Chapter 59: Familiar Face Patrolling the Mountain

Three bandits were sitting stiffly along a narrow mountain path, each in a bizarre pose; suspended in midair as if sitting on invisible chairs, nothing beneath them for support. Their eyes were fixed on something off in the east. Their faces were flushed; one was sticking out his tongue, another drooling, and all of them occasionally thrusting their hips... Just a few yards away, Liu Xiaolou sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, fingers locked in a hand seal, fully focused on maintaining the formation. Beads of sweat were forming constantly on his forehead and the tip of his nose. He was channeling all his true qi into the spell. Even though the bandits were so close, he had nothing left to spare to attack them. In a flash of thought, Liu Xiaolou recalled the time he had fallen into a similar formation. Back then, swords had suddenly shot out from the cliff walls. Only now did he realize: the one who’d controlled that formation, Xishan Hermit, was far more advanced than he was. How many more levels would he need to rise before he could launch deadly attacks into the formation like Xishan hermit? No one knew how long the standoff had lasted, but then someone else appeared on the mountain path. When he saw what was happening, he froze in surprise. “Xiaolou?” Liu Xiaolou’s focus wavered for a moment. He opened his eyes and saw it was Wanderer Dai. He let out a breath of relief. The tension in his mind eased, and with his energy exhausted, the formation disk let out a low hum and flew back into his hand. The illusion shattered. Everything the three bandits had been seeing vanished. They snapped out of the trance and all jumped up in shock. “The formation’s broken! Get him!” “Ah... why did it fall apart so fast…” “I was just one piece of clothing away…” “The Huang brothers! Ziniu, Zima, Zilu… what the hell were you three doing?” Wanderer Dai stepped forward and grabbed the three of them. After a round of questioning, he finally pieced it all together. And didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Turns out the three bandits were actually the Huang brothers, rogue cultivators from Ezhou. They had stirred up major trouble and provoked a local sect, forcing them to flee all the way to Jingxiang. Just as they were desperate and directionless, they ran into Wanderer Dai. At the time, Dai was sending out hero’s posts, and the Huang brothers took him up on it, joining the campaign against the Zhou clan of Dongting. Since then, they’d been tagging along with Wanderer Dai, more or less becoming his crew. For the past few months, to stay hidden from the Qingyu Sect’s pursuit, they’d been laying low in the Wuling Mountains, occasionally robbing travelers just to survive. Really, it was a case of the flood rushing into the Dragon King's temple; family not recognizing family. “Senior,” said Liu Xiaolou, “it’s best if you stay out of sight for now. The Qingyu Sect is still hunting you, and even here on Mount Wulong, they’ve got sketches of your face posted everywhere with a bounty. To be honest, their drawing looks a lot like you. Small fry like us don’t matter, but you’re one of their top targets; second only to Boss Wang. You’ve got to be extra careful. Once the heat dies down and they retreat back to Dongting, it’ll be safer.” Wanderer Dai let out a sigh. “It’s not like this is the first time I’ve been wanted, but for things to drag on this long... that’s a first. Honestly, the Qingyu Sect isn’t really after me. This whole thing... it’s got another purpose behind it. I’m just one piece of the puzzle.” “I’ve heard bits and pieces too,” said Liu Xiaolou, “something about some friction between the Qingyu Sect and the other sects in Western Xian.” Dai Shenggao nodded. “It’s more than just friction. According to Boss Wang, we need to tread carefully. The Qingyu Sect has ambitions of dominating all of Jingxiang. Taking over Mount Wulong this time; it’s just a way for them to test the waters.” Liu Xiaolou’s eyes lit up. “So that’s what this is about… Do you think Qingyu will go to war with our Zhanglong Sect? Can we even hold our own against them?” “Zhanglong can’t take on Qingyu head-to-head,” replied Dai Shenggao. “The real question is whether Dongyang Sect or Tianmu Mountain will step in to help.” “Tianmu and Dongyang have already cut off their supply lines to Qingyu. That’s why Qingyu had to open a market here on Mount Wulong, to buy up all kinds of goods.” Then Liu Xiaolou gave Wanderer Dai the details about the trading post on the mountain. Wanderer Dai chuckled. “So the Qingyu Sect doesn’t even realize the fugitives they’re hunting are setting up shop right under their noses?” Liu Xiaolou scratched his head. “Maybe they do know, but they’re pretending not to. Otherwise, who’d bring them supplies? I actually came into the Wuling Mountains today to find them fresh meat. Caught a rare green-feathered pheasant, and wouldn’t you know it, these three brothers showed up and tried to take it.” The Huang brothers crowded around. The eldest, Huang Ziniu, said, “Brother Xiaolou, you’ve got some serious skills for someone so young. Truly impressive.” Huang Zima chimed in, “Brother Xiaolou, any chance you could set up that illusion formation again? We didn’t get to see the whole thing.” Huang Zilu looked hopeful. “The clothes weren’t even all the way off yet, and you’re cutting us off here? No way, no way, I can’t take it!” Wanderer Dai raised an eyebrow. “Xiaolou, since when do you have a formation disk?” As the saying goes, you don’t really know someone until you’ve fought them. The Huang brothers were all straightforward types, and after chatting for a bit, Liu Xiaolou quickly hit it off with them. But it was getting late, and he was completely drained of energy; he just didn’t have it in him to set up another formation for their amusement. So they made a promise: next time they met, he’d give them a proper show. With that, he slipped away and headed back to the market on Tianmen Mountain to pick up some wine. This round of eight jars took Liu Xiaolou a full eight days to get his hands on. When he finally made it back to Wulong Mountain carrying them on a shoulder pole, Ghostdream Cliff was even livelier than before. People had come from villages li away, hauling goods up the mountain to sell. The market stalls stretched all the way from the cave entrance down to the middle of the cliff. Liu Xiaolou struggled his way through the crowd with the wine jars, finally reaching the mouth of the cave. Just as he set them down, he caught sight of a familiar face from the Qingyu Sect; not the steward who collected wine, but the inspector he’d run into back on Xingde Mountain, the one who had patrolled the various peaks. What’s he doing here? A cold sweat broke out across Liu Xiaolou’s back. He quickly turned away and ducked back into the cave, peeking out to keep an eye on Inspector Hou as the man wandered from stall to stall. His hands were clasped behind his back, eyes not on the goods, but constantly scanning the people. Liu Xiaolou watched nervously as Inspector Hou’s gaze swept this way and that until it landed right in front of the cave. He immediately turned to Zuo Gaofeng and Tan Bajhang, gave them a quick nod, and slipped deeper into the cave to hide. Zuo Gaofeng called after him, “Where are you going?” Liu Xiaolou didn’t want to explain. “Stomachache!” Tan Bajhang looked shocked. “You’re going in there to take a dump?” Liu Xiaolou didn’t bother responding. “My stomach hurts. I’m gonna lie down for a bit, alright? Stop asking!” And with that, he disappeared into the cave. Tan Bajhang turned to Zuo Gaofeng. “Brother Zuo, he’s seriously going to crap in our sleeping spot? You okay with that?” “He said he just wants to rest for a bit,” Zuo Gaofeng tried to explain. Tan Bajhang wasn’t buying it. “You ever try sleeping with a stomachache? And come on, he’s a cultivator; he’s not injured or anything. Why would his stomach hurt out of nowhere? He’s obviously going in there to take a dump!” “Who’s taking a dump?” Inspector Hou had arrived at the cave entrance, glancing suspiciously at the two who were arguing. Tan Bajhang answered without thinking, “Someone’s taking a dump in there…” Zuo Gaofeng quickly waved it off. “No, no, not at all… You look unfamiliar, friend; are you from the Qingyu Sect?” Inspector Hou froze for a moment, then instinctively waved his sleeve in front of his nose. Without another word, he stepped away from the cave and headed straight for another stall, looking thoroughly disgusted. Zuo Gaofeng grumbled, “Nice going, Bajhang. He didn’t even look at our goods. You scared him off with your big mouth.” Tan Bajhang defended himself, “It wasn’t me; it was Xiaolou who scared him off.” Just then, Liu Xiaolou poked his head out from behind them. “He’s gone?” Both men jumped. “That was fast!” Liu Xiaolou let out a sigh of relief. Then suddenly, he stepped out and waved toward someone outside. It was Steward Hou who handled the spirit wine. He wanted to call him over and sell the wine quickly, before anything else went wrong. .... If you’re enjoying this web novel and want to see the translation continue, please consider leaving a rating and a review on NovelUpdates. Thanks :)