Chapter 965: He Saved His Own Skin and Ran

What the hell?

Niu Youdao blinked repeatedly, thinking he had misheard. A moment ago, he had assumed the woman was testing him with her words. Was she really telling him to leave? Was this for real?

Qin Guan and Ke Dingjie looked at one another.

The Misty Pavilion man also thought he had heard wrongly. He hurriedly asked, "Pavilion Master, let him go back? You mean let him leave Sacred Realm?"

He had asked exactly what Niu Youdao wanted to ask.

Luo Fangfei stopped. She swept a cold glance over the Misty Pavilion man, then looked back at Niu Youdao. "What? I'm personally escorting you out, and you still don't want to leave?"

Niu Youdao said weakly, "Pavilion Master, I wouldn't dare trouble you to see me out personally."

He was not pretending to be timid. He genuinely had no idea what was happening and could not make sense of this at all. Could she be planning to get rid of him?

Yet he had not lost his reason. He still possessed some judgment. Luo Qiu's daughter had personally run all the way here just to kill him? Was that really necessary?

Even so, he did not dare casually follow this woman. She gave him a completely unfathomable feeling. He had no clue what she was thinking. In a place like Sacred Realm, he had remained cautious at every step, unwilling to place one foot wrong.

As things currently stood, his own judgment told him he was safer staying here.

Luo Fangfei said, "Don't throw away the face I'm giving you. If I say you can go, then you can go."

Her saying so was not enough. The Misty Pavilion man's expression twitched as he said, "Pavilion Master, this doesn't seem appropriate. May I ask whether this is the Sacred Venerable's will?"

Luo Fangfei turned her head toward him and said coldly, "Whether it's appropriate, and whether it's the Sacred Venerable's will, is that something you're qualified to question?"

"Yes!" The Misty Pavilion man hurriedly shut his mouth. If he truly angered this woman, the consequences were more than he could bear.

Luo Fangfei turned back toward Niu Youdao. "What, I can't even invite you to come with me?"

"No, no." Niu Youdao waved his hands repeatedly and forced a dry smile. "Pavilion Master has misunderstood. There are still two Zijin Cave disciples here. Are they coming back with me?"

He was thinking that if he had two people at his side, then if something happened, at least he would have two helpers.

Luo Fangfei glanced at Qin Guan and Ke Dingjie. "Enough nonsense. They stay. You come with me." No matter how recklessly she behaved, it would hardly be appropriate to take every person from Zijin Cave away.

Niu Youdao forced another smile. "They're fellow disciples I brought here. Pavilion Master, allow me to give them a few instructions."

Luo Fangfei did not object. She left the room first.

Niu Youdao immediately seized the moment to warn Qin Guan and Ke Dingjie. "Once I'm gone, be careful yourselves."

Ke Dingjie lowered his voice. "Is she really going to let Elder leave Sacred Realm and return to Zijin Cave?"

Niu Youdao said, "You're asking me? Who the hell am I supposed to ask? The daughter of one of the supreme experts personally came all the way here to escort me out. Do you think that's normal? Stop looking at me like that. Whether this turns out to be fortune or disaster, I have no idea. You think I want to go? She came here in person. I don't even have room to refuse. I have to go with her. Once I'm gone, when the tempering begins, you can join up with the people from the Four Seas. For my sake, they'll look after the two of you."

"Yes!" the two replied.

Niu Youdao said, "All right. That woman is waiting outside. We can't afford to offend her, so I'm leaving. In any case, watch yourselves." With that, he turned and walked out.

Once he met Luo Fangfei in the courtyard, she said nothing further and simply led him away.

The Misty Pavilion personnel guarding the courtyard did try to stop them. Luo Fangfei's brows rose and her eyes turned cold. "Out of the way!"

The guards did not dare forcibly obstruct her. With no choice, they backed off. It was the same all along the route. The people of Misty Pavilion could only watch helplessly as Luo Fangfei led Niu Youdao away.

This was precisely why Luo Fangfei had come personally. She was afraid anyone sent beneath her would lack enough face to accomplish it. Ding Wei in particular was a disciple of Yuan Se, one of the nine supreme experts, and might not necessarily give her face. Who would have expected Ding Wei not to be here? That saved her quite a bit of trouble. Naturally, no one else here was capable of stopping her.

With no one present who could make the decision, who dared use force against her?

The people from the various factions in the large courtyard all emerged into their doorways and watched helplessly as Niu Youdao was taken away, every one of them unable to understand what was happening.

Fuhua and the others immediately hurried to the room where Niu Youdao had been staying and asked Qin Guan and Ke Dingjie what exactly had happened.

The two men did not know either. Considering Niu Youdao's instructions, and the fact that they would need these people to look after them once Elder Niu was gone, they explained what had happened inside the room.

"She's sending Niu Youdao out of Sacred Realm and letting him return to Zijin Cave?" Hong Gaitian looked astonished. Doubtfully, he asked, "Is that really true?"

Qin Guan said, "We don't know the truth of it either."

"Come on. Let's take a look." Fuhua called out, and the group flew onto the roof to watch from higher ground.

Sacred Realm's exit was already on the summit of a nearby peak, and that peak stood higher than this one. From the roof, it was easy to see whether Niu Youdao was really heading toward the exit.

Seeing this, not only did their group climb up, but people from the other factions also flew onto the rooftops one after another, wondering what they were looking at.

There was no mistake. After leaving Shouque Villa, Niu Youdao was indeed led directly by Luo Fangfei to the summit where the exit stood.

Seeing once more the inverted bowl of rippling light he had passed through on the way in, Niu Youdao could hardly believe it. Was this woman truly taking him out?

If Niu Youdao had come here alone, he probably would have had difficulty even approaching the exit. The guards alone would have stopped him. With Luo Fangfei present, everything became simple. She carried a token granting special permission to enter and leave. Besides, the guards here had no idea what had happened. They came forward to question them, Luo Fangfei gave a brief answer, and they immediately allowed the pair through.

Luo Fangfei truly was escorting him personally. She led Niu Youdao straight into the rippling light herself.

Niu Youdao kept thinking as they walked, but even after racking his brains he could not understand what was happening. No matter how he looked at it, she did not seem to be trying to harm him. If it was inconvenient to act against him at Shouque Villa, surely there was still no need to go through the trouble of taking him out of Sacred Realm before doing so.

Back at Shouque Villa, Fuhua and the others on the courtyard rooftops personally watched Niu Youdao reach the exit. Given Luo Fangfei's status, they too felt it was unlikely she would go to this much trouble just to harm him. They gathered together atop the roof.

"Looks like he really has left Sacred Realm," Lang Jingkong said heavily.

Fuhua bit her lip. "Sure enough, he had a fallback prepared. That sworn brother of ours isn't very honorable. He came in, took a little tour, nothing happened to him, and now he's gone back. The rest of us are left here worrying ourselves sick."

Hong Gaitian clenched a fist. "No wonder he refused to leak even the slightest hint. So he knew all along that he'd be going back."

After the group jumped down from the roof, Chao Jing could no longer worry about appearances. He immediately swept over and asked, "What's going on with Niu Youdao?"

People from the other factions also came flying over, asking what had happened.

Fuhua gave a cold laugh. "What's going on? His tempering is over. He's left Sacred Realm. The Pavilion Master of Fangfei Pavilion personally escorted him out. The rest of us can stay here and slowly endure."

"What? Such a thing actually happened?" exclaimed Taishu Shancheng, Elder of Qiyun Sect.

An uproar broke out. Shen Yidu and Chao Jing both looked rather unhappy. Niu Youdao had actually abandoned them without a word and run off just like that? If he had a connection with Fangfei Pavilion, couldn't he have found some way to look after them too?

Quan Taifeng, Elder of Lingxiao Pavilion, shook his head and sighed softly. He muttered inwardly that this old brother of his truly was formidable. Even under circumstances like these, Niu Youdao had managed to save his own skin and get away. Quan Taifeng could hardly imagine how he had done it.

Listening to everyone's comments, Qin Guan and Ke Dingjie exchanged a look. They felt these people were overthinking it. Elder Niu himself had no idea what was happening. Elder Niu himself had said he did not know whether fortune or disaster awaited him. On what basis had everyone else decided he had escaped safely?

Seeing their own Elder being criticized this way, the two were still Zijin Cave disciples after all, so they spoke a few words in his defense.

Fuhua and the others looked at them as though looking at fools. In their eyes, these two really were idiots. They knew nothing. Every time the others had held a private conversation with Niu Youdao, these two had been excluded. Only people like themselves, who had received Niu Youdao's instructions beforehand and knew he had prepared in advance, understood the truth...

When the highly vigilant Niu Youdao stepped out of the rippling light, the ring of buildings around him blazed with lanterns beneath a sky full of stars. In this world, it was deep night.

Luo Fangfei walked gracefully ahead. Misty Pavilion personnel came over to make a cursory inspection, then immediately withdrew and let them pass. Even the guards at the exit inside Sacred Realm had not known what was happening. Naturally, those stationed outside at the entrance knew even less.

What was strange about Luo Qiu's daughter personally bringing someone in or out? They only needed to record it properly. If anything happened, Luo Fangfei herself would bear responsibility.

Luo Fangfei escorted Niu Youdao all the way through the fortress-like perimeter and out the gate. Then she raised her chin slightly, indicating that he could leave.

Leave?

Just leave like this?

Niu Youdao looked at the world outside, then turned back toward the brightly lit buildings within the enclosure. He wanted to leave, but he did not dare.

He truly had no idea what this woman was trying to do. His feet would not move. His thoughts raced at high speed as he tried to catch even the slightest clue he could analyze, yet after turning everything over and over, his mind remained a complete blank.

He asked himself honestly: he was not exactly stupid. Yet this woman had somehow left his heart hanging high and low, without the slightest sense of certainty.

More than uncertainty, he could not even find a single thread from which to begin reasoning about her. She had completely deprived him of any way to respond.

The principle was simple. Nothing happened without a cause. There ought to be a reason behind everything. Yet he could see no trace of any reason here. The only clue he could even suspect was that she was Sha Rulai's wife, because Niu Youdao had dealt with Sha Rulai before.

Could this have something to do with Sha Rulai?

But then what did it mean for her to release Niu Youdao alone, with the daughter of a Sacred Venerable personally escorting him out?

Did Niu Youdao really have that much face?

Luo Fangfei said, "What are you dawdling for? Do you want me to personally escort you all the way back to Zijin Cave?"

"No, no." Niu Youdao waved his hands, forcing a dry smile. He tentatively asked, "You're really letting me go back? May I ask one question? Why?"

Luo Fangfei said, "If you don't get the hell out now, do you believe I can make sure you never leave?"

"Uh... Pavilion Master, take care. I bid you farewell." Niu Youdao cupped his hands, backed away several steps, then suddenly turned and strode off.

Even while leaving, he remained alert to everything around him. His steps gradually slowed. When he looked back again, he found that Luo Fangfei had already turned around and gone back inside.

What the hell was going on?

Niu Youdao practically took one step and looked back three times, looking almost reluctant to part from Sacred Realm.

By the time he reached the seashore and faced the surging ocean beneath the night sky, nothing unexpected had happened. He could not help scratching his head. He truly was baffled from top to bottom.

Since he could not figure it out, he stopped wasting thought on it for the moment.

He lifted his head toward the stars, used their positions to determine his bearings, and then flashed away over the vast sea. He would take things one step at a time. If the other side truly had some objective, sooner or later they would reveal a clue. For now, he simply had too little information to analyze.

[End of Chapter 965]