Green Mountain

In the cave, Wu Yun tirelessly brought ginseng to Chen Ji, then lowered its head to eat one pearl after another, occasionally checking if Chen Ji showed any signs of waking up.

Until the ginseng in the bundle was almost gone, the chill on Chen Ji’s body finally began to dissipate. Wu Yun rubbed its cheek against Chen Ji’s neck, which was no longer cold.

But Chen Ji still didn’t wake up.

Old Ears sat cross-legged beside Chen Ji, turning to look at Wu Yun squatting on the side: "Why hasn’t he woken up yet? So much ginseng has been fed, and still no reaction. Wasn’t that woman busying for nothing?"

Wu Yun pondered for a moment, then walked towards the outside of the cave. It stopped at the entrance and looked back at Old Ears.

Old Ears puzzledly asked, "What are you doing?"

Wu Yun gestured with its head towards the outside of the cave: Go.

Old Ears grumbled, "You think the ginseng is not enough and want this old man to dig ginseng with you in the heavy snow? This old man is not going."

Wu Yun stood at the entrance for a long time, then walked back to Old Ears, tucked its forelegs, and lowered its head to the ground, not getting up.

Old Ears laughed angrily, "You think if that woman kowtows it’s useful, so it will be useful if you kowtow as well?"

Wu Yun remained silent and didn’t get up.

Old Ears looked up at the cave’s ceiling and sighed, "What the hell is this?"

He supported himself to stand up, slowly walked to the entrance of the cave, and looked at the heavy snow outside, "This is probably the most miserable day of this old man’s life."

With that, Old Ears led Wu Yun into the wind and snow to dig for ginseng.

In the cave, Chen Ji’s eyelids twitched, but then returned to stillness, unable to open.

...

...

Chen Ji drifted in the black cloud sea for who knows how long, the solitary boat without Li Qingniao rowing, only him standing at the bow, slowly sailing towards the giant moon on the horizon.

The moon seemed very near, but no matter how long the solitary boat sailed, it never seemed to get any closer.

Chen Ji leaned over the edge of the solitary boat, scooping a handful of black clouds with his hand from the black cloud sea, watching as the black clouds flowed through his fingers and slipped away.

He wondered how much longer he would drift, or if he would drift forever?

Chen Ji lay on his back on the solitary boat, listening to the sound of the wind and water outside, hearing Wu Hongbiao’s mutterings by the Heavenly Pool, hearing Wu Hongbiao’s pause and struggle, hearing he owed Wu Hongbiao three pots of wine.

He heard the conversation between Wu Hongbiao and Aunt Ping.

He heard Aunt Ping say, "I am his mother."

Chen Ji heard Aunt Ping carrying him, running wildly, her footsteps crunching on the snow, heard the rustling as she brushed against branches, and the susurration of rime falling.

Then, he heard Aunt Ping kick Old Ears, flipping him over two times. He heard Aunt Ping wanting to kill Old Ears to silence him, heard Wu Yun urinate all over Old Ears, heard Aunt Ping went to Mirror City Port to get ginseng for him.

Chen Ji, with eyes closed, could only imagine what was happening outside based on the sounds.

Finally, the world seemed to suddenly quiet down, he heard Aunt Ping kneel on the ground, kowtowing, saying, "Senior, I’m begging you."

Chen Ji was stunned for a long time, then he stood up from the solitary boat and leaped into the black cloud sea, all outside sounds completely blocked by the black clouds.

He, wrapped in black cloud mist, fell onto Qingshan’s peak.

Atop the sky, the Three-legged Golden Crow froze in the heavens, its tail not trembling the slightest; a golden feathered arrow paused in the air, its archer, fully drawn bow, also fixed in place; a giant, like Kuafu chasing the sun, coming towards the battlefield, yet stopped in a stepping posture.

This battlefield seemed like a vast and lonely amber, sealed for thousands of years, and would remain sealed forever.

Xuanyuan sat alone at the cliff’s edge, the black Royal Banner with golden embroidery planted in a rock crevice beside him, fluttering in the wind.

Chen Ji walked over to sit beside him: "Why leave me here?"

Xuanyuan looked at the still clouds in the mountains, casually replying, "It’s been a long time since you visited, can’t I just have you stay and chat... How have you been lately?"

Chen Ji reminisced about recent events, thinking aloud, "Hmm, nearly died a few times, was betrayed by a friend once, but can’t really blame him..."

This year’s experiences, he thought would be described with countless words, but ended up feeling exceptionally plain when spoken.

"Seems like all I’m saying are not-so-good things..." Chen Ji breathed deeply, "Let me rephrase, I made some good friends recently, and met some less clever but fundamentally good-hearted brothers. Hmm, I finally managed to rescue the person I wanted to save, no longer need to run for it. Hearing them talk about Jianghu being a place of strong winds and fierce wine, that noble scions should veer northward instead of indulging in cockfights at Zhangtai, quite amusing indeed."

"Oh, by the way," Chen Ji suddenly added: "I got married, I have a family now."

Xuanyuan appeared surprised: "Congratulations."

Chen Ji smiled, "Thank you."

Xuanyuan suddenly said, "Though it’s out of place, I must ask, do you still remember our bet from a year ago?"

Chen Ji slowly gathered his thoughts, calmly saying, "Betting that you’d never help me return to the mortal world?"

Xuanyuan smiled broadly, "You said that if I taught you the sword seed, should I ever return to the world, you would be aiding me in cultivation."

Chen Ji feigned ignorance, "But you didn’t agree to that bet back then. You said teaching me the sword seed was for Guixu’s ten-mile camellia flowers."

Xuanyuan frowned, correcting, "Not camellia flowers, ten miles of peach blossoms."

"Oh oh," Chen Ji nodded, "Ten miles of peach blossoms."

Xuanyuan looked at the Three-legged Golden Crow in the sky, then at the giant frozen in midair in the distance: "Sixteen thousand years, too long. Now that you’ve returned to the mortal world, there’s no reason for me to stay here any longer."

Chen Ji suddenly said, "I’ve been remembering some scenes recently, some were recalled at the Guye Dragon Gate Inn, others beneath the Heavenly Pool."

Xuanyuan curiously asked, "What did you remember?"

Chen Ji propped his hands up behind him, sitting at the edge of the cliff and looking up at the black sea of clouds in the sky: "I remembered some scattered things. In Guyuan, I realized that I actually knew how to use eighteen types of weapons, no, to be precise, the eighteen types of weapons began with me. At the bottom of the Heavenly Pool, I recalled the Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms in Guixu, the snow on Kunlun Mountain, and the sea outside Penglai. They are just images, but the Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms in Guixu are quite beautiful, prettier than any peach blossoms I’ve ever seen."

Xuanyuan listened quietly, but then heard Chen Ji change the topic: "I also remembered the saying ’A king doesn’t need friends,’ it wasn’t me who said it to you..."

Chen Ji turned to look at Xuanyuan: "It was you who said it to me. I replied, a king can’t have friends."

Xuanyuan fell silent.

"Thinking about it still makes me angry, in the end you actually won," Chen Ji said to himself, then turned to look around: "But you don’t seem to have ended up well either... Although we did have an agreement, I can’t let my body be yours, not today, not ever. I promised someone that no matter what, as long as I’m alive, I will definitely go to see her."

Xuanyuan retorted: "Are you going to go back on your word? That’s not like you."

Chen Ji shook his head: "It’s not going back on my word, it’s betting you can’t return to this world."

Xuanyuan said no more, and the black sea of clouds in the sky suddenly swirled, forming a vortex above his head. A fierce wind rose over Qingshan, and a black royal banner thrust into a stone crevice was flapping fiercely.

Chen Ji looked up, but the vortex soon calmed down, and the sea of clouds gradually smoothed out.

Xuanyuan wondered: "You didn’t take the swords I told you about."

Chen Ji acknowledged: "What I took was my own sword."

Xuanyuan muttered to himself: "The sword you left in Buxian Mountain..."

Chen Ji thought for a moment: "The swords you talked about are meant to trap you, right? I was locked in the Forty-nine Heavens, and you were trapped beneath the Earth Vein; we’re both quite miserable. So, if you take five swords, you’ll be able to break free? Then you’re more formidable than I am."

Xuanyuan grinned: "But you can’t get out either."

Chen Ji shook his head: "No, you’re just a remnant soul hidden in the Xuanyuan Sword, but I have my friends."

At this moment, Old Ears returned to the cave with a few pieces of old ginseng, grumbling as he walked: "That’s enough, old man, I’m getting old, can’t keep digging ginseng in the heavy snow with you."

Wu Yun followed behind him, also carrying a few pieces in his mouth.

Wu Yun approached Chen Ji, carrying the old ginseng to Chen Ji’s fingers. The old ginseng instantly melted, turning into crystalline beads that fell to the ground.

Wu Yun swallowed one bead after another, and the next moment, Chen Ji suddenly opened his eyes.

...

...

At around 5 to 7 AM, in the Ning Dynasty Capital City.

Jin Zhu kept his hands in his sleeves, walking out of the Eagle House Office with Heavenly Horse.

He shrunk his neck and exhaled a puff of white breath, complaining idly: "That Li Dongyan is really a bastard, I worked hard to ascend to the Twelve Signs for what? Isn’t it so I don’t have to attend roll call? He’s such a meddlesome person, even wanting to manage roll call."

Heavenly Horse didn’t respond to Jin Zhu’s complaints, instead gesturing: "Want to get a bowl of noodle soup? I heard there’s a newly opened place on Chessboard Street with really good food."

Jin Zhu got interested: "Let’s go, give it a try."

The two went together to Chessboard Street, found a food stall and sat in a corner. Jin Zhu rubbed his chopsticks and muttered quietly: "I wonder where that Chen Ji kid has run off to, hopefully, he hasn’t died out there. I’m only a breath away from the Seeking Dao Realm... It’s strange, I can only get half of my cultivation from him, if I’m half-step Seeking Dao, what realm is he in?"

As they spoke, the waiter with a white cloth over his shoulder came over, and Jin Zhu closed his mouth.

The waiter smiled and asked, "What would you two guests like to eat? Our new shop’s specialties are lamb noodle soup, lamb spicy wok noodles, plain noodles, and fried sauce noodles."

Jin Zhu thought for a moment: "I’ll have a bowl of..."

Before he finished speaking, his expression suddenly changed, and he froze in place.

Heavenly Horse realized something, immediately stood and took a step back, pulling the table away, leaving Jin Zhu alone sitting on the long bench.

There was a cracking sound coming from Jin Zhu’s body, as if every bone was transforming, accompanied by a thunderous sound from his chest and abdomen. The noise frightened the waiter, causing him to repeatedly retreat, clueless about what to do.

At that moment, Jin Zhu’s clothes suddenly expanded. In the capital city’s sky, the gray clouds formed a vortex, followed by the jingling sound of Copper Coins falling into a pouch.

Everyone in the street looked up, from bun sellers, to porters, to coach drivers, to street sweepers, all stood there dumbfounded. The sound hung over the entire capital city, as if someone was shaking a money bag in the sky.

In front of the City God Temple in Chongnan Fang, a group of early morning worshippers were burning incense, and an old woman kneeling on a mat had just placed incense into the burner when she heard the sound and began chanting: "The Bodhisattva has shown a miracle, the Bodhisattva has shown a miracle..."

In the Eight Great Hutongs, the girls who worked at night had just gone to bed, while the brothel owners were still calculating the previous night’s earnings in the accounting rooms. A pimp, while emptying a night pot, heard the sound in the sky and shuddered, spilling it all over his shoe.

Near the Six Ministries, sedan chairs and carriages halted as people inside raised the curtains or peered out to see the sky.

In the Eagle House Office, Li Dongyan darted out, staring intently at the vortex in the sky.

In Jiefan Building, someone slowly stood up from behind a desk, walked to the window and watched quietly, muttering to himself: "Martial Arts Roar?"

Inside the noodle stall, the thunderous sound from Jin Zhu’s body gradually subsided. He extended his hand, spreading his fingers, then slowly clenched them into a fist. His knuckles cracked as if something had shattered.

He slowly raised his head and grinned at Heavenly Horse: "I’ve made it!"

Heavenly Horse gestured a question: "Divine Realm?"

Jin Zhu shook his head: "Seeking Dao Realm."

Heavenly Horse wondered: "How can reaching the Seeking Dao Realm trigger a Martial Arts Roar?"

Jin Zhu said with a hint of frustration: "I don’t know either!"

He pulled the table back in front of him, tossed a one tael silver ingot to the bewildered waiter: "Don’t be afraid... get me a bowl of lamb spicy wok noodles."