Chapter Eighty-Five: Heaven’s Net

The mountain stronghold of Sky Net was called a fortress, but in truth it was more like a vast city established by the Kingdom of Zongsang on the border of the Qilian Mountains. People from every corner of the world gathered here: official caravans from various nations, solitary adventurers from distant lands, and the permanent encampments of major merchant houses from many kingdoms.

In short, Sky Net Fortress was extraordinarily prosperous. Almost every day, huge transactions were completed here. The specialties of the Qilian Mountains and the money and supplies from the outside world flowed back and forth in an orderly stream, each finding its way into the hands of those who needed them.

Endless business opportunities brought endless work, and endless work naturally drew in many disheartened drifters. Coupled with the powerful protection of the Kingdom of Zongsang, which made danger here virtually nonexistent, the number of people settling down in this place swelled dramatically.

Only when Hu San reached the foot of Sky Net Fortress did he realize that what he had seen in the night was merely the city’s core.

Beneath that mighty, blocklike giant city, where the forests at the mountain’s foot should have been, stood countless buildings. There were simple cottages common to mountain villages, as well as carved beams and painted rafters he had never before seen; there were broad, rugged halls and delicate, intricate kingdom-style pavilions.

He pushed through the cleared brush, crossed a stretch of bare ground laid entirely with huge stones, and then, slightly dazed, came among the myriad buildings.

Crowds began to gather. People of all appearances and dispositions hurried past him in ceaseless streams, while taverns along the street flew their wine banners in the wind and serving boys called out warmly. Everything here was fresh and strange to Hu San.

Even on the days when the village held weddings and celebrations, Hu San had never seen such a bustling spectacle of life. Unavoidably, a complicated feeling, like blooms overwhelming the eye and clouding the sight, slowly rose in the young man’s heart, sending ripples through him.

He walked on through the crowd, wandering in this human world so different from the mountain wilds, observing as he went, gradually growing accustomed to the changes in both mind and vision.

After more than half an hour, a tall stone wall appeared before Hu San. It rose amid the countless buildings and split the world at the mountain’s foot directly in two. Many openings had been cut into it, connecting to dozens of roads leading inside.

Beside each opening on the stone wall stood more than a dozen stone forts, and stationed nearby were patrol teams that checked the identity of passersby, collected the initial entrance tax on large shipments, and issued identity passes.

Hu San found the Wuxiong caravan near a tavern not far outside one of the stone forts. It seemed the caravan had suffered only minor losses, and everyone in it looked rather spirited, their faces all showing relaxed smiles impossible to see in the Qilian Mountains. Clearly, once they had arrived here, they were truly safe.

When Hu San located the caravan, the deputy leader, Old Zhou, an experienced veteran merchant, recognized him as well. He hurriedly abandoned what he was doing and came forward with a broad smile, greeting him, "Leader Hu, you’re back at last. Leader Ren and the other honored men have been asking after you. They told this old fellow to notify them at once if there was any news. If it is convenient, please come with me."

With that, Old Zhou cupped his hands and gestured an invitation, then led Hu San toward the tavern.

Hu San said nothing more, and under the grateful and envious gazes of the surrounding guards, he followed along.

"Old Zhou, after the caravan avoided the flower leopard monster, was the journey still smooth?"

Once they had entered the stairway and confirmed that no one was nearby, Hu San finally spoke to ask.

"Hoho, thanks to you and the honored men, we only ran into a few beast packs, and the honored men led people to drive them off. We old fellows didn’t encounter any real danger. Now that we’ve reached Sky Net Fortress of the Kingdom of Zongsang, there’s nothing more to worry about. Later, we must properly toast you. If you hadn’t helped us several times along the road, I’m afraid we truly would not have made it home this time. Please, you must not turn us away."

The old man was advanced in years and spoke in a very plain, honest way; his gratitude toward Hu San came from the heart. This should have been his final journey as a traveling merchant. During the past few months together, Hu San had learned that he had a fairly happy family, with a son and daughter and two little grandsons. Only because life had grown difficult did he have no choice but to come out. Presumably, what he earned this time would be enough for his family to live peacefully for a while.

"Old Zhou, you’re being too formal. After we leave the Qilian Mountains, I’ll still need you to guide the way, so long as you don’t mind the trouble later. When we have time in a moment, we must drink until we can no longer stand."

Hu San smiled faintly.

"That would be wonderful. Your coming would be an honor to my entire family."

The old man smiled and led Hu San around the stairs to the left side of the second floor. Crossing the second-floor hall, he pointed to a private room on the left and said, "The honored men are inside. You may go in by yourself. There are still some matters I need to handle below, so I won’t enter. When everything is finished later, I will certainly inform everyone, and we shall drink our fill with you."

"Certainly, certainly!"

Hu San watched Old Zhou disappear around the stair corner. The smile on his face vanished at once, and his eyes narrowed in their habitual way, though no one knew what he was thinking.

The next instant, black light flashed at his wrist. When he looked again, that peculiar black sword had already appeared in his hand. Yet the sword was entirely different from before, now exhaling a deep, dark sword radiance as its whole body writhed and coiled like a spirit snake.

If not for the fact that this state happened to be restrained by the very intent of Hu San’s bird-strike technique, this mysterious black sword, obtained from Cotton Candy, would likely have broken free long ago and flown off on its own.

As Old Zhou’s aura gradually faded, the sword’s twisting slowly lessened as well. Not long after, once that presence had completely vanished, the black sword returned to normal.

Hu San gripped the restored little sword tightly, gathered his thoughts for a moment, then put it away again. Turning, he pushed open the door and entered the private room.

There was a simple square wooden table covered with all kinds of dishes. Eight people sat around it, with Ren Tang seated facing east near the window. Below him sat the two brothers known as the Purple Robe Twin Fiends, and the rest were all skilled martial fighters from the caravan.

When Hu San entered, everyone at the table was clutching jars of wine the size of human heads and tipping them back with gurgling gulps. They barely reacted even as he pushed the door open.

Fortunately, Ren Tang still retained some basic martial reflexes. In his drunken haze, he at least noticed Hu San entering, immediately set down the wine jar, gave Hu San a bear hug, then invited him to take a seat. Only then were the others, sunk deep in the wine country, finally awakened.

After everyone had chattered a while and urged him to drink, Ren Tang waved his hand, moved aside a few jars piled before Hu San, scratched his head in some embarrassment, and laughed. "Brother Hu, the brothers have been terribly stifled in the Qilian Mountains. Even when sleeping, we had to keep one eye open. Now that we’ve finally reached Sky Net Fortress, it’s rare to relax, so please don’t laugh at us."

"That said, now that we’re here, we can already be considered out of the Qilian Mountains. The caution we kept before may not be entirely discarded, but at least we can loosen up a little. A person is not made of steel and iron, after all; keeping every nerve taut all the time won’t do. Roaming the martial world requires knowing how to alternate tension and ease."

As he spoke, Ren Tang personally selected a fine jar of wine, knocked off the mud seal, and placed it before Hu San.

Faced with such hospitality, what choice did Hu San have besides taking it and drinking deeply?

Hu San’s hearty manner naturally drew a round of cheers. By the time each person had drunk another two or three jars, and a few with poorer tolerance had already crawled under the table, Ren Tang finally wiped his drunken eyes, exchanged a glance with the Purple Robe Twin Fiends, and cautiously asked, "Brother Hu, what happened to that flower leopard demon? Could it already have been taken care of by you?"

"Brother Ren is joking. What ability would I have? That leopard demon was a strong one, able to match top-tier experts. With my build, even taking one claw strike would leave me with broken bones and torn sinews."

Hu San set down the wine jar and slurred a few words thickly.

"Hoho, Brother Hu has extraordinary talent. It would not be impossible for you to reach top-tier rank in the future. Leaving aside everything else, your ability to escape from those monsters is unmatched. The few of us truly admire you."

Ren Tang and the Purple Robe Twin Fiends exchanged a look. The younger of the two, Purple Sand, poured another jar of fine wine for Hu San. To be honest, they were not without gratitude for Hu San’s help along the way, but upon further thought, that gratitude had turned into deep suspicion.

After all, the Hu San they saw was merely a martial artist of the fourth realm. No matter how gifted he might be, for him to contend with a monster at the level of a top-tier expert was far too exaggerated. If it was not due to luck, then it could only be attributed to some secret.

And a secret involving combat across realms had an irresistible attraction for martial practitioners. In the face of such a matter, let alone Hu San’s slight kindness, even the bond and duty of parents and children could hardly compare. Throughout history, there had been no shortage of men who killed even their fathers and sons for the sake of progress in cultivation.

"How could that count as any real ability?"

Hu San accepted all comers, drained the jar in one go, then thumped his chest and said, "I’m not boasting when I say this, but when it comes to my familiarity with these forests, even monsters can’t compare with me. In the Qilian Mountains, it’s my territory. If I want to hide, not even the heavenly king himself could find me. Otherwise, how do you think the armies of the Great Bend Kingdom and the Mengsi Kingdom were defeated back then?"

"As for the scattered monsters from outside, I may not be able to beat them, but in the Qilian Mountains it’s simple enough to avoid them. If any of you are interested, I can explain it to you another day."

"This wine today is truly excellent. Come, come, Brothers in Purple, I, Hu San, toast you."

At this, although Ren Tang and the Purple Robe Twin Fiends remained half-convinced and half-doubtful, they could only let the matter rest. They did not know whether Hu San’s words were true or false, and in truth did not wish to pursue it, especially since the explanation sounded perfectly reasonable.

Before long, after Old Zhou finished settling the caravan and then led several stewards into the private room, everyone finally opened their hearts completely and began to enjoy themselves to the fullest. No one brought up the earlier encounter with the demon beast again.

But was the matter really resolved so simply?