Traveling Companions

The other man gave a "Heh," raised his staff again, and Liu Xiaolou rolled more than ten feet to the right in a flash of lightning. With a flick of his wrist, the tip of the Misty Incense Tendon slipped into view, ready to fight to the death.

Seeing Liu Xiaolou escape, the man freed his right hand and changed it into a palm strike. In the darkness, his single palm swayed faintly, radiating a glow like an immortal crane spreading its wings to take flight.

"I'll beat you blind in this pitch-black night!"

Just then, Zuo Gaofeng, hanging in the net, suddenly shouted, "Tan Bazhang!"

That roar instantly interrupted the fierce duel. Liu Xiaolou froze and stared hard at the man, who was likewise stunned. He sprang three steps sideways, leaning forward slightly as he looked back and forth between Liu Xiaolou and Zuo Gaofeng in the hanging net.

"It's me, Zuo Gaofeng! You're fighting my younger brother, Liu Xiaolou of the Three Xuan Sect!"

"Ah!" The man slapped his forehead, let the iron staff fall from his hand, tore off the black cloth covering his face, and rushed over to lower the hanging net. He kept muttering, "My apologies, my apologies! A flood has washed into the Dragon King's temple!"

The moment he tore off the black cloth, Liu Xiaolou saw him clearly. Wasn't this Tan Bazhang, whom he had met once before?

Come to think of it, that one encounter had also been because of Wei Hongqing. This man, too, was a victim of Wei Hongqing's wandering ways. Back then, everyone had cursed together atop Ghost Dream Cliff!

Zuo Gaofeng climbed out of the hanging net and asked curiously, "Brother Tan, what are you doing here in Wuling Mountain?"

Tan Bazhang looked thoroughly embarrassed. "I had planned to make a long journey, but I ran into thieves on the road. My travel funds disappeared without rhyme or reason. I thought this mountain would be a fine place to do business, but who would have thought my very first job would be the two of you brothers? Ah, forgive me, forgive me!"

As he spoke, he came over to apologize to Liu Xiaolou as well. "Younger brother, be magnanimous. Don't hold this elder brother's recklessness against me!"

Liu Xiaolou could only offer a bitter smile. "No matter, no matter."

Tan Bazhang gave him another thumbs-up. "Younger brother, what fine skill! That staff strike contained this elder brother's entire lifetime of cultivation, yet you blocked it so easily. Admirable—admirable indeed!"

Liu Xiaolou's wrist was still trembling. How could it have been "easy"? But he was not familiar with Tan Bazhang and did not dare show weakness, so he merely said with an airy calm, "You flatter me, you flatter me!"

Zuo Gaofeng knew Tan Bazhang somewhat better, so he smiled and exchanged a few idle words with him before asking where he was headed. Tan Bazhang said several of his cousins from the Tan family were in Yuanling and had summoned him there for some matter. As for what matter, that was another man's family business, so Zuo Gaofeng could not pry further.

But since Tan Bazhang had lost his travel funds, fellow travelers had a duty to share their wealth. Zuo Gaofeng took out ten taels of silver and gave them to him. Tan Bazhang did not stand on ceremony and tucked them into his robe.

Zuo Gaofeng said, "The mountains are full of venomous insects, snakes, and fierce beasts, and there are also bandits lying in wait along the roads. Brother Tan, it truly isn't proper for you to travel alone. Why not leave the mountains with us?"

Tan Bazhang immediately nodded. "Damn it, there are too many thieves on these roads. To travel with you two, I could ask for nothing better."

Thus the three of them happily traveled together, crossing mountains and ridges. By noon the following day, they had left Wuling Mountain.

No feast under heaven lasted forever. Their destinations differed, so it was time to part ways. Though their stretch through Wuling Mountain had been short, they had forged deep friendship there. At their parting, they were reluctant to leave and repeatedly wished one another well.

"You and I are brothers. Meeting in Wuling Mountain was fate. Should you ever need anything, come to Half-Acre Gorge and seek Zuo. Zuo will never dare refuse!"

"Brother Zuo speaks true. Since fate brought us together, we will surely meet again. When that day comes, Tan will drink and make merry with brother Zuo and younger brother Liu!"

"This younger brother thanks both elder brothers. When we meet again, we won't stop until we're drunk!"

So Zuo Gaofeng headed northeast, Tan Bazhang traveled southeast, and Liu Xiaolou took the road due east. The three brothers nearly shed tears.

After traveling more than ten li east, Liu Xiaolou turned south. After another twenty li, he turned west again. This roundabout journey added a full twenty or thirty li to his route, but at least he reached Tianmen Mountain before nightfall.

Tianmen Mountain had two main peaks, each a hundred zhang tall. A natural stone beam connected their summits, resembling a gateway reaching into the heavens. The sight was immensely spectacular, hence its name, Tianmen Mountain.

It was Liu Xiaolou's first time here. When he saw the towering Heavenly Gate, he was profoundly shaken. He gazed upward for a long while and thought to himself, Such uncanny craftsmanship could well be the work of heavenly gods. Did immortals and gods truly exist in the heavens? And was the place where they dwelled like this?

For a time, his desire to seek immortals and cultivate the Dao grew even more fervent.

Beneath this Heavenly Gate, a market had arisen at some unknown time in the past. Dozens of sects and great clans had permanent establishments there, while Rogue Cultivators from across Jingxiang came and went all year round. Shops selling Spiritual Materials, spirit flowers and herbs, miraculous pills, magical artifacts, and talismans had everything one could wish for. Wine shops, teahouses, brothels, gambling houses, inns, and stables stood row upon row, prosperous beyond compare.

One market surpassed Wu Chao Town tenfold.

Liu Xiaolou walked through the bustling streets, looking into one shop and then another, until his eyes were dazzled.

Dai Shenggao had said that he encountered Wei Hongqing at Hongji Restaurant on the eastern end of Tianmen Market. His sworn brother had always loved wine, so Hongji Restaurant was naturally the first place to look. Hmm, both names had the character Hong in them. This had to be the place.

He searched as he walked and finally found Hongji Restaurant at the eastern end of the market.

The three-story restaurant was quite imposing. It was evening, and guests streamed in and out. The attendants inside shouted calls he could not understand, while those carrying trays, wine pots, and jars of liquor bustled endlessly back and forth.

The top floor was full, so Liu Xiaolou chose the second floor. There were no window tables left either, and he could only find a small table for one in a corner. He ordered three small dishes, and once the rice and wine arrived, he opened his stomach and began eating.

Hongji Restaurant had deep roots and formidable resources. More than ten kinds of spirit birds and Exotic Beasts were available among its dishes, but their prices were outrageously high. Liu Xiaolou did not dare order them. His three dishes were all ordinary fare; only the bowl of rice was spirit rice. He also ordered a small pot of Spirit Wine, and that alone cost him five taels of silver. Ordinary people truly could not afford such a meal.

Even Liu Xiaolou only dared indulge like this once in a while.

Leaving the food aside, that pot of Spirit Wine tasted light, and its spiritual power was somewhat lacking. It was far inferior to the Spirit Wine he had drunk freely at Jinping Mountain Villa, but for Spirit Wine that cost five taels a pot, he could not expect much. The attendant did recommend top-quality Bamboo Leaf Green, but it cost dozens or even hundreds of taels of silver at a time—or simply required spirit stones. He could not afford that either.

He ate and drank at an unhurried pace for half an hour without seeing Wei Hongqing. Just as he was considering asking an attendant for information, someone pushed aside the curtain from the row of private rooms farther inside and shouted to an attendant, "Another pot of Bamboo Leaf Green!"

Liu Xiaolou could not help laughing. Well, well, Wei Hongqing—he really was here!

The moment the two met, Wei Hongqing gave him a bear hug, squeezing Liu Xiaolou so hard he could barely breathe.

After finally letting go, Wei Hongqing patted his shoulder and said, "Xiaolou, I knew you would come! Hahaha!"

Liu Xiaolou muttered, "That old mountain ginseng..."

Wei Hongqing laughed. "It truly was good stuff, worthy of being spiritual ginseng grown on Shouyang Mountain. I soaked it in a jar of wine—guess what? It steeped for three months, and I finished it in three days. My cultivation advanced greatly! Hahaha!"

Liu Xiaolou sighed helplessly as Wei Hongqing dragged him into the private room. "Come, come, come. Let me introduce you to a good friend!"