Chương 61: The Old Road

"Brother Fang, something's wrong." Qin Hao walked into the City God Temple, his face serious as he found Fang Cheng.

"What is it?" Fang Cheng looked up from his small stool. Qin Hao said, "Our shipment to Lianshan Prefecture was robbed. All the silk goods were taken." Fang Cheng frowned and stood up.

"Where did it happen?" Qin Hao replied, "On the official road near Shuili City. There were only about a dozen bandits, all masked. Several of them were mid-level cultivators. The guards we hired were all low-level cultivators. They were no match." Fang Cheng continued, "What about the caravan members? Were they killed or taken?" Qin Hao shook his head.

"No. They all came back safely. A few guards were injured." Fang Cheng laughed.

"The bandits only injured the cultivators we sent as guards. They didn't silence them. That doesn't sound like demonic cultivators. And if they were after money, why only take the silk goods? Why not take the whole caravan hostage and demand ransom?" Qin Hao scratched his head.

"I don't get it either. Were the bandits being merciful?"

"Bandits being merciful? Do you think they're robbing the rich to give to the poor?" Fang Cheng scoffed.

"Bandits don't run businesses. They don't do steady, long-term trade. They do one-off jobs: kill, take the goods, leave no witnesses. Even if they take hostages, after getting the ransom, they kill everyone so the Underworld Bureau can't trace the victims back to them. So there are only two reasons the bandits let your people go. One: they're idiots. Two: they know they can't mess with us." Idiots was out of the question. So... Qin Hao scratched his head again.

"If they know they can't mess with us, why steal our goods?" Fang Cheng shrugged.

"Simple. They're sending a message. We can do silk business, but we shouldn't overdo it. We need to leave some scraps for our neighbors. Even a rabbit bites when cornered." Qin Hao suddenly understood.

"Brother Fang, I get it. It's those officials in Shuili City! Damn it. They can't compete fairly, so they resort to dirty tricks. How despicable!" Fang Cheng waved his hand.

"More precisely, it's Hu Tong, the City God of Dongyang City. Even though he officially pulled his temple out of Shuili City, Shuili and Dongyang are close. It's still his territory. And only he has mid-level cultivators under his command."

"Hu Tong!" Qin Hao's face paled slightly. As a Land God from Lianshan Prefecture, he had long heard of Hu Tong's fearsome reputation. Just the name made him tremble. Hu Tong was infamous. Though he was an orthodox cultivator, his methods were crueler than any demonic cultivator's. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Years ago, a group of demonic cultivators occupied a mountain near Dongyang City. Hu Tong personally led the attack and hung their heads on the city walls.

That wasn't enough. He traced the demonic cultivators' families and slaughtered them all, even infants in swaddling clothes. His explanation was: "Dragons beget dragons, phoenixes beget phoenixes. A demon's child is also a demon. They must be eliminated before they grow up to harm the world." News of this spread throughout Lianshan Prefecture and caused an uproar. Hu Tong earned nicknames like "The Butcher Cultivator" and "The Mad Slayer." Many righteous cultivators condemned him, but his backing was too strong.

No one could stop him. Qin Hao took a deep breath. But then he thought again. His Brother Fang was a great cultivator who had slain a Heavenly Demon. There was nothing to fear.

"Brother Fang, what should we do? Should we go confront him?" Fang Cheng narrowed his eyes, thinking. Truth be told, he had been eager to taste someone like Hu Tong. But his superior, Pei Tang, had said to leave Hu Tong alone for now, to avoid scaring off the real mastermind.

"Hmm... We'll let him off this time." As Fang Cheng spoke, he pulled out a small notebook and jotted down Hu Tong's crime. He would settle the score later. Qin Hao frowned.

"If that's the case, Brother Fang, we need to change our silk route." Fang Cheng nodded.

"We can't use the eastern route anymore. We'll have to go the same way as before: up along the Xijiang and around to Lianshan Prefecture." Qin Hao's frown deepened.

"The Xijiang route is long, and the roads are muddy. There aren't many relay stations. It will take more time and cost more. If we hit a storm with nowhere to take shelter, the goods could be damaged. It's not cost-effective. Brother Fang, how about we negotiate with Hu Tong? We both give a little. We don't take their business, and they don't rob our goods. What do you think?"

"Impossible! Absolutely not!" Fang Cheng waved his hand. Letting Hu Tong off was already a concession. Negotiate? Hah. Negotiating with a criminal was an insult to a good person. With that thought, Fang Cheng pulled out his notebook again and added the route change to Hu Tong's list of offenses.

"Fine, Brother Fang." Seeing Fang Cheng's firm stance, Qin Hao sighed and didn't press further. He turned to go organize the caravan for the western route. Just then, Li Shuyan walked into the main hall and saw the grim faces of Fang Cheng and Qin Hao. He asked what was wrong. When he learned it was about changing routes, he smiled and made a suggestion.

"We can take the Everlasting Mountains. Cut straight through to Lianshan Prefecture's interior. It's even shorter than the eastern official road." Qin Hao's eyes widened.

"The Everlasting Mountains? That's all mountains. The roads are rough, and there are wild beasts everywhere. Some mountains are occupied by spirit beasts. Our caravan wouldn't make it halfway before the people were eaten."

"No, no, no." Li Shuyan shook his head.

"Two hundred years ago, when White Flower City was still a prefecture, they built an official road through the Everlasting Mountains for trade with Lianshan Prefecture. It was wide and smooth, wide enough for four carriages side by side. But after White Flower Prefecture fell into decline and the Everlasting Mountains became forbidden, the road fell into disrepair. It's overgrown with weeds and infested with snakes and insects. But if we send people to repair it, we can still use it."

"But..." Qin Hao was still hesitant. He had walked through the Everlasting Mountains before and had been captured by spirit beasts, nearly turned into a meal. The memory of having his rear end plugged was too vivid. He would never forget it. Fang Cheng frowned and asked Li Shuyan, "Where did you hear about this road?" He had flown over the Everlasting Mountains many times and had never seen any road. Li Shuyan replied, "A few days ago, I was chatting with Old Xu at Harmony Wine Shop. He mentioned it to me."

"Old Xu? Xu Yongchang! That damned old man's words cannot be trusted!" Fang Cheng snorted. As a good person, his sixth sense told him that Old Xu was not just a guardian. He was definitely up to something behind the scenes. Especially since the Everlasting Mountains were mentioned. There were forbidden secrets there. Fang Cheng remembered King Tiger mentioning something called the Immortal Dream Cave. And Old Xu was a celestial immortal who had descended to the mortal realm. The two might be connected.