Chapter 1153: Shock

"Steward, the people from the seven sects are back."

In Wentian City, a Misty Pavilion man hurried into the Central Hall and reported to Huang Ban, who was seated behind a desk reviewing documents.

Without looking up, Huang Ban said, "They all came back together? The stations at the destinations they reported sent word that they had already finished and returned long ago. Why are they only showing up now? Go ask clearly where they've been and record it for the files!"

His subordinate replied, "Steward, I'm afraid there is no way to ask. The moment they returned, they contacted the people from Wushuang Sacred Land. Everyone Wushuang Sacred Land has in Wentian City is rapidly assembling, and all the personnel from the seven sects have been placed under guard at Wushuang Hall. This subordinate tried to approach on the pretext of having them return the mounts, but they wouldn't allow it. Wushuang Hall stated outright that the mounts will not be returned for the time being."

Huang Ban finally looked up, suspicion in his eyes. "Wushuang Sacred Land is assembling people to protect them? What happened?"

The subordinate answered, "I don't know. It looks as though they're facing a great enemy. They've forbidden anyone from approaching casually. This subordinate also finds it strange."

Huang Ban swept the documents in front of him into a pile and immediately rose. "Come. Let's go take a look."

The two left the hall, called several men to accompany them, and headed straight for Wushuang Hall in Wentian City. The moment they reached the entrance, however, they were stopped. Huang Ban was not allowed to see the people from the seven sects at all.

Invoking his status as the man overseeing Wentian City did no good. Even invoking Ding Wei's name did no good. The other side stated plainly that this was Lü Wushuang's will, leaving Huang Ban helpless.

When he asked what had happened, they refused to say.

Unable to see the seven sects and unable to learn what had happened, Huang Ban left with a puzzled expression. Midway back, he suddenly asked, "Are the people from Zijin Cave inside as well?"

His subordinate replied, "No. Niu Youdao's group was not among those who returned."

Back at the Central Hall, Huang Ban sent someone to summon Xuan Yao. Both he and Xuan Yao were Ding Wei's trusted men, and he wanted Xuan Yao there to discuss the matter and decide what to do.

Unexpectedly, the reply came back that Xuan Yao had not yet returned.

After pacing in hesitation for a while, Huang Ban could only make the decision himself. He ordered a message sent to Ding Wei explaining the situation in Wentian City.

At the same time, he ordered men from Dayuan Sacred Land to secretly monitor Wushuang Sacred Land's movements. According to the reports, even the food and drink of the seven sects' personnel were now under strict control by Wushuang Sacred Land. From the look of things, they were clearly afraid someone might try to kill them.

Near evening, a message arrived from the Demon Fox Bureau.

The moment Huang Ban read it, shock nearly shook his soul from his body.

Niu Youdao had been assassinated!

Niu Youdao was actually dead?

The Nine Saints had issued a strict order: authority over the life and death of the inspectors belonged to the Nine Sacred Lands. No one else was permitted to act against them without authorization. Yet Niu Youdao, an inspector appointed by sacred decree, had been publicly assassinated by masked killers before numerous witnesses.

And this had happened inside the Sacred Realm itself, the very realm where the Nine Saints resided!

Huang Ban held the message and read it repeatedly to confirm it. His Adam's apple bobbed, and his expression was extremely ugly. He murmured, "How could this happen? That fellow was so cunning. How could he be assassinated so easily? Who did it..."

Then he thought of Wushuang Sacred Land's movements.

Could they already know?

But after checking the timing of the message and comparing it with when the incident occurred, Wushuang Sacred Land should not possibly have learned the news before anyone else.

This was no small matter. Huang Ban could no longer sit still. Once again he led a group of men straight to Wushuang Hall.

They still would not let him inside.

Huang Ban grew angry and ordered them to summon the deacon of Wushuang Hall. When the man came out, Huang Ban handed him the message from the Demon Fox Bureau.

Standing beneath the eaves at the entrance, the Wushuang Hall deacon read it and was shocked as well. He looked up. "How could this have happened?"

Huang Ban said heavily, "You're asking me? I'm asking you." He raised a hand and pointed into the courtyard. "Is what you're doing here connected to this?"

The Wushuang Hall deacon shook his head. "No. They're two completely separate matters!"

Huang Ban asked, "All eight sects' inspectors went out this time. Did they meet Niu Youdao earlier? Were they together with him?"

The deacon hesitated before nodding. "They seemed to have been together earlier."

Huang Ban asked, "What did they do together?"

The deacon shook his head. "I'm not entirely sure. They invoked an edict from Sacred Venerable Wushuang and forbade us from asking too many questions. We are merely obeying sacred command and protecting them."

Huang Ban said, "I want to see them now."

The deacon immediately objected. "No! Even Niu Youdao was murdered. If anything happens to them as well, I will have no way to answer to the Sacred Venerable!"

Anger surfaced on Huang Ban's face. "We need to determine what happened so we can pursue the killers in time. If we know nothing, are we supposed to sit here and wait while the murderers erase every clue? Even if you're guarding against us, do you think we could openly attack them under everyone's eyes?"

The argument made sense.

After hesitating repeatedly, the Wushuang Hall deacon finally allowed Huang Ban alone to enter. Everyone else was stopped outside. Asking questions did not require an entire crowd to force its way inside.

Once Huang Ban entered, the people from the seven sects were summoned together. Huang Ban told them what had happened and asked for an explanation.

The seven sects were shocked.

Niu Youdao had been assassinated?

He was dead?

For a time, no one could accept the reality. It was not that they cherished Niu Youdao or felt his death was some great pity. Rather, every one of them had experienced how difficult he was to deal with. How could someone so troublesome, a man with such extraordinary methods, simply die like that?

The seven Elders kept exchanging looks. They all realized how serious the matter was, though not in the same way Huang Ban and the others did.

After leaving Wuliang Garden, Niu Youdao had explicitly said that the person implicated in the case was no ordinary figure. He had even ordered everyone to split up and return by different routes, plainly because he feared that even traveling together might not be enough to withstand the force behind the scenes.

And now something truly had happened.

The one who had died was none other than Niu Youdao himself, the man leading the investigation.

This was clearly murder to silence a witness!

To pinpoint Niu Youdao's movements so accurately, to actually kill him, and to dare murder an inspector personally appointed by the Sacred Venerables inside the Sacred Realm itself... the waters behind this affair were clearly not merely deep.

In a way, the assassination seemed to confirm Niu Youdao's warning. The person involved truly was no ordinary figure. Niu Youdao had evidently touched a powerful man's sore spot.

Someone had acted without hesitation, directly ordering a lethal strike and killing Niu Youdao in one move.

Who could it be?

The more the members of the seven sects thought about it, the colder they felt.

Seeing them all remain silent, Huang Ban said heavily, "Why won't you speak? If you were with Niu Youdao earlier, why didn't you return together?"

Taishu Shanhai hesitated. "Does Steward Huang truly not know where we went?"

Huang Ban snapped, "The destinations you reported were only for appearances. Where you went afterward is something only you yourselves know. I ask you a question and you turn around and question me? If I knew, would I need to ask? Let me tell you, this matter is extremely serious. If it isn't investigated clearly, none of you will be free of suspicion!"

Taishu Shanhai said, "Steward Huang, it isn't that we refuse to speak. Since you don't know, that means Sacred Venerable Wushuang has sealed the information. We met Sacred Venerable Wushuang in person at the time. The matter involves something extremely serious. Without the Sacred Venerable's permission, we do not dare leak anything carelessly."

"You..." Huang Ban angrily pointed at them. "Do you understand that if Misty Pavilion doesn't know what happened, it cannot pursue the killers in time? You're giving the killers a chance to destroy every clue!"

An Shougui, Elder of Myriad Beasts Sect, said, "Steward Huang, we understand all that. But without the Sacred Venerable's permission, we truly do not dare let this information out. Otherwise, we cannot bear the consequences."

"Heh-heh..." Huang Ban laughed coldly, so angry that he laughed instead.

But there was nothing he could do.

In the end, he flicked his sleeve and left.

After the outsiders withdrew, the personnel of the seven sects looked at one another in the courtyard.

"Niu Youdao is dead? How could he die?" Mei Changhong, Elder of Blood God Hall, muttered in puzzlement. "That fellow is an old fox in a young man's skin. I heard that when he rescued Shang Chaozong's younger sister years ago, a whole group of experts from Zhao's three great sects surrounded and attacked him, including many senior veterans, and even they failed to kill him. Was he really so easy to eliminate?"

Taishu Shanhai sighed. "Don't forget where we are. How can Zhao's three great sects compare with this place?"

"For a matter this serious, Huang Ban wouldn't fabricate it in public. The news must be confirmed." An Shougui sighed, then looked around at everyone. "What do we do now? We have piles of testimony in our hands, but we don't even know what clue we're looking for. What can we do with all these statements? We can read them from beginning to end and still see nothing unusual."

Yu Hua, Elder of Heaven-Splitting Palace, pondered for a moment. "I'm afraid that's exactly why Niu Youdao brought disaster upon himself."

Thinking it through, the others found that likely as well.

Everyone sighed.

That Niu Youdao, who had stirred storms wherever he went in the outside world, had died just like this inside the Sacred Realm. All of them were trapped here as well. No matter how much they had disliked Niu Youdao before, they could not avoid feeling the sorrow of the fox when the rabbit dies.

...

Back inside the Central Hall, Huang Ban found Xuan Yao waiting for him. Irritated, he said, "I couldn't find you anywhere. Finally back?"

Xuan Yao smiled. "I just returned. The moment I got back, I heard Wushuang Sacred Land was making some kind of commotion. What are they doing? What happened?"

Huang Ban sighed. "Something happened."

Xuan Yao's eyes flickered.

He truly had only just returned and had not yet learned what happened. Everyone who knew had followed Huang Ban away, so the news had not reached him in time.

He asked tentatively, "What happened?"

Huang Ban shook his head helplessly. "Niu Youdao is dead! A group of masked assassins surrounded and attacked him in the Desolate Marsh Deadlands, and he died there. This is the message sent by Zhou Tianyu, Deacon of the Demon Fox Bureau. Take a look and help me decide what to do." He pulled the report from his sleeve and passed it over.

Xuan Yao immediately took it and read.

Afterward, he stood woodenly for quite some time before slowly exhaling. "He actually died... Who had such nerve? Who would dare assassinate an inspector appointed by the Sacred Venerables inside the Sacred Realm?"

"That's what puzzles me..." Huang Ban's words stopped halfway.

He slowly turned his head and looked at Xuan Yao. Then he asked, very deliberately, "Why are you only coming back now?"

Xuan Yao said, "I had business at Yanyu Tower. You knew that."

Huang Ban asked, "You were gone that long?"

Xuan Yao replied, "Once I was there, naturally I had to remain for a while. I couldn't exactly run back and forth for amusement." His expression shifted. "What do you mean? Don't tell me you suspect I did it."

Huang Ban said, "Whether I suspect you isn't important. You and Niu Youdao had a grudge, and you just happened to be away during this period. If other people begin suspecting you, that's when you'll truly have trouble."

Xuan Yao immediately said sternly, "Huang Ban, you can't speak carelessly. I was at Yanyu Tower the entire time. Everyone there, from top to bottom, can testify."

Huang Ban said, "There's no need to be nervous. If you can clear yourself, so much the better. I'm only reminding you not to bring trouble upon Sir."

Xuan Yao said, "You're thinking too much. So many witnesses saw me at Yanyu Tower. No one can throw this dirty water onto me."

Seeing him respond like this, Huang Ban said nothing further. He only sighed. "I'm afraid Sir can't remain in the outside world much longer. There are too many things I cannot decide here. We need to report this urgently and ask Sir to return as soon as possible."

With that, he quickly walked behind the desk and personally wrote an urgent open dispatch, ordering his subordinates to transmit the news without delay.

[End of Chapter 1153]