Chapter 1434: Master Dao, Let’s Do It This Way!

Once he had roughly reconstructed the causes and consequences, Niu Youdao shook his head inwardly.

If his deductions were correct, Prince Ning and his people had truly been ruthless.

To protect the secret, they had actually been prepared to sacrifice everyone in that hidden village. Most of the people living there in seclusion had been Prince Ning’s trusted former subordinates. Even Meng Shanming had been among them before.

They had been prepared to sacrifice Meng Shanming along with everyone else.

Then again, precisely because of that, if the village were ever discovered, outsiders would be more easily convinced that it truly was Prince Ning’s deepest secret. Suspicion would end there, allowing the real truth to remain hidden more securely.

Meng Shanming might be formidable at commanding armies, but no matter how formidable he was, he could not compare with the power of a hundred thousand Crow Generals. Even if Meng Shanming led a vast host of thousands upon thousands against them, he would still be swept aside.

Once the matter was weighed in terms of what was more important, Prince Ning’s decision was not difficult to understand.

For the sake of this secret, Prince Ning had even sacrificed his own biological daughter.

That ghostly face of hers!

“Let’s go back.” Coming out of his thoughts, Niu Youdao gave a soft sigh.

The three left the kitchen.

Over the days that followed, Guan Fangyi kept an almost constant eye on Niu Youdao.

Everyone had curiosity, especially when maps and hidden treasures were involved. Guan Fangyi was certain that after obtaining such a map, Niu Youdao would eventually go searching for whatever it concealed. She fully intended to cling to him and go along for the spectacle.

The reality disappointed her somewhat.

Niu Youdao remained calmly in place, showing no intention of leaving.

What she did not know was that Niu Youdao very much wanted to go confirm the location marked on the map. The present circumstances simply made it inconvenient for him to leave.

If what Lü Wushuang had said was true, the consequences were grave.

Responding to the looming crisis was far more important. For now, the most urgent matter was confirming what the Six Sacred Venerables were doing.

...

Medicine Valley.

The one-eyed Consort Yuan arrived and entered a medicine room filled with medicinal scents, where the Ghost Doctor and his disciples were busy with bottles and jars.

The Ghost Doctor glanced over, froze for a moment, then put down what he was doing and cupped his hands. “Consort Yuan honors this place with her presence. Forgive this old man for failing to welcome you.”

Wuxin, standing nearby, bowed as well.

Consort Yuan forced herself to show a faint smile. “I came without warning and disturbed Sir Hei Li.”

The Ghost Doctor said, “No disturbance at all. For Consort Yuan to honor us personally, I imagine the Sacred Venerable has some instruction. This old man is listening.”

Consort Yuan waved a hand and smiled. “Sir is overthinking it. I came only to ask something. Did Sir not say you would find a suitable eye for transplantation for me? Yet I hear you have remained inside Medicine Valley all this time... It seems Sir has no intention of going out to search on my behalf.”

“Not so.” The Ghost Doctor shook his head and picked up one medicinal jar to show her. “When I searched for a suitable match for the Sacred Venerable last time, I nearly exhausted all my prepared medicines. This old man is currently preparing a large quantity for the journey. Consort Yuan knows as well as anyone that a suitable eyeball cannot simply be found on command. If I leave without preparing enough medicine, I may travel only a short while before having to come all the way back.”

“So that’s how it is.” Consort Yuan nodded repeatedly.

She had no idea whether he was telling the truth, but she no longer dared offend him and could only remain courteous. Even so, she could not help saying, “Sir should still proceed as quickly as possible. If there is anything you need, simply ask.”

The Ghost Doctor said, “This cannot be hurried. We can only proceed step by step. There is one way to make it fast, but neither you nor I can decide it.”

Consort Yuan feared he was deliberately stalling. She immediately asked, “If there is a way to speed things up, please say it. Perhaps I can help.”

The Ghost Doctor set down the jar. “Put simply, no matter how suitable another person’s eye may be, it is still someone else’s. Put another person’s eye into your body and there will always be some degree of incompatibility. The only truly perfect match is your own eye. Ask the Sacred Venerable whether he is willing to give that eye back to you. If he agrees, then every problem disappears and you can recover completely, exactly as before.”

Consort Yuan had nothing to say.

...

Several days after the matter in the kitchen, Yuan Gang entered the secret chamber with a grave expression and placed two confidential letters together on Niu Youdao’s desk.

“Sha Rulai replied. There’s also a letter from the Demon Fox Clan. He forwarded both together.”

Niu Youdao noticed Yuan Gang’s expression, picked up the letters, and began reading. The first was from Yin Ji of the Demon Fox Clan.

Yin Ji reported that, according to the arrangements made here, she had invited the five Sacred Venerables other than Luo Qiu to meet her.

Yet not one of the five had appeared even now.

She was asking what she should do next.

Niu Youdao was not particularly surprised by the result. The moment the Holy Rakshasa suddenly left the Butterfly Dream Illusory Realm and entered the mortal world, he had known an unexpected complication had appeared.

The Holy Rakshasa’s emergence had collided with his original plan and might disrupt it.

Now it seemed that was exactly what had happened.

He set the letter aside. “Reply to her. Tell her I understand. Have her suspend the meetings with the five Sacred Venerables and wait for my instructions.”

Yuan Gang gave a quiet acknowledgment but kept staring at him.

Niu Youdao’s gaze shifted to the second letter. His brows gradually drew together.

Sha Rulai reported that, as of the time he sent the message, Luo Qiu had not returned to the Sacred Realm.

The people at the entrance to the Sacred Realm had likewise seen no sign of the other Sacred Venerables returning.

Daluo Sacred Land had, however, received a message from Luo Qiu. Luo Qiu said he would not return for the time being and ordered every disciple of Daluo Sacred Land to continue carrying out their duties. If anything important arose, they were to send an urgent message to him.

Luo Qiu had also transferred a number of people out from Daluo Sacred Land.

According to reports from the entrance to the Sacred Realm, the other Sacred Venerables had likewise called personnel out of the Sacred Realm.

There was no doubt now.

The Six Sacred Venerables were still in the mortal world.

Yet Sha Rulai had no idea where Luo Qiu was. Apparently even the other members of Daluo Sacred Land did not know. Luo Qiu had merely instructed them to contact him by message if something happened.

Niu Youdao put down the letter and remained silent for a long time.

At last he asked, “Have our eyes and ears in the various regions sent back anything about the Six Sacred Venerables?”

Yuan Gang replied, “Nothing. Xi Haitang’s reply also says that after the incident in that small town, the Six Sacred Venerables disappeared. He doesn’t know where they went. The information available to him is limited. He assumed they had returned to the Sacred Realm.”

Niu Youdao frowned in thought. “The Six Sacred Venerables are enormous targets. Wherever they go, there should be an earth-shaking commotion. Their movements cannot possibly be small. If they are active in the mortal world, there is no reason our eyes and ears everywhere would hear absolutely nothing.”

“Even major powers such as Myriad Beasts Sect, Zijin Cave, Ling Sect, and Tianxing Sect have heard no rumors. That is very abnormal.”

He paused, eyes narrowing. “Which leaves only one possibility.”

Yuan Gang nodded. “They’re no longer acting openly. They’ve gone covert.”

Niu Youdao inclined his head. “Exactly. I was only discussing this with someone before: the Six Sacred Venerables stood in the light while we hid in the dark. That was our advantage. Who would have thought they would suddenly pull a move like this?”

“This is troublesome. Not many cultivators beneath Heaven have actually seen the Six Sacred Venerables. Aside from someone like Yuan Se, whose build is unusually distinctive, if the others deliberately conceal their identities, it will be difficult for anyone to recognize them even if they travel everywhere.”

“They could probably walk all the way into Nanzhou’s prefectural city and stand right outside our gate without anyone realizing who they were.”

Yuan Gang hesitated. “Master Dao...”

Niu Youdao raised his eyes. “Since when did you start hemming and hawing too?”

Yuan Gang said, “It seems Lü Wushuang was telling the truth. The Six Sacred Venerables really did abandon their positions in the Sacred Realm and personally enter the mortal world to take command.”

Niu Youdao fell silent.

How could he not understand what that meant?

If Lü Wushuang’s warning was correct, then their earlier actions really might have exposed a large number of flaws.

Once the Six Sacred Venerables acted specifically against those weaknesses, the consequences could be disastrous.

Even if Niu Youdao’s inner circle could escape now, what about everyone else?

The whole of Nanzhou might run red with blood.

Judging from Lü Wushuang’s attitude, she seemed to know how to resolve this crisis.

That was not difficult to understand either. She knew the other Six Sacred Venerables. She had stood opposed to them for so many years. Naturally, she possessed experience in dealing with them.

But Lü Wushuang’s meaning was equally clear.

She had already made plain what she wanted.

If they wanted her help, they had to show some “sincerity.”

They could refuse to ask for her help and solve the problem themselves.

But they did not even know where the flaws were or where the heart of the problem lay. They were effectively blind. How were they supposed to respond when they did not even know where to begin?

Niu Youdao did not know how to discuss this with Yuan Gang.

Truthfully, that conversation with Lü Wushuang a few days earlier had persuaded him more than he cared to admit.

Were Monkey and Feng Guan’er truly suited to one another?

From the standpoint of what would be best for Monkey, he really could not find anyone more suitable than Lü Wushuang.

He had to admit that Lü Wushuang saw the situation clearly. Her words might have been unpleasant, but they contained real reason.

And the marriage could also resolve the enormous crisis now hanging over everyone’s heads.

Yet Niu Youdao had his own bottom line.

There were things one did, and things one did not do.

If this concerned someone else, he might already have pushed the matter forward without hesitation.

But to offer Monkey up as part of a bargain in something like this?

How could he bring himself to say it?

“Since I gave her my word, there’s nothing wrong with me honoring it and marrying her. I should do it.”

Yuan Gang suddenly spoke.

Niu Youdao’s five fingers slowly crushed the letter in his hand into a ball. “You need to think this through.”

Yuan Gang said woodenly, “I’m a grown man. If anyone’s getting the better end of it, it’s me. I’m not losing anything.”

Niu Youdao said, “What exactly are you getting the better end of? You think a man comes out ahead just because he rolls around in bed with a woman?”

He stared at Yuan Gang. “Neither you nor I are petty little commoners who measure everything that way. Don’t spout that self-satisfied male bullshit in front of me. This idea that the man must have gained something while the woman suffered some enormous loss just because they slept together is nonsense.”

Yuan Gang said, “You don’t have a solution right now either. Otherwise you would have dealt with this already instead of waiting until now.”

Niu Youdao fell silent for a moment, then said, “I underestimated her. Only after dealing with her directly did I understand that someone like Lü Wushuang has already seen too much of the world for ordinary methods to work.”

“She has no real attachments. She simply faces reality. There is almost no vulnerable point on her body that can be exploited. Family, friendship, master-disciple bonds, old grudges, favors—none of it works on her.”

“Even when it comes to interests, she knows very clearly what she wants and what she can obtain. The methods that work against other people are useless against her.”

“I’ve spent a long time considering her and everything around her, and for the moment I truly don’t know where to strike. As things stand, we may only be able to torture her and see what happens. If we can slowly understand her better, there may still be some way to deal with her.”

Yuan Gang said, “If she refuses to speak no matter what, and if what she said is true, then we really don’t have much time left. Will there be enough?”

He looked directly at Niu Youdao. “Master Dao, you already know the best solution in your heart. You simply don’t want to use it on me.”

Niu Youdao asked, “Are you willing?”

Yuan Gang replied, “If it can prevent so many people in Nanzhou from dying, then of course I’m genuinely willing. I won’t feel forced.”

Niu Youdao said, “Even if you save all those lives, those people won’t remember the favor. They may even think, just as you said, that you were the one who came out ahead.”

“That woman is not simple. Once you marry her, you will have put a bridle on yourself. Think it over carefully again. It isn’t as though we have no retreat at all.”

Yuan Gang knew what he meant by a retreat.

It was nothing more than choosing between preserving a small group of people and preserving the greater number.

Without hesitation, Yuan Gang said, “Master Dao, let’s do it this way.”

Then he turned and left.

Niu Youdao leaned slowly back into his chair, his eyes flickering.

[End of Chapter 1434]