Chapter 1058: Bitter Regret

Bai Yulou still did not know what the two wanted after approaching him with an authorization. Since they were inspectors connected to Misty Pavilion, however, he could not be too discourteous. Misty Pavilion was no longer under Sha Rulai's control. He looked the two over and asked, "What is it?"

The tall man put away the authorization. "This isn't a place to talk. Let's go to your room."

Bai Yulou hesitated.

The tall man said, "What? Are you afraid we'll try something here?"

Bai Yulou said nothing more. He turned, walked to his room, opened the door, and went inside. The two followed without waiting to be invited.

The slight figure entered last and casually shut the door, making Bai Yulou, who had not intended to close it, frown faintly.

"What do people assigned to inspect Misty Pavilion want with me? Which sect are you from?" Bai Yulou asked. He made no move to invite his visitors to sit.

The tall man pulled back his cloak, revealing red hair tied behind his head, then raised a hand and peeled the false face from his features. Smiling broadly, he said, "Innkeeper Bai, we meet again after parting at Tiandu Peak."

"Hong Gaitian?" Bai Yulou looked him up and down and gave a cold laugh. "Instead of staying at the All-Under-Heaven Money House, what are you doing here?"

The visitor was indeed Hong Gaitian. He replied, "Duty leaves me no choice."

"Duty?" Bai Yulou's expression turned arrogant. "Star-Plucking City answers directly to Daluo Sacred Land. As I recall, it isn't within your inspection jurisdiction."

Hong Gaitian said, "Innkeeper Bai, don't misunderstand. We're only here to verify a few things."

"Verify what? Ask whatever you want quickly. I have other business. But let me remind you of one thing: I'll answer what I can. Anything I can't answer, I won't. I'll need to request instructions from above before deciding whether I can respond."

He was invoking Star-Plucking City's backing to pressure them.

Hong Gaitian smiled. "If Innkeeper Bai puts it that way, what else can I say? No problem."

Bai Yulou gave a short sound. "What is it? Ask."

Hong Gaitian smiled. "Innkeeper Bai, do you remember a man named Xuanyuan Dao?"

Bai Yulou's eyes flickered. Then they narrowed as he stared at Hong Gaitian. After a moment, he slowly said, "I don't have much impression of the name. Who exactly is the Third Master of the South Sea asking about?"

"He once stayed at Inviting Moon Inn. Innkeeper Bai truly has no impression at all?"

"Who knows how many people come and go through Inviting Moon Inn every year? How could I possibly remember every one of them?"

"Then let me remind you a little further. Through Innkeeper Bai's introduction, this Xuanyuan Dao once painted a portrait for the City Lord. Does that jog your memory?"

"Oh." Bai Yulou said, "Now that you mention it, I vaguely remember such a person. The City Lord invited him to paint. Is there some problem with that?"

Both men knew perfectly well who the so-called Xuanyuan Dao really was, yet each pretended ignorance, and neither took the initiative to expose the truth.

Hong Gaitian said, "There's naturally no problem with the City Lord inviting someone to paint. I only want to confirm one thing: was it you who introduced that Xuanyuan Dao to the City Lord to paint her portrait?"

Bai Yulou fell silent briefly, recalling what had happened at the time. Slowly, he said, "In a sense, yes, but not entirely."

"In other words, you admit that to some extent you were the one who introduced him."

Bai Yulou drew a slow breath. He had no idea why Hong Gaitian was asking about this. As far as he knew, Hong Gaitian and Niu Youdao were sworn brothers. What did it mean that Hong Gaitian was now investigating something connected to Niu Youdao? After some thought, he answered slowly, "You could say that."

Hong Gaitian said, "Then there's only one point I want to confirm now. When you introduced that man to the City Lord so he could paint her portrait, did you accept money from him?"

Bai Yulou's heart gave a jolt.

Something was wrong.

They were not investigating Niu Youdao. They seemed to be coming after him.

The way Hong Gaitian framed the question was dangerous as well. Normally, accepting a small gift would not be a major matter. But Hong Gaitian had directly linked accepting money with introducing a painter to the City Lord. That made the problem far more serious.

It would mean that he had accepted an outsider's money and helped that outsider approach Sha Huanli.

If Sha Rulai learned of that, Bai Yulou feared he did not have enough skin on his body for Sha Rulai to flay.

Even if Sha Rulai did not personally settle the account, how could Daluo Sacred Land tolerate someone who could be bought so easily by outsiders and thereby become a potential danger to its own people?

The truth back then was that Bai Yulou had never intended to demand any reward from the painter. The painter had given him money afterward as thanks.

But could that truly be explained clearly?

He had indeed made the introduction.

And he had indeed accepted the man's money.

"Accept his money? Nothing of the sort!" Bai Yulou denied it outright, then ordered them out. "That's all I have to say. I have other business. Please leave."

Hong Gaitian said, "If Innkeeper Bai wants us gone, we have no way to force the matter. But let me remind you of something. I don't have the authority to keep investigating this myself, so I'll have no choice but to report it to the Sacred Venerable and ask the Sacred Venerable to have the matter investigated thoroughly."

Bai Yulou sneered. "Can you dictate what a Sacred Venerable does now? You're reaching too far. Let me remind you again: the matter you're talking about doesn't exist, and Star-Plucking City isn't within your inspection jurisdiction."

"It isn't," Hong Gaitian agreed. "But I do have the authority to submit reports. I don't want to make trouble either, but concealing something I've learned doesn't seem appropriate. After I report it, whether the Sacred Venerable chooses to investigate is no concern of mine." He smiled. "Innkeeper Bai, you've heard about former Demon Fox Bureau Deacon Long Fanhai, haven't you? His corpse is still hanging in Wentian City as a public warning!"

He was threatening him.

Bai Yulou was furious.

Back at Tiandu Peak, when he had presided over matters concerning the Tiandu Secret Realm, people like Hong Gaitian had been meat on his chopping block, little different from ants. Now one of those same men had come to threaten him.

He stared coldly at Hong Gaitian.

For a moment, the urge to kill them and silence the matter rose in his heart.

But he had no idea how the matter had been exposed, how widely it was known, or what the present circumstances were. He did not even know who the person beside Hong Gaitian was. He did not dare act rashly.

The affair had erupted without warning. He had made no preparations at all and had been caught completely off guard.

Hong Gaitian smiled back at him.

It felt rather good to hold another man's vulnerable point in his hand and use it for leverage, especially when that man was the innkeeper of Inviting Moon Inn, someone Hong Gaitian would never have dared offend in the past.

The two stared at one another.

After a long while, Bai Yulou said coldly, "Niu Youdao is your sworn brother, isn't he?"

The implication was obvious.

If this affair came to light, Niu Youdao, the man who had paid the money, would not escape either.

Hong Gaitian replied, "Duty is on my shoulders. I dare not fail the Sacred Venerable's high expectations. Even sworn brotherhood has to give way. Innkeeper Bai, this isn't the only matter. There are other things we need to verify with you."

"There are more?" Bai Yulou asked. "What else?"

Hong Gaitian said, "Actually, so long as matters are explained clearly, they may not amount to anything. But Innkeeper Bai doesn't seem to have decided how he wants to answer yet. I won't force you. There are simply a few things we want to verify. If there's no problem, all the better. I don't want to make a large affair out of this either. If we stay too long, we may attract attention and bring unnecessary trouble to Innkeeper Bai before matters are clear."

He paused. "I hear the Master of Ice and Snow Pavilion is getting married. The City Lord should be attending the wedding. I'll give Innkeeper Bai some time to think. After the City Lord leaves, how about we come back to see you?"

Bai Yulou stared at him without speaking.

Hong Gaitian said, "If Innkeeper Bai doesn't object, I'll take that as agreement. Give me a time."

The matter had come too suddenly, and Bai Yulou truly needed time to consider how to deal with it. He also did not want these people repeatedly coming to his door while Star-Plucking City's important figures were still present, when the city would be at its highest level of alert. At last, he slowly said, "The City Lord leaves on the third."

Meaning they could choose their own time after the third to return.

Hong Gaitian frowned. "Rumor outside says the Master of Ice and Snow Pavilion is marrying on the ninth. Isn't the third rather early? Innkeeper Bai, don't let us come back only to find the City Lord still here and attract unnecessary attention. I still say the same thing: I don't want to make trouble. If a matter can be passed over, I'd rather let it pass."

Bai Yulou said, "The City Lord and the Master of Ice and Snow Pavilion are close friends. Before the wedding, the City Lord intends to go early and keep her company."

Hong Gaitian understood.

So Sha Huanli would indeed be leaving ahead of time.

The slight figure beside him, who had remained silent throughout the exchange, showed a flicker of delight in the eyes after learning Sha Huanli's exact departure date.

"In that case, we'll come back after the third to speak with Innkeeper Bai." Hong Gaitian put the false face back on, raised the hood of his cloak, then turned to leave.

"Stop!" Bai Yulou suddenly called.

The two halted and looked back.

Bai Yulou stared at the slight figure and asked coldly, "As far as I know, there were no women among the South Sea people who entered the tempering. Who are you?"

The slight person looked like a man, but there was a woman's scent about the body.

Bai Yulou had noticed long ago that this was a woman disguised as a man.

The slight figure felt a trace of nervousness.

Hong Gaitian spoke over the question. "Who this is, Innkeeper Bai will learn the next time we come."

With that, he opened the door and left, leading the slight figure away.

Bai Yulou remained standing alone inside the room, bitterly regretting what he had done.

He regretted accepting Niu Youdao's money back then.

If someone truly investigated the matter now, it would be difficult to explain cleanly, especially because it touched Sha Huanli's safety.

Sha Rulai would never tolerate a suspicious person remaining at his daughter's side.

He would rather kill the wrong man than let a dangerous one slip through.

But there were so many things Bai Yulou never could have anticipated.

Back then, Niu Youdao had been no more than an ant in his eyes. He was someone Bai Yulou could have crushed whenever he pleased, a nobody incapable of making waves. A little money was a little money. Who could have imagined that today this old matter would be able to reach the ears of a Sacred Venerable and be worked at that level? It was already far beyond anything Bai Yulou had the power to suppress.

When he had taken the money, he had also been certain Niu Youdao would never dare reveal the affair.

Now he kept wondering how the matter had been exposed.

Someone was plainly setting him up.

Was it Niu Youdao?

Exposing this brought Niu Youdao no benefit. It would be like lifting a stone only to smash his own foot. If secretly bribing someone in Star-Plucking City became public, could Niu Youdao really escape responsibility?

Or was someone inside Star-Plucking City coveting Bai Yulou's position as innkeeper?

When he accepted Niu Youdao's money back then, he had distributed some of it among the people below him.

That was entirely possible too.

Perhaps the person feared that reporting him within Star-Plucking City would not be enough to bring him down. Bai Yulou was trusted by the city's senior figures and would be allowed to explain himself. So perhaps someone had deliberately pushed the matter upward in order to make it too large for him to explain away.

For a time, countless possibilities ran through his mind.

[End of Chapter 1058]