I came to a very generous arrangement with the Li Clan. They walked away extremely satisfied, though the second elder was still suspicious of my ability to follow through on my promises.
To their eyes, giving away basic knowledge of formations and sending one of the clan’s elders to teach my disciples in formation arts was a small price to pay for what I’d given them.
For starters, I’d offered regular shipments of the healing pills I’d produced in Three River City. After explaining that they contained no pill toxins and could heal almost any mortal ailments, they were intrigued. After testing one, they were satisfied with the trade.
I’d given them three shipments of twenty pills free of charge in exchange for what they were giving, but if they wanted more they would need to pay. Even though the clan leadership consisted of Qi Gathering cultivators, most of the clan were mortals or Body Tempering practitioners and the healing pills would be hugely beneficial.
Additionally, I agreed that I would give the Li Clan preferential treatment and a small discount on any healing services they might require from my sect. That would only last for six months, but once they saw how effective it was, they were sure to attempt to renegotiate the deal.
“You are a talented man, Sect Leader Zhao, but you should be cautious. This knowledge is dangerous to possess,” the first elder warned as she saw me off through the north gate.
“Thank you for the warning, First Elder. I shall take it to heart. I’ll return in a few days,” I replied with a martial salute.
“Little Li will be ready and waiting,” she said with a chuckle. “He insisted on being the one to go with you. Don’t worry, he is just as knowledgeable as he is angry.”
“Then I shall be profiting a great deal from our arrangement! Farewell.”
With that, I turned and left North Peak Town to make my way to my second destination on my little trip—Twisting Ridge City.
****
The city wasn’t as far as I’d expected it to be from the Li Clan’s town. Based on what Wang Ren had told me he’d heard on his trips out of the mountain, I thought it might be a fair distance.
However, it only took me half a day running at three-quarters of my top speed to arrive. That had drained a fair bit of my qi, but with my refined lungs and heart working in tandem it didn’t take me long to replenish anymore.
I should’ve expected it given the city’s name, but as I approached the terrain began to incline. The hill wasn’t that steep, but it was a long path. The nearer I got to the city, the more people joined me on the roads.
There were two main roads leading towards two separate gates that I could barely make out in the distance. The travellers on the road I was on mostly consisted of those on foot, with a few people pulling small, hand-drawn carts with them. Immigrants, wanderers, or simply those returning from journeys outside the city.
On the other road there were mostly caravans, carriages, and people riding on beasts. The most common mount was a spirit beast that resembled a horse, but with feathers rather than hair and bird-like claws rather than hooves. They didn’t have wings, but even their heads were rather avian in nature, albeit stretched towards the beak—hence why I thought they looked like horses.
Given that I was already on the correct road, I didn’t bother heading over for a closer look. Most likely the other gate was one for merchants and those with goods to declare while the one I was heading towards was for pedestrians.
It was possible that cultivators might be able to skip some of the wait, but I was happy to join the queue of friendly people as it condensed towards the city walls. I didn’t join any conversations as most gave me a wide berth, but I listened to life proceeding without worry—this was what I wanted all people in this empire to experience.
It only took a few hours to reach the front of the queue. The walls were imposing, but only a little taller than those encircling North Peak.
A stone-faced guard greeted me as the person ahead of me was waved inside. “Reason for entry?”
He was a Peak Body Tempering practitioner, which I thought was impressive for a random city guard, this far from the sects. While his tone was curt, he didn’t show any signs of animosity.
“I wish to speak with the city lord about the growing bandit problems in the area,” I replied.
I tried to temper my answer with the truth. Given my attire and cultivation I hoped the guards wouldn’t dismiss me as a fool here to add problems to the lord’s plate, but rather someone worthy of being granted a meeting.
He frowned and looked me up and down. He seemed ready to speak when the other guard—also a peak practitioner—walked over and whispered something in his ear.
The first guard’s eyes widened and when he turned back to me he had a glint of respect in his eyes. He offered a martial salute and a shallow bow while saying, “Apologies for the disrespect, Lord Cultivator. The captain will meet with you. Please follow my colleague.”
Unlike the stern fellow who’d assessed me at the gate, the guard who escorted me was far more jovial. We exchanged pleasantries as he led me towards one of the larger buildings near the centre of the city.
There were two pillars holding up a roof over the doorway, with tigers and wolves carved onto them. The character for ‘order’ was inscribed above the door.
Once he had brought me to the third floor and taken me to a rather plain wooden door, less gaudy than others in the building, the guard said his farewells and returned to his duty.
I prepared to knock on the door, but before my knuckles could rap on the wood I heard a voice from inside call out to me. “Enter,” the captain said, his voice rough yet firm.
I pushed open the door and briefly scanned the room as I walked in. It was similarly plain in design, like the door, with a sturdy wooden desk dominating the space. A single bookshelf towered in the corner, its shelves filled with a mix of aged and freshly inked scrolls and tomes.
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Opposite the desk there was a painting of a stern faced man standing with his hands on the shoulders of two young boys, dressed in smart clothing. A beautiful woman sat beside them with a dazzling smile on her face, her features sharp yet feminine.
When I turned to the man behind the desk, I realised he was almost identical to the fellow in the painting. That should be the captain’s family, then.
“Greetings, Captain…?” I began after shutting the door and standing in front of the desk.
All that decorated the dark wood was a jade carving of a soldier riding one of the feathered mounts I’d seen outside the city, a stack of documents, and a calloused fist belonging to the captain himself. A practical man.
“One would think it is polite to introduce oneself before asking their partner’s name,” he replied, his expression neutral. He hadn’t even looked up from the document he was currently reading, showing off a cropped head of salt and pepper hair.
“Well, I wasn’t sure if your name was one I needed to remember yet,” I retorted, probing him gently with my qi. “I’m Zhao Dan.”
He was a four-star Qi Gathering cultivator. Not impressive, but given that we were in the boonies it wasn’t too shabby. I assumed only the city lord and the leaders of the various local factions would possess a higher cultivation than him.
“Brash, are we?” he snorted, finally raising his gaze to meet my own. He had reacted to my qi, but only once I’d already learned everything I needed to know.
“So, Zhao Dan, I hear you wanted to meet with the lord? Unfortunately, he is rather busy with more important matters than chatting with random cultivators. So, you will have to be satisfied with myself. It’s Captain Wang, by the way. Nothing in Twisting Ridge City can escape my notice, so do behave while you’re here if you plan to stay for a while,” he said, his tone light but his gaze heavy.
To be honest, while he was brash, I respected his attitude. In a world of scheming bastards and underhanded plots I was thankful to meet someone who was so open with their intentions.
Dealing with honest people was far easier than trying to work with devious cultivators who tried to twist every situation to their own benefit. Captain Wang seemed like the type of man who’d slap your face rather than stab you in the back—not that I wanted to have any conflicts with the man.
“I like you already, Captain,” I said with a smirk, walking over to the window and letting out a little gasp when I saw the view. “Now I see where the city gets its name,” I remarked, gazing out towards the back of the city where the roads and buildings gave way to a sharp drop over a cliff into a valley of endless twists and ridges.
“Yes, the view is magnificent,” the captain agreed. “I am sad to say I don’t get much time to enjoy it these days. Things have been rather chaotic. In fact, my man told me that one reason for that chaos is why you wanted to see the lord. Have the Azure Tigers been bothering you? You aren’t alone in that, but we are already stretched thin enough.”
“Bothering me? Yes, Hu Qing and some of his associates attacked me and my disciples in our home the other night,” I replied, turning back to face the captain.
His expression turned grave. “The Azure Tiger himself attacked you? And yet you’re alive to tell the tale? How did you escape?” he demanded.
“Escape?” I replied with a smirk. “I think you have the wrong idea, Captain Wang. I am not here to request help dealing with the Azure Tigers. Hu Qing is dead, as is his backer. I simply wanted to make sure there would be no backlash for my companions if they wiped the rest of the bandit scum from the face of the world.”
“What!?” he exclaimed, smashing a fist into his desk. The wood trembled but didn’t break, which was impressive given that the captain hadn’t held back much. “Impossible! You’re only a six-star Qi Gatherer. Unless you have a Foundation Building senior…” he slumped back in his chair.
“Actually, that would make sense. Honestly, if your senior wishes to handle the Azure Tigers, I would have nothing but gratitude for him. They’ve been a thorn in our side for years. Those bloody Li-” he began but cut himself off when he remembered I was still in the room.
“Senior?” I replied once more, cocking my head to one side. I supposed Guan Jin did count as my senior, but he hadn’t been the one to deal with Hu Qing, only the devious Jing Ma.
However, the misunderstanding might work in my favour. If the captain believed I had a powerful backer he may be less likely to wonder how a six-star cultivator had crossed realms and slaughtered the Peak Qi Gathering Hu Qing.
“Well, my Elder wishes to stay in the shadows, hence my coming here. I am glad there will be no problems with our actions, my companions were eager to strike back after the chaos the bandits brought to our home. I am glad to see Captain Wang is upright and stands for justice,” I said, mixing truth with some white lies.
“I appreciate you coming here to ask for permission. Most cultivators act first and dismiss the consequences. Might I ask where this home you mentioned is? The city lord may wish to meet your Elder to pay respects.”
I thought about whether to lie, but the sect’s appearance was already out in the open. If the city lord did arrive at the mountain, I could just make up an excuse about why my ‘senior’ didn’t come out to greet him.
“Our Grasping Life Sect is located on Million Flowers Celestial Peak, near the border. We would welcome the lord’s visit with open arms,” I replied.
“Million Flowers…” the captain muttered. “Ah! That was the mountain Hu Qing wanted for himself. No wonder he attacked you… All’s well that ends well, I suppose. I must apologise, Sir Zhao, but I am rather busy,” he apologised, waving at the stack of papers on his desk. “Thank you for your visit, but if there’s nothing else…?”
“No, that is all, Captain. Thank you for your time and understanding,” I said, offering a martial salute before making my way back out of his office.
I hadn’t managed to meet the city lord of Twisting Ridge in order to appraise him. With an upright man such as Captain Wang serving as his guard captain though, I was somewhat assured of his personality. At the very least, it didn’t seem the situation here was anything like in Three River City.
In fact, it was the opposite. The festering corruption there had come from the palace itself and the evil Councillor Gao. Here, the city’s officials seemed to be doing their best while under pressure from strong outside forces.
They were handling themselves well though, which I approved of. With my business in the city concluded, it was time to figure out how to approach the final objective of my trip—meeting with the Golden Leaf Consortium.
I knew they had a branch here in the city, but I had to wonder if the direct approach was the best solution. Merchants didn’t appreciate their time being wasted, but if I had a tantalising offer to dangle in front of their noses, that would be another story entirely.
There were plenty of deals I could make. I had my healing pills, which weren’t wholly unique but still had great value—medicine for mortals that contained no toxins or impurities was rare and would fetch a high price to the right buyer.
However, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to outsource the distribution of the pills yet. I still hadn’t figured out a way to produce them outside of the unique conditions in my stomach with my physique aiding the process.
What I needed to offer them was something unique that only I could give, but not so valuable that I would feel as if I was losing out in the trade. For now I didn’t even know what I wanted in return from the consortium. Figuring that out should be my first move.
Wang Ren had mentioned their main business was in spirit herb farms. Given that I was a budding alchemist, I was sure they would have plenty of products that appealed to me. There were still plenty of basic resources I needed for the sect, too.
With the foundations of a plan formed in my mind, I asked a passing stranger for directions to the Golden Leaf Consortium’s branch in the city. The man was startled but respectful once he noticed my attire and gave me clear, concise instructions.
As I started walking I hummed a merry tune and had a spring in my step. A relaxed life like this suited me very well. All the chaos and bloodshed wasn’t good for the soul.
However, I did miss the intense days of being a war doctor. Nothing was quite like the rush of adrenaline and the hard focus of an emergency surgery. I was sure I would have a chance eventually, but for now I was content to enjoy the sunshine and the gentle breeze as I continued my adventure.
