Chapter 944: There's Something Wrong with the List

Those words were frightening enough to hear. Was he joking? Sacred Realm had personally designated him. Did Zijin Cave dare refuse to send him? If Sacred Realm was angered, Niu Youdao would not be the only one to suffer. Quite possibly, not a single person present would escape.

There was another problem as well. Was that any way to speak to one's elders? He was far too insolent.

Chun Xinliang's face darkened. He looked again at Zhong Guzi's reaction, only to find the same complete lack of response, as though the old man were dead.

Tu Kuai frowned as well, plainly displeased.

Zhong Guzi's attitude was irritating, but there was nothing anyone could do. Certain circumstances demanded tolerance. Seniority was seniority, and this was a man who had devoted his entire life to the sect and was now approaching death. No one could easily say anything to him.

Ju An, standing motionless by the doorway, could not help glancing inside when he heard those words. This Martial Uncle who had appeared out of nowhere really was willful enough. He even dared say something like that. His nerve was astonishing!

Gong Lince, who had remained largely silent, finally spoke. His voice was heavy. "Junior Brother Niu, are you joking?"

Niu Youdao looked as though what he was saying was perfectly natural. "I'm not joking. At worst, I'll beat myself into a serious injury, make myself genuinely unable to go, and force them to replace me. That'll work out nicely for the rest of you. Whoever wants to go can go. In any case, beat me to death and I still won't go!"

If an ordinary sect disciple dared say something like this on the spot, the people present would already have had him seized and punished. But Niu Youdao was no ordinary disciple. He was an Elder. Seizing and punishing an Elder merely because of a few disagreeable words would be difficult to justify, especially when he had not said anything outright treasonous. Most of it was skirting the line or spoken in anger.

Status and position inevitably carried privileges ordinary people did not possess. If there were no benefits to it, Niu Youdao would never have come here to become an Elder in the first place.

More importantly, even if one ignored the monk, one still had to look at the Buddha. Zhong Guzi was sitting right there without saying a word. Who dared lay hands on Zhong Guzi's disciple simply because of one argument?

But with Niu Youdao playing the rogue like this, the Elders were no longer willing to tolerate it. Replace him? Damn it, if he did not go, wouldn't the replacement perhaps fall on one of them?

No one could explain how such a replacement would be chosen. If they truly had to replace him, who knew whose head that thunderbolt would strike?

Elder Yuan An spoke. "You know perfectly well what Sacred Realm and Misty Pavilion are like. Is this something where you can go if you feel like going and refuse if you don't? Can you guarantee Sacred Realm won't find out what you've done? Do you know what the consequences will be if anything goes wrong?"

Niu Youdao answered grandly, "One man does the deed, one man bears it. Don't worry. I absolutely won't drag any of you into it. I'll make sure the whole thing is handled properly. Don't I still have Kunlin Shu over there? He was humiliated after becoming a slave, suddenly ambushed me, and beat me into serious injury. Perfectly reasonable. Nothing will happen."

Fu Junrang's anger showed. "Do you take us for decorations? Do you think we'll simply let you fool around however you please?"

Niu Youdao said, "What do you mean, fool around? You all know what happened in the Tiandu Secret Realm. How many people wanted me dead there? I was lucky enough to crawl back alive. Now you're sending me to some Sacred Realm. No one else wants to go, yet I'm the one who gets sent. If that isn't trying to harm me, what is? If any of you still remembers even a shred of fellowship between fellow disciples, what's wrong with finding someone else to take my place?"

Chun Xinliang suddenly spoke. "No one is trying to harm you. Things are what they are. This concerns the entire sect. How can we allow you to do whatever your temperament dictates?" His words had grown heavy. Even with Senior Brother Zhong sitting beside him, Niu Youdao was going too far.

Niu Youdao said, "I'm not going. I've already said it. Beat me to death and I still won't go. If you've got the ability, kill me first!"

Kill him before he went to Sacred Realm? How were they supposed to explain that to Sacred Realm afterward?

Chun Xinliang said angrily, "Are the sect rules mere decoration in your eyes? Do you really think we dare not punish you? Believe it or not, we'll have you escorted to Sacred Realm under guard and let Sacred Realm deal with you itself!"

The instant those words were spoken, everyone looked toward Zhong Guzi's reaction. Yet there was still no response at all, leaving them unable to understand exactly what attitude the old man held.

Niu Youdao said, "Martial Uncle Chun, it isn't that I disregard sect rules. It's that this list obviously has a problem. Someone clearly wants to harm me. Someone inside the sect has obviously tampered with it. This list may fool other people, but it can't fool me. I saw the clue at a glance. Since someone bears me ill will, since someone wants me dead, then either way I'm already on a road to death. I have no reason to keep being polite."

Everyone froze. There was a problem with the list?

What problem could there be with a list sent over by Misty Pavilion? At most, Misty Pavilion's attitude was difficult to fathom. The list itself should not have a problem.

Gong Lince and the others were thoroughly confused, especially since Niu Youdao had directly claimed that someone inside the sect had obviously tampered with it.

That was not the sort of accusation one should make carelessly, least of all in a place like this. Gong Lince himself began to wonder whether someone might truly have interfered with the list somewhere along the route before it reached his hands.

He could not help looking left and right, suspicion showing faintly in his eyes. If someone within the sect truly dared manipulate a list to harm an Elder, then the culprit would almost certainly have to be someone at the level of those sitting here.

To his credit, Gong Lince remained calm in the face of the situation. He chose to watch and see how matters developed.

Chun Xinliang and Tu Kuai looked faintly shocked. Had internal struggles within the sect already reached a point where someone dared do something like this?

Zhong Guzi, who had been sitting there like a dead man, also opened his eyelids the slightest crack. A sharp gleam swept through the narrow slit as he scanned the expressions of everyone present, then his eyes closed again.

Even Ju An, standing rigidly at the doorway, could not help turning his head and staring blankly into the hall.

The claim was simply too serious to leave anyone unmoved. The list was obviously wrong, Niu Youdao said, and the clue could be seen at a glance.

After a brief silence, Tu Kuai said heavily, "Where is the problem with the list? Point it out!"

Niu Youdao set the treasured sword resting across his legs onto the floor, got up, went to Tu Kuai's side, and knelt beside him. He opened the list for Tu Kuai to see. "Martial Uncle Tu, examine this list carefully. You'll definitely see the clue. It's very easy to spot."

Gong Lince and the others exchanged glances, all carrying suspicion. You suspected me, I suspected you. They had actually begun suspecting one another.

If someone inside the sect truly had tampered with the list, this was no small matter. If the names on it did not match what Sacred Realm expected and they sent the wrong people there, the consequences would be disastrous.

Even Chun Xinliang, seated on Zhong Guzi's other side, got to his feet. He quickly walked around behind Tu Kuai and Niu Youdao, bent down, widened his eyes, and carefully inspected the list.

He had no choice but to examine it closely. This truly was no small matter. If someone within the sect had committed such a wicked act, the level of the culprit was easy enough to imagine. It might require Supreme Elders like them to personally take action and deal with the offender. Even if the culprit were one of their own disciples, they would have no way to protect them. They could only sacrifice kin for righteousness.

Yet the two veteran Elders, one in front and one behind, one lower and one higher, examined the list from every angle and could find nothing wrong with it. The paper seemed normal. The handwriting appeared to have come from the same person. There were no visible signs of alteration either.

It can be seen at a glance? Tu Kuai could not help turning to look at Niu Youdao, his eyes full of doubt.

There was no helping it. He genuinely could not see what was wrong with the list and had begun to doubt his own eyesight.

Could it be the angle? Tu Kuai finally reached out and took the list directly from Niu Youdao's hands, spreading it open himself and inspecting it again.

He looked it over and over, turning it this way and that, but still found no problem. At last he passed it behind him. "You look."

Chun Xinliang, bent over behind him, took the list. His expression solemn, he straightened and examined it carefully in his hands.

What in the world was going on? Gong Lince and the others sat there watching every movement of the three men with wide eyes, hardly daring to breathe loudly. Whether or not they had personally tampered with anything, each felt like a suspect waiting for judgment.

The solemnity on Chun Xinliang's face gradually turned into uncertainty. Asking himself honestly, he could not see any problem with the list either.

He looked up at the others, then leaned toward Zhong Guzi and offered the list forward. "Senior Brother, why don't you take a look?"

Zhong Guzi sat there without moving, his eyes still closed like a wooden statue, giving no response whatsoever.

He could not possibly have failed to hear. He was plainly avoiding involvement to preserve impartiality.

If he wanted to acknowledge someone, he did. If he did not want to, then no one present could do anything about it. He had done nothing wrong, and who in all of Zijin Cave dared do anything to him?

Receiving no response, Chun Xinliang could only draw the list back and inspect it once more. He truly could not find anything, so at last he asked Niu Youdao directly, "This old man must have poor eyes. You said the clue can be seen at a glance. Where exactly is it?"

Niu Youdao immediately got up and moved to his side, reaching out to point repeatedly at the names on the list.

Tu Kuai quickly stood as well and stretched his neck over to see exactly where Niu Youdao was pointing.

Niu Youdao tapped several names as he reminded them, "This one... this one... and this one too. Two Martial Uncles, look. These are all Elders of the various sects."

Chun Xinliang gave a confirming "Mm" and nodded, indicating that he knew.

Tu Kuai asked strangely, "They're Elders of the various sects. There's nothing wrong with that. So what's the problem?" Even he found the sentence awkward as soon as it came out.

Niu Youdao looked surprised. "The two Martial Uncles don't know?"

Know what? Chun Xinliang and Tu Kuai looked at one another. They genuinely had no idea what he was talking about.

Tu Kuai was direct by nature and could no longer endure the vagueness. "Stop hemming and hawing. Say it plainly. What exactly is wrong?"

Niu Youdao tapped the list. "Two Martial Uncles, these Elders are all elites of their respective sects. Among the Elders in their own sects, every one of them is a first-rate figure! Now look at Zijin Cave. It's me. Somehow it's actually me! Everyone knows what sort of role I play in Zijin Cave. How could it possibly be me? Which person present isn't stronger than I am? By qualifications and seniority, no matter how the list was revised, it should never have landed on my head. No matter how they chose, they couldn't possibly have chosen me. Sacred Realm would practically have to be blind to pick me! Isn't that far too suspicious? If there isn't a problem, then that's the truly strange thing!"

"..."

Chun Xinliang and Tu Kuai were both speechless. They had thought he had found some actual flaw. So this was what he meant. Why had he not simply said so earlier instead of making them stare themselves blind trying to find the problem?

"..."

Gong Lince and the others were speechless as well. What kind of damned nonsense was this?

Still, now that he had said it, there was one point they could not deny. No one present truly thought himself weaker than Niu Youdao. Put that way, the matter did seem somewhat strange. Why had Sacred Realm chosen Niu Youdao of all people?

But that still was not right. The list itself had no problem. Wasn't he still just talking nonsense?

[End of Chapter 944]