Xu Laifeng naturally wouldn’t believe in any talk of “fate.”

After Wuma Yi fled in panic, Jing Wuwei did indeed send someone to inform him that forest-traversing experts would be dispatched to assist. But this young couple, no matter how he looked at them, didn’t seem like jianghu people who haunted the greenwood. Combined with that brief glimpse at the Jinling teahouse—

Xu Laifeng immediately shook the fan in his hand. “Indeed quite coincidental. May I ask if you two are just passing through or…”

“Same as the heroes in the hall below,” Ye Qi quickly picked up his words, “we’ve come to lend Island Master Xu a hand.”

“Oh?” Xu Laifeng’s eyes held a barely perceptible trace of suspicion. “If that’s the case, when I was discussing matters with the heroes earlier, why didn’t you two show yourselves? Instead, you were sneakily eavesdropping here…”

At this moment, everyone in the hall below pricked up their ears. Ye Qi glanced down, then turned with a smile. “Island Master Xu misunderstands. We just arrived tonight and haven’t eaten all day. We were busy filling our stomachs in the room just now. We were about to go downstairs when we saw you leap up… Of course, we also have matters inconvenient to discuss in front of others. If you don’t mind, could we invite you inside to talk?”

Xu Laifeng was confident in his martial prowess and didn’t believe these two tender young people could pull any tricks. He nodded. “Alright, you two go ahead.”

Inside the room, the wooden table was a mess of cups and dishes. Xu Laifeng glanced at it and thought: If they were truly sent by others to gather intelligence, they would have quietly hidden outside. Making such a spectacle of moving in doesn’t seem like the behavior of someone with ulterior motives.

After Ye Qi closed the door and saw him standing there, he gestured for him to sit. Xu Laifeng remained standing in place and asked, “Since you’re helpers invited by General Jing, may I ask your esteemed names?”

Ye Qi clasped his fists. “My humble surname is Ye, given name Qi.”

Xu Laifeng smiled faintly. “I don’t seem to have heard of your reputation before.”

Ye Qi chuckled. “I’m originally just a nobody, commanded to protect this young lady.”

Xu Laifeng didn’t expect the other party to reveal his real name. Hearing this, he only nodded slightly. “And this young lady…”

“Her surname is Jing.” Before Changling could speak, Ye Qi answered for her. “She’s the Great General’s daughter.”

Xu Laifeng frowned upon hearing this and re-examined Changling. “Why would Miss Jing come to this place?”

Changling removed a bronze token from her waist—one she had pilfered from Jing Wuwei’s room before departure. She flashed it before Xu Laifeng’s eyes. “My father said that during your trip into Yanling Mountain this time, you’re extremely likely to obtain that critically important item. If anyone has thoughts of private embezzlement, wouldn’t all his efforts be in vain?”

Xu Laifeng had seen this token before at Jing Wuwei’s place. It even had knife marks on it, so it couldn’t be fake. Xu Laifeng said with half-belief, “General Jing has already planted many trusted confidants in the town. Since Yanling Mountain is after all a den of tigers and wolves, how could he bear to send his own biological daughter?”

“How could those shrimp soldiers and crab generals be a match for Island Master Xu?” Changling sneered and sat down. “As for danger, I, Jing Nanxu, have led the Five Poisons Sect for so many years—what great storms and waves haven’t I seen? These demonic tales about Yanling Mountain don’t even concern me.”

People like Xu Laifeng who had free time loved to gossip about jianghu anecdotes, and he had heard something about the recognition relationship between Jing Wuwei and Nanxu. Hearing these words, he folded his fan and performed a jianghu salute toward her. “I didn’t recognize Miss Jing earlier. Please forgive any disrespect.”

The fan was Xu Laifeng’s weapon. Putting it away represented temporarily eliminating his hostility toward them. Changling secretly breathed a sigh of relief, though her face maintained an arrogant demeanor that looked down on everyone. “This matter is of great importance after all. Your caution is not wrong.”

Xu Laifeng didn’t mind. After Ye Qi invited him to sit again, he asked, “We heard that Escort Chief Tong and Helmsman Cen met with disaster in Yanling Mountain. Having entered the mountain several times, Island Master Xu, have you discovered what dangers lie within?”

“Yanling Mountain has a peculiar climate. Once you enter the mountain, there are heavy layers of obstacles everywhere. The people of Yanling Town call it the ‘Mist Maze Forest.’ Combined with the unique terrain—sometimes the upward path is downhill, and the downward path seems like going uphill—it doesn’t take long to lose direction. Our first time entering, we nearly got lost ourselves. If I hadn’t marked the way using occult arts techniques, we probably wouldn’t have been able to exit the mountain either.” Xu Laifeng paused. “But speaking of dangers, at least during my several trips into the mountain, I haven’t discovered any traces of birds or beasts. So regarding the causes of death for Escort Chief Tong and Helmsman Cen, I remain utterly perplexed to this day.”

Ye Qi pondered. “It seems we still need to go deep into the mountain to investigate thoroughly.”

Hearing his implication, Xu Laifeng knew they indeed planned to follow into the mountain. The man was one thing, but if this woman with such beauty were torn into pieces, wouldn’t that be a terrible waste?

“Although I don’t believe in ghosts and spirits, both Escort Chief Tong and Helmsman Cen were considered senior experts in the jianghu, yet they were torn apart alive in a single night… In my humble opinion, either there are some terrifying traps and mechanisms in this mountain, or there are beasts hiding there more ferocious than tigers and lions. Once you fall for it, it becomes a lifelong regret.” Xu Laifeng looked at Changling and said gently, “Miss Jing, listen to my advice. Leave the mountain climbing to me. If we truly obtain the important item, I’ll only look once and will return it as agreed. If Miss truly doesn’t trust me, let Young Master Ye follow me. You are of precious status—why risk yourself?”

Seeing him drone on even more tediously than Ye Qi, Changling closed her eyes in an out-of-sight, out-of-mind manner. “Since my father sent me here, even if something unexpected really happens, he won’t blame you. My mind is made up. Island Master Xu need not inquire further.”

Having said this much, Xu Laifeng wasn’t the type to meddle unnecessarily. He stood up. “Since that’s the case, later I’ll have someone deliver a map of Yanling Mountain for Miss Jing’s reference. Tomorrow morning we plan to depart for Yanling Mountain at the hour of chen. You two should rest early. If you miss the time, please forgive me for not being able to wait long.”

“Thank you, Island Master Xu, for your candid information.” Seeing him rise, Ye Qi also stood to see him off. “Regarding Miss’s identity, please keep it confidential, Island Master Xu.”

“Naturally.”

After Xu Laifeng left the room, Ye Qi said, “This man surnamed Xu probably doesn’t have much confidence about the mountain’s conditions either. His not wanting you to climb the mountain is well-intentioned.”

“His not wanting me to climb Yanling Mountain is well-intentioned,” Changling lay down completely on the bed, saying indifferently, “but you bringing me all this way here—is that ill-intentioned?”

Ye Qi sat down beside her. “Actually, after hearing what Tao Feng said, I wanted to tell you…”

“What, you also don’t want me to climb the mountain?”

“Finding things is certainly important, but if you really lose your life over it, that wouldn’t be worth it.” Ye Qi’s voice was very soft. “Now that Xu Laifeng is also motivated, if there’s truly a discovery, I’ll follow him while you stay at the mountain’s base. That would be foolproof.”

Changling sat up and stared into Ye Qi’s eyes. She stared until he became somewhat uncomfortable, then suddenly said, “Young Master Ye, even if I listened to you, if you go up the mountain and don’t come down for half a day, could I really stand still? Or do you think waiting until it’s dark and then having me go find you alone would be safer?”

Ye Qi: “…”

Changling raised an eyebrow. “If you keep talking nonsense, I’ll knock you unconscious and climb the mountain myself tomorrow morning.”

“But I still think…”

Before he could finish, Ye Qi saw her fist swing toward him and quickly hopped away three times. “Alright, alright, I was just talking casually. I’ll go get a map from Brother Xu.”

Changling was too lazy to pay attention to him and got up on her own to fetch face-washing water. Ye Qi walked to the door, suddenly turned back, opened his mouth to speak but hesitated. By the time Changling turned around, he had already disappeared.

Perhaps because climbing the mountain was both exciting and frightening, everyone got up early before dawn and waited in the hall. Each person had swords, bows, and crossbows practically covering their entire bodies—those who didn’t know better would think this was a group of bandits planning to raid a village.

Seeing everyone assembled, Xu Laifeng reiterated the rules to follow when climbing the mountain. Who knew how much these rough fellows took in? After Dai Le prepared steamed buns and water pouches, everyone grabbed their bundles and headed together toward Yanling Mountain.

Tao Feng and Dai Le didn’t accompany them. Ye Qi, worried that Jing Wuwei’s people might suddenly interfere, simply had them secretly dispatch people to guard both sides of the mountain range in case of emergency.

Yanling Mountain truly had no aesthetic appeal to speak of. Not only was the path rugged and steep, but looking up, there was nothing but exposed chaotic rocks everywhere. Every few steps they encountered giant boulders blocking the road, covered with moss—they couldn’t advance without climbing rocks and clinging to vines.

Even though most of these people knew martial arts, after climbing for a while, they were all somewhat breathless. After traveling several li, the mountain path suddenly became smooth. Steep cliffs stood upright on both sides, leaving a narrow mud path in the middle that could only accommodate two or three people walking side by side.

Xu Laifeng turned back. “After passing this path, we’ll reach the Mist Maze Forest. Everyone stay close to your group leaders. Each group leader, follow me. Absolutely don’t get separated—if someone really does get lost, don’t search on your own. Remember to inform me immediately. Did you all hear clearly?”

The crowd responded sparsely with agreement. That You San said sarcastically from the side, “Everyone came here voluntarily by invitation. Island Master Xu isn’t their wet nurse—why bother yourself so much?”

Xu Laifeng smiled. “Young Hero You misunderstands. I don’t care about their lives or deaths. I’m just afraid that when we reach that barrier location, if we can’t gather enough people, in the end, it will all be for nothing.”

You San asked curiously, “What barrier location? Why must we gather so many people?”

“That… you’ll know when the time comes.”

Ye Qi, walking behind Xu Laifeng, heard the implication in these words—it seemed he had already found some breakthrough, but it apparently required many people to resolve. Though curious, he didn’t ask further questions—the Mist Maze Forest lay ahead.

This was Changling’s first time seeing such dense mountain fog. Heaven and earth were both shrouded in it, visibility blocked within three steps. When she turned back, she could only hear those people’s footsteps—their shadowy figures were barely discernible.

Xu Laifeng carried a basket full of wooden arrows. Every distance traveled, he pulled one out and inserted it into the soil, using the arrowhead to distinguish direction. That You San couldn’t help but say, “If you want to mark the way, wouldn’t pebbles work fine? If someone steps on these arrowheads, won’t they get hurt?”

Xu Laifeng patiently explained, “This mountain’s climate changes erratically and unpredictably. Wind and rain can start at any time. Ordinary pebble markers are easily disturbed. The ground is sandy, muddy soil—even using wooden arrows, they can only last a day or two at most.”

Ever since entering this Mist Maze Forest, Ye Qi felt something was oddly wrong, but he couldn’t pinpoint what was strange. “This fog doesn’t seem like it was condensed from ordinary mountain water vapor. Island Master Xu, having walked through several times before, have you felt uncomfortable anywhere?”

Xu Laifeng replied, “No.”

Ye Qi asked again, “What about Escort Chief Tong and Helmsman Cen?”

“While walking, they all said they wanted to go back. But after I descended the mountain, I didn’t see them. I imagine they got lost.”

The trees in this mountain were extremely tall. The deeper they went, the more they felt a cold, frightening, eerie sensation—truly what they call being in the clouds and mist.

You San leaped to the treetops several times, each time feeling like he was in the clouds, unable to see the distant scenery. He had previously prided himself on his superior lightness skills, thinking that if he got lost, he could fly to high places. Now he couldn’t help but feel somewhat spooked, pulling at Xu Laifeng’s sleeve and asking, “Island Master Xu, we’ve been walking for over three shichen now. How much longer do we need to walk?”

Both Changling and Ye Qi were startled upon hearing this. Xu Laifeng was also baffled. “We’ve walked at most half a shichen. Where did three shichen come from?”

“How could it not be three shichen?” You San anxiously pointed at the sky. “Look at the sun overhead—if this isn’t noon, what time is it?”

Xu Laifeng looked up at the foggy sky and was even more puzzled. “Where’s the sun? Can you all see the sun?”

“I can barely see Island Master Xu’s face anymore, let alone the sun.” Ye Qi saw You San’s cold sweat dripping and limbs trembling, and quickly checked his pulse. “Eh, I think he seems poisoned…”

You San didn’t hear this sentence. He didn’t know what else he saw and broke free from Ye Qi’s grasp. “I… I’m not going anymore… I want to go down the mountain, go down the mountain!”

Saying this, he tried to turn back and run down the mountain. Xu Laifeng’s figure flashed, reaching him first and grasping his shoulder. “Young Hero You, please calm down first… We…”

His voice caught. Suddenly hearing the sound of weapons clashing from behind, Ye Qi and Changling quickly moved forward a few steps. Passing through the fog layer, they saw those dozen or so people who had been following behind them begin fighting one after another. Some shouted, “You’ve long had ill intentions toward me, haven’t you?” Others said, “The treasure is mine—no one can compete with me for it.” Even more, like You San, shouted about wanting to go back. In an instant, some were killed, some fled—the scene became chaotically uncontrolled.

Ye Qi’s expression changed. “Could they all be poisoned…”

Seeing several brutes with bloodshot eyes charging over, Changling extended her ten fingers. Dozens of silver needles scattered out gracefully, precisely piercing several major acupoints throughout the bodies of everyone present.

Those people’s forms suddenly froze. She leaped up, pinching the needles in her hands and slicing across each person’s little finger. In an instant, black blood dripped to the ground. Changling clasped her hands together, and the scattered needles instantly withdrew back into her sleeves. Only then did Xu Laifeng see clearly that each needle was connected by transparent silk threads, like embroidery needles.

Xu Laifeng’s eyes flashed. “Nanhua Needles?”

In his moment of distraction, he didn’t watch You San closely. In the blink of an eye, the man leaped into the air, disappearing into the rolling smoke and fog. Changling identified his location by sound, turned her fingertip, and the needle shot out abruptly. With an “Ah!” sound, You San fell to the ground.

Ye Qi quickly stepped forward and, following the example, sliced open his little finger. Once the poisoned blood emerged, the man finally quieted down.

After a moment, these people all seemed to regain consciousness, looking around in confusion. Seeing some companions had already been tragically killed, they were all shocked. “What… what happened?”

“It’s truly poison.” Ye Qi’s gaze swept around. “The fog and miasma in this mountain forest has a poison that confuses the mind. You heroes probably experienced some hallucinations?”

Hearing him say this, someone immediately responded, “I just saw him raise his sword at me. I… I thought he wanted to kill me…”

“Nonsense! You clearly drew your sword first. My sword has been on my back the whole time. Look—I haven’t even drawn it now!”

“The fog and miasma are poisonous.” Xu Laifeng murmured. “Why didn’t I discover this before? Even Wuma and the others weren’t like today…”

“Though there’s poison in this fog, the toxicity isn’t very deep. Island Master Xu has profound internal power and firm willpower, so naturally you wouldn’t be affected. Sir Wuma and Helmsman Cen also naturally had considerable skill, so like Young Hero You, they just remembered the time wrong and felt afraid, which is why they wanted to go down the mountain.” Ye Qi walked forward a few steps. “My young lady has been skilled with poisons since childhood. This kind of minor poison naturally poses no obstacle to her. Of course, the reason I wasn’t poisoned is the same as Island Master Xu.”

Changling watched him spout nonsense in the latter half while still not forgetting to put gold on his own face, and turned away with an eye roll—Ye Qi was fine mostly because he’d been taking medicine diligently recently. Ji Beilan’s medicine originally had the function of expelling poison and protecting the heart. As for herself… perhaps it was because of Shimo true qi, or perhaps because she had previously been infected with Concentric Gu, that she remained unaffected.

Xu Laifeng found this reasonable. Seeing that of the original sixteen people, three had died, five had fled, and two of the remaining eight were injured, he stepped forward. “I didn’t know earlier that the mountain’s miasma was poisonous, and I nearly harmed everyone. I truly apologize. Now that we know the reason, everyone might use wet cloth to cover your faces—that should resist it for a while. The path ahead still has heavy mist. If you want to descend the mountain now, there’s still time.”

After exchanging glances, those two injured people hadn’t even stopped their bleeding—they were the first to retreat. Two others weren’t any kind of martial arts experts either. Frightened witless by this situation, they hastily clasped their fists in farewell.

At this time, You San belatedly came to his senses. Seeing Changling’s skills, he thought he might as well cling to this divinely skilled beauty’s coattails. He smiled. “We’ve already come this far. Maybe it’s just a few more steps. Let’s walk a bit further and see.”

The remaining three mostly harbored the same thoughts as You San—while sneakily glancing at Changling from the corners of their eyes, they said to Xu Laifeng, “Island Master Xu, we’ll just follow you.”

Ye Qi saw their gazes constantly drifting toward Changling and felt rather displeased. He stepped forward, blocking their line of sight. “May I ask the three heroes’ names?”

“I’m Gao Xuan.”

“I’m Gao Miao.”

“I’m Gao Kui.”

Ye Qi: “…Are you three relatives?”

“No, we just happen to share the same surname.”

Xu Laifeng had no mind to listen to them chat about names. He looked up at the sky and urged, “Let’s hurry. We must cross this mountain before nightfall.”

The subsequent mountain passage went much more smoothly. After the seven walked for over two more shichen, Xu Laifeng saw an old tree trunk ahead that had been hacked full of pits and holes. He suddenly raised his hand. “Stop.”

You San exclaimed, “This tree was clearly cut by humans… could this barren mountain truly have inhabitants?”

Ye Qi briefly glanced at it, the corner of his mouth curving. “The marks are still fresh—it’s a marker made by Island Master Xu.”

“Mm.”

Xu Laifeng walked to the tree. Behind it, a large patch of fog hung like thick curtains dropped from the sky, physically blocking the path ahead—

Changling listened carefully but didn’t detect any living creatures ahead. Just as she was about to move forward, Ye Qi grasped her hand. “The fog here is heaviest, surging upward from below. Below, it’s extremely likely to be…”

Before “be what” could be said, they suddenly heard someone cry “Ouch!”—that man called Gao Kui had stepped into emptiness, his whole body about to fall off the cliff. Xu Laifeng’s eyes were sharp and hands quick—he grabbed him, exerted his arm strength, and brought the man back to solid ground.

“…A cliff.” Ye Qi finished the second half of his sentence half a beat late.

“This is indeed a cliff, but it’s somewhat different from an ordinary cliff.”

Xu Laifeng opened his fan with a flourish and, gathering his full internal energy, suddenly waved it—the fan flew from his hand, stirring up a surging, roaring hurricane. It then circled in midair before returning to Xu Laifeng’s hand.

The heavy clouds and fog, affected by this heaven-shaking fan wave, instantly tumbled and dispersed, revealing an astonishing scene.

Before the cliff stood stone pillar after stone pillar rising high. The pillars were separated by several chi, somewhat like the wooden stakes that martial artists all practice on—unknown whether naturally formed or artificially carved. Below the stones was an abyss—just one look was enough to make the heart tremble.

The opposite end of these layers of stone pillars was also clearly a cliff, shrouded in clouds and mist with no end in sight. The crowd wanted to look more, but in the blink of an eye, the dense fog surged back, once again concealing everything.

“To reach that mountain on the opposite side, we need to cross using these stone pillars. But this place is also the source of the mountain’s dense fog. With just my own strength, I can only drive it away for an instant.” Xu Laifeng turned back with a sigh. “I originally wanted to borrow the power of many people, simultaneously releasing internal power, which might make the fog disperse for longer. Unfortunately, we now only have seven people remaining. This method probably won’t work.”

Upon hearing this, the three surnamed Gao immediately changed expressions. Gao Miao said, “Island Master Xu, since you knew early on that our numbers weren’t enough to get across, why did you still lead us here?”

Gao Xuan also chimed in, “Right! I thought you had a solution. Now it’s almost dark—going back will probably be difficult.”

Seeing them clamoring noisily, You San snorted. “Stop arguing! Island Master Xu only said this method won’t work, not that there are no other methods. Listen to what he has to say first before arguing, okay?!”

“Young Hero You overestimates me. I truly haven’t thought of a better method…” Xu Laifeng smiled slightly. “However, just because I can’t think of one doesn’t mean others are helpless. Isn’t that right, Young Master Ye?”

Saying this, he turned to look at Ye Qi, smiling warmly. “Ah, no—I should say… Young Master He?”

Author’s Note:

Although Little Brother Xu is the male protagonist of another story, in this story he’s not necessarily in the protagonist camp.

Why does he help Jing Wuwei? Actually, he’s not helping—he just wants the secret manual. For someone obsessed with martial arts, Old Xu’s heart doesn’t have many restrictions. What big shots or small fry are all the same to him. His eyes only distinguish between: those with good martial arts and those without.