Chapter 496: Master Dao Is at It Again

Qiu Shan returned carrying his suspicions with him.

The moment he entered his own courtyard, a disciple came forward to report, "Elder, Elder Chen of Tianyu Sect is looking for you." He pointed to one side.

Qiu Shan looked over and saw Chen Tingxiu waiting outside. Chen Tingxiu had seen him as well and was already walking over, cupping his hands in greeting from a distance.

After Qiu Shan signaled for the disciple to withdraw, impatience was already stirring inside him, though outwardly he still maintained the courtesies due a guest. "Brother Chen, something else?"

Chen Tingxiu knew perfectly well that repeatedly troubling someone this way was inappropriate, but he had no choice. Niu Youdao was hiding inside Myriad Beasts Sect, and Chen Tingxiu had come specifically because of Niu Youdao. In unfamiliar territory, he could only ask people from Myriad Beasts Sect for help.

Nor could he simply sit by and watch Niu Youdao do something harmful to Tianyu Sect. He could only thicken his skin and ask again.

"I'm truly sorry. I'm a stranger here and have no one else to ask, so I can only trouble Brother Qiu again." Chen Tingxiu repeatedly cupped his hands in apology.

Qiu Shan asked, "Still about Niu Youdao?"

Chen Tingxiu said, "Brother Qiu is perceptive. That's right. I wanted to ask whether Niu Youdao managed to see Long Xiu, and whether you know anything about how their conversation went."

Qiu Shan said, "Brother Chen, this is going a little too far. Myriad Beasts Sect is not Tianyu Sect's spy network, nor can we monitor other guests who come to Myriad Beasts Sect on Tianyu Sect's behalf."

"I understand, I understand." Chen Tingxiu repeatedly cupped his hands, even bowing several times.

Seeing him behave this way, Qiu Shan hesitated. In the end, he gave him a little face and offered a limited hint. "He definitely saw him. I don't know what they discussed. Myriad Beasts Sect does not eavesdrop on its guests. But he and Long Xiu appear to have met for quite a while, more than an hour."

"That long?" Chen Tingxiu exclaimed in surprise.

Qiu Shan said, "Brother Chen, let this end here. Conduct yourself carefully. This is Myriad Beasts Sect, not Tianyu Sect. Outsiders do not get to do whatever they please here. It would be best if you caused no trouble." There was a faint warning in his words.

"Yes, yes." Chen Tingxiu agreed again and again. "I will certainly remember Brother Qiu's kindness."

Qiu Shan did not ask him to stay.

On his way back, Chen Tingxiu was deeply worried. Long Xiu was no ordinary man. Even seeing him once was difficult for the average cultivator. What business could possibly have kept Niu Youdao with Long Xiu for so long?

There was another point. Chen Tingxiu had deliberately poisoned Yi Shu against Niu Youdao beforehand, yet now it seemed to have had no effect. From what he knew of Yi Shu, she should not have been so easy to deal with.

What he did not know was that Guan Fangyi's appearance, and her easy familiarity with Long Xiu, had kept Yi Shu suppressed and introduced an unexpected complication into his scheme.

...

At dawn, Zhou Tiezi cleared away the dishes after the guests' breakfast and left. Niu Youdao strolled out of the courtyard and stopped beneath the large tree at the edge of the mountain, hands clasped behind his back as he admired the scenery.

Before long, just as he had expected, Chao Shenghuai appeared again during this opening.

This time, however, he did not approach Niu Youdao directly. He simply skimmed through the mountains as though he happened to be passing by.

Niu Youdao watched him disappear among the peaks. The hand hanging inside his sleeve shifted slightly. A tiny ball of paper had already fallen into his palm.

He rubbed the paper ball open between his fingers. Raising his sleeve as if casually, he glanced at it and saw a single line written on the note: "Across from you. Hanging vines. Streamside. Play with the water."

He looked across the ravine. Sure enough, a curtain of hanging vines draped one section of the opposite cliff. He did not know what Chao Shenghuai meant, but if the man had written those instructions, there had to be a reason.

The note slipped back into his sleeve. With a light exertion of finger strength, he reduced it to powder.

He watched the surroundings and waited for a short while. Zhou Tiezi, having delivered the dishes, returned and came over to report, "Brother Niu, I've already passed on your message. Now we wait for the sect to respond."

"Good. Thank you for the trouble." Niu Youdao cupped his hands.

Zhou Tiezi smiled and waved it off. "It's nothing. I only carried a message. No need to be so polite."

Just then, Yuan Gang happened to emerge from the entrance. Niu Youdao lifted his chin toward him. "I heard from Yuan Gang that Brother Zhou's master suffered an accident and died while handling business outside for the sect. So now Brother Zhou is the only disciple left under your master's line, cultivating alone?"

At the mention of this, bitterness flickered across Zhou Tiezi's face. He forced a smile. "When one travels through the cultivation world, storms are inevitable. Accidents happen. When my master first gained the qualification to accept disciples of his own, I happened to be the first and only one he took. Before he had time to accept any junior disciples for me, he met with an accident. So yes, I'm alone. Actually, cultivating by myself is not so bad. Being able to live freely in these troubled times is already far better than what the independent cultivators outside endure. I'm very content."

Those words were purely self-consolation. If things were truly that good, he would not have been stuck doing menial chores. There was no one to speak for him, and all these years he had been assigned one odd job after another.

This branch of Myriad Beasts Sect traced back to Zhu Chicheng, the Sect Leader from two generations earlier. Because it had become entangled in internal struggles over interests within the sect, the branch had been marginalized over the years until its succession was almost entirely broken. By now, Zhou Tiezi was essentially the only person left of the old Zhu faction.

Niu Youdao naturally knew he was only saying things to comfort himself. He was still young, watching others rise while he remained at everyone's beck and call, anyone able to order him around. How many young men could truly accept that without resentment?

Niu Youdao nodded. "Brother Zhou has a good state of mind. Still, from your dignified appearance, I can tell you're not someone destined to remain beneath others for long."

Zhou Tiezi lifted a hand and touched his cheek. He could not help giving a shy smile, somewhat embarrassed by the praise.

He really was quite good-looking: fair-skinned and youthful, a bona fide pretty boy.

But what use was that? Competition for advancement within the sect was fierce. With no one above willing to speak for him, he naturally had no opportunity to rise. If he dared indulge in fantasies beyond his station, he might offend someone and have no one to protect him. Then he could end miserably and perhaps lose even his present peace. He had long assumed his life would probably remain like this.

Zhou Tiezi sighed inwardly and shook his head with a smile. "Brother Niu praises me too highly."

Niu Youdao, however, looked utterly sincere. "Brother Zhou, from the moment we met, I felt as though we'd known each other for years. I would like to swear brotherhood with you, as brothers of different surnames. Would Brother Zhou honor me by accepting?"

Yuan Gang could not help raising his head to look at the sky. Inwardly he muttered, Master Dao is at it again.

"..." Zhou Tiezi stared at him, tongue-tied, wondering whether he had heard correctly. "Sworn... sworn brothers?"

Niu Youdao said seriously, "Exactly. I am not joking!"

"This... this..." Zhou Tiezi stammered for a long while, disbelief written all over his face.

From the day he entered Myriad Beasts Sect, apart from Myriad Forms City, he had virtually never interacted with the outside world again. He had scarcely stepped into the secular world at all.

While his master was alive, he would tell Zhou Tiezi some things about the cultivation world. After his master's death, Zhou Tiezi could only read the sect's chronicles for information, things similar to the Shangqing Record of Gleanings that Niu Youdao had read in his early years. Most of what Zhou Tiezi knew about the cultivation world came from such sources.

As for the newly risen Niu Youdao, truth be told, Zhou Tiezi had no clear idea what sort of man he was. He had only heard from those assigning him work that Niu Youdao had been expelled from Shangqing Sect and had recently made something of himself.

The guests assigned to Zhou Tiezi were never truly high-ranking dignitaries either. Guests of higher status were not people he had the chance to serve.

Even so, he did understand one thing. Anyone qualified to stay as a guest inside Myriad Beasts Sect had a status and standing far beyond those of a low-level disciple like him, someone who spent his time doing chores.

After stammering for ages, he finally managed, "Wouldn't that be... inappropriate?"

Niu Youdao immediately asked, "Could it be that Brother Zhou looks down on me?"

"No, no, no." Zhou Tiezi hurriedly waved his hands. "I've never heard of anyone inside Myriad Beasts Sect doing something like this. I also don't know whether a sect disciple needs the sect's permission to swear brotherhood with an outsider, or whether it is allowed at all. Could I ask the sect first before answering?"

"So that's the issue." Niu Youdao thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Forget it. Don't go ask them yourself. You have no voice with the people above, and asking may only make them suspicious. For now, don't ask at all. Otherwise people might suspect I'm plotting something improper during my stay here. How about this: when I leave Myriad Beasts Sect, I'll raise the matter personally with the sect's higher-ups. What does Brother Zhou think?"

Hearing that, Yuan Gang roughly understood what Master Dao meant. Master Dao was doing his usual work again, cutting a road when he met a mountain and laying a bridge when he met water.

It was inconvenient to act inside Myriad Beasts Sect. Whether Zhou Tiezi had been assigned to watch them or not, if he noticed anything unusual, he would certainly report it upward. If they could win Zhou Tiezi over and make him cooperative, they would have far fewer concerns when acting here. Niu Youdao was clearing away the obstacle closest to them first.

"This... this..." Zhou Tiezi remained very hesitant. The whole thing had left him dazed. Never in his dreams had he imagined encountering something like this.

Niu Youdao asked, "Brother Zhou is unwilling?"

Zhou Tiezi said, "I'm only afraid I'm not worthy of reaching so high."

Niu Youdao said, "I'm asking only whether you're willing."

Zhou Tiezi smiled bitterly. "If the sect agrees, then naturally I have no objection."

"Good. Leave this matter to me." Niu Youdao raised a hand and patted his shoulder. "I refuse to believe Myriad Beasts Sect would deny me even this much face. Once you're my brother, surely they wouldn't still leave you down here doing menial work and waiting on people. At the very least, they ought to give you a chance to distinguish yourself."

At those words, Zhou Tiezi seemed to awaken from a dream. Delight flashed in his eyes. For the first time, he saw a faint hope of advancing.

Niu Youdao turned and pointed toward the ravine below. "Brother Zhou, the spring water down there looks clear and cold. I like the sight of it. If I go down for a walk, I won't be violating any taboos, will I?"

Zhou Tiezi immediately assured him, "As long as you don't wander off, no one can object to you enjoying the nearby scenery. Brother Niu, rest assured. There won't be any problem."

With that assurance, Niu Youdao flew down alone and wandered beside the stream in the ravine. From time to time he crouched and dipped a hand into the cold water, idly playing with it.

Before long, Chao Shenghuai's lowered voice came from behind the curtain of hanging vines. "You went to see Long Xiu of Xiaoyao Palace yesterday?"

Niu Youdao quietly paid closer attention and only then noticed what seemed to be a narrow crack behind the vines. Chao Shenghuai must have squeezed in there from somewhere. Niu Youdao paced back and forth along the stream with his hands clasped behind his back. "Handle your own business properly. Don't concern yourself with things you shouldn't."

Chao Shenghuai said, "I'm warning you, don't do anything reckless. Otherwise none of us will have a good ending."

Niu Youdao said, "I know. I won't act recklessly. I'll give you time, so put your mind at ease. Oh, right. Yesterday, when I went to see Long Xiu, I was kept waiting for quite a while. Since you've been paying attention, do you know why?"

Chao Shenghuai said, "How could I possibly keep watch on Long Xiu's side? I only heard that you went to see him. How would I know why you were delayed? But I did hear that some Elder Chen or other from Tianyu Sect in your Nanzhou arrived yesterday as well. He also went to visit Long Xiu, but Long Xiu refused to see him. He only met Long Xiu's disciple. I don't know whether that had anything to do with it."

[End of Chapter 496]