Chapter 982: Punishment

Yan Li shouted angrily, "What do you mean, your man and my man? Forming private cliques openly inside the sect—are you still a disciple of Zijin Cave?"

Niu Youdao gave it right back to him. "As though private factions inside the sect are anything rare. Shall I take out the sect roster and count which disciples occupy which key positions, and whose people they all are? Do you think the disciples below us are idiots?"

There was no need for politeness. If an ordinary person spoke to Yan Li this way, it would count as a subordinate offending a superior. Niu Youdao's own status and position, however, were high enough that no such problem existed.

Yan Li said, "How sect disciples are assigned is decided through sect deliberation. The arrangements are fair and reasonable, and in any case they are internal sect affairs. You gathered a group of outsiders, set up your own little domain within the sect, and now openly oppose Zijin Cave itself. And you still think you're in the right?"

Niu Youdao said, "Whether it was proper was already decided by the people who agreed to let them stay here. Who approved the Maolu Annex's presence? Did my people intend to oppose the sect, or did someone deliberately come looking for trouble? Everyone knows perfectly well. Someone has bullied his way right onto my head, and you still expect me to swallow the insult in silence? There's no such reasoning. You picked the wrong target. I'm not made of clay!"

"At the start, everything was promised so nicely. First you lure my people inside Zijin Cave, then deliberately have disciples come pick fights with them... Is Guan Qingya your disciple or not? Old bastard Yan Li, what are you trying to do? If you want to get rid of me, then make your move. I'll accompany you anytime!"

Seeing the two of them tear away all pretense and begin quarreling openly, their words growing uglier by the moment, Gong Lince knew that if this continued, not even a layer of gold could make the scene look respectable. He roared, "Both of you, shut up!"

Niu Youdao immediately cupped his hands toward him. "Sect Leader, since someone believes the people of the Maolu Annex are unsuitable to remain here, I ask Sect Leader to let us pass. We can leave the sect grounds and find somewhere else to stay, returning peace and quiet to the sect. Please have the sect deliberate and grant permission!"

Gong Lince's brows lifted slightly.

That request was impossible for him to accept.

Perhaps it would have been different before, but matters had already reached this stage. How could he casually release a tiger back into the mountains? With the people here, Zijin Cave could still hold Niu Youdao in check. If they let them leave, how were they supposed to make him listen afterward?

How could Gong Lince fail to understand why Niu Youdao had not simply killed those three men in public?

Giving him face was secondary.

The true reason was that Niu Youdao knew he was no match for Zijin Cave. He feared causing enormous losses to the Maolu Annex and therefore did not dare push matters all the way to the end.

If Gong Lince truly released these people and they later broke with Zijin Cave, who knew which faction they might defect to? That was something he absolutely could not allow.

Rather than risk losing the enormous interests bound to them, Gong Lince would prefer to wipe the people of the Maolu Annex out entirely and kill Niu Youdao along with them. If Zijin Cave could no longer swallow those massive interests, it still could not allow them to fall into someone else's hands and become a weapon used to suppress Zijin Cave in return.

In the present State of Yan, Zijin Cave possessed enormous influence. Even Xiaoyao Palace and Lingjian Mountain had to show Zijin Cave a certain degree of deference. How could Gong Lince tolerate that balance being overturned?

"Come with me for a moment." Gong Lince tossed the words at Niu Youdao, then turned and walked aside.

Niu Youdao raised his middle finger at Yan Li, who was glaring at him, before finally following Gong Lince away.

Other than Yuan Gang, no one present understood what that raised middle finger meant. Yan Li did not understand it either. Still, he could guess it was certainly no good sign. Given the way things had reached this point, Niu Youdao was hardly offering him a blessing. Yet Yan Li could not find any words in the gesture itself that he could seize upon and retort against.

Beneath a large tree, with no one else approaching nearby, Gong Lince turned and asked directly, "I want one answer from you. Can this matter be settled peacefully or not?"

Niu Youdao understood what he meant. Gong Lince had deliberately pulled him aside in full view of everyone because it was time for both sides to show their bottom lines. Once each knew where the other truly stood, whether the matter could be resolved came down to a single answer.

So Niu Youdao spoke plainly. "Sect Leader, ever since the Maolu Annex moved into Zijin Cave, it has always behaved properly and kept to itself. Who started this trouble? Everyone knows perfectly well!"

Gong Lince said, "You can't put it that way. Before the truth of a matter is established, personal impressions are only impressions. Any version of the truth remains possible. How can feelings be used as the basis for judgment?"

Niu Youdao said, "Fine! We won't discuss truth. We'll discuss reality! You know my situation inside Zijin Cave. If I show weakness, sooner or later I'll be eaten until not even bone scraps remain. If someone pushes me too far, then I can only fight in order to survive. I must have an explanation for what happened today!"

Gong Lince said, "Whatever the truth may be, I cannot hand the lives of those three men over for you to dispose of, nor can I execute all three merely for your sake. If I really agreed to that, what would every disciple in Zijin Cave think of me? I would no longer be able to remain Sect Leader!"

Niu Youdao said, "I'm not a man who doesn't know what's good for him. If Sect Leader gives me an explanation, naturally I won't make things difficult for Sect Leader. I can let this matter end here. But the three of them must apologize. My Maolu Annex has strong liquor... Afterward, they are to be expelled from the sect grounds immediately. Whether they're sent to Star-Plucking City, Boundless Pavilion, or some other place to serve is the sect's business. I won't interfere."

"Sect Leader, which person in my Maolu Annex would dare provoke you? Yet look at what has happened now. Even ordinary Zijin Cave disciples dare bully their way onto my head. I've struggled for all these years to reach where I am today. If I can't even deal with people like them, then I won't be able to answer to myself."

"They don't know the immensity of Heaven and Earth. If they had the ability to do something, then they must also have the ability to bear the consequences. Since they did it, they must pay the price for their own actions!"

Gong Lince fell silent for a while. Then he suddenly clasped his hands behind his back, turned toward the standoff at the Maolu Annex in the distance, and slowly said, "Elder Yuan and the others are quite interested in the forces under your control."

Niu Youdao stepped forward until he stood beside him and said, "I understand. Most of the sect's real authority is in Sect Leader's hands. Elder Yuan and the others only get to take part in discussions, guard the house, run errands, and handle similar duties. Of course they aren't satisfied with that. When they joined forces to suppress me before, it was nothing more than an attempt to divide the forces under my control among themselves."

"Once they saw they couldn't divide them, the next step would probably be trying to befriend me. But what kind of man is Sect Leader? If they behave, Sect Leader may still give the Supreme Elders some face. If they don't, I'm afraid even their positions as Elders may not be secure. They understand that principle too, which is why they don't dare approach me casually. They're afraid of violating Sect Leader's taboos."

Gong Lince said, "The world is in chaos. Command must be unified. A heap of loose sand cannot establish itself! And besides, I didn't bring you here to analyze Zijin Cave's internal situation for me. I know the state of Zijin Cave better than you do!"

Niu Youdao said, "I guarantee I will not collude in secret with Elder Yuan and the others. Within Zijin Cave, orders will come from Sect Leader alone! One matter is one matter. Elder Yan and I have no deep blood feud. As long as Elder Yan can put this down, the Maolu Annex can continue communicating only through him as before!"

The corner of Gong Lince's mouth lifted. He shot Niu Youdao a sidelong glance. "Wipe your own ass clean. I don't want to see any more unnecessary complications arise from this."

"Yes!" Niu Youdao agreed.

Gong Lince said, "No one in this world can do whatever he pleases. There are some matters I cannot decide by myself. Wait for the sect's decision."

Niu Youdao said, "Inside this sect, surely Sect Leader doesn't lack even that degree of control. I believe Sect Leader's word still decides the matter."

Gong Lince said nothing more. Without looking back, he walked away.

One man returned to Zijin Cave's side. The other returned to the Maolu Annex's side.

Once Gong Lince rejoined the other Elders, he went straight to the point. "What happened today cannot be allowed to continue and affect the sect's larger interests. There is no reason to drag this out any longer. We settle it here."

"You all know how much influence the interests in Nanzhou, Jinzhou, and Beizhou give us inside the State of Yan. Do we still want those interests or not? Niu Youdao's position is equally firm. There are only two choices before us. Either sacrifice Zijin Cave's enormous interests, go to war with the Maolu Annex, and destroy Niu Youdao and the others, or give Niu Youdao an explanation. How should we choose? I want to hear your opinions."

The choice did not seem difficult.

With Gong Lince intervening, the outcome was obvious.

Once the decision was made, Yan Li was the most dissatisfied. He privately found Gong Lince and complained bitterly, "Senior Brother, if we handle it this way, how am I supposed to answer to the disciples under me?"

Gong Lince immediately cursed him to his face. "Who started this affair? You know better than anyone. Your people stirred up trouble without even choosing the right time. You can't control your own disciple, so who are you blaming? Keeping them alive is already good enough!"

"What? Do you think their face is more important than the enormous interests of Zijin Cave as a whole? Them or you—if you can guarantee there will be no trouble in Nanzhou, Jinzhou, and Beizhou, I will immediately order the Maolu Annex wiped out!"

Yan Li remained unwilling. "Even if the disciples below me did something wrong, does Niu Youdao have evidence? Without evidence, how are the disciples supposed to accept the result?"

Gong Lince said, "Have you gone senile, or have you simply become more naive with age? Do some matters really require evidence? We can seize Niu Youdao's people without evidence, and Niu Youdao can deal with your people without evidence! I am asking you one thing now: can you carry out the decision or not?"

The sect had already made its decision. What could Yan Li do?

He had only come to complain in the faint hope things might still change. In the end, he could do nothing but obey.

When Guan Qingya, Guo Miaosheng, and An Taihua learned the sect's final decision from Yan Li face-to-face, all three looked utterly miserable. Bloodstains still stood out on their bodies.

All three were injured. Guan Qingya and Guo Miaosheng looked particularly wretched, each having had half a mouthful of teeth knocked out by Niu Youdao. An Taihua, meanwhile, had suffered a fairly serious internal injury.

They had been publicly beaten by Niu Youdao and had hoped the sect would recover justice for them. Instead, not only had justice failed to appear, after being beaten they were now required to apologize to Niu Youdao as well.

If they apologized, that meant they were admitting fault.

The charge of showing no respect for a superior would therefore be established, and naturally punishment would follow.

All three were to be transferred to Boundless Pavilion in the barren desert where even birds did not bother to shit. Guan Qingya would serve as a shopkeeper there.

"Master! We never cursed Elder Niu. Elder Niu deliberately framed us and falsely accused us. This disciple refuses to accept it!" Guan Qingya's face was full of grief and indignation.

Yan Li said, "Qingya, the sect has already made its decision. You understand the consequences of defying a sect decision. Niu Youdao is a mad dog. Once he gets his teeth into you, he'll bite until you're dead. Being able to preserve your lives this time is already fortunate."

"Besides, the place you're being sent is only somewhat miserable. Your rank has not been reduced. Sending you there temporarily is merely a way to resolve the present turmoil and prevent the matter from expanding further. You have suffered for the interests of the sect. We all understand that."

"With me still here, you're only being sent away for a temporary transition. Before long, I'll find an opportunity to bring you back. Enough. Don't say anything more. Endure the grievance for now and accept it."

Yan Li believed that preserving their lives was the end of the matter. There were some details Gong Lince had not told even him.

Accepting the decision meant accepting the three jars of poisoned strong liquor from the Maolu Annex as well. Whether they wanted to drink or not, they would have no choice!

[End of Chapter 982]