Chapter Seventeen: Unraveling the Cocoon

  Unravel the cocoon and draw out the silk thread

  Yun Xiangtian gazed at Hu Sancai, secretly speculating; "The Wind- Breaking Knife mentioned the Buddha Temple, which is an important place on Hei Hu Peak. It must be heavily guarded, and ordinary people can't easily get close. How could it be that because of a single Hu Sancai sleeping, the token was lost without being discovered by others? It seems there's something fishy about this person." Thinking of this, Yun Xiangtian opened his mouth to ask: "Brother Knife, how many years has Hu Big Brother been on the mountain?" The Wind-Breaking Knife hesitated for a moment before saying: "It's been seven or eight years. He's from Luofengping at the foot of the mountain. Do you have any questions, Cloud Brother?" Yun Xiangtian asked again: "How many people are there with Hu Big Brother guarding the Buddha Temple?" The Wind-Breaking Knife replied without hesitation: "There are seven brothers, plus him makes eight. He's the small team leader and only he can enter the Buddha Temple." The Wind-Breaking Knife knew what Yun Xiangtian was going to ask, so he didn't wait for Yun Xiangtian to ask before continuing: "On the night the token went missing, he said he got drunk and fell asleep in a daze. When he woke up, the token was gone. He was afraid of being punished, so he hid it and didn't report it. It wasn't until something happened that the Fort Master questioned him and he told the truth."

  Yun Xiang Tian smiled lightly and said to Hu Sancai, "Brother Hu, I know there's more to this matter. But no matter what, you can't joke about the lives of our mountain stronghold brothers, can you? If Anmin Village and Hei Hu Feng have already clashed and both sides are severely wounded, with countless deaths and injuries among our brothers...can you really rest easy?"

  Hu Sancai's face turned bright red, and he stood up without stopping, blinking his eyes: "Boss and Mountain Girl's family, the death of Shan Gen brothers is indeed related to me. Hu Mou knows that his guilt is deep, today can only be thanked with death!" After finishing, he rushed towards the corner of the table next to him. Yun Xiangtian was relatively close, but the incident happened suddenly, and he stretched out his hand to grab it, but it was too late, and he only touched the hem of Hu Sancai's clothes.

  Everyone rushed up to check the situation. Hu Sancai had already fainted, with a big hole on his head, and fresh blood gushing out. Hong Shangu hurriedly asked someone to go invite the village doctor to come and treat the wound. After a flurry of activity, the doctor stood up, wiping the blood from his hands and said: "The person is not in danger of losing their life, but they were hit on the head, the injury is severe, it's hard to say when they will wake up."

  Yun Xiangtian and others originally thought they could follow the clue of Hu Sancai to find the real murderer, but unexpectedly something unexpected happened. When everyone didn't know what to do, Yun Xiangtian spoke up first: "Tiger Big's master, Xiangtian wants to visit your village, I wonder if Tiger Big's master is willing?"

  Zhen Shantiger naturally knew the true purpose of Yun Xiangtian, and if it wasn't for Yun Xiangtian's cleverness and wisdom, he would have almost lost his trusted brother Po Fengdao. Moreover, he had helped retrieve the sacred object from their own mountain stronghold, which was a great favor. Therefore, he sincerely admired Yun Xiangtian. When Yun Xiangtian said he wanted to go to his own mountain stronghold, Black Tiger Peak, Zhen Shantiger hastily said: "I couldn't ask for more! I couldn't ask for more! Brother Yun is willing to grant us an audience, this is a great honor for our humble stronghold! Po Fengdao, brother, quickly return and make preparations. I will fire cannons and set off fireworks to welcome the noble guest!"

  Yun Xiang Tian hastily went forward to stop him, saying: "Tiger Master, some things are better kept secret. Don't you think?" Zhen Shan Hu pondered for a moment and suddenly realized, repeatedly saying: "Brother Yun is right, everything will be done according to Brother Yun's words. Only the killing of pigs and sheep must not be neglected."

  Hei Hu Feng is another peak in the Fengling Mountains, with cliffs on all four sides and only a slightly gentler slope to the north, leaving a path for people to come and go. This mountain has no connection with other peaks and stands alone, hence its name Dugu Shan. Later, it was said that a black tiger was seen lying at the top of Dugu Shan, and after bandits occupied the mountain, it was renamed Hei Hu Feng.

  Yun Xiang Tian climbed up the Black Tiger Peak and proposed to take a look at the Buddhist temple, Zhen Shan Hu readily agreed. He asked Po Feng Dao to arrange for a grand feast while he took Yun Xiang Tian and others to the Buddhist temple. The Buddhist temple was built on a flat ground at the top of the mountain, inside the temple were placed the ancestral tablets of all past village heads, in front of the ancestral tablets was where the Black Tiger token was kept, every first day of the month the village head would take out the token with the elderly and lead the brothers to worship. Normally only Hu San Cai, the guardian of the Buddhist temple could enter and exit freely.

  Yun Xiang Tian, Hong Shan Gu and others followed Zhen Shan Hu into the hall. Yun Xiang Tian noticed that there were seven brothers from the village guarding outside, no one could bypass them to enter the hall. After searching for half a day in the hall, Hong Shan Gu asked: "Yu Er, have you found anything?" Since Huang Min's visit last time, Hong Shan Gu had been treating Yun Xiang Tian differently. This time, she again uncovered Zhen Shan Hu's plot and handled the whole thing flawlessly, making Hong Shan Gu look at him with new eyes. That's why she asked this question.

  Yun Xiang Tian smiled and said, "Auntie, what do you think? I think this place is heavily guarded, outsiders can't get in at all. Unless there's a traitor inside, the token would never be stolen by someone else. What do you think?"

  The foolish monk stood by, grinning and saying: "Right, it's not easy for me to steal the token, unless... unless... unless..." His meaning was that one would have to kill the seven guards outside.

  Hong Shangu said impatiently, "You mean to kill the seven guards outside, right?" Chi Yun and the monk saw that his master's sister had seen through his thoughts, and he nodded happily. Hong Shangu saw this and shouted at him in a low voice, "Kill, kill, kill, all you know is killing! Are you afraid that before you even arrived here, you've already been chopped into minced meat? With your little bit of Taoist practice?" Chi Yun's face turned red with shame, and he stood there frozen.

  Yun Xiang Tian somewhat helped the foolish monk to get out of trouble, saying: "Uncle's words also make sense. Even if someone sneaks in here and wants to enter the temple, they will have to kill the guards outside. Otherwise, he won't be able to get in."

  The silent Zhen Shantiger said, "I've thought about this too, but I asked the brothers guarding the mountain gate, from the first day of last month to when the token was stolen, Hu Sancai hasn't come down the mountain at all. There's no other way down this mountain either. Did he fly down with wings?"

  Yun Xiang Tian smiled and said: "Tiger's big house, Hu Sancai must have had a place to surpass others and be trustworthy, so he was entrusted with important tasks. He doesn't seem like a cunning person either, I think he is under some kind of threat and that's why he took the risk. Oh, right, Tiger's big house, does Hu Sancai have any relatives not on the mountain?"

  "Want to say there is, also count on a little bit. When Hu Sancai joined the mountain stronghold, he brought his son with him. This year's Lantern Festival, he took his son down the mountain to watch the lights, but unexpectedly got separated from his son and lost him. At that time, his son was 13 years old. I also sent people down the mountain several times to search for him, but there was no news at all. For this reason, he also developed a bad habit of drinking wine, but it's always been in moderation. Like this time, getting drunk and having the token stolen is the first time."

  Yun Xiang Tian hummed and said, "What a vicious move! I'm afraid someone else is helping Hu Sancai run errands and deliver messages." He leaned in close to Zhen Shan Hu's ear and whispered, "Tiger, what do you think we should do about this?"

  The Black Tiger Village was exceptionally lively today, with pigs and sheep being slaughtered, lanterns lit, and colorful decorations everywhere. The village elders were also beaming with joy, never having thought that Town Mountain Tiger's cunning plan would successfully deceive Red Mountain Maiden, not only saving the lives of Po Feng Knife and Hu San Cai, but also retrieving the Black Tiger Token. Although it was said that from now on everything would follow the orders of An Min Village, that was just empty talk - welcoming back the sacred object was the top priority. The village elders were discussing the alliance with An Min Village when Town Mountain Tiger's voice rang out: "Brothers, I've been roaming the jianghu for decades, not as a great hero or a powerful figure. But I know that on the jianghu, one's word is worth a thousand gold coins. I had an agreement with Red Mountain Maiden in the past - if she returned the Black Tiger Token to Black Tiger Peak, I would form a blood oath alliance with An Min Village and become sworn brothers, from then on Black Tiger Peak would follow An Min Village's lead. Do any of you brothers have any objections?" The village brothers saw that Po Feng Knife had returned unscathed, Hu San Cai had only received minor punishment, and they were already grateful to Red Mountain Maiden. With Po Feng Knife enthusiastically praising Red Mountain Maiden's heroic actions and Cloud Sky's wise and just decisions, the brothers were even more impressed. So when Town Mountain Tiger mentioned forming an alliance, the brothers all shouted in unison: "Everything will follow the village master's orders!"

  Zhen Shantiger burst out laughing and shouted loudly, "Come on, brothers! Let's drink! We won't leave until we're drunk today!" The brothers then clinked their cups together and the atmosphere became lively.

  Everyone was drinking and having a good time when a brother came over and whispered something in Zhen Mountain Tiger's ear. Zhen Mountain Tiger looked at Hong Shan Girl and Yun Xiang Tian, smiled slightly and said: "Indeed as Brother Yun said, let's go take a look."

  Zhen Shantiger and Hong Shangu Yun Xiang arrived at the back hall of Hei Hu Feng, Zhen Shantiger said to a person being held by two brothers from the stronghold: "Wang Qi, I don't know when I arranged for you to go down the mountain?"

  That man named Wang Qi suddenly knelt down on both knees, his whole body trembling as he said: "Master, spare my life! Master, spare my life! I was also forced to do this. This year, I went down the mountain to handle some business and didn't want to be caught for no reason. While I was in a state of confusion, two masked men came and told me to obey them. At first, I vowed to die rather than submit, but they had taken my parents, wife, and children hostage. They said that if I didn't comply, they would kill them. I was also helpless! That's why I committed such a heinous crime. I hope you can take pity on me because my family is still in the hands of those bandits. Please spare my life. After I rescue them, even if I am hacked to pieces, I will be grateful for Master's great kindness and die with a smile."

  Zhen Shantiger was furious when he heard this, and snatched the steel knife from his brother's waist in the stockade. He brandished the knife and roared: "You only care about your own family, but you want to sacrifice the lives of many brothers! You still dare to be glib-tongued at this time, I'll hack you to death today!"

  Yun Xiang blocked Zhen Shan Hu and smiled slightly, saying: "Tiger, the head of the household, can be killed. But after all, he is a brother of Hei Hu Village, you cannot be unrighteous if he is not benevolent. If you want to kill him, you should first rescue his family from the hands of the traitor and let him resolve this matter, then killing him won't be too late. What do you think?"

  Zhen Shantiger still had an angry face and said: "His family is naturally to be rescued, but this loser cannot stay, I will chop him off today, avenge Wang Shan's brother."

  Wang Qi loudly argued, "The one who killed Wang Shan's informant was not Xiao De. Xiao De only did errands and delivered messages, he didn't dare to kill people randomly. Even if Xiao De had the guts, he wouldn't dare to harm the eyes and ears of the Mountain Village Master! How can you even suggest that?"

  "Brother, Wang Shan Gen wasn't killed by you, how is that possible? Not only did you kill Wang Shan Gen, but you also placed the Black Tiger Token next to his body, framing Black Tiger Peak and making Mountain Village Master think it was Hu Da's doing. Unexpectedly, Mountain Village Master didn't fall for your trick. When one plan failed, you came up with another. During the Three Villages Alliance, you again devised a way to place Wang Shan Gen's corpse outside Xuanjian Cave, causing the anti-Japanese plans of the Three Villages Alliance to fail and making the three village masters suspect each other, leading to great chaos. What is your intention behind these actions?"

  The first sentence made Wang Qiming stunned, he jumped up and pointed at Yun Xiangtian, stuttering: "You, you, you are slandering." He turned around and knelt down with a thud in front of Zhen Shantiger; "Don't listen to his nonsense, things aren't like that."

  Zhen Shantiger kicked him away with one foot and roared: "Then tell the truth!"