Chapter 49: Heroes in Their Prime

Gu Liubai looked at Zhou the Donkey, who was foaming at the mouth, and his gaze softened a bit. "He was raised by a 'Thopdan' here, and now he is the 'Ragappa' of this place."

As they spoke, Du Haha and Lan Yufeng walked over and sat down beside Chen Tu.

Lan Yufeng did not look particularly injured, only glancing with concern at Gu Liubai's injured hand.

Du Haha was in a much more miserable state.

He had contributed the most during the initial engagement with the elite Tibetan vanguard at the granary, exhausting his vital Qi to a severe degree, and had yet to recover.

At present, blood was seeping from at least a dozen places on his body, and his face was as pale as paper.

Fortunately, he was still in one piece, missing neither limbs nor fingers.

Chen Tu, noticeably more honest and modest than usual, asked earnestly, "What do 'Thopdan' and 'Ragappa' mean? I don't understand."

"When people pass away in most border tribes, they practice sky burials. In some places, 'Thopdan' and 'Ragappa' are titles for sky burial masters. The few tribes near the Underworld Cypress Slope are somewhat different; the Thopdan is the senior master in their eyes, while the Ragappa is the senior master's corpse bearer and assistant." Gu Liubai smiled slightly. "If we don't leave, then in a few years, Zhou the Donkey will likely be considered a Thopdan in the eyes of the locals."

Yin Shiniang also walked over.

She sat down beside Pei Yunqu.

She finally understood why Zhou the Donkey reeked entirely of corpses.

Yet, as she looked at the skinny, foam-flecked monkey before her, her eyes held something that was not usually there.

She certainly knew how heavy a human corpse truly was.

Though, like Chen Tu, she did not understand local titles like Ragappa, she at least knew that those sky burial platforms were all up in the mountains, and the corpse bearers had to carry the wrapped bodies all the way from the foot of the mountain up to the platforms.

Imagining the monkey-like Zhou the Donkey carrying corpses on his back, and then looking at Gu Liubai before her, she understood how much bitterness was wrapped within Gu Liubai's casual remark that "the first few years were very hard."

The unyielding resilience of both him and Zhou the Donkey had been forged precisely within that constant witnessing of death and hardship.

"I know you've been agonizing over one thing all along—how I managed to guess that there were nine of you." Gu Liubai looked at Chen Tu and smiled triumphantly.

Chen Tu's face darkened instantly. This was far beyond mere agony.

It had already become a chronic illness in his heart.

"To be honest, I still couldn't figure out where the flaw was. If you don't make it clear to me, I won't have any confidence in arranging things from now on." Just as Chen Tu admitted this with a gloomy expression, Gu Liubai froze.

He saw yet another Lan Yufeng walking over.

Following closely behind this Lan Yufeng was Gao Jue, the simple-minded giant from the Yin Mountain Swarm.

Gao Jue didn't have a single scratch on him, still maintaining his carefree, silly expression, except this time, what he was playing with in his hands wasn't a shuttlecock, but Mandruzhi's hat.

Gu Liubai blinked and instantly understood how this slightly taller Lan Yufeng came to be.

Qiao Huangyun was truly formidable.

Disguised as a woman, even the way he walked was identical.

That swaying big backside practically screamed fertility at a glance.

"Weren't you trying to make those Tibetans suspicious and paranoid?" Terrified that Gu Liubai wouldn't give him an explanation, Chen Tu took credit for himself. "If we'd had enough time, I would have had him disguise himself as Mandruzhi next, so those Tibetans wouldn't be able to sleep at night from now on."

"Not bad. Actually, you're not stupid."

Seeing Granny Long not far away picking and choosing through the Tibetans' broken-armor arrows, Gu Liubai's mood brightened even further. "To put it simply, it's actually very straightforward. Zhou the Donkey told me that hidden behind the slope where Granny Long was laying in ambush, another one of your people was also lying in wait."

"He could tell?" Chen Tu looked at Zhou the Donkey, who was still spitting foam, and his mood plummeted.

Damn it, hearing it like this, it seemed like this Zhou the Donkey was genuinely more useful than himself.

"The Thopdans and Ragappas here are deeply respected. They are sacred separators of spirit and soul, helping souls escape suffering and embark on the path of rebirth."

Looking at Chen Tu, whose complexion was poor, Gu Liubai smiled. "The people in those tribes all believe that they can foresee death, but Zhou the Donkey's master said they merely accept the guidance of the deities, and those vultures in the sky are the embodiment of communication between the deities and them."

Chen Tu grasped the crucial point. "You discovered it through the vultures?"

Gu Liubai nodded and said, "They call the vultures in the sky Dakinis. Dakinis do not kill, but they can detect the aura of death. There is a unique bond between Thopdans and these Dakinis, and Zhou the Donkey has been familiar with these Dakinis since childhood. He can even have them help out with certain tasks."

"Including passing messages?" Yin Shiniang thought of the bronze tube Zhou the Donkey had previously brought to Gu Liubai.

"Yes." Gu Liubai looked at Zhou the Donkey and said with a hint of pride, "Getting some Dakinis to come find him is not difficult for him at all. If he stays here, he will surely become the finest Thopdan, because he used to play with these Dakinis whenever he had free time."

"In certain aspects, the perception of Dakinis far surpasses that of cultivators."

Gu Liubai smiled slightly. "People who stay still and motionless for a long time are also considered by them to be on the verge of death. They will wait in the sky indefinitely. Ordinary Thopdans might not be able to accurately determine how many people there are simply through the number and cries of the Dakinis, but Zhou the Donkey can."

"So you deduced that the person was our ambush lookout. Based on our past habits, you determined that we operated in groups of three." Chen Tu took a deep breath. Looking at Gu Liubai and Zhou the Donkey, a chill began to run down his spine.

Thank goodness these people were friends now and not enemies.

Formidable... even this skinny monkey who looked like he was dying of starvation was formidable.

Chen Tu forced a somewhat reluctant smile. "I heard from Lan Yufeng that He Huoluo is hiding on the city tower. Are you hoping he can launch a sneak attack to kill someone?"

"If Zan Zhu isn't crushed by paranoia, and the deaths of those people change his usual temperament, then when we reach a dead end and have no other choice, I will have no option but to use myself and Pei Yunqu as bait," Gu Liubai said calmly. "When he comes into the city to check on us dying or already dead folks, He Huoluo might get a chance to kill him."

Chen Tu fell silent.

Old Third Hu appeared as well.

He was also covered in blood and plopped down straight against the wall, his body clanking with the metallic sounds of various gear.

"Fifteenth Brother, heroes truly emerge from the young. I admire you."

He was an honest man, and his words were entirely sincere.

Aside from Xu Qi, the rest of the Yin Mountain Swarm were all present.

Though, knowing Xu Qi's temperament, he was probably hiding not too far away.

Having survived the catastrophe, they looked like a theatrical troupe that had traveled together for many years, leaning against the wall and watching the drifting clouds.

Everyone felt quite good.

Suddenly, Gao Jue burst out laughing. Waving Mandruzhi's hat at Zhou the Donkey, he shouted, "Such a huge crab!"

"No matter how big a four-legged crab is, you can't eat it."

Chen Tu muttered a remark before turning his gaze seriously back to Gu Liubai. "What you said to that Tibetan at the very end—do you think it will be of any use?"

Earlier, had he suspected Gu Liubai of colluding with the Tibetans, he would have been furious. Yet after this battle, he was beginning to understand the rules by which this young man operated.

He began to ponder some of the principles Gu Liubai had explained to him earlier.

"Zan Zhu isn't a fool. It might be useless right now, but there's no guarantee it won't come in handy in the future." Gu Liubai smiled. "In business, it's not always the case that someone happens to want to buy what you're selling at that exact moment. But when they do want to buy, knowing they can find me to make the purchase—that's how the business gets done."

"I only do business with people who keep their word."

Gu Liubai continued, "The Xie family dared to do business with Zan Zhu, which shows that Zan Zhu is a man of his word. Based on my past understanding, that is indeed the case. Since I have a better reputation than the Xie family, if Zan Zhu does business with me, he will be even more trustworthy."

A genuine smile finally appeared on Chen Tu's usual expression.

Looking at Gu Liubai, his eyes carried a hint of emotional resonance. "You didn't even ask us beforehand, yet you knew we wouldn't leave Peshawar?"

Gu Liubai smiled. "Even if you wanted to leave, you wouldn't necessarily have been able to drag Uncle Hu and Yin Shiniang along with you, would you?"

Chen Tu wanted to smile.

Yet looking at the corpses strewn across the main road, looking at the blood slowly coagulating into deep purple, and looking at the survivors not far away, he could not smile.

"When the Tibetans retreated, Yin Shiniang and I thought about it seriously. If you hadn't been here, and only the likes of us were left here, what kind of end would we have met?"

Zhou the Donkey finally stopped foaming at the mouth.

He flipped over into a sitting position and asked with a cheeky grin, "What would've happened?"

Gao Jue was startled. "This crab is way too terrifying!"