Aoyama

Chapter 294 Uncle
"Old man, have you ever been to the Martial Temple?"

"I've been there."

"What exactly is the Martial Temple?"

“This is the place that martial arts fans all over the world yearn for.”

Liang Gou'er rolled his eyes: "Isn't this the same as not saying anything?"

On the official road of Jingchao, Liang Maoer drove the ox cart obediently.

Zhu Yunxi sat cross-legged at the end of the cart, constantly using breathing techniques to cultivate the Liang family's sword intent.

Liang Gou'er was lying on the cart, resting his left arm on his head, holding a dry straw in his mouth. He had a long beard and his messy hair covered his face.

Everyone was wearing grey cloth because in Jing Dynasty, except for the nobles, the common people were only allowed to wear grey. If you looked at the common people in the downtown, you would feel that the world was grey.

In this northern country, color is a kind of power, but power is more than just color.

They traveled north from Lushun for fifteen days, but they were unable to find a horse-drawn carriage to shelter from the wind and rain. As civilians, they could only drive ox carts.

Liang Gou'er looked at the blue sky and continued to ask, "Old man, tell us more about the Wu Temple, or about the Jing Dynasty. Otherwise, what if someone reveals the truth when they try to talk to us?"

Old man Yao raised his eyelids and glanced at him: "Shut your mouth and pretend to be dumb."

Liang Gou'er's expression froze: "There can't be three mutes in one car, right?"

Old man Yao sneered: "You want to hear a story but you look lazy and can't even say a nice word. Do I owe you that?"

Liang Gou'er quickly sat up with a playful smile and patted Old Man Yao's legs: "It's not easy to meet someone who has been to the Martial Temple. Can you tell me about it?"

Old Man Yao glanced at him and said, "It is said that the Tianchi Lake in Changbai Mountain, where the Martial Temple is located, is the place where the Lord of Arms was born..."

Liang Gou'er's eyes widened. "I heard this kind of messed up myth story from a storyteller when I was a kid. It's all fake!"

Old Man Yao rarely ridiculed Liang Gou'er, but just said calmly: "It may be true."

Liang Gou'er looked at Old Man Yao in surprise.

He had seen this old doctor in action, and the other party's realm was only higher than his own, at least a great official above the fifth level of the Dao Seeking Realm.

If the other party says it is true, then it is possible that it is true.

Liang Gou'er was in doubt: "Old man, you are not kidding me, are you? Fuxi performing the Eight Diagrams and Nuwa mending the sky, aren't those all fake?"

Old Man Yao said indifferently: "If there was no Nuwa repairing the sky, where would the forty-nine heavens come from?"

Liang Gou'er was surprised again: "No, wait a minute. You mean, the Forty-Nine Heavens is related to Nuwa repairing the sky?"

Old Man Yao did not answer this question, but continued to talk: "Legend has it that when the chaos first began, the Lord of Arms was conceived by Changbai Mountain. When he was born, a volcano erupted, accompanied by millions of divine weapons, and created the Ten Directions Purgatory. Later, the volcanic eruption became a lake over time, which is the Changbai Mountain Tianchi."

"The Martial Temple was not originally a mysterious place. It was just that a martial arts fanatic named Jiang Xianzong was hurt by love and happened to travel here. He found a short sword in the Tianchi Lake in Changbai Mountain. Later, he found that he gained a lot of insights when practicing beside the Tianchi Lake, and even entered a state of meditation more easily than usual. So he built a hut by the Tianchi Lake and lived there for 37 years, entering the realm of gods."

Liang Gou'er was puzzled: "No, no, I have heard of Jiang Xianzong, but I heard that he got a martial arts technique in the Martial Temple, not a dagger."

Old Man Yao hesitated for two breaths and asked, "Did Jiang Xianzong write to you?"

Liang Gou'er was speechless for a long while: "It's appropriate to write to me. He is a figure from hundreds of years ago!"

Old Man Yao sneered, "Then it's over? Take my words as the standard. After Jiang Xianzong entered the realm of the gods, many people came to visit him and built houses by the Tianchi Lake, which is how the Wu Temple came into being."

Liang Gou'er was puzzled: "But you still didn't tell me why the legend of the Lord of Arms is true? Which era did the Lord of Arms live in? Why has no one mentioned him in mythological stories?"

Old Man Yao said casually: "Under the Tianchi Lake, someone carved large characters with a knife."

Liang Gou'er became more interested: "Knife intention? What are you carving?"

“The world and I exist together, and all things are one and the same with me.”

Liang Gou'er smacked the twelve characters for a long time, and after a while he said sourly, "You are so arrogant! It's just a few characters. If I carve a few characters, won't I become a military leader?"

At this time, Liang Maoer looked at the outline that appeared in front of the official road, turned around and said: "Master, we are at the foot of Changbai Mountain, and Erdaobaihe Town should be ahead."

……

……

Erdaobaihe Town is the last populated area before entering Changbai Mountain. Countless warriors of Jing Dynasty, unable to enter the Martial Temple, settled down here.

Some people practiced for several years and were lucky enough to enter the Martial Temple.

Some people waste their entire lives here and can only look up at the towering snow-capped mountains in the distance from the foot of the mountain.

As the ox cart drove into Erdaobaihe Town, Liang Gou'er was surprised to see dozens of soldiers wearing black armor and pheasant tails on their heads hiding in the alleys, standing alert with their left hand on the short crossbow behind their waist and their right hand on the hilt of the sword at their waist.

Liang Gou'er pushed aside the messy long hair in front of him and said, "Old man, they are not here to arrest us, are they? Can you handle so many soldiers? Or let's run."

Old Man Yao sneered: "With you guys as a burden, where can I run? They are not here to arrest people, keep going forward."

Liang Maoer gritted his teeth and drove the ox cart towards the town. The closer he got to the soldiers, the more nervous he became, and his palms holding the reins were soaked with sweat.

However, when they passed by the Jing Dynasty soldiers, they just stared at them and watched them enter the town coldly without taking any action.

Erdaobaihe Town was completely silent.

When passing by a blacksmith shop, Old Man Yao saw that the fire was still burning in the shop, but the craftsman was hiding aside and stopped forging iron.

Liang Gou'er looked at Old Man Yao and whispered, "Old man, you are well-informed, what's going on?"

Old man Yao said expressionlessly, "These are the Tiger Soldiers of the Jing Dynasty. An important figure has come to Erdao Baihe Town. He must be at least a second-rank official from one of the three surnames of the Jing Dynasty."

The three major surnames in the Jing Dynasty were Yuan, Lu, and Jiang.

Liang Gou'er asked: "What should we do then?"

Old Man Yao whispered, "Don't make trouble, just pass the town quietly and go straight up the mountain."

When passing through the town, I saw more than a hundred soldiers guarding a restaurant, looking at them cautiously.

In the restaurant, a middle-aged man in a gray robe sat alone in front of an octagonal table. In front of him was a simple ceramic bowl with only half a bowl of white rice in it.

There are no dishes.

The middle-aged man in gray robe took a mouthful of white rice under the solemn guard, then closed his eyes and chewed slowly.

When he opened his eyes again, he smiled and said to the shopkeeper, "Grab a handful of raw rice and let me see." The shopkeeper hurriedly agreed and grabbed a handful of white rice from the kitchen, but was stopped by a young man.

The young man took the rice from the shopkeeper and turned to show it to the middle-aged man in gray robe: "Sir."

The middle-aged man looked at it for a long time. "The rice in Dongjing Road is full of plump grains. I hope that this year's rice will have a good harvest in autumn and a good weather. This will also help reduce the number of people starving to death in Xijing Road... Let's take some corn and beans and have a look."

The shopkeeper went back to the kitchen to get corn and beans, and the middle-aged man couldn't let go of them.

There was the sound of ox wheels rolling outside the door. He turned around and saw Liang Maoer driving the cart past.

The middle-aged man didn't care at first, but the young man next to him saw the person sitting in the car and immediately leaned over and whispered a few words.

The middle-aged man was slightly startled, then smiled and said, "Please invite them in and tell them that I want to treat them to a meal."

The young man walked out of the restaurant quickly, came to the ox cart, clasped his fists and said politely: "Old man, my master would like to invite you to come in and rest for a while. The ginseng chicken stewed with hazel mushrooms in this restaurant is a specialty. The plaque in front of the door was written by the late emperor himself before he entered the mountains. You can taste it before continuing on your journey."

Liang Gou'er said hoarsely: "No need, we still plan to finish before sunset..."

But Old Man Yao smiled and interrupted him, saying to the young man: "Meeting is fate. Since the host is so polite, let's have a meal before going into the mountains."

After saying this, he jumped off the ox cart with a clear mind, walked straight into the restaurant, and sat opposite the middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man waved to the store owner and said, "Go, make a table of your specialty dishes."

The shopkeeper retreated in a hurry.

At this time, Liang Gou'er and others did not sit down, but stood behind Old Man Yao. They pretended to be Old Man Yao's son and grandson, so there was no reason for them to sit down.

The middle-aged man looked at them and motioned to the young man behind him to pour tea.

He looked at Old Man Yao and asked with a smile, "Where are you from, old man?"

Old man Yao answered casually, "Ning Dynasty."

Liang Gou'er and Zhu Yunxi's eyes widened instantly, looking at the old man in disbelief. They thought the old man was an old hand and would be able to fool people, but he was questioned about his true identity as soon as he opened his mouth?
Isn't it courting death to admit one's identity from the Ning Dynasty in front of a high-ranking official from the Jing Dynasty?

Liang Gou'er subconsciously wanted to grab the knife, but then he remembered that his right arm had already been lost and his Du meridian was broken, so he couldn't use a knife.

At this time, the middle-aged man heard that they came from Ning Dynasty, but he kept smiling: "It's not close to come from Ning Dynasty, how did you get here?"

Old man Yao replied, "I boarded the ship from Qidong, sailed on the sea for a while, and got off the ship in Lushun."

The middle-aged man exclaimed: "I guess he took the Xu family's merchant ship. Are there spices on board?"

Old Man Yao said, "There are spices and silk."

The middle-aged man calculated the date and said apologetically, "When you got off the ship in Lushun, there must have been war there. I hope it didn't disturb you?"

Old man Yao pulled out a pair of chopsticks from the chopstick holder and said nonchalantly, "It's okay. I've seen a lot of storms at my age. But you, why are you here in this remote area when the storm is at its peak?"

The middle-aged man smiled and avoided answering. He looked up at the three people behind Old Man Yao and said, "This is... your disciple?"

Old Man Yao said disdainfully: "No, my apprentice is much better than them."

Liang Gou'er raised his eyebrows and looked at the soldiers standing around him, then swallowed the words of rebuttal.

The middle-aged man sat across from the eight-immortal table and asked slowly, "You seem to treasure your apprentice very much?"

Old man Yao raised his head and looked directly at the middle-aged man opposite him: "He is a wild boy, his mother doesn't love him, and his uncle doesn't care about him, so naturally I, an old man, will treasure him more."

The middle-aged man sighed and said, "Maybe his mother and uncle have their own difficulties?"

Old Man Yao asked curiously, "What's the reason? Are they dead?"

The middle-aged man in gray robe was startled, and waved his hand to signal everyone to leave, leaving only four confidants.

After everyone in the restaurant had left, he burst into laughter: "I've heard that you have a mean nature and the ability to make people angry to death or save people. Today I finally got to experience it!"

Liang Gou'er's face changed. Although the other party did not mention his name or surname, the four words "mean by nature" were no different from naming him.

The other party actually recognized Doctor Yao's identity from the very beginning. When and how did he recognize him?
While I was thinking, the shop owner brought the dishes and placed them on the table one by one.

Old Man Yao picked up a piece of hazel mushroom and put it in his mouth, saying casually: "Lord Lu Jinlu has just been reinstated. It is time for him to wake up and take charge of the world, and lie on the lap of a beautiful woman. How can he have the elegance to come to Changbai Mountain to enjoy the snow?"

Lu Jin.

Chen Ji's uncle.

He had just seized power through a coup a dozen days ago, and had become the new Privy Councilor of the Jing Dynasty. From now on, the only two people above him were the Minister of the Central Secretariat and the Emperor.

The young man behind Lu Jin was none other than Wu Hongbiao, whom Chen Ji had rescued and risked his life to send away.

Old Man Yao pointed at the food on the table with his chopsticks: "Why don't you eat the big shot? Are you afraid that someone will poison it?"

Lu Jin looked at the dishes on the table but did not move his chopsticks. He just explained slowly, "Sixteen days ago, our Tiance Army was defeated in Guyuan, and the commander-in-chief Yuan Zhen was missing. There was also a locust plague in Xijing Road, and the victims were starving everywhere. In such a difficult situation, how could I have the heart to enjoy myself? So I only eat one meal a day recently, and I only eat wild vegetables, sharing the suffering of the refugees in Xijing Road."

Old Man Yao exclaimed: "Lord Lu should change into the costumes of the inner troupe and perform in opera."

In an instant, except for Wu Hongbiao, the other three confidants behind Lu Jin drew their swords and pointed them at each other, but did not say a word.

Old Man Yao smiled and took another bite of hazel mushroom and put it in his mouth: "But if this play can be performed for a lifetime, so that people can't tell whether it is in the play or outside the play, it's not bad."

Lu Jin raised his hand to signal the Tiger Soldiers to put away their swords: "Don't be rude. The old man is just venting his anger for others, it's okay, once you get it all out, you will feel at peace."

Seeing that Old Man Yao's expression remained unchanged, he asked carefully, "Why didn't you bring your apprentice to Jingchao?"

Old Man Yao sneered, "He said that his uncle wouldn't let him come to Jing Dynasty. He also said that if he stayed in Ning Dynasty, he might be able to help his uncle in the future."

Lu Jin sighed softly: "It's hard for him."

A confidant took a look at the sky, then leaned over and whispered something in Lu Jin's ear.

After that, Lu Jin stood up and bowed to Old Man Yao: "Thanks to Doctor Yao for taking care of me, Lu would like to thank you. You are his master, and now you have come to Jing Dynasty because of the affairs of Prince Jing's Mansion. Why don't you come back to Liaoyang Mansion with me tomorrow to avoid the pain of traveling. After some time, when the situation is stable, I will send someone to pick him up and bring him to Liaoyang Mansion to live with you."

Old Man Yao said coldly: "No, when will you take him to Jingchao, then send someone to Wumiao to find me."

Lu Jin did not force him: "I have to go up the mountain today, so I will not stay here any longer. Whenever you want to come to Liaoyang Prefecture, I will welcome you anytime."

He turned and walked out, and the armored soldiers scattered in various corners of Erdaobaihe Town followed him, and the dense friction sound of armor was as loud as a dragon.

(End of this chapter)