Chapter 1445: Wu Chang May Yet Be Put to Use

Inside the secret chamber of Maolu Annex, Niu Youdao reclined in a chair as he leafed through intelligence reports. His gaze paused, and he could not help murmuring, “The most beautiful woman under Heaven?”

At the side, Guan Fangyi curled her lip, seeming disdainful.

Yun Ji and Lü Wushuang instinctively glanced at her. Both knew that Guan Fangyi herself had once been called the most beautiful woman under Heaven. The difference was that Aque now had the golden word of an emperor behind the title. Guan Fangyi, in her day, had dealt with people from all three teachings and nine walks of life, while Aque seemed to encounter one emperor after another. Whether there was much difference between the two was hard to say.

“Three emperors...” Niu Youdao muttered to himself, then looked up. “Has any of you seen this Aque? Is she truly a peerless beauty?”

No one answered, because none of them had seen her. Yun Ji had never had an opportunity to encounter her before. As for Lü Wushuang, in the past she would never even have bothered to notice someone like Aque.

Guan Fangyi said blandly, “If you’re curious, go take a look. With your abilities, how difficult could it be to see her once?”

Niu Youdao replied casually, “I am rather curious. I truly would like to see what sort of beauty could captivate three emperors.”

It was not only him. Even Yun Ji and Lü Wushuang were somewhat curious now. This was the first time they had heard of a woman possessing such charm.

Guan Fangyi said, “Only take a look? I don’t see the need. You might as well bring her back and make her your woman. That shouldn’t be difficult for you either.”

At last Niu Youdao heard the jealousy in her voice. He looked up at her and suddenly said with complete seriousness, “In my heart, you are the true most beautiful woman under Heaven.”

Why did that sound so insincere? Yun Ji hid a smile behind pursed lips, and Lü Wushuang smiled as well.

Guan Fangyi rolled her eyes. “Spare me! I’m an old woman whose beauty has long faded. If I still call myself some great beauty, people will laugh their teeth out. I don’t mean anything else. I pity that Aque. You men have gone and judged her the most beautiful woman under Heaven. Other women may envy her, but for the woman herself, can that really be a good thing?”

Niu Youdao pretended not to hear. He turned another page and found a message Gao Jiancheng had sent under the name “Anonymous.” After reading it carefully, he learned that Gao Jiancheng had already settled the Yan court and resolved the immediate danger facing Shang Chaozong. Niu Youdao could not help nodding slightly.

He had to admit that, at times, one Gao Jiancheng was worth an army of thousands. At the very least, he had just prevented losses among Nanzhou’s troops and could be said to have saved many lives.

“The Prince has probably been on edge this whole time. Hongniang, go tell him that the imperial court will not send troops.” Niu Youdao kept his eyes on the report as he spoke.

Guan Fangyi gave a faintly disgruntled hum and turned away.

Niu Youdao continued reading the intelligence. Some of what he saw made him shake his head slightly. He had been seeing a great deal of this sort of thing lately and found the struggles among the various states rather interesting.

Qin had simply vanished like that. Thinking of Zhuang Hong and her son fleeing for their lives, Niu Youdao could not help feeling emotional. Glory, wealth, rank, and honor truly were as fleeting as a dream.

After he finally put down the reports, Lü Wushuang spoke, sounding tentative. “You have contact with the Demon Fox Clan in the Sacred Realm?”

The question did not come from nowhere. Now that she was working beside Yuan Gang, she had access to confidential intelligence and had discovered that this side maintained contact with the Demon Fox Clan.

The Demon Fox Clan did not trust outsiders easily. The Nine Saints had spent years trying every possible method to plant people inside the clan and had never succeeded. That alone showed how difficult it was. Naturally, Lü Wushuang was surprised to discover that Niu Youdao’s side maintained secret contact with them.

The five fingers of Niu Youdao’s hand resting on the table rose and fell lightly against the surface. He watched her and slowly said, “Luo Qiu’s wife, Yin Ji, is not dead.”

“What?” Lü Wushuang stared at him in surprise, unable to understand why he had suddenly given such a seemingly irrelevant answer.

Niu Youdao said, “Yin Ji was actually the Clan Chief of the Demon Fox Clan.”

“What?” Lü Wushuang could no longer remain seated. She stood in shock, uncertainty flickering in her eyes as disbelief filled her face.

She could not know whether he was telling the truth, but in the present circumstances, there was little reason for him to invent something like this merely to deceive her. Precisely because of that, she was shocked.

The Nine Saints had spent so much effort trying to exterminate the Demon Fox Clan without success. After all those years of trouble, the clan’s chief, Yin Ji, had actually been Luo Qiu’s wife?

Once she recovered, she asked, “Was Luo Qiu helping the Demon Fox Clan all along?”

Yun Ji looked surprised as well. She knew Niu Youdao had connections with the Demon Fox Clan, but she had never understood the relationship behind them. This was the first time she too had heard such inside information.

Niu Youdao shook his head. “Luo Qiu didn’t know at first. When he found out, he was furious as well. Afraid she would implicate him, he tried to silence her and forced Yin Ji to gouge out one of her vertical eyes. He never expected the Demon Fox Clan to find a way to preserve her life, though she was left like the living dead. Yin Ji remained asleep for years. Only after I obtained the Wuliang Fruit was I able to revive her.”

Lü Wushuang silently digested all of this, then slowly sat down again. Something seemed to occur to her. She stared at Niu Youdao. “Why would the Demon Fox Clan trust you? Yin Ji is connected to Shang Song. The Holy Rakshasa is connected to Shang Song. The Fifth Domain is connected to Shang Song too, and then there is the Demon Canon in the Demonic Sect’s hands. Niu... Master Dao, you’re connected to all of these. Don’t tell me you have some connection to Shang Song as well?”

Niu Youdao smiled. Sacred Venerable Wushuang was still Sacred Venerable Wushuang. Her reactions were quick, and she had seized the key point at once.

He neither admitted nor denied it. “I told you this because I want your opinion. Now that all Six Sacred Venerables have gone into the mortal world to take command and the Sacred Realm is empty, what would happen if I had Yin Ji and the others stir up trouble there?”

Lü Wushuang thought it over, then countered, “Would killing a few small fry accomplish anything? It is far too easy for the Six Sacred Venerables to enter and leave the Sacred Realm without anyone noticing. If you do that, you may easily outsmart yourself and send Yin Ji straight into their hands. Yin Ji is strong, but she is no match for the Six Sacred Venerables. If she runs into any one of them, she will be walking into a trap and will not escape. I advise against it. It is too dangerous.”

Niu Youdao nodded slightly. He had worried about the same thing before. Now that Lü Wushuang had confirmed it, he had no choice but to abandon the idea.

Put plainly, after everything had reached this point, the root of the problem lay with the Six Sacred Venerables. So long as they remained standing, however much destruction was caused below them, they could eventually rebuild the structure.

Lü Wushuang added for emphasis, “The moment Yin Ji dares show herself and make trouble, the Six Sacred Venerables will certainly set a trap for her.”

Niu Youdao hesitated. “The Six Sacred Venerables already know Yin Ji is alive.”

“They all know? Then how do I not know?” Lü Wushuang stared at him in astonishment. She had not been in their hands long and could not understand why everyone else apparently knew something she did not.

“It happened not long ago. I had Yin Ji contact them...” Niu Youdao explained how Yin Ji had sent separate letters arranging meetings, only for the appearance of the Holy Rakshasa to disrupt the plan.

So that was it. Lü Wushuang understood. She slowly nodded. “You wanted to create internal strife among the Six Sacred Venerables?”

“I had no choice. I cannot let the Six Sacred Venerables keep investigating the Wuliang Fruit. If they do, some people are bound to be exposed. Gong Lince is involved, which means Zijin Cave is involved. Unless we are absolutely forced into it, Gong Lince cannot be exposed.”

Lü Wushuang understood what he meant. If Zijin Cave were exposed, the forces beneath it, including Nanzhou, would probably face catastrophe. He wanted to preserve Nanzhou’s faction.

At the thought, she sighed. “I truly don’t know what you were thinking. Even a rabbit knows not to eat the grass beside its burrow. Why didn’t you know to avoid suspicion? Of all the people you could have given the Wuliang Fruit to, why Gong Lince? If Gong Lince is exposed, Nanzhou truly will not escape. The Six Sacred Venerables will certainly uproot the very ground that sheltered him.”

Niu Youdao said, “Circumstances were different then. At the time, I didn’t think anything would happen. Who could have known the Wuliang Fruit trees would flower ahead of schedule? Man’s calculations cannot outmatch Heaven’s.”

Lü Wushuang fell silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, “The Holy Rakshasa killed Mu Lianze and Zhangsun Mi, and the Holy Rakshasa listens to you. Why don’t you use her to set traps and eliminate the Six Sacred Venerables one by one?”

“You think I don’t want to? The problem is that the moment the Holy Rakshasa reveals her true form, she immediately forgets everything from when she was human. No one can control her. She recognizes neither kin nor friend, and she would not spare even me. Also, I saw her fight them inside the Butterfly Dream Illusory Realm. One-on-one, they would have difficulty defeating her. But if they chose to flee, the Holy Rakshasa might not be able to do anything to them in a short time. If not for the large numbers of Butterfly Rakshasas helping her inside the Butterfly Dream Illusory Realm, the Holy Rakshasa might already have died at their hands.”

At the side, Yun Ji nodded slightly. She had seen it too. That was indeed the case.

Lü Wushuang fell into thought. It was obvious her mind was moving rapidly. Suddenly she murmured, “Yin Ji is still alive... Wu Chang may yet be put to some use.”

“Oh?” Niu Youdao immediately asked. “How?”

“Wu Chang may have unusual feelings for Yin Ji.”

“I heard that from Yin Ji. Back then Wu Chang may have had improper thoughts about her. Later, circumstances forced him to yield her to Luo Qiu.”

“And then?”

Niu Youdao spread his hands. “That is all I know. Did something else happen between them afterward?”

Lü Wushuang reminded him, her tone suggestive. “Back then, after Yin Ji and Luo Qiu became husband and wife, the other seven of us were unhappy because of Yin Ji’s cultivation. Luo Qiu resisted us. After Wu Chang rose to power, he joined forces with Luo Qiu. The two of them protected Yin Ji together and opposed the seven of us. But the moment Yin Ji died, Wu Chang immediately turned against Luo Qiu.”

Niu Youdao understood. He said thoughtfully, “Now that you put it that way, Wu Chang’s feelings for Yin Ji really were unusual.”

Lü Wushuang continued, “Set the feelings aside. Yin Ji is from Shang Song’s era. She and the Holy Rakshasa should have known each other. If Yin Ji claimed she could summon the Holy Rakshasa, Wu Chang would certainly believe her. The key is that Wu Chang does not know no one can control the Holy Rakshasa once she reveals her true form. I heard Granny Xue say that the Holy Rakshasa flies extremely fast. Killing one of the Six Sacred Venerables may be difficult, but keeping one of them tied down should not be. Wu Chang has fought the Holy Rakshasa himself, so he should understand exactly what Granny Xue meant. Wu Chang’s demonic arts are indeed extraordinary. In a direct clash, he fears no one among the Nine Saints. But every one of the Nine Saints has methods for escaping with their lives, which is why none could do much to the others. If the Holy Rakshasa helped him, and if Yin Ji used the Holy Rakshasa as bait while proposing an alliance with Wu Chang, would Wu Chang be tempted?”

Niu Youdao’s eyes gradually narrowed. His ten fingers folded together over his abdomen...

“The most beautiful woman under Heaven...” Guan Fangyi emerged from the secret passage with a disdainful mutter, only to suddenly see a group of people forcing their way inside. The guards of Maolu Annex retreated before them in alarm.

Outside the annex, the massively obese Yuan Se reclined in a carriage, smiling pleasantly.

[End of Chapter 1445]