Chapter 816: Suspicion Breeds Ghosts

The men looked at one another. Perhaps they were worried about the difficulty of the task; from time to time they also glanced cautiously around the area.

“There’s no need to worry,” Niu Youdao said. “Our people are guarding the surroundings. We’ll know the moment anyone approaches.”

Afraid they might not fully understand, or that they might make a mistake in execution, he carefully explained in more detail what they were to do after returning.

Once they truly understood how the operation was supposed to work, the men secretly breathed easier. Done that way, it indeed posed little danger. One after another, they nodded and agreed.

Ji Yude said, “We still have to go back and report. We can’t be away too long. If you have no other instructions, we’ll leave first.”

Niu Youdao raised a hand, signaling that there was no hurry. Before they left, he gave them a sincere warning. “I don’t want to see anything happen to you. Once the fire starts, don’t get involved in the fighting. Break away immediately and come to my side. I’ll arrange people to receive you. Use the same old contact method.”

“You can rest assured that when we leave the Tiandu Secret Realm, I’ll arrange for people to take you out with us. You don’t need to worry about how to face the factions you’re with after we get out either. Just say you were scattered during the fighting and pursuit.”

“There’s one more thing. After everything that’s happened, all of you are at some risk of exposure. There’s no need to keep carrying that danger. Once we get out, immediately separate yourselves from the respective camps you currently belong to. If you’re willing, you can come to my Nanzhou.”

One man smiled bitterly. “As long as we don’t leave, we can still try to conceal things. If we truly break away, though, our identities may really be exposed. At the very least, the relevant sides will investigate us. Under the organization’s rules, if we’re exposed, will the people above really allow us to run around openly?”

“Don’t worry about the people above you. I’ll step forward and settle that matter for you. Your superiors will still give me that much face. It’s a small matter, nothing serious.”

Your superiors? The men exchanged glances, apparently surprised.

Ji Yude asked, “You’re not one of the organization’s people?”

“No.” Niu Youdao answered directly. “After we get out, your organization is about to undergo a major change. To put it plainly, your organization is about to surface publicly and will need Nanzhou’s strength to help it. That is also why your superiors ordered you to help me at any cost.”

“So long as I speak, your organization will not dare refuse me. If any of you are burdened by the Spirit-Torment Pill, leave the matter of the antidote to me. As for whether I can truly remove the problem completely, I’ll find a way later. In any case, your antidote supply will not be cut off.”

“Of course, this is only my personal suggestion. I won’t force any of you to decide one way or another. Anyone willing to come to Nanzhou is welcome.”

“If trouble arises during the process, then so long as you’ve decided to come to Nanzhou and are willing to trust me, I’ll handle every problem for you. You won’t need to worry about any of it.”

“Whatever you decide, once the matter succeeds, leave the camps you’re currently in immediately. Otherwise you’ll be in danger. I don’t want to accidentally catch any of you in what comes next.”

“That’s all. You shouldn’t stay here long. Go.”

The men silently absorbed his words. Then all of them cupped their fists and quickly departed.

Once they were gone, Niu Youdao beckoned Situ Yao over and told him to arrange for the people of Myriad Caves Heavenly Mansion to receive those agents when they came.

He had not said those things merely for show, nor had he been trying only to reassure the men so they would do their jobs properly. They truly had helped him enormously.

Whatever Xiaoyue Pavilion’s reasons might have been, if these people had not risked their lives to help him, he would have been in serious trouble. At the very least, things would never have gone this smoothly.

Now that there was no longer any need to worry about others discovering the secret meeting here, Fuhua and Lang Jingkong also came over.

Fuhua asked, “What’s the situation over there?”

“A bit of trouble.” Niu Youdao told them the situation. “The seven states never broke into a major fight. Jin, Han, and Song joined forces to wipe out Zhao, and now the three of them are jointly sealing off the Secret Realm exit.”

At this point, there was no longer any benefit in keeping such matters from them.

The others’ hearts sank as they listened. Even with Zhao gone, and even counting the factions their own side had already destroyed, the seven states still retained considerable strength. Their own force simply was not strong enough to break through.

Fuhua ground her teeth. “This is more than a bit of trouble. This is a huge problem!”

“It isn’t as bad as you think,” Niu Youdao said. “They don’t know our situation. We understand theirs and have a grasp of what they’re doing. They’re in the light, while we’re in the dark. That is our advantage.”

Fuhua said, “Little brother, stop refusing to give up. With them joining forces to blockade the exit, forget carrying that first-place ranking out with you.”

Niu Youdao answered with absolute certainty, “As long as I keep the Spirit Seeds in their hands from being pooled together, I still have a chance at first place!”

He turned to Situ Yao. “The Secret Realm journey is nearing its end. I believe the people of Yan, Wei, and Qi should also be close to this area by now. Spread people out and search. I need to see Zijin Cave Elder Yan Li.”

Situ Yao pulled a face. “Search where? With no direction at all, how are we supposed to find them? What if they haven’t arrived yet?”

“Use fire to make contact.”

Fire again? Several people were speechless.

Only afterward did they understand what he meant.

Niu Youdao and Yan Li had already arranged a final contact method and agreed on the timing. Yan Li would definitely arrive no later than half a month before the exit opened. So long as Niu Youdao’s side spread people out and lit fires in different places, no matter where Yan Li was, the moment he saw three columns of smoke rising, he would follow the markers left behind and come looking.

...

“Brother Taishu, don’t you feel something’s a little off with the people from Han and Song?”

“What’s off about them?”

“I keep getting the feeling those two sides are furtively watching us. They don’t look like allies at all. They look more like they’re guarding against us. Do you really think they intend to cooperate with us to secure the rankings? I get the sense they don’t care much about the rankings at all. It feels more like they’re just stalling us until the exit opens so they can run.”

“If they’re merely using us, that’s one thing. But if someone attacks when the time comes and they abandon us and flee, or even join someone else against us, then we’ll be in serious trouble.”

“You’re thinking too much.”

“I’m not. Brother Taishu, look over there. Pay attention.”

Ji Yude pulled a Qiyun Sect disciple aside and murmured to him, pointing in a particular direction. The disciple naturally followed his gesture and began observing carefully.

...

“Brother Wei, can Jin really be trusted?”

“What happened?”

“Everyone knows what sort of people Qiyun Sect are. Joining forces with them feels like bargaining with a tiger for its skin. I’ve noticed Jin’s people always sneaking around and probing our side. They wouldn’t be planning to attack us for the sake of first place, would they?”

On Han’s side, someone was likewise pulling a Baichuan Valley disciple aside and pointing out suspicious behavior.

All of it was the work of Xiaoyue Pavilion’s agents under Niu Youdao’s instructions.

The key was that the agents planted in the different camps were coordinating with one another. One side deliberately made suspicious movements for the other side to see, while the other side cooperated by making equally suspicious movements in return.

The people planted among all three camps seized every opportunity to whisper their suspicions to those around them. Certain things spread from person to person on their own.

With insiders stirring trouble like this, it would have been difficult for tension not to grow among the three sides.

If the three parties had truly been of one heart, perhaps the matter could have been easily dispelled. The problem was that none of them truly trusted the others.

Suspicion breeds ghosts.

Once suspicion took root, vigilance naturally followed. Changes in defensive deployment became unavoidable. The moment one side adjusted its people, that movement would provoke a reaction from another.

As the three sides repeatedly stimulated one another, the atmosphere among them grew stranger and stranger. Whenever they looked at the others, each side seemed able to see hostility in the other’s eyes.

...

“Brother Shi Ru, Brother Dao, Brother Cheng, Brother Fu. All four of you are here?”

After men below noticed the four meeting together, Taishu Shanyue immediately came over from Jin’s camp and greeted them cheerfully.

“Brother Taishu!” The four likewise smiled and cupped their hands in greeting.

Shi Ru asked with a smile, “Brother Taishu, is something the matter?”

“What? Can’t I come see you unless I have business?” Taishu Shanyue jabbed at them with apparent implication. “Or are the four of you discussing something you’re hiding from me?”

A moment later, his face turned cheerful again. “There is one small matter. The three neutral sects still haven’t given us any explanation about that anonymous warning letter from before. Shouldn’t we go ask them about it together?”

Fu Juyan sighed. “What is there to ask? If they intend to give us an explanation, they’ll give one. If they don’t, asking won’t accomplish anything.”

No matter what Taishu Shanyue said, the people of Han and Song felt there was no need to go provoking the three neutral sects over the matter.

After finally sending Taishu Shanyue away, Dao Wufeng said heavily, “What would be the point of questioning those three sects again? That old fellow wouldn’t still be thinking of making a move against them, would he?”

“Without cooperation from our two states, I doubt Jin would dare act recklessly on its own,” Cheng Mantang said. “What worries me now is us. Everyone knows what sort of sect Qiyun Sect is. If Yan, Wei, and Qi refuse to appear and insist on dragging things out until just before the exit closes... if that old fellow loses hope completely, he might turn on us instead.”

“Hard to say,” Shi Ru said. “We suggested settling for second best by pooling the Spirit Seeds from our three sides to secure a ranking, and he refused no matter what. That alone shows how desperate he is for first place. If he truly gets driven into a corner, there’s no telling what he might do. Gentlemen, we cannot afford not to guard against him.”

...

Elsewhere, Taishu Shanyue returned to Jin’s camp and slammed a fist into a tree trunk with a heavy thud.

A Qiyun Sect disciple cautiously asked, “Ninth Uncle, how did the probing go?”

Taishu Shanyue’s face was gloomy. “They were evasive before, and I already thought this lot couldn’t be trusted. Just now, I invited them to go ask the three sects about it, and they refused even that. They simply don’t want to invite any trouble. Counting on them to join hands with us is likely to be drawing water with a bamboo basket—nothing will come of it.”

The disciple frowned. “Something really is wrong with those two sides. They’ve clearly been adjusting their manpower in secret and deploying against us. If Yan, Wei, and Qi truly hold enough Spirit Seeds to have an advantage, they may wait until the final moment before appearing.”

“Even if they wait until the exit opens, once those two sides run, with Jin alone we won’t just have trouble taking anything from Yan, Wei, and Qi. We may not even be able to stop them from leaving.”

Resentment appeared on Taishu Shanyue’s face. “I treated them with complete sincerity. We split Zhao’s Spirit Seeds evenly with them! We hold more Spirit Seeds than they do, yet I still voluntarily agreed to divide Misty Pavilion’s reward equally with them! I’ve treated them this generously, and they still want to scheme against me. If this can be endured, what cannot?”

The disciple hurriedly advised him, “Ninth Uncle, you must not act impulsively. Those two sides are clearly joining together to guard against us. If fighting breaks out, we’ll suffer heavy losses as well and only let others benefit!”

[End of Chapter 816]