Search the Mountain

Zhou Yan lay prone over the horse's back, one hand gripping the reins.

Sun Wenyao sat behind him, clutching his clothes tightly with both hands. She had not said a word the entire way.

The pursuers were close on their heels.

Whistles came from three directions: one short blast from the left, two long ones from the right, and more people blowing whistles behind them.

Three groups were trying to surround them.

The horse had carried two people at full speed for more than an hour. Its breathing grew heavier, and even its hoofbeats became unsteady.

Zhou Yan knew that if they kept running like this, the horse would collapse sooner or later.

They could not shake these people by running in a straight line!

The sound of water came from ahead.

He pushed aside the bushes and saw a stream flowing down the mountainside, rushing through the rocks in a shallow current two zhang wide.

Zhou Yan pulled the horse to a stop and swung down.

"Get off."

Sun Wenyao's legs went weak, and she slid off the horse's back.

Zhou Yan led the horse into the stream. The water barely covered its hooves.

He walked upstream for several dozen steps, then stopped to listen. The whistles were still behind them, but the distance had widened somewhat.

After all, neither the Body-Tempering Realm nor the Qi-Gathering Realm could match a horse's speed.

The stream forked ahead, one branch flowing east and the other north.

Zhou Yan led the horse eastward for around twenty steps, deliberately letting it stomp along the bank and leave several clear hoofprints.

Then he snapped off a few branches from the bank and tossed them by the water. He also rubbed against a stone, leaving half a muddy footprint.

After finishing, he led the horse backward to the fork.

The stream washed away their retreating tracks completely.

At the fork, he chose the northern branch.

This time, he did not walk along the bank. He kept the horse in the middle of the stream, its hooves stepping on stones beneath the water without leaving a trace.

After another half li, the stream curved into a denser patch of forest.

He crouched down and scraped the wet mud from the horse's hooves, then rubbed its legs with gravel to wipe away the water marks.

Then he led the horse around two wide bends across a gravel beach.

He deliberately changed directions several times before finally stopping before a mountain wall.

There was a narrow crack in the cliff, just wide enough for a person to squeeze through sideways.

Inside was a naturally recessed stone cave, enclosed by mountain walls on three sides, with an overhanging ledge above. It was completely invisible from outside.

Zhou Yan tied the horse beneath a nearby crooked-necked tree and removed the waterskin and sack of dried rations.

Sun Wenyao stood on the gravel beach. The hem of her plain-colored silk dress was soaked halfway up, and dried blood still stained her cuffs.

Her face was expressionless, but her lips were slightly pale.

"Go inside, Miss Sun." Zhou Yan gestured toward the mountain wall.

Sun Wenyao gritted her teeth and squeezed sideways into the cave. Zhou Yan followed behind her.

The cave was large enough for two people to lie down in. The ground was covered in loose stones, though the side near the wall was somewhat flatter.

Zhou Yan set the waterskin on the ground and took out a bundle wrapped in green cloth from his robes.

Inside was a palm-sized lingzhi, crimson all over, with blood-like veins running across its cap.

The heat it gave off carried a medicinal scent, both sweet and fishy.

Sun Wenyao glanced at it, then sat against the mountain wall and gathered her dress around herself.

"Once Scarlet Blood Lingzhi leaves the soil, without a special storage box, its medicinal properties will slowly disperse," she said softly. "It has to be delivered as soon as possible."

Zhou Yan wrapped the bundle up again and tucked it back into his robes.

He leaned against the wall on the other side and peered outside through the crack.

The distant whistles had changed direction and were heading east.

It seemed those muddy footprints had worked.

Night had already fallen.

Sun Wenyao curled up in the corner, hugging her knees with her head buried in her arms.

Silence stretched on for a long time.

Just when Zhou Yan thought she had fallen asleep, she suddenly spoke. "Zhou Yan."

"Mm."

"Will my third brother die?" Sun Wenyao's voice trembled slightly.

Zhou Yan recalled Sun Wenyue's final image, standing before the carriage, and answered, "I don't know."

Sun Wenyao shifted and lifted her face from her arms.

Her expression could not be seen in the darkness. Only the sound of her breathing could be heard.

"If you can escort me to Qinghe City this time," she said, "the Sun Family will reward you. Money, cultivation techniques, connections—we can discuss any of it."

Then she paused.

"There are also girls of marriageable age in the Sun Family branches. I can make the decision and arrange a marriage for you."

Zhou Yan froze for a moment.

After thinking it over, he said, "There's no need for a marriage."

Sun Wenyao said nothing.

"Just give me more money and cultivation resources," Zhou Yan said. "Real, tangible things are better than anything else."

The darkness fell quiet for several breaths.

Sun Wenyao gave a quiet hum and did not mention it again.

She buried her face in her arms again, and her shoulders trembled slightly.

Zhou Yan closed his eyes and pressed his ear against the mountain wall.

He did not know how much time had passed before his eyes suddenly flew open.

There were sounds outside the mountain wall—not just one person's footsteps, but dogs as well!

Hunting dogs sniffed close to the ground, low growls rumbling in their throats.

Zhou Yan rose with his back against the wall and squeezed sideways toward the crack.

A faint strip of dawn had just appeared on the horizon, while gray mist shrouded the outside.

Three figures crept over from the forest.

The one in front was short and stocky, holding a black-backed hunting dog on a leash.

The dog sniffed the ground, its tail standing straight as it pulled toward the mountain wall.

Two more followed behind. One appeared to be their leader, with a short blade at his waist, while the other had a scar across his face and carried an iron staff over his shoulder.

The auras of all three men spilled outward. They were all at the peak of the Body-Tempering Realm.

The hunting dog's nose drew closer and closer to the gravel beach.

Zhou Yan glanced back at Sun Wenyao.

She was already awake, curled in the corner with both hands gripping her skirt.

"Don't make a sound."

Sun Wenyao nodded.

Zhou Yan squeezed out through the crack.

The hunting dog spotted him first.

The beast abruptly raised its head, a low snarl rolling from its throat. Its four paws dug into the gravel as it strained against the leash until it pulled taut.

The short, stocky man did not have time to release the leash before the dog lunged forward half a zhang.

Zhou Yan met it head-on.

The hunting dog opened its jaws and bit at his shin.

Zhou Yan did not dodge. His right fist swung out from his waist as the Mountain-Suppressing Fist crashed down from above.

The back of his fist struck the dog squarely on the head. With a crack, its skull was smashed directly into the gravel. Its body twitched once, then went still.

The short, stocky man stood with his mouth agape, still gripping the leash.

"You!"

Zhou Yan stamped down hard. Gravel exploded beneath his feet, and he was already before the short, stocky man.

Second form of the Mountain-Suppressing Fist!

His fist slammed into the man's chest.

His chest instantly caved in. The force puffed up the clothes on his back, and his entire body flew backward.

Only then did the leader and the scar-faced man react.

The leader drew his short blade. A flash of steel slashed toward Zhou Yan's throat.

The scar-faced man swept his iron staff sideways at Zhou Yan's knees.

Zhou Yan twisted aside to avoid the blade, then raised his right leg. The iron staff swept past his shin and smashed into the ground, scattering gravel.

The leader's second strike came immediately, aimed straight for his lower abdomen.

Instead of retreating, Zhou Yan advanced. His right palm struck the leader's sword wrist and knocked the blade aside.

His left fist drove upward from below—the first form of the Mountain-Suppressing Fist, Mountain Sinking!

His fist smashed into the leader's chin. With a crack, the man's neck snapped sharply.

The scar-faced man's eyes went red. He roared and swung the iron staff in a full arc toward Zhou Yan's head.

Zhou Yan raised his left arm and blocked it head-on.

Clang!

The iron staff struck his forearm, numbing the scar-faced man's tiger's mouth.

Zhou Yan's arm did not budge, not even leaving a red mark. At that moment, he brought the power of his nearly perfected Mountain-Suppressing Stake fully into play.

Even the scar on the man's face turned pale.

Zhou Yan's right fist was already on its way—the third form of the Mountain-Suppressing Fist, Mountain Suppression!

His fist shot through the gap beneath the iron staff and struck the scar-faced man squarely in the throat. The sound of his throat bone shattering was muffled yet crisp. The man's eyes bulged wide as the iron staff slipped from his hands. Clutching his neck with both hands, he dropped to his knees on the gravel, gasped hoarsely twice, and toppled forward.

From the hunting dog discovering him to all three men falling, only seven or eight breaths had passed.

Zhou Yan bent down and searched the bodies.

He found a palm-sized wooden plaque at the short, stocky man's waist. It was lacquered black, with a tiger's head carved on the front and the character for "Hall" on the back.

Black Tiger Hall!

The other two carried the same plaques.

Zhou Yan tucked the plaques into his robes and glanced deeper into the forest.

More barking and human voices could faintly be heard in the distance.

There was more than one group searching the mountain.

Sun Wenyao poked her head out through the crack, her gaze falling on the three corpses on the gravel beach.

She turned her face away and looked elsewhere.

"We can't take the main road anymore," Zhou Yan said.

Sun Wenyao glanced at the spot in his robes where he had tucked the plaques, then nodded.

"We'll have to take a detour and cross the mountain."

Dawn was breaking, and the mist began to disperse.

Zhou Yan untied the horse and patted its neck.

The beast had run for half the night and rested for most of the remaining night. It seemed more energetic now.

He mounted the horse and reached down to pull Sun Wenyao up behind him.

The mountain path was far harder to travel than the gravel beach.

The slopes were steep, the stones slick, and the horse stumbled along unevenly.

After half an hour, the horse was panting heavily. Its hooves slipped on the loose stones several times.

Zhou Yan dismounted and led it onward, wrapping the reins twice around his wrist.

After another hour, the horse truly could not go any farther.

The slope ahead was too steep. Even walking on foot would be difficult.

Zhou Yan removed the things from the horse's back, carrying the waterskin and sack of rations himself. Then he patted the horse on the rump.

The horse neighed and reluctantly turned toward the foot of the mountain.

"We're not riding anymore?" Sun Wenyao asked curiously.

"It can't climb any higher. Letting it run on its own might give it a chance to live."

Sun Wenyao said nothing. As soon as she stepped onto the mountain path, her legs went weak, and she nearly collapsed onto the ground.

She braced herself against a nearby tree and steadied herself, biting her lip with tears in her eyes.

In all her years, when had she ever suffered such hardship?

Zhou Yan glanced at her.

The soles of her shoes had worn through. Her skirt was covered in mud, several smudges of dirt streaked her face, and half her hair had come loose.

She looked like an entirely different person from the refined young lady she had been before.

But he said nothing and continued onward.

The slope grew steeper and steeper, while Sun Wenyao moved slower and slower. She did not complain of exhaustion or ask to rest. She merely gritted her teeth and inched upward step by step.

After they had gone some distance, the footsteps behind him stopped.

Zhou Yan turned around.

Sun Wenyao stood halfway up the slope, both hands braced on her knees. Her ample chest rose and fell, and her face was covered in sweat.

She looked up at Zhou Yan, then lowered her head again. Taking a deep breath, she lifted her foot to continue climbing.

Her foot rose halfway, then fell back down.

She straightened up, looked at Zhou Yan, and moved her lips.

Zhou Yan walked back and crouched down in front of her.

"Get on."

Sun Wenyao froze for a moment.

"Hurry. There'll be more people searching the mountain once it's light."

She hesitated for a few breaths, then climbed onto his back.

She was incredibly light, barely heavier than that bag of dry rations.

Her hands rested on his shoulders, her fingers loosely clutching the fabric there.

Zhou Yan supported the backs of her knees with both hands, rose to his feet, and strode up the mountain.

Sun Wenyao lay on his back in silence for a long time.

Then she softly said, "Thank you."

Zhou Yan said nothing and kept climbing.

From the valley behind them, they could still faintly hear dogs barking.

With Sun Wenyao on his back, Zhou Yan crossed the ridge step by step.