Faced with Wu Zhuzi’s blunt scolding, Liu Xiaolou shot right back: “Whether I go or stay has nothing to do with an outsider like you. Who are you to run your mouth? If anyone should be talking, it’s Daoist Hu Du. Right, Old Hu Du?”

Put on the spot, Old Hu Du looked uneasy. “Well… uh…”

Liu Xiaolou tried to reason with him. “Daoist, what’s going on here? You’ve finally come back safe and sound, and your peers rush over all excited to congratulate you. Yet you drag in some outsider to boss everyone around, telling us whose orders to follow and whose freedom to cut off? This fellow Wu Zhuzi, he came to Ganzhu Ridge before, trying to rope me into raising a banner, just like that Long Er in Xikou. And what was his game? Just a scam for money. Recruit one follower, get paid so much for a head. Isn’t that it? I shut him down flat back then, but now he’s wormed his way over to confuse you instead. Daoist, you’ve been around Wulong Mountain a long time. How could you fall for this? How many spirit stones has he tricked you out of?”

Wu Zhuzi’s face flushed with fury. “Liu Xiaolou,” he shouted, “watch your filthy mouth! Who do you think you are, spouting such nonsense here?”

Dragon Mountain Wanderer cut in, “He’s the son-in-law of the Su family from Shenwu Mountain.”

“Hah,” Wu Zhuzi scoffed. “The Su family cast him off ages ago. Does he still think he can lean on their name?”

As soon as those words were spoken, several people in the crowd shook their heads.

Someone said, “Wu Zhuzi, Liu Xiaolou and the Su family go way back. You weren’t there to see it… tsk, tsk…”

Another chimed in, “It’s just a quarrel between husband and wife. They’ll make up sooner or later.”

Then someone else added, “Daoist Old Hu Du, take Xiaolou’s advice. Wulong Mountain has always been a place where everyone lives free and easy. Don’t stir things up. Master Liu is right; we’re here to celebrate your safe return. So get on with it. Set up the feast, and don’t stop drinking until we can’t stand.”

Jiang Feihu stood up to smooth things over. “Friends, I think Daoist Wu’s idea of setting up a sect makes sense. The only question is who should take the lead...”

Tan Bajhang immediately shouted back, “Jiang, if you’re so eager to form a sect, you and your pals can play that game on your own. Found one sect, ten sects, twenty sects. I don’t care. You can be master of all of them if you like, but don’t count me in! Old Hu Du, I was overjoyed you made it back safely. I ran all over the place, gathering everyone to celebrate for you. And what do you do? You team up with this swindler and pull a stunt like this. Where does that leave me, your brother?”

Daoist Old Hu Du waved his hands again and again. “Bajhang, don’t mistake him; Daoist Wu isn’t a swindler!”

Chaos broke out in front of the Gourd Temple. People stood up, agreeing and complaining at once. Someone called out, “We came here to drink. After all this talking everyone’s confused. Are we having the feast or not? If there’s no feast, we’re leaving.”

What had started as an orderly meeting to found a sect was about to fall apart. Wu Zhuzi went livid, his face turning ashen. He traced the trouble back to Liu Xiaolou and snarled, “You little thief Liu. So young and so shallow in cultivation, and you think you can run wild just because of the Su family? Today I will teach you a lesson and make you learn not to speak recklessly.”

He drew his long sword from his waist. With a hand gesture, the sword hovered in midair, its tip trembling as it pointed at Liu Xiaolou. It was his personal magical weapon, the Iridescent Seven-Colored Sword.

Tan Bajhang pulled out an iron staff and stood beside Liu Xiaolou. “See?” he whispered, “I told you it was a flying sword. You kept insisting it was a trick.”

For a moment, Liu Xiaolou felt a little confused, but he wasn’t afraid. He did not believe that Wu Zhuzi would just attack wildly. He had drawn his sword from his waist, so it clear he was only at the peak of Qi Refinement. With so many good brothers around, they could surround and beat Wu Zhuzi if it came to that.

Liu Xiaolou wasn’t afraid, but he still wanted answers. He shouted at Wu Zhuzi, “Wu, are you out of your mind? With your level of cultivation, of all the things you could be doing, why waste your time selling people’s names? Wouldn’t it make more sense to spend your time looking for a Foundation-Establishment Pill? And look around; today of all days, with all our brothers here, do you really dare draw your sword?”

Wu Zhuzi roared back, “Liu, today I’m going to teach you a lesson and let everyone see what you’re really made of! Without the Su family backing you, you’re nothing!”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the long sword shimmered with rainbow colors. It shot up about thirty feet into the air and came crashing down with a powerful swing!

The full-strength strike from a peak Qi Refining cultivator was truly impressive, and Liu Xiaolou was instantly bathed in the sword light. But he remained calm and unafraid. The Three-Mystery Sword was already in his hand, its sword-light glowing about a foot long, ready to meet the attack. He wasn’t about to block it head-on, of course. The Mysterious True Cord had already shot out toward Wu Zhuzi, and with a push off the ground, Liu Xiaolou prepared to dodge to the side.

At the same time, Tan Buzhang had his iron staff raised over the Three-Mystery Swords, ready to take the brunt of the strongest strike for him.

On the flank, Zuo Gaofeng drew the hand axe from his waist, a three-foot arc of sword-light bursting forth as he chopped toward Wu Zhuzi’s sword.

Dragon Mountain Wanderer sent flying a ruyi scepter. It burst into brilliant light as it shot straight for Wu Zhuzi’s head.

Fang Bu’ai had already turned into a streak of sword light and rushed forward, but Wuzhuzi casually swatted him away with a single slap.

At the very moment the fight erupted, a flash of green light shot in like lightning. With a loud clang, it slammed into Wu Zhuzi’s long sword. The Iridescent Seven-Colored Sword was sent flying, spinning through the air seven or eight times. It sliced a massive cypress tree behind the Gourd Pavilion in half. The tree crashed down onto the pavilion’s courtyard wall, sending up clouds of dust as broken bricks and tiles rained to the ground.

After the green light sent the rainbow-colored sword flying, it didn’t lose momentum. It swept past Wu Zhuzi’s neck, sending a few drops of blood spraying to the ground, where they hissed and steamed.

“Poisonous blood!” someone cried out in alarm.

The green light circled once in the air, then wheeled back toward Wu Zhuzi, slashing down again. Such precise control could only be the work of a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Wu Zhuzi was thrown into a panic, too afraid to block it, and leapt aside to dodge.

He managed to avoid the green light, but in doing so he left himself wide open. Liu Xiaolou had already charged in, colliding with him head-on. Wu Zhuzi tried to slip away once more, but somehow a rope had already wound itself around him, sealing off hundreds of his acupoints in an instant.

Wu Zhuzi had never seen a magical weapon like this before. Terror seized him and his body froze, giving Liu Xiaolou’s Three-Mystery Sword the opening to slash straight across, tearing him open from chest to belly.

Another spray of poisonous blood gushed out, splattering across the ground. White smoke rose everywhere. At last someone recognized who he was. “A Badong bandit!”

Tan Bajhang flew into a rage. Swinging his iron staff in a wide arc, he smashed it squarely down on Wu Zhuzi’s head. “In the dark, I’ll still beat you down!”

Wu Zhuzi’s skull burst open, his brains spilling out. Both his eyeballs were knocked clean from their sockets and vanished into the grass.

It all happened in a blur. Jiang Feihu had only just shouted, “Spare his life!” when Wu Zhuzi collapsed to the ground, dead.

Tan Bajhang glared at Jiang Feihu. “A Badong bandit, and you still want to protect him?”

Jiang Feihu stomped his foot. “No, I just meant we should’ve questioned him first! Old Hu Du, what in the world is going on here?”

Daoist Hu Du threw himself onto Wu Zhuzi’s body and began searching frantically. Before long he pulled out a small pill bottle, shook out two pellets, sniffed them briefly, then shoved them into his mouth. A few breaths later, he hacked up a mouthful of black blood, and in the blood a writhing worm squirmed into view, making everyone’s skin crawl.

With the poisonous parasite expelled, Daoist Hu Du let out a long breath of relief. Then he started kicking Wu Zhuzi’s already shattered skull again and again, sending blood spraying in every direction. Some of it splattered onto his own shoes, eating through them in an instant. He yelped in pain, clutching his foot and shouting, “A bucket of water, quick! Who here isn’t afraid to help a poor Daoist deal with Gengsang Cave’s poison?”

The chaos quickly died down almost on its own. Wu Zhuzi’s death had been unexpected, but what truly left everyone shaken was that streak of green light. Most eyes turned toward the place it had flown from, and out of the trees stepped a woman. She was stunning. Her beauty and elegance left everyone staring.

She stopped some distance away, lifted her hand, and drew the green light back into her sleeve. Her gaze settled on Liu Xiaolou.

Tan Bajhang stood there with his mouth wide open. “Ninth Lady…” he muttered.

It really was Su Wan. She looked at Tan Bajhang when she heard him, smiled at him, then turned her gaze back to Liu Xiaolou. “Come,” she said, “I have something to tell you.”