The General’s Temple at the foot of Shenwu Mountain had new residents now. From a nearby ridge, Liu Xiaolou watched for a while, realizing they were strangers. He’d never seen before. He had no idea where they came from.

That temple had been restored with his own savings, yet now it belonged to someone else.

It had been more than a year since he’d left Shenwu Mountain, and coming back again filled him with emotions he couldn’t quite put into words.

When he arrived at the mountain estate, there was still no steward on duty. He waited for a bit and eventually ran into a few familiar faces. They were clearly shocked to see him, though they tried not to show it. After some waiting, he was finally let inside to meet Butler Song.

Butler Song sighed. “You’re here because of Susu, aren’t you? You really can’t let it go.”

“A promise is a promise,” replied Liu Xiaolou. “I wouldn’t break my word. Besides, I want to know what’s truly in Susu’s heart. Please, Butler Song, help me.”

Butler Song gave a weary smile and shook his head. “If Fifth Lady knew you’d come like this, I don’t know what she’d think. But I’ll tell you this much; if you’re hoping to take Susu away, the master won’t allow it.”

Liu Xiaolou thought for a moment. “What about Fifth Lady and Susu, what do they think?” he asked.

“The master already disapproves. How could anyone go against his word? And when he’s made his decision, who would dare let Susu speak up?”

“Would it be possible for me to meet my father-in-law?” Liu Xiaolou said quietly.

“Whether he’d agree to see you or not, that’s another matter; but in any case, he’s not at home.”

“Then… may I wait for his return?” Liu Xiaolou asked.

Butler Song shook his head. “I’ll tell you straight. He left for Weiyu Grotto Heaven three months ago. No one knows when he’ll be back. Fifth Lady, Ninth Lady, and Susu are all there with him. They spent nine months cultivating there last year.”

Liu Xiaolou was taken aback. “So Shenwu Mountain plans to join Weiyu Grotto Heaven now?”

“It’s not about joining anyone,” Butler Song replied calmly, “Shenwu Mountain’s heritage runs deeper than you can imagine.”

Liu Xiaolou rose slowly, a touch of sadness in his eyes. “Thank you, Butler Song. I’ll come again next year, then.”

Butler Song chuckled. “If the master agrees, of course you can come. But honestly, I’m afraid it’ll be for nothing. To make him change his mind, hah, that’s near impossible.”

Liu Xiaolou nodded, clasped his hands in farewell, and took his leave.

As he descended from Shenwu Mountain, a heaviness settled in his chest. He knew Susu’s matter wouldn’t be resolved easily; it would be a long, grinding struggle. Sometimes he even wondered if, after all his effort, it would all end with her simply saying, ‘I don’t want to leave the Su family.’

And even if she chose to follow him… would that really be the right choice? He couldn’t say.

With those thoughts weighing on him, Liu Xiaolou returned to Qianzhu Ridge and resumed his cultivation. Working on the Hand Lesser Yin Meridian.

That meridian had nine major acupoints, each a formidable gate in itself. Unless fate granted him some rare opportunity, like when a single spirit stone once broke open a point on the Foot Lesser Yang Meridian, there’d be no easy progress this time.

So he steeled himself. He had saved up around fifty spirit stones, and he was ready to spend every last one of them on this path, grinding through each acupoint patiently, one after another.

At the very first acupoint, Jiquan, Liu Xiaolou hit a wall. He pushed himself without sleep or rest for seven straight days, yet made not the slightest bit of progress. The acupoint was as solid as bedrock. Immovable, and enough to chill your heart.

When he came out of his cultivation, he found himself wedged once again into the crack at the top of Qianzhu Ridge. Big White and Little Black had already gotten used to his “sleepwalking” arrivals and were sound asleep. His head was tucked under Big White’s wing. And honestly, it was pretty comfortable.

Wait...was Big White… bigger than before?

He gently slipped his head out from under the wing, careful not to wake the two sleeping creatures. Lying there, he gazed up at the sea of stars overhead, feeling for a moment as if he didn’t quite belong anywhere. His mind wandered; he was thinking about something, but couldn’t say what.

Time passed in silence.

All of a sudden, Big White jolted awake and shot to its feet, almost shoving Liu Xiaolou out of the crevice. A moment later, Little Black snapped awake too, scratched nervously at the rock beneath him, and then leapt into the night. Its shadow vanishing in an instant.

Big White tilted its head, listening for a while. Then it stretched out its long beak, grabbed a vine beside it, and was just about to give it a pull when it suddenly seemed to think better of it. Letting go, it turned instead and tugged at Liu Xiaolou’s hair, pecking and pulling a few times.

“Ow, hey, easy there!” Liu Xiaolou winced from the sharp tugs and quickly reached up to stroke the creature’s long neck to calm it down.

Once it settled, he quietly climbed down and looked out over the courtyard from above. In the darkness, he caught sight of a figure slipping out of the woods and hurrying into the house. The person’s steps were uneven, stumbling. A moment later, a faint cough came from inside.

Startled, Liu Xiaolou leapt down and rushed after him. The house was unlit, completely dark. He could just make out a shape curled up on the floor.

“Wei... Brother Wei?”

He was about to light a lamp when Wei Hongqing stopped him with a weak voice. “Don’t… cough… leave it… cough cough… like this…”

Liu Xiaolou crouched beside him, took his wrist, and sent a pulse of qi to check his condition. “You’ve injured the Heart and Pericardium meridians… You haven’t taken any pill?”

“I was in too much of a hurry,” Wei Hongqing said weakly.

Liu Xiaolou frowned. “What happened? Did the business at Jiashan get exposed?”

Wei had always been mixed up in far more shady dealings than Liu Xiaolou. Still, under the protection of Tianmu Mountain, he’d stayed relatively safe. Right now, he should still be there, so showing up here out of the blue probably had something to do with what happened at Jiashan.

“This isn’t the place to talk. Let’s go to my secret cave.”

“You’ve got a secret cave?” Liu Xiaolou blinked. “Where is it?”

“Luanfei Falls.”

The so-called Luanfei Falls was a small waterfall below Ghostdream Cliff, along the banks of Wuchao River. Tiny waterfalls like that were everywhere in Wulong Mountain. Some just a few feet high, others a bit taller. No one could even keep track of them all. “Luanfei Falls” was just a name Wei Hongqing had made up himself. Of the hundreds of cultivators roaming Wulong Mountain, probably only Liu Xiaolou, Zuo Gaofeng, Tan Bajhang, and a handful of others had ever even heard of it.

Liu Xiaolou didn’t say another word. He hefted Wei Hongqing onto his back and sprinted toward Ghostdream Cliff. But instead of climbing, he stopped at a fast-flowing stretch of stream at the base. A thin curtain of water, barely ten feet high, tumbled into a small pool below, sending up frothy white spray. This was Luanfei Falls.

“Into the pool,” Wei said weakly.

The water wasn’t deep, maybe just about as tall as a man. At first glance, there didn’t seem to be any kind of entrance. But once they dove down and looked along the bottom, Liu Xiaolou spotted a narrow gap in the rock wall. Barely wide enough for a person to squeeze through sideways.

Holding their breath, they slipped inside and followed the passage for a dozen yards or so. The ground gradually sloped upward until the tunnel opened into a small hidden cavern. Inside was a stone bed, naturally formed, with a bamboo mat and an oil lamp resting on it. Simple, but clearly lived-in.

Liu Xiaolou let out a low whistle. “Didn’t think you actually had a place like this, Brother Wei.”

“I just… need to lie down for a bit,” Wei murmured.

“Here, take this Heart-Nourishing Pill first.”

Wei managed a small smile. “You’re too kind.”

“Really? You’re saying that to me? Picked up that bad habit back on Tianmu Mountain, did you?”

Wei Hongqing gave a weak chuckle.

“Alright, enough talking. Focus on refining the pill and healing yourself.”

By now, Wei was barely able to stay upright. Liu Xiaolou helped him adjust his posture until he could just manage to sit cross-legged on the stone bed and start circulating his qi to dissolve the pill. Liu Xiaolou stayed close, occasionally checking his friend’s meridians.

After nearly four hours, he could feel the pill’s energy fully absorbed, Wei’s true qi flowing smoothly again. Only then did Liu Xiaolou let out a quiet breath of relief. Settling beside him, he closed his eyes and began cultivating as well.

Spiritual energy kept being drawn from the spirit stone, transforming into true qi that flowed through his meridians, gathering into surging waves that crashed again and again against the barrier of his Jiquan acupoint.

The acupoint was like solid rock, breaking apart every surge of true qi that struck it. Still, Liu knew that each strike, no matter how small, was shaking the foundation. Bit by bit, over time, it would inevitably give way.

After cultivating for some time, Liu Xiaolou suddenly felt a flicker of unease and stopped. Rising to his feet, he turned to see Wei Hongqing’s face flushed a deep red, as if burning from within, his lips darkening toward purple. Alarmed, Liu hurried over and checked his condition. His injuries had relapsed. The true qi in his Heart Meridian was in turmoil, spinning out of control.

Liu quickly pressed a palm against his chest and sent his own true qi in, guiding and steadying the flow. It took quite a while before the chaos began to settle.

During those days, Liu also slipped out of the secret cave more than once to scout around Ghostdream Cliff and the nearby Qianzhu Ridge. He found no trace of anyone suspicious, so he returned each time to continue tending to Wei’s recovery.

Five days passed in this way. After taking a second Heart-Nourishing Pill, Wei Hongqing finally managed to suppress the injury completely. His complexion returned to normal at last.

Only then did Liu Xiaolou truly relax. Wei’s life was no longer in danger. Now, all that was left was time and rest.

He finally opened his eyes that night. "Xiaolou, the people from Tianmu Mountain… they didn’t catch up, did they?" he asked.