Chapter 1538: It Must Be Done

There were some things the others could never fully understand. Zhao Xiongge understood the deeper meaning the moment he heard it, and remembered the conversation he and Niu Youdao had once shared beneath the moon.

He remembered Niu Youdao telling him back then: "So long as one of us is still alive, the Shangqing Sect's incense flame will not be extinguished!"

Zhao Xiongge stared at him, jaw clenched. His lips moved faintly, and emotion clearly surged within him.

Niu Youdao continued to remind him, "There is one thing you need to watch. I don't know what Shao Pingbo went through in the past, but to achieve his objectives, he can sacrifice everything. His methods can be called extreme. Yet looking at some of what he has done over the years, he also carries the ambition to benefit all the common people beneath Heaven. There is great goodness in him, and great evil too. He is both man and ghost. So he can be used, but you must be careful. The moment he finds an opportunity, he will wipe out the cultivators beneath Heaven, the Shangqing Sect included."

"Jia Wuqun is far more benevolent and even-tempered. When there is business, he handles the business. When there is none, he keeps himself apart and preserves his own integrity. He has no great ambition. But whether it is Shao Pingbo or Jia Wuqun, if either one gains the opportunity, I fear neither will spare the cultivators beneath Heaven. And once they act, their methods will certainly be ruthless."

"So you will have to judge for yourselves how to deal with these two men. You know what the Demon Canon says about the Fifth Domain. Whether there is some compromise to be found between the two sides is something you'll have to decide yourselves. If I cannot return, I won't be able to manage it."

Zhao Xiongge's jaw remained tight. After a long silence, he said, "Senior Brother Dong Guo did not misjudge you. You are the Shangqing Sect's good fortune!"

Niu Youdao could not help rolling his eyes. "Stop gilding his face. After this, I will have done everything duty and friendship could ask. I won't owe the Shangqing Sect a single thing." Seeing Zhao Xiongge about to speak again and already guessing what he wanted to say, Niu Youdao raised a hand. "Enough. Don't start lecturing me about grand principles. I won't listen."

Zhao Xiongge was left speechless.

Lü Wushuang suddenly spoke. "What exactly are you planning to do? If you don't have confidence, don't take the risk!"

Neither Niu Youdao nor Yuan Gang had told her exactly how they intended to act. That concealment itself had made her suspect Niu Youdao was preparing something dangerous. Now that she had heard him making final arrangements, her suspicion was confirmed.

Shang Shuqing's eyes were filled with anxiety. She was no fool. Naturally, she too understood that Niu Youdao was arranging matters in case he died. Yet there seemed to be no place for her to speak, so all she could do was worry.

Yin'er understood none of it. She remained as carefree as ever, with snacks stuffed into her little satchel. Every so often she reached in, took something out, shelled it, and popped it into her mouth.

To her, there seemed to be nothing in the world happier than eating. Everyone familiar with her had long since stopped finding it strange.

Niu Youdao smiled at Lü Wushuang. "Don't worry. I have ninety-nine percent confidence in this trip. I would never do something I had absolutely no confidence in."

Lü Wushuang said, "Then why say all this useless nonsense? If you want to die, I won't stop you, but my man has to come back safely."

Zhao Xiongge gave the woman a puzzled look. He had no idea who she was, much less who her man was.

Niu Youdao said, "There is always a chance something unexpected can happen. And the Three Sacred Venerables are no ordinary people. Preparations still have to be made against the worst case. Enough. My mind is made up. Now that you've come here, there's nothing you can do to stop it anyway. Just follow the arrangements."

"You..." Lü Wushuang was furious, but she truly had no way to stop him.

Niu Youdao turned back to Zhao Xiongge. "I'm leaving these two women to you. Protect them well. You know how to open the seal. The place is behind the waterfall."

"The waterfall?" Zhao Xiongge turned toward the direction from which the roar of falling water came. He nodded slightly, then brought a firm gaze back to Niu Youdao's face. His tone was equally firm. "Come back safely! With your ability, I believe you will. Let the matter of opening the seal wait until you return."

Niu Youdao chuckled and avoided the subject. "I've decided I like you better when you're a little unkempt. Now that you've cleaned yourself up, I'm not quite used to looking at you." He then held a hand out to Yin'er. "Yin'er, come with me."

Yin'er nodded and let him take her hand. They had only gone a few steps when Shang Shuqing suddenly called from behind, "Master Dao."

Niu Youdao stopped and looked back. "Does the Commandery Princess have another instruction?"

Shang Shuqing bit her lip hard. The words came with difficulty, her voice trembling. "Can you... not go?"

She knew she had no standing to stop him, and no ability to help. But knowing he might never return, she had still been unable to hold the words back.

"There's no road back now. If I don't go, everything we've done will fall short at the final step. It must be done!" Niu Youdao gave her that answer and pulled Yin'er away.

"Qingqing?" Yin'er kept looking back. Only then did she seem to realize Shang Shuqing was not coming with them. She pleaded with Niu Youdao, "Daodao, Qingqing come too."

Niu Youdao ignored her. He gestured for Yun Ji to open the way and simply dragged Yin'er along.

In her current state, Yin'er could not make trouble in his hands. Others feared provoking her, but he did not. He could resolve the aberrant demon qi as it arose within her body, keeping her constantly suppressed in this weakened condition.

Only three people remained beside the underground river.

Zhao Xiongge stood with his jaw tight, staring at the place where Niu Youdao had disappeared. Behind him came Lü Wushuang's voice. "Commandery Princess, are you crying?"

Zhao Xiongge turned at the sound and saw tears already streaming down Shang Shuqing's face. He could not help asking, "What's wrong? Are you afraid of this dark place? Don't worry. Nothing will happen."

Shang Shuqing shook her head, choked with sobs, and soon could no longer speak clearly. "It's all my fault. I shouldn't have dragged him down from the Shangqing Sect for my own selfish reasons."

So that was it.

Lü Wushuang did not know all the inside story and said indifferently, "You're thinking too much. A little Shangqing Sect could never have confined him. His leaving had nothing to do with you. It wasn't that he refused to leave back then. The time simply had not arrived. How could a golden-scaled creature be confined to a pond? In a world like this, there was nowhere for him to hide. Even if you had never gone to the Shangqing Sect, sooner or later he would have come down the mountain and stirred things up."

Zhao Xiongge comforted her as well. "Commandery Princess, he has already found a way to cure your face. Soon, it won't take long at all, and the birthmark on your face can be removed."

Shang Shuqing could not stop crying, her heart full of self-reproach. It was unclear whether she heard him.

Lü Wushuang, however, turned a cold gaze on Zhao Xiongge. "Zhao Xiongge, you've hidden yourself remarkably well right under Wu Chang's nose. You've broken through to the Nascent Soul Realm too?"

Zhao Xiongge looked at her in confusion. "I still haven't asked. You are...?"

Lü Wushuang raised a hand and tore the false face from her own, revealing her true appearance. "Lü Wushuang."

"..."

Zhao Xiongge's eyes widened instantly.

He had seen her before. He had seen this woman appear at Demon Ridge and knew that Sacred Venerable Wushuang was now at Niu Youdao's side. He simply had not expected it to be her. No wonder Niu Youdao had spoken of relying on her knowledge and judgment.

Shang Shuqing was also badly startled by the name. With tears still covering her face, she turned and stared.

This was the legendary Sacred Venerable Wushuang?

Judging from the woman's bearing, that sweeping air of contempt that intimidated merely by existing, it did not seem false.

The oppressive might of the Sacred Venerables had cowed all beneath Heaven for far too long. The fear had been driven deep into the bones of the living. Suddenly discovering that one of them stood right beside her, Shang Shuqing could hardly remain unaffected.

Zhao Xiongge stared for a while, then tried asking, "You said just now, 'my man.' Your man is...?"

Lü Wushuang answered calmly, "Yuan Gang."

"Ah!" Zhao Xiongge cried out involuntarily. "That Monkey?"

Master Yuan? Shang Shuqing was dumbfounded too. She almost suspected she had heard incorrectly, and for a moment even forgot her grief.

Lü Wushuang said indifferently, "Is there a problem?"

Zhao Xiongge looked doubtful. "You're joking, aren't you?"

"Joking? Do I look like someone who would joke about such a thing? We bowed to Heaven and Earth. We're properly wedded husband and wife. Niu Youdao never told you?"

"..."

Zhao Xiongge and Shang Shuqing were simultaneously rendered speechless. Both simply stared at her.

Zhao Xiongge's thoughts turned into a tangle.

He believed a woman like Lü Wushuang would never joke about her own chastity and reputation. But then he thought of someone else: Feng Guan'er at Demon Ridge. Yuan Gang had been willing to live or die for Feng Guan'er, yet now he and Lü Wushuang had become husband and wife. Then what exactly was Feng Guan'er supposed to be?

Coincidentally, as Zhao Xiongge thought of Feng Guan'er, Lü Wushuang thought of her too. Her voice turned cold. "I hear that Feng Guan'er has remained on your side all this time under your care?"

Zhao Xiongge had no idea what the real situation was. His gaze instinctively shifted sideways, meeting Shang Shuqing's eyes. He forced out a defense. "The Demonic Sect is watching her. It has nothing to do with me."

The moment he finished, he realized something was wrong and muttered inwardly, I haven't done anything guilty. Why am I acting nervous?

"Hmph." Lü Wushuang gave a string of cold snorts. "If you don't want to say, then don't. Tell me something you do know. What is this sealed thing Niu Youdao was talking about?"

Zhao Xiongge fell silent.

He had always been exceptionally tight-lipped. Wu Chang had spent so many years digging and still failed to force the secret out of him. That alone showed what kind of man he was. Until he could be certain there would be no danger, there were some things he would never reveal lightly.

After a silence, he said, "Since he already made the arrangements, whether he returns or not, you'll know eventually. There's no need to rush."

Seeing that he refused to talk, Lü Wushuang currently had no way to force him. The two were not familiar either, so she could only let it go.

Her gaze shifted toward the place from which the roar of falling water came. She murmured to herself, "Behind the waterfall... a sealed object... Dong Guo Haoran..."

She was plainly trying to work out what it could be.

She had spent so long beside Niu Youdao without discovering even a clue. There was simply no direction from which to guess. Still, one thing she could infer: whatever had been sealed away was certainly no ordinary thing.

Listening to their conversation, Shang Shuqing also sank into thought, but she too could not guess what it might be...

Two flying mounts once again rose from the mountains, beating their wings rapidly as they carried the others away.

The wind roared around them in the sky. Yun Ji suddenly looked back and asked, "Why didn't you open the seal and take those hundred thousand Crow Generals with you? Wouldn't that be safer?"

Niu Youdao gave a bitter smile. There were some things he had not wanted to explain, but he truly did not understand how some people's minds worked. Could they really not think one turn further?

He sighed. "I'd like to take them. But how would we get them there? Could they pass Xiping Pass? Moving them on this scale within Yan territory would be manageable, but the moment they entered Jin territory, there would be almost no way to hide them. One careless move would arouse Wu Chang's suspicions. Traveling overland would take too long. And if a force that large flew there, even a blind man would notice."

Yun Ji thought about it and had to agree. She sighed. "Then back then you should have lured Wu Chang onto Yan territory."

Niu Youdao said, "You think I didn't want to? If I deliberately chose the location, what explanation could possibly satisfy Wu Chang? He would become suspicious. If Wu Chang deliberately chose the location, what explanation could satisfy Lan Daolin and Du Wuxu? They would become suspicious too. Do you think none of them would guard against tricks or investigate beforehand? Six of the nine have already fallen. The remaining three are all extremely vigilant. The best choice is to make them walk into the net themselves!"

[End of Chapter 1538]