Chapter 1502: A Mole Discovered

Wuxin was baffled. He could not understand why his master was getting angry over something long past. Since his master was angry, however, he could only lower his head and accept the scolding.

The Ghost Doctor still could not get over it. Pointing at him, he rebuked, “Why didn’t you tell me afterward?”

Wuxin looked up. “Afterward, I heard the news that Niu Youdao had died inside the Sacred Realm. I thought the matter was already over. Besides, I hadn’t obeyed Master’s instructions, and I was ashamed of that selfish motive of mine, so I didn’t have the face to say much about it to you.”

The Ghost Doctor said bitterly, “Did water get into your brain? You created a false Niu Youdao, and soon afterward Niu Youdao died inside the Sacred Realm. Didn’t it ever occur to you that there might be something wrong with that?”

Wuxin looked startled and doubtful. “Master, are you suggesting Niu Youdao faked his death? The Sacred Realm was under such tight lockdown. How could a false Niu Youdao possibly have gotten inside?”

“You…” The Ghost Doctor did not even know what to say to him. Those people could turn clouds and rain with a flip of the hand. Once they clashed, the forces colliding were enormous. The entrance to the Sacred Realm might stop other people, but could it stop people like them?

That man had just told him they had a way to get even the Ghost Doctor into the Sacred Realm. If they could manage that, how difficult could it have been to get a false Niu Youdao inside?

But forget it. He no longer wanted to spell all this out. Instead, he warned them sternly, “The two of you will let this matter rot in your bellies. You are not to mention it to anyone. Act as though it never happened. Even if someone beats you to death, you do not tell another soul. Do you understand?”

“Yes!” the two martial brothers answered together.

Wuxin was still puzzled. “Master, aside from me, only Yan Baoru and Guo Man knew about this. How did you find out? Did the false one let something slip?”

The Ghost Doctor did not know what to say. The false one was already dead. What the hell could he have leaked? The real Niu Youdao’s side obviously knew the truth. A rebuke had already reached the Ghost Doctor’s lips when his eyes suddenly flickered. In a deep voice, he asked, “You rarely had contact with the outside world while you were in the Qi capital, and even people who came seeking treatment had great difficulty persuading you to help. How did you learn that the false Niu Youdao had a grudge against Niu Youdao?”

Wuxin thought back. “Guo Man discovered it.”

The Ghost Doctor immediately asked, “Where is Guo Man?”

Wuxin glanced outside. “I think she’s in the medicinal fields behind the mountain.”

The Ghost Doctor pointed at Wuxiang. “Go. Bring Guo Man here.”

Wuxiang sensed that something was wrong and immediately darted away.

Master and disciple remained behind. The Ghost Doctor paced back and forth inside the medicine hut, occasionally picking up the bottles and jars Niu Youdao had examined earlier and looking them over.

Wuxin stood with his hands at his sides, increasingly uneasy and uncertain, with no idea what had happened.

Before long, Wuxiang returned with Guo Man.

As always, Guo Man greeted them with great respect.

The Ghost Doctor was in a foul temper today. He swept a broad sleeve, dispensing with the formalities, then questioned her sternly to her face. “Guo Man, back when Wuxin was in the Qi capital, he disguised someone as Niu Youdao. Do you remember that?”

Guo Man glanced at Wuxin and obediently nodded. “I remember.”

The Ghost Doctor asked, “How did you know that man had a grudge against Niu Youdao?”

Guo Man thought for a moment. “Sister Baoru discovered him.”

Wuxin was immediately surprised and cut in. “Wasn’t it you who discovered him?”

Guo Man nodded seriously. “You could say I discovered it. But Sister Baoru was the one who first spotted the man. I only learned about the grudge after questioning him, and then I told you, sir.”

Wuxin was stunned. The Ghost Doctor turned and stared at him. “Go find Yan Baoru!”

“Yes!” Wuxiang darted away again.

Guo Man looked completely bewildered. She tentatively asked the Ghost Doctor, “Sir, is there some problem?”

The Ghost Doctor flicked his sleeve, his face taut, and said nothing.

The three in the medicine hut waited for quite some time before Wuxiang finally came darting back. Entering, he reported, “Master, I searched all through Medicine Valley and couldn’t find her. Yan Baoru seems to have disappeared.”

Wuxin was astonished. “Impossible. How could she disappear? She has never left without saying anything before. Junior Brother, search again carefully.”

“All right. I’ll look again.” Wuxiang nodded and turned to leave.

“No need.” The Ghost Doctor stopped him sharply. With a grim face, he said, “She’s gone. She already ran away. What the hell is there left to look for?”

Guo Man still looked bewildered. “Sir, what happened to Sister Baoru?”

The Ghost Doctor suddenly turned away without answering her and fixed his gaze on Wuxin. “If I remember what you told me back then, the reason you took Yan Baoru in was also because she had a grudge against Niu Youdao. Is that right?”

Wuxin thought for a moment and nodded slightly. “Yes. I heard about the grudge she formed with Niu Youdao in the Tiandu Secret Realm. Niu Youdao had driven her to the end of her road, and considering her cultivation and strength… I admit I had a selfish desire for revenge against Niu Youdao at the time, so I took her in thinking she might prove useful later. Then Niu Youdao died, so all of that was over. She proved steady and reliable in handling matters, so I kept her at my side. Master, what’s wrong?”

The Ghost Doctor exploded. Pointing at Wuxin’s nose, he shouted, “What’s wrong? Yan Baoru was a mole they planted beside you! You ask me what’s wrong?”

Back when their group had been in Jinzhou, their movements had been exposed. The Ghost Doctor had found it a little strange at the time, but he had not thought much about it, assuming the opposing side was simply powerful enough to have someone tailing them.

And just now, that visitor had walked straight into his medicine hut. The man had entered the Ghost Doctor’s very lair without anyone noticing, treating Medicine Valley as though it were deserted. The Ghost Doctor had suspected then that there must be a mole on the inside.

Now it appeared his suspicion had been right.

Guo Man stared in surprise. “Sister Baoru is a mole? How could that be? There’s nothing around Sir worth coveting. Why would someone plant a mole?”

Wuxin also frowned. “Master, could you be mistaken?”

“Mistaken?” The Ghost Doctor repeated. His temper flared on the spot. He looked around, grabbed a stick at random, and brought it down on Wuxin’s head with a thump. It was a literal wake-up blow.

“Ow!” Wuxin recoiled, rubbing his forehead in pain. A lump swelled visibly on his head.

The Ghost Doctor pointed the stick at him, looking furious enough to burst. “Because you were obsessed with getting revenge on Niu Youdao, you took in Yan Baoru. Later, because you were still obsessed with revenge, you also took in that false Niu Youdao who wanted vengeance on him. And Yan Baoru was the one who brought the latter to you. You still can’t see what’s wrong? They seized on your weakness and used you!”

Still puzzled, Wuxin rubbed his forehead. “Master, everyone knows Yan Baoru had a grudge against Niu Youdao!”

“Idiot! If she had a grudge against Niu Youdao, why did she just happen to come hide with you? Couldn’t that have been deliberately arranged? And someone like you still wanted revenge on Niu Youdao? Think about the sort of people who stir up wind and rain beneath Heaven. They live on schemes and deceit as though it were their daily bread, and a bookish fool like you, who only barely escaped with his life, thought he could fight them? You aren’t even qualified to contend with them. They had already investigated your background from top to bottom and knew your weaknesses perfectly. They used your hatred of Niu Youdao first to plant Yan Baoru beside you, then to use you to create a false Niu Youdao. They made move after move against you, and you never noticed a thing! Revenge? How were you going to get revenge? What damned revenge could you possibly take? Their people were already planted right beside you. Every move you made was in their grasp. From beginning to end, you were under their control. The moment you did anything they didn’t like, all they had to do was say one word. They wouldn’t even need to trouble themselves; someone beside you could kill you at any time! Count yourself lucky you never acted recklessly. Count yourself lucky you never found a chance to take revenge. Otherwise, how would you still be alive to stand here acting like an idiot? You would have been dead long ago!”

Wuxin fell silent. Although his master had now traced the whole chain of events for him, he still only half believed it. He might not understand the larger situation, but judging by the small details in how Yan Baoru had treated him over the years, his instincts told him she had never seemed like someone who meant him harm.

“And you!” The Ghost Doctor pointed at Guo Man. “Your sir is an idiot, but are you an idiot too? You’re usually clever enough, always turning with the wind. You act more like a mole than an actual mole. You spent so long beside one and never noticed a single clue?”

Guo Man immediately looked aggrieved and muttered, “Sister Baoru… Yan Baoru. When she first came to us, I warned Sir that she seemed suspicious and told him not to take her in. But Sir insisted. Even if I noticed something wrong, I wasn’t the one who could decide anything. Sir trusted her. What could I do? Afterward, I never found anything wrong with her.”

That was no lie. One of Guo Man’s missions while staying beside Wuxin was to prevent other people from inserting themselves close to him. She simply had not managed to stop Yan Baoru that time, and the people behind Guo Man had later told her to let the matter go.

The Ghost Doctor immediately turned to Wuxin. “Is what she said true? When Yan Baoru first came, did Guo Man think there was something wrong with her? Did she warn you not to take her in?”

Wuxin looked embarrassed and answered sheepishly, “I think she mentioned it.”

Guo Man stared at him. “Sir, it wasn’t ‘I think.’ I clearly told you several times. Have you forgotten?”

Wuxin immediately glared at her as if accusing her: Are you afraid the world isn’t chaotic enough?

Guo Man promptly ducked her head and shut her mouth.

Thump! The Ghost Doctor struck Wuxin on the head again with the stick. “Idiot!”

“Ah!” Wuxin rubbed his forehead and backed away another step. He truly could not understand it. “Master, why are you suddenly digging into all this?”

Wuxiang found it strange too. Exactly. Why had their master suddenly decided to investigate this old matter?

Suddenly? The Ghost Doctor felt as though anger might make him spit blood. The people behind it all had already come knocking at his door, and they called this nothing? He did not want to explain any more, nor could he reveal what the mysterious visitor had instructed him to do. He said wearily, “All of you listen to me. Compared with those treacherous wolves and tigers outside, master and disciples like us are lambs. We can’t outplay them. From now on, if any of you dares interfere in outside affairs behind my back again, don’t blame me for cleaning house!”

He waved them away. “Get out! All of you, get out!”

The three obediently cupped their hands and withdrew.

The Ghost Doctor braced the stick against the table, planted one hand on his hip, and tipped his head back with a long sigh. Slowly closing his eyes, he muttered, “Why did I ever take disciples? I brought this on myself.”

He finally understood. No wonder the other side had been able to use Shao Liuer as leverage to coerce Wuxin. They had clearly investigated Wuxin’s background from top to bottom long ago. They had forced master and disciples into pit after pit. They thought they had climbed out, when in fact they were still trapped in a far larger pit without even realizing it.

[End of Chapter 1502]