Chapter 902: It Can't Be Learned. There's No Way to Learn It.

The moment Situ Yao had been shown away to his lodging, Guan Fangyi erupted. Two large flying mounts had just been given away like that. It would have been strange if she had not cornered Niu Youdao to make a scene.

Counting off on her fingers, she settled accounts with him one item at a time. She told Niu Youdao that they truly had almost no money left. The last time they rescued Shang Shuqing and the young prince, they had burned through so many Heavenly Sword Talismans in one go that their reserves had genuinely been emptied. Even the nest egg she had accumulated at Fufang Garden had been poured into it.

And now, never mind the people immediately around them who had to be supported. The expenses of so many people at Wuliang Mountain alone were no small sum. Every one of them treated Guan Fangyi as the keeper of the purse strings, and when they needed expenses, it was to her that they held out their hands.

Yet Niu Youdao spent without restraint, giving away large flying mounts the moment the thought occurred to him. How could she not be furious?

Niu Youdao said he would think of a way later. Guan Fangyi kept after him without pause, so he finally used business as an excuse, called Wen Mo'er over, and went out for a stroll.

Old Six Xu caught Guan Fangyi as she stamped her foot in anger and tried to persuade her. "Big Sister, Master Dao is a man who does great things. If he does something like this, naturally he has his reasons."

"Do I need you to teach me that?" Guan Fangyi shot him a contemptuous look. After glaring for a while, however, she let out a soft sigh. She had to admit that after watching Niu Youdao lay out one scheme after another with her own eyes, this simply was not a game people like them knew how to play.

In truth, she also knew that some things could not be measured in money. She was angry because that bastard was always telling her the things were hers.

When she turned around, she saw Shang Shuqing standing alone outside the doorway, staring at something. Guan Fangyi shook Old Six Xu off and went out. Even after she reached Shang Shuqing's side, the Commandery Princess did not react, looking completely lost in thought.

Following the direction of her gaze, Guan Fangyi saw Niu Youdao and Wen Mo'er on a hillside, pointing around as they talked and laughed together, plainly enjoying themselves.

And in Shang Shuqing's eyes was the sort of disappointment any woman would understand.

"Commandery Princess, what are you looking at?" Guan Fangyi asked with a giggle.

Shang Shuqing hurriedly came back to herself and found something to say by way of concealment. "That Zijin Cave disciple beside Master Dao is very beautiful. She seems to live here. Is she one of Master Dao's people?"

With such a beautiful woman beside Niu Youdao, chatting and laughing with him so freely, it would have been difficult for Shang Shuqing not to notice.

Guan Fangyi said, "Her? Her name is Wen Mo'er. She's Sect Leader Gong's adopted daughter. To tell you the truth, Sect Leader Gong once wanted Wen Mo'er to marry Master Dao, but now there is no chance of that at all. Their generational ranks are different, so it has become impossible. Zijin Cave now has her stationed here to attend to Master Dao's daily needs. Come to think of it, Master Dao really did have foresight. If he had married Wen Mo'er back then, the matter of seniority would have kept him from becoming the Zijin Cave Elder he is today."

"I see," Shang Shuqing murmured thoughtfully.

Guan Fangyi studied her reaction and sighed inwardly. She felt she should not have explained things so clearly. It had reassured the Commandery Princess, yes, but giving this silly girl hope was only going to hurt her.

It was still the same old truth. With the Commandery Princess looking as she did, Master Dao was unlikely to have any such thoughts about her.

Some things were not simply a matter of judging people by appearance, but appearance was still a reality sitting right before one's eyes, something everyone had to face. That was especially true for a woman. In matters of marriage, to some degree, the match had to accord with the man's identity and standing. That too was reality.

Master Dao's status was rising higher and higher now, and he was young and accomplished besides. Who knew how many women beneath Heaven wished to form a marriage bond with him? It would never be this Commandery Princess's turn.

Nor would anyone step forward now to try to make the match for her. Put plainly, anyone who was not blind could see that the gap was too great. She simply was not a match for Master Dao.

As Wen Mo'er talked and laughed with Niu Youdao, her lovely eyes shifted brightly, full of light, yet there was a trace of melancholy inside her.

When Gong Lince had first ordered her to get close to Niu Youdao, she had resisted the idea with all her heart, but she had been given no choice.

After truly coming into contact with him, growing familiar with him, and understanding him, what woman would not like an exceptional man? Niu Youdao was better than any Zijin Cave disciple she had ever met, and not merely by a little but by a great deal. Besides, he was hardly bad-looking.

By the time she had become willing, even to the point of wanting to take the initiative herself, the result was that they had been fated to meet but not fated to be together. It left a deep regret in her heart.

Just as Guan Fangyi had said, the difference in their generational ranks made the two of them impossible. If Niu Youdao and Gong Lince had merely been fellow disciples of the same generation, perhaps there might still have been room to maneuver. But there was another layer to Wen Mo'er's relationship with Gong Lince: she was Gong Lince's adopted daughter.

Gong Lince would not care about how she felt. What mattered was that Niu Youdao had already been drawn into Zijin Cave. The objective had been achieved. Wen Mo'er's own wishes no longer mattered...

Fei Changliu and the other two Sect Leaders had to hurry back to make preparations and carry out what Niu Youdao had instructed them to do, so they could not remain here for long.

Feng Ruonan could not put her own child out of mind either, so she returned together with the three Sect Leaders. She asked Shang Shuqing whether she wanted to go back with them, but Shang Shuqing did not want to leave. She wanted to stay here. No one here was going to drive her away, and so she remained.

Feng Ruonan understood what was in Shang Shuqing's heart and could do little about it. There was nothing suitable she could say, so she left with a deep sigh held inside.

Toward evening, another group of guests arrived, and these were visitors Niu Youdao had never expected. People from the overseas lands had heard the news, and some had come to offer congratulations: Fuhua, Lang Jingkong, Duan Wuchang, and Hong Gaitian arrived together.

"Elder Sister, my three elder brothers, what wind blew all of you here?" Niu Youdao was naturally delighted to receive them and personally went outside Zijin Cave's mountain gate to welcome them.

"Little brother, congratulations, congratulations!" Fuhua smiled as brightly as a blossom. Disregarding the usual propriety between men and women, she caught Niu Youdao by the arm, looking exceedingly familiar with him.

Niu Youdao invited his guests inside. Along the way, the sworn siblings talked and laughed merrily together.

Zijin Cave disciples looked over from time to time. Quite a few of them had never seen Niu Youdao before, and Zijin Cave had never deliberately gathered its disciples to have them meet him. Even so, everyone had heard the news and knew that Niu Youdao had become an Elder of Zijin Cave. Once they saw the satin ribbons hanging from his waist that marked his rank, they knew who he was, and many began whispering among themselves.

"He's that young?" one female disciple said in obvious surprise.

"Don't let his age fool you. I hear this man is formidable."

Among those whispering, some were jealous and some envious.

At the Maolu Annex, good wine and fine dishes were naturally laid out for the guests. Situ Yao, Sect Leader of Myriad Caves Heavenly Mansion, who was staying the night, also came out to join the banquet.

Night had fallen, with stars scattered across the sky. Outside the main council hall, Gong Lince stood with his hands clasped behind his back, speaking with Yan Li.

They were discussing arrangements for Gong Lince's departure the next day. Misty Pavilion had summoned him, and he would have to leave for Misty Pavilion tomorrow. Most likely, Zhao's three major sects were about to be struck from the seats they had held there. Someone from the new State of Qin—namely Yucang—would probably be given a place in Misty Pavilion instead, and his admission would probably not be difficult to approve.

It was true that Xiaoyue Pavilion had once been an organization of assassins, and it was also true that it had done plenty of things that could not bear the light of day. But in the blink of an eye, it had gone legitimate. Xiaoyue Pavilion now controlled such an enormous territory that every side would have dealings with it in the future. Even if they considered nothing but their immediate interests, no one was going to pursue those old matters anymore.

Wen Mo'er arrived and reported from below the steps, "They're still drinking and making merry at the Maolu Annex. The banquet hasn't broken up yet."

Gong Lince waved for her to withdraw, then gave a cold snort. "Our Elder Niu is certainly busy. One wave of guests after another. Even that crowd of demons and monsters from overseas has come running over to join the excitement."

Yan Li smiled wryly. "Hardly surprising. Those four demons and monsters are all his sworn siblings in name."

Gong Lince was disdainful. "Sworn siblings? Nothing but self-deception. A relationship like that is a joke. You don't actually take it seriously, do you?"

Yan Li pondered for a moment. "When we were in the Tiandu Secret Realm and I had dealings with Niu Youdao, he often said something: 'Ride the jianghu, through wind or rain; you travel the roads, and you make friends!' At the time, I merely heard it without giving it much thought. Now that I think it over, there seems to be another layer of meaning to it."

Gong Lince gave a soft "Oh?" "How so?"

Yan Li said, "Niu Youdao isn't a fool. He is genuinely clever. Could he possibly not know that relationships like these are unreliable? Yet he still does this, even if it makes people laugh at him. Forget everything else and just look at what is in front of us. Sect Leader, when someone from another major sect of the Seven States is promoted to Elder, would that crowd of demons and monsters overseas send people to congratulate them?"

"No..." Gong Lince frowned slightly, seeming to understand something.

The cultivators of the mainland were powerful. Many of those demons and monsters overseas had been driven there by powers on the mainland. The mainland cultivators regarded themselves as members of prestigious orthodox sects and had always looked down on that overseas crowd. In turn, unless circumstances forced them to it, the demons and monsters overseas would not lightly bow their heads. Naturally they would never take the initiative to lower themselves by coming to offer congratulations.

Yan Li said, "Only Elder Niu can do it! Coming to congratulate Niu Youdao isn't lowering themselves. They're sworn siblings. It is perfectly proper and costs them no face. Does Niu Youdao not know that those demons and monsters overseas wanted to settle accounts with him over the Tiandu Secret Realm and even wanted him dead? Of course he knows. Yet he still lays out good wine and fine food to entertain them, giving them all the face they could want. Without the approval of the masters of the Four Seas, these four would never have come to congratulate him. Perhaps the people of the Four Seas would not have taken Niu Youdao seriously before, but his identity and standing are different now. The congratulatory gifts they brought this time are probably anything but light. Sect Leader, if something happened to Zijin Cave within the Four Seas, the demons and monsters there might not be willing to yield to us. But if Niu Youdao spoke, then so long as it was not some major matter touching their vital interests, he would only have to send word and the trouble could be settled. There is a simple reason: Niu Youdao is their sworn brother. Giving Niu Youdao face isn't the same as bowing their heads, so there is no loss of face! Turn it around, and if Niu Youdao wanted to make trouble for someone within the Four Seas, that too would take no more than a word from him. Sect Leader, when Zijin Cave has business in the Four Seas, it is Elder Niu whose word carries weight!"

"This fellow... his wings are filling out." Gong Lince muttered with a frown for a while, then suddenly looked back at Yan Li. "If it is useful and worth learning, then we can learn from him."

Yan Li spread his hands with a wry smile. "It can't be learned. There's no way to learn it. Would it seem normal for a Zijin Cave disciple to go looking for someone to swear kinship with? Everyone would be on guard, and the other person would never agree. But Niu Youdao is different. His reputation precedes him. Everyone knows he likes to swear kinship. If he hits it off with someone, he will pull them into an oath regardless of whether they come from the Three Teachings or the Nine Schools, whether they are enemy or friend. That has always been his way of making friends. He has never cared much about such distinctions."

[End of Chapter 902]