Chapter 1196: Is Master Dao Safe in the Sacred Realm?

As for the hands clasped behind his back, leaving them there felt wrong, but lowering them felt wrong as well.

At a window of the nearby pavilion, Yun Ji showed only half her face as she leaned sideways and quietly watched the scene beside the pond below.

She held her breath, eyes flickering.

Yuan Gang might be keeping watch, but the person truly protecting Niu Youdao was Yun Ji.

That was also one reason Niu Youdao remained by her side.

Under the current circumstances, most of the people in Maolu Annex did not know Niu Youdao's identity, including Wu Zhaoxing. Naturally, they would not treat him as someone requiring protection.

Yun Ji, who knew the truth, was therefore the best person to protect him.

Beside the pond, the man and woman stood extremely close.

The man stared motionlessly at the moon reflected in the water.

The woman stood behind him, gazing at his back.

Only two steps separated them.

"Sir."

There was a trace of unease in Shang Shuqing's voice as she tentatively called to him.

In the end, she was the one who broke the silence first.

Niu Youdao slowly drew a deep breath and turned around.

Putting on a surprised expression, he cupped his hands. "Greetings, Commandery Princess."

Then he asked in puzzlement, "Why has the Commandery Princess come here alone at night instead of remaining in the front hall for the banquet?"

Shang Shuqing dipped into a half-curtsy.

When she straightened, she looked directly into Niu Youdao's eyes and said softly, "There is something Qing'er does not understand. I would like to ask Sir for guidance."

Niu Youdao gave a bitter smile. "Commandery Princess, I am a man of Duyun Mountain. I truly know nothing about the affairs of Maolu Annex. You've come to the wrong person with your questions. Whatever you wish to ask, Hongniang would be the best person."

Shang Shuqing said, "Sir does not yet know what Qing'er wishes to ask. How can you already not know the answer?"

Niu Youdao paused slightly. "Then may I ask what instruction the Commandery Princess has?"

Shang Shuqing said, "Maolu Annex was stationed at Zijin Cave. From what I saw today, this is no ordinary outing. They seem to have come out in full force, as though they have already withdrawn from Zijin Cave. Does Sir know why?"

Niu Youdao claimed ignorance on every point. "Commandery Princess, forgive me. I am only an errand runner beside Mountain Lord Yun. I never leave her side for long. I carry out tasks, keep my mouth shut, and do not pry into things that are none of my concern. I truly do not know the answer to what the Commandery Princess is asking."

"Mountain Lord should be close to finishing her meditation. I've been standing watch for about long enough. If the Commandery Princess has no other instructions, I should return."

He turned to leave.

Shang Shuqing suddenly abandoned propriety and hurriedly reached out to block him, stopping his path.

Niu Youdao's voice sank. "Commandery Princess, please conduct yourself with restraint. Your status as Commandery Princess cannot frighten me."

Shang Shuqing lowered her hand, but stepped sideways and blocked the path in front of him. "There is one more matter I wish to ask Sir."

Niu Youdao now looked plainly displeased. "Speak."

Shang Shuqing said, "I know cultivators have the convenience of magical power and are skilled at changing their appearance. Sir's facial expressions seem rather stiff. I wonder whether you are wearing a disguise."

"If you are, then since meeting is itself a kind of fate, might Qing'er be fortunate enough to ask Sir to reveal your true face?"

She was not wrong on this point.

For an ordinary mortal, putting on a false face convincingly required considerable effort.

For a cultivator, however, it was relatively simple. While applying it, magical power could be used to make every section adhere properly. The slightest imperfection could be sensed at once, and stretching or adjusting the material could be done very quickly.

Remove the false face?

That was absurd.

How could Niu Youdao possibly remove it in a situation like this?

His voice hardened. "That is a private matter. The Commandery Princess is rather forcing the issue. Please step aside, or do not blame me for giving offense."

Shang Shuqing said, "Sir, forgive me. It is only that you resemble an old acquaintance of Qing'er's very much."

"Master Dao?" Niu Youdao asked with amused disbelief. "Surely the Commandery Princess doesn't still think I resemble Niu Youdao?"

Shang Shuqing said, "Is Sir's true face something that cannot be shown to others?"

Niu Youdao replied, "I've already said it is a private matter. It is inconvenient for me to show my face."

"Commandery Princess, don't you find your own idea rather absurd? Niu Youdao is already dead. Could a dead man somehow come back to life?"

"I truly have never heard of anyone beneath Heaven possessing that ability."

"..."

Shang Shuqing froze.

Then her voice suddenly trembled. "What did you say? Niu Youdao is already dead?"

This time it was Niu Youdao's turn to be stunned.

He asked strangely, "Niu Youdao met with disaster inside the Sacred Realm. He's already dead. Does the Commandery Princess not know?"

Shang Shuqing grew somewhat angry. "Nonsense! Sir, don't you think it improper to curse someone like that? Even Mountain Lord Yun would never curse Master Dao this way."

Now Niu Youdao truly found it strange.

What was going on?

This woman genuinely did not know?

If that was so, then he could use this opportunity to separate himself from the matter completely.

Earlier he had thought Shang Shuqing knew about his death and, after seeing him, suspected he had survived. That had nearly frightened him out of his wits.

Only now did he understand that Shang Shuqing had never heard news of Niu Youdao's death at all.

Naturally he would seize the opportunity to free himself from her suspicion.

"Commandery Princess, Niu Youdao died inside the Sacred Realm. By now, everyone in the cultivation world should know."

"Precisely because Niu Youdao died, Zijin Cave could no longer tolerate the people of Maolu Annex and drove them out."

"Otherwise, why would everyone from Maolu Annex appear here together?"

"The Prince and the others all know this. Why are you still pretending not to understand and pestering me instead?"

"You're talking nonsense..." Shang Shuqing argued back, refusing to believe him.

But the color of her face had already changed, and her breathing had grown rapid.

She was not stupid.

Once she connected this with the strange behavior at the Prince's residence earlier, it truly did seem as though everyone had been deliberately concealing the arrival of the Maolu Annex people from her.

The more she thought about it, the stranger everything seemed.

Something dreadful seemed to be confirming itself.

The possible truth frightened her, and she did not want to accept it.

At that moment, she would rather everything her sister-in-law Feng Ruonan had told her earlier truly had been the whole truth.

Niu Youdao continued, "This is the sort of thing whose truth can be confirmed simply by asking. Why would I lie?"

"It is precisely because something happened to Maolu Annex that Mountain Lord transferred me to her side at short notice, in case trouble arose."

"What I find strange is that something this significant has happened, yet the Commandery Princess somehow knows nothing and instead keeps entangling herself with me."

Shang Shuqing stopped entangling herself with him.

The moment he finished speaking, her breathing turned even more ragged.

She spun around and left.

Then she gathered up her skirt and began to run.

In the darkness, she tripped on an uneven step and fell to the ground.

She did not even care whether her clothing had become dirty.

She scrambled up and hurried away into the night.

Niu Youdao watched her leave.

The moment she disappeared from sight, his gaze abruptly turned cold and swept toward Yuan Gang's hiding place.

He stared in that direction for a while.

Then he turned his head away, flicked his sleeve, and strode straight up into the pavilion.

He entered the room.

Yun Ji leaned against the window as though nothing at all had happened, idly scraping at one of her fingernails.

From time to time, she raised her eyes and stole a glance at Niu Youdao, who stood there in complete silence.

The room was utterly quiet.

A little later, footsteps approached.

Yuan Gang pushed open the door, entered, then closed it behind him.

He silently walked up behind Niu Youdao and stood perfectly straight, expressionless.

After a stretch of calm, Niu Youdao suddenly turned and looked at Yun Ji.

Yun Ji immediately put on a somewhat affected, casual manner to conceal her discomfort. Without thinking much, she said, "My ears were open. If anyone dangerous had approached, I would have noticed."

Only then did Niu Youdao turn his stare on Yuan Gang. "Monkey, you've been here too long. Your string has gone slack."

Yuan Gang said nothing.

Niu Youdao asked, "You were watching from the side just now, weren't you?"

Yuan Gang answered, "Yes."

Niu Youdao said, "A living person that large approached me, and she wasn't even a cultivator. Given your vigilance, don't you dare tell me you failed to see her."

"I saw her."

"With your ability, you couldn't stop her?"

"I could."

"Then why didn't you intercept her or warn me?"

"Because she was already suspicious of you. She knows our internal relationships too well. On the surface, I have nothing to do with you."

"If I personally stepped forward to stop her from meeting you, on what grounds would I be personally intervening for your sake?"

"If I did that, it would only make her more suspicious. So I did not stop her."

"Answer complete."

Niu Youdao narrowed his eyes. "Sophistry. What exactly are you trying to do?"

Yuan Gang fell silent again.

Niu Youdao raised a hand and jabbed one finger against his chest, again and again.

"Do you know what your greatest flaw is? Your blood rushes to your head too easily. You like meddling in things that aren't yours to meddle in."

"Two lifetimes as a man, and you are still the one who causes the most trouble. How many times have I cleaned up after you?"

"Do you have any idea how dangerous that was just now? If I were exposed, do you know how many people you could get killed?"

"I'll tell you this clearly. If something like that happens again and I need to shake off the entanglement, I will kill her to silence the witness!"

"You should know perfectly well that I am capable of it."

"And you would not be able to stop me!"

Bang!

His fist slammed into Yuan Gang's chest.

Yuan Gang staggered back two steps.

Then he straightened again and said, "Yes. I'll pay attention next time."

"You..." Niu Youdao pointed at his nose.

Yuan Gang's straightforward answer infuriated him so much that he almost did not know what to do with him.

In the end, he swept one hand outward and barked, "Get out!"

Yuan Gang turned crisply and left just like that.

"Ah, nothing happened in the end, did it?" Yun Ji said from the side with the ease of someone whose back did not ache from standing. "You're usually such a calm man. Why lose your temper so badly today?"

Niu Youdao abruptly turned his head and stared at her.

"Ahem, ahem." Yun Ji coughed twice.

Then she looked out the window as though nothing were wrong, as though the night scenery were especially beautiful...

In the banquet hall, everyone was raising cups and exchanging toasts, the drinking spirit in full swing.

Once alcohol entered her system, Princess Consort Feng Ruonan's boldness returned.

If one ignored the red woman's attire she wore, she was every bit the equal of a man.

At that moment, she had Guan Fangyi by the arm and was forcing drink after drink on her.

Fu Junlan could be considered to have truly witnessed the Princess Consort's temperament today.

Caught in Feng Ruonan's tugging, Guan Fangyi did not know whether to laugh or cry.

She kept finding excuses to refuse. "Princess Consort, it's already late. Your retainer cultivators are still waiting outside. That's about enough. The Prince will start worrying. You should head back!"

"A few more cups won't matter. Let them wait!" Feng Ruonan tossed the words aside.

She kept hold of Guan Fangyi's arm and refused to release her until this cup was finished.

Suddenly, the entire hall fell quiet.

Seeing Guan Fangyi also staring blankly in one direction, Feng Ruonan turned her head.

Shang Shuqing stood in the doorway, chest rising and falling rapidly.

Her clothes were somewhat dirty and torn.

Her complexion looked awful, as though something had happened.

"Qing'er, what's wrong?" Feng Ruonan asked in surprise.

Shang Shuqing did not answer.

Under everyone's gaze, she walked into the hall and came straight toward the principal seat.

She went around the table, closed in directly on Guan Fangyi, and asked, "Is Master Dao safe in the Sacred Realm?"

The question caught Guan Fangyi completely unprepared.

She forced a dry laugh. "He's safe!"

Beside her, Feng Ruonan was startled by the question as well.

The hand gripping her wine cup froze.

Shang Shuqing advanced step by step. "Why did Zijin Cave drive Maolu Annex away?"

"This..." Guan Fangyi retreated under the pressure of her approach.

She had already begun to realize something was wrong and answered in confusion, "It was only a relocation. Commandery Princess, has someone been telling you nonsense?"

Shang Shuqing's voice sharpened. "I'm asking you—is Master Dao safe in the Sacred Realm?"

Bang!

Guan Fangyi's back struck the wall.

There was nowhere left for her to retreat.

She forced a smile. "Didn't I just say he's safe?"

Shang Shuqing asked, "Then what are you afraid of?"

"Afraid?" Guan Fangyi spread both hands and looked around.

Then she gave one of her charming laughs. "Commandery Princess, what a joke. What would I have to be afraid of?"

"Qing'er, don't be rude!" Feng Ruonan stepped forward and pulled Shang Shuqing away.

Shang Shuqing shook her arm hard and threw Feng Ruonan's hand off.

Then she turned and closed in on her instead. "Sister-in-law, are you hiding something from me?"

"I... what could I possibly be hiding from you?" Feng Ruonan was guilty too.

Under Shang Shuqing's pressure, she began backing away step by step.

[End of Chapter 1196]