Chapter Sixty Now There Are Four

At the foot of Sunset Mountain, Xiao Ding encountered Sun Dasheng, the second leader of Flying Cloud Fort, along with a band of mountain bandits. Upon seeing Xiao Ding, Sun Dasheng immediately demanded the iron staff. Xiao Ding responded by proposing a wager to decide ownership of the staff.

As everyone exchanged uncertain glances, Xiao Ding turned to Sun Dasheng and asked, "Are you willing to gamble?"

Sun Dasheng was a straightforward man. Hearing Xiao Ding mention a wager, he assumed Xiao Ding wanted to compete in martial arts. He recalled seeing this big fellow fight his own men before and had not noticed any particular skills or techniques. If it was a contest of martial prowess, Sun Dasheng believed his odds of winning were high.

He promptly replied, "A wager it is! Do you wish to compete in martial arts with me?"

The other wanderers of the martial world also assumed Xiao Ding intended to challenge Sun Dasheng, and so they stepped back, clearing a space for the duel.

Among those who practice martial arts, what else could one compete in but skill? Wagers simply add certain constraints: perhaps betting on who can win within a set number of moves; comparing inner strength, agility, or secret weapons; exchanging blows to see who withstands the most; and so on.

"No, no, we're not competing in martial arts," Xiao Ding grinned mischievously at Sun Dasheng, his expression almost begging for a beating.

"Not martial arts?" Sun Dasheng was taken aback, surprised by the turn of events.

The crowd eyed Xiao Ding with suspicion.

"So what are we competing in?" Sun Dasheng asked.

"Competing? I never said we were competing in anything," Xiao Ding feigned surprise. "I only said we'd make a wager. I never specified what we'd compete in."

"Nothing to compete in? Then tell me, how do we wager?" Sun Dasheng was confused; things were not going as he had imagined.

"We're all here to enter the mountain in search of treasure," Xiao Ding explained. "But the mountain is fraught with dangers—not only poisonous insects and ferocious beasts, but also all kinds of people from the martial world. Many are capable of murder for the sake of treasure. So on this expedition, everyone will face trials of life and death. Whether anyone makes it down the mountain alive is unknown."

He paused, surveying the crowd, who listened intently.

"So I propose this wager: If you ascend the mountain and return unharmed, I will give you back the iron staff. If you go up and lose your life—or suffer serious injury—then the staff is of no use to you, and it will belong to me."

Having finished, Xiao Ding watched Sun Dasheng closely, thinking that with Sun Dasheng's skills, encountering a true expert would likely mean his demise. The odds of surviving the mountain unscathed were slim; even if he survived, it seemed unlikely he'd be unharmed. The staff, then, would not be returned.

Sun Dasheng pondered, nodding. Xiao Ding's reasoning made sense: if he failed to make it down alive, or if he was gravely wounded, the staff would be useless anyway.

"Very well, it's a deal! We'll do as you say!" he declared.

He agreed to the wager without considering whether having the iron staff for self-defense might be better than his wooden club, or wondering where to find Xiao Ding after descending the mountain.

Xiao Ding was delighted at Sun Dasheng's acceptance. He thought, even if Sun Dasheng was lucky enough to return safely, giving back the staff was no loss, since it was never truly his own. This man didn't seem particularly wicked—perhaps he could be persuaded to abandon his bandit ways.

At that moment, the disheveled young noble by Sun Dasheng's side finally tore his gaze from the group of Daoist priestesses. He looked around and fixed his eyes on Xiao Ding.

"You are the one who twice robbed my men?" he demanded.

Xiao Ding glanced at the young noble, noting his gaunt frame, pale complexion, dark circles, and puffy lower eyelids—a clear sign of kidney deficiency from excessive indulgence, easily diagnosed by anyone versed in Chinese medicine.

No wonder the fellow hadn't looked away from the priestesses since arriving—clearly a lecher.

"And who might you be?" Xiao Ding asked.

"I am Shi Jianduan, chief leader of Flying Cloud Peak. And who are you?" Shi Jianduan asked.

Shi Jianduan? Short time? Xiao Ding nearly laughed aloud. From the man's appearance, it was obvious his vigor was depleted—no wonder his time was short.

"Oh, so you are Chief Shi. My apologies. I am Tian Xiaoding," Xiao Ding replied, omitting his nickname, Fool Tian.

"Tian, you have robbed my men twice. Don't you think you owe me an explanation?" Shi Jianduan said coldly.

"Chief Shi, are you suggesting that if your men try to rob me, I should just let them?" Xiao Ding countered, his tone earnest.

"Well..." Chief Shi hesitated, about to retort.

Suddenly, a man jumped in, shouting, "No matter which mountain stronghold you're from, if you want justice from this brother, you'll have to get past me first!" He slapped the iron pot strapped to his back with a loud clang, drawing everyone's attention.

Xiao Ding looked closely and saw that his defender was none other than the squat, round-faced Fan Yitong, known as Fatty Fan.

Many of these martial wanderers held little respect for mountain bandits, so several others stepped forward in support of Xiao Ding. The leaders of various small factions especially wanted to win Xiao Ding over, hoping to recruit him into their ranks.

Shi Jianduan hadn't expected so many to back Xiao Ding; seeing the unfavorable situation, he quickly tried to retreat.

"Oh, it must be a misunderstanding—a misunderstanding! We only came to blows before we knew each other, ha ha..." Shi Jianduan was a notorious rascal from Sunset Town, adept at adapting to the winds of change, unlike the blunt Sun Dasheng.

"If it's a misunderstanding, we'll settle it later. The priority now is treasure hunting. Since our aims align, we'll rely on our own abilities once we're on the mountain," Xiao Ding said coldly, eyeing Shi Jianduan while thinking he might not survive the mountain anyway.

Then Xiao Ding turned to the leaders Jin Million, Slick Wan, Bai Zheteng, Zhu Fen, and others. "Earlier, each of you invited me to join your group, but I am only one man and can join only one. Just now, Brother Fan was the first to step forward for me, so I'll join his team."

Fan Yitong, Fatty Fan, was delighted and jumped for joy, exclaiming, "Welcome, welcome! Brother Tian, it's an honor to have you in our team!"

The other leaders were disappointed by Xiao Ding's choice, but said no more, each going off to seek other recruits.

Fan Yitong's team, besides himself, consisted of two others: one, a man of about fifty with three strands of black beard, dressed in gray robes and looking every bit the scholar; the other appeared to be a fair-faced youth of seventeen or eighteen, but upon closer inspection, Xiao Ding realized it was a woman disguised as a man.

No wonder—women in this era often dressed as men in the martial world for convenience, attracting less attention.

Judging by their demeanor, the two seemed to be companions.

Fan Yitong introduced Xiao Ding to the two: the older man called himself Mu Hong, and the cross-dressing woman, Mu Yi.

"Brother Fan, your team only has three members?" Xiao Ding asked, having not known the team's size before.

"No, now with you, we have four!" Fan Yitong replied excitedly.

Xiao Ding could only sweat in exasperation.