Deliberation

He Lingchuan liked to never meet in the same place twice. This time, the two of them did not meet at Sister Chen's Fish Soup, but at the Yangbang Tavern two li away. Behind the tavern ran a creek. The autumn wind had coaxed the reed blossoms open, swaying across the shallow, gentle water to lend an impression of boundless open fields. The tavern took its name from this, and its specialty dishes were reed-blossom fish and shrimp, smoked duck, and sauce-braised meat. The tavern was small, with barely room for five or six tables. Yet when Dong Rui stepped inside, he did not see He Lingchuan. His heart skipped a beat. A trap? Just as he was about to retreat, the squirrel piped up, "Keep going in, keep going in! Hey, what are you scared of?" To be looked down on by a squirrel! Dong Rui scoffed inwardly. Taking two more steps forward, he indeed spotted a side passage along the wall; the dim tavern lighting had kept him from seeing it at first glance. Further in was a small partitioned alcove. In truth, it was merely a corner beside the kitchen closed off with wooden boards, but prized for its compactness, fitting only a single table. He Lingchuan raised a hand to him from beside the table. "Hurry up, I've already ordered the food." Taking a seat, Dong Rui noticed He Lingchuan's damp hair and frowned. "Did you jump into the creek out back?" "What are you talking about?" He Lingchuan casually set up a barrier, then warmly poured him some wine. "I was messing around in the lake for a bit." There was too much mist on the mountain today; after rowing a boat for a short while, his hair and back had been soaked through. "..." Dong Rui thought, How wonderful it would have been if you hadn't floated back up. Then he realized he had accidentally muttered it aloud. "How could that happen?" He Lingchuan slapped him on the shoulder. Smack! "Back then, we fell into the water together—you know very well how good a swimmer I am." The blow carried so much force that it knocked Dong Rui's shoulder askew. The little squirrel seized the moment to hop onto He Lingchuan's shoulder, squeaking in disdain, "This guy is dumb as a rock! He doesn't even know how to walk!" "Your directions were terrible! You only told me to turn right after I'd already passed the alley!" With all the dishes now on the table and his back to the walkway, Dong Rui casually took off his veiled hat. The moment that face appeared, the little squirrel let out a terrified squeak and burrowed straight into He Lingchuan's lapels. A blue vein throbbed on Dong Rui's temple. "Where did you pick up this little pest? How about giving it to me to refine into a demon puppet?" "You want to refine my operator?" He Lingchuan picked up his chopsticks. "Quit messing around. Eat." Fish from creeks carried a heavy muddy taste, which had to be fried first before being braised in sauce to mask the flavor with heavy seasoning. Yangbang Tavern took it a step further: a plump crucian carp was first roasted over charcoal, then braised sweet and sour in red sauce. When served, it glistened red and savory, whetting the appetite. He Lingchuan took a bite with his chopsticks and nodded. No wonder locals frequented this place; they truly had skill. "Did you get out smoothly today?" "What's there to be difficult?" Dong Rui scoffed. "I walked right out the door. They didn't dare say a thing." He Lingchuan chewed on fried peanuts. "Then how long did it take you to shake off the tails behind you?" "...About a quarter of an hour." "Sure no one followed?" "Nonsense." Dong Rui gave him a sidelong glance. "When it comes to shaking tails, I have far more experience than you." He was always on the run. "Has the snail-toad's injury healed?" "Almost. A few more days and it'll be hopping all over the place." Dong Rui felt a wave of gloom whenever he recalled how the snail-toad had gotten hurt. "Fortunately, the 'Mud Palace' on its back is truly a rare treasure; it absorbed most of the explosion's force." Without the treasure protecting its master, the snail-toad would have been blown to bits long ago. "Why did you call me out here this time?" "To share some news: Zhu Erniang's shed skin is indeed inside Mount Xu." "Isn't that obvious?" Dong Rui glared at him. "Didn't I say that last time?" He had searched Mount Xu as well; it wasn't as though he had done nothing. "I found the official who oversaw the construction of Mount Xu's Spirit Gathering Grand Formation back then. He said the formation was designed according to the Northern Big Dipper, and its core was anchored with the shed skin of the ancient spider immortal." Dong Rui's eyes narrowed. "Zhu Erniang's shed skin was used to plug the formation core?" He Lingchuan picked up a piece of smoked duck and chewed slowly. "The formation relies on resonance between heaven and earth to gather spiritual energy from all directions. During the great cataclysm three thousand years ago, the stars shifted. Only the constellation map on Zhu Erniang's shed skin stays in sync with heaven, constantly shifting. Only by using it as the core could they keep the Spirit Gathering Grand Formation running without pause." "So if we find the formation core, we find the shed skin?" "Theoretically, yes," He Lingchuan said at an unhurried pace. "Except the formation core is usually hidden." "What?" That was rather underhanded, wasn't it? "The spirit gathering formation benefits all of Lingxu City, greatly enhancing the efficiency of every cultivator absorbing spiritual energy here. It's one of the most vital grand formations in the entire city, so its core isn't fixed; it shifts along with the position of the Tianluo Star." "You mean however the Tianluo Star shifts in the sky, the formation core on Mount Xu shifts with it?" Dong Rui was dumbfounded. "Then aren't we screwed? The Tianluo Star is a dark star—it's usually dim! How are we supposed to observe it?" "That's how the core operates." He Lingchuan took a swig of wine. "No need to panic. The Tianluo Star brightens starting in autumn and winter and doesn't fade from view until the second or third lunar month of next year. I reckon it's about to stay brightly lit soon." At this point, he spaced out slightly. Didn't this period when the Tianluo Star remained bright overlap with a certain climate pattern he was familiar with? "So during this upcoming window, the formation core will manifest, which also makes it convenient for maintenance." "Maintenance?" "Even houses need routine upkeep. Shouldn't a formation this important get regular maintenance?" He Lingchuan said. "There's an inspection every autumn and another every spring. After that, you have to wait until next autumn." Dong Rui's eyes lit up. "When does the next inspection start? Can we sneak in?" "Normally, the autumn inspection takes place within the first seven days of the Tianluo Star lighting up. But we can't get an exact schedule." He Lingchuan shook his head. "Even if we did, sneaking in wouldn't be easy. Anything involving the formation is treated with utmost caution by Lingxu City. The maintenance crew are all designated individuals assigned from on high, and any replacement has to be reported layer by layer." "On top of that, there really is a great demon inside Mount Xu—a natural rock-fire monster, and the mountain spirit of Mount Xu." "Right?" Dong Rui clearly remembered it well. "I saw it at Tianshu Peak. A naturally born elemental monster; there's no way to turn it into a demon puppet. Sigh, what a waste." "It formed at the end of antiquity, possessing high intelligence. It was once the guardian spirit beast of the Dahuan Sect before defecting to the enemy." Dong Rui nodded. "Then its intelligence must be quite high indeed." How could a dim-witted creature ever come up with such an advanced concept as betrayal? He Lingchuan picked up some fried little stream fish. "During the few centuries after it defected to the northern demon kingdom, it lived very well; Lingxu City supplied it generously. But this fellow has too voracious an appetite. Over the past century, Lingxu City's profound crystal yields have steadily declined, while the cost of sustaining this rock-fire monster kept climbing. I imagine Lingxu City couldn't quite bear it anymore, and this grand formation also serves to suppress it." "The funny thing is that the rock-fire monster also contributed immense effort to building the Spirit Gathering Grand Formation, moving mountains and shifting peaks. In the end, it was suppressed by the very thing it helped build, no longer able to throw massive temper tantrums whenever it pleased. As a result, Lingxu City's provisions for it shrank visibly." He Lingchuan smiled. "Of course, it only realized it had gotten the short end of the stick after the grand formation was finished." Since the rock-fire monster had a history of betrayal, Lingxu City would naturally stay on guard against it. The best way to prevent a ferocious beast from biting was never to continually appease it with food, but to chain it up or trick it into a cage and lock it tight. "By the way, remember the massive earthquake in Lingxu City over a decade ago?" "Uh-huh." "According to that official, the Spirit Gathering Grand Formation was basically complete back then, needing only the final step: transporting the formation core up Mount Xu and activating it." "Transporting?" Dong Rui was thoroughly intrigued. "The core was brought up at the very end, rather than built directly on Mount Xu?" "They didn't dare," He Lingchuan said with a chuckle. "Construction couldn't happen in dead silence, and the mountain spirit would hear everyone talking. If it discovered the truth, the project would have been dead in the water." "Yet an accident still happened?" Otherwise, why would there have been a volcanic eruption and an earthquake that day? "On the day the core was installed, the Emperor ordered men to pacify the rock-fire monster and lull it into a deep slumber." Only while the landlord was asleep could the construction team quietly move in and rush the work. The family given that assignment had been the Ke family, though He Lingchuan didn't name them. "Who would have thought that halfway through the job, the monster awoke, saw right through what they were doing on the spot, and flew into a furious rage." "And then the volcano erupted?" "Uh-huh." He Lingchuan spat out a fishbone. "The celestial gods didn't want all the grand formation's progress to go down the drain, so they had to step in personally to suppress it. The former Demon Emperor was already old and frail at the time, so it was the current Emperor who stepped up in person to assist the celestial gods, forcefully putting the rock-fire monster down. Immediately after, the core was installed, the grand formation began operating, and the fire monster was finally contained." Truth be told, when he learned this convoluted secret from Zaifu Kua's dream last night, he had felt that the current Demon Emperor's ascent to power was likely connected to handling that crisis properly and receiving praise and rewards from the celestial gods. The eruption at Mount Xu and the succession of the new Emperor had occurred in quick succession, not far apart in time. Dong Rui gave a dry chuckle. "Hearing it that way, the legends in Lingxu City weren't wrong after all. That massive earthquake really was caused by the monster inside Mount Xu." "Where there's smoke, there's usually fire." Many rumors, the more people try to debunk them, turn out to be true in the end. "However, whether this mountain spirit wants to or not, it's clearly the formation's most formidable guardian," He Lingchuan lowered his voice. "We have to bypass it to find the formation core. Is there any way to delay its movements?" When Juju flew into a rage, it could force celestial gods to descend to the mortal realm. So He Lingchuan had never entertained the thought of tangling with this rock-fire monster himself. Dong Rui shook his head. "It embodies the wrath of Mount Xu. Do you think conventional methods would work against a monster like that once it loses its temper?" "Then come up with a way." "Doesn't it possess intelligence? And very sharp intelligence at that." Dong Rui shrugged. "Why doesn't Young Master He use that silver tongue of his to persuade it?" "What terms would I offer it?" Stroking his chin, He Lingchuan had thought of that as well. "Help it break free from the grand formation's suppression?" "Exactly," Dong Rui said as if it were the most natural thing in the world.