Chapter 844: Turmoil Erupts

Xiaoyue Pavilion's emergence into the open—and the ambitions it revealed—caught many people completely by surprise.

Yet even more astonishing developments followed.

Generals from various states who had taken leave or suddenly vanished began appearing in Zhao, one after another, under the commands of Tian Zhengyang and Ma Chang'an.

After purging the officers and key personnel beneath them, Tian and Ma naturally created a large number of vacancies.

Although many men had been promoted from below to stabilize morale, quite a few posts remained open. Important positions could not simply be filled by whoever happened to be available.

Those missing generals now used their military ability to fill precisely those gaps.

Even more shocking was that all of them shared one identity.

Every one was a student of the renowned Mr. Yucang!

And Mr. Yucang himself, famous throughout the realm, apparently no longer intended to conceal anything.

He openly appeared among Tian Zhengyang and Ma Chang'an's armies and within the territories they controlled, looking vigorous and full of spirit.

...

Inside Misty Pavilion, Sha Rulai sat behind a desk holding the compiled reports his subordinates had submitted regarding Xiaoyue Pavilion and Niu Youdao.

He could not help giving a cold laugh.

"One after another... they truly know how to play."

Looking down from above and watching everyone beneath Heaven perform their tricks could, at times, be rather entertaining.

He had long known Mr. Yucang's true identity.

Misty Pavilion had also noticed Xiaoyue Pavilion's unusual movements inside Zhao a year earlier.

There were many things Misty Pavilion had already seen through with complete clarity.

Whether it was the preparations Xiaoyue Pavilion had made before acting, or the sealed letters Niu Youdao had sent through Wuliang Mountain to make his various arrangements, Misty Pavilion knew all of it.

They had already predicted in advance exactly what Xiaoyue Pavilion and Niu Youdao intended to do.

Perhaps the people involved still thought themselves terribly clever.

A trace of mockery appeared at the corner of Sha Rulai's mouth.

...

After receiving the news, Shang Chaozong and Meng Shanming sat inside the central command tent and stared at one another in speechless silence for quite some time.

"Master Dao is the teacher of Mr. Yucang's nephew!" Shang Chaozong suddenly said, sounding caught between laughter and disbelief as he broke the silence.

Meng Shanming gave a bitter smile as well. "So that's how it is. Master Dao had already been colluding with that side long ago!"

The mystery that had previously left both men unable to understand anything now seemed finally to have an answer.

Shang Chaozong sighed with deep feeling. "Never in my dreams did I imagine that the renowned Mr. Yucang was actually a man of Xiaoyue Pavilion."

"From the intelligence our agents have gathered, his rank within Xiaoyue Pavilion seems anything but low. He might even be the mysterious Pavilion Master himself!"

Meng Shanming sighed. "Whether that is true still cannot be confirmed. Master Dao should know. He would never take such an enormous risk without understanding the other side's background."

"We can ask him later. Whether he will tell us is another question."

Meng Shanming shook his head.

After dealing with Niu Youdao for so long, he naturally knew that when the man did not want to speak, asking was pointless.

...

"You were right. This time, Zhao truly is in danger. I never imagined Niu Youdao had colluded so deeply with Xiaoyue Pavilion."

Inside Jin's imperial palace, Taishu Xiong stood by the railing of a pavilion and gave a long sigh.

Shao Pingbo stood slightly behind him, jaw tight.

He had not expected matters to turn out this way either.

He clearly remembered that Xiaoyue Pavilion had once wanted Niu Youdao dead.

How had the relationship suddenly become this?

He also remembered very clearly that he himself had once been the person secretly working with Xiaoyue Pavilion.

For a long period, he had maintained cooperation with them.

Only later had his power in Beizhou collapsed.

Back then, he had constantly wondered what Xiaoyue Pavilion ultimately intended to use him for.

Now he finally had his answer.

Most likely, Xiaoyue Pavilion had once intended to use him in exactly the same way it was now using Niu Youdao.

Had their cooperation proceeded smoothly, everything Niu Youdao possessed today should have been his.

Unfortunately, he had lost.

He was no longer the best partner.

So Xiaoyue Pavilion had waited for the right opportunity and placed its wager on Niu Youdao instead.

"When Maolu Villa was attacked back then, those mysterious experts who protected and helped Niu Youdao should have been Xiaoyue Pavilion's people. I should have realized it earlier."

Shao Pingbo gave a quiet sigh.

The emotions in his voice were difficult to describe.

"Mm." Taishu Xiong nodded slightly.

His own mood, however, differed from Shao Pingbo's.

A calculating light flickered in his eyes.

"Earlier I thought Niu Youdao was joking. I even laughed at him for claiming he had a mighty army with which to join forces with me."

"Now it appears the army he spoke of was this one."

"Heh. Interesting. It seems I really should consider cooperating with him."

Shao Pingbo seemed about to speak.

In the end, he held his tongue.

This was no longer his Beizhou.

Every word and action here came with constraints...

Xiaoyue Pavilion's sudden uprising forced far more than these people into realization.

Many others abruptly understood as well.

So this was why Niu Youdao had insisted on reigniting the war against Zhao.

Everyone beneath Heaven knew of Niu Youdao's relationship with Mr. Yucang.

The two sides had plainly joined forces.

...

"Supreme General, what is the meaning of this?"

Behind the imperial desk, Hao Yuntu rose, walked around the desk, and held out a memorial toward Huyan Wuhen standing below.

The memorial had been submitted by Huyan Wuhen.

It was a petition to resign.

Once news of Xiaoyue Pavilion broke, once Mr. Yucang's identity emerged, and once the involvement of generals from various states became known, Huyan Wuhen too was implicated.

He was also a student of Mr. Yucang.

Recently, he had already noticed additional people appearing around him.

They remained half hidden, half visible.

Put plainly, the imperial court had sent people to keep watch on him.

Although Huyan Wuhen felt some dissatisfaction over it, he could understand the court's fear.

After the examples set by those other generals, the implications surrounding Huyan Wuhen were terrifying if one thought too deeply about them.

He was Qi's Supreme General.

The strongest military forces in the state were under his command.

He therefore acted on his own initiative and submitted a resignation, voluntarily offering to relinquish military authority.

The memorial left Hao Yuntu feeling distinctly displeased.

The troops under Huyan Wuhen had all been trained by the man himself.

If he truly intended to rebel, what use would resignation serve?

Even if he no longer held office, one casual summons from him might still bring followers swarming from every direction and plunge Qi into immediate chaos.

Now Huyan Wuhen stood respectfully below and said, "Everyone knows of this subject's relationship with Mr. Yucang. When Mr. Yucang previously lived in the Qi capital for a long period, this subject frequently associated with him."

"The matter is too serious. This subject should avoid suspicion."

"Avoid suspicion?" Hao Yuntu asked. "If your conscience is clear, why should you need to avoid suspicion?"

"Then let me ask the Supreme General directly: have you ever entered into any improper conspiracy with Mr. Yucang?"

Huyan Wuhen said, "This subject is terrified. I swear to Heaven that between Mr. Yucang and me there was only the relationship of teacher and student. There was absolutely no illicit conspiracy."

Hao Yuntu asked again, "Will you abandon Qi, or create disorder within Qi?"

Huyan Wuhen answered, "This subject has spent his entire life fighting to defend Qi. My own person, my family, our fortune and misfortune, honor and disgrace—all are bound to Qi. I will never betray Qi!"

Hao Yuntu looked greatly reassured.

"If that is so, why resign?"

"Mr. Yucang and his kind deceive the world and steal reputations. What they seek is no more than what men of their sort can obtain. Which of them can compare with the Supreme General?"

"He can only recruit men of ordinary standing. The Supreme General has already risen to the highest rank a minister can hold. Even if you changed places elsewhere, you could scarcely equal what you possess today."

"I do not believe the Supreme General would throw away a lifetime of fame and become a traitor. Nor do I believe you would betray Great Qi."

"So I do not approve your resignation. Do not raise the matter again!"

He reached out, took Huyan Wuhen's hand, and pushed the memorial back into it.

Huyan Wuhen stepped back, bowed with cupped hands, and answered loudly, "This subject obeys the decree!"

Hao Yuntu continued, "I know some of your concerns. My trust in you is one thing, but the mouths of the crowd are another. Criticism from court officials cannot be avoided."

"Certain things still have to be done for appearances' sake, so everyone can receive an explanation. Something like this has happened. We cannot simply pretend nothing occurred."

"The court will need the Supreme General's cooperation in certain investigations and precautions concerning personnel within the army."

"Here, I swear before Heaven, before every ancestor of the Hao clan, and before all living beings of the grasslands: so long as the Supreme General does not betray Great Qi, and so long as I live one more day, the glory of the Huyan clan will endure. I will never betray this promise!"

His words carried imposing force.

Huyan Wuhen again replied loudly, "This subject obeys the decree!"

Once the matter was concluded, Huyan Wuhen withdrew.

After he left, Hao Yuntu's expression twisted slightly.

That Mr. Yucang had deceived him miserably.

He had even personally bought Mr. Yucang's residence.

The thought itself was ridiculous.

After suppressing the anger in his heart, Hao Yuntu called, "Bu Xun!"

Chief Steward Bu Xun moved closer to await orders.

Hao Yuntu slowly said, "Anyone in the military who has ties to Mr. Yucang is to be seized and thoroughly investigated!"

Bu Xun looked startled and uncertain. "The Supreme General as well...?"

"Fool!" Hao Yuntu rebuked him.

His voice sank.

"Huyan Wuhen cannot be touched recklessly. Touch him and disaster will follow. Do not act rashly. Investigate him only in secret!"

In the end, Hao Yuntu was still afraid.

His earlier claim that Mr. Yucang could recruit only ordinary men had been merely words.

Were Tian Zhengyang and Ma Chang'an not senior ministers of Zhao?

If they were not trusted key men of Zhao's imperial court, how could they ever have been allowed to command a million troops each?

Yet even they had become men of Xiaoyue Pavilion.

The crucial point was that Huyan Wuhen's influence within Qi's military was simply too great.

Even Qi's three great sects did not dare act recklessly against him.

Hao Yuntu himself had gone to great lengths to marry one of his daughters into the Huyan clan precisely to bind the family closer.

Moving against Huyan Wuhen rashly would certainly create trouble.

If those unruly battle generals who had crawled out from piles of corpses were truly provoked, they would not care much whether a man was emperor or not.

An emperor could be dragged down from his throne too.

"Yes." Bu Xun accepted the order and was about to leave.

"Wait." Hao Yuntu stopped him and added, "That Niu Youdao—contact him!"

Unease had appeared in Hao Yuntu's heart as well.

When Niu Youdao threatened Qi earlier, he had not taken it seriously at all.

Now he realized his own judgment had been wrong.

Niu Youdao really had produced a mighty army right beside Qi.

If that madman began acting recklessly against Qi, the trouble could become serious.

At present, Hao Yuntu still could not determine the exact relationship of authority between Niu Youdao and Xiaoyue Pavilion.

To prevent that lunatic from doing anything rash, it seemed necessary to soothe him properly.

...

Qi was not alone.

Every state connected to Mr. Yucang immediately began detaining, isolating, and even arresting relevant personnel.

Many were innocent.

They had merely shared a teacher-student connection with Mr. Yucang.

The men Mr. Yucang truly could recruit had already extricated themselves before events erupted and gone to his side.

Mr. Yucang would never allow people he had carefully cultivated to suffer this calamity.

Conversely, those he could not recruit were not people whose lives he cared much about.

The moment Xiaoyue Pavilion raised its banner, those so-called students had already lost their value.

For a time, no one knew how many innocent people suffered disaster because of it...

On a street in the Qi capital, at the mouth of an alley, an old woman walked unsteadily with a cane before leaning against a wall as though she could go no farther.

Every so often, her raised gaze drifted toward one courtyard inside the alley.

She was none other than Yan Baoru, disguised with extreme care.

The residence she was watching was occupied by Wuxin, disciple of the legendary Ghost Doctor.

After escaping Tiandu Peak, Yan Baoru had hidden and evaded pursuit throughout her journey until she reached the Qi capital.

The reason was simple.

Rumor said the Ghost Doctor's disciple lived here.

Yan Baoru had been poisoned by the Spirit-Torment Pill.

If anyone besides Xiaoyue Pavilion might be able to cure the poison, then perhaps only the elusive Ghost Doctor could do so.

Countless people beneath Heaven wanted to find the Ghost Doctor and could not.

Yan Baoru naturally had no way to locate him either.

Her only option was to come for the Ghost Doctor's disciple.

Before this, she had still harbored some faint doubt over whether she had truly been poisoned by the Spirit-Torment Pill at all.

But after Xiaoyue Pavilion emerged into the open and the connection between Mr. Yucang and Niu Youdao became clear, the last hope in her heart sank completely.

Now, finding an antidote was not the only reason she needed the Ghost Doctor's disciple.

She wanted to place herself under his protection as well.

She truly had nowhere else to go.

If she wanted the three neutral sects or anyone else to spare her life, perhaps only the Ghost Doctor's reputation carried enough weight.

[End of Chapter 844]