Setting Out

Lu Yang arrived at the flatbread stall once more. The one selling the flatbread was a senior sister. Leavening, proofing, kneading, slapping it into shape—she was so proficient it was impossible to tell how long she had practiced. Pinching the dough into small balls one after another, she engaged her hands, wrists, arms, torso... her entire body working in unison to press and roll the dough into flatbread patties. Her movements conformed subtly to some underlying principle; this was clearly not just simple dough kneading, but also a method of training bodily coordination. She placed the dough patty onto a forging anvil, swung a massive iron hammer, and struck it furiously. Resounding clangs echoed as sparks flew everywhere, burning tiny holes into the ground where they landed. Quenching the patty, cold water instantly boiled and bubbled vigorously, and before long, a flatbread was finished. Lu Yang found it truly eye-opening. Hundred Refinements Peak really had ingenious ideas, seamlessly blending fine food with artifact forging. "Give me one flatbread." The cafeteria's goods were indeed cheap. Lu Yang saw plenty of remarkable things here that caught his eye, and had his contribution points not been limited, he would have loved to buy everything. ... Early the next morning, as agreed, Lu Yang met up with the two of them at the mountain gate of Dao Seeking Sect. "We were just waiting for you." Meng Jingzhou waved upon spotting Lu Yang. Behind him stood a carriage—the very same one that had carried them to Dao Seeking Sect back then, with the very same old horse hitched to it. The only difference was that the third passenger had changed from Eldest Senior Sister Yun Zhi to Man Gu. Man Gu was studying hard, even using the time spent waiting to learn. His loose Confucian robes draped over his bulky muscles, making him genuinely look like a towering Confucian scholar. "We're not taking a flying boat?" Lu Yang had fully prepared himself to ride a flying boat. Although his Shrinking the Earth to Inches was convenient, it ultimately couldn't match the speed of a flying boat. He had temporarily given up on learning Shrinking the Earth to Inches, choosing instead to specialize in Shrinking the Earth and To Inches separately. Meng Jingzhou patted the carriage and said proudly, "This carriage of mine is an extraordinary treasure with an internal spatial array. While it feels slow to us sitting inside, to outsiders, it moves as fast as a flying boat." On second thought, it made sense. The Meng Family was far away in the Imperial City; there was no way Meng Jingzhou had traveled from the Meng Family to Dao Seeking Sect with the old horse plodding along step by step. At that pace, he wouldn't have reached Dao Seeking Sect even after a year. The carriage had engaged its array on the journey to Dao Seeking Sect, moving so fast it practically flew. Only when approaching Dao Seeking Sect had the array been turned off to slow down, displaying respect toward the sect. What Lu Yang had seen back then was merely the carriage after it had already decelerated. The three boarded the carriage. Its interior was as spacious as ever. Only now did Lu Yang truly realize just how valuable this carriage was. "By the way, where are we heading? What's the mission?" "Huh? I never told you? We're going to a place called Qinghuai Commandery. Brother Man Gu should explain the specifics, though, since he's the one who found the task." Man Gu placed a bookmark between the pages, closed the book, and spoke in an unhurried manner. "I heard about this from a passenger on a flying boat while out on a mission. He was the leader of a merchant caravan and knew many things ordinary mortals didn't. He told me a story passed down among traveling merchants, and it has some credibility. "Between Qinghuai Commandery and Yanjiang Commandery lies a vast, rolling mountain range. If merchants wish to cross these mountains, they must be guided by local hunters. "A terrifying entity appeared in the mountain forests, forcing the hunters to abandon the woods they depended on for survival..." ... Night fell. Wild, tangled branches blocked out the moonlight as deafening thunder sounded and torrential rain poured down, turning the ground into a wash of slick mud where every step was treacherous. Seven or eight men were tethered together by ropes around their waists to prevent anyone from slipping down the mountain and being lost. The drumming rain roared all around them; even if someone fell and cried out, it would be nearly impossible to hear anything over the din. Wearing coir raincoats, leaning on walking sticks, and carrying hampers on their backs, they took every step with extreme caution, terrified of treading into a deep hollow. The biting, icy rain left them disheveled and mud-spattered. Looking up, a dense curtain of rain obscured their vision, leaving them no choice but to follow the old hunter leading the way. "Watch your step! The mountain path is treacherous in the rain!" "Even if you're tired, don't stop! Push on, we're almost there! If you stop now, you won't be able to muster the strength to keep going!" "I... I really can't... Help me! I'm falling!" Someone's foot slipped. With nothing to catch his balance, his body slid toward the cliff at the edge of the path. Feeling the sudden tug at the end of the rope, the merchants realized someone was falling. They halted at once, scrambling frantically to pull him up. "A'yue, hold on tight to the rope! We'll pull together!" "I don't have any strength left." A'yue hung suspended over the precipice, kept from plunging down only by the coarse hemp rope tied around his waist. Cold, exhausted, and starving, he couldn't summon an ounce of strength, making it impossible for him to climb back up along the rope. Experienced and steady, the old hunter calmly directed the group while personally helping pull the rope. "You men, wrap your arms around the trees! Don't let all seven of us get dragged down too! "The rest of you, wrap the rope around your wrists! On three, everyone pull with all your might! "One, two, three, pull! "One, two, three, pull!" Straining with every ounce of strength they possessed, they finally hauled A'yue up. Already exhausted, the men were now too spent to even stand steady. The old hunter did not let down his guard. He tensely checked A'yue's condition. "A'yue, how did you slip? Did you feel someone push you?" A'yue shook his head blankly, not understanding why the old hunter asked that. He had simply slipped on his own—could someone have tried to harm him? "Old Sun, what do you mean by that?" asked Qi Wu. As the caravan leader, he faintly sensed something amiss from the old hunter's question. The old hunter shook his head and pointed toward a ruined temple ahead. "Let's keep moving. We'll talk once we reach the Mountain God Temple." In the torrential downpour, it was no place to discuss matters. Qi Wu nodded and offered a few words of encouragement, urging everyone to hurry to the Mountain God Temple for shelter. Upon reaching the temple, they abandoned all decorum, stripped off their coir raincoats, collapsed onto the ground, and panted heavily. They immediately checked their hampers to see if their goods had been ruined by the water; if ruined, their entire journey would be wasted, resulting in total financial ruin. "Thank goodness! Luckily we wrapped them in waterproof cloth ahead of time. Big Brother Qi really had the foresight." The Mountain God Temple was hardly in good condition, though its saving grace was its spaciousness. Three dusty, weathered Mountain God statues sat in the center, surrounded by dirt and animal droppings. The spirit tablets inscribed with the deities' titles were long gone, the offerings had been devoured by beasts who knew how long ago, both doors were missing, and the broken windows let cold, biting wind howl straight through. None of them cared much; to them, any place offering shelter from the rain was a good place. Qi Wu retrieved some wares from his hamper to serve as offerings to the three mountain gods, thanking them for lending their temple for shelter. The three mountain god statues were sculpted from clay. Though the craftsmanship was crude, the distinctions were plain to see: the god in the middle wielded a Gentleman's Sword with an expression of upright righteousness; flanking him were two gods representing the civil and martial spheres. One wore Confucian robes and held a book in the civil position, while the other exuded pure yang righteous energy in the martial position. The hierarchy was distinct and well-ordered. "May the mountain gods bless us with a safe journey." Qi Wu couldn't shake the feeling that the three mountain gods possessed an uncanny spirituality, as if they were alive.