A staff member approached the counter, called another attendant, and instructed them to take the wine.
Bai You Lu turned and leisurely departed. He stepped out of the Yaoyue Inn, clasped his hands behind his back, and gazed up at the night sky.
Niu You Dao and the Liuxiang Sect were secretly plotting against each other. Niu You Dao had even dragged him into it. Tonight, conspiracies were being woven. That Niu You Dao had said he would leave the Yaoyue Inn tomorrow. The main thing was for nothing to happen tonight.
In the night sky, lights constantly twinkled. The ancient city at night was magnificent, and atop the mountain, it was pleasantly cool...
“Mountain Lake County?”
At the Liuxiang Sect's shop, the shop head, hearing this, frowned. He looked at Huang En Gui and calmly said:
“Let me see the map.”
Huang En Gui entered and quickly produced a map. He spread it out on the counter, and three Little Moon Butterflies fluttered above, illuminating the map below.
Cui Yuan, pointing to a spot on the map, said:
“Here, Uncle. In Mountain Lake County City.”
The three men looked at the same spot.
Huang En Gui, scratching his chin, said:
“The meeting will be here... That fellow escaped from Qingzhou and made it to Zhaixing City. Now he wants to leave for Mountain Lake County. Where is he truly headed?”
Gao Su Cun looked at the map, traced his finger southeast, and seemingly understood something, saying:
“Indeed, there can be no mistake. Whether he goes to Qingzhou or Cang Wu County, he will still have to pass through Mountain Lake County. On horseback, he will definitely have to cross this lake.”
The two men looked there and understood him. Cui Yuan said:
“It seems he came to Zhaixing City for purchases and now intends to return to Shang Chao Zong.”
Huang En Gui calmly said:
“Shang Chao Zong has publicly declared that he has nothing more to do with him. Anyone with sense knows that this is merely a superficial act. In truth, they are still associated. And if he returns to the prince's side, there will be nothing surprising about it.” He raised his head and looked at Gao Su Cun.
“Uncle, he must not reach Shang Chao Zong. Otherwise, it will be impossible to get to him under the protection of the Heavenly Jade Sect.”
In truth, the Liuxiang Sect understood that although Liu Zi You and the others claimed to have died at the hands of Niu You Dao, they were actually killed by the Heavenly Jade Sect. However, the Liuxiang Sect dared not provoke the Heavenly Jade Sect. They could only secretly seek revenge on Niu You Dao, especially now that the Song Family was also looking for him.
Cui Yuan: “The most important thing is that he told Hei Mudan and the others to leave first. We can't know exactly when he intends to leave the city. He might even leave tonight....” He pointed to Mountain Lake County and said:
“Only here can we set up our nets.”
Gao Su Cun, looking at the map, sighed and said:
“He escaped once, then again. But he can't keep running forever. If he truly escapes with the bear this time, our sect won't be able to answer to the Song Family. We cannot fail the sect.”
He pointed at the two men: “You two, one of you stay here and look after the shop. The other go to the Yaoyue Inn. If anything happens, inform me promptly. I will take the remaining four men, and we will depart for Mountain Lake County. This time, we must deal with that bastard.”
Huang En Gui hurriedly said:
“Niu You Dao is but a trivial figure, why should Uncle waste his time on him? Perhaps we can handle him ourselves?”
Gao Su Cun shook his head: “It's not that. If he escapes again, we will lose face. If the sect wasn't so far away, I would have sent for the preceptors. But they won't arrive in time, so I will go myself and personally deal with the enemy. I will also ask for assistance from Wuyou Mountain and the Flowing Clouds Sect. This time, we must capture him!”
The two men exchanged glances. Wuyou Mountain and the Flowing Clouds Sect were also forces allied with the Song Family. Although the three sects didn't exactly have the best relations, with rivalry even existing between them, they couldn't refuse the Song Family. Even though Song Jiu Ming had retired, rumors persisted that the Minister of Public Works, Tong Mo, still summoned Song Jiu Ming from time to time. And seeing a part, one could deduce the whole. This meant that Song Jiu Ming could return to his position at any time. Therefore, no one dared to underestimate him.
This time, Uncle had decided to ask for help from the two sects, meaning he placed great importance on capturing Niu You Dao.
Since Gao Su Cun had already made such a decision, the others had no choice but to follow his orders.
Gao Su Cun wrote a secret message and instructed a man to send a Bird King to the Liuxiang Sect.
After this, Gao Su Cun took four disciples and set off at night. As Cui Yuan had said, who knew, Niu You Dao might depart tonight. And they had to reach Mountain Lake County before Niu You Dao.
Several people took two Bird Kings with them. They secretly exited through the back door of the shop and headed to the shops of Wuyou Mountain and the Flowing Clouds Sect. Very quickly, a total of 10-20 people gathered and left Zhaixing City...
The lamp was lit, and Niu You Dao sat cleaning his sword.
Yuan Fang didn't know what Niu You Dao was doing. He had been sitting there for a long time, seemingly unwilling to speak. He had never seen Niu You Dao in such a state before.
Knock-knock.
Yuan Fang stood up and opened the door.
“Master, your wine.”
“Wine? We didn't order any wine!”
Niu You Dao, holding his sword, said in a cold tone:
“I ordered it.”
Yuan Fang took the wine, approached Niu You Dao, and placed the jug beside him. He asked in surprise:
“Lord Dao, do you wish for wine?”
Niu You Dao calmly replied: “The wine is for you.”
“Hehe. Lord Dao, don't jest. You know I don't drink wine. Normally, I might take a sip, pretending.”
“You demon, you're still so dull. You don't drink, you don't eat. If you don't drink, then put it down...” Niu You Dao spoke indifferently. At that moment, his gaze shifted from the sword to the wine jug. A terrible glint flashed in his eyes.
He flicked his sword and slid it into its scabbard. Then he tossed the sword aside and, with a sweep of his sleeve, extinguished the lamp, plunging the room into immediate darkness.
“Go to rest early.”
Only the smiling Yuan Fang was at a loss for words. It turned out he had still spent very little time with Lord Dao...
On the second day, several people had already had breakfast and exited their rooms. Hei Mudan and the others came to Niu You Dao's room to bid farewell.
“Lord Dao, we will go to Mountain Lake County. We will await you there.” Hei Mudan and the others clasped their hands.
Niu You Dao, standing by the window, slowly turned and, holding his sword, spoke to Yuan Fang:
“Pack our things. We will also depart together.”
“...” Hei Mudan and the others were astonished. Just moments ago, when they were having breakfast, he hadn't given any indication he would go with them. Now he had suddenly changed his plan?
Yuan Fang, not understanding, asked:
“Lord Dao, aren't we supposed to leave in a few days?” He asked what everyone else wanted to ask.
Niu You Dao: “I've thought it over and decided there's no need to be so cautious. We just need to depart secretly together, and nothing should happen. We can also look out for each other.”
The several people exchanged bewildered glances. Lei Zong Kang asked:
“Lord Dao, are we going to Mountain Lake County?”
Niu You Dao: “We no longer need to meet at the inn there, but we must pass through that city.” He waved his hand, signaling Yuan Fang to pack.
Yuan Fang nodded and immediately packed their belongings. In truth, they didn't have much.
Several people exited the room and headed downstairs in the Yaoyue Inn.
Cui Yuan, sitting in the garden and slowly sipping tea, noticed them. However, when he saw Yuan Fang with a bundle on his back, he was surprised.
He immediately looked at Lei Zong Kang. Lei Zong Kang looked back at him, but there were people nearby, so it was currently inconvenient to reveal himself.
When they reached the counter, Yuan Fang took out a receipt for 1800 gold and placed it on the counter.
Bai You Lu, who had been sitting on the couch, stood up, but he didn't count it. He waved to a staff member and instructed him to handle everything.
After the calculation, the staff member asked:
“Will you use the main entrance or the back exit?”
Hei Mudan: “The back exit!”
The staff member immediately called someone to escort them.
Bai You Lu clasped his hands to them: “Gentlemen, be careful on your journey!”
They calmly exchanged glances with Niu You Dao. From an outsider's perspective, nothing seemed amiss.
The staff member led everyone into a side hall. They then entered a covered gallery and circled the mountainside. From there, they began descending a staircase.
They walked for quite some time and eventually heard the gurgling of a stream. Here, they saw light again. When the group reached the exit, they found themselves near a cliff. Two streams of the river converged, causing steam to rise around them. It was said that this was where the guards of Zhaixing City were stationed, to ensure no one escaped unnoticed. As soon as they emerged from the mountain, they saw a cultivator sitting cross-legged on a stone, cultivating.
The staff member approached the cultivator and negotiated with him.
Niu You Dao, pointing downwards, instructed everyone to descend with the current. Several people nodded and entered the stream.
As soon as they entered the river, they were immediately enveloped as if by a single bubble.
From this moment, it could be considered that they had exited the protection of the Yaoyue Inn. And now, the Yaoyue Inn was no longer responsible for them.
However, in this stream, there was little chance of encountering trouble.
The current here was strong, and cultivators couldn't linger in this stream for long. Many cultivators used this stream to leave the city. And amidst the swift current, it was quite difficult to pinpoint the person you needed. Therefore, if one didn't know the exact location, it would be impossible to find anyone. Moreover, there were many entry points into the river and many places where the river could carry you out. In short, few would search for you in the river.
Therefore, this river was the best way to leave the city unnoticed.
This was another reason why Zhaixing City had become a place where so many cultivators converged.