Chapter 569: The Arrow Is on the String

“Why are you drawing that Wuxin?”

Niu Youdao himself had fallen silent in thought. What came to mind was the moment Wuxin had stopped and turned to speak with him. After pondering for a while, he said, “He isn't a man of many words.”

Guan Fangyi could not understand him at all. “What does whether he talks much have to do with you drawing his portrait?”

Niu Youdao said, “He couldn't even be bothered to respond to Situ Yao, yet when he heard my name, he stopped of his own accord and turned around. Don't you find that strange?”

Guan Fangyi laughed, put the portrait back on the desk, turned, and sat her backside on the edge. Leaning close to his face, she smiled. “Now that you mention it, Situ Yao's reputation really may not attract as much attention as yours. Can you truly not feel it yourself, or are you pretending to be modest?”

There was a hint of teasing in her voice.

Niu Youdao raised a hand and pressed one finger beneath her lips, pushing back the face that was nearly touching his own. “But he isn't a man of many words.”

Guan Fangyi found that strange. “Since when did you become so single-minded?”

Niu Youdao seemed immersed in his own thoughts. “A man who doesn't speak much, who may even dislike unnecessary interaction with others—it isn't strange for him to have heard of me. But stopping and turning around for me was already unexpected enough. Yet this same man, who doesn't like idle conversation, went out of his way to say something irrelevant to me and mentioned the Shao clan of Beizhou. Do you remember?”

Guan Fangyi nodded. “I remember. If I'm not mistaken, what he said was: ‘I've heard of you. You're the one who drove the Shao clan of Beizhou into flight.’”

Niu Youdao asked, “Don't you find that strange?”

“What's strange about it? He heard about you because of that affair. So what?”

“He isn't a man of many words.”

“He didn't say much. He only mentioned it in passing.”

“That's exactly the problem.”

“What do you mean?” Guan Fangyi truly could not keep up with his train of thought. “You don't suspect he was sent by Shao Pingbo, do you? That's hardly possible. Li Wuhua and the others can prove he's from Ghost Doctor's side. If Shao Pingbo had enough influence to control Ghost Doctor, you'd have been in enormous trouble long ago.”

There was no point trying to explain it to her. Niu Youdao patted the side of her thigh, signaling her to move her backside, then picked up the sheet of paper again and studied the man in the portrait.

One thing Guan Fangyi had gotten right: anything involving Shao Pingbo was enough to put him on alert.

What was an enemy?

It meant that no matter what happened, whether or not the other person had anything to do with it, one's first instinct was to wonder whether he did.

Guan Fangyi rose and turned in a circle, then said with a grin, “Master Dao, draw one for me too. If you make it good, I'll reward you handsomely.”

Niu Youdao looked up at her, then suddenly paused. There was a black smudge beneath Guan Fangyi's lip.

Realizing something, he showed nothing on his face, merely turned his palm over slightly and glanced at the hand that had just held the charcoal stick.

Sure enough, the finger was black...

...

Early the next morning, Hai Ruyue abruptly woke from sleep, cold sweat even breaking across her forehead. She jerked upright in alarm, but her body was too weak. Before she could fully sit up, she collapsed back down.

The maidservants in the room cried out in fright.

Li Wuhua was soon alerted and rushed inside. Sitting beside the couch, he soothed her. “Ruyue, what's wrong?”

His fingers had already settled on her pulse.

“It was him—the man beside Ghost Doctor.” Hai Ruyue panted.

She remembered now. The face she had seen in the kitchen had flickered through her mind like a nightmare. Once her body recovered slightly and she regained a little strength, she had finally remembered in her dreams where she had seen that face before.

After confirming that her recovery was going well, Li Wuhua relaxed considerably. He sighed. “That's right. He's Ghost Doctor's disciple. He came specifically to neutralize your poison. The poison in your body has already been removed, and the child is safe as well.”

Hearing that the child was safe, Hai Ruyue also relaxed. But what she thought of was not the newborn.

She thought of her eldest son.

“Tianzhen. How is Tianzhen doing on Ghost Doctor's side?”

The moment she mentioned her eldest son, tears began to fall.

In her heart, she knew she had wronged that child. He had been taken away by the ever-eccentric Ghost Doctor, and she had no idea what kind of life he was living now.

The mention of Xiao Tianzhen made Li Wuhua somewhat uncomfortable as well. He too wanted to find an excuse to ask about him, but Wuxin's temperament was strange. Ask him anything related to Ghost Doctor's side and he simply would not respond. Asking was pointless.

He sighed. “That Ghost Doctor disciple has an odd temperament. No matter what you ask, he says nothing. He came in haste and left in haste. Once he'd cured both of you, he departed.”

He had indeed left, but had not gone far. He had merely left the Provincial Inspector's Residence and moved into Liufang Guesthouse early that morning.

Li Wuhua concealed the truth only because he feared agitating Hai Ruyue in her current condition.

...

At Liufang Guesthouse, news that Ghost Doctor's disciple had cured Hai Ruyue and taken up residence there spread without anyone knowing exactly how.

The guests from the various states were astonished and came one after another to visit him and test the truth of the matter.

It might have been better had they never met him. After meeting him, they all discovered exactly how unrewarding it was to seek him out. They had now personally experienced the temperament of Ghost Doctor's disciple.

Zhao Sen and Gao Shaoming left Wuxin's quarters one after the other. Gao Shaoming, emerging behind him, called, “Director Zhao, please wait.”

After stopping him, Gao Shaoming quickly caught up and walked beside him. At signals from both men, their respective attendants slowed and opened some distance behind them.

Gao Shaoming asked, “Director Zhao, do you think this Ghost Doctor disciple is real or false?”

Zhao Sen's expression was not pleasant. “There have been people who impersonated Ghost Doctor's disciple before, but their endings were all miserable. Publicly posing as one this openly is unlikely.”

He was not wrong. Xiao Tianzhen had been taken away by Ghost Doctor precisely because someone had once claimed that Ghost Doctor's disciple had cured him. Otherwise, Ghost Doctor would never have been provoked into personally coming to the door.

As for this disciple's arrival, Zhao Sen also wondered whether it had something to do with the son Hai Ruyue had lost to Ghost Doctor. Ghost Doctor rarely involved himself in affairs of this kind. For his disciple to step in personally was unexpected, and Zhao Sen believed the Zhao court would be equally surprised.

Gao Shaoming nodded slightly. “Put that way, he really may be Ghost Doctor's disciple. But was Hai Ruyue's poison truly so easy to cure? Could they be putting on a show to stabilize Jinzhou's situation?”

He felt that Zhao would hardly have used a poison that could be neutralized so easily. Surely this side ought to know what sort of poison it had used.

Zhao Sen said, “What difference does it make whether she was cured or not? The arrow is already on the string. It has to be loosed!”

That was true enough. Gao Shaoming had no objection.

Yan and Zhao were already gathering the troops and supplies needed for their offensives. Whether Hai Ruyue lived or died would not make Zhao abandon such a favorable opportunity to attack. If she survived, at most she could stabilize Jinzhou's people and force Zhao to pay a higher price for a less smooth campaign. It would be difficult to change Zhao's resolve.

Gao Shaoming changed the subject. “What's happening with Niu Youdao?”

Zhao Sen replied, “He's hiding inside the Provincial Inspector's Residence like a turtle with its head in its shell. I don't know what he's doing either.”

...

Niu Youdao still went personally to visit Hai Ruyue and her son. He examined both mother and child himself, confirming their condition so he would have a clear understanding of the situation.

After seeing the infant, he went to see Hai Ruyue.

Her attitude toward him remained hostile. Lying on the couch, she sharply rebuked the servants. “Since when did this Princess's bedchamber become a place anyone can simply barge into?”

Niu Youdao did not stoop to quarrel with her. He had once put this side through misery. Was she not even allowed a little resentment? He was not that petty.

Li Wuhua, on the other hand, immediately rebuked Hai Ruyue. “Ruyue, don't be rude. If Brother Niu hadn't thought of a way to draw Ghost Doctor's disciple here this time, neither you nor the child could have been saved. Whatever else may be true, he has done both you and the child a kindness.”

To Li Wuhua, whatever happened to Xiao Tianzhen was not especially important. The boy was not his son. But Niu Youdao had saved his own son, and that was a genuine debt of gratitude.

Hai Ruyue pressed her lips together.

He had harmed her eldest son, yet saved her and her younger son. Even she could no longer sort out that confused account. But she truly could not bring herself to express gratitude to Niu Youdao. She simply turned her head toward the inside of the room.

“Heh, no matter. Grand Princess, rest well.” Niu Youdao smiled politely, turned, and left with his sword planted in hand.

Li Wuhua accompanied him outside and apologized again. “Brother, don't argue with a woman. We were fortunate to have you in this affair. Otherwise the consequences would have been unimaginable.”

Niu Youdao said, “Elder Li is too courteous. I didn't really do anything. I only said a few words. The one who actually saved them was Wuxin.”

He himself felt fortunate as well. Had he not come here in advance to prepare for trouble before it arrived, he might never have learned that mother and son had been poisoned. Myriad Caves Heavenly Mansion would certainly have concealed the news from outsiders. Who knew what might have happened then?

Li Wuhua waved a hand. “You can't put it that way. We hadn't even thought of your idea at the time. Even if we had, we would never have dared decide on our own to release the news. The important thing is that you persuaded our Sect Leader. That is what saved mother and son's lives.”

“Nanzhou and Jinzhou are allies. I only hope Elder Li understands that Nanzhou absolutely does not wish to see anything happen to Jinzhou. Elder Li should have seen my sincerity.”

Niu Youdao's tone grew meaningful. “Most importantly, our Prince hopes the person controlling Jinzhou will continue to be the Grand Princess. He has no desire to see someone else take her place and create new complications. I likewise hope the Grand Princess will remember that principle in the future and continue supporting the Prince. And when the time comes, the person our Prince will continue supporting here in Jinzhou will be the Grand Princess's son. That benefits everyone.”

Li Wuhua fell into thought.

He understood the implication.

Niu Youdao wanted Shang Chaozong and Hai Ruyue to support one another and keep secular authority over Nanzhou and Jinzhou in their own hands, preventing Dachan Mountain and Myriad Caves Heavenly Mansion from casually replacing the figures through whom they ruled.

As a disciple of Myriad Caves Heavenly Mansion, there were some things Li Wuhua could understand but could never state openly.

The two chatted for a few more sentences before separating.

Li Wuhua stood alone in the courtyard and released a long breath toward the sky.

Mother and son's bodies were recovering normally and should no longer be in danger. A great weight had been lifted from him.

Yet another worry rose in its place.

At the time, in order to beg Ghost Doctor's disciple to save his son, Li Wuhua had promised anything.

Now, afterward, regret had inevitably begun to creep in.

But words once spoken could not be taken back. Breaking a promise to an ordinary man might mean little, but the warning from Ghost Doctor's disciple carried real weight.

Li Wuhua truly did not know what that man might one day demand of him...

...

After parting from him, Niu Youdao went directly to find Situ Yao.

The two sat down in a pavilion.

Niu Youdao asked, “I hear Liufang Guesthouse is so crowded with honored visitors trying to see Wuxin that they're nearly wearing down his threshold.”

Situ Yao said, “You asked to see me and had me dismiss everyone around us. Surely it wasn't just to tell me this?”

“The troops of Yan and Zhao are already mobilizing. We can't delay any longer. It's time to get those honored guests out of Liufang Guesthouse. As long as they remain here, I can't make my move.”

“Get them out? They've all come for the child's full-month banquet. You know perfectly well they're honored envoys. How am I supposed to drive them away?”

“That's easy. Let a little rumor leak. Say that if war breaks out, Jinzhou intends to detain them as hostages. You think they won't be frightened into leaving?”

[End of Chapter 569]