Seeing the bird-shaped mask and the strange right hand gripping his wrist, Cheng Zhi recognized the Green-Robed Person as Chixinzi, the benefactor of his family.
Outside the cave, lightning flashed and thunder roared. Another bolt crashed down, illuminating the newcomer's appearance. Chixinzi was exceptionally tall and burly, with broad shoulders and a wide waist. His whole body was wrapped in a loose, flowing robe, and the only part of him visible was a bird-shaped mask carved from wood.
...Strangely enough, Chixinzi had clearly flown through the curtain of rain to reach them, yet after he landed, his green robe was plainly untouched by the rain. Cheng Zhi had no idea what kind of trick he had used.
"Senior, what brings you here?"
The five fingers, carved from a material that seemed neither iron nor wood, slowly released Cheng Zhi. Chixinzi began looking him up and down.
"So that's how it is..."
Chixinzi didn't answer him. Beneath the bird-shaped mask, its sharp beak and feather patterns etched into the wood, his eyes narrowed slightly as if studying Cheng Zhi.
A ghostly, phosphorescent green glow shone from the eyes of the wooden mask. When they fixed on him, Cheng Zhi jumped in fright and hurriedly looked away.
"Senior, what are you...?"
"Let me ask you something," Chixinzi suddenly said. "Have you been plagued by nightmares at night lately? Have you occasionally suffered from hallucinations, seeing things you shouldn't?"
"This..."
Cheng Zhi was taken aback. Chixinzi had clearly hit upon what he had been experiencing lately.
"How did you know about that, Senior?"
"First tell me: when did this start?"
Chixinzi didn't answer him. Instead, he pressed on with another question.
Cheng Zhi had no choice but to briefly explain what had happened at Ghost Stockade.
"That's more or less what happened..."
"I see."
Chixinzi nodded as if he'd reached an understanding.
"It seems this was the doing of my junior. He must have used the Seed Demon Technique on you. The reason you're having these hallucinations and being haunted by Sinful Ghosts and Resentful Souls is that he secretly placed this restriction on you."
"Y-your junior... Do you mean that Senior...?"
Cheng Zhi immediately thought of the man wearing the ghost-face mask.
"Exactly. That man is my junior. We both studied under Wu Yousheng of the Immortal Puppet Sect. He is a disciple of the Immortal Puppet Sect."
Chixinzi gave a cold laugh.
"Don't let that man deceive you. He's extremely cunning. He was willing to help you kill Sheng Qinghong because he wanted to win you over and trick you into giving him the Life-Stealing Bowl. The moment he realizes you're no longer useful to him, he'll find an opportunity to get rid of you."
Cheng Zhi's heart shook. He hadn't expected Chixinzi to know all this.
"Senior, how do you know these things?"
He hurriedly asked.
"The death of Prefect Sheng's son has been the talk of the town for ages. It would be stranger if I hadn't heard about it."
Chixinzi glanced at him and said coldly, "Also, your elder sister, Cheng Yujiao, is missing, and he likely has something to do with that as well. Don't believe a word he says, or you'll fall right into his trap."
Cheng Zhi's expression turned complicated.
"Senior, aren't you and that man fellow disciples? How could he be so cruel and malicious?"
"As the saying goes, you can paint a tiger's skin, but not its bones; you can know a person's face, but not their heart. Though the Immortal Puppet Sect is one of the immortal sects that seek longevity, it's inevitable that a few black sheep will emerge."
Chixinzi's words were nothing but pure nonsense, but that was easy enough when he was speaking to a mortal like Cheng Zhi, who knew nothing about the cultivation world.
The Immortal Puppet Sect wasn't a Daoist sect. It belonged to the Ritual Teachings, or the Outer Dao, and its reputation was as infamous as that of the Mud Sect and other heretical sects. The cultivation world grouped it together with several other Outer Dao heretical sects, calling them the "Nine Evils of Longevity."
"If that's the case, what did he mean to accomplish by tricking me into coming to Four Peaks Mountain?"
Cheng Zhi was confused.
"I know what he's after. Listen carefully. If my junior comes to you again with something he wants done, follow my instructions..."
Chixinzi calmly began giving him directions.
After a whole day of preparation, the next day, He Ping arrived at Pingding Valley beneath Four Peaks Mountain in a sedan chair, leading the He Family's party.
His group wasn't particularly large, with just over a hundred people, all servants from He Mansion. Fifty or sixty of them were burly guards clad in black, tight-fitting outfits, with leather hoods over their heads and leather armor on their bodies.
As the sedan chair neared Five-Mile Pavilion by Four Peaks Mountain, Pingding Valley came into view. Near the valley entrance was a flat hillock, where people had gathered in groups, some large and some small, sitting in clusters. Leaving aside the hundred or so government runners camped there to guard the mountain pass, a quick count put the crowd at six or seven hundred.
They hadn't gathered in one place. Instead, they'd kept some distance from one another, forming groups of three or five, big and small. To distinguish themselves, each group had raised its own banner.
In front of the hillock stood the banners of the Flying Fish Sect, Iron Heart Martial Hall, Long Wind Society, Heavy Axe Gang, and Bamboo Flower Society. There were also Northern Blade-Wielders trying to make a living, along with some wandering martial artists.
Several bonfires blazed across the clearing. These martial artists were an impatient lot; some had gone to nearby towns and bought up—or forcibly seized—cows, sheep, pigs, and dogs, then set them to roast and boil over the fires.
He Fusheng had arrived early to receive the assembled heroes and had prepared plenty of wine for them to help themselves to. Around the bonfires, the smell of wine and meat filled the air, and the boisterous temperaments of the martial artists made the place grow louder by the minute.
"Fewer people than I expected."
He Ping lifted the sedan curtain, looked around, and shook his head.
"Young master, this is only the first group. Several more families have received the notice but haven't made it here yet. We've got less than half so far... Oh, there's the new leader of the Hu Ma Gang, Qi Baiyi."
The steward pointed to a figure in the crowd. The man wore white, with a sword at his waist. Broad-shouldered and long-legged, he stood ramrod straight as a spear.
He had an unusual face, with a high nose and deep-set eyes. He seemed to have some Tiele blood in him, and looked to be about twenty-four or twenty-five. His bearing was exceptionally imposing.
"I remember he was Xie San's seventh sworn son. He's skilled with a swift sword, and there's something interesting about him. I hear he worked Xie San's Wind-Soaring Blade into his own swordsmanship. He's no ordinary swordsman."
He Ping recalled the intelligence on the Hu Ma Gang, looking somewhat puzzled.
"But after Xie San died and Chenxing Stone disappeared, Xie San's sworn sons fought among themselves, constantly undermining one another. Some left the Hu Ma Gang and went their own way, while others started up on their own... Yet this Qi still wants to carry on under the Hu Ma Gang's banner."
The Hu Ma Gang was a well-known northern gang that had gathered many blade-wielders. Its members made their living running horses and risking their lives at the edge of a blade. The Hu Ma Gang name had earned plenty of enemies over the years and left plenty of grudges in its wake. Whoever acted under that banner had to bear all those debts and enmities.
"Xie San owed Qi Baiyi a great debt. I hear his birth parents were killed by bandits, and Xie San avenged them for him. The Hu Ma Gang didn't scatter like the stars after Xie San died, and has managed to hold on. That must be thanks to this man."
He Fusheng thought highly of Qi Baiyi, believing him to be a loyal and righteous man, a capable hand under Xie San.
"Has the Hu Ma Gang been having a hard time lately?"
He Ping asked.
"After Xie San died, Chenxing Stone disappeared as well. The sworn sons couldn't stand one another, and lately it's been Qi Baiyi alone keeping up appearances. Young master, look at how few men he has with him."
He Fusheng explained from beside the sedan chair.
He Ping nodded slightly.
"This man might be worth recruiting."
As they spoke, a chestnut horse came racing toward them like a whirlwind. Its rider wore black iron armor like the purple-faced man, but her figure made He Ping stare for a moment.
The rider was clearly a tall, athletic woman. Her armor had been crafted to follow the curves of her body, exquisite in every detail. With her long frame, she was perfectly proportioned, every part in just the right place.
"Is He Ping here?"
A hoarse voice, like that of a female leopard, rang out. The woman in black iron armor wore no helmet, only a metal mask over her face, shaped like a blue ape and covering everything below her eyes.
"I am He Ping. May I ask who you are...?"
He Ping stepped out of the sedan chair and clasped his hands in greeting.
"My name is Qi Huiying, fifth among the Thirteen Flying Cloud Riders. He Ping, listen carefully. Order these people to search Four Peaks Mountain at once. Have them follow this map and advance along three routes: east, south, and west."
The mounted woman tossed a copper-tube-shaped object through the air. He Fusheng, standing beside He Ping, caught it and pulled out a rolled silk painting. It was a map, marked with three routes into the mountain.
"There's no time to waste. Count all the men and horses within an hour, then enter the mountain at once!"
Her voice was cold, and her commanding air left no room for discussion or refusal.