Chapter 1143: Isolation

He had noticed the hesitation on their faces. If they truly intended to bar the way, then they would simply bar it. Hesitation itself revealed plenty.

Ao Feng's feelings were rather complicated. He was plainly on Niu Youdao's side in secret, yet for some reason he was still reluctant to see Niu Youdao enter Wuliang Garden like this.

Sure enough, after the Wuxu Sacred Land personnel exchanged looks, one man leaned close to the gray-white-haired elder and whispered something in his ear.

The elder looked back at the reactions of the men behind him. Given a way to step down, he gave a somewhat reluctant grunt of assent.

The man who had whispered to him immediately spoke on his behalf. "Niu Youdao, since you've pushed the matter this far, if we still refuse you entry, it will make us look unreasonable instead. Fine. Since the Sacred Venerables personally granted all of you broad inspection authority, we can let you inside. But let me put the ugly words first. If you fail to find any evidence, you will still have to bear the consequences!"

Niu Youdao immediately followed the opening and cupped his hands. "If I fail to find evidence, I am willing to accept punishment from the Sacred Venerables!"

The man said, "Apart from the Sacred Venerables themselves, anyone entering or leaving this place must undergo inspection. Since you've been here before, you should know the rules."

Niu Youdao nodded cooperatively. "A strict inspection is only proper. On this point, we must follow Wuliang Garden's rules. No one may violate them!" He turned and instructed the members of the various sects, "According to Wuliang Garden's rules for entry and exit, everyone cooperate and submit to inspection."

No one from the various sects voiced the slightest objection. They all obediently nodded, indicating their willingness to cooperate.

The speaker waved several men forward to begin the searches.

Niu Youdao was the first to step up and submit to a body search. The sword in his hand was taken away directly. Without permission, weapons could not be carried into Wuliang Garden.

Only after they had searched him thoroughly did they let him through.

Taishu Shanhai and the others first handed over their inspection credentials and had their identities confirmed, then underwent the same strict searches.

Only a few had been searched when the gray-white-haired elder suddenly spoke while watching the rest continue forward. "You don't mean for this whole crowd to go inside, do you?"

"Of course not." Niu Youdao raised a hand toward Kunlin Shu. "You stay outside and watch everyone's mounts."

Kunlin Shu nodded in acceptance. The men from the various sects who handled the flying birds immediately tossed him the finger-bells used to control their mounts.

The gray-white-haired elder was speechless. Leaving one man outside while everyone else entered made almost no difference. With a taut expression, he said, "Niu Youdao, aren't you bringing too many people inside?"

Niu Youdao cupped his hands. "Senior, too few people won't do. According to some of the clues, when we begin questioning people later, certain suspects will have to be isolated immediately so they cannot collude on their testimony. That is precisely why the inspectors from all eight sects have come out in force this time. Otherwise there would be no need for everyone to come."

The gray-white-haired elder snorted and said nothing more, tacitly allowing it. The searches continued.

In the end, apart from Kunlin Shu standing outside and watching helplessly, everyone else entered the great protective formation around Wuliang Garden.

The formation gate closed. Rippling light undulated, and the entire Wuliang Garden vanished before Kunlin Shu's eyes as though it had shrunk into thin air.

For those inside the formation, the outside world still looked exactly the same as before. Ao Feng, however, had no mind to look outside. His eyes stayed fixed on Niu Youdao after the man entered.

Niu Youdao acted as though he did not know him and never gave him so much as a proper glance.

Without even the slightest hint from him, all kinds of thoughts churned through Ao Feng's mind. He had no idea what Niu Youdao intended to pull. Why come today? Did he not know Ao Feng was on duty? If he did know, why choose today? When the time came to act, did he not need Ao Feng to retrieve the things that had already been smuggled inside?

As Niu Youdao followed the gray-white-haired elder deeper into the garden, he suddenly said, "Senior, I must trouble you to give an order. For the time being, do not let anyone else learn what I said to you at the gate just now. We need to prevent interested parties from preparing in advance. I hope senior will cooperate with the inspection."

The elder replied without warmth, "I know." He looked back and asked, "You all heard that?"

"Yes!" the accompanying personnel answered together.

Such a large group of inspectors from all eight sects arriving at once naturally alarmed the personnel of the Nine Sacred Lands stationed inside Wuliang Garden. Quite a few people emerged and watched from a distance.

The affair had been made so serious, with an inside traitor supposedly under investigation, that the gray-white-haired elder was by and large willing to cooperate. At this point, refusing to cooperate was no longer realistic. Anyone who resisted risked leaving behind the suspicion of a guilty conscience.

Niu Youdao asked for a place to conduct business. The elder directly led the inspectors to the great council hall, which was spacious enough.

The moment they entered, Niu Youdao cupped his hands toward him. "Senior, because I disclosed certain matters to you earlier that should not yet have been disclosed, for the sake of secrecy I need to isolate senior and the men with you from everyone else for the time being. I noticed there are empty rooms nearby. I intend to keep senior and the others there temporarily. We will also need to question you later. This is for senior's sake as well. If anything unexpected happens, it will help clear senior and the others of suspicion. I hope senior and your men will cooperate."

The gray-white-haired elder gave a cold snort, but still cooperated. Turning to his entourage, he said, "What are you staring at? Let's go."

Niu Youdao immediately turned to Huangfu Jin, Elder of Qingyue Villa. "Elder Huangfu, send two disciples of your sect to keep watch. Do not allow anyone to approach the place where they are being held, and do not allow anyone inside to make unauthorized contact with people outside. If anything unusual happens, record it immediately and report it!"

"Fine!" Huangfu Jin nodded, his expression grave and serious. He was genuinely treating this as an important affair. He immediately instructed the disciples who had accompanied him, "You heard Elder Niu's instructions. Go carry them out at once. There must be no negligence!"

"Yes!" Two disciples cupped their hands and accepted the order, quickly hurrying out after the gray-white-haired elder and his men.

The elder and the others were quite self-aware. They voluntarily entered an empty room beside the hall and accepted temporary confinement.

One Qingyue Villa disciple stood guard at the door while the other leaped onto the roof, keeping a high-alert watch over the surroundings and preventing anyone from approaching.

Immediately afterward, Qin Guan and Ke Dingjie left the hall as well. Acting on Elder Niu's orders, they went to find the deacons in charge of the other eight Sacred Lands' contingents stationed there.

Inside the hall, Niu Youdao faced the Elders of the various sects. "Gentlemen, from this moment onward, I will take overall command of the review and deployment of personnel throughout Wuliang Garden. I hope the members of the various sects can temporarily follow my arrangements. Of course, if you think it inappropriate for me to command and have objections, you may raise them now. We should discuss them quickly and resolve them quickly. Whatever happens, we must obtain the result we want before the end of today."

The Elders looked at one another. Objections? They knew nothing about the situation inside Wuliang Garden. Who would dare close his eyes and take over command blindly?

Ordinarily, Taishu Shanhai would certainly have fought for this authority. But today, taking charge inside Wuliang Garden? Better not. It would be unfortunate to get no meat and come away covered in stench.

"You understand the situation. Better for you to handle it." Taishu Shanhai, for once, displayed genuine humility.

No one else objected either, so Niu Youdao naturally accepted the responsibility. Time was pressing and he did not waste words. "Gentlemen, to prevent collusion, our first priority is to isolate and question the people throughout Wuliang Garden. I will arrange the isolation. Once personnel have been separated, each sect is to begin questioning and interrogating the group assigned to it, one person at a time."

Taishu Shanhai stared at him. "Niu Youdao, are you joking? You want us to do the questioning and interrogation?"

Niu Youdao said, "There are plenty of people in Wuliang Garden. You can't expect the two or three of us from Zijin Cave to interrogate everyone. How long would that take?"

"No, that's not what I mean." Taishu Shanhai waved a hand. "We don't know anything about the case. What exactly are we supposed to interrogate them about? Where do we even start?"

"Exactly!" The other Elders voiced the same objection.

Niu Youdao raised a hand to stop them. "Gentlemen, there's no need to be impatient. Naturally I've considered that already. I've listed exactly what you need to ask. First: before the great fire outside Wuliang Garden, where was each person and what were they doing? Get a clear account. Second: during the fire, or immediately before and after it, did they notice anything unusual? Third: when the fire broke out and people went to fight it, did they see any suspicious person or suspicious sign? Fourth: around the period before and after the fire, who entered or left Wuliang Garden? Fifth: after the fire, people from the various sides must have come to investigate. Who questioned them, and what exactly were they asked? That's all. Remember these points carefully. The written records must be clear and retained for review."

After everyone committed his requirements to memory, Lu Yao, Elder of Tianhuo Sect, asked, "Elder Niu, asking only these questions will be enough?"

"Correct."

Taishu Shanhai looked doubtful. "Questions like these can really uncover your clues and evidence?"

"Correct!" Niu Youdao replied. "Do not underestimate them. Once the answers are cross-checked, we will see who gave an honest account and who did not. Afterward, once everything is sorted and compared against the clues I already possess, certain people will immediately reveal their true colors. Gentlemen, anyone with a problem certainly won't tell the whole truth. You understand what I mean?"

They did not entirely understand, yet somehow they also felt they did. The key was that none of them knew exactly what clues Niu Youdao held.

The Elders all nodded thoughtfully.

Taishu Shanhai even turned and asked the two disciples of his sect, "Did you remember the five key points Elder Niu listed for the interrogation?"

"We remember." Taishu Xun and Taishu Li answered together.

The other Elders likewise checked with their own disciples to make sure they had remembered. No one dared be careless. Everyone treated the matter cautiously.

Just then, Qin Guan and Ke Dingjie returned with the deacons in charge of the other eight Sacred Lands' contingents stationed in Wuliang Garden. Each deacon appeared to have brought one subordinate.

Before the eight deacons entered the hall, the men they had brought were stopped outside. Only the eight deacons themselves were allowed in.

Among them was a white-haired elder Niu Youdao had met on his first visit. The man recognized him as well. After sweeping a glance over the personnel from the various sects, he immediately asked in a heavy voice, "Niu Youdao, what are you doing here?"

"By sacred decree, we are conducting an inspection and investigating the great fire at Wuliang Garden..." Niu Youdao gave them roughly the same explanation he had given the Wuxu Sacred Land deacon outside. He stated that they had already obtained clues showing someone had set the fire in cooperation with an inside traitor in Wuliang Garden to steal the Wuliang Fruit. They had come to uncover that traitor and required everyone's cooperation.

Steal the Wuliang Fruit? An inside traitor in Wuliang Garden? The eight deacons looked at one another. It was not impossible. The great fire had truly been suspicious. If it had been intended to cover an operation by a traitor inside Wuliang Garden, then it made perfect sense.

When they learned the Wuxu Sacred Land deacon had already accepted reality and submitted to isolation, and that the eight of them were now to be isolated as well, they fell briefly silent. No one objected. Their silence amounted to tacit acceptance.

Even so, the white-haired elder could not help asking, "You're isolating even us. Just what clues have you obtained?"

Niu Youdao said, "Senior, whatever those clues are, they will naturally be reported to the Sacred Venerables. At present, this is not something you should ask about. Inquiring into matters you should not know will do you no good. Not telling you is for your own sake as well. Wouldn't you agree?"

[End of Chapter 1143]