Chapter 60: Bamboo Horse, Fortune

East Lake Mountain was treacherous and perilous. The cliff where Zhao Xing stood had clouds and mist swirling above it, making it impossible to see the top clearly, but it was at least four or five hundred meters high.

Such a high place—falling straight down?

Zhao Xing looked closely and saw that the person was already a bloody mess, missing several parts of his body.

Yet he was somehow still not dead!

Under the Bright Eyes observation, this person's vitality actually still had a thread remaining.

"What the hell, scared the crap out of me!" Zong Zong Shichang leapt up from his chair.

"It's a person." Zhao Xing activated the Bright Eyes spell.

"Dead or alive?"

"Not dead yet, but almost."

"Not good! I know this man!" Zong Zong Shichang looked carefully a few times, and his face changed.

Then he immediately ran over.

Zhao Xing observed the surroundings, propped up the Floating Cloud, and only then slowly walked over.

"Brother Wang, h-how did you fall from the mountain?" Zong Zong Shichang ran into the rubble pile and crouched down.

"Pig, pig..." The man surnamed Wang appeared to be a martial artist; only half his body remained, yet he still hadn't fully died, and even had the strength to speak.

"Pig? Where's a pig here?" Zong Zong Shichang said. "Brother Wang, speak more clearly."

"Horse, horse..."

"Horse? What are you trying to say?" Zong Zong Shichang couldn't make heads or tails of it—pigs and horses, what on earth was he trying to say?

"Brother Wang, if you have any last words, please speak clearly. Oh wait, once we pass the Forget-Sorrow Stele, I won't remember them anyway."

"You, mm~" The man surnamed Wang widened his eyes, dying without closure, unsure if it was because Zong Zong Shichang had angered him.

"Don't worry. Although I don't know why, you died while working for my Zong family. Once we're out, I will certainly take good care of your family." Zong Zong Shichang reached out with some sorrow to close the man's eyes.

Strangely enough, after Zong Zong Shichang finished saying this, the man who had died without closure closed his eyes.

"Crack crack crack crack~"

Once the man had completely died, a sudden gust of yin wind emerged, and the rubble pile began to sink downward, sucking the man's two halves of his body into the ground.

Zhao Xing and Zong Zong Shichang saw this and hurriedly cupped their fists in a bow, paying respects to the ground.

This was the Yin God of East Lake Mountain, sending the remains of the official out.

Leaving the rubble pile, before Zhao Xing could ask, Zong Zong Shichang took the initiative to say: "This man is called Wang Dong, a member of the Martial Bureau of Mai County. Among the four people my family entrusted, one of them was him."

"He only reached the eighth stage of Qi Gathering at forty-five, and could never be promoted to full status. This year he came to my family for help, and my father agreed to secure him a quota for a Guard position this year. Who would have thought that less than one hour after entering the mountain, he would perish here."

"Brother Zhao, you said before he died he was talking about pigs and horses. Is he resenting me for taking on this errand?"

Zhao Xing shook his head and said: "If he resented you, how could he have left his mind at ease for you to take care of his family?"

Zong Zong Shichang seemed much more at ease: "True enough, but what exactly was he trying to tell me?"

Zhao Xing said nothing, lost in thought.

With a man dead, Zong Zong Shichang was in no mood for drinking or sightseeing. He sat there frowning in thought.

Unexpectedly, before long, another tragic and hurried cry came from deep within the dense forest, mixed with unidentified beast roars.

Fortunately, after a bout of roaring, it gradually faded into the distance.

After a moment, Zong Zong Shichang stood up, took out a box from his chest, and walked over: "Brother Zhao, I plan to climb the mountain, so I won't keep you company here."

"What changed your mind?" Zhao Xing asked.

Zong Zong Shichang sighed: "I originally planned to wait at the foot of the mountain. But looking at it now, since we've entered the mountain, neither the top nor the bottom is safe."

"I plan to contact the other three people. If we gather together, with their protection, it would actually be safer."

"Here's a box of Qi Gathering Pills. Take them and use them. We'll say our farewells here."

Zhao Xing looked at the medicine box Zong Zong Shichang had set down: "Brother Zong, wait a moment."

Zong Zong Shichang turned his head back, a look of confusion on his face.

Zhao Xing said slowly: "I didn't want to say more, nor do I know if telling you is good or bad for you. But the Brother Wang you hired was already bearing great weight before he fell off the cliff."

"His chest was caved in—he must have been struck by a blunt weapon. And based on the last words he left, he was likely referring to a Craftsman treasure, the Single-Horned Bamboo Horse."

Zong Zong Shichang was stunned at first, then suddenly understood.

Zhao Xing continued: "Let me make a bolder guess. The deal between your family and Brother Wang may not have been unknown to others."

"The Zong family does big business in Nanyang Prefecture, and inevitably attracts jealousy. Suppose someone wanted to use this opportunity to move against you, then this 'accident' was probably him taking the disaster meant for you."

Zong Zong Shichang's face changed, his eyes becoming uncertain with shock and suspicion.

Zhao Xing said calmly: "East Lake Mountain has a Yin God overseeing it, which prohibits killing. But it does not prohibit robbery and fighting. This boundary has always been vague—otherwise there would be no need to set up the Forget-Sorrow Stele."

"Moreover, killing doesn't necessarily require doing it yourself. Suppose I competed with you for the Spiritual Excellence, cast a spell to bind you and leave you here, and afterward a fierce beast ate you. That wouldn't count as breaking the rules—only that your luck was bad."

"You don't lack this Spiritual Excellence. I still advise you to go down the mountain directly, no need to take this risk."

Zong Zong Shichang frowned tightly, seemingly pondering Zhao Xing's words.

One could tell this young rich master had never suffered a beating. After all, everyone around him flattered and praised him, everyone gave his father face—how could he have thought so much about it?

Now that Zhao Xing had reminded him, he seemed to have thought of something. His face kept changing, as if he was struggling.

Zhao Xing continued: "If you must go up, then keep an extra eye out yourself. If you encounter someone riding a bamboo horse, turn around and leave. Don't gamble your life on the chance that I'm wrong."

Seeing Zong Zong Shichang deep in thought, Zhao Xing said no more.

Any more, and it would be overstepping.

Just as he had said earlier, if something happens on the mountain, that's bad luck.

With bad luck, how can one be an official in a Dynasty of Fortune?

Similarly, for promotion to ninth rank, if the Dynasty's Fortune is given to an official whose innate Fortune is already poor, it costs more.

The Dynasty's Fortune must consider balance of income and expenditure, so there is a rule that when an official dies, the Fortune returns to the Dynasty.

There were also cases like Xue Wenzhong, who went decades without promotion. At the root of it, the old Agricultural Officer's innate fortune grade was too low; he could only reach the Ninth Rank in office, unless he could perform some great merit. But serving as an Agricultural Officer in the rear made it very hard to get any chance at great merit.

Harvesting Spiritual Excellence was both a way of screening out those with poor fortune and a way of giving people a chance to make up for it.

Of course, the methods weren't limited to these, but he didn't intend to go into too much detail about the ins and outs.

His reminding them like this could be considered repaying Zong Zong Shichang for some of the information he had provided earlier.

"Good, I understand. Many thanks, Brother Zhao." Zong Zong Shichang cupped his hands in a bow.

Zhao Xing nodded, watching him leave.

As for whether Zong Zong Shichang actually believed him or not, what grudges he had with whom, and whether he would continue going up the mountain—Zhao Xing had no interest in finding out, nor did he intend to pay it any attention.

His Diamond Bamboo and Green Vines were about to ripen.