Aoyama

Chapter 477 Mo Dao Camp

Hong Zuer walked away without looking back, seemingly disdainful of glancing at Chen Ji again.

Dozens of night watchmen followed closely behind, but Ah Sheng tightened the reins and stopped in front of Chen Ji. He explained on behalf of Hong Zu'er, "Lord Chen, Master Hong and the others just hate Yuancheng too much..."

Chen Ji remained calm: "It's alright."

Ah Sheng hesitated several times before finally saying, "Lord Chen, could you accompany us to Tiger Ridge? Master Hong and Uncle Baizi are still injured, they..."

Chen Ji shook his head: "I'm sorry, I have to escort Princess Liyang to Chongli Pass."

Ah Sheng looked disappointed, and tried to persuade him again: "Lord Chen, a night scout is just a night scout after all. We don't have the powerful connections of an official..."

But Zhang Baishi turned his horse around and roared, "Ah Sheng, why bother talking so much to that big shot from the capital? We scouts have been in this border town for so many years, when have we ever relied on anyone else? Don't waste your life getting entangled with Lord Jing, we can't afford to associate with him."

Ah Sheng sighed and clasped her hands in a fist salute to Chen Ji, saying, "Take care, Lord Chen."

Chen Ji said softly, "Take care."

Wildfires raged.

The flickering flames were blown several meters high by the mountain wind. Looking into the distance, the night was dyed orange-red by the wildfire, and several fire dragons moved forward side by side with the wind.

Chen Ji stood in the night wind, watching Ye Bushou disappear into the distance.

Princess Liyang teased from the side, "The Ning Dynasty emperor sent you here, he must have thought it through. A ruined Yuan City is useless in his hands, and it would be a pity to kill it. It would be better to exchange it for five thousand warhorses, or a few gold, silver and copper mines. But the people don't understand this. They only want to feel good for a moment and vent their anger... It's just a pity for Lord Chen, who will have to bear the infamy."

Xiaoman glared at her: "What are you saying? You have no right to speak here."

Princess Liyang smiled slightly: "Yes, Lady Xiaoman."

Xiaoman turned to Chen Ji and said, "Young Master, don't take it to heart. We know you're not doing this for personal gain."

Chen Ji calmly replied, "It's not important."

Zhang Xia knew that what Chen Ji meant by "not important" was not that his achievements were unimportant, but rather that "how others viewed him" was never important.

Chen Ji pondered for a moment and said, "Who set the fire? It couldn't have been the Jing Dynasty's troops. The wind is blowing from the north right now, so if they set fire to it, they'll burn their own road... But if it was the Night Scouts, why would they set fire to the mountain?"

Before anyone could answer, Chen Ji continued to ponder, “The mountains of Dama are the place that the Night Scouts are most familiar with. They are a natural barrier for them. They would never set fire to the mountains unless absolutely necessary… They must have encountered an absolutely insurmountable situation, so they used fire to stop the Jing Dynasty’s troops.”

Zhang Xia said in a low voice, "The Tiger and Leopard Cavalry camp is 120 miles west of Baidadan City. If they are also on Lu Jin's side, there will be more than one or two hundred people coming."

Chen Ji turned to look at Princess Li Yang.

Princess Liyang answered honestly, "Yuan Henglizhen, the Grand Commander of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, has no connection with Lu Jin, but I believe he has already sided with Lu Jin."

Chen Ji asked in confusion, "Why are you so certain? Is Lu Jin that capable?"

Princess Liyang sighed softly and explained, "Because the Martial Temple has already sided with Lu Jin."

Chen Ji asked again, puzzled, "What's the connection?"

Zhang Xia explained from the side, "Because Yuan Heng Li Zhen came from the Martial Temple, and was one of the worldly people of the Martial Temple generation."

Chen Ji suddenly realized: "So that's how it is... But why would the Martial Temple support Lu Jin?"

Princess Liyang looked somewhat desolate: "Lu Jin is a man who is insightful and extremely resourceful. Even though I was on guard against him before his reinstatement, I never expected that he could gain the support of the Changbai Mountain Martial Temple. He must have offered conditions that the headmaster, Lu Yang, could not refuse."

Chen Ji remained calm: "What are the conditions?"

Princess Liyang explained, "Both Lu Jin and the Martial Temple kept it a secret. No one knows what conditions Lu Jin used to move the headmaster. All that is known is that after Lu Jin went up the mountain, the headmaster left the Martial Temple and disappeared without a trace."

Princess Liyang added, "With the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry and the Tiger Legion as their support, two of the three major cavalry camps in my Jing Dynasty support Lu Jin... That's why I said that even if Yuan Cheng returns, it won't make a difference."

She looked north: "Yuan Xiang is old, no longer that mighty tiger. When people get old, they always make some foolish decisions. They no longer have ideals, they just want to hold on tightly to the power they have fought so hard for in their lives. Like an old wild dog, burying the bones it has stolen in the ground, and then rotting away with the bones. This is true for emperors, and it is also true for powerful ministers."

Zhang Xia looked at Princess Li Yang: "If you were Yuan Xiang, what would you do?"

Princess Liyang smiled and said, "If I were him, I would definitely take the initiative to welcome Yuancheng back, because his enemy now is no longer Yuancheng, but Lu Jin. Yuan Xiang has found himself a political enemy, a political enemy who is even more powerful than Yuancheng."

Chen Ji steered the conversation back on track: "They just said that the Shenji Battalion and the Yulin Army were ahead. It seems that the Yulin Army noticed the unusual activity of the Night Scouts and followed them out of Chongli Pass... Li Xuan and Qi Zhen are in danger."

Zhang Xia understood: "Xiaoman and the others go first to Chongli Pass and wait for the Ping'an Gate to open at Mao Shi (5-7 AM). I'll go with you to cover the Imperial Guards' retreat."

Princess Liyang asked curiously, "Now that we have succeeded, Lord Chen can simply escort me to Ning Dynasty. Why risk it all? Didn't Lord Chen just say that he didn't plan to go with Ye Bushou to meet the enemy?"

Chen Ji glanced at her and set off north.

Only Zhang Xia knew that Chen Ji had never intended to remain uninvolved from the beginning. He was determined to make this trip, but he couldn't go with Ye Bushou.

Otherwise, traces wouldn't be traces anymore.

Princess Liyang watched their retreating figures and sighed, "I thought he was a smart man, but it turns out he's just as impulsive as I was."

Xiaoman glared at her again: "What do you know? My young master is different from yours."

Princess Liyang smiled and said, "Lord Xiaoman, there's no need to be angry. I didn't mean to belittle you. The word 'clever person' isn't necessarily a compliment. It would be a great honor to become friends with your young master. Everyone says that if a person doesn't look out for themselves, heaven and earth will punish them, but who doesn't want a friend who will be loyal to them?"

Xiaoman snorted coldly: "Good to know." Princess Liyang said seriously: "But never become like him, or you will suffer a lot."

The young monk put his hands together and said, "Benefactor, then you will not be able to make such friends."

Princess Liyang seemed to be thinking about something, then smiled and said, "Little Master is right."

……

……

Haishi.

When Zhang Xia and Chen Ji climbed a mountain ridge, they finally saw the entire forest fire side by side.

The two were very close to the wildfire. The smell of ash mixed with burning pine resin wafted into their nostrils, just as strong and pungent as Hong Zu'er had described.

Tiger Ridge was bisected by a bright orange-red line of fire. The foot of the mountain was still covered with lush pine trees, while the top was devastated and billowing with thick smoke.

Behind Tiger Ridge, faint shouts of battle could be heard.

Zhang Xia said in a low voice, "The fighting is not over yet. The Night Scouts should have stopped the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry in the north."

Looking down the mountain, Chen Ji saw Hong Zu'er and others driving their warhorses eastward along the fire line spreading down the mountain, seemingly trying to bypass the fire on Tiger Ridge to reinforce the Shenji Camp and Yulin Army behind the mountain.

He rushed down the mountain with Zhang Xia. Going up the mountain was easy, but going down was difficult. He held Zhang Xia's wrist tightly the whole way to prevent Zhang Xia from going too fast and accidentally falling down the mountain.

Upon reaching the foot of the mountain, Chen Ji's pupils contracted slightly.

He saw a horse with its head severed from its body; the huge horse's head had been cut off by something.

Zhang Xia squatted beside the horse carcass and said solemnly, "It's the Mo Dao Battalion of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry. Legend has it that the Mo Dao Battalion is unstoppable; with a single swing of their blade, both men and horses are torn apart... The Mo Dao Battalion is the central guard of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry. Yuan Heng Li Zhen may have come in person."

Following the trail, three more broken corpses of the Shenji Camp Night Scouts lay on the mountain path, all man and horse torn apart.

After walking several more feet, they saw a guard from the Mo Dao Battalion lying on the ground, panting heavily. A long sword was stuck in the gap of his armor at his waist, and blood was flowing from the wound.

The soldier was still holding a double-edged Mo Dao, which was more than seven feet long and taller than a person when it stood up. The blade was stained with blood and bits of flesh.

He saw Chen Ji approaching and struggled to get up to fight.

Chen Ji drew an arrow from Zhang Xia's quiver and, before the Mo Dao soldier could get up, darted forward and stabbed the arrow into his jaw.

He pressed the swordsman back to the ground. Even as he lay dying, the man stared at him with fierce eyes, showing no fear of death, only a resentful ferocity.

Mo Daobing breathed his last. Chen Ji sighed inwardly, then gently touched the other's eyes and closed his eyelids.

Zhang Xia squatted to the side and began to remove the armor from Mo Daobing's body.

Chen Ji was stunned: "You..."

Zhang Xia silently removed her shoulder guards, arm protectors, neck guards, and armor skirt one by one.

She looked up at Chen Ji: "Get up, turn your back to me."

Chen Ji stood up and opened his arms. He had indeed wanted to disguise himself as a Mo Dao soldier from the beginning, and Zhang Xia had guessed that he wanted to do so from the beginning.

Zhang Xia stood behind Chen Ji, picked up the black armor skirt, wrapped her hands around him, and tied the straps. Next came the shoulder guards, neck guards, abdominal mirror armor, and breastplate armor.

For a moment, Chen Ji felt a sense of disorientation, as if he had returned to the Zhang Mansion in Luocheng, where Zhang Xia was trembling in the darkness as she draped him in the heavy armor of the Tiger Armor Cavalry.

But this time, Zhang Xia did not tremble.

The crackling of trees burning in the wildfire was all around, but the world did not become noisy because of it; instead, it seemed quiet.

Zhang Xia turned to Chen Ji and put the helmet on him.

As she fastened the neck strap around Chen Ji's chin, she whispered, "It's very close to the Zhenggou River from here, just two miles to the east. The current there is swift, making it difficult for cavalry to catch up. I'm not yet at the Xingguan realm enough, so I won't go and cause you any trouble, but I'll meet you at the Zhenggou River. If you're spotted by a Xingguan at the Xundao realm, run that way. They would never risk going down into the river to chase you."

Chen Ji grunted, picked up the Mo Dao from the ground with his toe, and held it in his hand. He shook his hands, and the heavy Mo Dao suddenly vibrated, emitting a low whistle.

Zhang Xia wiped some blood from Mo Daobing's wound and then smeared it on Chen Ji's face: "Don't let anyone recognize you when you use the sword seed, or you won't be able to sleep peacefully."

She stood before Chen Ji, scrutinizing the young man before her, trying to find any omissions or oversights.

However, at that moment, a loud noise erupted from behind Tiger Ridge, shaking the earth and causing warhorses to neigh.

Zhang Xia suddenly turned around to look in the direction of the sound, but they were separated from the roar by a mountain and could not see what was happening at all.

Chen Ji said in a deep voice, "It's the sound of firearms."

The Ning Dynasty lacked the technology to refine its firearms, so it's unknown how much gunpowder would be needed to create such a commotion. This gunpowder was certainly not carried on their person, but rather buried in advance.

Once the wildfire reaches the area, it will naturally detonate the firearms buried underground.

Zhang Xia patted Chen Ji's armor on his chest: "Go ahead, I'll be waiting for you by the Zhenggou River."

(End of this chapter)