Just as Lu Sheng Zhong's surprise registered, Bai Yao suddenly struck him from behind with his sheathed sword, aiming for his vital acupoints at the waist.
Lu Sheng Zhong had no time to react, for the distance was too short. Moreover, there was a vast difference in cultivation between him and Bai Yao.
He felt an excruciating pain course through his body, and a surge of magical power enveloped him. He spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.
Without waiting for him to resist, Bai Yao placed a hand on his shoulder and pressed down hard, preventing him from rising. He had now sealed his Eight Extraordinary Meridians, eliminating the possibility of Lu Sheng Zhong using his magical powers.
Lu Sheng Zhong felt dizzy and collapsed to the ground. He coughed up blood. It wasn't hard to guess that he had been exposed. Yet, gathering his strength, he turned his head and, still looking surprised at Bai Yao, asked, "Why did you attack me?"
Bai Yao shook his head and said indifferently:
"There's magical power within your body." — he hinted, letting him know there was no need to pretend anymore.
Lu Sheng Zhong: "Can I not cultivate?"
"Look here!" Niu You Dao called out to him.
Lu Sheng Zhong turned his head and looked at him.
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Niu You Dao, a disciple of the Supreme Purity Sect. I had a fellow disciple, Song Yang Qing. It was precisely he who asked me to write poems for him." Saying this, Niu You Dao couldn't help but smile.
Lu Sheng Zhong froze, finally understanding why Niu You Dao had claimed those were his poems.
Just moments ago, he couldn't comprehend how they had seen through him. How had they figured him out? Where had he made a mistake? It turned out he had used the poems of the very person standing before him. Now, there was no difference between him and an idiot.
Lu Sheng Zhong regretted that he couldn't just bash his head in and die right then and there. He had never been so humiliated. Wasn't this like watching himself walk into his own demise? Others would simply laugh if they found out!
He was already cursing Song Yang Qing. That scoundrel not only stole another's poems, but he stole the poems of his own fellow disciple. How could he not feel shame before his teachers? How could he have no conscience whatsoever?
Song Yang Qing used these poems to seduce girls. But it turned out they weren't his poems? For if anyone had found out, Song Yang Qing wouldn't have been shamed alone; he would have disgraced the entire Song family. Didn't he understand this?
However, Lu Sheng Zhong could never have imagined that Song Yang Qing would be so shameless as to dare use his fellow disciple's poems.
Lu Sheng Zhong was already contemplating digging up Song Yang Qing's grave to exact revenge for his misdeeds.
He didn't know that Niu You Dao had been under house arrest in the Supreme Purity Sect's Peach Blossom Spring, which was why Song Yang Qing dared to use his poems. He even told everyone that he had composed these poems himself. Song Yang Qing believed that Niu You Dao would never leave Peach Blossom Spring alive. This was yet another reason he wanted to kill Niu You Dao.
"..." Shu Qing turned and looked at Niu You Dao. She understood everything.
She understood what was happening. Everything had unfolded quite amusingly. They had tried to trick Lord Dao with his own poems.
Lu Sheng Zhong gave a bitter smile. He wiped away the blood and sat cross-legged.
Niu You Dao clasped his hands and addressed Bai Yao:
"Thank you, Elder Bai Yao. This junior can handle the rest himself."
Bai Yao cast a sidelong glance at the man lying on the ground, then walked out with a stoic expression, his hand resting on his sword.
Niu You Dao smiled as he looked at Shu Qing and said:
"Princess, the other scholars have arrived. I ask you to take care of them."
Shu Qing shook her head and left with a smile.
Only three people remained in the room. Niu You Dao placed a chair in front of Lu Sheng Zhong and sat down opposite him.
"If you have any tricks up your sleeve, feel free to speak. I'm listening."
Lu Sheng Zhong leaned over and spat out blood, then helplessly said:
"You knew about me for a long time. Why didn't you attack immediately?"
Niu You Dao: "You're merely a messenger assassin; why would I kill you immediately?"
Lu Sheng Zhong: "Then why did you orchestrate all this?"
Niu You Dao: "Since you settled into the scholar's shop and patiently waited for your opportunity, even arranging to be invited here, that was cunning. If not for that poem, your mission might well have succeeded. You are intelligent, and inviting you alone would have been risky. We might have scared you off, which is why we invited many people."
Lu Sheng Zhong smiled bitterly: "Was all this really worth it for one assassin? I'm worth nothing. Wouldn't it have been simpler to just kill me immediately?"
"You yourself said you're worth nothing. So you know your role... There are people behind you who pointed you at me! You are not my enemy; the people behind you are. You should understand this."
Lu Sheng Zhong nodded slightly: "I understand."
Niu You Dao placed his hand on his sword and began tapping it.
"Your name, what school, what sect? Where are you from? Better speak yourself, if you don't wish to experience pain!"
In such a situation, Lu Sheng Zhong clearly understood he had two paths: death or life. Naturally, he chose the latter.
So he began to tell everything. After his confession, Niu You Dao thought for a moment, then signaled to Yuan Gang.
Yuan Gang left, and it wasn't long before he returned with Yuan Fang and two other monks.
Upon identifying the target, Yuan Fang immediately threw chains onto him and bound Lu Sheng Zhong securely. Then they further wrapped him in cloth from head to toe. They acted so skillfully and swiftly that Niu You Dao was surprised. These fellows were quite experienced in such matters.
He and Yuan Gang also left the house and headed towards Bai Yao's courtyard.
When they reached Bai Yao's pavilion, he was sitting inside and did not come out.
He simply asked indifferently, "What did you find out?"
Niu You Dao replied with a smile:
"His name is Lu Sheng Zhong. He is not a subordinate of Song Shu, but of Wang Heng. He is a disciple of Wuliangshan. There are also 5 disciples from the Liuxiang Sect. Among them are 2 Jin Dan realm cultivators. One of them is the son of the Song family's steward, Liu Lu: Liu Zi You."
Bai Yao sighed: "Wuliangshan dares to provoke the Heavenly Jade Sect? They truly have a death wish. Very well, I'll handle this."
Niu You Dao: "Elder, Liu Lu's son must not escape. As for the rest, it doesn't matter who dies or who lives. It's best to leave one as a witness. When Liu Lu finds out that Lu Sheng Zhong betrayed his son, he will definitely want to settle scores with Wuliangshan. The tiny Wuliangshan sect is not worth the Heavenly Jade Sect's attention."
Bai Yao said nothing, only reminding him:
"We received news. The Supreme Purity Sect has abandoned its ancestral lands."
"Eh..." Niu You Dao was stunned. The Supreme Purity Sect just abandoned their ancestral lands like that? While it was logical, as they avoided disaster by doing so, he asked:
"Where did they go?"
Bai Yao: "I don't know! It seems that cultivator, still kneeling, doesn't know about it yet. He's been kneeling for so many days without water. Most likely, he won't last much longer."
Niu You Dao: "Nobody forced him to kneel. If he wants to leave, then let him..."
When Niu You Dao returned to his courtyard, he told Yuan Gang:
"Tell Shang Chao Zong and his people to keep their guest strictly secret. Feng Ru Nan must not find out about him."
The so-called guest was Lu Sheng Zhong's liaison. Lu Sheng Zhong didn't dare to keep a Bird King with him for communication, so as not to draw attention, which was why he had a human contact.
"Furthermore, go tell that stutterer that the Supreme Purity Sect has abandoned its ancestral lands. Let him leave as well." Niu You Dao waved his hand lazily.
Yuan Gang nodded and turned to leave.
Niu You Dao lay down on the couch under the tree. This habit had formed when he was held under house arrest in Peach Blossom Spring.
However, Yuan Gang soon returned and said: "Lord Dao, that stutterer said that since the Sect Head is here, he won't leave."
"..." Niu You Dao was speechless. He simply couldn't understand such stubborn mules.
"Damn it, does he really have nothing better to do?"
He simply did not understand Wei Duo. Even a blind man could see that the Supreme Purity Sect was not fond of him. They even wanted to kill him. Why should he treat them well? He had already said that he wouldn't seek revenge, let alone become the Sect Head.