Green Mountain

Chen Ji raced down the mountain, the white vapor he exhaled like arrows, so hot it seemed it could melt the snow.

Halfway, he met up with Wu Yun. He bent down and scooped Wu Yun into his arms, and Wu Yun poked his head out of Chen Ji’s embrace and watched quietly.

Behind Chen Ji, the clattering of armor grew fainter, as if it had been left far behind, but he dared not relax. He had to reach the foot of the mountain to grab a horse and escape.

While running, Chen Ji searched everywhere for Old Ears. He had been separated from him earlier, and in the blink of an eye, he didn’t know where the other had gone.

Had he been captured by the Tokyo Road elite?

Impossible.

As Chen Ji pondered, a gust of wind came from the left. He turned his head and saw a Mo Blade piercing through the pine forest, exploding snow from the branches as it lunged towards him.

Without breaking stride, he suddenly leaped up, stepping on the hilt of the Mo Blade and jumping down the mountain.

In mid-air, he saw Yuan Hengli Zhen leading the Mo Blade Camp from the side, using their familiarity with Changbai Mountain to take a shortcut and block his path.

And in the camp, Yuan Hengli Zhen picked up another Mo Blade and hurled it.

As Chen Ji landed, he rolled away to avoid the Mo Blade, which burrowed into the snow nearby, exploding the rock beneath and sending stones flying.

Each Mo Blade, weighing dozens of pounds, was used by Yuan Hengli Zhen like an Armor-Piercing Awl, pressing Chen Ji so he dared not look back and could only dodge by listening to the sound of the wind.

He quickly studied the terrain, suddenly dashing to the right side of the mountain forest, relying on speed to widen the gap again.

At this moment, Chen Ji stopped running downhill and instead cut across the mountainside like a sword, looking up the mountain as he ran, as if searching for something.

Yuan Hengli Zhen, unwilling to pursue alone, surveyed the terrain and led the Mo Blade Camp in a different direction, apparently planning another shortcut to intercept Chen Ji.

He descended from Tiger’s Back to Breath Slope, and from Breath Slope to Ladder River, then suddenly veered to the right.

Yuan Hengli Zhen looked up to see a large spotted woodpecker startled into flight above the distant mountainside, reassuring him that Chen Ji was behind him and this time he would surely block Chen Ji’s path.

But as he chased, he suddenly heard a rumbling from the mountain ahead.

When he emerged from the forest into an open area, he saw Chen Ji racing toward him. Two sword seeds carved into the snow on the slopes, causing a knee-deep snow to collapse like a flood.

Chen Ji found a protruding boulder and crouched in its shadow, shielding Wu Yun in his arms, calmly watching Yuan Hengli Zhen and the Mo Blade Camp below.

Yuan Hengli Zhen watched helplessly as the snow wave swept past the boulder. He shouted, "Form array!"

Hundreds of Mo Blade Soldiers stood before him, planting their Mo Blades into the snow to steady themselves, forming a shield wall with their armor. But the avalanche was too fierce, toppling the first row of soldiers, then collapsing row by row, burying everyone under half a yard of snow.

After an indeterminate time, the rumbling in the mountains ceased, and the mountainside returned to silence. Suddenly, several sword seeds flew out from the snow, spinning and breaking through the surface, and Chen Ji climbed onto the snow, lying on his back and gasping for air.

He turned his head but couldn’t tell where Yuan Hengli Zhen lay buried.

As he watched, a Mo Blade pierced through the snow, followed by dozens more, then over two hundred blade tips emerged, forming a massive Sword Formation.

Chen Ji quickly got up and fled down the mountain.

When he reached the foot of the mountain, twilight had fallen and he was unsure where to flee, but then heard a familiar drumbeat.

Chen Ji emerged from the forest to find a dozen people lying in the snow, both Tokyo Road elite and Mo Blade soldiers. These armored soldiers tasked with watching the warhorses lay motionless, their fate unknown, resolved by some unknown hand.

Following the drumbeat, he saw Old Ears left hand holding the King Wen Drum and right hand wielding the Martial King Whip, beating them together. The warhorses tied to the trees seemed terrified, breaking free and scattering.

Old Ears held onto two warhorses about to flee, turned to Chen Ji, and chuckled, "What took you so long?"

Chen Ji stepped forward, puzzled, "When did you come down the mountain?"

Wu Yun leaped from Chen Ji’s arms and jumped onto Old Ears’ head, who paid no mind: "This old man is timid; as soon as they started fighting, I sneaked down. I thought if I didn’t see you by sunset, I’d leave alone. Glad you caught up."

As they spoke, the sound of armor clattering echoed from the mountain.

Chen Ji took the reins from Old Ears and mounted a horse, "Let’s go, Yuan Hengli Zhen is close."

The two of them galloped through Erdao Baihe Town. Chen Ji glanced at the drum and whip in Old Ears’ hands: "These look different from before. Why do they startle the horses?"

Old Ears lifted the items, "Old Xianggen left them. They’re Hu Family heirlooms, too precious to leave in the mountains. Besides, they might give you a living on the road."

Chen Ji raised an eyebrow, "Give me a living?"

Old Ears replied as if it were obvious, "What else, do you have any silver on you?"

Chen Ji hesitated and said, "No."

Old Ears shrugged his shoulders, "I don’t have any either."

Chen Ji reached out his hand, "Give me the drum and the whip."

Old Ears, sitting on his horse, tossed them to Chen Ji from a distance, but just as Chen Ji caught them, he tossed the drum and whip into Old Xianggen’s yard as they passed his door, "Charge! Charge! Charge! Whoever loves to go to battle can go to battle, I’m not going!"

Old Ears burst into hearty laughter.

Chen Ji was puzzled, "What are you laughing at?"

Old Ears restrained his laughter but not the smile on his face, "I’m laughing at you finally looking a bit like a teenager of eighteen or nineteen, smelling a bit alive. You used to act so old, like a little old man, anyone who didn’t know might have thought you were shouldering the burden of the thirteen states of the Ning Dynasty."

Chen Ji was taken aback.

Old Ears suddenly slowed his horse.

Chen Ji reminded him, "There are still pursuers behind us."

Old Ears laughed heartily, "What are you afraid of? I drove away all their warhorses, and won’t return until those horses are starving. We have more than half a day’s time."

He looked at the slow-setting sun in the distance, its orange glow casting a golden hue over the vast, snowy landscape.

Steady, radiant.

Chen Ji followed his gaze and was instantly captivated by the sunset. He suddenly recalled lyrics from Mao Buyi, ’The setting sun of the northern borders is her bridal makeup.’

Old Ears gazed at the sunset and sighed, "When I was young, I always wanted to record everything that happened each day, as if there was an endless supply of things to remember. But at this age, I realized there’s not much worth noting throughout the year. I can only listen to amusing stories; otherwise, how could I get by?"

He turned to Chen Ji, "Kid, whenever you can still find the sunset beautiful, stop to admire it. Whenever something tastes good, eat eagerly. When you dream of somewhere, set out immediately. If you like a girl, speak up quickly... don’t let yourself wait too long. If you wait too long, you’ll forget what you liked the most, and when you try to find it again, it won’t taste the same."

Chen Ji was silent for a moment, "I too have my reasons."

Old Ears clicked his tongue twice, "Reasons, reasons, a year round licking blood off knives, struggling for life, anyone who doesn’t know might think you grabbed a sea arrest warrant during your full moon catch ceremony."

Chen Ji rolled his eyes, "Grabbing a sea arrest warrant, does that make sense? My mother said I grabbed a wooden sword."

Old Ears laughed heartily, "Kid, you are progressing in the top Sword Seed Path in the world. If someone tries to mess with you, cut them with one sword. If someone wants to kill you, cut them with one sword. If you encounter unfairness, waste no words, cut it down with one sword!"

Chen Ji pondered thoughtfully.

Old Ears suddenly lamented, "What a pity there’s no wine."

Both fell silent, quietly watching as the sky darkened and the sun sank below the horizon, outlining a blend of blue and purple at the world’s edge.

Old Ears slowly spoke, "You could have just left earlier, with Old Xianggen covering for you; you could’ve delayed Tokyo Road and Yuan Hengli Zhen for over half a day. You could’ve been a hundred miles away by now. By the time you left Erdao Baihe Town and caught your breath in Kai State, you could reach Lushun Port the next day... but you just had to clash with Yuan Hengli Zhen."

Chen Ji said casually, "Didn’t you just say when encountering injustice, cut it with one sword? I have a grudge with Yuan Hengli Zhen, so I naturally want to collect some interest first."

Old Ears chuckled, "Not speaking the truth. You do want to collect interest, but your usual self would wait for a more secure moment... You lured the Tokyo Road elites and Mo Blade Camp just now probably because you were worried that you might drag Old Xianggen down for no reason. Kid, the world may mock good people, but having kind thoughts is nothing to be ashamed of, and if you weren’t this way, this old man wouldn’t bother with you either."

At this point, they reached a fork in the road. Chen Ji looked left and right; the fork had no sign, and it was unclear where each path led.

He looked at Old Ears, "Which way to go?"

Old Ears pointed to the left, "This way, this road leads to Lushun."

Chen Ji turned his horse right, "Then I’ll go this way."

Old Ears widened his eyes, "You brat, you don’t believe me, think I’ll deliberately lead you astray?"

Chen Ji snorted dismissively, "Are you trustworthy?"

Old Ears rebuked angrily, "Without me, you’d be dead in Changbai Mountain, do you know that?"

Chen Ji glared at him, "Why was I in Changbai Mountain?"

Old Ears stiffened his neck, "Never mind that!"

The two bickered as they rode into the sunset, leaving all the pursuers behind.

...

Here’s the second update; votes please!