Chapter 1026: Settling Accounts After the Harvest

Left behind, Ao Feng slowly turned his head. He watched Niu Youdao disappear with fury in his eyes. He wanted to go over, seize the man, and force him to explain everything clearly, but under the eyes of so many people he did not dare. His fists clenched inside his sleeves. He wanted nothing more than to tear Niu Youdao apart with his bare hands.

Now he finally understood why Niu Youdao had behaved so meekly when Ao Feng warned him earlier. The bastard had been waiting for Ao Feng to hand his gains over to Misty Pavilion first.

Today, Ao Feng could finally say he had learned what the words sinister and treacherous truly meant.

But what could he do? He really had violated the rules and committed robbery. The problem was what came next. If he did what Niu Youdao demanded, then even if he escaped the immediate crisis, the moment he gave that testimony he would become a piece of brittle porcelain in Niu Youdao's hands, something Niu Youdao could shatter with a single tap.

The logic was simple. Why would Ao Feng ever give testimony like that? Niu Youdao could provide everyone with an answer that would make the whole matter suddenly clear.

Back among the crowd, Niu Youdao resumed smiling and exchanging pleasantries with the others, though from time to time the corner of his eye flicked toward Ao Feng.

People who had taken part in hunting Demon Foxes throughout the Desolate Marsh Deadlands continued arriving one after another. It was not until mid-afternoon that nearly every group from both sides of the contest had returned. Only a few individual teams were still missing.

After some questioning, it became clear that most of those missing teams had disappeared long ago. The chances of them returning now were slim.

Once the numbers were tallied, the sect tempering side had lost people from five sects. Misty Pavilion's contestants had suffered even heavier losses, with nearly one-third of their number gone.

Niu Youdao knew something of why. Although the Demon Fox race had tried its best to conceal its strength and avoid exposing itself, fearing that the Nine Saints would launch an even larger extermination campaign, the foxes hated Misty Pavilion deeply and had therefore struck at Misty Pavilion personnel more often.

There was one phenomenon that seemed strange yet made perfect sense: among those lost, entire small teams had usually vanished together. Individual disappearances were comparatively rare.

People dying was nothing unusual. Misty Pavilion had known perfectly well what might happen when it organized this contest. Ding Wei therefore paid little attention to the deaths themselves and merely glanced over the list of losses.

What Ding Wei cared about most was the result of the contest. Misty Pavilion had lost more personnel, so when he saw the totals from both sides, he finally relaxed. Misty Pavilion's contestants had proven their strength. Their results were more than double those of the tempering group. At last, he had something he could report to the nine Sacred Venerables.

Ding Wei had just folded the sheet containing the totals and tucked it into his sleeve when Xuan Yao, standing beside him, reminded him, "What happens if the results are reported to the Sacred Venerables, only for someone to claim afterward that he was robbed and that the contest was unfair?"

He was reminding Ding Wei about the matter involving Niu Youdao.

Had Xuan Yao not mentioned it, Ding Wei, though he had remembered the issue, might have overlooked it for the moment. His thoughts had been occupied with how he would report to the Sacred Venerables.

At the reminder, Ding Wei searched the crowd below, found Niu Youdao, and gave a slight nod with a quiet sound of acknowledgment.

Xuan Yao understood. Ding Wei was leaving the matter to him. He immediately cupped his hands. "Yes!"

Then he lowered his hands, turned toward the crowd below, and abruptly shouted, "Niu Youdao, step forward!"

Niu Youdao, who had been speaking quietly with Quan Taifeng beside him, froze.

In an instant, heads turned one after another. Every gaze converged on him.

Most people had no idea what was happening, but they could all hear the hostility in Xuan Yao's voice. Those who had traveled with Niu Youdao before felt their hearts tighten. They all knew about the incident in which Niu Youdao had pointed his sword at Xuan Yao.

Was Xuan Yao settling accounts after the harvest?

Had Niu Youdao failed to truly put that matter to rest?

Qin Guan and Ke Dingjie immediately grew nervous.

Ao Feng was even more nervous. Niu Youdao had told him earlier that someone in Misty Pavilion wanted to make trouble for him.

Niu Youdao remained silent for a moment, then took a step forward. Everyone blocking his path immediately moved aside, opening a passage for him.

As Niu Youdao passed Taishu Shancheng, the old man gave a low, gleeful chuckle. His intention to enjoy the spectacle could not have been more obvious.

From his higher position, Ding Wei watched Niu Youdao emerge from the crowd without expression.

In truth, Ding Wei would rather not expose this matter. But if something could not be kept completely secret, then the lid could not simply be held down. The harder one tried to cover it, the larger the eventual trouble would become.

The Nine Saints wanted to rectify Misty Pavilion precisely because they believed Misty Pavilion had developed problems.

And did Misty Pavilion have problems?

Ding Wei knew perfectly well that it did.

Human hearts differed. Given enough time, any organization would develop problems. That was especially true when every avenue for advancement had been blocked. With no future to strive toward, people naturally began seeking private benefits for themselves. Let that continue long enough and a major incident was inevitable, one capable of implicating a whole swath of people. Sooner or later, it would happen. There was no avoiding it.

Misty Pavilion was the eyes and ears through which the Nine Saints ruled beneath Heaven. If even those eyes and ears were deceiving them, it would violate one of the greatest taboos of all. And if the person presiding over Misty Pavilion himself took the lead in concealing such matters, the consequences could easily be imagined.

Niu Youdao emerged from the crowd, stopped beneath the watching eyes of everyone present, and cupped his hands toward those above.

Xuan Yao said heavily, "Niu Youdao, didn't you say your gains were robbed by someone from Misty Pavilion? Didn't you say you would drag that person out? I gave you the opportunity to investigate. Where is he?"

The moment those words came out and everyone heard that someone from Misty Pavilion had violated the rules and committed robbery, the entire summit erupted in shock. Murmurs and exclamations broke out everywhere as people asked who could possibly have been that bold.

Fuhua and the others were baffled too. They had known nothing about this. Sect cultivators around them immediately began asking what had happened, but how were they supposed to explain something they themselves did not understand?

Amid the commotion, Ao Feng stood in silence, his eyes fixed unwaveringly on Niu Youdao.

"Quiet!" Xuan Yao shouted.

The uproar gradually subsided. Ding Wei remained expressionless as he watched, his cold gaze sweeping across the crowd.

Niu Youdao did not answer. He waited.

He was waiting for Ao Feng to step forward and testify.

Ao Feng's heart, meanwhile, had risen into his throat. He hesitated desperately.

If he refused to testify, Niu Youdao would expose him and use him as the culprit. But if he stepped forward and testified, he would be committing perjury. If the lie was ever exposed one day, both the robbery and the false testimony would come to light. One crime would be piled on top of another.

Ao Feng knew perfectly well what the consequences would be. How could he make such a decision lightly?

The entire summit fell silent. Only the strong wind sweeping across the mountain could be heard.

After a long wait with no response, Xuan Yao said heavily, "Niu Youdao, I asked you a question. Didn't you hear me? Where is the person who robbed you?"

Niu Youdao finally spoke. "I didn't find him."

"You didn't find him?" Xuan Yao echoed, a cold smile appearing on his face. Inside, he was laughing as well.

Let's see you act arrogant now. You ignorant fool who doesn't know how high Heaven is or how deep Earth goes.

Slowly and unhurriedly, Xuan Yao said, "Almost everyone who is going to return has already returned. Why don't you look carefully again and see whether the person who robbed you is here."

Niu Youdao replied, "I already looked. I don't see him among the people present."

A thrill of satisfaction ran through Xuan Yao. Still speaking at a measured pace, he said, "You claimed someone from Misty Pavilion robbed you. You claimed you would drag the culprit out. I gave you the opportunity to investigate, and now you say you couldn't find him. I ask you to identify the culprit, and you say the person isn't here. Is this the explanation you're giving me? What proves that what you said was true? How do you prove you weren't lying?"

"At present, I have no way to prove it." Niu Youdao shook his head. Then he suddenly cupped his hands toward Ding Wei. "Presiding Administrator, while we were in the Desolate Marsh Deadlands, I truly did everything I could to investigate. Only after making the attempt did I realize that the area was vast and everyone was scattered. Even finding a particular person proved difficult, much less verifying what happened. I underestimated the difficulty. The situation is different now. I ask the Presiding Administrator to give me one more opportunity and a little more time to investigate."

Those who had grudges against Niu Youdao were delighted to see him in trouble. Those who cared about him wore expressions of deep concern.

Ding Wei remained completely calm. "If what you said is true, Misty Pavilion will naturally investigate it thoroughly. Men, detain him first. Take him back for a full investigation!"

A sinister smile appeared at the corner of Xuan Yao's mouth.

He remembered the humiliation of having a sword pointed at him that night. This time Niu Youdao had fallen into his hands. Xuan Yao intended to make him regret ever being born.

Two Misty Pavilion men immediately flashed forward to seize Niu Youdao.

"Hold!" Niu Youdao raised a palm toward the approaching men, stopping them. Then he cupped his hands toward Ding Wei again. "Mr. Ding, I have a lead. Please allow me to confirm it here and now. Otherwise, once I am detained, I won't be able to see the person in question. I don't know his name either, so I would have no way to cooperate with the investigation."

The two Misty Pavilion men stopped and looked back toward the highest point of the summit.

Xuan Yao glanced at Ding Wei.

Ding Wei's eyes flickered. Niu Youdao claimed to have a lead he could identify. Ding Wei could not cut him off in front of everyone. He gave a quiet acknowledgment and nodded.

The two men who had come to seize Niu Youdao immediately stepped back to either side, giving him room.

"Thank you, Mr. Ding." Niu Youdao cupped his hands in gratitude, then turned to face the crowd.

His gaze swept across the Misty Pavilion contestants before he suddenly raised his voice. "I do not know the person who robbed me. I don't know his name either, and he isn't here now, so I have no way to defend myself. But when I was robbed, another Misty Pavilion cultivator happened to pass nearby. That person witnessed the entire incident with his own eyes. I recognize him, and he is here today!"

The crowd stirred again at once, though this time the voices remained low, reduced to whispered exchanges.

Ao Feng's heart clenched.

He knew exactly what Niu Youdao was doing. Since Ao Feng had refused to step forward on his own, Niu Youdao was about to force him out.

There was actually a Misty Pavilion eyewitness? Xuan Yao was somewhat surprised.

Ding Wei's eyes narrowed sharply. His gaze moved slowly across the Misty Pavilion contestants as he studied each person's reaction.

Niu Youdao continued loudly, "I know that asking you to come forward and testify puts you in a difficult position. I don't want to offend anyone, and I don't want to make things difficult for you. But I've been driven into a corner. Please step forward voluntarily and testify for me. If you refuse, then I'll have no choice but to point you out myself. But think carefully about the consequences. If I have to identify you, then you will have deliberately concealed what you knew. Once that is verified, you will not escape responsibility either. And I may as well tell you this now: I have other witnesses who can prove that you saw what happened!"

Ao Feng froze internally.

Now he understood the meaning behind Niu Youdao's words. The bastard had left him a road of retreat, a way to explain why he had finally come forward.

Ding Wei spoke. "If there is an eyewitness, step forward. Anyone who dares conceal what happened will be severely punished once the truth is uncovered!"

He had no choice but to make his position clear. Whether the story was true or false, he could not publicly pretend he had heard nothing. At the very least, he had to show that he was taking the matter seriously.

Ao Feng moved.

He took one step forward and used both hands to part the people blocking his way.

The moment he moved, heads began turning toward him. More and more eyes fixed upon him, some people even rising onto their toes to see better.

Could it actually be him?

Ao Feng?

Ding Wei and Xuan Yao exchanged astonished glances.

Ao Feng's face remained expressionless, but every step felt unbearably heavy.

He knew exactly what it meant to walk out now.

Once he took this step, there would be no turning back.

It was no different from drinking poison to quench his thirst.

[End of Chapter 1026]