This luck isn’t about eating better or wearing warmer clothes, nor is it about wealth. It’s about those moments when, in life-or-death situations, fortune always seems to turn around.
The Swordsman was such a person.
Although he didn’t even have a proper name—that didn’t matter to him—he only cared about pursuing the peak of martial arts. The assassins from the Piaoping Pavilion called him their leader, with fear and respect. He didn’t care. The subordinates of Ayanpuka called him Su Li with malice, and he still wasn’t angry.
As long as they didn’t add a scornful tone at the end, he even treated those first two words as his name.
After all, he didn’t aim to become famous, and he didn’t care if anyone remembered him after his death.
Monk Yuan Zhi once told him to lay down his sword, but he believed that anything could be negotiated, except for the sword.
The sword could not be dropped. His head could roll, but the sword must stay with him.
At this moment, however, the Swordsman found himself deep in self-doubt. He looked down at his sword and, gritting his teeth, inserted it into a crevice in the rock.
With a leap, he lightly stepped on the blade and grabbed a tree root jutting out of the earthen wall.
Su Li held this posture and looked upwards.
There were still seven or eight zhang (about 23 to 27 meters) to the cave entrance.
It was bare, with no stones or roots to support his ascent.
This was a natural sinkhole, common in Yizhou and the southwestern regions. The local mountain folk called them “Heavenly Pits.”
From above, it looked like a mere hole, but once inside, it was a different world. There were rivers and forests, and one could walk for half a day without reaching the end.
This sinkhole, however, was not that vast; it was only about the size of two rooms. There were short plants inside, along with rocks and dirt. A faint sound of water could be heard, though whether it came from a nearby stream or an underground river was unclear. Feihe Mountain was rich in water sources, but Su Li couldn’t distinguish where the sound originated.
The cave entrance was sheer, with no slope.
Even a top martial artist couldn’t leap ten zhang into the air without anything to brace against. That would be the work of a deity, not a person of the Jianghu.
The Swordsman reluctantly jumped back to the bottom of the pit, quietly retrieved his sword, and wiped it tenderly with his sleeve.
He took a step back and carefully examined the hole that had trapped him.
It was like being inside a tomb without a roof. The entrance was narrow, about the size of a well.
The Swordsman sighed and began searching the walls for a climbing route. For an ordinary person, falling here would mean certain death. For a martial arts expert, they could try using the gecko’s dragon climbing technique, scaling the vertical walls with their back facing downward.
Along the way, the Swordsman saw the skeletons of foxes, badgers, and weasels.
Some still had dried skin stretched over their bones.
Others were torn apart, their fur gnawed off, likely having died from starvation or from being devoured by animals that had fallen into the pit but survived by landing on leaves or other cushioning material.
Or, rather, perhaps not dying immediately was the worst luck. Trapped in this hole, with no way up and no wings to fly.
Su Li, with his sharp eyesight, estimated a viable path. He collected some branches from the pit’s trees and tucked them into his belt, planning to use them when crossing areas with no support points.
Though he was skilled in martial arts, his life was on the line, so the branches couldn’t be too thin—they wouldn’t hold him—but they also couldn’t be too thick, or they wouldn’t fit into the cracks in the rock.
Of course, if he infused the branches with his inner energy, any branch could be driven into the rock, but that would make the branches “brittle.”
They might appear intact, but a bit of force would make them shatter.
Su Li spent a long time picking the right branches when suddenly, he heard a rustling in the nearby bushes.
In a swift motion, he chased out whatever was inside, cornering it against the rock wall.
It was a badger, its fur brown, with three vertical stripes of black, brown, and white running down its head. It snarled fiercely at the Swordsman, but its grunting sounded more like a pig’s squeal, faint and weak due to its scrawny frame.
Su Li looked at it for a moment, then simply walked away.
The badger hurriedly retreated into the bushes.
After a while, it cautiously poked its head out, watching the human climb the rock wall, moving more nimbly than a monkey.
Suddenly, Su Li’s foot slipped, and he somersaulted three times in midair before landing steadily on the ground.
The badger’s eyes widened in shock, unable to comprehend how the human hadn’t fallen to his death.
The Swordsman thought for a moment, then began climbing the wall again.
He failed twice, and on his third attempt, he hadn’t made much progress before he sensed something nearby.
—It was the badger, sitting there, watching him intently.
Badgers have sharp claws, ideal for digging, and they feed on worms and insects found in the soil. While there wasn’t much in the pit, the soil was rich. This badger had been surviving in the pit for over twenty days, and it had nearly eaten all the bugs down there.
Though the Swordsman didn’t know the badger’s history, he could tell it was seeking help.
This was a risky move on the badger’s part—humans could easily kill and eat it.
Su Li ignored it.
The badger made a few anxious grunts and, mustering all its courage, moved closer to him.
Su Li: “…”
He could kill people without batting an eye, and now this mere badger dared to block his way? Wasn’t it just offering itself up as meat?
Half an hour later—
Su Li had tied the badger’s sharp front claws together with his belt, used his outer robe to fashion a sling, and placed the badger on his back. Silently, he began climbing the wall again.
At the same time, he mused to himself: The creatures of Feihe Mountain seemed unusually clever. Even wild animals knew how to read people’s expressions and feign pitiful looks to ask for mercy.
During his earlier attempts, the badger hadn’t struggled or made any sudden movements. Otherwise, with claws like those, even a surprise attack from behind could seriously injure the most skilled fighter.
It must have been fate, Su Li thought as he climbed with renewed determination.
This time, the ascent went smoothly until he neared the top of the cave, where Su Li realized something was wrong.
The rocks near the entrance were unstable, wobbling at the slightest touch, with the potential to collapse at any moment.
The Heavenly Pit was formed when the dome of rock above collapsed, revealing the “underground world.” While most such pits had already taken shape, some were still expanding.
Su Li hesitated. The cave entrance was so close, yet there was no stable foothold. The distance was too great to jump straight up; he would need to leap diagonally to the left.
He slowly shifted his position and tested the nearby rocks.
With the slightest pressure, loose gravel tumbled down.
“Crack.”
A small rock broke off completely, scattering across the ground below.
The hollow sound echoed far. Su Li gritted his teeth and decided to strike the wall with his palm, speeding up the collapse.
Once the weak parts of the wall crumbled, it would be easier for him to climb the remaining solid rock. However, this also meant risking injury from falling debris, and with no place to dodge mid-air, he might have to fall back to the ground. Trying to avoid the collapsing rocks while airborne was extremely difficult. Without his martial arts training, such a move would have been suicidal.
Su Li tilted his head slightly and raised his right palm.
“Wait.”
A voice accompanied by a shadow appeared.
Someone was standing at the top of the cave, blocking part of the sunlight.
The Swordsman looked up cautiously, but because of the backlight, he couldn’t make out the person’s face.
“…Su Li? What are you doing here?”
The Swordsmanwas startled by the voice and almost rubbed his eyes, but quickly remembered that he couldn’t let go of the rock, or he’d fall.
“Don’t come closer. This area is unstable; the rocks are about to collapse.” The Swordsman didn’t call for help but instead warned the person to step back.
Mo Li obediently took two steps back.
Yes, it was Doctor Mo, carrying a large bamboo basket and a herbal digging tool.
There weren’t enough medicinal herbs in the reed marshes, but the villagers couldn’t go without their herbal remedies, so Mo Li had to go out to gather more.
Fortunately, Feihe Mountain was rich with spiritual energy, and the herbs grew well, making it easy to find what he needed.
However, the mountain sparrow needed to return to its spiritual lair to heal, so Mo Li brought it along, placing it in the basket.
After leaving the reed marshes, Mo Li was digging up a herb to place in the basket when he noticed something odd. The mountain sparrow was gray, with no white fur, yet there was a strand of white mixed in. Curious, he lifted the rough cloth meant to shield the herbs from sunlight and, to his surprise, “captured” a plump sand rat.
For a moment, Mo Li was speechless. He didn’t even try to catch the sand rat; instead, he stared at the mountain sparrow.
—What’s going on?
—Weren’t you two enemies on sight?
—How did you peacefully coexist in the basket all this time?
The mountain sparrow turned its head, chirping as if humming a tune, pretending not to know anything.
The sand rat, on the other hand, scurried forward, attempting to climb onto Mo Li.
Mo Li: “…”
He didn’t bring his bamboo cup, but later he could gather some coptis root to brew a remedy to calm the National Teacher’s temper.
“You just ran out like this, what about the people in the reed marshes?” Mo Li placed the sand rat on his shoulder and started walking while scolding Meng Qi.
The sand rat waved its paw, indicating that everything was fine. The boy who loved to escape had finally settled down, and no one else would dare leave, even if chased with a whip.
Besides, they had just raided the Xiliang camp yesterday. The survivors wouldn’t dare return so soon.
Meng Qi couldn’t let the mountain sparrow go out alone with Mo Li, after all!
“And… what was that about you and the Feihe Mountain’s dragon vein earlier?”
Mo Li asked with great difficulty. Normally, he would have no trouble asking such a question, but the image of the sand rat and the mountain sparrow, two chubby little round creatures, snuggling together in the basket, made him feel a strange discomfort.
The sand rat looked up at Mo Li. Its small size seemed to magnify the expression and emotions in Mo Li’s eyes.
Suddenly, the sand rat had an epiphany. It immediately waved its paw toward the mountain sparrow in a shooing motion and then slipped into Mo Li’s arms, burrowing into his clothes. It patted Mo Li’s chest with its paw and comfortably lay there.
Truly, it was demonstrating its position as the “rat of the heart.”
Mo Li: “…”
The mountain sparrow, oblivious to what had just transpired but sensing the shift in mood, suddenly flapped its wings and chirped loudly.
Mo Li threw the cloth back over the basket, covering the sparrow from head to toe.
The mountain sparrow: “…”
The dragon vein of Feihe Mountain was furious. It even wondered if it had misjudged Mo Li. Two dragon veins coming into its home to be all lovey-dovey—had they not considered its feelings at all?
So, Mo Li continued on his way, carrying one creature in his arms and another in his basket, as he gathered herbs and eventually reached this hollow.
The area was extremely remote, steep, and difficult to traverse. There was a large section that remained in the shadow, which made Mo Li think there might be some rare herbs growing there. That’s why he ventured in.
After digging up a few herbs, Mo Li heard a strange noise coming from below, as if the ground underneath was hollow.
He took a few steps and found a rope net and arrows hidden in the trees, suggesting that someone had set a trap here.
But it wasn’t a hunter’s trap.
This place was so difficult to access that only martial artists or herb gatherers adept at climbing could come here.
Mo Li grew cautious, and soon after, he spotted the hole and the faint movement of a figure below.
At first glance, the size of the pit shocked Mo Li.
This wasn’t some randomly dug trap but a natural sinkhole, intentionally utilized.
The pile of leaves nearby was evidence of that. Someone had covered the hole with a large, rotting wooden plank, then spread dead branches and leaves over it. They’d also set traps and mechanisms in the surrounding trees, using spring-loaded arrows to control where any dodgers could step, ultimately guiding them to the wooden plank.
Who was unlucky enough to fall in?
And who had set this elaborate trap?
Mo Li had a hunch that this might have been laid by Ayanpuka for him and Meng Qi. If they had obediently followed the clues from the mountain temple, they would likely have encountered these traps.
Thinking of this, Mo Li felt a deep sense of guilt toward the unfortunate soul who had fallen in.
Then, he saw the face without the straw hat.
Scarred, looking like a demon.
How could it be Su Li?
Mo Li was stunned. The Swordsman’s unexpected appearance nearly made him rub his eyes in disbelief.
The sand rat poked its head out, eyeing Su Li warily.
“…Wait, I’ll pull you up.”
Mo Li regained his senses and rummaged through his basket, pulling out a length of sturdy rope. He had found it in the storeroom and carried it with him for such situations, knowing that gathering herbs often required scaling cliffs.
He tossed the rope down, and before long, Su Li used it to pull himself up.
At that moment, the mountain sparrow finally managed to climb up to the edge of the basket, peering out with difficulty.
As Su Li looked up, he saw a sparrow in Mo Li’s medicine basket and a sand rat nestled in the collar of his robe.
Swordsman: “…”
Moments ago, Su Li had been facing downward with his back to the pit, and now Mo Li noticed that he had a badger strapped to his back, its fur a mixture of black, white, and brown.
Mo Li: “…”
It was incredibly awkward. Neither of them knew where to start, and Mo Li couldn’t help but wonder how Su Li ended up in such a bizarre state.
