Chapter 1452: Fence-Sitter

Go beat her half to death?

After steadying himself, Yuan Gang looked toward Lü Wushuang not far away and found himself momentarily stunned.

Grabbing Lü Wushuang by the throat earlier, when he had needed to guard against the unexpected, was one thing. If she had made trouble then, even killing her would have been acceptable.

But beating his wife was something Yuan Gang could not do.

Perhaps in his own heart he did not fully regard it as “beating his wife,” but no matter how one put it, the idea of thrashing Lü Wushuang simply because the two had quarreled and he wanted to force her to speak felt deeply wrong.

Whether he admitted that Lü Wushuang was his wife or not, once the matter was framed this way, he became tangled up inside.

Perhaps “tangled” was not even the right word.

He simply could not bring himself to strike her like that.

Yet reality was exactly as Niu Youdao had said.

They could not afford to drag this out.

Hongniang might need to return to Maolu Annex as quickly as possible. Otherwise, no one knew how many people in Nanzhou’s provincial capital might end up dying if the situation worsened.

It truly was urgent.

Lü Wushuang was no ordinary woman, nor was she someone who acted without purpose.

For her to suddenly make trouble at a moment like this meant she had aimed precisely at Yuan Gang’s weak point.

One squeeze, and she had him suffering.

In the end, Yuan Gang yielded.

He had no choice but to yield.

In a sense, there was even something tragically heroic about him.

Back then, for the safety of many people, he had made the decision to marry Lü Wushuang.

Now, once again for the safety of many people, he steeled himself and walked toward her step by step.

Niu Youdao watched him closely, his nerves tightening slightly.

This idiot wouldn’t actually go over and beat Lü Wushuang half to death, would he?

Then he thought again and realized he was worrying too much.

Monkey could not do something like that.

If he could, he would not be Monkey.

Yuan Gang stopped directly in front of Lü Wushuang.

Man and woman faced each other.

Lü Wushuang tilted her head up and met his gaze coldly, refusing to yield in the slightest.

Yuan Gang drew a deep breath, then abruptly turned his head to one side and forced out the word through clenched stiffness.

“Madam!”

Lü Wushuang asked, “Are you calling me? There’s nothing over there. Is your madam standing in empty air?”

Niu Youdao, walking over, did not know whether to laugh or cry. He lifted a hand and scratched his forehead, sighing inwardly.

Everything was difficult the first time.

Once Yuan Gang had forced the word out once, the second time was not quite so hard.

He turned his head back, faced Lü Wushuang directly, and shouted, “Madam!”

His voice, however, was far too loud.

It was almost frightening.

Lü Wushuang’s eyes widened, faint anger appearing within them.

Niu Youdao hurriedly stepped in to smooth things over. “That’s enough. Let’s discuss the actual matter.”

Lü Wushuang looked at him. “Master Dao, does your word count? You guaranteed this just now. From now on, he has to address me this way.”

Niu Youdao sighed. “I remember. Now speak.”

But Lü Wushuang looked at Yuan Gang again and added, “Remember what I am to you. Remember the relationship between us.”

“You called me that. I heard it. Everyone here heard it. Heaven heard it, and Earth heard it too. Heaven and Earth can bear witness to the status between us!”

Yuan Gang turned his head away again and stood there with both fists clenched, saying nothing.

Seeing his expression of preferring death to surrender, the faintest trace of a smile appeared at the corner of Lü Wushuang’s mouth before vanishing almost at once.

Guan Fangyi and Yun Ji exchanged a look.

Both were plainly suppressing laughter.

They had discovered that this Monkey, who would rather break than bend, had finally met his natural bane.

Niu Youdao stared at Lü Wushuang. “Are you finished yet?”

Lü Wushuang immediately threw out the answer.

“Fatty Yuan did not come for any of us. This time, it really was coincidence.”

“Coincidence?” Niu Youdao clearly did not believe it. “There can be a coincidence like that?”

He was naturally suspicious of any explanation built around coincidence.

“It was not entirely coincidence either,” Lü Wushuang said. “If you want to blame someone, blame yourselves. You were the ones who drew him there.”

Everyone looked puzzled.

Even Yuan Gang turned his head slightly toward her.

Niu Youdao frowned. “Explain.”

“At first, I couldn’t understand what was happening either. But when Hongniang described how events unfolded, she mentioned that after Fatty Yuan and his people arrived and took control of Maolu Annex, they ordered a banquet prepared even though it was nowhere near mealtime. That made me understand.”

“Fatty Yuan didn’t come for us. He came for Maolu Annex’s food. This was a misunderstanding.”

Everyone looked at one another.

Niu Youdao remained doubtful. “For a meal? Lü Wushuang, are you joking?”

“I’m not joking. I dealt with Fatty Yuan for many years. I know exactly what sort of man he is. Gratifying his appetite is one of his great pleasures.”

“He might not mobilize a whole party specifically for the sake of a meal, but if he was passing nearby, making a side trip would be entirely plausible.”

“So I can be certain he was already stationed somewhere in Yan.”

“Precisely because he happened to be in Yan, and because Maolu Annex’s food is rumored to be unmatched beneath Heaven, it is perfectly normal that the rumor drew Fatty Yuan over on his way.”

“Based on what Hongniang just said, I can be certain of something else as well. What was the name of the monk responsible for the food at Maolu Annex?”

Guan Fangyi supplied it. “Yuan Fang?”

“Yuan Fang. Right. Based on Hongniang’s account, combined with Yuan Fang’s reaction and what I know of Fatty Yuan...” Lü Wushuang continued, “the reason he initially sealed off Maolu Annex was merely because he wanted that meal.”

“Now the lockdown has been lifted, yet Fatty Yuan still has not left. That means the food here suits his taste. Since he is stationed in Yan anyway, he probably does not intend to leave for the time being.”

“And when he does leave, I’m afraid you won’t be able to keep Yuan Fang.”

“If the cooking suits Fatty Yuan’s appetite, then he will certainly take Yuan Fang with him. Fatty Yuan is not going to keep visiting Maolu Annex every time he wants a good meal. Yuan Fang will almost certainly be left at Dayuan Sacred Land from now on to look after Fatty Yuan’s food.”

“From what Hongniang said about Yuan Fang’s behavior, he has probably already thrown in his lot with Fatty Yuan. Once Fatty Yuan took a liking to him, he did not have much choice anyway.”

Guan Fangyi suddenly seemed to remember something and glared. “That damned Yuan Fang! Yes! I was wondering why that bald donkey, who normally bows and scrapes every time he sees me, suddenly became so arrogant. So he climbed onto a high branch!”

“Master Dao, she’s right. You know exactly what Yuan Fang is like. He must have found himself a powerful backer.”

Niu Youdao had still harbored doubts at first.

But Lü Wushuang’s deduction about Yuan Fang, in turn, supported her earlier conclusion.

That made him believe it.

It appeared this truly had been an accident.

They understood Yuan Fang far too well.

For that fellow to behave like a fence-sitter was entirely normal.

No one found it surprising in the least.

Yuan Gang, who hated traitors above all else, became furious. Both fists clenched.

“Three days without a beating and he climbs onto the roof! Hongniang, find a way to lure Yuan Fang out. I’ll deal with him.”

Everyone who knew the situation understood perfectly well what “deal with him” meant.

Yuan Fang had been “dealt with” by Yuan Gang plenty of times before.

Only this time, the treatment would probably be rather severe.

Niu Youdao waved a hand. “There’s nothing to be angry about. I’m not surprised in the slightest that Yuan Fang would betray us. If something like this happened and he didn’t betray us, that would be strange.”

“That is precisely why I never let him come into contact with anything truly secret.”

“Everyone in and around Maolu Villa knows Yuan Fang only handles miscellaneous work. That way, no one has much reason to target him.”

“Unfortunately, man’s calculations cannot outmatch Heaven’s.”

“That fellow somehow caught Yuan Se’s eye and ended up in Yuan Se’s hands.”

“He is timid. If he fell into someone else’s hands, he might not dare sell anything out.”

“But he happened to fall into the hands of someone at Yuan Se’s level. With Yuan Se as his backer, he no longer has much to fear.”

“That makes matters slightly troublesome.”

“Old Bear may not know anything important now, but years ago he did participate in some matters he should never have been involved in.”

At the reminder, Guan Fangyi abruptly went pale.

“Not good! Yuan Fang entered the Butterfly Dream Illusory Realm before. He knows Yin’er is the Holy Rakshasa, and he also knows Yin’er has returned.”

“If he sells Yin’er out, Yuan Se came into the mortal world precisely because of the matter of her taking Yin’er away.”

She pointed toward Lü Wushuang.

“If Yuan Se learns that Yin’er is the Holy Rakshasa, then he will inevitably know this whole matter cannot be separated from Maolu Annex.”

“Master Dao, the consequences would be unthinkable!”

At those words, everyone’s expressions became grave.

Yuan Gang said, “Master Dao, there may still be time. I’ll go pull that fence-sitter out by the roots!”

Lü Wushuang, afraid he would charge in recklessly and get himself killed, immediately warned him, “He may already have sold you out. They may already have laid a net. If you go there now, there is a very real chance you will be walking into a trap.”

No matter what their feelings were like, she absolutely did not want Yuan Gang to have an accident now.

If she became a widow, all the effort she had spent forcing this marriage would have been wasted.

Niu Youdao’s expression shifted rapidly in thought. Then he slowly shook his head.

“I understand Yuan Fang.”

“He’s timid, and his Golden King Bear background made him habitually secretive. Anything he gets hold of, including secrets, he likes to hide away.”

“He may be a fence-sitter, but over all these years, have any of you ever seen him casually let something slip?”

“Even back when he wanted to throw himself under Zijin Cave, he never casually blabbed about our affairs.”

“Of course, with a backer like Yuan Se, his mouth is no longer reliable.”

“But if he cannot see a clear benefit in speaking, he will not move lightly. Until he is certain he can leave Maolu Annex, he will hesitate. He will not dare reveal things casually.”

“The mere fact that he dared act arrogantly toward Hongniang is enough to prove he has not said anything yet.”

“If he had already revealed something important, then Yuan Se would either have acted directly, or, if he had chosen not to act, he would never alert the prey. He would quietly spread a net and wait.”

“He would not allow Hongniang to notice that anything was wrong.”

“Yuan Fang daring to strut in front of Hongniang means we are safe for the moment.”

Everyone nodded slightly after hearing the reasoning.

Lü Wushuang frowned. “What exactly were you thinking? You knew such an unreliable man was a fence-sitter, yet you still dared keep him beside you? If you had dealt with him years ago, how could this hidden danger exist now?”

Niu Youdao remained completely composed.

“If you ride the roads of the jianghu, whether it is wind or rain, and you despise this person and reject that one, then you may as well not come out and wander at all.”

“Does a chess player complain that he has too many pieces?”

“If I kept Yuan Fang, then naturally he had his uses.”

“Since I founded Maolu Villa, perhaps there have been people who dared betray Maolu Villa. But no one has dared betray me.”

“No one is a sage; who can be without fault? Much less Yuan Fang, that crooked monk.”

“I allow him to make mistakes. If he knows he was wrong, then correcting them is only natural.”

“If I tell him to go east, I doubt he would dare go west.”

“If I cannot even straighten out someone like him, then I have no business wandering the jianghu.”

He turned to Guan Fangyi.

“Yuan Fang has served everyone for so many years. Even if he has no great merit, he has certainly endured plenty of hard work.”

“We’re all our own people. There’s no need to start killing.”

“A wild monk has recited the wrong scripture. The two of you carry too much killing intent to correct him properly, so I’ll have to go personally.”

“Think of a way to lure him out.”

“I’ll meet him and point him back onto the proper path.”

[End of Chapter 1452]