Chapter 342: Registration |
Ever since Liu Xiaolou went up Wulong Mountain at the age of eight, everything he ever heard about or personally experienced that had anything to do with the Zhanglong Sect always ended the same way. The final call was made by Elder Bai.
So in his mind, Elder Bai, the one who handled all the sect’s day-to-day affairs, more or less was the Zhanglong Sect.
The truth was, over all those years, Liu Xiaolou had seen Elder Bai fewer than ten times total. Half of those were from a distance, like the year when the three sects joined forces to surround Wulong Mountain and later clashed with the Qingyu Sect. He had only interacted with Elder Bai up close twice. Once was when he escorted someone who had been plotting harm against Zang Qianli up the mountain to claim the reward. Elder Bai had given him two spirit stones that time. The other was the day disaster struck Wulong Mountain.
Today made the third time, and at last he would be meeting Elder Bai face to face, standing in the main hall itself.
Elder Bai already knew that the visitor requesting an audience was Liu Xiaolou. He’s got a pretty clear impression of him. A few years back the kid was all over the place, stirring up storms, making noise, the whole dramatic package. Then he went quiet for several years, dropped off the radar completely. Now he’s back, and honestly, he’s one of the very few cultivators left standing from the old Wulong Mountain crew. One of the last survivors.
What made it even more surprising was that he had reached Foundation Establishment.
That was reason enough to come out and meet him in person, to see what he wanted.
“Hahahaha…” Before Elder Bai even stepped through the door, his laughter arrived first.
Liu Xiaolou and Lin Twin Fish both stood up to greet him.
“Thank you for your concern, Elder,” replied Liu Xiaolou. “I drifted from place to place in a foreign land for many years. In the end, I couldn’t stop missing home. When things finally seemed to calm down, I worked up the nerve to return. As the elders say, fallen leaves return to their roots. From now on, I hope to take shelter under your protection once again…”
“Hahahaha! Fallen leaves return to their roots? You’re still young. This is when you should be charging ahead, pushing yourself forward. It’s us old men who talk about returning to our roots. Don’t worry. With Zhanglong Mountain here, Tianmu Mountain won’t dare give you trouble anymore. Wulong Mountain has to leave behind at least a few seeds of cultivation. There’s no reason to wipe everything out. You did the right thing by coming back. Hahahaha…”
He was laughing and laughing, then all of a sudden Elder Bai stopped. His eyes narrowed, and he blinked a couple times before fixing a stare on Lin Twin Fish standing off to the side.
Lin Twin Fish smiled slightly and gave a shallow bow. “Greetings, Senior Bai.”
Elder Bai looked surprised. “Twin Fish? I heard that Xiaolou had recruited some people to join his sect. Don’t tell me it was you?”
“Yes, Senior,” Lin Twin Fish replied. “I’m now serving as a guest cultivator under Sect Master Liu. Please take a look.”
Elder Bai glanced at the guest bamboo token in her palm. His eyelid twitched slightly. After a moment’s thought, he asked, “Did your master come with you?”
She shook her head. “No. Over the past two years my cultivation has barely progressed at all, so I went traveling on my own to gain experience. Just then, Xiaolou happened to be looking to strengthen his sect and strongly invited me to join. That’s why I’m staying with the Sanxuan Sect for now as a guest cultivator, in hopes of finding my path to the Dao.”
Elder Bai nodded. “That does fit sword cultivators. You need plenty of real trials. So, is the Southern Sea Sword Sect setting its sights on that cave abode this time?”
Lin Twin Fish smiled and shook her head. “In my current capacity as a guest of the Sanxuan Sect, I have nothing to do with the Southern Sea Sword Sect. For the next half year, my movements will be entirely at my sect master’s discretion.”
Elder Bai shot Liu Xiaolou a sideways glance, a half-smile on his face. “Then I suppose I should be calling you Sect Master Liu now, hmm?”
Liu Xiaolou broke into a cold sweat. “I wouldn’t dare, I really wouldn’t. Please don’t scare this junior like that.”
Elder Bai waved a hand, signaling the two of them to sit back down. He took the main seat himself, lifted his teacup, and sipped at it slowly. A long time passed without him saying a single word, no one knowing what was going through his mind.
Lin Twin Fish also raised her tea and drank slowly. Since Elder Bai wasn’t speaking, neither was she.
The only one feeling seriously awkward was Liu Xiaolou. He kept glancing from one to the other, sweating for quite a while, at a complete loss for what to do. Bit by bit, he forced himself to calm down. With a clenched jaw and a hardened heart, he picked up his teacup and started drinking as well, deciding to treat himself as a bystander. This had nothing to do with him anyway.
And really, he was a bystander. He was only here to repay Lin Twin Fish’s kindness. Otherwise, why would he stay comfortably up on Wulong Mountain and then run over here to volunteer for a battle?
At least Lin Twin Fish had promised him that when the fighting actually began, he, as sect master, would stay behind to oversee things while she charged into battle on behalf of the Sanxuan Sect.
The only thing he didn’t know was who the other two guest cultivators would be. Lin Twin Fish had never said a word about that.
Aside from Lin Twin Fish, the only disciple of the Southern Sea Sword Sect Liu Xiaolou knew was Su Jing. That was it; no one else.
As for Abbot Wu of Baofeng Temple… the guy’s getting on in years. Whatever’s going on here, it probably has nothing to do with him.
Turning it over in his head killed some time and helped ease the awkwardness. Liu Xiaolou stayed put, quietly waiting for the two of them to talk things out.
But as he waited, he felt something vague and hard to pin down. These two didn’t seem like they just knew each other in passing. It felt like there was more to it. Some deeper connection?
And sure enough, there was.
“How is your Third Martial Uncle doing?” Elder Bai asked.
Liu Xiaolou turned to look at Lin Twin Fish, thinking, Her Third Martial Uncle? Isn’t that Thirteen’s master, Elder Bai? Wait… Elder Bai? Two Elder Bais?
Lin Twin Fish replied, “Martial Uncle Bai is doing fine. These past few years he’s stayed on Xiqiao Mountain, barely stepping outside, focusing on training his disciples.”
Elder Bai squinted. “Will he come this time?”
Lin Twin Fish shook her head. “Martial Uncle Bai never said he’d leave the mountain. Chances are, he still won’t.”
Elder Bai lowered his voice. “Back then, his disciple went to Zhuoshui on his own. I didn’t know about it. But didn’t he come back afterward anyway?”
She shook her head again. “I don’t know what Martial Uncle Bai was thinking, but I remember him mentioning once that it might not have been about Junior Brother Su.”
Elder Bai fell silent for a moment, then said slowly, “I understand.” After another pause, he went on, “Honestly, you could just come over and join my line directly. If you want to enter a cave abode, wouldn’t it be better to do so as a disciple of the Zhanglong Sect?”
Lin Twin Fish smiled. “I’m currently a guest cultivator of the Sanxuan Sect. You’re a grand elder of a major sect... are you really going to poach from some small, minor sect?”
Elder Bai gave a snort. “Your martial uncle won’t allow it? Fine then, if he’s not willing, so be it. Sanxuan Sect it is. Either way it’s still under the umbrella of my Zhanglong Mountain anyway. Why make things more complicated than they need to...”
He suddenly paused, let out a quiet “Ah,” and thought it over for a moment. Then he nodded slowly. “I get it now. When you go back, tell your master I appreciate him stepping in and smoothing things over.”
Lin Twin Fish kept smiling, but didn’t respond.
Elder Bai immediately snapped into action. He summoned a steward into the room and issued orders on the spot. “List the Sanxuan Sect as a subordinate minor sect under our order. They are to head to Dongting next month to join the battle.”
The steward nodded and wrote it down. “Understood. Sanxuan Sect… and the sect master is?”
Liu Xiaolou finally stepped up to do his duty as sect master. “Liu Xiaolou... yeah, that’s me. From Wulong Mountain. You know me, right? Haha.”
The steward smiled. “Sect Master Liu, your name is well known. Who on Mount Zhanlong hasn’t heard of you? How many from your sect will be joining the fight?”
Liu Xiaolou glanced at Lin Twin Fish. She held up three fingers. “Three,” he said.
Lin Twin Fish immediately added another finger.
Liu Xiaolou could only sigh. “Four.”
After writing it down, the steward said, “Elder, that makes three minor sects now. One more than planned.”
“Take down the Longbai Sect,” Elder Bai answered without hesitation. “They’ve got plenty of people but only one Foundation Establishment cultivator. Do they really compare to the Sanxuan Sect? Take them out.”