Chapter 1276: This Little Mess

"Brother Yuan, these are experts from Daqiu Sect, Xuanbing Sect, and Tianhuo Sect sent by Qi after coordination with Xiaoyue Pavilion. They're all here to protect you."

Yucang introduced the newcomers warmly.

The group cupped their hands in greeting.

For once, people from Qi's three great sects seemed to have set aside their usual arrogance.

Yuan Gang remained expressionless.

He said nothing.

He merely swept a cold glance across them, showing no interest in dealing with any of these people.

There was another reason he did not want to deal with them.

He was not skilled at cultivating connections.

Trying would only make matters worse.

The people from Qi's three great sects did not take offense.

After spending some time with Yuan Gang, Yucang had already figured out what kind of temperament the man possessed.

Beforehand, he had warned the three sects:

If you insist on meeting him and offering greetings, I won't stop you. But this man's personality is somewhat strange, so prepare yourselves not to take offense.

Even so, the people from the three great sects had still been willing to press warm faces against a cold backside.

All of them wanted to see what kind of extraordinary person could control sand scorpions.

That curiosity had only grown after they heard he had killed a Xiaoyue Pavilion Elder with a single slash.

A man capable of killing a peak Golden Core cultivator with one blow certainly had enough capital, in outsiders' eyes, to be arrogant.

Now that they saw him in person, his appearance truly was unusual.

Being tall and powerfully built was nothing strange.

But that enormous red face was certainly distinctive.

Yuan Gang himself had no desire to look so conspicuous.

But that was not something he could control.

Ever since he had once been poisoned and used his flesh-and-blood body to dissolve the poison on its own, his face had become like this.

It seemed it would never return to the way it had once looked.

Yucang felt somewhat helpless.

These people had come to protect Yuan Gang, yet he would not even offer a word of thanks.

What could Yucang say?

He could only give the Qi cultivators an apologetic smile, then turn back to Yuan Gang.

"Brother Yuan, we can leave matters here to General Luo. We should head back and receive the next contingent."

Yuan Gang said, "No hurry."

Yucang's expression turned grave.

"Brother Yuan, this isn't a matter of whether we're in a hurry or not."

"The news can no longer be hidden. It has already spread."

"Jin will certainly make a move."

"It isn't suitable for you to remain here long."

"Moreover, on the return journey we should take a detour in case someone has prepared an ambush along the route."

Yuan Gang raised one hand and pointed toward the soldiers still unloading supplies.

Everyone followed his gesture and immediately understood.

If Yuan Gang left now and the sand scorpions suddenly became uncontrollable, any supplies not yet unloaded would be lost after being transported all this way.

Yucang immediately turned and ordered, "Have them move faster. Untie the cargo first. We can move it away slowly afterward."

"Yes!" Dugu Jing accepted the order and hurried off to relay it.

Once the command went out, the soldiers began rapidly untying everything from the sand scorpions and tossing it directly onto the ground.

After traveling with the creatures for so long, they were no longer as afraid of the monsters as they had been at first.

When the last loads had been removed, Yuan Gang once again faced the desert and spread his arms.

"HO!"

At his roar, the sand scorpions immediately grew restless.

It was as though restraints had suddenly been removed.

One after another they turned around.

Some moved quickly, some slowly, but all streamed back toward the endless sea of sand.

Some burrowed beneath the surface and vanished.

Others raced away openly into the distance.

The people from Qi stared at one another, finding the sight extraordinary.

Afterward, cultivators from Xiaoyue Pavilion and Qi's three great sects mounted flying beasts one after another and rose into the sky with Yuan Gang under their protection.

More than thirty flying mounts formed the escort.

They did not cluster together.

Instead, they spread out ahead, behind, and to the sides, maintaining vigilance against anyone approaching.

...

In Nanzhou, inside the quiet cultivation chamber, Guan Fangyi had come to disturb Niu Youdao again.

Niu Youdao sat cross-legged in silence.

Guan Fangyi waited for a while, then tried reminding him once more.

"The first contingent has already crossed successfully."

"They're preparing to bring over the second."

"If each group is the same size as the first, they'll probably need several more crossings."

"If even we've heard the news, Jin is almost certainly going to move against Monkey."

Niu Youdao said coldly, "Then tell me what I'm supposed to do."

"Who can I ask to protect him?"

"Can Myriad Beasts Sect go?"

"Can Tianxing Sect go?"

"Can Ling Sect send people?"

"Would it look normal for any of those three sects to protect him?"

"Would sending one or two people accomplish anything?"

"Or should Zijin Cave send a massive force solely for him and fight Jin head-on all by itself?"

"Even if Gong Lince wanted to make that decision, he couldn't persuade the people below him to accept it."

"If even Xiaoyue Pavilion's strength can't keep him safe, what use would sending people from Maolu Villa be?"

"He insists on courting death himself. Does he expect everyone else to die with him?"

The more Niu Youdao spoke, the angrier he became.

If Yuan Gang's plan to move troops using sand scorpions had failed, matters would actually have been easier.

Now that it had succeeded, Niu Youdao was furious instead.

And it was not only the people he had just named.

Even Zhong Guzi and Yun Ji, both capable of protecting Yuan Gang, were inconvenient to deploy.

Could either of them openly make a move?

What worsened Niu Youdao's mood was the report Jia Wuqun had already sent back concerning Feng Guan'er.

They had discovered why she was under house arrest.

It was because she had tried to run to Qin and help Luo Zhao.

The conclusion was obvious.

Yuan Gang's enthusiasm had been entirely one-sided.

He had charged headlong over there, and only because Feng Guan'er had no other option did she ask him for help.

What nonsense was this about being afraid Luo Zhao would follow the same path as Tian Zhengyang and Ma Chang'an?

There was almost no chance Xiaoyue Pavilion would kill Luo Zhao!

But Niu Youdao understood Yuan Gang too well.

First, once Yuan Gang gave his word, he would keep it.

Second, Yuan Gang could not bear doing something that weighed on his conscience.

Once the chance appeared, he himself wanted to help Luo Zhao.

There was no point trying to persuade him otherwise.

That woman had harmed his brother, yet Yuan Gang still intended to help rescue her from house arrest.

What kind of damned situation was this?

If anything truly happened to Yuan Gang, rescue her?

Niu Youdao would want to kill that woman himself.

But then again, if Yuan Gang really did die, what about his final wish?

Would Niu Youdao carry it out or not?

Over this little mess of Yuan Gang's, Niu Youdao had already worried himself sick.

"Ah." Guan Fangyi sighed helplessly.

She understood Niu Youdao's difficulty.

Turning around, she began to leave.

She could tell his temper was already burning hot.

If she kept talking, she might end up being cursed again.

Yet not long after leaving, she returned with another message in hand and passed it over.

"Jia Wuqun replied again."

Niu Youdao took it and read.

Jia Wuqun's meaning was simple.

Getting Feng Guan'er to Nanzhou would not be difficult.

It was a trivial matter.

They could simply send people to bring her over.

But if they wanted to eliminate future trouble completely, Feng Guan'er might have to suffer some embarrassment.

Eliminate future trouble.

That had been Niu Youdao's intention from the beginning.

Call Yuan Gang ruthless or foolish as one pleased, but in the end Niu Youdao still had to extract Feng Guan'er.

There was no avoiding it.

Yuan Gang had actually done something this dangerous for her.

If they did not bring the woman under their own control, they would be leaving someone else holding Yuan Gang's weakness in hand.

By "eliminate future trouble," Niu Youdao meant that Lingxiao Pavilion or anyone else must never again have an opportunity to use this woman against Yuan Gang.

That was why he had explained the situation in detail to Jia Wuqun.

Jia Wuqun had spent years immersed in Song's affairs and should understand the situation there better than anyone else.

Niu Youdao wanted him to see whether there was some more thorough way to handle it.

He had already lost enough peace of mind over Yuan Gang's damned little affair.

After reading Jia Wuqun's proposed method, Niu Youdao gave a cold laugh.

Did he care whether Feng Guan'er found it embarrassing?

He tossed the letter aside.

"Arrange it."

"Do exactly as Jia Wuqun says!"

Guan Fangyi hesitated.

"But Monkey and Feng Guan'er agreed that she'd leave with him only after the matter was finished. Is it appropriate to do this now?"

Niu Youdao shot her a sidelong look.

"Has your brain filled with water too?"

"Monkey turned stupid, so you decided to turn stupid with him?"

"Only an idiot like Monkey would make some life-or-death agreement like that with someone else!"

"We don't even know whether Monkey will come back alive."

"I don't care what agreement they made."

"I don't care whether that woman wants to come either."

"Bring her here first, and we'll talk afterward!"

"Go."

"Have Duan Hu and Wu Sanliang personally bring her back!"

Guan Fangyi smiled bitterly and left.

...

Several dozen li from the edge of the desert, a broad region of yellow-earth gullies stretched across the land.

A cultivator flashed down into one ravine and ducked into a cave dug into the earthen wall.

Seven or eight people were gathered inside.

The moment he entered, one of them asked, "What's the situation?"

The newcomer replied, "Yuan Gang's group has already returned."

"The army is preparing to set out."

"But the army's security perimeter is far too wide."

"There are also patrols circling overhead."

"We have no way to approach closely enough to investigate."

"At present, we still don't know the target's exact position."

The group exchanged looks.

These were precisely the men Jin had sent to assassinate Yuan Gang.

They had assembled more than fifty experts from Qiyun Sect, Motian Sect, Qingyue Villa, and other factions.

To kill a single Yuan Gang, each of Jin's three great sects had dispatched one Supreme Elder.

Every other member of the force was also a peak Golden Core cultivator.

Taishu Guang, Supreme Elder of Qiyun Sect, asked, "What do you all think?"

Tie Haodong, Supreme Elder of Motian Sect, said gravely, "It's troublesome."

"According to the intelligence Blackwater Terrace sent earlier, when Qi received Qin's army, someone personally saw forces from Qi's three great sects and Xiaoyue Pavilion fielding more than thirty flying mounts as escorts."

"In other words, there must be at least a hundred experts protecting him."

"And Qin's army itself contains large numbers of cultivators."

"This will not be easy."

Taishu Guang said, "We have twenty Heavenly Sword Talismans assembled for this mission."

"So long as we can find a way to get close, we can immediately bombard him without regard for cost."

"I refuse to believe he could survive that!"

Lu Zheng, Supreme Elder of Qingyue Villa, shook his head.

"The army's security perimeter is too broad."

"We cannot approach."

"The moment we force our way closer, we'll be discovered immediately."

"We don't even know where the target is."

"Once we startle the snake by striking the grass and then fail to find him, are we supposed to fight back and forth through layer after layer of encirclement searching for one man?"

Taishu Guang said, "That isn't what I mean."

"According to Blackwater Terrace's information, during the previous crossing they changed sand-scorpion mounts eight times and rested for one night inside the desert."

"This trip should be about the same."

"In my view, we can determine their route, then hide beneath the sand and ambush them along a path they must cross."

"Once the target arrives, we erupt from concealment and strike without warning."

"We bombard him wildly with Heavenly Sword Talismans."

"He'll have no chance to survive."

Lu Zheng said, "Determining the route is easy."

"How do we determine the target's position within an army that large?"

"If we're too far away when we emerge, he need only dive beneath the sand and we may never find him again."

Taishu Guang said, "We can have men disguise themselves as ordinary cultivators traveling to or from Boundless Pavilion."

"When the army passes, they can openly stop and watch."

"Once they identify the target's position, they can circle back and report it immediately."

"We can also arrange people along the route to release contact signals."

"With that many people in the army, Blackwater Terrace will certainly have agents mixed among them."

"When the troops stop to rest in the desert, we can find a way to contact those agents and have them identify the target's precise location."

"Then we wait for an opportunity to strike."

Tie Haodong nodded slightly.

"Acting inside the desert has another advantage."

"Once we succeed, this entire contingent may never make it out of the desert."

Taishu Guang looked toward Lu Zheng.

"Brother Lu, what do you think?"

Lu Zheng sighed.

"We don't have any better method at present."

"This is probably the only way."

Taishu Guang said, "Good."

"Then it's settled!"

[End of Chapter 1276]