Chapter 14: Eat Before You Go
Chapter 14: Eat Before You Go
“According to precedent, this youngster comes to bow and seek instruction. Might the honorable instructors grant him a chance?”
Right then, noticing that several instructors of the academy had appeared but had yet to give their consent, Fang Cun spoke up clearly.
As a native of Willow Lake City, he was well aware that anyone determined to challenge the Rear Mountain of White Xiang Academy had never truly been refused. At least he had followed the rules and presented his petition. Some previous challengers hadn’t even announced themselves before plunging straight into the mountain. This tradition had endured so long that by now, the academy instructors really had no grounds to refuse him.
Besides, the commotion he’d caused had drawn so many townsfolk to watch the spectacle. With so many eyes upon them, how could these instructors dare ignore White Xiang Academy’s traditions and forbid him from entering?
“This boy is bold, daring to press us. Does he truly not grasp the dangers lurking in the Rear Mountain?”
A middle-aged female instructor, clothed in the calm robes of the Hidden Sect, scowled.
“Ah, the young know no fear…”
Instructor Zhang Shixian frowned deeply, sighing. “He thinks this academy is easily challenged, unaware how many fearless lambs perish on that mountain each year. Still… he is the brother of the late Immortal Master Fang Chi. With such pedigree, perhaps he possesses some secret family skills…”
If this were just any reckless challenger, the instructors wouldn’t bother stopping him. Most who entered met a grim fate on the Rear Mountain. Only if he somehow succeeded would they assess him. Those who survived the Rear Mountain usually possessed decent talent; recruiting them would benefit White Xiang Academy.
But Fang Cun was different. His background was complex, carrying immense weight. The instructors hesitated to make a direct decision.
Amidst their dilemma, a subtle hush fell over the crowd. Heads turned toward the rear peaks, where three figures appeared. The central man, though not old, sported a three-strand beard beneath his chin. He sat sideways upon a sturdy green ram, its horns spiraling like vast corkscrews. On either side stood two elders: one with a black beard, the other white.
Their presence radiated an invisible force, instinctively silencing the students below.
Seeing them, the instructors at the base turned respectfully and bowed. “We greet the Academy Head! The Honorable Elder Mentors!”
Shocked murmurs rippled through the spectators. Truly, Second Young Master Fang was extraordinary! His mere attempt to challenge the Rear Mountain hadn’t just drawn several instructors — it had summoned both the Academy Head and two of the academy’s Four Grand Mentors! Such rare attention… only a handful in Willow Lake City deserved it.
The middle-aged man on the green ram nodded lightly, his gaze settling on the distant boulder where Fang Cun knelt. He seemed mildly amused, remaining silent. Instead, the black-bearded Elder Mentor beside him stepped forward and spoke toward Fang Cun across the chasm: “Brother of Fang Chi! I ask you: Is your desire to enter White Xiang Academy genuine?”
His voice carried no strain, calm and clear. Yet it reached every ear below the mountain, as though spoken beside them — perfectly distinct, yet effortlessly gentle.
Hearing this, Fang Cun bowed his head slightly and answered clearly: “My heart is utterly sincere! I seek only to join the academy!”
The black-bearded Elder Mentor’s expression remained unreadable. “Are you aware of the perils that await you on the academy’s Rear Mountain?”
Fang Cun replied without hesitation: “I am!”
The black-bearded Elder Mentor glanced at the man on the ram, then asked again: “If danger befalls you within the Rear Mountain, and rescue arrives too late… What then?”
Fang Cun thought for a moment. “I sought this willingly. The fault would be none other’s.”
Satisfied, the black-bearded Elder Mentor stepped back beside the ram.
“Hmph! Foolhardy youth!”
The white-bearded Elder Mentor on the other side looked displeased, casting a cold stare across the gorge.
The black-bearded Elder Mentor simply offered a helpless smile. “He insists on challenging the Rear Mountain. By academy tradition, refusing him is… impractical.”
“Then let him challenge it!” snapped the white-bearded one. “If he dies within, it’s merely fate. Blame none!”
“Well… truly the blood-brother of Immortal Master Fang Chi…”
The man on the green ram seemed to weigh his words. Every gaze on the mountain and below riveted upon his face. Even figures from Willow Lake City itself seemed focused on this moment. Finally, he spoke slowly: “The tradition of the academy’s Rear Mountain is ancient. Since your resolve is so pure… White Xiang Academy shall not deny you!”
A flicker of joy crossed Fang Cun’s face. He bowed respectfully. “I thank the honorable masters!”
“Whoo–!”
Cheers erupted from the crowd upon hearing this. “At last! It begins!”
Fang Cun rose on the great boulder, stretching his legs briefly, taking a deep breath — ready to enter.
But just then, the sound of hooves echoed. A fast horse galloped up the path. Jostling unsteadily atop it was Elder Fang. Shouting from afar as he rushed closer: “My child! Why won’t you listen? Heed your father! That Rear Mountain… that Rear Mountain has swallowed countless lives! It’s not something one recklessly challenges…!”
“Is this necessary…?” muttered Fang Cun, watching his elderly father — who hadn’t ridden a horse in decades — gallop frantically forward.
“Father,” Fang Cun addressed him firmly, “Elder Brother provoked heaven’s envy; he left us far too young. Many now look down upon our Fang Family. I once cared little for cultivation. But now that Brother has departed, I must take his place. This academy… I will enter.”
As he spoke, he descended the boulder, approaching the pathway leading into the Rear Mountain.
Elder Fang scrambled off his horse, breathless and pale. Seeing the absolute resolve on his son’s face, he knew persuasion was futile. His expression twisted with anguish. He nearly stumbled dismounting, grabbing the saddle to steady himself. His eyes filled with sorrow as he looked at Fang Cun. “You’ve always been this way… stubborn, impossible to contain. But please…”
He grabbed a bundle from the horse, barely keeping his balance: “…at least eat breakfast first!”
The spectators stared, dumbfounded. Then, “Pffft!” — a wave of stifled laughter broke out.
The esteemed head of Willow Lake City’s Fang Family? This was the great Immortal Master Fang Chi’s father? Racing breathlessly to deliver… dumplings? How utterly undignified!
Yet Fang Cun, in that moment, turned slightly. He looked at the bundle.
Complex emotions stirred within him.
Elder Fang stepped closer, pleading. “Good son… Your mother rose early today, steaming your favorite fresh meat buns just for you. I can’t stop you from going… but please! Eat well! You’ll need strength!”
“Mother hasn’t set foot in the kitchen for three years?”
Fang Cun was silent a long moment before suddenly smiling. He reached out, took one bun, and clamped it between his teeth.
“I’ll eat the rest when I return!”
He suspected the truth. Yesterday, when he announced his intention to challenge the Rear Mountain, the old couple had panicked, attempting to lock him up. His mother, fearing his anger, must have entered the kitchen hoping comfort food might soothe him on his inevitable escape. Knowing they couldn’t stop him, they chose this… bizarre method of farewell.
It was laughable… Yet this bun tasted surprisingly good…
Mouth full, Fang Cun offered no further words. He chuckled lightly, then strode straight into the path.
Behind him, Elder Fang nearly collapsed, steadied only by a nearby hawker selling sweet hawthorns on sticks.
A few steps along the winding path, Fang Cun found himself deep among ancient, sinewy pine woods. Elder Fang and the noisy throngs of Willow Lake City vanished from sight. Their voices seemed distant, as though traversing these woods had transported him to a separate world — sealed off from the outside.
Wasting no time, Fang Cun finished the bun in two large bites and marched onward.
Deeper into the dark pines, he felt increasingly isolated from the world. An unnerving silence surrounded him; the voiceless pines and cypresses made his skin prickle. Yet his pace only quickened. Following the trail, he moved steadily ahead. But upon reaching a sharp bend, he veered sharply left — where there had seemed no trail. Instantly, stone steps materialised beneath his footfall.
“Huh?”
The crowd behind the Rear Mountain, still waiting for the spectacle, understood little. They could barely glimpse Fang Cun’s shadowy form through the trees. But atop the academy’s rear ridge, countless Disciples and Instructors watched his agile weaving through the terrain. After observing his precise, unhesitating turns — right, left, forward — several Instructors exchanged bewildered glances.
“Fang the Second is famously dissolute and unstudied! Who’d have thought… he possesses such skill in the Path of Formations?” muttered one Instructor under his breath, fingers subtly tracing calculations in the air, brow furrowed.
“Exactly!” Instructor Zhang Shixian sighed beside him. “His deduction skills within formations… they are remarkably sound for someone so young!”
…
That gift indeed held value…
Fang Cun sighed inwardly himself.
The winding path beneath his feet, the dark pines flanking him — outwardly simple, yet secretly intricate. Every tree, every arrangement of stone, held obscure significance. What seemed a clear path could lead one endlessly in circles. A simplistic pattern could trap a wanderer forever, where starvation became the only exit.
Worse still… the formation never stayed the same.
Through the twelve dual-hours of day and night, shifting with the changing currents of the world’s breath, it constantly rearranged itself.
To dare this Rear Mountain, one needed thorough understanding of formation principles, mastery of deduction tactics, plus the ability to instantly calculate complex permutations as the terrain shifted mid-stride. No ordinary challenger possessed such caliber.
Fang Cun possessed none of these.
He’d simply… memorized the Rear Mountain’s Great Yin-Yang Inversion Array schematic.
The confidence of… a backdoor key.