Chapter 1366: Strange Incidents Keep Erupting

Leave?

Of course they had to leave.

The moment Yan Zhan confessed, Lan Ming knew he had no choice but to flee unless he wanted to gamble with his own life. Yet he could not accept it. In one sudden turn, he had been reduced to a homeless cur. He would no longer be the lofty Pavilion Master of Boundless Pavilion. Who beneath Heaven would still fear him?

All the authority and prestige he had once enjoyed would be gone. From now on, he would have to skulk in the shadows and cling to life in secret. How could he willingly accept that?

Willing or not, he still had to leave. He could imagine perfectly well what sort of torment awaited him if he stayed.

The two men quickly prepared to escape. Naturally, anything valuable they could carry away went with them.

Lan Ming gathered his wealth and valuables, while Ban Hai took several messenger Goldenwings used for confidential communications. Finally, the two mounted a flying beast and left directly.

Before their departure, someone in the pavilion compound asked where they were going.

Lan Ming said they were heading to the Sacred Realm.

No one dared stop them.

...

Inside the secret chamber of Maolu Annex, Niu Youdao, who had only recently returned, sat behind the desk turning the Stellar Command Token over in his hands. He was studying it to see whether it concealed any other mysteries.

Yun Ji came into the room and placed a secret letter on the desk before him. "Word came back from Boundless Pavilion. Everything went smoothly. Our people withdrew safely."

Niu Youdao gave a soft "Oh." Still toying with the Stellar Command Token in one hand, he reached out with the other and picked up the letter. After reading it, he smiled faintly. "The direction of events was controlled well. It wasn't a waste asking him to handle it personally. There shouldn't be any problem now. Lan Ming has no choice but to run."

The man he was praising was Yan Zhutian.

The letter described exactly how one or two Baichuan Valley disciples had been made to disappear, including the details of capturing Yan Zhan and placing him inside the chest.

None of that had been part of the original plan. It had all been improvisation.

Some plans could only establish a general direction. No one could predict exactly what would happen on the ground, so the people carrying them out had to respond according to circumstances.

Yan Zhutian had reported the details precisely because the matter was so serious. The person controlling the overall game needed to know what had happened so that no contradiction or loophole emerged. Sometimes a tiny error could prove fatal. There was no room for carelessness. If something truly did go wrong, Niu Youdao could only repair it in time if he already knew the facts.

The outcome satisfied Niu Youdao greatly.

Then again, it was also what he had expected. From the moment he asked Yan Zhutian to handle the matter, he had possessed confidence in him. A dignified Sect Leader of Ling Sect ought to have enough practical ability to manage something this small.

It was precisely because the matter was important that Niu Youdao had asked Yan Zhutian to act personally, ensuring nothing went wrong. Otherwise, there would have been no need for the Sect Leader of Ling Sect to personally operate such a scheme.

And, of course, there was also the need for secrecy.

One matter still puzzled Yun Ji. "Lan Ming must control a number of Misty Pavilion's covert agents. Why not keep him under your own control instead of handing him over to Shao Pingbo?"

Niu Youdao tossed the letter back onto the table and chuckled. "That's thinking too small. One man can't eat all the meat himself. Shao Pingbo needs something to chew on too. Since we've joined hands to cooperate, digging away the foundation under an ally's wall would be rather improper."

Yun Ji could not help rolling her eyes.

The two sides had been undermining each other from the very beginning. As if she would believe that explanation.

Seeing her expression, Niu Youdao explained further. "You can't judge the larger situation by counting every small gain and loss. Shao Pingbo is only obediently playing schoolteacher because circumstances forced him into it. He doesn't have enough strength in his own hands. With Lan Ming secretly assisting him, a man of Shao Pingbo's ability can accomplish quite a few things."

Yun Ji said, "You're not afraid he'll seize the chance to rise again and threaten you? That man is no harmless character. You should know that better than I do."

"Precisely because I'm afraid he'll slip beyond control, afraid he'll start working some scheme of his own, I need to lock his position down from the larger direction." Niu Youdao smiled faintly. "What is Lan Ming's situation now? Once Shao Pingbo shelters a man who's colluding against the Nine Saints, Shao Pingbo will have no road of retreat. He'll only be able to stand against the Nine Saints."

Understanding dawned on Yun Ji.

So this move was meant to force Shao Pingbo to choose his side completely.

Niu Youdao turned the Stellar Command Token in his fingers and narrowed his eyes slightly. "Whether Wei is destroyed, whether Qi is destroyed, whether Jin ultimately succeeds in unifying the three western states or not, once Shao Pingbo has real power in his hands, he will never remain merely a schoolteacher. The people in Jin may not be his match... In fact, I rather hope he can gain control over the situation in Jin."

Yun Ji gave him a sidelong look.

Now she understood at least part of the man's deeper, rather sinister intention.

Since returning from the Sacred Realm, his confidence was different, and so was the scale on which he viewed things. There was already something in him that looked down upon all beneath Heaven from above.

Niu Youdao drew back from his thoughts, rose, and began pacing the room. "Lan Ming has no road left now. We can proceed to the next step. It's time to force him to hand over a few things."

Naturally, Yun Ji asked, "What things?"

"The death of Hong Yunfa, and the men who were sent to warn Zhuge Chi. There must have been handlers above Lan Ming behind both operations. Make Lan Ming hand over the people above him in those two chains."

Yun Ji looked puzzled. "What do you want them for?"

Niu Youdao stopped and turned toward her. "The Nine Saints are pressing hard. The supervisory personnel from the various sects are desperate, and so are the sects behind them. I already said we need to help our own people produce results so they can pass this ordeal. And we can't let the Nine Saints settle this affair too easily either. When the opportunity comes, we'll throw out those clues and nail Lan Ming's crimes down beyond dispute. Best of all would be to make the Sacred Realm suspect that the loss of the Wuliang Fruits is connected to Lan Daolin. I want to see how Lan Daolin handles that."

Yun Ji stared at him strangely, speechless for a moment.

What kind of person was this?

One move after another, ring linked to ring.

She finally sighed. "Didn't you already work on Wu Chang's side and steer the Wuliang Fruit affair toward Lü Wushuang? Now you're steering it toward Lan Daolin too. Don't those two directions contradict each other?"

Niu Youdao resumed pacing. "Steering Wu Chang toward Lü Wushuang was to get Zhao Xiongge out of danger, and also to get ourselves out of danger so Wu Chang wouldn't keep staring at us without letting go. Don't worry. For the moment, Wu Chang won't move directly against Lü Wushuang. The less reaction Wu Chang shows toward her, the safer our side is where Wu Chang is concerned."

"Why?"

Niu Youdao did not explain this part.

It involved the Demon Canon, and there was no reason to reveal more than necessary. Wu Chang could not expose the Demon Canon, which meant he could not produce evidence and openly accuse Lü Wushuang without also explaining how he knew what he knew.

So Niu Youdao only gave Yun Ji one answer.

"Just watch."

...

At Tiandu Peak, inside Misty Pavilion, Right Envoy Yue Guangming hurried into the main hall and presented Huo Kong with a secret report. "Presiding Administrator, a report came from Baichuan Valley. Li Zhengfa and his people have made a move."

Huo Kong accepted the report. After reading the details, uncertainty appeared on his face. "They mobilized more than a hundred Baichuan Valley disciples around Boundless Pavilion. What are they trying to do?"

Yue Guangming shook his head. "Li Zhengfa seems to be keeping the matter under strict secrecy. We only know they're pursuing someone. Even our people over there don't know the specific circumstances."

Huo Kong was silent for a moment, then finally sighed. "I only hope they don't stir up another disaster."

His face was full of worry.

There had simply been too many vexing matters lately.

First came the Zhuge Chi affair. Huo Kong was still stationed here personally overseeing that investigation. Then an even greater catastrophe erupted inside the Sacred Realm: the Wuliang Fruits had actually been stolen. Every rustle now sounded like alarm, and everyone was being investigated.

It was easy to imagine that Misty Pavilion would be next.

The sect supervisors, whose entire purpose was to pick faults inside Misty Pavilion, had always been eager to cause trouble. Once the Zhuge Chi affair broke out, the knife had been placed at their own necks as well, driving them nearly mad with desperation. Now Li Zhengfa was mobilizing men on this scale. How could Huo Kong not worry?

Yue Guangming reminded him, "Presiding Administrator, the supervisors exist precisely to investigate Misty Pavilion internally. With them making this kind of move now, I'm afraid it has something to do with Misty Pavilion itself."

Huo Kong turned and asked sharply, "Then what would you have me do? There are so many holes now I don't even know which one to plug first. The people above only demand results. They simply believe we should handle everything properly and don't care how much trouble is involved. Can I order the supervisors to stop investigating?"

Yue Guangming could not help muttering, "What is happening with the Sacred Venerables? Couldn't these things come one at a time? With so many affairs exploding simultaneously, no amount of manpower can keep running in every direction forever."

Huo Kong said, "You think the Sacred Venerables wanted it this way? Which of the matters before us can be ignored? Can Zhuge Chi's affair go uninvestigated? Can the theft of the Wuliang Fruits go uninvestigated?"

Yue Guangming quickly corrected himself. "That isn't entirely what this subordinate meant. I only find it strange that everything happened at once, and all of it erupted during the Sacred Venerables' rectification of Misty Pavilion. Everyone is being thrown into chaos. I keep feeling that something about it isn't right. Could someone be manipulating things from behind the scenes?"

Huo Kong said nothing.

In truth, he felt the same way.

Ever since the rectification of Misty Pavilion began, strange incidents had kept erupting. First Hong Yunfa died under suspicious circumstances. Then Niu Youdao, one of the supervisors, was assassinated. From there, matters had only grown larger and larger until everyone was nearly driven insane.

It had become difficult not to suspect that something was wrong.

"Winning all beneath Heaven is easy; holding it is hard..." After a long silence, Huo Kong suddenly let out an inexplicable sigh. "I only hope nothing else happens. If everything collapses into complete chaos, there truly won't be any way to handle it."

...

Beneath a canyon shrouded in cloud and mist, sunlight never reached the ground. The place remained dim and gloomy all day long.

From time to time, people furtively poked their heads out from hiding to inspect the surroundings.

Ye Nian sat on a rock, despondency filling both his face and his heart.

Some things seemed reasonable before they were done.

Only after doing them did one discover they were not what one had imagined.

At first, the group from Wuliang Garden had all thought pretending to pursue the people of Ice and Snow Sacred Land was a workable plan. But after fleeing, they gradually came back to their senses and began to worry.

Did they think the Nine Saints were fools?

Could a trick like this really fool them?

Now that they had taken this step, none could turn back.

The longer they remained away, the less they dared return.

Some of them did not care much. They had already been inside Wuliang Garden thirty years ago. Even if they had stayed, they feared they would be implicated anyway. Since either road was dangerous, they might as well hide and survive for as long as they could.

Ye Nian was different.

He regretted it.

Yet he no longer dared turn back either.

Now the entire group spent every day hiding from place to place. They lacked food and basic necessities, had no further supply of cultivation resources, and lived in constant fear and anxiety.

...

At Wuxu Sacred Land, Du Wuxu stood with his hands clasped behind his back on the cliff outside Wuxu Sacred Hall. His mood was already irritable. Ye Nian's disappearance had left anger simmering in his belly as well.

His disciple Si Shaodong hurried over from behind, presented a secret letter with both hands, and reported, "Master, an urgent report from Baichuan Valley's supervisory personnel. They've found Zhuge Chi!"

Du Wuxu spun around. Sharp light burst from his eyes. "Where?"

"He's hiding in Boundless Pavilion!"

[End of Chapter 1366]