Purple Cloud Mountain towered over the western outskirts of the Flame Capital, lush with vegetation and threaded with murmuring streams. Here and there, temples and Daoist sanctuaries could be seen.
Legend had it that no lofty mountain had originally stood here. Shortly after the severance of Heaven and Earth, two mighty beings had fought in this place, making the earth dragon turn in its sleep and the Great River change course. A peak had risen from the ground, soaring over a thousand meters high.
With a large bamboo basket on his back, Ding Songyan followed Luo Mingyin, who wore a brightly colored pleated skirt, through the quiet mountain woods toward the summit.
This was what Twelfth Madam Luo had wanted him to do: serve as her pack mule.
Though they had only set out after lunch, their cultivation and strength brought them to the open, chilly summit, where bitter winds blew, before the Great Sun reached the horizon. No demons, yin evil, or fierce beasts had troubled them along the way.
For one thing, this was near the Flame Capital, where the mountain woods were peaceful; soldiers and members of the Martial Prohibition Bureau had swept through the area time and again. For another, under Demon-Subduing and Evil-Repelling, not only demons and yin evil, but even fierce beasts with the slightest spiritual awareness dared not approach.
Standing on the summit, Ding Songyan glanced at the golden-red Great Sun slowly sinking toward the horizon, set down his basket, and said to Twelfth Madam Luo with a smile:
"If I hadn't come to the Wine Shop today, would you have carried the basket up the mountain yourself, Twelfth Madam?"
"What else?" Twelfth Madam Luo shot him a glance. "I'm not some delicate young lady who never steps beyond her inner gate, let