Chapter 36

Two li southwest of Xiangyang City lies Turtle Mountain; its four peaks and five ridges together number the Nine Palaces.

During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the nine brothers of Chen Bogong, to avoid the war, once built nine field lodges on the mountain.

They were respectively the Primordial Palace, the Eight Trigrams Palace, the Azure Dragon Palace, the White Tiger Palace, the Doumu Palace, the Palace of Non-Action, the Three Pure Ones Palace, the Seven True Ones Palace, and the Transplanting Flowers Palace.

Thus it is also called Jiugong Mountain.

The peaks of Jiugong Mountain are perilous as a single blade's edge, high enough to reach the heavens.

Climbing to the summit, one can behold the vast Han River rushing southward, with the cities of Xiang and Fan in view, a magnificent sight.

After the Southern Song court moved south, the Jin forces repeatedly launched southern invasions; as a key military stronghold of the Four Battles region, Xiangyang ancient city naturally bore the brunt.

Due to years of warfare damage, the structures on Jiugong Mountain outside the city have long lain in ruins, a mere scattering of broken walls.

Even at the mountain's base lies a desolate expanse, utterly devoid of human habitation.

But at the start of today, the originally desolate and uninhabited Jiugong Mountain suddenly bustled with activity.

Above and below the mountain, a steady stream of laborers and craftsmen came and went.

Some quarried stone from the mountain, some felled trees for timber, some transported materials; all kinds of work proceeded with great fervor, extremely lively.

At the mountain's foot stood a temporarily erected field headquarters, its surroundings tightly guarded, no outsiders allowed to approach.

Inside the field headquarters, a young steward would from time to time point at the blueprints on the table, constantly conversing with the middle-aged man beside him.

"Master Jin, here, here, and here we must erect blockhouses, and they must be made sturdy!"

"Here and here are both ruins of the Nine Palaces; we can start work directly on the old sites!"

"Finally, the secret passage between these points must be carried out covertly; it can be built later."

"In short, my master only asks for one thing: the work must be finished by August 8 two years from now; the entire Jiugong Mountain must be built as a fortress, as sturdy as possible! Do you understand?"

"But."

Upon hearing that, the middle-aged man across from him showed some hesitation, wanting to speak but stopping himself.

"Master Jin, rest assured, money is no problem! Besides, there's no need to worry about the Xiangyang side; I have my own arrangements there, and given that Xiangyang City is still unstable, if we don't make this place strong enough, when the Jin come again it would be like throwing away a pile of silver."

The young steward, hearing the middle-aged man's words, waved his hand to dispel the other's concerns, obviously also having made preparations beforehand.

"If that's the case, then there's no problem; I'll first go up the mountain to have a look. If Steward Niu has any further orders, you can send someone to find me on the mountain. Farewell."

"Take your leave slowly, Master Jin."

After the middle-aged man left, the young man continued to stare at the map, studying it.

"Chief, Clerk Liu of Xiangyang City has arrived."

Not long after, someone outside the field headquarters relayed a message.

"Please come in quickly! Serve tea!"

Having said that, the young man swiftly gathered the blueprints from the table, preparing to go out to meet him.

Not long after, a frail middle-aged man arrived under the escort of the guards.

He wore a blue robe with an eight-cornered beard, had the appearance of a scholar, and though his eyes were small, they showed sharpness.

"Clerk Liu, please come inside quickly! Thank you for your trouble on this trip."

"My master offers this small token; Clerk Liu, please go back and enjoy some tea."

Having said that, the young man, just having ushered Clerk Liu into the gate, produced a stack of banknotes and stuffed them into the other's sleeve.

Clerk Liu pinched the stack to gauge its thickness, and a satisfied expression appeared on his face.

Then, slowly, he took something from his sleeve and handed it to the young man, narrowing his eyes as he spoke:

"Official duties are pressing; no need for tea. This is a document sent by Minister Lü via me; Steward Niu, please keep it safe."

"Farewell!"

Having said that, he clasped his hands in salute, turned, and walked out of the gate with his hands behind his back.

"Clerk Liu, take your leave slowly!"

The young man saw him off to the gate; after Clerk Liu went away, he immediately returned to the table.

He locked the document inside a sandalwood box, then laid out paper on the table, picked up his brush, and began to write.

After putting pen to paper, he sealed the letter well, then called someone from outside the field headquarters and instructed:

"Quickly arrange two people to take the box and letter back to the manor, hand them to the madam, and tell her that the matter has been settled, so she and the manor lord can rest easy!"

"Yes!"

After the person took the items and left the field headquarters, the young man let out a long breath, and his whole body relaxed.

After leaving the field headquarters, the sky was already drawing toward evening; far off, the laborers and artisans were also about to prepare for night work by lamplight.

Deep in the great desert

"Giddyap! Giddyap!"

In the distance, a short, stout man rode a swift horse, galloping toward the cluster of felt tents ahead.

"Whoa~"

Having rushed to a point not far in front of a felt tent, the horse not yet steady, the man leapt from its back and ran straight into the tent.

While running, he shouted:

"Big brother!"

"Big brother!"

"Little sister! Little sister!"

That man was already out of breath.

At that moment, inside the tent were five people: four adults and one youth.

Upon hearing the shouts outside, the people inside immediately rose to their feet, even the youth who had been obediently practicing his horse stance stopped.

Seeing the man rush into the tent, the crowd immediately surrounded him, chattering eagerly as they asked:

Third brother! Where is Seventh Sister?

Third brother! Any news of Seventh Sister?

Third brother! How is Seventh Sister?

Third master! Have you found Seventh master?

Everyone asked too quickly; that man was still catching his breath, likely exhausted from before.

Ding

All shut up! Let Old Three speak slowly!

At that moment, a heavy sound of an iron rod striking the ground came, followed by another heavy shout.

Upon hearing the sound, everyone immediately fell silent, but each of their expressions remained anxious.

Immediately after, a middle-aged blind man holding an iron staff tilted his head and leaned close to the man, asking urgently:

Old Three, how's the search? Have you found any news of Seventh Sister?

Eldest brother! Second brother! Old Four! Old Six!

At that moment, the man also caught his breath, quickly greeted everyone, and then said:

This time I went out, I asked many friends on the road to gather news; they said my younger sister had once appeared in the Luoyang area, but after that she was never seen again.

I personally searched the vicinity; a village in the outskirts was slaughtered, and several Jin soldiers and Iron Palm Gang members also died.

Furthermore, I heard that on that night, also in the outskirts, the Beggars' Sect lost a Nine‑Bag Elder and the Henan division's chief.

Upon hearing this, everyone inside the tent had grim faces.

The man then continued:

Later I got word that someone saw a woman resembling my younger sister in age and attire, apparently badly injured, being held by a young man at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion in Luoyang; after that they were never seen coming out again.

But, someone saw Doctor Liu from the city go to the Drunken Immortal Pavilion that day. I went to find that person, used some means, and got the answer.

Saying this, the man hesitated a bit.

The old blind man, anxious to hear, saw the other party hem and haw and stop, couldn't help but strike his iron staff again and shout:

Hmph! What did you find out? Old Three, hurry up and speak!

Seeing this, the man dared not hesitate any longer, lowered his voice and continued:

He found out that my younger sister seems to have been struck by the Iron Palm technique.

Sorry for the typos and messy sentences, thanks.

Regarding the time of going to Shaolin for medical treatment, I made a small revision earlier.

(End of chapter)