Aoyama

Dedicated to the General?

Chen Ji sighed inwardly. He had just barely escaped from Changbai Mountain, so why was he being taken back into the mountains and offered up to some damned military commander?
He glanced at Old Ears, his eyes asking if there was any way, but Old Ears looked away, glancing here and there.

Helpless, Chen Ji could only cup his hands and say to the middle-aged soldier, "Sir, we..."

The middle-aged soldier ignored what he was about to say and turned to leave: "Gentlemen, my commander is eager for talent and will never mistreat anyone who is useful. Once we find the successor of that sword technique, we will immediately return to Huanglong Prefecture to see the commander and promise you both a life of wealth and honor."

Chen Ji remained standing inside the house without moving, and said with a forced smile, "Sir, my family of three lives in Erdaobaihe Town. If my father and I go out to do business, my elderly mother will be left alone and helpless... I'm afraid I won't be able to serve the commander. I hope you will understand."

As soon as Chen Ji finished speaking, all the armored soldiers in the courtyard looked at him. The sound of their armor clanging was uniform, and the black shadows of their armor on the ground looked like a mountain pressing down on the small courtyard.

The middle-aged armored soldier suddenly stopped, turned around, and glared at the three people in the room with his wolf-like eyes, his gaze chilling: "Are you out of your minds?"

In the silence, the woman nudged Chen Ji's back and said in a trembling voice, "You all go quickly, I'll be fine at home alone."

Chen Ji: "..."

Old Ears turned around, his shoulders trembling.

Chen Ji was truly out of options, so he could only say to the middle-aged soldier again, "Sir, this is at the foot of the Temple of Martial Arts. Even the elite troops of the Tokyo Circuit cannot..."

The middle-aged soldier, gripping his sword hilt, interrupted with a cold laugh: "I am Jiang Zhuang, a military commander under the command of the Tokyo Circuit Governor. This Changbai Mountain is the territory of my Tokyo Circuit, and even the Martial Temple should be under the jurisdiction of my commander. With the mountain chief here, I dare to say this."

Chen Ji took a deep breath and said sincerely, "Sir, the Hu family's ability can only be used to resolve matters concerning Changbai Mountain. We must guard Changbai Mountain; it won't work outside of it."

Jiang Zhuang said in a deep voice, "It's enough if it works in Changbai Mountain. Changbai Mountain is vast, and finding someone is as difficult as climbing to heaven. We need your methods. If you still refuse, don't blame us for being rough."

As they were talking, a group of armored soldiers slowly surrounded them. Old Ear stepped forward to smooth things over: "No, no, no, my son is still young and doesn't understand. We'll go with you."

The old man leaned closer and pointed to his head: "My son caught a cold when he was eight years old, which damaged his brain. The whole town knows he's a bit stubborn and doesn't understand human nature. Please don't hold it against him."

Jiang Zhuang glanced at the old man and snorted coldly, "Keep an eye on him."

Old Ears pulled Chen Ji towards the courtyard, but halfway there he remembered something, went back into the house, tucked the boiled corn from the kang into his clothes, and looked at the woman again: "Is there anything else to eat?"

The woman hurriedly went into the kitchen and brought him a plate of cornbread, pouring it all into the hem of his clothes.

The soldiers grew impatient and immediately shoved Old Ears and Chen Ji out.

As they reached the courtyard gate, Old Ears suddenly called out loudly, "Wait, I forgot something!"

Chen Ji said irritably, "What did you forget to take?"

The next moment, Old Ears went back into the house, picked up the King Wen Drum and the King Wu Whip, and stuffed them into his hands: "Aren't you going to take the magic weapons?"

Chen Ji took the drum and whip expressionlessly, his voice squeezed out from between his teeth: "...I'll call Hu San Taiye out to take you away in a bit."

Just then, the sound of iron hooves rang out again outside Erdaobaihe Town, more intense than ever before.

Jiang Zhuang stood silently at the gate of the courtyard, watching as thousands of soldiers stormed into Erdaobaihe Town, never stopping even when faced with the crossbow blockade of the elite troops of the Tokyo Circuit.

The crossbowmen on the roof shouted a warning: "Halt!"

But the man at the head of the group sneered and replied, "If you have the guts, shoot an arrow at your grandfather and exterminate your entire clan!"

Jiang Zhuang squinted and remained silent.

Old Ears saw the military flag behind the newcomer and immediately whispered to Chen Ji, "Yuan Xing, one of the twelve Central Imperial Guards, the Right Martial Guard Commander. This man is Yuan Xiang's nephew and the hereditary Marquis of Changping County."

As they spoke, Yuan Xing rode up to Jiang Zhuang, looking down at him with a sidelong glance: "So it was you who dared to obstruct me, Zhuangzhuang. Your commander is blinded by lust and utterly useless. Why don't you come and serve under me? I'll offer you a fourth-rank general position." Jiang Zhuang replied expressionlessly, "Don't slander my commander, or one of us will surely die today."

Yuan Xing threw her head back and laughed loudly: "Good, good, good, you are still loyal as ever. But the affairs in Changbai Mountain are not something you, the Tokyo Circuit, can interfere with. Hurry up and go back to your Huanglong Prefecture."

Jiang Zhuang calmly said, "Changbai Mountain is the territory of my Tokyo Circuit. Why can't we get involved?"

Yuan Xing ignored his explanation and turned her gaze to what was behind Jiang Zhuang. When she saw Chen Ji holding a drum in his left hand and a whip in his right, she immediately mocked, "The Tokyo Circuit is also grasping at straws in desperation. Do you really believe that this damn guy can find the successor of the sword seed? You might as well believe that he is the successor of the sword seed!"

After saying that, Yuan Xing shook the reins and led the Right Guard troops into the mountains. When the thousands of soldiers passed by, they trampled the thick snow in the town into slush.

Jiang Zhuang watched the Right Guards depart and said in a deep voice, "Go into the mountains!"

……

……

The elite troops of Tokyo braved the wind and snow to enter the mountains overnight. Chen Ji and Lao Erduo were dragged to the back of the group, escorted by four armored soldiers.

Chen Ji glanced back at the armored soldiers a few steps away and asked Old Ears in a low voice, "What do we do now?"

Old Ears, munching on corn, casually replied, "There's no good way. Why don't you use your sword seed to fight your way out?"

Upon hearing him mention sword types, Chen Ji immediately gritted his teeth and whispered, "Keep your voice down."

Old Ears pulled a corncob from his clothes and handed it to him: "Don't worry, we're in the dark right now. Who would have thought we'd dare to mingle with the elite of Tokyo Road? Even Yuan Xing didn't expect that just now. Eating corn?"

Chen Ji took a bite of the corn and said, "We can only hide our identities for a while, not forever. Sooner or later, they'll be exposed. Don't forget, you're not the real Lao Xiang Gen. When that Lao Xiang Gen shows up, your identity will naturally be revealed."

Old Ears said cheerfully, "It's because our identities have been exposed."

Chen Ji continued eating corn and ignored him.

Old Ear finished eating a corncob, casually tossing the cob aside by the roadside. He patted the crumbs off his hands and said, "Right now, we can only wait and see. Don't worry, the elite troops of Tokyo Road and Yuan Heng Li Zhen's Tiger and Leopard Cavalry are irreconcilable enemies. When they meet again, it will be a good time for us to escape."

Chen Ji seemed to be deep in thought: "What's the story behind 'Tokyo Road' and 'Yuan Heng Li Zhen'?"

Old Ears' eyes darted around, and he sighed, "Jiang Yu, the military governor of Tokyo Circuit, was in love with a woman, but she was persecuted by Lu Jin, the deputy privy councilor, so he hated Lu Jin. Yuan Heng Li Zhen is now allied with Lu Jin, so they are considered Lu Jin's people, hence their irreconcilable differences."

Old Ear continued, "In the past, Lu Jin relied on the Changbai Mountain route to do maritime trade with Grand Prince Suyang of Goryeo. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Lu Jin was secretly controlling Jingcheng Port. But after that incident, Jiang Yu sent troops to intercept and kill Lu Jin's caravans. They intercepted them more than twenty times in half a year. Unfortunately, these caravans were engaged in smuggling, so Lu Jin couldn't say anything. But Lu Jin is a very capable man. Not long ago, he even seized on Jiang Yu's younger brother, Jiang Jia, and sent him to the execution ground to be beheaded."

Chen Ji sighed, "The Jing Dynasty has actually fallen into such a state of chaos."

Old Ears sneered, “Wherever there are people, there will inevitably be infighting. Jing Chaoyuan and Lu Jin are already showing signs of discord, but they don’t have the means to kill each other, so they haven’t broken off relations yet. But if they get the support of the Martial Temple, it will be different. Once the Martial Temple chooses a side, the fence-sitters in the court will immediately follow the Martial Temple to one side.”

Chen Ji said thoughtfully, "I thought the Martial Temple would be detached from worldly affairs."

Old Ears chuckled: "Everyone thinks that the people of Martial Temple Mountain are all sages who don't eat grains and have no desires, but they also have their own parents and relatives. Who can truly abandon worldly affairs? There are very few true martial arts fanatics in this world; most are ambitious people. They go up the mountain to learn martial arts, but in reality, they want to go down the mountain and sell themselves to the imperial family. Most of the people of Martial Temple Mountain who have cultivated to the Dao Seeking Realm and become officials will go down the mountain to seek fame and fortune from the imperial court. Few can stay on the mountain and endure the loneliness."

Old Ears changed the subject: "Furthermore, the reason why the Jing Dynasty can tolerate the Martial Temple is that the Martial Temple has always stood on the side of the Jing Dynasty. Whenever the Jing and Ning Dynasties go to war, there are always people from the Martial Temple who come down the mountain to serve. If the Martial Temple had joined the Ning Dynasty, even if the Martial Temple had only a few dozen people, they would not have been able to withstand the encirclement and suppression by the Twelve Central Imperial Guards."

Chen Ji suddenly asked, "Who do you think will win, Yuan Xiang or Lu Jin?"

Old Ears said meaningfully, "Everyone thinks that whoever can help Headmaster Lu Yang find the successor of the sword seed will gain the support of the Martial Temple. Whoever gains the support of the Martial Temple will win over the other side. Otherwise, why do you think these people came to Changbai Mountain? Of course, they want to capture you as a bargaining chip... You are a hot commodity now."

Chen Ji then asked, "What does Headmaster Lu Yang think? Is it true that he sides with whoever helps him kill the successor of the sword seed?"

Old Ears shrugged: "How would I know what that old scoundrel is thinking? Why don't you go ask him yourself?" (End of Chapter)