“Heh.”
Du Heng gave two dry laughs, but before he could refuse again, Ye Mingshan had already made the decision.
“This marriage is settled,” Ye Mingshan said, slapping the table.
“Go back and pack your things. In a few days, I’ll have Little Bamboo escort you down the mountain.”
Ye Mingshan looked anxious, as if afraid Du Heng would change his mind, and pushed him out by the shoulders.
Du Heng’s expression stiffened. He forced a fake smile and cursed inwardly.
Just a moment ago he wouldn’t even let him leave, and now he was rushing to push him out.
Have Mingzhu escort me down the mountain? Wasn’t that just a way to keep an eye on him, afraid he might disappear halfway there, so he sent a spy to watch him?
No wonder the old man had looked so happy after reading the letter. He’d been waiting for me here all along.
So what am I supposed to do with my grand plan to slack off now?
Du Heng lowered his head and sighed. His bargain-bin master was impossible to read. Why did he only take in one disciple? Wasn’t he afraid no one would inherit his legacy later?
Now the burden of this marriage alliance had fallen entirely on him, with nowhere to push it off.
Forget whether he could still live his current idle life after becoming the princess’s Lord Consort. If he really went back down the mountain and returned to Great Luo, who knew how many eyes would be watching him in secret. It would not be easy.
In this life, Du Heng’s father was the famed Du Haoqing, Marquis Zhenyuan of Great Luo. With a bright silver spear, he had swept across the battlefields, slaying so many enemies that the Western Demon Court and the Northern Barbarian tribes no longer dared invade. He was the backbone of the court’s hawkish faction, which was determined to launch a northern campaign to crush the enemy. As the saying goes, the taller the tree, the harder the wind blows, so naturally he had made countless enemies.
He had no intention of getting involved in worldly struggle. He only planned to go down the mountain and help his father when the Great Luo Dynasty sent out its troops, then retreat into seclusion at Ruo Xian Pavilion and continue slacking off.
But the war had not yet begun, so it was still not time for him to go down the mountain. He still wanted a few more peaceful days.
Du Heng still refused to give up and turned back to say, “Uncle, by custom, a marriage alliance still requires parental consent and a matchmaker’s word. My parents haven’t agreed yet, so isn’t this…?”
“Your parents are court-appointed officials of the Great Luo Dynasty. To be able to become in-laws with Her Highness the Eldest Princess, how could they possibly object?”
“But…”
Ye Mingshan interrupted him directly, putting on a considerate expression. “Nephew-disciple, no need to worry. I’ll write a letter to the Marquis right away and explain the matter.”
He seemed to think of something else, then looked up at Du Heng.
“I almost forgot. After your birthday this year, you’ll turn twenty, just right for the weak-crown age. A few days ago your father even asked me whether I could let you go down the mountain to hold your coming-of-age ceremony.”
“In that case, it would be a double blessing. Once you finish your ceremony, you can naturally set the wedding date as well.”
Du Heng’s mouth twitched several times as he listened. It would have been better not to bring up his parents at all. He had even forgotten about the coming-of-age ceremony.
The rites of the Great Luo Dynasty stipulated that a man held his coming-of-age ceremony at twenty, and after reaching the weak-crown age he could marry.
As the only son of Marquis Zhenyuan, there was no avoiding his coming-of-age ceremony; he had to return and attend it.
If Du Heng truly did not go back, his mother, whom he had not seen for ten years, would probably cry herself to pieces.
Even if it were not for the marriage alliance, he would still have to return to Great Luo eventually for his parents’ sake.
“This works out nicely. Go back to attend your ceremony and set the wedding date at the same time. Then let me know, and I’ll bring your junior brothers and sisters to cheer you on!”
Heh… was that really for cheering me on?
You’re just planning to go eat and drink at the banquet, aren’t you?
And isn’t this little old man worried about embarrassing the sect?
If he really married the Great Luo Eldest Princess, then by that time many renowned immortal sects would come bearing congratulatory gifts.
He had entered the Dao for ten years, yet had only broken through the Body Tempering realm and reached the great perfection of the second realm, Qi Condensation stage.
By then, when people saw that the groom was Ruo Xian Pavilion’s Eldest Senior Brother, yet had such low cultivation, they’d probably think he was just mooching off a woman. Ruo Xian Pavilion would be looked down upon along with him.
Could Ye Mingshan really stand being criticized behind his back like that?
But Ye Mingshan was so stubborn that no matter what Du Heng said, he refused to budge.
“Our Ruo Xian Pavilion can handle it, nephew-disciple. Don’t worry. The sect will always be your backing,” Ye Mingshan said with a righteous look.
Du Heng nodded. Yes, yes, yes. You old man really are wise and righteous. If you hadn’t just been forcing me into marriage, I might have believed you.
Du Heng had no choice. As for refusing the marriage, he could only plan that carefully after he went back.
There was still time. There was still room to turn things around.
Besides, the Eldest Princess still didn’t know who her husband would be. Maybe after she found out it was him, she would take the initiative to break off the engagement.
Du Heng did not believe the Eldest Princess would still choose him after learning how weak his cultivation was.
He had heard that the Great Luo royal family’s cultivation methods were no worse than those of Ruo Xian Pavilion.
The Eldest Princess was the jewel in the royal family’s palm, a heaven-blessed daughter. She must have seen plenty of outstanding young talents and top cultivators. Would she really look twice at him?
While he was still thinking of a countermeasure, Ye Mingshan started chasing him out again.
“All right, nephew-disciple, hurry back and pack your bags. Remember to say goodbye to the rest of your uncles, junior brothers, and junior sisters. Don’t let them miss you too much.”
Du Heng found that strange.
Miss him? More like each and every one of them is itching to get back at me.
He had tormented the other inner court disciples in the sect more than once.
One day he would cheat someone out of their pills while playing chess; the next day he would trick someone else into handing over their spiritual beast by going fishing; the day after that he would bring the pills and the beast to the next person and freeload off them. When he had nothing to do, he would even stir up trouble elsewhere just for amusement.
Outwardly, he was the harmless Eldest Senior Brother. In secret, he was Du the rogue, a sneaky thief through and through.
Du Heng argued with Ye Mingshan for a while longer. Seeing that Ye Mingshan truly would not budge, he had no choice but to give up and leave.
After Du Heng left, Ye Mingshan became even more impatient.
He instructed Mingzhu to use the faster Crimson-feathered Luan Crane to send his reply to the Eldest Princess, telling her that Ruo Xian Pavilion had already decided on the candidate so she would know what to expect.
That would make it even harder for Du Heng to back out.
Ye Mingshan was practically delighted, and his face was beaming with joy.
This brat spent all day slacking off and corrupting the promising young disciples in the mountain, leading who knew how many disciples astray.
He should have been sent out long ago!
Senior Brother, it is not that this junior brother is unwilling to look after your disciple. It’s that this brat is just too infuriating, loafing around all day, living like a health nut, acting old before his time. He ought to go down the mountain and be tempered properly.
After agreeing, Mingzhu suddenly asked, “By the way, Master, why does Senior Brother Du always play Chinese chess with other people? Why do I never see him play Go?”
Hearing this, Ye Mingshan lowered his gaze to the unfinished Chinese chess game from earlier and seemed to think of something before smiling.
“That’s naturally because your Senior Brother Du has grown tired of Go.”
Ye Mingshan stroked his beard and sighed inwardly.
A Go board on Mount Lan Ke, with the banished immortal holding white and the seeker of the Dao holding black. They played like that for years; how could he not grow tired of it?
Mingzhu nodded, half understanding.
But inside he was muttering: When has Senior Brother Du ever played Go? Did he secretly play it when no one could see him?
…
On the other side, Du Heng descended from the main peak and steered his flying sword back toward the Lan Ke Mountain Range. The outline of the mountains was blurred by cloud and mist, and a figure of an immortal actually seemed to emerge.
Du Heng lowered his eyelids and flew toward Xuan You Peak, no longer looking at that silhouette of a true immortal.
He had already seen it too many times.
Ruo Xian Pavilion had long possessed a legend: Mount Lan Ke had once been the residence of a true immortal, hiding a tremendous fortune. Yet for a thousand years, no disciple of Ruo Xian Pavilion had ever been fortunate enough to touch that opportunity.
A dream of Mount Lan Ke, like a dream, like an immortal.
That was how Ruo Xian Pavilion got its name.
Perhaps because Du Heng was a transmigrator, he became the variable and was fortunate enough to obtain that opportunity.
From the day he entered the mountain at the age of ten, he began to enter long dreams every night.
In those dreams, Du Heng went to Mount Lan Ke as it had been a thousand years ago: ancient, rustic, and tranquil.
Amid ruined buildings and a small pavilion standing among broken walls, an old man with a blurred face sat before a chessboard, accompanied by falling leaves and fine rain. That was the immortal in the dream.
The immortal played chess with him, taught him cultivation, and passed on his techniques.
Such a hazy dream appeared every night after Du Heng fell asleep, lasting for several years before finally fading only in recent years.
Because of that, Du Heng’s attainments in Dao arts, swordsmanship, and cultivation talent had reached an unknown level. His master, Yun Tianyi, once suppressed his own cultivation to spar with him in magical combat, but he could not gain even the slightest advantage. More than once he had laughed and scolded that Du Heng no longer needed his master’s instruction.
But all of this had been obtained only after he had endured who knew how many years in the dream on Mount Lan Ke.
Alone in the long river of time, time itself became something impossible to measure, even though it was only within a dream and not reality.
Having his whole self enter the dream also left him somewhat weary at heart.
Even though every day in the dream he only practiced chess and learned swordsmanship from the immortal, without needing to fight anyone, he still had no desire to contaminate himself again with the struggles of the mortal world.
He had always been gentle by nature and disliked killing. Naturally, he would not be like some people who, after attaining the Dao, used their strength to violate the law, seeking dominance and growing full of hostility.
Du Heng only wanted to slack off in peace. He only wanted a life with a bit of “fun,” so he deliberately hid the progress of his cultivation.
Du Heng’s master, Yun Tianyi, and later his uncle Ye Mingshan, who watched over him, could both inspect Du Heng’s bones and aptitude. Yet Du Heng, relying on the true immortal’s methods, went to great lengths to conceal it from both elders.
But when they saw that his cultivation did not improve and knew he was wasting his talent, they did not try to force or discipline him. Instead, they even helped him cover it up with smiling faces.
Du Heng had always felt that those two old fellows probably had some other plan, but no matter what, his goal of slacking off had been achieved.
He was too lazy to think any further. After spending years together, he also trusted them very much.
So he had cultivated in Ruo Xian Pavilion for ten years, and in other people’s eyes he was nothing but trash who had spent ten years to reach only the great perfection of the second realm, Qi Condensation stage.
Du Heng, however, did not care.
See how great low cultivation is!
Go down the mountain to suppress demons? No need!
Take part in the immortal sect competition? No need!
Give lectures on the Dao to junior brothers and junior sisters? No need!
Look at that, how relaxing is that?
But Du Heng had not enjoyed it enough before the world turned unpredictable.
This marriage letter from the Eldest Princess had completely disrupted the foundation of his peaceful existence.
And so, Du Heng was forced to return to Great Luo. What a coincidence, on the very first day he returned to Imperial City Luodu, he ran into and offended Her Highness the Eldest Princess…