Chapter 25: This Man's a Little Shady

Monkey automatically ignored the part about getting some village girl pregnant. "I thought about leaving. But I really was badly hurt at the time. It took almost half a year to recover, and I only made it through because the villagers looked after me. Later, when the crops ripened, I personally saw marauding soldiers come to loot the place again. It was out of line. The soldiers here are no different from bandits. Pretty much every time the grain ripens, they come rob the village once."

Niu Youdao understood exactly how he felt. He knew Monkey had served in the special forces in his previous life and carried certain feelings because of it. If Niu Youdao had not happened to help support Monkey's widowed old mother, pay for her treatment, and see her through to the end of her life, a man of Monkey's abilities probably never would have thrown in with someone like him. Niu Youdao had walked a different road, after all. Monkey had originally followed him purely to repay what an unfilial son owed his mother. Only gradually had the two developed a bond like brothers.

"Later I figured that even if I went outside, I might not be able to find you. I guessed you'd come back to this village sooner or later, just like you said—if only to repay the kindness you owed them. So I decided to stay here and wait. I owed the village too. To stop them from being robbed over and over, I stayed and organized the villagers, gave them some training. Another reason was that this body's foundation wasn't very good, so I spent these years training it. The world's too chaotic. If I went running around without even the ability to protect myself, I might not know how I died when trouble came."

Niu Youdao nodded. The two understood each other well. Looking at it now, their reunion had probably been inevitable.

"What about you?" Monkey tipped his chin toward Shang Chaozong and the others. "What's going on? They clearly came with you, but they don't seem very friendly toward you."

"Heh!" Niu Youdao looked back and only then remembered that he had left those people standing there. He slapped Monkey on the back. "Come on. I'll introduce you."

He brought Monkey over and introduced Shang Chaozong and the others, then gestured toward Monkey. "This is a good brother of mine. His name is..." He scratched his head, turned around, and asked, "What are you called again?"

He had forgotten to ask Monkey what his name was in this life. Lan Ruoting and the others nearly dropped their jaws. A good brother of yours, yet you don't even know his name? The two of you are obviously extremely close, and you can still tell a bald-faced lie like that? This man the Shangqing Sect sent was a little shady.

Monkey swept the group with a calm gaze. "Yuan Gang."

"Oh! Right, Yuan Gang." Niu Youdao turned back and smiled awkwardly at everyone. "I've been away from the village too long. Even forgot his name. My memory isn't very good."

Whether anyone believed that was another question. In any case, they all began examining Yuan Gang closely. Their eyes instinctively fell on the daggers strapped to his forearms and thighs. His clothes made him look like a villager from some mountain hollow, but his bearing clearly did not. The indifference in his eyes made it obvious that he did not take any of them very seriously. Any ordinary mountain villager confronted with a force like theirs would have been trembling with fear. How could he possibly remain this calm? A prince stood before him. Did he not know what a prince was? Shang Chaozong and the others exchanged glances, increasingly suspicious.

Were all the people from this village like this?

The thought made them curious. They genuinely wanted to see what kind of village this was.

"Tell your men not to make any reckless moves, or don't blame me for being rude." Yuan Gang stared coldly at Shang Chaozong and gave the warning without ceremony.

The guards beside Shang Chaozong immediately looked furious and were about to flare up, but Shang Chaozong raised a hand to stop them. Yuan Gang gave the guards a contemptuous glance, turned around, stuck two fingers into his mouth, and blew a piercing whistle. Movement immediately came from the nearby forest. Five or six young men emerged one after another and approached cautiously, plainly somewhat afraid of the government troops. Lan Ruoting and the others exchanged another look. Now this reaction was more like what they expected from villagers.

"Brother Gang, what's this?" the young man in front asked tentatively.

Yuan Gang pointed at Niu Youdao. "Big Stick, go back and tell the village that Niu Youdao has returned. I'm not going back. I'm leaving with him. From now on, keep guarding the village the way I taught you. There shouldn't be any problems."

Without even asking Niu Youdao's opinion, he had already made the decision for him: they were not going back to the village. Niu Youdao gave the youths a faint smile and nodded. He understood Yuan Gang's meaning. Yuan Gang did not want outsiders entering the village and probing into its situation. As for leaving together, that was only natural.

"Niu Youdao?" Big Stick froze and stared Niu Youdao up and down. Then sudden delight appeared on his face. "Ah! Brother Dao, it really is you! You've become so grand now. If Brother Gang hadn't said anything, I never would've recognized you. Brother Dao, I'm Big Stick! I used to follow right behind you everywhere!"

"And me! I'm Mengzi!"

"Brother Dao, I'm Little Dog..."

"I'm Big Bowl! Brother Dao, where have you been all these years? When you disappeared, the whole village went looking for you. Later, people came to the village asking about you. Someone from the village even saw you in the city..."

People came to the village asking about me? Someone from the village saw me in the city? Niu Youdao froze for a moment, then more or less guessed what had happened.

He burst out laughing and pointed at each of the young men crowding around him. "Big Stick, Mengzi, Little Dog..."

He simply repeated every name they had just introduced. "Of course I remember you all. Big Bowl almost drowned when he went with me to feel around for fish in the river back then..."

He did not recognize a single one of them. He was merely making up the sort of things boys from a mountain village might plausibly have done together. The corner of Yuan Gang's mouth twitched. Master Dao was still Master Dao.

Big Bowl nodded cheerfully. "Right, right!"

Inside, however, he was puzzled. He did remember catching fish in the river, but had he really almost drowned?

"Brother Dao, now that you're back, aren't you going to visit the village? Brother Gang says you're leaving. Where are you going?" Big Stick asked curiously.

He had not grasped what Yuan Gang meant by "leaving." In their minds, people from the village rarely went very far.

Yuan Gang said, "We're going out to see the world. Don't ask so many questions."

It was obvious Yuan Gang had considerable authority among these young men. Once he spoke, no one asked further.

Big Stick scratched his head. "Brother Gang, take us out to have a look too."

"It's chaos outside. Staying in the village and living well is better than anything else. We'll see about the rest later." Yuan Gang left it at that, then turned to Niu Youdao. "Got money?"

Niu Youdao tipped his chin toward his horse. "In the bundle. I was planning to send it to the village."

Yuan Gang walked over, reached into the bundle, rummaged around, and pulled out a money pouch. He gave it a shake. Coins clinked inside. Returning to the group, he opened the pouch. Gold, silver, and copper coins filled it, the gold and silver both cast in coin form. Most of it was gold, glittering enough to dazzle the eye.

"Whoa!"

The village youths crowded around at once. None of them had ever seen so much money. Every one of them wanted to reach out and touch it, plainly dazzled by the sight.

Yuan Gang pulled the drawstring tight and tossed the pouch to Big Stick. "Give this to several of the village elders to keep together. Tell them that even though it's a lot of money, they mustn't go outside spending it carelessly. The world is at war. Showing wealth can bring disaster on the village. Only take it out when there's a genuine emergency or something absolutely has to be bought. Remember?"

Lan Ruoting and the other two exchanged another look. The interest in their eyes when they looked at Yuan Gang deepened.

Niu Youdao nodded as well. "Right. If they squander it, don't blame me when I come back and make the village repay the money. I worked hard for it too. It's there to help in difficult times, not for people to waste."

The young men nodded repeatedly.

Big Stick thumped his chest. "Don't worry, Brother Dao. We know how hard money is to earn. You're kind enough to give the village this much. How could anyone waste it? We'll explain everything when we get back."

Niu Youdao chuckled. "Good."

Yuan Gang waved a hand. "All right. Go back."

His word carried weight. The young men obediently left, turning back every few steps and waving.

"Brother Gang, Brother Dao, we're heading back! Go early and come back early!"

Niu Youdao smiled and waved. Yuan Gang stood straight and motionless, watching them go.

Only after they had disappeared did Yuan Gang turn to Niu Youdao. "Let's go."

Lan Ruoting, still seated on horseback, smiled. "Brother Yuan, can you ride?"

Niu Youdao turned and laughed. "Ride a horse? He can drive planes and tanks."

"Planes? Tanks?"

Lan Ruoting, Shang Chaozong, and Shang Shuqing all repeated the words at once, completely dumbfounded. The three looked from one another to Niu Youdao. Seeing that everyone else appeared just as baffled, they knew they had not misheard.

"What are planes and tanks?" Shang Shuqing asked.

Yuan Gang remained cold and expressionless, giving no reaction whatsoever.

Niu Youdao also realized that he had let something slip. He chuckled. "Country things. You wouldn't think much of them anyway. Not worth mentioning."

"Then it seems we're the ignorant ones." Shang Shuqing sounded regretful, but since he clearly did not want to explain, she did not press him.

Lan Ruoting tipped his chin toward the end of the mountain road. "Cultivator, now that you've returned to your home village, you truly aren't going back for a look?"

Yuan Gang had no interest in talking to them and answered coldly, "Every time government troops come, they enter the village and loot it once. Country people can't handle a grand spectacle like this."

Everyone understood what he meant. Lan Ruoting and Shang Chaozong both looked grave. They were not angry at the accusation. They understood it only too well. Even without speaking of years past, they had seen many such tragedies on this very journey.

One of Shang Chaozong's guards, however, became furious. He pointed his riding crop at Yuan Gang and shouted, "Insolence! His Highness is—"

Yuan Gang cut him a cold sideways glance. Shang Chaozong gave a low sound, signaling the guard to shut his mouth.

Seeing the atmosphere grow awkward, Niu Youdao quickly smoothed things over with a cheerful laugh. "Mainly, we don't want to delay His Highness's journey over a small personal matter. No need to go back. No need."

Shang Chaozong turned and ordered, "Give Brother Yuan a horse!"

From his first impression, he clearly liked Yuan Gang more than Niu Youdao. The reason was simple. At a glance, he could see something in Yuan Gang that reminded him of the men of the Yingyang Guard and Wulie Guard. That alone made Yuan Gang feel familiar and congenial. Niu Youdao, on the other hand, seemed incapable of telling the truth and did not look like a decent person. Someone from the rear soon led over a mount. Yuan Gang took the reins and swung into the saddle in one clean motion. Lan Ruoting and the others visibly took note. Yuan Gang clearly was not an ordinary mountain villager. He had substantial experience handling horses.

Shang Chaozong gave a hand signal. The party stopped advancing. The rear became the front, and the whole column turned back the way it had come.

[End of Chapter 25]