Chapter 1070: Your Daughter Is in My Hands

Left alone, Sha Rulai paced inside the pavilion and considered Wang Zun's words as well. No matter how he turned it over, there really was no one inside Sacred Realm with any obvious reason to move against his daughter. If someone had to be suspected, then the only plausible possibility actually lay within Daluo Sacred Land itself. For the other factions, harming his daughter truly accomplished nothing.

Until he received definite news or found some useful clue, everything remained speculation. Precisely because there was no direction to follow, anxiety gnawed at him.

He had no attention left for anything else and spent the entire time turning the matter over in his mind.

As evening approached, Wang Zun came again.

Roused from his thoughts, Sha Rulai looked up and immediately asked, "Any news?"

Wang Zun shook his head. There was still no word. But after glancing around, he stepped closer and drew out a silver hairpin, offering it over. "A letter Niu Youdao asked to have passed along."

"A letter?" Sha Rulai was surprised. He turned the hairpin over in his hand.

Wang Zun said, "The letter is inside the hairpin. He's acting rather strangely this time. Before, he only had messages passed verbally. This time he wrote an actual letter and specifically said it was for the person who can truly make the decisions. This letter is for you."

A letter inside a silver hairpin?

Sha Rulai paused, then sent spiritual power into the hairpin to examine it. Sure enough, the interior was hollow and contained something. He immediately used spiritual power to break it open, removed the rolled paper inside, spread it out, and read.

The moment he saw the contents, his brows flew upward. Fury blazed openly in his eyes. His expression changed with rage, and his hands actually began trembling.

Wang Zun was badly startled. He rarely saw Sha Rulai lose control like this. He tentatively asked, "Sir, what is it?"

Sha Rulai flung the letter toward him.

Wang Zun quickly caught it and read. There was only one short sentence on the paper:

Your daughter is in my hands!

The message was brief, its meaning unmistakable and cleanly stated. Anyone who needed to understand would naturally understand. For two men who were already searching for Sha Huanli, there was no possibility of mistaking what it meant.

"This..." Wang Zun was stunned. He looked up at Sha Rulai. "How is that possible?"

Neither man could have imagined even in his dreams that Niu Youdao would actually manage to capture Sha Huanli inside Sacred Realm.

Sha Rulai's breathing came hard and fast, rage still making him lose composure, his eyes almost murderous. In the end, however, he had no choice but to face reality. Once he gradually forced himself to calm down, he gritted out, "He's stated plainly that she's in his hands. What is impossible about it now?"

Wang Zun said, "Miss had quite a few expert guards around her. For him to capture her without anyone noticing, he couldn't possibly have done it alone. A group of people must have helped him. Who inside Sacred Realm would help him do something like this?"

Sha Rulai snapped, "You ask me—who am I supposed to ask?"

Wang Zun hurriedly said, "Sir, calm yourself. The fact that he sent this message means he wants something. Which means Miss is still safe."

Sha Rulai drew a deep breath. "Ice and Snow Sacred Land. Earlier, I wondered why he had gone there to play the obedient grandson... Didn't you say he kept watching the two of us during the wedding banquet? I didn't take it seriously then. Looking at it now, he may already have set his sights on Huanli that night."

Wang Zun asked, "Why would he abduct Miss?"

Cold light flickered in Sha Rulai's eyes. He answered with absolute certainty, "He wants to see me!"

"..."

Wang Zun froze. After thinking it through, he had to admit that possibility made sense. "Using such an extreme method... what is he trying to do? Force things into mutual destruction?"

Sha Rulai said, "He wants to confirm who it is. He doesn't want someone controlling him from the shadows forever... Contact him. I'm going to meet him."

"Sir, think carefully!" Wang Zun was shocked and immediately tried to stop him. Cupping his hands, he said, "Sir, it's still the same problem. He couldn't possibly have accomplished this alone. A group must be helping him. But where could he find people inside Sacred Realm willing to help him? We don't know which faction has become involved."

"Perhaps some force is deliberately using him to lure you out. The moment you reveal yourself, it confirms that you were the one secretly helping him before. The consequences would be unthinkable! Sir, the people behind this trap might even be from Daluo Sacred Land itself!"

Sha Rulai gritted his teeth. "Then what do you want me to do?"

Wang Zun said, "I'll have someone contact him again and negotiate. We can try to defuse this."

Sha Rulai said angrily, "Negotiate what? How? He never said he abducted Huanli. On what grounds would you ask him about abducting her? The moment you ask, doesn't that prove it's me?"

"It's useless! The fact that he dared move against Huanli means he already suspects me. He wants to confirm whether the person behind the scenes is really me. The fact that he could take Huanli without a sound also means he doesn't intend to leave any evidence."

"If it isn't me—or if I refuse to appear—he won't leave any handle behind. He'll quietly erase Huanli from this world. If the matter has nothing to do with me, on what grounds would I pursue it?"

His reasoning was sound. Wang Zun frowned deeply. "Sir, what if some faction really has laid a trap?"

Sha Rulai said, "If I don't appear, Huanli can only die. What choice are you asking me to make? Am I supposed to stand by and watch her die?"

Wang Zun clenched his jaw. "That bastard! He actually dares act this recklessly against a weak woman without the slightest cultivation. Sooner or later, we need to teach him a lesson!"

Sha Rulai's face was dark, every line of it taut. "Contact him. Arrange a time and place for me to meet him!"

...

Niu Youdao received the reply.

After reading it behind his desk, he leaned back in his chair with a smile and murmured to himself, "Looks like it really is him."

The letter had not stated who the hidden person was. But the fact that the other side had agreed to come meet him was enough to prove Niu Youdao's guess. Otherwise, no one would care whether Sha Huanli lived or died, much less expose himself for her sake.

Niu Youdao destroyed the letter completely, then pulled out his map and studied it for a while. Afterward, he rose with his sword as a cane, walked slowly to the door, opened it, stood beneath the eaves, and called, "Someone."

Qin Guan and Ke Dingjie came together to receive orders.

Under the eaves on the other side, Kunlin Shu sat on a small stool, staring blankly while keeping watch over two Goldenwings. No one knew what he was thinking. Hearing the movement, he only turned his head to look.

"Come. We'll report to Wentian City, then go out for a stroll." Niu Youdao spoke while walking, leading Qin Guan and Ke Dingjie away.

Kunlin Shu looked left and right after they had gone.

Then everything fell quiet again.

Once more, he was left there completely alone...

...

Inspectors were going out to conduct inspections. Wentian City had no grounds to stop them and could only let them leave. Niu Youdao and his two companions departed on a flying mount.

The three made a circuit outside and casually chose one Misty Pavilion outpost to question for a while. Nothing more.

On the return journey, high in the sky, Niu Youdao suddenly stepped forward and asked for the finger bell controlling the mount. He had Qin Guan, who had been guiding the bird from the front, move back while Niu Youdao took over himself.

Qin Guan and Ke Dingjie exchanged a glance.

They guessed they were about to be abandoned again.

Sure enough, the flying mount abruptly dove into a forest below. As it circled just above the treetops, Niu Youdao said calmly, "Go down and find somewhere to hide. I'll come back for you later."

"Yes!" both answered together.

They jumped down without the slightest surprise and did not even ask another question. By now, they were thoroughly accustomed to being left behind.

After landing, the two looked up and watched the flying mount disappear.

Ke Dingjie muttered, "Where's he going this time?"

"Ah." Qin Guan sighed. "Come on. Let's find somewhere to hide."

...

A canyon split the earth like a great wound. The Gray-Feather Eagle plunged into it and landed on the canyon floor.

Niu Youdao arrived first at the appointed meeting place. After checking his surroundings, he walked to a large boulder, jumped onto it, sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and began meditating.

The sun sank westward. Darkness gradually filled the sky. The moon hung overhead, and the stars grew dense. The canyon was quiet, broken only now and then by the chirp of insects.

A sudden rush of air sounded.

Niu Youdao's eyes snapped open.

Someone now stood in the darkness, wrapped entirely in a black cloak.

Niu Youdao activated his Dharma Eye and looked carefully.

The cloaked figure slowly raised his head.

Their gazes met, one man seated on the boulder, the other standing below.

The face gradually revealed beneath the hood was exactly the familiar face Niu Youdao had imagined.

Sha Rulai.

Niu Youdao smiled. He reached for his sword, rose, jumped down from the boulder, held the sword against his chest, and cupped his hands. "Mr. Sha, so it really was you. It certainly isn't easy to see you. I had no choice but to resort to this measure. I hope you'll forgive me."

Sha Rulai suddenly flashed forward.

One hand seized the front of Niu Youdao's clothes.

Bang!

Their bodies collided, and Sha Rulai drove Niu Youdao backward into the boulder on which he had just been sitting.

Niu Youdao did not resist at all. Instead, he raised both hands to show that he meant no harm.

Holding him pinned against the rock by his collar, Sha Rulai asked in a low, severe voice, "Where is my daughter?"

Niu Youdao did not become angry. He smiled. "There are plenty of people in the cultivation world who, for power and position, care about nothing else. There are more than a few who would kill their own sons and daughters. I can see Mr. Sha is different. You're a man of feeling and loyalty. I like men of feeling and loyalty best."

He lifted a hand and patted Sha Rulai's gripping hand, signaling him to let go.

Sha Rulai refused to release him. He shoved Niu Youdao against the stone several times and said angrily, "Enough nonsense. I asked you where my daughter is."

Niu Youdao said, "Mr. Sha, calm down. Being too impulsive won't do either of us any good. For your daughter's sake if nothing else, you should at least give us a chance to speak properly, shouldn't you?"

"My worthless life isn't worth as much as your daughter's. Trading your daughter's life for mine would be a poor bargain. Wouldn't you agree?"

Sha Rulai said, "You're threatening me?"

Niu Youdao smiled. "This isn't Tiandu Peak all those years ago. You don't get to do whatever you please here... Speaking of what happened at Tiandu Peak back then, remembering it puts me in a rather bad mood."

"I'm a straightforward man, and plain men don't speak in riddles. Yes, I'm threatening you. What are you going to do about it?"

He raised a hand and pointed toward the sky. "Once the time limit passes, I can't guarantee what will happen to your daughter. So I must ask Mr. Sha to calm his anger."

"I think you're tired of living!" Sha Rulai's words were vicious, but he still released Niu Youdao in one motion. Pointing at his nose, he warned, "If you dare harm so much as one finger on my daughter's hand, I guarantee you'll die a very ugly death!"

Freed at last, Niu Youdao straightened the clothes that had been pulled out of place across his chest. "Don't worry. Sha Huanli is perfectly fine."

"Oh, that's right. Anyone you personally sent to protect your daughter must be one of your trusted people, so Xiang Ming is perfectly fine as well."

"I can also promise you this: I bear neither of them the slightest ill will. I came to meet Mr. Sha with sincerity. All I want is to sit down and have a proper talk with you."

[End of Chapter 1070]