"These bastards! Every one of them fawns and flatters us in ordinary times, but the moment something happens, they all show their true colors!"
When the steward He Fusheng returned to the mansion, his thin, sallow face was full of fury, and he kept cursing under his breath.
After cursing for a while, the steward of the He Mansion was still not satisfied. He turned and complained to He Ping, who stood beside him.
"Young Master, those martial world types are really something else. We had everything settled beforehand: we'd pay, they'd provide the men... But as soon as it was time to get down to business, they all started changing their minds!"
"How many families are willing to come?"
He Ping closed his folding fan and asked, "I know the Flying Fish Sect and Iron Heart Martial Hall won't be a problem. Daoist Chi Ling and Master Zhao are close friends of mine, and they're willing to come help me. As for the other groups, how are things with the Long Wind Society...?"
"The Long Wind Society is willing to come, but they're asking for this much."
He Fusheng scowled and held up his hand to indicate a figure.
"The Heavy Axe Gang and Bamboo Flower Society are demanding higher prices too... Those scoundrels must have caught a plague. They used to make their living in Suian City, and they can't even remember who was gracious enough to give them face!"
"Then we'll do it this way."
He Ping said indifferently, "We'll raise the prize money from the original ten thousand taels to five times that amount. We'll pay the wages those groups are asking for, and if anyone is killed or injured, we'll cover the compensation for all sides... Money comes in and money goes out. There's no need to fuss over it."
"Young Master."
The steward He Fusheng spoke earnestly. "Money is a small matter, but if we set this precedent, those scoundrels will think our He Family has lost its power and that we're weak and easy to bully. Then they'll surely keep making outrageous demands. That's what will cause trouble."
"Don't worry."
He Ping waved his hand.
"I know what I'm doing. By the way, those 'Dark Stakes' we cultivated before should all be useful now, shouldn't they?"
"Young Master, you plan to use those people?"
He Fusheng looked surprised.
Ever since He Ping had taken power, the He Family had not only recruited guests and trained strong servants, but had also secretly cultivated a group of deathsworn. They were called "Dark Stakes," and served as moles and spies. He Ping had placed them among various factions to gather news and intelligence. That was the real reason the He Family's business had continued to grow.
The man who had met Cheng Zhi outside the city and helped him escape to Four Peaks Mountain, and the "waiter" at the Linjiang Immortal tavern who had died in the fire, were both pieces on He Ping's board. They stayed hidden and inactive unless necessary, but when the need arose, they could prove immensely useful.
"Exactly."
He Ping said mildly, "This is precisely the kind of moment when the Dark Stakes can serve their true purpose."
He Fusheng nodded. Then, as if he had remembered something, he said gravely, "Young Master, there's news about those branch managers you asked me to investigate last time. After leaving the He Mansion, they went straight to Master He Jin's country villa."
"Just as I thought."
A vicious, cold smile appeared at the corner of He Ping's mouth.
"He Jin really is digging his own grave. He'd only lost a son, so I thought he'd learn to keep his head down. I never expected him to cause trouble for me again. It seems I can't let him live after all."
Rumble!
The rain fell harder and harder, and thunder rolled in the distance, drawing nearer by degrees.
Deep in Four Peaks Mountain, beyond a stretch of dense forest, a cliff face came into view. Between the woods and the cliff lay a small, open plain. From afar, natural caves of all sizes could be seen scattered across the sheer rock.
Cheng Zhi was hiding inside one of those caves. It was cramped, but very dry and fit to live in.
Over the past few days, he had stashed in the cave the supplies he'd scavenged from the corpses of the constables and bailiffs who had met their deaths after entering the mountains, along with the dry rations he'd brought and the fresh water he drank.
Of course, even if he lost these supplies, it wouldn't matter much. For one thing, he had several other hideouts like this in Four Peaks Mountain, so he wasn't short on food. If worse came to worst, he could use the Hair-Cutting Pill to hunt game.
For another, that mysterious senior from the Immortal Puppet Sect sent supplies every few days at night, carried by a Ghost-Faced Owl.
"It wouldn't matter if I lost the other things, but I absolutely can't lose these gourds of medicinal powder. I have to keep them on me at all times."
Cheng Zhi carried several packets of medicinal powder, each containing a different kind. Some masked his scent to keep hunting dogs from tracking him; another could drive away the mosquitoes and insects in Four Peaks Mountain. There was also a potion made from the droppings of a fierce bird of prey called the Sheep-Eating Eagle, which could repel falcons. The most potent of all was a strange fragrant powder called Soul-Luring Incense. Smear it on your body, and it would draw the attention of monsters.
The senior had told him that a Mountain Demon lurked in Four Peaks Mountain. It was usually active at night and fierce beyond measure. If he used the Soul-Luring Incense cleverly, it could keep him safe.
"Besides these, there's this map. It was probably drawn by a hunter or woodcutter from the mountains. The drawing is crude, but its grasp of the terrain is remarkably precise..."
He pulled a hide map from his clothes. It showed the terrain around Four Peaks Mountain, including the conditions within the mountains, and was drawn in great detail.
The map had naturally been acquired by He Ping from a hunter who had moved away from Four Peaks Mountain. It was one of a kind and impossible for outsiders to obtain. That was why Cheng Zhi had escaped alive several times when the mountains were searched: he had this map in his hands.
"But how long do I have to stay in Four Peaks Mountain? And that Mountain Demon in these mountains..."
Just then, a beast's roar drifted from deep within the mountains, faintly audible through the storm. When Cheng Zhi heard it, his heart seemed to give a jolt.
"What kind of savage, violent monster is this One-Horned Mountain Demon? Those bailiffs chasing me last time were terribly unlucky to have caught its attention."
Cheng Zhi didn't even need to close his eyes to see the black-red blood, the severed limbs and heads, the people's wretched cries and screams, and the clash of blades. As he recalled that day's ordeal, a chill swept through his heart.
Another rumble shook the air. Outside the cave, lightning flashed across the sky, and through the curtain of rain, a faint figure in a robe appeared.
"...Who's that?"
Cheng Zhi looked up and sprang to his feet. From his cave, he could look down over the forest below. He had glanced up by chance just now and unexpectedly noticed a figure among the trees.
"I've been found!"
He tensed at once, his eyes fixed on the forest.
Suddenly, a flash of lightning split the sky, and thunder crashed down. In that instant, the light bursting through the clouds turned Cheng Zhi's face deathly pale, making him look like a demon.
No—the figure he had seen in the forest was now nowhere to be found, as if it had been a ghost.
Could I have imagined it?
Cheng Zhi asked himself, but he didn't think so.
"I didn't see it wrong... Could there really be ghosts again?"
He felt uneasy. Strange as it was, ever since escaping Wandering Soul Ghost Village that day, he had been trapped in blood-soaked nightmares every night, waking from them in terror. Sometimes, the moment he closed his eyes, he could sense a pair of icy eyes staring at him from some dark corner.
"...Older sister."
He hunched his back, seeming to curl into a ball, and murmured under his breath.
Just then, an enormous shadow unfurled its vast wings, cut through the rain, and flew toward the cave.
"A Ghost-Faced Owl?"
No!
That monstrous bird might be skilled at flying at night, but no bird would fly in a stormy night like this, with lightning in the sky!
"Wait! What is that?"
Cheng Zhi's eyes flew wide as he watched. The dark shape folded its wings and transformed into a human figure as it landed.
"W-who are you?"
He stumbled backward in fright, but a black hand with a dull sheen seized his right hand.
Cheng Zhi's right wrist throbbed faintly. The five fingers gripping it had the grain of wood, their craftsmanship strange and their joints knobby. The monstrous hand seemed to be made from a material that was neither quite wood nor anything else.
"Little Cheng Zhi, could it be you don't recognize me?"
The man wore a green robe and had long hair hanging loose, with only his head and face exposed. A wooden mask, like a painted opera face, covered his features.
It was a bird-owl-shaped mask, with a hooked beak and narrow eyes, crafted with exquisite care. Were it not for the coarse, unusual patterns of feathers around its edges, it could almost have been a living creature.
"Senior Chixinzi."
Cheng Zhi's mouth hung wide open. He had never expected this man to be the one who came.