The sound of roof tiles shattering was crisp and piercing, but to the man and woman inside the room, it was like a bolt from the blue.
After a flurry of rustling chaos, the door finally cracked open slowly. Eyes peered out, then the gap widened, and Qian Wutong stepped out in one swift motion, quickly scanning his surroundings.
He hoped the noise just now had been an accident, but his gaze soon fell upon a paper pinned to the wall. He stepped forward and yanked it free, naturally seeing the words “The mountain man was here” written upon it. These six characters filled his face with terror as he looked around frantically, then flashed into the courtyard, shouting, “Who’s there? Show yourself!”
There was a slight echo all around, but no response came.
“What is it?” A woman’s trembling voice finally came from inside the room, yet she showed no sign of coming out.
Gritting his teeth, Qian Wutong flashed back inside, taking the paper with him. Soon, a disjointed argument erupted from within.
When Qian Wutong emerged again, the paper was gone from his hand. He walked out of the courtyard with his head down and quick steps, glancing left and right along the way, not daring to linger for even a moment.
Nan Zhu, hiding on the hillside watching, was somewhat surprised. He had not expected the other party to leave without even searching. He had even prepared to slip around to the back of the mountain if they searched.
But on second thought, he could understand. The other party was probably guilty of wrongdoing, so how could they dare to make a fuss everywhere.
From this, he became even more certain that the relationship between Qian Wutong and the woman he had been intimate with was definitely not a normal one between a man and a woman.
So he became even more unwilling to leave, continuing to crouch in his original spot, keeping a commanding watch over that “story-filled” room, waiting for the woman to show her face. He wanted to see what she looked like, to know who she was.
But the woman still refused to come out, and Nan Zhu did not believe she could die inside the room.
He waited for nearly a full hour, and just as Nan Zhu was about to give up, that door finally opened. A woman in the appearance of a married lady came out, also dressed as a disciple of Kunling Mountain. Exactly what she looked like, Nan Zhu could not see clearly. He could only make out a general impression, enough to recognise her if they met again. He felt her looks were average, passable, nothing particularly beautiful.
The woman looked calm and composed, as if nothing had happened at all. She even walked outside the courtyard to look carefully around.
Nan Zhu waited until she returned to the courtyard, waited until she went back inside, before quietly withdrawing.
He was not afraid of being discovered. Judging by the way that illicit couple behaved, even if they spotted him, they probably would not dare to chase after him and make a commotion.
He himself might not even realise how bold he had become nowadays. He dared to pull off something like this in the number one spirit plant great sect under heaven. In his earlier years, he would never have dared.
On the way back, he was still careful, worried about being silenced by murder. He remained vigilant of his surroundings at all times, sticking to the main roads as much as possible.
By the time he returned to his own Dingyin district, time had already dragged on to the dinner hour, nearing evening.
He did not hurry to the dining hall, but instead dawdled his way into the room of Wu Tian, who was in charge of this area. Seeing the host present, he patted his own legs and found a topic, “Ah, my legs are sore from walking.”
Wu Tian, who was in the middle of recording something, smiled, “I heard you’ve indeed been to quite a few places these past few days. You’ve pretty much toured all twelve districts of the Ding character area, haven’t you?”
Having been here for some time, they were already old acquaintances, so Nan Zhu did not stand on ceremony. He poured himself a cup of tea and sat down in a chair beside him. “It’s rare to come here once, so I’m seizing the time to take a look. After the great assembly, I’m afraid there won’t be another chance to come.”
Wu Tian set down his brush and closed his booklet, smiling gently, “It’s not that serious. Kunling Mountain is not some forbidden zone. It’s a renowned righteous sect that opens its doors to friends from all directions. If you have the chance to visit in the future, you can give my name. Someone will notify me, and I will personally come to escort you into the mountain for a visit.”
After all, the other party was no ordinary wandering cultivator. Although expelled from his sect, he was still a great archer, sooner or later destined to establish himself in some military camp. He had a future ahead of him, so Wu Tian was willing to befriend such a person. Becoming friends was no bad thing, it was a connection for when travelling abroad in the future.
Nan Zhu laughed heartily, set down his teacup, and cupped his hands in thanks. Then he said, “By the way, when I was wandering around earlier, I discovered a large, desolate courtyard in the mountains near the Dingwei district. It seemed only one woman lived there alone. That woman looked rather strange, with an expression like she wanted to eat someone. Who is she?”
“A strange woman?” Wu Tian was taken aback and muttered to himself, “A large courtyard in the mountains of the Dingwei district…” After pondering and muttering for a while, he asked doubtfully, “Are you talking about a large courtyard warehouse?”
Nan Zhu quickly nodded, “Yes, yes, yes, it should be a courtyard serving as a warehouse.”
Wu Tian looked suspicious, “There is a senior sister surnamed Chi who watches the warehouse over there, and she is indeed a woman. But she’s quite normal. What kind of woman did you see?”
Nan Zhu rubbed his chin and pondered, “About forty years old, I’d say. I saw her looking quite close with a Kunling Mountain disciple who was pulling a cart.”
“Pulling a cart…” Wu Tian thought for a moment and laughed, “Then there can’t be any mistake. You’re probably talking about Senior Sister Chi Juan, who watches the warehouse. She has a temperament that keeps out of worldly strife, gentle and quiet, a very nice person. She’s not as scary as you described. Did you do something to provoke her?”
Nan Zhu, “I didn’t do anything, I just passed by outside that courtyard. Could it be that I disturbed the peace of that married couple?”
“Married couple?” Wu Tian was puzzled, “What married couple?”
Nan Zhu, “That cart-puller. They seemed quite close. Aren’t they husband and wife?”
Wu Tian was speechless and shook his head repeatedly, “I say, Brother Zhu, that mouth of yours will cause trouble sooner or later. Don’t go around talking nonsense. The cart-puller you’re talking about is probably Senior Brother Qian Wutong. He and Senior Sister Chi Juan come from the same master, so their good relationship is that of a senior sister and junior brother, not a married couple. Senior Sister Chi Juan’s husband is her eldest senior brother. Don’t go making things up when you don’t know anything.”
Nan Zhu, “Is that so? Could it be we’re not talking about the same person? Are there any other women guarding that warehouse?”
Wu Tian, “It should be the same person. There’s only that one warehouse, and normally there’s nothing much to do, so there’s no need to tie up two people to guard it.”
Nan Zhu let out an “oh” and muttered, “Could it be she just didn’t like the look of me?”
Wu Tian couldn’t help but laugh, “You’re probably overthinking it. You’re a random outsider wandering over there, so it’s normal for Senior Sister Chi Juan to be on guard. Brother Zhu, I’m not criticising you, but if you’re touring around the Ding character area looking at the scenery, no one will say anything. Just don’t go clustering around the residences of our sect’s disciples, or you’ll cause unnecessary misunderstandings.”
“It wasn’t intentional. I was actually just trying to find out which powerful participants were in each district…”
While they were chatting idly here, a few people passing by outside heard the voices and stopped, poking their heads in to look.
The few people were none other than Yu Qing, Mu Aotie, and Baili Xin.
Wu Tian’s residence was right on the mountain path that was the only way to the dining hall, for the convenience of greeting participants. Yu Qing and the other three were on their way to eat when they suddenly heard Nan Zhu’s voice faintly coming from inside. Naturally, they couldn’t help but stop out of curiosity.
Yu Qing tried calling out, “Old Seven?”
“Mm?” Nan Zhu quickly popped his head out. Seeing his companions outside, he immediately turned back to bid farewell to Wu Tian inside, then waddled over with his full body of fat, waving his hand to signal they should go eat together.
Yu Qing was puzzled and gestured with his chin towards Wu Tian’s house, asking, “What are you doing here?”
The implication in his tone was, didn’t I tell you to scout the situation? It’s been several days, why are you still hanging around the district entrance?
“What else could I be doing?” Nan Zhu gave him a look that said “you know what I mean,” then waved again to signal they should go eat.
Yu Qing and Mu Aotie’s hearts stirred. They exchanged a glance and said no more, heading to the dining hall together.
After filling their stomachs with a clatter, and upon leaving the dining hall, Yu Qing said to Baili Xin, “We need to talk. Please give us some privacy.”
Ever since that bath chat session last time, which had proven effective, the three men would take off their clothes whenever they chatted privately. Baili Xin had no choice but to make some concessions.
But she still couldn’t help letting out a cold snort, “Sneaking around like ghosts, there must be something fishy.”
The three men ignored her and walked together to a nearby small hillside. Standing at the top, they looked around, then huddled together under the sunset glow.
Yu Qing was the first to ask in a low voice, “Any leads?”
Nan Zhu let out a “heh,” “More than just leads. All that stuff of yours about carriages and bells was too tedious, too complicated. It can all be scrapped. I have a way to get you there in one go.”
Yu Qing looked suspicious, “How so?”
Nan Zhu looked around again, then signalled for his two junior brothers to lean their ears in close, and muttered to them for a while. Naturally, he was talking about the man and woman in that large courtyard.
After hearing this, both Yu and Mu were astonished. Neither had expected that Fatty Nan would stumble upon such good fortune. This was truly an unexpected delight.
“So that Qian Wutong is having an affair with his senior brother’s wife behind his back?” Yu Qing muttered.
Nan Zhu chuckled, “Something like this probably wouldn’t be tolerated in any sect. Enough idle talk. I can’t wait to go meet him. When do we set off? You give me a time, and I’ll go talk to him.”
Yu Qing looked at the sky, staring at the slowly fading sunset glow, “Not certain. We need to wait for a foggy day, to make it easier to conceal our figures.”
Whether they could find anything in the end, he did not know. He wanted to ensure that if they encountered danger, there would be an environment conducive to escape. After all, they were far too weak here.
Nan Zhu, “Alright, then I’ll go find out about his situation first.”
Seeing that he was about to leave, Yu Qing reminded him, “It’s getting dark.”
“It’s fine, I know where he lives. The darkness will actually help provide cover.” Nan Zhu turned back with a “heh,” waved his hand dismissively, and left.
Yu and Mu looked at each other in speechless dismay. Yu Qing asked, “Do you feel like he’s particularly enthusiastic today?”
Three words popped out of Mu Aotie’s mouth, “He’s excited.”
Baili Xin watched Nan Zhu disappear into the night, then turned to look at Yu and Mu walking back up the mountain. Though she suspected Nan Zhu was up to something behind the scenes, after a moment’s hesitation, she still followed the two of them back…
A small basin in the mountains, with sheds inside, where dozens of horses were kept loosely. It served as the horse enclosure for this area.
The exit of the horse enclosure was blocked by a courtyard. Opening the front and back gates of the courtyard was equivalent to opening the horse enclosure. There were two small buildings in the courtyard, housing the horse keepers and some miscellaneous disciples. Qian Wutong was among them.
At this moment, Qian Wutong was sitting in his room in the pitch black, sometimes pacing back and forth anxiously, sometimes sitting there in a daze. Ever since returning from the warehouse, he had been tormented by fear, terrified that someone from his sect would suddenly come to arrest him, and then he would experience an unbearable downfall and disgrace.
Suddenly, from the darkness outside, a faint voice came chanting in a poetic tone, “The mountain man was here!”