Chapter 623: Straight to the Point

Wu Sanliang quickly turned the corner of a wall. Holding a small porcelain vial in one hand, he dipped a finger into the transparent paste inside, raised one foot against the wall as though knocking dust from his shoe, and smoothly smeared the substance across the toe.

A moment later he came back around the corner. As he passed the entrance to Ling Sect’s shop, he lightly brushed his toe across the first step outside the threshold, leaving behind a faint, nearly invisible trace.

He looked no different from an ordinary passerby. Only after putting some distance between himself and the shop did he stop at the roadside along one of Star-Plucking City’s streets and wait quietly.

Before long, his target emerged from Ling Sect’s shop. The man stepped over the threshold, and as expected, his foot landed on the first step outside and came down directly on what Wu Sanliang had planted there. He noticed nothing unusual.

Wu Sanliang followed from far behind.

The target left Star-Plucking City and drifted away beneath the rising morning sun.

It was broad daylight, and the mountains in this region offered no tree cover. Following directly would make discovery too easy.

Wu Sanliang watched the direction in which the man disappeared and abandoned the pursuit for the moment. He returned to Star-Plucking City, dealt with the shoes he had been wearing, changed into another pair, and only then went back to the place where he had lost the target.

With traces of the tracking scent left in several places, the Blind Mouse’s nose was briefly misled. Wu Sanliang ignored the conflicting scents and headed directly in the direction the target had gone. Wherever the man had landed while traveling, the paste carried on his footwear had left a clear enough trail.

Once Wu Sanliang locked onto that trail, he pursued it all the way to a horse ranch at the foot of a long mountain range. After a brief assessment outside, he bought a horse and charged out of the ranch, continuing to follow the scent.

After galloping for some distance, he unexpectedly discovered that the target’s route did not diverge much from the rendezvous point he and Lei Zongkang had agreed upon.

As he drew near, Wu Sanliang veered away from the trail and rode at speed into the forest at the rendezvous point. There he met Lei Zongkang. After a brief discussion, Wu Sanliang mounted again and continued following the target’s route.

A little later, Lei Zongkang also took to the air on the Scarlet Hunting Eagle. He circled slowly high above, keeping a distant watch on the black speck moving across the ground.

Wu Sanliang crossed a stretch of wasteland and reached an official road. The scent clearly indicated the target had continued along it, so he followed.

When his horse tired, he changed mounts at a relay station.

He pursued the trail without pause until he reached a region of towering mountains wrapped in drifting cloud and mist. There, Wu Sanliang gradually reined in his panting horse and stared uncertainly toward the entrance of a mountain hollow.

The Blind Mouse was pointing straight into it.

Wu Sanliang had never entered this place before, but he knew exactly what it was.

Duyun Mountain.

He knew it was the territory of a large group of demon cultivators. Entering without permission would certainly expose him, so he did not dare go inside. Instead, he continued riding onward.

Only after leaving the region entirely did he find a place to stop and meet Lei Zongkang, who descended from the sky.

Lei Zongkang released a Goldenwing carrying a secret report, and the two men then concealed themselves to wait.

Whether it was Shunfeng Hall or Duyun Mountain, neither place was one they could continue investigating directly. All they could do was report the details back to Maolu Villa and wait for Yuan Gang’s next instructions.

...

Inside the residence of the Grand Minister of Works in Yanjing, a group of imperial officials sat together.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Tong Mo, seated at the head, slapped the table three times in succession and pointed at the officials as he berated them. With national disaster upon them, every man was required to work with one heart and one mind.

There were some things Tong Mo did not hesitate to say openly in front of everyone.

So long as the State of Yan survived, everyone would still have something to profit from. If Yan fell, everything they had amassed over the years would have to be disgorged for others to take. At a time like this, anyone who dared undermine him would first have his entire family, old and young alike, ground into bone dust.

More than a dozen exterminated households already stood as bloody examples. When the Grand Minister of Works showed his might, the officials fell silent as cicadas in winter. Afterward, they could only nod repeatedly and voice agreement.

...

The Yan court’s forces were still maneuvering against the Cangzhou rebels, while the regional armies summoned as reinforcements remained on the road.

Despite the rebellion within its borders, the Yan court did not waver. At the critical moment, it held firm under the pressure. Not a single unit from the heavy forces deployed along the borders against Han and Song showed any sign of being recalled to suppress the internal revolt. The rebels were allowed to rampage unchecked.

In the regions where armies clashed, countless commoners abandoned their homes and fled.

The misery along the refugee routes was beyond description. Food was impossible to find. The sick had nowhere to seek treatment. Corpses lay dead by the roadside, while ragged men, women, and children wandered everywhere weeping.

The Yan court no longer had the capacity to care for people caught in the flames of war.

Once war began, human life became cheap as grass. Many refugees, driven to desperation and simply trying to survive, turned bandit and began plundering, adding still more disorder to the chaos.

Jin, Wei, and Qi were accelerating the transport of supplies into Yan. A first contingent of cultivators from the Western Three States had already arrived within Yan’s borders to assist the imperial court’s cultivators against those of Han and Song.

There was simply no other choice.

Yan was already beset by troubles within and enemies without. Relying on one state alone to resist both Han and Song was far too difficult.

The heavy armies massed along the borders required large numbers of cultivators. Most disciples of Yan’s three major sects, together with cultivators from many other sects within the state, had been ordered to join the military standoff. Without them, the imperial court’s own cultivators could never hold the line.

Yan was almost confronting Han and Song with the strength of the entire state, showing the two countries that if they dared attack, Yan would drag them into mutual ruin.

But Yan’s interior was hollow, while cultivators from Han and Song had joined the Cangzhou rebels. Without cultivators from the Western Three States arriving to assist, the provincial forces within Yan would not be able to stop them.

Maolu Villa also received a warning from the three major sects. Nanzhou was ordered to cooperate fully with the transport of supplies from the Western Three States. It was not to intercept them, deduct from them, or delay them. The flow of material through Nanzhou had to remain completely unobstructed.

A large portion of the supplies from the Western Three States was traveling by sea. Nanzhou had docks and enjoyed a geographic advantage, so much of the aid would come ashore there.

The shipments were escorted by cultivators from the Western Three States, but if Nanzhou deliberately interfered, it could still delay the movement of supplies within its borders. The three major sects therefore issued a stern warning in advance.

Zhao continued swaying left and right, using the opportunity to seek profit from both sides. Han and Song were determined to take Yan. Jin, Wei, and Qi were equally determined not to let Han and Song become too powerful.

Yan had become the battlefield on which the states wrestled with one another.

With the realm in this kind of turmoil, Yan was certain to suffer a severe loss of vitality.

Quan Taifeng and Hui Qingping came to Maolu Villa once again.

This time, “Little Brother” and “Younger Brother” came from their mouths with extraordinary warmth.

They hoped Niu Youdao would help them delay the support supplies being shipped into Yan by the Western Three States. They invoked the bond of sworn kinship again and again, promising that once the matter succeeded, they would guarantee Niu Youdao’s interests in Nanzhou. They had even brought handwritten pledges from the Sect Leaders of the major sects of Han and Song as proof.

The movement involved in gathering aid from the Western Three States was simply too large. It was impossible for Han and Song not to know.

Niu Youdao claimed he was caught between both sides.

On one side were his sworn elder brother and elder sister. On the other, he himself was a cultivator of Yan. Refusing them would betray the bond of sworn kinship. Helping them would amount to betraying his state.

He could therefore do nothing except remain neutral.

Quan Taifeng and Hui Qingping refused to give up and tried to persuade him again and again. At moments, a faint killing intent even surfaced.

Niu Youdao then told them that the Yan court already intended to make Nanzhou join the fighting. He had been the one forcibly suppressing that move. Without him, Dachan Mountain would never withstand the pressure from Yan’s three major sects.

He claimed he had done so to honor their sworn bond. Naturally, Quan Taifeng and Hui Qingping did not believe that. They assumed Niu Youdao simply wanted to preserve Nanzhou’s strength.

Even so, the argument genuinely made them wary.

If they killed Niu Youdao and Nanzhou then entered the war, it would be no good for Han and Song. The Yingyang and Wulie Guards were elite troops famous beneath Heaven. In the struggle for Nanzhou, they had defeated Zhou Shouxian. In the Dingzhou campaign, they had beaten Xue Xiao until he had no strength to resist.

It was better to let Niu Youdao preserve his strength and keep Nanzhou’s armies pinned inside Nanzhou.

Between two harms, they chose the lesser.

In the end, Quan Taifeng and Hui Qingping left empty-handed.

They had barely departed when Yuan Gang came looking for Niu Youdao.

“Shunfeng Hall?”

Standing just outside Maolu Villa’s gate, Niu Youdao frowned after reading the secret report sent back by Lei Zongkang and Wu Sanliang.

As far as he knew, Shunfeng Hall had been established years ago by a group of independent cultivators who wanted to found a sect but could not find any territory on which to develop. They therefore banded together and created such an organization.

It could be considered a sect, but it was not a conventional lineage built around masters and disciples.

Why would a message from Gongsun Bu have gone to a place like that?

Yuan Gang said, “It’s difficult to enter and investigate directly. I’ve already had the two of them return to Star-Plucking City and watch Shunfeng Hall. I’ll find a way to sort through the clues.”

Niu Youdao said, “Tell them to be careful. If there really is a problem, this could be dangerous.”

“You don’t need to worry about that. I’ll make arrangements.” Yuan Gang continued, “I’ve already transferred more people over to support them. They’ll map the leads without making contact. The real problem now is Duyun Mountain. The territory is huge, and there’s no way for our people to follow anyone inside. We don’t even know who the man was. Is he from Duyun Mountain?”

Niu Youdao glanced again at the secret report. A strange look flickered in his eyes.

Gongsun Bu had drawn out Shunfeng Hall, and now Shunfeng Hall had indirectly led them to Duyun Mountain.

He asked slowly, “What are you planning?”

He knew Yuan Gang would not come to bother him before the matter had produced any result without some reason.

Yuan Gang said, “Before deciding whether Gongsun Bu’s contact with Shunfeng Hall is a problem, we first need to determine whether Shunfeng Hall itself has a problem. Wu Sanliang’s judgment should be correct. That man most likely came into contact with the Goldenwing carrying Gongsun Bu’s message. I want to find out who he is.”

“The others on our side can’t enter Duyun Mountain to investigate. But Master Dao, your ties with Duyun Mountain run deep. You’re the only one who can move around inside and respond naturally to whatever happens. No one else in the villa has that advantage.”

Niu Youdao understood.

Yuan Gang wanted him to make a personal trip to Duyun Mountain.

Truthfully, with Yan in its present state, Niu Youdao ought to remain here and hold the center. It was not a suitable time for him to leave.

But Gongsun Bu controlled the intelligence channels of Maolu Villa and was also one of Niu Youdao’s own close people. If something truly had gone wrong with him, the consequences would be no small matter.

After considering it over and over, Niu Youdao finally nodded. “Then I’ll go and come back quickly.”

Once the decision was made, he left without delay.

Another Scarlet Hunting Eagle was deployed.

Niu Youdao took only two people with him: Guan Fangyi and the flower-robed man.

The three rose into the sky and quickly disappeared into the distance.

...

Duyun Mountain lay shrouded in drifting cloud and mist.

The Scarlet Hunting Eagle broke through the cloud layer and descended directly, immediately drawing a shout from a demon cultivator on guard.

“Who goes there?”

Niu Youdao jumped down from the mount and replied blandly, “Niu Youdao. Is Brother Yun Huan here?”

Before he left, Yuan Gang had specifically warned him that it would be best not to reveal his identity openly and alert the snake by striking the grass. Someone from Shunfeng Hall, after all, had only recently come here after receiving Gongsun Bu’s message. If Niu Youdao appeared immediately afterward, it could easily arouse suspicion.

Yet judging by Niu Youdao’s openly confident manner now, he had no intention whatsoever of concealing who he was.

He came straight in, openly and without detour.

[End of Chapter 623]