Chapter 1020: Come Clean

Niu Youdao admitted it readily. He had never intended to hide this matter in the first place. From the moment he used Wuliang Mountain's people for the operation, he had already prepared for the possibility that Misty Pavilion would learn of it. Right now, admitting something they could verify was an opportunity to prove that he was not lying and lay the groundwork for what came next—to establish that, when facing Misty Pavilion, he would come clean.

As he had judged earlier, from the moment Luo Fangfei sent him out of Sacred Realm, he knew that woman had brought him enormous trouble. Her actions were bound to draw Misty Pavilion's close attention to him. That was also one of the reasons he had accelerated his plans.

Xuan Yao was fairly satisfied with the answer. It matched the intelligence Misty Pavilion had obtained through its covert source. At least the man before him was being honest.

Xuan Yao said calmly, "Misty Pavilion has no interest in your private grudges. I only want to know why you wanted Chao Shenghuai dead."

Niu Youdao replied, "Back when the States of Yan and Song were at war, Myriad Beasts Sect really did interfere in the fighting and inflicted enormous losses on the Yan army. Afterward, I found Chao Jing. Chao Jing really did secretly help me, which led to the Song army's crushing defeat. Myriad Beasts Sect had already proven that it possessed the ability to influence the course of a war. I didn't want to provoke the sect. If Myriad Beasts Sect became involved again later, it could be very disadvantageous to me."

"That's why you wanted to kill Chao Shenghuai? Then why didn't you act earlier? Why choose this particular time?"

"There were other reasons that pushed me to act now. I've always maintained secret contact with Chao Jing, including after we entered Sacred Realm. The incriminating statements Mr. Ding made the sect Elders write threw Chao Jing into panic. He had always believed I had an inside source within Sacred Realm and wanted me to use that person to help him pass the tempering safely. He even used the matter to threaten me. That was when I first decided he needed to be silenced. The moment I left Sacred Realm, I began arranging Chao Shenghuai's assassination."

Xuan Yao said, "Kill Chao Shenghuai, but leave Chao Jing alive? What would be the point of killing only one?"

"The moment Chao Jing threatened me, I approached Xiaoyue Pavilion Elder Shen Yidu and told him to find an opportunity to dispose of Chao Jing. I never expected that after leaving Sacred Realm I would be brought back again, much less that Taishu Shancheng already knew the secret dealings between Chao Jing and me. Once Taishu Shancheng exposed everything, I no longer had any reason to kill Chao Jing. If I killed him after the matter had already been revealed, wouldn't that amount to admitting I was silencing a witness? Shen Yidu later asked me whether we should still act against Chao Jing, and I stopped him."

Xuan Yao asked impassively, "Why did Chao Jing believe you had an inside source within Sacred Realm?"

Niu Youdao sighed repeatedly. "Steward Xuan, that's a long story. I've had grievances I simply couldn't explain."

"Then take your time. I have plenty of it."

"When news first came out that there would be a tempering in Sacred Realm, I went to the Sect Leader and the others at Zijin Cave. I told them I didn't want them putting my name forward for the tempering list. Zijin Cave assured me that they would not recommend any Elders to come. But my relationship with Zijin Cave has never been pleasant. Not only has it been unpleasant, I've repeatedly been suppressed by them. To tell you the truth, I didn't have much faith in what Zijin Cave promised me."

"There was another reason: what happened with the Tiandu Secret Realm. In every previous opening of the Tiandu Secret Realm, independent cultivators had nothing to do with it. I had planned to sit back and watch the excitement, but then an independent cultivator suddenly appeared among the participants and somehow dragged me into the Tiandu Secret Realm as well. I nearly lost my life there. Once something that should have been impossible had become possible, how could I not be afraid of it happening again? Add in how unreliable Zijin Cave was, and anyone in my position would have made preparations in advance. Steward Xuan, if you had been in my situation, could you really have done nothing beforehand?"

Now that Niu Youdao had laid out the chain of events clearly, Xuan Yao could put himself in the man's place. If it had been him, he really would have prepared in advance. Out loud, however, he said, "I'm questioning you, not the other way around. Continue."

Niu Youdao could only go on. "Once news of the Sacred Realm tempering came out, I contacted every faction I had some friendship with and enough influence to speak to. I asked them to recommend trustworthy disciples for the tempering list. My purpose truly was nothing more than preparing for the worst. If I really did get dragged into Sacred Realm, then at least I wouldn't be left without people willing to help me. That is genuinely why I contacted them."

"But when the Sacred Realm list was released, my name really was on it. What surprised me even more was that nearly everyone I had secretly contacted also made the list. That was when things became troublesome. Every side began contacting me and asking whether I knew inside information about the tempering. No matter how many times I explained myself, no one believed me. They were all convinced I knew what was happening behind the scenes and kept asking me to look after them."

"Steward Xuan, they truly misunderstood me, Chao Jing included. At first, I really was only preparing against the possibility that something might happen. I never expected I would actually be placed on the tempering list, much less that all of them would be selected too. But no matter how I explained it, they simply decided I had inside information."

Even without Niu Youdao's explanation, Xuan Yao had already been doubtful about this point.

People outside did not know how the tempering list had been produced, but he did. Originally, there had been nothing unusual about the list. It was Luo Fangfei who suddenly interfered and forcibly changed the names Zijin Cave had recommended, dragging Niu Youdao in.

At first, the people of the Nine Sacred Lands had assumed Luo Qiu was behind it. After all, Luo Fangfei had done this and Luo Qiu had said nothing.

After considering the matter, the various Sacred Lands decided Luo Qiu's supposed reasoning made some sense. Having higher-ranking figures among the participants was not necessarily a bad thing. They therefore passed instructions to Misty Pavilion to follow Luo Qiu's supposed intent, which was why the lists submitted by the various sects were later revised wholesale.

The Sacred Venerables were not going to concern themselves with every tiny detail and personally designate which Elder from which sect should participate. If they had to do that, with so many matters beneath Heaven demanding attention, they would never finish. Otherwise, what use would Misty Pavilion be? The Sacred Venerables only needed to make decisions; the concrete work was handed to Misty Pavilion to execute.

The man who had actually overseen that work was Ding Wei, who was then presiding over Misty Pavilion's affairs. Xuan Yao had assisted with the selections himself and therefore knew the entire process. Apart from Niu Youdao, whom Luo Fangfei had specifically named, the Elders from all the other sects had been personally selected by Ding Wei and the others. Niu Youdao could not possibly have influenced how the list was formed, nor could he have known its contents in advance. So where was this supposed inside source within Sacred Realm who had helped him?

It was only later, when Luo Fangfei once again expelled Niu Youdao from Sacred Realm, that everyone realized something was wrong. Luo Qiu should not have treated a decision involving all sides like a child's game, reversing himself on a whim.

Naturally, the other Sacred Lands went to Luo Qiu for an explanation. Only then did they learn that Luo Qiu had initially said nothing because Luo Fangfei was his daughter. She wanted to change one or two names on the list, and he did not consider it a major matter. If she wanted to change them, then let her.

Put another way, it was only one name on a list. Luo Qiu was not going to publicly embarrass his own daughter over some insignificant little figure like Niu Youdao.

What no one expected was that Luo Fangfei would later reverse a matter all sides had already settled and treat it like a game, throwing Niu Youdao back out of Sacred Realm.

Luo Qiu still had to give everyone an explanation. In the end, Luo Fangfei was confined as punishment.

Quite a few people believed the punishment was too light, but what could they do? Were they really going to demand that Luo Qiu do something severe to his own daughter over a matter like this?

Still, it was precisely Luo Fangfei's repeated interference over Niu Youdao that drew everyone's attention. People began wondering whether she and Niu Youdao had some unusual relationship. At the very least, Xuan Yao, serving beside Ding Wei, knew that Ding Wei had already begun watching him closely.

In short, there was no possibility that Niu Youdao had manipulated the process by which the sect Elders made the list.

But Fuhua and the others had all said the same thing, so Xuan Yao still wanted to understand what had happened. They could not all have decided for no reason that Niu Youdao had an inside source within Sacred Realm.

Now, after hearing Niu Youdao's explanation and understanding how the man's caution had created the misunderstanding, Xuan Yao's doubts on that point were resolved. So that was what had happened. He had thought as much. If Niu Youdao could really have predicted who would appear on the list in advance, that would have been far too serious.

There were still suspicious points, however. Xuan Yao turned his head and ordered one of his men, "Bring Shen Yidu over."

"Yes!" The subordinate accepted the order and soon summoned Shen Yidu.

The people from the various factions gathered beside the campfire watched silently, uncertain how the matter would end.

Shen Yidu came over and saluted. He did not quite dare meet Niu Youdao's eyes. Calling it a guilty conscience would not have been wrong. He knew perfectly well that the fact he had sold Niu Youdao out was probably about to be exposed on the spot.

Xuan Yao asked, "Shen Yidu, were you the one who said that Niu Youdao used his inside information about the tempering to extort twenty million gold coins from Xiaoyue Pavilion?"

The instant Niu Youdao heard this, his face darkened. He immediately demanded, "Shen Yidu, what are you trying to say?"

Xuan Yao shot him a cold sidelong glance. "No one told you to speak."

Niu Youdao had no choice but to shut his mouth, though his eyes remained fixed on Shen Yidu.

Shen Yidu avoided looking at Niu Youdao and cupped his hands toward Xuan Yao instead. "I said it." There was no way to deny it, nor did he dare.

Xuan Yao turned his gaze back to Niu Youdao. "If you knew no inside information, then on what basis did you extort money from them by claiming you did? Now it's your turn to explain."

Niu Youdao pointed straight at Shen Yidu's nose. "Shen, don't slander me with blood in your mouth. When did I ever extort twenty million gold coins from Xiaoyue Pavilion?"

Once a finger was pointed directly at his face, Shen Yidu could no longer retreat. He immediately raised his head and chest and shot back, "It's not as though this was the first or second time you've extorted money from Xiaoyue Pavilion. I heard our Pavilion Master say it with my own ears. Because you had inside information, and because he wanted you to look after Xiaoyue Pavilion during this tempering, you got another twenty million out of us! Would our Pavilion Master make up something like that?"

There was a reason for that word "another." Shen Yidu knew that Niu Youdao had extorted money from Xiaoyue Pavilion before.

That was hardly surprising. Xiaoyue Pavilion was an organization. Mr. Yucang could not spend its money entirely however he pleased. Small sums were one thing, but when enormous amounts measured in tens of millions of gold coins disappeared, Mr. Yucang naturally had to give the other principal members of Xiaoyue Pavilion an explanation.

And the previous two times really had been Niu Youdao extorting Xiaoyue Pavilion. The organization's principal figures, Shen Yidu included, all knew about those affairs.

Niu Youdao immediately turned to Xuan Yao. "Steward Xuan, it's true that Mr. Yucang gave me twenty million, but that wasn't extortion. I didn't want to take it. Mr. Yucang insisted on forcing me to accept!"

"Heh!" Xuan Yao sneered. "For no reason at all, someone gives you a fortune that large and insists on forcing you to take it? Why do I never encounter such wonderful things?"

[End of Chapter 1020]