Not sure if Master will be worried, but Ethan Clark looked on anxiously as the two of them disappeared into the distance...

To get to the back mountain, they first had to descend into a mountain hollow, then follow it for seven or eight li before arriving.

There was no path down the mountain. Robert Clark led Samuel Bennett, grabbing onto tree after tree, stumbling and rushing down the slope. The eighty-degree incline was extremely steep, the ground covered in moss, wet and slippery—one careless step and you’d tumble down the mountain.

Robert Clark didn’t wait for Samuel Bennett; he made his way down with practiced ease, while Samuel Bennett’s descent was fraught with danger. He was in such a panic he barely watched his footing, slipping several times, and only managed not to roll down the mountain by grabbing onto trees just in time.

Samuel Bennett looked at Robert Clark’s figure in the distance, bit his lip, but didn’t call out for him to wait. Instead, he gritted his teeth, fixed his eyes on the next tree, and dashed downward. Just as he was about to lose control, he grabbed onto the tree.

His gaze then shifted to another tree further down...

Robert Clark hadn’t waited long in the hollow before he saw Samuel Bennett come crashing out of the woods on the slope.

Samuel Bennett was in a sorry state, covered in mud and moss, who knows how many times he’d fallen, and his face was scraped.

But he said nothing, walked up calmly to Robert Clark, and said, “Senior brother, let’s keep going!”

A trace of surprise flashed in Robert Clark’s eyes. This kid was pretty stubborn—more than he’d expected.

He nodded. “Let’s go!”

The path in the hollow was easier. Robert Clark strode ahead with long steps, while Samuel Bennett, though limping a bit, still kept close behind and didn’t fall behind.

After about two li, Robert Clark finally slowed down.

“Let’s rest for a bit!”

He sat on a big rock, took out his water gourd and drank a couple of mouthfuls, then tossed the gourd to Samuel Bennett. Samuel Bennett didn’t stand on ceremony, gulped down several big swigs, and tossed the gourd back to Robert Clark.

“Little junior brother, do you think I’m heartless, not even helping you down the mountain?” Robert Clark finally spoke.

Samuel Bennett shook his head. “I’ve always relied on myself, never expected help from others.”

“Well said. On my first day gathering herbs with Master, I fell halfway down the mountain. Master didn’t help me either—I crawled back to the temple myself. But after that, I never fell a second time.”

“In Master’s eyes, maybe this is a kind of cultivation too—a test of willpower.”

Robert Clark was slightly taken aback. He’d never thought of it that way. Samuel Bennett’s words suddenly made something click for him. Many things over the past ten years that he couldn’t understand now seemed to make sense.

No wonder Master said the little junior brother was perceptive—he’d been unconvinced, but now he saw there was something to it. With just one sentence, Samuel Bennett had seen through what he hadn’t figured out in over a decade.

When Robert Clark looked at Samuel Bennett again, his gaze finally softened a little.

“Let’s go!”

He patted his backside and led Samuel Bennett onward toward the back mountain.

……

Chapter 0008 Fatty Robert Clark

A casual remark from Samuel Bennett had untied a knot in Robert Clark’s heart that had been there for years. Why had Master sometimes treated him so well, and other times so coldly and harshly? It must be as Samuel Bennett said—Master was tempering his will.

Once he figured this out, Robert Clark felt a sudden ease deep inside, and the slight contempt and dissatisfaction he’d felt toward Samuel Bennett vanished like smoke.

A fatty is a fatty—no matter how fierce he looks, once he takes a liking to you, his true nature of boasting and rambling comes out.

“Little junior brother, I’m not much for rules. The rules set by Zixiao Heavenly Palace are just a pile of crap to me. Why should all the wild game we work so hard to hunt be sent to them?”

Samuel Bennett thought for a moment and said, “Master told me we need to trade with them for daily necessities.”

A trace of mockery appeared on Robert Clark’s face. “That’s where you’re wrong. The only daily necessities we trade with Zixiao Heavenly Palace for are salt and oil, and those are exchanged for firewood, not wild game.”

“Then why?”

“The old bastards at Zixiao Heavenly Palace think Kongtong Mountain is their turf. Any other sects cultivating here have to pay rent, so they set a quota for every temple. Our Qingxu Temple has to hand over two hundred pieces of wild game every year, thirty of which must be big ones.”

“Just for rent?”

Samuel Bennett smiled. “Senior brother, it can’t be that simple, can it?”

Robert Clark saw that Samuel Bennett was much sharper than he’d thought, not easy to fool. He cursed the little fox inwardly and had to admit, “Of course not. There’s also the matter of ordination certificates. Our ordination papers are applied for from the court by Zixiao Heavenly Palace. If we break their rules, they can cancel our certificates at any time.”

That made sense. Zixiao Heavenly Palace used its special privileges to control all the temples on Kongtong Mountain. Collecting game was just a means of control.

“Senior brother, do I have an ordination certificate too?” Samuel Bennett asked curiously.

“You should. Master already applied for you, but you won’t get it until next year.”

Samuel Bennett pondered silently. He wondered if, after hitting Zhang Huer yesterday, Zixiao Heavenly Palace would still be willing to process his certificate.

Just then, a cold flash shot from Robert Clark’s hand. ‘Squeak!’ With a miserable cry, a fleeing wild rabbit was pinned to a tree root thirty paces away by a flying knife.