Chapter 1086: Takes His Own Life in Guilt

Just as the other man had said, the sheet did indeed record certain information about Niu Youdao inside Sacred Realm.

It could not be called detailed. It only described the general situation, but even that was enough to reveal quite a few things.

After reading it, Shao Pingbo sank into thought.

Only when he finally came back to himself did he realize Shao Sansheng had already returned and had been standing beside him for some time.

Shao Sansheng waited until then before asking, "Has His Majesty issued a new decree?"

Shao Pingbo shook his head slightly. "It has nothing to do with His Majesty. That man just now was from Misty Pavilion."

"Ah!" Shao Sansheng was badly startled. "This... What would someone from Misty Pavilion want with Eldest Young Master?"

Shao Pingbo did not hide the matter from him. He casually handed over the sheet in his hand.

It was rather pitiful when one thought about it.

Shao Pingbo had once been a regional lord in his own right and had wielded immense power over one side. Yet after falling to his present state, only this single trusted confidant remained beside him.

After reading the contents of the sheet, Shao Sansheng asked in uncertainty, "Eldest Young Master, could it be that they want you to help deal with Niu Youdao?"

Shao Pingbo gave a self-mocking laugh. "I'm a defeated opponent of Niu Youdao's. Niu Youdao himself is already in Misty Pavilion's hands, while I'm trapped here with neither authority nor power. If they truly wanted someone to deal with Niu Youdao, they probably wouldn't even think of me."

Shao Sansheng indicated the sheet. "Then this is...?"

"They aren't asking me to help them deal with Niu Youdao. What they mean is that they'll help me deal with Niu Youdao."

Shao Sansheng was puzzled. "Misty Pavilion suddenly reveals itself and offers to help you? Would they really be so kind?"

"Kind, my ass." Shao Pingbo gave a faint sneer. "Naturally they have ulterior motives. There are conditions. They want me to push the war against Wei..."

He explained what had happened.

Shao Sansheng was deeply confused. "But the decision to launch the war against Wei isn't in Eldest Young Master's hands."

Shao Pingbo said slowly, "Wherever people gather, disputes arise. There should be internal strife inside Misty Pavilion."

"Internal strife inside Misty Pavilion?" Shao Sansheng was astonished. "How can you tell? Did he say so?"

Shao Pingbo shook his head. "Do you think there are other Misty Pavilion people hidden inside the Jin imperial palace?"

Shao Sansheng hesitated. "Misty Pavilion controls all beneath Heaven. How could it neglect to monitor the central court of a State? There should be some, more or less."

"Rumor says Misty Pavilion penetrates everywhere. I'm afraid it isn't merely the Jin imperial palace. Even the interior of Qiyun Sect is unlikely to have escaped its reach."

"If so, why bother coming to me? Misty Pavilion's people inside the palace could simply approach His Majesty directly. So long as they revealed their Misty Pavilion identity, whether His Majesty or Qiyun Sect, both would probably welcome it eagerly. With Misty Pavilion backing them, Jin could begin the war immediately."

"They had a simple method available, yet refused to use it. I don't believe this talk about needing secrecy."

"If secrecy were truly the concern, Misty Pavilion would only need to warn His Majesty. Would His Majesty dare reveal that Misty Pavilion was secretly urging the war? Naturally he would keep the matter strictly confidential."

"Yet someone from Misty Pavilion insisted on sneaking over to find me instead. What does that show?"

"It shows this is not Misty Pavilion's will at all."

Shao Sansheng suddenly became alert. "Eldest Young Master means this man is pretending to be from Misty Pavilion? No..."

He remembered Shao Pingbo's earlier conclusion about internal strife and immediately corrected himself.

Shao Pingbo reached out and took back the sheet from his hand. Studying the contents again, he said, "Some of this information should have come from inside Sacred Realm. Even if he isn't from Misty Pavilion, he certainly has close ties to it. His identity probably isn't the problem."

"The issue is that nine different forces coexist inside Misty Pavilion. I'm afraid someone among them is acting behind Misty Pavilion's back and doesn't want the Pavilion as a whole to know. Naturally they wouldn't dare alert the other Misty Pavilion agents hidden inside the palace."

"Reasoning backward from that explains why they came to me. I was the one who laid the groundwork for the war against Wei, and I've always been eager to push it forward. If I step out to advocate for it, everything appears perfectly natural and won't arouse Misty Pavilion's suspicion."

Shao Sansheng said, "If they know Eldest Young Master has always been pushing the matter, then they should also know your difficulty. It isn't that you don't want the war. The court simply refuses. If they know it's impossible and still force you, aren't they deliberately making things difficult for you?"

Shao Pingbo turned the sheet face-down on the desk and laughed coldly. "Of course they know my difficulty, yet they still demand that I do it. That means they have confidence."

"And it can only mean they still have people inside the palace or Qiyun Sect who will coordinate with me. My appearance is merely to make everything look natural. I am the cover, concealing the people who will support the move from behind and preventing Misty Pavilion from discovering them."

"So this time may truly be different. As long as the reasons I put forward are suitable, the war against Wei may be unavoidable."

"The time has come!"

His reasoning made sense.

Shao Sansheng nodded slightly, then hesitated. "Why would they want to push the war against Wei?"

Shao Pingbo said evenly, "Misty Pavilion's usual style is to watch coldly while the States struggle among themselves and avoid direct intervention unless absolutely necessary. Combined with the fact that they sought me out secretly, this tells us something."

"Someone inside Misty Pavilion is breaking the rules in secret."

"As for why, we know too little about Misty Pavilion's internal affairs to judge. We can't determine the reason yet."

"But one thing is certain. For some people to secretly push a war between States despite the risk, there must be a major reason."

"This is far too abnormal. What could shake Misty Pavilion badly enough? Of the things we know at present, the likeliest possibility is the Nine Saints' intention to rectify Misty Pavilion."

"I don't know what purpose certain people have in pushing this war, but someone has probably been driven into desperation by the Nine Saints."

Shao Sansheng could not judge whether this was truly what had happened. He cared more about their immediate predicament.

"Eldest Young Master, what should we do now?"

Shao Pingbo sighed. "I don't know where they are or how powerful their faction is. Now that they've come for me, do I have any choice?"

"If I refuse to act, they won't spare me. If I do act, they may kill me afterward to silence me."

"This..." Shao Sansheng instantly became frantic.

Disaster had descended from nowhere.

Shao Pingbo, however, rose and paced inside the pavilion.

"They underestimate me, Shao. They think I'm ignorant and that simply waving Misty Pavilion's name around will make me obedient?"

"They want to use me. I've been trapped here worrying that matters have made no progress for so long. Now they've delivered themselves to my door. Excellent. I'll borrow their strength instead."

"They want to kill me?"

He turned, a cold gleam in his eyes.

"I'd like to see whether they have the nerve!"

He looked back at the documents on the desk. "Put everything away. I'm going to the palace."

Then he turned and strode out.

...

With carriage and guards accompanying him, Shao Pingbo arrived at the imperial palace.

Taishu Xiong happened to be handling affairs of State, so Shao Pingbo had no choice but to wait.

Only when Taishu Xiong found time to summon him did Shao Pingbo enter the imperial study and salute.

Then he spoke directly.

"Your Majesty, the war against Wei cannot be delayed any longer."

Taishu Xiong, seated behind the desk, sighed.

He had known Shao Pingbo might raise this matter.

"Minister Shao, you know the situation. Qiyun Sect will not give its approval, and even I can do nothing. Do not mention this matter again. When the time is right, you will naturally be informed. Withdraw."

Shao Pingbo refused to leave. He cupped his hands.

"Your Majesty, allow this subject to explain. The arrangements in Wei cannot be delayed any longer."

"Xuan Chengtian, sovereign of Wei, was merely ignorant before, not stupid. He has begun involving himself in government affairs now and will gradually understand the stakes involved. Once he slowly comes to his senses, the opportunity to incite him will disappear. We will miss our best chance!"

Taishu Xiong fell silent, his heart heavy.

Shao Pingbo continued, "Your Majesty, I understand Qiyun Sect's concern. During the Sacred Realm tempering, Elder Taishu Shancheng was killed, and now Elder Taishu Shanhai's situation remains unclear. Every action those two Elders take inside Sacred Realm represents Qiyun Sect. Before the situation becomes clear, Qiyun Sect does not dare act rashly."

"But this is excessive worry. Will Jin remaining motionless somehow change Elder Taishu Shanhai's situation inside Sacred Realm? It accomplishes nothing."

"If Elder Taishu truly becomes entangled in something inside Sacred Realm that implicates Qiyun Sect, then whether Qiyun Sect fights this war or not, it will still be unable to escape disaster."

"If so, what is there to fear?"

"If we look forward and backward until we neglect what lies before our eyes, how can there be any future at all?"

"If Jin misses this opportunity, it may never again have a chance to advance eastward. It will remain impoverished indefinitely."

"Your Majesty rules an entire State and possesses great ambition. How could you willingly accept such a fate..."

...

At Tiandu Peak, an open area inside Misty Pavilion was surrounded by a crowd.

Some wore ugly expressions. Others whispered among themselves.

At the center of the crowd, a man lay in a pool of blood.

One man, one sword.

His throat had been cut open, and his dead eyes remained wide as though he could not rest in peace.

Among the onlookers, Tiannü Sect Elder Qi Bisang stared at the corpse with an extremely grim expression, her cheeks taut.

The dead man was Hong Yunfa, one of the three chief deacons of the All-Under-Heaven Money House.

Hong Gaitian hurried over after hearing that something had happened.

He squeezed through the crowd, saw the corpse, then quickly moved to Qi Bisang's side and asked in a low voice, "What happened? Who killed him?"

Qi Bisang did not react.

She stood there lost in thought, as though she had not heard him.

No one had killed Hong Yunfa.

He had taken his own life.

He had suddenly appeared in the open area, suddenly thrown back his head and laughed wildly, drawing the attention of everyone nearby.

Then, just as suddenly, he drew his sword and swept it across his own throat.

Blood sprayed.

He fell on the spot.

Naturally, the people of Misty Pavilion were shocked and had no idea why he would do such a thing.

Qi Bisang had been secretly investigating Hong Yunfa.

After finding evidence, she had already reported the matter to the Sacred Venerables.

The affair should still have been confidential, and not many people inside Misty Pavilion should have known about it.

Yet before any order came down to deal with Hong Yunfa, he had taken his own life.

Qi Bisang had kept him under secret observation all along. The moment something happened to Hong Yunfa, she arrived at once.

Seeing that she would not answer, Hong Gaitian asked one of the Misty Pavilion people nearby and learned that Hong Yunfa had killed himself.

Why would a perfectly healthy man suddenly do that?

Hong Gaitian slowly turned back toward Qi Bisang.

Seeing her expression, something strange appeared on his face.

Both of them were inspectors stationed at the All-Under-Heaven Money House. Circumstances had pushed them toward a degree of cooperation, and Hong Gaitian knew something about Qi Bisang's investigation into Hong Yunfa.

Looking at her reaction, he could roughly guess that Hong Yunfa's death probably had something to do with the Tiannü Sect's investigation.

Li Changsheng's expression was equally ugly as he stared at the corpse.

He was the Right Envoy serving under Ding Wei while Ding Wei presided over Misty Pavilion, effectively one of Ding Wei's closest lieutenants.

The Left Envoy remained stationed long-term at Dayuan Sacred Land, while Li Changsheng served outside the Sacred Land.

In terms of status and the degree of trust placed in him, he ranked even above Huang Ban and Xuan Yao.

When Ding Wei was absent, Li Changsheng acted in his stead to oversee matters outside Sacred Realm.

Now something like this had happened.

How was he supposed to explain it?

"Right Envoy, this was found in Hong Yunfa's room."

A Misty Pavilion man approached and presented a letter.

The moment Hong Yunfa died, Li Changsheng had ordered Misty Pavilion sealed immediately. No one was permitted to enter or leave.

At the same time, he ordered a search for clues explaining Hong Yunfa's death.

A perfectly normal man did not take his own life for no reason.

Li Changsheng accepted the letter and read it.

It was a suicide note, written in Hong Yunfa's own hand.

The letter confessed that he had falsified accounts and embezzled funds from the Money House, that fear and guilt had left him unable to face the Sacred Venerables' high expectations, and that he had therefore taken his own life under the weight of his crimes.

[End of Chapter 1086]