Chapter 451: Something Is Wrong with Uncle Chen

Guan Fangyi had no choice but to warn him seriously. "Think this through. Dong Guo Haoran was your rightful master, and Dong Guo Haoran was a disciple of the Shangqing Sect! Whether or not he ever taught you anything, he never wronged you. I know that sounds a little hollow, but there are certain ties and obligations a person takes on in this life that cannot simply be cast aside. No matter how far you and Tang Yi take your quarrel, that is still a private matter between a man and a woman. But if you wipe out the Shangqing Sect, then you will have betrayed your master and destroyed your ancestral lineage. That is one of the great taboos of the entire cultivation world!"

Niu Youdao gave her a sidelong glance. "They can kill me, but I cannot eradicate them? What kind of logic is that?"

"Yes, it is unfair to you. But since when has everything in this world been fair? A person living beneath Heaven already has too many injustices to face and endure. If you refuse to accept the moral restraints of the world and care only about settling gratitude and grudges however pleases you, then in everyone else's eyes you are walking a deviant, demonic path. No one will bother discussing fairness with you!"

"Relax. I have my reasons for doing this. Since I dare do it, the matter will never be connected to me."

Whatever Guan Fangyi said after that, it was useless. After the meal, the people from Fufang Garden personally watched Yuan Gang carry out Niu Youdao's intention. He went to Old Thirteen, took the Goldenwing kept under his watch, and sent a message out.

Not long afterward, a figure flashed past the western corner of the inn. As he went by, he flipped a palm against the wall and left the image of a strange insect in a conspicuous spot: a white insect mark. At some unknown point afterward, however, the mark was casually wiped away by a passerby.

When night fell and people continued moving through the streets, someone carrying three small lanterns strung together walked past the inn to light his way. He looked like an ordinary resident of Myriad Forms City, except that of the three lanterns, the middle one was unlit. The man seemed careless as he walked and accidentally bumped into someone entering the inn. The person he struck turned and gave him a cold look. It was Uncle Chen.

The lantern bearer hurriedly apologized again and again. Uncle Chen remained expressionless. He did not waste words arguing and went inside. The lantern bearer continued down the street.

Across from the inn, through a narrow crack in one window, a pair of eyes in the darkness took in the entire seemingly accidental collision. Afterward, the watcher kept his attention on the inn, checking whether anyone followed the lantern bearer.

Meanwhile, a figure flashed over the wall of the inn's rear courtyard. It was Yuan Gang, still in disguise. Avoiding the direction of the inn's main entrance, he left by the rear and quickened his pace. He rapidly crossed alley after alley, circling onto another street—the same main street that ran past the inn's front entrance. He reached a point ahead of the lantern bearer and only then slowed his steps, his body concealed beneath a black cloak.

Before long, the lantern bearer passed him. The man continued east and eventually turned into an alley, entering a small courtyard. Yuan Gang waited for a while. Then the dark silhouette of a Goldenwing shot out of the courtyard and vanished into the vast night sky. In another small courtyard nearby, children were playing beneath lantern light under the eaves, laughing as they skipped rope.

A dark figure lying flat on a rooftop silently rolled over and dropped down. One hand caught briefly on the opening of a wall vent, slowing his fall, and he landed with barely a sound. Wrapping the black cloak more tightly around himself, he strode away...

Back at the inn, no one knew when Yuan Gang had returned. As he walked along the corridor, he lifted his eyes toward a copper mirror concealed on a beam around the corner, somewhere no one was likely to notice. When he passed Yuan Fang's room, he casually knocked once on the door, then headed directly for Niu Youdao's quarters.

Inside Yuan Fang's room, Yuan Fang sat beside the window in darkness, keeping watch over two mirrors. His eyes were wide, and he hardly dared blink as he studied the reflected glimmers within them.

At the far end of the eaves outside, where a row of lanterns hung, another mirror had been hidden to correspond with the one he watched by the window. The reflection was too dim to reveal much, but if anyone entered or left through the row of rooms outside, he would certainly notice.

The second mirror corresponded to the inn corridor. It likewise showed little detail, but it was enough to tell whether anyone had left a room. Yuan Gang had arranged all these mirrors.

Yuan Fang had no idea what he was trying to do. Yuan Gang had given him only one instruction: remember which rooms had people entering or leaving. Now that he knew Yuan Gang was back, Yuan Fang, who had been sitting rigidly without moving, finally relaxed. He rubbed his eyes, then looked down at what appeared to be a random scattering of beans on the table. Those beans had also been arranged by Yuan Gang.

Whenever Yuan Fang noticed movement, he could shift the beans by hand to keep track of who had come and gone. He released a Moon Butterfly for light, pulled over paper and brush, and began tallying the beans. On the paper, he recorded the comings and goings of everyone staying on that floor, thinking carefully as he added the approximate times as well.

When he finished, he slipped the paper into his sleeve, put away the Moon Butterfly, and left the room. Under the corridor lights, he openly swaggered over to Niu Youdao's room. He knocked and entered.

In the Moon Butterfly's soft glow, Niu Youdao lay on his side on the couch, head propped on one arm, eyes closed as though dozing. Yuan Gang stood nearby.

Yuan Fang shut the door, walked over, pulled the paper from his sleeve, and handed it to Yuan Gang. In a low voice, he asked, "Master Yuan, what are you doing? You don't trust the people from Fufang Garden?"

"You talk too much nonsense," Yuan Gang replied coldly, his eyes already on the page.

Yuan Fang chuckled awkwardly and had nothing more to say after being rebuked.

Yuan Gang read the contents carefully, then asked, "That's everything? No one else went in or out?"

Yuan Fang hurriedly guaranteed it. "No. Other than not recording when you left your room, I noted everyone else. There won't be a mistake. It's the middle of the night. None of our people would wander around for no reason. I remember exactly how many times each person went out and came back."

"Did you notice anything unusual?"

"No. Uh..." Yuan Fang hesitated. "Hongniang stayed in Master Dao's room a little longer than usual. Does that count?"

His eyes cautiously flicked toward Niu Youdao, gauging his reaction. Niu Youdao did not react at all.

Yuan Fang had only thrown the comment out with a faintly teasing air. To his surprise, Yuan Gang nodded seriously. "It counts. Any behavior out of the ordinary counts."

Yuan Fang was speechless and grumbled inwardly. Afterward, Yuan Gang waved him away. Outside the room, Yuan Fang scratched the back of his head and shook it, completely unable to understand what Yuan Gang was playing at. Inside, Yuan Gang studied the record on the paper once more before looking toward the man lying with his eyes closed.

"Master Dao, there's no mistake. There really is something wrong with Uncle Chen."

Niu Youdao slowly opened his eyes. At the instant they opened, something deep and cold seemed to flash through the narrow slits. His other hand, which had been resting behind him, drew out a sheet of paper hidden there. On it was the sketch of a strange insect—the same sort of white insect mark that had appeared earlier on the western corner of the inn.

He held it up and studied it for a while, then said slowly from where he lay on his side, "So they even have contact signals. And both sides used them, which means the two people making contact did not know one another beforehand. Interesting. Someone can arrive in any random place, put out a contact signal, and immediately have another person cooperate. And the way they operate is meticulous. There should be an organization of some scale behind this. Who exactly is that old fellow? He managed to endure quietly beside Hongniang for so many years."

Niu Youdao truly had not expected it. The old sweeper from Fufang Garden, Guan Fangyi's trusted confidant, the man who never smiled, barely spoke, never meddled, and always kept quietly to himself—he was actually a spy. It was completely beyond Niu Youdao's expectations.

Yuan Gang said, "The Shangqing Sect coming here is connected to Zhao Xiongge. Could Uncle Chen be one of Zhao Xiongge's people?"

Niu Youdao narrowed his eyes. "That's what puzzles me too. According to the rumors, Zhao Xiongge stands between orthodox and demonic paths and has no faction of his own. But judging by the way these contacts are handled, this does not look like some small operation. We have no clue where this leads. Guessing is useless. Call Hongniang over. I'll ask her face-to-face."

Yuan Gang had to remind him, "Master Dao, Hongniang could very well be working with him. It is entirely possible she was the one who instructed him."

Niu Youdao shook his head, still supporting his head with one arm.

"If that were true, then an organization that planted Fufang Garden in the Qi capital for so many years must have had some use for it. They would never have allowed me to uproot the whole operation and carry it away so easily. Yet throughout that process, I never encountered any resistance. Second, the possibility that someone could remain at my side for this long without revealing a single flaw is not high. I've spent plenty of years in the jianghu. I'm not blind."

That was true. Yuan Gang thought over his words and nodded slightly in agreement. A strange light flickered in Niu Youdao's narrowed eyes as he continued in his unhurried tone.

"Besides, even if there is a problem, so what? I don't want to become enemies with the force behind them. Whatever the issue is, we can lay it on the table and talk. If they really have been enduring quietly beside me for this long because of me, then at the very least it proves I have value to them. They should be willing to negotiate. Our strength is still too weak at present. Hongniang and her people have a decent foundation. If we can keep them here to help us, that would be the best outcome. Since they've already found their way to us, we cannot simply hide from them. If every person around us truly has a problem, we cannot keep guarding against everyone like this forever either. It would wear us down. I know what I'm doing. Go call her over."

Yuan Gang had nothing more to say and turned away. A little later, the door opened again. Guan Fangyi came in, swaying at the waist. Yuan Gang followed and shut the door behind her. She had come all this way, yet Niu Youdao still lay on his side as though asleep.

Guan Fangyi immediately snapped, "You called me over just to watch you play dead?"

The corner of Niu Youdao's mouth lifted in a faint smile. He did not open his eyes.

"Monkey, give her the entry-and-exit record."

Yuan Gang immediately shook out the sheet of paper and handed it over.

What's this?

Suspicion rose in Guan Fangyi's heart. She took the paper and looked. Her expression changed quickly.

She turned toward Niu Youdao and said in a heavy voice, "What is the meaning of this? You've been monitoring us?"

Surveillance like this made it plain he did not trust them. Along with anger came surprise. There were only two or three people on Niu Youdao's side handling this, yet they had somehow obtained such detailed records of all four Fufang Garden members' movements—and none of Guan Fangyi's people had noticed anything at all. Niu Youdao did not answer. He opened his eyes with a smile, pulled out the insect sketch from behind him, and held it toward her.

"Look at this. Do you recognize it?"

Guan Fangyi snatched the paper from his hand and flicked it open. There was nothing on it but a single strange insect. She turned the page back and forth to make sure she had not missed anything, then shook the paper hard enough to make it rustle.

"Niu Youdao, what exactly are you getting at? Stop playing riddles with me. If you've got something to say, say it. If you've got wind to break, break it quickly!"

Niu Youdao glanced toward Yuan Gang and tipped his chin at Guan Fangyi, signaling him to explain the situation.

[End of Chapter 451]