"Master isn't here?"
Liang Qu was half-kneeling on the floor. Madam Xu had a grip on his collar that was truly uncomfortable, yet he could hardly struggle free.
Madam Xu was well advanced in years and clearly had never practiced martial arts; injuring her would be terrible.
"Mm, he's not here. He went to Chaojiang County and won't be back for ten days or a fortnight. And not just your master—your Second Senior Brother, Fifth Senior Sister, and Sixth Senior Brother aren't here either; they all went with him."
Liang Qu lowered his head, his brow furrowed.
To be gone at a time like this, and away for so long...
It felt like...
"Feels like a conspiracy, doesn't it?"
"Right... Huh?" Liang Qu nodded instinctively, then realized something was amiss. He looked up at Madam Xu. "How did you know, Mistress?"
"Luring the tiger from the mountain," Madam Xu said calmly. "Two days ago, the magistrate of Chaojiang County sent his eldest son over, claiming they had discovered heretics from the Shuimu Cult. The bronze- and iron-badge constables had investigated for over half a month before finally pinning down their location. To prevent any mishaps, they invited your master to oversee the operation. One event right after the other—how could there be so many coincidences?"
"What is the Shuimu Cult?"
"An old dog hiding in tens of thousands of li of waterways and marshes. Most of them are remnants of the previous dynasty, pitiful wretches plotting to restore their fallen state."
"Master agreed?"
"Mm. The magistrate promised quite a few benefits, and back then we didn't realize anything was amiss."
"If this truly is luring the tiger from the mountain, doesn't that mean the magistrate is involved as well?"
"Hard to say. If he is, sending word would merely startle the snake. If he isn't, perhaps this is the Shuimu Cult's scheme to make us doubt each other. Both are possible."
Nandi walked over gracefully from the side, carrying a small medicine bottle on a tray.
Madam Xu reached out, took it, pulled off the red stopper, and tipped out three fish-eye-sized pills.
"Open your mouth."
"Mistress, there's really no need—"
"Open when I tell you to open."
Resigned, Liang Qu opened his mouth, and a pill was popped inside.
"Mm, good boy."
Then Madam Xu pulled aside the bandages over his shoulder, arm, and chest. She crushed a pill over each area and sprinkled the powder onto the wounds.
Taken orally and applied externally, the medicine made Liang Qu's wounds feel warm at once. Immediately after, the injuries began healing at a blistering speed—many times faster than with the lotus root!
Extravagant, far too extravagant! These are just minor injuries!
Liang Qu felt a pang of heartache. He had been poor for too long and felt this was a waste of good medicine.
"There were ten pills in this bottle. Three have been used, and the rest are yours. When you're hurt, never be stingy with medicine. No one knows when an accident will strike, so never leave yourself in a weakened state."
Liang Qu lowered his head. "This disciple will remember your teaching."
Madam Xu leaned back into her armchair. "If it truly is the Shuimu Cult, then I have some clue regarding the mountain ghosts. Did you know that mountain ghosts can conceive embryos?"
"I know."
"Mm, it seems you really have applied yourself lately. A mountain ghost conceives extremely quickly, rapidly draining the host's blood qi. The stronger the host, the more blood qi is absorbed, and the stronger the resulting mountain ghost will be. If dug out before it hatches, that embryo becomes a top-grade precious medicine.
"If an apothecary knows the method, several such fetal pearls can be fused together and refined into a Fetal Pearl Pill.
"The Shuimu Cult did this once before. The effects were extraordinary: a Fetal Pearl Pill made from a hundred people could refine an ordinary person into a Galloping Steed martial master on the spot, with no known upper limit. Back then, they slaughtered several villages—over a thousand souls in all.
"Taizu was furious and dispatched veteran general Xu Youguang to lead troops and crush them. I was only in my teens back then, but I remember it clearly. After that campaign, the Shuimu Cult didn't show itself for decades.
"I suspect the mountain ghost in Yixing was no coincidence, but a hidden piece laid down long ago by the Shuimu Cult that was disturbed ahead of schedule by the commotion of your river god sacrifice."
Liang Qu was filled with worry. How could his starting village have such a massive boss? "Since it's a ploy to lure the tiger from the mountain, can we have Master return sooner?"
"Little Nine, you just said you rolled your way out of the mud—why are you so naive? If this really is a plot to draw the tiger away, would they just sit by and let your master return?"
"Er... then what does Mistress think I should do?"
Madam Xu rolled her eyes. "How should I know? I'm just an old woman who couldn't even truss a chicken; I only know things because I read a lot. Go ask your senior brothers about this sort of thing. Second, Fifth, and Sixth aren't here, but aren't Third, Fourth, Seventh, and Eighth still around? Five grown men expecting an old woman like me to come up with ideas? Aren't you ashamed?"
"In that case, there's no time to lose. I'll head to the martial hall to confer with Senior Brothers."
Liang Qu was about to leave, but Madam Xu caught hold of him.
"What's the rush? Leave after dinner. If things are truly as I suspect, they won't dare make a move right away. Your master only left two days ago; they're terrified he might double back unexpectedly."
One really had to say, she truly lived up to being the wife of a Tiger Hunter grand martial master. Even without martial training, she remained remarkably composed, exuding the poise of a great commander.
"Better not. A friend of mine is still outside watching the boat and waiting for me."
"Send a servant to watch it and invite your friend over to eat together."
"Wouldn't that be improper?"
"Hmm?"
"Yes, yes, of course. I'll go call him."
"If you dare sneak off, don't ever set foot across this threshold again."
Liang Qu stumbled over the threshold and hurried to the riverbank to fetch Chen Jiechang.
"T-This... this is far too generous. I'm endlessly grateful."
Chen Jiechang walked out of Yang Manor in a daze, clutching two small medicine bottles tightly to his chest, not daring to loosen his grip in the slightest for fear of dropping or bumping them.
Not only had he enjoyed a feast of delicacies from mountain and sea, but he had also received two bottles of precious pills!
At the dining table, when Madam Xu heard that Chen Jiechang and Li Libo had been a tremendous help to Liang Qu in slaying the mountain ghost, she had not been stingy in the least. She immediately gave him two bottles of Blood Qi Pills, one for each of them—and a single bottle was equivalent in effect to a ten-jin red-blood perch!
Coupled with the medicinal soup from the martial hall, the two of them truly had hope of becoming martial practitioners!
Chen Jiechang said gratefully, "Ah Shui, thank you!"
"Hey, what are you thanking me for? If you want to thank anyone, thank my mistress. I should be thanking you! Without the two of you passing me the knife, I would have been in real danger."
"I just wanted to do something to help."
"It was more than enough."
Liang Qu clapped Chen Jiechang on the shoulder.
Between men, there was no need for endless chatter; a single gesture spoke volumes.
Returning to the martial hall, Liang Qu found Xiang Changsong and Hu Qi and recounted everything from his conversation with Madam Xu.
Xiang Changsong folded his arms across his chest, resting his chin in one hand. "The Shuimu Cult? No impression of them at all. Never heard of them."
"I've heard a few rumors," Hu Qi said. "They're roughly the same as what Mistress knows. Supposedly, back then, the Fetal Pearl Pills created over a dozen Galloping Steed martial masters.
"Working together with the Shuimu Cult's battle formations, they forcefully held off the onslaught of three Wolf Smoke martial masters. The critical part is how quickly they were produced. As long as they piled up human lives, they could churn out martial masters in an endless stream."
Xiang Changsong shook his head. "The records are likely inaccurate. If they were truly ordinary people with no martial arts foundation and no comprehension of realms, rashly obtaining skyrocketing power, how could combining forces in a formation possibly allow them to fend off three martial artists an entire major realm above them? That's absurd."
"Mm. I imagine those dozen-odd people were already flesh-gate or boundary-broken martial practitioners to begin with," Hu Qi agreed. "With an existing foundation, having their strength surge from the Fetal Pearl Pills could produce such an effect. In short, the Fetal Pearl Pills are powerful, but perhaps not quite so exaggerated."
Xiang Changsong nodded. "According to Little Nine, the only problem now is finding the mastermind, forcing out the locations and plans for all the mountain ghosts, and eliminating them. Then the matter is resolved?"
"The problem is, we have no idea where the mastermind is. Furthermore, should we invite the other two martial halls to lend a hand?"
Chapter 70