Chapter 43: The Solution

Lord Xingde wasn’t ready to admit defeat. So along the way, he kept playing a cat-and-mouse game with the Three Heroes of Mount Mo, matching wits and trading blows. With his cultivation far beyond theirs, he was able to trap them in his formations again and again. But no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t land a solid hit. Every time, they managed to slip away, only to come back with even more annoying tricks and a fresh barrage of vulgar insults. Liu Xiaolou tried to help turn the tide, but the Three Heroes' tactics were tough to counter. They were careful to keep their distance, making it almost impossible to land a decisive blow. Days passed like this, and everyone was worn out. Eventually, Lord Xingde ran out of patience. He complained to Liu Xiaolou, “Those three cling like glue! Don’t they know when to quit? Why won’t they let this go? We’ve already left Mount Mo far behind, a hundred li at least. What do they want? Did we do something so unforgivable?” Liu Xiaolou explained their motive: “They don’t see us as enemies. What they’re doing is drawing a line in the sand. They’re telling us: this line must not be crossed.” Lord Xingde scowled. “They don’t have what it takes to draw lines for anyone! Who do they think they are?” “But this is what they’re good at..." Liu Xiaolou said calmly. "Senior, maybe I should go talk to them?” Lord Xingde snapped his sleeve and turned away. “Talk? About what? I don’t see what there is to talk about.” As he walked off, Liu Xiaolou called out, “Where are you going, Senior?” Lord Xingde didn’t look back. “I’ve got a headache. I’m going to find somewhere quiet to rest. Don’t bother me.” After he left, Liu Xiaolou climbed up a nearby hill and looked around. It was already dusk, and the Three Heroes of Mount Mo were probably about to launch another round of trouble tonight. After scanning the area for a moment, Liu Xiaolou spotted the three brothers just as expected. They were creeping in this direction, heads poking out cautiously as they moved. Liu Xiaolou stepped down from the hill and walked up to meet them. “Gentlemen… gentlemen, may I have a word?” The Three Heroes of Mount Mo stopped at a distance. Tian Ying stood his ground and locked eyes with Liu Xiaolou, while Di Ying and Ren Ying fanned out to either side, clearly trying to locate Lord Xingde’s whereabouts. Liu Xiaolou cleared his throat. “Ahem… No need to keep searching. I came to talk. This back-and-forth between us; it can’t go on like this.” “You came to talk? What about him?” Tian Ying asked. “My senior’s from an orthodox sect,” Liu Xiaolou replied. “There’s no way he’d agree to sit down and talk.” Tian Ying let out a cold laugh. “An orthodox sect? If my brothers and I were scared of that, we wouldn’t have made it this far in the jianghu.” Liu Xiaolou nodded. “Your skills are impressive, no doubt about that. I respect that, and I agree, you have nothing to fear.” “There’s really not much to talk about,” Tian Ying said. "You took a piece of Black Stone, right? Just hand over a spirit stone in exchange. We three brothers are fair. We won’t ask for more than what’s right. And it’s not about the spirit stone.... we’re asking for justice.” Liu Xiaolou shook his head. “One spirit stone for a single Black Stone? That’s not going to happen.” “Not going to happen? Well, maybe in a few days… it just might.” “My senior’s been thinking about heading back to Mount Mo and destroying that cold pool. Honestly, it wouldn’t be hard. Just dig a trench, drain the water, and it’s done. Then let the pond bed dry out in the sun for a couple weeks, and it won’t recover for at least ten years.” Tian Ying’s heart skipped a beat. He glanced at his two brothers. Di Ying and Ren Ying looked just as grim, their eyes fixed sharply on Liu Xiaolou. “If you really do that,” Tian Ying said, “then you’ve made lifelong enemies of the three of us.” “The way you’ve been hounding us… does it really make a difference whether we’re enemies or not?” Liu Xiaolou replied, The three brothers exchanged a look. Then Tian Ying asked, “Alright, what are you proposing?” “We didn’t come here carrying spirit stones. But we did take a piece of black stone, and we’re willing to compensate you in silver. I have a piece of fine jade here. Friends in the trade told me it’s worth at least fifty taels. That should be more than enough to build a few houses by the pond. Whether you want to start a sect or form a clan, this could give you a solid foundation to build something lasting.” “Fifty taels of silver?” Tian Ying said. “Are you joking? You think the Three Heroes of Mount Mo are hurting for fifty taels?” “I don’t think you're lacking silver. What you're lacking is recognition. I’m Liu Xiaolou, head of the Sanxuan Sect. That senior is the head of the Purple Pole Sect. If we both recognize the three of you as rightful stewards of the Cold Pool at Mount Mo, then going forward, when we buy black stone or refined spring jade from you, we’ll pay in silver. Say, fifty taels per piece of black stone. What do you think?” Tian Ying thought for a moment. “Did you say… you’re the head of the Sanxuan Sect?” Liu Xiaolou pulled out a sect leader’s token and held it up for the three brothers to see. The token was aged, its yellowed hue showing clear signs of time. It was definitely not something recently made. The three brothers exchanged uncertain glances, their eyes darting back and forth with tension thick in the air. After a long moment, they came to a decision. “Deal.” Tian Ying accepted the jade and asked, “Sect Leader Liu, it seems you and I walk the same path. May I ask...where is your sect based?” Liu Xiaolou cupped his hands in respect. “We’re based in Wulong Mountain, Western Xian. If you ever have time, I would be honored to host the three of you as guests.” At that, the brothers straightened up, their expressions turning respectful. “Ah, so you're from Wulong Mountain. Our apologies for not recognizing you sooner.” The Three Heroes of Mount Mo took their leave. As they walked away, they whispered among themselves: “So he’s from Wulong Mountain… no wonder.” “Good call, Big Brother. If we’d really pushed things, those guys from Wulong Mountain aren’t the type you want to mess with.” “Forget the Wulong Mountain folks, just that Liu guy’s nasty ideas are enough trouble. If he’d actually dug up the cold pool, what would we even do then?” “Hey, Big Brother, Sect Leader Liu invited us to visit Wulong Mountain. Should we go?” “Are you stupid? Once you get tangled up with those Wulong Mountain folks, good luck shaking them off. Best to keep a respectful distance. But still, this Liu is a decent guy. His Sanxuan Sect is the first to recognize us as rightful rulers of Mount Mo. That alone is a big win for us.” “Second Brother, maybe we should start our own sect?” “That depends on what Big Brother thinks.” “Hmm… let me give it some thought…” Liu Xiaolou watched the Three Heroes of Mount Mo disappear into the distance. At some point, Lord Xingde had shown up behind him. He spat on the ground with disgust. “Those three mangy bastards!” Liu Xiaolou told him the details of their agreement. Lord Xingde was still fuming. “We really let them off easy!” But at this point, there wasn’t much he could do. The three pests had stuck to them like glue the entire way, and there was no shaking them off. He could only accept it. “Anyway, we’ve got all the materials we came for. Let’s head back.” Once they returned to Xingde Temple, they didn’t waste any time and immediately got to work processing the materials. They’d spent over a month traveling down the mountain and had collected seventeen different ingredients. Now it was time to sort and refine them. For example, they crushed chicken-blood stone into powder to extract cinnabar; dried and ground toad skin into dust; combined black stone with gold, silver, and other materials to smelt into black-gold liquid; and sealed mercury inside refined spring jade. Each step of the process was personally overseen by Lord Xingde, while Liu Xiaolou carried out the work himself. Whenever he came across obscure or cryptic phrases in the formation manuals, Lord Xingde explained them in detail. On top of that, he even cut off a small segment of his own Bewildering Fragrance Tendon, planning to use it in the formation as a deadly secret weapon. After a full month of hard work and preparing all the materials, Liu Xiaolou’s refining of the formation plate had officially begun to take shape.