Honored Guests Arrive

Niu Youdao would not casually reveal the truth about his source of information. "That isn't important. What matters is that Xiaoyao Palace is confident about suppressing the rebellion from here on out. Whether they need the Prince or not no longer matters—they're going to settle accounts with him."

Guan Fangyi rolled her eyes. "Southern Prefecture still has several hundred thousand troops. Would Xiaoyao Palace dare act recklessly?"

"They won't act recklessly. To capture bandits, first capture their king. They're preparing to seize the Prince and take him away. They wanted to catch me off guard!"

Guan Fangyi did not understand. "Catch you off guard?"

"I haven't stayed by the Prince's side, nor have I shown myself around him. They can't fathom my intentions. Long Xiu likely guessed that I would find a way to deal with the Prince killing Shi Sheng, and I was indeed considering a response. The Prince openly killed an Elder of Xiaoyao Palace, utterly disgracing them. As Sect Master, Long Xiu could not stand idly by. But he feared that if he acted only after the matter was upon them and the larger situation had been settled, I would obstruct him. So he decisively struck at this moment. It was indeed clever—he truly caught me off guard. I never expected them to suddenly replace the commander on the eve of suppressing the rebellion."

Guan Fangyi's expression immediately turned strange. She teased, "From the sound of it, Long Xiu is somewhat wary of you? Our Daoist Master certainly isn't modest."

How was Niu Youdao supposed to explain that? Their strengths were utterly disproportionate, and he did not think Long Xiu had any reason to fear him. Yet that was what Gao Jiancheng's letter had said: Long Xiu considered Niu Youdao the most unfathomable variable. After the Imperial