Chapter 574: Another One Taken Out!

“Perhaps it's better if they stop coming. Every time they arrive, they harbor ulterior motives anyway. What happened today isn't necessarily a bad thing. If Niu Youdao truly did it, then he plainly intends to use Song to pressure Yan.” The Elder stroked his beard as he spoke, then clicked his tongue thoughtfully. “I wonder whether it has something to do with the fact that he killed Yan's envoy last time. After that affair, he and Shang Chaozong seemed always to maintain a certain distance in their public dealings.”

“Everyone knows they're on the same side, yet that distance gives the Yan court no firm basis for pinning responsibility for the Yan envoy's death on Shang Chaozong.”

Situ Yao nodded silently. It did seem to be the case. But that was not what mattered now. “Notify our people at Liufang Guesthouse. Tell them to stop restraining the two sides. If they want to fight to the death, let them.”

“Good.” The Elder nodded and hurried away to pass on the order.

Yet the Song and Yan delegations merely shouted fiercely at one another. Once they were actually given the chance to fight, both sides remained remarkably restrained.

With Zhao Sen returning midway and stepping in to stop them as well, the fight never broke out.

Matters had reached this point, but neither delegation, both directly involved, hurried to leave. Each sent messages home and waited for explicit instructions from its own court.

...

At the Provincial Inspector's Residence in Nanzhou, military officers constantly entered and left the Hall of Martial Valor, a restricted military area. A storm was coming. Troops across Nanzhou were being shifted frequently, and every kind of deployment was being arranged.

“Your Highness, news from Jinzhou!” Lan Ruoting called in delight as he entered the hall.

Meng Shanming and Shang Chaozong, standing before a map, turned together. Neither responded to Lan Ruoting's excitement. Instead, both looked past him toward the space behind his back.

Lan Ruoting, holding the secret letter aloft, froze.

He seemed to realize something and slowly looked over his shoulder.

Huang Lie, Sect Leader of Dachan Mountain, stood with his hands clasped behind his back before another wall, studying a second map hanging there.

War clouds were gathering. The Yan court's campaign against Nanzhou could erupt at any moment. How could Dachan Mountain's senior figures remain sitting safely back at their sect? They had collectively moved into the provincial capital.

Lan Ruoting naturally knew that much. He simply had not expected Huang Lie to be inside the Hall of Martial Valor as well, standing quietly off to one side without saying a word. Lan Ruoting had failed to notice him and had let something slip.

The temporary silence inside the hall made Huang Lie slowly look over. He turned and smiled. “Is there some secret I shouldn't hear? Should I step outside?”

Meng Shanming turned his wheelchair toward him and smiled. “Sect Leader Huang is overthinking things. There is nothing of the sort.”

Lan Ruoting immediately recovered as well and breathed out in relief. “You gave me a fright. I thought someone was hiding behind me. So it was Sect Leader Huang.”

Meng Shanming smiled. “There is no secret in Nanzhou that Sect Leader Huang cannot know. Little Lan, let Sect Leader Huang read it first.” He lifted his chin, signaling Lan Ruoting to hand over the letter.

From Lan Ruoting's expression, Meng Shanming estimated that the message contained good news. At a time like this, anything good enough to make Lan Ruoting so delighted would most likely be good news for Dachan Mountain as well.

His reaction was swift. He adjusted to the situation immediately.

Seeing Meng Shanming speak this way, Shang Chaozong gave a slight nod as well.

Lan Ruoting was about to step forward and offer Huang Lie the letter when Huang Lie burst out laughing and waved it away. “I only said it casually. There was no other meaning. Whether I read it first or later makes no difference. It may be urgent military intelligence. Mr. Lan should let His Highness and Marshal Meng read it first. Don't delay proper business on my account. I don't understand warfare anyway. I'll simply observe from the side.”

He too made a show of generosity. Dachan Mountain had only just arrived. He did not want people saying they had become overbearing the moment they entered Nanzhou. This side had not been raised and supported by Dachan Mountain from the beginning, so there was still a measure of unfamiliarity between them. With Niu Youdao, that thorn, standing in the middle as well, it was better to preserve some mutual respect rather than make everyone lose face.

Lan Ruoting was caught between the two sides.

Meng Shanming did not keep up the ceremony. He rolled his wheelchair over himself, while Shang Chaozong followed. Lan Ruoting handed the letter to Shang Chaozong first.

Huang Lie, in truth, cared very much about what the secret message contained. What kind of news could make Lan Ruoting lose his composure?

Questions churned inside him, but outwardly he maintained a relaxed, indifferent air and turned back toward the map on the wall.

After reading the letter, Shang Chaozong suddenly exclaimed in surprise, “Song envoy Tu Huaiyu was assassinated and killed in Jinzhou. The killers were from Yan's delegation!”

“...” Huang Lie's eyelids jumped.

He could no longer maintain his composure.

He spun around and strode quickly to the others.

The news made Meng Shanming anxious as well. He hurriedly took the letter, read it, and stroked his beard in thought.

“Marshal Meng.” Huang Lie tentatively extended a hand.

“Oh, Sect Leader Huang, please.” Meng Shanming came back to himself and immediately offered the secret letter with both hands.

Huang Lie solemnly flicked out both sleeves, then likewise accepted the letter with both hands, showing his respect for Meng Shanming.

After reading it, he found two things surprising.

One was the assassination itself.

The other was that the information in the letter had come from Niu Youdao.

He immediately asked, “Niu Youdao is in Jinzhou?”

Huang Lie had repeatedly sent messages trying to contact Niu Youdao, but Niu Youdao had ignored every one. Dachan Mountain had only recently moved into Nanzhou and had not yet completed its arrangements within the province, so it had no attention to spare for outside matters. For the moment, they had almost no eyes in Jinzhou. Huang Lie therefore had no idea Niu Youdao was there.

Lan Ruoting said, “Judging by the date on the letter and the time of the incident, Master Dao himself is very likely in Jinzhou.”

Now that Huang Lie had seen the contents, there was no point trying to hide it. Lan Ruoting could only follow the situation where it led.

He regretted his own carelessness. He had gotten too excited and entered without noticing a living person standing to one side. He did not know whether that lapse might interfere with Niu Youdao's plans.

In truth, Shang Chaozong's side had long known Niu Youdao was in Jinzhou. But Dachan Mountain had repeatedly asked about his whereabouts, and since Niu Youdao himself had not told them, this side assumed there might be a reason. Naturally, they had played dumb as well, claiming not to know. They said Niu Youdao rarely revealed his movements, that he appeared and disappeared like a divine dragon, and that after leaving the provincial capital last time he had never returned to Qingshan Commandery, so no one knew where he had gone.

Huang Lie did not care much about that now.

He already knew these men belonged to Niu Youdao's side. If they refused to speak, exposing the lie would accomplish nothing. That was simply the shape of Nanzhou's present order. Some matters were better handled by closing one eye and pretending not to see.

He swept a glance across the three men and asked, “Yan's envoy killed Song's envoy. Could this possibly trigger a dispute between Song and Yan? If the imperial court comes under pressure, might it abandon the attack on Nanzhou?”

Shang Chaozong replied, “In theory, yes. But the prerequisite is Song's attitude.”

Huang Lie looked down at the letter. “For Yan's envoy to kill Song's envoy at a time like this... something feels wrong.” He looked up at them again. “Didn't Niu Youdao kill Yan's envoy here last time? And now he happens to be in Jinzhou. Could this Song envoy have been killed by him as well?”

Meng Shanming waved a hand and chuckled. “The letter clearly says Yan's envoy killed Song's envoy. However capable Master Dao may be, Yan's envoy is hardly going to obey his orders and kill Song's envoy for him. Sect Leader Huang, words like these are fine for us to discuss privately among ourselves, but they should not be spoken carelessly outside.”

Huang Lie nodded. “Naturally.”

After some further discussion, Huang Lie lost any desire to remain.

Something this large had happened. First, he needed to consult the senior figures of his sect. Second, he needed to send people to verify exactly what had occurred.

After leaving the Hall of Martial Valor, the suspicion on his face still had not disappeared. Beneath it lay worry.

His reason for suspecting Niu Youdao was not limited to what he had said aloud. More importantly, there was Niu Youdao's attitude. The man had been far too calm beforehand, almost as though he had known some upheaval was coming.

If that fellow truly was the hand behind the assassination, then leaving aside how he had accomplished it, the nerve alone was enough to make Huang Lie's teeth ache. Niu Youdao had already taken out one Yan envoy. Now he had taken out another Song envoy. Even if Dachan Mountain possessed the ability, it would never casually dare do such a thing.

What worried Huang Lie now was that an envoy of a state was hardly so easy to assassinate. This was nothing like the last time Niu Youdao had killed Yan's envoy. This time, the envoy had been directly intercepted and killed on the road.

Would Song suspect Dachan Mountain had assembled the manpower for the strike?

Dachan Mountain had taken control of Nanzhou, and the Yan court was threatening Nanzhou. Dachan Mountain had every reason to do such a thing. It might be impossible to prevent Song from suspecting them.

Yet Huang Lie knew nothing about how the affair had actually been carried out. Without knowing the process, he had no evidence with which to clear Dachan Mountain.

He faintly felt as though Dachan Mountain had been dragged into the water by Niu Youdao, yet had no way to wash itself clean. Heaven knew how Song might deal with Dachan Mountain in the future.

He had not been dealing with Niu Youdao for very long. He was not yet accustomed to Niu Youdao's habit of working behind layers of fog and refusing to reveal his final cards. Perhaps he would feel better once he got used to it.

Inside the Hall of Martial Valor, Shang Chaozong, Meng Shanming, and Lan Ruoting looked at one another.

Shang Chaozong asked quietly, “Could Master Dao have ordered Song's envoy killed?”

Lan Ruoting said, “Gao Shaoming has some ability. At a time like this, he ought to be able to swallow whatever humiliation comes his way. It doesn't quite make sense that he'd become so muddleheaded as to kill Song's envoy in a fit of anger. I'm afraid Master Dao probably had something to do with what happened behind the scenes.”

Meng Shanming offered one reminder. “He went to Jinzhou and planted himself there precisely to resolve this crisis.”

One sentence woke the dreamer.

Shang Chaozong turned toward the map of the seven states hanging on the wall and murmured to himself, “Another one taken out...”

...

In Qingshan Commandery, Xia Hua and Zheng Jiuxiao were walking through the mountains when a figure swept over and joined them.

It was Fei Changliu.

“What happened?” Fei Changliu asked the moment he landed.

“Read it yourself.” Zheng Jiuxiao handed him the letter he had only just received from Xia Hua.

The three sects had stayed here long enough that they could hardly ignore everything happening around the place where they had settled. It was inevitable that they had at least a few eyes in Jinzhou. Xia Hua's side had therefore received word of Song's envoy being assassinated somewhat earlier.

Fei Changliu read the message and fell silent. Looking at the other two, he tentatively asked, “Another envoy has died in Jinzhou. Would Yan really do something like this at a time like now? Could the man in the villa have done it?”

The other two turned together toward Maolu Villa and answered almost in unison.

“Hard to say.”

...

“Yin'er, doesn't your stomach feel full?”

Beside the waterside pavilion, Shang Shuqing approached and saw Yin'er sitting on the railing with a food box in her arms, eating as usual. She could not help asking in concern, genuinely worried for Yin'er's stomach.

Whenever anyone saw her, she seemed to be eating. She ate from morning until night. Apart from eating, she slept. The monks of Nanshan Temple had even arranged for people to take turns continually preparing food for her.

Yin'er looked at Shang Shuqing, grinned, and shook her head. Then she held out a flatbread she had already bitten into. “You eat!”

Shang Shuqing looked awkward and waved her hands. “I'm not hungry.”

So Yin'er went back to chewing.

As she ate, she kept looking at Shang Shuqing and from time to time gave her another cheerful grin.

It was a strange phenomenon.

Yuan Gang and the others had all noticed that from the first time Yin'er saw Shang Shuqing, she had shown an unusual fondness for her. She had stared at Shang Shuqing's ugly face for a long while, then suddenly smiled. After that, whenever she saw Shang Shuqing she would smile, and sometimes she even took the initiative to run over and talk to her.

Even Yuan Gang, when he wanted this demon king to cooperate, usually had to invoke Niu Youdao before she would reluctantly listen.

Yet strangely, after becoming acquainted with Shang Shuqing, Yin'er would actually listen to whatever Shang Shuqing told her.

After observing this for a while, Yuan Gang had begun to form a suspicion.

Perhaps Shang Shuqing's ghostlike face bore some resemblance to a Butterfly Rakshasa, and that was why this demon king liked her.

[End of Chapter 574]