Volume One: The Dragon Rises from the Wild Chapter Ninety-Three: A Single Fire

Yu Ye’s heart gave a jolt. Slowly, he turned around.

Mist drifted thickly everywhere, hiding all from view.

Feigning calm, Yu Ye said, “This disciple has come to request an audience with the Immortal Master, but I was in such haste that I lost my way...”

At that very moment, a mountain breeze swept the fog aside. Twenty to thirty zhang away, a figure could be faintly made out.

Yu Ye glanced over, yet still stood rooted in place.

“Hmph. This way.”

The man called out in indication.

As though suddenly enlightened, Yu Ye nodded and hurried over in panic.

A man in his thirties stood on the stone steps, hands clasped behind his back, saying impatiently, “What is it?”

Yu Ye put on a frightened expression. “Two senior brothers are dead. It seems they were murdered by someone...”

“Oh?”

The man looked mildly startled and examined Yu Ye from head to toe, then turned his head back and moved his lips slightly.

Suddenly, a figure emerged from behind a boulder not far away, flashing forward in a blur to the front and snapping coldly, “Where is the person?”

Yu Ye’s heart gave another jump.

His spiritual perception could only extend thirty to forty zhang, and the mist further weakened it. For caution’s sake, he had not dared to use it lightly, nor to wander about blindly. Unexpectedly, that very prudence had helped him dodge a disaster.

There were actually cultivators guarding this place. He did not know whether others lay hidden in the dark.

Yu Ye pointed back the way he had come, appearing eager to please yet afraid all the same. “Immortal Master, why not summon a few more helpers...”

“Enough nonsense!”

The middle-aged cultivator who had just appeared barked the rebuke and said, brooking no refusal, “Lead the way.”

“Yes, yes!”

Yu Ye took off at once. He ran swiftly enough, yet his steps were heavy and his back betrayed panic.

The two cultivators exchanged a glance and followed.

Before long, the Chasm of One Hundred Zhang lay before them.

Across the chain bridge, a lantern could be seen swaying in the wind.

Yu Ye hurried onto the suspension bridge, gasping, “It is here—”

Before he had finished, two figures whooshed over his head. He chased after them, not forgetting to call out, “Two Immortal Masters, be careful...”

The two cultivators had already leaped across the chasm.

Below the cliff at the far end of the iron-rope bridge, two corpses indeed lay there.

The two cultivators were just about to examine them when a flash of light suddenly passed behind them. One of them froze on the spot, unable to move at all. The other was still in shock when a fierce killing intent pierced straight through his waist and abdomen. In the same instant, another sword qi shot forth. The first could not dodge; with a muffled burst, a bloody hole exploded open in his forehead.

Yu Ye seized the chance to rush up close. Before the two cultivators had even fallen, he snatched their storage rings, then grabbed them and threw them away. Next, he stripped the two corpses below of their Taoist robes and hurled those into the hundred-zhang abyss as well. Having slain four men in succession, he still did not flee. Instead, he stood beneath the lantern, gripping a shattered-armor talisman in his hand, silently facing the boundless night.

After a moment, sounds rose from the cliff below, faint beyond measure, like the wind moving through the forested hills.

A little later, the darkness around him remained unchanged, the night as it had been.

Yu Ye secretly let out a breath of relief. Taking out his longsword, he scraped the blood from the ground clean, then turned back, crossed the iron-rope bridge, and ran toward the way he had come.

In no time, he returned to the place where he had encountered the cultivators from Qizhou.

Yu Ye no longer dared be careless. He raised his hand and activated a shattered-armor talisman. As light flashed, his figure vanished from that spot. Taking advantage of it, he sprang up from the ground and drifted forward soundlessly.

A while later, he discovered a clump of trees to his left. Passing through the dense undergrowth, he found a cave entrance. Inside, the piles of items remained untouched, exactly as before. The three remains he had once left there had vanished without a trace, leaving only dust, bits of grass, and leaves across the floor, along with tree vines and branches growing wildly everywhere.

This was the Scripture Vault Cave of North Qi Mountain, the Daoist sect’s storeroom, where their belongings were kept. It had once again been abandoned, now gradually swallowed and buried by wild grass and trees...

Yu Ye left the Scripture Vault Cave in haste. His drifting silhouette slowly took shape again, and he quickly used another shattered-armor talisman, vanishing instantly into the darkness.

Ahead appeared a mountain wall.

He still remembered that beyond the wall lay Cloud-Water Ravine. Passing through Cloud-Water Ravine would bring him to the Vermilion Tortoise Pavilion.

Yu Ye crept quietly to the wall and slowly revealed his form. Helplessly, he shook his head and reached for another shattered-armor talisman.

Though useful, the talisman’s power did not last long. Fortunately, he encountered no further mishaps, which showed that this road on the way in was guarded only by two cultivators and a few disciples.

Yu Ye hid his figure, went around the wall, and was just about to move on when he suddenly stopped.

Twenty to thirty zhang ahead lay a mountain stream. It was precisely Cloud-Water Ravine. On a rock beside the ravine, a gaunt middle-aged man sat cross-legged.

Gan Xing?

At that moment, Gan Xing suddenly turned his head and looked this way.

Yu Ye hastily shifted aside to hide.

Then he heard Gan Xing say, “Senior, what are your orders?”

Another voice answered, “I’m bored for the moment, so I came out for a walk.”

“More than ten of us take turns guarding the Vermilion Tortoise Pavilion. I doubt there will be any trouble...”

“I’m not worried about the formation at the Vermilion Tortoise Pavilion...”

“Oh...”

“We may have to return to Qizhou...”

“Then go back. There’s not much spirit stone to earn here anyway...”

“Hmph. Nanshan says I have handled matters poorly. If I return, I’m afraid I’ll be punished by the elders of the sect...”

“I’m only a wandering cultivator. I wouldn’t dare inquire into the affairs of the immortal sect, but I do feel unfairly for Senior Bu...”

“What can be done? Nanshan is about to complete his great merit, while more than half the people I brought are already dead or wounded...”

“He merely picked up a bargain. Right now, the various forces of the Great Marsh have not yet yielded, and that fellow Yu Ye has not been captured either. Whether success is truly in hand is still hard to say...”

“Alas...”

“Senior, perhaps you and I should...”

“Where are Ji Ye and Shu Quan?”

“One is on watch, the other has not returned from patrol.”

“I’ll go take a look...”

The one speaking with Gan Xing was Bu Yi. The two cultivators Yu Ye had killed earlier were named Ji Ye and Shu Quan.

Still hiding behind the stone wall, Yu Ye was pondering their exchange when he suddenly sensed Bu Yi walking this way. He immediately slipped downward into the earth. In the next instant, he emerged from within the stone wall several dozen zhang away, then activated a shattered-armor talisman once more and vanished in an instant...

Another morning arrived.

The sun rose in the east, and the sky was unusually clear. Even the dim forest had gained a touch of brightness.

The mounts from all sides had gathered in the woods, numbering as many as two or three hundred. From time to time, people came to walk the horses, feeding them water, grass, and fodder.

The Tian brothers were also busy tending their three horses.

Yu Ye, meanwhile, lay alone on a tree branch, his face covered by a bamboo hat, a longsword cradled in his arms, as if still sunk in deep sleep. Yet in his clasped hands, he held a spirit stone.

Last night he had returned in the middle of the night, exhausted to the bone. It was not convenient to sit in meditation and cultivate, so he could only hide in the tree to rest.

After two nocturnal forays into North Qi Mountain, though confusion still remained and his knots of doubt had not yet unraveled, he had at least gained some sense of the situation. As for the outcome, it would have to await judgment two days later.

In the afternoon, Yu Ye finally climbed down from the tree.

Zhong Jian, Yan Chi, and the Tian brothers also arrived by appointment.

After the five met, they sat together in a circle on a clearing in the forest.

The Tian brothers were still bewildered, while Zhong Jian and Yan Chi looked expectant.

Once seated, Yu Ye did not speak at once. Instead, he removed his bamboo hat and said, “Bring the wine.”

“Ha ha!”

The Tian brothers instantly perked up and took out a small wine jar from their robes.

Yu Ye took the jar and drained it in one breath. Two flushed patches immediately rose on his face. Shaking his head, he exhaled wine fumes and said, “Brother Zhong, Brother Yan, I’d like to hear your counsel.”

“Heh heh. Little brother, you’ve learned how to kill men, and you’ve also learned how to drink!”

Zhong Jian smiled meaningfully and said, “Let us speak of serious matters. There are now six or seven hundred martial companions who have come to North Qi Mountain. Some have submitted, some have curried favor, some are waiting to see what happens, some were forced along, and among them, those who dare resist the immortal sect are only my band of brothers, Zhong Jian and the rest, and no one else. However, though the eight Daoist sects have only a little over thirty disciples, they are people of great righteousness and courage. As far as I know, people like Tao Feng have already resolved to die, vowing to fight the Qizhou cultivators to the end. If you and I join hands with them, our chances may improve by a few degrees!”

Yu Ye gave no clear answer, merely tilting his head with his eyes half-closed, the flush still lingering on his face, as if he were still drunk.

Zhong Jian folded his arms and looked toward Yan Chi.

Yan Chi understood and continued, “My senior brother and I have agreed to use Brother Yu’s storage ring to carry lamp oil. Once we go up the mountain, we’ll set fire to the Vermilion Tortoise Pavilion. By then there will surely be chaos, and we can seize the chance to escape.”

“Ha ha!”

The Tian brothers cried excitedly, “Burn it all down with one blaze. Damn, that would feel wonderful!”

Yan Chi rolled his eyes and said, “Brother Yu, what do you think?”

Yu Ye muttered to himself, “With everyone watching, trapped within the formation, the steps we take are already constrained at every turn, and our lives can scarcely be guaranteed. How are we to set a fire, and how are we to burn down the Vermilion Tortoise Pavilion?”

Zhong Jian and Yan Chi both fell into thought and said nothing.

Yu Ye exhaled another mouthful of wine fumes, and the flush on his face had already faded. A flash of brilliance appeared in his eyes, and he had returned to his usual state. He tossed aside the wine jar and said with conviction, “This fire must be lit!”

At his words, all four others’ eyes lit up.

Yet he then frowned and said with concern, “Even if we start this fire, it will not be easy. One mistake, and I fear all of you...”

Zhong Jian waved a big hand. “Speak freely!”

Yan Chi and the Tian brothers also nodded repeatedly.

Yu Ye swept his sleeve, and four Taoist robes appeared on the ground. A crazed look spread across his face as he lowered his voice. “I have already gone twice by night to North Qi Mountain. I killed four disciples and two cultivators. Since matters have come to this, we can only stake everything on one throw...”

He told Zhong Jian, Yan Chi, and the Tian brothers everything truthfully: the reasons for his two nocturnal infiltrations of North Qi Mountain, the purpose behind the killings, the current situation in the Scripture Vault Cave, the dangers of the Vermilion Tortoise Pavilion, and his resolve to make a desperate gamble. After hearing his plan, the four companions weighed it carefully and refined the details together.

The five of them huddled and whispered among themselves. Half an hour later, they each fell silent and looked at one another with murderous smiles.

Yu Ye’s plan was dangerous, but it was feasible. He would have the four companions disguise themselves as disciples of the immortal sect. The following night, he would bring them up the mountain, and then they would split up to set fires. If North Qi Mountain were consumed by a great blaze, the Vermilion Tortoise Pavilion and the immortal sect’s celebration would both cease to exist.

Who would have thought that at this very moment, a streak of sword light would slice across the treetops. In the same instant, a despairing voice rang out overhead:

“Those in the forest, come out.”