Stockade Chief

Vermilion Bird wasted no time here, taking Luo Qi straight back to the Four Symbols Cult's Main Altar.

The Four Symbols Cult's Azure Dragon and White Tiger Saintess positions had long stood vacant. Now, at last, one of them would be filled.

Perhaps even both by the same person.

Zhao Changhe stood on the mountaintop, gazing at Luo Qi's retreating figure as he followed Vermilion Bird away beneath the moonlight. He knew the Four Symbols Cult would soon have a Saintess named Xia Chichi. There was practically no suspense to this so-called test.

For someone who possessed both the ancient Azure Dragon Inheritance and the previous White Tiger Saintess Inheritance, failing such a test would be like seeing a ghost in broad daylight. Besides, Luo Qi knew the Four Symbols Cult as well as he knew his own home.

He had gone home, but Zhao Changhe felt as though he had lost a member of his family.

That feeling of being a married couple, rising and sleeping together, had ultimately been nothing more than an illusion.

A woman with hatred and ambition had formally stepped onto the crest of this chaotic age's waves. Sooner or later, she would begin stirring the winds and clouds. Years from now, looking back, would she still remember that kiss in the Water Curtain Cave at the Mountain Stronghold, so fierce it had consumed every ounce of their strength, and the man who had plucked at her heartstrings?

Perhaps she would forget.

After all, to become a Saintess, she had to forget romantic attachments, didn't she? Religious sects had no shortage of rules like that.

When we meet again in the martial world, what I can call you will depend on your attitude then, won't it?

Zhao Changhe raised his wine gourd, tipped his head back for a long drink, and strode back to the Mountain Stronghold.

Luo Qi had flown up to a lofty branch, and Zhao Changhe had certainly basked in some of that reflected glory himself-first and foremost, he had easily become a member of the Blood God Cult. Helmsman Fang hadn't dared let out so much as a fart in front of Vermilion Bird.

And as an official cult member with the Four Symbols Cult's prospective Saintess backing him, Zhao Changhe had received another benefit.

With the Azure Dragon Seal found, this Sub-Helm seemed to have little value left... The more important stewards in the stronghold, including Instructor Sun, could all withdraw. There was no reason to keep an elite veteran cult member like Instructor Sun stranded in this frozen, snowbound backwater where even birds wouldn't shit.

In theory, it wouldn't matter if all the stronghold's bandits withdrew too, but they had built a perfectly serviceable stronghold, and the hardest part of winter was already more than halfway over. Abandoning it now would truly be a waste.

After some consideration, Cult Master Xue decided to keep it and retain Fang Buping as helmsman. This time, the real focus would be on beginning to preach in the nearby city.

As for the Mountain Stronghold, it would serve as a fallback lair. A few small fry would be enough to hold it, and its stockade chief would be...

Zhao Changhe.

"Take good care of yourself on your journey, Instructor."

Instructor Sun and the others hadn't left immediately. Tying up all the loose ends had taken seven or eight days. As it happened, those days had given Instructor Sun enough time to teach Zhao Changhe the complete Blood Baleful Saber Technique, seeing his instruction through from beginning to end before leaving.

Although his earlier failure to tell Zhao Changhe that the Blood Baleful Art could be used to control people had left a small thorn between them, overall, Zhao Changhe still respected Instructor Sun greatly.

In this Mountain Stronghold, aside from Luo Qi, Instructor Sun was the only person who had truly treated him well... In a certain sense, Instructor Sun's kindness toward him had been even purer.

Yet the two people who had treated him well had departed one after another within ten days. It seemed to signify that there was nothing left in this Mountain Stronghold worth lingering over.

"Go back. You've already seen me beyond the mountains. When you saw Luo Qi off... oh, Saintess Xia, I didn't see you come this far." Chuckling, Instructor Sun thumped Zhao Changhe's shoulder. "You really are a rough fellow."

Zhao Changhe smiled. "A teacher for a day is a father for life. It's different with a woman."

"A teacher like me isn't a master in the true sense. It's simply my duty within the cult to teach everyone."

"Someone who imparts the way, teaches skills, and resolves doubts is a master in my heart."

Instructor Sun was thoroughly pleased to hear that. He glanced around and lowered his voice. "The important business here is finished. Fang Buping was badly injured by the Vermilion Bird Venerable, yet he wasn't allowed to return and recuperate. Keeping him here to continue preaching is clearly a punishment. But you've formally joined the cult, and you have someone backing you. Why not return to the Main Altar with us? What are you staying here for? Even birds won't shit in this place, and you'll still be under Fang's thumb..."

"Fang Buping won't come suffer in the Mountain Stronghold. He'll be recuperating and preaching in the city, so ordinarily he won't be able to meddle with me. I doubt he'd really dare, either. I have someone above me, after all." Zhao Changhe's eyes flickered, then he smiled as though nothing were amiss. "I don't like restrictions, and I don't have any grand ambitions. Being a mountain king suits me just fine. If I went to the Main Altar, I'd become a little pawn again. That would feel worse."

"You... Well, that really is your nature. You refuse to live beneath anyone else." Instructor Sun sighed. "You'd have more opportunities to gain access to the Blood God Art at the Main Altar... But chaos is coming to the world. If you can command a stronghold of your own, however insignificant its people may be, you'll have no shortage of opportunities to rise. Just put your heart into it."

Zhao Changhe cupped his fist. "I will. Even if I escorted you a thousand miles, we would still have to part. I won't go any farther. Safe travels, Instructor."

"Never slack off in your training. That's the foundation on which you stand." Instructor Sun gave Zhao Changhe one last punch, then strode away.

Zhao Changhe stood quietly in the snow, watching until Instructor Sun's figure had completely disappeared before turning back toward the Mountain Stronghold.

Naturally, he had his reasons for choosing to stay here as a mountain king.

I already have Xia Longyuan's Inheritance. Even if it doesn't measure up to the Azure Dragon Seal's, it's definitely among the finest in the world, and it can probably resolve or alleviate the Blood Baleful Art's drawbacks. So why should I join the cult to be someone's lackey, ordered this way and that, completing tasks and earning merit, just to learn a Blood God Art that Yue Hongling can beat while fighting above her level? Am I sick in the head?

Moreover, he certainly couldn't let anyone from the Blood God Cult see that he could resolve the Blood Baleful Art's drawbacks himself. Hiding in this remote stronghold until his cultivation reached a certain level before venturing out was the safest approach. At the very least, being in charge of the stronghold and accumulating resources for cultivation was far more advantageous than running around as a wanted fugitive.

As for matters involving the imperial family, so far he had truly kept a respectful distance and wanted no part of them whatsoever. Never mind anything else-having to acknowledge some random man as his father was already a mess most people couldn't readily accept. Being a wanted fugitive would be better.

He had joined the Blood God Cult simply to acquire a little standing and face fewer constraints than a low-ranking bandit. So far, things had turned out even better than expected. He had actually become stockade chief.

In any case, once he had mastered his martial arts, the sea would be wide enough for any fish to leap. He could decide what to do when the time came.

But he hadn't expected to become stockade chief before this. Suddenly herded onto the perch like a duck, he discovered there was quite a lot of troublesome business to handle. First, he had to face one problem...

Without the former stewards organizing everything, how was Boss Zhao, taking charge for the first time, supposed to provide food, clothing, and daily necessities for all these small fry...?

You never knew how dear firewood and rice were until you ran the household.

He had previously thought the stronghold's food and clothing were rubbish. Only now, handling things himself, did he realize how difficult it had been for the others to arrange rooms and bedding properly, have someone deliver coarse steamed buns every morning, and have meals portioned out at noon and night.

In fact, even some poorly organized government troops might not manage things so methodically. It offered a glimpse of the cult's level of organization. If even the Blood God Cult was like this, what about the Four Symbols Cult?

Fortunately, the cooks and laborers hadn't left. Otherwise, merely finding people to do those jobs would have been enough to make Zhao Changhe's head swell three sizes.

It wasn't as though he could put out a recruitment notice!

For now, things were still manageable. A decent foundation had been laid, and many things were already in place. At least there were buildings and rooms, and all the necessary equipment... The biggest problem was that they had run out of resources.

The Mountain Stronghold hadn't had much money or grain to begin with. It had needed Luo Qi and the others to hunt beasts and plunder to keep it running. Now the main force had withdrawn, and there was even less chance of anyone allocating extra funds to these small fry. Whatever remained in the storehouse was all they had. If it wasn't enough, they would have to figure something out themselves.

With his hands tucked into his sleeves, Zhao Changhe stared in pained frustration at the scattered copper coins in the storehouse, the last few measures of millet, and the cured meat that altogether weighed less than three jin... He felt that this little lot wouldn't even cover his own needs for a few days. How could it possibly support an entire stronghold?

They wanted to light oil lamps indoors? Even the cooking oil was nearly gone...

They were out of salt too... That was even scarcer than oil. There were plenty of things from which oil could be rendered or pressed, but if there was no salt, there was simply no salt.

His only consolation was discovering a considerable stock of medicinal herbs, mostly for bruises and injuries, along with some intended for medicinal baths. Such baths could clearly aid external martial cultivation, but previously, everyone had lacked even the means to bathe. Naturally, they hadn't enjoyed the luxury of heating water for medicinal baths. Instructor Sun wasn't his father... Now that he was stockade chief, however, he could make use of them. That much privilege was his.

"We weren't this short of supplies before, were we?" After his inspection, Zhao Changhe asked the storekeeper in considerable frustration, "If we'd really had so little, the atmosphere in the stronghold should have been tense long ago. It never felt that bad... Why does the place look as though it's been swept clean this time, without even enough left for a dog to sniff around?"

"Helmsman Fang transferred a batch of money and grain to the city. He said the cult had originally supplied them to support the search for the treasure, not to feed the Mountain Stronghold. On the contrary, the stronghold's duty was to bring in wealth for the cult, not make the cult pay to keep it..."

Zhao Changhe narrowed his eyes.