Steward Hou was refreshingly straightforward. Right then and there, he bought up all eight jars of the Bamboo Leaf Green, all while grumbling about how long Liu Xiaolou had taken this time. He said the upper disciples of the sect had been without spirit wine for days.
This time, he offered to pay with spirit stones, since he no longer had any silver on him. Liu Xiaolou glanced again at Inspector Hou walking down the mountain and felt a chill run down his spine. He quickly agreed.
The only inspector in Qingyu Sect who recognized him had just shown up. Would he even be able to keep doing business after this? Liu Xiaolou wasn't sure. So the first priority was to get those spirit stones in hand.
Normally, two jars of Bamboo Leaf Green would go for a single spirit stone. But of course, that wasn't going to be the case today. For the eight jars in front of him, Steward Hou handed over six spirit stones. Liu Xiaolou didn't bother haggling. In just over half a month, he'd turned his original seventy or eighty taels of silver into six full spirit stones. He was more than satisfied. Besides, he didn't want to risk wasting time arguing over the price, only for Steward Hou's older brother, the inspector, to come back around. That would've ruined everything.
While the servants were busy hauling the spirit wine away, Liu Xiaolou took the opportunity to present the pheasant. As expected, Steward Hou was delighted. He picked it up, turning it over in his hands with excitement.
"Never seen anything like this before. What kind of wild game is this? Tastes any good?"
Liu Xiaolou smiled politely. "I ran into it while passing through Wuling Mountains. Thought I'd bring it back for you to try something new. The little beast was quick and clever too, almost like it had a bit of spiritual awareness. Took me two full days to catch it."
The moment he heard the words "spiritual awareness," Steward Hou looked even more pleased. He praised it nonstop like he couldn't get enough. When two servants came over to collect it, he slapped their hands away without a second thought.
While he was still in a good mood, Liu Xiaolou took a chance and carefully asked, "Just now, a steward named Hou was here inspecting the goods.... is he your older brother?"
Steward Hou laughed. "Oh, him? Yeah, that's him. He's not here to handle procurement or anything; just wandering around, really. No idea why he suddenly showed up. Said one of the Elders summoned a few of them to come up the mountain overnight. What's this pheasant called again? Green-feathered pheasant? Sure, let's go with that. We'll have it tonight to welcome my brother..."
As he was speaking, he pulled out a bracelet made entirely of gold beads, looked to be three or four taels in weight, and tossed it to Liu Xiaolou. "Here, a reward for you."
After Steward Hou left, Liu Xiaolou fell silent, lost in thought. Then he suddenly turned to the two men beside him, Zuo Gaofeng and Tan Bajhang, and said, "His older brother is a roving inspector in Qingyu Sect. He's in charge of inspecting the mountains and hunting down bandits…"
"You thinking of getting in good with his brother too?" asked Tan Bajhang.
But Zuo Gaofeng suddenly went stiff, eyes wide. "Something's about to go down."
Tan Bajhang was still confused. "What?"
Zuo Gaofeng, while packing up his own goods, explained, "We need to leave. Didn't you hear what Steward Hou said? His brother was summoned up the mountain overnight. Overnight! And not just him; the other roving inspectors were called up too!"
Even Tan Bajhang started to catch on. "Yeah... what are they here for?"
"Doesn't matter what for," said Zuo Gaofeng. "Point is, something's brewing. We lay low for now. The Qingyu Sect may pay well, but that's no reason to take unnecessary risks."
Liu Xiaolou added, "I recognize Steward Hou's older brother. He looked like he was just wandering around earlier, but he kept glancing at people's faces. He wasn't checking out the goods; he was watching the crowd."
Zuo Gaofeng had already packed up. Two large bamboo baskets hung from the carrying pole on his shoulders. He glanced around cautiously. The area in front of Ghostdream Cliff was still buzzing with activity, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary... for now. "Let's leave one by one," he said, "Keep it quiet. Xiaolou, you go first."
"Chief Zuo, Brother Tan, you two go ahead," Liu Xiaolou replied. "I'll go let Dragon Mountain Wanderer and the others know."
"I'll stay with Xiaolou. Brother Zuo, you go first."
Zuo Gaofeng sighed. "Xiaolou's being loyal. I can't just leave him hanging. Fine, we'll go tell everyone, one by one, and have them pull out quietly."
No time to waste. Liu Xiaolou strolled casually over to Dragon Mountain Wanderer and whispered in his ear, "Something's off. Better lay low for a few days."
Dragon Mountain Wanderer froze for a second, then nodded without another word. He packed up quickly and sauntered off down Ghostdream Cliff.
Next was Lingling traveler. That guy bolted like a rabbit, leaving behind even the two giant honeycombs he hadn't managed to sell. The sudden move drew a few confused looks from people near his stall, who couldn't figure out why he took off like that. Liu Xiaolou could only shake his head, too annoyed to speak. He thought to himself, Wei was right; this guy really is a piece of work. Next time someone sticks their neck out for him, they're an idiot.
Next came Fairy Huangye from Jade Maiden Cave, the Ma brothers from Five Sons Peak, Jiang Feihu from Flying Tiger Cave, Zhang Shihua from Stone Flower Valley, and Old Hu Du from Gourd Pass. Liu Xiaolou wasn't especially close to any of them, but since they were all fellow cultivators from Wulong Mountain, he still took the time to quietly give each one a heads-up. He paced it out, speaking to one person roughly every fifteen minutes.
Everyone was a cultivator, and their instinct for danger was practically baked into their bones. Liu Xiaolou didn't have to explain much; when it was time to go, they left. Not a single one made a scene like Lingling Traveler had. One by one, they slipped away with calm and composure.
As for the Seven Heroes of Guzhang Mountain, they were a large and noticeable group. Liu Xiaolou decided not to approach them directly. Instead, he gave a few quick instructions to Sister Qing, asking her to wait until everyone else had cleared out before letting them know.
Once he had warned everyone on his end, Liu Xiaolou nodded to Tan Bajhang and Zuo Gaofeng, then turned and headed down the mountain without hesitation. When he looked back, Ghostdream Cliff was still bustling with activity. With nearly two hundred stalls in the temporary market, the disappearance of a few dozen didn't stand out.
After leaving the mountain, Liu Xiaolou waited at Uncle Tian's house. Every so often, he'd spot another Wulong Mountain cultivator slipping away in a hurry. By midday, even the Seven Heroes of Guzhang had come down. They carried their gear slung over shoulders and backs, drawing attention just by their presence.
Zuo Gaofeng and Tan Bajhang hadn't come down the same path. They must've taken a different route off the mountain. But there was no doubt they'd left, since Liu Xiaolou had already told Sister Qing to inform the Guzhang Seven only after those two were safely gone.
At last, Liu Xiaolou could breathe easy. Even if the Qingyu Sect suddenly turned hostile, the ones they'd go after would be the out-of-town rogue cultivators. It had nothing to do with Wulong Mountain.
He walked with a light step along the banks of the Wunest River, heading back to Wunest Town. Once he returned to his secluded little courtyard, he settled back into his cultivation with a clear mind.
He picked up where he had left off; still working on the seventh acupoint of the Hand Jueyin Meridian: Daling acupoint. He'd run out of spirit stones halfway through more than half a month ago. But now, with six fresh spirit stones in hand, he continued pushing forward.
Late into the night, the courtyard gate suddenly rang out with a loud bang bang. Liu Xiaolou knew who it was just from the sound of the knock.
He opened the door, and Sister Qing slipped inside in a flash, glancing anxiously outside before shutting the door tight behind her. Her forehead was covered in sweat, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she struggled to catch her breath.
"What happened, Sister Qing?"
"Huff... Something's gone wrong..."
"Don't panic. Take your time."
"I'm not panicking. I'm just exhausted. I ran the whole way... Xiaolou, you don't know. As soon as the sun went down, Ghostdream Cliff was surrounded... huff... The Qingyu Sect sent over a hundred people. They rounded everyone up and started screening them. All of us without cultivation were released, but the rest..."
"What happened to them?"
"No one knows yet. But... it looked serious!"
...
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