Fierce Tiger Stronghold

Night gradually drew its curtains,

A carriage bearing the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce banner, escorted by over twenty mounted guards, passed through the city gates.

The black-armored soldiers exchanged glances. One of them removed his armor and quietly slipped away elsewhere.

"Long San has left the city?"

In the lavish hall, Ding Feng frowned. "What is he going out for so late at night?"

A servant replied, "Our brothers inside say that the injury to his left arm has worsened. He is returning to Yue Capital to seek treatment from a renowned physician friendly with the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce."

"Or perhaps he caused the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce such heavy losses that he is too ashamed to remain in Eastern Spirit City."

That was his guess.

"Hmph! He must be plotting something!"

Ding Feng looked at Earth-Treading Tiger Lu Hou. "In my opinion, we should find an opportunity to kill him and be done with it."

"Tiger Den will not act."

Lu Hou lifted his eyelids slightly. "You have lived in Eastspirit Prefecture for too long and do not understand the influence of the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce. They have branches throughout the country. They merely cannot spare more manpower for now, and they are also wary of the Marquis Who Guards the East's uncertain stance."

"Unless necessary, do not force them into desperation."

Ding Feng snorted coldly and said nothing more.

No matter how much he tried to ingratiate himself, he could not convince Tiger Den that a half-crippled man could plot anything against them.

Under the dim light lay familiar pastoral scenery.

"I never expected Manager Long to come as well."

Jiang Ding sat in a corner with his sword in his arms, somewhat surprised.

"The Four Seas Chamber of Commerce may have accepted it, but I, a half-crippled man, have not." Long San said in a low voice, "If you have any backup, Young Master, you may reveal it now."

Even now, he did not believe that the youth before him intended to attack Fierce Tiger Stronghold alone. He believed Jiang Ding had summoned forces from those behind him.

Jiang Ding shook his head, closed his eyes to rest, and said nothing more.

Long San also fell silent.

He would not fight anyone. If it meant certain death, he would not go, nor would he let his men go.

The carriage traveled for six or seven hours. Despite the violent jolting of the carriage, Jiang Ding remained in cultivation, circulating his inner force repeatedly while nourishing and tempering the eighty tiny branch meridians, including the twelve primary meridians.

Having mastered the Fledgling Eagle Takes Flight Sword Art, he could cultivate while walking, sitting, lying down, or standing.

"Young Master, we have arrived."

Long San, who had been silent for a long while, lowered his voice.

Jiang Ding opened his eyes, and a faint white gleam flashed between his brows before vanishing.

All around them, the sky had turned pitch-black. Insects rustled by his ears, occasionally joined by wolf howls and ape cries. They had completely left behind the traces of human habitation.

After traveling continuously for six or seven hours, everyone, including Long San, was filled with fatigue. They had long since dismounted and were leading their horses on foot.

"Young Master, Fierce Tiger Stronghold is somewhere in this area. I am absolutely certain of it!"

Long San said gravely, "I simply do not know whether it is within ten li or several dozen li. I will wait here for you for seven days. If I do not receive a fireworks signal after seven days, I will leave for Yue Capital."

"Alright."

Jiang Ding nodded. With a light tap of his toes, he leaped several zhang and landed atop a large tree. After several more bounds, he quickly disappeared into the forest.

Long San said nothing more. He found a patch of high ground to set up camp and silently gnawed on cold dried meat.

"Third Master, are we really going to wait for him for seven days?"

One of the attendants could not help asking.

"We will wait."

Long San swept his gaze over the attendants. "The Chamber of Commerce is weak in Eastspirit Prefecture, and I do not know whether any of you brothers have been bought off. So I have only one thing to say."

"Everyone, remember—everyone!"

He raised his gleaming longsword, his eyes bloodshot and crazed. "Do not leave my sight. That includes eating, drinking, pissing, and shitting. Otherwise, do not blame me for disregarding our brotherhood!"

"Do not worry, Third Master!"

The attendants all shrank back.

Dark mountains stood vast and silent.

Jiang Ding sat cross-legged amid the shade of a hundred-meter-tall tree. At some point, his green robe had changed into leaf-pattern camouflage, blending perfectly into the shadows beneath the tree.

Of the four drones in the sky, one remained overhead to monitor the area while the other three flew off in separate directions.

Scene after scene swept across his contact lenses. Most showed nothing but pitch-black wilderness, forests where the wild ruled the night.

Occasionally, a glimmer of light flashed,

It was moonlight reflected from ponds and lakes, or countless fireflies gathered together like scattered stars. Every so often, pairs of eerie green eyes appeared—the wolves of the forest.

He searched bit by bit,

Bit by bit.

Jiang Ding was extremely patient. His breathing remained steady at all times, conserving as much strength as possible.

More than thirty minutes later.

"Found... it!"

A speck of orange-red firelight stood out sharply in the night.

That orange-red firelight drew closer and multiplied. When the drone flew overhead, a stronghold standing upon sheer cliffs came into view.

Three sides were sheer precipices, with only one road for the stronghold's men to enter and leave. It was blocked by a high wall built from wood and stone.

Torches burned constantly atop the wall. The stronghold guards carried all kinds of weapons—sabers, spears, swords, halberds—and many wielded powerful bows and heavy crossbows of unknown origin. Their discipline was fairly strict, and even in the dead of night, they maintained basic vigilance.

"Not simple. With this one stronghold and two or three hundred guards, even an army of ten thousand would never be able to take it!" Jiang Ding muttered as he continued observing the stronghold's layout.

He discovered that the barracks within the stronghold were neatly arranged. The trenches, ponds, latrines, warehouses, and other areas had all been carefully planned, set out in horizontal and vertical lines with a distinctive style.

"It is somewhat like..."

Jiang Ding pondered for a moment before an answer surfaced in his mind.

"An army!"

"That is right. These arrangements and the guards' strict training all carry the unmistakable style of an ancient cold-weapon army camp. Was one of the Seven Tigers of Fierce Tiger Stronghold once a military officer?"

Jiang Ding guessed.

At the stronghold gate,

A group from a horse caravan had somehow climbed the mountain by a narrow trail. They threw down struggling cloth sacks from their horses and shouted several words toward the stronghold wall.

The guards hurriedly opened the gates, took them over with practiced ease, and untied the sacks.

"Mother!"

"Sir, my father has money! Please spare me!"

Inside many of the cloth sacks were children.

There were boys and girls, mostly around their teens, though some were only seven or eight. They wore all manner of clothes: some filthy beyond recognition, some dressed in coarse homespun garments, and some fair and plump at a glance, clearly born into wealthy families.

Their origins were incredibly varied, a horrifying sight to behold.

"So those little beggars... were brought here."

Jiang Ding's expression was complicated.

After he had discovered the Wild Wolf Gang abducting little beggars on Rotten Plank Street last time, he had stepped in to stop them. Long Shi and the others had not done it again afterward, though he did not know whether they had paid money to escape orders from above or done something else.

But he knew this was merely deceiving himself. If it did not happen on Rotten Plank Street, it happened in plenty of other places.

He could only comfort himself with the thought that the poor could only cultivate themselves.

"I was not wrong. I truly am weak. How could I dare speak of saving the world?"

Jiang Ding leaped down from the treetop. He occasionally stepped onto branches, borrowing force from the tips of his toes as he sprang forward, silently approaching the distant cliffs of the stronghold. "However, since I have encountered this, I might as well indulge myself a little."