With villagers guiding them from ridge to ridge, the crossing of the mountains proved far smoother than Cheng Xu had feared. What had seemed like an endless maze of folds and shadows gradually revealed itself as something navigable once one understood which slope concealed a path and which valley merely circled back on itself.
Before long, the militia crossed several mountain chains and arrived in Daning County.
At this boundary, their original guide could go no farther. However, fate was cooperative. In a small village tucked into the mountainside, he found an acquaintance.
"Brother Li," the first guide said earnestly, gesturing toward the soldiers behind him, "these men are good people. They only fight villains and bandits. They do not harm common folk. Could you help lead them a little further south?"
Brother Li examined the formation behind him. The soldiers stood in orderly ranks. Their weapons were well maintained. No one stared greedily at the villagers' livestock. No one barked insults.
He chuckled and nodded. "Of course. I will guide them."
Thus the leadership passed seamlessly from one local to another, like a relay baton handed between runners.
Under Brother Li's direction, the militia continued southward.
The terrain grew harsher with every mile. The slopes steepened. Loose stones shifted underfoot. Narrow ledges forced the columns to compress. Thick forest canopies dimmed the light until even midday felt subdued and uncertain.
Cheng Xu moved cautiously at the rear command position, eyes constantly scanning the tree line and the ground. The forest was too quiet. Even birds seemed reluctant to speak. He studied scattered footprints pressed into the damp soil. Some were recent.
When he lifted his gaze toward a distant peak, he almost saw, for a fleeting moment, the faint shape of his spectral great grandmother floating there, smiling in that ambiguous way that suggested both affection and impending doom.
His instincts tightened.
"Halt," he ordered sharply. "All units hold position."
The command rippled down the mountain path. From Flat Rabbit at the very front to Zheng Daniu at the far rear, the entire formation froze with disciplined efficiency.
"Launch the hot air balloon," Cheng Xu said.
Within minutes, the observation balloon rose above the treetops. Surveyors sketched rapidly. A topographic map of the surrounding ridges and valleys was completed and delivered to Cheng Xu's hands.
He studied it carefully, then pointed to a narrow gorge marked between two peaks.
"Brother Li, is there a place here where people could conceal themselves?"
Brother Li leaned closer.
"That is Scissors Gorge. Inside it lies Lingwu Cave. The cave is enormous. The passages twist everywhere, with strange rock formations and hidden chambers. If someone wanted to hide a large group, that would be ideal."
Cheng Xu nodded slowly.
He pressed a silver ingot into Brother Li's palm.
"You need not guide us further into danger. Stay close behind me."
Brother Li weighed the silver discreetly. Five taels at least. His heart swelled with astonishment. He had never imagined an army that paid guides generously, treated them politely, and even shielded them from risk.
For a fleeting moment, he wondered whether joining such an army might not be a terrible idea.
Cheng Xu turned to his officers.
"Scout company. Reconnoiter Scissors Gorge and Lingwu Cave."
He had barely finished speaking when the mass produced Puppet Dao Xuan Tianzun, who had been reclining casually on a handcart behind him, suddenly sat upright with surprising enthusiasm.
"Lingwu Cave?" Li Daoxuan said with a faint laugh. "Then I must go personally."
Cheng Xu nearly stumbled.
"Dao Xuan Tianzun… you are here?"
Li Daoxuan smiled.
"Hearing the name Lingwu Cave, how could I not come?"
Cheng Xu's face paled instantly.
In his mind, Lingwu Cave transformed from a geological formation into the lair of some legendary demon. If Dao Xuan Tianzun himself intended to inspect it personally, then surely some monstrous presence must lurk within.
How terrifying must this creature be?
Even five thousand arquebusiers might not suffice.
Cold sweat trickled down his back.
Meanwhile, Li Daoxuan's thoughts were far more mundane and far more excited.
Lingwu Cave, in later centuries, would be hailed as one of China's great karst wonders and the premier cave attraction of the Three Gorges region. In his previous life, visiting it from Shuangqing required hours of travel and meticulous planning.
Now he could simply project his consciousness and enjoy it directly.
He almost wanted to laugh.
"I will personally lead the scout team," he declared.
Cheng Xu felt as though thunder had struck his skull. If Dao Xuan Tianzun went personally, then this mission had clearly transcended ordinary military reconnaissance.
He began silently preparing himself for the possibility that his great grandmother might soon reappear to invite him on a permanent ghostly relocation.
Soon, Li Daoxuan set off at the head of the reconnaissance team. Twenty elite scouts followed, tense and alert, while Li Daoxuan walked forward with barely concealed anticipation.
Time rewound several days earlier.
Inside Lingwu Cave.
A force of roughly five thousand bandits rested within the cavern's vast chambers.
Their numbers were misleading. Among them were as many elderly, women, and children as able bodied youths. Their weapons consisted largely of farming tools: hoes, sickles, choppers, wooden poles, even manure scoops. True blades were scarce. Firearms rarer still.
This was not a hardened veteran bandit army.
It was a newly formed rebel group, assembled after the severe drought in Nanyang, Henan. They had only recently attached themselves to the larger forces of the Chuang Wang. Their battlefield experience consisted mostly of waving flags at the rear and shouting encouragement. They had scarcely drawn blood.
Their leader was named Gu Tianxing.
Gu Tianxing had been a farmer all his life. Illiterate, practical, stubborn. When he joined the rebellion, he had struggled even to choose a name. Observing generals such as Guo Tianxing, Mantianxing, and Huntianxing, he simply borrowed the pattern and christened himself Gu Tianxing, the Lone Heavenly Star.
He and his contingent had followed the main rebel army through Shennongjia and into Sichuan, always trailing behind like an afterthought. They never fought first. They never looted first. When supplies were distributed, they were last in line.
The main force disdained them as weak. The Jin merchant supplied weapons rarely reached them. Provisions were scarce.
Eventually they were told bluntly to scatter and fend for themselves.
So Gu Tianxing led his people into the Shu mountains.
They promptly became lost.
It was almost inevitable. Outsiders entering these mountains without guidance rarely escaped confusion. The ridges curved deceptively. Valleys folded into one another. A man could swear he walked in a straight line only to emerge beside the same twisted tree hours later.
If not for the sun rising in the east each day, they would not even have maintained a sense of direction.
Exhausted and discouraged, they stumbled upon the massive mouth of Lingwu Cave.
Seeing shelter, they entered.
Inside, the cavern was vast enough to house them all.
"Big Brother," a young bandit complained, "how much longer until Kuizhou? We have walked for days and seen nothing but mountains."
Gu Tianxing sighed heavily.
"I do not know. I walk forward, then circle a tree, cross a ravine, and when I come out I am back where I began. These mountains play tricks."
A younger man threw up his hands.
"These Shu Mountains make no sense."
After a long silence, Gu Tianxing scratched his head thoughtfully.
"If we truly cannot leave, perhaps we should simply settle here. The imperial armies would never chase us this deep. If Cao Wenzhao or Zuo Liangyu dared enter these mountains, they might not find their way out either."
The group considered this.
It was not entirely unreasonable.
One bandit brightened suddenly.
"I brought seeds," he said shyly. "When I first joined the rebellion, I could not bear to eat them."
Another raised his hand.
"I have seeds too."
"So do I."
Soon several small cloth pouches were displayed.
Gu Tianxing stared at them, stunned by the simplicity of the solution.
"If that is so," he said slowly, "then why fear anything? We have land outside the cave. This part of Sichuan has not suffered drought. We clear the ground. We farm. We live."
Inside Lingwu Cave, under dripping stalactites and echoing chambers, five thousand accidental rebels began discussing crop rotation instead of conquest.
And outside, the sound of approaching scouts drew ever closer.