Gathering Together

"Niu Gui'er, you have to give me an explanation today.

"Never mind that my husband died in your courtyard. Before you sent word, you said I was to come collect his corpse. How has that turned into taking his clothes back to build a cenotaph?!"

It was the third day since Daoist Wu's death. A female cultivator dressed in mourning sackcloth had seven or eight filial sons and grandsons of the Wu Household wailing behind her, along with sixteen sturdy mortal men carrying a massive coffin.

The crowd packed the entrance to Niu Gui'er's teahouse so tightly that not a drop of water could have trickled through. Their wailing and cursing drew quite a few nearby cultivators over to watch the spectacle.

Niu Gui'er's face turned ashen with anger. He furiously tugged Kang Dabao out by the sleeve.

Gu Laoliu followed them out with a grin, delighted to see the commotion grow. He treated the scene before him as an entertaining nuo opera.

After hearing the words of Daoist Wu's sister-in-law and widow, Kang Dabao could only smile bitterly. He could hardly say it was because the wind had been too strong that night, or else she could have taken the ashes back.

For some reason, the black bone had flown out on its own that night and absorbed all of Daoist Wu's flesh, blood, and bone marrow.

It was just an unremarkable, rotten bone. How had it gained a consciousness of its own like a legendary spirit treasure?

Naturally, he would never tell Niu Gui'er and Gu Laoliu about it.

Once those two knew, even if they could not figure out what the black bone was, they would join forces to kill him without hesitation if there were even a one-in-ten-million chance it was a spirit treasure. Then they would fight each other to the death over it.

He would keep the black bone tucked away for now and study it carefully when he had time.

Compared to exposing the treasure, the consequences of admitting that he had taken it upon himself to grind Daoist Wu's bones to dust and scatter his ashes were undoubtedly easier to accept.

In the latter case, all he had to face was a hysterical woman. Could a man who murdered his brother and stole his sister-in-law really have any true friends?

"Enough, Madam Wu. Fellow Daoist Wu brought this fatal calamity upon himself by provoking a powerful enemy elsewhere.

"This matter has nothing to do with the three of us. That is the truth, whether you believe it or not.

"As for Fellow Daoist Wu's remains, I did indeed damage them by accident because I could not contain my resentment for a moment.

"Since things have come to this, you can either take Fellow Daoist Wu's clothes back with you now,

"or name a time, Madam Wu. Whether the two of us fight alone or invite our friends to lend a hand, we can settle this grudge in a battle to the death."

Kang Dabao looked at Daoist Wu's weeping widow. He knew he had surely made an enemy of her and had no interest in arguing with her any further.

So he issued his threat outright. Had they not been in the market, Kang Dabao might well have cut the grass and pulled up the roots then and there.

"When my late husband humiliated you in his prime, you only dared keep silent and hide like a turtle in its shell.

"After disaster befell him, you behaved like a petty villain! And now all you can do is use your strength to bully a widow like me!

"Kang Dabao, how can you still have the gall to be sect master of the Chongming Sect? You've disgraced every one of its founding masters!"

Daoist Wu's widow cursed him vehemently, tears and snot streaming down her face.

Her words made Kang Dabao's face flush red. Some cultivators in the crowd gleefully jeered and shouted along, while even Niu Gui'er and Gu Laoliu seemed to be enjoying the spectacle.

Kang Dabao was speechless for a moment. Destroying another person's remains was indeed despised in respectable cultivation circles.

It would have been one thing if Kang Dabao had done it while fighting Daoist Wu face-to-face, but he had struck after Daoist Wu was already dead. His reputation was certain to suffer.

There was no telling how much time and effort it would take to restore it, and he could not even defend himself.

At that thought, Kang Dabao grew angry and was about to sweep his sleeves around and head back.

Daoist Wu's widow naturally refused to let him leave and came forward to grab at him again, but Niu Gui'er unexpectedly stopped her.

Kang Dabao and Gu Laoliu were both taken aback. Then they turned and went back into the courtyard without a care, leaving only the suddenly helpful Niu Gui'er to comfort Daoist Wu's widow in a gentle voice.

"This little old man had never met Brother Kang before, and I wondered why you had come to join us this time. After this, I'm no longer puzzled." Gu Laoliu chuckled and struck up a conversation with Kang Dabao again.

Kang Dabao knew that yellow mud had already been smeared on his backside. Being taken for a kindred spirit by someone so notorious put him in a terrible mood.

Without answering, he went into his room with a dark face.

He meditated until evening, when Niu Gui'er's attendant boy came knocking. He said that two more immortal masters had arrived and invited Kang Dabao to meet them.

When Kang Dabao reached Niu Gui'er's quiet chamber, there were two more cultivators in the room besides Niu Gui'er and Gu Laoliu.

An elderly cultivator in a long robe sat upright in the middle. He had long brows and a sword on his back, and his solemn face bore a look of sorrow.

This was Bai Bian of the Bai Household, the person with the highest cultivation in the operation and its only late Qi refinement cultivator.

The other was Second Sister Song, the female cultivator who had invited Kang Dabao.

She looked to be in her early twenties, with a graceful figure and a charming face, and wore a long crimson dress. She gave Kang Dabao a friendly smile when she saw him arrive.

"Is this Fellow Daoist Kang, the sect master of the Chongming Sect?" Bai Bian, who had taken the central seat and assumed the host's role, asked in a deep voice.

Kang Dabao looked up at Bai Bian. This elderly cultivator, already in his eighties or nineties, did not have particularly high cultivation, but he was quite renowned.

There were two reasons. First, he had reportedly reached the Qi Refining Seventh Layer at the age of just twenty. He had once been celebrated as a genius among the nearby rogue cultivator lineages, with hopes of reaching Foundation Establishment.

Yet after letting sixty or seventy years slip by, he was still at the Qi Refining Seventh Layer. Instead of becoming a Foundation Establishment cultivator, he had become quite a laughingstock.

Second, ten years ago, the Bai Household had fought a fierce battle with the Mao Household, a rogue cultivator lineage in a neighboring county. He had killed seven middle- and late-stage cultivators single-handedly, including the enemy household head, securing a resounding victory for the Bai Household.

"Greetings, Brother Bai," Kang Dabao said, cupping his hands in a respectful salute and keeping his bearing quite deferential.

"Qi Refinement Fourth Layer?" Bai Bian's eyes sharpened, and he turned to Second Sister Song.

"Fellow Daoist Song, I asked you to invite friends far and wide to help me settle a personal grudge with the Four Ghosts of the Liu Household. We'll be risking our lives, so please don't treat this as child's play."

Without waiting for Second Sister Song to answer, he continued on his own, "Niu Gui'er of Old Crow Stronghold has achieved minor mastery of the Netherworld Hand.

"Over the years, he's done business killing people and stealing their goods several times on the White Sand Official Road. His abilities aren't much, but he has a sharp eye.

"Though he always leaves a few loose ends, he's never provoked anyone he couldn't afford to offend. He has some ability, and a little petty cunning he couldn't put on display.

"As for Gu Laoliu of Five Birds Mountain, his name carries much farther.

"Years ago, he was already buying live people from the slave market, capturing their souls and refining their spirits. He turned the once-fine Five Birds Mountain into a place thick with ghostly gloom, where neither birds nor beasts remained.

"After all these years, the Hundred Ghost Banner he refined using that badly incomplete Qi Refining Method Formula probably has fifty or sixty percent of the power it would have had if properly refined.

"Even an ordinary Qi Refining Seventh Layer cultivator couldn't take him down. He can be counted as a useful ally.

"As for you, Fellow Daoist Song, you and I go back a long way. I trust you, so naturally I can count you in.

"But this Sect Leader Kang, apart from today's deeds of exacting revenge for the slightest grievance and bullying a woman,

"I've heard of nothing else he's done. Why should he be counted in?

"This old man is keeping company with notorious fellow daoists like you to settle a grudge with his enemies. I have no wish to bring any dead weight along."

After hearing the old cultivator's lengthy speech, Kang Dabao knew the old man's reputation for acid-tongued cruelty was well deserved.

So that long preamble was all to call this Daoist master petty and vindictive, a bully of women, and weak, useless dead weight?!

Although Bai Bian was only a Qi Refining Realm cultivator, both his cultivation and his age made him a senior to the others.

Besides, objectively speaking, his speech had been fairly reasonable.

Thus, even though the two ruthless men Gu Laoliu and Niu Gui'er had been called notorious to their faces, neither showed any anger.

Being questioned at a time like this was not something Kang Dabao could resolve by sweeping his sleeves and walking away.

These ruthless men were wagering their lives to earn that reward. How could they possibly let Kang Dabao leave and risk word getting out?!

He could not go with them, and they would not let him leave. Kang Dabao's fate was easy enough to imagine.

His face dark, Kang Dabao hid his hand in his sleeve and gently stroked the white-shelled tortoise sleeping inside with his fingers.

It was a habit he had developed in recent years to calm himself.

Something occurred to him, and he was about to speak when Second Sister Song stepped forward with a charming smile. "Elder Bai, I'm afraid you're mistaken. Although Fellow Daoist Kang's cultivation is a little weaker, he has one accomplishment none of the fellow daoists here can claim."

She paused halfway through, and seeing that everyone's interest had been piqued, she spoke before Kang Dabao, who seemed about to say something, could get a word out.

"Fellow Daoist Kang returned unscathed from the great battle between the Jiang Household Trading Company and the Black Ghost Bandits seven years ago."

At those words, Bai Bian, Gu Laoliu, and Niu Gui'er all grew solemn.

"Second Sister, you're not joking?" Niu Gui'er asked doubtfully.

"What would be funny about a joke like that? Quite a few fellow daoists in Cloud Horn Prefecture know about it. If you don't believe me, Fellow Daoist Niu, you're welcome to send someone to ask around."

Hearing this, the three could not help looking at Kang Dabao with considerably greater respect.

The Jiang Household Trading Company was one of the leading major trading companies in Cloud Horn Prefecture.

For its caravan seven years ago, it had hired two Foundation Establishment cultivators alone, along with more than two hundred Qi Refining cultivators. That did not even include the smaller caravans traveling with it.

The Jiang Household Trading Company had been bound for East River Prefectural City to conduct a business deal as vast as the heavens. Who could have expected the Black Ghost Bandits to ambush it on the way? No fewer than five hundred cultivators fought on the two sides, including five Foundation Establishment cultivators.

In the end, the Jiang Household caravan suffered a crushing defeat. Even its two true Foundation Establishment cultivators were surrounded by the Black Ghost Bandits and failed to escape despite fighting with all their might.

A count afterward showed that, of the cultivators traveling with the trading company, only twelve had fled for their lives and made it back to Cloud Horn Prefecture's capital.

In the Great Wei Immortal Dynasty's frontier prefectures, such as Jingnan and Cloud Horn, the immortal path was not flourishing. A single prefecture often had more than a hundred million mortals, yet rarely more than ten thousand cultivators.

A great battle involving hundreds of cultivators was rarely seen even once in ten or twenty years. Had they been in his place, no one present dared claim they could have returned unscathed.

To attribute his unscathed return from a battle like that solely to luck would be rather unreasonable.

"I have been disrespectful, Fellow Daoist Kang. Please forgive me."

Bai Bian's tone actually softened. Relaxing his long brows, he spoke gently to Kang Dabao.

Kang Dabao still had not been able to prove just how capable he was, yet he had won everyone's respect by fleeing for his life that one time.

Kang Dabao paid it no mind, and the others said no more.

"Then we'll set out tomorrow." The old cultivator brought the matter down with a single stroke.