Tie Kuangren

At the same time, Tie Xiaosheng rode deep into Xiushui City's eastern docks.

Things here were far better than he had expected. Order prevailed everywhere, everything proceeding smoothly. The Iron Banner Gang's great iron banners stood firmly on all sides, snapping in the wind.

All the gang members carried sabers and swords, keeping vigilant watch.

At the sight of Tie Xiaosheng, delight spread across their faces, and they saluted him.

"Deputy banner chief!"

"Wonderful! The deputy banner chief is safe!"

"Fourth Master, you're finally back!"

"Fourth Master, the banner chief is back too. He's at headquarters."

Tie Xiaosheng ranked fourth among his clan's brothers, hence the title Fourth Master.

The words "banner chief" lifted his spirits. He immediately urged his horse faster, reaching a massive thousand-liao ship, then sprang from horseback onto its forward deck.

The deck was empty except for a long table in the center.

A dozen or so bowls and plates sat on the table, mostly holding wine and meat.

A man sat on the north side of the table. His features resembled Tie Xiaosheng's, with the same tiger's back and bear's waist, square face and large ears. His stiff, short hair pointed skyward like a cluster of straight javelins.

But his face was much younger, looking only thirty-five or thirty-six.

He was bent over a roast squab, eating with a wild, unrestrained air.

Tie Xiaosheng walked over, picked up another roast squab, and began gnawing on it.

After five days in Firebone Cavern, his mouth had grown so tasteless a bird could have hatched in it.

There had been vicious beasts in Firebone Cavern, but most were contaminated by the foul taint of the evil entities underground and were inedible.

They could not light fires in the cavern either, so they had survived entirely on the dried meat Chu Xisheng had seized.

Only after wolfing down an entire squab did Tie Xiaosheng raise his head and look discontentedly at the Iron Banner Gang's banner chief opposite him-"Ironblood Pagoda" Tie Kuangren.

"When did you get back? You were just going to leave your elder brother in that cavern? Sixth Brother, surely you weren't waiting for me to kick the bucket so you could inherit the property I've saved up?"

"Property? How much money have you scraped together?" Tie Kuangren scoffed disdainfully. "You might as well say I wanted to kill you with a borrowed blade and take the Iron Banner Gang for myself. Those two venomous snakes from the Long Household were waiting onshore to cut off my retreat. I'd have to be an idiot to go to Firebone Cavern.

"Besides, I hired herb gatherers to go down and look three days ago. They said the Long Household hadn't caught you, and you'd met someone helpful down there who'd turned your peril into good fortune, leaving you well fed and watered. I figured a little hardship would do you good. With your paltry three-legged-cat skills, you still dared to get careless, taking only a handful of trusted men into Firebone Cavern. You even let someone get you drunk and steal the iron armor you carried. Is this how you ran things after I left?"

Tie Xiaosheng's breath caught. He had no answer.

Tie Kuangren set the bones in his hand down on the table and asked curiously, "Those herb gatherers said there were two people with you, a man and a woman. What sort of people were they, to actually rescue you from the Long Clan?"

Tie Xiaosheng answered truthfully, "The girl was only about fifteen, with Seventh-Rank primal cultivation and dual cultivation of technique and martial arts. Remarkably capable. She refused to give her name, but judging by her clothing and habits, she must come from a distinguished family with an exceptional background. The boy was called Chu Xisheng. This lad-"

He narrowed his eyes. "Though his constitution is a little weak, he's a young hero with both brains and courage! You might find it hard to believe, but I personally watched him cut down thirteen Long Clan soldiers and three of the Hengmen Eighteen Riders in Firebone Cavern, with merely Ninth-Rank Lower cultivation. Frankly, I'd really like to recruit him into the Iron Banner Gang. With his talent, he'll surely become a pillar of our gang in the future."

"Oh?" Tie Kuangren could not help narrowing his eyes.

He rarely heard his elder brother praise anyone so highly. Tie Xiaosheng's fondness and admiration practically spilled from his words.

Then Tie Xiaosheng paused and looked around suspiciously. "Never mind not rescuing me, why are you still holding your troops back? One of our branches in Firebone Cavern was wiped out. Are we just going to forget this blood-deep sea of vengeance? That's hardly like you, Tie Kuangren."

"Of course we won't just forget it."

Tie Kuangren gave a derisive smile and coldly drained a cup of wine. "But we need to wait a little longer. Things aren't looking good in Xiushui Commandery. Over that nonexistent God-Defying Banner and King Lie's treasure, swords are drawn and bows are bent, and the situation is treacherous and unpredictable. We can't act rashly.

"You probably don't know, but some people now suspect the God-Defying Banner is in our hands. Otherwise, why did we name ourselves the Iron Banner Gang when we came to Xiushui and founded it five years ago?"

At this, Tie Xiaosheng sprayed out every mouthful of wine.

Having returned to his own Storage Yard, Chu Xisheng saw another firework burst before his eyes.

The Martial Dao Points on the illusory screen jumped by four, reaching twenty-three.

Chu Xisheng's eyes lit up. He guessed these Martial Dao Points had something to do with Tie Xiaosheng, a lingering ripple from the battle in Firebone Cavern.

He could now redeem Star-Shift Lightning Feet.

But Chu Xisheng did not do so, because he had discovered something even better in the Martial Dao Treasury.

Body of Light-Speed Shadow, first stage-allowed one to step like a fleeting shadow, chasing light and time, doubling movement speed, jumping ability, and bodily flexibility and coordination. It required thirty-five Martial Dao Points to redeem.

Both were movement-related talents, but Body of Light-Speed Shadow offered double the flexibility and coordination on top of Star-Shift Lightning Feet's benefits. Yet its redemption price reached thirty-five points, making it even more expensive than the Pure Yang Thunder Body.

This talent seemed to extend beyond movement alone.

Would this doubling of flexibility and coordination also benefit his saber technique?

Chu Xisheng keenly desired movement-related talents.

To secure a place for himself in this world of lurking dangers, striking fast was important, but running fast was more important.

Only those who ran fast could live longer.

But after a brief hesitation, Chu Xisheng decided to wait a little longer.

The twenty-three Martial Dao Points he held were solidly earned through his own struggles. He could stockpile them without worrying about losing any.

Chu Xisheng then pushed the door open and entered.

Thudding sounds were coming from the rear courtyard. Following them inside, Chu Xisheng found Chu Yunyun chopping something beside the stove.

Only when he drew closer did Chu Xisheng discover that it was several racks of wild boar ribs.

Chu Yunyun held no specialized bone cleaver, only a short, small kitchen knife. Yet beneath her blade, those hard boar bones were as brittle as dried tofu skin, shattering with each chop.

Chu Xisheng walked over curiously. "You finished your escort job already? And where did these boar ribs come from?"

"I didn't go on an escort job."

Chu Yunyun shook her head and turned to look at him calmly. "The Long Household sent people to the Sitong Escort Agency and told them not to let us work there. I could only go to West Mountain and hunt a wild boar. I sold the hide, meat, and organs for four taels of demon silver, leaving these few bones."

Chu Xisheng's brows rose. West Mountain lay west of Xiushui City, a mountain range stretching for nearly several hundred li.

Many members of the Demon Race lurked there, along with numerous savage exotic beasts. Only the most skilled hunters dared venture inside.

When they first came to Xiushui Commandery, they had earned money by having Chu Yunyun hunt in West Mountain.

But making a living there depended on luck. When luck was bad, three to five days might pass without any gains.

For some unknown reason, foul taint ran rampant in this world, drifting through the mountains and wilderness. If ordinary people ate beasts contaminated by it, they would suffer a sudden illness at best, or go mad at worst.

And West Mountain was only a little cleaner than Firebone Cavern.

If she encountered the Demon Race, Chu Yunyun also risked exposing her strength and revealing her identity.

Chu Xisheng's expression shifted slightly. "Did you go to Firebone Cavern? Was Eagle Sword Du Hong killed by your hand?"

He had already learned the sword-bearing young man's name from Tie Xiaosheng.

He had been wondering earlier just who had killed Eagle Sword Du Hong.

Chu Yunyun was precisely the person he suspected.

Since the Long Household had approached the Sitong Escort Agency, it was entirely possible that Chu Yunyun had inferred he was in danger in Firebone Cavern.

Chu Yunyun, meanwhile, looked Chu Xisheng up and down.

This fellow's cultivation really had reached Ninth-Rank Lower.

She smiled. "I went into the cavern. When I saw you had a girl beside you with dual cultivation of technique and martial arts and Seventh-Rank primal cultivation, enough to keep you safe, I withdrew. That girl must have been the Miss Lu you mentioned, Lu Luanli?"

"That's her."

Chu Xisheng nodded, his expression showing how fortunate he felt. "It was all thanks to her this time. Otherwise, I really wouldn't have made it back alive to see you."

Chopping the boar bones, Chu Yunyun asked with puzzlement in her eyes, "That girl has an exceptional background and should come from a noble household. Why would she agree to accompany you into Firebone Cavern?"

"I don't understand it either." Thinking of Lu Luanli, Chu Xisheng smiled faintly. "But she has a fairly good temperament, not spoiled and willful like girls from aristocratic clans. She's quite adorable-"

Before he finished speaking, he heard a tremendous thud.

Chu Yunyun had used so much force that she had actually split the chopping board.