It was over! Xu Yitian and Chen Guishuo let out a sigh in their hearts. They had initially been able to breathe a sigh of relief upon learning that they would be released, but Niu Youdao's words sent their hearts plummeting. There was no need to guess—Song Yanqing must have been spineless and confessed everything. Otherwise, how could Niu Youdao have known and said such a thing?
Song Yanqing had revealed that secret, which was tantamount to letting Niu Youdao seize Shangqing Sect's weakness. When they returned, neither of them would know how to explain themselves to Tang Susu. They feared it would make Tang Susu furious with shame and anger!
Yuan Gang's hand rose and fell, his dagger slicing through the ropes around Chen Guishuo. He kicked Chen Guishuo in the back, sending him tumbling down the steps.
When Chen Guishuo climbed back up and looked over his shoulder, his pupils abruptly contracted, and his face filled with terror. A flash of cold light swept across Xu Yitian's neck, and hot blood sprayed into the air.
With one slash, Xu Yitian's neck was severed. Yuan Gang then kicked Xu Yitian, who had widened eyes and blood bubbles gurgling from his mouth, down the steps.
Seeing Xu Yitian twitching as he rolled to his feet, Chen Guishuo's Adam's apple bobbed. He did not dare act rashly. Niu Youdao's strength was right there, and he was injured himself. In this situation, trying to run would be impossible.
Niu Youdao stood with both hands braced on the sword in front of him, his face expressionless. He did not ask why Yuan Gang had killed Xu Yitian, nor did he spare even a glance at Yuan Gang's movements.
Yuan Gang, however, gave him an explanation. "Go back and deliver a message. One person is enough!"
Niu Youdao remained silent, not even blinking. From the moment he had heard the guards recount the battle at the mountainside, he had already formed a guess. He knew Monkey too well. Xu Yitian's death merely confirmed one of his judgments. Xu Yitian had killed so many guards—Monkey would never let him leave alive!
"Get lost!" Yuan Gang shouted at Chen Guishuo below.
Chen Guishuo did not dare linger. Having been given permission, he immediately turned and hurried down the mountain.
Niu Youdao remained calm. He raised the sword in his hand, turned around, and entered the temple to look around...
Conditions were limited, making it inconvenient to carry away the corpses of more than thirty guards, and the current circumstances also made it impossible to return them to their hometowns one by one. As the saying went, loyal bones could be buried anywhere beneath the green hills. The group chose a secluded spot nearby where the wind was sheltered and the waters gathered, dug graves on the spot, and buried the fallen guards one after another.
With several people working together, the task went quickly. Some split wood into gravestones and carved inscriptions on them, while others drove stakes into the ground before each gravestone.
While everyone was busy here, Shang Shuqing found those who had witnessed the incident and questioned them once more in detail about what had happened. When she learned that Guan Tie had tried to persuade Yuan Gang to stay before his death, she asked further about Yuan Gang's every action before and after that moment.
After gaining a rough understanding of the situation, Shang Shuqing fell into deep thought.
Once all the fallen guards had been properly laid to rest, Shang Chaozong called Shang Shuqing over. Together, they offered wine and incense and bid them farewell. The incense had been taken from the temple.
After all the rites were complete, dusk had fallen. Everyone gradually dispersed—those responsible for guarding took up their posts, while those who needed rest returned to the temple. In short, everyone was heavy-hearted. They had not even reached their fief, yet they had already lost more than thirty elite men.
Shang Chaozong, Lan Ruoting, and Shang Shuqing had just returned to the temple entrance when a guard suddenly ran over and reported to Shang Chaozong, "Prince, Yuan Gang has gone to the brothers' burial grounds."
Shang Chaozong nodded and gave it no further thought. He was about to enter the temple when Shang Shuqing said, "Brother, I'm going back to the burial grounds."
Shang Chaozong turned his head and sighed. "So many brothers have died, and everyone is upset. Some things are better remembered in your heart. Thinking about how to settle their families is the proper course. There's no need to pay too much attention to outward formalities. We're all old brothers here; everyone understands. We don't bother with that sort of thing. Besides, we're unfamiliar with the area, and it isn't suitable for a woman like you to be alone outside. Don't overthink it. Go back and rest. You need to be well rested—we still have to set out early tomorrow morning."
Shang Shuqing knew he had misunderstood her, thinking she intended to guard the graves. "Brother, I'm going to see Yuan Gang. I might be able to persuade him to stay for your sake!"
"Hm?" Shang Chaozong slowly turned around, while Lan Ruoting also turned to look at her. Both wore puzzled expressions.
Shang Shuqing gave the two of them a slight nod, then turned and hurried away, her graceful figure drifting down the mountain.
"What does Qing'er mean? Can she really persuade Yuan Gang to stay?" Shang Chaozong turned back and asked Lan Ruoting.
Lan Ruoting shook his head. "I'd say the chances are slim. Yuan Gang clearly follows Niu Youdao's lead. Although Niu Youdao is Mr. Dongguo's disciple, he never received Mr. Dongguo's teachings, and his mindset is no different from that of other cultivators. He probably won't want to invite this trouble. However, the County Princess is clever and talented; she wouldn't make a pointless claim. Since she put it that way, there must be a reason. Prince, you may as well wait and see!"
The sky was half-dark. In Green Mountain, row upon row of new graves stood.
Yuan Gang wandered nearby for a while, gathered a pile of wildflowers, and tied them into a beautiful, vivid bouquet. Carrying it, he came to the new graves. Guan Tie's gravestone stood at the very front and center, easy to find. Yuan Gang walked over, bent down, and placed the bouquet neatly before the gravestone. Then he straightened and stood ramrod straight, silently gazing at the name carved into the stone. His eyes seemed somewhat unfocused, and no one knew what he was thinking.
A faint sound of someone stepping through the weeds came from nearby. Yuan Gang abruptly turned around, his hand instinctively already on the hilt of his dagger. When he saw that it was Shang Shuqing wearing a Gauze Hat, the state of tension that had seized him like a leopard slowly relaxed, and his fingers moved away from the dagger.
Shang Shuqing stopped beside him and stared at the bouquet before the gravestone. "This is the first time I've seen flowers offered before a gravestone."
Yuan Gang said indifferently, "It's not a ceremony."
Glancing at the sky, Shang Shuqing did not intend to beat around the bush. "Guan Tie hoped you would stay before he died, Brother Yuan, but you never gave him an answer. Can you give him one now?"
Yuan Gang remained unmoved. "We're not walking the same path. I can't stay."
"Why can't you stay?"
"Because Daoist Master won't stay."
His words left Shang Shuqing somewhat helpless. "He's a cultivator. Given the situation my brother and I are in, no cultivator would agree to join us. Otherwise, he would inevitably face the united suppression of other cultivators. Besides, he has provoked the Song Family. If his target is fixed, it will be easy for the Song Family to strike at him ruthlessly. We can understand why he doesn't want to stay with us. But you and the Daoist Master are different. If you stay, no one will deliberately target you, and the Song Family won't take notice of you. Brother Yuan, my brother greatly admires you. He would not be wrong about a person like you. I trust his judgment in this regard. Right now, my brother and I have nothing to offer, only a heart of utmost sincerity. We sincerely invite you to stay, and I believe this is also what Guan Tie hoped to see."
"I know what you siblings are thinking," Yuan Gang said. "You think Daoist Master's cultivation isn't high. That's because you have eyes but failed to recognize the gold-inlaid jade. Given your circumstances, Daoist Master himself is more important than his cultivation. You tried to retain the wrong person!"
Shang Shuqing's interest was piqued. "I'd be delighted to hear the details!"
Unexpectedly, Yuan Gang remained expressionless. "If Daoist Master stays, I stay. If Daoist Master leaves, I leave!"
So she had talked for nothing. Shang Shuqing gave a bitter smile. "Then what would it take to make the Daoist Master stay?" She truly had no confidence that she could retain Niu Youdao.
Yuan Gang said calmly, "Daoist Master used to say something often... When roaming the jianghu, whether the wind blows or the rain falls!"
Shang Shuqing froze for a moment, then immediately understood what he meant. There were not many things Niu Youdao cared about, but she heard a trace of hope in Yuan Gang's words. Otherwise, he would not have mentioned Niu Youdao's past. It seemed her judgment had been correct. She asked excitedly, "What could make Daoist Master rein in his horse while roaming the jianghu?"
Yuan Gang was silent for a long while. In the end, he stared at Guan Tie's gravestone and said, "Daoist Master is quite interested in matters of cultivation!" With that, he immediately strode away, unwilling to say another word. He had already done something he should not have done today and said things he should not have said, placing Daoist Master in trouble.
Shang Shuqing turned and watched him leave. Beneath the Gauze Hat, her bright eyes glittered with excitement. During her earlier dealings with Niu Youdao, she had discovered that not a single word from him could be relied upon, and he was impervious to coaxing or coercion. She had never found a point of entry. Yuan Gang's words were no different from pointing her directly toward that opening...
Inside Nanshan Temple, mealtime had arrived, yet Shang Shuqing was still nowhere to be seen. Food had already been set on the table. Shang Chaozong sat cross-legged and asked Lan Ruoting, who was seated opposite him, "Why hasn't Qing'er returned yet?"
Lan Ruoting shook his head slightly and gestured with his hand. "Prince, eat first. We'll keep the food warm for the County Princess. Don't worry about her—someone is watching her, and we'll report promptly if anything happens."
His words had barely fallen when a guard entered from outside, clasped his hands, and reported, "Prince, the County Princess sent word for you and Mr. Lan to eat first. She said not to wait for her."
Shang Chaozong frowned. "Does the County Princess have something to attend to?"
The guard replied, "I don't know. I only know that she went to see the Daoist Master."
Shang Chaozong and Lan Ruoting exchanged looks...
Inside the room, a single oil lamp cast a dim light. Niu Youdao sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion. A small table stood before him, with a plate on it. The plate held a large chunk of meat—a huge piece of lean meat steaming with heat. Supposedly, it had come from a wild boar hunted not long ago.
"Sigh!" Niu Youdao prodded it a few times with his chopsticks and could not help sighing again. It was boiled meat in plain water yet again, and such a huge lump at that. How was anyone supposed to put it in their mouth?
Of course, he had to admit that Shang Chaozong's group had never mistreated him when it came to food. They always gave him the best. At first, whenever they had the chance to eat meat on the road, the guards would immediately serve him the largest piece of fat. The mass of glistening white fat was dazzling to look at and enough to make one sick. But he could understand them. To those people, to the starving commoners of these chaotic times, and to a group of martial men expending enormous amounts of physical strength, it was absolutely good stuff. They had given him the biggest piece of fat; they could not possibly have treated him any better.
Unfortunately, he had no blessings to enjoy it. Afterward, he instructed them that he did not eat fat and only ate lean meat. The huge chunk before him was one of the results.
Lean meat was lean meat, but couldn't they at least cut it into smaller, more delicate pieces? They had simply boiled such a huge lump in plain water, sprinkled on a little salt, and served it? The cooking of this era was truly beyond his ability to praise. As far as he was concerned, even scallions mixed with tofu would have been far better than this.
This was already the countless time he had told himself that once things stabilized, he absolutely had to improve the food situation.
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