Chapter 348: Replacement |
After the meal, Big White and Little Black cleared away the leftover dishes. Lin Twin Fish and Wu Changeng cupped their hands in farewell and headed back to Half-Pine Terrace.
Han Gao stayed behind at the small courtyard in the bamboo grove. Liu Xiaolou pointed him to a room next door and said with a smile, “The place is pretty rough. It can’t compare to the Han family estate on Dafeng Mountain. Brother Han, I hope you don’t mind.”
Han Gao waved it off to show he didn’t care. What he really cared about was something else. “Tell me,” he said, “what do I have to do to get the Twin Fish Sword to accept me as a guest elder of the Sanxuan Sect?”
Liu Xiaolou thought for a moment, then tried to reassure him. “If you ask me, becoming a guest elder of the Sanxuan Sect has nothing to do with your cultivation level, and it has nothing to do with which family or sect you come from. What really matters is this. That third guest elder’s seat was saved by Senior Sister Lin for one specific person. She’s been waiting for him all along.”
“Who is it?” asked Han Gao.
Liu Xiaolou replied, “If I’m not mistaken, it should be Thirteen. You know Thirteen, right? Su Thirteen. Su Jing.”
Han Gao remembered. “Elder Bai’s last, closed-door disciple? He’s only been at the Foundation Establishment stage for a few years. His cultivation isn’t even as good as mine. And you still say it has nothing to do with background? This is exactly because of background.”
Liu Xiaolou shook his head. “Not really. Do you know which sect the Sanxuan Sect chose to align itself with in this war?”
“Zhanglong Mountain? Haven’t you always been under Zhanglong Mountain?”
“Elder Bai of Zhanglong Mountain? What do you mean by that?”
“Figure it out yourself.”
“How am I supposed to figure it out… wait. Two Elders Bai?”
“Heh.”
Nothing more was said that night. Han Gao stayed in the wooden cabin assigned to him, studying yin-yang techniques. He worked through the night until dawn. Then he suddenly heard Liu Xiaolou speak from the courtyard.
“They’re here.”
Han Gao stepped out of the room and stood beside Liu Xiaolou. The two of them looking down the mountain path together.
After waiting about as long as it takes to drink a cup of tea, they finally saw a lone man, stumbling his way uphill.
When the man reached the gate of the small courtyard and saw Liu Xiaolou, he broke into a smile. “Brother-in-law,” he called out. Then his eyes rolled back and he collapsed onto the ground.
It was Su Jing.
Liu Xiaolou was startled and rushed forward to catch him. At that moment, another person swept up from down the mountain. It was Lin Twin Fish, hurrying over from Half-Pine Terrace.
Lin Twin Fish took Su Jing straight out of Liu Xiaolou’s arms. After quickly checking his breathing, she immediately pulled out a pill and fed it to him.
Wu Changeng arrived right after. “How is junior brother?” he asked anxiously.
Lin Twin Fish said, “Backlash from a Sword Tide injury.”
Wu Changeng was confused. “Elder Bai?”
Lin Twin Fish nodded. “Most likely.”
Wu Changeng was stunned. “Why Elder Bai... How did junior brother end up fighting Elder Bai?”
Lin Twin Fish said, “Did you forget that junior brother was still confined in Stone Swallow Gorge? If he wanted to come down the mountain, he had to get past Martial Uncle Bai first.”
Wu Changeng slapped his forehead. “Ah, right, right. In that case, junior brother passed the test? But wasn’t Martial Uncle Bai a little too heavy-handed?”
“He should count himself lucky just to be let out,” Lin Twin Fish said. “Otherwise, do you really think he could have made it through? Give me a hand.”
The two of them laid Su Jing on a wooden platform. Each of them took one of his hands and used their true qi to help him refine and absorb the pill’s effect.
Liu Xiaolou stood off to the side, worried. He asked again and again until he was told there was no real danger. Only then did he finally relax. Seeing Han Gao watching with a frown, Liu Xiaolou shot him a knowing look, as if to say, see, I told you so.
Han Gao nodded slowly. After thinking for a moment, he asked, “Sect Leader, how many guest elders can the Sanxuan Sect take?”
“Three guest elders. With me included, that makes four of us when it’s time to fight.”
Han Gao’s face fell. “So there’s no place for me, then?”
Liu Xiaolou tried to reassure him. “If it really comes to that, you can step in as a substitute. What if something happens to one of us and they can’t make it onto the field? Then wouldn’t you be able to fill the spot? Honestly, I’m actually hoping you’ll be the one covering for me.”
Han Gao let out a sigh. “Guess that’s the only way, then.”
Before long, Su Jing slowly came to. When Lin Twin Fish asked a few questions, it turned out things were exactly as she had expected, not a bit off.
Wu Changeng said approvingly, “Making it past Uncle Bai’s test... that means your swordsmanship has improved a lot, junior brother.”
Han Gao probed cautiously from the side. “With Brother Su’s injuries, it might be better for him to rest and recover properly. Jumping into a fight too soon wouldn’t be good for his future cultivation.”
Wu Changeng cut him off. “Second Master Han, my junior brother’s injuries are nothing serious. A couple days of rest and he’ll be ready to fight. And one more thing. Even if my junior brother’s cultivation isn’t as strong as yours, when the Southern Sea disciples fight together, we can hold our own even against a Golden Core cultivator. You, Second Master Han, wouldn’t have any room to step in anyway.”
Han Gao’s face darkened at that. He knew they were probably telling the truth. With no way to argue back, he could only turn his thoughts to scheming about the substitute position instead.
Just now, Liu Xiaolou had already hinted that he did not really want to go into battle and planned to let Han Gao take his place. But Liu Xiaolou’s wishes alone did not decide anything. Lin Twin Fish still had to agree. So he replied, “The sect leader has only recently reached Foundation Establishment. His foundation is not very solid yet. If he rushes into battle, there could be risks. Given the sect leader’s status, if something were to go wrong…”
Lin Twin Fish turned to look at Liu Xiaolou. “What does the sect leader think?”
Liu Xiaolou thought it over. “Elder Lin, what is your opinion?”
“You should go into battle yourself,” she said. “It will be beneficial for your cultivation of the Yellow Dragon Sword Art.”
Liu Xiaolou felt heavy-hearted, torn up inside. He nodded. “I understand…”
Lin Twin Fish added, “Second Master Han, if you really want to fight, you can serve as the sect leader’s substitute. That’s settled. Let’s not drag this out any further.”
Han Gao made one last attempt. “Can’t we all go? Does it have to be just four people?”
“Four,” Lin Twin Fish said. “Zhanglong Sect offering four slots is already generous. Second Master Han, don’t get your hopes up for more.”
And with that, the seating order was settled.
To lock down that substitute spot he’d finally clawed his way into, Han Gao switched tactics and started pushing for an official role in the sect. What he really wanted was to become a guest elder.
Lin Twin Fish refused outright. “There are only three guest elder tokens.”
Han Gao looked to Liu Xiaolou, who confirmed that it was true. There really were only three.
Wu Changeng, clearly showing off, took his own guest elder token off and waved it back and forth in front of Han Gao.
So Han Gao backed down again and tried a different angle. “Then how about being an assistant guest elder?”
Lin Twin Fish was worn down by his persistence and finally nodded. “Fine, fine. Assistant guest elder it is.”
Being an assistant guest elder of the Sanxuan Sect was more than enough to satisfy Han Gao, and his mood immediately brightened. “Let me tell you all a little secret. The sect leader’s way of using July Fragrant Orchid isn’t actually the best. There’s another method that brings out an even richer fragrance. It’s a secret technique from my Dafeng Mountain. Since we’re all fellow cultivators, I won’t keep it to myself. At noon today, I’ll show everyone what I can do.”
With that, he rolled up his sleeves. “Elder White… Elder Black… let’s get the fire going!”
Soon, thin wisps of cooking smoke curled up over Ganzhu Ridge.
In the drifting smoke, someone suddenly came up the mountain. Liu Xiaolou was taken completely by surprise. The newcomer wore a hero’s headscarf and a bright red robe. He looked gaunt and withered, hunched over at all times, as if he were carrying a thousand-pound weight on his back.
Although he addressed Lin Twin Fish and the others as “senior sister,” “senior brother,” and “junior brother,” he was not actually from the same sect. They were only of the same lineage: the Southern Sea Sword lineage. He was Song Axia from Crane Mountain.
Seeing him climb the mountain, Lin Twin Fish felt both surprised and not surprised at all. “You? You’ve come out of seclusion?”
“I have,” Song Axia replied. “My true qi has solidified. I’ve caught up to Senior Sister Lin and Senior Brother Wu. I heard that Senior Sister Lin issued the Twin Fish Order, so I told the others not to come. They handed the order over to me.”
Lin Twin Fish nodded and said no more. She turned to Liu Xiaolou. “He’ll serve as a guest elder of the Sanxuan Sect as well.”
Han Gao wasn’t happy about it at all. “Aren’t there only three guest elder tokens?”
Lin Twin Fish shrugged. “If it really comes to that, we’ll just make another one.” She beckoned with her hand, and a short bamboo stalk flew over into herpalm. Right then and there, she started whittling and shaping it.
Han Gao stared at it for a moment, then exploded: “You made this token yourself? This is straight-up bullying!”
Lin Twin Fish went on, “Alright, now we’ve got the full lineup for the fight. Sect Leader, please head back up to Zhanglong Mountain later and let them know. Sanxuan Sect is adding one more person to the roster.”
Han Gao jumped in right away: “Didn’t we just say we couldn’t add anyone a minute ago?”
“This is Song Axia,” she said. “His situation is special. You can’t compare him to yourself.”
Han Gao pressed on, “Then why not add two?”
Lin Twin Fish shook his head. “No. You’ll be the replacement. The sect leader’s replacement.”
Han Gao choked back a lungful of frustration, turned on his heel and stalked off: “I can’t cook like this. I’m going to take a break.”