Hero's Invitation

They said men did not shed tears lightly, unless their hearts had been wounded to the core. Wei Hongqing wept bitterly before his brother, showing just how deep his grief ran.

Liu Xiaolou had wanted to stay and keep him company, but was ultimately driven away. Returning to Qianzhu Ridge, his heart felt heavy and bitter. He was furious over his good brother's misfortune, yet also lost over his own path of cultivation. Sleep would not come.

As a Wulong Mountain rogue cultivator, where was his way forward?

In the long, endless night, he suddenly thought of that spirit ginseng. Since Wei Hongqing's great dual-cultivation ceremony had fallen through, should he not take it back? Though a small half had been eaten, more than half still remained...

Before dawn the next day, he hurried once more toward Ghost Dream Cliff.

They were brothers who would stand together through life and death. With Wei Hongqing suffering such heartbreak, he could not simply sit by and do nothing. He still had to go and look after him.

Besides, when asking for the spirit ginseng back, he had to be cautious, thorough, and considerate. He absolutely could not speak carelessly. The man was already grieving enough; Liu Xiaolou could not rub salt into the wound.

Of course, this was not because he was stingy. Wei Hongqing, like himself, was one of the Twin Beauties of Wulong Mountain. His aptitude was ordinary, but his looks were exceptional. He would not have trouble finding a fine dao companion. Liu Xiaolou could retrieve the spirit ginseng and store it away, polish it up a little, then present it as a gift when Wei Hongqing next held a dual-cultivation ceremony.

When he climbed Ghost Dream Cliff again, the red silk still hung there, but Wei Hongqing was nowhere to be seen. Instead, Wei Hongqing's friend Zuo Gaofeng of Half-Acre Gorge was waiting there.

After they exchanged cupped-fist greetings, Zuo Gaofeng spoke first. "Xiaolou is here... Have you seen Hongqing?"

Liu Xiaolou replied, "I saw him just last night. I was worried about him, so I came back to have another look. Why isn't he here?"

"He isn't. Zuo was worried too..."

The two spoke of Wei Hongqing's broken engagement, each sighing long and heavily.

As they talked, Western Mountain Hermit, Lingling Guest, and others arrived as well. They were all friends worried about Wei Hongqing.

Even Tan Bazhang, a Tan family disciple from beyond Wulong Mountain, had come. His face was full of concern as he said, "I said Brother Hongqing chose the wrong time for his wedding. Who holds it early in the morning? It was inauspicious! I told him to change the time, but he wouldn't listen. See? Something happened, didn't it?"

When he saw that no one spoke and they only stared at him blankly, he asked again, "What is it? Did I say something wrong?"

Zuo Gaofeng asked, "Wait. You said early in the morning? What time?"

Tan Bazhang said, "The Si hour. And yesterday wasn't an auspicious day either..."

Western Mountain Hermit cut in, "That's not right. It was clearly noon."

Lingling Guest said, "The Shen hour. He told me the Shen hour."

Liu Xiaolou asked in confusion, "Why did he tell me the You hour?"

Zuo Gaofeng blinked. "Mine was the Xu hour..."

As they looked at one another, Liu Xiaolou finally asked weakly, "Seniors, what gifts did you bring?"

The moment he spoke, Zuo Gaofeng took the lead in charging into the stone cave. The five of them searched about like headless flies, but found only a sheet of yellow paper. Wei Hongqing had left a message on it: "To my brothers: wounded by love, I have resolved to roam the ends of the earth. From this day forth, let us forget one another in the rivers and lakes."

Staring at the note, Zuo Gaofeng could not help but beat his chest and stamp his feet. "My Leopard Tooth Sword... It was mid-grade..."

Tan Bazhang, Western Mountain Hermit, and the others were likewise grieving, aching over the precious congratulatory gifts they had sent, cursing without end. To rogue cultivators, every spiritual item was incomparably precious. Now they were simply gone. Who would not be distressed?

Only Lingling Guest had escaped disaster. He wore an expression of shared pain and cursed along with them, but inwardly he felt quite pleased. What he had given at the time was a talisman. Fortunately, he had a thick skin and a good memory; before descending the mountain, he had mustered the courage to ask for the talisman back, leaving Wei Hongqing no chance to get his hands on it.

Zuo Gaofeng even muttered a few complaints at Lingling Guest, blaming him for not giving them a warning. But as soon as the words left his mouth, he could not continue. Wei Hongqing had staggered the ceremony times so that none of them would run into each other. How could Lingling Guest have warned them?

Someone else asked Western Mountain Hermit, "Aren't you skilled at divination? How could you fail to foresee this?" This left Western Mountain Hermit in an awkward state, endlessly defending himself. "This was a man's heart, not the timing of Heaven. How could it be calculated?"

Liu Xiaolou was even more heartbroken. That spirit ginseng was three hundred years old—three hundred years! And just like that, it was gone forever. What a son of a bitch! Even if he wanted to find the man, the world was vast. Where could he possibly look?

Wei Hongqing, you really are a bastard. If you wanted a treasure, couldn't you have just said so? If you wanted that spirit ginseng, you should have told me. We were sworn brothers through life and death—could I really have... Well... I certainly would not have left you without a wedding gift. With so many years of friendship between us, was one spirit ginseng really worth it?

After fussing about for a whole day, Liu Xiaolou returned to Qianzhu Ridge in frustration. There was nothing else he could do now but swallow his anger alone. Only after several days did he barely manage to force himself to forget the loss.

For several days in a row, he lay on the three-foot cool terrace before his thatched cottage, fanning himself with a banana leaf fan as he slowly considered his next path of cultivation.

In the world today, the great sects had already occupied all the blessed lands and heavenly grottos. Rogue cultivators without proper lineage could only scramble for the resources the great sects casually let slip away, and every step forward was immensely difficult. The path of cultivation was long. Qi Refinement alone had ten gates to cross, and he had only just reached the second. The road ahead was truly rugged!

But all was for longevity. No matter how rugged the road, he had to grit his teeth and keep walking.

It was now high summer. There were still several months before the spirit fields of Goose-Goat Mountain were harvested, so he could not count on that payment for the time being. Besides, in past years the Zang family recruited only twenty rogue cultivators to help harvest their spirit fields. He might not even secure that opportunity.

Should he go to the gambling house at Bayi Manor and try to pick up a bargain? Last time, he had only received a thorough beating and gained nothing at all. That was truly the worst option.

Also, no Hero's Invitation had been issued for over half a year. Who knew when the next one would come?

Just as his thoughts ran wild, the wind chimes beneath the eaves swayed with a string of tinkling sounds. ding-dong, ding-dong...

Liu Xiaolou looked toward the mountain path. A figure suddenly emerged from the woods and stood before the wooden door.

Liu Xiaolou froze. "Hermit Dai..."

The newcomer wore crimson robes. He was an elder of Liu Xiaolou's generation and his teacher's close friend, Dai Shenggao, known as Hermit Dai.

Dai Shenggao silently watched Liu Xiaolou for a moment, then said, "Go and visit your teacher's grave."

Liu Xiaolou opened the wooden door and led the way. Deep in the Bamboo Forest stood a simple grave beneath several clusters of emerald bamboo. Before it was a tombstone inscribed: "Grave of My Benevolent Teacher, Mister Sanxuan."

Dai Shenggao took out a bamboo tube and pulled out its stopper. The tube was filled with cloudy yellow wine.

He sat cross-legged before the tombstone, pouring out one mouthful and drinking one mouthful, drinking with the tombstone for a long while until the wine was gone.

After quite some time, he finally asked Liu Xiaolou softly, as Liu stood solemnly at the side, "How has your cultivation been these past six months?"

Liu Xiaolou answered truthfully, "I have made little progress."

Dai Shenggao sighed. "You relied on your teacher before. From now on, you can only rely on yourself."

Liu Xiaolou looked toward the tombstone and nodded gently. "Senior is right."

Dai Shenggao took out a Wooden Tablet and turned it over in his palm. "Old Boss Wang has issued another Hero's Invitation. He intends to break the Zhang family manor on Jinping Mountain in Xiangnan."

Liu Xiaolou immediately perked up and asked, "The manor of Zhang Xianbai, Xiangnan's First Arrow?"