Chapter 275: Exploring the Mysterious Caves of Mount Xi

Ye Yuzhu had been away from home for three years. When he finally emerged, he did so with a sudden, overwhelming force, swallowing up four or five neighboring mountain strongholds in quick succession. He became a rising star among the poleaxe-wielding bandit leaders in the Funiu Mountain region. His followers grew from an initial hundred or so men at Shulong Fortress to thousands, and eventually tens of thousands. This exploit was jokingly referred to by the storytellers at the foot of the mountain as “The Jade-Faced Young Master Ascends Funiu.”

In the beginning, Manager Gan, head of the Five Masters, followed Ye Yuzhu and served as one of the “Four Beams and Eight Pillars^[1]” of Shulong Fortress. To win over the men when he first entered the mountain, Ye Yuzhu gave Old Monster Xiong, the son of the former fortress lord, the title of “Third in Command.” However, he showed particular favor to Gan Zhao, which deeply displeased Old Monster Xiong, who was already bitter about being ousted from the position of fortress lord.

Provoked by the treacherous Yin Panshan, Old Monster Xiong secretly orchestrated the “Golden Cup Incident” to sow discord between Ye Yuzhu and Gan Zhao. Manager Gan was no pushover; he saw through the scheme, but he was so resentful of Ye Yuzhu’s excessive suspicion that he bid him farewell and left the mountain. Since then, his whereabouts had remained unknown.

Less than a year after Manager Gan’s departure, a severe drought struck, followed in quick succession by famine and plague. Shulong Fortress had built its formidable reputation in the greenwood^[2] by robbing the rich to help the poor. Although the Ye family was a local power, even they could not support a mountain stronghold of ten thousand men.

Ye Yuzhu spent his days racking his brains without a solution. Finally, he turned to a page in the half-finished manuscript of mountain topography left behind by Gan Zhao. The manuscript depicted a towering peak that seemed to pierce the heavens. A section of the mountain’s base was hollowed out, yet it remained standing, appearing exceptionally magnificent. On the paper, Gan Zhao had written two words: Mount Xi.

This place had been a source of dread for Gan Zhao for many years. Ye Yuzhu judged that it must be an extremely important feng shui site within the Qinling Mountains, likely burying an incalculable amount of gold, silver, and precious treasures beneath it. However, the terrain of the Qinling Mountains was complex and the journey was long. After much deliberation, he decided to take Qian Chuanzi with him to investigate first.

When they reached the edge of the Qinling Mountains, the rain was pouring down. Ye Yuzhu, along with his associate Old Monster Xiong and his subordinates Nanshan Qiao and the Northern Beggar, took shelter under the eaves of a house along the Ziwu Road. Soon after, they saw Qian Chuanzi returning, holding his tattered umbrella that had been battered by the rain. He clutched four or five thin pancakes to his chest, crossing through the curtain of rain in quick strides.

Old Monster Xiong was dressed as a groom. He used the towel draped around his neck to roughly wipe his face, then stood under the eaves with his hands on his hips, holding the reins of a small donkey. He peered outside and turned back to Ye Yuzhu. “Brother Ye, how long is this damn rain going to last? If you ask me, we should just keep moving through the rain. You insist on staying here to drink tea, just wasting time!”

Ye Yuzhu glanced up at him. He had to admit that with Gan Zhao gone from the group, there was really nothing to say to these boors. He smoothed out his long robe embroidered with subtle patterns, sat down, and poured himself a cup of tea. “If we travel in the rain, we’ll catch cold before we even arrive. I didn’t bring Nanshan Qiao along just to treat your illnesses.”

Old Monster Xiong gave a dry laugh and hurried to help Qian Chuanzi shake the water off his clothes. Qian Chuanzi pulled out the thin pancakes from his chest. Ye Yuzhu raised a hand with refined grace, gesturing for him to first distribute the pancakes to the Northern Beggar on the ground and Nanshan Qiao nearby.

“Since Brother Ye says so, I won’t be polite!” Old Monster Xiong chuckled, leaning in to snatch one from Qian Chuanzi’s arms.

Qian Chuanzi didn’t bother with him, handing the other two pancakes to Nanshan Qiao, who was organizing his medicine bags, and the Northern Beggar, who was curled up on the ground.

“What did you find out?” Ye Yuzhu asked calmly, unfolding his landscape fan and taking a sip of tea.

Qian Chuanzi wiped the water from his face and sat on the bench opposite Ye Yuzhu. “I didn’t dare ask too specifically, but very few people know about Mount Xi. It’s probably not along Ziwu Road. We’ll likely have to go deeper into the mountains. However, we almost certainly won’t find any households out in the wild ravines. The rain won’t stop anytime soon either. Manager, what do you think we should do next?”

Ye Yuzhu sighed. Seeing that it was getting late and they hadn’t found even a trace of Mount Xi, he felt a sense of weariness. Deciding not to sit and wait any longer, he closed his fan, stood up, and walked outside. Nanshan Qiao, quick to read the situation, immediately held an umbrella over Ye Yuzhu as they stepped into the curtain of rain.

Ye Yuzhu walked to an open area and squinted slightly, surveying the surrounding peaks of varying heights. After observing for a short while, as if he had spotted something, he turned and pointed ahead with his fan. The others, who had been resting, picked up their umbrellas and followed.

The group traveled into the mountains along a dirt road that wound deep into the interior. Ahead was a dense forest shrouded in mountain mist, and beside them were steep cliffs where a single misstep would lead to a bottomless abyss. In their line of work, leaving aside the elusive arts of Qimen Dunjia, one had to at least be proficient in observing mountains—reading the mountain ranges and assessing the Feng Shui. Even at a basic level, this allowed one to determine directions in the mountains, ensuring they wouldn’t get lost even in a primeval forest full of thorns.

Ye Yuzhu led the way. The ancestors of the Ye family had not mastered this method of mountain observation, passing down merely the basics. The rain was also quite inconvenient, as the mist completely obscured the mountain’s contours. This forced Ye Yuzhu to inspect every detail with extreme care. He pushed aside large leaves blocking the path and frequently stepped forward to observe the mountain’s shape, causing the group to move in fits and starts.

As it grew late, they began looking for a place to stay. Unexpectedly, they spotted several flickering lights on the ridge across from them. Qian Chuanzi and Nanshan Qiao exchanged uncertain looks.

“How can there be a household in this godforsaken place?” Old Monster Xiong asked, poking his head out from the bushes.

The lights on the opposite side swayed in the wind like fireflies, appearing particularly eerie in the dead silence of the mountains.

Ye Yuzhu squinted at the house and surveyed the surroundings. “This mountain hollow is unfit for human habitation,” he said in a low voice. “Building a house here is suspicious. It’s either bandits or a black inn^[3]. Hide your weapons and stay ready. Do not drop your guard.”

“Understood, Chief,” the Northern Beggar said, wrapping the iron talon^[4] at his waist and stuffing it into a large sack used for carrying goods.

The group crossed the mountain, arriving at the house late at night. Ye Yuzhu examined the structure before them. It was small, no different from a thatched shelter covered with several layers of straw, with a crude hut beneath the eaves. Built very simply, the hut sat right in the hollow where the two mountains met.

Ye Yuzhu stepped forward under the porch, fanning himself, and gave the door a light tap. From inside, a man immediately called out, “Who is it?”

Ye Yuzhu shot a glance at Old Monster Xiong and the Northern Beggar behind him. As the two subtly loosened their muscles, Ye Yuzhu knocked twice more. “We are traveling merchants passing through,” he called out. “The rain is so heavy we can’t see the path and got lost in these mountains. We hope to take shelter here for the night. We’ll leave as soon as the rain stops.”

Inside, the man dropped something on the floor with a metallic clang. It sounded like a weapon, but the noise vanished in an instant. The man walked to the door, though he didn’t open it immediately. “Traveling merchants?” he questioned. “What merchants would be in the middle of nowhere like this? What are you doing here?”

Ye Yuzhu gave a polite chuckle and made a show of shielding himself from the rain with his sleeve. “We were heading for Chencang Road, but the rain caught us halfway. Who knew the further we walked, the deeper into the mountains we’d get? We lost our way. Could you grant us a favor and let us shelter for a few hours? We’ll leave the moment the rain stops, without delay.”

Hearing this, the man thought the explanation sounded reasonable enough. As soon as Ye Yuzhu finished speaking, he pulled the door open. Seeing Ye Yuzhu’s refined appearance and the donkey behind him carrying various goods wrapped in oilpaper, the man lowered his guard and ushered them inside.

Ye Yuzhu quickly scanned the man in front of him, who was dressed in hemp clothes and straw sandals with an unfriendly look on his face. The moment Ye Yuzhu stepped through the door, a woman ran out from behind the house. She had a pockmarked face, yet her frame moved with surprising lightness. Looking further into the room, Ye Yuzhu noticed that the walls all around were lined with raggedly dressed beggars. There were more than a dozen in total, and they were eyeing his group with suspicious, sidelong glances.

Ye Yuzhu’s mind raced, and he instantly realized what kind of place this was.

# A Collection of Unimportant Trifles