Chapter 599: I Set Your Ransom at One Hundred Million Gold Coins

The flower-robed man who had revealed his true face was none other than Zhao Xiongge, the expelled disciple of Shangqing Sect.

The Zhao Xiongge before them now was simply far less slovenly than usual. He had washed himself clean, his clothes were clean, and the wild tangle of beard had been shaved away, revealing a refined and handsome face. He looked somewhat dispirited, but one could still glimpse how good-looking he must have been in his youth.

“Impression? What impression could I have? She's ugly as sin!” Zhao Xiongge scoffed.

Niu Youdao said, “As far as I know, that hideous mark on her face isn't a natural birthmark. Dong Guo Haoran planted it on her face when she was very young.”

Zhao Xiongge frowned. “What are you trying to say?”

“She's a woman. Going through life with a face like that has practically ruined her whole life. I spent time in Shangqing Sect, but I never heard of any method for planting a mark like that. You and Dong Guo Haoran were fellow disciples. If he knew how to do it, you should know something about it too, shouldn't you?”

Zhao Xiongge fell silent for a while. “It isn't a Shangqing Sect technique. It's a Demonic Sect secret art called Ghost Face. Very few people know it. Dong Guo Haoran asked me to teach it to him. Ah... I suppose I was too loose-tongued back then.”

Niu Youdao froze for a moment. Why did this suddenly feel as though there was something strange behind the matter? Then delight appeared on his face. “If you taught him, then surely you know how to undo it. A woman having to live like this has suffered enough already. Why ruin her entire life? Please, lend a hand!”

Zhao Xiongge shook his head. “I may have a way to undo it, but I don't know for certain what lies hidden behind that Ghost Face. So I cannot remove it.”

Niu Youdao stared. “What do you mean?”

“Prince Ning Shang Jianbo made the decision himself to have Ghost Face planted on his own daughter's face. Dong Guo Haoran could never have made a decision like that on his own. When it should be removed is their affair. I don't want to interfere. Trying to help might only mean doing harm with good intentions.”

“What exactly is going on?” Suspicion filled Niu Youdao's face.

“I'm only guessing myself. I'm leaving.” Zhao Xiongge plainly did not want to say more about it. Hugging the wine jar beneath one arm, he strode away.

A flying mount soon rose into the sky. Yuan Gang personally controlled it and took Zhao Xiongge away by air so that no outsiders would discover him.

He left as simply as he had come, taking only a single jar of wine and asking for no payment whatsoever.

And he had come just as simply. Niu Youdao had sent only one sentence—I am in danger—and Zhao Xiongge had come.

From beginning to end, the two men had never discussed payment or price. Some things required neither. For some things, both sides understood what they ought to do, and there was no need to say more.

Niu Youdao stood in the courtyard watching him depart, his mind still filled with questions as he pondered what Zhao Xiongge's earlier words had meant.

Guan Fangyi emerged from the shadows and came closer. In a low voice, she asked, “The honored guest is gone?”

Niu Youdao gave a quiet acknowledgment.

Guan Fangyi continued, “I've heard Shangqing Sect has a supreme art called the Azure Cloud Sword Art?”

Niu Youdao glanced at her and knew what she wanted to ask. “After the third generation of Shangqing Sect's founding line, no one could master it again. To cultivate that move, first your cultivation has to reach a certain level, and second, you need the talent for it. Not just anyone can learn it. Otherwise Shangqing Sect would never have declined to where it is today. In several hundred years, he is the first person from Shangqing Sect to master that supreme art again.”

Guan Fangyi's eyes flickered. “Zhao Xiongge?”

Niu Youdao did not deny it.

Guan Fangyi immediately sighed with emotion and shook her head. “I really don't understand what's wrong with Shangqing Sect. First you, then him. The ones who actually have ability are the ones who get thrown out of the sect. And now Shangqing Sect has to rely on two expelled disciples secretly helping it from behind the scenes. Without the two of you, Shangqing Sect would've collapsed long ago. I feel sorry for the sect just thinking about it.”

Niu Youdao said blandly, “You're thinking too much. Whether Shangqing Sect lives or dies has nothing to do with me.”

“Oh, spare me.” Guan Fangyi looked at him with contempt. “You can't draw close to them, but you can't sever the tie either. In a certain sense, you and Zhao Xiongge are the same kind of man. Otherwise you wouldn't have gone to him, and he wouldn't have come out so easily for your sake. People like him aren't men you can move with mere profit. Like that phrase you once used... what was it again? Ah, right—loyalty lasting through a thousand autumns! That lingering incense bond you both have with Shangqing Sect isn't so easy to cut. I've known you this long, and there really aren't many people who can make you lose your calm. Tang Yi counts as one, doesn't she? A dead duck still has a hard beak! Ah, who knows what blessings Shangqing Sect accumulated to deserve this?”

“You talk as though you understand me so well. Talk too much and you'll age faster!” Niu Youdao turned away disdainfully.

“You damned freak! I curse you to grow old and die alone!”

“Enough nonsense. Have Duan Hu come see me.”

Before long, Duan Hu arrived in Niu Youdao's room, having no idea what he was wanted for at this hour.

Niu Youdao pointed at the flowered clothes and false face on the table. “Put them on and let me see.”

“Uh...” Duan Hu was speechless. He recognized the outfit as belonging to that flower-robed expert, but he obediently did as told.

Once Duan Hu was dressed, Niu Youdao circled him twice and laughed. “Your build is about right. The face may need a little padding, and the beard will have to come off. Duan Hu, from now on, this outfit is yours to keep.”

Guan Fangyi stood nearby with her arms folded, watching coldly. She gave a derisive snort.

She sounded disdainful and looked disdainful, but inwardly she had to admit defeat. She had no idea how this man's mind worked. The difference between one person's brain and another's could truly be enormous.

She had not understood before and had never realized it. Now she finally grasped why Niu Youdao had made Zhao Xiongge wear such conspicuous flowered clothes. The whole point had been to make him conspicuous—to make him easy for outsiders to identify. Once someone went out dressed like this, anyone unaware of the truth would find it almost impossible not to misunderstand...

Day broke.

Outside the walls of Qingshan Commandery's city, several dozen prisoners hung suspended for public display.

Each prisoner wore torn and ragged clothing caked with dried blood. Their bodies were filthy, but their faces had been washed clean so that people could easily recognize them.

Anyone who did not know them would not recognize them no matter how clean their faces were. Those who did know them naturally would. All were senior figures from Zhenling Academy and Feihua Pavilion, and the two Sect Leaders were among them.

Heavy chains of refined steel locked the prisoners tightly. Even if someone came to rescue them, hacking through those chains would take more than a moment.

The quickest method would be to cut the prisoner himself apart, but then there would hardly be any point in rescuing him.

A row of heavy crossbows had been mounted along the battlements. Large numbers of archers patrolled in rotating shifts, while cultivators wearing soldiers' uniforms appeared and disappeared among them.

Below the wall, crowds of commoners gathered, pointing and talking.

Among them were people whose faces showed grief and fury, though they did their utmost to keep those emotions hidden...

...

At Maolu Villa, Shang Shuqing had not yet reached Niu Youdao's courtyard when she saw him leading several people out.

He had already washed and dressed, so it seemed there was no need for her to comb his hair. In truth, Niu Youdao had not slept all night.

“Master Dao.” Shang Shuqing still went forward to greet him.

Niu Youdao nodded. “Yin'er is still sleeping in?”

Shang Shuqing smiled and nodded as well.

“Ah, eats and sleeps, sleeps and eats. Lives like a pig. Enough to make anyone jealous.” Niu Youdao sighed. He said nothing more. Everyone here was familiar, so there was no need for too much ceremony. After the greeting, he continued on.

Shang Shuqing followed out of curiosity, walking alone behind the group and watching the back of the man ahead, surrounded by others as he strode along leaning on his sword.

He walked quickly. She seemed unable to keep pace.

Somehow, the feeling mirrored her own heart. Master Dao seemed to be moving farther and farther away from her.

They had once been able to joke together. Of course, they could still joke now, but something about it seemed different. She felt she understood him less and less.

In the past, whatever he did, she could understand. When matters were still confined to a smaller circle, it was easy for her to know what was happening. Now his movements grew ever more unconstrained and impossible to fathom. With a wave of his hand, clouds of experts she knew nothing about would gather around him.

Once, Niu Youdao had simply been Niu Youdao, while her status as a Commandery Princess had faintly placed her a step above him.

Now Master Dao seemed truly to have become Master Dao. It was as though he had become the very sky hanging over Nanzhou, high above. With laughter and conversation, he had driven Tianyu Sect away. With a wave of his hand, he had pressed down Dachan Mountain's lofty head. Without anyone quite noticing when it happened, even Elder Brother and the others had begun speaking to Master Dao with increasing caution.

And she could feel herself becoming more careful around him as well.

Just like now. He strode forward in great steps, while she could no longer quite keep up.

What did the title of Commandery Princess amount to in his eyes? And with a face as ugly as hers, why would a man like him ever take a liking to her?

Thinking of the words she had blurted out impulsively yesterday, and of her irrational behavior atop the pavilion, she suddenly felt unbearably foolish—so foolish she could scarcely forgive herself. An inexplicable ache filled her heart...

...

A group had already gathered inside the waterside pavilion. Fei Changliu, Xia Hua, and Zheng Jiuxiao were all present.

“Master Dao!” The moment Niu Youdao arrived, everyone cupped their hands in greeting.

Niu Youdao walked straight to Gao Shaoming, who had been brought over under guard, and smiled. “You are Gao Shaoming, eldest son of Grand Minister of the Masses Gao Jiancheng?”

Gao Shaoming gave a cold snort and turned his head away, plainly refusing to acknowledge him.

Someone beside him immediately grew angry and moved to teach him a lesson, but Niu Youdao raised a hand to stop it. “He's an honored guest. Don't be discourteous. Still, I find something strange. Aren't you Yan's envoy stationed in Zhao? How did you end up in Qingshan Commandery trying to kill me?”

Gao Shaoming remained silent, wearing an expression that said he would accept death or torture as they pleased.

His mouth was exceptionally hard. No matter what they had done the previous day, he had refused to speak. For a time they had nearly failed to establish his identity. Only after other living captives were brought over had someone identified him.

Niu Youdao said, “It doesn't matter if you won't speak. Having you in my hands is enough. I'm very curious whether the Grand Minister of the Masses will come rescue you. I sent a letter to your father last night. It should reach the Gao residence this morning. I've set your ransom at one hundred million gold coins. Surely that doesn't undervalue you?”

Laughter broke out among the people around them.

At last Gao Shaoming spoke. Fury covered his face. “You dog!”

“If you can say something useful and are willing to step forward to testify against the imperial court, I'll give you a road to live. Think about it carefully.” Niu Youdao waved a hand after speaking, and Gao Shaoming was dragged away.

Once Gao Shaoming was gone, Niu Youdao turned toward the three Sect Leaders and smiled. “Surely the senior figures of Zhenling Academy and Feihua Pavilion weren't penniless?”

Fei Changliu, Zheng Jiuxiao, and Xia Hua exchanged glances. Zheng Jiuxiao coughed lightly. “There wasn't that much. Altogether it comes to roughly ten million gold coins. We were just preparing to discuss how it should be divided with Master Dao.”

Before the fighting yesterday, they had not thought much about it. Only after searching the bodies and finding drafts from the All-Under-Heaven Money House did they remember that Feihua Pavilion and Zhenling Academy had controlled Nanzhou for many years. Naturally, they possessed some family wealth.

Only after the battle did they realize that fighting a war could be rather profitable, though their losses had also been enormous.

“How you divide it is your affair. I won't involve myself. Your three sects paid the price, so you deserve the spoils.” Niu Youdao gestured.

Guan Fangyi brought out three finger bells used to control flying mounts and handed them over.

“Each sect can take one. It'll make travel and handling affairs more convenient in the future.”

[End of Chapter 599]