Aoyama

At the summit of Changbai Mountain, the Martial Temple stands majestically.

Sixteen dark iron-colored peaks sit like giants. The moment the rising sun pierces through the clouds, the sixteen peaks are instantly gilded, while the center of the pool remains shrouded in indigo shadow.

The water in Tianchi Lake was churning when a young man suddenly emerged from the surface and wiped the water off his face.

He determined his direction and swam towards the shore, shirtless.

Not far away, a middle-aged man squatted outside a thatched hut on the riverbank, holding a steaming bowl of noodles, and asked, "Biaozi, how long have you been down there this time?"

Wu Hongbiao replied with a smile, "Uncle Changsheng, I went down at 9 PM yesterday and just came up."

Uncle Changsheng, holding his bowl, clicked his tongue in amazement: "He's really mastered the art of turtle fighting! How can he stay underwater for so long... Did he grasp the essence of the sword intent at the bottom of the pool?"

Wu Hongbiao chuckled: "The Blade Master's intent is too fierce, I can't even get close to it... However, it didn't try to hurt me."

Uncle Changsheng took a bite of noodles before mumbling, "That's strange. Why is the Lord of War's sword intent at the bottom of the pool only targeting me and not you? Could it be that I'm handsome, which has aroused the Lord of War's jealousy?"

An older woman came out of the thatched hut, grabbed his ear, and dragged him back inside: "Stop making a fool of yourself."

Uncle Changsheng returned to his thatched hut with a grimace. Wu Hongbiao looked at the scattered, quiet thatched huts by the Heavenly Lake and walked towards his own.

As he passed a thatched hut, the door opened from the inside, and Zhu Yunxi came out carrying a long sword, greeting him: "Just came out?"

Wu Hongbiao smiled and said, "Go practice your sword?"

The two exchanged a brief greeting and passed each other without saying another word.

At this moment, a middle-aged man in plain clothes came from the north slope. Wu Hongbiao and Zhu Yunxi stopped at the same time, cupped their hands and bowed: "Mr. Wu".

Mr. Wu hummed in agreement.

Wu Hongbiao looked at Mr. Wu curiously: "Where is Mr. Wu's Jishan Knife?"

Mr. Wu casually remarked, "Princess Liyang has come to the North Mountain Gate to storm the mountain. Let her see the knife and wake her up."

Zhu Yunxi was taken aback: "Is it Princess Liyang who went to Ning Dynasty?"

Mr. Wu nodded: "It is her. I don't know what route she took, but she came back from Korea. There's no need to pay attention to her. The Martial Temple has no shortage of ambitious people. She thinks she can impress the Martial Temple with her perseverance, but the Martial Temple has no shortage of perseverance and determination."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the door of the thatched cottage that Zhu Yunxi had just come out opened again, and Mr. Wu immediately bowed politely: "Mr. Yao."

Old Yao walked out of the thatched hut with his hands behind his back and said, "Let her go up the mountain, I have some questions for her."

Mr. Wu was taken aback, but immediately agreed: "Okay, I'll go right away."

……

……

Princess Liyang stood beside the stone tablet at the mountain gate, quietly looking at the knife in front of her.

Jiang Pan explained from behind her, "This is Wu Kezhi's 'Silent Mountain.' When the headmaster is not at the Martial Temple, he is in charge of everything. He was born at the Innate Realm at the age of eleven, and at the age of fourteen, he went down the mountain to Goryeo after reaching the Dao Seeking Realm. He beat up all the officials there."

"At that time, a genius named Jogye Jong emerged in the Goryeo Wuxin Sword Dao, who at the age of sixteen comprehended the 'Unmoving Heart Sword Dao' at the bottom of the sea. Afterwards, the Wuxin Sword Dao also found a mountain, established a sect, and renamed the mountain Wuji Mountain. Jogye Jong lived in the Sword Inquiry Hall. Everyone said that sooner or later he would challenge the Sword Martial Temple and take away the plaque of the world's leading sword master..."

Princess Liyang interrupted, "I know what happened next. Wu Kezhi came to test his sword, and after that one strike, Cao Xi Sect went into seclusion for twenty-seven years and has not left Wuji Mountain since."

Jiang Pan whispered, "It's not called Wuji Mountain anymore, it's called Zhier Mountain, which was changed by Wu Kezhi."

Princess Liyang said softly, "The first thing the Martial Temple's generals do when they come down the mountain is to test the swords and knives of the Goryeo officials. It's a tradition, but it's a pity that such sharp swords and knives cannot be used by me."

Wu Kezhi's voice came from the clouds: "The Martial Temple is not unusable, but there is no one in the world worthy of wielding this sword."

Princess Liyang suddenly looked up and watched as Wu Kezhi's figure slowly emerged from the clouds. The silent mountain in front of her hummed and trembled, then flew off the stone steps with a clang and returned to Wu Kezhi's side, where it hovered.

Princess Liyang took a deep breath and bowed respectfully, saying, "Mr. Wu."

Wu Kezhi turned and went up the mountain: "Come with me, Mr. Yao wants to see you."

Princess Liyang subconsciously exchanged a glance with Jiang Pan. Mr. Yao?
They only knew that there was a headmaster, Mr. Wu, and Mr. Changsheng inside the Wu Temple gate. When did Mr. Yao appear?
Princess Liyang stopped thinking about it and stepped onto the stone steps into the clouds. When she reached the top of the mountain, the scenery suddenly opened up, and she looked at the mirror-like Heavenly Pool surrounded by the sixteen peaks, and was instantly captivated.

An old voice interrupted her thoughts: "Little girl, come here."

Princess Liyang came to her senses and saw Old Man Yao sitting on a wooden stake in front of a thatched hut in the distance, waving to her. Behind Old Man Yao stood Liang Gou'er, Liang Mao'er, and Zhu Yunxi.

She understood immediately and stepped forward to bow again: "Mr. Yao."

Old Yao waved to Wu Kezhi: "Go ahead and get busy."

Wu Kezhi bowed and took his leave.

Princess Liyang's eyes flashed with a strange light: "I have never heard of Mr. Yao before, please forgive my disrespect, I am a young lady..." Old Man Yao slowly interrupted: "Those who lack capacity have many complaints, those who lack power have many angers, those who lack knowledge have many worries, those who lack the Way have many tricks... Young lady, don't use your wits on this old man, being honest is better than anything else."

Princess Liyang nodded slightly: "Yes."

Old Yao stared into Princess Liyang's eyes: "During the battle of Chongli Pass, someone used a sword seed. Do you know who that person was? Think carefully before you answer. If you can answer, I can help you. If you can't answer, I can kill you."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhu Yunxi gripped the hilt of the Hidden Dragon Blade and stepped forward.

Princess Liyang's heart sank. So the Martial Temple allowed her to go up the mountain, but only to inquire about the origins of the sword technique.

She stood there in silence for a long time, then gritted her teeth and said, "Replying to Mr. Yao, I really don't know who the person who used the sword seed is... I know that the Martial Temple has been searching for this person for hundreds of years, but I am just a weak woman. On that day, I was escorted to Chongli Pass by the men of Wuxiang County of Ning Dynasty, and I have never seen the battlefield."

The area around the thatched hut became quiet.

Princess Liyang felt uneasy and tightened her fingers around her sleeves.

The next moment, Old Man Yao relaxed his brows and asked, "Tell me, have you encountered any danger along the way?"

Princess Liyang frowned slightly, wondering why the other party wanted to ask about this.

After a moment's thought, she recounted everything she had seen and heard since leaving the capital, deliberately avoiding mentioning Chen Ji and Zhang Xia to avoid leaving any oversights.

Old Yao shook his head after listening: "Why not mention the man from Wuxiang County?"

Princess Liyang's heart pounded with anxiety. Why did this Mr. Yao specifically mention Chen Ji? Did the Martial Temple already have some suspicions, or was it just a casual remark?
She calmly said, "That man from Wuxiang County is greedy and lustful. Not only did he take the opportunity to extort money from me before he would escort me to the capital of the Southern Dynasty, but he also wanted me to repay him with my beauty... It's better not to mention such a despicable person."

Just then, Zhu Yunxi suddenly spoke up: "Nonsense, Chen Ji isn't that kind of person!"

Princess Liyang was taken aback.

She looked at Zhu Yunxi, then at Old Man Yao, and felt as if she had discovered something extraordinary.

Finally, Old Man Yao couldn't hold back any longer and mocked Zhu Yunxi, saying, "Other people's cunning is as vast as the ocean, but yours is so shallow that you can't even raise a turtle. Didn't you see I was trying to get information out of her? Get out of here. Like master, like disciple, you're both a bit dim-witted."

Liang Gou'er was displeased: "Old man, you can scold him, why scold me?"

Old Yao angrily said, "You get out, and the cat gets out too. I get angry just looking at you."

Princess Liyang hesitated and said, "You..."

Once the others were out of sight, Old Man Yao turned to look at her and said, "Tell me everything you know about Chen Ji."

Princess Liyang was silent for a moment, then smiled and said, "Alright."

This time, she recounted in detail how she met Chen Ji and how she was taken hostage by him, even mentioning that her thigh was injured by Chen Ji's arrow.

Seeing that Old Man Yao was listening attentively, she then told him about Zhang Xia's rescue of Chen Ji at the White Tiger Hall, followed by how, after leaving Baidadan City, Chen Ji went to Tiger's Back to rescue his colleague, only to be carried back by Zhang Xia at the risk of his life.

Old Yao stroked his beard and sighed, "A tragic fate."

Princess Liyang asked in confusion, "Why did Mr. Yao say it was a karmic entanglement?"

Old Yao sneered: "What is a karmic entanglement? It is when two stubborn people tie their lives together, one patient and the other fierce, entangled and unable to break free. That is a karmic entanglement."

Princess Liyang shook her head: "Mr. Yao is wrong. I think they are the most suitable match. With Chen Ji's personality, he needs someone who can't be pushed away or separated from him to be by his side."

Old Yao looked Princess Liyang up and down with great interest: "You...you seem to know quite a bit about Chen Ji."

Princess Liyang smiled and said, "Mr. Yao, we have a life-or-death friendship."

Old Yao chuckled and said, "That's because he saved your life. Go on, tell me about something else."

Princess Liyang found a patch of grass opposite Old Man Yao and sat down, slowly recalling, "When he returned to Changping, the Court of State Ceremonial made things difficult for him, unwilling to let him transport the coffins into the capital through Guangning Gate and Anding Gate. But he didn't want to swallow this insult... No, if it were his own affair, he might have tolerated it, but not being allowed to let his deceased colleagues pass through Anding Gate, he no longer wanted to tolerate it..."

One person spoke, and the other listened. They talked from dawn until noon. Princess Liyang told them everything she had seen with her own eyes, as well as what she had heard about.

When his mouth was parched, Old Man Yao slowly stood up and looked down at Princess Liyang: "Did you break into the mountain gate to find helpers?"

Princess Liyang stood up and patted the grass stems off her clothes: "That's right."

Old Yao turned and walked towards the thatched hut: "I'll take those three idiots with me on this trip."

After saying that, he waved to the three people in the distance: "Go down the mountain and get down to business."

Princess Liyang suddenly asked from behind Old Man Yao, "You are Chen Ji's close relative, aren't you? You sent those three away just now because you didn't want them to guess that Chen Ji had cultivated the Sword Seed Path. Old man, I told Chen Ji earlier that he would be my biggest backer from now on. I never expected that my words would come true."

Old Yao turned to look at her: "You'd better keep this to yourself. The only reason you're still alive is because you haven't told anyone."

Princess Liyang smiled and gave a curtsy: "As you command." (End of Chapter)