Chapter 142: Really Didn’t Recognize Her
Du Yuejiao walked towards the woman waiting under the tree. The woman pulled her aside and whispered, “Yuejiao, what are you doing here? Where’s your master?”
Du Yuejiao said, “Master isn’t here. I wanted to see the world, and she agreed.”
The woman said, “The jianghu is a dangerous place, not as carefree as you think. You should go back. It’s not like the sect. You don’t understand how treacherous people can be…”
Du Yuejiao nodded, “Master Shu is right! If I hadn’t come out, I would never have known how deceitful people can be. Things like… stealing from your own sect, exploiting your position, taking advantage of others… I never imagined such things existed.”
The woman said, “Yuejiao, listen to me…”
Du Yuejiao took her hand, “Don’t worry, Master Shu. Everyone was masked at the Red Hill Gathering. I didn’t recognize anyone.”
The woman asked, “Really?”
Du Yuejiao nodded emphatically, “Yes, I really didn’t recognize anyone!”
The woman said, “Is that so…”
Du Yuejiao said, “Really! I didn’t!”
The woman: “…”
Du Yuejiao continued holding her hand, “So don’t worry, Master Shu… I really, truly didn’t recognize anyone!”
The woman whispered, “Yuejiao… what do you want?”
After a while, Du Yuejiao, a satisfied smile on her face, returned to Shi Hao.
Shi Hao looked at her, “Someone you know?”
Du Yuejiao nodded, “Yes, someone I know. She’s very kind. She promised to send me an Illusory Sea Lingzhi next time. She’s heard of the Azure Sky Vermilion Fruit, but she’s never actually seen one. And she can get me about ten jin of Vermilion Fruit, but not more than that.”
Shi Hao knew even Zhuo Mulan couldn’t easily obtain an Illusory Sea Lingzhi.
This woman, to ensure Yuejiao’s silence, had offered a valuable gift. Being able to provide such a rare ingredient suggested she was likely in charge of managing such resources within the Chongxian Sect.
He hadn’t expected to solve the problem of the Illusory Sea Lingzhi so easily, just by accompanying Yuejiao.
However, even someone in charge of immortal ingredients within the Chongxian Sect didn’t know where to find an Azure Sky Vermilion Fruit.
No wonder the Holy Jade Immortal had said it would be difficult to obtain, offering an alternative method.
But that alternative required a hundred jin of Vermilion Fruit, which was also a problem.
That evening, the six of them practiced their martial arts in the forest, a bonfire crackling nearby, roasting some game they had hunted.
He Guangtao, familiar with the Ba Mountains, said, “The Nine Villages of Ba Shan are Goupan Village, Heshou Village, Shennong Village, Wu Village, Yinping Village, and Jiming Village, as well as the Wudang Monastery on Mount Xieluo, Azure Dragon City in Azure Dragon Canyon, and the Gong family on Mount Nangong.
“The Wudang Monastery, having refused to submit to the Chongxian Sect, is considered unorthodox. I’m actually an outer disciple of Wudang Monastery, so I cultivate Daoist techniques, but I have to rely on gatherings like the Red Hill Gathering to obtain immortal ingredients.
“Because of the Chongxian Sect’s restrictions, Wudang Monastery doesn’t have many powerful martial artists. The abbot, Daoist Chuan, is my senior brother, and like me, he’s only seventh-rank. There are only about twenty disciples in the monastery, a few at the eighth rank. After leaving Wudang, I managed to gather enough ingredients to reach the seventh rank with the help of the Red Hill Gathering and some friends.
“As for Wu Village, they’re quite secretive, and I don’t know much about them. I heard their leader is sixth-rank, but I’ve never met him. They rarely interact with the outside world. And the Gong family on Mount Nangong… I heard they were a prominent martial arts family centuries ago, but they changed their name and fled to the Ba Mountains three hundred years ago and have since declined.”
Shi Hao nodded, “I’ve heard of the Gong family. They’re involved in the silk trade. I didn’t know they were once a martial arts family.”
The Gong family was a competitor of Small Han Mountain City in the silk trade, so he knew a little about them.
He Guangtao continued, “The Gong family has its own martial arts tradition, but I heard their requirements are very strict. They have many martial artists, almost a hundred ranked members, but none have reached the seventh rank, and even eighth-rank is rare. Most are only ninth-rank. I don’t know if there’s a problem with their techniques or some other reason.”
Shi Hao said, “Even without high-ranking experts, a family with dozens of ranked martial artists, even if they’re only ninth-rank, is still a considerable force. To succeed, we’ll need the Gong family’s support.”
He Guangtao said, “I think the Gong family will be relatively easy to persuade. Their business relies on the Hanyang River, and the Hanyang Gang’s control has severely impacted them. They’re practically crippled.”
“As for Goupan Village, Heshou Village, Yinping Village, and the others, they’re not a concern. They only have a few martial artists each. The key is Shennong Village.”
Of the Nine Villages of Ba Shan, the Wudang Monastery, Azure Dragon City, and the Gong family weren’t actually “villages.”
Azure Dragon City, despite its impressive name, was just a small settlement like Small Han Mountain City, built by refugees generations ago, with a few martial artists and hunters, but their strength was limited.
Only six were true “villages,” and Wu Village was secretive. The fact that He Guangtao singled out Shennong Village suggested it was the most powerful of the six.
Hou Bomin, although only in his fifties, was short and hunched, which, combined with his mask earlier, had made him appear much older.
He chuckled, “The leader of Shennong Village, Jing Fude, is almost seventy years old, a sixth-rank expert. He used to be a well-known martial artist, known as ‘Flying Tiger Legs.’ He earned that nickname when he was still seventh-rank and kept it even after reaching the sixth rank.
“In his youth, he was brave and fearless. But now, with age and injuries, his cultivation has stagnated, and he’s become more cautious. However, his two sons are both seventh-rank, and he has many men under his command.
“Shennong Village is the strongest of the six villages, and although Jing Fude has become more timid with age, he’s also become more shrewd and respected in the Ba Mountains. Setting aside Wu Village for now, the other villages will likely follow his lead. Whether we succeed or not depends on this former ‘Flying Tiger Legs,’ now known as the ‘Hidden Tiger.’”
He Guangtao looked at Shi Hao, “Should we approach Elder Jing first? If we can persuade him, it will be much easier.”
Shi Hao considered this, applying the strategies of Guiguzi and the Yin Talisman he had learned from the Holy Jade Immortal.
He shook his head, “Someone like him, having seen the darkness of the jianghu, although brave in his youth, has become cautious and hesitant with age. He’s a sixth-rank expert, but he probably hasn’t fought in years, his spirit weakened.
“If we approach him now, he’ll just give us excuses, neither agreeing nor refusing, wasting our time. We need to gather support first, show him we have strength, and then approach him from a position of power, leaving him little room to refuse.”
“So, we’ll go to the Wudang Monastery first, then the Gong family. Wu Village is a wildcard. We’ll need to understand their intentions. After securing the support of Wudang and the Gong family, I’ll visit Wu Village myself.”
“If we can also persuade Wu Village, with their combined strength, we should be able to convince Shennong Village to join us against the Hanyang Gang.”
Hou Bomin and He Guangtao exchanged glances and nodded.
Although they had discussed the various factions earlier, their plan had been unclear. Now, with Shi Hao’s clear and concise strategy, the path forward seemed obvious.
Du Yuejiao and Xu Xiaoyan, witnessing Shi Hao’s leadership and strategic thinking, looked at him with renewed respect.
His face was resolute, his voice firm. Although anyone could offer suggestions, making the right decisions was a different matter.
His determination to help the Nine Villages, his decisive actions, impressed them.
Xiang Gu, however, sat on the grass, seemingly uninterested in their discussion.
She took off a small sack she carried and opened several small bottles, releasing centipedes, snakes, scorpions, and other venomous creatures that crawled around her, making the two girls shudder.
They really didn’t want this strange woman with them.
Having made his decision, Shi Hao didn’t hesitate.
They traveled through the night, reaching Mount Xieluo in the Ba Mountains.
Mount Xieluo, overlooking Shennongjia to the south and Xiangzhou to the east, had once been a sacred Daoist site. But after the Chongxian Sect’s rise to power, it had suffered greatly, most of the temples abandoned or destroyed, only Wudang Monastery remaining.
As they approached the monastery, Shi Hao and He Guangtao saw Daoist priests packing their belongings, the gates closed, preparing to leave.
“Senior Brother!” He Guangtao rushed towards a middle-aged Daoist priest with a worried expression, “Where are you going?”
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