Chapter 584: Misty Pavilion Inspector

Iron-shod hooves thundered. Behind several dozen riders, thousands of infantrymen ran at speed into the mountain forest where the battle had taken place.

The troops stationed at a nearby garrison post had received military orders and rushed over as quickly as possible.

A disciple of Myriad Caves Heavenly Mansion who had come with the army jumped down from his horse and slowly crouched beside the bodies of his fellow disciples, his expression grave.

The garrison troops spread through the forest and began searching. One assassin's corpse after another was recovered. Apart from the seven bodies belonging to Myriad Caves Heavenly Mansion disciples, every other corpse was thrown into pits that had been dug in the ground.

Firewood was lit. The stench of burning flesh filled the air. Once the bodies had been burned, the remains were buried in the pits on the spot. Destroying the corpses and erasing all traces had been Niu Youdao's instruction.

Outside the relay station, more than a thousand troops arrived. Among them was another disciple of Myriad Caves Heavenly Mansion stationed with the army, sent to receive the injured Sun Linxian and the others.

As for Niu Youdao's group, they had already changed mounts and continued on their way.

...

Qingshan Commandery. A cavern in the rocky mountains, within Wuliang Mountain's restricted area.

Yuan Gang sat inside a stone chamber, going through the secret reports arriving each day from various places as usual and sorting them for useful information. It was one of his daily routines in Qingshan Commandery.

There were two tables in the chamber. One belonged to Yuan Gang. The other, directly opposite, belonged to Gongsun Bu. Anything Yuan Gang finished reading, Gongsun Bu would examine as well.

A disciple entered from outside and reported, “Sect Leader, someone outside the mountain requests an audience. He says he's an old acquaintance of yours.”

Gongsun Bu kept looking at the material in his hands and casually asked, “Who?”

“He calls himself Baili Jie. Says he happened to be passing through and came to pay a visit.”

“Baili Jie?” Gongsun Bu froze. He set down what he was holding and looked up in confusion. “Why has he come?”

Yuan Gang, who had seemed not to be listening, raised his eyes. “Who is he?”

“A somewhat well-known independent cultivator in the cultivation world.”

“Your friend?”

Gongsun Bu shook his head. “I met him years ago, before I came traveling to this region. We only met once and aren't familiar with each other. I wouldn't call him a friend. What would he come looking for me for?”

Yuan Gang asked nothing more and lowered his head to continue reading.

“Invite him in.” Gongsun Bu lifted a hand and rose as well.

Because of Wuliang Mountain's present nature, outsiders could not conveniently be allowed into its interior. A pavilion had therefore been built halfway up the mountain outside the sect gate specifically for receiving guests, a place where they could rest briefly and admire the scenery.

Baili Jie came alone, one man with one sword. His robes were broad with wide sleeves, and three long wisps of beard hung from his chin. His sleeves swayed as he walked, lending him a rather carefree air.

Gongsun Bu was already waiting at the entrance to the pavilion. When he saw his visitor arrive, he smiled and cupped his hands. “Brother Baili, it has been a long time.”

Baili Jie laughed heartily and returned the salute. “Brother Gongsun, after all these years apart, your bearing is even finer than before.”

Gongsun Bu invited him inside and had tea served.

Baili Jie seemed unable to keep himself seated. He wandered through the upper and lower floors of the pavilion on his own, looking around everywhere. Eventually he stopped at an upstairs window to admire the view outside, still giving no indication of why he had come.

Gongsun Bu, who had been patiently accompanying him, frowned slightly.

This man truly did not treat himself as a guest.

Were they really that familiar?

Catching the look from the corner of his eye, Baili Jie smiled faintly. “The place is rather ordinary. I hear Niu Youdao's word carries the weight of nine tripods in Nanzhou. Why doesn't he find himself some landscape where spiritual grace gathers, instead of settling in these barren mountains and wild ridges? Doesn't that rather wrong Sect Leader Gongsun?”

Gongsun Bu pointed toward Maolu Villa, visible from the window. “There is a couplet inside Master Dao's villa.”

A mountain need not be high; where an immortal dwells, it is famed.
Water need not be deep; where a dragon dwells, it has spirit.

Gongsun Bu continued, “Where one settles matters little. What matters is that one can settle there. How am I being wronged?”

“A mountain need not be high; where an immortal dwells, it is famed. Water need not be deep; where a dragon dwells, it has spirit...” Baili Jie murmured, nodding slightly. His gaze shifted toward the villa. “Words of profound truth. Maolu may be a humble name, yet it answers perfectly to those lines about the mountain needing no height and the water needing no depth. Who in the cultivation world today has not heard of Maolu Villa in Qingshan Commandery? I've long heard of the villa's name. Brother Gongsun, could you take me inside for a look?”

Gongsun Bu shook his head. “I'm afraid Brother Baili will be disappointed. Maolu Villa is a key site within Qingshan Commandery—one could even call it a key site for all of Nanzhou. Outsiders cannot enter lightly. I myself have no authority to bring outsiders inside as I please.”

Baili Jie sighed regretfully. “To pass so near and still be unable to enter. What a pity.”

Gongsun Bu was not close to him and had no desire to keep circling around the subject. He tried asking directly, “May I ask what instructions bring Brother Baili here?”

Baili Jie's gaze swept around them. Beneath the window, one sleeve shifted, revealing a token that looked like white jade.

Carved upon it was a design of drifting cloud and mist. Deep within the mist, rows of pavilions and buildings appeared and vanished from view.

The moment Gongsun Bu saw the design, the words Misty Pavilion flashed through his mind.

His pupils abruptly contracted.

He stared at the man before him in disbelief.

Baili Jie extended the token, signaling him to take it and inspect it.

Thoughts raced through Gongsun Bu's mind. At last, with some difficulty, he reached out and accepted the token.

His fingers slowly rubbed back and forth over the relief carving. Then he sent spiritual power into the token to examine it.

At once, beneath the patina of age, he sensed an indescribably vast and powerful aura that made his very spirit tremble.

Such an aura could not be forged.

According to legend, these tokens were fashioned from the remains of divine dragons. They were made from genuine dragon bone.

That meant the token in Baili Jie's hand was authentic.

Gongsun Bu withdrew his spiritual power and returned the token with both hands. His Adam's apple bobbed several times. When he spoke, his voice was no longer steady.

“You're from Misty Pavilion?”

Baili Jie took the token back and slipped it into his sleeve. He calmly uttered two words.

“An Inspector.”

Gongsun Bu was shaken to his core. Even in his dreams, he would never have imagined that this merely somewhat famous independent cultivator was actually an Inspector of Misty Pavilion.

What was a Misty Pavilion Inspector?

The title meant exactly what it said: an officer who inspected all beneath Heaven on behalf of Misty Pavilion.

And what was Misty Pavilion?

The Nine Saints each possessed forces of their own, but in order to control all beneath Heaven, they also maintained a joint institution that oversaw affairs throughout the realm. The knowledge and actions of any one individual were limited, but with all nine joined together, it was difficult for the myriad things beneath Heaven to escape the Nine Saints' eyes.

Misty Pavilion set the rules of the game for both the cultivation world and the secular realm.

For example, only Misty Pavilion was permitted to operate money houses. The All-Under-Heaven Money House belonged to Misty Pavilion. Anyone who dared challenge that rule was certain to die without a burial place.

Some major sects might hold seats within Misty Pavilion, but they merely did so in accordance with the rules. They were not the people who actually decided matters there.

For example, none of those major sects could produce a token like the one Baili Jie had just shown him.

Baili Jie said, “Brother Gongsun should understand why I've come now. Will you comply, or not?”

Cold sweat gradually appeared on Gongsun Bu's forehead. His expression had become ugly as well.

Misty Pavilion had come looking for him.

Did he have the right to refuse?

No.

No one beneath Heaven dared oppose the Nine Saints.

This realm belonged to the Nine Saints.

Gongsun Bu asked, “Do I have a choice?”

Baili Jie smiled and nodded. “Good that you understand.”

Gongsun Bu said, “You can't have come here for me. Is this about Niu Youdao?”

“Clever.”

“Why?”

“A tree rising above the forest, his reputation soaring—he has been shining rather brightly of late. If he were merely a man of the secular world, that would be one thing. Unfortunately, he's also a cultivator. It is only proper that we take some interest.”

Gongsun Bu understood.

Master Dao had become too conspicuous recently and had already attracted Misty Pavilion's attention.

Very possibly, he had even drawn the gaze of the Nine Saints themselves.

And so a Misty Pavilion Inspector had come.

They wanted Gongsun Bu to become Misty Pavilion's spy at Niu Youdao's side.

Pain filled his heart.

Once he became this kind of spy, his identity could never be exposed. Hoping to use Misty Pavilion's name to gain benefits was impossible. Misty Pavilion would never allow any trace suggesting that he had ties to them.

Yet he had no choice.

For Misty Pavilion to destroy him would be all too easy, and no matter how capable Niu Youdao was, he could not stop them.

Truthfully, Niu Youdao had treated Wuliang Mountain generously. He had treated Gongsun Bu generously as well.

Given Niu Youdao's conduct and the force of his personality, Gongsun Bu could find no reason to betray him.

But the people who had come for him were from Misty Pavilion.

What could he possibly do?

Gongsun Bu slowly closed his eyes. “I don't understand.”

“What don't you understand?”

“Why me? I'm not one of Niu Youdao's true confidants. His real confidants are the few people who remain beside him. Why not approach them? Why come to me? Is it only because you know me?”

Baili Jie replied, “Do you think people utterly devoted to Niu Youdao would be suitable? Men like that are not calm enough. They act too easily from emotion. If I've come to you, naturally I have my reasons.”

Gongsun Bu smiled bitterly. “What do you want me to do?”

“Don't worry. We have rules for how we handle matters. We won't make things difficult for you, nor will we interfere with your life. Go on exactly as you normally do. Do whatever you should be doing. We won't have you reveal any flaws, and unless absolutely necessary, we won't disturb you.”

“If something unavoidable on our side does cause your identity to be exposed, our compensation to you will be extremely generous. I hear you control Niu Youdao's intelligence hub?”

Gongsun Bu sighed. “More or less.”

Baili Jie showed a trace of displeasure. “More or less? Are you still trying to fob me off with vague words?”

“The great majority of messages pass through me, but some do not. A portion is controlled directly by the villa itself. Those messages from the villa are probably the truly top-secret ones.”

Baili Jie frowned and considered this for a moment. Then he reached into his sleeve, took out a long narrow case, and handed it over.

Gongsun Bu accepted it. One look was enough to tell him that it contained a Goldenwing egg.

The other side clearly intended to establish a secret communications channel with him.

“Given your identity and circumstances, you handle a great many messages every day. Goldenwings coming and going through your hands will not arouse suspicion.” Baili Jie gave him a mild warning. “As I said, continue doing whatever you normally do. We will not disturb you lightly. But once we ask about something, I expect you to tell us everything you know, without concealment or omission. Otherwise, you know what the consequences will be.”

The object in Gongsun Bu's hands suddenly felt as heavy as a thousand jun.

He nodded with difficulty. “Understood.”

The visitor did not remain long before leaving.

Outside the pavilion, Gongsun Bu arranged for someone to see Baili Jie away. Afterward, he stood there with a hollow sense of loss in his heart.

...

Inside Maolu Villa, Yuan Gang and Zhuang Hong passed one another.

Yuan Gang merely gave her a slight nod in greeting and continued on.

After they had crossed, Zhuang Hong slowed, stopped, and gradually turned her head to look back at him.

Yuan Gang entered the villa's kitchen and watched the monks of Nanshan Temple busily preparing the day's meals.

“Master Yuan.” Wu Sanliang called from the doorway.

The kitchen was forbidden ground to the monks of Nanshan Temple. Other than Niu Youdao and Yuan Gang, Yuan Fang refused to let anyone else enter no matter what.

[End of Chapter 584]