Chapter 794: You're Making Things Difficult for Me

Under the eaves, on the stone steps, Luo Zhao sat clutching a wine jug, utterly drunk. He looked disheveled, his face covered in untrimmed stubble.

Feng Guan'er stood beside him in embarrassment, tugging at his arm. She tried several times to pull him upright and failed each time.

Several eunuchs stood watching in the courtyard. Mo Gao, Chief Eunuch of the Imperial Palace, stood before the steps with a frown, looking at the man in front of him.

He had never imagined that Luo Zhao, once the high-spirited Grand Commander-in-Chief of Song, could become like this.

This was already Mo Gao's third visit, each time under the orders of Emperor Mu Zhuozhen.

No matter how circumstances had forced the court to demote Luo Zhao, and no matter how fiercely the court factions fought, people who understood the situation still had some sense.

Victory and defeat were common matters in war. Who could guarantee never losing a battle? One defeat could not erase Luo Zhao's ability.

The frozen war would thaw eventually.

Who could guarantee the replacement commander would be able to stop Jin Jue?

When Luo Zhao had commanded the army, he had at least been able to withstand Jin Jue's advance and barely maintain the battlefield situation as it tottered on the verge of collapse.

The new commander had not yet fought Jin Jue even once. No one knew what the result would be.

If the situation turned unfavorable, it would mean those who had advocated replacing Luo Zhao were wrong. Influence would shift again, and Mu Zhuozhen would still need to restore Luo Zhao in an emergency.

At the very least, he had to prepare for that possibility.

That had been Mo Gao's purpose the first time he came.

The second time, it was the same.

Now, on his third visit, Luo Zhao still looked exactly like this—spiritless and unable to recover from the blow.

Mo Gao had come on the Emperor's behalf to offer some comfort, yet could not even find an opportunity to speak.

In Luo Zhao's condition, normal conversation was impossible.

"Chief Eunuch, his mood has been poor lately."

Unable to rouse Luo Zhao, Feng Guan'er turned, walked down the steps, and offered an embarrassed explanation.

Mo Gao repeatedly shook his head. "Why let it come to this? Once he sobers up, I hope Madam will persuade him properly. He's still young. A temporary setback is nothing.

"Madam should tell him this as well: His Majesty has never stopped thinking of him."

Feng Guan'er dipped in acknowledgment. "Yes. I'll remember."

"Ah!"

Mo Gao shook his head as he left.

If Luo Zhao continued like this, how was he supposed to return to the battlefield?

After seeing the guest off, Feng Guan'er came back and found Luo Zhao already half sprawled across the steps.

Alarmed, she hurried over and snatched the wine jug from his hand.

"Stop drinking!"

Luo Zhao reached toward her with bleary drunken eyes. "Give it back. Bitch... give it back!"

Feng Guan'er caught his hand and crouched in front of him.

She began to cry.

"No matter what happens, you can't abandon yourself like this. Where are all your ambitions? You once said you would help Great Song unify all beneath Heaven!

"Chief Eunuch Mo is right. One setback truly doesn't mean anything. Pull yourself together. You still have a chance to return. I'll do everything I can to help you, but you can't keep living like this."

Luo Zhao's unfocused eyes opened a little wider, as though he had sobered slightly.

"You'll help me? You mean that without you, I'm nothing, is that it?

"That's true enough. Without you, I'd still be sitting in a prison cell right now."

Feng Guan'er shook her head. "No. That isn't what I mean. I believe in your ability."

But Luo Zhao remained fixated on an entirely different question.

"Where exactly did you go?"

Pain crossed Feng Guan'er's face.

It was not that she could never tell him.

She did not dare tell him now.

If Luo Zhao learned the truth in his present condition, he would die.

He would throw everything away and rush off to fight someone.

And under the current circumstances, who would help Luo Zhao travel all the way to Maolu Villa in Yan to make trouble?

If he went there himself, wouldn't he simply be going to his death?

When she refused to answer, Luo Zhao reached for the wine jug again.

As they struggled over it, Luo Zhao suddenly slapped her across the face.

Then, taking advantage of the movement, he kicked her to the ground.

Feng Guan'er clung to the wine jug and refused to release it.

Luo Zhao kicked her several more times.

"Stop!"

A Lingxiao Pavilion disciple assigned to guard the residence flashed over and shoved Luo Zhao away.

"Luo Zhao, don't go too far!"

"Me? Going too far? Heh..."

Luo Zhao muttered to himself with a face full of self-mockery, then staggered away.

What had happened?

Even if Feng Guan'er refused to speak, he had already guessed.

He wanted to know who the man was.

Yet Feng Guan'er protected that man so fiercely that she refused to say.

His heart was desolate.

Successful from youth, high-spirited, seated in lofty rank, he had once drawn his sword and looked across the world, speaking grandly of matching himself against every hero beneath Heaven.

Who could have imagined one war would overturn everything?

First he met Meng Shanming and suffered a crushing defeat.

Then he faced Jin Jue and could do nothing against him.

And when he turned around, he discovered his own woman had been with another man.

Remembering how he had once judged and discussed the heroes beneath Heaven—wasn't it all absurd?

He had discovered that he himself was nothing but a joke.

He still remembered his interrogation.

Someone had pointed at his nose and cursed him, saying war was dangerous and a war between states must never be started lightly, saying he had harmed the state and brought disaster to the people.

He had never suffered a setback like this in his life.

Then, once they came, they arrived one after another.

The blows had shaken him deeply.

"How did it become like this? How did it become like this..."

Feng Guan'er lay on the ground clutching the wine jug, weeping bitterly.

The Lingxiao Pavilion disciple helped her to her feet, his face full of sympathy.

He seemed to want to say something but held himself back.

Luo Zhao had been drinking without end lately.

Every time he became drunk, he beat Feng Guan'er.

These Lingxiao Pavilion disciples truly could no longer bear watching it.

But what could they do?

The two were husband and wife.

Even an upright official found it difficult to judge household affairs.

They could hardly cripple or kill Feng Guan'er's husband simply to vent their anger.

...

After turning back, the assembled cultivators of the Four Seas spread out across a broad front and began sweeping back the way they had come, drawing the net closed as they searched for the forces of the Seven States.

With so much manpower now helping him, Niu Youdao was no longer isolated and weak.

The taut string in his heart finally relaxed considerably.

With only the four of them, taking first place in this expedition would have been impossible.

Of course, the Four Seas had suffered heavy losses too.

After the Seven States had tormented them so badly, they had lost nearly five hundred people and had only around fifteen hundred remaining.

During one pause along the road, the four leaders of the Four Seas exchanged secret glances and gradually wandered aside together.

"What are all of you sneaking around for?" Hong Gaitian asked.

Fuhua tilted her head and glanced toward Niu Youdao beneath a nearby tree.

Her voice dropped.

"Find Yan's people first."

The others exchanged looks.

According to the strategy Niu Youdao had proposed earlier, they were not to touch Jin first.

Those thorns from Jin were certain to rob other people later. They were too useful for creating friction among the Seven States. Better to let Jin consume the others.

Meanwhile, this side could not sit idle either.

Time was precious.

They should begin with the weaker targets.

Zhao, for example.

Given the blood feud between Niu Youdao and Zhao, the moment Niu Youdao showed himself alone, Zhao's people would inevitably chase him.

It would be easy to lure them into an encirclement.

As Niu Youdao had said, that was the advantage of joining forces with him.

No one would imagine that Niu Youdao, in his present predicament, could still gather such a large force of helpers.

Anyone who saw him would pursue him without concern.

That made the bait almost certain to succeed.

But judging from Fuhua's words, she clearly had another thought.

Lang Jingkong asked, "Fuhua, what do you mean?"

Fuhua said, "Niu Youdao is from Yan."

Hong Gaitian said, "We don't need you to remind us of that."

"Even if he takes first place here, he still has to return to Yan. He cannot possibly abandon the foundation he built there."

Duan Wuchang's sinister voice followed. "What exactly are you trying to say?"

Fuhua said, "Who can guarantee he isn't setting a trap for us? Who can guarantee he isn't secretly on the same side as Yan?

"Are we simply going to believe whatever he says?

"Suppose we help him batter the other states almost into ruin, and then he turns around and joins Yan to attack us. What then?"

The others fell into thought.

They understood what she meant.

...

Once the Four Seas forces had retraced their path to a certain region, their manpower spread out into a long line.

They began waiting like hunters beside a rabbit trail, establishing observation points and preparing to determine the positions of the Seven States.

Niu Youdao remained with his sworn siblings.

He knew nothing about the details of the net being cast.

He did not know which state had been found or which had not.

All of that intelligence was controlled by the Four Seas.

Some time later, one of the scouts returned with a report.

Hong Gaitian soon found Niu Youdao, looking very serious.

"Little Brother, a target has appeared."

"Oh!"

Niu Youdao immediately came alive.

After all this trouble, they were finally about to begin.

The group rapidly assembled its manpower and rushed toward the target.

Someone was secretly shadowing the target itself, leaving trail markers along the route so the main force could follow.

The region was too vast.

Finding people was difficult.

Even after a target had been located, reaching it took a great deal of time.

Only two full days later did they finally arrive near the target's position.

As they approached, the group concealed itself in a dense forest and observed the cultivators searching for Spirit Seeds nearby.

After only a moment, Niu Youdao realized something was wrong.

He looked back.

"Yan's people?"

How could he fail to recognize them?

The figures moving back and forth searching for Spirit Seeds were disciples of Zijin Cave.

Even if he ignored their faces, their sect robes were unmistakable.

Hong Gaitian immediately turned and scolded the man who had guided them over.

"How did you handle this? You can't even tell Yan's people from Zhao's?"

"My mistake. My mistake."

The guide apologized repeatedly.

Hong Gaitian turned back to Niu Youdao.

"Little Brother, a round trip like this isn't easy. Since we're already here, why don't we start with Yan?"

Niu Youdao frowned.

Then he noticed Fuhua and the others all watching him.

His brows slowly relaxed.

He seemed to understand something.

Could these people truly not know which faction they had been tracking?

Zijin Cave's clothing was this obvious.

They had followed the group for so long.

How could anyone mistake them for Zhao?

Niu Youdao gave a cold laugh.

"You don't trust me. You're testing me?"

Wu Zhaoxing, Yun Ji, and Yun Huan immediately became vigilant, quietly watching the surroundings.

Hong Gaitian started, "Little Brother, listen to you..."

Fuhua raised a hand, signaling there was no need to explain.

She took over directly.

"Little Brother, are you truly with us, or are you with Yan? At the very least, we need to understand that clearly. Don't you agree?"

Niu Youdao said, "So you deliberately brought me to Yan's people? Elder Sister, you're making things difficult for me."

Fuhua smiled beautifully. "That makes no sense to me. Aren't you trying to take first place?

"We've decided to work ourselves to the bone helping you fight, kill, and seize what you need. How does that become making things difficult for you?"

Niu Youdao said, "I'm a cultivator of Yan. I still need to establish myself there afterward. If I take matters too far, I'm afraid I won't be able to go back."

Fuhua's smile remained shallow and charming.

"Doesn't that contradict what you said before?

"If you want first place, then naturally the more Spirit Seeds you obtain, the better. If you spare these people, you're increasing your own risk.

"We're risking our heads to help you. We can't be expected to work for nothing, can we?"

[End of Chapter 794]