The mountain forest was full of the scent of ashes. A light, drifting mist wreathed among the trees. Two warhorses were tethered all alone in an empty place, looking particularly eerie.
Carrying Bai Li on his back, Chen Ji passed through the rugged mountain path and walked up to the warhorses. He saw a cowhide water skin hanging by the saddle, and a pouch filled with roasted soybeans inside the saddlebag.
Horse, water, food; everything was here.
Chen Ji looked back behind him and suddenly asked, "You guys also heard the nursery rhyme Mister Feng was humming just now. Has anyone heard it before?"
The Prince Heir shook his head. "Never heard it."
Bai Li also answered, "It sounded more like a rustic tune from the countryside."
Zhang Xia pondered for a moment. "Building, plotting, marrying, Gen palace Fu Yin, Kun palace Fan Yin, Xun palace entering the tomb, Zhen palace being restrained, endlessly regenerating... This is the incantation for the Life Gate in the Eight Trigrams of Qimen Dunjia."
Chen Ji murmured, "Life Gate..."
He turned his head and saw a line of small characters carved on the tree trunk where the warhorses were tethered: "The agreement is valid."
Zhang Xia saw it too and asked curiously, "What does this mean?"
Chen Ji shook his head. "I don't know."
Zhang Xia took a deep look at Chen Ji; this line of small characters was clearly written for Chen Ji.
At this time, Chen Ji mused in his heart. The so-called agreement probably referred to what Mister Feng had said to him earlier: as long as he worked for the other party, the other party could help him fulfill a wish.
Could it be that the other party left these two horses to show genuine goodwill and recruit him? But how could he possibly go to the Liu Family's side? The刘 家 (Liu Family) was making enemies with the imperial court and was bound to face certain defeat.
Chen Ji placed Bai Li on the ground, untied the water skin from the saddle, and handed it to her. "Commandery Princess, have some water."
The Prince Heir was doubtful. "What if it's poisoned?"
Chen Ji shook his head. "If that Mister Feng wanted to kill us, he wouldn't need to be so roundabout."
While they were speaking, Zaozao had already stuck its head into the saddlebag and was chewing on the soybeans inside in large mouthfuls. Seeing this, the Prince Heir hurriedly reached into the saddlebag, grabbed a handful of soybeans, and stuffed them into his mouth. With bulging cheeks, he sighed with emotion, "I didn't expect Zhu Yunxi would be reduced to snatching food from a horse's mouth. I must say, these beans are roasted quite fragrantly."
Chen Ji stood to the side and asked curiously, "Second Miss Zhang, are there any other stories about Mister Feng? He vanished without a trace after the palace examination; did no one ever see him again? What about his parents?"
Zhang Xia thought seriously for a moment. "I haven't heard anyone mention this matter."
This made him even more confused. The image of Mister Feng that was originally clear in his mind became blurry again.
This Mister Feng was like someone hiding at the bottom of a calm lake. When you wanted to touch him, you would first touch the surface of the lake, causing ripples, and even the Mister Feng at the bottom of the lake would become unclear.
But what on earth was the other party making such a massive fuss for? Was it to kill Jin Zhu and Tian Ma?
At this time, Mister Feng had calmly descended the mountain. Did that mean Jin Zhu and Tian Ma...
Wu Yun let out a soft meow from his embrace.
Chen Ji abruptly looked toward the direction of the mountain. His hand also reached toward Zaozao's saddle, tightly gripping the hilt of the Whale Blade. Zaozao turned its head to look at him, but was suddenly startled by his gaze and aura, retreating a few steps.
It was these few steps that naturally allowed Chen Ji to pull the Whale Blade from the saddle.
In the next moment, Jin Zhu's voice drifted over, seemingly complaining about Tian Ma: "I told you to run earlier, but you insisted on not running. When that Mister Feng appeared beside Elder Liu in his early years, he once came face-to-face with Lord Wu Xiu. Even Lord Wu Xiu chose to avoid the brunt of him at the time. Why did you rush over to join the fun? Look at all this blood he beat out of me..."
"That kid Chen Ji finally broke through with great difficulty. Just when I was about to return to the Path-Seeking Realm, could you please not cause any trouble... Who's there?!"
Jin Zhu's figure, descending the mountain, paused as he looked at Chen Ji and the others as if facing formidable foes. When he clearly saw Chen Ji's face, he said exasperatedly, "Why are you guys here? You startled me!"
Chen Ji also breathed a sigh of relief and slowly scrutinized Jin Zhu and Tian Ma.
He saw that Tian Ma's white clothes were completely spotless, and he was safe and sound; Jin Zhu was covered in blood with seven or eight wounds. It truly was a case of immortals fighting, while the little imps suffered the disaster.
Chen Ji hesitated. "Lord Jin Zhu, are you alright?"
Jin Zhu waved his hand carelessly. "I'm fine, just some superficial flesh wounds. That surnamed Feng is in much worse shape than me."
Chen Ji hesitated. "Your Excellency, Mister Feng passed by here just now, and I saw that he was completely fine."
Jin Zhu froze and instantly became tense. "Where? Where is that surnamed Feng?"
Chen Ji explained, "We were hiding in the bushes just now and saw him heading down the mountain. It was just a bit strange; he and Jiang Yan left, but left the two warhorses behind."
"Has he gone far?"
"Gone far."
Jin Zhu gave an "oh," and his body was no longer taut. He plopped down on his buttocks, sprawling on the ground. "Damn it, why am I so unlucky to be stuck with you two!"
Chen Ji asked in confusion, "Lord Jin Zhu, weren't you guys just fighting? Why did it end?"
Jin Zhu said exasperatedly, "I ran all the way from afar to save you, and you still have to wish for me to die here?"
"No," Chen Ji explained. "I'm just curious. This Mister Feng deployed such a huge battle array and deployed over a thousand private soldiers, why did it end so hastily?"
Jin Zhu explained, "Just now, he and Tian Ma couldn't do anything to each other. I tricked him into thinking the Trouble-Resolving Guard was on their way. Coincidentally, a burning large tree fell between us, and he took the opportunity to retreat."
Chen Ji pressed further, "What Cultivation Pathway does Mister Feng practice?"
Jin Zhu hesitated for a moment. "Didn't figure it out."
Chen Ji felt something was wrong.
Although a Practitioner's Cultivation Pathway was their biggest secret, they had clearly engaged in a life-and-death struggle. With Tian Ma present, Mister Feng must have surely gone all out. How could they not figure out his Cultivation Pathway?
Jin Zhu's words must be hiding something.
Chen Ji asked, "Lord Jin Zhu, what are your plans next?"
Jin Zhu sat up and cursed while speaking, "Tian Ma and I have to hurry back to Luo City and dispatch the Trouble-Resolving Guard to confiscate this military town! Even if the Liu Family is hiding the sky with one hand in Yuzhou, they won't be able to cover this up!"
As his words fell, a snowflake drifted down from the sky and gently landed in Bai Li's hair. She reached out to pick it off, but the snow melted on her fingertips.
Chen Ji looked up. At some point, the canopy of heaven had been covered by haze. The snow grew heavier and heavier, eventually turning into goose-feather snow. Even the mountain fire was suppressed by this sudden heavy snowfall.
Jin Zhu stood up, turned around, and headed down the mountain. "Chen Ji, you guys head to Luhun Villa and wait for reinforcements. On the way here, I already saw Prince Jing's Thousand-Year Army mobilizing. If I see the Thousand-Year Army on my way back, I'll definitely inform them of your whereabouts."
Saying this, he and Tian Ma vanished, leaping away through the mountain forest.
Chen Ji helped Bai Li mount the warhorse, turned to Zhang Xia, and said, "Second Miss Zhang, I'll trouble you to ride together with the Commandery Princess and look after her."
Zhang Xia smiled. "Don't worry, no need for you to remind me."
The four mounted the horses.
Bai Li leaned weakly against Zhang Xia and said, "Chen Ji, write a poem."
Chen Ji smiled. "Commandery Princess, how would I know how to write any poems?"
Bai Li said softly, "Write one."
"I really don't know how."
Chen Ji pulled the reins and turned his head. His gaze pierced through the swaying wind and snow, looking at the devastation all over the mountain.
After a long time, he finally turned back. Gripping his blade in one hand and holding the reins in the other, he clamped the horse's belly with both legs and rode off into the wind and snow.
...
...
In the mountain forest, Jin Zhu's figure, descending rapidly, abruptly stopped, smashing patches of snowflakes. In an instant, a massive air current shattered the wind and snow's original path.
Tian Ma stopped beside him and gestured in sign language: What are you doing?
Jin Zhu slightly narrowed his eyes. "This snow is too heavy. I'm afraid that by the time we come back, some tracks will have been covered up, making them hard to find."
Tian Ma was confused: What tracks?
Jin Zhu answered a different question. He gestured in sign language: Have you ever seen a Practitioner break through in the face of battle?
Tian Ma gestured matter-of-factly: I've broken through before. The night I crossed from the Pre-Heaven Realm into the Path-Seeking Stage, with Jiang Liuxian.
Jin Zhu gestured again: Then have you ever seen anyone break through twice overnight in the face of battle?
Tian Ma: Impossible. There's no record of it in the archives of the Trouble-Resolving Tower either.
Jin Zhu gritted his teeth: Damn it, been played for a fool by someone pretending to be a pig to eat the tiger.
Tian Ma corrected: Pretending to be a pig to eat a pig.
Jin Zhu cast a speechless glance at Tian Ma.
He turned around, took a different path, and hurried up the mountain. By this time, the heavy snow was like a quilt, covering the mountain fire. Only black charred wood and corpses remained among the forest, emitting white smoke.
Taking detours all the way, Jin Zhu kept his head down searching for clues while walking up the mountain.
Tian Ma was very patient. He followed silently by his side, merely frowning as he looked at his white boots stained with black ash.
It was unknown how much time had passed, but Jin Zhu suddenly spoke up, "Found it!"
Saying this, he squatted down and picked up a piece of a broken blade from the ground.
He held the blade's edge up against the color of the sky, carefully examining the break. "This is not a blade destroyed by ordinary chopping and slashing. If an ordinary iron blade were to break because it couldn't withstand the force, the tear would definitely be curved and irregular. But this one, the break is neat and tidy. It was shattered by an expert's inner force."
Tian Ma: And so?
Jin Zhu didn't answer. Gripping the blade body and hilt, he stood up and continued searching the ground with his head lowered.
After a long time, he found three broken blades from the ground, all with the exact same straight break.
Tian Ma's expression also grew solemn: Excellent blade technique.
Jin Zhu looked at the broken blades in his hand, his expression fluctuating rapidly. "Could it be the Liang family's blade technique? Liang Gou'er resides in the medical clinic; it's possible he passed the blade technique to this kid... You've fought with Jiang Liuxian. Has she ever displayed this kind of blade technique?"
Tian Ma denied it: No, the Liang family's blade technique is fierce and tyrannical; it only seeks blade intent, not technique.
Jin Zhu took a deep breath. "Then where did a mere little apprentice like him learn this set of blade techniques... Could it be Physician Yao? Motherfucker, shooting geese all day long but getting my eyes pecked by the geese; this is too humiliating!"
At this moment, he recalled the matter of him aching for three whole hours yesterday. It was clearly caused by the conflict between the two Cultivation Pathways on Chen Ji's body!
And Chen Ji clearly knew it, yet he still continuously cultivated Cloud-Covering over and over again to torture him! Such a perfectly fine Cultivation Pathway was forcibly used by Chen Ji as a thousand-mile telepathy tool!
Jin Zhu gritted his teeth. "What an animal!"
Tian Ma was curious: Kill him?
Jin Zhu looked down at the broken blades in his hand, staring fixedly.
It wasn't until the heavy snow had settled a white layer on his shoulders that he finally took a deep breath, bent down to dig a hole, and carefully buried the broken blades one by one into the black soil.
...
...
(End of Chapter)