Chapter 1021: Sword Pointed at Xuan Yao

"It wasn't entirely without reason. It still came down to that matter of the inside information..." Niu Youdao roughly recounted how Mr. Yucang had forced him to accept the money at the time. When he finished, he cupped his hands. "Steward Xuan, first, I didn't want the money. Mr. Yucang insisted on making me take it. Second, it wasn't extortion at all. Mr. Yucang and I had an agreement: the liquor recipe would earn me ten million in profit every year. He was the one who insisted on advancing me two years' worth. And Misty Pavilion can verify this with Mr. Yucang whenever it likes. I doubt he would dare conceal the truth."

Shen Yidu was somewhat dumbfounded. Put that way, the truth really could be exactly as Niu Youdao claimed.

Xuan Yao looked at him again. "Niu Youdao has explained it this way. Do you have anything else to say?"

Shen Yidu hurriedly explained, "I knew none of those details. At the time, I only heard Pavilion Master Yucang say that Niu Youdao had gotten another twenty million out of him. I assumed he'd extorted it again. I had absolutely no intention of deceiving Steward Xuan."

He was worried now that he might be punished and somewhat regretted saying too much. The more one said, the more chances there were to say something wrong.

Yet he had not had much choice at the time. Xuan Yao had been interrogating him, and in order to distance himself and prove that what he said was true, he had produced this matter as corroboration. He had never expected to end up lifting a stone only to drop it on his own foot.

Niu Youdao rebuked him furiously. "You didn't understand the situation, yet you dared pour dirty water over my head? When you go back, tell Mr. Yucang that I refuse to be falsely accused for nothing. Either Xiaoyue Pavilion simply hands over another twenty million and I'll admit to this one, or I won't let the matter rest. Once I get out, I'll settle this account properly with Xiaoyue Pavilion!"

Another twenty million? Xuan Yao gave him a sidelong look. The bastard was actually extorting someone right in front of him!

What he did not know was that Niu Youdao was seizing the opportunity to put on a show for everyone else.

Shen Yidu had nothing to say.

The people from the various factions watching from beside the campfire had been paying close attention the entire time. Seeing this, they looked at one another in confusion. They could not hear what was being said, only see Niu Youdao glaring fiercely and apparently berating Shen Yidu, while Shen Yidu lowered his head and did not dare answer. What was going on?

Xuan Yao reckoned Niu Youdao was probably telling the truth. As Niu Youdao had said, Misty Pavilion could verify the matter with Mr. Yucang at any time, and Mr. Yucang would hardly dare lie. Xuan Yao immediately waved Shen Yidu away. "There's nothing more for you here. Go back."

He did not make an issue of Shen Yidu having misspoken. Under ordinary circumstances he might have taken the opportunity to throw his weight around, but this tempering had been initiated by the Sacred Venerables. Unless necessary, Misty Pavilion would not casually interfere with the process.

After Shen Yidu left, Xuan Yao asked curiously, "A liquor recipe? If you can make money from it yourself, why give it to Mr. Yucang?"

Niu Youdao watched Shen Yidu leave, then sighed. "To tell you the truth, Steward, Zijin Cave has been coveting that liquor recipe and wanted to swallow it for itself. It became inconvenient for me to keep brewing and selling the liquor, so I pushed the whole business onto Mr. Yucang. He shares the profits with me, which at least leaves me some personal income. If I handed it to Zijin Cave, it would have nothing more to do with me. The loss would be too great!"

Xuan Yao snorted. He understood this kind of scheming within sects well enough. Seemingly casual, he asked, "I heard you gave the liquor recipe to Sha Rulai?"

"I did." Niu Youdao admitted it, then cupped his hands. "If Steward Xuan doesn't disdain it, I would be willing to offer the recipe to you with both hands."

"Don't!" Xuan Yao immediately raised a hand to stop him. "I can't afford to accept your things, and I don't dare accept them. Keep it yourself."

That was no empty statement. Normally, a mere liquor recipe should not have mattered, and Sha Rulai accepting one should have meant nothing. The problem was what Luo Fangfei had done afterward.

Because of Luo Fangfei, that liquor recipe had probably already caused Sha Rulai more than enough trouble, inevitably giving people room for association. Fortunately, after receiving the recipe, Sha Rulai had shown Niu Youdao no favor at all. Inside the Tiandu Secret Realm he had still driven Niu Youdao toward death at every turn. Otherwise, Sha Rulai might never have been able to explain himself clearly.

It also helped that Sha Rulai was Luo Qiu's direct disciple and son-in-law. If this had involved an ordinary person, then even if nothing improper had happened, that person would probably have been investigated hard enough to lose a layer of skin.

How could Xuan Yao possibly dare accept anything from Niu Youdao now? Ding Wei had sent him here precisely to investigate Niu Youdao. If he accepted a gift from the man under investigation, could anyone trust his findings afterward? If Ding Wei learned of it, Xuan Yao knew perfectly well what sort of consequences would await him. He would not dare accept the thing even if beaten to death.

It had only been a moment of curiosity. Once that passed, Xuan Yao returned to the matter at hand. One by one, he summoned Fuhua and the others again to confirm something.

He wanted to verify whether, after they sought Niu Youdao out because they believed he possessed inside information, Niu Youdao had ever admitted that he truly did.

Every person questioned said that Niu Youdao had indeed denied it vehemently.

An inside source in Sacred Realm? What kind of joke was that? Niu Youdao would never admit such a thing even if beaten to death. It was just like Mr. Yucang forcing money on him: he had refused to acknowledge the matter no matter what. He would never admit something like that to anyone he did not absolutely trust.

With this, Xuan Yao confirmed that from beginning to end, these people had simply assumed on their own that Niu Youdao possessed inside information. Combined with what Xuan Yao knew of how the tempering list had actually been formed, he could basically conclude that they had indeed misunderstood Niu Youdao.

That issue was now clear. Niu Youdao should not have been lying.

Chao Jing's disappearance was another matter. Despite Fuhua and the others staking their lives on their testimony, Niu Youdao still remained suspicious. The timing of Chao Jing's disappearance was simply too convenient.

This had developed somewhat beyond what Ding Wei had instructed Xuan Yao to do. The original plan was simple: if Chao Jing was found to have disappeared, then they were to use any means necessary to pry Niu Youdao's mouth open. Who could have expected Niu Youdao to possess an alibi? Fuhua and a whole group of others had suddenly become witnesses, all able to prove Niu Youdao had nothing to do with Chao Jing's disappearance.

Until the truth was confirmed, Xuan Yao could no longer simply use force. With witnesses already present, forcing a confession would become torture designed to produce a predetermined answer. If driven into a corner, Niu Youdao would inevitably strike back to save himself. Unless Xuan Yao also silenced everyone else, including Fuhua and the others, and did so without anyone discovering it, he would risk being accused of disrupting the tempering arranged by the Sacred Venerables.

He still needed some additional corroboration. After dismissing those he had summoned for questioning one by one, he turned back to Niu Youdao. "I hear that since the tempering began, you haven't managed to kill even a single Demon Fox?"

Niu Youdao immediately denied it flatly. "Who said that? Who says I haven't killed a single one? Slander. That's slander! I've been doing my utmost the whole time." As he spoke, he took out a pouch and offered it for inspection.

A Misty Pavilion cultivator beside them immediately stepped forward, accepted the pouch, and opened it. After examining the contents, he reported to Xuan Yao, "Eight vertical eyes."

Xuan Yao frowned. "After all this time, only eight, and you still have the nerve to say you've been doing your utmost? According to you, all those companions of yours were lying before and deliberately trying to frame you. Do you think that's possible? Who do you think I should believe? Niu Youdao, let me remind you: if you speak even one false word, I can deal with you on the spot!"

Niu Youdao lowered his head slightly. After a period of silence, he slowly said, "I hunted these Demon Foxes only recently. Before that, I truly had been empty-handed."

Xuan Yao asked, "Could it really have been as they said? Were your previous clothes so different from everyone else's that the Demon Foxes were frightened into refusing to show themselves?"

"No. Actually, I had gains before as well."

"Where are they? Don't tell me you lost them."

Niu Youdao fell silent again.

Xuan Yao waited for a moment. Seeing him refuse to speak, he immediately pressed, "Talk!"

Niu Youdao drew a deep breath. "It's not that I don't want to say it. I don't dare."

"You don't dare?" Xuan Yao was both surprised and suspicious. "Why wouldn't you dare? Misty Pavilion is investigating a matter. Are you planning to resist?"

Niu Youdao shook his head. "I'm afraid that if I say it, I won't live long enough to leave."

Xuan Yao said, "I'm ordering you to speak now, so you will explain everything honestly. Otherwise... do you believe I can make sure you don't keep your life even this long?"

Niu Youdao abruptly said, "I was robbed."

"Robbed?" Xuan Yao froze, then became even more suspicious. Robbed, yet he did not dare say by whom? Misty Pavilion had issued explicit rules. Who would dare violate them? Xuan Yao had almost guessed the answer already, but still could not resist asking for confirmation. "Who robbed you?"

"I was ambushed. I didn't see the person's face clearly. I have no evidence, so I don't dare confirm who it was."

Xuan Yao's voice sank. "You have someone you suspect?"

Niu Youdao nodded.

"Who?"

"Without evidence, I don't dare speak recklessly."

Xuan Yao did not continue pressing that question. The competitors Misty Pavilion had sent this time included people from all nine sides. If he kept digging and ended up uncovering someone from his own side, that was entirely possible. Anyone bold enough to do such a thing might well have acted precisely because Ding Wei currently held the authority to preside over Misty Pavilion.

Xuan Yao immediately shifted the direction of his questioning. "According to their statements, you spent most of your time operating separately from the larger group, leading the people from Zijin Cave on your own. They also said you had no gains from the very first day."

Niu Youdao raised his eyes and met Xuan Yao's gaze. "Steward, you've misunderstood. In truth, I had gains from the very first day, and quite a few—more than any of them. The reason I can't produce them is that my gains were robbed from me from the very beginning!"

Xuan Yao asked, "And for all that time afterward, don't tell me someone robbed you every single day?"

"That is precisely why I separated from the others. I had no proof of who robbed me, so I couldn't tell them, and without evidence I didn't dare speak recklessly. But that is simply how I, Niu Youdao, am. Anyone who breaks the rules and comes after me should not expect me to let it go! From that point on, hunting Demon Foxes was no longer important to me. I have been looking for the person who robbed me. Sooner or later, I'll drag him out!"

Xuan Yao said, "But the people traveling with you said you separated from them because you wanted to find Misty Pavilion personnel and observe how they hunted Demon Foxes."

"That's right. I did say that, because I suspect the person who robbed me was from Misty Pavilion! Once I drag that person out, it proves someone from Misty Pavilion violated the competition rules. It proves Misty Pavilion has been cheating. Even if Misty Pavilion kills more Demon Foxes than we do, the final result will still be Misty Pavilion's loss. If there is such a shortcut to victory, why should I risk my life hunting Demon Foxes?"

Xuan Yao's heart jolted. His voice sank. "Niu Youdao, I'm warning you: without evidence, don't speak recklessly! Stop saying 'Misty Pavilion' at every turn. Even if an individual broke the rules, that individual cannot represent the whole of Misty Pavilion!"

The instant he heard this, Niu Youdao knew he had his opening. "I knew that would be the result, which is exactly why I didn't dare say anything. You, Xuan Yao, were the one who forced me to speak!"

Being addressed by name and blamed outright sent Xuan Yao into a rage. "Insolence!"

The Misty Pavilion personnel on either side immediately fixed Niu Youdao with hostile stares, poised to seize him.

"What? Are you trying to protect someone? Trying to silence me?" Niu Youdao swept his gaze around. With a sharp hiss, his sword left its sheath and pointed straight at Xuan Yao. "If you've got the guts, try laying a hand on me! If you want to silence me, you'll have to kill everyone here. So long as you fail to kill me, I'd like to see whether Misty Pavilion ends up killing you, Xuan Yao!"

[End of Chapter 1021]