Chapter 1363: An Unexpected Twist upon an Unexpected Twist

When Lan Ming returned to Boundless Pavilion, the guards at the main gate stopped him. They had seen him leave earlier, but with people going in and out under disguises like this, who knew whether something might be wrong? Naturally, he had to be checked.

Leaving was easy enough. Getting back in like this was another matter.

Someone to the side suddenly coughed twice.

The two guards looked over and saw Chief Steward Ban Hai waiting nearby. He tilted his head slightly in signal.

The guards immediately let Lan Ming through. Lan Ming strode inside, and Ban Hai emerged from the side and quickly followed him.

...

The door opened. Two disciples came in, and once it shut behind them, Li Zhengfa, who had been waiting inside, immediately asked, "Anyone who makes contact with him must be watched closely. Did you manage to stay on that person?"

The disciple responsible for surveillance shook his head. "There was no way to keep following him."

Li Zhengfa immediately asked, "Did he leave Boundless Pavilion? Were you able to determine which way he went and send people ahead on flying mounts to establish observation points?"

The disciple shook his head again. "Elder, the person who met the target didn't leave. He went straight into the inner compound behind the trading district."

"What?" Li Zhengfa froze. Stroking his beard, he looked uncertain and slowly said, "So he really is colluding with Misty Pavilion. No wonder he dares hide here. It seems there's a traitor inside Boundless Pavilion's inner compound too."

The disciple quickly added, "Elder, I saw who that traitor was. It was Ban Hai, Chief Steward of Boundless Pavilion!"

Li Zhengfa's eyes widened. "Ban Hai?"

"Yes! I've come through this place before and seen him. It was definitely Ban Hai. After the contact entered the gate to the inner compound, Ban Hai personally appeared to receive him and accompanied him inside."

"What did you say?" Li Zhengfa reacted violently. Beneath his false face, his expression changed completely. "You said Ban Hai personally received him and accompanied him in?"

The disciple nodded. "Yes. There is absolutely no mistake. This disciple saw it with his own eyes."

Li Zhengfa seemed to sense something. He pressed further. "Did you see what Ban Hai's attitude toward that man was like?"

"The two went inside too quickly for us to observe much, and we couldn't get close. But Ban Hai was clearly very polite toward him, following half a step behind..." The disciple trailed off.

He seemed to have realized something himself. His eyes filled with uncertainty and alarm.

Li Zhengfa sucked in a breath and exchanged a look with the disciple who had remained behind. The same uncertainty showed in both men's eyes.

What kind of status did Ban Hai possess?

Inside Boundless Pavilion, he stood below one person and above everyone else.

The mere fact that Ban Hai personally came out to receive someone was enough to draw attention. For him to be so courteous, following close behind the other man besides...

Inside Boundless Pavilion, who could make Ban Hai behave that way?

They scarcely dared continue thinking about the identity of the person who had made contact.

The disciple who had been tailing the man did not yet realize how serious the matter was. He had not shared the same observation angle as the two men here and therefore did not know whom they had seen earlier. Instead, he tried to offer a reminder. "Elder, the person who met him might very well be Lan Ming, Pavilion Master of Boundless Pavilion!"

"Shut up!" Li Zhengfa snapped.

The disciple looked baffled, then noticed his senior brother waving at him, signaling him not to say any more. He immediately closed his mouth.

Li Zhengfa was already pacing anxiously.

Lan Ming?

What kind of identity did Lan Ming possess?

He was the son of Lan Daolin, one of the Nine Saints!

Earlier, Li Zhengfa had merely suspected that the traitor inside Boundless Pavilion had made contact with Zhuge Chi. Now that the traitor might actually be Lan Ming, his head felt ready to split.

Why could it not have been anyone else?

Why did it have to be Lan Ming?

What did that imply?

It implied that Lan Ming might very well have been the one who leaked the news behind Zhuge Chi's escape from the Nine Saints' personal encirclement.

If it truly was Lan Ming, then Lan Ming and Zhuge Chi were colluding!

Li Zhengfa realized that the trouble had become enormous.

Anyone else would have been manageable. But now Lan Ming might be involved. Once the matter came to light, even if Lan Ming was dealt with, would Li Zhengfa's actions not still amount to offending Lan Daolin?

How could Li Zhengfa possibly afford to provoke Lan Daolin?

Even the entire Baichuan Valley put together would not dare!

He had accidentally touched an unimaginably terrifying hidden affair.

A chill ran through Li Zhengfa.

He regretted it.

He regretted it so deeply his intestines seemed green with remorse.

Why had he refused to listen to the Sect Leader?

Why had he involved himself in something like this?

Now he had ridden a tiger and could no longer dismount.

This was no longer a question of whether he could stop in time.

Too many people had been mobilized for this operation. He could not guarantee that Misty Pavilion would never learn about it.

He was terrified of what might happen if he exposed Lan Ming.

Yet if he kept silent and his operation was later discovered, concealing a matter this serious would bring him an equally miserable end.

Only now did he truly understand what it meant to ride a tiger and be unable to dismount.

Deep fear welled up inside him.

"Brush, ink, paper, inkstone!" Li Zhengfa suddenly called.

He intended to draft a secret letter to the Sect Leader personally and ask how the matter should be handled.

...

Back inside his own quarters, Lan Ming ripped the disguise from his face, looking as though his teeth itched with fury.

Ban Hai approached. "Pavilion Master, was there some problem?"

Lan Ming gritted his teeth and lowered his voice. "Do you know who came to see me? Damn it. It was Zhuge Chi!"

"Ah!" Ban Hai was badly startled. "How dare he come here? Has he grown tired of living?"

Lan Ming gave a cold laugh. "It isn't merely that he's tired of living. He probably thinks I'm tired of living too. The bastard actually believes the most dangerous place is the safest and wants to stay here long-term. He even wants me to arrange it for him. That old bastard!"

Ban Hai's heart pounded. "Pavilion Master, you absolutely cannot agree to that. If Misty Pavilion notices, the consequences will be unimaginable!"

Lan Ming lightly tapped the table. "I'm not muddleheaded. How could I possibly agree? But we have no way to drive him out either. In any case, I've already made my refusal clear. Keep watch on him. The moment he leaves, report to me immediately!"

"All right!" Ban Hai hurriedly accepted the order.

...

"What? Lan Ming?"

Inside another room, Yan Zhutian, who had been standing with his hands clasped behind his back, abruptly turned around and stared at the reporting disciple in alarm. "How do you know it was Lan Ming?"

He had never told the people below that the one coming to meet Zhuge Chi was Lan Ming, nor had he told them that Lan Ming was going to meet Zhuge Chi.

How had they found out?

The disciple reported, "I saw Ban Hai..." He then recounted essentially the same circumstances that had been reported on Li Zhengfa's side.

Yan Zhutian fell speechless.

Niu Youdao's intention had been that once Zhuge Chi was exposed as having contact with someone from Boundless Pavilion, Lan Ming would naturally be exposed eventually.

But they had never expected him to be exposed in this manner.

Had they known it would be this easy, they would have planned things differently.

Recovering, Yan Zhutian hurriedly asked, "Did the people on the other side discover it was Lan Ming too?"

The disciple did not know what Yan Zhutian was secretly plotting, but since the Sect Leader had personally come, he knew it could not be a small matter. He replied, "The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it. They're watching the target, while we're watching them. Naturally, they saw what we saw. Ban Hai often appears in the outer trading district to make inspection rounds. Quite a few people should recognize him."

"Ah..." Yan Zhutian shook his head.

Something really had gone wrong.

He found Lan Ming altogether too careless.

Then again, it was understandable. Lan Ming had no idea Zhuge Chi was already under surveillance.

Yan Zhutian had personally come this time precisely to keep control of the situation. Niu Youdao had feared the plan might drift off course or encounter some accident, so he had told Yan Zhutian to take the helm himself and make certain things stayed on track.

Yet plans could not keep pace with change.

An accident had still occurred.

Lan Ming's premature exposure made Yan Zhutian realize that Li Zhengfa's side might no longer dare report the matter upward.

He knew the mentality of these great sects all too well.

Which meant Niu Youdao's plan had encountered an unexpected complication.

...

At Baichuan Valley, Sect Leader Yin Rushu received Li Zhengfa's secret letter.

His face changed drastically.

He nearly collapsed backward into his chair.

Li Zhengfa had actually traced Zhuge Chi's whereabouts?

And he had actually discovered that Lan Ming might be colluding with Zhuge Chi?

The news caught Yin Rushu completely unprepared and frightened him badly.

Lan Daolin's family affairs were not something a so-called great sect like Baichuan Valley could afford to meddle in.

If they interfered, they would effectively be laying hands on Lan Daolin's son!

Fear appeared on Yin Rushu's face first.

Then came overwhelming resentment.

He hated Li Zhengfa bitterly.

If this affair became serious, the lives of Li Zhengfa and his two supervisory disciples might not be enough to settle it.

The entire Baichuan Valley might be exterminated!

Bang!

Yin Rushu slammed a palm onto the table and shot to his feet.

His fury had nowhere to go.

He wanted nothing more than to skin Li Zhengfa alive.

Had he known this would happen, he would rather have died than grant Li Zhengfa authority to proceed.

Now the entire Baichuan Valley had been dragged into a monstrous storm.

But anger was anger.

The real question was what to do now.

What should he do?

What should he do?

Yin Rushu genuinely had no idea how to bring matters to a proper end.

At this point, he did not even dare summon the other elders to discuss it.

...

Deep in the quiet courtyard of a borrowed mansion, fallen leaves drifted beneath a large tree.

A Go board stood between Niu Youdao and Hai Wuji as the two sat facing one another, taking turns placing stones.

Naturally, Niu Youdao was not showing his true face.

As they chatted casually, Niu Youdao suddenly teased, "I hear Your Majesty has become quite skilled at making flatbread."

Hai Wuji did not know whether to laugh or cry. "Wasn't that arranged by your people? If I don't learn to look the part, how am I supposed to conceal myself? Surely Sir doesn't want to sample my craft?"

Niu Youdao chuckled. "Which is more carefree, selling flatbread or being Emperor?"

The stone in Hai Wuji's fingers suddenly paused.

He fell silent.

Only after a while did he slowly place it on the board. "Carefree? Who in this world is truly carefree? Is Sir?"

Niu Youdao said, "It seems Your Majesty still cannot let go of your former state."

Hai Wuji said, "My state was destroyed and my family wronged. As long as I still live, how could I forget?"

Just then, Yun Ji arrived and bent close to murmur something beside Niu Youdao.

Niu Youdao drew the stone he had been about to play back into his palm and narrowed his eyes. "Now this truly is an unexpected twist upon an unexpected twist. Young Master Lan is altogether too arrogant. A useless fool. No wonder he keeps causing problems."

Yun Ji said, "From our observations, the people from Baichuan Valley seem afraid to act now. They're asking what to do."

Niu Youdao gave a soft laugh and lowered his gaze to the board. "Once they're on the board, it isn't up to them anymore. Send word over. Prepare for an early withdrawal. Before leaving, make one or two of Baichuan Valley's people disappear. Let Baichuan Valley know the matter may already have been exposed. Strike the mountain to frighten the tiger. Give them a scare. I want to see whether Baichuan Valley still dares conceal the matter and refuse to report it!"

With Yan Zhutian's cultivation and strength, making one or two of Baichuan Valley's people disappear around Boundless Pavilion would not be difficult at all.

[End of Chapter 1363]