Chapter 1489: Using the Entire Maolu Villa as Bait

Granny Xue was truly dead?

Lü Wushuang fell silent for a while, an inexplicable sigh stirring in her heart. Yuan Se’s death had felt much the same before.

They had fought one another for so many years, each always wanting the other dead. Yet now that she had seen the result she once wanted, she somehow found it difficult to feel happy.

She also noticed something amiss in Niu Youdao’s expression and studied him. “You succeeded, yet you’re still sighing. Did something go wrong?”

Niu Youdao walked behind the desk and sat down. “There was indeed an unexpected development. After Wu Chang left the Desolate Marsh Deadlands, he went straight to Daluo Sacred Land. That wasn’t unexpected—he wanted to capture Luo Fangfei. But after failing to find her, he actually went to the trouble of seizing Sha Rulai, who had already left Daluo Sacred Land to avoid exactly this sort of thing. He’s brought Sha Rulai into the mortal world.”

“Why seize Sha Rulai?” Lü Wushuang hesitated slightly, then slowly said in thought, “He doesn’t intend to handle this the way Yuan Se did. He has no intention of secretly joining hands with Yin Ji. He means to put everything openly on the table with Luo Qiu. In other words, he won’t conceal Yin Ji’s identity as Demon Fox Clan Chief. He’ll summon Lan Daolin and Du Wuxu to pressure Luo Qiu together and force him to hand over Luo Fangfei. If Luo Qiu refuses... Wu Chang won’t be polite. He may kill Sha Rulai. Sha Rulai could be in danger.”

That was precisely what worried Niu Youdao. “Given what you know of Luo Qiu, will he hand over Luo Fangfei?”

Lü Wushuang’s first concern was something else entirely. “Will Sha Rulai betray you?”

Niu Youdao shook his head slightly. “You can rest assured about that. He shouldn’t betray me. Put it this way: there was originally a Wuliang Fruit meant for him. It had already been delivered into his hands, but he refused it and gave it to someone else.”

“Oh?” Lü Wushuang was surprised. A man who could resist even the temptation of a Wuliang Fruit clearly possessed extraordinary will. That did make her believe Sha Rulai was unlikely to betray this side.

She also roughly understood. Precisely because of that, Niu Youdao was even less likely to sit by and watch Sha Rulai die.

Lü Wushuang paced for quite a while before stopping in front of the desk. “Sha Rulai should be fine.”

Niu Youdao immediately asked, “You mean Luo Qiu will hand over Luo Fangfei?”

Lü Wushuang waved a hand. “No. Nine times out of ten, Luo Qiu won’t hand over his own daughter. Put any of the other Sacred Venerables in his place and they wouldn’t agree either. Face is one issue. Another is that Wu Chang and the others can’t kill Luo Qiu.”

“But Luo Qiu must give everyone an explanation over something like this. As for Yin Ji, I’m afraid he no longer has the option of refusing to face or resolve the matter. Once Wu Chang makes this public, Luo Qiu won’t be able to keep the lid on it.”

“Unless Luo Qiu intends to break away and act entirely on his own—but that possibility is small. None of the Sacred Venerables can eliminate the others, so they can only maintain some degree of compromise. Otherwise they would simply be inviting endless trouble and never know a day of peace.”

Niu Youdao said, “So Luo Qiu will give the others an explanation, and therefore Sha Rulai will be fine. Wu Chang will only kill Sha Rulai if Luo Qiu refuses to give them that explanation?”

“For now, Wu Chang will keep Sha Rulai as a hostage.”

“This isn’t a game. You’re certain?”

“Sha Rulai isn’t merely Luo Qiu’s disciple. He’s also Luo Qiu’s son-in-law. Wu Chang won’t kill him lightly. If he acts recklessly for no reason, Luo Qiu will inevitably retaliate. Luo Qiu may not be able to kill Wu Chang, but can’t he kill Wu Chang’s trusted subordinates?”

Niu Youdao nodded slightly and finally relaxed a little. “As long as Wu Chang doesn’t kill him, the rest is manageable.”

“Manageable?” Lü Wushuang sneered. “Don’t tell me you’re hoping Luo Qiu will dispose of Yin Ji for you.”

“I’ve already made arrangements on Yin Ji’s side. Luo Qiu won’t be able to find her.”

Lü Wushuang relaxed somewhat at that. “Then you should understand that for every day Luo Qiu cannot give an explanation over Yin Ji, Wu Chang will refuse to release the hostage. Surely you aren’t hoping to snatch Sha Rulai directly out of Wu Chang’s hands?”

Niu Youdao sighed. “Don’t worry. So long as Maolu Villa steps forward, Wu Chang will follow the current and release him.”

Lü Wushuang froze. She did not understand at all. “What do you mean?”

Niu Youdao reached for the teapot and poured tea. “Wu Chang knows some things the others don’t. Someone else might not be able to guess what’s happening, but this time he met Yin Ji personally. If, as one of the people directly involved, he still can’t guess that Yin Ji has ties to Maolu Villa, then I’ve overestimated him.”

The words sent a chill down Lü Wushuang’s spine. “What did you say? Maolu Villa has been exposed?” Her gaze fell on the teacup he had lifted, as if asking how he could still have the leisure to drink tea.

Niu Youdao savored the tea’s mingled sweetness and bitterness, then nodded calmly. “He should already have guessed eight or nine parts out of ten.”

“Even if he hasn’t guessed yet, Ice and Snow Sacred Land secretly raiding Yipin Hall won’t remain hidden for long. Once he loses contact with Yipin Hall, he’ll understand many things. At the very least, he’ll know Granny Xue fell into a trap.”

“The refining method for Chuan Ying’s Youthful-Countenance Pill is recorded in the Demon Canon. Then there’s the connection between the Demon Canon and Zhao Xiongge, the connection between Zhao Xiongge and Yuan Gang, and your own connection with Yuan Gang.”

“So long as Wu Chang isn’t a fool, he’ll be able to guess why Yuan Se captured Luo Fangfei. Yuan Se was also staying here at Maolu Villa before he died. In Wu Chang’s eyes, many things will now point toward Maolu Villa. With his mind, if he still doesn’t suspect Maolu Villa after all this, that would truly be seeing a ghost.”

Lü Wushuang felt cold all the way down her back. Yet seeing how calm and unhurried he remained, she suddenly realized something from his words. “I tried to stop you before, but you refused to listen and insisted on taking such an enormous risk... You did it deliberately. You were deliberately exposing yourselves!”

Niu Youdao neither admitted nor denied it. He simply continued drinking his tea, which amounted to a tacit admission.

Lü Wushuang pressed him. “Aren’t you afraid Wu Chang will bring Lan Daolin and the others here and kill everyone?”

“Wu Chang may be ruthless, but he is very good at enduring.”

Niu Youdao murmured the words, then turned back with a smile. “Once Wu Chang believes everything here is already within his grasp and that he can deliver a fatal strike whenever he pleases, do you think he’ll still have any reason to be impatient?”

Lü Wushuang stared at him in alarm and uncertainty. At last she understood what he had been pondering all this time. He had long since been brewing a much larger game. “You’re using the entire Maolu Villa as bait?”

“I’m betting he’ll swallow this bait.” Niu Youdao opened one hand, then slowly clenched it into a fist. “So long as he cannot resist the temptation and dares swallow it, the former Nine Saints will be scattered to the winds!”

“He’ll swallow it calmly, because right now he still doesn’t want the matter of the Demon Canon exposed.”

Lü Wushuang’s voice turned grave. “By doing this, you’ve already placed everyone in danger.”

“Precisely because no one would believe we could possibly do something like this, Wu Chang will believe it. If you don’t enter the tiger’s den, how can you catch the tiger cub?”

“You’re insane!” Lü Wushuang snapped. “I warned you before. Against people like them, you cannot act rashly without absolute confidence. The danger with Yuan Se nearly wiped us all out. Have you learned nothing?”

Niu Youdao answered solemnly, “The trick of using Yin Ji worked once and then a second time. There won’t be a third. No one will fall for it again.”

“A final battle with the Four Sacred Venerables is inevitable. Among the Nascent Soul cultivators on our side, who can defeat even one of them? Outside the Butterfly Dream Illusory Realm, even Yin’er would have difficulty killing one of them. Who dares fight them head-on? Even if all our people joined forces, we still wouldn’t have any certainty!”

“I want to stabilize them. I want to buy another two years if possible. But they won’t wait. They’ll inevitably force us to make a move.”

“So among the Four Sacred Venerables, we need one person dragging the others back—or rather, we need one of them covering for us. Otherwise, we won’t dare make any overt move at all.”

“It’s a pity Gongsun Bu failed to appreciate the chance he was given. I could no longer trust him or entrust important matters to him. Otherwise, he could have played a major role.”

Lü Wushuang fell silent and stared at him.

She knew he was the one who made the decisions here. Whatever he said, the people around him would carry out. No one was going to listen to Lü Wushuang instead.

Nothing she said now would matter.

More importantly, the deed was already done. There was no way to change it.

Niu Youdao said, “The news of Granny Xue’s death can be released now!”

...

At Qiyun Sect, a figure blasted aside a flying mount that had come to inspect him above the pavilions on a mountain summit, then descended from the sky.

Luo Qiu had arrived in a towering rage.

He was the last of the Four Sacred Venerables to arrive. He had been holding position in Song, which lay at the far eastern end while Qiyun Sect was in the far west, so naturally he had taken longest to reach them.

But he had also been the first among them to receive word from the Sacred Realm.

Wu Chang, Lan Daolin, and Du Wuxu watched coldly as Luo Qiu strode into the open pavilion with scenery on all four sides.

The instant he entered, Luo Qiu spoke with a chilled expression. “Wu Chang, you stormed into Daluo Sacred Land, killed and destroyed at will, and even abducted my disciple. What are you trying to do?”

Wu Chang answered indifferently, “Whatever Yuan Se wanted to do, I want to do as well. The only difference is that I’ve taken Yuan Se as a warning and don’t intend to hide it from everyone in secret.”

Luo Qiu’s heart sank.

This was exactly what he had feared.

After the pile of dogshit Yuan Se had left behind, Luo Qiu had been worried that Wu Chang too might have encountered Yin Ji.

Naturally, he would not expose his own hand first. He said heavily, “I’m not listening to this muddled nonsense. Where is my disciple? Hand him over immediately!”

Wu Chang said without expression, “The old demoness is dead.”

“What?” Luo Qiu froze.

“There are some things I have no reason to conceal,” Wu Chang said. “The old demoness refused to know what was good for her, so I joined hands with someone in the Desolate Marsh Deadlands and killed her. I think you should understand very clearly why I went to the Desolate Marsh Deadlands.”

“Elder Sister. I saw her in the Desolate Marsh Deadlands...”

He then recounted the battle with Granny Xue once again, having already told the other two Sacred Venerables earlier.

Most of what he said was accurate, but he concealed certain details. For example, he described Kunlin Shu’s cultivation as being considerably higher than it truly was.

What Luo Qiu had feared most had indeed happened.

His cheeks gradually tightened, and anger stirred faintly in his heart.

Yin Ji had hidden for so many years. Why couldn’t she simply have stayed hidden? He hated her for refusing to know what was good for her.

Yet his mouth did not yield. “Save it. A woman dead for so many years—you say she’s alive and that makes her alive?”

Du Wuxu chuckled. “Luo Qiu, there’s no need to keep pretending. Whether it’s true or false, everyone here knows perfectly well.”

“But I have to hand it to you. You really are impressive, Luo Qiu. You actually managed to produce a half-breed with the Demon Fox Clan.”

Killing intent immediately surfaced around Luo Qiu. “Du Wuxu, you’d better watch your filthy mouth!”

Lan Daolin cut in. “Enough pointless nonsense.”

“Luo Qiu, you know exactly what the Demon Fox Clan wants. Now they’re creating trouble behind our backs again, especially at a time like this. This matter must be resolved.”

“Since Yin Ji herself admitted that you were the one who tried to kill her all those years ago, we won’t pursue that matter with you.”

“But Yin Ji’s daughter must be handed over.”

“Once we use her to eliminate Yin Ji, we’ll return your daughter alive. We have no reason to make trouble for your daughter.”

[End of Chapter 1489]