Aoyama

Chen Ji ran wildly down the mountain, his breaths exhaling white vapors like arrows, so hot they seemed capable of melting the snow.

Halfway there, he met up with Wuyun. He bent down and picked Wuyun up, tucking her into his arms. Wuyun poked her head out from his embrace and watched him silently.

The clattering sound of armor behind Chen Ji grew fainter and fainter, as if he had been left behind. But he dared not relax; he had to reach the foot of the mountain to seize a horse in order to escape.

As Chen Ji ran, he looked around for Old Ears. He had just lost contact with him and had no idea where he had gone.

Were they captured by the elite troops of Tokyo?

impossible.

As Chen Ji pondered, he suddenly heard a gust of wind from his left. He turned his head and saw a long-handled sword pierce through the pine forest, exploding into puffs of snow among the pine branches, heading straight for him.

Without stopping, he suddenly leaped up and used the hilt of his long sword to jump down the mountain.

In mid-air, he saw Yuan Henglizhen leading the Mo Dao Battalion out from the side. Taking advantage of their familiarity with Changbai Mountain, the enemy took a shortcut to attack from the side.

Meanwhile, Yuan Henglizhen, in the Mo Dao camp, had already picked up another Mo Dao and hurled it.

Chen Ji landed, rolled to dodge the Mo Dao, which pierced through the snow not far away, blasting open the boulder beneath the snow layer, sending rocks flying everywhere.

Yuan Heng Lizhen used the dozens of kilograms of long-handled swords as armor-piercing spikes, pressing down on Chen Ji so that he dared not turn around and could only barely hide by listening to the sound of the wind.

He quickly surveyed the terrain, then suddenly ran towards the right-hand forest, using his speed to widen the distance once again.

At this moment, Chen Ji stopped running down the mountain and instead cut across the mountainside like a knife, looking up as he ran, seemingly searching for something.

Surrounded by the Mo Dao Battalion, Yuan Heng Li Zhen was unwilling to pursue alone. After surveying the terrain, he led the Mo Dao Battalion in another direction, seemingly intending to take a shortcut to intercept and kill Chen Ji.

He descended from Tiger's Back to Breathing Slope, then from Breathing Slope to Ladder River, before suddenly turning sharply to the right.

Yuan Hengli Zhen looked up and saw a large spotted woodpecker being startled and flying into the sky from the forest to his side a few hundred paces away. He felt relieved. Chen Ji was already behind him, and this time he would definitely be able to block Chen Ji's path.

But as he chased after it, he suddenly heard a rumbling sound coming from the back of the mountain ahead.

As he emerged from the forest and arrived at an open area, he was shocked to see Chen Ji heading straight for him. The two sword seeds swiftly sliced ​​through the snow-covered mountainside, and the thick snow, which was over knee-deep, collapsed like a flood without support.

Chen Ji found a protruding boulder, squatted in the shadows beneath it, and carefully protected the dark cloud in his arms, quietly watching Yuan Heng Li Zhen and the Mo Dao Camp below the mountain.

Yuan Heng Lizhen watched helplessly as the snow waves crashed over the giant rocks, and he roared, "Form the formation!"

Hundreds of Mo Dao soldiers blocked his way, neatly inserting their Mo Dao into the snow to steady themselves and forming a shield wall with their armor. But the avalanche was too violent. The first layer of Mo Dao soldiers was swept away by the snow wave and fell, and then layer after layer collapsed backward, and everyone was instantly buried under half a meter of snow.

After an unknown amount of time, the rumbling in the mountains subsided, and tranquility returned to the mountainside. Suddenly, several sword seeds flew out from the smooth snow layer, spinning and breaking through the snow. Chen Ji crawled onto the snow surface, lying on his back, breathing heavily.

He turned his head to look, but he didn't know where Yuan Heng Li Zhen was buried.

As they watched, a Mo Dao pierced through the snow, followed by dozens of Mo Daos emerging, and then more than two hundred blades thrust out, as if forming a huge array of blades.

Chen Ji quickly got up and ran down the mountain as fast as he could.

By the time he reached the foot of the mountain, it was getting dark. Just as he was wondering where to run, he heard a familiar drumbeat coming from the foot of the mountain.

Chen Ji ran out of the forest and saw more than a dozen people lying on the snow, including elite soldiers from the Tokyo Circuit and soldiers with long-handled swords. These armored soldiers, who were responsible for guarding the warhorses, lay on the ground, their fates unknown, and it was unclear who had dealt with them.

He continued to follow the sound of the drum and saw that the old man was holding the King Wen Drum in his left hand and the King Wu Whip in his right hand, striking it continuously. The warhorse tied to the tree seemed to be frightened by something and struggled to break its reins and escape in all directions.

Old Ears reined in the two warhorses that were about to flee, turned back to look at Chen Ji, and said with a grin, "Why are you only just coming down the mountain?"

Chen Ji stepped forward and asked in confusion, "When did you come down the mountain?"

Wuyun jumped out of Chenji's arms and landed on Old Ears' head. Old Ears didn't care at all: "This old man is a coward. As soon as I saw them fighting, I quickly sneaked down the mountain. I was thinking that if I couldn't wait for you before sunset, I would leave on my own, but you made it in time."

As they spoke, the sound of armor rubbing against each other came from the mountain.

Chen Ji took the reins from the old man and mounted his horse: "Hurry up, Yuan Heng Li Zhen is almost here."

As the two men and their two horses galloped through Erdaobaihe Town, Chen Ji looked at the drum and whip in Old Ear's hands: "Why are these different from the ones we had before? Why can they drive warhorses?"

Old Ears held up the object in his hand: "Old Xianggen lost it. After all, it's an old item passed down from the Hu family. It's a pity to just leave it in the mountains like this. You can use it to make a living on the road."

Chen Ji raised an eyebrow: "Make a living for me?"

The old man replied matter-of-factly, "Otherwise what? Do you have any silver on you?"

Chen Ji hesitated and said, "No." Old Ears shrugged: "Me neither."

Chen Ji reached out his hand: "Give me the drum and the whip."

Old Ears, still on horseback, tossed the drum and whip to Chen Ji from a distance. But as soon as Chen Ji caught it, he threw them into the yard as he passed Old Xianggen's house: "Go! Go! Go! Whoever wants to go can go, I'm not going!"

Old Ears burst into laughter.

Chen Ji asked, puzzled, "What are you laughing at?"

Old Ears suppressed his laughter, but not the smile on his face: "This old man is laughing because you finally look like an eighteen or nineteen-year-old boy, and have a bit of a living human being. Before, you were acting all old and pretentious, like a little old man. Anyone who didn't know better would think that you were carrying the burden of the thirteen prefectures of Ning Dynasty on your shoulders."

Chen Ji was taken aback.

Old Ears suddenly slowed down the horse's speed.

Chen Ji warned, "There are still pursuers behind us."

Old Ears laughed heartily: "What's there to be afraid of? I've chased all their warhorses away. They won't come back until they're starving. We still have half a day."

He watched the sun slowly setting in the distance, its orange glow illuminating the vast expanse of snow, gilding the heavens and earth with a layer of gold.

Steadfast and radiant.

Chen Ji followed his gaze and was immediately captivated by the sunset. He suddenly remembered Mao Buyi's lyrics: "The setting sun in the north is her red makeup."

The old man gazed at the setting sun and sighed, "When I was young, I always wanted to write down everything that happened each day, as if there were endless things to remember. But now that I'm this old, I find that there's nothing worth remembering at the end of the year. I can only listen to some interesting stories, otherwise how can I survive?"

He turned to Chen Ji and said, "Kid, when you still find the sunset beautiful, stop and watch it. If you think something tastes good, eat as much as you can. If you dream of a place, set off for it immediately. If you like a girl, speak up for her right away... Don't make yourself wait too long. If you wait too long, you'll forget what you like best, and when you go back to look for it, it won't taste the same anymore."

Chen Ji was silent for a moment: "I also have my reasons."

Old Ears clicked his tongue twice: "My troubles, my troubles. All year round, I'm on the edge of a knife, running around like a headless chicken. People who don't know me would think that when you were 100 days old, you picked up a warrant for arrest when you were choosing your first birthday gift."

Chen Ji rolled his eyes: "Is it reasonable to arrest someone with a warrant for arrest? My mother said I arrested a wooden knife instead."

Old Ears laughed heartily: "Young man, you've cultivated the number one sword technique in the world! If someone tries to outsmart you, you can cut them down with a single sword strike. If someone wants to kill you, you can cut them down with a single sword strike. But if you encounter injustice, don't waste words with them; you can cut them down with a single sword strike!"

Chen Ji seemed to be deep in thought.

Old Ears suddenly said regretfully, "It's a pity there's no wine."

Both fell silent, watching the sky darken and the sun sink below the horizon, outlining a blue and purple hue at the edge of the world.

Old Ears said slowly, "You could have easily left just now. With Old Xianggen taking the blame for you, you could have at least delayed Tokyo Road and Yuan Heng Li Zhen for half a day. With that time, you would have already traveled a hundred miles. After you left Erdaobaihe Town, you could have caught your breath in Kaizhou and reached Lushun Port the next day... But you insisted on going against Yuan Heng Li Zhen."

Chen Ji casually said, "Didn't you just say that you would kill anyone who did wrong? I have a grudge against Yuan Heng Li Zhen, so naturally I have to collect some interest from him first."

Old Ears chuckled: "You're not telling the truth again. It's true you want to collect some interest, but if it were up to your old ways, you would definitely wait for a more secure time... The reason you attracted the elite troops of Tokyo Road and the Mo Dao Camp was because you were worried that you would implicate Old Xianggen and the others for no reason, right? Kid, this world always laughs at good people, but having good intentions is not something to be ashamed of. If you weren't like this, I wouldn't bother with you."

At this moment, the two came to a fork in the road. Chen Ji looked left and right, but there was no sign for the fork, and he didn't know where each road led.

He looked at the old man with the ear: "Which way?"

Old Ears pointed to the left: "This way, this is the road to Lushun."

Chen Ji turned his horse around and rode to the right: "Then let's go this way."

Old Ears widened his eyes: "You kid don't believe me? You think I'd do something bad on purpose?"

Chen Ji scoffed, "Can you be trusted?"

Old Ears angrily retorted, "If it weren't for me, you would have died in Changbai Mountain, do you know that?"

Chen Ji glanced at him sideways: "Why would I be in Changbai Mountain?"

The old man, his neck stiff with disdain, retorted, "Then don't worry about it!"

The two men, cursing and swearing, rode into the sunset, leaving their pursuers far behind.

……

Second update! Requesting monthly votes! (End of Chapter)