Robbery

If Kun hadn't mentioned Fuling, reminding Li Fan that he still needed to ask about the news from the Jiang family's shop, he would have flipped out on the spot and reported this unscrupulous establishment the moment he stepped outside.

At this point, he could only swallow his annoyance. He waved his jade pendant around, and twenty-five strings of cash came clattering out. The flat-headed waiter was pretty impressive, too. He held the serving tray with one hand and caught all twenty-five strings with the other, without even changing his expression.

"That'll be twenty-five strings," the waiter said, glancing at Li Fan. "Why not order a pot of Lotus Nectar Dew? It's only five hundred strings."

Li Fan gave a cold laugh. "Only?"

The waiter shrugged. "At least it could get you a fairy to bathe and keep you company at dinner."

So the minimum fee for a private showing was five hundred strings! Your fairies were way too expensive! Were they made of gold and jade or something? Sigh, he couldn't afford that. He couldn't afford it at all. Twenty thousand strings were nothing here. The wealth gap was absurd. He couldn't even imagine the things rich people got up to...

Li Fan rubbed his brow. "Ahem. Never mind. I'll just feast my eyes. By the way, waiter, there's something else."

The flat-headed waiter finished counting the money, then used the jade pendant to collect the twenty-five strings from his hand. "Just say the word, sir. I'll do whatever you ask. Would you like me to feed you by hand? Or perhaps mouth-to-mouth, like that?"

"Who wants you to feed him?" Li Fan nearly pulled out his wooden sword to beat the man. "I want to ask why the shop across the street is closed."

"The Jiang family's shop? If you ordered something from them, you can come back in a few days to pick it up. It's nothing serious. The Jiang family has a Divine Transformation expert backing them, so everything should be fine in two or three days. There's no need to worry." The waiter's words were just as evasive, but his eyes darted about. It was obvious he knew something.

Li Fan couldn't just let the man swindle him out of twenty-five strings for cold noodles and steamed-bun slices. After a moment's thought, he asked, "I'm not here to buy anything. I came to visit an old friend I haven't seen in a long time, but I couldn't find her. I'm worried something might have happened."

"You're looking for Fuling? May I ask who you are?" If a Foundation Establishment cultivator came to the Jiang family's shop looking for a friend, who else would it be but Fuling? The waiter from the shop across the street knew her too, but he looked wary.

"I'm no villain. We're fellow disciples." Seeing the waiter probe into his background first, Li Fan guessed that he and Fuling were on good terms. He reached into his robes and took out the golden Jiaotu pendant Fuling had given him to calm his heart. "See? She gave me this."

The waiter glanced at the round Jiaotu head. He'd clearly seen it before. Seeing Li Fan dressed like a Bamboo Mountain disciple, he believed him. "Since you're Fuling's old friend, I won't hide it from you. The Jiang family's caravan was ambushed. They lost their cargo, and people died. They've tracked down the bandits, and she went to fight them with a few old friends."

"She went to fight them?" Li Fan was startled. He'd left early to kill monkeys and hadn't seen her. "When did she leave?"

"This morning. You just missed her, fellow cultivator. Otherwise, you might have been able to lend her a hand." The waiter shook his head. "I wanted to help her too, but I'm just an unaffiliated cultivator. I don't have any powerful treasures, and I'm still carrying an old injury. I'd only have held them back."

"Who are they up against? Who would dare touch the property of a Divine Transformation expert?" Li Fan was genuinely surprised. These days, immortals killed people as easily as slaughtering cattle and sheep, but that was just because they picked on the weak. If they knew a Divine Transformation expert was backing the family and still dared to act, there had to be some kind of scheme.

The waiter shook his head. "It wasn't aimed at the Divine Transformation expert. The Jiang family was probably caught up in something... Have you heard that a Golden Core cultivator from Bamboo Mountain recently died?"

"You mean Senior Brother Lu?" Li Fan understood at once. "His family's enemies? The Jiang family was carrying the Lu family's goods!"

That had to be it. Even Li Fan's position as a Dragon Herder had originally come from Fuling asking Lu Yu for help.

Hearing Li Fan mention Lu Yu, the waiter finally relaxed. His expression softened. "That's right. I heard the Lu family hired the Jiang family's caravan to transport a batch of private goods. Who could have guessed that the head of the Lu family would be murdered, and the Jiang family's caravan would be robbed too?

"Some fellow cultivators tracked down the bandits. They're old enemies of the Lu family. The Lu family's new head, Lu Xing, gathered some fellow disciples to reclaim the family's property. Fuling heard that the Jiang family had lost its goods and people had died, so she invited a few fellow cultivators to go fight them.

"But I didn't ask about the bandits' identities or where they were hiding. Besides, they left on the Lu family's Swiftwind Flying Shuttle. They've already been gone a whole day, so I'm afraid you won't catch up."

"Thank you for telling me."

Li Fan clasped his hands to thank the waiter. He no longer felt like watching the stage show. He poured the twenty-five strings into Kun's mouth and immediately got up to leave.

The Profound Heaven Sword Intent said, "Does the host intend to catch up and help?"

Li Fan walked out of Ke Shan Zhai and summoned his crane. "Of course I have to help. What valuable goods could a mortal caravan be carrying? A single cup of immortal wine costs five hundred strings. If they lost some cargo, so be it. But Lu Xing is probably the new head of the family, and she's making such a grand show of things. She clearly wants to seize this chance to earn credit and secure her position as head of the family!

"But did she even think about it? Four dragons went missing in this world, and no one could find them. The bandits who murdered her father might still be somewhere near Bamboo Mountain. Yet the bandits who attacked a merchant caravan were so easily tracked down by some 'passing fellow cultivators.' Doesn't that sound absurd?

"If they're just reckless bandits or unaffiliated cultivators, that's one thing. But what if someone planned this? What if it's a trap to ambush the Lu family? Wouldn't that drag Sister Fuling into it too? I can't rest easy. I have to go take a look."

The Profound Heaven Sword Intent said, "Does the host know where to find them?"

Li Fan thought it over. "I don't, but someone probably does."

He flew on the crane for a while, then descended from the clouds and headed straight for the Outer Sect dining hall. He downed five bowls of Five Immortals Soup in a row. Sure enough, Master Zhang appeared again.

"Why is it you again..." Zhang Jiugao looked at Li Fan, his eyebrows twitching.

"Master Zhang, I have something to ask you." Li Fan bowed. "Do you know where Fuling, a disciple under Real Person Wanshu, is?"

Zhang Jiugao glanced at Li Fan. "I remember her telling me not long ago that if you came asking, I should tell you, 'It's just a small matter. Qingyue needn't worry. Take care of your health, and I'll be back in a few days.'"

Li Fan narrowed his eyes and thought for a moment. "Then, Master Zhang, do you know where Lu Xing, a registered Outer Sect disciple, is? She gave me five thousand copper coins, but one coin too many. I want to return it."

"..." Zhang Jiugao froze. He opened his mouth, hesitated, then shut it again. So he really did know what was going on.

"Master Zhang, Foundation Establishment disciples aren't allowed to leave the territory of Ink Bamboo Mountain without a Golden Core cultivator leading them, are they? Especially at a time like this, wouldn't you want to prevent something happening to them? Why didn't you stop them?" Li Fan pressed him again.

Senior Brother Lu had mentioned the rule in passing when he took them to Mount Buzhou to herd dragons. It had been established back when the Three Great Sects were slaughtering people like mad. But times had changed, and peace had lasted so long that no one enforced it anymore. Disciples could freely leave the mountain to travel.

But with all that happening, did Bamboo Mountain really not keep its disciples in check at all?

Zhang Jiugao glared at him. "I did try to stop them, but they obtained an official decree from Du Gongshi and took a place in the Bureau of Heavenly Works. They said they were going out on behalf of the workshops to procure supplies and build mechanisms. Their travel permits had all the right seals, and they weren't forged. How could I forcibly keep them from leaving?"

Li Fan narrowed his eyes. For a moment, he wondered whether he should tell the old man that official travel permits from Lou Guan were probably just as easy to buy these days...

"Don't go chasing after them. There are a lot of them, and every one of them has a magical treasure. Ordinary Golden Core cultivators won't frighten them."

The old Taoist was about to flick his sleeve and leave, but something about his retreating figure seemed off to Li Fan. He frowned, thought it over, then ventured a guess. "Could it be that Bamboo Mountain plans to use these Foundation Establishment disciples as bait to lure out the bandits who murdered Senior Brother Lu?"

Zhang Jiugao turned back and gave Li Fan a meaningful look. "How did you guess that?"

Li Fan bowed. "Lu Xing doesn't seem reckless or unprepared. She's gentle and considerate on the surface, but her nature is proud and decisive. Could she have come up with the plan herself, offering herself as bait?

"And Master Zhang, you're willing to risk your life for the sake of ordinary disciples. Earlier, when you were worried about a disciple's injuries, your right eyelid kept twitching. Now Fuling, whom you've known much longer, is in danger, yet your expression is calm and your breathing steady. Surely the sect has already made all the necessary preparations?"

It was all guesswork. Ordinary disciples called him Master Zhang, but Fuling, who usually cared most about proper etiquette, bossed Zhang Jiugao around and called him an old stinking Taoist. They must have been close. And now he didn't seem worried at all. Something was clearly off. The old man looked awkward, too. Li Fan had probably guessed right.

Zhang Jiugao stiffened, and his eyebrows twitched. "...Enough nonsense. Now that you know, stay in the sect."

"Tsk." The man had actually turned into a streak of light on his flying sword and fled. Was there no reward for guessing correctly? He could at least have said where they'd gone!

Li Fan had no way around it, so he could only ride his crane back to Wangshu Residence first.

Fuling had also left him a note on the table. It said something along the lines of, "I've arranged to meet a fellow cultivator and take care of a small matter. I'll be back in a few days. Rest and recover without worry."

The Profound Heaven Sword Intent said, "Since Bamboo Mountain has already made arrangements, don't get involved. You'd only be dead weight right now. Reach Golden Core as soon as you can and open the sword case, then you can swagger around!"

That was true... Oh, right. He'd almost forgotten about the box-opening lottery... System! Draw!

"Draw complete. Transmitting prize."

"Transmitting prize."

"Transmitting prize."

"..." Li Fan sat at the table waiting. Kun was sprawled on his head, and the two of them stared at the empty tabletop. After about a quarter of an incense stick's time, something fell out of the void.

A flying disc landed on the table with a clatter.

Li Fan stared at it. "..."

Kun stared too. "..."

The Profound Heaven Sword Intent said, "What's this thing?"

"Looks like... a dog frisbee?" Li Fan picked it up uncertainly and examined it. It was white, and when he tapped it, it seemed to be made of plastic...

"Dog Frisbee delivered. Lottery on cooldown. Current progress: 0/200."

It really was a dog frisbee! Couldn't it at least have a name that sounded more like it belonged in a cultivation novel? And what kind of lottery gave out all this junk? It had just used up two hundred of his charge points!

Li Fan nearly lost it. He couldn't help hurling the dog frisbee away.

But the moment it flew out, Yuan Xuanbao happened to be passing by on a flying kite and caught it.

"Huh? Junior Brother, where did you get this jade disc? Its material is so unusual. It doesn't look like any ordinary jade."

"I just picked it up..." Li Fan looked at the frisbee, which he couldn't seem to get rid of and which Yuan Xuanbao had brought right back to him. He felt speechless. He didn't have time to study it just then, so he stored it in his jade pendant and left it alone. "Brother Xuanbao, have you recovered?"

Yuan Xuanbao nodded with a smile. "I was fortunate enough to turn misfortune into a blessing. Although I only glimpsed a little of the Abyssal Knowledge and didn't manage to break through, I still gained a great deal. I should be able to reach Golden Core within two or three years. Please accept this small gift, Junior Brother."

As he spoke, he took out a pair of weapons and offered them to Li Fan. Li Fan accepted them on instinct.

"These are... maces?"

They were a pair of four-foot-long, segmented maces. Every seven inches, they had a square, four-edged section. Li Fan had no idea what alloy they were made from. They looked like polished white iron, gleaming brightly, with pointed, sword-shaped heads. Their edges were blunt, but they were extremely solid. The handles were wrapped in tiger hide. They were so heavy that they seemed to weigh at least a hundred pounds. Li Fan couldn't have held them if he hadn't reached Foundation Establishment—no, even as a Foundation Establishment cultivator, he could barely lift them. He had to regulate his breath and use his Dao power to stimulate the meridians and apertures in his arms just to support their weight.

"These maces are called 'Tiger-Eyed White Forehead.' My Yuan family has been a military household for generations, and these are ancestral weapons. They're not exactly magical treasures, but they're made of refined steel and forged very well.

"The techniques for using maces are similar to those for using swords. They're just made this way to break armor on the battlefield. Since you intend to follow the sword path, Qingyue, you can use these twin maces for daily training. They'll help temper your muscles and bones and make your breathing and cultivation twice as effective."

The Profound Heaven Sword Intent said, "Oh, this pair of maces is pretty good. Take them, host. You can always melt them down and forge a sword later."

What are you talking about?

"Brother Xuanbao, this is too generous. I can't—damn it... I can't accept it..." Li Fan tried to hand them back, but they were too heavy. The moment he relaxed, his arms could barely lift them...

Yuan Xuanbao laughed and waved him off. "They're just small things, Qingyue. Don't be shy. Use them to train.

"I'll be accompanying some fellow cultivators out of the mountain to fight. I may not be back for a month or so, so I came to say goodbye."

"What?" Li Fan was startled. The maces nearly fell on his foot, so he quickly stored them in his jade pendant. "You're going out to fight too? Is it the Lu family?"

"Oh, you've heard about it too?" Yuan Xuanbao nodded. "You remember Lu Qi, right? Brother Gao came to see me this morning. He said someone had robbed a shipment belonging to the Lu family, and they'd traced it to some fiends from Tiantai Mountain. Lu Qi wants to stand up for his family and plans to go alone to demand its return. Everyone respects his character and is worried something might happen to him, so quite a few fellow cultivators agreed to go help him."

Li Fan frowned as he listened. "Brother Xuanbao, don't you think there's something strange about this? How did Brother Lu learn that the people from Tiantai Mountain had taken his family's goods? They still haven't figured out who killed Senior Brother Lu. Aren't you worried this is some kind of scheme?"

Yuan Xuanbao looked at Li Fan, hesitated for a moment, then leaned in and lowered his voice. "I know it wasn't."

"What? What wasn't?" Li Fan didn't understand at first.

Yuan Xuanbao looked a little embarrassed, but he explained anyway. "We all know the people from Tiantai Mountain didn't steal the goods. But they don't know that."

"Oh... Huh?"

The Profound Heaven Sword Intent said, "Heh heh. So that's what this is. They're pinning the blame on them without cause. The Lu family picked an enemy and gathered a gang to go rob them!"

...Damn, they could do that?

"Ahem. Qingyue, you're still young, and you have a Divine Transformation expert protecting you. But those of us who've been stuck at a bottleneck for ages can't just sit around waiting for the sect to hand us our share, can we? Besides, medicinal ingredients, precious pills, magical treasures, immortal feasts—everything costs money. There haven't been any major battles in ages, and doing odd jobs for the sect doesn't earn much. We have to look for opportunities to make a little extra money ourselves. Ahem!"

Yuan Xuanbao cleared his throat twice. "At any rate, someone from Ink Bamboo Mountain killed a Golden Core cultivator. We can't just let it go.

"Even if there's no evidence, so what? It was one of those few rival families' doing. We might as well use this as an excuse to settle old scores and intimidate the fiends, so they know our sect isn't one to trifle with.

"You don't need to worry, Qingyue. We Foundation Establishment disciples are just using the Lu family as an excuse to lead the charge. There are people backing us up. Nothing will happen.

"You've only just joined the sect, and you have a long road ahead of you. You don't need to risk your life like those of us who've been stuck at a bottleneck. Besides... Sigh, I'll be honest with you. The more people we bring along, the smaller everyone's share gets. You're not close with those people, Qingyue, so we can't bring you this time. Consider these maces compensation from your senior brother."

Holy crap, so that was what they were up to... He'd been worried for nothing. And they'd still had time to argue over how bringing one more person would shrink their share? Then there really wasn't much danger...

Oh, so that was why old Zhang Jiugao had looked so embarrassed and turned tail! If he were in Zhang Jiugao's shoes and a sincere, kind-hearted new disciple asked, "I'm worried about my senior sister. I want to help her!" would he have the nerve to answer, "Don't worry. They're just going out to rob people and kill for their possessions"?

"...Is there really nothing wrong with cultivating like this?" Watching Yuan Xuanbao ride off on his wooden kite, Li Fan felt utterly lost.

*The Profound Heaven Sword Intent said, "Heh heh heh. Brat, do you think the food and clothes of immortals fall from the sky while they sit in their caves and meditate?

"Why do you think those noble families and the imperial court send cartloads of gold, jade, fine wine, and delicacies up the mountain for you to spend? Do you think they do it willingly?

"What sect hasn't fought its way to where it is? Do you think only the Three Great Sects slaughtered people by the thousands? Do you think only us sword immortals are crazy about dueling and taking heads? Heh heh heh. If I told you about the things the Bamboo Mountain Sect did back then, you'd be scared to death! I simply can't be bothered to gossip behind their backs.

"And that's nothing.

"I remember when we were herding horses on North Star Mountain. There were thirty-six disciples in our group. To seize a patch of pasture, we wiped out the entire Lei Han Tribe of Hu Barbarians. We killed more than two thousand seven hundred people, and only seven brothers survived. That was how we secured the sect's monopoly on the horse trade, earned promotions through several ranks, and got chosen by the main mountain as sword-transmission disciples.

"You lot? You're just playing house."*