Chapter 929: Confessing Guilt

What sort of man are you? Yan Li could only give two dry chuckles without answering. He lifted his teacup and drank while thinking.

Leaving aside what sort of man Niu Youdao was, this whole business of "money in one hand, goods in the other" felt strange no matter how Yan Li turned it over. Did this sound like two men from the same sect? Did it sound like a conversation between fellow Elders? He had spent so many years in Zijin Cave and had never heard anything like it. This was a first.

It also made him realize something. For now, Niu Youdao had not truly merged into Zijin Cave as a whole, and Zijin Cave had not truly accepted him either. Subconsciously, both sides still treated him as an outsider.

After pondering for a while, Yan Li set down his teacup and rose. "I've noted your conditions, but I can't agree to them myself. I'll go back, report to the sect, and give you an answer afterward."

Niu Youdao rose as well. "Then I'll see you out."

"No, no need to trouble Your Excellency." Whether Yan Li was mocking Niu Youdao or himself was hard to say. He waved a hand and strode quickly out of the pavilion.

Niu Youdao watched him leave, then sat back down and slowly drank his tea again, clearly deep in thought.

Guan Fangyi, who had taken the initiative to see Yan Li off, returned to the pavilion. Waving her round fan, she asked, "Money in one hand, people in the other. What exactly do you want—the husband and wife, or the money?" He had thoroughly confused her.

Niu Youdao toyed with the lid of his teacup. "You like money. I'm catering to your tastes."

Guan Fangyi snorted, then asked again, "You're really going to hand the two of them over?"

That was not the impression she had gotten before. Yet now this man had clearly drawn a line between himself and Zijin Cave over the matter.

Niu Youdao answered a different question. After a moment's thought, he said, "Send someone to contact Tianhuo Sect. Tell them that I have the final say over Kunlin Shu and his wife. If they want to discuss the matter, they can discuss it with me. I won't raise any conditions. Remember, just get the message to them. Don't let Tianhuo Sect know it came from me, and don't leave any evidence or handle behind."

Guan Fangyi froze, then understood. His discussion with Yan Li was very likely a feint. After circling around so much, his goal was probably still to keep the married couple. Somewhat puzzled, she asked, "If that's so, why did you bother going through all that with Yan Li? What happens if Zijin Cave agrees to your conditions? How will you explain yourself then?"

"You think I want to do this?" Niu Youdao said. "I'd rather do whatever I please too. I'd rather keep things simple and straightforward. If matters could be simple, who would want to exchange empty courtesies and play games with them? But there's no choice. Since I'm here, I have to abide by the rules of the game here. Anyone who breaks the rules can't establish himself here. I can't cut them out of this matter entirely. Zijin Cave contributed to taking Kunlin Shu and his wife, and I also need the protective cloak Zijin Cave provides."

Guan Fangyi understood that much, but still did not understand the rest. "Are Kunlin Shu and his wife really that important? Is it worth spending this much effort maneuvering between two major sects for the sake of those two?"

Niu Youdao chuckled. "Marshal Meng and the others have a saying in the army: A thousand troops are easy to find; a single general is hard to come by!"

Guan Fangyi frowned. "A general? After what Kunlin Shu managed to do, he's far too wrapped up in himself. I honestly don't see what part of him qualifies as general material."

Niu Youdao shook his head slightly. "There are two kinds of generals. One excels at planning and directing the whole situation; the other excels at charging into battle and fighting on the front line. Could the Heavenly Fire Limitless Art be simple if Tianhuo Sect treats it as its supreme secret art? No one in Tianhuo Sect has mastered it since the third generation, yet Kunlin Shu did. He's a talent that might not appear once in several hundred years. That cultivation aptitude alone is extraordinary. Aren't you curious what he might become? I am. Since a talent like that delivered himself to my door, wouldn't I be blind if I let him slip away? Tianhuo Sect is constrained internally and unwilling to make proper use of him. Why shouldn't he come to me instead?"

Guan Fangyi fell silent for a moment, then teased, "So now you're casting yourself as a wise lord."

Niu Youdao released his teacup, slapped both hands against his thighs, and let out a long sigh. "Hongniang, right now we don't lack a power base of our own, and we don't lack people who can carry out tasks. What we lack are people who can truly get things done. There are too few people who can face danger head-on, and too few options I can choose from. Our affairs have grown too large, there are too many things to handle, and I can't deal with all of it alone. Look ahead. The road is still long. We lack talent, understand? Whatever kind of talent it is, so long as the person is useful, I won't complain about having too many."

Guan Fangyi said, "I understand how you feel. Even if he is talented, you're tricking husband and wife into your hands this way. Aren't you afraid they'll hate you?"

Niu Youdao turned and looked at her with a hint of amusement. "Weren't you also someone I tricked away from the Qi capital? Do you hate me?"

Guan Fangyi froze, then became embarrassed and angry. "Go to hell!" Smack! Her round fan struck his shoulder. She turned away with her head high. "I can't be bothered talking nonsense with you."

Her skirts swayed lightly as she descended the steps and left the pavilion, but a smile soon surfaced on her face again.

Thinking back to the Qi capital and everything that had happened since, the road had certainly brought danger through wind and waves, yet her life had possessed a flavor entirely different from the endless repetition of her days in the Qi capital.

She looked back once.

The man in the pavilion sat quietly drinking tea. He was still, yet something in his bearing could not be hidden, as though a magnificent, storm-tossed future waited ahead.

...

Beyond one range of green mountains lay another.

Qian Fucheng brought his large flying mount down on a mountain ridge and gazed toward the layered complex of buildings among the distant peaks. Tianhuo Sect lay there.

People spoke of growing timid when one neared home. Qian Fucheng now felt something similar. He had arrived, yet dared only look from afar and could not bring himself to return.

In truth, he had already stopped again and again along the road, delaying for quite some time.

The same reason remained: he did not dare go back. After causing something like this, he did not dare face the others. Regret filled him without end.

He had no way to account for the matter of Kunlin Shu. Truly no way. With a shopkeeper from All-Under-Heaven Money House serving as the intermediary witness, Qian Fucheng had been nailed down completely. There was no room to turn matters around, not even room to argue his way out.

As a Tianhuo Sect Elder, he knew all too well what consequences awaited him after his return.

He was afraid. He had even considered simply leaving and fleeing for good.

But after weighing it again and again, he abandoned the idea. The advantages and disadvantages of fleeing were only too obvious.

If he did not flee, at worst he would lose everything he currently possessed. So long as he remained inside the sect, there would be no other major danger. At the very least, food and basic necessities would not be a concern. Perhaps, if the right opportunity appeared someday, he might even rise again. After all, he still had a group of his own people beneath him.

But if he fled, the nature of the matter changed completely. The sect would inevitably hunt him to the end. The rest of his life would be spent in perpetual fear and unease, while the disciples of his faction would have to draw a clear line between themselves and him, even turn against him. The consequences were beyond imagining.

While he wavered between gain and loss, a patrolling large flying mount swept over. Two people jumped down to investigate after noticing that someone had landed here.

They were Tianhuo Sect disciples. When they recognized him, both immediately saluted. "Greetings, Elder Qian."

Qian Fucheng's smile was somewhat forced. He drew a deep breath. What had to be faced would still have to be faced. At last he rose again and headed toward the sect...

Behind Tianhuo Sect's main hall, at the Sect Leader's residence, a letter had already arrived.

It was precisely the message Niu Youdao had arranged to send. Because Qian Fucheng had hesitated and delayed repeatedly along the road, the letter sent after him had actually reached Tianhuo Sect before he did.

The letter said not to discuss Kunlin Shu's matter with Zijin Cave. Zijin Cave would open its lion's jaws and demand an enormous price. The initiative was in Niu Youdao's hands. If Tianhuo Sect wanted to avoid losses, it could speak directly with Niu Youdao, and Niu Youdao would ask for no conditions.

No one could determine who had sent the letter, who had arranged for it to be delivered, or even what exactly its meaning was. But Sect Leader Yuwen Yan had already realized that something must have happened to Qian Fucheng and the others at Zijin Cave.

He quickly summoned the Elders. The letter passed from hand to hand so everyone could read it.

While the group was discussing the matter, a disciple suddenly reported from outside, "Elder Qian has returned."

Qian Fucheng was an Elder. If he had returned, he was qualified to enter this place directly. Why would anyone need to announce him?

The letter, combined with Qian Fucheng's abnormal behavior, made everyone sense that something was wrong. All of them turned toward the doorway.

Yuwen Yan gave a quiet acknowledgment and signaled for the man to be admitted.

After the disciple went out to relay the order, Qian Fucheng slowly appeared outside and walked in with obvious unease. Not the slightest trace remained of a Tianhuo Sect Elder's usual bearing. He looked dejected and almost lost.

Once he stood before everyone, Yuwen Yan asked heavily, "What happened? Where is Kunlin Shu?"

Qian Fucheng lowered his head in despair. "I am guilty. I committed a grave mistake. I ask the Sect Leader to punish me!" With that, he turned toward the Founding Patriarch's statue and knelt on the spot.

Everyone was startled and looked at one another.

Yuwen Yan's face darkened. "I asked you what happened."

"After we reached Zijin Cave, Kunlin Shu was desperate to challenge Niu Youdao. I was muddleheaded..." Kneeling before everyone, Qian Fucheng recounted everything that had happened from the moment they arrived at Zijin Cave, explaining the causes and consequences in full without daring to conceal the slightest detail.

Since he had already decided to return and face the consequences, there was no point hiding anything. Nor could he hide it. Kunlin Shu had fallen into Zijin Cave's hands. The moment anyone went there and asked about what happened, the truth would become clear.

After listening to his account, everyone drew a sharp breath. In their dreams, none of them had imagined Qian Fucheng could do something so muddleheaded.

Even Qian Fucheng himself, whether before or after the fact, could scarcely believe he had done it.

Even Niu Youdao had not foreseen this at the beginning. He could not have known Tianhuo Sect would allow Kunlin Shu to come challenge him. The course of events and the final outcome had only developed because Niu Youdao had probed Tianhuo Sect's bottom line step by step afterward and pushed matters along until they reached this point.

"Junior Brother Qian, you were muddleheaded! If Niu Youdao refused to fight, then let him refuse. Why did you agree to conditions like those?"

"Junior Brother Qian, had you gone mad? Conditions that harsh, and you never considered the consequences? Didn't you know Kunlin Shu carries Tianhuo Sect's supreme secret art?"

"You... I truly don't know what to say about you! Agreeing was bad enough, but why did you also agree to let someone from All-Under-Heaven Money House serve as the intermediary witness? You've left us no room even to go back on the agreement. You've put Tianhuo Sect in an extremely passive position!"

The Elders lamented bitterly and condemned Qian Fucheng one after another.

Qian Fucheng remained silent beneath their scolding. A measure of grievance stirred in his heart. Back then, this entire group had insisted that he go. Now that something had gone wrong, somehow all of it had become his fault alone.

But the matter had already happened, and the authority to decide how he would be dealt with lay in these people's hands. It was not a time to offend them. Keeping quiet was better than trying to defend himself. He could only accept the blame honestly.

"All of you, shut up!" Yuwen Yan suddenly shouted in fury, his voice shaking the hall.

[End of Chapter 929]