Chapter 1358: Mystery

Yin Ji spoke from bitter personal experience.

Luo Qiu could not tolerate betrayal or deception. What had happened to her was the clearest warning.

"Yes!" Sha Rulai answered. He cupped his hands in farewell, then mounted the flying beast and rose into the sky.

Hei Yun and Yin Ji watched from below.

Having finally met her son-in-law, Yin Ji's emotions were complicated. She could clearly feel the distance he maintained toward her.

She understood.

Even her own daughter did not know she was still alive. If Yin Ji suddenly appeared before Luo Fangfei, her daughter might not even be able to accept it immediately, much less a son-in-law.

Sha Rulai, flying through wind and cloud overhead, was equally unsettled.

A mother-in-law who had supposedly been dead for years had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

The whole thing felt like a dream.

"Bastard..." he suddenly muttered.

The target of the curse was Niu Youdao.

Sha Rulai had no idea what sort of ghostly game Niu Youdao was playing. The man had suddenly produced a mother-in-law for him, yet had never leaked so much as a breath of it beforehand.

From Yin Ji's words, Sha Rulai could tell that if she had not wanted to meet him and chosen to reveal herself, he probably would have remained completely in the dark.

In truth, he was still in the dark now.

His Shiniang, dead for so many years, was actually alive.

She had been hiding among the Fox Clan.

And Niu Youdao had been secretly connected with her all along.

Sha Rulai was beginning to realize that whatever Niu Youdao manipulated behind the scenes was always like a mystery.

You could never see how deep it went.

You could never tell where it would end.

Just when you thought you already understood him, you would discover there was still another bank of mist behind what you had seen.

Back during the Tiandu Secret Realm, Sha Rulai had thought he understood Niu Youdao.

What happened?

After secretly establishing contact with him, Sha Rulai thought he understood.

Then Niu Youdao abducted his daughter, and after that the Fox Clan suddenly appeared.

Once Sha Rulai formally joined hands with Niu Youdao, he thought he understood him.

Then he discovered Niu Youdao had already stolen Wuliang Garden behind his back.

After learning about the Wuliang Fruits, Sha Rulai thought he finally understood.

Then his dead mother-in-law suddenly reappeared.

And then there was Wu Chang.

Why had Wu Chang saved Yuan Gang?

A Holy Son?

A damned Holy Son, maybe.

Ordinarily, if someone were asked to risk his life doing things like these, he would refuse unless he understood the reasons clearly.

Yet around Niu Youdao there seemed to be a whole group of people, Sha Rulai included, who knew perfectly well there was danger ahead and still went blindly to risk their lives for him.

That bastard was like an onion.

Peel away one layer, then another, and there was still layer wrapped around layer beneath it.

Sometimes Sha Rulai truly wished he could split the whole thing open with one slash just to see what was actually inside.

...

At the Imperial Academy of Jin, everything seemed to have entered a proper rhythm.

The halls and facilities had been rebuilt and repaired. With the Emperor's support, the court officials' cooperative attitude, and Shao Pingbo personally watching and urging the work forward, everything at the academy was advancing rapidly.

What the academy still lacked was more excellent students, along with more and better teachers.

These were precisely the areas Shao Pingbo focused on most heavily.

He was using the strength of the State of Jin to recruit talented teachers from every corner beneath Heaven.

Although the Imperial Academy had only recently been established, its influence was already beginning to show.

That influence came from the former students of Beizhou who had already entered official service.

The Jin court urgently needed men for government posts. Taishu Xiong also deliberately wanted to test these people, so he appointed them to positions across the occupied territories of the State of Wei.

They did not disappoint him.

Each had his own strengths. Each displayed outstanding ability in office. Their talent for restoring and administering local areas after the war was especially striking, far surpassing the ordinary mediocre officials around them.

Gao Pin, Grand Marshal and supreme commander of the occupied territories, praised them repeatedly and hoped Taishu Xiong could send more capable officials skilled in governing local areas.

It was not that Gao Pin wanted to interfere in civil administration.

This was wartime.

A stable rear area, a rear area whose supply capacity recovered quickly, a rear area whose people settled down rapidly—leaving aside every other benefit, those things alone could free a considerable number of troops for Gao Pin.

Taishu Xiong saw the result and was delighted.

His only regret was that he had too few people of this caliber to satisfy Gao Pin's needs.

For that reason, his expectations for the students now studying at the Imperial Academy grew even higher.

And the fact that those former students could display their abilities so freely was inseparable from Shao Pingbo's influence behind the scenes.

Shao Pingbo had created a relatively tolerant environment for them.

At the very least, no one on the court side would deliberately make trouble for them. When problems did arise, Shao Pingbo would sometimes take the Princess with him to visit a particular minister's residence and intercede on the student's behalf.

After suffering through certain setbacks, those officials had also learned from experience.

They had become smoother in handling some matters.

Back in Beizhou, Shao Pingbo's word had been law. With Shao Pingbo supporting them, there were things those students had never encountered.

After suffering hardship and turmoil in Jin, however, each had grown more mature.

One by one, they had become capable of truly important responsibilities.

The ministers at court were not blind.

They saw how brilliantly these people were performing, noticed the emerging pattern, and gradually understood the Emperor's purpose in establishing the Imperial Academy.

The students at the academy were people the Emperor intended to put to important use in the future.

Gradually, ministers began approaching Shao Pingbo.

They would tell him they had an unpromising son, or perhaps a grandson, and ask Lord Shao to take the boy into the academy and discipline him.

Shao Pingbo was easy to talk to, but he always stated one condition first.

Once someone entered the Imperial Academy, no matter what his background or status, he had to put all of that aside. Shao Pingbo would treat every student equally. Whether they were beaten or scolded would be for him to decide, and the officials asking favors were not to feel distressed afterward.

Naturally, everyone agreed readily.

None believed Shao Pingbo would really go too far.

Once those sons of powerful families entered the academy, however, some of their habits naturally became a headache.

Shao Pingbo saw it and said little.

He simply turned around and, through Taishu Xiong, invited an iron-faced elder of Qiyun Sect to supervise discipline and enforce the academy rules.

That move was ruthless enough.

Spoiled young masters and wastrels were savagely disciplined by the Qiyun Sect elder until they felt half-dead. One by one, they became utterly obedient.

What family background could possibly outweigh Qiyun Sect?

And this was an elder of Qiyun Sect besides.

No matter how much their families ached for them, none dared say much.

"Aah! Aah...!"

Screams rang out one after another.

Three unruly boys had been tied to stone pillars in front of everyone.

Their trousers had been pulled down, and bamboo boards were slamming viciously across their backsides.

The beating split flesh and drew blood.

"We know we were wrong! We know! We won't dare do it again!"

One shouted desperately for mercy.

Another had already been beaten into tears.

The men carrying out the punishment glanced back.

Nearby, an expressionless old man stood with his hands clasped behind his back.

He said in a deep voice, "They only just entered the academy and already dare ignore its rules. Do they take this old man for decoration? There's nothing to discuss. Finish every stroke of the punishment!"

The sharp smacks immediately resumed, as did the agonized screams.

The students gathered nearby to witness the punishment watched with their hearts pounding.

Shao Pingbo observed from a distant pavilion.

He had kept himself entirely outside the matter.

The role of villain had been handed over to that wooden-faced old man.

Shao Sansheng came upstairs, glanced toward the place where the screams were coming from, then moved to Shao Pingbo's side and whispered several words into his ear.

Shao Pingbo immediately turned and went downstairs.

He headed straight for one of the Imperial Academy's storehouses.

Inside, a laborer was unloading supplies meant for the school.

The laborer was Lan Ming in disguise.

The moment he saw Shao Pingbo arrive, Lan Ming dropped what he was holding and snapped irritably, "What is it this time? Why did you call me here again?"

Shao Pingbo asked, "The information you provided says the Wuliang Fruits inside Wuliang Garden were stolen?"

Lan Ming glared at him. "You called me here for that? What the hell does it have to do with you?"

Shao Pingbo's expression was grave. "Have you forgotten what I said before? Niu Youdao was very likely to make a move against the Wuliang Fruits."

Lan Ming stared at him. "Are you sick in the head? How long has Niu Youdao been dead, and you're still thinking about him?"

Shao Pingbo said, "The Wuliang Fruits were stolen. Combined with my earlier judgment, I suspect Niu Youdao never died at all. He may very well have faked his death in order to extricate himself!"

Lan Ming was both angry and amused.

He raised a hand and slapped Shao Pingbo on the shoulder. "You fool. Come, let me teach you one piece of common knowledge about Wuliang Fruits. The Wuliang Fruit tree only flowers and bears fruit again after the existing fruit has been picked. It takes thirty years to flower, another thirty years to set fruit, and another thirty years for the fruit to ripen. The reason this theft was discovered is precisely because the Wuliang Fruit tree flowered. You're supposed to be clever. Do you understand what that means?"

He patted Shao Pingbo twice on the cheek.

Shao Pingbo detested this habit Lan Ming had of treating him with complete disregard and casually laying hands on him.

There was little he could do about it.

Still, suspicion appeared in his eyes. "You mean the Wuliang Fruits were stolen thirty years ago?"

Lan Ming said, "Good. At least you understand that much. Stop thinking about a dead man all day. If you really miss him so badly, find a rope and hang yourself. Then you can go see him."

Shao Pingbo hesitated. "Is there any other way to make a Wuliang Fruit tree flower early?"

Lan Ming laughed. "This is a treasure born of Heaven and Earth, not some vegetable patch where you scatter a little fertilizer and everything grows faster. What kind of dream are you having?"

"Thirty years ago..." Shao Pingbo murmured with a frown.

...

Nanzhou prefectural city remained prosperous.

If anything, it had grown even more prosperous.

Niu Youdao walked alone through narrow alleys far from the bustling districts, using his own eyes to observe how the people at the very bottom lived.

After matters had settled here in Nanzhou prefectural city, he occasionally came out like this.

Sometimes he did not remain inside the city at all. He would take a flying mount to villages farther away.

He might have acted like a hands-off shopkeeper in many matters, and he rarely interfered too much with Shang Chaozong's side, but whenever he had free time, he still made a point of walking around and looking for himself.

He did nothing more than look and chat with local commoners.

As for what purpose lay behind it, only Niu Youdao himself knew.

After making a circuit through the city, he casually bought a few things and carried them back.

His excuse for occasionally going out was always that he was helping Yun Ji buy something.

After all, under his current identity, Wang Xiao was merely one of Yun Ji's subordinate followers.

When he returned to Maolu Annex and reached the entrance, he heard Guan Fangyi's tinkling laughter from inside.

He turned through the gate and immediately came face-to-face with two people.

Guan Fangyi and Shang Shuqing.

Both sides stopped.

Niu Youdao had not expected Shang Shuqing to be here.

Shang Shuqing had not expected to see him either.

She froze and stared directly into his eyes.

That look struck something deep inside her.

When a person suddenly lifted his eyes and had no time to conceal anything, the gaze revealed in that instant was often the truest one.

She knew those eyes too well.

Guan Fangyi's gaze shifted from one person to the other.

"Princess." Niu Youdao inclined himself slightly in greeting.

"Mr. Wang," Shang Shuqing replied softly.

Her voice was still pleasant.

Her bearing was still graceful.

Niu Youdao shot Guan Fangyi a sidelong glance but said nothing more.

He stepped aside and brushed past Shang Shuqing.

What lay within those clear, luminous eyes of hers seemed to pierce straight into his heart.

For an instant, he felt an urge to flee.

Shang Shuqing stood silently facing the doorway for a moment.

Then she suddenly turned.

Stunned, she stared fixedly at the retreating back.

"Princess! Princess!"

The corner of Guan Fangyi's mouth twitched.

Only after calling twice did she finally pull Shang Shuqing back to herself.

[End of Chapter 1358]