Chapter 607: Galloping to Stake Out Territory

The string of unexpected news left Linghu Qiu silent. He turned back to stare out the window for a long time before finally sighing. “As long as he’s all right. Third Brother’s moves keep getting bigger, and the game he’s playing keeps getting bigger with them. This is beyond anything we can meddle in. Keeping our distance may not be a bad thing.”

Keeping their distance? The two sisters did not know what to say. The two sides had originally fallen out completely and severed ties, yet after all the twists and turns, the broken lotus root still clung by its silken threads.

For Linghu Qiu, the sworn-brother bond had gradually become something he truly acknowledged. The last time Niu Youdao had sent word asking about Baili Jie, Linghu Qiu had immediately gathered the information and sent it back. That alone said enough.

But to the sisters, Niu Youdao was a memory they would rather not revisit. Since they could do nothing to him, they wanted nothing more than to stay far away and, ideally, never have dealings with him again for the rest of their lives.

Yet somehow, while they themselves could not bring themselves to draw close to Niu Youdao and could not shake him off either, he could now draw near whenever he pleased. Their master did not seem to reject it. The two women had a faint sense that control over how the two sides interacted had always remained in Niu Youdao’s hands.

Then there was the fact that Niu Youdao had personally arranged for them to avoid prison in the Qi capital and escape Xiaoyue Pavilion. Most outsiders only knew rumors, but the people in the Qi capital and Xiaoyue Pavilion both knew the truth. One could say Niu Youdao had merely remembered their former sworn brotherhood, or one could say he would never betray the bond of sworn brotherhood. If it was only the former, then what was past could remain in the past. But if it was the latter, Niu Youdao had far too many enemies, and they might be dragged into his troubles as well.

The sisters had not thought much of it at first, but gradually they began to feel as though an invisible hand from Niu Youdao had already closed around them, leaving them no way to break free.

Because they instinctively rejected Niu Youdao, the two sometimes assumed the worst of him and had even warned Linghu Qiu.

Linghu Qiu, however, told them they were thinking too much. From the moment they landed in prison, they had ceased to have any value worth exploiting. They had neither money nor power, and Niu Youdao did not lack hired hands willing to fight and kill for him. Were they really worth that much scheming?

When the two women thought about it, they had to admit he had a point. After everything they had once done to Niu Youdao, his conduct toward them afterward deserved the words benevolence and righteousness. He had treated them in a way that left them with nothing to say. To keep suspecting him after that truly would be measuring a gentleman’s heart by a petty man’s own.

“Pack up. It’s about time we left. Tell the brothers we’re moving out.” Linghu Qiu reached out, closed the window, and turned to give the order.

Hongxiu ventured, “Where are we going?”

“Back to the State of Jin. We’ll start over there.”

“Yes.” The two women accepted the order and went about their tasks. Inwardly, however, both sighed. In the end, he still had not chosen Nanzhou in Yan.

With Niu Youdao’s help, they had already established a sect without much difficulty. It was called Tiandi Sect, “Heaven and Earth,” carrying the sense that once they had escaped Xiaoyue Pavilion, the sky was high and the earth vast.

They had remained at Boundless Pavilion these past years, carefully selecting suitable people from among the independent cultivators to form the sect’s core. By now, the basic framework was largely in place, and the question of where they should establish themselves could no longer be avoided. Their Sect Leader was a cultivator from Jin and had some connections there, so entering Jin’s cultivation world would be natural enough. The problem was that the broader conditions in Jin were ill-suited to the growth of a fledgling small sect. Put plainly, Jin was poor.

When Linghu Qiu had still been an independent cultivator, going to other states had been no problem. But if he now formed an actual sect and began developing his own power on someone else’s territory, the local powers in those states would probably never accept it.

After thinking it over from every angle, the sisters had thought of Nanzhou in Yan. That was Niu Youdao’s territory. Given the kind of man he was, if they asked, finding a foothold there should not be difficult. Whether it was Nanzhou’s secular authorities or its cultivation forces, Niu Youdao could settle matters for them. And with Nanzhou prospering by the day, it truly was an ideal choice.

But even though the two women had the thought, they could not bring themselves to voice it. Niu Youdao had taken indecent liberties with both of them before. Whenever they remembered what had happened in that room, the thought of facing him again was unbearably awkward. There was simply no way they could tell Linghu Qiu to go ask Niu Youdao for help.

They had followed Linghu Qiu for many years and understood him well. They had roughly guessed that Linghu Qiu had considered going to Nanzhou too and had been hesitating. They had not expected that, in the end, he too would be unable to bring himself to ask Niu Youdao for another favor. He had chosen Jin instead. The outbreak of war between Nanzhou and the Yan court had probably influenced his final decision as well.

The sisters could only sigh inwardly.

...

At Fufang Garden, Dugu Jing hurried into the bamboo grove and reported urgently to the pacing Yucang, “Master, Nanzhou has sent troops against Dingzhou. The offensive is fierce. They took more than a dozen cities in one sweep, and Dingzhou’s forces have been beaten into a purely defensive posture, unable to strike back!”

Nanzhou had actually moved against the imperial court of Yan! Yucang spun around in shock, took the secret report from Dugu Jing, and read the details.

After reading it with growing uncertainty, Yucang raised his head and narrowed his eyes at the bamboo leaves drifting down around him, deep in thought.

He had personally participated in Niu Youdao’s actions throughout this affair and knew them better than almost anyone. Niu Youdao had killed the Song envoy. Niu Youdao had laid the trap on the road through Jinzhou. Maolu Villa had also prepared in advance for the surprise attack.

Everything from beginning to end had been deliberately planned by Niu Youdao. There was no such thing as the Yan court enraging him into retaliating.

In other words, Niu Youdao had planned from the very beginning to send troops against Dingzhou. The Yan court had fallen into one interlocking trap after another.

“Whew!” Yucang let out a long breath and nodded repeatedly. “What a fellow. He killed the Song envoy to stir conflict among the states and tie the Yan court’s hands, while freeing his own hands to act as he pleased. The Yan court went from taking the initiative to being forced onto the defensive. I’m afraid they still don’t even understand how they fell into his trap. They’re going to suffer a serious loss this time! I truly did not misjudge him. The price we paid this time was worth it. This man is the best partner we could have chosen!”

As for why the earlier pursuit of Niu Youdao had failed, Yucang had now found his answer: Zhao Xiongge had been standing behind Niu Youdao.

...

The war in Dingzhou continued without pause. Xue Xiao gradually realized something was wrong. Nanzhou did not seem interested in fighting him head-on. Rather than coming for the main force he had concentrated, they were taking advantage of his troop withdrawals to harvest the territory left exposed behind them. It was almost like picking up land for free, and the speed was astonishing.

How could it not be fast? The troops in one region after another had all been pulled inward. There was almost no threat left. Wherever Nanzhou’s forces arrived, the land fell into their hands. It was like galloping to stake out territory.

Xue Xiao tried to take the initiative and push his forces outward. Meng Shanming immediately ordered part of the force pinning Xue Xiao’s main army to withdraw, creating the posture of drawing his army’s battle line out long and waiting for a chance to cut it in half at the waist.

The crushing blow outside Rongyang Commandery Capital had left the Dingzhou troops deeply shaken. By now they had also learned that the commander directing Nanzhou’s army was Meng Shanming himself. This was no opponent to take lightly. Xue Xiao dared not underestimate him and was forced back into cautious defense, unwilling to offer the enemy any opening.

The war had not been going on long. Dingzhou’s various forces had been hurriedly assembling from great distances and had not yet fully arrived. Provisions, fodder, and military supplies were also still being gathered in haste.

Nanzhou, by contrast, had already prepared much of what it needed earlier to deal with the threat from the imperial court’s army. It had only needed to turn those preparations to a new purpose. Its assembled troops kept pouring into Dingzhou, and the battlefield situation grew steadily worse for Xue Xiao.

Even so, Meng Shanming still seemed to have no intention of fighting a decisive frontal battle. His growing forces began extending around the left and right of Xue Xiao’s main army, continuing to sweep up territory whose defenses had been emptied by the concentration of Dingzhou’s troops.

The more Xue Xiao looked at the situation, the more wrong it felt. If Nanzhou had seized this opportunity to invade because it intended to annex Dingzhou, how could it hope to hold the entire province without first defeating his main army? Once Nanzhou’s troops spread over a wider and wider area, they would no longer be casting a net around him. Instead, they would be giving his army room to maneuver at leisure and defeat those scattered forces piece by piece.

He was certain Meng Shanming understood that perfectly well. That was why Xue Xiao had begun to suspect Nanzhou’s true strategic objective.

Could they really have come simply to take whatever territory they could?

Suspecting it changed nothing. The war had already been fought into this position. If he thought he had the ability, he could try striking out in every direction.

Whenever a probing detachment emerged, Meng Shanming would immediately order the troops at that point to let it come in, then harass it and drag it out. Once a detachment of the Yingyang and Wulie Guards arrived to coordinate with them, they would annihilate it in one blow.

One detachment came out, one was smashed. If the main force dared divide, then the main force itself would be attacked. The fatal weakness created when Dingzhou’s troops had been transferred elsewhere was now completely exposed: there simply were not enough men.

Fighting a war like this was suffocating. Xue Xiao found his hands and feet bound, unable to bring his strength to bear. He could only watch vast stretches of territory gradually fall away, yet he could not throw caution aside and charge. Inside the central command tent, his bloodshot eyes remained fixed on the map, anxiety gnawing at him.

...

On the official road outside Maolu Villa, several dozen riders came galloping in at speed. A Goldenwing descended from the sky, and the riders halted.

At their head, Situ Yao, Sect Leader of Myriad Caves Heavenly Mansion, listened to the news carried by the latest Golden Core Ranking update and looked toward Maolu Villa in astonishment. “Zong Yuan died here?”

He knew Maolu Villa had been attacked, but he had not known Zong Yuan had taken part in the assault.

Jinzhou was close to Nanzhou. The moment Situ Yao heard that Nanzhou had moved against the Yan court, he had been badly startled and immediately sent word asking Niu Youdao what was going on.

Niu Youdao’s reply had been vague, saying little beyond the imperial court having gone too far.

Some things were difficult to explain clearly by Goldenwing message. Situ Yao had therefore led his people here without stopping, determined to learn what had actually happened.

He could not afford not to be anxious. If Nanzhou became bogged down now, Emperor Hai Wuji of Zhao would probably seize the chance to take revenge on Jinzhou at once.

“Move!” Situ Yao waved a hand and shouted. After the brief halt, the group rode straight toward Maolu Villa.

When they reached the mountain gate, a Black Jade Eagle descended from the sky. Three people jumped down and likewise asked the guards to announce their arrival.

They identified themselves as being from Lingxiao Pavilion of the State of Song.

Situ Yao and the others exchanged uncertain looks. What were people from Lingxiao Pavilion doing here to see Niu Youdao?

One thing was obvious: they were showing Maolu Villa considerable respect and had come according to its rules. Otherwise, given their status, they could simply have ridden their flying mount straight into Maolu Villa instead of lowering themselves to wait outside for permission.

[End of Chapter 607]