A New Home

Dog Head Ridge rose more than three hundred zhang high. Most of it was bare Stone, its jagged rocks making it look, from a distance, like the ferocious head of a boiled dog.

At the foot of Dog Head Ridge stood several houses built from gray-brown Stone, with even their roofs covered in stone slabs. The Stone looked just like that on the ridge; the houses had probably been built with materials gathered on the spot.

Most of the stone houses had collapsed. Only two looked relatively intact.

"Woof, woof..."

A scrawny black dog barked furiously at Fang Chen.

Fang Chen frowned at the sight. He had never expected the place where Outer Sect Disciples lived to be so shabby. It was nothing like he had imagined.

Li Yanshan dismounted, tied his donkey to a large tree, and walked up to the stone houses. "Xiao Liu, stop barking. He's one of us!"

At Li Yanshan's words, the black dog immediately stopped barking and wagged its tail at him.

Li Yanshan called toward the stone house, "Elder Yun, someone new is here!"

"Cough, cough, cough..."

A fit of coughing came from the second house. Its door slowly opened, and a white-haired old man emerged, leaning on a cane.

He had a gaunt face, deeply etched with wrinkles like a dried bitter melon. His left hand and right leg were gone, and even on his right hand, only his thumb, index finger, and little finger remained.

The old man walked up to Fang Chen and swept his cloudy eyes over him. Frowning, he said to Li Yanshan, "Are you sure you haven't made a mistake? This lad has all his arms and legs, and his skin's so soft. He's willing to come to Dog Head Ridge?"

Spiritual energy was thin on Dog Head Ridge, and living conditions were harsh—even worse than where the Outer Sect stewards lived. Almost no one wanted to come here.

Dog Head Ridge had another name: Losers' Camp.

Li Yanshan looked at the old man and frowned slightly, unsure how to put it. Telling him to his face that Fang Chen had no Spiritual Root seemed a little rude.

Fang Chen seemed to catch on. He immediately said to the old man, "Senior, my arms and legs may be intact, but I have no Spiritual Root. No one else wanted me. Luckily, Uncle Li was kind enough to take me in!"

"No Spiritual Root?"

The old man froze for a moment, then looked up at Li Yanshan.

Li Yanshan nodded slightly. "That's right. He really doesn't have a Spiritual Root."

The old man frowned faintly, then smiled at Fang Chen. "Having no Spiritual Root isn't such a terrible thing. It's better than being someone like me, without all my arms and legs. Besides, you're still young!"

Li Yanshan smiled. "Fang Chen, this is Elder Yun."

Fang Chen promptly bowed to the old man. "Greetings, Elder Yun," he said respectfully.

"Mm."

The old man gave Fang Chen a slight nod. "Wait here a moment."

With that, he turned and made his way back into his stone house on his cane.

Fang Chen looked up at Li Yanshan, puzzled. He had no idea what Elder Yun intended to do.

Seeing his confusion, Li Yanshan smiled. "Elder Yun is a genuinely good man. Since this is your first meeting, he must want to give you a little welcome gift!"

"A welcome gift for me?"

Fang Chen blinked. He had not expected Elder Yun to be so generous. At Dragon Tiger Mountain, it was the newly arrived servants who had offered gifts to Cao Bin.

Just then, Elder Yun came back out. He handed Fang Chen something pitch-black. "This is Cow Dung Incense. It's made from Red-Eyed Spirit Ox dung, dried tangerine peel, balloon flower root, and dozens of other medicinal ingredients. The smell is a little sharp, but it's every bit as good as Exquisite Incense for clearing your head!"

Fang Chen had not expected Elder Yun's treasured gift to be this.

"Thank you, Elder Yun!"

Fang Chen showed no distaste. He knew the old man meant well.

"You're welcome!"

Elder Yun smiled at Fang Chen, then said to Li Yanshan, "Show young Brother Fang Chen around. I'm going back inside for another nap!"

"All right!"

Li Yanshan nodded to Elder Yun.

Elder Yun returned to his stone house on his cane and shut the door.

"Come on. I'll find you a place to live!"

Li Yanshan led Fang Chen along a gravel path to the western side of Dog Head Ridge, halfway up the slope. There stood a house that looked grander than the ones he and Elder Yun lived in, with a courtyard out front.

A peach tree grew beside the courtyard gate, and yellow leaves covered the ground. A stream ran behind the house, so there was no need to worry about water.

"This was the home of an old companion of ours," Li Yanshan said. "He left half a year ago. You can live here."

"Left?"

Fang Chen frowned. "If I move in, where will he stay when he comes back?"

Li Yanshan sighed. "He died."

"Died?"

Fang Chen's eyes tightened. He had thought the man had merely gone away. He had not expected him to be dead.

Seeing Fang Chen's expression, Li Yanshan quickly said, "Don't worry. He didn't die in this house. A venomous snake bit him while he was digging for medicinal herbs, and the poison killed him. Wait here a moment. I'll tidy up for you!"

Li Yanshan pushed open the door, ready to go in and clean.

Fang Chen had not expected him to go to such trouble. He quickly caught Li Yanshan by the arm. "Uncle Li, let me do it. I can't trouble you with this!"

"It's no trouble. Just a little physical work!"

Li Yanshan went inside despite Fang Chen's protest.

Fang Chen followed at once. The main room was spacious, with a stone table and three stone stools in the center. A candleholder thick with verdigris stood on the table, whose surface had gathered a layer of dust.

Li Yanshan started tidying up, and Fang Chen rolled up his sleeves to help.

Fang Chen could not understand why Li Yanshan and Elder Yun had left such a fine house empty. "Uncle Li, this place is so big, and the surroundings are so nice. Why don't you or Elder Yun live here?"

Li Yanshan sighed softly. "You saw Elder Yun's condition. He has trouble walking, and this house is halfway up the mountain. It would be too much trouble for him."

"What about you?"

Fang Chen looked up at Li Yanshan.

Li Yanshan shook his head helplessly. "I'd like to live here, but there's only Elder Yun and me on Dog Head Ridge, along with Xiao Liu and Donkey Egg. Elder Yun's health is poor. He needs someone to look after him. If I lived up here, what would he do?"

Fang Chen had not expected Li Yanshan to be so loyal. People like him were rare in a sect. "Uncle Li, you're a good man!"

Li Yanshan gave a rueful smile. "I'm not the good one. Elder Yun is. Without him, I'd probably have died long ago..."

Li Yanshan spoke as he straightened up the house.

Fang Chen listened quietly. From Li Yanshan, he learned that Elder Yun's name was Yun Yi and that he had a first-grade Wood Attribute True Spiritual Root. His cultivation had once reached the ninth level of the Qi Refining Realm, but a furnace had exploded while he was refining pills, gravely injuring him and severing his limbs. Though he had survived, he had lost much of his strength. His cultivation had now fallen to the second level of the Qi Refining Realm.

Li Yanshan had a Gold-Earth Dual-Element Mixed Spiritual Root and had reached only the third level of the Qi Refining Realm. He had once belonged to Lingluo Mountain. After a conflict broke out between him and an Outer Sect Disciple, he killed the other man in their fight, but lost an eye and suffered grave injuries himself. He was dumped on Dog Head Ridge, where Elder Yun saved him. Without Elder Yun, he would certainly have died.

Elder Yun was now over eighty. That was not especially old for a cultivator in the Qi Refining Realm, but he had suffered severe injuries, lived with missing limbs, and was plagued by old ailments. At times, his mind even became confused.

Li Yanshan looked at Fang Chen with a smile. "Enough about all that. Get some rest. I'll go make dinner. Remember to come down and eat later!"

"All right!"

Fang Chen nodded.

Boom!

A tremendous noise came from outside, and the entire stone house shook slightly.

"Woof, woof, woof..."

A burst of barking followed from outside.

"What was that?"

Fang Chen looked toward the door.

"This is bad!"

Li Yanshan's expression changed sharply, and he rushed out.

Fang Chen did not know why Li Yanshan was so alarmed, but he hurried after him.