Chapter 875: Niu Youdao, Are You Ever Going to Stop?

The confrontation was on the verge of bursting into flames. Afraid Jiang Wanlou would lose too much face and force the situation into a deadlock, Zuo Chengfeng raised a hand to stop him, then turned to Niu Youdao.

"You came here to save people. You don't want anything happening to the Commandery Princess and the others either, do you? This is a minor matter. I see no need to keep pursuing it. Let bygones be bygones. We should discuss the real business."

Niu Youdao replied, "Sect Leader Zuo, I'm not some unreasonable bully. Commandery Princess Shang lived at Maolu Villa for many years, so she counts as one of ours. I said what I said in front of all those people. If I raise the matter high only to set it down lightly, how are the people of Maolu Villa supposed to look at me?"

"The Commandery Princess was humiliated in public. If I go back without an accounting, won't I become a joke? The words have already been spoken, and I have come here in person. Today, either I die here, or you give me an accounting!"

Zuo Chengfeng said, "You want an accounting, but Brother Jiang is a Sect Leader. If he cannot even protect one of his own disciples, how is he supposed to account to the people below him?"

"Protect him?" Niu Youdao sneered. "Protect what? You even protect this kind of beast? Is Guiyuan Sect a den of lechers?"

"Impudent!" Jiang Wanlou roared.

Niu Youdao's words remained equally fierce. "Everything has a cause and consequence. If someone must be blamed, blame that dog paw itself. A dignified disciple of Guiyuan Sect, with two armies facing each other and thousands upon thousands watching, actually dared molest a woman in public. Does he have no sense of shame at all?"

"Killing a man only means taking his head. Why sink to something this shameless? Is that the conduct of a dignified upright and orthodox sect? For such a filthy deed and such a filthy man, chopping off one dog paw is already letting him off cheaply!"

Even Yun Ji felt as though Niu Youdao had lost sight of the purpose of their visit. They had come here to rescue people. Why was he indignantly clinging to this one disciple and refusing to let go?

Jiang Wanlou's face was full of fury, yet Niu Youdao's words left him unable to answer.

Mi Man said, "Guiyuan Sect will deal with its own people. There is no need for an outsider to interfere."

Niu Youdao replied, "That argument doesn't hold. He laid hands on one of my people. How can I pretend I saw nothing?"

"Giving you an accounting is not a problem..." The moment Mi Man spoke, Jiang Wanlou turned an angry glare on him. Mi Man raised one hand, signaling him to remain calm, and continued, "But since you've come here, shouldn't you first give us an accounting on the important matter? So long as you give us an answer that satisfies us, everything else can be discussed."

Hearing that, Jiang Wanlou's anger gradually subsided and he slowly calmed himself.

Niu Youdao said, "Since I came, naturally I'll give you an answer that satisfies you. If I couldn't, wouldn't I simply be coming here to die? But it's still the same thing I said yesterday. I want that condition first: that dog paw."

Mi Man said, "We haven't even begun discussing the matter, and you already want to injure someone. That's hardly reasonable, and it doesn't show much sincerity."

"Sect Leader Mi, I came here personally. I'm standing right before your eyes, where you can dispose of me at any time. Don't you think that is already the greatest sincerity possible?" Niu Youdao said. "Now I want to see your sincerity. If you keep stalling, what I ask for next won't be merely one hand!"

Zuo Chengfeng cut in. "You say you'll give us a satisfactory accounting, but whether it's satisfactory is not for you to decide. We decide that. If we're not satisfied, we'll still need to negotiate further. We can't very well kill you outright; we must give you a chance. Yet by then you'll already have injured our man. Do you think that's appropriate?"

Niu Youdao replied, "If negotiations fail, you can chop off one of my hands."

Zuo Chengfeng said, "And if you insist the answer you've given us is reasonable? You're standing there waving a Heavenly Sword Talisman around. Do you look like someone who'll obediently stretch out a hand and let us chop it off?"

"The hostages are in your hands," Niu Youdao said. "If you can't chop off mine, chop off one of theirs. Does that satisfy everyone?"

At those words, quite a few people opposite exchanged glances.

Zuo Chengfeng even leaned toward Jiang Wanlou's ear and whispered, "The hostages are in our hands. If necessary, we'll always have a reason to chop off a hand in return. That would count as giving the disciples below an accounting. Brother Jiang, the greater situation comes first."

Jiang Wanlou ground his teeth.

Easy for them to say when it was not a disciple of their own sect whose hand was being taken.

Back then, to suppress the situation, he had ordered his disciple to do such a thing in public only because circumstances had forced his hand, and he had done it for everyone's benefit. Now Guiyuan Sect alone was being made to bear the responsibility. The thought left him stifled with anger.

Yet Niu Youdao had sunk his teeth into the matter and refused to let go. The stakes were too large. Letting something like this ruin the greater plan would not be worth it.

Niu Youdao spoke again. "Everyone, remember that I came here secretly. The army over there is already assembling. If I remain absent too long and Yan's three great sects grow suspicious, then even if we later want to settle matters, I'm afraid it won't be so easy."

Mi Man said blandly, "Brother Jiang, this is your sect's internal affair. It would be inappropriate for us to interfere. Handle it as you see fit."

Jiang Wanlou stood there dark-faced, torn for a while. Then he suddenly barked, "Tao Yanfeng, step forward!"

Tao Yanfeng had been hiding behind the others, his expression already terrible. Hearing the summons, his heart jolted. But there was nowhere to hide. He could only steel himself and slowly walk out, cupping his hands.

"Master!"

Jiang Wanlou drew a deep breath and said one word at a time, "Give it to him."

The muscles in Tao Yanfeng's face twitched.

He knew that if he obeyed, the sect would not treat him unfairly afterward. But no reward, no matter how great, could make a man willingly cripple himself.

Still, he could not refuse. Publicly defying his master's order would humiliate Jiang Wanlou, and someone might simply do it for him. Then he would suffer the same loss and gain nothing for it.

With enormous difficulty, Tao Yanfeng slowly lowered both hands. Then he turned toward Niu Youdao, hatred filling his eyes.

Niu Youdao looked back at him without expression.

Tao Yanfeng abruptly drew his sword in a reverse grip.

Cold light flashed.

Pfft!

Blood sprayed from his right hand. The blade cut cleanly through the wrist, and his right palm dropped to the ground.

"Mm..."

Tao Yanfeng staggered backward with a muffled groan of pain. He braced himself on his sword and circulated his cultivation to stop the bleeding from the severed wrist.

Two Guiyuan Sect disciples quickly stepped forward to support him and lead him away.

Niu Youdao suddenly remarked, "Why do I remember the hand that offended the Commandery Princess being his left?"

Tao Yanfeng froze.

His face changed drastically.

The two disciples supporting him also looked toward Jiang Wanlou.

Even Yun Ji broke into a faint sweat.

Practically everyone at the scene darkened.

Jiang Wanlou roared, "I don't think you came here to negotiate at all. You came here deliberately looking for trouble!"

"Forget it." Niu Youdao waved a hand. "I'll yield this once. I won't pursue it any further."

"..."

Jiang Wanlou felt as though he had thrown a punch into cotton.

Furious, he swept his hand and signaled the two disciples to take Tao Yanfeng away.

Mi Man said, "You've got your hand. Now speak."

"No problem," Niu Youdao replied. "But I want to see the hostages. First I need to confirm they're safe."

Zuo Chengfeng's voice sank. "Niu Youdao, are you ever going to stop?"

Niu Youdao's voice sank as well. "Sect Leader Zuo, are you joking with me? Before negotiations, I want to confirm whether the hostages are safe and whether you've broken your word. Is that too much to ask?"

That truly could not be called unreasonable.

The corner of Zuo Chengfeng's mouth twitched. He turned and ordered, "Bring the hostages over."

Someone accepted the order and left.

Before long, Shang Shuqing was escorted over from nearby, holding the swaddled infant tightly in her arms and refusing to let go.

The plump little baby was sleeping soundly against her chest. He woke to eat and slept when full, utterly unaware of danger.

The moment Shang Shuqing was brought forward and saw Niu Youdao there in person, her tense eyes instantly brightened.

Her voice was soft and clear.

"Master Dao!"

Niu Youdao pressed one palm downward in a calming gesture.

"Don't be afraid. Nothing will happen."

The moment she saw him, Shang Shuqing truly stopped being afraid.

She gave a soft sound of acknowledgement, nodded, and kept looking at him.

Niu Youdao studied her as well.

Seeing that she was still covered in dirt, he glanced sideways at the people of the three sects.

"This is what you call treating her well? You wouldn't even give her water to wash herself?"

Pang Teng spoke up. "It's not that we refused. We provided good food and drink. Hot and cold water are both available, clean clothes were prepared, and we even assigned maids to serve her. She is the one who refused to wash. You can't blame us for that."

Was that so?

Niu Youdao cast Shang Shuqing a questioning look.

She bit her lower lip, visibly embarrassed and unable to explain.

Niu Youdao immediately understood.

In a place like this, after the ugly scene she had suffered yesterday, Shang Shuqing naturally would not dare strip naked and bathe while surrounded by danger.

Once he understood, he let the matter go.

He asked, "Commandery Princess, are you and the young prince all right?"

Shang Shuqing shook her head.

"We're fine. For now, we're fine."

Niu Youdao asked again, "Are you certain they haven't done anything to your bodies?"

That, Shang Shuqing truly could not know.

Cultivators had countless methods of leaving hidden restrictions or tricks behind. She had never eaten pork, but she had at least seen pigs run. She knew such things existed, but had no way of knowing whether anything had been done to her.

The instant she hesitated in thought, Niu Youdao spoke decisively.

"I want to inspect their bodies and make sure there's nothing wrong with the hostages. That request isn't excessive, is it?"

Still holding the Heavenly Sword Talisman, he started walking forward.

Mi Man immediately pointed at him and warned, "Stop!"

Niu Youdao seemed to realize what had alarmed them.

He glanced at the talisman in his hand and gave a mocking chuckle.

Then he stepped back to his original position.

"Fine. I won't move. Let her come over so I can inspect her."

The people opposite hesitated.

They were wary of letting Niu Youdao approach with a Heavenly Sword Talisman in hand, yet sending the hostages over to him made them uneasy as well.

Niu Youdao chuckled mockingly.

"There are so many of you here. Don't tell me you're afraid I'll simply take the hostages and run?"

Mi Man finally grunted and tilted his head in indication.

The cultivator guarding Shang Shuqing gave her back a light push, signaling her to go over.

Holding the infant, Shang Shuqing slowly walked toward Niu Youdao under everyone's watchful eyes.

Yun Ji appeared calm on the surface, but every nerve in her body had tightened.

She knew it was about to begin.

Shang Shuqing stopped in front of Niu Youdao and softly called again, "Master Dao."

Niu Youdao lifted the sword he had been resting on the ground and tucked it into his belt at his waist.

Then he placed one hand on Shang Shuqing's shoulder.

There was no deception in that part.

He genuinely circulated spiritual power and carefully inspected her body.

Regardless of whether they managed to rescue anyone, confirming that the hostages were unharmed was necessary.

He examined her thoroughly, which naturally took time.

The Zhao cultivators watching him gradually became impatient, their gazes beginning to drift from side to side.

After finishing with Shang Shuqing, Niu Youdao slipped a hand into the swaddling clothes and carefully checked the child's body as well.

Only after confirming that both were unharmed did his gaze flick toward Yun Ji.

She was staring fixedly at this side.

She was ready.

The fluctuations of spiritual power in the area suddenly changed.

The Heavenly Sword Talisman in Niu Youdao's hand erupted with dazzling light.

Everyone on Zhao's side was shocked.

Before they could react, Niu Youdao had already hooked Shang Shuqing around the waist and swept her toward Yun Ji beside him.

His voice dropped to a low command.

"Go!"

[End of Chapter 875]