Night in Yaoguan

Li Weiyi wanted a swift end to the fight, so he held nothing back. Closing in on the ape-like mutant, he thrust both palms forward. Gusts of wind howled in his wake as he moved to overwhelm his opponent with sheer brute force. *He has only opened one spring...* A direct, overwhelming strike would be enough to crush him. The ape mutant dared not meet Li Weiyi's strike head-on, swinging his spinal bow up to parry. He felt that the youth before him had opened far more than three springs—perhaps even four. Empowered by that pair of silver-thread glove dharma artifacts, the boy could likely trade blows with a Dharma-Martial cultivator who had opened five springs. To drive a dharma artifact to radiate such shimmering silver light at merely the four-spring level meant it was almost certainly no low-grade artifact. *Possessing a dharma artifact in the Yongquan Realm?* *Just who is this kid?* No matter how hard he racked his brain, the ape mutant could make no sense of it. After weathering several consecutive palm strikes, his spinal bow splintered piece by piece. Blood seeped from his hands, and his internal organs flared with tearing agony. Decisively, he spun around and fled. How could Li Weiyi let him escape? He had to silence him. Surging forward, Li Weiyi brought his hand down like a blade, executing Taiyi Cleaves the Sea. A saber-light beam of silver palm qi slashed across the ape mutant's back, severing his spine. The massive body crashed heavily to the ground. *Thud!* Li Weiyi followed with another palm strike, shattering his skull. Only after confirming the mutant was dead did Li Weiyi quickly walk back, pick up the Yellow Dragon Sword, and wrap it in cloth. Zhao Zhizhuo hurriedly stepped forward in gratitude. "May this old man ask for the young benefactor's esteemed name? Zhao Zhizhuo of the Cangling Tribe will remember it for all time." "Elder, you should hurry and bring reinforcements. That is what matters most right now," Li Weiyi said. Zhao Zhizhuo looked deathly pale, his eyes filled with anxiety and distress as he endured the excruciating pain of his wound. "This old man has a presumptuous request... Could the young benefactor see this through to the end? In my current condition, if I set out alone, I fear I won't make it several dozen li before falling from my horse." The iron arrow's destructive power had been devastating, tearing open a massive gouge of flesh and fracturing the bone beneath. Li Weiyi was deeply reluctant to get involved, fearing future retribution from Shi Jiuzhai. Yet he reflected that once the people on the Bronze Ship came down, they would need a place to settle and survive. If this opportunity could help secure that, it was worth taking a risk. Li Weiyi had ridden horses before, though he could hardly claim great horsemanship. Even so, having opened the two spring orifices in the soles of his feet, his body had transcended mortal limits. Managing a single mount was effortless. The three shared one horse. Zhao Zhizhuo slumped forward over the front, while Gao Huan clutched Li Weiyi's waist tightly from behind. Fortunately, their steed had drunk the blood of the exotic Zouwu beast. Its bones were sturdy, its muscles thick, and tiger stripes covered its hide, making it far larger and mightier than ordinary horses. Even carrying three people at once, it galloped like lightning, easily capable of covering a thousand li in a day. ... Yaoguan City lay nearly three hundred li from Immortal Burial Town, with a population of over two hundred thousand. It had no city walls, gates, or moats, resembling an expansive open market town that anyone could enter or leave at will. The entire city of Yaoguan was spread across the fertile plains west of the Sui River like a flatbread, adjoining the towering peaks of Mount Mang to the west. Night had already fallen. Bone lamps on either side of the streets flickered to life, shedding a glow akin to ghost fire. Li Weiyi and Gao Huan lodged at Yaohua Pavilion, the city's third-largest restaurant and inn. After taking a hot bath, they not only enjoyed noodle soup but also feasted on more than a dozen delicious delicacies. Upon entering the city in the afternoon, Zhao Zhizhuo had gone straight to the city lord's manor to summon aid. Before long, the deafening roars of countless beasts echoed from Mount Mang. Dharma-Martial cultivators, some astride great birds with wingspans dozens of meters wide, others mounted on wondrous behemoths resembling tigers, elephants, or rhinoceroses, all set out toward Immortal Burial Town. The spectacle was awe-inspiring. Lizhou was the territory of the Jiuli Clan and had enjoyed peace for centuries; an outrage of this scale had never occurred before. Though rivalries and conflicts existed among the various Jiuli tribes, whenever a true disaster struck, every tribe would ride to the rescue without hesitation. Generations of intermarriage bound the Jiuli Clan together—break a bone, and the sinews remained attached. Zhao Zhizhuo finally arrived at Yaohua Pavilion. Overwhelmed with gratitude toward Li Weiyi, he moved to drop to his knees, but Li Weiyi held him up firmly, keeping him from kneeling. He wore plain gray-and-white cloth clothes and appeared sixty or seventy years old, his temples touched with frost. Yet his physique remained muscular, hinting at a tall, imposing stature in his youth. "Had the young benefactor not stepped forward in righteousness, our Cangling Tribe would have suffered grievous casualties today. Tomorrow, the young clan leader will surely come in person to offer his thanks. When the time comes, young benefactor, do not hesitate to ask for whatever you require." Zhao Zhizhuo's shoulder had been cleansed, bandaged, and treated with specialized secret medicine. "Have they been rescued?" Li Weiyi was deeply concerned about whether the battle in Immortal Burial Town was over, wishing to return to the Bronze Ship as soon as possible. Zhao Zhizhuo nodded. "The young clan leader and the others have not arrived in Yaoguan yet, but word has come back that the Fodu Bandits have withdrawn." "The Fodu Bandits?" Li Weiyi was bewildered. Weren't the men led by Shi Jiuzhai part of the Earth Wolf King's Army? Zhao Zhizhuo already knew the two before him were not Fodu Bandits, but refugees who had fled to Lizhou and caused a misunderstanding by donning the bandits' monk robes by mistake. Li Weiyi had told him as much while they were on horseback. Now that the world was in turmoil and displaced people were everywhere, countless refugees fled to Lizhou for shelter. Having been saved by Li Weiyi, Zhao Zhizhuo naturally trusted his words without question. Resentment and fury shone in Zhao Zhizhuo's eyes. His chest heaved violently, aggravating his old ailments, and he spoke in a raspy, wheezing voice: "The Southern Barbarians, Northern Di, Eastern Yi, and Western Rong. Across the southern provinces, the most hateful and terrifying figures are the Three Great Barbarian Bandits: Xu Fodu of Mount Coffin, Yuwen Yan of Night City, and Shi Na'er, the Earth Wolf King. "Everyone says the Jiuli Clan holds sway over Lizhou, which is why it has stayed peaceful for centuries. "Yet who knows how much the Jiuli Clan has had to swallow in silence to preserve that peace? Every year, massive amounts of tribute and wealth are delivered to Mount Coffin. It is solely because of this that the hundred thousand Fodu Bandits under Xu Fodu have confined themselves to small-scale plunder and extortion within Lizhou, never provoking full-scale warfare. "For the Fodu Bandits to strike with such ferocity and bloodshed this time is completely out of character. I have no idea what they are plotting." Countless thoughts flashed through Li Weiyi's mind. "What about the Earth Wolf King's Army?" "The Earth Wolf King's power does not lie in Lizhou," Zhao Zhizhuo replied. "He has nothing to do with us." "Has Elder Zhao ever heard of Shi Jiuzhai?" Li Weiyi asked. Zhao Zhizhuo's expression hardened. "Shi Jiuzhai is a formidable figure. He is Shi Na'er's adopted son and one of the Ten Dharma Kings of the Earth Wolf King's Army. He only rose to prominence over the past twenty years, yet he is already recorded in the Jiazi Register. Why does the young benefactor ask about him?" Li Weiyi could sense Zhao Zhizhuo's profound dread toward the Three Great Barbarian Bandits; even the Jiuli Clan had to pay them tribute. He dared not reveal the truth. Speaking out would push him straight into the center of the storm, and the Cangling Tribe might not even be able to protect him. In the end, he might simply become a sacrificial pawn in the clashes between great powers. He had to keep a low profile. Getting involved to this extent was already perilous enough. "I had long heard of his renown like thunder to the ears," Li Weiyi said, quickly changing the subject. "Elder Zhao, would you mind helping this junior resolve some doubts regarding cultivation? I have always fumbled through my practice alone and remain ignorant about many things." "Fumbling alone brought you to opening three, perhaps even four springs?" Zhao Zhizhuo glanced at the silver-thread gloves Li Weiyi wore, and as a thought struck him, he offered a solemn warning: "Young benefactor, this old man will not pry into where you obtained this dharma artifact, but you must never activate it lightly before others. An ordinary man bears no guilt, yet treasuring a jade ring becomes a crime." Seeing Zhao Zhizhuo's sincere concern, Li Weiyi felt touched and asked, "Are dharma artifacts truly that rare?" Zhao Zhizhuo was finally convinced that this young man truly had been training blindly and knew very little about the martial way. "Put it this way! If not for my advanced age and spent ambitions, even I would be sorely tempted upon seeing your dharma artifact. That is not repaying kindness with malice—it is simply that the temptation is too great, a flaw of human nature. "In other words, if a peerless beauty were to strip naked, walk into the street, and possess no means to defend herself, whatever danger befell her would be brought upon herself. She could blame no one else." "I understand!" Li Weiyi took off the silver-thread gloves and tucked them away. "Please keep this between us, Elder Zhao." Zhao Zhizhuo quickly gave his word, then added, "Do not take offense, young benefactor; this old man merely speaks plainly. In truth, there are few wholly good people in this world, and few wholly evil ones. Most are simply those who dare not be too good, nor too wicked. "Rest assured, even if I had encountered you in my youth, I could never bring myself to betray someone who saved my life. Having eaten salt for decades more than you and witnessed too much, I simply could not resist offering a word of caution." "Many thanks!" Afterward, Li Weiyi consulted Zhao Zhizhuo on several matters regarding cultivation. Suddenly, the outside grew lively. The quiet night was shattered by the whistle of rushing wind and the cries of countless beasts. The forces of the Shouli Tribe had returned! Zhao Zhizhuo immediately took his leave to greet the young clan leader. Before departing, he asked if Li Weiyi wished to accompany him. Li Weiyi naturally shook his head. The grand figures of the Cangling Tribe would have their hands full tonight; it was hardly the time for an introduction. Besides, an introduction under such circumstances would invite endless trouble.