Chapter 57: A Guest Arrives at Tiger Leap Ridge

Perhaps it is true that people always become more lenient when touched by great joy. "Do you need us to help you take revenge?" Hou Baiyu asked. Lin Xiuxiu's predicament was plain to see.

Hou Baiyu asked this deliberately, testing a person who was a complete stranger to him. Hou Baiyu was never foolish; in fact, he considered himself among the clever ones, just cursed with poor luck.

The answer, naturally, was a refusal. Lin Xiuxiu shook her head, saying, "I do not wish to stay here for even a single second." Hou Baiyu did not quite grasp the exact measure of a second, but he felt the profound loathing this woman—who already bore the appearance of an elder—harbored for this place.

Though she longed to leave immediately for more prosperous lands, she was even less willing to remain here waiting for Wu Yue to return. If forced to choose, she would rather die beside her own people and be buried along the road to prosperity than wait here in a state of panic over unpredictable variables.

Lin Xiuxiu insisted on bringing the youth, Lin Liu. Regarding this child, who seemed much like a burden, Lin Xiuxiu provided an answer: she had followed the current upstream to find Tiger Leap Ridge, and downstream, she had picked up Lin Liu. No one lived within Tiger Leap Ridge; if a secret realm existed there, it likely had something to do with the boy. He was no ordinary child—how could a normal boy possess such immense strength?

The reasoning was sound and logical. Hearing such a long, articulate explanation from Lin Xiuxiu, Hou Baiyu looked at the old woman with newfound respect. Among the five, Wu Yue and Yu Fu addressed Lin Xiuxiu by name. Zhao Qingzhi, however, had nothing to say to her; the child’s habit had resurfaced—whenever she encountered strangers, she treated silence as gold.

Li Wenzhang addressed her as "Miss Lin" with a smile. Hou Baiyu insisted on calling her "Old Lady Lin," unable to reconcile the image of a woman with grey hair and deep wrinkles with the title of "Miss." He had intended to look down on Li Wenzhang for this, but was left speechless for a long time by Li Wenzhang’s retort: "You judge people only by their appearance; how truly superficial."

Fortunately, Lin Xiuxiu’s mood remained erratic throughout the journey—at times desolate and indignant, at others exceptionally joyful—and she seemed entirely indifferent to their bickering.

Tiger Leap Ridge was but a hundred miles away. Tiger Head Village sat at the "head," and Tiger Leap Ridge at the "feet." Because it was a "fierce tiger descending the mountain," the feet were ironically higher than the head, with the mountain rising in between.

"Young Master, this is Bone Mountain." In the air, the grey-robed elder gazed at the golden compass, inexplicably reminded of that streak of silver light—equally rare, and moving with a speed that defied logic.

He had planned to strike outside the city, having made meticulous preparations for surveillance and even resolved to fight to the death. Yet, that silver light had whisked away the target's aura, leaving the grey-robed elder filled with fury.

Zhang Xuandao hummed, saying coolly, "Truly a place of harsh mountains and treacherous waters; such lands often breed unruly people."

"This old servant is willing to clear away these variables for you, Young Master." Feeling he had bungled Zhang Xuandao’s grand plan, the grey-robed elder volunteered. Although Zhang Xuandao had said nothing on the matter—even offering words of comfort—the elder still felt uneasy. Decades of experience told him that mistakes must be punished.

Zhang Xuandao saw through the elder's thoughts clearly; this was merely a calculated display of loyalty. He did not care, nor would he bother to explain. This habit was identical to Wu Yue's—simply too lazy to do so, and finding it unnecessary.

"Follow your heart, follow your will, follow your fate," Zhang Xuandao said lightly, performing a hand seal. The golden compass descended rapidly until it shrank into nothingness in his palm.

There was no pleasant scenery of green hills and clear waters, just as Zhang Xuandao had initially perceived: a place of barren peaks and treacherous terrain. The grey-robed elder stood behind him, profoundly respectful. Though he doubted such a mountain held any secret realm, and though he did not know how his Young Master intended to find it, he believed.

Soon, the elder had his answer. Two five-colored mice emerged from Zhang Xuandao’s sleeves, scurrying to the ground to sniff intensely before vanishing into the soil.

"I call these Treasure-Seeking Mice; they are true to their name," Zhang Xuandao said, offering a brief introduction. The elder’s heart trembled violently. He had never heard of such spirit beasts, and the name "Treasure-Seeking" was deceptively simple.

In the path of cultivation, one first looks at aptitude, then compares techniques and artifacts. If these mice were truly as capable as their name suggested, the implications were terrifying. Watching Zhang Xuandao’s back, the elder found him increasingly unfathomable.

"No scenery to admire, only the thousands of miles beneath one's feet. A pity," Zhang Xuandao remarked with a hint of regret. He had long heard that reading ten thousand books was not as good as traveling ten thousand miles, yet this journey had been a waste.

Liu Erhei was also within Bone Mountain. Of course, no one dared address him by that name. But he had never forgotten it; his father was Old Man Hei, his brother was Big Hei, so he was naturally called Liu Erhei. Had he a younger brother, he would have been Little Hei.

That was long ago. It had been sixty years since he was taken as an apprentice by a wandering Daoist. After his master attained the Dao and passed on, Liu Erhei, by then a Golden Core cultivator, returned home in glory. But time had wrought great changes; his parents had long since departed, his brother had died of illness, and they had left no heirs. Had it not been for the guidance of a very old villager, Liu Erhei would not even have found their graves.

He could not articulate his feelings at the time. Liu Erhei sat silently before his family's graves for a night. When dawn broke, he was weeping, having entered the nascent stage of the Spirit Severing realm. From then on, he had no kin in this world. He wept, for he, an unfilial son, had never fulfilled his duties, yet he still owed his success to the grace of his parents' white hair.

Years passed. Whenever asked for his name, Liu Erhei would always answer calmly, "My name is Liu Erhei." No one laughed; in fact, the room would often erupt in cheers. He was a Spirit Severing cultivator, after all. Over time, the name became renowned.

Liu Erhei forgot how he had joined the Black Cloud Stronghold, but he had inexplicably become the confidant of the First Chief. A man who refused to forget his roots was always easier to trust.

The Black Cloud Stronghold had a grand plan. There were twelve divisions—now only eleven—and each insisted on calling itself the Black Cloud Stronghold. But Liu Erhei knew he belonged to the First Division, and this plan was theirs. To his mind, however, the plan had already half-failed.

It was said to be a secret realm located on Bone Mountain. The rumors grew more exaggerated with every telling, until finally, it was claimed that an immortal estate lay hidden within the mountain.

Cultivators from all directions were stirred. Countless rogue cultivators kept their eyes on Bone Mountain, while many more focused their attention on the First Division, which supposedly knew the exact location. Yet, after a very long time, Bone Mountain remained the neglected, lonely peak it had always been.

Just as everyone began to dismiss the rumors, Liu Erhei was quietly dispatched to this place. His mission was to keep a close watch on Tiger Mountain—these hundreds of miles of rugged terrain.

If any anomalies occurred, he was to report them immediately via flying talisman. He had been there for six hundred days.