Chapter 228: Chapter 228

Chapter 228: Rehabilitation (3)

A few days later, a group of guys on horseback rode up to the entrance of Mount Kongtong.

They were like-minded folks who'd banded together to visit famous mountains and rivers across the martial world, enjoying the scenery and each other's company as they went.

Since Mount Kongtong was once famous as a sacred mountain, they couldn't just skip it. They all looked at the base of the mountain with faces full of excitement.

"I wonder if the mountain range lives up to its reputation."

“My, my, Brother Jang here has already seen all Five Great Mountains of the Jianghu. I just hope Kongtong's scenery doesn't disappoint him."

"Hahaha! Don’t worry, I’m sure every mountain has its own unique charm."

They exchanged pleasantries and chatted about the famous sites they'd each visited for a while.

"Hm? Doesn't it look like there's something up ahead?"

The man leading the group on horseback pointed forward and called out.

As he said, several wooden pavilion-like structures were built at the entrance to Mount Kongtong.

"Kongtong... Trading Company?"

The weird sign was hanging on what turned out to be a few makeshift stalls and a stable. Before long, they reached the vicinity of this so-called Kongtong Trading Company.

"Can we leave our horses here?"

At the question from the man in front, someone from the stable came forward to answer.

"Hahaha! Of course you can. Not many people walk all the way out here, so we set up this stable so folks could leave their horses and carriages behind without a worry.”

The stable hand's explanation made them all look at each other. Their eyes silently debated whether it was really safe to entrust their horses to this place.

Each horse was worth a considerable sum, so if this self-proclaimed stable keeper had ill intentions, they'd be in big trouble.

Still, the reason they hesitated was that they'd have to guard the horses themselves otherwise. Due to the horses they had brought, their original plan had been to leave one person behind with the animals at the mountain’s entrance. But if they could leave their horses here, then there would be no reason for one person to have to give up the climb.

Enjoy the hike together, or play it safe and leave a man behind?

While they were trying to decide—

"Hm? Looks like someone else is coming."

A carriage was rolling in from the other direction.

Soon enough, that carriage stopped in front of the Kongtong Trading Company.

From the carriage descended a few beggars and a couple dressed in ordinary clothes.

The normal-looking couple started walking up the mountain without a care in the world, while one of the beggars approached the stall owner carrying some kind of load.

"Here. The goods you asked for.”

"Oh my, thank you so much!"

As the stall owner bowed his head deeply, the beggar nodded and commanded the other beggars.

Then the beggars just took off, using their lightness skills to dash up the mountain with each carrying loads of goods on their backs.

The guys who were about to go hiking just stared at each other without saying a word. They stared at the whole weird scene with dazed faces.

What’s more, the stable hand acted like it was all perfectly normal and steered the horse carriage to one of the stables.

"Does that carriage come here often?" asked one of the travelers.

“Sure does. That's the public carriage. It runs on a schedule between here and Pingliang every day.”

The stable hand then explained about the public carriage business and gave a brief overview of the operation.

After hearing the full explanation, they looked at each other and nodded.

“If they’re running a whole carriage service, I doubt they’re gonna steal our horses.”

“And it was always a pain leaving someone behind. This is way better.”

In the end, they decided to entrust their horses to the stable keeper.

Naturally, it wasn't free.

After they paid a reasonable price, the stable keeper asked with a smile, "Since you're heading up anyway, why not pick up some simple snacks or water from over there?"

The stable keeper pointed to the stalls.

They went over and bought some water, beef jerky, and rice balls.

"You're telling me. It's more expensive than buying in town, but it's not outrageously expensive.”

The stall owner just smiled at their comment.

“Hey, when you think about how much it costs to haul this stuff all the way up here, our prices are actually pretty cheap.”

“Ahem. You know, he’s got a point.”

Satisfied, they grabbed their snacks and started hiking up the mountain.

Not long after, they passed the couple who'd started climbing earlier.

“Hmm. They’re climbing without any gear at all.”

"They're probably just going up a bit and coming back down."

“Hahaha. Too bad. If you’re gonna climb a mountain, you gotta at least try to get to the top.”

Mount Kongtong was quite a tall peak.

Since they were starting in the afternoon, there was no way they’d reach the peak before sunset.

And since climbing down in the dark was dangerous, their plan was to set up camp for the night around dusk.

Of course, unlike that other couple, they were all carrying packs with overnight camping gear.

They were climbing along, talking about that unprepared couple, when—

They saw the beggars who had dashed up the mountain a couple hours ago coming back down.

All the loads they'd been carrying on their backs had disappeared.

As the beggars vanished down the trail after that brief greeting, the travelers got even more confused.

“What the hell was in those packs?”

"Hmm. Camping gear, maybe?”

And they found out the answer a couple of hours later.

Just when the sunset was beginning to glow and it was time to prepare camp, a gate appeared before their eyes. One that bore a strangely familiar sign hanging from it.

[Kongtong Trading Company]

Confused, they walked through the gate and saw a few buildings up ahead.

Along with the unexpected cry of a tout hawking for customers.

“It's getting late, so you probably don't want to climb any higher, right? Why not stay the night here at our Kongtong Inn?”

They never expected that an inn would be built halfway up the mountain and looked at each other in confusion.

But still, sleeping indoors had to be more comfortable than camping outside.

"Do you have rooms available?"

In the end, they decided to stay the night at this Kongtong Inn.

"Hahaha! What would you like for dinner then? Ah, the restaurant is this way."

The innkeeper basically dragged them inside.

They hadn't expected the place to serve food, but they ended up ordering dinner there and even had booze!

So they enjoyed the atmosphere halfway up the mountain while eating and drinking.

Just before the sun fully set, the couple they'd passed earlier also entered the inn.

Only then did they realize why that couple had started climbing this mountain without any mountain gear.

“Tell me, friend. How long has this inn been in business?”

When one curious man asked the innkeeper, he answered with a bright smile.

"We only just started a few days ago. We’re actually starting a little farm out back, but nothing’s grown yet. So for now, the good people from the Beggars’ Gang are hauling all our supplies up from Pingliang County.”

Only then did they understand the identity of those beggars carrying loads up the mountain.

“Come to think of it, the name on was the same, you people also run the stalls and stable at the mountain entrance?”

“To be precise, they are all operated by the Maitreya Luminous Cult. Those people created jobs for us, former beggars."

"Maitreya Luminous Cult?"

When they expressed confusion at this name they'd never heard before, the attendant enthusiastically praised the Maitreya Luminous Cult.

After explaining how truly wonderful they were, the innkeeper added, “They gave us jobs, and most of the money we make here goes to helping the poor folks in Pingliang County! Oh! You should totally check out Pingliang while you're here. There’s lots of cool stuff to see! Hahaha.”At the attendant's explanation, they naturally became curious about Pingliang County.

After spending the night at the inn, they set out climbing again early the next morning.

They had a light meal at Mount Kongtong's summit with the snacks they'd bought from the inn, then began their descent.

The lodging and meal costs at the Kongtong Inn were all more expensive than what they'd pay in other counties. But there were no other options, and when you thought about the trouble of hauling all that food up the mountain, the prices actually seemed pretty fair.

They’d started climbing at dawn and got back to the entrance late in the afternoon.

After paying the stable hand and getting their horses back, they thought about it for a second and decided to check out Pingliang County.

“Just ride that way for about an hour and you’ll be there.”

They headed in the direction the stable keeper pointed and arrived at Pingliang County just as the sunset began to glow.

They wandered around the empty-feeling town for a bit before they finally found a crowd of people.

Curious, they went closer and heard someone shouting while fanning themselves with a folding fan.

“He’s the boss of the Qilian Mountains, a Green Forest hero so scary he makes babies stop crying just from saying his name! Even the government is afraid of him! Give it up for Lord Twin Murderous Axes!!!”

No sooner had that man's shout ended than the women behind him suddenly began playing instruments.

It was an aggressive and spirited melody.

And matching that melody, some vicious-looking man stepped forward, wildly swinging the axes in both hands.

"Gwahahaha! Today I shall fill my belly with your blood!"

At the bad guy's incredibly awkward acting, some people in the crowd reacted with fear—

"The Azure Sword Hero will save us!"

But other people started yelling back at him. Googlᴇ search Nov3lFɪre.ɴet

And right on cue, the announcer with the fan started up again.

"In this era when the righteousness of the martial world has fallen to rock bottom, he’s the last one left! He’s come here to stop the Twin Murderous Axes! It’s the Azure Sword Hero!”

Once again, the women in the back played their instruments, and unlike with the mean-looking man earlier, the melody this time was elegant and easy on the ears.

"You fiend! So long as my breath hasn’t stopped, you won't touch a single hair on these people's heads!"

The Azure Sword Hero yelled in a deep voice and pointed his sword at the bad guy.

And the epic fight began.

The group that'd stumbled upon Pingliang County watched the duel with half-dazed expressions.

The movements of the Twin Murderous Axes and the Azure Sword Hero as they dueled were nothing short of spectacular.

The Twin Murderous Axes swung like mad, pressing the Azure Sword Hero hard.

Pushed back by the Twin Murderous Axes' assault, the Azure Sword Hero launched himself into the air, then landed gracefully after spinning three full rotations mid-flight.

In a real fight, he would’ve been chopped into mince-meat for trying a stunt like that, but that wasn’t important here.

Every time they exchanged moves with large, flashy moves—

“OH MY GOD! IT’S THE HELL-SPIN ATTACK!! HIS AXES ARE LIKE A HURRICANE!! THE Azure SWORD HERO IS IN DANGER!!”

The announcer from before was screaming like a lunatic, giving a play-by-play of the whole fight.

Maybe it was the flashy fight, or the crazy-passionate announcer.

“THE AZURE SWORD HERO HAS TO FIND AN OPENING! OH! THERE IT IS! THE ULTIMATE MOVE, THE SINGLE HAND OF THE CLEAR WIND THAT BREAKS THE SKY!”

“GO, AZURE SWORD HERO!!”

The travelers, who had just wandered into town with no expectations, found themselves chanting the Azure Sword Hero's name alongside the locals before they knew it.