Chapter 1204: Call the Crouching Dragon Forth!

Guan Fangyi was startled. Niu Youdao, meanwhile, slowly lowered his head and looked at himself. Caught completely off guard, he had been splattered all over with bits of pear.

His face gradually darkened. It was a trivial matter, but this alone was not what made him blacken his face. He slowly raised his head to stare at her, then suddenly pointed and snapped, "Look at you now. You can't even sit properly, and you can't even eat properly. You're getting more and more brazen. What are you trying to do next?"

Ever since they had come here, with him unable to show his face or reveal his identity, everything around him had seemed turned upside down. One after another, people were taking him less and less seriously.

Yuan Gang had stopped listening to him. Yun Ji had begun making barbed remarks. This woman in particular had grown outrageously bold. Master Dao of Maolu Villa felt challenged. He could practically feel his authority beginning to waver.

"Sorry! Sorry!" Guan Fangyi tossed away the pear she had been eating, hurriedly stood, and apologized repeatedly as she brushed at his clothes to clean him off.

Niu Youdao swept her hands aside, circulated his spiritual power, and gave himself a shake. The bits clinging to him fell to the floor.

"Misunderstanding, misunderstanding. I really didn't do it on purpose." Guan Fangyi was delighted, as though she particularly enjoyed seeing him angry. Then she shamelessly latched onto him again. "It's not that I'm getting more brazen. I'm only doing what you told us to do."

Niu Youdao laughed in spite of his anger and pointed at himself. "I told you to do this?"

"Listen to yourself. Think about it. Weren't you the one who told us not to treat you like anyone important, so your identity wouldn't be exposed and no one would notice anything suspicious? Maybe I just got a little too deep into the role. All right, it was a momentary slip. Don't be angry."

"You..." For once, Niu Youdao had no answer. He suddenly realized he had picked up a stone only to drop it on his own foot. So every one of them challenging his authority was supposedly following his orders?

Yun Ji, leaning by the window, smiled.

"All right." Guan Fangyi shook Niu Youdao's arm almost coquettishly. "I've already apologized. Stop being angry. Let's talk business. What do you want us to do?"

"What do you mean, what do I want you to do?" Niu Youdao shook his arm free, still looking irritated. Shang Shuqing's recent decision never to marry, brought on by everything surrounding her, genuinely bothered him. He did not fear grudges and enmities. It was other kinds of entanglements that gave him headaches.

Guan Fangyi said, "That bastard Shao Pingbo really is no good. Didn't you say you wanted Taishu Huan'er to marry him? Taishu Huan'er isn't going to do whatever you say, and Shao Pingbo certainly won't agree to marry her. We have to do something, don't we?"

In Niu Youdao's judgment, Shao Pingbo might have orchestrated the internal turmoil in Wei. He might have been behind the attacks on several of Qi's communications hubs. The poisoning of Qi's imperial family might also have been his work. He had not even spared his own brother-in-law. Ximen Qingkong's poisoning might well have been his doing too. As for a young woman like Taishu Huan'er being made to give herself to Chen Changgong, that matter was now known to everyone. No one was willing to carry the blame for Shao Pingbo, and it had already been made public that the proposal came from him.

There had originally been no conclusive evidence proving that all these matters were Shao Pingbo's doing. But looking back over the chain of events, every one of them revolved around Jin's war against Wei and Qi, and every objective ultimately benefited Jin. The style was similar from one incident to the next: almost invariably, no means were too ruthless if they served the goal.

And all these events had erupted within the same period. It was hardly unreasonable to suspect that one person had planned them. Guan Fangyi had essentially come to believe Niu Youdao's judgment. It really was possible that Shao Pingbo stood behind all of them.

In the past, when Niu Youdao kept such a close eye on Shao Pingbo, Guan Fangyi had found it somewhat amusing in private. He was only an ordinary mortal. What was there to worry about? She could no longer laugh now. For one person to borrow Jin's power and set so many events in motion within such a short span of time was genuinely frightening.

It was far more frightening than risking one's life in an open clash of blades. High cultivation did not protect you against someone like that. Sometimes you could die without even knowing how. Was Ximen Qingkong's cultivation not high enough? Even now, he probably still had no idea whose hand had brought him down.

Besides, from a woman's point of view, what Shao Pingbo had done in the matter of Taishu Huan'er alone was enough to make Guan Fangyi despise him. If there were an opportunity to deal with Shao Pingbo, she would be more than happy to see it happen.

Of course, Maolu Villa itself had often stopped at nothing to achieve its goals. Their positions were different, however, and Guan Fangyi had not yet become reflective enough to examine herself.

Niu Youdao's temper cooled quickly. He walked back to the desk and picked up an intelligence report. "The difference in their ages was enormous. Taishu Huan'er could hardly have been willing to give herself to Chen Changgong. Then Chen Changgong was killed. After going through all that, she must hate Shao Pingbo. But she is no match for him. If some ordinary attempt at revenge angers Shao Pingbo, then with his ability, what does it matter if she's a princess of Jin? Shao Pingbo has returned to the game and has resources in his hands again. With a minor scheme, he could put her to death."

Guan Fangyi asked, "Then what do we do?"

"Someone needs to give her a hand and help her avenge herself."

That caught Guan Fangyi's interest. "How?"

Niu Youdao set the report down. "Getting Taishu Huan'er married to Shao Pingbo isn't difficult. Unfortunately, in my present circumstances I shouldn't make a move myself, or I'll leave obvious traces and hand that fellow an opening. Marrying Taishu Huan'er to Shao Pingbo isn't the objective. The objective is to force Shao Pingbo to show himself."

"While I was gone, that fellow had quite a time jumping around. No one was his match, and hardly anyone could even see his hand behind what was happening. Now that I'm back, how could I sit by and watch him grow unchecked? Once he gains enough of a foothold, that will be trouble."

"He's lain low for so long and has finally come out of seclusion, yet with all the intelligence channels I have now, I still can't find where he is. That's strange. It seems he knows perfectly well that he's been using one underhanded method after another. He's worried about attracting attention and drawing assassination attempts from Qi and Wei, so he has remained hidden. Until the overall situation in the west is settled, until the power of Qi and Wei has completely collapsed, he won't dare show himself lightly."

"To achieve everything he wants, he will also have to do everything possible to push Jin into sweeping away Qi and Wei as quickly as it can. Huyan Wuhen is an excellent commander, and precisely because he is an excellent commander, he is bound to become a thorn in Shao Pingbo's side. If Huyan Wuhen obstructs Jin's offensive, Shao Pingbo will stop at nothing to strike him down. Once that pillar falls, Qi and Wei will be finished."

"So we need to force Shao Pingbo out and get rid of him. I want to see whether Taishu Huan'er marrying him can force him to appear. Surely he can't get married without showing his face. Once he does, we'll keep eyes on him, bite down and never let go, and eliminate this future trouble once and for all!"

Guan Fangyi clicked her tongue in admiration. Old rivals truly were old rivals. Once Niu Youdao began calculating against the man, he could read the other's intentions with remarkable clarity. "Just tell me what you want us to do."

"What do we do?" Niu Youdao glanced sideways at her and shook his head slightly. "Nothing. We stay honestly in Nanzhou, gather intelligence, and make decisions. We cannot act rashly. Any overt move could arouse suspicion. I'm supposed to be dead. If the people of Maolu Annex keep making move after move and influencing the larger situation, people will start wondering."

"I may not understand everyone else, but I understand Shao Pingbo. Once the slightest trace appears, it may fool others, but it won't fool him. I know the methods of this old opponent. Believe it or not, if I personally make a move against him, the moment our hands cross he'll immediately guess that I'm still alive. What consequences would follow from that? I cannot afford that risk. I've already suffered a loss at his hands once. I have no choice but to guard against him carefully."

"From now on, Maolu Villa moves completely behind the scenes. The Nine Saints control all under Heaven from behind the scenes, so we must hide behind the scenes as well. Only then can we gain even the slightest standing to contend with them. Until the situation reaches a certain stage, until we can throw their eyes and ears into confusion, we cannot make overt moves lightly. Those on the weaker side can only proceed this way, cautiously, one step at a time."

Yun Ji looked over in mild surprise. Today, in front of her, Niu Youdao had openly said that he intended to enter a real contest with the Nine Saints. On the surface, the notion almost sounded laughable. Yet the determination hidden beneath his words, the resolve to settle victory and defeat, left her unable to laugh.

What she did not know was that Niu Youdao had reached a point where he had no choice. So long as he remained in this game, he had no choice but to face the Nine Saints. From the moment he successfully stole the fruits from Wuliang Garden, from the moment he decided to fake his death and escape, from the moment he left the Sacred Realm, there were certain things he had no choice but to do.

To him, the Nine Saints as individuals were not actually what was frightening. What was frightening was the enormous power structure they had built over all under Heaven.

What was so frightening about individuals? The world was vast and filled with people. One could simply find somewhere to hide, disappear into the endless sea of humanity, and be done with it.

But then why did Zhuge Chi have to hide? Why did Yun Ji have to keep such a low profile?

That would not work. Unless the Nine Saints' power structure was overturned, unless their eyes were blinded, anyone they fixed their attention upon would be unable to rise.

Where were the Nine Saints' eyes and ears? The Misty Pavilion was one. The political order of all under Heaven that the Nine Saints controlled was another. Niu Youdao had returned to Nanzhou and refused to let go of his own forces precisely because he intended to contest control of that greater situation and do everything he could to bring it into his own hands.

Once the Nine Saints lost control of the situation, their eyes and ears would fall into disorder. They would hear poorly and see poorly, and perhaps what they heard and saw would all be false. That was when Niu Youdao's side would have its opportunity.

And now, while the Nine Saints were restructuring the Misty Pavilion, unrest could easily spread beneath Heaven, while the Nine Saints themselves could become slower to respond to changes in the wider situation. This was an excellent opportunity. It could not be missed.

Guan Fangyi hesitated. "If that's the case, then how do we help Taishu Huan'er? Someone still has to make contact with her. Right, we could notify Qi and Wei and have their people act."

Niu Youdao said, "If we notify Qi and Wei, can you guarantee the Misty Pavilion won't know that we're the ones giving advice from behind the scenes? You cannot imagine how deeply the Misty Pavilion has infiltrated every region. I went to the Sacred Realm, so I know it better than you do. There's another problem. Against someone like Shao Pingbo, not just anyone will do. He can turn a situation back on his opponent very easily. It has to be someone with real ability before there's any point letting them cross hands with him."

Guan Fangyi was baffled. "We can't step forward, and you certainly can't step forward. Then what was the point of saying all this?"

Niu Youdao picked up the intelligence report from the desk again. "My trip to the Sacred Realm let me learn certain things. I've found an opponent for Shao Pingbo. I'm preparing to call a Crouching Dragon out of seclusion."

Guan Fangyi looked surprised. "Someone you would call a Crouching Dragon? Who?"

Yun Ji looked over as well, equally curious.

Niu Youdao smiled slightly. "A very interesting person. If I can obtain this person's help, there is a good chance I can sway the situation in the State of Song. Even if Shao Pingbo weren't involved, I would still have to find a way to draw this person over and put them to use. And I may as well use Shao Pingbo to test whether this blade is sharp!"

[End of Chapter 1204]