Time to Make a Move

At five in the morning, You Tao lay sprawled on the ground, vomiting without stop. She had reached her limit.

"No, I have to go down the mountain..." You Tao struggled to her feet and staggered out of the woods.

Ever since Li Banfeng had left, You Tao had also considered going down the mountain. But whenever she saw the others still picking flowers, she could not bring herself to leave.

Eroded by the poisonous mist, You Tao's efficiency had plummeted. Over the past eight hours, she had picked only three Snake Spot Chrysanthemums in total and spent most of her time resting.

She knew full well that she was dizzy and seeing stars, that even walking took effort, but watching everyone else pick flowers still left a bitter taste in You Tao's heart.

People were just like that. Seeing others make money made them feel they had suffered a huge loss, made them feel the golden pool lay right before their eyes, that gritting their teeth would let them scoop up another fortune.

But after holding on until now, she truly could not endure any longer.

As she walked along the mountain path, she vaguely heard footsteps behind her.

You Tao jolted, clutched the pouch at her waist, and whipped around.

She turned too fiercely. Her vision swayed, and You Tao fell to the ground.

Someone really was chasing after her. It was the little girl, Cao Ye.

Cao Ye stepped forward to help You Tao up, took a small porcelain bottle from her robes, and handed it to her. "Sister, I have some Cooling Powder. Take a mouthful and you'll feel better. If you don't trust me, I'll take a mouthful first..."

You Tao smiled, accepted the bottle, and took a mouthful. After resting for a moment, she truly felt much better.

"I've eaten quite a bit of your Medicine Candy and medicinal powder today. Sister really feels she owes you," said You Tao. Opening her cloth bag, she took out five Snake Spot Chrysanthemums. "Don't look down on them. Sister doesn't have much either, so just take them."

Cao Ye shook her head. "I picked more than you, Sister. I have sixty-one plants. I don't want yours. Sister, let's go down the mountain together. I'll need you to look after me on the way."

You Tao pinched Cao Ye's cheek and said with a beaming smile, "Come on, we'll go together."

The two headed down the mountain. They had walked for less than an hour when a figure ahead blocked their path.

Cao Ye gasped and shrank behind You Tao.

You Tao had traveled the martial world before, so she remained fairly composed.

She first surveyed the mountain path, then called out to the person blocking the way, "Sir, are you looking for Snake Spot Chrysanthemums? I can point you toward a route. It's a good place, with flowers everywhere."

Within the thick mist, the man laughed. "I think this is a fine place already. I think you two flowers are quite nice yourselves."

That voice sounded somewhat familiar.

You Tao smiled at his words. "Sir, your mouth is truly sweet. If you call me a flower, I can shamelessly accept it. But how old is this little girl? At most, she's a flower bud. Can you really bring yourself to lay hands on her?"

As she spoke, You Tao extended a hand toward Cao Ye, signaling for her to pass over the Cooling Powder.

After taking a mouthful of Cooling Powder, You Tao's condition improved slightly. She realized that this hurdle probably could not be bypassed.

The man took two steps forward, and under the night sky, a gleaming bald scalp came into view.

It was that Bald Head again!

"I'm not wasting words on you two," Bald Head said, wiping his cleaver. "Leave the flowers behind, and I'll spare both your lives."

As he spoke, his three lackeys emerged behind him.

Cao Ye was terrified and tightly covered the cloth pouch at her waist.

You Tao patted her, signaling for her not to panic.

Medicine Cultivators could not fight, but they ought to know how to use medicine. She wondered whether this girl had brought any poison.

But why did You Tao refuse to listen to Bald Head and leave behind the Snake Spot Chrysanthemums to save her own life?

Because she had traveled the martial world and knew what sort of creatures people like these were.

This was a desolate wilderness, and they were two women.

Even if they really left the flowers behind, they might not keep their lives—and they would not die simply or cleanly.

You Tao gave a soft laugh, winked at Bald Head, and said tenderly, "Sir, listen to yourself. A true man bullying two weak women—can you really bear it?"

Bald Head laughed. "I really can't bear it. How about this? You two serve me together. Whoever makes me feel good gets a flower from me."

"Sir, how could one plant be enough? If I put in more effort, can't you reward me with more?" You Tao twisted her body, her exquisite curves rising and falling, every inch of her brimming with allure.

Her voice especially was like a goose feather dipped in honey, brushing back and forth over one's spine.

Bald Head's heartbeat quickened. So did the heartbeats of his three lackeys.

"Stinking bitch, so you're the Joy Cultivator! You were the one who made the move during the day!" Bald Head spat. "Trying this trick on your grandpa? Today, Grandpa will let you have a good taste of it!"

All four charged forward at once. You Tao drew two Short Knives from her waist.

In the small grove, Old Smoke Cannon put the last bit of tobacco into his pipe, lit it, and took two hard drags.

"I've got enough too. Everyone, until we meet again." Old Smoke Cannon had picked a full ninety-one Snake Spot Chrysanthemums, the most anyone in the group had earned.

But he could not hold on any longer either.

He had protected his throat with tobacco oil, filtering out much of the poisonous mist. But he was old in the end. Having endured nearly twenty hours on Bitter Mist Mountain, he had reached his limit.

Old Smoke Cannon had just risen to leave when Hu Gaozi stepped forward and stopped him. "Old man, don't be in such a hurry. It's not light yet. Wait a while before you go."

Old Smoke Cannon saw that something was wrong and looked Hu Gaozi up and down. "What, planning to turn nasty?"

Hu Gaozi smiled. "Old man, don't make it sound so ugly. We formed a party, so shouldn't we look after each other along the way? You're taking so many good flowers down the mountain. Something will definitely happen on the road. Better let us hold them for you. We'll return them after we get down the mountain."

"Let you hold them?" Old Smoke Cannon laughed. "Thanks for the kindness, but we met by chance. Our fate ends here."

Hu Gaozi blocked Old Smoke Cannon's path. "Old man, leave the pouch behind. I truly mean it for your own good."

The old man sneered. "You little calf, I saw long ago that you and that bespectacled one were no good.

"When that Bald Head came earlier, you two only made noise and never lifted a hand. One played the straight man, the other the clown, putting on a cross-talk routine.

"Just when the fight was about to end, you two rushed over and pretended to be good people. You and Bald Head are in the same gang, aren't you?"

These words were meant for Qin Xiaopang.

Qin Xiaopang stood there stupidly, still not knowing why Hu Gaozi and Old Smoke Cannon had started arguing.

But hearing Old Smoke Cannon say this, he understood a little.

Old Smoke Cannon continued, "When we went up the mountain, that Bald Head robbed us once. When we reached the flower-picking grounds, he robbed us again. You played the good man among us, but in truth, you wanted Bald Head to test our skills.

"If we weren't skilled, you'd let Bald Head rob us first. Once we lost our flowers, we'd surely fight desperately to earn them back. Then, when night came, you'd harvest us all in one sweep.

"If we were skilled, you wouldn't let Bald Head make a move. Then, once we scattered at night, you'd deal with us one by one.

"Fatty, that Bai Sha who came with you is probably already dead somewhere on the road. Those two girls likely aren't alive either. If we don't make a move now, we'll still die at the hands of these two little calves."

Upon hearing this, Qin Xiaopang hurriedly put away his pouch and grabbed his axe.

Gold Rimmed Glasses adjusted his glasses. Looking at the two of them, he said with a smile, "Don't act rashly. Listen to my advice.

"Old Smoke Cannon, you have good eyesight, but unfortunately, you're too greedy. With your cultivation, if you had gone down the mountain early, we could not have stopped you.

"But you insisted on holding on until now. You can probably barely stand, can you?

"I can tell you've traveled the martial world, but this should be your first time on Bitter Mist Mountain.

"You think that tobacco oil of yours can block all the poisonous mist on Bitter Mist Mountain? If it could, Bitter Mist Mountain would have become the domain of you Smoke Cultivators!"

Old Smoke Cannon laughed. "Tobacco oil can't block all the poisonous mist, but it can block at least half. That's still far better than you people enduring it all this time. If you don't believe me, try it."

Gold Rimmed Glasses sighed, took out a handkerchief, and wiped his lenses. "I never should have spoken to an idiot like you. It takes too much effort."

Hu Gaozi drew his dagger and said, "Just finish him and be done with it. If he wants to die, can anyone stop him?"

Old Smoke Cannon looked at Qin Xiaopang.

Qin Xiaopang was still considering when it would be best to make his move.

He had not expected Hu Gaozi to suddenly leap over and kick him in the face.

Food Cultivators, when full and well-fed, possessed extraordinary physical gifts. They could run, fight, take a beating, and had some resistance to poisons and the like.

But taken individually, none of those gifts was the best.

Take fighting ability, for instance. He was clearly no match for Hu Gaozi, because Hu Gaozi was a Martial Cultivator.

That kick struck Qin Xiaopang in the face. He was completely unprepared. Hu Gaozi stepped forward and stabbed at Qin Xiaopang's stomach, but Qin Xiaopang barely managed to dodge this blow.

But after dodging the stab to his stomach, he took another punch to the chin. Qin Xiaopang lost his footing and fell to the ground. Hu Gaozi added a kick to his face, knocking him unconscious outright.

Hu Gaozi was about to finish him off when a cloud of yellow smoke suddenly came from behind him.

Hu Gaozi hurriedly dodged the smoke, only for a spray of sparks to fly into his face.

Hu Gaozi and Gold Rimmed Glasses both claimed to be first-layer cultivators, but that was only to scare people. Neither of them had a level, while Old Smoke Cannon was a genuine first-layer cultivator.

Gold Rimmed Glasses alone could not handle Old Smoke Cannon, and Old Smoke Cannon gave Hu Gaozi no chance to finish off Qin Xiaopang.

Old Smoke Cannon thought highly of Qin Xiaopang, because when they had fought Bald Head before, Qin Xiaopang was the only one who had truly stepped in.

After dealing with Gold Rimmed Glasses and Hu Gaozi, they might encounter Bald Head on the way down the mountain. Having this fatty with them would make him a useful helper.

Seeing that he could not kill Qin Xiaopang for the moment, Hu Gaozi quickly joined Gold Rimmed Glasses in attacking Old Smoke Cannon. With his pipe, smoke, and fire, Old Smoke Cannon faced the two men and initially held the upper hand. He had thought he could deal with them both in the time it took to smoke one pipeful.

But when that pipeful was finished, Old Smoke Cannon had not won. His situation had become dire.

Without smoke, a Smoke Cultivator's combat power dropped by an entire tier.

The old man fought as he retreated. Gold Rimmed Glasses swung his Folding Fan, his attacks growing increasingly fierce.

That shouldn't be possible. Gold Rimmed Glasses had spent all day on the mountain too. Why did he not show the slightest sign of poisoning?

Pressed from the front and rear by the two men, Old Smoke Cannon had nowhere left to retreat. He exhaled the final mouthful of smoke he had held in, and it shot toward Gold Rimmed Glasses' face like a sharp blade.

Gold Rimmed Glasses swept his Folding Fan, blowing the smoke apart.

Blowing it apart was useless. The smoke was poisonous. Old Smoke Cannon sprayed out the poison hidden in his false teeth along with it.

Hu Gaozi covered his mouth and nose and retreated repeatedly, tears and snot streaming down together.

Gold Rimmed Glasses coughed twice but was not greatly affected.

Old Smoke Cannon froze. Why had that mouthful of poisonous smoke not brought him down?

Could it be that he was a Poison Cultivator?

This was bad!

His final mouthful of smoke was gone too. Old Smoke Cannon had failed to trade it for a chance to escape.

The Folding Fan whistled before him, stirring the air, and Old Smoke Cannon caught a strange fragrance.

Not good!

There was poison on his fan!

Old Smoke Cannon's vision blurred. He realized he had been poisoned!

PS: There will be another update at noon. Dear readers, please vote and leave more comments.

(End of Chapter)