Chapter 975: What Damn Guest?

When Yan Li heard his disciple's report, he nearly choked on the tea he was drinking in the pavilion. He forced it down, wiped the corner of his mouth, and stared wide-eyed. "What did you say?"

Beside him, Guan Qingya froze as well. He had been discussing with his master the Maolu Annex's detention of Yuan Gang when, out of nowhere, news came that Niu Youdao had returned. The timing was so absurdly convenient it felt like a joke gone too far.

The disciple paused, then repeated himself clearly. "Elder Niu Youdao is back. He's waiting outside the council hall for the Sect Leader."

Yan Li shot to his feet and barked, "Nonsense! Count the days on your fingers yourself. Niu Youdao only left the sect a few days ago. How could he possibly be back already? Do you think Sacred Realm is some place he can stroll in and out of for amusement?"

The disciple's face twisted miserably under the scolding. "Master, there can't be any mistake. Niu Youdao really is back. When the disciples on duty outside the council hall sent word, I didn't believe it either, so I hurried over to look for myself. There's no mistake. It truly is Elder Niu. The clothes he's wearing are a little strange, but his face, manner, and every movement are unmistakably his!"

With the matter confirmed that clearly, Yan Li swallowed dryly. The hairs on his body seemed to rise, and even his breathing grew uneven. He muttered, "How is that possible? Why did he have to come back now? Could he have learned something happened... No. The timing doesn't match."

Guan Qingya tentatively asked, "Master, will he cause trouble?"

Yan Li had already warned him before, but hearing warnings and personally confronting reality were two different things. Guan Qingya had been somewhat frightened earlier, but not truly worried. A sect had its rules, and he did not believe Niu Youdao would dare run wild. Put plainly, he still had not realized how serious the situation was.

Some truths could not conveniently be known by too many people. Once Yan Li had recovered a little, he waved for the reporting disciple to withdraw. Only then did he tell Guan Qingya, "Don't show your face for now. Find somewhere to hide. Don't run straight into Niu Youdao while he's furious. Wait until his anger dies down before coming out again."

Guan Qingya hesitated. "Master, is that really necessary? Sect rules stand above everything. Can he simply refuse to listen to reason?"

Yan Li glared at him and pointed straight at his nose. "Do you understand him better, or do I? I already told you his relationship with Yuan Gang is anything but ordinary. You people injured Yuan Gang that badly and then locked him up, and you personally slapped Guan Fangyi across the face. That bastard is guaranteed to explode. You think he won't settle accounts with you? You idiot! Of all the times you could have stirred up trouble, you had to choose now, before we even understand what this Sacred Realm tempering is about. If you don't hide for a while, do you really intend to stand there waiting for him to skin you? Forget skinning you. If he's furious enough, he might kill you outright!"

Guan Qingya still could not understand. "Master, the sect has rules. Can he really be completely lawless? I refuse to believe the dignified Zijin Cave will simply let him run wild!"

Deep down, he was somewhat dissatisfied. He thought his master was being far too timid. Yan Li was a Zijin Cave Elder and one of the Sect Leader's direct confidants. Was there really any need to fear Niu Youdao this much? The instant Yan Li heard Niu Youdao had returned, he was frightened into this state. If word spread outside, people might laugh, and even the disciples below them would lose face.

"Rules? Rules depend on who you're dealing with!" Yan Li was almost shouting abuse. "You want to talk rules with him? Which rules are greater, Zijin Cave's or Misty Pavilion's? Don't you know what he's done? He killed Elders of Zhao's three major sects in Tiangu, right under Misty Pavilion's nose, without treating Misty Pavilion's rules as anything worth fearing. Even Misty Pavilion's rules failed to restrain him. You think Zijin Cave's rules will frighten him? That man is far more troublesome than you imagine. Even now you still aren't taking this seriously. Did everything I told you go in one ear and out the other?"

At the mention of Niu Youdao killing Elders of Zhao's three major sects in Tiangu, Guan Qingya had to admit the deed had been ferocious. It was one thing not to think about it, but once he connected that incident to the present situation, his heart gave a hard thump. Yan Li's severe warning finally shocked him fully awake. Real fear appeared on his face. He hurriedly cupped his hands. "Yes. This disciple knows his mistake. I'll go stay out of sight immediately."

"Wait!" Yan Li suddenly stopped him again. Stepping closer, he lowered his voice. "And those two witnesses. You had better keep their mouths tightly shut. If either one changes his story and people learn that you stirred up the trouble that caused such a huge misunderstanding, and then Niu Youdao starts making trouble on top of it, no one in Zijin Cave will be able to protect you! Make those two understand clearly: if they dare speak nonsense, then even if you suffer, they should forget about living comfortably in Zijin Cave afterward. Someone will make them learn what it means to wish for death and be denied it. Understand?"

"Yes! This disciple understands. I'll go now. Does Master have any other instructions?" Guan Qingya was already in a complete panic.

Yan Li gave him a single word. "Scram!"

"Yes!" Guan Qingya answered meekly and hurried away.

Left alone, Yan Li took several deep breaths to calm himself, then quickly departed as well, heading toward the council hall to see what was happening.

News of Niu Youdao's sudden return spread rapidly. At the very least, the senior figures currently overseeing the sect all learned of it immediately and hurried over.

Yet Niu Youdao, waiting outside, saw none of them.

Standing outside the hall with his hands clasped behind his back, Niu Youdao waited and waited, but Gong Lince still did not appear. Suspicion rose in his heart. He turned and climbed the steps.

The two disciples guarding the doors immediately extended their arms to block him. One smiled apologetically. "Elder, please wait a little longer."

Niu Youdao jerked his chin toward the interior. "What's going on? Does announcing me take this long? Is the Sect Leader here or not? If he isn't, just say so plainly. Don't leave me standing outside waiting for nothing."

The disciple continued smiling apologetically. "Elder, please don't be impatient. The Sect Leader is receiving guests. You may need to wait a little."

Niu Youdao raised an eyebrow. "Receiving what damn guest? What damn guest could possibly be more important than me coming back?"

The words were somewhat arrogant, but he was not exactly wrong. He did not believe there was anything currently more important to Zijin Cave than his return from Sacred Realm. Did these people not want to know what had happened inside?

Gong Lince's delay was distinctly abnormal. Niu Youdao was no fool. The slightest irregularity was enough to rouse his suspicion. The moment he finished speaking, he tried to walk straight into the council hall.

The two disciples hurriedly stopped him again. The other one smiled apologetically. "Elder Niu, the memorial tablet of the sect's founding ancestor is enshrined in the council hall. No one may barge in without official business, or it could be considered disrespectful."

Niu Youdao said, "You're stopping me? What does that mean? Are you saying I have no official business?"

The disciple hurriedly said, "We wouldn't dare. But Elder Niu, you know the rules. Please don't make things difficult for us."

Niu Youdao said, "You're talking rules to me? Since when was it your turn to lecture me about rules? Are you the Elders here, or am I? Showing no respect to a superior, showing no respect to me as an Elder—how do the sect rules say the two of you should be punished? Who are your masters? Have them come see me. I'd like to ask them whether Zijin Cave still has any rules at all if juniors can offend their superiors like this."

It was pure unreasonable pestering. The disciple could only smile bitterly. "Elder Niu, we're only carrying out our duties."

Niu Youdao asked, "Can I at least go inside and wait for the Sect Leader?"

The disciple said, "Elder Niu, that truly wouldn't be appropriate."

Niu Youdao snapped, "What, you two haven't even grown your hair yet? Are you blind or something? What's with all these damned objections? Get out of my way. If anything happens, I'll bear the responsibility."

With a sweep of his arm, he knocked aside the two arms barring his path and swaggered straight into the council hall, hands clasped behind his back as he looked around.

The two disciples outside could only stare helplessly. Naturally, both had heard about what happened at the Maolu Annex and did not dare ram themselves into the center of the trouble. Even so, one of them immediately circled around the outside of the hall and slipped in through the rear to report. The other remained at the entrance, keeping close watch on Niu Youdao's every move.

In a pavilion behind the hall, Gong Lince, who had delayed appearing all this time, was waiting. The incident at the Maolu Annex had genuinely made him somewhat afraid to show his face before Niu Youdao.

Yuan An arrived. Yan Li and the others had already reached the place earlier. Gong Lince had sent people to intercept them along the way and bring them in through a side entrance.

The moment Gong Lince saw Yan Li, anger surged in his belly. He badly wanted to demand how the man managed the people under him. Of all the times they could have stirred up trouble, why choose this one? Causing problems while Niu Youdao was undergoing the Sacred Realm tempering was nothing but adding chaos to chaos.

But some words could only remain in his heart or be said privately to Yan Li. He could not voice them in front of everyone.

Once the group had assembled, they put their heads together over the Maolu Annex affair and found it genuinely difficult to handle.

There was, of course, one easy way to solve it. The best method would be to simply kill Niu Youdao. Once he was dead, naturally there would be no problem.

But matters were not that simple. Forget every other factor: Niu Youdao was a Zijin Cave Elder. Killing an Elder without any reason and without any crime to his name was impossible. Sect rules were not a game.

Even an ordinary junior disciple could not simply be killed for no reason, much less an Elder.

With no solution in sight, another disciple hurried in to report that Niu Youdao had already forced his way into the council hall.

Seeing that they could no longer drag things out, Gong Lince sighed. "We'll have to face him sooner or later. Let's go see what's going on and how he managed to return from Sacred Realm so quickly."

The group made its way unhurriedly toward the rear doors of the back hall. Passing through and turning into the main hall, they immediately saw a man in crimson wandering around inside. Who else could it be but Niu Youdao?

"Junior Brother Niu." Gong Lince, leading the group out, greeted him with a smile.

Niu Youdao looked back, smiled as well, and cupped his hands. "Greetings, Sect Leader. Greetings, Elders."

Before anyone could answer, he added meaningfully, "I waited outside for quite a while. Did something happen in the sect?"

That was exactly the question they had feared, because it was difficult to answer.

Gong Lince sighed. "Yucang and the Sect Leaders of Song's three major sects came to visit. They delayed me for a while. I just sent them away. Sorry to have kept Junior Brother waiting."

"Oh, so honored guests arrived." Niu Youdao's eyes flickered slightly. Suspicion entered his voice. "Why did they come at a time like this?"

"You went to Sacred Realm. They naturally developed some thoughts of their own. It's understandable. You can probably guess what they were thinking, so there's no need to dwell on it." Gong Lince waved the subject aside and looked Niu Youdao up and down. "Why are you dressed so strangely?"

Niu Youdao sighed. "Don't mention it. These are clothes Sacred Realm handed out. There's no style to them at all. It wasn't only me. Everyone who entered Sacred Realm had to change into the same thing."

"They really aren't attractive." Gong Lince put on a concerned expression, then suddenly called loudly, "Someone! Bring Elder Niu a set of clothes!"

[End of Chapter 975]