Chapter 1581: Master Dao, I Don't Want to Go Back

"A great favor needs no thanks in words. In my next life, I'll repay Brother Yuan by serving as your ox or horse!"

Zha Hu cupped his hands and bowed deeply in farewell. "Goodbye!"

Straightening, he turned to the two boys and instructed them, "From now on, you can regard Uncle Yuan as your father. You must listen to him!"

The boys' eyes reddened, their reluctance obvious. One of them asked, "Grandpa Tiger, where are you going? Aren't you going to take care of us anymore?"

"I'm going somewhere very far away. Be good. Don't cry."

With that, Zha Hu turned to leave.

Then an indifferent voice came from inside the villa.

"Stop!"

Zha Hu halted and looked back. Yuan Gang and the others turned as well.

Niu Youdao emerged with his sword planted before him, Guan Fangyi walking at his side.

Zha Hu turned around fully and cupped his hands. "May I ask who this is?"

Niu Youdao glanced at the infant in Yuan Gang's arms, then at the two boys. "Niu Youdao."

Zha Hu hurriedly saluted. "I've long heard Master Dao's great name. Seeing you today, I find your bearing every bit as extraordinary as the stories say."

Niu Youdao said, "I've likewise long heard of Mister Zha. Entrusting these orphans to someone at a time like this—where are you planning to go?"

"Naturally, I'll follow the greater tide and obey the order to enter the Fifth Domain."

"Then stop running around blindly. When the time comes, withdraw together with Maolu Villa. That way we'll be able to look after one another. We don't lack a place for you to stay here either. Duan Hu, arrange a guest courtyard for Mister Zha."

"Yes!" Duan Hu answered and extended a hand. "Mister Zha, please come with me."

Zha Hu hurriedly waved both hands. "No, no. There's no need to trouble yourselves. I'm more comfortable coming and going alone. I can make my own way there."

Niu Youdao's voice turned cold. "You'd better behave and listen. Try running away and see what happens. If you dare run, I'll slaughter all three of these little ones!"

The sheer viciousness of the threat badly frightened the two boys.

Zha Hu was shocked. "You..."

Yuan Gang was startled as well. "Master Dao..."

Niu Youdao cut him off. "Monkey, get one thing straight. Who makes the decisions here? Hongniang, keep a close watch on him. Anyone who dares flee without permission—kill!"

"Yes," Guan Fangyi answered outwardly, though inwardly she was muttering to herself.

Niu Youdao gave Yuan Gang one last cold glance, then turned and walked away with his sword planted before him.

Yuan Gang wanted to speak but stopped himself. He knew Niu Youdao too well to believe the man would act like this without reason. After thinking for a moment, he turned to Zha Hu.

"Brother Zha, Master Dao is right about one thing. If we're all going to the Fifth Domain, traveling together will let us look after one another. Stay at the villa for now. We'll leave together later."

Guan Fangyi gave Duan Hu a look.

Duan Hu once again extended his hand. "Mister Zha, please."

Afterward, Guan Fangyi called people over and had them simply tuck the two protesting boys under their arms and carry them away.

Zha Hu's heart pounded with alarm. He did not dare make trouble here, so he told Yuan Gang heavily, "Brother Yuan, don't let anyone hurt them."

Yuan Gang replied just as heavily, "Brother Zha, don't worry. Stay here for now."

With that, he carried the infant away at a brisk pace. He wanted to find out what Niu Youdao was doing.

Guan Fangyi followed for the same reason.

Deep inside the villa, Yuan Gang finally caught up to Niu Youdao and asked urgently, "Master Dao, why deliberately make things difficult for Zha Hu?"

"Make things difficult for him?" Niu Youdao gave a derisive snort. "The Fifth Domain doesn't forbid him from bringing those children inside. So what is he trying to do?"

"Master Dao, that man is utterly loyal to the Huyan family. He would never do anything harmful to them. Maybe he simply feels the children are better off remaining in the human world."

Niu Youdao glanced at him and realized Yuan Gang had misunderstood.

"Precisely because he's utterly loyal, I can't let him leave. Precisely because he's utterly loyal, entrusting the children to you now is abnormal. Since he was confident you'd take them in, and since he already came to Maolu Villa, why can't he stay with them? Why does he need to leave?"

"Precisely because he's utterly loyal to the Huyan family, he may be planning to go take revenge on Gao Pin!"

"If he kills Gao Pin and Jin's side demands an explanation, then under the rules I've established, do I kill him or not?"

Yuan Gang abruptly understood.

Alarm struck him.

Only now did he realize Zha Hu had been preparing to leave with no intention of returning. Fortunately, Master Dao had reacted quickly, or something truly might have happened.

Walking beside them, Guan Fangyi also looked thoughtful. She sighed inwardly. From a small matter one could see the greater whole. Without this man, Maolu Villa truly could never have reached where it stood today.

Niu Youdao continued, "It's precisely because he's so loyal that I don't want anything to happen to him. I've heard his strength isn't bad. Keep him. Consider it a foundation I'm leaving for you and for Maolu Villa, something useful for handling affairs and establishing yourselves in the Fifth Domain later. Watch him carefully. Don't let him run."

Yuan Gang lowered his head and looked at the infant in his arms, who was licking away at her food and smiling whenever anyone looked at her.

Guan Fangyi sighed. "You said something that vicious right in front of those two boys. You probably frightened them half to death. In their eyes, you're never going to escape suspicion of being a villain."

Niu Youdao smiled, unconcerned.

Whether those two boys would ever see him again in the future was another question entirely...

Yuan Gang's courtyard now had a laughing child in it, and the entire place gained a great deal more cheer.

When someone held her hands, the little girl could already wobble forward a couple of steps. She frequently amused Lü Wushuang beyond measure, and even Feng Guan'er often smiled at the sight.

Some time later, the Mountains and Rivers Cauldron was delivered to Maolu Villa as well.

Seated behind the table in the waterside pavilion, Niu Youdao turned the object over in his hands and examined it.

Han had surrendered.

After paying no small price, it had surrendered in the end.

Shang Chaozong had made his stance clear: he would accept any cost and make no compromise.

Seeing no hope in fighting to the death, and facing Shang Chaozong's absolute advantage, the interest groups large and small throughout Han realized that continued resistance would only leave them alive to suffer. In the end, they had no choice but to yield and surrender.

Thus, all Seven States returned to Yan.

All beneath Heaven was unified!

After receiving the Mountains and Rivers Cauldron, Niu Youdao left Maolu Villa as well, taking Yuan Gang, Shang Shuqing, and Yin'er with him.

The group entered the Butterfly Dream Illusory Realm.

He brought Shang Shuqing because he wanted her to see the wonder of that fantastical world. It was also because Shang Shuqing and Yin'er were close. He wanted Shang Shuqing to bid her farewell and see what Yin'er's true home was like...

In that world of strange and brilliant colors, the pyramid standing on the mountain suddenly began humming and trembling as it slowly sank.

The enormous disturbance sent countless Butterfly Rakshasas scattering through the air in chaotic flight.

The pyramid sank beneath the mountain as though stirring the deepest parts of the earth itself. The surrounding peaks collapsed amid rolling thunder.

Below and ahead, the half-ruined Shang Song's Traveling Palace also collapsed beneath that world-shaking upheaval until only the bronze hall remained.

Inside that bronze hall, amid the violent trembling, the sleeping Yin'er slowly awakened.

Niu Youdao immediately knocked her unconscious again.

After the disturbance ended, Yin'er climbed back to her feet and walked outside.

She looked around.

There was no one amid the ruins. Only rolling dust and smoke accompanied the Butterfly Rakshasas flying everywhere.

Unable to see the people who had come with her, Yin'er called, "Dao Dao!"

After calling out, her nostrils twitched.

She sniffed the air and turned back.

Returning to the hall, she pulled open a large sack and found it stuffed full of roasted chicken legs.

She immediately took one and bit into it.

Then she sniffed out another sack and opened that one too.

More chicken legs.

She opened every sack.

They were filled either with chicken legs or with the snacks she loved.

Niu Youdao had left her a vast amount of food.

Holding a chicken leg in each hand, Yin'er walked back out of the bronze hall and wandered through the ruins, chewing as she called, "Dao Dao... Qingqing..."

She could not find anyone.

Once she finished what was in her hands, she could not bear to stray far. She scampered back into the bronze hall and sat down beside the mountain of food, eating without pause.

Every so often she muttered, "Dao Dao, Qingqing, Yin'er can't find you... Dao Dao, Qingqing, Yin'er is here... Dao Dao, Qingqing, Yin'er will wait for you..."

Outside the Butterfly Dream Illusory Realm, a great rumble sounded and the earth shook.

The rippling curtain of light within Butterfly Valley surged violently like storm-tossed waves before suddenly shrinking into a single point and vanishing.

No trace remained.

The passage between the two realms had disappeared completely.

Watching it happen, Shang Shuqing asked in a trembling voice, "Master Dao... Yin'er can never come out again?"

Niu Youdao answered calmly, "The Commandery Princess already knows where she came from and what she is. I know you can't bear it, but this world doesn't belong to her. For her, it's too dangerous."

"The world inside belongs to her. She is that world's king. Only there can she truly live freely and without restraint."

"We can't keep her beside us as some gluttonous spirit pet merely because our feelings make it difficult to let her go."

Shang Shuqing could not be as rational as he was.

Mist gathered in her eyes as she stared blankly at the place where the light had vanished.

Niu Youdao knew she needed time to settle her emotions, so he said nothing more.

He walked aside and told Yuan Gang, "Moving such a huge number of people into the Fifth Domain can't be done without you. You can go ahead to the Boundless Desert and begin the transfers. Have Hongniang go over and assist you."

Yuan Gang gave a low acknowledgment.

Then he asked in a muffled voice, "After that, are you going to sever the passage between the human world and the Fifth Domain?"

Niu Youdao replied, "Do you really need to ask?"

"Are you planning to use the passage Li Ge left behind to go back?"

"The other end of that passage is our home. Don't you want to go home?"

Yuan Gang fell silent.

He said nothing.

Niu Youdao suddenly realized something.

He whipped his head around and stared at him. "What do you mean by that?"

Yuan Gang spoke with difficulty.

"Master Dao, I don't want to go back."

Niu Youdao narrowed his eyes. "What kind of joke is that? If you don't go back, what are you planning to do in the Fifth Domain? Keep fighting and killing forever?"

"I'm telling you now, unless I kill every one of those cultivators, they're never going to remain peaceful."

"Not the Fifth Domain," Yuan Gang said. "I want to remain in the human world. Master Dao, I want to stay and do something meaningful."

"Meaningful, my ass! Don't talk to me about your ideals. We've already done what we could. No one can take responsibility for everything. No one! Anyone who thinks otherwise is overestimating himself!"

Yuan Gang lowered his head. "Master Dao, you go back. I'll stay."

Niu Youdao's voice sank. "We've been brothers all these years, and today you're talking to me about splitting up?"

"Master Dao, that's not what I mean. If I go back, I don't know what I would do. Go back to our old line of work? Or just eat and wait to die? That world doesn't need someone like me anymore."

Niu Youdao's anger surged.

"This world doesn't need you either!"

"Have you ever heard that conquering the realm is easy, but governing it is hard?"

"Monkey, listen to me. The human world has been unified. What comes next is the division of interests. Those matters are more dangerous than fighting and killing. They're not problems you can solve with brute strength. Do you understand?"

"If you miss this chance, you will never be able to go back later!"

Yuan Gang drew a deep breath and raised his head.

He spoke with complete seriousness.

"Master Dao, I've thought about this for a long time. I won't involve myself in those things. I only want to do something useful for people."

"Master Dao, you go back."

"From here on, let me walk the rest of my road myself."

Niu Youdao stared at him in silence.

[End of Chapter 1581]