Chapter 1095: Duty Calls

At the very least, who would believe something like this had been Niu Youdao's work alone? They would inevitably suspect there were others behind him, and they would inevitably use every possible method to pry open his mouth.

Although Ao Feng had relaxed somewhat, the string in his heart remained taut until Niu Youdao was completely out of danger. He flashed down beside the leader of the search party and said, "Nothing was found over there."

Before long, the people who had scattered to search returned one after another to report. None had found anything.

The leader waved a hand, and the group pushed their search forward again.

Niu Youdao remained hidden in the cave until all movement outside had completely disappeared. Only then did he cautiously poke his head out. After carefully observing the surroundings for a while, he swiftly slipped into the deep mountains.

He moved furtively the entire way, hiding and evading as he went. Only after he had escaped beyond the limited area Wuliang Garden's manpower could cover did he finally open up and flee at full speed.

...

At Ice and Snow Sacred Land, amid swirling wind and snow on an icy cliff, Granny Xue stood hunched over, one hand supporting herself on her staff and the other holding a report.

A cackling laugh like an old crow escaped her.

"Interesting. A chief deacon of the All-Under-Heaven Money House has only just died under mysterious circumstances, and now someone has actually appeared to set Wuliang Garden on fire. Sacred Realm has been peaceful for too long. Things truly are becoming more and more interesting. Strange incidents are beginning to come one after another."

When she finished, she turned her head and gave the man behind her a cold sidelong look.

Bai Wuya stood nearby without saying a word, his expression grave.

Whoosh!

Bai Wuya looked up.

Granny Xue had already vanished. A sonic howl tore through the sky as her figure rapidly disappeared into the distance. From the direction, she seemed to be heading straight for Wuliang Garden.

"Ah!" Bai Wuya sighed.

He had no idea who had set Wuliang Garden on fire. Whoever it was had far too much nerve.

What could burning the place accomplish?

They would gain nothing from it. It was difficult not to suspect the entire point had been to create trouble and attract attention.

...

The burning of Wuliang Garden shook all of Sacred Realm.

Someone had reached a hand toward a forbidden ground of the entire Sacred Realm and touched the Nine Saints' reverse scale. How could there not be an uproar?

Inside Wentian City, Huang Ban and Xuan Yao sat facing one another over a pot of tea, both wearing grave expressions.

"Could the fire possibly have been a natural disaster?" Xuan Yao muttered.

Huang Ban sighed. "Such a huge blaze erupted all at once, with fires starting simultaneously around Wuliang Garden. How could that possibly be a natural disaster? It was definitely man-made. For such a large area to ignite at the same time, it doesn't look like the work of one or two people. It was a group operation."

Xuan Yao fell silent for a while, then sighed as well. "Whoever it was certainly had nerve. But what meaning was there in burning it like that?"

Huang Ban said, "Doing this could never obtain the Wuliang Fruit. It was obviously a wasted effort. Rumors are already spreading below, with people connecting the burning of Wuliang Garden to Hong Yunfa's death, saying someone wants to restrain Misty Pavilion's internal rectification."

"I don't know who is behind it, but don't they understand that the more they do things like this, the less willing the Sacred Venerables will be to let the matter go?"

Xuan Yao said, "Mr. Ding said he intended to remain outside for a while. Once he receives this news, I doubt he'll be able to sit still. Wuliang Garden is nominally under Misty Pavilion, after all. With something like this happening, he'll have to come back whether he wants to or not."

Huang Ban said, "I heard the nine Sacred Venerables themselves have already arrived at Wuliang Garden one after another to inspect the aftermath. If even the Sacred Venerables cannot uncover anything, what can Mr. Ding accomplish by returning?"

Xuan Yao said, "He can't pretend nothing happened and refuse to ask about it at all. That would be even more suspicious. At the very least, he has to make a show of handling it."

"Ah! Troubled times." Huang Ban sighed repeatedly. "And this term as Presiding Administrator just happens to have fallen on Mr. Ding's head. No one can say where all this will end."

Xuan Yao shook his head helplessly.

...

While secret discussion surged like a tide throughout Sacred Realm, Niu Youdao appeared once again in mist-shrouded deep mountains.

He had hidden himself among the crown of a tree in a place not too far from Tianmo Sacred Land.

A false mask covered his face, and a black cloak wrapped his body.

After waiting for quite some time, a figure finally landed in the creek valley below and looked around cautiously.

It was Wu Fei.

Niu Youdao flashed down from the treetop.

Wu Fei immediately became wary.

Niu Youdao raised one hand and showed him his palm. A plum blossom had been drawn there.

The plum blossom was their recognition signal, allowing Wu Fei to confirm the identity of the person meeting him.

Sha Rulai would not follow Niu Youdao everywhere he went, and Sha Rulai's status made it unsuitable for him to move around freely. As Sha Rulai himself had said, people at his level were actually watched most closely by the Nine Saints.

This time Sha Rulai had not come. Niu Youdao was meeting Wu Fei alone and still did not want Wu Fei learning his identity.

Since Wu Fei had no way to know whether the person arriving was genuine, Sha Rulai had first arranged a recognition signal for the two of them.

The meeting place had also been chosen relatively close to Tianmo Sacred Land for Wu Fei's convenience. Without a suitable excuse, someone of Wu Fei's status could not casually use a large flying mount whenever he pleased. Doing so might attract attention.

Once they had confirmed each other's identities, Niu Youdao did not waste words. He drew several folded sheets of paper from his sleeve and handed them over.

"Take a look. Are these people from Tianmo Sacred Land? Do you recognize them?"

Wu Fei accepted the papers and opened them.

The moment he saw the first portrait, he blurted, "Chu Weicheng!"

Niu Youdao asked, "You know him?"

Wu Fei studied the portrait carefully.

The lines were no longer charcoal.

In order to conceal his identity from Wu Fei, Niu Youdao had painstakingly recopied the portraits with a writing brush.

There was no helping it. He had to be cautious.

He had used charcoal to draw portraits for certain people before. That distinctive drawing method had to be concealed, or it might easily expose who he was.

After examining the first portrait closely, Wu Fei nodded. "The portrait differs somewhat from the man himself, but the face looks like him. If we're talking about people from Tianmo Sacred Land, it should be him."

"He committed some offense more than ten years ago and was executed. I remember several people were put to death together that time..."

He turned to the next portrait and blurted out again.

"Xu Ziling."

Then he flipped to the third.

"Guang He."

Wu Fei looked up at Niu Youdao. "There should be no mistake. It should be the three of them. They were among the men executed together more than ten years ago after committing an offense. That incident angered Wu Chang, so I remember it."

Niu Youdao's spirits rose. "I remember what you said last time. You told me you should be able to find the remains of the dead."

"Now I want you to find these three men's remains and give them to me."

Wu Fei looked troubled. "It's already been so many years. I don't know what condition the remains are in. I can't guarantee I'll be able to find complete skeletons."

Niu Youdao said, "In places where yin energy is heavy, bones don't decay easily. I don't need complete remains either. You only need to bring me the three men's skulls."

"But there is one point you must remember clearly: the remains must truly belong to those three men. There absolutely cannot be any mistake. Understand?"

What Wu Fei worried about was something Niu Youdao had already considered while carefully sorting through the plan.

After their last meeting, Niu Youdao had Yuan Gang contact Zhao Xiongge directly once more.

For the sake of concealment and secrecy, Yuan Gang had asked only one thing: did it have to be the whole corpse?

Niu Youdao believed Zhao Xiongge would understand what that question meant.

Sure enough, Zhao Xiongge did.

His reply was simple: partial remains would also work, but the skull had the best effect.

With that answer in hand, Niu Youdao naturally wanted the skulls, which would produce the strongest effect.

Hearing that only the skulls were needed, Wu Fei relaxed somewhat. He nodded. "I'll do my best."

Niu Youdao immediately warned him sternly, "Not 'do your best.' You must get this done properly."

"I'll say it again. They must be the skulls of these three men themselves. Do not mix them up."

"Once I receive them, I have a method to verify whether they're genuine. If anything goes wrong, you should understand the consequences."

Wu Fei silently nodded.

Niu Youdao pointed toward the portraits in his hands. "Have you memorized the three names?"

Wu Fei immediately looked through them again one by one.

"Chu Weicheng, Xu Ziling, Guang He. I've remembered them all."

Niu Youdao held out his hand, took the portraits back, and put them away.

Then he softened his tone.

"Don't worry. We won't tear down the bridge after crossing the river. We still hope the two sides can continue cooperating."

"If that woman pestering you makes you uneasy, and if you need help but aren't in a position to act yourself, then when the right opportunity comes, we can help you remove her."

"Of course, deciding when the right moment arrives will probably require your cooperation."

Wu Fei looked up and nodded repeatedly. "That would be best!"

"That woman often comes looking for me on her own. Inside Tianmo Sacred Land, I truly don't know how I'm supposed to avoid her anymore. I'm honestly terrified of her."

"All these years, I haven't dared accomplish much of anything inside Tianmo Sacred Land because I'm afraid others will become jealous and watch me closely. I'm afraid someone may discover the clues."

"If you want me to provide greater assistance in the future, you'd best help me get rid of her. I personally can't find a chance to act, and I don't dare tell anyone else and ask them to help."

Niu Youdao pressed one hand downward to calm him. "Don't be impatient. Handle the matter in front of us first."

Wu Fei immediately promised, "Don't worry. I'll definitely do my best."

Everything that needed to be explained had now been explained.

The two parted there.

Their method of future contact would continue to pass through the intermediary, Sha Rulai.

After separating, Niu Youdao destroyed the three portraits he had gone to such effort, and even enormous risk, to obtain.

Then he headed straight toward Shouque Villa.

Along the way, he found Qin Guan and Ke Dingjie, whom he had left behind, and the three continued together.

...

At the entrance to Sacred Realm, rippling light shimmered.

A group of people emerged from within.

It was Ding Wei and his party, returning after learning of the upheaval inside Sacred Realm.

Ding Wei's face was dark.

The burning of Wuliang Garden had put him in a foul mood.

After emerging through the entrance and reaching the mountaintop, Ding Wei and the others flashed toward nearby Shouque Villa.

Goldenwings, flying mounts, and similar things that made communication and travel convenient were strictly controlled inside Sacred Realm. They were not permitted to be carried casually in or out.

One of Shouque Villa's primary duties was precisely to fill this gap in the restrictions. The Villa was responsible for guarding and preparing mounts for important personnel entering and leaving Sacred Realm.

With Ding Wei's status, he naturally would not rely on spiritual power to travel everywhere himself. The Villa therefore kept mounts available for his use.

"Elder, they're here," Qin Guan suddenly reminded him from the upper floor of a pavilion.

Niu Youdao, who had been pacing at the elevated vantage point, turned around.

Seeing Ding Wei and his party arrive, he smiled.

Just as expected. Ding Wei had indeed come.

Without another word, Niu Youdao quickly descended from the pavilion and went forward to meet Ding Wei's approaching party.

He cupped his hands.

"Greetings, Presiding Administrator."

Ding Wei stopped and gave him a cold look. "What are you doing here?"

Niu Youdao had thick enough skin to answer calmly, "Can't be helped. Duty calls."

Ding Wei gave a cold snort.

If Niu Youdao wanted to carry out his "duty," so be it. Ding Wei was in no mood to bother with him now.

He continued striding forward, cloak fluttering behind him.

Niu Youdao shamelessly followed at his side.

As they walked, he said, "Speaking of coincidences, I happen to have something I wanted to ask Mr. Ding. I never expected to run into you here."

Ding Wei kept walking. "Speak."

Niu Youdao hurried along beside him. "While inspecting this area, I heard everyone talking. They say someone set Wuliang Garden on fire. I don't know whether it's true."

"If it is, this subordinate would like to go to Wuliang Garden and inspect the situation. I would like to request Mr. Ding's approval."

[End of Chapter 1095]