"Time? Place?" Xi Tieniu echoed, his thick brows knotting together.
The question had plainly caught him off guard. He had not thought any detail beyond the marvel of seeing immortals to be important, and now, under Han Li's intent stare, he realized that his chance to earn merit might hinge on precisely such a scrap of memory. He lowered his head, his fierce face scrunched in concentration, and began to dredge his mind with visible effort.
A quarter of an hour passed in silence. Sun Ergou stood to one side, fidgeting, not daring to make a sound. Han Li waited without impatience, his fingers tapping lightly on the armrest, his gaze never leaving Xi Tieniu.
Then, abruptly, Xi Tieniu's head snapped up.
"I remember!" he shouted, his voice booming with delight. "The female immortal said — before she went to the great gathering of immortals — she wanted the male immortal to accompany her first to a place called Tailan Valley. She said there were other immortals there!"
"Tailan Valley?" Han Li repeated softly, twice, as if tasting the name.
He searched his memory and found nothing. The name was utterly unfamiliar to him; he had never heard it in Jiayuan City or on the roads of Lanzhou.
His eyes slid to Sun Ergou. If any place with such a name existed nearby, this local snake would know.
"There is no such place around Jiayuan City!" Sun Ergou declared without hesitation, shaking his head emphatically from side to side. "If there were a valley called Tailan, I would certainly remember it. There's no valley by that name."
Han Li's expression cooled slightly, and he turned his gaze back to Xi Tieniu. His voice took on a faint edge of frost.
"Are you certain you remember correctly?"
"Absolutely!" Xi Tieniu swore, raising his hand as if to take an oath before heaven. "The woman said it clearly! And she added that if they hurried, they could meet her friends at Tailan Valley in half a day's travel!"
"Half a day..." Han Li murmured, his mind already calculating.
If it were half a day on foot, the location would still lie within the environs of Jiayuan City. But those two had not been traveling on foot — they rode on flying beasts, on winged mounts that cut through the sky. Half a day at that speed encompassed a far greater range, yet it could not be boundless. It should still lie within the borders of Lanzhou Province. That much he could deduce.
He looked again at the two men before him, his tone easing somewhat.
"Have either of you ever heard, anywhere in Lanzhou, of a place called Tailan Valley — or any place at all called Tailan?"
Sun Ergou and Xi Tieniu exchanged a glance, and then, almost in unison, they blurted out:
"Tailan Temple!"
"Tailan Mountain!"
Han Li blinked, a faint headache forming.
"There are two places called Tailan?" he asked.
"No, Young Master, it is only one!" Sun Ergou rushed to explain.
"Tailan Temple is built upon Tailan Mountain," Xi Tieniu added quickly, not to be outdone.
Comprehension dawned. Han Li's eyes brightened.
"Excellent. Then Tailan Valley must be there."
Sun Ergou, however, still wore a doubtful frown.
"But Young Master, we have never heard of any Tailan Valley near Tailan Mountain! Could we be mistaken?"
Han Li gave a low chuckle, confidence returning to his voice.
"We are not mistaken. It is that place."
"You two are not cultivators, so naturally you would not know of it. That valley is likely a dwelling place of cultivators — hidden from mortal eyes," he thought, excitement stirring in his chest despite his outward calm.
After a moment, he asked the most practical question of all.
"Where exactly is this Tailan Mountain?"
"Young Master, Tailan Mountain lies at the southernmost edge of Lanzhou, about forty li west of Guanggui City," Sun Ergou answered with practiced deference.
"The south of Lanzhou?" Han Li's brows drew together.
That was precisely the opposite direction from Dominator's Villa, which lay to the north. The two destinations formed a perfect north-south divergence, with Jiayuan City caught in the middle. There would be no way to visit both conveniently; he would have to make separate journeys, and many extra miles would be spent on the road.
He shelved the thought for now and fixed Sun Ergou with a steady look.
"Sun Ergou, when you return, you will appoint Xi Tieniu as Vice Leader of the Four Peace Gang. I know you are not entirely pleased by this, but since I gave my word to this man, I will see it honored."
Sun Ergou's face paled. The memory of Han Li's earlier warning — that he would not hesitate to replace a disobedient leader — flashed through his mind, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
"I would not dare! Whatever Young Master says, this humble one will do, without a single word of complaint!" he stammered hastily.
Han Li studied him for a moment and then softened his tone, as if reassured.
"Be at ease. Whether you are loyal or not, I keep in my heart. And I do not forget my promises." He reached into his sleeve and produced a small vial of medicine, extending it toward Sun Ergou. "This bottle holds Detoxification Pills that can thoroughly purge the poison still in your body, freeing you from any future threat. This, too, is what I promised you before. I treat merit and fault alike — I will not deceive you."
Sun Ergou's hands trembled as he accepted the vial. The Rot Heart Pill's poison had been a constant shadow over him — stealing the flavor from his meals and the peace from his sleep. To be freed from it entirely left him almost overcome.
"Thank you, Young Master! Thank you! This lowly one will serve you with utter devotion, even unto death!" His words this time were spoken with genuine fervor.
Han Li gave a slight, unreadable nod.
His willingness to grant a complete cure was not born of sentimentality. To make Sun Ergou swallow an antidote every month was tiresome, and Han Li was about to leave Jiayuan City for an extended period. It was far more troublesome to maintain such a tether from afar. If, in the future, either man showed signs of betrayal, Han Li felt no scruple about killing them outright and raising another in their place.
Moreover, with no immediate need for the Four Peace Gang, Han Li now viewed it as one of his rabbit's three burrows — a fallback route, a contingency to be cultivated quietly.
He understood well that there was no such thing as unreasoning loyalty in this world, nor unreasoning betrayal. To control men by force and fear alone was the quickest method, but also the crudest — and the most likely to invite a knife in the back. If he wished for a loyalty that endured, he needed both grace and severity in equal measure.
By curing Sun Ergou outright, he could cement the man's gratitude for a long time to come. At the same time, in front of both Sun Ergou and Xi Tieniu, he would establish himself as a superior who kept his word — one who rewarded merit without fail and punished fault without mercy. Such an image was far more useful for long-term control than any monthly poison.
These were the calculations that passed quietly through Han Li's mind.
He watched Sun Ergou tip the detoxification medicine into his mouth and swallow, then spoke again, his voice suddenly carrying a new weight that made Sun Ergou both startled and elated.
"From now on, I will leave Qu Hun in your keeping for a long time. But you are absolutely forbidden to use him to stir up trouble. You must understand — although Qu Hun is formidable, this world hides many extraordinary experts. If you flaunt him, you may well bring fatal calamity down upon yourself. Remember this well."
"Yes! This small one remembers! I will take excellent care of Lord Qu Hun, Young Master may rest entirely assured!" Sun Ergou nodded like a pecking chick, his head bobbing without cease.
If not for the fact that Han Li no longer needed Qu Hun at his side for protection — and that the man's conspicuously inhuman appearance would draw unwanted attention on a long journey — he would not have entrusted him to another at all. Han Li sighed inwardly and gave a small, reluctant shake of his head.
"You two may conduct yourselves well. You may go. There will be no need to come see me in the coming days. I am about to travel far, and I do not know when I shall return," Han Li said, waving his hand lightly to dismiss them.
Sun Ergou and Xi Tieniu bowed deeply and withdrew from the room with reverent steps. The door closed behind them, leaving Han Li alone in the quiet chamber, lost in thought.
"Just what manner of cultivators dwell in this Tailan Valley? If I seek them out, will it bring some impropriety? Will I encounter danger?" His thoughts drifted, untethered, as he stared at the far wall. Gradually, his awareness slipped into a distant, trance-like state, as if his spirit had already flown southward to that hidden valley...
Time flowed swiftly, like a shuttle through a loom. In the blink of an eye, two months passed.
And in Jiayuan City, no trace of Han Li could any longer be found. For a very long stretch of years to come, his figure would not appear there again.