Chapter 1477: You're Leaving This Niu No Way Out

Inside the secret storeroom, intelligence reports were sorted by category and packed onto shelves lining all four walls. Guan Fangyi wandered between them, leafing through one thing after another.

The storeroom door opened, and Gongsun Bu walked in with a smile. “I heard you came over. Looking for something? You only need to tell the people below what you want.”

“I’m not looking for anything,” Guan Fangyi said. “The place we’re staying is still being rebuilt, so I came to see how well the archived materials survived.”

Gongsun Bu raised a hand and patted a pile of intelligence packets wrapped in oiled paper. “They’re fine. When the buildings collapsed, these were merely buried underneath. We dug them out and checked them. There wasn’t much damage.”

“That’s good.” Guan Fangyi casually tossed what she was holding back onto a shelf, then let out a long sigh.

Gongsun Bu asked with a smile, “Why the sigh?”

Guan Fangyi put on a worried look. “You can’t possibly be unaware of the upheaval in Misty Pavilion. Almost all of Misty Pavilion’s eyes and ears throughout the world were wiped out in a single sweep!”

At the mention of this, Gongsun Bu still felt lingering fear.

Everything had happened too suddenly. The sects had acted at the same time, on such a massive scale, yet not a whisper had reached him beforehand. Zijin Cave’s people had even begun acting here while he remained completely in the dark.

Only after the whole affair erupted into the open did he learn that quite a few Misty Pavilion agents in this region had already been eliminated.

Even now, he did not understand how he himself had escaped disaster.

On the surface, he remained unconcerned. Smiling, he said, “Hasn’t the matter already passed? It has nothing to do with us. Why worry so much?”

“At first I thought it had nothing to do with us either,” Guan Fangyi replied. “But only later did I learn the purge wasn’t completed. Before the sects could finish sweeping up the remaining agents, Misty Pavilion’s people arrived and forcibly stopped them from continuing.”

“Knowing there may still be Misty Pavilion eyes and ears around us, how could I feel at ease? So I went to Zijin Cave’s people and made inquiries. I wanted to know whether any Misty Pavilion agents were hidden among those close to us.”

Gongsun Bu’s heart leapt into his throat.

Especially when he thought about how Guan Fangyi had suddenly appeared here and started talking to him about this, he nearly stopped breathing.

Yet judging from her expression, she did not appear to know anything.

He carefully tested her. “What did Zijin Cave say?”

Guan Fangyi shook her head. “Now that they know they caused trouble, and know it was Huo Kong making mischief, Misty Pavilion has already stepped in and stopped everything. How would Zijin Cave still dare reveal the identities of any surviving Misty Pavilion agents?”

Gongsun Bu secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

That made sense.

Zijin Cave probably did not have the courage.

Then Guan Fangyi added, “But any mole here still falls within Zijin Cave’s sphere of influence. If something happened, it might even endanger Zijin Cave itself. Besides, our relationship with Zijin Cave is fairly good now.”

“Zijin Cave didn’t tell us who the person was, but they did give us a hint and warned us to be careful.”

After being pulled one way and then another, Gongsun Bu’s heart could barely endure it.

It almost seemed ready to stop.

His nerves tightened again. “What hint?”

Guan Fangyi moved a little closer, bringing a faint trace of fragrance with her, and lowered her voice. “Zijin Cave said Wuliang Mountain is the intelligence hub of Maolu Villa. If something goes wrong there, the consequences will be serious. We should pay particular attention to Wuliang Mountain’s senior leadership.”

Gongsun Bu waited for the rest.

Nothing came.

Realizing that was all, he asked, “That’s it?”

Guan Fangyi looked startled. “Isn’t that enough? For Zijin Cave to answer me like that is already an obvious hint. It means someone among Wuliang Mountain’s senior leadership has a problem.”

“Sect Leader Gongsun, that is exactly why I came. You know Wuliang Mountain’s people best. You need to find a way to identify the person.”

“Otherwise, having a mole beside us without even knowing who it is... doesn’t that make your skin crawl?”

Gongsun Bu looked thoughtful. “After an incident this large, any mole still here will certainly be extremely cautious. Finding him probably won’t be easy.”

“Sect Leader Gongsun, I know it won’t be easy. But think about it. Even if we identify the person, what can we do to him?”

“He belongs to Misty Pavilion. We can’t touch him.”

“We only want to know who he is. Once we do, we won’t disturb him. We’ll simply avoid certain things around him so he doesn’t create trouble for us. Everyone can live in peace.”

Gongsun Bu was becoming confused. “What exactly do you mean?”

“My meaning is very simple. I want Sect Leader Gongsun to speak privately with Wuliang Mountain’s senior members one by one.”

“Whoever it is, I hope he will admit it himself. Then everyone can understand the situation without saying more.”

“We guarantee we won’t make things difficult for him. Nor would we dare.”

Seeing him hesitate, Guan Fangyi added, “What? Is that difficult? Intelligence work inevitably involves things that cannot see the light of day. Doesn’t Sect Leader Gongsun want to know which person beside you is Misty Pavilion’s eye?”

In the end, Gongsun Bu nodded. “Fine. We’ll do as you say. I’ll speak privately with each of them.”

Guan Fangyi smiled. “There are only a few people in the senior ranks. It won’t take long to talk with them. Good. I’ll wait for your news tomorrow morning.”

With that, she turned her waist and walked away, lazily waving the round fan in her hand.

Gongsun Bu watched her leave...

There was no helping it.

He had to do it.

Refusing would only arouse suspicion.

In the end, he could only summon the senior members of Wuliang Mountain and speak to them one by one.

The result was easy to predict, at least from his point of view.

No one admitted to being a Misty Pavilion spy.

That night, Gongsun Bu could not settle his mind.

He could not cultivate in peace. When he tried to rest, he merely tossed and turned on his couch.

Early the next morning, as agreed, Gongsun Bu went to Guan Fangyi’s residence.

Old Six Xu received him personally and led him to the entrance of a secret chamber. “The place is small, so we only opened a temporary chamber underground. Eldest Sister is inside. Sir can go find her himself.”

“Much obliged.”

Gongsun Bu nodded his thanks and entered the tunnel.

After walking some distance, he reached the secret chamber.

Guan Fangyi was seated behind a desk, reading through documents.

Gongsun Bu glanced around, saw no one else, then approached and cupped his hands. “Chief.”

By now, most of Maolu Annex treated Guan Fangyi as the person in charge.

Whether everyone personally accepted it or not, Zijin Cave supported her and Shang Chaozong recognized her.

Guan Fangyi looked up with a brilliant smile. “You’re here. Sit.”

She gestured toward the seat opposite her and put aside the documents in her hand.

Gongsun Bu sat.

Before he could speak, Guan Fangyi asked, “You spoke with them all?”

His manner somewhat subdued, Gongsun Bu nodded. “I spoke with everyone.”

“What was the result?”

Gongsun Bu shook his head. “None would admit it. Some were even furious and felt insulted by the suspicion.”

Guan Fangyi’s voice sank. “Even now, no one will admit it?”

“Ah...” Gongsun Bu sighed and shook his head again.

Guan Fangyi leaned slightly forward and said meaningfully, “Sect Leader Gongsun, think carefully again. They are all old hands of Wuliang Mountain. There is no need for one of our own to help outsiders deal with his own people.”

“We already promised not to make things difficult for him. Does he still not trust us?”

Gongsun Bu sighed. “They truly all denied it. I can hardly force someone to confess.”

Guan Fangyi sat upright and fell silent.

Footsteps came from outside.

Gongsun Bu glanced back and saw Wang Xiao enter carrying a tea set.

Wang Xiao placed it before Guan Fangyi.

Then Guan Fangyi rose and yielded her seat to him.

Only then did Gongsun Bu begin to sense something wrong.

Guan Fangyi was behaving almost as though Wang Xiao were her master.

Wang Xiao sat while Guan Fangyi stood obediently beside him, slowly waving the round fan in her hand.

Wang Xiao raised a hand and tore away the false face covering his features.

A calm, unruffled countenance appeared beneath it.

Niu Youdao.

Gongsun Bu’s eyes widened instantly.

He shot to his feet, shocked beyond measure. “M-Master Dao!”

Niu Youdao remained calm and composed. He raised one hand in a downward gesture. “Sit.”

Still wearing an expression of disbelief, Gongsun Bu hurriedly sat again. “Master Dao, weren’t you already...?”

Niu Youdao smiled faintly. “Surely you weren’t hoping I was dead?”

“No! That isn’t what I meant.”

“All right. We won’t talk about that.”

Niu Youdao looked at him. “What do you think about there being a Misty Pavilion agent inside Wuliang Mountain?”

Gongsun Bu plainly had many questions he wanted to ask, but for now he could only suppress them.

His expression grew solemn. “I’m afraid it will be difficult to identify the person quickly.”

“You really didn’t hesitate at all...”

After saying this, Niu Youdao fell silent and slowly poured tea.

Something inexplicably lurched inside Gongsun Bu.

He watched Niu Youdao’s reaction intently.

After setting down the teapot, Niu Youdao lifted his eyes and slowly said, “Sect Leader Gongsun, you’ve disappointed me greatly.”

He pushed a cup of tea across the table.

“Drink this tea, and the debts between us will be settled.”

Gongsun Bu’s heart tightened. He forced a smile. “Master Dao, what do you mean by that?”

“Baili Jie was one of Misty Pavilion’s people. When Baili Jie first approached you all those years ago, I already knew.”

It was as though something had pierced straight through Gongsun Bu’s heart.

His expression froze for a long moment.

At last, bitterness filled his mouth. “Then why did you keep me around all this time?”

Niu Youdao raised a hand, signaling for him to drink.

“I always believed the fault was not yours alone.”

“If you hadn’t been running Maolu Villa’s intelligence hub, Misty Pavilion would never have approached you.”

“If there hadn’t been a ‘Gongsun Bu,’ there would have been some other man in your place.”

“So long as the situation remained controllable, there was no need to fall out over it. I was also willing to give you a chance.”

“What I do not understand is this.”

“Hongniang’s words were already obvious enough. She practically told you outright that Zijin Cave knows who the traitor is.”

“You are operating on Zijin Cave’s territory. How could you possibly believe Zijin Cave could keep that traitor’s identity hidden forever?”

“Hongniang had already promised not to make things difficult for you. Everyone could have gone on living in peace.”

“I went so far as to show myself to you personally.”

“At the very least, you should have hesitated.”

“But you still chose to fob me off.”

“What am I supposed to do with that?”

“You have now made things awkward for everyone. Once a knot like this forms in the heart, it is difficult to untie.”

“Even if you confessed now, how could I still trust you?”

“I once told someone that perhaps there are people who dare betray Maolu Villa, but no one has ever dared betray me, because everyone who did is dead.”

“There have to be rules in how people conduct themselves.”

“You’re leaving this Niu no way out.”

Gongsun Bu stared at him. “You want to kill me?”

“You’ve already seen me. I cannot let you go report this to someone else.”

Gongsun Bu’s tone grew fierce. “The situation has already calmed down. If I suddenly die now, after someone has dared move against a surviving Misty Pavilion agent, Misty Pavilion will certainly become suspicious.”

“So that is what you were relying on.”

Niu Youdao remained indifferent. “You need not concern yourself with Misty Pavilion. This is not the first time I have killed one of their people.”

“If I dare do it, naturally I have a way to deal with the aftermath.”

Gongsun Bu reminded him darkly, “I am the Sect Leader of Wuliang Mountain!”

Niu Youdao calmly lifted his teacup. “You’re worrying too much.”

“Didn’t we already have you speak with Wuliang Mountain’s senior members?”

“They now know there is a traitor among the leadership.”

“You’ve already paved the road for me.”

“I’ll make good use of it.”

“There will not be the slightest disturbance when Wuliang Mountain’s authority changes hands.”

“Drink your tea.”

He had been tricked!

In that instant, Gongsun Bu lost every shred of security.

His body suddenly flashed away as he tried to flee.

At the entrance to the secret chamber, Yun Ji abruptly appeared.

The two came face-to-face.

[End of Chapter 1477]