"So I came to ask you first, without telling Zhan'ao outright."
Lu Yulin had always kept his feelings off his face, but now worry covered it, as though a ten-thousand-pound boulder weighed on his heart.
"Master Dou, would I ever entertain such a thought unless I had no other choice? I know full well how bad that stick of incense is."
"Otherwise, when Zhan'ao was ambushed, I would have carried him into the secret vault and tried to see whether he could light it!"
Dou Xiaowen frowned, not understanding why Lu Yulin had suddenly brought up "lighting the incense."
Even if the eldest young master displayed extraordinary martial talent, reaching Fetus Embracing before twenty-eight
would still be harder than ascending to heaven, all but a pipe dream!
Without being someone within the gates, with a clear lineage of teachings, to enter the inner halls, pass beyond "Internal Nourishment," and break through to "Fetus Embracing"
involved countless difficulties and many hurdles to overcome!
The Fleshly Body Realm had four stages and twelve passes. The vast majority could not even get past the first stage, "Internal Nourishment."
The second stage, "Fetus Embracing," was known as the "Great Dragon Gate." Who knew how many martial practitioners it had stopped?
"Master, in all my life, I've only heard of someone reaching Fetus Embracing at twenty-eight. Never seen it. Supposedly, it was a certain Grand Protector's disciple."
Dou Xiaowen spoke honestly.
He did not want to see the eldest young master light the incense, even though every generation of the Lu Family had ultimately gone through it, as though it were an inescapable fate.
But with Lu Yulin protecting him, the Lu Family's vast estate, and these old bones of his,
Lu Sui had no reason he absolutely had to light the incense!
As though seeing through Dou Xiaowen's thoughts, Lu Yulin said softly:
"Master Dou, Uncle Bing has returned from Shaqing Pass."
Dou Xiaowen froze, his eyebrows twitching:
"Old Donkey Yang was gone for over two months this time. You sent him to Shaqing Pass to investigate the Yu Family's background.
"For it to take so long, could it be... that boy surnamed Yu has some powerful backing?"
Lu Yulin nodded:
"He and that woman are both halfway within the gates. That alone isn't difficult to handle.
"Those within the gates vary in ability, and so do the prices on their heads. It's merely the difference between spending fifty thousand taels and a hundred thousand."
Dou Xiaowen wholeheartedly agreed. He had killed quite a few people from within the gates himself. Fools who ran wild just because they had learned a few occult arts were like successive crops of chives in the Land Beyond the Pass-no matter how many you cut down, there were always more.
Lu Yulin changed tack, his expression solemn:
"But the one who taught him martial skills and passed on his occult arts comes from the Nine Ridges and Ten Mountains. His standing is no ordinary one."
The Nine Ridges and Ten Mountains?
Backing that powerful?
No wonder his master was taking this so seriously.
Throughout the Land Beyond the Pass, the Nine Ridges and Ten Mountains reigned supreme. Everyone knew that!
But once past Shaqing Pass, those within the gates had to obey the rules below the mountains.
If some reckless hothead broke the rules and died, then he died. No vendetta could be pursued.
That, too, was a rule laid down by the Grand Protectors.
Otherwise, Lu Yulin would not have thrown Yuniang into the cesspit so decisively.
After turning it over in his mind several times, Dou Xiaowen asked gravely:
"I wondered how they dared come to Changle County seeking revenge. So the Yu Family has someone backing them.
"Master, who is it?"
Before Lu Yulin could answer, an old man emerged from around the corner, wearing a melon-cap and a sheepskin coat, with a hooked nose and a cloth saddlebag slung over his back.
His eyes shone alarmingly, like a pair of owl's eyes, as he stared straight at Dou Xiaowen:
"What, Old Wolf Dou? Really think you're somebody? You've been away from the Nine Ridges and Ten Mountains all these years. Who still recognizes the name 'Iron-Robed General'?
"So what if I tell you? You can't settle this!"
At the sight of the old man, Dou Xiaowen bristled like a needle meeting an awn, anger rising from nowhere. He said stiffly:
"Cut the crap! Old Donkey Yang, if you've got a fart to let out, let it out! Quit keeping us guessing!"
The old man took no offense and said with a chuckle:
"In the Land Beyond the Pass, the Nine Ridges and Ten Mountains have the Grand Protectors presiding over them! Every one of them is a figure of tremendous ability, reaching through heaven and earth."
"Below them, there are thirteen mountain keepers who stand above the rest.
"Old Wolf Dou, do you still remember?"
The thirteen mountain keepers?
Dou Xiaowen's throat went dry as he slowly recited a string of names:
"Old Ghost, Drillmaster, Nalan Shao; Spirit Medium, Secretary, Little Aqiao; Blind Man, Impermanence, Dragon, Tiger, and Leopard..."
The old man sighed:
"The Yu fellow was lucky. He has Root and Nature, a decent white seedling.
"He caught the eye of the Red-Bearded Heavenly King, Han Wenlong, who bestowed a waist token on him and granted him permission to seek admission to the mountains.
"It took me the strength of nine oxen and two tigers to dig up that information."
One of Dragon, Tiger, and Leopard?
Dou Xiaowen felt a headache coming on.
"'Once you've descended from the Nine Ridges and Ten Mountains and come out of Shaqing Pass, there's no need to cower even before a Grand Protector.' That's how the old saying goes."
Lu Yulin said quietly:
"But I'm worried that the Red-Bearded Heavenly King is killing with a borrowed knife-deliberately taking in the Yu Family's last surviving wretch to use his Owl God to devour five generations of the Lu Family's allotted fate.
"My godmother told me that if an Owl God gets no food, it turns on its own host.
"So the Yu Family's poverty and ill fortune in everything are signs of the Owl God's displeasure.
"But put another way, the Yu Family's 'Owl God' has been 'starving' for nearly three hundred years and more..."
Realization dawned on Dou Xiaowen. In an instant, he understood the connections.
A ravenous Owl God was not merely vicious-it would eat anything.
Once the Yu fellow was fed to the full, his allotted fate would be something extraordinary!
This was what they called "fortune turning at the depths of adversity"!
By then, he would no longer be some white seedling.
He would surely ride that momentum upward, fully nourishing his Root and Nature to rank among the "purple seedlings," or even the "red seedlings"!
"You never act without preparation, Master, nor speak without confidence."
Dou Xiaowen lowered his eyelids and asked softly:
"You must have thought of a solution before coming to discuss whether the young master should light the incense."
Lu Yulin glanced at the travel-worn old man.
The latter chuckled:
"Been on the road a long time. That donkey of mine needs feeding, or he'll start kicking."
With that, he left the outer study, swaying with every step.
Once the door was shut tight, Lu Yulin said softly:
"I've planned two paths for Zhan'ao. First, send him to seek admission to the mountains, enter the gates, and cultivate, putting down roots in the Nine Ridges and Ten Mountains from then on."
Dou Xiaowen's heart gave a thump. Those within the gates valued Root and Nature.
The eldest young master had good bones and sinews and learned martial skills astonishingly fast, but that did not mean he had sufficient Root and Nature.
Seeking admission to the mountains and entering the gates would likely be far from easy.
"Second, light the incense and send him back to Mute Village. That would keep him safe for life and preserve a line of descendants for the Lu Family."
Dou Xiaowen considered it carefully and felt both paths were feasible.
The best outcome would be to pass through Shaqing Pass as a "good seedling" and gain admission to the Ten Mountains.
With Root and Nature and the ability to cultivate, those treasures of the Lu Family could be fully refined, and they would no longer have to worry about others coveting them.
"Master, it isn't easy for ordinary people to gain admission to the mountains. Forgive my bluntness, but I have yet to see where the young master's Root and Nature lies."
Worry showed in Dou Xiaowen's eyes. Who in the Land Beyond the Pass did not want to enter the Nine Ridges and Ten Mountains?
Everyone said that when disaster struck, one must head for Shaqing Pass.
But over the past thousand or so years, those who had made it through smoothly and successfully gained admission to the mountains
were few and far between!
Even Dou Xiaowen himself had only managed, through luck, to gain a foothold at the foot of the mountains. He had never truly ascended to the mountain gates.
"That's why I thought of having Zhan'ao light the last stick of incense, to see whether it can awaken his Root and Nature.
"If it doesn't work, he can return to the village and live in peace."
Lu Yulin seemed to have rehearsed this many times already, thinking every step through with great clarity.
"In that case..."
Dou Xiaowen heaved a deep sigh:
"I'll make some preparations ahead of time too, and teach the eldest young master the Iron Crotch Art, so he can just about... hold on, and avoid having his essence and Qi sucked dry."
Lu Yulin let out a laugh, then continued:
"The second matter is simple. Someone in the brokerage's Zhou Family possesses a Calamity Artifact and has spread an evil calamity, violating a taboo.
"I'll convene the guild later and bring that Shi Gandang, which cost a hundred thousand taels to invite here, back to the Lu Family to enshrine.
"Sorry for the trouble, Master Dou, but I'll need you to move the warding object."
Dou Xiaowen readily agreed, but still could not stop worrying about Lu Sui lighting the incense. He asked again:
"Master, since the Yu fellow has backing, then... do we still kill him?"
Lu Yulin narrowed his eyes and answered decisively:
"Kill him all the same."
He paused, his voice softening:
"First settle the five generations of grudges between the Lu and Yu families. Everything else comes afterward.
"Once past Shaqing Pass, even if someone within the gates dies, no revenge may be sought.
"That is the rule laid down by the Grand Protectors!"
"...the rule laid down by the Grand Protectors!"
Lu Sui sat before the desk, slightly stunned, seemingly lost in thought.
How had munching on gossip turned into gossip about me?