Volume One: The Dragon Rises from the Wilds Chapter Ninety-Two: Haunted by Ghosts

The second day after Yu Ye’s return to North Ridge Mountain.

On the broad road before the mountain gate, figures kept appearing one after another. Some were wanderers of the martial world, others disciples of the Dao, and all had come, in one way or another, to witness the immortal gate’s ceremony on the eighth day of the fifth month.

The eighth day of the fifth month was three days away.

North Ridge Mountain had, as promised, opened its gates, yet also announced that the auspicious day had not yet arrived and that no one was to go up the mountain for the time being. The guests were to rest where they were. While waiting, none might trespass into forbidden ground, nor drink to excess, brawl, or stir up trouble.

Even under such strict rules, the crowd still pressed eagerly through the mountain gate.

At the foot of the mountain lay a spacious courtyard, where halls, pools, grass pavilions, flowers, and trees were arranged with pleasing order. It was indeed a fine place for travelers to gather and rest.

People from all sides assembled there. Though the noise was less and no one dared to drink freely, each wore an easy, relaxed expression. North Ridge Mountain had once been forbidden ground for the Daoists, difficult to enter. Now that they stood within it, how could they not seek to glimpse something of the grandeur of the Dao, or of the immortal gate?

The present North Ridge Mountain was mysterious, even alluring, yet some feared it as though it were a tiger, keeping far away.

Several li off, beneath the shade of trees at the edge of the woods, Yu Ye sat with his back against a trunk and his knees drawn up. His broad hat hid half his face, and his eyes were slightly closed as though dozing. But the faint twitch of his brows and the grass stem he worried between his teeth showed that he was far from at ease.

The previous night he had failed to find the old gambler, only to discover that the corpse the man had secretly buried had vanished without a trace.

The shock of it was beyond words.

Had he seen a ghost?

Had the dead come back to life?

But the dead could not rise again; the only possibility was that someone had moved the body away.

Which meant that during his night expedition to North Ridge Mountain, a pair of eyes had been watching him from the dark all along, and he had not detected a thing.

What terror, what lingering fear that had inspired!

Could the old gambler be the hidden master? Why had he moved the corpse, and why had he toyed with Tianbao, deliberately revealing his identity?

Yu Ye had not slept half the night over it. By dawn, when nothing had happened, he finally let out a breath, yet he remained uneasy and on edge.

To think that on this perilous North Ridge Mountain there was hiding a peerless master, one who watched every move you made at every moment, while you had no idea where he was, nor whether he was friend or foe, benevolent or murderous—how could one not feel a chill creeping up the spine?

"Third Brother—"

Yu Ye opened his eyes.

Tianbao and Renliang were walking toward him from the direction of the mountain gate. They plopped down beside him and said in turn:

"Following your instructions, we two brothers went in through the gate for a look. We saw no unusual movements from the disciples of North Ridge Mountain, nor did we see any cultivators from River State appear."

"We met your two friends. That Zhong Jian is one of our kind; many of the martial comrades below the mountain know his name. As for that Yan Chi fellow, he’s hardly likable..."

"Hmph. If not for your instructions, Third Brother, I’d have given him another taste of my fists today..."

"Brother, you may not be his match..."

"Haha, didn’t you see last night? I nearly beat him to death..."

"Pah!"

Yu Ye spat out the grass stem in his mouth. Having at last found a moment of quiet, they had only made his irritation worse. He could not help cutting in: "Both of you, when sitting in silence, often reflect on your own faults; when talking idly, do not speak ill of others!"

Tianbao and Renliang turned to stare at him, one baffled, the other concerned.

"Third Brother truly is a man of learning and cultivation, but his words are hard to understand. Please instruct your brothers in this..."

"Huh? Third Brother’s brow looks dark. Could it be you ran into a ghost during a night visit..."

Yu Ye could not be bothered to answer. Wearily, he closed his eyes again.

The two brothers took his silence for tiredness and said no more. Each lay down where he was, enjoying the cool shade of the trees.

Yu Ye was truly weary.

Not physically, but in spirit.

Even under torture, in the agony of life and death, he had never felt such anxiety.

From the start, he had been running for his life; if he could not escape, death was all that awaited him. But now he had to challenge a host of formidable enemies, and do so before everyone’s eyes while ruining the immortal gate’s great ceremony. The difficulty was as high as climbing to the heavens. If he failed, it would not be he alone who died; Tianbao and Renliang, along with countless martial companions, would be dragged down with him, and the fate of Great Marsh would grow even more uncertain.

So he strained to find a path that might save both sides. Yet no matter how hard he thought, no matter how he schemed, every road led only to ruin.

The resolve with which he had come was long gone. Little by little, he sank into despair. And the deeper the despair, the less he could bear to give up. That kind of mad self-entanglement, that self-inflicted torment—how could it not leave him exhausted in body and soul?

"Brother Yu...?"

Perhaps because they were near the road at the forest’s edge, someone recognized Yu Ye beneath the shade of the trees.

Yu Ye seemed not to hear, still bowing his head.

But Tianbao and Renliang sprang up in alarm, shouting:

"Oh ho, the avengers have come!"

"Hmph, damn it, they even brought reinforcements..."

Yu Ye was forced to lift the broad hat that covered his face and slowly open his eyes.

On the road several zhang away stood twenty or thirty people, men and women alike, varying in age and appearance. Though they had come on foot, each moved with dustless steps and restrained bearing, their figures lithe and upright. Clearly none were ordinary folk.

The man who had spoken looked even more extraordinary, with a proud, imposing aura between his brows.

Peach Frenzy.

It was Peach Frenzy, whom he had met previously in North Ridge Town, now reunited in a different place the next day.

"Heh-heh, it really is Brother Yu!"

"Brother Peach!"

Yu Ye stood and cupped his hands in greeting.

Seeing this, the two brothers took a couple of steps back, but their already rough manner only grew more domineering.

"Now that the gate is open and the heroes have gathered, Brother Yu is lingering here. I imagine you must be waiting for fellow comrades to arrive, heh-heh!"

Peach Frenzy pointed to the people behind him and smiled as he introduced them. "The elite of Great Marsh’s Daoist world are all here—each a capable and upright person. Come, let me introduce you. We should join hands and discuss great matters together!"

The elite he spoke of were surely the surviving cultivators of the eight Daoist lineages. Though each seemed vigorous and imposing, the highest cultivation among them was only the fifth level. If anything were to happen to these Daoist disciples, then Great Marsh’s orthodoxy would truly vanish!

Yu Ye shook his head. "I am flattered by Brother Peach’s kindness, but I’m merely a common disciple and can accomplish no great matter. Still..." He weighed his words, then changed to voice transmission. "I remain here precisely for Brother Peach. Please tell the fellow cultivators that Black Tortoise Pavilion has already laid traps with formations. To go there will surely bring disaster; you must withdraw from this place at once..."

"Heh-heh!"

Peach Frenzy laughed and said proudly, "So what if there are formation traps?"

"There are also four foundation-building experts, along with fifteen qi-refining masters..."

"And what of it, even if it is a dragon’s pool or tiger’s lair?"

"If you know it cannot be done, Brother Peach, why..."

"To do what one knows cannot be done—that is folly. To know it cannot be done and not do it—that is wisdom. To know it cannot be done and still do it—that is sainthood! We are not saints, but we possess the bearing of sages and the will to defy fate!"

"Brother Peach..."

"Brother Yu need not say more. Whether to stand together in resisting foreign aggression, or to accept mediocrity and remain a mere common disciple—that is a choice you must make!"

Yu Ye fell silent.

He knew no one would heed his warning, yet he had still remained here, only to offer a reminder, to fulfill a little loyalty. As expected, not only did his goodwill go unreceived, he was met instead with reproach.

"Heh-heh. Different paths cannot be walked together. Brother Yu, take care of yourself!"

Peach Frenzy no longer pressed him. With a proud smile, he strode forward. The Daoist disciples from the various factions followed, each casting a contemptuous glance as they left, heads high and steps resolute.

He sighed softly where he stood.

Different paths could not be walked together. Yet all of them were striving to save Great Marsh—how, then, were they different?

There was no doubt that Peach Frenzy was a capable and upright man. What he had just said had real merit. Especially those words—knowing something cannot be done and doing it anyway is sainthood—were enough to provoke deep thought.

Still, his past deeds were hardly worthy of praise.

Yu Ye was not a narrow-minded man, and he had often suffered losses; but he could not endure sincere goodwill being ignored, even if he was but a common disciple...

Night fell.

Once again bonfires were lit in the open ground before the mountain gate, and the lively scene was just as it had been the day before. People could still come and go through the gate as they pleased, and North Ridge Mountain seemed truly a place of peace and harmony.

Yu Ye, however, took Tianbao and Renliang back into the woods, helping a few martial fellows watch their horses.

As night deepened, Yu Ye left the two brothers to rest in the forest. He alone sprang up into the treetops and vanished into the darkness...

A moment later.

Yu Ye appeared on a winding stone stairway up the mountain.

He was now dressed in a Daoist robe, with a bamboo token hanging at his waist, plainly the attire of a disciple of North Ridge Mountain.

When he returned to the cave from the previous night, no one was inside, and the extinguished oil lamp had not been lit; everything was just as it had been when he left.

He stepped out of the cave, looked left and right, then leaped up from the ground and headed straight for the mountain.

He had already walked this winding stair twice, so he knew the way well enough. Under the heavy darkness of night, his faint figure moved like a ghost, swift and silent.

In an instant, a speck of light appeared ahead.

Yu Ye landed quietly.

The light came from a lantern.

Behind the lantern, on the cliff face, the words "Hundred-Foot Abyss" were carved; and there were two young men in Daoist robes, leaning against the cliff and dozing.

The Hundred-Foot Abyss of the Spirit Terrace?

He had reached the summit. This was one of the main routes leading to North Ridge Mountain’s primary peak and to Black Tortoise Pavilion. It was no surprise that such a vital place was guarded.

Yu Ye walked over, his feet striking the rocks with crisp tapping sounds.

The two men startled awake at once and hurriedly looked around, then breathed out in relief and cursed:

"Damn it, you scared the hell out of me!"

"Who are you, wandering around in the middle of the night without sleeping..."

Yu Ye glanced at the Daoist robe he wore and the token at his waist, then raised a hand in apology. "This junior passed by here and did not mean to disturb the two senior brothers. Please forgive me!"

The two men waved him off and were about to resume dozing, when their bodies suddenly stiffened. Then both collapsed limply to the ground.

A long sword now rested in Yu Ye’s hand, its blade still faintly trembling. He sheathed it, was about to throw the corpses down the cliff, then let the matter go and strode toward the iron-chain hanging bridge.

Not far beyond the Hundred-Foot Abyss, ruins came into view.

This had once been the Scripture Pavilion, but after its destruction it had never been repaired, and in the darkness it looked all the more desolate and barren.

He went on another hundred zhang or so.

In the night, a layer of mist spread about, and the world before him turned hazy, near and far alike.

Yu Ye hesitated.

He remembered that the Scripture Cave was nearby, yet could not for a moment tell left from right. And once he found the Scripture Cave, he would find the route to Black Tortoise Pavilion.

Just as he was wavering, a sweep of divine sense suddenly rolled toward him.

In that instant, a cold voice rang out:

"Who goes there?"