On the same day, two separate bridal processions departed one after another, one openly and one in secret, almost at the same time. The following day, three flying mounts descended into a mountain outside the city. The green hills were quiet beneath the shade of old trees. Shao Liuer knelt before Shao Dengyun and bowed with her head to the ground. Tears streamed down Shao Dengyun's aged face.

After being helped onto one of the flying mounts, Shao Liuer never once looked toward Shao Pingbo, who stood beneath a tree nearby to see her off. Just like that, she crossed thousands of mountains and rivers on the flying mount and departed. The three flying mounts had been sent by the State of Qi to receive Shao Liuer.

The two bridal processions that had departed the previous day, one openly and one secretly, were both decoys intended to guard against interception and sabotage. Both the State of Qi and Beizhou knew that many people wanted to ruin this marriage alliance. Shao Pingbo watched the flying mounts vanish among the clouds. Slowly, he closed his eyes. His fists clenched hard and trembled faintly. He remembered the charge his mother had entrusted to him years ago.

He thought of how crudely and hastily his younger sister had now been married away. No one knew what he felt. Tears slid silently down his cheeks. He knew how deeply his sister hated him. It was not that he had never considered letting her follow her own wishes and marry Tan Yaoxian. Otherwise, Tan Yaoxian would have died long ago.

Until the shipment of warhorses had fallen into Niu Youdao's hands, Shao Pingbo had still had no intention of using his younger sister for a political marriage. He had continued trying to avoid the arrival of such a day. But circumstances had left him with no choice. He could only make this move, the move of a man who had been forced into failure. He wiped away his tears, turned resolutely, and went down the mountain without waiting for his father.

Several days later, news arrived from both bridal processions, the open and the hidden one. Both had been attacked in succession and suffered significant casualties. The Shangqing Sect had been involved as well and suffered heavy losses... Wu Calendar, Year 526. Prince Ying Hao Zhen of Qi held his wedding and formally took Shao Liuer as his second wife. None of Shao Liuer's blood relatives came from her natal family. Only envoys attended in their place. It did nothing to diminish the festive atmosphere in the Qi capital.

By the middle of the year, in the State of Yan, negotiations between Tianyu Sect and the Yan court finally produced a result. Tianyu Sect exchanged the three commanderies it controlled in three other regions of Yan for three commanderies in Nanzhou under the Yan court's control. The forces on both sides began withdrawing and relocating in succession. The exchange was not fully completed until the end of the year.

From that point onward, of Nanzhou's eleven commanderies, Qingshan Commandery, Guangyi Commandery, Huxi Commandery, Wuyang Commandery, and Tu'an Commandery all belonged to Tianyu Sect's sphere of control. Tianyu Sect's power was now completely concentrated in one region. The entire sect accordingly relocated to a place of exceptional spiritual beauty in Huxi Commandery. A cultivation sect that had originally occupied the site was driven out by force. Tianyu Sect simply seized the nest for itself.

Taking advantage of the celebration surrounding Tianyu Sect's relocation, the four commandery governors governing the five commanderies came to Tianyu Sect for a meeting. Niu Youdao and the sect masters of Liuxian Sect, Fuyun Sect, and Lingxiu Mountain accompanied Shang Chaozong as well, offering congratulations on Tianyu Sect's relocation.

During the gathering, Niu Youdao could clearly see that Meilin Sheng, Governor of Huxi Commandery; Wu Tiandang, Governor of Wuyang Commandery; and Zhao Xingfeng, Governor of Tu'an Commandery were showing signs of joining forces to counterbalance Shang Chaozong. It was probably because Shang Chaozong alone controlled two commanderies. Anyone with half a brain could see Tianyu Sect's later intentions.

If they succeeded in taking all of Nanzhou, then someone among these people would inevitably rise above the rest and govern Nanzhou as a whole. Shang Chaozong plainly held the advantage in both territory and troops.

Even if they never conquered all of Nanzhou, the three single-commandery governors would still have less weight than Shang Chaozong unless they joined forces to balance him. At the banquet, the three governors united to pressure Shang Chaozong. They demanded warhorses from him, saying that everyone was one family now and that he could not simply watch while they struggled. Naturally, Shang Chaozong argued his case. In the end, Peng Youzai stepped in to mediate.

Shang Chaozong was made to yield three thousand warhorses, one thousand to each of the three governors. With Tianyu Sect applying pressure, Shang Chaozong could only agree reluctantly. During the banquet, Fei Changliu and the others repeatedly glanced toward Niu Youdao to see his reaction. Niu Youdao showed none. It was as though he had not heard the discussion at all. Quite a few people pretended not to hear. Feng Lingbo and the others were among them. By the time the banquet ended, night had fallen.

The guests were left to rest as they pleased.

As everyone was leaving, Niu Youdao deliberately walked closer to Feng Ruonan and casually asked, "Why didn't the Princess Consort say a word on her husband's behalf?"

Feng Ruonan bit her lip. She neither answered nor acknowledged him. Instead, she quickened her pace and walked away. The visiting groups had each been assigned separate places to stay. Shang Chaozong and his party shared one courtyard. Niu Youdao had barely returned to his room when the sound of wheelchair wheels came from outside, followed by a knock. He recognized the sound at once. Opening the door, he found Meng Shanming seated in his wheelchair, just as expected. Niu Youdao gestured for him to come inside.

Meng Shanming waved a hand to indicate there was no need.

Even so, he still asked, "Master Dao, did you notice anything at today's banquet?"

Niu Youdao said, "Is Marshal Meng referring to those three thousand warhorses?"

Meng Shanming replied, "If they didn't have to guarantee the formation of the Yingyang and Wulie Guards, I'm afraid it wouldn't have been three thousand. It would have been at least nine thousand."

Niu Youdao smiled. "Tianyu Sect paid for those warhorses. Naturally, Tianyu Sect is free to decide whom it wants to give them to."

Meng Shanming said, "The warhorses are a minor matter. I'm more concerned that Tianyu Sect may have other ideas about who should ultimately take charge of Nanzhou. What does Master Dao think?"

Niu Youdao said, "Everyone is calculating for his own interests. That's perfectly normal. Who doesn't have some selfish considerations? His Highness should have enough breadth of mind to tolerate that much."

Meng Shanming said, "Self-interest is one thing. If rewards are distributed according to merit, then there's nothing to fear."

"What worries me is that the soldiers beneath us may fight and bleed more than anyone, yet fail to receive the reward they deserve, while others sit back and enjoy the fruits. How is His Highness supposed to explain that to the men beneath him?"

Niu Youdao asked, "Marshal Meng means the meat isn't even in our hands yet, and you're already preparing for internal strife?"

Meng Shanming replied, "I would like to hear Master Dao's view."

Niu Youdao said, "I may not understand warfare, but I know the most basic principle. Unity among the five commanderies comes first."

"Before the matter is accomplished, internal conflict absolutely cannot be allowed."

"Without Tianyu Sect's support, His Highness cannot take Nanzhou by himself. Nothing else aside, the three sects looming over the State of Yan still require Tianyu Sect to step forward and settle matters. If those three sects refuse, no one should even think of taking a bite from this piece of meat called Nanzhou. So what must be endured must still be endured. As for afterward, if His Highness contributes the most and someone else tries to jump out and seize the benefits, I will be the first to refuse!"

Everything before that had been secondary. That final sentence was what Meng Shanming had come to hear. He nodded.

"Master Dao speaks reasonably. I will be certain to convey Master Dao's meaning to His Highness."

[End of Chapter 408]