Chapter 1209: Brother Niu and I Were the Closest of Friends

"Chuan Ying?" As though forgetting the matter before them, Chang Linxian and Tang Yi both exclaimed in surprise.

Recently, a cultivator named Chuan Ying had become famous throughout the cultivation world. His name was known virtually everywhere.

Originally, he had been nothing more than an independent cultivator. Then, in a single leap, he rose to the heavens and actually married the Master of the Ice and Snow Pavilion.

The Master of the Ice and Snow Pavilion, Xue Luo'er, was Granny Xue's granddaughter, and Granny Xue was one of the Nine Saints. Becoming Granny Xue's grandson-in-law in one step—what else could that be called but rising to the heavens?

Chang Linxian could not help asking, "Which Chuan Ying?"

"This..." The young soldier stammered. "This subordinate doesn't know."

Of course. Whether it was that Chuan Ying or not, how would a common soldier from the secular world know? Chang Linxian realized he had asked a pointless question and waved a hand. "Go."

"Yes!" The soldier hurried away, visibly uneasy. He had the feeling he might have seen something he should not have.

Tang Yi turned to go meet the visitor, but Chang Linxian called after her, "Sect Leader Tang!"

Tang Yi stopped and looked back. "Does Sect Leader Chang have some instruction?"

Chang Linxian no longer wore a rigid expression. His manner softened somewhat, and the hostility he usually showed the Shangqing Sect disappeared. Testing the waters, he asked, "Sect Leader Tang, are you acquainted with Chuan Ying of the Ice and Snow Pavilion?"

Tang Yi was silent for a moment and did not answer directly. "I don't know which Chuan Ying it is. I'll meet him first and find out." She cupped her hands, then left at a brisk pace.

Unable to judge the situation, Chang Linxian did not dare detain her and interrogate her further. He stroked his beard and muttered, "By rights, people from the Ice and Snow Pavilion shouldn't involve themselves in warfare..."

Outside the tent, Tang Yi did not hurry to meet the visitor. Instead, she went first to the main command tent. She entered in haste and found Xuan Wei and Ximen Qingkong still speaking. Without worrying about whether she was interrupting them, she immediately told them Chang Linxian had killed Xuan Chengtian.

Xuan Wei looked as though she had been struck by lightning. She froze in shock, then ran out. Ximen Qingkong flashed after her.

Inside the tent where Hao Cheng was chained, he cried out the moment he saw Xuan Wei enter. "Save me! Your Majesty, save me..." But when he saw Ximen Qingkong come in behind her, he immediately fell silent.

Xuan Wei had no attention to spare for Hao Cheng's fate. She ignored him completely, rushed over, dropped to her knees beside the corpse, gathered Xuan Chengtian into her arms, and shook him as she wailed to Heaven.

It was only another human tragedy born of a household steeped in power. Such things were hardly rare.

Chang Linxian stood nearby without expression, watching coldly. Ximen Qingkong turned and fixed him with an icy stare. Killing intent gradually rose from his body.

Their gazes met. The atmosphere instantly became explosive. Inside Chang Linxian's sleeve, a Heavenly Sword Talisman appeared in his hand.

Tang Yi stood beyond the tent flap, watching Xuan Wei raise her face and weep, then looking at the two men confronting each other. She sighed softly, turned, and left.

Not long afterward, Chang Linxian came out as well. He was still thinking about whether this visitor truly was that Chuan Ying.

In the end, Ximen Qingkong had not done anything to Chang Linxian. Xuan Wei stopped him...

Outside the great camp, a man in robes white as snow paced slowly back and forth. He was tall and slender, with long hair braided down his back. His lips were red, his teeth white, and his bright eyes seemed to shine whenever they moved.

A man possessing such an air of beauty that he could overturn hearts and minds was extraordinary enough that even the soldiers guarding the entrance kept stealing glances at him. None of them had ever seen such a handsome man before. He was truly a jade-faced gentleman.

When Tang Yi arrived, even she could not help pausing at the sight of the man outside the gate. What did it mean for a man to stand like a jade tree in the wind? The phrase might have been coined specifically for someone like him.

She had never seen such a handsome man either. There were probably few women who could resist a man with such looks. That face alone was likely enough to make most women forgive every flaw he possessed.

Precisely because of that, Tang Yi was now certain this Chuan Ying was indeed that Chuan Ying. Rumor had it that Chuan Ying of the Ice and Snow Pavilion was one of the rarest handsome men beneath Heaven.

It made sense. A man who could win the favor of the Master of the Ice and Snow Pavilion could hardly be ordinary.

Chuan Ying noticed her as well. He looked her over, then smiled gently. The charm of that smile alone seemed enough to melt a woman's heart. "Are you Tang Yi, Sect Leader of the Shangqing Sect?"

Only then did Tang Yi step forward. "I am. And you are?"

Chuan Ying cupped his hands. "Chuan Ying of the Ice and Snow Pavilion."

There was scarcely any need for further verification. His appearance alone was proof enough. Tang Yi hurriedly saluted. "I did not know Mr. Chuan Ying had graced us with his presence and failed to come out to welcome you. Please forgive my discourtesy."

Chuan Ying smiled. "Sect Leader Tang is too polite. I came without warning. I am the one who has been presumptuous."

"I wouldn't dare. Mr. Chuan Ying, please come inside." Tang Yi stepped aside and extended a hand in invitation, her manner extremely respectful.

Given his status, she could hardly be anything else. Whether or not he had risen by relying on a woman, his present position was genuinely extraordinary. That alone was enough.

"This..." Chuan Ying glanced toward the military camp, visibly hesitant. "Sect Leader Tang, two states are at war. Given my identity, it would be inappropriate for me to enter a place like this. If I were held accountable for it, I couldn't bear the consequences. I can only say I happened to be passing by. Going inside would be best avoided. Please understand."

Passing by? Passing by and specifically coming to see me? Tang Yi was suspicious, but since he had put it that way, she could hardly force him. She tentatively asked, "Mr. Chuan Ying summoned me. Was there something you wished to instruct me about?"

"I wouldn't presume to call it an instruction." Chuan Ying repeatedly waved a hand. Then he lowered his voice and offered a pointed reminder. "Brother Niu Youdao and I were the closest of friends."

Niu Youdao? Tang Yi froze.

The mention of Niu Youdao stirred a melancholy that was difficult to put into words. He had actually died? When she first heard the news, she had been unable to describe what she felt. For a long time afterward, her heart would not settle.

But the man was already dead. What else could be done? The living still had to face reality and go on living. As Sect Leader, she still had the rest of the Shangqing Sect to consider.

And now Chuan Ying had suddenly appeared and said this. He was Niu Youdao's close friend? Tang Yi could not understand what he meant by bringing it up.

"May I ask whether you are Mr. Chuan Ying of the Ice and Snow Pavilion?" Chang Linxian's voice sounded behind them.

The two turned and saw the Sect Leaders of Wei's three great sects hurrying over.

Chuan Ying had no choice but to turn toward them. Once they drew near, he nodded indifferently. "I am."

Now that his identity was confirmed, all three Sect Leaders looked faintly delighted. Luo Yanzhen, Sect Leader of Dale Mountain, even sounded somewhat reproachful as he addressed Tang Yi. "Sect Leader Tang, this is where you've done wrong. Mr. Chuan Ying has come all this way. How can the entrance to the camp be a proper place to speak?" He then cupped his hands toward Chuan Ying. "Mr. Chuan Ying, please come inside."

"Please!" Chang Linxian and Zang Feng raised their hands in invitation as well.

Chuan Ying waved them off. "No need. I merely happened to be passing through and remembered that my good friend Sect Leader Tang was here, so I stopped by to see her. I have no other intention. Please do not read too much into it."

Good friend? Tang Yi's eyes flickered slightly. Since when had she become Chuan Ying's good friend?

But she vaguely sensed that he was saying this deliberately, as though he meant to help her somehow. With the situation unclear, she remained silent, neither denying it nor confirming it. As the head of a sect, she possessed at least that much composure.

Zang Feng tried once more. "Since you've already come, why not sit inside for a while?"

Chuan Ying seemed unwilling to waste words. His patience appeared to vanish as he said directly, "I am not acquainted with any of you."

The three Sect Leaders immediately looked awkward, yet none dared object.

They had originally thought an opportunity had fallen into their laps. If they could borrow the Ice and Snow Pavilion's prestige to make Jin hesitate, Chuan Ying had come to them of his own accord, so no one could accuse them of exploiting him. But Chuan Ying had made it perfectly clear that he wanted no part of this muddy water and would not give them the slightest face.

Ignoring them, Chuan Ying turned back to Tang Yi and extended a hand. "May we speak somewhere private?"

Tang Yi silently nodded and followed him toward a more distant place.

The three disappointed Sect Leaders watched them go. Chang Linxian muttered, "Don't tell me that woman has something going on with Chuan Ying?"

Zang Feng snorted. "Would Chuan Ying even be interested in her?"

Luo Yanzhen said, "That's hard to say. Maybe he wouldn't be interested now, but what about before he entered the Ice and Snow Pavilion? That woman is quite attractive herself. It wouldn't be strange for a man to want a taste of her charms. And look at that man's face. If he so much as flirted a little, how many women could resist taking off their clothes for him?"

Chang Linxian nodded. "That is indeed possible. Otherwise, there would be no reason for him to stop by just to visit her, and we've never heard of any friendship between them. Chuan Ying was nobody back then, while Tang Yi was already the head of a sect. Would Tang Yi lower herself to make friends with him? Turn it around, though, and because of Tang Yi's position, it would have been entirely plausible for Chuan Ying to ingratiate himself with her and seduce her. For the two of them to be 'good friends'... heh. Eight or nine chances out of ten, that's probably what happened."

The reasoning did sound plausible. Zang Feng nodded slightly, but reminded them, "If words like that spread, they could cause trouble. Both of you should watch what you say."

They had only been grumbling sourly out of dissatisfaction. At the reminder, Chang Linxian and Luo Yanzhen both sobered and shut their mouths. Otherwise, they truly might invite enormous trouble. The Ice and Snow Pavilion was not something any of them were qualified to offend.

The three still did not leave. They remained where they were, staring hopefully after the pair in case some opportunity still appeared...

Farther away, once they reached a place with no one around, Tang Yi and Chuan Ying stopped.

Tang Yi felt she needed to explain what had happened just now. She had tacitly allowed him to call her a friend and did not want him to think she was presumptuous. "Mr. Chuan Ying, as for what you said just now about us being 'good friends,' that is an honor far beyond me."

Chuan Ying waved a hand. "Actually, calling us friends is not entirely wrong."

Tang Yi was puzzled. "I had never met Mr. Chuan Ying before today. This is our first meeting..."

Chuan Ying interrupted her. "Brother Niu was my closest friend, and Sect Leader Tang was Brother Niu's wife. Following that relationship, you and I are naturally friends as well."

Tang Yi could hardly have been more embarrassed. She hurriedly said, "I'm afraid you've misunderstood. Niu Youdao and I severed all ties long ago. I truly cannot accept being called his wife. Please take that back."

Chuan Ying gave a rueful smile. "Sect Leader Tang may not take the matter seriously, but Brother Niu never stopped thinking about you. Before his death, while he was in the Sacred Realm, he worried that he might never make it back out. He had no way to look after affairs outside while he was there, so he once instructed me that if Sect Leader Tang ever encountered trouble, he hoped I would secretly lend a hand."

"He specifically warned me not to let you know that any help from me had anything to do with him. But now that he is gone, there is no longer any point in keeping it secret."

Perhaps Tang Yi did not know certain things. Perhaps many others did not know them either. But to some people, whether Niu Youdao and Zhao Xiongge still cared about the Shangqing Sect was perfectly clear.

Tang Yi was genuinely stunned this time. Niu Youdao had secretly been helping her? She could not help blurting, "Mr. Chuan Ying, surely you're joking."

"I'm not joking. Does Sect Leader Tang really think I would make a special trip here just to tell you a joke that never happened? If I had not been entrusted by someone, I would not have made this journey." Chuan Ying sighed.

Tang Yi had no answer. Thinking about it, he was right. Given his current status, there was no reason for him to come deceive her, much less lower himself to come meet her in person.

After studying her expression for a moment, Chuan Ying sighed again. "The man is gone. Sect Leader Tang, please restrain your grief."

[End of Chapter 1209]