Chapter 787: Better to Make Them Beg Us

Warming themselves by the fire and chatting?

Hong Gaitian's ruddy brows rose. He looked again in the direction they had come from. No one else really was pursuing them.

He made a hand signal, ordering his men to spread out and keep watch around the area. Then he cast a cold sidelong glance at the shifty, rat-eyed man beside him.

The look seemed to say: Didn't you claim there was an ambush and tell us to run? So what exactly happened?

The rat-eyed man understood perfectly well. Naturally, he refused to admit defeat so easily and immediately challenged Niu Youdao.

"Warming yourselves by the fire and chatting? There wasn't even a shadow of a person beside that fire!"

Niu Youdao pointed at himself, then at Yun Ji, Yun Huan, and Wu Zhaoxing.

"Are we not people?"

The rat-eyed man said, "Don't give me that. Who builds a fire that enormous just to warm themselves and chat? Were you warming yourselves or roasting people? You were practically setting the whole mountain on fire!"

Niu Youdao had been depressed for far too long. Now that he had finally encountered these people, his mood improved enormously, and even his tone became lighter.

He cupped his hands. "May I ask this brother's honorable name?"

The rat-eyed man puffed out his chest and raised his head. "Su Gongye!"

Was that truly a name, or was the fellow trying to make people call him "Lord Su"?

Niu Youdao looked him up and down, then chuckled. "A fine name!"

Su Gongye waved a hand. "Don't change the subject. You people weren't simply warming yourselves by the fire and chatting!"

Niu Youdao shook his head. "That isn't important. What matters is that I feel as though I've known all of you for years."

"How is it not important?" Su Gongye insisted. "I suspect you were plotting something!"

He kept emphasizing the point because he wanted to prove to Hong Gaitian that he had not falsely reported an enemy ambush and frightened everyone into fleeing.

"It's not that serious." Niu Youdao brushed the matter aside lightly. "We aren't blocks of wood. When people came sneaking over, naturally we noticed, and naturally we hid in the dark to see what was happening. Before that, we truly were warming ourselves by the fire and chatting. We meant no harm."

Then he turned a bright smile toward Hong Gaitian.

Su Gongye had nothing to say to that.

At least the explanation gave him a way out. It had been a misunderstanding, not a false alarm on his part.

Hong Gaitian's eyes flickered for a moment. "Since it was a misunderstanding, then bridges return to bridges and roads to roads. We each go our own way. Farewell!"

He beckoned, preparing to lead his men away.

After finally finding them, how could Niu Youdao possibly let him leave so easily?

He hurriedly called, "Third Master, it's the middle of the night. Why not rest your feet? Where are you rushing off to? Did you find some profitable opportunity? Could you perhaps look after this Niu as well?"

The implication was obvious: take me along and let me share the fortune.

Hong Gaitian snorted. "Do I need to report my destination to you?"

He turned to leave.

Seeing that he had no interest in talking, Niu Youdao gestured toward the darkness around them.

"It's pitch-black. Searching for Spirit Seeds isn't exactly convenient, is it? Judging by Third Master's appearance, could it be that you're afraid of something? Are you perhaps fleeing some danger?"

Hong Gaitian turned back again and gave a derisive sound.

"Niu Youdao, you can barely protect yourself. You're a man about to die, yet you think I'm the one who needs to flee danger?"

"No. You don't even have the right to flee."

"You'd better worry about yourself."

Niu Youdao immediately seized the opening.

"I'm afraid we're fellow sufferers. Do you really think the people of the Four Seas can leave the Tiandu Secret Realm alive?"

"If I'm not mistaken, the Seven States have already begun killing your people without mercy."

"And this is only the beginning."

"When the exit opens again, none of you will get through!"

The moment those words fell, the people opposite him grew visibly startled and uneasy.

Su Gongye pointed straight at Niu Youdao's nose.

"Niu Youdao, stop spouting nonsense!"

Hong Gaitian's eyes flickered.

He raised a hand to stop Su Gongye and asked Niu Youdao, "What do you mean?"

Niu Youdao pointed at his own nose.

"Me? I came from the Seven States' side to begin with."

"I may know a little more than all of you about what they're planning."

"Perhaps I could even help you..."

He paused and looked around at them.

"But judging by your attitude, none of you seem especially pleased to see me."

"In that case, there's no need for me to make myself unwelcome."

"If I'm going to die anyway, dragging a whole group down with me would at least make the trip worthwhile."

"Farewell!"

He turned his head and called, "Let's go. We'll go back and continue warming ourselves by the fire and chatting."

Without another word, he flashed away.

Yun Ji and Wu Zhaoxing exchanged a glance.

Neither knew what medicine Niu Youdao was selling in his gourd.

They had suffered miserably trying to find these people.

Now that they had finally found them, Niu Youdao was suddenly putting on airs.

What exactly was he trying to do?

They did not understand, but they knew Niu Youdao was no simple man.

If he behaved this way, there had to be a reason.

Neither said anything more.

They followed after him.

"Hey..."

Hong Gaitian reached out toward Niu Youdao's departing figure, but somehow could not bring himself to call him back openly.

Night pressed low overhead, and the stars seemed almost close enough to touch.

Hong Gaitian stroked his red beard several times, then looked left and right.

"What did he mean by that?"

The people around him shook their heads.

Su Gongye said, "Third Master, from the sound of it, the people of the Seven States are moving against us, and he seems to know something about why."

Hong Gaitian thought for a moment and nodded.

"That bastard is from Yan. Earlier I saw Yan's whole contingent guarding him like treasure."

"It's entirely possible he knows something."

"But would he really be kind enough to help us?"

"Could there be some trap waiting?"

No one around him knew how to answer.

...

No one had added more wood to the fire on the mountaintop, so the flames had already died down considerably.

This time there was no need to hide.

Niu Youdao led the others directly back into view beside the fire.

He stepped across the ash at its edge, planted his sword before him, and stood there.

He gazed into the flames, his expression deep.

Behind him, his shadow swayed with the firelight.

Around him lay endless darkness.

Above him stretched an endless sea of stars.

Under the night sky, a man looked tiny and lonely, yet he stood beside the one patch of light between Heaven and earth.

Yun Ji and the other two watched him for a while.

Wu Zhaoxing finally asked, "Didn't you say you wanted to unite with them? Was putting on airs like that really necessary?"

Niu Youdao said, "If we chase after them too eagerly, it won't look good."

"Rather than us begging them, better to make them come beg us."

The three still did not know exactly how he planned to operate.

But they knew he was not some beardless youth who acted without thinking.

Yun Ji asked, "Are the Seven States truly killing them without mercy?"

"Do you really know something?"

Niu Youdao stood quietly with both hands resting on his planted sword.

He smiled faintly and gave a slight nod.

Seeing that he truly did seem to know something, the three exchanged looks and relaxed a little.

If that was really the case, then there was no need to fear those people would not return.

Sure enough, not long afterward, Wu Zhaoxing gave a quiet warning.

"They're coming."

Everyone turned.

Hong Gaitian's group was indeed returning.

They did not all gather together.

Most of the men spread out through the surroundings to keep watch.

Hong Gaitian led a dozen or so people down beside the fire.

With his hands behind his back, he paced several steps beside the flames and said as though the matter hardly concerned him, "Traveling in the middle of the night really is inconvenient. A fire is pleasant to look at."

"Niu Youdao, you don't mind if I borrow your fire for a little warmth, do you?"

Niu Youdao smiled at him through the flames. "Not at all."

Hong Gaitian did not let the others follow.

With his hands still clasped behind his back, he walked around the fire alone.

In doing so, he was also showing that he came without hostile intent.

He finally stopped beside Niu Youdao.

"Why are there only a few of you?"

"Weren't you with Yan's people?"

"I heard quite a few people want you dead. Running around like this doesn't seem very safe."

Niu Youdao answered frankly, "I don't want to run around either."

"Unfortunately, Yan's people wouldn't tolerate me and expelled me."

Hong Gaitian found that strange.

"When we entered from Tiangu, I saw Yan's people protecting you like some precious treasure."

"Why would they suddenly throw you aside?"

Niu Youdao said, "It's difficult to explain in a few words."

"Let's just say this: the common man is blameless; the jade he carries becomes his crime."

Hong Gaitian looked him up and down in surprise.

"What treasure are you carrying?"

"Don't tell me it's that Heavenly Sword Talisman on you."

Niu Youdao rolled his eyes. "Something far more important than a Heavenly Sword Talisman."

A trace of greed flashed through Hong Gaitian's eyes.

He probed, "What is it?"

Niu Youdao said, "The territory I control in Nanzhou, Yan, and the forces there capable of influencing Yan's entire situation."

"All three of Yan's major sects want me to bring my power over and submit to them."

"No matter which one I choose, I offend the other two."

"So they expelled me."

"Oh!"

Hong Gaitian finally understood.

He had thought Niu Youdao possessed some actual treasure.

So that was all.

His interest instantly faded.

The thing was valuable, certainly, but it had nothing to do with the South Sea.

They had no way to get involved.

All they could do was watch the excitement from afar.

He cared about something else.

"What did you mean earlier when you said the Seven States were going to deal with us?"

Niu Youdao asked innocently, "Did I say anything like that?"

Hong Gaitian's eyes widened. "You're playing with me?"

Niu Youdao replied, "Third Master, listen to yourself."

"Your affairs have nothing to do with me."

"At first, I did think of saying a few extra words."

"But now that I've thought it through, if your people and theirs kill each other and more of both sides die, then the threat to me shrinks as well."

"Perhaps I might even benefit enough to leave alive."

"The more I think about it, the more it seems I have no reason to help you."

Hong Gaitian's face darkened.

"Niu Youdao, I personally came back to see you. That's giving you face."

"Don't refuse the face I'm offering."

"If you anger me..."

"And then what?"

Niu Youdao casually flicked his hand.

A Heavenly Sword Talisman appeared between his fingers.

It was a blatant threat.

"Plenty of people hunted me before."

"Whenever they came, there were easily a thousand of them, experts everywhere."

"They still couldn't do anything to me."

"Does Third Master really think I'm a man who fears trouble?"

Wu Zhaoxing and the Yun mother and son were speechless.

When had there ever been a thousand people chasing them at once?

Still, they understood.

Niu Youdao was deliberately showing strength and proving he would not be intimidated.

Hong Gaitian glanced at the Heavenly Sword Talisman in his fingers and visibly grew more cautious.

He curled his lip, but did not suspect Niu Youdao was lying.

Everyone knew many people in the Secret Realm wanted Niu Youdao dead.

It was entirely believable that a huge crowd might have hunted him.

And was Niu Youdao afraid of trouble?

The man had dared open a slaughter in Tiangu itself.

Who could call him timid?

Still, that did not mean Hong Gaitian was easy to toy with.

He turned away with his hands behind his back and was just about to say something when Niu Youdao suddenly relented.

"Actually, there's no harm in telling you."

"The reason the Seven States are moving against you is very simple."

"All I can say is that your luck is poor."

What kind of man was this?

Hong Gaitian was utterly speechless.

The words that had already reached his lips were forced back down.

Niu Youdao had managed to leave him without even a temper.

He swallowed dryly and softened his tone.

"What do you mean?"

Niu Youdao said, "The timing of this opening of the Tiandu Secret Realm was bad."

Hong Gaitian frowned.

"It opens once every fifty years. That's normal."

"What's wrong with the timing?"

"I'm talking about the outside world," Niu Youdao said.

"This opening happened right in the middle of wars between the states."

"You should have heard something about how much that affected matters."

"First there were problems with the rosters."

"Then independent cultivators like us were dragged in."

"Afterward, even the wars themselves were frozen."

"The consequences run very deep."

Hong Gaitian froze.

That was indeed what had happened.

The timing really had been poor.

But he still found the whole thing baffling.

"The wars among the Seven States have nothing to do with us overseas cultivators."

"What does any of that have to do with the Seven States making trouble for us?"

[End of Chapter 787]