To be honest, it isn’t really that big of a deal. A few days ago, Lingling Traveler went over to Yueyang Market. In the marketplace there, he saw a few men running a gambling stall with chess, and the one running the game was Dong Wei.

The Dong family had studied chess for generations, so naturally Dong Wei’s skills were good. But this gambling scheme wasn’t about real skill. It was a setup to cheat people. And quite a nasty one at that. Each bet cost a spirit stone.

Lingling Traveler was an old hand, and with his background in Wulong Mountain, there wasn’t much he hadn’t seen before. He spotted the trick right away. He didn’t expose it, though. Instead, he joined in, and with everyone watching, won three games in a row. After pocketing three spirit stones, he left Yueyang Market without a word. Later, when he told Jiang Feihu about it, Jiang laughed so hard he could barely stop.

But Dong Wei and his men were furious and humiliated. They kept their distance, shadowed him all the way back to Wulong Mountain, and finally followed him right into Zhongling Valley, where they launched a sneak attack.

Unfortunately for them, they weren’t locals of Jing-Xiang. They’d heard the name of Wulong Mountain, but they didn’t know what went on inside. They hadn’t expected to be swarmed, and now they were completely trapped with nowhere to go.

Of the five, Dong Wei was the leader. His cultivation was the highest, at the sixth layer of Qi Refineùent. The others were mostly at the fourth or fifth. That was enough to ambush Lingling Traveler, but against dozens of Wulong Mountain cultivators, they didn’t stand a chance.

Dong Wei’s face was tight with nerves, sweat running down his forehead. He pressed his longsword to  Lingling’s neck, his expression twisted and vicious, waiting for Jiang Feihu’s response.

In the end, Jiang Feihu managed to convince most of the group, including Dragon Mountain Wanderer and the Seven Heroes of Guzhang Mountain, to agree to a deal with Dong Wei: Dong Wei and his men would hand over  Lingling Traveler, and Wulong Mountain would let them leave.

But the sticking point was the order of things: would they release the hostage first, or leave first? Dong Wei insisted on going down the mountain before letting him go, and not even Jiang Feihu was willing to agree to that.

“You’ve never heard of Wulong Mountain’s word of honor? What we say, we mean. A promise is as solid as iron. Release him, and you’ll be free to leave this mountain right now.”

“Honor, my ass. What honor does Wulong Mountain have? Swindling, lying, murder, arson, theft, robbery. Everyone under heaven knows your reputation!”

“And you think you’re any better? You set up a scam, and when Lingling Traveler saw through it, you couldn’t let it go. You chased him up the mountain to ambush him. That’s far worse. Even scams have rules. If you’re exposed, you admit it and move on. You people don’t even have that much decency. Every man of Wulong Mountain looks down on the likes of you!”

“We’re all swindlers here. The rule is that you don’t expose your own. You broke that rule first. It’s your reputation that’s rotten!”

“Brother Jiang, why waste breath on them? If you ask me, we should fight first and talk about their character afterward!”

“Don’t you dare! If anyone takes another step forward, I’ll cut down Lingling where he stands, and we’ll all go down together!”

“If he so much as lays a finger on our Lingling friend, I’ll take his arm off on the spot!”

“Come on, come on… you see that? Not just one hair, but a whole lock! I cut it off, so what now?”

From the back of the crowd, Liu Xiaolou watched, caught somewhere between anger and laughter. The Dong family of Qishan couldn’t really be called a great clan, among the aristocratic families, they barely counted as poor family. But they still had a name. And yet here was Dong Wei, fallen so far he was running scams in the marketplace, and now actually arguing with rogue cultivators from Wulong Mountain about honor and integrity? Shouting about how “one comrade doesn’t expose another”?

Neither side would back down. The Wulong Mountain cultivators grew more and more enraged. The Seven Heroes of Guzhang Mountain, for one, refused to listen to the persuasion of Jiang Feihu or Dragon Mountain Wanderer. Step by step, they closed in on Dong Wei and his men, determined to seize these intruders and defend Wulong Mountain’s reputation.

As for  Lingling Traveler; let him die, who cared.

Dong Wei’s face was pale, his sword hand shaking so badly the tip of his blade trembled constantly. The cultivators beside him weren’t in much better shape. They kept yelling “Don’t come any closer!” while sweat poured down their foreheads, their eyes darting frantically in search of a way out.

They found no way out. But all at once, Dong Wei spotted Liu Xiaolou in the crowd. He shouted, “Liu Xiaolou! Fellow Daoist Liu! Let him step forward and vouch for us!”

The eldest of the Seven Heroes bellowed back, “Vouch for what? You’re finished. Prepare to die!”

Dong Wei cried out, “I don’t trust the rest of you, but I trust him. Let him vouch for us, and I’ll release the hostage!”

At that, all the cultivators of Wulong Mountain turned their eyes toward Liu Xiaolou. Scratching his head, Liu Xiaolou muttered to himself, How the hell did this get dragged onto me?

“You’ll believe him if he vouches for you, but not if we do?”

“You know each other?”

“Xiaolou, what’s going on?”

“Don’t tell me you’re working with them on the inside?”

Realizing he was about to get dragged into this mess, Liu Xiaolou was furious. He hurriedly stepped forward to set things straight. “Fellow Daoists, it’s true that I’ve met this man once before, and we didn’t part on good terms. I was just as surprised as anyone to see him show up here on Wulong Mountain. He’s a son of the Dong family of Qishan, a minor clan under the Su family of Shenwu Mountain. …Dong, what are you asking me to vouch for? Speak plainly in front of everyone here.”

Dong Wei said, “Fellow Daoist Liu, though I may have offended you in the past, you’ve already gotten your satisfaction; you bested me. I hope you can let bygones be bygones. What I ask is simple: if we release Lingling Traveler, you guarantee that we’ll be allowed to leave the mountain.”

Liu Xiaolou shook his head. “With so many seniors present, I’m just a junior of Wulong Mountain. What right do I have to stand as guarantor for anything? Don’t spout nonsense! Let me be clear: everyone on Wulong Mountain stands united as one. Whatever the seniors decide, I follow without a second thought. Don’t think you can use me to drive a wedge between us.”

Dong Wei quickly said, “That’s not what I meant at all. What I trust is the Su family of Shenwu Mountain. You’re their son-in-law, so your word carries the Su family’s weight. If you vouch for me to leave safely, that means the Su family itself is standing behind it. Of course I’d believe it!”

His words stunned the crowd into silence.

“What? What? Xiaolou is the Su family’s son-in-law? Is that real?”

“No way. How come I never heard about this? Something that big, and not a whisper?”

“Shenwu Mountain’s Su family? Which mountain is that supposed to be?”

“The Su family of the Danxia Sect. Don’t tell me you’ve never heard of them; what a sheltered life you’ve led…”

“Xiaolou married a Su family daughter? When did that happen?”

“Good heavens, that’s a righteous sect! And one with its own blessed grotto-heaven at that!”

“Everyone, let me speak. Just yesterday when Xiaolou returned to the mountain, he hosted us all for a feast. This was the reason. It’s absolutely true. But to be precise, he didn’t take her as his wife: he married into their household. He’s a son-in-law who entered their family. Still, a son-in-law is a son-in-law, so Dong wasn’t wrong.”

“Who cares if he married into her family? I’d do it too. If only someone would let me!”

“Back in the day, I was sworn brothers with Master Sanxuan himself. I said then that the Sanxuan Sect would surely rise and flourish. Well? Looks like I was right!”

“I still remember, ten years ago when Xiaolou first came up the mountain, I said this boy’s future would be limitless—”

“Oh, cut it out. Xiaolou’s been here twelve years, and you’re talking about ten?”

“Daoist Sanxuan, your disciple has made something of himself. If your spirit knows of it, you can rest in peace!”

“Daoist Zuo, you all celebrated Xiaolou yesterday. Why wasn’t I invited? Do you look down on me? That won’t do, that won’t do. Tonight, I’ll host a banquet at Gourd Pass in his honor! Xiaolou, don’t you worry about a thing; just come, and I’ll handle the rest!”

“Congratulations, Xiaolou, congratulations! Here, a small gift from me. Just a token of respect…”

“Xiaolou, tonight I’ll prepare a proper gift for you. The rest of us brothers won’t stop drinking until we’re drunk!”