Chapter 493: Sowing Discord

“Senior Brothers.” The disciple who had accompanied Chen Tingxiu immediately stepped forward to greet the two guards.

Once they understood the situation, both disciples cupped their hands in greeting. One said to Chen Tingxiu, “Elder Chen, didn’t the person inside already say he wouldn’t see you? Passing on another message may not change that. Wouldn’t it be inappropriate to keep disturbing them?”

Chen Tingxiu said, “I know. This time I’m not asking to see the Sect Leader. I’m asking to see his disciple Yi Shu. I know her; we’re acquainted. Please pass the word.”

He was not an idiot. He knew exactly who Long Xiu was. Once Long Xiu had said he would not see him, how could Chen Tingxiu possibly insist?

The two disciples exchanged a glance. One nodded. “Very well. Elder Chen, please wait.”

“Thank you.” Chen Tingxiu cupped his hands and watched the disciple turn and go inside.

Before long, the disciple returned with a dignified, attractive young woman. He resumed his position at the gate, while the woman was none other than Long Xiu’s youngest disciple, Yi Shu.

Long Xiu had accepted all his disciples before becoming Sect Leader of Xiaoyao Palace. He had noticed Yi Shu when she was still very young, so she had caught the opportunity and became the last disciple he accepted. After Yi Shu, Long Xiu had no intention of taking any more disciples. Once he became Sect Leader, his energies were no longer focused on such things.

His older disciples had gradually taken on responsibilities of their own. Nowadays, when he occasionally brought this youngest disciple out with him, it was partly to broaden her experience and let her build connections, so that at the very least she would find it easier to handle Xiaoyao Palace’s affairs in the future. It was preparation for her growth.

Yi Shu saw Chen Tingxiu waiting outside. Her chin lifted slightly, carrying an air of pride, as she walked slowly down the steps.

Chen Tingxiu had encountered her arrogance and temperament before. When she had visited Tianyu Sect, she had even left Peng Youzai embarrassed. By now he was used to it. He immediately stepped forward with a broad smile and saluted. “Miss Yi.”

Yi Shu asked coolly, “Elder Chen, what are you doing here?”

Chen Tingxiu glanced at the people around them and politely gestured aside. “Miss Yi, might we speak privately?”

Yi Shu neither agreed nor objected, simply following him beneath an old pine a short distance away. “Elder Chen, the Sect Leader said he would not see you. Coming to me won’t help. I advise you not to waste your effort.”

Chen Tingxiu smiled obsequiously. “Seeing Miss Yi is just as good. Having come to Myriad Beasts Sect and learned that you were here, wouldn’t it have been discourteous not to pay my respects?”

Yi Shu did not believe he had asked to speak privately merely to exchange pleasantries. “Stop beating around the bush.”

Time was limited, so Chen Tingxiu stopped circling the point. “Miss Yi, the Sect Leader is willing to see Niu Youdao but not me. Why is that?”

Yi Shu shot him a cold sidelong look. “Is the Sect Leader’s business something you’re entitled to inquire into?”

“I wouldn’t dare, I wouldn’t dare.” Chen Tingxiu hurriedly denied it. “I simply find it strange. Niu Youdao has never taken Xiaoyao Palace seriously, so why would the Sect Leader show him such courtesy?”

Yi Shu sneered. “Doesn’t take Xiaoyao Palace seriously? What qualification does he have to look down on Xiaoyao Palace? Elder Chen, are you trying to sow discord?”

“No, no! I’ve dealt with him for years. I know very well what kind of man he is. Of course, there is one thing I have to admit: he truly is a rare young talent beneath Heaven, outstanding even among the finest of his generation. There are probably not many who can surpass him...” Chen Tingxiu lavished praise on Niu Youdao while carefully watching Yi Shu’s reactions.

This was not his first time dealing with her. He knew how proud she was and how highly she regarded herself. Of course, she also had the background to support that pride.

Sure enough, a trace of displeasure flashed across Yi Shu’s face. She said disdainfully, “A frog at the bottom of a well. Has he ever actually said that he doesn’t take Xiaoyao Palace seriously?”

“Not in those exact words.”

Yi Shu sneered. “Then how do you know he doesn’t take Xiaoyao Palace seriously?”

Chen Tingxiu hesitated. “How should I put this? Miss Yi is an intelligent person, so there’s no point hiding certain things from you. Tianyu Sect truly did fall out with Niu Youdao over taking Nanzhou. In fact, Tianyu Sect even suffered a loss at his hands. When the trouble first began, I personally warned him that Tianyu Sect’s move on Nanzhou had the approval of Xiaoyao Palace and the other two great sects, and told him not to interfere recklessly. But he said the three great sects had never forbidden him from interfering either, and that the capable should take possession. He even told me to stop borrowing the tiger’s might, saying that when he was in the Qi capital, he dealt with Tianhuo Sect disciples all the same.”

That was pure fabrication. But to Chen Tingxiu, it did not matter. Even if someone confronted him face to face, so what? He could simply insist that Niu Youdao had said it.

The corner of Yi Shu’s mouth lifted unconsciously. Her tone remained lukewarm. “He isn’t wrong about that part. I heard about it too. He beat a Tianhuo Sect disciple badly enough to leave him seriously injured, and if someone hadn’t stopped him, he nearly killed the man in public. I know the Kunlin Shu he injured. The commotion was apparently considerable at the time; even the Sect Leader took notice.”

Chen Tingxiu sighed. “He does rather fail to understand the height of Heaven and the depth of Earth. Tianhuo Sect simply chose not to hold it against him. If they truly wanted to deal with him, do you think they couldn’t? Yet he doesn’t see it that way. He thinks it was all because his own methods were brilliant. I can understand it, I suppose. He’s a young genius. From an abandoned disciple of Shangqing Sect onward, everything has gone smoothly for him. He’s never truly suffered a loss. Whatever he does, no one seems able to stop him. He certainly has reason to be proud.”

He continued, “That fellow appears modest on the surface, but only those who have dealt with him for years know how arrogant he truly is at heart. He thinks extraordinarily highly of himself. You could say he has no one in his eyes!”

Yi Shu mocked him. “That is only your side of the story.”

Chen Tingxiu’s expression turned solemn. “Miss Yi, this isn’t merely my side of the story. There are incidents everyone knows about. Take Shangqing Sect. Back when Song Jiuming still held office as Commandant of Justice in the State of Yan, Shangqing Sect depended on the Song family merely to cling to survival. Calling them a dog raised by the Song family would hardly have been an exaggeration. Song Jiuming’s son had a name only one character different from yours: Song Shu. He was also a disciple of Shangqing Sect. You can imagine what kind of status Song Shu held there. Who in Shangqing Sect would have dared touch someone from the Song family?”

“But Niu Youdao was different. He did not take the Song family seriously at all. A minor Shangqing Sect disciple actually dared disregard the household of Yan’s Commandant of Justice. Miss Yi, doesn’t that sound laughable? Who would believe it? Yet Song Shu’s son, Song Yanqing, was killed by that very junior disciple of Shangqing Sect.”

“And then there is Tianhuo Sect. Miss Yi knows what kind of existence it is: one of the State of Qi’s three great pillars. Kunlin Shu was one of the most outstanding disciples of Tianhuo Sect’s younger generation. Yet so what? Who else would dare try to kill Kunlin Shu publicly on Tianhuo Sect’s own territory? Niu Youdao did. He did what others did not dare to do, and still walked away unharmed.”

“There is another person—I don’t know whether Miss Yi has heard of her. Hongniang of Fufang Garden in the Qi capital, a woman famed throughout the realm for her beauty. Over the years, countless pleasure-seekers have wanted to take her for themselves as a private plaything, yet not one man ever succeeded. But after Niu Youdao reached the Qi capital, he openly told Tianyu Sect disciples working with him, ‘A famous flower has no master and only awaits a hero. This flower, I will pluck!’ Miss Yi, tell me, is that not arrogant? In his eyes, there are no heroes beneath Heaven except himself. And sure enough, that flower no one else could pluck was eventually plucked by him. Hongniang of the Qi capital truly left with him!”

Yi Shu sneered repeatedly. “She’s nothing but a slut. She deserves to be called a famous flower? And a man who wastes his thoughts on a woman like that deserves to be called a hero? He’s no hero, merely a fool!”

“Miss Yi is right.” Chen Tingxiu nodded along. “There are plenty of other examples, but there is no need to mention them all. A man like this isn’t worth dwelling on. Yet these few things alone are enough to show how proud and arrogant he is. His conceit runs to the bone. In my view, apart from the supreme experts themselves, there may truly be no one he regards highly.”

He gave a bitter laugh. “By rights, what qualification does he have to request an audience with the Sect Leader? Does he have no self-awareness? Yet here he is. Obviously, he believes he does have that qualification.”

Yi Shu slowly turned her head toward the deep mountains beneath the night sky, her gaze flickering.

Chen Tingxiu continued, “Of course, I admit what I’m saying may sound like I’m trying to sow discord. But I truly do feel uncomfortable, and there are things I cannot leave unsaid. Tianyu Sect is the one that submits tribute to Xiaoyao Palace. Niu Youdao has never submitted a single offering to Xiaoyao Palace. I genuinely don’t understand, and genuinely want to know, why the Sect Leader would rather see a man like him than see me.”

Yi Shu turned back and rebuked him. “Are you dissatisfied with the Sect Leader?”

“No, no...” Chen Tingxiu denied it again and again.

In the end, Chen Tingxiu still failed to see Long Xiu, but he was in a considerably better mood when he left. For all his deference before Yi Shu, in his eyes she was still too green. Without Xiaoyao Palace behind her, she would have been nothing.

When he returned to the mountain pavilion, Qiu Shan was still waiting. The moment they met, Qiu Shan asked, “Did you see Long Xiu?”

Chen Tingxiu sighed and shook his head. “He still refused to see me.”

In truth, after Long Xiu’s first refusal, Chen Tingxiu had never expected to see him by going there personally. His main purpose had been to see Yi Shu.

“Brother Chen, you should get some rest.” Qiu Shan extended a hand in invitation, his tone making it clear that he had already done all he reasonably could.

“Many thanks!” Chen Tingxiu cupped his hands and left.

After he was gone, Qiu Shan asked the disciple, “If he didn’t see Long Xiu, why was he gone so long?”

The disciple replied, “He didn’t see Long Xiu, but he did see Long Xiu’s female disciple. The two spoke for a while. I don’t know what they discussed.”

Qiu Shan was silent for a moment. “Go bring Niu Youdao over. If he asks why it took so long, tell him the request had to be passed upward through several levels of the sect and that caused the delay.”

“Yes!” The disciple accepted the order and departed.

Qiu Shan looked around at the darkness, then flashed away as well...

Under the moonlight, Niu Youdao paced through the courtyard.

Yuan Gang came out of the room and walked over to him. Looking up at the sky, he said, “Does passing on one message really take this long? Even if they refused, sending a reply shouldn’t take so long. Something feels wrong.”

Niu Youdao stopped and looked at the moon. “It is a little strange.”

At that moment, Guan Fangyi appeared as well, waving a round fan. She came over with a smile. “What’s going on? He still hasn’t agreed to see you? Long Xiu really does put on a different air now that he’s Sect Leader.”

She had spoken without thinking, but the listener took note.

Niu Youdao glanced at her, then shifted his gaze and met Yuan Gang’s eyes.

Just then, Zhou Tiezi arrived with a Myriad Beasts Sect disciple. The latter cupped his hands. “Mr. Niu, Sect Leader Long has agreed to see you. Please come with me.”

Yuan Gang interjected, “Why did the reply take until now?”

The disciple said, “Xiaoyao Palace are honored guests. They cannot be disturbed casually. I also had to wait for approval from within my sect. I’m sorry to have kept Mr. Niu waiting.”

Given that answer, there was little they could say. Myriad Beasts Sect had already been doing them a favor simply by agreeing to carry the message.

Niu Youdao turned his head. “Hongniang, come with me.”

From the corner of his eye, Yuan Gang watched her reaction.

The round fan in Guan Fangyi’s hand froze. She stared at him. “I’m going with you? Didn’t you say you could go alone?”

Niu Youdao said, “I’ve thought it over. It’s better if you come too.”

Guan Fangyi waved her fan and refused. “Great sects have too many rules. You’ll go inside while I wait outside with nothing to do. I’m not going.”

[End of Chapter 493]