Chapter 545: I Never Planned to Let Him Go

After Niu Youdao finished speaking, no response came from behind him.

He could not help turning back and found Guan Fangyi looking at him with a complicated expression. Startled, he asked, “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Guan Fangyi sighed. “Why do I feel like the games you're playing keep getting bigger and bigger? Haven't you noticed you're sinking deeper and deeper into all these grudges and entanglements?”

“Can I still turn back?” Niu Youdao shook his head. “There's no point saying this now. There's no road back anymore. I can only keep moving forward.”

Then he smiled and teased her. “Besides, the bigger the game, the more money there is to make. Isn't that exactly what you want?”

“Looks to me like the bigger the game, the more money gets spent. I'm more afraid I'll have the life to earn it but not the life to spend it!” Guan Fangyi shot him a contemptuous look, turned, and left.

The guest had arrived, yet Niu Youdao did not go out to receive him. Instead, he sat in the pavilion tending a small clay stove and brewing tea.

That left Yucang and the others standing at the entrance, uncertain whether to go in or remain outside.

Whatever grudges existed in secret, Yucang was still a celebrated scholar in public. At the very least, appearances and basic courtesy had to be maintained.

“Over here. Come in!”

Niu Youdao rose slightly inside the pavilion, poked his head out from behind the screening greenery, and beckoned.

Only then did Yucang lead several men inside.

He and Dugu Jing entered the pavilion.

The others spread out around the area. They had already been instructed that important matters would be discussed here and no one was to approach.

Yucang sat opposite Niu Youdao and watched him prod the charcoal fire with a metal skewer. He gave a cold snort. “What refined leisure.”

Niu Youdao smiled. “I only just put it on. The water hasn't boiled yet. Wait a moment.”

Yucang looked around. “Where is my nephew?”

Niu Youdao replied, “Naturally with blades and axes hanging over him, his life suspended by a thread.”

Yucang's face sank. “And this is your way of being a teacher?”

Niu Youdao said, “I turned my heart toward the bright moon, only for the bright moon to shine upon the gutter. Better to be cautious. We can sit down and speak calmly this way, can't we?”

Those words were effectively an admission that the letter accompanying the severed head had come from him.

Yucang's cheeks tightened. “Release him. I can let bygones be bygones and pretend none of this ever happened.”

“Words alone are no proof.”

“What guarantee do you want? We can discuss it.”

“So long as I have something in my hand that makes you willing to discuss matters, that's guarantee enough. I don't need anything else. If you're truly sincere, let me take this student away.”

“Niu Youdao, don't fail to appreciate kindness. Driving matters to an absolute end will do you no good.” Yucang's voice chilled. “You know the strength behind me. If you truly enrage me, then whatever backing you possess, don't imagine you'll ever live in peace again. I can remove the people beneath you one by one.”

“Mr. Yucang, I'm not joking.” Niu Youdao's tone remained calm. “I already escaped, yet still returned to find you. That alone represents my sincerity.”

“I like making friends. I like discussing cooperation.”

“If Sir truly wishes to compromise and let the old matter go, why not turn a bad affair into a good one?”

“I may as well speak plainly. A mere Nanzhou cannot satisfy my appetite. I need more support. Xiaoyue Pavilion's strength interests me greatly. That is why I came back to find you.”

“Did Sir truly think I returned merely to take a student and vent my anger? Surely, in your eyes, I'm not so ruled by impulse.”

“Now that I know your identity and have considered your past conduct, Xiaoyue Pavilion does not seem content to hide in the shadows forever.”

“Xiaoyue Pavilion was interested in Beizhou's power. Are you truly uninterested in the power I hold in Nanzhou?”

Yucang's gaze flickered. He gave a cold snort. “Since when did Nanzhou become yours? You should first think about how you're going to deal with Tianyu Sect.”

Niu Youdao shook his head. “Tianyu Sect isn't worth mentioning. Before long, they'll be kicked out of Nanzhou.”

Uncertainty flashed through Yucang's heart. He narrowed his eyes. “Are you joking?”

The water beside them came to a boil.

Niu Youdao reached out, lifted the pot, and slowly poured two cups of tea. Whether the other man drank or not, he pushed one cup across.

“There is no need to explain that matter. Nor is it appropriate to say more now. Sir may simply wait and see.”

Since Niu Youdao refused to explain, Yucang did not waste words on it. “You talk about cooperation while holding one of my people. What kind of cooperation is that?”

Niu Youdao blew lightly across the surface of his tea. “Without holding someone, you and I would never be sitting together like this. Mr. Yucang would hardly have exposed his own identity and wasted words on me either. Every cooperation needs a foundation.”

“Enough of this useless talk. I'll ask you one thing. What will make you release him?”

“I never planned to let him go. I am definitely taking him with me.”

Yucang exploded in fury.

Dugu Jing's face darkened with anger as well.

Niu Youdao immediately raised one hand, signaling for them to restrain themselves. “Of course, my wish to cooperate is also sincere.”

Yucang snapped, “You hold my man hostage and talk to me about sincerity?”

“You think I enjoy holding one of your people?” Niu Youdao replied. “Xiaoyue Pavilion isn't exactly some honorable institution. Don't you know your own reputation?”

“Before long, everyone beneath Heaven will know I accepted this student. I don't need to explain the advantages and dangers involved.”

“That is the foundation for cooperation.”

“If my only aim were to kill him, there would have been no need for me to return.”

“If I release him now, you won't let this matter end, so I need a hostage in my hand.”

“That means I cannot release him now.”

“But if we truly cooperate in the future and become deeply entangled with one another, do you think I'll still have any need to hold him?”

Yucang frowned and fell silent for a while.

Then he suddenly asked, “How much does Bu Xun know?”

Niu Youdao replied, “How much he knows depends entirely on how much you and I choose to let him know. If you want to tear the matter open, I have no objection.”

...

Within the imperial palace, Bu Xun stood beneath the eaves outside the imperial study while Hao Yuntu handled state affairs inside.

Bu Fang arrived, climbed the steps, and stopped beside him.

In a low voice, he reported, “Yucang went to Tongfang Garden. He met with Niu Youdao for roughly an hour before leaving.”

Bu Xun stared into the distance. “What game are those two playing? Somehow they've dragged me into it too. There must be something wrong.”

He could not say exactly where the problem lay.

He merely had the persistent feeling he had been used.

But times had changed.

The Niu Youdao of today was no longer the Niu Youdao of the past. His wings were gradually filling out, and he could no longer be moved against rashly.

In the past, Bu Xun could simply have arrested him and forced his mouth open.

Now that was impossible.

Arrest Niu Youdao, and the conflict between Tianyu Sect and Shang Chaozong in Nanzhou could erupt immediately. If something went wrong, one move could set the entire board in motion.

As for Yucang, it was even less possible to seize him by force.

“Keep watching them,” Bu Xun ordered.

“Yes!” Bu Fang replied.

...

At Tianwei Residence, Xuan Wei slowly lifted her head from the documents on her desk and stared at Jiang Shiji across from her, surprise and uncertainty in her eyes.

“Why would he go to Jin? Are you certain Shao Pingbo is there?”

Tang Yi, now serving as one of Xuan Wei's personal retainers nearby, looked over as well.

Jiang Shiji replied, “There is no mistake. The central gate of Jin's imperial palace was thrown open. Taishu Xiong personally came out to receive him, removed his own imperial cloak with his own hands, draped it over Shao Pingbo, and then led Shao Pingbo into the palace by the hand.”

“Many people witnessed it personally. It cannot be wrong.”

“Jin impoverishes itself through ceaseless war. Its people live in hardship, yet he rejected Wei's recruitment and chose to settle in that impoverished land instead.” Xuan Wei laughed from sheer anger. “Is he trying to humiliate this palace?”

What truly angered her was that her earlier judgment had been confirmed.

Shao Pingbo genuinely did not think highly of Wei.

What made it particularly difficult to swallow was that he had chosen the poorest of the Seven States instead.

Jin pursued war whenever opportunity allowed, draining the people and treasury. How many worthy scholars and talented men avoided it for precisely that reason?

Yet Shao Pingbo had gone against the current.

Was he blind, or did he see farther than everyone else?

Taishu Xiong's behavior was even more alarming.

He had lowered himself so far and treated Shao Pingbo with such extraordinary favor, granting him honors far beyond the normal measure.

Ultimately, Wei remained somewhat wary of Jin.

Jin might be poor, but among the Seven States it possessed one advantage: state and sect were one, with ruler and cultivation power united from top to bottom.

Qiyun Sect itself had been founded by members of the Taishu clan.

Successive Sect Leaders had likewise come from the Taishu clan, and by generation the current Sect Leader stood in the same generation as Taishu Xiong's grandfather.

Perhaps because of that bloodline, descendants of the Taishu clan were unusually likely to possess constitutions suitable for cultivation.

Taishu Xiong himself was the only cultivator among the emperors of the Seven States.

Because political and sect power were unified in Jin, other cultivation sects had only limited room to pursue interests there.

To obtain greater benefits, they continually pushed Jin toward outward expansion.

And while Jin was poor, poverty did not mean its national strength was the weakest.

Qiyun Sect excelled at artifact forging.

As a result, Jin's weapons and armor were the sharpest and strongest among the Seven States.

Having such an ambitious neighbor beside them was a constant headache for both Wei and Qi.

They could not drive Jin away, nor could they move themselves elsewhere.

Again and again, they had been forced to join hands to suppress Jin and keep it contained.

Shao Pingbo had abandoned wealth for poverty, and Taishu Xiong had treated him with extraordinary generosity.

To Xuan Wei, the combination felt like two wolves falling into league with one another, enough to make her heart jump uneasily.

She did not know whether she was imagining things, but instinct told her that surveillance of Jin had to be strengthened.

Tang Yi was somewhat surprised.

She was surprised by Jin's treatment of Shao Pingbo, and also by Xuan Wei's words.

Only now did she learn that Xuan Wei had intended to recruit him as well.

A trace of lingering fear rose in her heart.

She had nearly run headlong into Shao Pingbo again.

Shangqing Sect had been suppressed by him for years, and somewhere deep inside, she had grown instinctively afraid of the man.

...

Within a few days, a piece of news spread out from Jin and shook all beneath Heaven.

The Emperor of Jin had issued an edict appointing Shao Pingbo Provincial Inspector of Beizhou!

It was obviously an empty office.

Jin was granting an official title over territory belonging to another state despite being separated from Beizhou by other lands.

Was that not practically a rogue joke?

Yet the implications and ambition behind the appointment gave people much to ponder.

Of course, Shao Pingbo also lacked seniority and achievement within Jin.

He had only just arrived and had no merit to his name. Abruptly placing him in a truly high office would have been difficult to justify internally.

An empty appointment therefore solved that problem.

Yan and Han immediately objected.

Both claimed Beizhou as their own and at once issued condemnations.

Jin did not care in the slightest.

Condemn all you like. If you have the ability, come fight us.

Yan and Han could do nothing about Jin.

Courtesy demanded reciprocity. Not long afterward, they too began appointing officials over territories inside Jin, turning state offices into something resembling children's play.

But that was a matter for later.

...

At Prince Ying's residence, Hao Zhen returned from the imperial palace.

Shao Liuer came to receive him and personally removed his cloak.

Noticing that he seemed preoccupied, she folded the cloak over one arm and tentatively asked, “Father Emperor suddenly summoned Your Highness to the palace. Is everything all right?”

“Have you been in contact with your elder brother?” Hao Zhen asked as though casually.

Shao Liuer shook her head. “Not for now.”

“You are brother and sister, after all. Some contact should still be maintained.”

Hao Zhen fell silent briefly, then added, “If you have no channel for communication, letters can be sent directly to our envoy stationed in Jin and forwarded through him.”

Shao Liuer paused.

Then she understood.

Her husband was normally cautious and rarely dared use public resources for private affairs.

If he said this after returning from the palace, he had probably received tacit approval from the Emperor.

It seemed her brother's decision to enter Jin had drawn Hao Yuntu's close attention.

“Your elder brother truly is no ordinary man. Formidable.” Hao Zhen sat down and sighed again, unintentionally revealing what he was thinking.

Shao Liuer drifted into a daze.

She remembered what Shao Pingbo had said before leaving.

Do you really think I have nowhere to go except placing myself under Hao Zhen?

The words had become prophecy.

She had not expected Wei to help her brother escape, much less the Emperor of Jin to honor him so highly.

A vague sense of loss rose in her heart.

Hao Zhen sat there with his head lowered and said nothing.

He too felt the same indistinct sense of loss.

Taishu Xiong's extraordinary treatment of Shao Pingbo made him vaguely feel that he had allowed something to slip through his fingers.

He could not help comparing his own breadth of heart with Taishu Xiong's...

[End of Chapter 545]