Chapter 17: CH 17

Probably because the fight was too loud that it scared away the nearby beasts, the group got to sleep peacefully in the second half of the night. As soon as dawn broke, the group packed up and got ready to go.

It was dark yesterday night, therefore when the women saw the bloodstains next to the camp the next morning, they couldn’t help but feel scared again. If help hadn’t arrived on time that night, they would’ve probably fallen into the belly of the wolves long ago. They couldn’t help but feel even more grateful to the girl.

Luo Qingyao recovered quite quickly. She got up to the stream early in the morning to wash her face and neatly packed her luggage. She drove her horse near Gu Qingqiao and said in a low voice, “Thank you so much for your help last night. I wonder if this gentleman could tell me his name?”

Gu Qingqiao replied with a smile. “I’m Gu Xiaobo. What happened last night, no matter who took action, Miss Luo doesn’t need to care too much.”

Luo Qingyao’s eyes fell on his face, and for some reason, she became a little dazed. Gu Qingqiao felt strange in his heart, but the other party was a girl and he couldn’t just outright ignore her. However, he didn’t want to get involved with her anymore.

It happened that Zhu Yicheng caught up and shouted happily. “Miss Luo!” 

Gu Qingqiao quickly gave up his position and slapped his horse to catch up with Mu Xiyun. “Junior Brother Mu, didn’t you sleep well last night? Here, this will freshen you up!” After speaking, he reached out his palm. In the palm of his hand was a small open paper bag, and a few crimson sour fructose were exposed inside.  

“Ah Yun, wake up, your master told you to go!” 

In his memory, a voice whispered in his ear. It was so annoying. Who dragged him to catch the fox demon in the afternoon and didn’t return to the mountain until midnight?, feeling lethargic at being called up again just after lying down on the bed. That’s what Mu Xiyun felt at the moment.

While being immersed in his memory, something touched his lips, and then a small lump was stuffed into his mouth. Before he could react, an extremely sour taste rushed to his head, which made him wake up immediately.

Mu Xiyun raised his head to look at Gu Xiaobo. The earnest smile on his face was exactly the same as the one who woke him up that day.

After a while, Mu Xiyun withdrew his gaze, and slightly urged his horse to the front of the team.

Gu Qingqiao shrugged, having lost the person he wanted to feed the sugars to.

After rushing for another two days, they finally arrived at Hongye City in the afternoon of the third day. 

Clear stream flows from the top of the green mountain. The empty water was clear and bright in autumn. Thirty miles separated from the red dust, two white clouds and red leaves. 

(Note: The verse is from Zhu Xi’s “Autumn Moon”)

Lingshan opens every three years, and every time it opens, countless people flock from all over the Central Plains. Many big and small traders took advantage of the crowd to do business. The originally small wrought iron town, has now developed into a big city.

The opening time of this year was approaching, and Hongye City was obviously bustling. Residents in the city were also used to this triennial change and automatically became shop owners. All the houses facing the street had stalls set up. In addition to weapons forged at ordinary times, they also sold various books, spiritual tools, clothes, shoes and hats, and even sculpted edible foods. There were a variety of goods everywhere.

On the street, there were young masters in brocade clothes and swords, beautiful women with spirit beasts, as well as Hu merchants from the western regions and the Eastern Sea Spirit Clan. All kinds of hawkers yelling in the bustling street was endless.

Among all these, the most conspicuous was the three-story building. 

The building was painted red, with flying eaves and bucket arched glazed tiles, and on the plaque at the main entrance, the three characters “Golden Pavilion” were shining brightly. 

On the white stone steps, several guys were shouting vigorously.

“Golden Pavilion’s special edition, the latest Lingshan guide, including the interviews of the top three mountain climbers, points out the latest direction of the trial!”

“Pre trial service, specialized soul array experts, one-to-one design trial simulation, so that you can earn enough experience before the formal trial!”

“Immortal medicine spirit tool. It can replenish physical strength and spiritual power after going up the mountain. It is very useful for the trial!” 

After saying goodbye to several benefactors, Concubine Lin and her party returned to the Lin family. The family had already cleared the relationship between them and the so-called lunatic and was already given permission to visit the prison

Su Yanjun and he should have continued south, but it was almost evening. If they continued on the way, they feared they would have to sleep in the wilderness again, therefore they decided to spend the night in the city.

Unexpectedly, after asking some few inns, all were full, and there were no vacancies. Zhu Yicheng naturally wanted to show off in front of a beauty, and was about to spend a lot of money to open a few upper rooms, when Zhang Jinjin smiled and said, “Don’t worry, everyone, every time Lingshan opens, Hongye City is like this. I run a post house in the west of the city. Why don’t we all go there to rest?”

Most of the Central Plains post houses were set up by the government. They were used for the transmission of battle reports and official documents between the governments of various states. Most of them had rooms and small courtyards. If there was a lot of local correspondence, especially in towns where cultivators were stationed or where grand gatherings were often held, private post houses would be set up for local civilians.

Seeing that it was getting dark and there was nowhere to stay in the city, everyone readily agreed. Zhang Jinjin walked with a few people to the west of the city, and from a distance, they could see a red lantern hanging under the wall beside the road, illuminating the street. 

The door of the post house was not wide, and the style was ordinary. After entering the door was a two-story bungalow, which was no different from a post house in other places.

Zhang Jinjin led the crowd through the bungalow and out through a door in a corner. Everyone couldn’t help but be stunned.

Behind the post house was a manor with pavilions, carved beams and painted buildings, and a small lake. The lakeside veranda twists and turns, and then widens into a pavilion at intervals. During the day, one can enjoy the scenery. At night, one could slowly wind up, listen to music and meet with friends. 

Now it was naturally full of people, and almost every pavilion had a party going on. On the other side of the veranda was a stretch of pine forest. When the breeze blew, it brought along a burst of fragrance.

Zhu Yicheng smiled and said, “Brother Zhang’s business is very interesting!”

“Where is it interesting,” Zhang Jinjin said with a smile. “Every three years is such a lively period of time. Usually, I can only rent it out to local wealthy households to entertain customers, enough to provide food and clothing.”

Zhang Jinjin led everyone into a small courtyard. There was a Begonia tree planted in it and its flowers were gorgeous like a red cloud. The courtyard was close to the lake but far from the veranda, so it was very quiet and elegant.

Zhang Jinjin greeted everyone and said, “I have already ordered the kitchen, where do you plan to eat?” Although children of martial artists don’t care about trifles, there were all men in this small courtyard except for Lou Qingyao and it was inconvenient for her to stay. Therefore, Zhang Jinjin arranged for her to go to the small courtyard next door, which housed  immortal maidens from Meishan. 

Zhu Yicheng loved to be lively and went to the hall, whereas Su Yanjun and Mu Xiyun ate on the stone table under the tree.

Dinner was over in a moment. A servant took the empty plates and brought a pot of tea. Su Yanjun took a sip of tea, looked at Mu Xiyun, and said, “Has Junior Brother Mu ever planned on participating Lingshan’s Taoism discourse?”

Of course, he had participated more than fifty years ago. At that time, sixteen-year-old Mu Xiyun was in high spirits, and he had already taken half a step to forming his golden core. He and several brothers from Tianliang Peak participated in the Lingshan Taoism discourse. After successfully climbing to the top, he obtained a celestial sword named “Daoxin”. Daoxin accompanied him for the next nearly ten years. After waking up, he also tried to summon this sword, but it was not successful.

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He shook his head at Su Yanjun.

Su Yanjun was a little surprised. Although this junior brother was young, he had already established his realm. It stands to reason that he should be sent to Lingshan this year instead of inspecting the spiritual array. How would Su Yanjun know that Mo Zhiqi had always regarded Mu Xiyun as a senior martial brother and had never thought about Lingshan’s Taoism discourse.

Su Yanjun, who couldn’t help but love talents, said softly. “The session will be open in two days, why don’t you rest here for a few days and participate in the trial!” 

“Is that alright?” Mu Xiyun was a little surprised, after all they still had a task to do.

“No harm,” Su Yanjun said. “Tomorrow, I will rush to Shanhai City. In addition to inspecting the formation, I will also practice cultivation. If the locals need help, it will take time to deal with it. The trial will only last three or five days, there’s still time. Although the ranking list is limited, master does not force the disciples to obtain it, and the disciples of Moyun Mountain usually don’t care about ranking circulating in the market. However, the Lingshan law is special, and it tests the mind and skill of the participants, which is very beneficial to cultivation. It is rare to have such a chance. Junior Brother, you might as well give it a try.”

Mu Xiyun was very grateful, but before he could convey his thanks, Zhu Yicheng rushed in like a gust of wind. “Brother Su, Brother Mu,” he panted, “someone is visiting.”

Before he finished speaking, there was a burst of hearty laughter from outside the small courtyard. 

“The Gentleman’s Sword, hope you’ve been well.” 

One person stepped into the courtyard accompanied by Zhang Jinjin. The appearance of the person was probably over fifty, but an immortal cultivator would look younger compared to their actual age. This person should probably be far more than fifty years old. 

He was dressed in a light gray robe with red edges, covered with a dark gauze coat, square faced, thick eyebrows, and a healthy body. He was the head of the Lingshan Nie family, Nie Yuanshan.

Nie Yuanshan was followed by a young man, the same red-edged gray robe, slender, with bright eyes, but like Zhang Jinjin, he also looked like a rich family brother.

Su Yanjun and Mu Xiyun hurriedly got up to salute the visitors. After a while of greeting, Nie Yuanshan said, “The Lingshan family has been in Hongye City for more than 200 years, and the people of Hongye City are as close as fish and water, just like your Moyun Mountain and Yiyun Town. Some time ago, the Hongye Yamen came to report that there was a lunatic in the town, and it was verified that it was Lin Xuewu, the head of the escort of Fangfe Town. I also learned this afternoon that you rescued the mother and son of the Lin family on the way, so you must already know about the situation. “

“Senior came in person, is it because Senior is suspicious of Lin Xuewu’s situation?” Su Yanjun pondered. 

“I came in person because I wanted to meet the two immortal disciples of Moyun Mountain.” Nie Yuanshan said with a smile. “But Lin Xuewu’s situation is really not right. This old man has no knowledge and has no clue. Lingshan is about to open, and things would be a bit busy, so I want to ask the two masters from Mo Yunshan to help me tomorrow.  I already know about the kidnapping and trafficking case you dealt with a few days ago. There are so many talents in Moyun mountain now. If you go and have a look, maybe you will find something the Hongye Yamen haven’t.”

Mu Xiyun’s heart moved, and secretly said that the news traveled to the Nie family very fast.

Lingshan and Moyun Mountain had always been friends. Su Yanjun had no objection to this arrangement and agreed on the spot. Nie Yuanshan also introduced the young man who came with him. This man’s name was Nie Yao, and he would be the leader of the Nie family’s next generation. In recent years, Nie Yuanshan had gradually become lazy with the affairs. Except for some important affairs that need to be handled personally, the usual ones were handed over to Nie Yao.

After the business was finished, Nie Yuanshan got up and said, “Young people are busy having fun together, I won’t stay long and spoil your fun! I’ll return now.” After speaking, he walked towards the courtyard door with a smile.

At the entrance of the courtyard, Gu Qingqiao was coming in and encountered Nie Yuanshan coming out.

Nie Yuanshan let out an “ah” and glanced at Gu Qingqiao again. Seeing the latter’s confused look, he smiled and said, “This little brother’s physique and temperament are quite similar to an old friend of mine.”

Gu Qingqiao lowered his head, secretly smiled and said, “To tell you the truth, this is the first time I’ve been to Hongye City. I’m afraid you’ve identified the wrong person.” 

“Alas, I’m really old and my eyes are bad.” Nie Yuanshan continued on his way with a hearty smile.

Gu Qingqiao walked into the courtyard and saw everyone sitting around the stone table. He didn’t join in on the fun, but leaned on the trunk of the Begonia tree and watched everyone talk. Zhu Yicheng had already started to chirp, “Brother Nie, the journey to victory before the celestial formation was based on personal strength. But Lingshan only provides a few spiritual weapons every three years, and most people have difficulty passing the formation. You are from Lingshan and have probably seen many people successfully reach the top, do you have any secrets to success?”

Nie Yao glanced at him with a smile. “I don’t have one.”

Unexpectedly, the other party refused so bluntly, Zhu Yicheng sighed, but he didn’t give up. “Then can you tell me what is the Lingshan Celestial Formation?”

Nie Yao did not answer immediately, but faced in a different direction. The folding fan he was holding turned a half circle. The handle of the fan pointed at Zhang Jinjin and he said, “This is a gift from me, and it is not to be passed on.”

Zhang Jinjin sighed. “Everyone says I’m a profiteer. Compared with you, I’m as innocent as a baby.”

After speaking, the innocent baby waved his hand and walked out of the courtyard. The crowd held back their laughter and watched him leave. Nie Yao then arched his hands to Su Yanjun and said, “What does the Gentleman’s Sword think of the trial array left by the ancestors of the Nie family?”

Su Yanjun answered with a smile, “Is this a test for me?”

Zhu Yicheng’s eager eyes shot at him immediately, and he had no choice but to answer. “The major schools recruit disciples. The roots and bones are the second, but the minds are the first. In my opinion, the Lingshan test is also to test one’s mind.”

“Well said, direct and on point. Definitely worthy of being named the Gentleman’s Sword.” and he added, “Although our ancestor was a blacksmith, he did not read any books when he was a child, but he experienced peace, famine and prosperity in his life, and deeply felt that human nature is unpredictable. What the Nie family makes is a weapon, and if it falls into the hands of a pure-hearted person, it will save the world. But if it falls into the hands of the wrong person, it is an accomplice for disaster. Therefore, Lingshan Taoism discourse is all about the nature of mind. “

“Nature of the mind?” Zhu Yicheng, as if realizing something, said excitedly, “Then in the trial, as long as you work hard in the direction of being kind and good to others, isn’t it enough?”

Nie Yao and Su Yanjun looked at each other and smiled. He took out another folding fan and tapped Zhu Yicheng’s wrist with it. “How can it be that simple? You think that after entering the array, there will be old people everywhere waiting for you to help them up the mountain?” 

Zhu Yicheng was stunned, and everyone laughed.

“I’ll give you a hint,” Nie Yao stood up, “the trial will not let you make judgments easily. “

After he finished speaking, he turned to Su Yanjun and Mu Xiyun, “I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning to go to the government office. Have a good rest today.” He patted Zhu Yicheng on the shoulder again, nodded to Gu Qingqiao, and walked out of the small courtyard.

The author has something to say:

Small theater: 

Gu Qingqiao: Why are there so few weapons in Lingshan, but I did get one in my last life right? 

Author: Because you have the aura of the protagonist!

Gu Qingqiao: What about the Zhang family?

Author: Guess?

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