Green Mountain

The snow on Changbai Mountain was falling heavier and heavier. Old Ears climbed up the ridge, gazing at the distant village: "Look, that’s Erdao Baihe Town. I have an old friend there, someone with considerable connections on Changbai Mountain. We’ll know if your Aunt Ping is alright once we ask him."

Chen Ji looked at Old Ears with skepticism: "Will it really help?"

Old Ears, slightly annoyed, replied: "Don’t believe me? I’ve worked so hard to help you escape..."

Chen Ji interrupted: "Do you remember I originally boarded the ship to avoid disaster? Instead, you brought me here where I’m still on the run."

Old Ears felt a bit awkward and started walking down the mountain, mumbling to himself: "This old man bet his face to help you retrieve those five swords."

The two spent four hours climbing up the mountain and another four hours descending. By the time they reached the edge of Erdao Baihe Town, it was already dark.

Chen Ji and Old Ears crouched in the snow outside the town, peering into the village with half their heads poking out.

Erdao Baihe Town wasn’t large, with only about a hundred or so households, nestled on a gentle slope at the foot of Changbai Mountain.

The town had no walls, not even a proper gate, just one road that split the town in half as it passed through.

Smoke curled from the chimneys of each house, carried away by the wind along with the scent of cooking drifting their way. Chen Ji and Old Ears both swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

Old Ears closed his eyes, savoring the aroma: "Sour pickles, blood sausage, hazel mushrooms..."

Another gust of wind came by, and with eyes still shut, he continued: "Goose, braised bones... this family eats well."

Chen Ji asked doubtfully: "Can you really smell from this far away?"

Old Ears opened his eyes, stroked his beard: "Just guessing."

Chen Ji retorted: "Your guesses are making me hungry."

Old Ears scanned the surroundings: "Alright, let’s hurry into the town. For your sake, this old man hasn’t eaten all day. I’m so hungry my front is sticking to my back."

He was just about to stand when Chen Ji pressed him back down.

Wu Yun poked his head out from Chen Ji’s arms, ears alert. After thirty minutes, the sound of clattering hooves came from the west. A group of cavalry came riding in, snow flying under their iron hooves.

Old Ears squinted to see, recognizing the big swords hanging across all the cavalry saddles: "The Mo Blade Camp of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, Yuan Hengli Zhen is returning to the Temple of Martial Arts."

Chen Ji looked closely. The cavalry moved in unison. The leader was clad in heavy armor with a black helmet, distinguished by the golden patterns on the blade’s swallowtail, resembling a golden dragon spitting out the blade.

Champion Marquis, Yuan Hengli Zhen.

The Mo Blade Camp passed through the town without stopping. Chen Ji watched as five hundred Mo Blade Soldiers crossed Erdao Baihe Town and ventured deeper into Changbai Mountain: "Who is Yuan Hengli Zhen?"

Old Ears chuckled: "This is a secret of the Temple of Martial Arts. If you want to hear, you must follow the rules."

Chen Ji glanced at him: "Alright."

Old Ears raised an eyebrow: "You don’t care about the Imperial Jade Seal, but you’re curious about Yuan Hengli Zhen? Why?"

Chen Ji casually replied: "Just answer the question."

Old Ears pondered for a moment in the snow: "This old man remembers, Yuan Hengli Zhen’s Mo Blade Camp had cut down sixty-seven Yulin Army soldiers outside Chongli Pass. Are you seeking revenge for them?"

Chen Ji remained silent.

Old Ears clicked his tongue in wonder: "Does dying on the battlefield count as revenge? On the battlefield, it’s just you kill me, I kill you, no choice involved. Even this old man almost forgot about those Yulin soldiers. By rights, aside from their parents, the world should’ve forgotten them too."

Chen Ji expressionlessly asked: "If someone killed your friend, what would you do?"

Old Ears thought for a moment: "Greet him."

Chen Ji turned his head in surprise, and Old Ears added: "And his whole family."

Chen Ji calmly said: "Tell me about Yuan Hengli Zhen. If you can reveal his official gateway, consider you’ve told me two secrets."

Old Ears’ eyes lit up: "Really?"

Chen Ji firmly replied: "Really."

Old Ears immediately spoke: "It is said that Yuan Hengli Zhen was originally the son of a Champion Marquis sent by the Jing Dynasty Royal Family to practice at the Temple of Martial Arts. He grew up practicing the Moon Halberd Technique on Changbai Mountain. However, during a mountain patrol to check the talismanic array, he was buried in an avalanche. When the Temple of Martial Arts dug him out, his body was already inhabited by a different soul."

Chen Ji questioned: "Forty-nine Heavens?"

Old Ears nodded: "Exactly. This person claimed to come from the Biyou Palace at Purple Ganoderma Cliff, the Mountain Gate of the Jie Sect. Moreover, after awakening, he abandoned the Moon Halberd Technique and switched to the Suppression Technique. This Suppression Technique is quite sinister, allowing one to control people as puppets, and endow ordinary people with the physique of an executive officer."

Chen Ji’s heart stirred. So it was the Suppression Technique? The one who practiced the same path as Mr. Feng was Yuan Hengli Zhen. His gaze flicked to Old Ears; could this old man not truly be Lu Yang, otherwise how could he casually reveal the secrets of the Temple of Martial Arts?

Old Ears continued, "Yuan Hengli Zhen hadn’t been awake long before he left the Temple of Martial Arts. After descending the mountain, he started as a Centurion in the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, where his soldiers were valiant, often breaking formations and slaying enemies as if in a land unmanned. At Chongli Pass, they frequently achieved remarkable feats, rising all the way to the Great Commander of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry."

"Once he became the Great Commander, he immediately formed the Mo Blade Camp. The Mo Blade weighed about sixty pounds and was over seven feet long, requiring an Executive Officer to wield effectively. Originally, Jing Dynasty’s Mo Blade Camp had only over a hundred people and was considered a heavy weapon for breaking formations, but Yuan Hengli Zhen easily pulled together a five hundred-man Mo Blade Camp, replacing any casualties instantly to keep the number exactly at five hundred, each with Innate Realm expertise and skilled in archery and horseback riding."

Chen Ji pondered, "So, he uses Suppression Technique to command the Mo Blade Camp, needing only to randomly pick a soldier to act as a Mo Blade Soldier... No wonder he takes the Mo Blade Camp wherever he goes; it’s essentially his executive tactic. Oh, I remember hearing that he aims to become the first Martial Saint of both dynasties; what’s that about?"

Old Ears thought for a moment, "The nonsense of the Martial Saint is probably something the Forty-nine Heavens assigned him. Over hundreds of years, the Forty-nine Heavens has been at it, with Ning Dynasty’s Wang Zhu, Liu Cheng, and Qi Zheyun, and Jing Dynasty’s Jiang Xu, Yuan Dong, Yuan Hengli Zhen, all trying, but no one knows what it takes to become a Martial Saint."

Chen Ji probed, "What do you think?"

Old Ears squatted in the snow thoughtfully, "This old man has also pondered this. If even the Martial Temple Mountain Master hasn’t become a Martial Saint, it means the title of the world’s number one is not useful. Even if everyone in the world thinks you’re number one, it’s no use; you have to do something more. Yuan Hengli Zhen probably thinks so too, which is why he left the Temple of Martial Arts to join the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, to try the path of a Military God."

Chen Ji grabbed a handful of snow and stuffed it into his mouth to quench his thirst, "What’s the point of becoming a Martial Saint?"

Old Ears also grabbed a handful of snow like him, "This old man doesn’t know either."

Chen Ji said casually, "Could wanting to become a Martial Saint have something to do with the Imperial Jade Seal? Needing the seal’s approval for official recognition?"

Old Ears chewed the snow, "That Imperial Jade Seal was previously in..."

At this point, Old Ears stopped abruptly, looked at Chen Ji mockingly, "You kid trying to mooch a secret from this old man? The Imperial Jade Seal has nothing to do with the Martial Saint; which saint was ever appointed by the Emperor?"

Chen Ji, having his thoughts exposed, wasn’t embarrassed, "Let’s go, the Mo Blade Camp has already moved far, let’s enter the town."

The two bent low and crept closer, with Old Ears leading Chen Ji skillfully to the door of a household, which had a larger lintel than others.

Old Ears knocked on the door, and a woman inside called out, "Coming, coming, why are you back so soon, doesn’t the Temple of Martial Arts provide meals?"

With a creaking sound, the courtyard door opened, and the woman was startled upon seeing Old Ears, stepping back immediately, "Oh my!"

Old Ears stepped forward and covered her mouth, "Shh, keep your voice down, the Temple of Martial Arts is trying to catch us now."

The woman, with her mouth covered, darted her eyes around, looking at Old Ears and then glancing at Chen Ji behind him.

Old Ears said in a low voice, "We’ve been old acquaintances; if you promise to keep quiet, just nod. Old Ears owes the Hu Family a favor."

The woman nodded furiously.

Old Ears slowly released his hand, and the woman hesitated, "What happened to you, Old Ears?"

Old Ears pointed inside the house, "Let’s talk inside."

The three pulled aside the cotton curtain and entered the main room, with warmth rushing at them. Old Ears glanced inside and saw a table on the kang bed, loaded with boiled corn, cooked eggplant, a plate of steamed eggs, and a dish of bean paste.

Old Ears didn’t stand on ceremony, sitting cross-legged on the kang and picking up a boiled corn to munch on, "Starving."

The woman, seeing him gulping down like a wolf, was puzzled, "What on earth are you doing here?"

Old Ears pointed at Chen Ji after finishing half the corn, "Where’s Old Xianggen? This kid has a matter to discuss with Hu Laosan, we’ll leave after asking."

The woman hesitated, "Old Xianggen was summoned by the Temple of Martial Arts to go up the mountain to catch people, turned out to be to catch you. But if you want to seek help from an Immortal for divination, I can do it too."

Old Ears was taken aback, "You started performing too?"

The woman held onto her padded jacket’s hem, "Listen to you, in this Erdao Baihe Town village, only our neighbor Wang Ersha hasn’t started yet."

Old Ears smacked his lips, "Are there enough small animals on Changbai Mountain for you?"

The woman chuckled, "More than enough, more than enough."

Old Ears, after finishing the corn, pointed to Chen Ji, "Go ahead and ask, we have to get on the road after."

The woman set up an incense table in the room, placing the Five-Colored Flag on it, and started beating a leather drum, "The sun sets in the west, turning the sky dark..."

Old Ears clicked his tongue in wonder, "So, one person can perform too, what kind of setup do you usually have then?"

The woman paid no attention, and after she finished singing, she trembled all over and looked at Old Ears with a hoarse voice, "Dare to ask..."

Old Ears raised his gray eyebrows and pointed to Chen Ji, "Why look at me; he’s the one with questions."

The woman turned to look at Chen Ji, who in a deep voice asked, "Previously on Changbai Mountain, a woman around forty years old lured away the Korean Zhongwu Guards; where is she now?"

The woman rasped, "The woman was pursued into the mountain by the Zhongwu Guards and ran into a trap set by the Temple of Martial Arts. But she wasn’t an ordinary hand; she broke through the encirclement and leapt into the Yalu River, narrowly escaping death. The Martial Temple’s Qiubai jumped into the Yalu to pursue, and Chang Sheng reluctantly followed. Now the three have drifted out of Changbai Mountain, their whereabouts unknown."

Chen Ji furrowed his brows.

Just as he was about to inquire further, the sound of rolling horse hooves came from outside Erdao Baihe Town, even heavier and deeper than the earlier horse hooves of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry Mo Blade Camp.