In the end, Wei Hongqing did not go back with Liu Xiaolou to his family home on Wulong Mountain. When he sobered up, he came up with an excuse, saying there was simply too much work waiting for him at Tianmu Mountain and he could not step away even for a short while.

Liu Xiaolou understood. After all, Wei Hongqing still had no official tie with Lady Lu Yan of Tianmu Mountain’s inner sect. The two had just been muddling along together up to now. He had gained plenty of benefits from it, but without any formal recognition, how could he return to the family home?

Before he left, Wei Hongqing still offered his gift: two jars of Tianmu Mountain’s spirit wine, Bamboo Leaf Green.

Carrying the jars on a shoulder pole, Liu Xiaolou returned to Wulong Mountain after several months away. As usual, he stopped first in the village at the foot of the mountain to hear the latest news. Then he went by Uncle Tian’s house, sat for a while, had a meal of coarse rice, and left behind two taels of silver.

In truth, Uncle Tian no longer needed his help. Earlier that year his daughter Ah-Zhen had come back from Xiushan and brought him fifty taels of silver, enough to cover expenses for two or three years. She had even built a new house of blue bricks beside the old one, giving the household a fresh new look. But the Tian family and the Sanxuan Sect had maintained this custom for decades. Leaving silver, receiving silver, it had become a sign of the bond between them. Without it, both sides would feel something was missing.

“Ah-Zhen also went once to Qianzhu Ridge. I told her you were still away. After she paid her respects at the master’s grave, she returned to Xiushan.”

“Ah, I missed her. How is she doing?”

“She’s doing well. After two years in Xiushan, she’s already started her cultivation. She said she’s working to break through to the second layer of Qi refinement. Since she entered the sect late, she doesn’t dare slack off. She only stayed half a month before leaving again.”

“In just two years she’s mastered the Three Scriptures. She really is more talented than me. It took me six years. Uncle Tian, Ah-Zhen is bound to achieve great things one day. You just wait and enjoy the blessings that come.”

“I’m just a farmer. How much blessing could I possibly enjoy? My whole life will be spent here on Wulong Mountain.”

Once he was sure everything on the mountain was in order, Liu Xiaolou carried the shoulder pole back to Qianzhu Ridge. Then he opened one of the wine jars, filled a pot with Bamboo Leaf Green, and went into the bamboo grove to burn paper offerings for his master.

After burning the paper, he shared the pot of Bamboo Leaf Green with his master’s spirit. Then he began tidying up the courtyard. Though he had been away for quite some time, there wasn’t much that needed repair. Ah-Zhen and Uncle Tian must have fixed things up during their visits. All it needed now was a good sweeping.

At some point, Big White came flapping back with a rustle of wings and, as if by instinct, joined right in on the cleaning. This creature really was no trouble at all. Even when Liu Xiaolou was gone for half a year, it stayed there peacefully, fending for itself, still plump, glossy, and lively.

When the yard was finally in order, Liu Xiaolou let out a satisfied sigh and sprawled out under the eaves on the terrace. He lay there, arms and legs stretched wide, gazing at the drifting white clouds and soaking in the warm spring breeze from the distance, content for a long while.

It had also been a long time since he had seen his fellow goose. Feeling indulgent, Liu Xiaolou poured half a small bowl of Bamboo Leaf Green and called out, “Come here, Big White!”

Catching the scent of wine, the goose rushed at it like a starving ghost, gulping it down in a few swallows. Almost immediately its legs began to give way, and it staggered around the courtyard, half crawling with its wings. The sight had Liu Xiaolou bursting out in laughter.

After that, it was time to prepare the bamboo invitations. On bamboo slips about two fingers wide, Liu Xiaolou carved the words with a small knife:

“Your younger brother Xiaolou has married into the Su clan of Shenwu Mountain. I return to the mountain today, and tomorrow at the hour of Xu (7–9 pm) I will host a banquet at Qianzhu Ridge. I humbly await your honored presence. With respect, twice bowed.”

He believed in keeping things low-key. There was no need for a grand banquet, and besides, there was not enough wine to go around. So Liu Xiaolou only carved four invitations, addressed to Zuo Gaofeng, Dragon Mountain Wanderer, Tan Bajhang, and Dai Shenggao, inviting them to gather.

Once again, Big White proved surprisingly resilient. After a little more than an hour it had shaken off its drunken stupor. No more lopsided beak and eyes, no more drooping wings. It could walk straight again.

The goose knew Wulong Mountain well and could even understand human speech, so Liu Xiaolou had no worries. He tied the four bamboo slips to its neck, gave it a kick, and sent it off to deliver the invitations.

That night the goose came waddling back, honking loudly. Of the four bamboo slips, three were gone. Only the one for Dai Shenggao remained, which meant Wanderer Dai was not at home, and no one knew where he had gone.

The next day, at the hour of Xu, Liu Xiaolou laid out the meal: bamboo shoots stewed with river fish, roast wild rabbit, mountain chicken stir-fried with dogwood berries, fresh mushroom soup, cured pork, and more. These were all ordinary mountain dishes, nothing special. The real centerpiece was Bamboo Leaf Green.

With spirit wine to wash it down, who cared what the food was?

The only questionable item was the cured pork, which the goose had dragged back from who knew where. There was no way to tell who it had belonged to, so Liu Xiaolou simply sliced it up.

The first to arrive was Tan Bajhang. He came up the ridge laughing heartily and wrapped Liu Xiaolou in a bear hug. “Xiaolou, Xiaolou! You’ve risen to the top in a single step. Don’t forget us brothers when you climb so high!”

Liu Xiaolou chuckled. “What rise to the top? I just married into another family. It’s nothing but swallowing my pride and putting up with it, all for the sake of a meal. I only did it because I had no choice.”

Zuo Gaofeng, who came up right after, added, “Zuo here also wanted to marry into a family. When I was young I tried all the great houses of western Xian, but I couldn’t get in anywhere. Now that I’m old, there’s no hope left. What can I do?”

The three of them had not seen each other in a long time, so they traded stories, warm and lively. Since their parting on the Miluo River, each had made gains. In just a few months, Zuo Gaofeng had broken through to the eighth layer of Qi Refinement, stepping into the late stage. Tan Bajhang had overcome the hurdle of the fifth layer and advanced to the sixth, catching up to Wei Hongqing. As for Liu Xiaolou himself, he had reached the fourth layer. Everyone had something to be pleased about, and the mood was bright.

Only Dragon Mountain Wanderer, who arrived late, wore the word “worry” across his face. After years of running around, he still hadn’t gathered all eighteen ingredients needed to refine a Foundation Establishment Pill. Just speaking of it brought him close to tears.

Of course, the real reason for tonight’s gathering was to celebrate Liu Xiaolou marrying into such a fine family. The Su clan of the Danxia Sect. Who wouldn’t envy that?

As the wine flowed and spirits grew high, Tan Bajhang pressed him again and again. “So tell us, why did the Su family choose you as their son-in-law?”

By then Liu Xiaolou could hardly keep his bowl steady. His eyes were bleary as he explained, “Sometimes looks really do matter. Being good-looking...hic...can actually feed you. Just look at Brother Wei. He… he, Brother Wei, Hongqing, old Wei! Tell me, why do you think he gets to run Hongji Tavern on Tianmu Mountain? Isn’t it… hic… all thanks to that face of his…”

He slapped his own face and shouted, “The face! The face is what matters!”

The three of them were listening with rapt attention, and without thinking each reached up to touch his own face.

Liu Xiaolou’s voice rose higher. “When I went to Shenwu Mountain to answer the summons, hic, you fellows didn’t see it. The whole hall was packed, packed full of young talents from every corner, every last one of them from families a hundred times greater than mine! Why didn’t the Su family pick them? No matter how strong their families are, could they be stronger than the Su family? Since the Su family was looking for a son-in-law to marry in, family background meant nothing! So then, what mattered? Tell me, what else could they choose on? What else?”

Zuo Gaofeng sighed in defeat. “So if you’re ugly, there’s no good fate for you. Makes sense. Xiaolou and Hongqing, the Twin Handsomes of Wulong Mountain; now that is true talent. Today I finally understand what ‘a man of talent and looks’ really means. First comes the looks, only after that the talent!”

Tan Bajhang sprawled across the table with his wine bowl upside down on his head, wailing, “I’m finished, I’m hopeless, hopeless…”

Dragon Mountain Wanderer roared with laughter, laughing so hard he couldn’t straighten his back and ended up curling up under the table.