Chapter 1055: Chuan Ying Is One of Linghu Qiu's People

It was impossible not to be surprised. An independent cultivator was actually going to marry someone of Xue Luo'er's status. Anyone's first reaction would be that Heaven was being rather unfair.

It was easy enough to imagine what marriage to Xue Luo'er meant. The man would instantly stand far above ordinary people. Forget wealth and glory; he would never again have to worry about cultivation resources for the rest of his life. For some hard-up independent cultivator, it would be a heaven-and-earth overturning change of fate.

Niu Youdao had worked himself half to death all these years to reach his present position. This fellow was an independent cultivator who had simply married a woman and leapt to the heavens in a single step. Where was the justice in that?

He could not quite make sense of it, so he asked again, "Why would Xue Luo'er willingly marry an independent cultivator?"

Xu Liang's smile turned rather suggestive. "Didn't I already say? I heard he's extraordinarily handsome."

"Oh?" Niu Youdao said. "So Xue Luo'er chose him herself. But given her status, could she really decide on her own to marry an independent cultivator? Would Granny Xue allow it?"

Xu Liang said, "It seems Xue Luo'er kept things very secret before... Ahem, ahem!" He coughed twice, apparently realizing he had said something he should not. He immediately changed tack. "I don't know the details. Just rumors. Nothing more than rumors."

Niu Youdao could tell there had to be some unusual story behind it. Since the other man did not find it convenient to say more, naturally he would not press him. Instead, he raised the pearl in his hand and examined it closely again. "This one gives off nothing but blue radiance, without a trace of any other color. It's plainly a blue pearl. Why call it a Seven-Colored Treasure Pearl?"

Xu Liang explained, "The clam is called a Rainbow Clam. The pearls it produces aren't only blue. There are red, violet, and other colors as well, seven in all. Before a Rainbow Clam is opened, no one knows what color the pearl growing inside will be. You only find out once you split it open. This one just happened to contain a blue pearl."

Niu Youdao nodded. "I see. I hadn't expected to find something this novel here. This trip has broadened my horizons." With that, he handed the pearl back.

Xu Liang said, "If Elder Niu likes them, how about I gather a complete set of seven colors for you later?"

He was clearly worried Niu Youdao might deliberately find fault and was trying to show goodwill.

Niu Youdao waved a hand. "Forget it. You said yourself that these things grow in the deep sea and aren't easy to collect."

Xu Liang shook his head. "It's no trouble. The items being sent to Ice and Snow Sacred Land have strict requirements. Their sizes need to match as closely as possible. We can't send over a jumble of big ones and little ones. Later I'll put together a set for Elder Niu from the pieces rejected during sorting, the ones whose appearance isn't quite good enough. I only hope Elder Niu won't disdain them. Don't worry. They're merely leftovers those above don't want. We take a few ourselves as decorations. It hardly counts as any offense."

Niu Youdao understood perfectly well that if the man truly intended to give him a set, he would not pick the worst ones. But Niu Youdao was here as an inspector. Accepting gifts would make it easy for others to criticize him. Besides, what use did he have for treasure pearls?

Still, the man was being gracious, and a flat refusal would be awkward. Niu Youdao answered indirectly, "We can talk about it later."

Xu Liang smiled. "Very well. Whenever Elder Niu has time, come collect them. I'll have a set ready for you."

Niu Youdao laughed and gave a vague response. He did not remain long. After casually looking around for a while, he took his leave.

At last, that "plague god" was gone without anything unpleasant happening. Island Master Xu Liang watched the black speck vanish into the distant sky and finally breathed easier.

Long Fanhai's status had been far above his own. The man had been a bureau deacon, with Sacred Venerable Yuan Se's disciple Ding Wei behind him and Misty Pavilion's Presiding Administrator supporting him, yet Niu Youdao had still gotten him killed. What did Xu Liang amount to, a mere island master stranded on some desolate island?

A man assigned to guard such a remote place obviously had no great backing. He could not afford to provoke an inspector like Niu Youdao, especially with Niu Youdao's reputation already so notorious.

...

After three days away and visits to two different places, Niu Youdao returned to Wentian City.

Once they had handed the large flying mount back and completed the necessary procedures, Qin Guan asked on the way out, "Elder, are we heading out again tomorrow?"

Niu Youdao answered casually, "We traveled rather far this time. We'll rest for a day or two."

Qin Guan and Ke Dingjie exchanged a glance. Ke Dingjie muttered under his breath, "What exactly is Elder trying to do?"

Qin Guan replied, "No idea. I only know that if this keeps up, there may not be anyone among all the sects beneath Heaven who knows Sacred Realm's geography better than we do."

The two whispered behind him. Niu Youdao heard every word, but he had no intention of revealing his real purpose.

When the three returned to their quarters, Qu Lingkun, who was standing guard at the entrance, greeted them and then brought up official business. "Elder Niu, the Demon Fox Bureau has something to inform you of."

Niu Youdao gave a soft sound of acknowledgment. "What is it?"

Qu Lingkun said, "Five days from now, the Demon Fox Bureau will carry out one of its routine sweeps in the Desolate Marsh Deadlands. You were away before, so the Bureau couldn't notify you. They asked us guards to tell you when you returned and ask whether you plan to go, so they can make preparations in advance."

Niu Youdao waved Qin Guan and Ke Dingjie inside. Only after the two had gone in did he say, "There are still five days. Tell them I need to consider it. I'll give you an answer later."

"All right." Qu Lingkun agreed.

Niu Youdao suddenly lowered his voice. "Did you know Ice and Snow Pavilion Master Xue Luo'er is getting married?"

Qu Lingkun said, "I heard. Only recently, though. Apparently she's marrying some pretty-faced independent cultivator."

"You only just heard as well? I've been moving around all over the place and didn't hear a breath of this until now. Looks like it happened very suddenly. How did things turn out this way?"

"It was sudden. I don't know the details either. I only heard that Xue Luo'er apparently hid the matter even from Granny Xue for quite some time. That's understandable. There are plenty of men in Ice and Snow Sacred Land alone who want to marry Xue Luo'er. Then some independent cultivator suddenly appears, a toad lusting after swan meat. That's practically asking to die. If Xue Luo'er hadn't kept it secret, how could that independent cultivator possibly have stayed alive? Someone would've chopped him to pieces long ago."

Niu Youdao said, "Report upward and ask. I want to know exactly what happened."

He was certain of one thing: whoever was secretly communicating with him wielded considerable influence. Xue Luo'er suddenly marrying an independent cultivator would inevitably draw intense attention from every faction, and all of them would investigate. The person behind Qu Lingkun should know more than most.

"Understood," Qu Lingkun answered.

Niu Youdao said nothing further and returned inside.

The very next day, Qu Lingkun passed him a confidential letter from the hidden party. It explained the circumstances behind Xue Luo'er's marriage.

The gist was that Chuan Ying had once been an independent cultivator, and most people still believed he was one. But by the time he met Xue Luo'er, he was no longer unaffiliated. He had already joined Tiandi Sect in the State of Jin.

Niu Youdao paused when he read that.

Why did the sect's name sound so familiar?

Tiandi Sect of Jin?

Could it be Linghu Qiu's Tiandi Sect?

He continued reading.

Chuan Ying was an exceptionally handsome man with considerable bearing. That was probably what had attracted Xue Luo'er.

Their relationship had been initiated by Xue Luo'er. She had happened to meet Chuan Ying by chance, and at the time Chuan Ying supposedly did not know who she really was. Outsiders had no way to verify that point, but Ice and Snow Sacred Land had almost certainly investigated it thoroughly, so there should not have been any problem.

According to the investigation, Chuan Ying had possessed some reputation even before this. Not because of his strength, but because he was so handsome. Women were easily attracted to him. He had been involved with women from several sects, caused some trouble, and nearly been killed by members of one of those sects.

The letter then mentioned Linghu Qiu.

Linghu Qiu had once been a fairly famous broker in the cultivation world and had acquaintances everywhere. He knew Chuan Ying.

After Chuan Ying was driven into a dead end, he sought out Linghu Qiu and begged for help. Linghu Qiu happened to know the sect leader involved, and Linghu Qiu now had close dealings with several powerful figures in Jin. That sect leader gave Linghu Qiu face, allowing Linghu Qiu to save Chuan Ying from disaster.

Afterward, partly to smooth matters over and partly to give that sect leader an explanation—to demonstrate that Linghu Qiu had intervened in order to protect one of his own people—Chuan Ying formally joined Tiandi Sect.

Having taken a liking to Chuan Ying, Xue Luo'er later found every possible way to hide matters from the people of Ice and Snow Pavilion and secretly continued seeing him.

When a woman pursues a man, only a layer of gauze lies between them. Chuan Ying was hardly averse to women, and Xue Luo'er spent lavishly enough to satisfy his need for cultivation resources. Both were willing, and before long they became intimate.

Only after they had slept together did Xue Luo'er reveal her true identity.

It frightened Chuan Ying badly.

If anyone else learned what had happened, Chuan Ying would unquestionably lose his life. To protect him, Xue Luo'er kept using every means possible to hide the affair.

Then, because she wanted to be with him, Xue Luo'er played the matter even bigger.

She deliberately got herself pregnant.

Only after she was carrying his child did she finally tell Granny Xue the truth.

Granny Xue was furious, but by then there was little she could do. Xue Luo'er even threatened her with her own life: if Chuan Ying died, she would die too—one corpse, two lives.

Ice and Snow Sacred Land secretly conducted an exhaustive investigation into Chuan Ying's background. Once they confirmed there was no problem, Granny Xue had no choice but to agree. Refusal was impossible unless she intended to put Xue Luo'er to death as well.

The letter said it did not know every specific detail. The full truth was probably known only inside Ice and Snow Sacred Land. But this was roughly the chain of events that had led to Xue Luo'er's marriage.

After reading the letter, Niu Youdao was rather speechless.

The dignified Master of Ice and Snow Pavilion was getting married for such an utterly clichéd reason?

What surprised him even more was that the whole matter actually involved Linghu Qiu.

He read through the details again and confirmed one point once more: whoever stood behind this hidden communication channel truly possessed considerable reach inside Sacred Realm.

...

The following day, Qu Lingkun passed along another confidential message.

The moment Niu Youdao saw the handwriting, he knew it was from Yuan Gang.

As instructed, Yuan Gang had compiled a brief summary of outside-world developments. The letter mentioned Xue Luo'er's marriage as well, noting that the sudden news had already caused an uproar throughout the cultivation world.

Because of that, Yuan Gang also raised another point.

Star-Plucking City Lord Sha Huanli had a very good relationship with Xue Luo'er. Judging by every sign, Sha Huanli would probably enter Sacred Realm to attend the wedding. Yuan Gang's meaning was simple: once Sha Huanli left Star-Plucking City, the opportunity would come. They were preparing to seize her along the way if a chance appeared.

"How did I forget the relationship between those two women..." Niu Youdao muttered after reading the letter.

The more he thought about it, the more he agreed with Yuan Gang's judgment. Whether out of friendship or propriety, Sha Huanli should indeed attend Xue Luo'er's wedding.

After considering the matter repeatedly, Niu Youdao suddenly strode to the desk, picked up his brush, bent over the paper, and wrote rapidly.

Before long, he had produced another confidential letter.

He left the room afterward, found an opportunity to hand it to Qu Lingkun, and told him to send it out as quickly as possible.

[End of Chapter 1055]