Chapter 118
An eerie silence suddenly settled over the snowy mountain forest. Only the cold wind rustling through the branches remained.
Just as Hu Lai was thinking their trick had failed, the Second Chief beside him suddenly began clapping vigorously.
“Excellent! Well said!”
His eyes shone as he looked at the beautiful woman. “Who’d have thought Madam was such a fierce lady! ‘Fear neither mountain bandits nor death’ – a tough, unyielding woman like you is just my type! You, Hu-whatever, hurry up and find the softest cloth. I’ll attend to Madam myself!”
Then he kicked Hu Lai in the back. “Such a fine, spirited lady was wasted on you! And you don’t even appreciate her!”
Hu Lai: ?
Fine, she was wasted on him. Why kick him for it?
Adding the grudge to his little mental ledger, Hu Lai hurried to the carriage behind them and found a clean, soft strip of cloth, which he handed to the Second Chief.
The Second Chief carefully tucked the clean cloth into the beautiful woman’s mouth, then gently bound her hands and legs, as though terrified of hurting her. The more he looked at her, the more he adored her.
The villagers here doted on their daughters. If a son went missing in the mountains, they might be slow to react. But if a daughter disappeared, the whole village would probably shoulder their hoes and head into the mountains that very night to wipe out the bandits. Thus, the bandits seldom abducted girls from respectable families; at most, they stole some money.
Passing merchants coming to do business were even less likely to bring women on the road. As a result, there were very few women on their mountain.
And there were none who were both beautiful and fierce.
That was why the Second Chief found “her” more pleasing, and more precious, with every look.
“Second Chief, this one’s much prettier than the one the Chief abducted the other day,” a bandit said with a chuckle. “You’re a lucky man~”
“I think so too. That woman is very good-looking as well, but there’s something wrong with her head. She kept saying she was some whatever-it-was from the capital…” The Second Chief had forgotten what she’d said. He waved it off. “I was a little jealous before. Who knew such good luck would fall right into my lap? Heh, now I’ve got a fairy for a wife too!”
The bandit promptly said, “Then Qianjin Stronghold has two happy occasions to celebrate!”
“That’s right! When we get back, I’ll break out the wine and celebrate with everyone!” the Second Chief said happily. Still, he hadn’t forgotten the business at hand. He shouted to his brothers, “Let’s go! Turn around and head back to the mountain! I’m getting married!”
At his order, the dozen or so bandits stripped off their animal-skin garments and took fine padded robes from their bundles to wrap around themselves. They smoothed their rough, disheveled hair with snow and tied it up. In an instant, they looked like merchants.
With practiced movements, they tucked the animal skins beneath the carriages, then led the carriages and goods in the opposite direction. Their destination was not Black Tiger Mountain, but another mountain to the southwest…
–
Southwest of Black Tiger Mountain stood a great mountain called Mount Qiantai.
It was said that, during the previous dynasty, Liaozhou’s most savage bandits had occupied it. Brutal by nature, they delighted in killing. Passing commoners and merchants all lost their lives there, causing the local authorities no end of trouble.
Then, one summer, the mountain suddenly burst into flames. The entire mountainside was scorched black. When the villagers went up, they discovered that the bandits had long since burned away, without even bodies left behind.
The people began saying that Mount Qiantai had a mountain spirit. The spirit had been too lazy to protect them, and Heaven could no longer bear to watch, so it ordered the spirit to set its own mountain ablaze and rid it of those vicious bandits.
But the mountain spirit refused to accept this and became an evil spirit. For a long time, no trees grew on Mount Qiantai. The bare, black mountain was unnerving to look at. Even during the wars, many bandits were wary of the story of the spirit setting itself on fire. With no trees to provide cover either, they were unwilling to establish a stronghold there.
Later, an arrogant band of rebels took a liking to Mount Qiantai’s strategic terrain, with a river in front and a village behind. They camped there to muster troops, intending to claim the land, proclaim a king, and establish a new capital. They invaded the village, burning, killing, and looting. But after they returned to the mountain, a sudden blaze engulfed them. Their agonized screams rang out all night, filling the people with both sorrow and joy, and deepening their awe of Mount Qiantai.
After that, no more bandits appeared on Mount Qiantai. Even the locals feared the evil spirit. Though trees gradually began growing there again after the founding of the Jian’an Dynasty, people still refused to hunt on the mountain. Whenever they passed it, they hurried their steps.
Thus, no one had imagined that bandits would dare establish a stronghold on Mount Qiantai.
“Mountain spirits, evil spirits – I don’t believe any of that crap!”
As they climbed, the Second Chief’s voice brimmed with scorn. He pushed aside a branch blocking their path. Perched on his broad, powerful shoulders, which looked strong enough to carry a tiger, was a beautiful young woman like a fairy. She made a striking contrast with the burly man beneath her.
“I don’t believe in ghosts or gods either.”
The young woman was, of course, Xie Chengze in disguise. He absently tugged at the Second Chief’s hair, as though plucking fur from his own big cat. Lazily surveying the surrounding terrain, he asked casually, “So you’re the Black Tiger Stronghold from the rumors?”
“Heh, Madam is clever!” the Second Chief said smugly. “There aren’t enough people to rob around Mount Qiantai. It’s no fun at all. So our Chief set his sights on Black Tiger Mountain, and we started calling ourselves Black Tiger Stronghold. After a robbery on Black Tiger Mountain, we disguise ourselves as merchants and return to our stronghold on Mount Qiantai. Naturally, the magistrate of Black Tiger City can search every inch of Black Tiger Mountain without finding any Black Tiger Stronghold!”
So even when they stole government grain, the authorities couldn’t trace it back to them!
A glint passed through Xie Chengze’s eyes.
It was just as he had suspected. Black Tiger Stronghold was not on Black Tiger Mountain at all. It even… had another name.
“Madam! We’re at the stronghold!”
He pushed aside the last branches, and the view suddenly opened up. The Second Chief’s loud, rough voice rang across the mountain, sending out echo after echo. “Brothers of Qianjin Stronghold! Come out and welcome your Second Chief’s wife!”
Xie Chengze looked up. A sprawling mountain stronghold stood in the wilderness, like a sleeping beast crouched among the cliffs. It had no elaborate decorations, only animal bones and broken blades scattered across its walls. They gleamed coldly in the reflected light of the snow, sending a chill down the spine.
Most buildings inside were simple wooden huts with thatched roofs. A level training ground occupied the center. On either side stood several wooden tables and long benches, along with racks of bows, arrows, sabers, and other weapons. Many men in padded animal-skin coats patrolled within. The tall, heavy gate was built from thick logs crossed vertically and horizontally. Its panels were studded with large iron nails, making it look exceptionally sturdy.
Above the gate, written in animal blood or something of the sort, were three large, crooked, hideous characters. Their ugliness rivaled, or even surpassed, a certain person’s handwriting: Qianjin Stronghold.
Xie Chengze couldn’t help commenting, “Hideous.”
Not only hideous, but misspelled. The character for “stronghold” was missing a horizontal stroke.
“What?” Hearing him speak, the Second Chief looked up.
“I said the writing on your Qianjin Stronghold is hideous,” Xie Chengze complained close to his ear.
“Heh! That’s what I think too!” The Second Chief immediately lowered his voice. “Our Chief wrote it. I told him it was ugly, but he wouldn’t believe me! One look at you tells me you have fine handwriting, Madam. Show him what you can do later, so he can see what beautiful writing really looks like!”
Xie Chengze promptly raised his head with pride. “Naturally! My handwriting is unrivaled under Heaven!”