A Mortal’s Immortal Gourd
Chapter 61: Worse Than Beasts

Ergouzi's locust extermination team's initial success was largely thanks to the two giant geese. Although individual locusts weren't particularly strong, their overwhelming numbers and ability to fly made even Ergouzi's strength ineffective. The geese were different - they could fly into locust swarms and sweep through an area several meters wide with their wings. The densely packed locust swarms were scattered by the geese's attacks, greatly reducing pressure and casualties for the extermination team.

While Ergouzi's team progressed smoothly, other teams weren't so fortunate, often suffering casualties, low morale, and slow progress. However, besides Ergouzi's team, there was another group making good headway - the team led by his cousin Zhang Youliang.

Though only at Qi Refining first layer and without giant geese assistance, Zhang Youliang benefited from the fact that most locusts near Sanchazi Town had been drawn to the ginseng on Shekou Mountain, where they battled daily with the geese and suffered heavy losses. Additionally, the people Ergouzi had purchased had been hunting smaller locust swarms in the area for the past month or two. As a result, locust numbers here were low and the damage wasn't severe. Zhang Youliang's team easily eliminated several small locust swarms, completing their mission ahead of Ergouzi within days.

After assigning his team to patrol surrounding fields, Zhang Youliang returned home under some pretext. "Elder brother, did you succeed?" Zhang Youxin asked eagerly when he saw his brother return with the extermination team. "Of course! With hundreds of taels spent, how could I fail?" Zhang Youliang replied, producing a neatly folded white paper from his robe. Unfolding it revealed the words "Wind Riding Technique" followed by cultivation instructions.

"You spent all that money for just one copied page?" Zhang Youxin examined the paper skeptically. "What do you know? This is an immortal technique - priceless and normally unobtainable without connections. I had to beg endlessly for this copy," Zhang Youliang said proudly. Zhang Youxin immediately grabbed writing materials to make copies, planning to sell them at 100 taels each. "Stop!" Zhang Youliang snatched the brush away. "Do you think you're the only clever one? There's a reason people don't mass-produce immortal techniques - it's punishable by flogging, confiscation of property, or even execution of nine generations! At most, cultivators secretly exchange one or two copies. Do this and our family will be ruined by tomorrow!"

Zhang Youxin fell into deep contemplation after this warning. After a long pause, he exhaled deeply: "I understand now. As the sages said: 'All commoners are cunning; the art of governing is to weaken, impoverish, and constrain them, never letting them gain knowledge!' Hahaha... I've attained enlightenment!" Zhang Youliang felt his brother's forehead, suspecting his scholar habits were acting up again. "Brother! Teach me martial arts." "After all these years of study, you're giving up?" "Yes! Studying is useless - knowing how to write my name is enough. I'll walk the immortal path and grasp power with my own hands - that's the true way to heaven!" "Suit yourself, just don't regret it. This path isn't easy," Zhang Youliang said dismissively before retreating to practice the Wind Riding Technique.

Having studied the method for days, Zhang Youliang was eager to try. Among immortal techniques, Wind Riding was relatively simple, and he'd achieved basic proficiency within days. That night, the brothers secretly returned to Shekou Mountain. With guards posted by Ergouzi, they had to sneak around to the back under cover of darkness. "You're not going to fall again, are you?" Zhang Youxin eyed the sheer cliff - the site of past failures where their father had been crushed by boulders. "With Wind Riding Technique, I'll succeed this time!" Confident, Zhang Youliang demonstrated how the technique made him light as a swallow, needing only slight leverage to ascend. Tucking his robe, he took a running start and leaped several meters up, scaling the cliff rapidly with hands and feet.

Zhang Youliang felt a breeze lifting him, making him agile and light. The wind roared in his ears as he experienced the exhilarating sensation of soaring like a dragon. As the summit neared, just one final push away, triumphant laughter bubbled up inside him. Success at last!

"Honk! Honk!" A loud goose cry interrupted as a massive white shape swooped down, wings slicing toward him like blades. "Thud!" The wing strike dissipated his upward momentum, sending him plummeting. Fortunately, his Wind Riding Technique allowed him to slow the fall by pushing off the cliff face. "Thump!" He landed flat on his back. Zhang Youxin rushed over, relieved to find him unharmed - proof of cultivation's benefits. 

Clutching his back as he rose, Zhang Youliang cursed: "Feathered beast! How dare you!" Drawing his sword, he ascended again using Wind Riding. From below, Zhang Youxin could barely see in the dim light. Within moments, another crash announced his brother's return to earth, this time face-first with his sword clattering away, bent and useless from some tremendous force. 

"Damn beast! I refuse to lose!" Zhang Youliang scrambled up for a third attempt. "Whump!" This time he landed in a sprawled position. Exhausted from three Wind Riding attempts, he lay motionless, staring blankly at the sky. "Brother! Are you alright? Don't take it to heart - it's just a dumb animal!" Zhang Youxin fretted. "I'm fine... but I lost to an animal. I'm worse than an animal..." Profound defeat overwhelmed Zhang Youliang. After decades of martial training, he couldn't even best a beast - worse, one owned by Ergouzi.

"Just an animal!" Zhang Youxin scoffed. "As sages say: 'What distinguishes man from beasts is wisdom - thus sages compete in wisdom, not strength.' I have a plan..." Three days later, the brothers returned with a sack of rice. "There are many geese up there - is your poison reliable?" Zhang Youliang asked skeptically after his recent failures. "Absolutely! Enough rat poison in this rice to kill ten oxen. Here, try some!" Zhang Youxin confidently scattered the poisoned rice at the mountain's base before they hid to observe. 

After three days of waiting, only birds and rodents had died - no geese even glanced at the rice. "I'll deliver it myself!" Frustrated, Zhang Youliang bundled some rice in cloth and scaled the cliff, tossing it near the summit before retreating. The geese gathered around the offering, stretching their necks to inspect before disdainfully shoving it off the cliff - accustomed to spirit-rich food, they wouldn't touch ordinary grain. 

Days of effort yielded nothing. Neither strength nor wisdom had prevailed. Were they truly inferior to beasts? Suddenly, torchlight flared in the darkness as Qiuyue led a group with clubs shouting "Thieves!" Outnumbered and guilty, the brothers could only flee in disgrace.