Chapter 1413: The Price

As for why he had brought Lü Wushuang out of the Fifth Domain, Yuan Gang naturally explained that as well.

Although the trap had been one of his own making, Niu Youdao still found Lü Wushuang's ghastly condition almost unbelievable.

It made sense, and yet it was still beyond what he had expected.

He did not dwell on how useful the contingency he had left behind had proven, nor did he feel pleased with himself. Instead, he immediately put a hand on Lü Wushuang and examined her, confirming for himself whether her cultivation had truly been destroyed.

Once he had verified it, he looked at Lü Wushuang's ruined appearance and felt a lingering chill. Fortunately, he had not recklessly attacked that pyramid back then. Otherwise, this might have been his own fate—perhaps even worse.

This was Lü Wushuang.

Remembering the first time he had seen her at the entrance to Wuliang Garden, descending with all the splendor of a celestial immortal, Niu Youdao could not help sighing inwardly and shaking his head. The mighty Sacred Venerable Wushuang now had her dantian qi sea destroyed and every scrap of cultivation gone. For a woman like her, perhaps this was even harder to accept than death.

Niu Youdao did not spend much time thinking about the contingency he had left behind, but Lü Wushuang, staring fiercely at him, was consumed by it. So this man before her was the true culprit who had reduced her to this state.

Anger was unmistakable in her hoarse voice. "Niu Youdao? Are you Niu Youdao?"

Niu Youdao merely looked at her with a hint of a smile and did not answer. Instead, he told Yun Ji, "Her injuries really are severe. Give her something good. Use a Heavenly Succor Pill."

Yun Ji nodded. She understood. Lü Wushuang might genuinely still be useful alive.

Lü Wushuang almost roared the question again. "Are you Niu Youdao? Take off that false face!"

She was not stupid. From the conversation among the three of them, she had already picked up clues. On top of that, she had heard Niu Youdao's voice before, and while speaking with Yun Ji and Yuan Gang now, he had made no effort to disguise it.

Precisely because she suspected the man before her was Niu Youdao, Lü Wushuang became unusually agitated and angry.

Wasn't he dead?

Wasn't Niu Youdao already dead? She had seen the corpse with her own eyes.

She suspected him but could not be completely certain. Right now, all she wanted was to tear the false face from his head.

Yun Ji set her down, took out a Heavenly Succor Pill, and prepared to place it in her mouth.

To her surprise, Lü Wushuang shrieked hoarsely, "No!"

Yun Ji said, "You're badly injured. Other spirit medicines would take far too long to restore you. This Heavenly Succor Pill is enough to make you recover much faster. In your condition, even the slightest movement is torture. Don't you want to heal sooner?"

Lü Wushuang had another concern. "Find somewhere quiet and strip away the outer layer first, then use the medicine. Otherwise I'll be left covered in scars."

Strip away the skin?

Niu Youdao and Yuan Gang instinctively turned to stare at her. Was that not basically flaying herself? The two grown men felt their scalps prickle merely hearing it.

Yun Ji was equally startled. "That would be extremely painful."

"I want my original appearance back. I don't want to be left with a body covered in ghostly scars!" Lü Wushuang said. Then she abruptly asked in return, "For a woman, is there anything more painful than becoming ugly?"

Niu Youdao and Yuan Gang looked at one another. Women really could be twisted. For the sake of beauty, there seemed to be no torment they could not endure.

Yun Ji, being a woman herself, understood her better. She nodded slightly. "You probably can't see what you look like right now. Don't worry. There isn't an intact patch of skin left on your body. Your old skin is already ruined, so there's no need to flay anything. Once you take this Heavenly Succor Pill, its medicinal power will have to grow you a new layer of skin anyway. The burned outer layer will naturally slough off. You won't be left with scars."

"You're certain?"

Yun Ji nodded. Not wanting to waste any more time arguing with her, she simply put Lü Wushuang to sleep. Then she forced the Heavenly Succor Pill into her mouth and used spiritual power to accelerate its medicinal effect.

The other two stood silently nearby. Yuan Gang glanced from time to time at Niu Youdao's face. The false mask made his expression unreadable, but the irritation in his eyes was obvious.

Yuan Gang knew what was troubling him. After hesitating several times, he finally ventured, "Master Dao, I think this arm can recover."

Niu Youdao slowly turned to look at him, somewhat surprised. "Recover? You mean a severed arm can grow back?"

Even Yun Ji, crouched on the ground, could not help turning around.

"I didn't know before that even a severed arm could recover," Yuan Gang said. "But I've discovered that the stump is already growing very slowly. I can feel it. It's just so slow you can't see it happening. If I can find somewhere quiet and enter the proper cultivation state, I should be able to speed up the arm's recovery."

Yun Ji stared blankly. This truly did sound like some fantastical tale.

Niu Youdao was surprised, but not overwhelmingly so. He had long since witnessed the extraordinary nature of Yuan Gang's Chi You Wufang.

He stared in silence for a while at the bandaged stump of Yuan Gang's arm. At last he slowly said, "Then we'll find somewhere quiet and let you try."

Much of his anger seemed to subside, and he appeared to regain his composure almost immediately.

"I'll cultivate and restore it after I return to Demon Ridge," Yuan Gang said.

"Return to Demon Ridge?" Niu Youdao's temper seemed to flare again in an instant. "You think you can still go back? Do you think Wu Chang is an idiot? Wu Chang has definitely entered the Fifth Domain by now. He certainly knows what the Scorpion Emperor can do. If we could work out why Lü Wushuang wanted you, how could Wu Chang fail to understand it now? You were taken away in the Qi capital. Do you think Wu Chang can't guess it was Lü Wushuang?"

Yuan Gang replied, "Master Dao, you probably don't intend to let Lü Wushuang go back. Since Wu Chang already knows Lü Wushuang wanted to find the Fifth Domain, if he comes looking for me, I'll simply tell him Lü Wushuang was killed by heavenly lightning when she tried to break open that pyramid. He can verify that!"

Niu Youdao immediately pointed at the missing arm. "You don't want your arm to recover? So many people saw it get cut off. Once it grows back, how are you going to explain that?"

"I'll say it was some miraculous effect of the Fifth Domain. It recovered on its own. He won't be able to investigate it."

"Stupid!" Niu Youdao snapped. "You think he can't investigate that? If I were Wu Chang, the first thing I'd do would be cut your arm off again, throw you into the Fifth Domain, and see how you make it grow back. This isn't one of those flesh wounds you've suffered before. Your entire arm was severed. A regenerative art like this would make who knows how many people covet it. And then it won't just be Wu Chang. All six of the other Sacred Venerables may come after you to find out exactly what's going on. Yuan Se is missing an eye. Something like this would be perfect for him. Stop creating trouble for me!"

"Forget the regenerative art. Even without that, all seven Sacred Venerables know Lü Wushuang wanted to find you, and they will probably all suspect she was the one who took you away. Once Lü Wushuang disappears, it will all but confirm their suspicions. Then every one of the seven will come looking for you and tormenting you over it."

He raised a hand and pointed at Yuan Gang. "I'm warning you. Stop looking for trouble when there isn't any. The best solution now is that Lü Wushuang captured you and, from this point onward, you disappear. You're gone. Lü Wushuang took you away. Nothing needs explaining, and that is the best explanation."

"That way Wu Chang won't trouble you, and he won't trouble Zhao Xiongge either. The seven Sacred Venerables' attention will remain on Lü Wushuang. You're secondary."

"Monkey, listen carefully. Your build is far too conspicuous. The moment you show yourself, people will become suspicious. From now on, you will live quietly under another identity. You'll stay hidden underground and handle intelligence for me. You are not to have contact with anyone outside."

"You brought this on yourself. Don't blame anyone else!"

Yuan Gang did not object. He only asked quietly, "Then what about Feng Guan'er?"

"You still want to bring her with you?" Niu Youdao flew into a rage. "Don't mention that bitch to me again! Right now, she absolutely cannot leave Demon Ridge, and she cannot be allowed to know you're still alive. If you keep digging in your heels with me, do you believe I'll send word to Demon Ridge this instant and have that bitch put to death? From now on, if you dare act recklessly again, I'll kill her immediately and teach you exactly what the word 'price' means!"

This time, he was resorting directly to threats.

Yuan Gang's jaw tightened, but he said nothing. He knew Niu Youdao was absolutely capable of doing it.

Yun Ji sighed from the side. "Monkey, Master Dao isn't speaking in anger. Feng Guan'er really shouldn't leave Demon Ridge right now, and it would be better if she didn't know too much either. There are many of Wu Chang's eyes and ears inside Demon Palace. The slightest sign could easily arouse suspicion. Don't worry. Zhao Xiongge is at Demon Ridge to look after her. Nothing will happen to Feng Guan'er. Once the storm has passed, it won't be too late for her to leave. For now, she'll simply have to endure the inconvenience."

"Let's go!" Niu Youdao had no intention of wasting more words. Once he made a decision, that was that. He tossed out the order for them to pack up and leave.

This was indeed no place to linger. Who knew whether Wu Chang had people searching the area? The group headed straight back to Nanzhou.

...

The Qi capital was now under siege again. Gu Yuanda's rebels had become the defending side, while the Qi and Qin reinforcements had become the attackers.

After two assaults cost them heavy casualties, the reinforcing armies had no choice but to abandon the attack for the moment and switch to encirclement, intending to wait until their main forces arrived.

It was at this time that the Ghost Doctor's party left the Qi capital.

People from the All-Under-Heaven Money House handled communication between the rebels holding the city and the forces surrounding it. With both sides allowing passage, the group slipped cleanly out from between the opposing armies.

Prince Ying Hao Zhen and his three sons came out as well. Wuxin had taken advantage of the opportunity to bring all four of them with him. Only Shao Liuer was missing.

When they parted, Wuxin reassured him, "Your Highness, don't worry. I've confirmed it again. The Princess Consort is unharmed and will return soon."

Hao Zhen gave a bitter smile. She was in Misty Pavilion's hands. It was no longer for him to decide anything. Nor was this the moment to worry about that. He was alone with three children, and keeping those three children safe had to come first.

Even so, he asked, "Sir, are you truly leaving the Qi capital?"

"It has become a place of trouble and contention. We have no choice but to leave." Wuxin looked back toward the distant city, melancholy in his eyes. Once he left, he would probably never return.

That was the price of saving Shao Liuer.

Not far away, the Ghost Doctor watched his foolish disciple and did not know what to say. If the boy truly wanted that woman, why not simply leave these people to fend for themselves and sever her remaining attachments? Was there really any need to save them?

After saying their farewells, Wuxin had the disguised Yan Baoru and Guo Man escort Hao Zhen and the others away. They did not need to take them far. They could simply hand them over to the Qi army outside the city.

Once Yan Baoru and Guo Man returned, the Ghost Doctor's party departed and headed back to Medicine Valley.

...

The great army had halted to rest and regroup.

Hearing the cries of a child, Huyan Wuhen, just back from inspecting the camp, strode quickly into a tent. He personally took the swaddled infant from Third Madam Pei's arms and began soothing her, his face filled with careful, tender affection.

The infant was the daughter of Huyan Wei and Hao Qingqing.

[End of Chapter 1413]