Chapter 1147: Worrying About Getting Away

Ao Feng pulled the black bag free, patted the things inside, and said nothing, only giving Niu Youdao a mysterious look that plainly meant: I got them. They're right here.

Niu Youdao's eyes lit up. "You gave me a scare. You came out empty-handed and I thought you'd failed. Why hide them under your crotch? I told you everyone here is under my control. You could walk around openly with them and it wouldn't matter."

Ao Feng said, "I'm scared, all right? Having a couple layers of cloth covering them makes me feel a little safer. Is that so unreasonable?"

"Heh. Looks to me like you've gotten used to hiding things under your crotch." Niu Youdao spoke with mockery on his lips and excitement in his eyes as he reached for the bag. "At a time like this, carrying something openly would attract less suspicion. If anyone discovered you hiding something under your clothes, that would be far more suspicious."

Ao Feng raised a hand to block him and pulled the bag back.

Niu Youdao's brows shot up. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Ao Feng said, "You're not planning to burn the bridge after crossing the river, are you?"

"What bridge would I burn?" Niu Youdao said. "If I burn the bridge, how am I supposed to get the goods out? Everyone gets searched when they leave. I still need you to get them outside. What are you thinking?"

Ao Feng was merely worried. They were already doing something illicit; crooks turning on crooks was hardly unusual. Yet Niu Youdao's reasoning made sense. Without Ao Feng, there was no way to smuggle the fruits out.

He handed the bag over and gave a dry laugh. "I'm too tense. Just making a joke to loosen up."

"Tense, my ass. You're judging a gentleman by the heart of a petty man." Niu Youdao complained as he snatched the black bag away.

The instant he loosened the mouth of the bag, a faint red glow seeped out. He opened it wider and peered inside. Sure enough, a pile of fruits lay within.

Real or fake, naturally he had to verify them.

Niu Youdao reached in, took one out, and held it beneath his nose. At once he smiled broadly. "Good. Very good."

In truth, he hardly needed to smell it. The moment it entered his hand, he knew whether it was genuine. The real and counterfeit fruits looked similar, but their feel was completely different.

He put the fruit back, tied the bag shut, tossed it back to Ao Feng, and looked around.

Holding the black bag, Ao Feng asked curiously, "Aren't you nervous at all? I don't see even a trace of fear on you."

Niu Youdao said, "It's already done. What use are fear and nerves now?"

Ao Feng raised a thumb. "Brother, you're the real ruthless one. You were born for bad deeds. You've done this all the way through without changing expression. I've never seen you show the slightest fear. I can't do it. The moment I do anything bad, my heart starts pounding. Compared with you, all those extra years I've lived were wasted."

Niu Youdao said, "Straighten out your tongue before you speak. What do you mean, bad deeds? All beneath Heaven has suffered under the Nine Saints for far too long. We're carrying out the Dao of Heaven, understand? Looking up, we have nothing to be ashamed of before Heaven; looking down, nothing before Earth. With no shame in the heart, ghosts and spirits alike give way. What is there to fear?"

Ao Feng laughed. "Right, right, right. Well said. We're carrying out the Dao of Heaven."

"Wait here." Niu Youdao dropped the words and left.

Ao Feng froze, not knowing what he was supposed to wait for. In any case, standing there hugging the bag left him feeling exposed. He lifted the hem of his robe and tucked the bag under his crotch again.

He did not wait long.

Before long, Niu Youdao returned carrying a long, pillar-shaped stone. In front of Ao Feng, he spread the fingers of one hand like claws, pressed them against the stone, and circulated his spiritual power.

Under the five fingers, a circular section of stone spiraled upward. Niu Youdao removed it, revealing threads cut into the opening like the mouth of a screw.

He then reached into the hole and released another burst of spiritual power inside. Stone dust immediately billowed out and fell, piling into a small mound on the ground.

Ao Feng understood. Niu Youdao had hollowed out the stone to hide the fruits. It seemed they would still need to use Ao Feng's old method to smuggle them outside.

"Where are they?" Niu Youdao held out one hand.

Ao Feng lifted his robe and pulled the black bag out from under his crotch yet again. Cooperating, he began taking out the fruits one by one and stuffing them into the hollow stone.

The two men hunched together, furtively checking their surroundings from time to time. One glance was enough to tell they were up to no good.

Once every fruit had been inserted, Niu Youdao used spiritual power to draw up the stone dust on the ground and pack it into the hollow, filling the empty spaces so the contents would not rattle around inside.

After the hollow was packed tight, he took the threaded stone plug, screwed it back into place, smoothed the seam, polished the surface a little, then grabbed a handful of dirt and rubbed it over the stone to age the appearance.

In moments, the long stone had been restored so perfectly that not a trace of tampering remained.

The trick looked simple, yet Ao Feng clicked his tongue in admiration. "Smooth as flowing water, clean and efficient. That's real craftsmanship. One look and anyone can tell you've got experience. You haven't done this sort of thing only once or twice, have you?"

"A petty trick. Hardly worth mentioning." Niu Youdao modestly waved it off. He picked up the stone and sniffed it carefully, making sure no scent of the fruit leaked through. Only then did he toss it to Ao Feng.

"When my group leaves Wuliang Garden later, use the opportunity to put this outside the formation entrance with your old method. After nightfall, once the Xu hour is more than halfway through, the Demon Foxes will come on time to collect it. Cover your tracks the same way as before."

Ao Feng stared, then his face filled with shock and anger. "You're having them take the goods away? What about me? I can't leave any time soon. Once you get what you want, you turn around and burn the bridge after crossing it—who am I supposed to go find?"

Niu Youdao said, "Riding through the jianghu, even thieves have their code. Righteousness comes first. I will never let someone who helped me point at my back and curse me for betraying my word. The banner I carry is one of righteousness; the people gathered beneath it are people of loyalty. Where righteousness and benefit are concerned, I will never break my promise. That is the foundation on which I stand. You can put your mind at ease!"

"The old place in the Desolate Marsh Deadlands where you testified for me—there will be Demon Foxes waiting there to receive you. The moment you get out, go straight there. No matter when you arrive, there will always be Demon Foxes waiting. I will not break my word."

Ao Feng hugged the stone tightly. "Niu Youdao, spare me all that useless talk. I'm taking an enormous risk here. I'm practically staking my life on this. And now all you give me are words from your red mouth and white teeth. Why should I believe you?"

Niu Youdao said, "If we don't get the fruits outside now, are we supposed to leave them in Wuliang Garden and wait to die? Only once they're outside will you be safer. Even if someone discovers the fruits on the tree are fake, they won't immediately be able to trace it to you. At worst, they'll suspect I did it."

"If anyone discovers the fruits have been tampered with, Wuliang Garden will be turned upside down. They'll dig three feet into the ground searching. This place is only so large. Do you really think we could hide the fruits here forever? They would absolutely be found."

"And once they're found, have you considered what follows? It would prove that someone inside Wuliang Garden still intended to smuggle them outside afterward. It would prove there was still a traitor within. Even if you denied everything to the death, if they couldn't identify the culprit, what do you think the Nine Saints would do? Better to kill by mistake than let one escape. Not one person inside Wuliang Garden would be guaranteed to survive!"

"Only by getting the fruits outside can you become safer. I brought a group of people into Wuliang Garden and made a huge commotion with this investigation. No one can guarantee whether that will raise suspicions afterward. No one can guarantee someone won't approach the fruit tree and inspect the fruits personally. If we don't send them out now, we may never get another opportunity. All the effort we've poured into this for so long could come to nothing."

"Your old method, combined with me finding a way to draw everyone's attention when I leave and cover you—that is the best chance we'll ever have to get them out safely."

"Once the fruits are outside, the Crow Generals will still be guarding the tree. Wu Chang isn't here, so no one else can approach closely enough to verify them. If someone tries to force the issue, the Crow Generals will destroy the Wuliang Fruits. No one can bear that responsibility."

"Even if the fakes are discovered later, so long as they search Wuliang Garden and find nothing, they'll investigate everyone who entered and left during our visit. They'll conclude it would have been impossible for us to carry the fruits out under today's searches. That will make them suspect even more strongly that the tampering happened during the great fire, when people were moving in and out chaotically and inspections could not be as thorough."

"And who will be most suspicious then? Obviously the people who were on duty guarding the Wuliang Fruit that day. Without their cooperation, no one could have stolen the fruits."

"The fruits have to leave today. Only once they're gone will you be safe."

Ao Feng said bitterly, "If they really discover the fruits are gone, everyone in Wuliang Garden will probably be detained! You'll run away with the goods while I'm trapped here. You can hide comfortably in the Desolate Marsh Deadlands. What am I supposed to do?"

Niu Youdao's voice sank. "You're bringing this up now? From the beginning, you knew you had no way to leave immediately. You knew this act would inevitably involve risk."

"You asked earlier where those five skulls came from. They were things Wu Chang personally handled. How could I possibly have obtained them on my own? Think about it. Obviously someone inside the Sacred Realm is helping me. Even if the person helping me cannot rescue you directly, as long as the fruits are outside and you're safe for the moment, then even if you're detained I can use the temptation of the Wuliang Fruit to find someone capable of fishing you out!"

"You know perfectly well how powerful the temptation of a Wuliang Fruit is."

"Mr. Ao, I'll say it again. Only once the fruits are outside will you be safe!"

"Today I've truly learned how sharp your tongue is!" Ao Feng said resentfully, still refusing to let go of the stone. "Don't drag me in circles. What I'm asking is simple: once you have the fruits, what if you burn the bridge after crossing it?"

Niu Youdao said, "You can rest assured. You can leave yourself a final safeguard. Set it up outside after you leave Wuliang Garden. If you reach the Desolate Marsh Deadlands and don't receive what you were promised, your safeguard activates and exposes everything about me. With the Nine Saints pursuing me with all their strength, even if I have the fruits, I won't have a peaceful day afterward."

"You know this too: if the matter erupts too quickly, the twelve fruits won't have enough time or opportunity to produce the effect I need. That would bring me no benefit whatsoever. If you receive what you want, immediately tell me where you left the safeguard, and I'll send someone to destroy it."

"How does that sound?"

Ao Feng fell silent...

At Dayuan Tower, the three Dayuan Sacred Land guards had returned. Standing upstairs, they looked out toward the fruit tree. Everything appeared perfectly normal.

The shift leader glanced left and right and noticed someone showing his head inside nearby Wushuang Tower. He wanted to go over and exchange a greeting, but he remembered the warning after the interrogation. To avoid raising suspicion that they had privately communicated and colluded on testimony, he could only abandon the thought.

He sighed.

An inside traitor? Who knew how much trouble that great fire would ultimately stir up?

The personnel of all nine towers gradually returned to their posts one after another. Every one of them was in a gloomy mood. Ever since that fire, Wuliang Garden had not known peace.

By the time evening approached, the entire review was complete. Everyone who had been isolated was released and returned to his original place.

The moment the nine deacons regained their freedom and heard that even the guards watching the fruit tree had been questioned, nearly all of them immediately rushed to the guard area to inspect it.

As they approached, the three Crow Generals took on demon-like forms, black mist gathering into human shapes around them. No one dared cross the boundary.

The deacons did not go any closer. Instead, they circled the area and counted the fruits from a distance. Seeing every fruit still hanging there apparently untouched, all of them relaxed.

Thinking about it afterward, they felt they had worried unnecessarily.

With those three Crow Generals, creatures that recognized neither favor nor reason, guarding the tree, there should not have been any problem. If anything serious had happened, Wuliang Garden was not large enough for the disturbance to have escaped their notice.

They questioned the guards afterward and learned that the posts had been summoned one at a time for interrogation. That at least showed Niu Youdao knew where the limits lay.

After meeting among themselves, the nine deacons went together to the council hall to find Niu Youdao.

[End of Chapter 1147]