A barrage of words came crashing down. Though Yuan Fang could not digest it all, what they revealed was enough to leave him shaken.
In short, he understood one thing: relying on Yuan Se was nowhere near as safe as he had imagined.
That final shout frightened his legs weak, and with a thud, he dropped to his knees on the spot.
Niu Youdao looked down at him from above. "What are you doing? Did you think no one knew you had thrown in with Fatty Yuan? Did you think I would not know just because you said nothing?"
At first, he truly had not known. If Lü Wushuang had not cleared things up for him, he could have racked his brains to pieces and never imagined that the lofty Great Yuan Sacred Venerable had come for food.
Yuan Fang clutched at his clothes with both hands, utterly terrified. "Daoist Master, I had no choice! I did not want to do it either! Yuan Se forced me—I had no way to refuse! I did it to preserve my strength!"
Niu Youdao said, "And that was why you put on airs and gave Matchmaker the cold shoulder?"
"I..." Yuan Fang was nearly in tears. "Daoist Master, I was wrong. For a moment, I was led astray by evil thoughts. But you were gone then! I thought you were gone. Look—you showed yourself, and I immediately told you about Yuan Se."
Niu Youdao said, "I do not like talking to people on their knees!"
Yuan Gang immediately strode over, grabbed Yuan Fang by the ear, and yanked him upright. The pain made Yuan Fang bare his teeth and clutch his face.
Niu Youdao raised a hand and pushed Yuan Gang's hand away, then casually tugged at Yuan Fang's beard. "If you had