Chapter 1077: The Best Explanation Is No Explanation

Before remarrying, Sha Rulai had used another excuse: he was afraid his daughter would be unhappy seeing him take another wife and that everyone involved would end up miserable. On that pretext, he sent Sha Huanli out of Sacred Realm.

In truth, he was afraid Sha Huanli might suffer another murderous hand.

If she continued staying inside Sacred Realm, the little girl had no sense of what should and should not be said, had become an encumbrance Luo Fangfei had to carry around, and was forever appearing under Luo Qiu's eyes. No one knew when she might provoke some dark impulse in Luo Qiu.

The safest course was to keep her out of Luo Qiu's sight.

Sha Rulai had also long known that Xiang Ming was someone Luo Qiu had planted beside him. Sending Sha Huanli to Star-Plucking City and having Xiang Ming look after her was effectively placing her directly in Luo Qiu's hands. On the surface it looked like sending a lamb into a tiger's mouth, but in reality it worked exactly as Niu Youdao had said.

Once that arrangement was established, if anything happened to his daughter, Sha Rulai would have every reason to suspect Luo Fangfei, which would leave Luo Fangfei heartbroken. Considering his own daughter, and with Sha Huanli already completely under Luo Qiu's control, Luo Qiu would actually become less likely to move against her.

Perhaps Sha Huanli had lost certain things because of this arrangement, but it had indeed guaranteed that she grew up safely. To this day, she had remained unharmed.

As for the misunderstandings his daughter harbored toward him, those were all trivial matters to Sha Rulai.

What could possibly matter more than his daughter's safety?

After hearing all this, Niu Youdao sighed with feeling and instinctively glanced at Hei Yun and the others.

The Demon Foxes did indeed look thoroughly uncomfortable. So this was the reason Sha Rulai had married the former Clan Chief's daughter.

Sha Huanli shook her head through sobs. "I don't believe you! If that's true, why didn't you tell me earlier?"

Sha Rulai said, "You've never experienced any real storms since childhood. Look at yourself now. Can you control your emotions? Xiang Ming belonged to Luo Qiu, yet you trusted him completely. Do you think there are things I would dare tell you?"

"If you'd shown the slightest abnormality, if Luo Qiu had noticed anything, how could either of us have survived? Luo Qiu does not leave future troubles beside himself. When the time came, even Luo Fangfei stepping forward would not have been able to protect us."

"Girl, the more you know, the worse it is for you. For you, knowing nothing was the safest thing."

Sha Huanli cried, "Then why are you telling me now?"

"I already said it. I have no choice but to tell you now." Sha Rulai raised a hand and pointed toward Hei Yun and the others. "Look at them. Who are they?"

"You experienced it yourself. You should know they're Demon Foxes from Sacred Realm, mortal enemies of the Nine Saints who have resisted them to the death all these years. Haven't you always kept your mother's vengeance in your heart? I have never forgotten your mother's vengeance either. And your future has always been a worry in my heart."

"Girl, the reason I can stand here peacefully with them now is because we have become people on the same side. Why would I risk joining forces with them? What could they give me? Nothing they can give me surpasses what I already possess."

"I did this because I want revenge for your mother, and because I, your father, want to gamble once for your future. I don't ask that you enjoy wealth or glory. I only want to fight for the possibility that you can live out this life safely and peacefully!"

"But Xiang Ming saw everything here. Before, I could leave him untouched. Now I have no way to spare him. If he reported this to Luo Qiu, neither of us would even have a place to be buried. Tell me what I was supposed to do."

"Either he died, or we father and daughter died. How was I supposed to choose?"

"Why?" Sha Huanli shook her head. "Why must people always divide themselves into enemies and allies? Why does everything everywhere have to become a struggle to the death?"

The succession of changes seemed too much for her to accept or digest. Slowly, she crouched down, wrapped both arms around her knees, and wept.

As for the so-called vengeance for her mother, she had actually forgotten much of it long ago. She had been too young when she lost her mother and could no longer even remember what her mother looked like.

Time could dilute many things. Years of peaceful routine had also tempered and quieted her nature to some degree. What she had truly clung to all these years was not her mother's vengeance itself, but the grievance she held against her father.

Now that every misunderstanding concerning him had been stripped away, how much hatred could truly remain in her heart?

When it came to obsession, she was far inferior to her father.

Why?

Niu Youdao lifted his head and looked toward the sky, as though he too were searching for an answer.

Sha Rulai said, "Why? You've stumped me with that question. I don't know how to answer you. I'd like to know myself why everything everywhere has to become a fight to the death."

"Girl, yes. Those men who courted you and spoke of love with you were all killed by me. Perhaps all these years, I truly was wrong. Perhaps I should have let you suffer more setbacks so you could grow."

"But your birth determined that the setbacks you face would never be ordinary setbacks. One careless mistake could cost you your entire life, leaving no room afterward for regret or recovery."

"When men approached you with impure motives and hidden purposes, how could you ask me to sit by and ignore it?"

"Now you should understand what it feels like to know too much. But you already know. You asked why. Whatever the reason, now that you know, from today onward you must face it."

Sha Huanli sat on the ground, buried her face between her knees, and continued weeping, her tears refusing to dry.

Sha Rulai watched his daughter for a while, then sighed. Afterward, he gave Niu Youdao a look and turned away.

Niu Youdao turned as well, using his sword as a cane as he followed him to the edge of the cliff. He offered a word of comfort. "Don't worry. Your daughter is kindhearted. Now that everything has been explained, give it time and she'll get past it."

Sha Rulai said, "I'm considering whether I should let her go back."

"I won't force the issue. If Mr. Sha thinks it's appropriate for her to return, then let her return. If you don't want her to go back, she can remain here as well. Don't worry. The Demon Fox race will take proper care of her."

Sha Rulai gave him a sidelong look. "The damp here is so heavy. Is the Desolate Marsh Deadlands a place where an ordinary person can live for long? She's accustomed to fine clothes and rich food. Life here is inconvenient in every way. You can't expect her to hide beneath the swamp with the Demon Foxes forever."

"And if she comes out for fresh air and someone from Sacred Realm sees her, you know perfectly well how much trouble that would cause."

"Then let her go back," Niu Youdao said.

Sha Rulai turned fully toward him. "Easy for you to say. You don't feel the backache when you're the one standing, do you?"

"She's been missing for so many days, and I've already mobilized people everywhere to search for her. There is no way Luo Qiu hasn't heard anything. He must already be paying attention."

"Now Xiang Ming and the others are all dead, and only the girl returns alive. How do I explain that? Can it even be explained clearly?"

He pointed at Niu Youdao. "Look at the fine mess you've made."

Niu Youdao sighed. "Mr. Sha, I've already told you. I had no choice. I repeatedly asked to meet you before, and every time you refused. Forced into a corner, I could only resort to this inferior method."

"You..." Sha Rulai was about to rebuke him.

Niu Youdao hurriedly raised a hand to stop him. "I understand how a father feels about protecting his daughter. But what meaning is there in arguing over this now?"

"You can also rest easy. Since I dared do this, naturally I wouldn't leave Mr. Sha in a difficult position. Before making my move, I had already considered your situation. I would never allow anything to happen to you. Otherwise, after spending all this effort going in a circle, if it ended up worth absolutely nothing, why would I have bothered?"

"Now Mr. Sha only needs to make one choice: does your daughter stay, or does she return? I'll help you solve everything else."

Sha Rulai asked, "If she can return, naturally it's best for her to return. Do you have some proper method?"

There was a note of expectation in his voice.

He had been watching Niu Youdao for so long, after all, and knew the bastard possessed quite a few methods.

Niu Youdao said, "Say your daughter was abducted by the Demon Fox race."

Anger immediately entered Sha Rulai's tone. "Everyone else was killed, but my daughter alone is perfectly fine. You think that explanation makes sense?"

Niu Youdao remained calm. "With suspicious people, the best explanation is no explanation. Only letting the facts speak for themselves will convince them."

"Naturally there's a reason the Demon Foxes didn't kill your daughter."

"When you go back, take a letter with you. A letter from the Demon Fox race. The contents will say that the Demon Foxes are holding your daughter hostage and demand to see your wife, Luo Fangfei. So long as Luo Fangfei comes to meet them, they'll release your daughter."

As he spoke, he drew a letter from the sleeve of the arm resting on his sword, pinched it casually between two fingers, and held it out.

"Simply give the letter to Luo Qiu. As for how the Demon Fox race managed to deliver it to you, that isn't important. Mr. Sha can invent whatever explanation you like."

He had even prepared the letter already?

Suspicion flickered in Sha Rulai's eyes. He abruptly snatched the letter away, opened it, and read it first.

He had to know what it said.

Otherwise, with no grasp of the contents, how could he know how to respond when the time came?

Yet after reading it, his uncertainty only deepened. He tentatively asked, "Using Luo Fangfei as the exchange, and insisting that Luo Fangfei come alone... will Luo Qiu agree?"

"He will." Niu Youdao said, "In any case, once Luo Qiu reads the letter, he'll understand why your daughter was seized by the Demon Fox race. He won't suspect anything else."

Sha Rulai read the letter again and shook his head. "It's so simple, the meaning so sketchy. I honestly can't see why Luo Qiu would agree. Is there some hidden story behind this? If there is, you might as well tell me. Otherwise I have no confidence."

"It's not that I don't want to tell you. This matter concerns an old secret between Luo Qiu and the Demon Fox race. Luo Qiu doesn't want anyone to know, and neither do the Demon Foxes. Without the Demon Fox race agreeing first, I can't casually tell anyone."

"And you don't need to understand it. You not knowing why your daughter was abducted is exactly how it should be. So long as Luo Qiu understands, that's enough."

He looked back at Sha Huanli, who was still crouched on the ground sobbing. "Let her stay here for a few days first. Once Luo Fangfei comes, she'll be able to return."

Sha Rulai looked at his daughter as well, then slowly folded the letter away. "It's not that I doubt your words. You have no reason to harm me. I simply dislike this feeling of being kept in the dark."

Niu Youdao teased, "Now you know how I felt when you were keeping me in the dark before?"

When Sha Rulai gave him a cold sidelong look and seemed ready to argue, Niu Youdao hurriedly waved a hand again. "Enough. Before Mr. Sha leaves, there's one more matter I'd like to ask about."

Sha Rulai did not bother with courtesy. "I can't stay long. If you've got a fart, let it out!"

Niu Youdao said, "I want to know how Dong Guo Haoran died."

Sha Rulai looked surprised. "Dong Guo Haoran? The master who introduced you into Shangqing Sect?"

"Yes. When I first joined Shangqing Sect, I happened to arrive during a tremendous upheaval. Sect Leader Tang Mu and my master Dong Guo Haoran both met disaster at almost the same time, and a group of Shangqing Sect's elite disciples died with them."

"That was precisely why Shangqing Sect suffered a gap between generations and deteriorated so badly that I nearly ended up becoming Sect Leader myself."

"I want to know what exactly happened back then."

[End of Chapter 1077]