Chapter 8: The Wind Rises and Clouds Gather

  The wind rises and the clouds surge forward

  Since Wang Shan Gen was killed, Yun Xiang Tian had not seen Hong Shang Gu and Chi Tun for two days. He had asked the people in the mountain stronghold, but no one told him. He had to knock on Xiuzhu's door with a hard scalp.

  Xiuzhu still wore a red outfit today, and upon seeing Yunxiangtian's arrival, she no longer had the domineering aura of a big sister. Instead, she looked shy and became the epitome of a gentle maiden. She asked softly, "Is there something?" Then, she sidestepped and made a welcoming gesture, saying, "Please sit inside."

  Yun Xiangtian saw her change from a domineering big sister to a gentle breeze, and instead felt a bit awkward. He carefully walked into the house, turned his head and said, "Thank you, it's nothing. I just came over to take a look." As he sat down in a rattan chair, the maid Cuiyu presented him with a fragrant tea and said, "Young Master Yun, please have some tea." Yun Xiangtian picked up the teacup and took a light sip, saying, "The tea is good, the water is also good. En, not bad." He put down the teacup and said to Xiuzhu, "Little sister Xiuzhu, why didn't you go out for a walk today? What are you doing at home? I heard them say that there are cuckoos on the mountain cliff opposite us. Shall we go catch a few young birds and raise them?"

  Xiu Zhu excitedly stood up and happily said: "Great, great..." Before she finished speaking, she slowly sat back down like a deflated balloon. A faint smile appeared on her face as she softly and slowly said: "Thank you, I won't go. Later, I still need to learn how to be a lady."

  Yun Xiang Tian said with a hint of regret, "Alright then. But it's a pity to let such a good bird go. I once raised one, and every morning it would chirp non-stop, it was so much fun! I even gave it the name 'Wind Bell'."

  Xiu Zhu listened to Yun Xiang Tian's words with a yearning expression. When she heard that Yun Xiang Tian had given the bird a name, she couldn't hold back her inner excitement and curiously asked: "Giving the bird a name, Wind Chime, is so interesting! If I had one, it would be great!" Her words carried a hint of sadness.

  Yun Xiang Tian seemed to be bored too, he lightly coughed and said: "Yes! If we could catch one to raise as a pet, it would be great. Unfortunately, you can't go, I'll go myself, but I'm afraid of what others might say." He looked at Xiuzhu's face which was red from being choked, picked up his tea cup again, took a sip and said: "Since you can't go, I'll leave now. Let me see if I can find someone else to go with. Goodbye."

  Xiu Zhu suddenly stood up and said, "Oh no, don't bother. I'm so annoyed, I don't want to be a ladylike girl anymore. Let's go catch birds." As she spoke, she turned into a fiery and crazy girl again. The maid Cui Yu hurried forward to stop her; "Miss, the leader said you should stay in the house and practice needlework, he doesn't allow you to go out. What can I say to the leader if you leave?"

  "Alright, alright! Since Auntie asked you to stay home and learn how to be a lady, I think you'd better not go. Don't let Cuiyu get punished along with you. Otherwise, if I catch up with you later, I'll send you a pair!"

  Xiu Zhu's eyes widened and she said, "I want to go too! Why can you catch birds for fun, but I have to learn needlework? Why?"

  Yahuan Cuiyu suddenly knelt down on the ground, she grabbed Xiu Zhu's arm and begged: "Miss, please, don't go, when the leader left, he said that if you walk out of this door, she will break my legs."

  Yun Xiang Tian also said, "Yes, yes, don't go! If Aunt sees you're not here, she'll scold us again and we'll be in big trouble. Although the little bird is fun to play with, compared to being scolded, it's better not to catch it. Let's wait until Aunt and them leave for a distant trip, then we can go catch it. How about that?"

  "Come on, come on, are you tired? Anyway, the boss is not here, I and Brother Sky will go out and play for a while, what's there to be afraid of? Look at how scared you are, do you really think the boss would break your leg? It's just talk, don't take it seriously. Alright, alright, if anything happens, I'll take responsibility, it has nothing to do with you." Turning back to smile at Yun Sky, "Brother Sky, let's go."

  Yun Xiang Tian said with difficulty, "Forget it! Aunt and them aren't going out for three to five days, they're just not here right now. If we just went out, what if Aunt came back?"

  Xiu Zhu shook her head and said: "It won't work, don't mention three or five days, even if it's five or six days, I'm not sure I'll be back."

  Yun Xiang thought to himself, "What's going on? Three to five days have passed and they still haven't returned?" But he said calmly, "You're just being fooled, Auntie and the others wouldn't be gone for so long. It'll take at least five or six more days before they return. I don't believe it."

  Xiu Zhu snorted and leaned in close to Yun Xiang Tian, saying: "Still don't believe me? Honestly, the village head and Ye Zi Chun went out together."

  Yun Xiang thought to himself: How did Hong Shan Gu and Ye Zi Chun end up together? What's their purpose for being together? But on his face, he showed a disbelieving expression and said in a soft voice: "Don't deceive people, can Hong Shan Gu really go out with Ye Zi Chun? What is Ye Zi Chun anyway, is he even worthy?"

  Xiu Zhu whispered mysteriously into Yun Xiang Tian's ear, "It's true! Honestly, that Ye Zi Chun seems to have some background. He came here first to discuss with Hong Shan Gu about uniting the various village heads to guard Feng Ling Mountain together. But Hong Shan Gu didn't agree. After Wang Shan Gen died, Ye Zi Chun said, 'If you don't form an alliance, there will be misunderstandings and conflicts among yourselves, which won't be beneficial for our big plan.' And so, Hong Shan Gu was persuaded by him. That's why she left early yesterday morning to go contact the various villages about forming an alliance." He looked at Yun Xiang Tian's disbelieving face and said somewhat angrily, "It's true! The night before last, when they were discussing it, I secretly listened in from behind the screen in the main hall. I'm not lying to you, I'd rather be a small dog if I was!"

  Yun Xiang Tian was slightly surprised, he didn't know what Ye Zi Chun was up to. But his face showed a happy expression, and he said with some impatience; "If it's really like that, then let's go. Oh, let's catch birds." And so, he took the excited Xiu Zhu and the unwilling Cui Yu out of the house.

  The gentle breeze blew, and the sun shone like fire. Clouds floated in the sky as Xiu Zhu and Tian Hua arrived at the foot of the cliff, watching the birds chirping, the autumn chrysanthemum blooming brightly, the maple leaves like blood, and the waterfall splashing. After being cooped up in the house for more than a day, Xiu Zhu could no longer contain her inner joy, she shouted loudly to Tian Hua; "Tian Hua brother, quickly! Quickly look at that, quickly look at that. There's a bird's nest there. Quickly go and catch the little bird. Quick, quick go up!" She pointed at a bird's nest on the cliff, excitedly waving her hands and shouting.

  Yun Xiang Tian carefully measured the steep cliff, the bird's nest was about 20 to 30 feet away from the ground. He took aim at the route, tightened his belt, and began to climb up. When he approached the bird's nest, Yun Xiang Tian's foot slipped. But then he heard a loud cry of "Ah".

  The Suspended Sword Cave is located on the top of a steep cliff, with no grass or plants growing on it. Above the entrance to the cave hangs a huge pulley wheel, and from it hangs a large basket that can hold 14 or 15 people at a time, or one person and their horse. The other end of the rope is attached to a large winch, which is operated by four or five men who turn it to transport people and goods up and down. Inside the cave is extremely spacious, capable of holding over a thousand people. The cave also has several smaller caves branching off from it, with the main central cave serving as a meeting hall for the mountain bandits, while the smaller caves are used for storing food and housing some of the bandits.

  It is said that the first person to enter this cave was Zhu Yuanzhang. At that time, Zhu Yuanzhang led his righteous army and was pursued by the Mongol soldiers until they reached this place, where there was no way out, either up or down. Just as they were at a loss for what to do, an old man with white hair and a youthful face suddenly appeared, using his staff to tap on the stone wall while muttering some words under his breath. In an instant, a large cave appeared on the stone wall. The old man led everyone into the cave and then turned around to say to Zhu Yuanzhang: "I am the god of this mountain, but I did not expect you to pollute my grass and trees with your blood. Your bad luck will be gone in three days. You are the Son of Heaven, so you must treat the common people well. Remember, remember." With that, he turned into a wisp of blue smoke and disappeared into thin air. Zhu Yuanzhang led his army to hide in the cave, where they only heard the Mongol soldiers searching for them outside, but no one entered the cave. Three days later, the Mongol soldiers retreated, and Zhu Yuanzhang's righteous army was able to escape unharmed. Before leaving, Zhu Yuanzhang hung his precious sword on the wall of the cave. When Zhu Yuanzhang led his army out of the cave entrance, a loud rumbling sound was heard from behind them, and when they turned around, they saw that the mountain had changed shape, and the cave where they had hidden was now high up on the cliff. Later, some people climbed down from the top of the cliff to retrieve the precious sword in the cave. The sword was hanging from the top of the cave, only a little more than a foot away from them. But no matter how high they stood on their tiptoes, the sword remained just out of reach, still more than a foot away. Just as everyone was puzzled by this, the sword suddenly turned into a blue dragon and flew out of the cave, disappearing in an instant. In the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, a group of Jianghu heroes who were against the Qing dynasty and wanted to restore the Ming gathered here, but they failed to achieve their goal after several attempts. Over time, they became bandits, and this place eventually became the lair of the tyrannical dragon.

  The entrance of the Xuanjian Cave meeting hall hung only one pair of couplets, with the top one reading: "Repeating brightness for several years, but ultimately not succeeding, how sad and lamentable." The bottom one read: "Hiding in seclusion for many years, degenerating into a bandit, carefree and joyful." The horizontal inscription was: "No regrets, no complaints."

  Inside the cave, it was spacious and bright, with occasional dripping water sounds. Ba Tianlong sat upright on the leader's seat, about thirty years old, short and small in stature, with a pale face and yellow eyes. He didn't look like a powerful leader, but rather a weak and feeble scholar.

  He looked at Hong Shangu, Yezi Chun, and Zhen Shanhuo sitting below him and remained silent for a moment before speaking: "Hong Shangu, what you said is both right and wrong. In the early years, our predecessors joined forces several times to resist the Qing court's aggression. But later on, each had their own ulterior motives, wanting to dominate Fengling Mountain alone. If it weren't for the treacherous terrain and strong defenses of each mountain and stronghold, I'm afraid...I'm afraid..." He smiled and shook his head without continuing.

  Hong Shangu also sneered and said, "Isn't it that if the terrain wasn't treacherous and the passes weren't heavily guarded, the master would have devoured me and Da Shangu. It's just... humph, humph." She didn't say "overestimating one's abilities" out loud, but her two snorts made everyone understand.

  Looking at Zhen Shantiger, who also stood up with a furious face, Ba Tianlong hurriedly said: "Not so, not so, I didn't mean that. We've been in charge of our own affairs for many years, without interfering with each other. Although we don't visit each other, after all, we are from the same mountain. As the saying goes, 'people may not be close, but mountains are'. Everyone, please calm down."

  "Leaf Spring feared that the various fort masters would make a fuss, so he hastily mediated, saying: "Tiger brother, Dragon brother, and Mountain Maiden Fort Master, don't quarrel anymore. Today's gathering is a joyful occasion, let's not hurt our harmony, we should be working together in good faith. Hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder, we should achieve great things. Why are you instead wanting to kill each other?" He looked at Zhen Shan Hu and slowly sat down, his face full of discontent, clearing his throat twice, saying: "Everyone, the country is in trouble, the people are suffering, the Japanese iron hooves are trampling our good rivers and mountains. The people have difficulties, the country has crises. We should be defending our land, staining the battlefield with blood. Why must we stubbornly guard one corner, mutually suspecting each other? Therefore, we should unite as one, resist the foreign enemy together. We should elect one person as the leader to command the righteous army, assist the national army, and defend Lingfeng County together. What do you all think?"

  Zhen Shantiger slanted his eyes, disdainfully looking at Yezi Chun, pointing at Ba Tianlong and Hong Shanguo coldly said: "To be the commander? Is it him, her, me, or you, this national army's special envoy? Or is it decided by drawing lots? Ridiculous."

  Ba Tian Long narrowed his eyes and said slowly, "Assisting the National Army in defending Fengling is not difficult, nor is selecting a commander. Since the resistance against the Qing army began, all the caves have looked up to my Xuanjian Cave as their leader. The question now is how much sincerity does Ye's special envoy have?"

  Before Yezi Spring could speak, Hong Shangu looked at Yezi Spring and Ba Tianlong with a disdainful gaze, playing with the token next to Wang Shan's corpse, and said coldly: "I don't need any sincerity from Special Envoy Ye. As a woman, I just want to protect my land and my brothers from being assassinated without reason." She slapped the token on the table and turned to Zhen Shantiger, saying: "You agree, right? Tiger, the head of the family. Just like my poor brother Shan, who went away without warning, leaving only this behind. I don't know what he offended someone with, ending up dead with his eyes open." He looked at Zhen Shantiger, who was staring at the token in surprise, and continued in a mysterious tone: "I heard that people who die with their eyes open will become vengeful spirits to seek revenge and claim lives."

  Zhen Shantiger suddenly stood up. He looked at the token with a burst of anger and said, "You suspect that I killed Wang Shan Gen? An unknown person, is he worthy of my action? I ask you, where did you get my token from?"

  To be honest, even if she said that Zhen Shantiger killed Wang Shan Gen, it would be like beating a dead horse. She wouldn't believe it because she knew this waist card was the heirloom of the Black Tiger Village's master and also its sacred object, usually enshrined in a Buddhist alcove. There was no reason for Zhen Shantiger to take it out to kill someone, let alone leave it on the victim's body. But she had other plans. She said softly, "Oh, this is the Black Tiger Village's token. How did this token end up next to Wang Shan Gen's corpse? Could it be that someone stole it and put it there?" She turned around to ask Ye Zichun and Ba Tianlong, "Was it you or him who wanted to frame Zhen Shantiger, the master of Black Tiger Village?"

  Ba Tian Long slapped the armrest and stood up, speaking incoherently: "You you, don't spout blood from your mouth. I I...".

  Ye Zi Chun took over the conversation and smiled, saying: "Mountain village owner Mo, stop messing around, can you really make this kind of joke?" Although he was smiling all over his face. But Hong Shangu clearly noticed that before he smiled, a thread of icy killing intent flashed in his eyes. That killing intent could pierce through one's heart and lungs, making people feel chilled to the bone.

  Just as a few people were arguing and making noise, a gunshot suddenly came from outside the cave. Then someone shouted: "The wind is rising and the clouds are gathering!" The few people who heard this changed their expressions greatly, and Ba Tian Long was the first to rush quickly towards the entrance of the cave.