Liu Xiaolou didn’t dare set foot on the mountain. He immediately begged for mercy: “Steward Zhao, you’re a man of great generosity. Please spare me this once. Whatever orders you have, I’ll follow.”

“Why so much chatter?” Zhao Ruyu barked and flicked out a rope that wrapped around Liu Xiaolou’s shoulders. “Tie yourself up!”

The sight of the Eightfold Restriction Cord sent a storm of thoughts through Liu Xiaolou’s mind. But when he looked up at the bronze sword hanging above his head, he had no choice but to give in. He wound the rope around himself, carefully aligning it with several of his meridians.

With Zhao Ruyu’s level of cultivation, if he had really wanted him dead, he wouldn’t have gone to all this trouble. He could have just taken a leg in an instant. So it seemed his life wasn’t in danger. The question was, what kind of torment would he have to endure?

Zhao Ruyu formed a hand seal, and the Eightfold Restriction Cord instantly clamped down on the meridians. Liu Xiaolou felt his true qi lock up, unable to move even the slightest bit.

The two retraced their steps. Liu Xiaolou walked in front, still carrying his backpack basket, while Zhao Ruyu followed behind. Like that, they crossed Qingxia Valley and returned to Huashou Terrace.

Passing through ruins one after another, they stopped before a collapsed hall. Zhao Ruyu shoved Liu Xiaolou inside. “Stay here,” he said. “Don’t wander around.”

After Zhao Ruyu left with Liu Xiaolou’s basket, Liu Xiaolou grew restless. He craned his neck, peeking outside. By now daylight had fully broken, and the broken walls and scattered ruins on Huashou Terrace could be seen clearly. He looked around in every direction but found no suitable place to hide. What’s that Zhao fellow up to? he thought to himself. Could he be testing me? If I try to run, will he jump out and strike me down?

Then he thought again. I haven’t killed anyone or set any fires. I didn’t harm the ancient pine that’s stood here for ten thousand years. I didn’t even break the Earth Gate Formation. I handed over all the pine resin essence I collected. I haven’t caused the Luofu Sect any real loss, and I didn’t even resist. Since the Luofu Sect is one of the ten great sects in the world, they’re unlikely to punish me too harshly.

After a while another thought crept in. There’s no way I can get this Eightfold Restriction Cord off by myself. If I want it removed, I’ll have to escape the mountain and find someone to help me. But bound like this, do I really stand a chance of slipping out of Luofu Mountain?

What troubled him most was, Why did that Zhao fellow bring me here in the first place? What exactly does he want?

For a time, thoughts crowded his mind, tumbling over each other. His heart was unsettled, restless with unease.

By midday, Zhao Ruyu finally returned. The basket he had taken was no longer with him. Instead, he carried an oil-paper bundle in one hand and had a wine jar slung over his shoulder. Entering the ruined hall, he spread the bundle out on the ground, set the jar down beside it with a thump, and nodded. “Good. Obedient. That’s the way to be. Stay put, and who knows, maybe one day you’ll be allowed to walk down the mountain.”

Liu Xiaolou Looked nervous and deferential. “Steward Zhao,” he said. “Whatever orders you give, I will obey without hesitation. I’d go through fire and water if that’s what you asked.”

Zhao Ruyu chuckled. “No need for anything that hard. This roast chicken just came out of the oven. I saw you busy in Yellow Dragon Ravine all morning without even a sip of water. You must be starving. Let’s eat while we talk.”

Food and drink, at last. Liu Xiaolou’s uneasy heart finally settled, and he let out a long breath. He grabbed the chicken with both hands, tearing into it, tears of gratitude welling in his eyes as he spoke between mouthfuls: “Steward Zhao, this is the true bearing of a great sect. I’ve traveled for many years and seen a fair share of the world, but never have I met someone as kindhearted as you. Not only is your cultivation unmatched, but you also treat us rogue cultivators with such generosity.”

Zhao Ruyu laughed. “What, trying to flatter me? Careful... if you praise too high, the fall hurts. Don’t waste your breath buttering me up. I know your type all too well. You wild cultivators never say what you mean. Out of ten sentences, maybe not even one is true.”

Liu Xiaolou raised his hand and swore, “If even half a word I say is false...”

Zhao Ruyu couldn’t be bothered to hear him out. He popped open the wine jar. “Enough, enough. This is just some homemade brew from a village at the foot of the mountain. Make do with it to quench your thirst.”

Liu Xiaolou hurriedly took the jar and gulped down several mouthfuls. Sure enough, it was exactly as Zhao Ruyu had said. Village brew, thin and sour. To someone like him, once used to drinking the Su family’s fragrant osmanthus wine back when he was their son-in-law, it was hard to stomach. Still, he forced a smile. “I’ve wandered the world for more than ten years, rarely getting the chance to drink at all. Since this wine is a gift from Steward Zhao, to me it tastes rich and sweet. No fine spirit wine in the world could compare.”

Zhao Ruyu waved his hand, cutting him off. “Just eat and drink.”

Liu Xiaolou said no more. He tore into the chicken and gulped down the wine.

Then Zhao Ruyu asked, “Tell me, where are you from? What’s your name?”

“Steward Zhao,” Liu Xiaolou said with a chicken bone in hand, “you might have guessed from my accent already. I’m a rogue cultivator from Jing-Xiang. I used to be a disciple of the Pai Sect. My surname is Li, given name Mu.”

“Which branch of the Pai Sect?” asked Zhao Ruyu.

“I was once part of the third branch. As you know, the Pai Sect is nothing like a great sect such as the Luofu. Their disciples come from all walks of life. Too many, too mixed, the place crawling with riffraff. I couldn’t stand it, so I left years ago. Now I’m alone, drifting wherever the road takes me.”

Zhao Ruyu raised a brow. “Oh? So what you’re really telling me is, if I sent someone to the Pai Sect’s seventh branch to check up on you, they’d have a hard time finding anything, wouldn’t they?”

Liu Xiaolou forced a dry laugh. “That’s not what I meant. I really have been gone for many years, haha…”

Zhao Ruyu didn’t press the point. “Your old history doesn’t matter to me. You keep eating, I’ll keep asking. I saw you lying in wait by Yellow Dragon Ravine nearly all night, only going into the formation at daybreak. What was your reasoning?”

Liu Xiaolou blinked. “I’m a formation master,” he answered honestly. “The moment I saw the formation, I instinctively wanted to study it. The more I looked, the more I felt it was excellent, but still with a flaw. At the break of dawn, the formation’s circulation shows signs of faltering.”

Zhao Ruyu pressed him, “So, did you figure it out? What’s the cause?”

Liu Xiaolou hesitated. “Well…”

Zhao Ruyu frowned. “What’s holding you back?”

Liu Xiaolou took a deep breath. “Steward Zhao, this is my first time on Mount Luofu. I don’t know how your sect handles things. But I’ve heard plenty of stories about other sects. Many a rogue cultivator confessed something, only to be silenced and erased afterward.”

“If we wanted to kill you,” Zhao Ruyu said, “we would’ve done it already. This is your chance to earn merit. If you’re right, I’ll guarantee you live.”

Liu Xiaolou probed carefully, “Then I thank Steward Zhao. But… would I be locked away on this mountain forever?”

“That depends on how much merit you can earn, doesn’t it?”

Liu Xiaolou gritted his teeth. “Then I’ll trust Steward Zhao this once. The truth is, it’s actually simple. At dawn, Jade Goose Peak often gets covered in mountain mist. This formation here is called the Earth Gate Formation, right? It has three gates. One of them faces exactly where the mist rolls in, like throwing the doors wide open to welcome it. Mist confuses the senses. That gate serves as the formation’s guiding point, but once the mist enters, the guidance goes wrong. Of course, it’s not a big problem. Once the mist drifts back out, the formation restores itself.”

As Zhao Ruyu listened, not the slightest change showed on his face. He only sat in silence, lost in thought.

Liu Xiaolou had no idea what he was thinking. He lowered his head and drank, only to be caught off guard by the sour bite of the wine. Coughing, he grabbed a roast chicken and tore into it.

“Kid… who taught you formation work?” Zhao Ruyu finally asked after a moment.

“As I said before, I’m self-taught. By chance, I got hold of a few manuals on formations.”

Zhao Ruyu pressed further. “Which manuals?”

Liu Xiaolou casually named a few he’d once heard about while chatting with formation masters at the foot of Jinting Mountain. “Things like Essentials of the Yellow Stone Formation, The Seven-Star Diagrams, and so on.”

Zhao Ruyu asked, “And you, among formation masters, where would you place yourself?”

“I’m just ordinary,” said Liu Xiaolou.

Zhao Ruyu nodded. “Makes sense. For a formation master at mid–Qi Refinement stage… if it were another formation master, would they notice it?”

Liu Xiaolou thought for a moment. “I can’t speak for Qi Refinement stage formation masters. But if they were at Foundation Establishment stage, they should all be able to see it.”

All of a sudden, Zhao Ruyu stood up and started walking off. When he reached the hall’s entrance, he turned back. “How did you come down the mountain?” he asked.

Liu Xiaolou was puzzled. “Huh?”

“Which path did you take?”

“The same way I went up; through Qingxia Valley.”

“The same way? How exactly?”

“Along the edge.”

“Along the edge?”

“Yeah, right by the cliffside.”

“Heh.”

Zhao Ruyu suddenly broke into laughter. Shaking his head, he strode away quickly, leaving Liu Xiaolou completely bewildered. No matter how he turned it over in his mind, he couldn’t figure it out: what was wrong with walking along the cliffside?