Shang Shuqing sensed an underlying meaning in those words. She seemed a little worried that her brother might suffer for it, or that he might agree too hastily, so she hurriedly asked, "A minor inconvenience? Could Daoist Master please clarify?"
Lan Ruoting nodded when he heard that. He was worried about this too.
Niu Youdao said calmly, "It can hardly be called an inconvenience. The resources the Prince can mobilize are truly limited. In order to achieve my goal, I may have to resort to unscrupulous means while I'm away. When that happens, I hope the Prince will cooperate and not blame me."
Shang Shuqing said, "As the saying goes, all is fair in war. It's understandable that Daoist Master would employ certain methods, but if they're too cruel and wicked, they could drag my brother into..."
Niu Youdao raised a hand and cut her off. "County Princess, rest assured. Prince, you can rest assured as well. I, Niu, guarantee here that I will never make the Prince bear a reputation for cruelty and wickedness, nor will I bring about consequences that he cannot endure. In short, I will do nothing harmful to the Prince while I'm away. If I break this promise, the Prince may deny having any connection with me whatsoever."
That reassurance eased their minds somewhat, but they still found it hard to believe. How could Feng Lingbo possibly lend them troops?
After silently pondering for a while, Lan Ruoting spoke. "Daoist Master, staying in Guangyi Commandery for too long probably won't be appropriate. We don't know how the Imperial Court will react. And there's the Song Family as well. You killed Song Yanqing, yet you've remained in Guangyi Commandery. Your target is far too obvious. The Song Family may well do something detrimental to you."
"The Imperial Court is easy enough to handle. The Prince can mourn the deaths of those dozens of guards a little more deeply, hold a tearful memorial, and be reluctant to leave. Staying a few extra days will be perfectly understandable." Niu Youdao felt not the slightest guilt over those guards' deaths. "As for the Song Family, resolving that matter is precisely why I'm going. I have my own way of dealing with it!"
Shang Chaozong nodded. "We'll do as Daoist Master says. When will you depart, and what preparations will you need to make?"
Niu Youdao said, "There's no time to lose. We'll set out tonight and hurry to the commandery city. Also, please assign twenty of the more quick-witted guards to accompany me. And I'll need some funds—ten thousand gold coins!"
"Ten thousand gold coins..." Shang Chaozong and Shang Shuqing looked troubled. That was truly no small sum. The current force of several hundred men could live off that money for years.
The siblings couldn't understand it. What did he need so much money for? Could he be planning to exchange it for troops? Ten thousand gold coins was indeed a considerable amount, but if he meant to use it to purchase a force large enough to establish a foothold in Cangwu County, it clearly wouldn't be enough. Feng Lingbo wouldn't agree either. She wasn't so poor that she would give you troops in exchange for ten thousand gold coins.
"To be frank, Daoist Master," Lan Ruoting said with a bitter smile, "if we were in Cangwu County, we could probably scrape together ten thousand gold coins. But at present, we have less than a thousand gold coins in hand. We truly can't produce ten thousand."
Niu Youdao waved his hand grandly. "Then forget it. Money is a minor matter. Once we reach the commandery city, I'll think of another way. Just give me a hundred gold coins for travel expenses and emergencies."
The few of them exchanged glances. Even for people of their backgrounds, ten thousand gold coins was no small sum. They had no idea how this man intended to procure ten thousand gold coins after going to the commandery city of Guangyi Commandery. Was he planning to rely on his skills to rob someone, or was he planning to plunder? They just hoped he wouldn't cause trouble in Guangyi Commandery and anger Feng Lingbo. Anyone capable of producing such a sum there was certainly no ordinary commoner and would definitely be no simple figure.
It was true that they couldn't produce ten thousand gold coins. Just now, Lan Ruoting had somewhat suspected that Niu Youdao might be planning to abscond with their money. But upon hearing him ask for a hundred gold coins, the amount had instantly been reduced a hundredfold. He immediately realized that he had judged a gentleman with a petty man's heart. With the man's skills, he wouldn't go to such lengths for a hundred gold coins.
Seeing what Shang Chaozong meant, Lan Ruoting nodded. "Daoist Master, please wait. I'll go fetch it now and arrange the men who'll accompany you."
Niu Youdao immediately instructed him, "Remember to avoid Qu Wu and his group. Don't let them discover you. Buy me some time to maneuver."
"Understood!" Lan Ruoting clasped his hands and hurried away to make the arrangements.
The Shang siblings were genuinely curious about how Niu Youdao intended to borrow troops. In the end, Shang Shuqing couldn't hold back any longer and asked, "Daoist Master, can't you reveal anything?"
Niu Youdao chuckled. "It's still hard to say. We'll adapt to circumstances when the time comes and see what happens then."
Again, he had that unreliable look of someone who never spoke a straight word. Shang Chaozong was somewhat worried, but after witnessing Niu Youdao expose his own escape route with a single sentence, he had seen that Niu Youdao's insight was extraordinary and had already raised his opinion of him.
Yuan Gang, who had been silent nearby, suddenly spoke. "Daoist Master, those two people from the Shangqing Sect confessed that the abbot, Yuan Fang, is a Bear Demon."
"Uh..." Niu Youdao turned back in astonishment. "A demon? A monster?"
Shang Chaozong picked up the explanation. "That's right. The men below interrogated them. The original abbot, Yuan Fang, had already passed away. The current abbot, Yuan Fang, was a little bear that the monks of Nanshan Temple found in the mountains and raised two hundred years ago. It gained some cultivation and transformed into Yuan Fang. Nanshan Temple has no real connection with the Shangqing Sect. Song Yanqing merely came there earlier and fought it, forcing the Bear Demon into submission."
Niu Youdao's eyes flickered repeatedly. A monster? A Bear Demon? He was genuinely interested now. Although he knew that demons existed in this world, this was the first time he had encountered one. Naturally, he wanted to see it for himself. Yuan Gang's reminder clearly came from the same curiosity—he wanted to see it too. Unfortunately, Niu Youdao had other urgent matters to attend to. This wasn't the time to slowly study a demon, so he could only instruct him, "Prince, don't release this monster. Keep him here. I'll have a proper talk with him when I get back."
Shang Chaozong laughed. "All right. I'll keep him here for you!"
After a while, Lan Ruoting arrived with a money pouch, and the twenty men had also been arranged.
After the two sides plotted together once more, Shang Chaozong and the others left Nanshan Temple, deliberately making some noise to attract attention. They weren't merely trying to draw Qu Wu and his group; they were also following Niu Youdao's instructions and trying to attract any Imperial Court spies who might be watching from the shadows. Everything they did was to cover Niu Youdao's departure.
Niu Youdao, meanwhile, took Yuan Gang and the twenty men and quietly descended the mountain under cover of night.
Outside Nanshan Temple, several braziers blazed. Shang Chaozong and the others appeared to be burning paper offerings to commemorate the guards who had died.
Halfway through, a guard arrived and quietly reported beside Shang Chaozong, "Prince, they've left safely."
"Mm." Shang Chaozong nodded slightly. He continued tossing paper money into the brazier, then looked toward Lan Ruoting. "I don't know whether what he said was true, or whether it can succeed. We couldn't get a clear answer by asking him. In short, he never says anything substantial. Listening to him leaves one feeling uneasy."
Lan Ruoting hesitated. "When this man handles matters, his methods look seasoned, and his depth is truly unlike that of someone his age. It's as if he doesn't want anyone to see through him. He doesn't feel like someone from the proper path. I truly don't understand why Mr. Dongguo, with his discerning eye, would take such a disciple. As for the County Princess, she seems to trust him quite a lot."
Shang Shuqing said, "Judging from all the circumstances, if there were something wrong with him, he wouldn't have killed Song Yanqing. Brother, Sir, at this point we don't have many choices left. Even if we let him try, the loss won't be great."
Shang Chaozong tossed a stack of paper money into the brazier and watched the ashes rise slowly. He sighed softly. "We'll wait and see!"
Within the city walls, the lights were dim and sparse. A figure came down the street and stopped outside an inn. He looked up at the signboard. It was Chen Guishuo.
The waiter hurried forward with a warm smile. "How many in your party?"
Chen Guishuo ignored him, shoved him aside, and barged straight to the counter, fixing his eyes on the old shopkeeper behind it.
The old shopkeeper looked up and froze for a moment. Then he glanced sideways at the waiter who had come over to pester them. The waiter had no choice but to withdraw.
It was late, and closing time was approaching. There was only a single table of guests left upstairs. The old shopkeeper looked around, gestured for Chen Guishuo to follow him, and led him to a secluded quiet room in the back hall.
Once the door closed, the old shopkeeper looked Chen Guishuo up and down. "Is something the matter?"
In truth, Chen Guishuo didn't know who the old shopkeeper was, and he didn't even know the man's name. But he had once passed through this place with Song Yanqing and come here for supplies. He had roughly guessed that this inn might be a station or lookout arranged here by the Song Family. It was hardly strange for a powerful and influential family like the Song Family to have such arrangements.
In fact, although he and Xu Yitian were disciples of the Shangqing Sect, they had gradually been absorbed by the Song Family and turned into informants. The Song Family had promised them a future, so even if the Shangqing Sect collapsed, they had nothing to fear. With such a major matter as Song Yanqing's death, it was impossible for him not to report it to the Song Family.
"Something happened." Chen Guishuo collapsed into a chair and let out a sigh.
The old shopkeeper's brows furrowed. "What happened?"
Chen Guishuo shook his head heavily. "My senior brother, Song Yanqing, is dead."
"Ah!" The old shopkeeper was stunned and hurriedly asked, "What happened?"
"We went to Nanshan Temple..." Chen Guishuo detailed everything that had happened. After answering a round of questions from the old shopkeeper, he said, "Find a way to send the news back to the Capital City. I still need to return to the Shangqing Sect to report. Arrange a horse for me. Better yet, get me an identity that will let me change mounts at the relay stations along the way!"
The old shopkeeper swiftly arranged everything. He worked with extraordinary speed.
After having someone see Chen Guishuo off, the old shopkeeper went to the inn's secret room and quickly wrote a confidential report. He then reached into a cage beside him and grabbed a black-bodied raptor with two brilliant golden wings, stuffing the secret letter into the small hollow tube tied to its leg.
This bird was called Golden Wings. Its flying speed and stamina were both extraordinary. Most miraculous of all, no matter where it was, the bird could always find the eggs it had laid. No matter how far apart they were, it could identify the direction accurately and find them. For that reason, female Golden Wings were domesticated for carrying messages, and their price was exorbitant. Male birds lacked this ability and could only be used for mating, so they were worth little.
After securing the letter, the old shopkeeper covered the Golden Wings in his hand with a cloth and hurried out of the secret room. He entered a dark, unlit room and pushed open the window. Then he tore away the cloth and casually flung the Golden Wings outside. The bird rapidly beat its wings and vanished into the boundless night...
At dawn the next day, Shang Chaozong and the others left Nanshan Temple and once again came to the graves of the fallen guards to pay their respects, their expressions mournful.
They were deliberately cooperating with Niu Youdao's plan and intended to remain there for several days.
As the golden rays of the rising sun pierced through the mountain forest, a guard arrived to report that Niu Youdao was spacing the accompanying guards along the road, intending to establish a temporary communications route between the commandery city of Guangyi Commandery and Shang Chaozong's group, keeping the flow of news open.
The reasoning was simple. A single horse could not endure a long-distance dash and had to be changed to maintain an efficient pace of transmitting messages. Niu Youdao had clearly planned this matter in advance.
When Lan Ruoting heard the report, he gave a slight nod. "He wasn't empty boasting. This man truly is no simple figure!"
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