Interesting spin -- SC. Here's my contribution from the other mountain front.
Meanwhile, the wagon ride to the Sword Lake Sect turned to be adventurous indeed. It turned out that the ominous words spoken by the ruffian -- Lung Juan Fung -- had rung true. Not long after they (Lau Hong, Fong Zheng, Cheng Yuen Jin and Mong Ley Daisi) accepted the ride, one mishap was followed by another -- first an almost turnover during a nasty bump on the ride, followed by a broken wheel, and finally the entire wagon nearly skidded over ravine while crossing a narrow pass. Luckily, the gang kung-fu background came in handy to pull the wagon and cargo back onto the main road. With all the excitement, Lau Hong began to wonder if it would have been better if they never accepted the ride and had travelled on foot instead. At least, he didn't have to be in such close proximity to that ruffian's nasty odor, he thought.
By the time the gang arrived at the shack to rest, it was already nighfall. It was then decided that they should stay the night there than rather risk further exposure to the elements and travel in the dark. Yet, the accomodations that the merchant had promised were meager at best. Built barely able to withstand the howling winds of White Krane Mountains, the house rattled and shook like a paper latern. Lau Hong barely slept a wink. Noticing the dark circles under the eyes of his sifu, sihing and Daisi this morning, he didn't believed they fared any better.
As for the ruffian, Lung Juan Fung and his scholarly friend, Man Mun Tung, Lau Hong discovered that they surprisingly left at the break of dawn just when the windstorm broke. He went to search out the merchant and ask him for their whereabouts, but the merchang just shrugged a bit and continued counting the cargo in his wagon.
"Come on," Fong Zheng called his disciple. "We better get back on the road." He turned to the merchant and said, "Thank you for your hospitality. This is where we must part. With the yesterday's delay, we need to make time using the narrow footpath rather than the main wagon road. I wish you a speedy journey so that your wine can get to the House of Chen by tomorrow's wedding. Farewell."
With that the foursome began their next ardous trek across White Krane Mountains.