Dark clouds gathered overhead, and the low rumble of thunder rolled in the distance. Before long, a fine, misty rain fell like threads of ox hair, clinging to his hair bun and the back of his neck, soaking into the skin.

It was the first spring rain of the year. But the drizzle was so light that, even after falling for some time, it never soaked through his clothes. Walking along the mountain path, Liu Xiaolou felt nothing but comfort, so the bamboo hat stayed slung across his back instead of on his head.

Every mountain, every path, every rock, every stream; and even each tree, every cluster of flowers and grass felt so familiar, so close. He took a deep breath, his nose filled with the scent of fresh earth, and his spirits lifted.

With quick steps he crossed Seven-Finger Gully and Turtle-Back Ridge, followed the stream of Tiaodang Creek, passed Jade Maiden Peak and Mundane Dust Gully, until Flying Tiger Cave lay just ahead.

There, he steadied his mood, set aside the ease of the journey, and put on a more solemn face as he descended a flight of stone steps. A massive cave entrance appeared before him.

Flying Tiger Cave.

Jiang Feihu was a senior figure of Wulong Mountain. Now badly injured, he was the reason Liu Xiaolou had come. On the advice of Dragon Mountain Wanderer, to pay him a visit.

Before the cave, the clear pool rippled under the spring rain. By the water’s edge stood Dragon Mountain Wanderer. Spotting Liu Xiaolou from afar, he hurried over to greet him.

Liu Xiaolou clasped his hands in greeting. “Forgive me, I came later than I should have. I hope Senior won’t hold it against me. How is Senior Jiang’s injury?”

He had been to Flying Tiger Cave twice in past years, both times accompanying his teacher, Master Sanxuan, but had never gone inside. At most, he had only glanced in from the entrance. Today was the same. Before he could even step in, Dragon Mountain Wanderer pulled him away.

Liu Xiaolou was taken aback. “Senior, what’s this about?”

An awkward look crossed Dragon Mountain Wanderer’s face. “Best not. Brother Jiang’s wounds haven’t healed. He’s not doing well. The damage runs along the Heart Meridian and the Liver Meridian. His mind is unsettled, and his liver fire is burning high. I worry he might speak rashly and offend you without meaning to. Give it some time, when his spirits are steadier…”

“Senior, does Senior Feihu have some misunderstanding with me?” asked Liu Xiaolou.

Dragon Mountain Wanderer let out a sigh. “Brother Jiang… you know how he’s always wanted to bring together everyone of Wulong Mountain, bind all our fellow cultivators into one. He’s a warm-hearted man, but his expectations are too high. And the higher the hope, the deeper the disappointment. After the battle at Zhuoshui, when the unity of our comrades fell short, he was left discouraged. So now, there’s quite a bit of resentment in him…”

Liu Xiaolou frowned. “What happened?”

Dragon Mountain Wanderer began, “I didn’t mention it that day. The Ma brothers’ deaths… if more had rushed in at the time, maybe they wouldn’t have died. When Brother Jiang called out for support, only Zhang Shihua and Old Hu Du responded. No one else followed. In the end, not only did they fail to save anyone, they got dragged down themselves. Two badly wounded, one whose life or death is still uncertain.”

“Among us on Wulong Mountain,” Liu Xiaolou said flatly, “unless someone is bound by life-and-death ties, who would have risked charging in then? Senior Feihu was being unrealistic. Having even two step up was already luck from heaven. If he wants to stew in his own anger, that’s his business. What’s it got to do with me?”

Dragon Mountain Wanderer shook his head. “Well, since neither you nor Wei Hongqing joined the fight, his mood soured, and now he finds everyone an eyesore. The fact that you and Wei Hongqing managed to avoid being sent to Zhuoshui... that’s your ability. Truth is, a few others also dodged the conscription, and he cursed them all the same. It’s not only aimed at you two.”

He gave a wry smile. “Even I got a tongue-lashing when I went in. He said I was clinging to life, afraid of death, ignoring the bonds of brotherhood. Heaven knows I wasn’t even near him at the time; how could I have heard his call?”

Liu Xiaolou had half a mind to bring up the spirit pills he had eagerly sent over back then, and the spirit wine Wei Hongqing had delivered from a thousand li away. But then he thought better of it. The wine aside, there hadn’t been many pills to begin with. He’d given them to Tan Bajhang, and once they were split between Zuo Gaofeng and Dragon Mountain Wanderer, hardly anyone else even knew about it.

Forget it. Everyone has their own way of thinking. However others choose to see things isn’t something he could change.

Still, he handed the gifts he had prepared to Dragon Mountain Wanderer. “Senior, whatever the case, that night when I returned home to visit family and held the banquet at Ganzhu Ridge, Senior Feihu did send a congratulatory gift. Please give him this spirit stone on my behalf, as a token of my visit. And this one too. I’ve no interest in going to Shihua Cave. If I did, I’d probably just get scolded the same way. Please pass this one to Zhang Shihua as well. After this, there will be no debts left between us.”

Dragon Mountain Wanderer accepted the stones and patted him on the shoulder. “Xiaolou, you’ve done your part with righteousness. I’ll do my best to talk him around.”

This visit, meant to show care for an injured comrade, had begun with good spirits but ended in disappointment. As he left, Liu Xiaolou felt a bitter taste in his heart.

On the way back, he made a detour to Dragon Horse Falls to tell Tan Bajhang about it. Tan scoffed at once. “That Jiang fellow; always blaming this one or that one. Why doesn’t he think for himself? If he hadn’t shouted to charge back in, how would Old Hu Du have ended up missing, his life or death unknown? How would Brother Shihua have been so badly wounded? A man like that is no friend worth keeping! You came in good faith to visit, and he still treated you with such harsh words. Shameful!”

Just as they were speaking, someone suddenly came looking for him. It turned out to be Fang Bu’ai, the young man Liu Xiaolou had allowed to settle at Half-Pine Plateau on Ganzhu Ridge.

The moment Fang Bu’ai saw him, he called out, “Senior Liu, so you really are here! You must hurry back to Ganzhu Ridge. Someone has come to challenge your doorstep!”

Liu Xiaolou was taken aback. “Who’s come to fight?”

“A man with the surname Long,” Fang Bu’ai said, “calls himself Second Master, and told Senior Liu to move aside…”

Tan Bajhang snapped. “What, now every stray cat and dog comes up the mountain to make a living? Junior Xiao Fang, didn’t you throw him out?”

Fang Bu’ai’s face flushed red. “Senior Tan, you know me. I went at him, but I couldn’t beat him. He’s way too tall…”

“How tall can he be?”

“Three, maybe four stories taller than me.”

Tan Bajhang waved his hand. “Come on, let’s go meet this shameless fellow!”

The three of them hurried back to Qianzhu Ridge, and sure enough, they saw a man sitting cross-legged in front of a little courtyard’s wooden gate, with a pair of short bronze hammers resting on either side of his legs. He wasn’t the only one there. Somehow Zuo Gaofeng had arrived as well, and even Dai Wanderer and the long-absent Bull-Horse-Deer Brothers. Back in the day, those three brothers had followed Dai Wanderer and settled for a time in the Wuling Mountains, but that place was far more dangerous than Wulong Mountain. It wasn’t fit to stay in, so eventually they moved here to Wulong Mountain after all.

Zuo Gaofeng was in the middle of trying to reason with the man. “…If I were you, I’d think this over carefully…” When he saw Liu Xiaolou return, he added, “The master is back. If you don’t believe me, you can ask him yourself!”

Fang Bu’ai pointed straight at the man and shouted, “That’s him!”

The man slowly stood and cupped his hands to Liu Xiaolou. “So you’re the master here? I am Long Er. I plan to cultivate on Wulong Mountain, but every spot on the mountain is already taken. I had no choice but to ask you, my friend, to move elsewhere.”

Zuo Gaofeng spoke up from the side. “He won’t believe anything we say. Xiaolou, take out the proof and show him.”

Liu Xiaolou let out a sigh. “I never wanted to make this public, but these are troubled times…” With that, he drew a letter of divorce from inside his robe and spread it open before Long Er.

Long Er narrowed his eyes, studied it for a moment, and slowly nodded. “So it’s true. You’re the son-in-law of the Su family of Shenwu Mountain… Very well. Since you come from such a distinguished house, I’ll yield to you this time.”

He gathered up his pair of bronze hammers, said his farewell, and left.

What the hell was that?

Liu Xiaolou was full of questions, but before he had a chance to go after him, the Bull-Horse-Deer Brothers closed in tight around him.

“Xiaolou,” Dai Wanderer said, “I brought them here to pay respects at the mountain gate. The three brothers have now settled on Wuzifeng. From now on, you all should visit one another often.”