Chapter 719: A Woman Disguised as a Man

Niu Youdao found himself somewhat speechless at that. He had not expected this woman to have such confidence in him.

Guan Fangyi looked back. "Where's my Heavenly Sword Talisman? Don't tell me you traded it for something."

Niu Youdao handed the talisman back to her. "Would I dare? If I really traded it away, wouldn't you fight me to the death?"

Guan Fangyi snatched it from his hand and put it away. Her mouth was no gentler. "Give me a break. Don't play the obedient little grandson. If you truly needed it, like hell you'd care what I thought."

Niu Youdao smiled bitterly. "It seems you've misunderstood me rather deeply."

"Misunderstood you?" Guan Fangyi gave a mocking laugh. "Can you say that with a clear conscience? Aren't you ashamed? Don't you blush? Then again, with skin as thick as yours, you probably don't even know how to write the word 'shame.' You're simply a shameless bastard."

"Enough. Don't go on forever." Niu Youdao pulled the torn piece of cloth from his sleeve and stuffed it into her hand.

"What's this?" Guan Fangyi shook it open and looked. "A letter written in blood? Chao Jing's written guarantee to you? No... looks like a medicinal formula."

Niu Youdao said, "The Yan army has too many men. They'll need a large quantity of medicine, and buying all these ingredients openly would attract too much attention. Contact Xiaoyue Pavilion as quickly as possible. Give them the formula and have them help."

Guan Fangyi nodded, then raised the rag and sniffed it. Discovering that the stains truly were human blood, she blinked her bright eyes. "Chao Jing's blood? You didn't do anything to him, did you?"

Niu Youdao said, "What could I possibly have done to him?"

The grave mound outside Maolu Villa flashed through Guan Fangyi's mind. She tried asking, "You let him off that easily?"

Niu Youdao gazed into the distance and did not answer. Guan Fangyi silently mouthed a whole string of words at him, then curled her lip. No one knew what she was cursing him for. Afterward, she asked, "Why would the Myriad Beasts Sect break its usual rules and get involved in the struggles among the states to help Song?"

"Song's Chancellor Zi Pingxiu sent someone to threaten them. Beyond that, the Myriad Beasts Sect has demands of its own. They want to use the opportunity to secure autonomy over the territory around the sect. More importantly, the way the struggle among the states is developing has made them uneasy. The Myriad Beasts Sect has no territory or power base of its own, so they want to seize this chance to display their strength. No matter who wins or loses in the future, no matter who Song eventually belongs to, whoever takes over will think twice before provoking the Myriad Beasts Sect..." Niu Youdao gave her a rough account of what he had learned from Chao Jing.

After hearing it, Guan Fangyi sighed. "So that's all it took for hundreds of thousands of lives to disappear."

Niu Youdao said, "People would die whether they intervened or not. They don't care about that. It isn't their people dying."

...

The corpse in the gorge was already gone. Chao Jing had personally cleaned everything up. He stood alone in silence for a time, then left the gorge with a sigh.

On the way, his chief disciple Xu Huo appeared to meet him, uncertainty on his face. "Master..."

Chao Jing knew what he wanted to ask: why had he never given the signal to attack? He raised a hand to stop him. "It's over. Have everyone withdraw. Try not to make any disturbance."

"Uh..." Xu Huo could only swallow the words already at his lips. He cupped his hands. "Yes!"

Chao Jing flashed away first, his mood oppressively bleak. He badly wanted to find Chao Shenghuai and ask exactly what the hell had happened. Obviously, there was no chance of that now. Not only could he not question the bastard, he would have to think of a way to cover for him and invent some reason for his sudden disappearance.

Chao Jing knew perfectly well that the more things he did, the more trails he left for others to investigate, and the harder it became to pull himself free. Before today, he had only heard stories about Niu Youdao. Now he had experienced the man for himself. In their very first meeting, Niu Youdao had openly laid a road of no return before him.

He had even said those words to his face: If I say you get to be a man, then you get to be a man. If I say you are a dog, then you are a dog!

Never had Chao Jing imagined that a dignified Elder of the Myriad Beasts Sect like himself would one day be held so firmly in the palm of something like Niu Youdao. Yet he had nowhere else to go. He could only keep walking down this road of no return.

Most importantly, Niu Youdao was not some ordinary independent cultivator. He already commanded considerable influence and power. He was not someone Chao Jing could simply crush by using force.

That bastard grandson Chao Shenghuai had actually gone and provoked a man like this. No need to think about it: how could that little animal ever have been Niu Youdao's match? The more Chao Jing thought about it, the angrier he became. Of all the people he could have offended, why this one? And now he had even dragged Chao Jing down with him. Chao Jing could only hope Niu Youdao would keep his word and release the boy. Once he got him back, he swore he would break that grandson's legs himself.

...

Beside the official road stood the ruins of an abandoned farmstead, its broken walls still blackened by war, the Yan army's handiwork. Two ragged figures dug through farmland ravaged by the fighting, searching for food. Not everyone had been driven away. There were always a few who slipped through the net.

There was nothing else to eat. Seeds sown before the war had sprouted into young shoots in the fields. If something could be swallowed, they would not pass it up.

A man approached from the distance. The two people crouching in the abandoned fields watched him draw closer. Once they saw his burly frame and the great saber strapped across his back, the two farmers panicked and bolted, sprinting toward the ruined farmstead.

The newcomer was none other than Yuan Gang. He did not chase them, merely watched for a moment before sweeping his gaze across the fields. Not finding what he wanted, he headed toward the ruined buildings.

He had come looking for cooking ingredients and seasonings. The problem was Yin'er. That demon king had had her palate spoiled at Maolu Villa. When Niu Youdao was around, he could still keep her in line, and Yin'er would behave and make do with whatever she was given. Once Niu Youdao left, however, Yin'er's temper came out. She complained that the food tasted awful and demanded Yuan Fang make her something good to eat.

But Yuan Fang was nowhere near them. Where was anyone supposed to drag him from just to cook for her? At first Yuan Gang could not be bothered with her. Then he realized something was wrong. Yin'er was angry, truly angry. Silver markings had begun appearing across her face.

Yuan Gang knew perfectly well what happened when Yin'er erupted. If she caused a major disturbance and people discovered that this demon king existed, the consequences would be unimaginable. Even Master Dao would not be able to contain the fallout. Yuan Gang therefore had no choice but to find a way to solve the problem.

Fortunately, Yuan Fang's cooking skills had originally been taught by Yuan Gang himself. All Yuan Gang lacked were certain seasonings. He remembered the nearby villages and came to see what he could find. There was nothing in the fields, but perhaps something remained among the ruins. The army had stripped the place clean of grain, yet it might not have bothered taking inconspicuous things like spices.

There were few places to hide among the broken walls. Once Yuan Gang arrived and began rummaging through the wreckage like a man conducting a search, the two farmers hiding behind one ruined wall could no longer remain concealed. Terrified, they bolted again.

Just then, a lone rider came galloping from the distance. Yuan Gang glanced over and immediately slipped behind a broken wall to observe. The two farmers had only just reached the road when they saw the rider bearing down on them. Frightened all over again, they turned and ran back.

The rider drew a sword with a hiss and shouted, "Stop!"

Two legs could not outrun four. The farmers dropped to their knees in terror, lifting their hands and repeatedly begging for mercy.

The horse reined to a halt. A slight, lean man looked down at the pair from the saddle, sword pointed at them. "Who are you two? Are you Yan spies?"

The farmers repeatedly kowtowed. "We're not spies! We're not spies! We're only farmers from around here. We couldn't flee in time. Spare us, sir! Spare us..."

Under their repeated pleas, the slight man's sword gradually lowered. Looking at the pair, thin as skin stretched over bone, he decided they did not resemble spies. His eyes reddened. He sheathed his sword, jumped down from the horse, removed the bundle from his back, and crouched before them. Inside were finely prepared dry rations and pastries, which he began handing to the two farmers.

Perhaps the two really had been starving for too long. Seeing food and sensing no hostility from the stranger, they immediately snatched it and wolfed it down. The consequences of devouring dry food like that were predictable. Both men choked, yet still kept trying desperately to swallow what was in their mouths.

Tears brimmed in the slight man's eyes. He wiped them away with his sleeve, and when he spoke, a woman's voice came out. "Slow down. There's no hurry. Eat slowly. You can have all of it." She actually emptied the rest of the provisions from the bundle and gave them everything.

Watching from behind the broken wall, Yuan Gang's heart stirred. A woman? A woman disguised as a man?

The two farmers seemed to realize it as well. After one of them managed to force his mouthful down, he asked in surprise, "Sir... you're a woman?"

The slight figure resumed a man's voice and stood. "The Song army failed to defend our homes and our state, and you were made to suffer because of it. We have wronged you. Don't stay here. The Yan army could turn back at any time. Take the provisions and head toward the capital. Leave this place quickly."

At the mention of the Yan army, both farmers abruptly turned toward the ruins. One raised a hand and pointed. "Sir, Yan troops! There's a Yan scout hiding in there!"

The slight figure instantly became alert. Her gaze caught someone peering from behind a ruined wall, and with a flick of her hand, two sleeve bolts shot out with sharp whistles. Yuan Gang tilted his head and avoided them. The two bolts struck the earthen wall behind him with heavy thunks.

With another hiss of steel, the slight figure drew her sword and rushed forward. In a single bound she sprang atop the broken wall. Spotting Yuan Gang behind it, she launched herself downward and stabbed viciously with the sword.

Yuan Gang could tell at a glance that she was not a cultivator, though she did know some martial arts and her skill was not bad. He remained unhurried. Raising one hand, he simply caught the incoming sword by the blade.

The woman was shocked. The man seemed completely unafraid of the sword's edge, as though blades and spears could not harm him, and had caught the bare steel with an empty hand. More importantly, once his fingers closed around it, she could no longer move the sword at all.

She was just about to kick at him in midair when Yuan Gang abruptly released the blade and drove a fist into her abdomen.

"Puh!" Blood burst from the woman's mouth. The punch hurled her backward into a broken wall, smashing it down with a crash. She struggled and groaned amid the cloud of dust.

The two were not opponents on anything close to the same level.

Expressionless, Yuan Gang stepped out from behind the shattered wall. The two farmers stared wide-eyed in terror, then suddenly turned and ran without another word, abandoning the slight figure where she lay.

The woman had just begun struggling to her feet when a boot planted itself on her chest and forced her back down, pinning her so firmly she could not move.

Rip! Yuan Gang bent down and tore the false face from her features. The moment he saw what lay beneath, he blurted out, "Su Zhao!"

Only after the dust settled did he realize he had been mistaken. She was not Su Zhao, though she resembled her by seven parts in ten. The remaining three parts were different because this woman was even more beautiful.

"Who are you?" Yuan Gang crouched beside her and asked.

"Kill me or cut me to pieces. Do as you please!" The woman turned her face away. Her injuries made her cough twice, but she looked as though she would rather die than yield.

Yuan Gang stared at her with a complicated expression for a while. Then he suddenly hauled her upright, chopped a palm against the back of her neck, and knocked her unconscious. Tucking her under one arm, he ran toward the horse beside the road, vaulted into the saddle with his captive, and galloped away.

Not long after the two disappeared, several more riders arrived. The men on horseback searched the surroundings as they rode. From their bearing, and from the containers at their waists that held Moon Butterflies, it was obvious they were cultivators.

[End of Chapter 719]