“Why wait until tomorrow?” Feng Jiu’er’s expression remained quite flat, giving nothing of her feelings away.
“I was just thinking of preparing something for the three of you brothers, as a token of encouragement.” The corners of the captain’s mouth curved into a smile. “Qian San, you really must keep it up!”
“I can tell—you’re more likely to become the Thunder King than either of your two brothers.”
At this moment, the captain understood that the reason he couldn’t read the other’s internal energy was simply that he himself wasn’t strong enough.
“Everyone who walks through that door wants to become the Thunder King. I’m no different,” Feng Jiu’er said evenly.
“But I do understand the principle that there’s always a greater heaven beyond the heavens, and someone stronger beyond the strong. I just want to keep moving forward—I haven’t thought much further than that.”
“Captain, you can skip the encouragement. None of us three brothers care for fuss. If it’s possible, we’d like you to let us in right now.”
“This…” The captain looked troubled.
Someone had defeated Yang Daqiang and was leaving; Yang Daqiang himself couldn’t stay either. As for how to handle the fourth checkpoint going forward, he hadn’t thought that far yet.
The captain wasn’t even sure whether this matter ought to be reported up the chain before being acted on.
At the start, he hadn’t expected Yang Daqiang to lose, which was why he had agreed to the terms so readily.
Now that Yang Daqiang had lost, everything needed to be rearranged, and he found himself hesitating.
“Captain, Yang Daqiang doesn’t necessarily have to leave,” Feng Jiu’er said, breaking the awkward silence.
“We want to move forward, but that doesn’t mean we have to step on someone else to do it. If you still need Yang Daqiang, you’re welcome to let him stay.”
“As long as you arrange for us to move into the next zone, whether Yang Daqiang stays or not is entirely up to you.”
Within the crowd, Yang Daqiang, hearing Feng Jiu’er’s words, came to a stop.
“Brother Qian, do you mean that?” The captain looked overjoyed.
If the three Qian brothers and Yang Daqiang all left on the same day, he wasn’t sure he could manage the fallout.
It was only natural that the strong would move forward, but the captain truly didn’t want to see Yang Daqiang go—especially not backward.
Knowing Yang Daqiang as he did, the captain suspected that if he left Zone Four, he’d very likely just go straight home.
A talent like that—it would be such a waste, the captain thought.
“Of course,” Feng Jiu’er nodded. “Then I’ll trouble you, Captain, to arrange for the three of us brothers to move into Zone Three today.”
She gave the captain a cupped-hand salute, then turned and walked off toward Jian Yi and Qiao Mu.
The three brothers left amid the crowd’s rapt attention. They had walked only a short distance when Yang Daqiang caught up with them.
He came before the three of them, looked at Feng Jiu’er, and gave a sincere cupped-hand bow.
“Qian San, today this Yang admits defeat without resentment. Since I lost, I have no business lingering where I’m not wanted.”
“But though I leave today, I’ll surely be back here again tomorrow. I hope we’ll have the chance to share a stage once more!”
The moment he finished speaking, Yang Daqiang bowed again.
Feng Jiu’er looked at him, then raised both fists and returned the gesture.
“I’ll be waiting.”
She left those two words behind and continued on her way.
The Qian brothers’ departure into the third zone—going from the fifth zone all the way to the third in a single day—was something no one there had ever heard of before.
Yang Daqiang, true to his word, left Zone Four alone and returned to the back hills of Zone Five.
Historically, the only ways out had been leaving entirely or dying; there had never been a case of someone simply retreating to a previous zone. Yang Daqiang became the exception.
By nightfall, in a house in the back courtyard of the inn, Feng Jiu’er and Qiao Mu sat facing each other across a table.
Fewer people had made it into the third zone than one might expect.
Behind the inn was a large courtyard compound; behind that, and to either side, rows of separate side-chambers stretched out.
The rooms were elegantly furnished, and the surroundings were quiet—altogether a rather fitting place for people to settle.
There were plenty of side-chambers but few occupants. The three Qian brothers had chosen one in a corner, with no one staying in the rooms on either side.
Jian Yi, still uneasy, climbed up to the rooftop not long after nightfall and kept watch beneath the deep night sky.
“Jiu’er, I checked—counting the three of us, there still aren’t even twenty people in Zone Three.” Qiao Mu poured a cup of tea and took a small sip.
“This is a fairly good place to settle for now.”
“Getting into Zone Two won’t be easy. The inn allows each person a month’s stay, during which time, food and drink will be delivered.”
“Jiu’er.” Qiao Mu set down her teacup. “Are you planning to keep pushing forward, or stay put for a while?”
“How hard would it be to leave from here?” Feng Jiu’er set down the letter she’d been holding and lifted her eyes to glance at Qiao Mu.
“With your skill, not hard at all,” Qiao Mu said, shaking her head.
Both Feng Jiu’er and Qiao Mu understood that she didn’t just mean leaving—she meant leaving secretly, safely, and being able to slip back in again without anyone noticing.
“How many people are in the inn right now?” Feng Jiu’er continued.
“Six on the second floor, ten on the first,” Qiao Mu said, brow furrowing slightly. “Jian Yi says none of the dozen or so people in Zone Three seem suspicious. Jiu’er, are you thinking of—”
“Mm.” Feng Jiu’er nodded. “Tonight, I’m going to go in and take a look around.”
Before Qiao Mu could respond, Feng Jiu’er added, “Jian Yi and I will go in. You stay here.”
Qiao Mu knew there was no use arguing, so she only poured herself another cup of tea.
“I heard the foremost of the Thunder Kings came back today too. Be careful, both of you—anyone who could rise above everyone else here can’t be simple.”
Qiao Mu lifted her cup, blew on the tea leaves floating on top, and couldn’t help asking, “Why not have Jian Yi stay behind instead?”
“I’m not at ease unless I go see for myself.”
“You’d win against Jian Yi anyway, so it doesn’t matter to me.” Feng Jiu’er arched a brow and pulled another letter from the bamboo tube.
“Forget it. Isn’t good food and drink better? Who’d want to fight Jian Yi to the death over this?” Qiao Mu drained her cup and stood up.
She stretched, then turned toward the door of the side room.
“I’ll rest for a bit. Call me when you two are about to leave.”
Feng Jiu’er waved a hand. “Go on, then.”
Her eyes, fixed on the painted scroll, never wavered—not even when Qiao Mu went inside, not even a glance.
In the upper right corner of the portrait was written a line: Foremost of the Thunder Kings, Bao Lei.
Feng Jiu’er wasn’t sure if it was just her imagination, but this foremost Thunder King—why did he look somehow familiar to her?
It wasn’t quite that his face seemed familiar; she could say with certainty she’d never actually seen this face before. So why, then, did this colorless painting stir up such a faint sense of familiarity in her?
Feng Jiu’er studied the painting for a good while longer, then stood, rolled the scroll back up, and tucked it into her sleeve.
She walked to the window and rapped a rhythmic pattern against the wooden crossbar before turning and heading into the inner room.
Before long, the window stirred as if blown by the wind, and a tall figure appeared in the side-chamber.
At the third quarter of the Hour of the Pig, the window that had just been closed opened once more. In the chamber, only one person remained, drinking alone.
Qiao Mu felt rather sorry for herself—after all this time, her martial skill still couldn’t match Jian Yi’s.
Otherwise, the one left behind tonight wouldn’t have been her.
“Sigh.” She sighed for what felt like the umpteenth time, slumping forward onto the table.
Unable to follow Jiu’er, and without even anyone to talk to—tonight was sure to be a long and tedious one.
All Qiao Mu could think to do was train harder, hoping that someday she might finally surpass Jian Yi.