There Was Also a Great Yao Hiding Here

There Was Also a Great Yao Hiding Here

On a broad platform stood two elegant little pavilions, one on either side.

Ning Xuan sat in the pavilion on the left. In the one on the right sat a dark, plump fellow dressed in fine silk.

That plump fellow was the eldest young master of the Wealthy Merchant Guild, named Liu Shirong.

The young lady who had sent Ning Xuan the Western Regions Spirit Pearl was his younger sister, Liu Yushu.

They shared a father but had different mothers. One had grown into a dark, fat man; the other, into a merchant's daughter who "fit the image of a young lady."

Of course, Liu Shirong also had a younger brother close to his age—his full brother, Liu Shihua.

The Wealthy Merchant Guild was neither huge nor small. Its roots lay in Star River County, but its trade routes ran through several prefectures and even reached the provincial capital, stretching all the way to the Western Regions. To ordinary people, it was an imposing giant, far beyond their reach.

The guildmaster was already quite old. They said that one year, while traveling on business, he had wandered into a miasma-ridden region and contracted a plague. Though he had recovered, the illness had left its mark, and he had grown weaker with each passing year.

So the Wealthy Merchant Guild needed to consider the question of succession early.

In theory, there were only three possible heirs: Liu Shirong, Liu Shihua, and Liu Yushu.

As for choosing an heir, most families would "test their abilities." Specifically, each of the three would be given a share of the family business, and whoever made a name for themselves would inherit the guild.

But the Wealthy Merchant Guild did things differently.

The heir had been chosen long ago. It was the dark, plump fellow sitting right there.

And yet, of the three, he was the most dissolute. He spent his days eating, drinking, and having fun, mixing with other young masters from wealthy families. Sometimes he feasted and visited courtesans; sometimes he hunted and rode; sometimes he gambled or watched beasts fight. In short, he did nothing but indulge himself wherever he went.

By contrast, Liu Shihua and Liu Yushu were the ones truly managing the guild, worrying over all the affairs great and small. Now that they had come of age, one was a worldly, shrewd young gentleman, mature beyond his years; the other, a poised and alluring young lady, adept at socializing.

And yet neither of them had been chosen to inherit the Wealthy Merchant Guild. That honor had gone to the dark, plump fellow.

To outsiders, he was simply bringing his family's rooster to fight the eldest young master of Ning Manor.

In truth, however, he and Young Master Ning were already sworn brothers.

He was a wastrel.

But he was a wastrel who cultivated ties with the powerful.

He was the guild's young master. He might not need to manage the affairs below, but he did need to shield the entire guild with a raised hand, keeping calamities from descending from above.

After all, no matter how much trouble there was below, at worst they would lose some silver or a shipment of goods. But above them... even a single snowflake drifting down from the heights could bear a weight the people below could not withstand—a calamity from which there would be no recovery.

So this dark, plump fellow went everywhere like a God of Wealth, making connections and ingratiating himself with influential people.

And Ning Xuan was one of the important people he had befriended.

Now the two of them sat in their respective pavilions, like generals about to review their troops. Ning the eldest young master's Golden Winged Thunder Duke and Young Master Liu's Iron Beak General were already "raring to go" in their cages.

Cockfighting was an easy pastime to get hooked on. To put it in terms Ning Xuan had known before his transmigration, it combined the fun of "catching, raising, and battling" into something comparable to the enjoyment of Pokémon and the like.

Liu Shirong shouted, "Young Master Ning, my Iron Beak General has just returned from secret training. There's no way it'll lose to you again!"

Ning Xuan replied, "Hah. My Golden Winged Thunder Duke trains in secret every day."

Their lackeys gathered behind them, like soldiers hollering insults across the walls of a besieged city.

The scene was raucous.

Each young master grabbed a drink of tea from the pavilion and took a couple of sips.

Liu Shirong pointed at Ning Xuan. "I'll say it right here. If your Golden Winged Thunder Duke wins, I—I..."

Ning Xuan asked, "You'll what?"

Liu Shirong said, "I'll marry my sister off to you!"

Ning Xuan burst out laughing. "That's quite a scheme you've got there. I'm not marrying her!"

Liu Shirong said helplessly, "What's wrong with my sister? She's beautiful and capable. If she married into your family, she could save you a lot of trouble."

Ning Xuan said, "Marriage is a major matter. It's for parents to arrange and matchmakers to negotiate. Liu Shirong, are you saying you should decide your sister's marriage yourself?"

Liu Shirong cupped his hands. "Well, then we have to wager something, don't we? Otherwise, what's the fun in fighting? I'll wager my sister."

Seeing that Ning Xuan didn't respond, Liu Shirong changed his offer. "Forget it. If I lose, I'll give you two wagon spaces on the guild's Western Regions route, free of charge. You can use them to send people or trade goods—those two spaces will be yours. You won't have to pay the costs. If you make a profit, it's yours; if you take a loss, the Wealthy Merchant Guild covers it."

Ning Xuan knew the guild's Western Regions route was a major one. Each departure carried forty or fifty crates of goods, and the expenses along the way were considerable. Getting two crates to play around with was a generous offer.

And if he could secure those two wagon spaces, he would effectively have an intelligence channel that reached the Western Regions.

He knew too little about the world outside.

The existence of demons like the Mountain Crashing Bear Demon and Ghost Shadow Horse Monkey had made him realize how important intelligence was.

He needed people of his own who could bring him news from distant places.

Take the Ghost Shadow Horse Monkey, for example. Its physique of 3.5 didn't seem to match his, but Ning Xuan had no intention of refining a talisman right away.

He only had one life. Since the Ghost Shadow Horse Monkey had already appeared, he naturally wanted to learn as much as he could about its demonic arts, gather as much information about it as possible, and even kill a few with his own hands before making his move.

After all, during his earlier fierce battle with the Mountain Crashing Bear Demon, he had learned that if he wanted to refine a talisman, he would have to face the strongest among his opponents in the nightmare.

Intelligence was important.

He needed more of it.

He couldn't go out and investigate everything himself, so he had begun looking for ways to gain some "tentacles" reaching beyond his immediate surroundings.

After all these years, his father had spoiled him rotten, giving him whatever he wanted, but had never shown any intention of letting him take charge of any faction.

He didn't understand why.

Now, Liu Shirong's offer tempted him.

After a flurry of thoughts, Ning Xuan smiled. "If I want to go to the Western Regions, would that be all right too?"

Liu Shirong was taken aback. "What would you go to the Western Regions for?"

Ning Xuan said, "I'm just asking. Would it be possible?"

"Of course," Liu Shirong said. "But you're Young Master Ning. Your life is precious. If anything happened to you on the road, my guild couldn't shoulder such a heavy responsibility."

Ning Xuan smiled. "I'm just asking."

Then he said, "If I lose, I'll give you Purple Shadow. You've been coveting him for a long time, haven't you?"

Purple Shadow was the second-best horse under Ning Xuan's command.

Liu Shirong said, "It's a deal!"

Ning Xuan said, "Open the cages!"

A guard in the middle hurried into the arena with a copper gong.

The cages on both sides opened. Golden Winged Thunder Duke shook his wings, which crackled and popped, as though the statue of the Thunder Duke in a temple had come to life. Iron Beak General still had blood on its beak from the previous day's fight. It impatiently scratched at the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Clang, clang, clang!

The guard struck the copper gong.

The two roosters shot at each other like arrows loosed from their strings, colliding and fighting to the death.

The lackeys ran over to cheer them on, shouting things like "Peck him! Peck him!", "Dodge, hurry!", and "Thunder Duke, cut low! Go for his legs!"

Han Ba shuddered.

Since killing the Mountain Crashing Bear Demon yesterday, their squad had steadily pushed forward. By now, they had all but confirmed the situation in the mountains.

The bear demons were all dead.

Dead in gruesome fashion.

Their corpses were piled on top of one another. Not a single one had survived.

The Yellow Robe Daoist looked grave as well. He picked out two bodies from among the bear demons: one was about ten feet tall, its head blown apart; the other had been decapitated.

"If I'm not mistaken, these two were the strongest of this group of demons. If either one of them had emerged, at least half of us would have died before we could deal with it. If both had appeared at once, we would have been wiped out."

Han Ba said, "But they're both dead."

He carefully inspected all the dead bear demons.

He had already examined their wounds.

"They're all blade wounds. Some are exaggerated, but they're still blade wounds," Han Ba said. "Could it have been a martial artist?"

The Yellow Robe Daoist hadn't yet replied when the Daoist Boy beside him chuckled.

"Old Han, this isn't some master of martial arts wielding a strange strength. It means a demon that knows martial arts has appeared."

"A demon that knows martial arts..." Han Ba couldn't help shuddering.

In his mind, demons were terrifying for three reasons: first, their fearsome physiques; second, their uncanny demonic arts; and third, their mysterious treasures.

They could only rely on the mysterious power of True Persons to suppress and restrain demons, then kill them with all manner of weapons.

Fortunately, demons knew nothing of martial arts and seemed unable to control their strength with precision. Even if they did know martial arts, they were just putting on an act—fakes he could slaughter when they had the same level of strength.

But...

He looked at the lines of wounds across the dead bear demons' bodies.

Swift and brutal.

He remembered the bear demon they had killed, crying out as it died: "Help me! Help me!"

Han Ba felt cold from head to toe. He turned to the Yellow Robe Daoist, his mouth dry. "True Person..."

The Yellow Robe Daoist said gravely, "This may have been infighting among the demons. And here... there must be an even more terrifying Great Yao hiding."

Han Ba asked hoarsely, "What do we do?"

The Yellow Robe Daoist raised a hand and pointed. A transparent golden talisman appeared in the air.

He traced a few marks across it with his finger. Then, with a flick, the talisman burst into flames and sank into the ground.

"Summon the Celestial Master!"