On Qianzhu Ridge, he went over that day again and again in his mind. Thinking it through carefully, the only time he’d ever shown his real face was on Guangfu Bridge, when he’d pretended to be a passerby. True, he’d taken off his bamboo hat and the black scarf then. But the two people who had actually seen him were dead now. As for any random bystanders, he’d made sure to smear his face with mud and ash. So he should be safe.

The three men who’d broken into the Xie family home had all been wearing the same thing. Bamboo hats and black scarves. Even if someone had managed to match their builds back then, it had been so long now that the Xie family would never recognize anyone by body shape alone. Besides, Zuo Gaofeng and Tan Bajhang had gone off to Chicheng Mountain; they weren’t around anymore. If there was still any danger left, it would have to come from Fang Bu’ai.

Thinking of that, he made his way to Half-Pine Plateau and happened to find Fang Bu’ai, who was supposed to be in seclusion, tending a small fire and cooking porridge.

“Ah, senior! You’re here?” Fang Bu’ai called out with a grin. “I haven’t eaten in three days. Still had a bit of spirit rice left from the autumn harvest, so I thought I’d make some porridge. Will you have some with me?” He hurried to wipe the dust off the stone table and stools.

Liu Xiaolou sat down. “You’ve been in seclusion for quite a while, haven’t you? How’s it going?”

Fang Bu’ai’s face lit up. “Time flies! I’ve been working hard. Managed to get the Pericardium Meridian open all the way to the Daling acupoint!”

Liu Xiaolou nodded. “So you’re cultivating the Hand Faint Yin Meridian, huh? I remember working on that one myself back in the day. Tough path. Only nine acupoints in total, but every single one of them’s a major gate. You’ve just got Laogong and Zhongchong left, then.”

“I’m hoping to break through in one go,” Fang Bu’ai said. “Once I reach the fourth layer of Qi Refining, I’ll be able to help you even better, Senior!”

Liu Xiaolou clapped him on the shoulder. “Good. Keep it up. This month, stay put on the mountain and focus on your cultivation. Don’t go wandering anywhere.”

Fang Bu’ai nodded. “Don’t worry, Senior. Thanks to you, I’ve earned enough spirit stones to last a while. I won’t leave this mountain until I reach the fourth laye...” He paused. “Wait… has something happened?”

Liu Xiaolou gave a half-smile. “Just visitors. But don’t worry; they only have suspicions. They don’t know we were involved. They’re keeping to the foot of the mountain, haven’t dared to come up yet. These days, Wulong Mountain isn’t a place any sect can just march into. Even Tianmu Mountain would have to ask Gengsang Cave and Pingdu Eight Formations Gate for permission before making a move.”

Fang Bu’ai nodded. “Understood.”

The strange commotion at the foot of Wulong Mountain soon caught the attention of everyone living up on the slopes. Before dawn the next morning, Li Busan came to Qianzhu Ridge to report.

“Martial Uncle,” he said, bowing, “my master asks that you come to Longshan. There’s something that needs discussing.”

“Is this about the sect cultivators blocking the eastern mountain road?” asked Liu Xiaolou.

Li Busan nodded. “Exactly. I’ve already come twice before, but you weren’t here either time. My master said we should wait until you returned before calling everyone together.”

Liu Xiaolou agreed. After waiting an hour, he got up, left the ridge, and made his way to Longshan. When he arrived, Jiang Feihu was already there. The two exchanged brief glances, neither eager to start a conversation, and both sat down to wait with the Dragon Mountain wanderer.

Before long, Zhang Shihua, Fairy Huang Ye, and the eldest of Guzhang Mountain arrived one after another. To Liu Xiaolou’s surprise, Dai Shenggao had come back as well.

Dai Shenggao, one of the original senders of the “Hero’s Post,” was a respected figure on Wulong Mountain and had always treated Liu Xiaolou kindly. Liu quickly stepped forward to greet him.

“Senior Dai! Where have you been these past few months?”

Dai Shenggao chuckled. “I took the Huang brothers out for a little business trip. Just got back. Nothing major. Barely worth mentioning.”

Dragon Mountain wanderer began. “I’ve called everyone here today to talk about what’s happening down below. You’ve all heard by now. Some sect down the mountain has set its sights on our mountain again. As it happens, Fellow Daoist Dai just returned from outside and brought back some news. He can fill us in.”

Dai Shenggao nodded. “I’ve confirmed it. The ones blocking the eastern road are from Tianmu Mountain; about thirty of them. Their leader’s an elder, though I don’t know which one. They’ve also sent four inner disciples. Two at the Golden Core stage, two at Foundation Establishment. Their reason for coming to Wulong Mountain is to capture Wei Hongqing.”

Fairy Huang Ye’s eyes widened. “Junior Wei? What happened? Did he commit some crime? Why would Tianmu Mountain be after him?”

Dai Shenggao sighed. “Word is, it’s over the death of Lu Zhongqiu, one of Tianmu Mountain’s inner steward. Wei was acting suspicious around that time. When the elders sent someone to question him, he fled on the spot. And even injured the messenger. No one knows where he’s gone now. Tianmu Mountain suspects he ran back here, so they’ve sent people to block the mountain.”

“Anyone know if Wei Hongqing’s come back yet?” asked Dragon Mountain Wanderer. “Dai and I went all the way to Ghostdream Cliff, but there’s no sign he’s returned.”

Fairy Huang Ye shook her head. “I doubt it. After causing that kind of trouble, he wouldn’t dare come home. What, wait around for the Tianmu Mountain to come catch him?”

“Haven’t heard anything,” said Jiang Feihu.

Zhang Shihua added, “Wei Hongqing used to be close with Lingling Traveler. I can go ask him.”

Dragon Mountain Wanderer turned to another man. “Xiaolou, you know him best. What do you think; where could he be hiding? Brother Zuo and Tan were tight with him too, and neither of them’s been around lately. You think they’re together?”

Liu Xiaolou thought for a moment. “Where he’s hiding doesn’t really matter. Even if he is back on the mountain… are we really going to hand him over?”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Dragon Mountain Wanderer sighed. “Of course not. But we need to decide. Should we tell our people to head down the mountain and lay low for a while, or just… leave things be?”

Jiang Feihu spoke up right away. “If you ask me, there’s no need to hide. Everyone in the orthodox sects already knows what’s going on with Wulong Mountain. I don’t believe those people from Tianmu Mountain would dare come up here. And besides, Badong won’t just sit by and watch.”

Dai Shenggao frowned. “And what if Tianmu only sends a few inner disciples?”

Zhang Shihua snorted. “Then let them come. If they’re here for that Wei kid, so what? What’s there to be afraid of?”

Fairy Huang Ye gave a sharp laugh. “You call that loyal, Zhang Shihua? Wei’s one of our own! You’d just stand there and watch them take him? Since when has anyone on Wulong Mountain not

gotten into trouble? You want me to start counting your own messes? What happens when they show up one day asking for you, by name? Should we all just stand aside and watch then too?”

Her words hit home for Jiang Feihu, who immediately clapped his hands in agreement. “Exactly what I’ve been saying! We need to stick together. Huang’s right. Of course, Shihua didn’t mean he’d stand by and do nothing.”

Zhang Shihua nodded quickly. “Right, right, that’s not what I meant. I just mean there’s no need to panic. The kid’s not even on the mountain, so what’s there to search for? Let them send whoever they want.”

“And what if he is here?” asked Fairy Huang Ye. “Just because he didn’t go back to Ghostdream Cliff doesn’t mean he’s not on the mountain. What if he’s hiding over at Xiaolou’s Qianzhu Ridge... are we just going to let Tianmu’s people come search there too?”

Liu Xiaolou waved his hands. “He’s not at my place.”

"If we have no idea," Zhang Shihua retorted, "how are they supposed to find him?"

Huang Yexian shot back, “And what if they pretend they’re looking for Wei, but end up grabbing someone else instead? Like you, Zhang Shihua. You’ve got more than enough sins of your own to answer for.”

Zhang Shihua’s face went red. “Fine, fine! Then we’ll just go down the mountain, all of us!”

Dragon Mountain Wanderer raised a hand to calm them. “Enough, enough. What Huang means isn’t that we should all leave; she just doesn’t want us running scared, right, Huang?”

Fairy Huang Ye nodded. “That’s right. Honestly, this past year since the Battle of Zhuoshui has been the most peaceful one I’ve had. No need to watch our backs every moment, waiting for the righteous sects to come slaughter us. I want it to stay that way. I want us to stop Tianmu from setting foot on Wulong Mountain. This should not be a place anyone can just walk into.”

Jiang Feihu cheered, “Huang’s hit the nail on the head!”

“Of course that’d be ideal,” muttered Zhang Shihua, “who wouldn’t want that?”

Liu Xiaolou suddenly said, “If we can go to the Zhanglong Sect with a complaint, why not take it to Gengsang Cave as well? It’s simple: tell them Tianmu Mountain is trying to stick its nose into Wulong, and we're being forced out. Then we just leave it with them and see what they do.”

The eldest of Guzhang Mountain, who’d been silent until now, finally spoke up: “We don’t want to deal with the Badong bandits.”

The second and third brothers of Guzhang Mountain had been killed by those Badong men; the blood feud runs deep. If they met, it would turn into a real, red-faced fight. Many others on the mountain felt the same.

Liu Xiaolou explained, “Any old scores can be settled later. This doesn't mean we're forgiving the Bandong thugs. We're just informing them, so they'll block the Tianmu Mountain from coming up. Use them as a shield.”