Chapter 1509: Victory or Defeat Hangs by a Thread!

Hei Shi did not need to remind him. Wu Chang suddenly said, “There was something wrong with Sha Rulai too. It seems he was their inside man before this. Only someone with Sha Rulai’s standing would have found it convenient to communicate between the inside and outside of the Sacred Realm at any time.”

Hei Shi nodded. According to the Ghost Doctor’s account, Sha Rulai had played a crucial role in steering Luo Qiu.

Wu Chang looked up at the Ghost Doctor again. “It seems you did more for them than just these things?” There was a hint that he was deliberately trying to bluff more out of him.

The Ghost Doctor answered with frightened respect, “During that time, I only examined the Holy Rakshasa once. Other than that, I truly did nothing else. I only came into contact with Lan Ming’s side around the time the Qi rebels attacked the Qi capital.”

Wu Chang and Hei Shi were both startled. What caught their attention was not anything else he had said, but the Holy Rakshasa.

Wu Chang said heavily, “You treated the Holy Rakshasa too?”

The Ghost Doctor nodded in surprise, his expression seeming to say, I thought you already knew. Otherwise, how would you know I did more than those things?

Wu Chang asked, “What was wrong with the Holy Rakshasa?”

The Ghost Doctor hastened to assure him, “Sacred Venerable, just like Luo Fangfei, I was helpless. I was unable to cure the Holy Rakshasa either.” His implication was that he had done nothing against Wu Chang.

That was not what Wu Chang wanted to hear. “I asked what was wrong with the Holy Rakshasa.”

The Ghost Doctor fell silent for a moment, then said, “There is something wrong with the Holy Rakshasa’s mind. More precisely, her memory is poor. When she turns into a human, she forgets the Holy Rakshasa’s memories. When she becomes the Holy Rakshasa again, she forgets her memories as a human.”

Wu Chang said, “She can turn into a human?”

The Ghost Doctor nodded. “Yes. There is an aberrant demon qi inside the Holy Rakshasa. When that demon qi grows within her, she is the Holy Rakshasa. Once the aberrant demon qi is dissolved, she becomes a woman. The reason those people sought me out was that whenever she becomes the Holy Rakshasa, she recognizes no kin or friend and even attacks her own people. They hoped I could solve the problem, but I truly had no way to do so.”

As he said this, he was complaining bitterly inside. He had no idea what the people on that side were thinking or why they wanted him to reveal this. He was simply following their instructions blindly. They had told him not to worry: so long as he said exactly what they had instructed, the story would withstand investigation and leave no flaws.

Hei Shi asked, “Where did you see the Holy Rakshasa?”

The Ghost Doctor said, “I don’t know. After I reached a certain place, they rendered me unconscious. I have no idea where they took me, only that it was somewhere in the mountains. Oh, right. After the Holy Rakshasa transformed into a woman, I heard them call her ‘Yin’er’ to soothe her. This Yin’er is very easily angered. Once provoked, the aberrant demon qi inside her grows rapidly, and she soon transforms back into the Holy Rakshasa.”

“Yin’er...” Wu Chang murmured, then looked at Hei Shi.

Hei Shi nodded, indicating that he had remembered it.

Wu Chang continued questioning the Ghost Doctor about the Holy Rakshasa in detail, and the Ghost Doctor answered deferentially.

Once there was nothing more to ask, and after the Ghost Doctor repeatedly insisted that he knew nothing else, Wu Chang gestured for him to go outside and wait.

The Ghost Doctor cupped his hands and withdrew. Hei Shi followed him out. Only after watching the Ghost Doctor walk away did he return to the cavern and lean close to Wu Chang. “The person behind all this actually allowed him to come into contact with the Holy Rakshasa? Sacred Venerable, do you think that is credible? Could there be a problem?”

Wu Chang considered it, then slowly said, “If the Holy Rakshasa truly has the problem he described, having him diagnose and treat her is not impossible. If there were some trick involved, he could simply have kept quiet. There would be no need to expose the Holy Rakshasa at all. At least the things he said before do not appear false. As for the Holy Rakshasa, remain half convinced and half skeptical for now. We’ll decide after verifying it. Yin’er? Investigate!”

“Yes!” Hei Shi answered.

Wu Chang looked toward the mouth of the cavern. “For now, verify everything he said that can be verified.”

“Understood.” Hei Shi cupped his hands and quickly went out.

Outside, he found the Tianmo Sacred Land man stationed at Medicine Valley. After giving him a series of instructions, he had the man take the Ghost Doctor back...

Upon returning to Medicine Valley, the man who had escorted the Ghost Doctor immediately called over his own people and ordered them to keep the Ghost Doctor under covert watch without letting the people from the other two Sacred Lands notice anything.

The Ghost Doctor cooperated consciously. He took the initiative to keep his distance from the others in Medicine Valley, avoiding any appearance of collusion.

The man remained beside the Ghost Doctor, then had him instruct Wuxin to leave with him. Everything was done without drawing attention, while the Ghost Doctor appeared to sit outside the medicine hut basking in the sun.

Yan Baoru, who had already returned to Medicine Valley, tried to approach, but the Ghost Doctor raised a hand and stopped her.

When Guo Man came over later, she moved beside Yan Baoru and asked curiously, “What happened?”

Yan Baoru glanced at her, both annoyed and amused inside. That was right: after Niu Youdao had verified her story, he really had let her return. The Ghost Doctor and his disciples did not dare do anything to her, and on the surface they still had to treat her as usual.

The absurd part was that the Ghost Doctor and his disciples had decided Yan Baoru was the mole. She could see how disappointed Wuxin was in her. Meanwhile Guo Man, the real mole, had won the trust of the Ghost Doctor and his disciples precisely because Yan Baoru had stepped forward and admitted to being the spy. What kind of situation was this?

There was nowhere for her to argue her case. On the surface, her return was so that she could handle contact between Niu Youdao and the Ghost Doctor. In reality, she was also covering for Guo Man. One stood in the open and the other in the shadows, both keeping watch on the Ghost Doctor’s side.

After leaving Medicine Valley, the man carrying out Hei Shi’s instructions took Wuxin back to the island. Wu Chang was no longer there; Wuxin met Hei Shi instead.

Hei Shi sent the escort away and kept Wuxin alone to verify the relevant details.

What could be said and what could not had all been planned in advance. The Ghost Doctor had given Wuxin his instructions before leaving Medicine Valley for the Sacred Realm.

And it would not end with Wuxin. Wuxiang, Yan Baoru, and Guo Man would each be questioned in turn...

In the secret chamber beneath Nanzhou Prefectural Capital, Niu Youdao sat behind the table, frowning at the confidential letter in his hand.

The message from the Demon Foxes also conveyed the Ghost Doctor’s diagnosis.

He actually could not cure her? Niu Youdao was very surprised. He had never expected Luo Fangfei’s condition to be like this. He had even told the Ghost Doctor that after curing Luo Fangfei, if Wu Chang questioned him, he should fabricate a reason saying she could not be cured. Who would have thought he had actually jinxed it? His words had come true, and she really could not be cured. What was this supposed to be?

He thought of Yin Ji’s death and how Yin Ji’s daughter had now ended up like this. Then he thought of Sha Rulai’s death. Before he died, Sha Rulai had not wanted Luo Fangfei dragged into any of this either.

Niu Youdao’s mood grew heavy. No matter how one looked at it, he could not wash his hands of Yin Ji and Sha Rulai’s deaths.

He knew that what he was doing could not avoid sacrifice, but the deaths of those two still weighed heavily on him.

Lü Wushuang arrived, her skirts swaying as she walked. She placed a confidential letter before him. “Word came from Medicine Valley. Wu Chang secretly appeared there in person. Everything was done as you instructed.”

Niu Youdao put down the letter he had been holding, picked up the one on the table, and read it. He gave a slight nod to show he understood, but his expression remained grave.

Lü Wushuang had already realized that whatever they had asked the Ghost Doctor to do could not be limited to what she knew. There had to be some hidden secret, and that secret was probably the most crucial part of the entire plan.

She could also confirm that Yuan Gang knew about it. She had noticed that his mood too often betrayed a certain heaviness.

She had guessed correctly. Yuan Gang did know. There were some messages Niu Youdao still needed someone to pass along, and he did not let the others know—not because he distrusted them, but because the truth could easily cause panic. In that respect, there would never be any problem with Yuan Gang.

After Lü Wushuang had been gone for a while, Yuan Gang came in. He walked over to Niu Youdao and bent down to speak softly beside his ear. “Master Dao, Medicine Valley says Wu Chang demanded from Yan Baoru the cipher codebook used to decode correspondence with our side.”

The confidential letter was the same one Lü Wushuang had delivered. But because Lü Wushuang had been present, Yuan Gang had not translated the entire message. He had translated only half for her to bring over. The remaining half was what he was now conveying verbally.

Niu Youdao said slowly, “It looks like he has his eye on our correspondence and plans to follow the trail back to its source.”

Yuan Gang’s expression was exceptionally grave. “If that’s the case, with Wu Chang’s power, it won’t take long for him to turn all our secrets inside out. Everyone who has secret contact with us will be completely exposed. Are we really going to take no precautions at all?”

Niu Youdao’s jaw tightened. His voice came slowly and with difficulty. “No precautions. If he can uncover it, let him uncover it.”

Yuan Gang was deeply worried and had to remind him, “Master Dao, if anything goes wrong, I’m afraid not one of us will get away. This is too dangerous!”

Niu Youdao slowly raised his eyes to him. “Wu Chang does not trust anyone easily. This is the best way to dispel his suspicions and make him truly believe us. Only if he thinks everything is under his control will he genuinely feel secure.”

“As long as he feels secure, we will be safe. For him, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Don’t worry. Until Lan Daolin and Du Wuxu are eliminated, he won’t make a move against us. He may even deliberately create opportunities for us. He may very well kill with a borrowed knife. Only after Lan Daolin and Du Wuxu fall will he turn on us. Otherwise, it will be very difficult for him to find another chance to get rid of those two.”

“It is the same for us. After being struck at again and again, Lan Daolin and Du Wuxu will not fall for traps so easily. With Wu Chang cooperating, things will be much easier.”

“This is his finest chance to dominate all under Heaven. I have placed such a great temptation before him that he cannot refuse!”

Yuan Gang gave a slight nod, but remained worried inside. This game was too large. Every one of their lives had been wagered on it, and victory or defeat hung by a thread!

Niu Youdao said, “To watch this place, he has to deploy observers in a radiating network in every direction. At most, he can track messages leaving here. Messages coming in from outside will be difficult for him to intercept. From now on, any message that must avoid Wu Chang’s eyes goes through Yun Ji. Have her escape underground out of the city before sending it.”

Yuan Gang grunted. “Understood.”

Just then, footsteps sounded outside. Yuan Gang immediately straightened. Yun Ji entered, carrying a large chest.

Bang! She dropped the chest onto the floor.

Niu Youdao and Yuan Gang were still wondering what it was when Yun Ji tipped her chin at Yuan Gang. “The man you wanted. I got him for you.”

With that, she flipped open the lid. Sure enough, a man had been stuffed inside.

[End of Chapter 1509]