Going Down the Mountain

Dai Shenggao saw that Liu Xiaolou understood and said no more, nodding. "That's right, Xiangnan's number one archer. His closed-door cultivation failed, and he didn't come out alive, so Boss Wang has gathered heroes to prepare to enter the villa. I've been ordered to deliver invitations. Are you going?"

Liu Xiaolou pondered for a long time and said, "I've heard my master mention before that Zhang Xianbai was a top disciple of the outer sect of Dongyang Mountain..."

Dai Shenggao said, "So we need to act before the people from Dongyang Mountain can perform the memorial rites. Time is tight, it's tomorrow night. In the past, your master always accepted the invitations, but this time..."

Liu Xiaolou didn't reply, gazing at the grave in a daze. His master, Mister Sanxuan, had accepted the Hero's Invitation six months ago and then lay in this grave. Dai Shenggao was the one who brought his body back.

Dai Shenggao added, "Once you accept the Hero's Invitation, you're responsible for your own life or death... You decide."

Shaking his head and taking a deep breath, Liu Xiaolou still stepped forward and accepted the invitation, gripping it tightly in his palm. The invitation was made of a piece of wood, yellowish-purple in color, engraved with the words "Hero's Invitation." The characters flickered in and out of sight, a unique technique of Boss Wang that was difficult to replicate outside.

"You enter the arena with the invitation?"

"That's right. Keep it with you, don't lose it. You'll only be allowed into the mountain with the invitation." He paused, then sighed, "I don't know if inviting you was the right thing to do..."

Liu Xiaolou forced a smile. "This junior hasn't made any progress in half a year."

Dai Shenggao nodded, said no more, rose to his feet, and quickly descended the mountain.

Liu Xiaolou watched Dai Shenggao leave, sat by the grave for a moment, and kowtowed three times respectfully. "Please, master, bless my journey."

After kowtowing, Liu Xiaolou returned to the thatched hut, strapped the master-taught Sanxuan Sword to his back, took out the last bit of scattered silver from the cabinet under the bed, put on his bamboo hat, and went out.

The journey to Jinping Mountain was over three hundred li, and he had to arrive before tomorrow night. There was no time to delay.

Outside the courtyard, he saw the Big White Goose standing by the roadside, its wings slightly spread, looking up at him. Liu Xiaolou reached out and stroked its head. "If I don't come back, there will be no Three Xuan Sect in the world. You'll have to find your own way then."

As he came down from Qianzhu Ridge, a torrential rain began to fall. The Wu Chao River rose rapidly, roaring like a dragon and surging downstream.

The small bamboo hat couldn't block the rain at all, and Liu Xiaolou was soaked through. At the Qi Refining second layer, he wasn't afraid of this bit of wind and rain, but his pace slowed considerably.

He walked along the Wu Chao River for over two hours, finally leaving Wulong Mountain. Before him lay crisscrossing farmland, and the raindrops gradually lessened, though it continued to rain.

Liu Xiaolou had gone up the mountain with his master at the age of eight. He had cultivated in the mountains for ten years and was very familiar with the surrounding roads. He quickened his pace, heading south along the field ridges. The sky was dim, and he was hungry. He came to a courtyard enclosed by earth walls and knocked on the door. "Uncle Tian!"

An old farmer opened the door and welcomed him in. "Is the little immortal master leaving the mountain?"

"Yes, I'm passing by and would like to ask Uncle Tian for a meal."

"Of course, of course."

Uncle Tian went to the kitchen and brought out a bowl of millet rice and a piece of old pickled vegetable. He ate with Liu Xiaolou, watching him eat, and asked, "It's been a long time since we've seen the Sanxuan immortal master. Is he well?"

Liu Xiaolou stirred the chopsticks in his bowl for a long time and said softly, "My master has ascended."

Uncle Tian let out an "Ah" and said no more, silently accompanying Liu Xiaolou as he finished eating. At one moment, he suddenly grinned and said, "Before the New Year, Fairy Jingzhen from Xiushan took a liking to my Ah Zhen and took her to cultivate."

Liu Xiaolou was stunned for a moment and said, "Xiushan... Fairy Jingzhen... Ah Zhen is very fortunate."

Uncle Tian laughed. "Thanks to the little immortal master. If the little immortal master hadn't saved her back then, Ah Zhen would have been washed away by the flood..."

Liu Xiaolou shook his head. "Uncle Tian, it was just a small matter, no need to mention it. Xiushan is a good place, and Fairy Jingzhen is a master, yes, my master mentioned her, a very, very high master... After she left, how have you been, Uncle Tian? Didn't you go to Xiushan with her?"

Uncle Tian waved his hand. "It's fine. I'm doing very well on my own, it's less trouble! Besides, Xiushan is five hundred li from home. What business does an old man have going there? Who will take care of these fields? My surname is Tian, and it's destined that I'll never leave the fields in this life... Oh, right, when she left, Fairy Jingzhen said that Ah Zhen could come home once a year."

There was another moment of silence.

Liu Xiaolou nodded slowly and put down the bit of scattered silver. "Uncle Tian, I have to travel, I'll be going now."

Uncle Tian chased after him. "You've given too much, why so much?"

Liu Xiaolou waved his hand behind him without looking back. "If I come again next time, I won't pay."

Leaving Wulong Mountain, Liu Xiaolou traveled day and night, working hard. At the Qi Refining second layer, he wasn't much faster than the martial artists guarding the households of ordinary wealthy families, but he had the advantage of true essence flowing in his dantian, giving him long-lasting stamina. By the time it was dark the next day, he finally entered Jinping Mountain in Xiangnan.

At the entrance of the mountain pass, a blind old man stopped Liu Xiaolou as he approached and asked, "Young man, where are you going?"

Liu Xiaolou glanced at the old man's chest and saw that he also wore a Hero's Invitation. He quickly took out his own Hero's Invitation and waved it in front of the old man. "This junior comes from Wulong Mountain to participate in the Hero Assembly."

The old man sniffed and asked again, "Who sent the invitation?"

Liu Xiaolou replied, "Hermit Dai."

The old man nodded and pointed to a high mountain on the right. "Enter the mountain from here, go to North Mountain at the jumble of rocks, and reach North Cliff."

Liu Xiaolou cupped his hands and followed the directions into the mountain. After a few li, he indeed saw a mountain path with rugged rocks on the side. He then ascended, reaching the summit with the rising moon. Ahead was a sheer cliff.

At a glance, he saw Dai Shenggao by the cliff edge. He was hidden behind a large rock, occasionally looking down the cliff. Seeing Liu Xiaolou, Dai Shenggao beckoned him over.

Arriving at the cliff edge, he looked down at a dark mountain hollow below, the terrain almost indistinguishable. Only the surrounding undulating mountain peaks outlined mountain shadows in the moonlight.

In that mountain hollow, a cluster of lights was hidden. Dai Shenggao said, "This is the Zhang clan's Jinping Mountain Villa."

Liu Xiaolou gazed into the distance for a moment and asked, "Senior, which heroes have responded?"

Dai Shenggao pointed to the mountains. "In the mountains to the east are the heroes of the Donghe River. In the valley to the south is the Pai Sect Seventh Branch. On the west mountain is the Yunshan Gang. The southeastern and southwestern passes are guarded by local magnates Gao Feiyan and Wan Jianxin. On this side of North Cliff are the brothers from the north."

Liu Xiaolou asked, "Who from our Wulong Mountain has come?"

Dai Shenggao replied, "The timing was too tight, so I didn't invite many. Only you and Longshan the Rogue Cultivator... You're the first to arrive."

Liu Xiaolou gazed at the surrounding mountains, unable to distinguish how many high cultivators were in each mountain. However, the Zhang clan members in the villa clearly had no idea that disaster was imminent. The villa was still brightly lit, and under the shroud of the deep night, it was like a feast laid out on a table, waiting to be devoured.

That night, more than thirty heroes from the north gradually gathered on North Cliff, showing Dai Shenggao's extensive connections.

In the latter half of the night, Longshan the Rogue Cultivator also arrived. This fellow had a full beard, making his face almost unrecognizable. He claimed to have achieved the "Dragon Head" appearance through profound cultivation of Profound Arts, but whether it was true or not was unknown. Although he and Liu Xiaolou were both rogue cultivators from Wulong Mountain, they had never met. Upon hearing that Liu Xiaolou was a disciple of Mister Sanxuan, he nodded to him. "Daoist Brother Sanxuan... a good person."

Liu Xiaolou cupped his hands in thanks.