Chapter 256: Adding Stakes
Meng Chengzhang was the ninth-ranked inner disciple of Tianmu Mountain. Though only at the early Foundation Establishment stage, he was noticeably stronger than Lu Xiansheng. Lu Xiansheng was the poor man who got himself butchered at Baiye Manor. Meng had been stuck at his current level for years, and lately there were signs he might soon break through to mid-Foundation Establishment.
Dai Shenggao said, “He got in touch with Boss Wang to help him find a buyer. Wang came to me first, and I agreed right away. It just took a few days to gather everyone. I’m worried Boss Wang might have found someone else in the meantime, so we can’t waste any more time. A few of our brothers still haven’t arrived; we’ll wait for them, then make our move at midnight. I’ve got the Huang brothers keeping watch near Baiye Mountain. If anything happens, they’ll let us know immediately.”
Having already taken part in the ambush that killed Lu Xiansheng, everyone knew this would be another bloody fight. They all nodded in agreement, then quietly left the tomb chamber.
Zuo Gaofeng pulled Liu Xiaolou and Tan Bajhang aside to a quiet spot. “Xiaolou, Bajhang,” he asked, “how many spirit stones do you have on you? I’d like to borrow some.”
“How much has Brother Zuo got ready?” asked Liu Xiaolou.
Zuo Gaofeng sighed. “I’ve been saving up for a Foundation Establishment Pill these past two years. Between spirit stones, magical tools, pills, and rare materials, it adds up to around four hundred. But seeing how confident Wanderer Dai seems, I’m worried he’s bringing even more... and there’s also Dragon Mountain Wanderer to think about...”
Meng Chengzhang had put a price of seven hundred spirit stones on the Foundation Establishment pill. There was no way anyone could pay him that, but it still set the benchmark. Zuo Gaofeng, worried that the four hundred stones he’d spent years gathering wouldn’t be enough, turned to Liu Xiaolou and Tan Bajhang for help.
Tan Bajhang said, “I don’t have many spirit stones left, but the materials and pills I got from the last split should be worth about a hundred. You can borrow that, Brother Zuo.”
Liu Xiaolou looked more troubled. He was nearly out of spirit stones himself, but he did have two valuable artifacts. A Qiankun Pouch and a Glass Shield. Each worth well over three hundred spirit stones. Offering just one of them would easily solve Zuo Gaofeng’s problem.
But he really couldn’t bring himself to part with either.
Worse still, even if he did, what about Dragon Mountain Wanderer and Dai Shenggao? They’d been nothing but good to him.
Though he leaned more toward helping Zuo Gaofeng, either the Qiankun Pouch or the Glass Shield would give him away immediately. The moment Zuo’s bid went up, Dragon Mountain Wanderer and Dai Shenggao would both know who had backed him. And once that happened, how could he face them in the future?
He did, however, have a small stash of spirit stones and materials hidden in a secret cave on Wulong Mountain. About thirty spirit stones’ worth of materials, and forty-two actual stones. Together that made over seventy, and if he used that to help Zuo Gaofeng, no one would ever know it came from him.
He glanced at the sky. It was around the hour of Yin (3–5 a.m). Still twenty hours until midnight, the time Dai Shenggao had set for action. Yellow Wind Ravine was some two hundred seventy li from Wulong Mountain, and from there to Baiye Mountain another two hundred thirty or so. Five hundred li in total. If he pushed himself to the limit, twenty hours would barely be enough.
Without another moment’s hesitation, Liu Xiaolou turned to Zuo Gaofeng and Tan Bajhang. “I’ve got a stash of spirit stones somewhere; it’s just a bit far from here. I’ll head over now and grab them to boost Brother Zuo’s wager. But I might not make it back to Yellow Wind Valley in time. If that happens, I’ll go straight to Baiye Mountain and meet you there. If Wanderer Dai or Dragon Mountain Wanderer ask about me, just say I had some personal matters to take care of. We’ll regroup at Baiye Mountain.”
Finding the right moment, Liu Xiaolou slipped out of Yellow Wind Ravine and set off through the night. He knew this part of western Xian like the back of his hand, so his pace was swift. Even when daylight broke, he could easily find hidden paths where few ever passed.
By late afternoon, Wulong Mountain was already coming into view in the distance.
A year had passed since he’d last been here, and suddenly his eyes felt a little damp. Swallowing the feeling, Liu Xiaolou kept moving west, entering the mountain from the borders of the Gengsang Cave’s territory.
Once he entered Wulong Mountain, he grew even more cautious, but at the same time, he felt completely in his element. Every ridge and ravine, every tree and blade of grass here was deeply familiar to him. He knew exactly which valley was best for hiding, which boulder created a blind spot, which patch of shrubs concealed a hidden trail. And which seemingly safe corner actually dropped into a deep gorge.
Now, Wulong Mountain was utterly deserted. So quiet it almost made his heart race. He made his way to the foot of Qianzhu Ridge and watched for a while before giving in to the urge to climb up for a look.
When he reached the small courtyard again, he was surprised to find it cleaned up. The collapsed huts and fences were gone, the discarded wood and straw nowhere in sight. Half a hut still stood where it used to, and about two-thirds of the fence remained. There were no weeds, no cobwebs. Everything looked neat and tidy. He couldn’t tell who had come to clear it all.
After a moment’s thought, Liu Xiaolou’s eyes narrowed. It had to be Big White and Little Black.
Just then, the wind chime hanging from the eaves gave a sudden ding-dong. Liu Xiaolou cracked a grin as a big white goose came hurtling down from the mountain peak, squawking like a mad thing. The goose landed square on his toes, raked his face with its webbed feet, then flopped down on his head, wings tucked, looking pleased with itself.
A shadow darted by. There was a sharp meow! and a black cat leapt down from a roof beam to perch lazily on the goose’s back.
It took Liu Xiaolou quite a while to pry Big White off his head. And Little Black off Big White. When he finally managed it, he reached into his Qiankun Pouch and pulled out a piece of spiritual material, offering it straight to Big White. It was a root from a spirit tree. Something he’d set aside just for the goose. Originally, it came from Tianmu Mountain and was used to brew Bamboo Leaf Green wine, but it could also be eaten directly.
As expected, Big White was really into that piece of tree root. After a few quick pecks, he’d already eaten more than half of it. Little Black, on the other hand, wasn’t interested at all. He sniffed around for a bit, then walked off, disappointed.
Liu Xiaolou had no choice but to pour out half a jar of Bamboo Leaf Green wine for them. Before long, Big White and Little Black were tipsy and wobbling all over the place. Only then did Liu Xiaolou finally have his hands free to check on the Golden Ring Bees by the cliff.
The two animals were surprisingly well-behaved this time: they didn’t touch the hive. The beehive had grown twice as big, and there were more than twenty golden-ring bees buzzing inside. Liu Xiaolou took out his little gourd, poured out some honey from the hive until it was half full, and took two hearty gulps. He leaned back, completely satisfied.
There was no time to waste. Liu Xiaolou left Ganzhu Ridge and made his way down the mountain to his secret cave. Inside, everything on the shelves was still just as he’d left it. He gathered up the spirit herbs, pills, and spirit stones, packed them all into his Qiankun Pouch , and quickly made his exit.
To play it safe, he still chose to head west down the mountain, taking a detour through the Gengsang Cave territory. After checking the time, he realized there were only eight hours left. Things were getting tight. But the more anxious he felt, the harder it was to hurry. And just as he was circling down the slope, he suddenly ran straight into someone he knew.
It was none other than Zhang Daming from Gengsang Cave. And his uncle.
There was no way to avoid them. Liu Xiaolou had to grit his teeth and keep walking, pretending nothing was out of the ordinary.
He pressed his straw hat down, kept his head low, and walked past the two of them, silently repeating to himself, Don’t recognize me… don’t recognize me...
Zhang Daming and his third uncle didn’t actually recognize him. But they still turned around and called out to him. “Hold it right there, friend!”
Liu Xiaolou had no choice but to stop. He turned around just as Zhang Daming barked, “Take off that hat! What are you sneaking around for? State your name and where you’re from!”
Liu Xiaolou took off his bamboo hat and gave a wry smile. “Brother Daming… it’s me.”
Zhang Daming blinked, glanced at his third uncle, and said quietly, “It’s Liu Xiaolou... from Wulong Mountain.”
His third uncle nodded. “I remember. Back when Lu Yuanlang was killing people on the mountain, I went up there too. I met this Liu Xiaolou; he’s a very loyal and honorable guy.