After Wei Hongqing entered Tianmu Mountain, he devoted most of his energy to his work. Especially after taking over as the owner of the Hongji Tavern, he barely had any time to see Lu Yanshi. It was during this period that Lu Zhongqiu started getting close to her. As a recognized member of the Lu family, an inner-sect steward, and someone whose cultivation had reached the peak of the Qi Refinement stage, Lu Zhongqiu was far superior to Wei Hongqing in every way. Before long, he had unknowingly captured Lu Yan’s heart and become Wei Hongqing’s bitter rival.

So Wei Hongqing was truly desperate. When Liu Xiaolou asked him what to do next if they killed Lu Zhongqiu, Wei had no better idea. But by now, he’d been pushed to the edge of a cliff and had no choice but to act.

There was, of course, another option. To tell Lu Yan directly about Lu Zhongqiu’s plot.

But Wei Hongqing refused to do that. He said, “Xiaolou, you have to understand, if I tell Lu Yan about this, I’ll lose any chance to strike back. My life and death would depend entirely on her mercy. I can’t take that gamble. What if she’s thinking the same thing? That woman’s heart is ruthless. Back when she was trying to get into the inner sect, the schemes she came up with; you have no idea. Even now, thinking about them gives me chills.”

“Then we have to think about this,” said Liu Xiaolou. “Once Lu Zhongqiu is dead, how will you clear yourself of suspicion, Brother Wei?”

“I’ve thought it through,” Wei Hongqing began. “I’ve stayed up on Tianmu Mountain the whole time, honest and quiet, for more than three months and never once went down. Nobody knows I came down this time. Once I’ve told you everything, I’ll head straight back. I’ve planned the timing for the killing very carefully. There will be no problem.”

As an inner-sect steward, Lu Zhongqiu was in charge of part of Tianmu Mountain’s most important enterprise, the spirit wine called Bamboo Leaf Green. Specifically, he handled procurement of the core ingredients used for brewing. Wei Hongqing’s plan was to strike while Lu Zhongqiu went down the mountain to buy those materials.

“The Bamboo Leaf Green recipe must not be leaked, so the most crucial ingredients are not purchased on the mountain, which would be too easy to detect. Publicly, another inner-sect steward appears to handle ingredient purchases, but as far as I know at least three of the key ingredients are brought back by Lu Zhongqiu himself. He usually goes down in the early part of the second month. I suspect those ingredients only appear in the dead of winter.”

Liu Xiaolou’s eyes lit up. That meant Lu Zhongqiu would be carrying spirit stones and silver and gold when he went down.

“This matter is extremely secret,” Wei Hongqing said. “On the surface, not even I am supposed to know, so when we act we can create some cover, make it look like a simple murder-and-robbery.”

Liu Xiaolou nodded. “Got it. How strong is this guy in a fight? Any troublesome magical tools on him? And Brother Wei, how many people do you think we’ll need?”

Wei Hongqing said, “He’s got a Seven-Treasure Lotus Pearl. Even if he goes up against someone in the Foundation Establishment stage, it can keep him from losing.”

“A defensive artifact?”

“Yeah, a defensive one, but it can strike back too. It’s a fine piece. Something you could still use even after reaching Foundation Establishment. But it’s got one fatal flaw. Find a lotus seed, any kind will do, refine it into a magical tool, and hit the Seven-Treasure Lotus Pearl with it. That’ll break its defense.”

“With that information, Lu Zhongqiu’s as good as dead… Are you sure it’s accurate?”

“Don’t worry, Xiaolou…” Wei Hongqing suddenly burst out laughing, bending over until he could barely catch his breath. “Ha ha, I'm dying here, ha ha ha. The Seven-Treasure Lotus Pearl thing? Lu Yan told me herself, two years ago! We were in bed together when she mentioned it as a joke! Hahaha! Can you believe it? The weakness of the Seven-Treasure Lotus Pearl is the lotus seed, and the man she’s going to marry will die because of her own words. How poetic is that? Truly, what goes around comes around!”

Liu Xiaolou thought for a moment. He didn’t find it funny at all. As a matter of fact, a sudden fear of the will of heaven washed over him. Maybe things really were destined in ways mortals couldn’t grasp. “Brother Wei, won’t she suspect you because of this?” he asked.

“Don’t worry. She’s probably forgotten she ever mentioned it. What I’m worried about is you all. This has to be done cleanly. No slipups, no exposure. Lu Zhongqiu is the sect master Lu’s grandnephew. He only failed to enter the inner sect because his talent fell short. If word of this ever gets out, the consequences would be unimaginable.”

Liu Xiaolou didn’t really care about Lu Zhongqiu’s status. To people from Wulong Mountain like them, anyone from a prestigious sect was the same. No matter what rank they held, if they were caught plotting against a noble sect member, the result was always the same. Death.

After agreeing on the time and place, Wei Hongqing reminded him, “Xiaolou, you can give Tan Bajhang and Zuo Gaofeng a heads-up beforehand, but don’t tell them the details. We’ll explain once we’re on site. That’s always been Wulong Mountain’s rule. Better safe than sorry.”

Liu Xiaolou nodded. “Don’t worry, Brother Wei, I understand.”

Worried that Liu Xiaolou might lose confidence, Wei encouraged him. “I’m already at the eighth layer of Qi Refinement, and you’ve made solid progress too. You’re at the sixth, right? With Brother Zuo, and Tan Bajhang helping, taking down Lu Zhongqiu will be no problem.”

"Brother Wei, are you coming too?"

"This is my business. I can’t just sit back while asking you guys to risk yourselves for me."

After Wei Hongqing left, Liu Xiaolou headed to Dragon Horse Falls. He called out to Tan Bajhang, who was practicing his staff techniques beneath the waterfall, and told him briefly, “There’s a job coming up, probably around the beginning of the second month. The payoff’s uncertain. Could be huge, could be nothing.”

“You’ve made up your mind?” asked Tan Bajhang.

“I’m going for sure, that’s why I came to ask you.”

Tan Bajhang laughed. “If you’ve decided, then count me in. Nothing more to say.”

Liu Xiaolou thought for a moment, then couldn’t resist giving him a hint. “It’s about Ghostdream Cliff.”

Tan Bajhang nodded. “No need to say more. We’ll follow the usual rules.”

Then Liu Xiaolou hurried to Half-Acre Gorge to tell Zuo Gaofeng the same thing. Zuo was delighted. “The spirit stones we got from Zhuoshui are almost gone. I was just worrying about running out, and now you show up with more! Ha ha!”

Liu Xiaolou gave a wry smile. “That’s hard to say. What if we come back empty-handed?”

Zuo Gaofeng smirked. “That’s how it always is. Everyone risks their lives out there, who can guarantee a reward? If we succeed once out of three tries, that’s already good. Twice, and we’re rich.”

Liu Xiaolou chuckled. “And if we don’t get anything at all?”

Zuo Gaofeng laughed. “Then we just go for it again! We folks from Wulong Mountain don’t have much else going for us. All we can do is fight with everything we’ve got.”

Zuo Gaofeng, Wei Hongqing, Tan Bajang, and Liu Xiaolou. Their small crew had already pulled off more than one job together. They worked together seamlessly. If they ambushed a cultivator at the peak of the Qi Refinement stage, even an inner sect steward from Tianmu Mountain armed with a top-grade magical weapon, the chances of taking him down were almost a sure thing.

After filling in the other two, Liu Xiaolou made a trip to Sky Pit Drum. Standing at the rim of the deep pit, he looked down and saw a cleared area on the northeast side of the bottom. The trees and vines had all been removed. On that flat ground stood rows of stone tablets, each about seven feet tall. It was the memorial grove Jiang Feihu and his group had built at Liu Xiaolou’s suggestion, carved with the deeds of the more than ten Wulong Mountain brothers who had fallen in the Battle of Zhuoshui, so that those who came after could pay their respects.

Right now, in the grove of stone tablets, Jiang Feihu, Zhang Shihua, and the others were all there, along with Hu Du. The Old Daoist was digging into the ground with an iron rod. He pulled out a stone tablet, and tossed it aside. Then, bowing repeatedly in apology, he smashed the tablet to pieces.

Liu Xiaolou watched the scene with a slight smile. After they left, he slipped down into the sinkhole, made his way to a pond on the western side, and plucked a few lotus pods to take with him. That same night, he hurried to Xingde Mountain, where he used the power of the Nine-Star Earthfire to refine a batch of lotus seeds into hidden weapons.

He wasn’t an artifact refiner by trade, but as a formation master he knew the basics of artifact refining. And with The Thousandfold Formulas as a reference, making a batch of simple magical lotus seeds was no problem for him.

These lotus seeds weren’t anything special. When thrown, they carried a bit of true qi, hitting with decent force, but calling them even low-grade magical tools would be a stretch. Still, according to Wei Hongqing’s request, they didn’t need to be lethal. So long as they were successfully refined, that was enough.

With that done, Liu Xiaolou checked the time. There was still more than a month left. So he returned to Qianzhu Ridge to continue cultivating, working hard to clear the remaining acupoints of the Foot Lesser Yang Meridian. In matters of life and death, opening even one more acupoint and gathering a little more true qi could make all the difference.