As they spoke, everyone looked down into the ravine.
Several carriages lay across the slope halfway down, with a great many medicine chests caught in the tangle of wood beside the cliff.
Some chests had tipped sideways, their ropes snapped and their oilcloth coverings scraped open by rocks. Farther below lay jagged stones and a rushing current.
After surveying the scene, Zhang Yan quickly assigned the work: disciples at Skin Tempering Third Layer would secure the ropes; those at Skin Refining Second Layer would descend halfway down the slope and pass the medicine chests upward; those at Skin Tempering First Layer would form a long human ladder along the cliff, relaying each chest to the top.
Deng Qing joined in as well. Half an incense stick later, he had descended to a spot about thirty feet below the cliff's edge.
The wind was strong against the mountainside, and the loose stones beneath his feet were slippery.
With one hand gripping the rope, Deng Qing took a medicine chest passed up from below, then turned to hand it to the person above him.
He had to be especially careful every time he turned.
The slightest mistake, and a chest might pull him off balance.
Wang Wei was above him. As he took a chest, he could not help muttering a curse. "How is this collecting medicine? We're risking our lives to haul boxes."
Deng Qing smiled but said nothing.
Everyone worked for nearly an hour, hauling the medicine chests from halfway down the slope onto the mountain road.
The outer coverings of some chests had been scraped open, letting a faint medicinal scent escape. Several bore seals marking them for Medicinal Baths.
Warmth surged through Deng Qing when he saw those chests. The Tiger Bone Powder and other supplementary medicines he needed were probably inside.
If they could bring those chests back, he would have what he needed for his Medicinal Bath.
The apothecary's head shopkeeper personally inspected the seals. Once he confirmed that most of the medicine chests were intact, he let out a long breath of relief.
Everyone began gathering the chests together again, preparing to load them onto the carriages and take them back to the county seat.
Just then, rapid hoofbeats came from the far end of the mountain road. A banner appeared around the bend, embroidered with a long golden saber. It snapped in the mountain wind.
"The Golden Saber Sect. What are they doing here?"
"What else? They heard the news and came to stir up trouble because this is the border between two counties."
"The Golden Saber Sect has always been at odds with our Celebration Hall."
"..."
The crowd broke into discussion, and Deng Qing looked up too.
More than twenty people approached, every one of them armed. Three leaders rode at the front while the rest ran behind them, keeping pace with the galloping horses.
At their head was a young man in a fitted outfit of dark yellow. A saber hung at his waist, and his burly frame and features carried a cold, cutting edge.
Wang Wei stepped close to Deng Qing and said quietly, "The leader is Chen Kong, an Initiate Disciple of the Golden Saber Sect. He's at Skin Tempering Fourth Layer."
Chen Kong rode up and pulled hard on the reins. As his horse's head reared, he leaped down, swept his gaze over the medicine chests, then looked at Zhang Yan and cupped his hands. "Brother Zhang, it's been a while. Judging by that sickly look on your face, you didn't sleep well last night, did you?"
Zhang Yan returned the salute. "Brother Chen, let's not talk in circles. Why have you come with such a grand show of force?"
Chen Kong raised his voice. "I received word that a shipment of medicine overturned in Blackwind Ravine. The eastern stretch of Blackwind Ravine falls within the Dongting County Patrol's jurisdiction.
"The county is on strict guard against trouble from the Donghuang Cult. The County Magistrate has ordered that any large shipment of medicine, grain, fodder, or weapons of unknown origin be sealed first, then returned only after its owner has been identified.
"These goods landed within Dongting territory. By the County Magistrate's order, the Golden Saber Sect must seal them first."
At those words, the faces of the Celebration Hall disciples changed.
Zhang Yan held out his hand. "The shipping manifest."
Shopkeeper Zhang hurriedly took the manifest from his robe and handed it over.
Zhang Yan unfolded it and held it flat in his palm. "This medicine belongs to Tianshun Apothecary. We have the manifest, the seals, and witnesses. Its ownership is clear, so there's no need to trouble the Golden Saber Sect with sealing it."
Chen Kong sneered. "It's clear just because you say it is?
"If I simply let you take the medicine away, how is the Golden Saber Sect supposed to answer when the County Yamen asks about it?"
"Then have someone from Tianshun Apothecary go to your County Yamen and file the paperwork," Zhang Yan said. "I am taking the medicine today."
At that, the Celebration Hall disciples immediately stepped forward to guard the chests, while the Golden Saber Sect disciples all gripped their saber hilts.
The apothecary workers backed away in fright, not daring to breathe too loudly.
Chen Kong said coldly, "It seems Brother Zhang has no intention of showing me this courtesy."
"I can show you every courtesy," Zhang Yan said, "but I cannot give you the medicine. I have a task to carry out."
Chen Kong slowly rested his hand on his saber hilt and smiled. "I've long heard that Brother Zhang's palm strikes are steady and his Qi-Blood is abundant. I've wanted to test them for some time.
"How about this? If you can defeat me, you can take the goods.
"If you can't, we'll do things by the rules."
Zhang Yan gave a cold snort without answering. He looked first at Shopkeeper Zhang. After all, this was the apothecary's medicine.
Shopkeeper Zhang knew that if they delayed any longer, the medicine would spoil. Gritting his teeth, he nodded to Zhang Yan.
Zhang Yan cupped his hands toward Chen Kong. "I've long wanted to see how far Brother Chen has mastered his Yin Saber."
"Then come and find out!"
As the words left his mouth, Chen Kong drew his saber. The blade was narrow and curved, and it rang clearly as it left the sheath.
Zhang Yan used no weapon. His hands slowly dropped to his sides, Qi-Blood surging through his palms as a deep, dense heat spread from his body.
In the next instant, Chen Kong moved first. He sprang forward and slashed straight at Zhang Yan, his blade so fast it drew a golden line through the air.
Deng Qing saw only a flash before the saber was already in front of Zhang Yan.
Zhang Yan turned and stamped his foot, sending loose stones flying from the mountain road. He slipped aside, then advanced instead of retreating, striking back at Chen Kong's shoulder with his palm.
Chen Kong drew back his saber and slashed again. The edge skimmed past Zhang Yan's arm, moving so fast its path was nearly impossible to see.
Zhang Yan lowered his arm. Qi-Blood swelled beneath his Skin Membrane, forcing the saber strike aside.
The instant saber and palm collided, sand and dust at the roadside whirled into the air.
The surrounding disciples backed away as soon as the two exchanged blows.
Deng Qing took half a step back as well. After only a few moves, he was stunned.
Fast. Too fast. Chen Kong's saber was fast, and Zhang Yan's palms were just as fast.
It was not only their speed. The force and Qi-Blood they unleashed were far beyond anything someone at Skin Tempering First Layer could match.
Deng Qing had fought Mountain-Crossing Wind, who was at Skin Refining Second Layer, in a life-or-death struggle. But only now, watching Zhang Yan and Chen Kong fight, did he realize how far he stood from a true Initiate Disciple.
For a time, flashes of steel and shadows of palms crossed along the mountain road. The two traded dozens of moves, neither able to gain the upper hand.
Chen Kong suddenly sneered, and a Black Bell slipped from his left sleeve.
The Black Bell was only the size of a thumb and black all over. Chen Kong gave it a gentle shake. Its chime sounded like a resentful ghost weeping beside their ears.
Suddenly, a mass of gray-black mist poured from the bell. It swept low across the ground toward Zhang Yan's back.
Everyone from Celebration Hall was shocked. Someone cried out, "A Ghost Familiar?"
Deng Qing's heart jolted too. He had long heard people say Evil Apparitions existed in this world. But hearing about them was one thing; seeing one with his own eyes was another.
A chill ran down Deng Qing's back. If that thing came at me, I probably couldn't even touch it, let alone drive it away.
He kept his eyes fixed on Zhang Yan, watching how he would respond and hoping to steal a little of what he knew.