Chapter 867: I'm Counting on You

After joining forces with the Tian and Ma rebels, the two sides had nearly seven million troops between them, hemming Zhao's main army tightly inside a single region.

Victory was in sight. Zhao's destruction seemed imminent. Then came more good news: Feng Ruonan had given birth to a son.

Good fortune seemed to be arriving one thing after another.

The generals gathered inside Shang Chaozong's tent were drinking and celebrating without restraint, saying things like the young prince being born at such a time was an auspicious sign.

They had not been celebrating for long when the disastrous news that followed came down over their heads like a basin of cold water.

Everyone was stunned.

The young prince had been abducted almost as soon as he was born?

The Commandery Princess had been taken too?

Shang Chaozong braced both fists against the table. His breathing had grown noticeably heavy.

The message said Zhao was responsible. At a time like this, did anyone even need to guess what Zhao intended?

The expressions of the generals all turned grave.

"Invite the Sect Leaders of the three great sects here," Shang Chaozong said in a low voice.

The final decisive battle was imminent, and the Sect Leaders of all three great sects were already gathered here.

One general, guessing Shang Chaozong wanted to ask the three sects to think of a solution, reached out and stopped the messenger before warning him, "Your Highness, Zhao has resorted to such despicable means. Their intent could not be clearer. They want to force Your Highness to withdraw the army."

"If the three great sects learn of this, they will not care about the lives of the young prince and the Commandery Princess. They will never allow Zhao's plan to succeed."

"So long as the situation remains in our own hands, we may still have room to maneuver. Once the three great sects are involved, the young prince and the Commandery Princess will truly be in danger."

How could Shang Chaozong fail to understand that?

His voice sank.

"Go invite them!"

The general's suggestion had been rejected. The messenger immediately ran out.

Meng Shanming sat nearby in his wheelchair, grave-faced and silently stroking his beard. Suddenly, he spoke.

"Quickly invite Master Dao as well."

...

"Master Dao, something's happened! The young prince and the Commandery Princess have been abducted by Zhao!"

Guan Fangyi threw open the tent flap and rushed inside with the alarmed report.

Niu Youdao, sitting cross-legged in meditation, abruptly opened his eyes. His palms rose, then pressed down over his dantian as he brought his cultivation to a halt.

"Young prince?" he asked suspiciously.

Guan Fangyi hurriedly explained, "News just reached His Highness. The Princess Consort has already given birth. Not long after the young prince was born, a group attacked the Prince's residence and carried off both him and the Commandery Princess."

"The Prince's residence says the attackers were from Zhao. His Highness wants Master Dao to come over."

Niu Youdao was shocked.

He rose swiftly, picked up his sword, and strode from the tent.

Just as he reached the central command tent, he ran into the three Sect Leaders approaching in haste. No one wasted time on courtesies. They entered together.

The moment Niu Youdao saw Shang Chaozong, he asked, "Has the matter been confirmed?"

Meng Shanming replied, "There should be no mistake. We've already sent a message back asking them to verify everything once more."

Long Xiu sighed. "It's confirmed. I received word as well. The Supreme Elder my Xiaoyao Palace stationed at the Prince's residence was killed."

Niu Youdao found the whole thing difficult to understand.

"The Prince's residence is a critical stronghold in the army's rear, the center directing all logistical preparations. We're in wartime. The three great sects sent large numbers of experts to reinforce its defenses, troops outside are maintained at battle readiness, and the residence itself has measures in place for every kind of emergency."

"No one could approach without being detected. Even in a surprise attack, the defenders should have been able to delay the enemy for at least a moment and buy enough time for key people to escape."

"Those emergency measures should have been more than enough to protect them. How did one adult and one infant get captured so easily?"

"Did anyone clearly identify the attackers?"

As he spoke, his cold gaze swept across the three Sect Leaders.

There was unmistakable suspicion in his eyes. He was wondering whether someone on the inside had played a part.

Long Xiu replied, "Only one was positively identified, a Supreme Elder of Luoxia Villa. The disciples didn't recognize the others, but all of them were very old."

"According to the reports from the Prince's residence, there were not many attackers, only a dozen or so, but every one of them was a top expert. The defenders were beaten so badly they could hardly resist."

"Judging from the circumstances, if their cultivation was that high and most of our disciples had never seen them before, they were likely long-secluded experts from Zhao."

"Most likely, the Supreme Elders of all three Zhao sects came out in full strength. Otherwise, barely a dozen people could never have caught the Prince's residence defenses so completely off guard, and our own Supreme Elder would never have died so easily without even finding a chance to escape."

Meng Xuan drew a sharp breath.

"More than a dozen of Zhao's old monsters all came out together, just for this?"

He found it almost absurd.

To mobilize a force like that merely to abduct two people of this sort, one would almost have to be insane. What use were the hostages?

Did they truly expect two hostages to force concessions from this side?

With interests this enormous at stake, the three great sects would never agree.

Gong Lince gave a cold snort.

"Taking a newborn infant hostage. To think they could stoop to something so despicable!"

Niu Youdao remained silent, brows furrowed.

The situation had truly been beyond expectations.

Security around the Prince's residence had already been strengthened, yet no one had imagined Zhao would resort to a move like this. To a certain extent, they had still been careless.

But given the actual circumstances, Feng Ruonan had been about to give birth. They could hardly have made a heavily pregnant woman follow an army constantly on the move.

If he had known this would happen, perhaps it would have been better to send her directly into one of the three great sects' mountain gates.

Then again, that might not have been safe either. With Zhao's three sects sending out all their highest-level experts in a surprise attack, even the sect grounds of Yan's three great sects might not have been secure.

Send her somewhere like Star-Plucking City?

There was no point thinking about what should have been done.

The matter had already become troublesome.

Strictly speaking, it was not troublesome at all if one considered only the overall situation.

They could simply ignore it.

But if they did, both the child and Shang Shuqing would unquestionably die.

After thinking for a long while, Niu Youdao sighed.

"Your Highness doesn't need to panic too much. If they truly fell into Zhao's hands, the Commandery Princess and the young prince should not be in immediate danger."

Shang Chaozong's face was iron-gray.

How could he not panic?

Setting his own younger sister aside, his newborn son—whom he had not even seen once—might already lose his life.

Inside, his emotions were rolling like a stormy sea.

Everyone discussed the matter for some time, but no good solution emerged.

The hostages were already in enemy hands.

There was no possibility of simply snatching them back.

"There's no point saying too much right now," Meng Xuan said. "If the people truly fell into their hands, Zhao will not stop at merely taking hostages. They will certainly make a demand."

"At present, all we can do is wait and see what they want, then decide how to respond."

He offered a few words of consolation, then exchanged a look with Long Xiu and Gong Lince.

The two understood immediately.

They knew he had something to discuss privately, so they left with him.

Niu Youdao noticed the exchange.

He could almost guess what the three men intended to discuss: they would unify their position and refuse to let a pair of hostages interfere with their larger plans.

After the three Sect Leaders left, Niu Youdao turned to the generals in the tent, all of whom were sighing anxiously.

"You should withdraw for now. I have something to say to His Highness and Marshal Meng."

"Yes."

The generals cupped their hands and departed one after another.

Once no outsiders remained, Niu Youdao immediately said to Shang Chaozong, "Your Highness, contact Lan Ruoting at once. Confirm whether the Supreme Elder from Xiaoyao Palace truly died."

"Lan Ruoting must determine whether this was purely the work of Zhao's three great sects. We cannot rely only on one side's account."

Meng Shanming looked surprised.

"Master Dao suspects there may be some trick behind this?"

Niu Youdao said, "The Prince's residence was defended that tightly, yet someone still managed to abduct people from inside. How can I not be suspicious?"

"Were all those contingency measures merely decorations?"

"I need the facts before I can decide what to do."

"Tell Lan Ruoting to nail the matter down completely. I want an answer beyond all doubt. No ambiguity."

Meng Shanming immediately called, "Your Highness!"

"Good!" Shang Chaozong nodded repeatedly.

He acted at once, ordering people to contact Lan Ruoting with all speed.

As Niu Youdao turned to leave, Meng Shanming suddenly called after him.

"Master Dao!"

Niu Youdao stopped and looked back.

"I understand how Marshal Meng and His Highness feel," he said. "But right now, all we can do is proceed slowly."

"We don't even know where the hostages are. We first need to establish the most basic facts before we can think of a way forward."

"Remember: do not panic, and do not rush to contact Zhao. Wait for them to contact us."

Meng Shanming rolled his wheelchair forward.

His face was full of bitterness.

"I'm counting on you!"

Guan Fangyi, standing nearby, sighed inwardly.

She understood what he meant.

He was asking Master Dao to save the Commandery Princess and the young prince.

But was that not asking too much?

Zhao's three great sects had plainly thrown everything into this gamble.

What was Master Dao supposed to do?

Niu Youdao glanced toward Shang Chaozong, who was watching him with naked expectation.

He gave a slight nod.

"Rest assured. So long as it is within my power, I will do everything I can."

With that, he turned decisively and strode away.

Guan Fangyi gave the two men a slight bow, then turned and followed, hips swaying as she left.

Meng Shanming and Shang Chaozong watched him go, hope filling their eyes.

They both understood that the fat piece of meat was already at Yan's lips. The three great sects would never accept Zhao's harsh demands merely for two hostages.

Now they could place their hopes only on Niu Youdao.

There was no better option unless they were willing to throw the Yan army into disorder and give Zhao's forces a path to survival.

Meng Shanming turned and consoled Shang Chaozong.

"Your Highness need not worry too much. Master Dao has always kept his word with us. What he says, he does. He has never gone back on a promise."

"He is a man of trust and honor. Since he agreed to help, he will do his utmost."

"With Master Dao's ability, the situation may not be as hopeless as it seems."

...

Troops were gathered everywhere.

On the grass outside Zhao's central command tent, a baby's cries rang without pause.

Clean mare's milk had been brought over.

Still holding the infant, Shang Shuqing no longer cared about appearances. Before everyone's eyes, she sat directly on the grass and carefully fed the milk into the baby's mouth little by little.

Once the little fellow had something to eat, his cries stopped immediately. He smacked his lips and drank happily, utterly unaware of the danger around him.

Shang Shuqing remained extremely careful, afraid the child might choke.

Whether she herself was in danger was no longer what concerned her most.

She knew worrying would accomplish nothing.

She could not escape even if she tried.

For now, all she could do was take care of the child.

Dust covered her body.

There was dried blood at her temples and in her hair.

While shielding the infant in the underground passage, a stone had struck her head. The dust on her clothes had come from the same place.

Combined with the dark blotches marring her face, she looked especially unattractive and terribly bedraggled.

A group of cultivators stood nearby watching.

The Sect Leaders of Zhao's three great sects had all come as well.

The decisive battle had reached its critical point. To them, nothing could be more important than this. They had even abandoned the Zhao capital to its fate.

An emperor could be replaced after death.

If their foundation disappeared, everything was over.

They were the ones who had ordered the mare's milk brought.

They needed living hostages, not corpses.

Dead people had no value.

Naturally, they could not allow Shang Chaozong's son to starve to death now.

"This operation succeeded because all the Supreme Elders spared no effort. You have worked hard."

Mi Man, Sect Leader of Juxian Sect, cupped his hands toward the group of old men.

The old man who had personally captured Shang Shuqing waved dismissively.

"It was nothing more than luck. Speaking of which, we should thank Shang Chaozong's son."

"If his crying had not exposed the hiding place, we might not have captured anyone even after continuing the fight. Worse, we could have suffered heavy losses ourselves."

[End of Chapter 867]