Green Mountain

At 9 to 11 PM at night, the elite forces of the Tokyo Road arrived at the foot of Changbai Mountain.

A scout half-knelt in the snow to discern traces: "My lord, the Right Martial Guard went towards Black Wind Pass."

"Why head straight for Black Wind Pass, have they received some news?" Jiang Zhuang spread out the map, discerning under the moonlight: "Lin Xu, you lead some men to Black Wind Pass, quietly follow behind the Right Martial Guard, and report immediately if they find the Sword Seed Inheritor."

A soldier took the order and left.

Jiang Zhuang looked at Chen Ji: "Have you rested enough, call out Grandmaster Hu San to handle matters."

Chen Ji pondered for a moment, shook his head, and said: "Not yet, it’s only possible after 5 to 7 AM."

Jiang Zhuang gave a cold laugh: "You better not be deceiving this general, or you’ll find your grave here."

After saying that, he looked at the map again and ordered: "Zhao Ke, you lead some men to Ladder River, Wang Xuchen, you lead some men to Breath Slope... remember, you must find the Sword Seed Inheritor before Yuan Hengli Zhen. Once found, immediately release the signal arrow. Remember, even if you don’t find the person, return to report before 5 to 7 AM."

With the orders given, more soldiers took their leave.

The eight hundred armored soldiers brought by Jiang Zhuang were quickly reduced to just a hundred left guarding the mountain’s foot, silently waiting for the signal arrow. Taking advantage of no one paying attention to himself, Chen Ji secretly let Wu Yun into the mountains, off to search for something unknown.

Old Ears found a spot in the snow to sit, pulling out a bun from his robe hem to munch on. Chen Ji sat down next to him: "Let’s talk about Lu Jin."

Old Ears glanced at him askance: "Why talk about Lu Jin?"

Chen Ji nonchalantly said: "I’ve always heard about him, I’m curious."

Old Ears chuckled: "According to the rules, one secret for another. If we talk about him, old man here will give you three secrets in exchange. Gather seven more and you can trade it for the secret of the Sword Seed."

Chen Ji seemed thoughtful: "Trade, but I want to hear something others haven’t heard."

Old Ears considered for a moment: "In the 25th year of Jianing, Yuan Cheng originally had a chance to break through Chongli Pass, but a Night Patrol from the Longevity Army bypassed and burned the provisions, forcing a retreat. Initially, everyone thought it was due to the Longevity Army’s prowess, a bet won. But in recent years, old accounts have been reviewed, suspecting that Yuan Xiang feared Yuan Cheng’s merits exceeded his own and deliberately let Lu Jin sell out a flaw."

Chen Ji shook his head: "That doesn’t count, I want to hear personal matters."

Old Ears shook his head: "Lu Jin is a person of little desire and no human flavor, solely focused on unifying the two dynasties, a tedious individual with no notable personal matters."

Chen Ji took out a bun from his robe hem and started munching: "Then I’m not listening."

Old Ears nudged Chen Ji with his elbow: "Do you want to hear about Princess Liyang? Old man knows you have some ties with her."

Chen Ji shook his head: "Not listening."

Old Ears spoke with interest: "Back when you split Yuan Hengli Zhen’s mask open with the Sword Seed at Chongli Pass, causing Jing Dynasty troops to frantically search for you, Princess Liyang was there, wasn’t she, next to you? She must know the inside story. Yet after returning to Jing Dynasty, countless people tested if she knew the identity of the Sword Seed Inheritor, and she claimed not to know."

Old Ears seemed to have discovered something amusing, clicking his tongue in wonder: "Princess Liyang is quite an ambitious character, determined to help her brother claim the throne by any means necessary. Now that she’s back in Jing Dynasty, isolated and vulnerable, she still didn’t betray you to gain support from the Temple of Martial Arts?"

Chen Ji seemed thoughtful.

Old Ears nudged Chen Ji with his elbow: "How about you tell why Princess Liyang didn’t betray you, old man will trade a secret with you?"

Chen Ji leaned against the tree, closed his eyes, and slept with his clothes still on, ignoring Old Ears.

...

...

By 5 to 7 AM, the elite forces of the Tokyo Road one by one reported back, not having found any trace of the Sword Seed Inheritor in the mountains.

Jiang Zhuang with a stern face came to Chen Ji’s side, nudging him with his foot: "Wake up."

Chen Ji slowly opened his eyes, drowsily asked: "What?"

Jiang Zhuang pointed up the mountain: "It’s 5 to 7 AM, call out Grandmaster Hu San, this general needs to ask him where the Sword Seed Inheritor is."

Chen Ji looked around: "Wait a little longer."

Jiang Zhuang frowned: "Wait for what, this general has politely waited for you all night, are you harboring resentment, intentionally delaying?"

Old Ears nudged Chen Ji: "Quickly, don’t let our lord get impatient."

Chen Ji looked speechlessly at Old Ears: "..."

Just then, a cat’s meow came from the mountain forest.

Chen Ji’s eyes moved, and he stood up holding the King Wen Drum and Martial King Whip, shaking his head and beating them with closed eyes: "The sun sets in the west, darkening the sky..."

After knocking for a short while, Chen Ji suddenly opened his eyes and hoarsely pointed with the Martial King Whip towards the east, saying: "There!"

Jiang Zhuang immediately felt invigorated, and quickly gathered the troops to head east: "Quick, enter the mountains to find the person!"

Eight hundred armored soldiers surged to the east, and Old Ears looked at the drum and whip in Chen Ji’s hands, joking happily: "This Tokyo Road truly has a reputation, doesn’t it? No matter who comes, you’ve got to step up. I must say, you stepping up really looks like a thing, maybe you really did call in Hu Laosan."

The next moment, Chen Ji suddenly closed his eyes and started shaking his head while knocking again: "Sunset over the western hills darkens the sky, every household closes their doors..."

Old Ears watched in bewilderment: "What kind of madness is this?"

Chen Ji said hoarsely: "Grandmaster Hu San is here, what do you want with me?"

Chen Ji asked in his own voice: "Seeking advice from Grandmaster Hu San, who exactly is Old Ears?"

Old Ears raised an eyebrow.

Chen Ji replied to himself hoarsely: "This person is unruly, shameless, profit-oriented, adaptable to the wind, as cunning as a ghost, not a single honest word from his mouth, he’s a shameless scoundrel."

Chen Ji returned to a normal expression, sincerely saying: "Alright, thank you Grandmaster Hu San."

Old Ears watched, uncertain and suspicious: "Did you just insult me?"

Chen Ji walked expressionlessly towards the east: "It wasn’t me insulting you, it was Grandmaster Hu San."

Old Ears held back for a long moment, unable to speak a word.

The elite of Tokyo Road didn’t take the main road, but instead split into teams of ten, dispersing into the mountain, all the way searching eastward. However, they searched from 5 to 7 AM until Noon and still didn’t see a single shadow.

But just as they were about to cross the mountain ridge, the scouts ahead suddenly blew the copper whistle, and Jiang Zhuang’s face changed, immediately leading people to meet them.

Upon approaching, they saw two groups encountering each other halfway up the mountain, separated by thirty paces, gazing at each other from afar.

The people coming from the mountain were indeed Yuan Hengli Zhen, leading five hundred Mo Blade Camp men in a search, his face hidden under a mask, wielding a Mo Blade over seven feet long, looking down over the slope at the elite of Tokyo Road.

Jiang Zhuang gripped his sword hilt, leading the elite of Tokyo Road in a standoff.

Old Ears gave Chen Ji a silent glance, only to see Chen Ji’s gaze fixed beyond the crowd, staring intensely at Yuan Hengli Zhen at the forefront, he whispered: "Why did you bring Tokyo Road here? Now is not the time for avenging the Yulin Army."

Chen Ji remained calm: "Today becomes tomorrow, tomorrow becomes the day after, and postponing it leads to forgetting the grudge. By the time you remember, you console yourself by saying it wasn’t the right opportunity."

Old Ears looked at Chen Ji’s profile: "They’re all dead, avenging them won’t bring them back to life. Yuan Hengli Zhen has five hundred Mo Blade soldiers with him, you haven’t reached the Seeking Dao Realm, it’s not too late to avenge after reaching it."

Chen Ji stayed expressionless: "It’s a rare opportunity, might as well collect some interest."

Old Ears sighed: "You want to reap the fisherman’s profit? Don’t dream of good things, though these two sides aren’t on good terms, they’re still Jing Dynasty soldiers, and neither will make the first move to leave any handles."

At this moment, Yuan Hengli Zhen on the slope spoke slowly: "What’s Tokyo Road doing in this excitement, immediately leave Changbai Mountain, this is not where you should be."

Jiang Zhuang sneered: "You’re allowed to come, but we’re not?"

Yuan Hengli Zhen said indifferently: "Be careful not to lose your life."

"We’ll see," Jiang Zhuang raised his left hand, behind him the elite drew their bowstrings.

As tensions were on the verge of erupting, the mountain forest was filled only with the howling mountain wind, which moaned eerily as it swept through the pine forest.

Jiang Zhuang slowly drew his sword, but before he could unsheathe it, footsteps sounded from the east, squeaking loudly.

The Mo Blade Camp on the slope and the elite of Tokyo Road below all turned to look.

A man’s voice called out from afar: "Master, let’s sit down and rest, I really can’t walk any further."

An old voice scolded lowly: "What rest? Is this Changbai Mountain a place for us to linger? If you want to die here, stay yourself."

Old Ears slowly widened his mouth: "Old Xianggen?"

In the midst of conversation, several people slowly emerged from the woods, and when they saw the Mo Blade Camp and Tokyo Road elite, the old man walking at the front was suddenly startled.

Jiang Zhuang scrutinized the old man: "Gray hair, gray cloth clothes... they’re after someone!"

The elite of Tokyo Road sprang into action, rushing straight towards Old Xianggen, and the Mo Blade Camp, seeing them move, also charged towards Old Xianggen.

When Old Ears turned his head to look at Chen Ji again, he found Chen Ji sneaking towards the rear of the Mo Blade Camp.