Chapter 1187: Guaranteed Genuine

The two men left the schoolhouse and strolled along outside the fence, carefully avoiding cow dung underfoot.

After leaving the village, they came to a little bridge over running water. The stream murmured beneath their feet.

Looking out, they saw green fields spread before them, an old ox grazing leisurely, and layers of mist after the rain hanging halfway across the sky, veiling the distant green mountains.

The schoolteacher sighed with feeling. "The rivers and mountains are like a painting!"

The peddler shook his head slightly. "Sir, let it go. From the moment I made my move, these rivers and mountains could no longer be taken back. If you try to seize them by force, you will certainly lose your life. When that happens, even I won't be able to protect you. Just look at them. That's enough."

The schoolteacher asked, "Is Mother well?"

"I don't know. I went once, but something felt wrong. There is very likely a dragnet laid over that place, waiting for us. I haven't dared go again. But Sir can rest assured. With the Eldest Young Lady there, she will certainly treat the Old Madam well."

"What brought you here to see me?"

"I have some good news to ease your frustration. Niu Youdao is dead. He died inside the Sacred Realm. I don't know whose hand killed him, but one thing is certain: he truly is dead!"

The corner of the schoolteacher's mouth twitched violently, and hatred rose in his eyes. "Good! He deserved to die. Dying at someone else's hands was too easy for him!"

Hai Wuji knew far too well how the State of Zhao had fallen. Niu Youdao had been the one who set the Yan-Zhao war in motion, and it was because of Niu Youdao that Xiaoyue Pavilion raised troops and joined the assault on Zhao. To Hai Wuji, Niu Youdao was the chief culprit, the man he hated most.

After Zhao's destruction, the two of them fled for their lives. Once they had finally found somewhere to settle, Hai Wuji still could not swallow that resentment. No one in his position could have.

It was not merely that his state had fallen. His family had truly been shattered and its members scattered or killed. They had fled too hastily to bring the many members of the imperial household with them, nor had they dared. Those people all possessed exceptional looks and bearing, yet had almost no ability to care for themselves in ordinary life. If such a conspicuous group fled together, there would have been no hiding them from anyone watching closely. They had no choice but to abandon them.

How many sons and daughters, how many consorts and concubines, had either died beneath the blade or become playthings in other people's hands? And Hai Wuji had to pretend he knew nothing. What good would knowing do? Every one still alive and suffering abuse might be bait used to lure him out.

He did not even dare mention them. Mentioning them was like cutting into his own heart. Day and night, whenever they came to mind, his heart bled.

The more one once possessed, the greater the price of abandoning it all.

Perhaps restoring the state was hopeless, but surely revenge was still possible. Hai Wuji had ordered Zhuge Chi to take the lives of those enemies.

Zhuge Chi refused. Killing them would have been easy for him, but exposing his whereabouts would have been just as easy.

Jinzhou had originally been Zhao territory, and many hidden eyes and ears had been planted there. Hai Wuji had already learned what happened to Shang Youlan in Jinzhou, including the fact that Misty Pavilion had found her.

Misty Pavilion had actually located Shang Youlan. Misty Pavilion had personally intervened in the matter.

Zhuge Chi immediately realized that the thing he feared most had happened: the Nine Saints had fixed their attention on him. Faced with terrifying beings like the Nine Saints, how could he dare act rashly?

Against others, Zhuge Chi still had confidence. Against old monsters who had dominated the cultivation world for centuries, he had none at all. He estimated that even Wu Chang, the least senior among them, could flatten him with ease, never mind the vast power commanded by all nine.

Nor did Zhuge Chi exist for the sake of revenge. At his level, he would no longer involve himself in restoring a fallen state either. Whether Zhao was restored meant nothing to him.

Across several reigns, he had possessed only one duty: protect the sovereign. That was the promise he had made to the old master.

The old master had treated Zhuge Chi like his own son. Everything Zhuge Chi had today had been given to him by that man.

Before the old master's death, Zhuge Chi had knelt beside his couch and promised to protect three generations of sovereigns. Only after that would he be free to disappear quietly.

Three generations, and no more, because the old master understood that a man who lived too long could not remain continuously exposed to public view. Three generations was already the limit. Any longer, and Zhuge Chi himself would instead bring danger down upon those he protected.

But Hai Wuji truly could not let go. His state had fallen and his family had been ruined. His surviving wives and daughters suffered humiliation day and night. How could he swallow that hatred?

In the end, he retreated a step and asked for only one thing: Niu Youdao. He wanted nothing except Niu Youdao dead. He wanted the head of the man he regarded as the chief culprit.

That was his only condition.

Zhuge Chi finally agreed. With his strength, killing a single man was nothing. Even if Niu Youdao hid inside Zijin Cave, it would not matter. If Zhuge Chi wished to enter or leave, Zijin Cave's defenses could not stop him.

The only thing he had to confirm first was whether Niu Youdao was actually inside Zijin Cave. He needed an exact location and could not simply charge in blindly. Zijin Cave was enormous; if Niu Youdao hid somewhere within it, Zhuge Chi alone could waste a tremendous amount of time searching. He could hardly remain inside Zijin Cave and search at leisure. That would be asking to die.

He had to move fast: confirm the target, strike directly, then leave at once.

Who could have known that before Zhuge Chi finished preparing, Niu Youdao would be sent into the Sacred Realm, leaving him no opportunity to act?

Now there was no need for him to act at all.

Niu Youdao was already dead.

...

The traveling column stopped for a temporary rest.

Yun Ji climbed the mountain and stood on a slope overlooking the distance.

Guan Fangyi came as well. She walked over at an unhurried pace and stood beside her, looking out over the same view. Yun Ji glanced back at her.

With a smile, Guan Fangyi asked, "Sister Yun, have you made any plans for the future?"

Yun Ji replied, "I should be asking what plans you have. It isn't easy for a woman to manage so many people."

"Actually, there's not much for me to worry about. I'm only the one running errands. The person who truly worries about things isn't me." Guan Fangyi paused. "But Sister Yun has never had much interest in power. I'm afraid we won't be able to keep you with us."

"It isn't that I have no interest in power. I simply cannot afford to have any. Taking an interest in it would be courting death." Yun Ji looked into the distance. "I promised Niu Youdao that if he failed to return, I would escort all of you safely to your destination. That would be enough. For your sake, he truly did put thought into everything."

"Once we reach the destination, you're going to leave us?"

"There are some things you may know and some you may not. In any case, my remaining beside you would not necessarily be good for you. There are things your strength simply cannot bear."

Guan Fangyi asked, "If Master Dao were still here, you would continue staying, wouldn't you?"

"That would be entirely different. If he were here, none of these problems would be problems. I would be the one receiving his protection." Yun Ji glanced toward the resting column. "But with him gone, look at all of you. You immediately became homeless dogs. And then there's Yuan Gang. Your thinking and his simply do not fit together."

"A group of people with several different ideas among them, but no one left who can bind you into one whole and make all of you bow your heads and obey. Sooner or later this group will split apart."

"Once I deliver you safely to the destination, it will be time for me to leave. The destination he gave me was Demon Ridge. He said someone there would look after all of you."

"I understand what Sister means." Guan Fangyi dipped into a half-curtsy. "You've already done more than enough by escorting us this far. I'm deeply grateful. I would not dare ask for more."

Then she moved slightly closer and lowered her voice. "Go behind the tall mountain to your right. Someone is waiting for you in the valley there."

Yun Ji looked puzzled. "Who?"

"You'll know once you get there. Be careful. Don't let anyone notice."

Yun Ji still wanted to ask more, but Guan Fangyi had already turned away.

Yun Ji looked toward the tall mountain on her right. After hesitating for a while, she finally slipped away without drawing attention.

She reached the destination and descended into the valley. As she looked around, a voice suddenly came from the side.

"You're here."

Yun Ji snapped her head around.

A man emerged from behind a large rock screened by vegetation. She had seen him before. He seemed to be one of the Zijin Cave disciples sent ahead to clear the road.

But his voice made her uncertain.

It was familiar.

The man behind the rock beckoned. Perhaps he felt even the valley was too exposed and was signaling her to come closer.

Suspicion filled Yun Ji's eyes. She hesitated.

The man therefore tore the disguise from his face and revealed his true appearance, smiling brilliantly.

Who else could it be but Niu Youdao?

Yun Ji was badly startled. She immediately looked left and right, then flashed down beside him and asked in disbelief, "You're not dead?"

Niu Youdao chuckled. "I'm not that easy to kill. What, were you hoping I was dead?"

Yun Ji stared him up and down, examining him again and again to make sure. "This... how is this possible?"

"Nothing impossible about it. Genuine, guaranteed. Want to feel for yourself?"

"That shamelessness certainly seems genuine."

Niu Youdao sighed. "My death inside the Sacred Realm was only a golden cicada shedding its shell. I had no choice. I'd stirred up too much trouble, become more and more conspicuous, and taken on so much weight that I could barely move anymore."

"I heard some of it," Yun Ji said. "You toppled one person, got another killed, and still dared keep stirring things up after entering the Sacred Realm. You really do have nerve."

Niu Youdao spread both hands. "I'd already made my decision. I was a man marked for death anyway. What was there not to dare? In short, once the Nine Saints fixed their eyes on me, the only way out was to die."

"I hadn't planned to show myself to you for the moment. I first asked Hongniang to sound out your intentions. If you were willing to stay, she wouldn't have sent you here. Since you're here, I take it you've decided to leave?"

Yun Ji asked, "Can you still show yourself publicly now?"

"I can't hide for the rest of my life. When the time comes to show myself, naturally I will." Niu Youdao smiled. "Big Sister, are you afraid? If not, then stay."

Yun Ji smiled.

...

Inside the Hall of Martial Valor at the Provincial Inspector's Residence in Nanzhou, Meng Shanming sat in his wheelchair while Shang Chaozong stood beside him. Both faced a map, following the war in the Western Three States day and night.

After Shang Chaozong explained the current dispositions of several armies in the Western Three States, he lowered the pointer in his hand. "That's the situation at present."

Meng Shanming asked, "Has Zijin Cave replied yet?"

As though the war itself were not enough, fresh troubles had recently begun piling up. Niu Youdao's death alone was already a heavy blow, and Wei's request for aid was causing another headache.

After failing to obtain Yan's full support, Wei had actually set its sights on Meng Shanming. Xuan Wei wanted to invite Meng Shanming to take command of Wei's war effort.

Nanzhou could understand Wei's desperation. At this point, it would clutch at any life-saving straw it could find.

First, Wei valued Meng Shanming's ability to command armies. Second, it hoped to use Meng Shanming's reputation to restore the morale of Wei's troops, who had been retreating defeat after defeat.

In short, they hoped Meng Shanming could turn the collapsing situation around.

The Yan court, together with Xiaoyao Palace and Lingjian Mountain, seemed only too happy with the idea and strongly supported sending Meng Shanming.

Zijin Cave had sent a message asking Nanzhou's opinion.

Nanzhou's answer had been refusal.

They had no choice but to refuse. If Meng Shanming went, then regardless of how the war ultimately ended, Qi and Wei would probably not let him return easily.

Shang Chaozong said, "I don't know what's happening. By rights, they should have replied long ago, yet we've heard nothing. Could they truly be considering agreeing?"

He looked at Meng Shanming. "Marshal Meng, if they insist that you go, do you have any confidence in this war?"

[End of Chapter 1187]