Zuo Gaofeng and Tan Bajhang were both surprised when they saw Liu Xiaolou had managed to get his hands on four jars of Bamboo Leaf Green. They'd tried to get into the spirit wine smuggling game themselves, but couldn't secure that kind of quantity. These days, spirit wine was nearly impossible to find in the Tianmen market. They even thought about reaching out to Wei Hongqing for help, but they couldn't get in touch with him at all.
What they didn't know was that Wei Hongqing was now the new owner of Hongji Tavern.
Looks like Brother Wei treats people differently depending on who they are, Liu Xiaolou thought, feeling a bit smug. Given the situation, he figured it was best not to spill the truth about Wei Hongqing. Instead, he just told them it had been a real grind collecting those jars; going door to door, hustling hard. Just a tough errand job, really. And all he earned was a bit of delivery money.
That explanation satisfied Zuo Gaofeng and Tan Bajhang. They didn't press further. Truth was, Liu Xiaolou had spent six straight days running around to gather those four jars. He really had earned his cut.
Steward Hou was more than pleased with the delivery. He bought the four jars on the spot, paying Liu sixty taels of gold. But he also made it clear that next time, he'd prefer to pay in spirit stones; he was running low on gold and silver. In fact, counting everything he'd already paid Liu Xiaolou, it came out to nearly a thousand taels of silver.
Liu Xiaolou didn't dare waste any time. The conflict between Qingyu Sect and the sects of western Xian wasn't going to last forever. No one knew how long this window of opportunity would stay open. This wasn't the time to slack off; he needed to make as many runs as he could while he still had the chance.
Sixty taels of gold were worth roughly six hundred seventy taels of silver. It was enough to buy eight jars of Bamboo Leaf Green. The problem was, Hongji Tavern would only sell him one jar per day, and only in person. So, all he could do was wait it out.
But he didn't just sit on his hands while he waited. Liu started thinking about how he might get closer to Steward Hou. Build some kind of relationship. The truth was, they barely knew each other. All he really knew about the man was that he liked to buy meat.
So, Liu Xiaolou started wandering all over the Tianmen market, hoping to find something decent to buy. But the rare meats sold there were outrageously expensive. Even the lowest-grade Black Mountain spirit piglets cost three spirit stones each. And then there were the premium ones, like the Seven-Tailed Geese from Tianxing Peak in the northern lands; those went for twenty spirit stones apiece. Way out of Liu Xiaolou's price range.
He decided to take another approach—traveling back and forth between Wuling Mountain and Tianmen market. During the day, he'd head into the mountains to hunt for game. At night, he'd swing by Hongji Tavern to grab dinner and pick up his spirit wine.
He kept at it for two days with nothing to show for it. Then, on his third trip, he finally spotted something: a rare green-feathered pheasant. This bird was fast and alert, highly agile with sharp senses. From Liu Xiaolou's perspective, it could probably go toe-to-toe with White Big in a fight. While not technically a true spirit beast, it was still uncommon enough to make for a respectable gift to Steward Hou.
Whether the meat was tasty or not didn't really matter; at least it'd be something different!
So Liu Xiaolou tracked the pheasant for over four hours and finally managed to catch it.
By the time he looked up, the sun was already getting low, and he hurried to make his way back. But on the road, he suddenly ran into a group of roadside bandits.
There were three of them, all wearing straw hats and black cloth masks. They emerged from hiding and surrounded Liu Xiaolou, cutting off his path.
Liu Xiaolou's first thought was, A flood rushing into the Dragon King's temple. Maybe these guys were fellow rogue cultivators from Wulong Mountain. There were over a hundred of them, and since he had only recently started his path, he hadn't met even half. Misunderstandings were bound to happen. So he quickly announced himself, hoping to clear things up:
"I'm from Wulong Mounta…"
Before Liu Xiaolou could even finish his sentence, the three bandits had already made their move. Each of them drew a magical weapon and charged at him. "I don't care where you're from," the leader snarled, "you're getting buried here today!"
So much for playing by the rules.
Liu Xiaolou had no choice but to fight back, though he instantly realized he was in trouble. The trio's cultivation levels weren't outrageously high, but they each had a clear edge over him, probably at the fourth or fifth layer of Qi Refinement. Fortunately, their attacks lacked real killing intent. That alone told Liu Xiaolou these guys definitely weren't fellow cultivators from Wulong Mountain.
Still, their restraint didn't make things much easier. Liu Xiaolou's own cultivation was too low, and his Sanxuan Sword Technique didn't offer him much of an edge; it was basic at best. Within just a few exchanges, he was already struggling to keep up. If this had happened a year ago, he might've died right then and there, and the Sanxuan Sect would've ended with him. But now, he had at least one way to survive.
With no time to spare, he yanked the formation disk from his belt, tossed it to the ground, and triggered it with a thought. The Abyssal Blackstone Formation activated instantly.
It was Liu Xiaolou's first time actually using a formation in combat. Sure, he'd tested it with Lord Xingde before, but that was under controlled conditions; this was the real thing. He couldn't help but feel a twinge of anxiety.
Suddenly, the bandits' surroundings shifted. In the blink of an eye, they found themselves standing in what looked like the courtyard of a wealthy estate, inside a gazebo by a calm pond.
"Illusion Formation!" the leader shouted. "Brothers, check the formation!"
An Illusion Formation was, in essence, an illusion. It didn't do real damage, but it messed with the senses. To get out, you just needed to find and break through the formation's weak point. But where that weak spot was depended on how much the person knew and understood about the formation.
Of course, even if someone couldn't locate the weak point of a formation, there was still another way out, and it was brute force. If their cultivation was significantly stronger than the one who cast the formation, they could just overpower it and break free.
The other two bandits responded immediately and began scouring the courtyard.
The leader summoned his magical spear, infused it with true qi, and began hurling it across different parts of the courtyard to test the formation's structure. The other two moved around on foot, probing the boundaries. But no matter which direction they went, they couldn't escape the confines of the garden. That seemingly modest white wall kept them boxed in.
It was clear these three weren't formation experts; they had no idea where to even begin looking for the weak point. But they weren't panicking either. They all understood one basic principle: if you couldn't outsmart the formation, you could always try to smash your way through it.
They had been tailing Liu Xiaolou for a while now and had already sized him up, probably no stronger than the fourth layer of Qi Refinement. With cultivation that low, there was no way he could maintain a high-grade formation. So really, what was there to worry about?
The leader's spear lashed out like a dragon; first striking the gazebo, then the koi pond, then a willow tree, followed by a stone bridge, and finally the side wing of the residence. Each strike lit up the air with crackling energy, powerful and relentless. After hammering every likely spot without result, he finally paused to think.
"Zima, Zilu, anything unusual on your end?" he called out, eyes still scanning the courtyard.
"…Brothers?"
"…Zima? Zilu?"
He called out several more times, but still no response. The leader's suspicion immediately flared. He'd clearly seen his two companions enter the side wing moments ago; so why weren't they answering?
Uneasy now, he gripped his spear and leapt out of the gazebo, fully alert as he made his way toward the opposite wing across the koi pond.
As he approached, he noticed the sky gradually darkening. In just a few steps, day shifted into night. He paused, wary. But he soon realized the change in lighting didn't seem to affect him directly. Taking a deep breath, he reached out and pushed the door open. It creaked slowly on its hinges.
What he saw made him freeze in place.
His two brothers were sitting stiffly on embroidered stools, staring wide-eyed toward the far end of the room. Their faces were flushed bright red, and their hands were clenched tightly around... well...
"Zima! Zilu!" he barked.
But the two didn't react. It was as if they couldn't even hear him; faces red, ears burning, bodies slightly hunched forward as if locked in some private, internal struggle.
Now the leader was genuinely baffled. He leaned his head in for a better look into the side room. And he immediately found himself stunned.
Somehow, a third embroidered stool had appeared in the room. And on it... sat another person.
The three of them now sat shoulder to shoulder, completely entranced, all staring toward the massive bed at the far end of the chamber. Every so often, their bodies hunched like three giant shrimp....