Chapter 32: Brother and Sister Scale Mount Hu by Night

The two entered the Fengxian Restaurant, one of the finest establishments in Mojuan City. Qin Lingxue ordered four dishes she had long heard of, and Qin Anyu added two more, along with a jar of Fengxian wine, for a delightful dinner.

When it came time to pay, Qin Anyu wanted to purchase some extra Fengxian wine to take home, but was told, "Distinguished guest, you may only purchase one jar to go."

He questioned this, asking, "If I were to order dozens of jars while dining and then wished to take them, would you deny me?"

The attendant smiled faintly. "Each guest may order a maximum of two jars, and your younger sister is too young to order."

So that was it; he simply hadn't understood the rules. With no other choice, he bought a single jar to take with him.

Back at the inn, Qin Lingxue pulled Qin Anyu into her room, looked up at him, and said, "Big brother, I know you want to go out. Take me with you."

Seeing that he remained silent, merely gazing at her, she reached out, held his arm, and shook it. "I will do whatever you say, little sister promises. Is that alright?"

Qin Anyu nodded. "Alright."

He had not responded immediately not out of reserve, but because he was stunned by her quick wit. She had said she trusted him completely after he returned from the Listening Wind Pavilion; she hadn't revealed her intentions before reaching the inn, yet now she had read his mind perfectly and insisted on coming along. First Qin Youqin, and now Qin Lingxue—were they all this clever?

Seeing his agreement, she happily let go of his arm. "Big brother, are we going to the Putian Sect's stronghold?"

"Yes."

"The shopkeeper said there were three in the city and one outside. Which one are we going to?"

"The one outside the city."

"But he said they couldn't even confirm the exact location of that one. Can we find it tonight?"

"We have to try... Let's rest for an hour first."

"Big brother, I'm afraid you might go back on your word, so you'll rest right here in my room."

"Would I do that?"

"You haven't before, but today is not guaranteed."

"..."

After an hour of rest, the two slipped out from the back of the inn, running through various alleys under the hazy cover of night. To avoid making noise, Qin Lingxue did not ride a horse but ran alongside Qin Anyu.

About a cup of tea’s time after entering Mount Hu, as they neared a canyon, Qin Lingxue finally spoke up. "Big brother, can we rest? I can't run anymore."

Panting heavily, she sat down on the grass. Qin Anyu stopped as well and turned to hand her a century-old red ginseng. "Not bad, to have made it this far. Chew on this; it will quickly replenish your energy and soothe your fatigue."

From the inn to this point was nearly eighty li. To have completed it in less than half an hour while following him was a testament to the strong stamina of a ninth-level Qi Cultivator. She took the ginseng, bit into it, and let out a soft cry of surprise. "Big brother, where did you get so many high-grade medicinal herbs?"

"After we return to Tanzhou Prefecture, I will take you to dig for them yourself."

"Oh, okay. Big brother, why are you so good at running?"

"A dull person can only rely on dull methods."

"You aren't dull at all, Big Brother. It’s those who think themselves clever who are truly dull... You weren't running at full speed, were you?"

"What do you think?"

"I don't think so. Including the stretch from the Wuyuan Sect to Mojuan City, you weren't... Big brother, I don't believe you are only at the fifth level."

"It's good that you don't."

"Then what level are you?"

"The same as you."

"The same as me... The ninth level?! My goodness, how have you hidden it so well?"

"Shh, keep it down. Someone is here."

Hearing Qin Anyu, Qin Lingxue immediately fell silent, even suppressing the sound of her chewing, though her eyes remained bright and intense as she looked at her brother. This news was explosive. She hadn't been able to keep up with him, assuming it was just the result of his constant training, but it turned out he was also at the ninth level. If her brother was at the ninth level, many things could be explained: the gold, silver, and herbs weren't traded for by selling the Qin estate, but were indeed gathered from the Putian Sect's strongholds.

Qin Anyu sensed her gaze, turned, and ruffled her hair. "There are two people in the woods ahead. Let's sneak closer and hear what they are saying."

The canyon ahead was one of the suspected strongholds of the Putian Sect outside Mojuan City, so he was very cautious. There were indeed two people in the woods, moving stealthily and whispering to each other.

"I clearly heard a girl's voice just now. How did it disappear so suddenly?"

"You must have misheard. This is a desolate wilderness with steep mountains and dense forests, and with the eerie atmosphere we've created, I doubt anyone would dare come here."

"That may be, but I trust my ears."

"I trust them too. Otherwise, I wouldn't have accompanied you on this walk in the pitch black."

"Something's not right. It should have been right here. Why is there nothing to be seen?"

"Let's go back. Unless they are truly bold, they wouldn't dare wander around; they'd only stay in the areas with a bit of light."

After scanning the small patch of grass, the two men disappeared back into the forest. They failed to notice a sword-carrying youth and a young girl following them from about two yards behind. The youth remained silent, while the girl tried her best to control the sound of her chewing. They followed them through the woods, across loose rocks, up cliffs, and across a small stream, finally arriving beneath a sheer precipice.

"Croak... croak..."

They made frog sounds on the ground.

"Pop... pop..."

A stone frog responded from the middle of the cliff. The sound blended perfectly with the gurgling water, not appearing the least bit abrupt. After repeating the signal, a voice came from the center of the cliff: "Team Six, any abnormalities?"

The voice below replied: "Boss, I faintly heard a girl's voice, but we found nothing after searching. I don't know if that counts."

"Good, stay alert. Teams One through Three, go with Team Six and search again. Team Four, go on patrol."

Soon, four dim torches appeared at different heights on the cliff, revealing the blurred faces of eight Qi-cultivating men. Faintly, over a dozen cave entrances became visible. The entrance of the one who gave the orders also appeared, positioned between the four torches, though no one was visible inside.

Qin Lingxue tugged at Qin Anyu's lapel and whispered, "Big brother, what should we do?"

"Wait for them to leave, then I'll go take care of that leader."

"Is he from the Putian Sect? Make sure you don't get the wrong person."

"Wrong or not, I'll give them all a beating anyway."

Though he said that, he likely wouldn't get the wrong person. Before Fu Li died, he had said that the main Putian Sect stronghold in Mojuan City was in Mount Hu. The information from the Listening Wind Pavilion, however, suggested there were three suspected strongholds; it was clear that the pavilion's information was only surface-level and had not reached the core.

Once the four two-man teams climbed down from their respective caves, extinguished their torches, and separated, Qin Anyu told Qin Lingxue to stay put while he crept toward the cave entrances.

Inside one cave, two Qi-cultivators were sound asleep; they were suddenly struck and lost consciousness without a sound. In another cave, there were two more Qi-cultivators—one snoring loudly, the other tossing and turning. The one who couldn't sleep suddenly opened his eyes, looked at the shadow entering the cave, and whispered, "Who's there?"

Feeling that something was wrong—none of their group carried a sword—he was about to shout when he saw something black fly into his mouth. The shadow then lunged forward like an arrow released from a bow. The man stood up and reached out to protect his head, but his arm bone snapped, and his head was struck heavily. The other man, startled awake, was still adjusting to the darkness when he, too, was struck in the head.

In the darkness, a muffled voice emerged: "There are two Qi-refining stage cultivators in that guy's cave—one early-stage, one mid-stage. We can take them."