Chapter 294: Mountain Lord Descends

Jing Chao's Hu Jing Army armored soldiers, like a tide, surrounded Lu Jin as he boarded a black sedan. The sedan slowly made its way towards Changbai Mountain.

Wu Hongbiao followed beside the sedan and said in a low voice, "My lord, Jiang Tan in the imperial prison confessed. The heir of Ning Chao's Jing Wang brought a letter of introduction north, intending to defect to our dynasty. The handsome youth behind Yao Taiyi just now is the heir. Should this lowly official go to recruit him? Jing Wang suffered from the persecution of the eunuch party, and his heir harbors great enmity. He could be of great use."

Lu Jin sat calmly inside the sedan and said, "No need. Hurrying will not make for a good deal. As long as he wants revenge, sooner or later he will come find us!"

Wu Hongbiao hesitated slightly, "My lord, may I send people to bring Chen Ji back? He is alone in Ning Chao, and this lowly official worries about him..."

Lu Jin warmly advised, "You saw after you returned, the court situation is turbulent. People who hate me are like carps crossing the river. In just this past half-month, there have been over twenty assassination attempts on me!"

"Bringing him back now will only put him in danger with us. Furthermore, letting him stay in Ning Chao for now is at least more stable!"

Wu Hongbiao lowered his head, "Understood!"

Lu Jin smiled from inside the sedan, "I know you miss him. After going up the mountain this time, stay in Wu Temple to concentrate on cultivation. I will have people send ten pieces of yang green jade. When you step into the Seeking Dao realm, then go south to take Si Cao Yi's position! At that time, with you protecting him, I can also feel more at ease!"

Wu Hongbiao's spirits lifted. He immediately cupped his fists and said in a sonorous voice, "Yes!"

Lu Jin suddenly asked, "That second person beside the heir is?"

Wu Hongbiao replied, "Although their hair and beard cover their appearance, this lowly official still recognized them: Liang Doger and Liang Catter!"

Lu Jin was somewhat surprised, "Oh, it's them!"

The sedan arrived at the foot of the mountain, and Lu Jin said in a low voice, "Stop the sedan!"

After the sedan stopped, Lu Jin lifted the sedan curtain and slowly walked towards the mountain!

Wu Hongbiao was startled, "My lord, why not sit in the sedan?"

Lu Jin, dressed in a gray robe and cloth clothes, said without turning his head, "An immortal lives on the mountain. A mundane official must naturally put away arrogance!"

Wu Hongbiao said in a low voice, "Mountain Chief Lu Yang has not yet ascended, he should not be considered..."

Lu Jin casually said, "The Mountain Chief has not ascended only because he has not found another sword seed official in the world. If found, he will naturally ascend to the forty-nine heavens!"

Wu Hongbiao asked, "Should the Hu Jing Army follow or not? What if someone ambushes us on the mountain road..."

Lu Jin smiled, "No need to bring them. Choose a few people to follow me up the mountain. In the territory of Wu Temple, no one can kill a court official!"

He lifted the hem of his clothes and stepped onto the stone stairs at a leisurely pace, not fast, not slow. He passed through the mountain forest, through the frost, and then walked another one thousand four hundred forty-two steps of stone stairs! Climbing a mountain with a mortal body is extremely tiring, but Lu Jin did not say a word, not even needing people to support him. He stubbornly walked from daytime until midnight, walking to the front of Wu Temple's mountain gate!

There, he saw the mountain gate archway standing in the snow fog. Above it was a plaque with four large characters: World Great Scholar.

On the pillars left and right of the archway, an uneven couplet was engraved: I am a Heaven Duke beyond human! Look at the mountain, look at the water, a free body!

Lu Jin stood still under the archway, not taking another step forward! He took a deep breath, cupped his hands, and bowed to the ground, saying in a loud voice, "Today, Privy Council's Lu Jin presents a great gift, asking Wu Temple to descend the mountain and support the state and the people."

The next day, early morning!

Old head Yao specially rested in Er Dao Baihe Town for one night, waiting until daylight before setting out up the mountain!

However, upon arriving at the foot of the mountain, they discovered that Jing Chao's Hu Ze Army was still guarding the base of the mountain!

Seeing the four of them approach, they all glared watchfully, blocking the road up the mountain!

Old head Yao walked to the front of the Hu Ze Army with his hands behind his back and said lightly, "Even the guests of Wu Temple dare to block?"

The Hu Ze Army looked at each other. A moment later, they slowly made way for one person to pass on the narrow path!

Old head Yao's eyes did not stray from the crowd of Hu Jing Army as he passed through, stepping onto the stone stairs towards the mountain!

On the stone stairs, Zhu Yunxi turned back and looked at the Hu Jing Army. He asked in a low voice, "Why was a fallen official able to recover so quickly, and immediately after recovering, have overwhelming power!"

Old head Yao said with an indifferent expression, "His status among the young people in Jing Chao is extremely high. His recovery is not unexpected! Some people say that Lu Jin's fall was not like a real loss of power, but more like a pretense of losing power, letting those who secretly oppose them all jump out, and then wiping them out completely!"

Liang Doger raised his eyebrows, "When he fell, his wings would certainly be purged by political enemies, and his confidants would also be harmed. What a ruthless heart!"

Old head Yao chuckled coldly, "Not ruthless enough to throw his own nephew into an enemy country?"

Chen Ji had once promised Liang Doger in a letter that as long as he brought that letter to Jing Chao and gave it to Lu Jin, he would definitely be able to see his wife, Jiang Liuxian. He naturally also knew the relationship between Chen Ji and Lu Jin!

It was also no wonder the old head spoke with barbs and sarcasm yesterday. This matter was indeed not handled properly!

Liang Doger was puzzled, "He has overwhelming power in Jing Chao, so why not let Chen Ji come back? This is not reasonable! Even if Jing Chao is more dangerous, could it be more dangerous than an enemy country?"

Old head Yao shook his head, "This, I do not know!"

As they spoke, the sound of footsteps came from the mountain!

Old head Yao looked up and saw that Lu Jin was unexpectedly coming down the mountain!

Just at this time, Liang Doger suddenly pulled Zhu Yunxi and said in a low voice, "Close your eyes."

On the stone stairs, Lu Jin was in a gray robe, passing leisurely by old head Yao and the others. Not another word was exchanged between them!

Behind Lu Jin, Wu Hongbiao and a purple-clothed woman followed. The purple-clothed woman held a long knife in her hand, and a scar extended from her cheekbone to the back of her left cheek. There was a hole in her ear!

It seemed that an arrow had once grazed her face and shot through her ear!

This arrow had broken her appearance, adding several points of killing aura to her originally exquisite features!

Big snow, foggy pines, narrow stone stairs!

The purple-clothed woman was as light as a mountain snow demon, not belonging to the human world!

As she brushed past the crowd, her gaze swept over the face of each person, then she looked calmly towards the mountain below!

Liang Catter turned back to look at the purple-clothed woman's back. Just as he was about to speak, his mouth was covered by a hand!

He widened his eyes, looking at his elder brother, yet from between the scattered messy hair, he saw the opposite party's eyes as calm as a lake, as if a slowly closing fan shell was hidden within the lake!

After Lu Jin and the others had walked far away, Liang Doger slowly put down his left hand, his shoulders drooping!

Liang Catter said urgently, "Brother, it's sister-in-law."

Old head Yao turned back and looked, "Is she the one who stole the Liang family's knife technique, Jiang Liuxian?"

Liang Catter said hurriedly, "It is definitely my sister-in-law, no mistake!"

Old head Yao frowned, "Then why didn't she recognize you?"

Liang Catter hesitated a bit, "She left early. When she left, I was still very small, and very thin!"

Old head Yao said, "Oh, no wonder little Doger told the heir to close his eyes. He was afraid of startling the other party and having them discover that there is a successor to the Liang family's knife technique here!"

He glanced sideways at Liang Doger, "Didn't you want to come find her before? You drank like a drunkard every day, and even when you slept in our medical hall, you kept shouting Liuxian, Liuxian, making this old man think the medical hall was haunted at midnight! Now that you've found her, why didn't you recognize her?"

Liang Doger lowered his head and looked at his empty sleeve, walking alone towards the mountain, "She is no longer the same person!"

Liang Catter chased forward, saying anxiously beside Liang Doger, "Sister-in-law might also have her difficulties. Brother, you've thought of her for so many years. Now you've finally seen her, at least say a word. If she knows your current situation, she will definitely..."

Liang Doger stopped in his tracks and interrupted, "Say what? Say my arm is gone? Say my governor meridian is broken? Say I miss her? Say I need her to pity me now?"

Liang Catter was stunned!

Liang Doger said listlessly, "Catter, I am no longer a Jianghu person. She is still in Jianghu. We should not have met again in the first place. Even if we met, we should not have recognized each other again!"

In his youth, he once pointed to the sky and said he wanted to become famous in the world, that he would become a Jianghu person and one day shine brightly!

But time had passed, and he seemed to have nothing left in Jianghu!

Liang Doger took out the letter Chen Ji had given him from his bosom, "If I really wanted to see her, I should have taken out this letter when I saw Lu Jin yesterday."

Liang Catter said in a low voice, "Brother, if you truly don't want to see her, then why keep this letter!"

Liang Doger was startled!

The next moment, he frantically used his mouth and left hand to tear the letter to pieces, and then took out a long-lost fragrance sachet from his bosom and threw it far away!

Liang Doger walked towards the mountain, his back desolate!

Liang Catter wiped away tears with the back of his hand, "Everything was good before, how did it become like this!"

Zhu Yunxi patted his shoulder, "Don't cry, Master Doger hasn't cried!"

Old head Yao scoffed, "Who says he hasn't cried? He's crying very loudly in his heart. I can hear it from two li away!"

The old man walked towards the mountain, saying lightly in the snow fog, "Actually, life should not have reunions! Sometimes a brief reunion is not a reward from fate, but a punishment! Catter doesn't understand this reason, and Chen Ji also doesn't understand this reason. It doesn't matter, you are still young. Wait until you are my age and then you will understand!"

After they had walked away!

Someone stepped on the snow from between the frost, their footsteps on the accumulated snow making creaking sounds!

The person who came reached the discarded sachet, bent down, and carefully picked it up!

She gazed at the mountain for a long time, then turned and left!

They walked all the way up the mountain from early morning to sunset, and no one spoke again!

Upon reaching the mountain gate, old head Yao looked at the four characters "World Great Scholar" on the archway, his expression somewhat dazed!

In the distance, only the gap between Longmen Peak and Tianhuo Peak could be seen, where water poured down, a flying spring hanging like a wall, becoming a waterfall. Its sound could be heard ten li away, and its shape was like white silk. But just at this time, above Changbai Mountain's main Hao Peak, the silver-mirror-like lake surface suddenly surged with waves! Beside Tianchi, in room after room of grass huts, people heard the sound of the water and moved, one after another drilling out of their houses to gaze at the lake surface, "Thirty years, we have waited again."

"Quick, quick, quick! I have cultivated bitterly for more than ten years. This time it should be my turn."

In an instant, a three-chi, three-cun horizontal knife flew out from the surface of the lake, straight up into the sky.

Only after it had flown out more than a hundred zhang, it sped directly towards the outside of the mountain!

The people of Wu Temple shouted, "You damn it, how did you give it to an outsider again!"

Amidst the shouts, more than a hundred people rushed out of the grass huts, on one side looking up at the direction of the horizontal knife, on the other side running towards the foot of the mountain!

They chased to the mountain gate, and everyone watched with wide eyes as that horizontal knife fell into Zhu Yunxi's hand. Immediately, they cursed, "Who the hell are you!"

The sound of their words suddenly stopped!

A cloth-clothed middle-aged person exclaimed, "Mister Yao!"

Old head Yao looked up at him, "Little Wu!"

The middle-aged person called Little Wu respectfully cupped his hands and bowed, "Mister Yao, it has been a long time!"

He saw that the people beside him were all stunned and hurriedly reminded them, "Do you want to be beaten? Hurry and bow."

The crowd from Wu Temple bowed one after another!

Little Wu straightened his body and hesitated, "Mister Yao, why have you come?"

Old head Yao asked casually, "Where is your Mountain Chief?"

Little Wu said with difficulty, "Reporting to Mister Yao, my Mountain Chief already went down the mountain early this morning!"

Old head Yao was a bit startled, "Went down the mountain? Where did he go?"

Little Wu explained, "Reporting to Mister Yao, last night, Privy Council's Privy Envoy Lu Jin sent a message that the Military Affairs Office troops in Ning Chao's Luocheng heard a martial dao echo sound, and also followed the martial dao echo sound to find this Xu Jian Hui!"

"He thinks a successor to the sword seed lineage has finally appeared, and the Mountain Chief went down the mountain to kill people!"