Chapter 760: Fu with Jian, Shi with Ju

"I..."

The Zhao cultivator had been argued into a daze.

Why did it feel as though everything he said was wrong, while everything the other man said was right?

Niu Youdao once again cupped his hands toward Bai Yulou. "Wang Bukong drew his sword to kill me. In a direct confrontation, I was no match for him at all. If I did not rely on the Heavenly Sword Talisman, there was only one road left for me: death!"

"Zhao's three major sects plainly intended to put me to death. Once I used the Heavenly Sword Talisman, how could I possibly show mercy?"

"This humble one begs Misty Pavilion to investigate the truth and restore justice to me!"

The Zhao cultivator was already so anxious he could barely form words.

He lacked Niu Youdao's composure.

Nor could he remain as calm as Niu Youdao in front of Misty Pavilion.

Everything he said seemed wrong.

For a moment, he had no idea how to refute the argument.

Fear and shock fed each other until his mind was in complete disorder.

Bai Yulou said, "Whether justice lies with you or not will be clear once the interrogations over there are complete."

He tipped his head toward one of the Misty Pavilion cultivators observing nearby.

That man nodded slightly and left.

The point they had just established here would now be added to the questions in the separate interrogations: had Wang Bukong been the first to draw his sword?

Everything that needed asking had been asked.

Bai Yulou had personally seen what happened after that point, so there was little reason to continue.

He moved closer to Sha Rulai and quietly reported something.

Niu Youdao and the Zhao cultivator stared at one another.

Neither yielded an inch.

Yucang watched from the side.

The resentment that had filled him earlier gradually gave way to uncertainty.

That Zhao wanted Niu Youdao dead was beyond question.

But Yucang found it hard to believe Zhao would actually dare attack him here.

At the same time, it seemed equally unlikely that Niu Youdao would attack here without any reason at all.

After hearing the two sides confront one another and argue back and forth, even Yucang could no longer tell what the truth was.

They waited for a while.

Misty Pavilion's people had separated everyone for questioning, and before long the testimonies from both sides were brought together.

In truth, the incident itself had not been very complicated.

The disturbance had become enormous, but the actual events had unfolded in only a brief instant.

The sequence was short.

Naturally, taking testimony did not require much time.

More importantly, everyone being questioned was extremely obedient.

Whatever they were asked, they answered.

No one dared stall.

No one dared fabricate anything either.

Once the collected testimonies were compared, the accounts from both sides matched on almost every point.

Everything Niu Youdao had said was factually true.

Even Zhao's own cultivators admitted that Zhao's side had indeed blocked Niu Youdao and the others just inside the entrance to Tiangu.

They admitted Niu Youdao had repeatedly asked them to move aside.

They admitted they had refused.

They admitted that after Niu Youdao attacked Wan Tongfu and Ming Jing, he had immediately sheathed his sword.

And they admitted Wang Bukong had drawn his sword first.

However, Zhao's cultivators insisted they had never initiated an attack.

They insisted they had only blocked the road to ask questions, not to stop anyone else from entering Tiangu.

Situ Yao and the others did not dare lie either.

None could confirm whether Wan Tongfu and Ming Jing had secretly attacked Niu Youdao first.

Whether those two men had covertly struck first had become the decisive point.

But both of them were already dead.

There was no confronting the dead.

And even if they had still been alive, they probably would never have admitted to attacking first.

Niu Youdao, meanwhile, refused to budge from his claim that the two men had indeed struck first.

After all the commotion, no one could establish the real answer.

When Bai Yulou saw the final result of the interrogations, he cursed inwardly.

How had things ended up like this?

He had finally gotten an opportunity to handle a matter directly in front of Sha Rulai, only to produce a result like this.

He had no idea how Sha Rulai would judge his performance.

Bai Yulou prepared to investigate the matter in finer detail, stripping away every thread one by one.

Sha Rulai stopped him.

He had already lost patience with dragging the trouble out any longer.

Once he learned the result, Sha Rulai emerged from the pavilion again and publicly announced the punishment.

"Zhao's three major sects blocked people from entering Tiangu. Whether they were merely asking questions or not, they brought the consequences upon themselves. Considering how many of their people have already died, the matter will not be pursued further."

Then his gaze settled on Niu Youdao.

His voice turned cold.

"Niu Youdao, you took it upon yourself to kill people and commit violence in Tiangu. By rights, you should be executed immediately."

"This seat will show mercy once and give you one more opportunity."

At those words, Yucang, Yun Ji, and the others all breathed easier.

Then Sha Rulai added, neither hurriedly nor slowly, "On this expedition into the Tiandu Secret Realm, if you can take first place, this seat will count it as merit sufficient to offset your offense and spare your life."

"Otherwise, you will be killed without mercy!"

The words fell.

Not merely everyone else—even Niu Youdao's expression changed violently.

Yucang's lips trembled.

His face looked terrible.

A demand this harsh was no different from simply killing Niu Youdao.

The Zhao cultivators looked at one another.

One after another, they began secretly delighting in his misfortune.

This was clearly forcing him toward death.

How could Niu Youdao keep silent?

He immediately cupped his hands. "Sir, it was not I who wished to kill and commit violence. I truly had no choice but to defend myself after being forced into danger!"

Sha Rulai said indifferently, "Can the words of a killer like you be trusted? Apart from you, who can prove those two dead men attacked first?"

Niu Youdao said, "Wang Bukong drawing his sword against me first proves their intent to harm me! I have long heard that Misty Pavilion is a place that honors rules. I ask Sir to uphold justice!"

"Rules?" Sha Rulai repeated. "You're talking to me about rules?"

He slowly walked toward Niu Youdao.

The hostility in his tone immediately made everyone on Niu Youdao's side tense.

They were all worried for him.

Yucang's heart practically rose into his throat.

Niu Youdao himself became intensely alert.

Even so, he stood where he was and showed no intention of avoiding the man.

Avoiding him would have been useless anyway.

When Niu Youdao was detained, his cultivation had already been restrained.

Any single person from Misty Pavilion could kill him with ease.

Sha Rulai stopped directly in front of him.

"Young man, I'll tell you what rules are."

"Fu with jian. Shi with ju. That is guiju—rules. Understand?"

"If you don't, it doesn't matter. You only need to remember one thing."

"Here, doing as I say is the rule."

"Dare say a single word of refusal, and you die on the spot!"

Niu Youdao fell silent.

When the man said something like that directly to his face, Niu Youdao did not dare speak further.

Some risks could be taken.

Other things were not risks at all.

They were simply roads to death.

Sha Rulai swept his cold gaze across the detained group.

Then he tossed out one light word.

"Scram."

Who dared remain?

One after another, everyone obediently and miserably scrammed, still under escort.

As Sha Rulai passed Yucang, he gave him a sidelong glance and left one sentence behind.

"With this incident, there's no need for you to enter Tiangu. The man has conveniently come out himself. Go see him off."

Then Sha Rulai left.

Yucang bowed slightly.

The instant he was free, he hurried after Niu Youdao and the others.

Their cultivations were still restrained, so the detained group could not move quickly.

Yucang caught up without difficulty.

The escorts stopped him.

Yucang invoked Sha Rulai's name and said Sha Rulai had permitted it.

If Sha Rulai had agreed, there was nothing more to say.

The escorts let him through.

Yucang called Niu Youdao away from the group.

He dragged him aside, out of earshot, and immediately began cursing.

"Niu Youdao, what the hell are you trying to do? You actually dared start trouble here. Have you grown tired of living?"

"Don't you know how the people here look at us? In their eyes, we're no different from ants!"

Niu Youdao said, "Was I the one looking for trouble? Zhao's three major sects plainly wanted to kill me. What was I supposed to do?"

"If I didn't fight back, was I supposed to stand there and let them kill me?"

"..."

One sentence left Yucang speechless.

Even Misty Pavilion had failed to establish the truth of the matter.

Yucang himself had no basis to insist Niu Youdao had caused the trouble.

After a moment, he asked with confusion, "They really attacked first? How could Zhao's three major sects possibly dare try to kill you here?"

Niu Youdao was still wondering what Yucang was doing here and what sort of relationship he had with Misty Pavilion.

Naturally, he was not going to tell him the truth.

"Don't ask me. Even I, the man involved, find it unbelievable. Where did they get such enormous courage?"

"Maybe that was exactly why they did it. They went against expectation, believing no one would think they dared make a move here, so they secretly struck at me."

"They probably didn't intend to kill me outright. Most likely they only wanted to teach me a covert lesson."

Yucang remained suspicious. "Those two attacked you secretly, and you were able to withstand it?"

"Cough! Cough!"

Niu Youdao suddenly began coughing.

Then, right in front of Yucang, he spat out a mouthful of blood.

His blood and qi had merely been roiling earlier and he had suppressed it.

Now he finally released it for Yucang to see.

Yucang was startled.

He immediately seized Niu Youdao and used his arts to examine him.

After checking, he said gravely, "You're injured?"

"You thought I was joking? They secretly injured me from the beginning. Those two dog things thought I wouldn't dare fight back."

Niu Youdao raised a hand and wiped the blood from his mouth.

In truth, he had suffered no injury at all.

He had used his own spiritual power to inflict an internal injury upon himself.

If he was going to act, he had to act the part completely.

If taking some injury could preserve his life, what did a little pain matter?

Yet this injury had become rather frustrating.

It had never been used.

He had wounded himself for nothing.

Niu Youdao had deliberately kept the injury ready for Misty Pavilion to inspect.

Who could have imagined that the man in charge would be too lazy to investigate carefully?

Sha Rulai had simply sentenced him to death on the spot.

The execution had merely been postponed.

So the injury now felt rather unjust.

Had Niu Youdao known this would happen, why would he have made himself suffer?

And the injury was not the only preparation that had gone unused.

He had carefully prepared an entire chain of arguments as well.

None of them had been of any use.

Sha Rulai had simply stamped down with one foot and trampled all of his reasoning into nothing.

Yucang now believed him somewhat more.

Otherwise, there truly was no reason for Niu Youdao to court death here.

He took out a medicinal pill and tried to push it into Niu Youdao's mouth.

Niu Youdao immediately resisted. "What's that?"

Yucang said, "Medicine for your injury. Take it."

The old man's concerned manner felt unnatural.

Smart people think too much.

Niu Youdao instantly became wary. "It isn't a Bitter God Pill, is it?"

"..."

Yucang was speechless.

Then he almost laughed from frustration. "I'd have to be sick in the head. What kind of place do you think this is? Would I dare bring Bitter God Pills into Misty Pavilion? If they were exposed..."

He stopped and sighed again.

"Actually, they've been exposed for a long time. I've merely been deceiving myself. Misty Pavilion has known my identity for years. They've probably been watching me put on an act and make a fool of myself all this time."

Niu Youdao asked, "What do you mean?"

Yucang told him why he had come here and explained how Sha Rulai had directly exposed his identity.

Niu Youdao fell silent for a moment, then sighed. "These people are too powerful. So powerful their eyes and ears can penetrate everywhere. It isn't strange that they know what's beneath Xiaoyue Pavilion's surface."

Yucang gave a bitter smile.

He offered the medicinal pill again.

Niu Youdao still raised a palm and refused it. "I don't even know what a Bitter God Pill looks like. I'll be direct. I don't dare casually eat something from Xiaoyue Pavilion."

"I appreciate the goodwill. And don't overthink it. Cooperation is cooperation. If we remain appropriately polite with one another, everyone feels safer. Wouldn't you agree?"

Yucang opened his mouth, equal parts angry and amused. "Since you know about the Bitter God Pill, you should know its antidote is limited by time."

"You're going inside for an entire year. What reason would I have to feed you a Bitter God Pill?"

Niu Youdao said, "You said yourself that some of your people are among those entering the Tiandu Secret Realm. Would it be strange if someone suddenly appeared inside and delivered the antidote to me?"

"Or perhaps I swallow this pill now, and only afterward you tell me it's a Bitter God Pill, then hand me enough antidote to last an entire year."

"That is entirely possible."

"So there would be nothing strange about you feeding me a Bitter God Pill."

"Fine, fine, fine! Don't eat it, then!"

Yucang could no longer stand listening to his cautious nonsense.

He put the pill away.

"Treat kindness like donkey liver and lungs if you want!"

Then he stretched out his hand.

"Hand over the wine recipe."

[End of Chapter 760]