Chapter 1024: A Single Sentence

As for how the Demon Fox-hunting contest would turn out, neither side truly knew, but the people from the various sects naturally had the least confidence.

The group following Niu Youdao had never received the advantage they had hoped for. Not only had they failed to profit from Niu Youdao's supposed inside information, Niu Youdao himself had actually gained the least. At the very least, however, one thing had finally been clarified. After Xuan Yao's investigation, Niu Youdao had proven that he truly possessed no inside information at all. The whole thing had been their own misunderstanding.

Once they realized there was no inside information, there was nothing they could do. By then, nearly half of the three-month period had already passed. What else could they do except keep working hard to hunt Demon Foxes? They continued following Niu Youdao anyway. The fact that he had dared draw his sword against Misty Pavilion and come through unharmed—that alone was enough to give him rallying power.

No one held much hope for the final result anymore.

In any case, the Sacred Venerables had never said that poor results would bring punishment upon the sect participants. They had only said the results would affect everyone's future.

Strictly speaking, the Sacred Venerables had never said that poor results would bring punishment upon the Misty Pavilion participants either. But the people of Misty Pavilion understood the purpose behind this contest. Poor results from the various sects could be excused. Poor results from Misty Pavilion would mean incompetence, and that would hand the Sacred Venerables a ready-made justification for rectifying Misty Pavilion, leaving the people within it with nothing to say in their own defense.

The consequences of poor performance for Misty Pavilion were something its own people had inferred.

In short, the Sacred Venerables' attitude had remained ambiguous throughout. They would not push so hard that resistance became too fierce, yet they applied enough pressure that no one dared refuse to act. The lack of any explicit position was precisely what tormented those below who were forced to guess their intentions. Whether events were tightened or relaxed would depend on circumstances; everything remained under the Sacred Venerables' control.

During the return journey, Misty Pavilion participants encountered people from the various sects, and sect participants likewise encountered Misty Pavilion's people.

Both sides wanted to learn how much the other had gained, but neither could get a clear picture. They kept an appropriate distance from one another, and both camps were themselves divided into separate factions, making it difficult to tally the other side's overall results.

When the two sides met on the road, they passed like strangers.

Near the assembly point for the completion of the assignment, enemies found themselves on a narrow road. Niu Youdao saw Ao Feng, and Ao Feng saw Niu Youdao. Their gazes met briefly before both looked away, as though they did not know each other.

In truth, Ao Feng had been searching for Niu Youdao ever since their encounter, for no reason other than wanting to silence him. But the Desolate Marsh Deadlands were simply too vast, and he dared not tell anyone else what had happened. Trying to find Niu Youdao by himself was even harder than searching for a needle in the sea.

Now, eliminating him was almost impossible. They were close to the assembly point, Niu Youdao had a group of people around him, and Ao Feng likewise had a crowd of Misty Pavilion participants nearby. There was no way to attack for no reason.

The mountain lay directly ahead—the same mountain from which everyone had set out before the contest began.

Figures swept forward and spiraled up the sheer cliffs, arriving one after another on the summit.

Only after reaching the top did the newcomers discover that some of the participants had already returned.

This time, Misty Pavilion had sent a considerable number of people, enough to encircle the entire summit. Huang Ban, who was still in charge of the tempering, directed the proceedings.

Niu Youdao looked toward the highest point of the summit and saw Ding Wei beneath a tree. The Demon Fox hunt was over, and Ding Wei had personally come again.

Niu Youdao saw Ding Wei, and Ding Wei saw him. Ding Wei merely gave him an indifferent glance, showing no emotion at all.

One of the men accompanying Ding Wei was different. He too was someone Niu Youdao knew well.

Xuan Yao had come again.

Xuan Yao noticed Niu Youdao among the arriving crowd. A cold smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, carrying a deeper meaning. Then, as though nothing had happened, he moved his gaze aside.

Niu Youdao likewise appeared perfectly unconcerned. Inwardly, however, he understood that the consequences of falling out with Xuan Yao had arrived. He could imagine what awaited him if he failed to expose the person who had robbed him. A tremendous crisis was already waiting.

Some things, once done, had consequences that had to be borne. That was the price of action.

Fuhua and the others were talking quietly among themselves, discussing little more than the contest results. Only Niu Youdao was silent. No one around him knew what kind of danger he was trapped in now, or that at any moment he might fall beyond redemption.

Niu Youdao quietly observed the surroundings the entire time. Though he had already prepared a response, he still had to be ready for any sudden change. If events moved too quickly for him to respond as planned, he had no intention of waiting passively for death. He needed to judge which direction offered the best chance of breaking out.

Before planning for victory, plan first for defeat. Prepare for the worst before anything else.

He did not know whether Xuan Yao and the others would move against him now or settle accounts later, but he had no intention of giving them the opportunity to postpone it. Whatever problem existed had to erupt here and now.

The reason was simple. If danger came now, this terrain offered him the best conditions for escape. They were right beside the Desolate Marsh Deadlands. The moment he broke free, he could immediately disappear back into the swamp. Not only would he have the best terrain to use, he could also receive help from the Demon Fox race. Even if he lost this round, he could preserve his useful life and plan for the future.

If they delayed settling accounts until later, once he was far from this place and dragged into unfamiliar territory, any escape would leave him facing endless pursuit. Whether he could survive that pursuit at all would be uncertain.

So whatever problem existed had to be resolved here. He could not allow it to be dragged out.

"Elder, should we go turn in our results?" Qin Guan reminded him.

Huang Ban had already organized people to tally the contest results, and participants were going forward one after another to hand over what they had collected.

Qin Guan and Ke Dingjie knew their own results were poor, but neither cared much. Elder Niu was here. Elder Niu could even handle people from Misty Pavilion. What did they have to fear?

Their confidence came from Elder Niu, yet neither knew what Elder Niu himself was silently carrying.

It was not only these two. Many people in the outside world saw only Niu Youdao's success and reputation, only the glory surrounding him. How many truly knew what he had endured along the way?

"You go first." Niu Youdao smiled and lifted his chin in indication.

The people with him turned back in surprise. Fuhua smiled. "Let's go together."

Niu Youdao's expression remained calm, but his tone allowed no argument. "You go first."

Seeing this, no one said anything more. They moved forward with the crowd, leaving Niu Youdao at the very back.

He had deliberately fallen behind. As he quietly watched his surroundings, he noticed Ao Feng also seemed to be deliberately moving closer to him.

Even if Ao Feng had not come to find him, Niu Youdao intended to find Ao Feng. Since the other man was willing to approach first, Niu Youdao was happy to give him the opportunity.

As the crowd moved forward, Ao Feng drifted beside Niu Youdao as if by accident. He glanced around, barely moving his lips as he murmured, "Do you know who I am?"

Niu Youdao replied in the same low voice, "I looked into your identity. Ao Feng, grand-disciple of Du Wuxu."

Ao Feng said, "Good. If you don't want the people of Wuxu Sacred Land troubling you, you'd better not say anything you shouldn't. Keep me happy, and I may look after you a little in the future."

He did not want Niu Youdao saying anything reckless. Even without evidence, he did not want the man throwing accusations at him and drawing an investigation. Being investigated was never a good thing, so this was plainly a threat.

Calling it a reminder would not have been wrong either. Ao Feng believed Niu Youdao understood the meaning perfectly well: even if he sold Ao Feng out, there would be no benefit in it, only disaster. Wuxu Sacred Land was not something Niu Youdao could afford to provoke.

Niu Youdao said, "I understand the consequences. I won't speak recklessly."

Reassured, Ao Feng continued forward with the crowd and gradually moved away from Niu Youdao again.

"Anyone who has finished turning in their results, move to either side, circle around to the back, and gather behind the summit to wait." Huang Ban called out again, keeping the process orderly.

When Ao Feng reached the stone table where the results were being tallied, he took out the pouch containing his gains. The personnel handling the count emptied the contents, counted them, put them back into the pouch, sealed the mouth of the bag on the spot, recorded the result, and then required Ao Feng to write his own name on the pouch by hand.

Stored separately? Ao Feng glanced at the pouches being tossed behind the counting table and froze slightly. He asked, "What is this supposed to mean? Why do we have to write our names personally?"

The man handling the count recognized him and smiled. "Mr. Ding ordered it. We're only following instructions."

Ao Feng acknowledged this with a soft sound, wrote his name on the pouch, then turned and left, heading to the left as directed.

There were two stone tables for turning in results: one for the Misty Pavilion participants, and one for the sect cultivators undergoing the tempering.

Ao Feng and Niu Youdao had both been near the rear of their respective lines. While Ao Feng's results were being counted, Niu Youdao had also nearly reached his own table. When he saw that every pouch was being sealed and stored separately, the corner of his mouth lifted slightly.

Some developments were exactly as he had expected. Since he had reported that someone had robbed him, preserving every participant's gains separately for later inspection was only logical. It would have been strange if they had not done so.

Now that he had confirmed events were moving along the path he had anticipated, there was no need to make any additional effort. He relaxed.

When Niu Youdao reached the front to hand over his own results, Xuan Yao naturally noticed him.

Standing at the highest point of the summit, Xuan Yao looked down and personally watched Niu Youdao's total. It was not much. Compared with most of the others, it was unquestionably low.

After writing his own name on the pouch, Niu Youdao glanced toward Ao Feng heading left, then immediately turned right himself.

Once he had circled around the summit, Niu Youdao quickened his pace and encountered Ao Feng again behind the peak.

Ao Feng's face remained expressionless, as though nothing were happening. Niu Youdao deliberately drew closer. His lips barely moved as he murmured indistinctly, "I forgot to tell Mr. Ao something. I marked every Demon Fox vertical eye you stole from me. Misty Pavilion will have no trouble finding the marks. Take care of yourself."

There were many people present, most of them facing in this direction. It was not suitable to exchange too many words, or they would invite suspicion. After dropping that sentence, Niu Youdao quickened his pace and walked briskly toward the group where the sect participants were gathering.

Ao Feng's steps paused slightly, then resumed as though nothing had happened.

Outwardly he remained calm. Inside, however, his mind had gone blank.

One sentence.

Because of that single sentence from Niu Youdao, his heart surged like a storm-tossed sea.

He had only just threatened Niu Youdao. He had only just warned him.

And Niu Youdao had behaved obediently. He had even been meek enough to reassure Ao Feng.

Then in the span of a few steps, Niu Youdao's attitude had reversed completely. He had merely returned a single sentence, yet that one sentence made Ao Feng's scalp go numb.

Who was threatening whom?

There were witnesses and physical evidence. The facts would be ironclad. This contest had been ordered by the Sacred Venerables; violating its rules was tantamount to defying a Sacred Venerable's command. Ao Feng could not imagine what would happen if he were caught—especially when someone stationed inside Wuliang Garden had dared secretly violate the rules.

Once exposed...

His face remained calm, but his breathing had already become unsteady.

[End of Chapter 1024]