Chapter 1017: They All Sold Niu Youdao Out

Hong Gaitian also glanced at the sky. There was still some time before evening, and heading to the rendezvous point now would be a little early. With that much time, they might even have managed to hunt down another Demon Fox. But since the other side had spoken, he could hardly argue. He agreed on the spot.

Afterward, the three South Sea men skimmed across the ground while Xuan Yao and the others followed overhead on their flying mounts.

The group arrived at a mountain forest, which was precisely the agreed rendezvous point. As expected, they were the first ones back. No one else had arrived yet.

The three large flying mounts also descended into the forest. Xuan Yao waited patiently.

When evening properly arrived, the various groups began returning one after another.

Duan Wuchang was the first back with his men. Seeing Hong Gaitian together with a group from Misty Pavilion, he had no idea what was going on and was unsure whether he should approach.

Xuan Yao, however, beckoned him over himself. Once Duan Wuchang came forward, the questions he was asked were much the same as those put to Hong Gaitian.

Duan Wuchang felt increasingly uneasy as he answered. From time to time, he sent Hong Gaitian questioning looks, but in front of Xuan Yao, Hong Gaitian did not dare signal anything. Duan Wuchang could only honestly recount what he knew.

Xuan Yao compared the two men's answers and found them broadly consistent. There was no obvious problem.

Quan Taifeng returned next with his men. He too froze at the sight before him, then was summoned over by Xuan Yao for questioning. Naturally, his answers were much the same.

The next to return was Fuhua's group of four. She was precisely the person Xuan Yao had been looking for.

Following Ding Wei's instructions, Xuan Yao was looking for Chao Jing. If he could not find Chao Jing, he was to find Niu Youdao. If he could not find Niu Youdao either, then naturally he had to question the people connected to them and clarify the situation. No matter what, he needed something to report when he went back. He had volunteered to make this trip; returning without having learned anything would be difficult to explain.

From the people questioned earlier, Xuan Yao had already obtained a general picture of events. After crooking a finger and summoning Fuhua's group over, he instructed the subordinates on either side of him, "Separate them and question them individually."

Three Misty Pavilion men immediately stepped forward and led Kunlin Shu and the other two away in different directions. Xuan Yao himself took Fuhua aside.

Shen Yidu happened to return at that moment with his people. Seeing the situation, he was startled and uncertain. He tried to move closer to Hong Gaitian and the others to ask what was happening, but the remaining Misty Pavilion personnel stopped him and kept him apart from those who had already been questioned, preventing them from comparing stories.

Shen Yidu had no choice but to obediently withdraw with his men and wait off to one side. Unease gnawed at him. He had no idea what had happened.

Lang Jingkong was the last to return with his people. He was equally surprised by the scene. Just like Shen Yidu, he was prevented by the Misty Pavilion guards from speaking with Hong Gaitian.

Lang Jingkong could only retreat to Shen Yidu's side with his men. The moment they met, he naturally asked, "Brother Shen, what's going on?"

Shen Yidu muttered, "I know as much as you do. Nothing."

Lang Jingkong asked, "Did something happen?"

Shen Yidu looked worried. "Misty Pavilion came straight to us, and from the way they're separating people for questioning, there must be something."

Lang Jingkong said, "We're together every day. What could possibly have happened? Don't tell me Niu Youdao or Chao Jing stirred up some trouble."

"I don't know. Hopefully not. Still..." Shen Yidu hesitated. "Even if something did happen, it shouldn't have anything to do with us, should it? Let's think carefully. Have we done anything out of line recently?"

Lang Jingkong frowned and began mentally retracing everything that had happened since the tempering began.

...

Beneath the trees, after listening to Fuhua's account, Xuan Yao narrowed his eyes and scrutinized the beautiful demon cultivator before him. "Fuhua, you are certain Niu Youdao was with you the entire day Chao Jing disappeared?"

Fuhua's heart grew uneasy. Why did it feel as though they suspected Niu Youdao of killing Chao Jing? She had no idea what was really going on. Even if Niu Youdao had killed Chao Jing, so what? Misty Pavilion ordinarily did not interfere in private grudges. Why would the Pavilion personally come investigate?

And how had Misty Pavilion learned that Chao Jing was missing and arrived so quickly? Had someone reported it? That did not make sense either. Again, even if Niu Youdao had killed Chao Jing, it was still a private grievance. What would be the point of filing a complaint?

Putting her unease aside for the moment, she answered firmly, "Not a word of what I said is false. On the day Chao Jing disappeared, Niu Youdao stayed with us the entire time and never left."

Xuan Yao said, "Fuhua, let me remind you of something. You should understand the consequences of deceiving or concealing information in a matter Misty Pavilion is investigating. Of course, I hear the two of you are sworn elder sister and younger brother. I can understand the personal bond. The people of Misty Pavilion are human too; we are not entirely without feeling. So I am willing to give you one more chance. If you tell the truth now, then if you concealed anything earlier, I will treat it as making amends through merit and let the matter pass. Think carefully before you answer."

Fuhua felt helpless. She was already telling the truth. Was she supposed to lie instead? More importantly, under circumstances like these, she had no idea where she stood. She certainly did not dare invent anything.

"Steward Xuan, that truly is what happened. Niu Youdao was with us that day. I cannot and would not dare lie to deceive you."

Xuan Yao said, "You are responsible for the words you speak. If I later discover that anything you said was false, do you know the consequences?"

Fuhua answered, "I am willing to stake my life on it. Every word I have spoken is true. If even one sentence is false, I will accept any punishment!"

Xuan Yao's jaw tightened. He said nothing more, but his eyes continued examining Fuhua, leaving her deeply anxious.

After waiting for a while, once the other Misty Pavilion personnel sent word that their questioning was complete, Xuan Yao finally turned and left to meet with the others.

The moment they gathered, Xuan Yao said, "Report what you learned, one by one."

The Misty Pavilion men who had taken Kunlin Shu and the other two away immediately gave their respective reports.

After listening, Xuan Yao frowned. Every one of them could confirm that Niu Youdao had been with those people. Every one could confirm that Niu Youdao had no opportunity to act against Chao Jing. Could they all be lying together to protect Niu Youdao?

Yet judging from the other information uncovered during questioning, these people did not seem to be lying for Niu Youdao's sake. Otherwise, there would have been no need for them to reveal certain things unfavorable to him.

Could Chao Jing's disappearance truly have nothing to do with Niu Youdao?

If that was the case, then prying open Niu Youdao's mouth might no longer be justified.

The logic was simple. If there were no hidden secret beyond the matters Taishu Shancheng had already exposed, why force Niu Youdao's mouth open? If there was no secret, were they supposed to torture him until he fabricated one?

If they truly did that, and Niu Youdao invented some earth-shaking secret only for those above to investigate and discover the truth, then the blame would fall on Xuan Yao instead.

"Bring Hong Gaitian over," Xuan Yao ordered.

Hong Gaitian was quickly brought before him. Under Xuan Yao's scrutiny, he looked uneasy.

Xuan Yao said blandly, "According to Fuhua, the reason all of you followed Niu Youdao was because you knew he had information about the tempering in advance. Is that true?"

Hong Gaitian was secretly startled. He had not expected Fuhua to reveal even that. This was essentially selling Niu Youdao out.

What he did not know was that Fuhua had little choice. She was frightened too. The key problem was that she had no idea what Misty Pavilion was actually investigating or how much they already knew. She did not believe they had personally come all the way here merely because they suspected Niu Youdao of killing Chao Jing. After reviewing everything that had happened, the only thing she could think of that might truly alarm Misty Pavilion was the possibility that Niu Youdao had an inside source within Sacred Realm. She did not dare conceal it and had honestly revealed what she knew.

She did so because even if Niu Youdao really had an inside source, it had nothing to do with her. Her relationship with him had not reached the point where she would go through fire and water for his sake. To avoid bringing disaster upon herself, she could only separate herself from the matter.

Hong Gaitian hesitated, then admitted it. "Yes. When news of the tempering first came out, Niu Youdao sent me word telling me to prepare trustworthy people and recommend them for the tempering list. He must have known he himself would be entering Sacred Realm for this tempering. That made me suspect he knew something about the inside situation. I thought following him would give us some security, so I did."

Xuan Yao asked, "Not because you are sworn brothers?"

"That was only part of the reason. The real reason was that I thought he knew the inside story and could give us some protection."

What sworn brothers? It was almost laughable. Xuan Yao gave a cold snort and turned his head. "Bring Lang Jingkong over."

Lang Jingkong was soon brought before him. Asked nearly the same questions, he likewise did not dare hide anything and honestly admitted that Niu Youdao had known details of the tempering in advance.

Duan Wuchang came next, followed by Shen Yidu and Quan Taifeng.

The moment Quan Taifeng heard the questions and saw the reactions of the others, he cursed inwardly. So Niu Youdao had known the inside story of the tempering. It appeared the man really did have an inside source within Sacred Realm. No wonder Luo Fangfei had sent him out.

Quan Taifeng truly had not known about any of that before. Among everyone present, he alone had been ignorant. He really was the only one who had joined Niu Youdao purely because of their sworn-brother bond. After seeing Niu Youdao's attitude toward Hui Qingping, he had decided Niu Youdao was reliable.

As for Shen Yidu, he sold Niu Youdao out more thoroughly than anyone. Not only did he reveal that Niu Youdao might have known the inside story in advance, he also said Niu Youdao had extorted twenty million gold coins from Xiaoyue Pavilion over the matter. He even exposed the fact that Niu Youdao had secretly ordered him to kill Chao Jing.

He extorted twenty million gold coins too? Xuan Yao's brows twitched. He looked around at everyone before him and realized that each of them was desperate to clear himself. Not one could keep his mouth shut. Faced with Misty Pavilion's pressure, every last one of them had sold Niu Youdao out.

That being the case, it was all the more impossible that these people were collectively helping Niu Youdao conceal Chao Jing's murder.

After a period of silence, Xuan Yao asked everyone, "So after Niu Youdao entered the Desolate Marsh Deadlands with you, he actually spent most of his time away from the group. Most of the time, he operated separately with the people from Zijin Cave. And from beginning to end, he has not killed a single Demon Fox. Is that correct?"

"Yes." The answers came one after another.

Xuan Yao asked, "Will he still rendezvous with you? When, and where?"

"Five days from now..." Once again, everyone answered honestly.

Xuan Yao stared at the rendezvous point they indicated on the handbook map and frowned. Finding Niu Youdao truly would not be easy.

A systematic search like this was manageable, but now no one had any contact with Niu Youdao. The Desolate Marsh Deadlands were vast beyond measure. Searching blindly for him would be little different from looking for a needle in the sea.

With matters having developed this way, Xuan Yao would not be able to return anytime soon. After thinking for a while, he turned and instructed, "Send a message to Mr. Ding. Report the situation and tell him I will not be returning for the time being."

[End of Chapter 1017]