Chapter 1460: This Poor Monk Was Surprised Too

Luo Qiu was surprised.

He had never imagined his own disciple would uncover such an unexpected angle.

Which of the other five Sacred Venerables did not know that Yuan Se had gone to the Ghost Doctor to have his eye treated? The eye had already been fixed. No one had paid the matter any further attention.

Who could have guessed that behind something the Five Sacred Venerables had already dismissed lay this kind of hidden chain of cause and effect?

The eye best suited to Consort Yuan was Consort Yuan’s own eye.

Was there anything wrong with that?

No.

That was the true logic of the matter.

Luo Qiu stroked his beard as he thought it through, silently marveling at the elegance of the opening. His gaze settled on Sha Rulai’s earnest face.

He truly had not expected his disciple’s desperation to rescue his wife to make him stumble onto something this subtle by accident.

Perhaps even Yuan Se himself had never considered that Consort Yuan’s transplanted eye could simply be transplanted back into her.

After thinking briefly, Luo Qiu no longer tried to send his disciple away. He asked, “Does Yuan Se know about this?”

Sha Rulai said, “Since this disciple intends to use it as an opening, naturally I asked the Ghost Doctor.”

“The Ghost Doctor said that once Yuan Se’s eye was healed, Yuan Se never asked about the matter again. He merely ordered the Ghost Doctor to find Consort Yuan a suitable replacement as quickly as possible.”

“It was only when Consort Yuan went to Medicine Valley to find him that the subject came up.”

“Master, I imagine Consort Yuan herself would never tell Yuan Se something like this.”

Luo Qiu continued stroking his beard, deep thought evident on his face. Slowly, he said, “Even with such a weakness, the woman must have the courage and the willingness to act.”

“It would be best to speak with her face-to-face. But given the present situation, security around that side is tight. Communicating with her will not be easy.”

“This will require careful planning.”

Sha Rulai said, “Master, that part is not difficult. This disciple has already planned for it.”

“I have someone beside Yuan Se. I can find a way to lure Consort Yuan out.”

“With the Ghost Doctor and his disciples in our hands, concern will cloud her judgment. I am not afraid she will refuse to come.”

Luo Qiu’s eyes abruptly narrowed, cold light appearing within them. “You planted someone beside Yuan Se? Yuan Se would let you plant a man at his side so easily? Why did I know nothing about something this important? Why did you never report it before?”

Sha Rulai hurriedly said, “Master misunderstands. This disciple did not deliberately plant someone beside Yuan Se.”

“Yuan Se suddenly came to Nanzhou’s provincial capital and moved into Maolu Annex. He walked straight into one of this disciple’s men on his own.”

Luo Qiu asked, “You have someone inside Maolu Annex?”

“Yes!” Sha Rulai replied. “Back when this disciple presided over Misty Pavilion and managed the affairs of the Tiandu Secret Realm, Niu Youdao committed an offense and later gave this disciple a wine-brewing recipe to curry favor with me.”

“When this disciple later tried using the recipe, the result never seemed quite right. I had Wang Zun, while handling another matter, stop by and find the person responsible for brewing wine at Maolu Villa.”

“That person is called Yuan Fang. He is a Golden King Bear demon who took the form of a monk and manages Maolu Villa’s so-called Nanshan Temple. He was not only responsible for the wine, but over the years also handled the food for the entire Maolu Villa.”

“This disciple originally only wanted Wang Zun to have Yuan Fang adjust the brewing method. Who could have expected that once Yuan Fang learned Wang Zun’s background, he would voluntarily express a desire to defect and become one of Misty Pavilion’s people?”

“Since someone willingly offered himself as an informant, there was no reason to refuse.”

“However, when we later checked his background, we discovered he was not particularly reliable. That demon monk was born to be a fence-sitter.”

“Besides, he had always handled miscellaneous work at Maolu Villa and had no access to any true core secrets.”

“So we never activated him. This disciple nearly forgot he existed and never even entered his name onto Misty Pavilion’s rolls.”

“This time, Yuan Se moved into Maolu Annex and then seized Fangfei. Only then did this disciple remember Yuan Fang. I wanted to learn what was happening inside Maolu Annex, so I activated him.”

“When this disciple contacted him and immediately began asking about the situation inside the annex, only then did I learn that Yuan Se had actually taken a liking to this demon monk...”

Sha Rulai then recounted in detail the sequence of events Niu Youdao’s side had provided.

After hearing it, Luo Qiu was left somewhat speechless.

Like Lü Wushuang before him, he understood immediately why Yuan Se had chosen to settle at Maolu Annex.

Because the food was good.

Luo Qiu rose from the stone platform and asked, “If Yuan Se has taken a liking to him, can he still be trusted?”

Sha Rulai replied, “He has no real understanding of the internal relationship between the Sacred Realm and Misty Pavilion.”

“When this disciple contacted him, he answered whatever I asked.”

“After he finished talking, I reminded him of one simple principle: once Yuan Se learns you are my man, do you think he will still trust you?”

Luo Qiu understood.

He nodded slightly, clasped his hands behind his back, and began pacing slowly in thought.

Sha Rulai continued, “Master, all we need is for Consort Yuan to tell us Fangfei’s exact location.”

“Once we know precisely where she is, then with Master’s strength, if you act while Yuan Se is unprepared, you will certainly be able to seize the initiative and rescue Fangfei in one stroke.”

“That would free us from the danger of having her held as a hostage.”

Rescue her by force?

Luo Qiu stopped walking.

The problem had never simply been whether Luo Fangfei was being held hostage.

Yuan Se had another weakness of Luo Qiu’s in his hands as well. Otherwise, after Luo Qiu went to Maolu Annex in person, why would he have given up so easily?

There were things he could not conveniently tell this disciple.

After weighing the situation carefully, an almost imperceptible trace of killing intent flashed through Luo Qiu’s eyes. He said blandly, “I will personally arrange this matter. Stay here and cooperate.”

“Yes. This disciple obeys!” Sha Rulai answered, visibly relieved.

...

Inside the hidden cave outside Nanzhou’s provincial capital, Niu Youdao received Sha Rulai’s message.

After reading it, he gave a cold snort. “If Luo Qiu dared simply snatch her back, why would he have waited until now?”

He casually handed the message to Lü Wushuang beside him.

They were now directly crossing hands with the Six Sacred Venerables.

Niu Youdao needed Lü Wushuang nearby to warn him at any moment and fill in whatever he might have overlooked, so that no gap in his thinking became fatal.

After reading the message, Lü Wushuang abruptly raised her head. “Who sent this? Sha Rulai? Sha Rulai is one of your people?”

This confidential letter was no ordinary message.

It carried no signature, but its contents made the sender’s identity difficult to mistake.

Niu Youdao neither admitted nor denied it.

In practice, that attitude was itself an admission.

Lü Wushuang very much wanted to ask how he had managed to collude with Sha Rulai.

Then she thought about it and realized there was little need.

On careful consideration, a thread of logic could be found.

Yin Ji was still alive.

Yin Ji was connected to Niu Youdao.

And Yin Ji’s daughter was Sha Rulai’s wife.

He had even penetrated the circle of personal disciples beside the Six Sacred Venerables!

Suppressing the shock in her heart, Lü Wushuang read the letter again before finally sighing. “Luo Qiu definitely assumes Sha Rulai knows nothing about Yin Ji.”

“With such a once-in-a-lifetime opening delivered straight to his door, merely rescuing his daughter will no longer satisfy Luo Qiu’s appetite.”

“He has developed killing intent.”

“He intends not only to rescue his daughter, but also to eliminate Yuan Se along the way. That would conveniently silence the secret involving Yin Ji as well.”

Niu Youdao nodded slightly. “This killing move has been brewing until now, and truthfully it still isn’t fully mature.”

“But once Luo Qiu is the one making the move, the nature of the situation changes. His own existence is enough to compensate for much of the plan’s immaturity.”

“In any case, whatever the outcome this time, whether Luo Qiu succeeds in eliminating Yuan Se or not, Yuan Se will no longer be able to remain at Maolu Annex afterward.”

“Once Yuan Se is forced out, our immediate problem of being unable to return will be resolved.”

Lü Wushuang said, “I would still remind you not to celebrate too early.”

Niu Youdao gave a quiet sound. “I’m listening.”

“I need to remind you that from Luo Qiu’s point of view, killing Yuan Se may matter more than rescuing his daughter.”

“To Luo Qiu, eliminating Yuan Se is probably the main objective. Saving his daughter may instead become secondary.”

“You want to protect Luo Fangfei, so you will still have to be careful.”

“If something goes wrong, I’m afraid you will have a difficult time explaining it to Yin Ji.”

Niu Youdao fell silent...

Inside the kitchen of Maolu Annex, a monk sitting before the stove and feeding firewood into the flames noticed from the corner of his eye a figure approaching outside.

He suddenly called out, “Abbot, Yan Baoru is the current number-one expert on the Golden Core Ranking!”

Yuan Fang, who was personally supervising the kitchen, felt his heart tighten.

Of course he knew that sentence was a code phrase.

Guan Fangyi had personally passed him the plan he was supposed to carry out.

He drew a deep breath and immediately replied with a cheerful laugh. “What number-one expert on the Golden Core Ranking? Back when Master Dao was still around, wasn’t that Yan Baoru chased by Master Dao until she had to hide here and flee there?”

“Ah, what a pity. Master Dao’s fate was poor. If only he could have lasted until now...”

“I hear the people Zijin Cave sent to the Sacred Realm as inspectors have already returned.”

Consort Yuan, still wearing her veiled conical hat, reached the kitchen doorway and paused.

Only after listening to the conversation inside did she step in.

“Auntie!”

The monks immediately bowed and greeted her.

Consort Yuan waved a hand, telling everyone to continue with their work.

Then she looked at Yuan Fang, who had hurried over bowing and scraping, and said, “Come outside for a moment.”

“Yes!”

Yuan Fang obediently followed behind her.

The two left the kitchen and stood in the small courtyard outside.

Consort Yuan turned and asked, “You know Yan Baoru?”

Yuan Fang nodded. “I do. I met her once before.”

“She seems to be the current number-one expert on the Golden Core Ranking.”

“When this poor monk went out to buy supplies just now, I even saw her.”

Consort Yuan had been about to ask why he had suddenly brought Yan Baoru up at all. Instead, she immediately asked, “You saw her here in Nanzhou’s provincial capital?”

“Yes!” Yuan Fang replied. “This poor monk was surprised too.”

“I even deliberately had the carriage slow down because I wanted to see what she was doing.”

“In the end, I saw her going in and out of one medicine shop after another, as though she intended to visit every medicine shop in the entire provincial capital.”

“I expect she is still browsing those shops even now.”

At the mention of medicine shops, Consort Yuan had already begun to believe him.

Still, she asked, “You didn’t mistake someone else for her?”

“This poor monk wondered the same thing. She used to dress very splendidly. Now she is wearing coarse, plain clothes.”

“But that face of hers is beautiful. It left a very deep impression on this poor monk. I absolutely could not mistake her.”

“Auntie, what is it? Do you know her too?”

Consort Yuan snapped, “Why so much nonsense? Get back to work. If you spoil Sir’s appetite, you’ll answer for it.”

“Yes, yes!”

Yuan Fang immediately nodded and bowed before taking his leave.

The moment he turned around, one cheek twitched.

Even he had no idea why Guan Fangyi’s side had arranged for him to say these things.

Guan Fangyi had only told him that it was Master Dao’s intention.

If Master Dao’s name had not been mentioned, that would have been one thing.

The moment it was, Yuan Fang could not help feeling nervous.

First Zhangsun Mi.

Then Mu Lianze.

Then Lü Wushuang.

Now Yuan Se himself was sitting right here, and Yuan Fang was being ordered to say strange, seemingly meaningless things like these.

What exactly were they planning?

Consort Yuan had originally intended to inspect the kitchen carefully, but she too turned and left.

Once she reached the outer courtyard, she summoned one of Dayuan Sacred Land’s people and whispered several instructions.

The man nodded, then quickly led two others out of Maolu Annex and headed straight for the streets.

[End of Chapter 1460]