Thief Emperor

Chapter 679: Good News
Wudang Mountain.

The Wu Zhou Dynasty valued Taoism, and the word "Wudang" in Wudang Mountain was the same as the surname of the emperor of the Wu Zhou Dynasty. The emperor of the Wu Zhou Dynasty did not require Wudang Mountain to avoid the surname of the emperor, but instead conferred titles on it several times.

At that time, the word Wudang was interpreted as "Wu rules the world", meaning that the Wu family should rule the world. Just because of these two words, Wudang Mountain was repeatedly rewarded by the Wu Zhou Dynasty.

After several generations of emperors bestowed many gifts, Wudang Mountain had been upgraded to become one of the Taoist paradises, and nine palaces including Zixiao Palace and Jingle Palace were built on the mountain, which was once very popular.

Each of these nine Taoist temples has a chief. When the incense was at its peak, each chief was the most outstanding person in Taoism.

However, no matter what business it is, as long as it is an off-the-job industry that does not engage in production, it will surely prosper with the prosperity of the world and decline with the decline of the world.

Ten years ago, Wudang Mountain was still a blessed place with great incense burning. However, now there are frequent wars in various places and people are uneasy. Wudang Mountain has long lost its former glory. Although it cannot be said that there are very few pilgrims now, the incense burning is only one tenth of that in its heyday.

Fortunately, the Taoist disciples were relatively easy-going. Mount Wudang could not accommodate too many people, so many of them went down the mountain to travel around the world and find food for themselves. They did not really starve to death, but the atmosphere was not as good as before.

Early that morning, at the mountain gate at the foot of Wudang Mountain, two Nine Palace masters dressed in purple were waiting at the mountain gate. They were both in their fifties, and each was followed by two or three disciples.

Not long after, a middle-aged official in the robes of a provincial governor came jogging over. When he saw the two masters, he hurried forward and bowed, "Two Taoist priests, two Taoist priests."

This middle-aged official was none other than Yan Ji from Junzhou.

Influenced by Mount Wudang, Junzhou has worshipped Taoism for 200 years. Governor Yan has also believed in Taoism since he was a child and has great respect for the Taoists of Mount Wudang. After paying his respects, he bowed his head and smiled bitterly, saying, "The one from Jiangdong will arrive at noon."

"Right now, the mountain has been surrounded by the Jiangdong Army."

One of the two heads was already in his sixties. He frowned when he heard this and said, "Doesn't that mean that we are cutting off the way for pilgrims to climb the mountain?"

Governor Yan smiled bitterly and said, "Junzhou has already been lost. Why should we care about the pilgrims at this time? They have the power now, so naturally they will do whatever they say. The two Taoist priests, please cooperate with us. Just treat it as closing the mountain for one day."

At this point, Governor Yan whispered, "These people are not subject to the king's law. They kill people whenever they want, and they kill people without breaking the law. In the past two years, wherever Wang Junping went, war and disaster were rampant."

"Wudang must be careful. Don't upset that person and cut off the immortal mountain's thousands of years of incense."

The older head of the Jiugong Sect is named Cui Shouyi. He entered the sect when he was young and has been in the mountains for many years. Although he is over 60 years old this year, his hair is almost entirely black. At first glance, he looks only in his early 40s.

Hearing this, he looked at Governor Yan and said, "Envoy Yan, please wait here for a while. I will go and talk to those Jiangdong soldiers."

"In the past few years, I have also heard some things about Jiangdong. These Jiangdong soldiers are very different from Wang Junping and his men. I have never heard of them killing innocent people indiscriminately."

After saying this, Taoist Cui strode towards the foot of the mountain.

The other leader surnamed He looked at Yan Ji and said, "Envoy Yan, what's wrong..."

Yan Ji smiled bitterly and said, "The army is besieging the city. If Junzhou doesn't open the city and surrender, it won't be able to hold out for a few days. With no other choice, they had to surrender to the bandits..."

"Subdue that man."

He sighed and said, "The generals leading the Jiangdong troops said that they would wait until that person arrived in Junzhou before dealing with me. By then, I don't know what will happen to Yan."

He looked at Master He and sighed, "If I am lucky enough to survive, I will also go up the mountain to become a Taoist priest and become your disciple."

Sect Leader He shook his head slightly and said with a smile: "With your mindset, you cannot enter the Dao."

He looked at Yan Ji, somewhat curious, and asked, "That Wu... well, that person has a good reputation, why is Envoy Yan so opposed to it?"

"Reputation is spread out."

Yan Ji snorted, "I heard that the man was a bandit who robbed people in the mountains. He took advantage of the chaos in the world and pretended to be good people with a group of people. He joined the army and it took him several years to slowly become powerful."

"Master, do you think that if you are truly a righteous leader, would you become a bandit?"

"How can a bandit be a good person?"

Upon hearing this, Sect Leader He frowned slightly, glanced at the foot of the mountain with some worry, and sighed, "Brother Cui is too impulsive."

…At the foot of the mountain, Meng Qing was leading a battalion of soldiers to impose martial law at the foot of the mountain, sealing off the mountain path and prohibiting anyone from climbing the mountain. Just as the Jiangdong soldiers had sealed off the entire mountain path, Sect Leader Cui walked steadily and unknowingly approached Meng Qing. He bowed to Meng Qing and said, "Mountain Taoist Cui Shouyi, I greet this general."

Meng Qing was startled by the man who suddenly appeared in front of him, but he was calm and composed. He took a step back silently, looked up at the Taoist priest, and asked, "Is it the Taoist priest from the mountain?"

"Yes."

Cui Shouyi bowed his head slightly and said, "I am the head of the Zixiao Palace in Wudang Mountain. I knew that King Wu would arrive today, so I waited here specially."

He paused and said, "General, welcoming distinguished guests is Wudang's duty, but Wudang also accepts ordinary pilgrims. Can we open the mountain road to allow ordinary pilgrims to go up the mountain as well?"

Meng Qing looked at him, then narrowed his eyes and shook his head decisively: "No way."

"My king is assassinated countless times every year. How can he go up the mountain with tourists?"

Cui Shouyi lowered his head, bowed to Meng Qing, and argued for a few more words.

Meng Qing had no choice but to say in a deep voice, "Let's close the mountain for half a day. When His Majesty arrives, I will talk to Him about it."

Cui Shou nodded and said, "Well, I will stay here and wait for His Royal Highness the King of Wu with the general."

He stood beside Meng Qing, looked at Meng Qing, and asked, "What's your name, General?"

"My surname is Meng, Meng Qing."

Cui Shouyi's fingers moved slightly, as if he was calculating something, but he said nothing. He looked at his nose with his eyes and his heart with his nose, and stopped talking.

It was not until almost noon that Li Yun's carriage, accompanied by a group of guards, stopped in front of the mountain road. Li Yun, dressed in a black robe, jumped down from the carriage. As soon as he took a look at the surrounding environment, Meng Qing and other generals surrounded him, half-knelt in front of Li Yun, and bowed deeply in greeting: "Greetings, Your Majesty!"

Li Yun raised his hand and said with a smile: "Everyone get up, everyone get up."

After everyone stood up, Cui Shouyi stepped forward and bowed to Li Yun: "Wudang Taoist Cui Shouyi pays homage to the King of Wu."

Li Yun took a look at him and felt that this Taoist had extraordinary manners and manners. At first glance, he seemed to be full of energy and looked like a fairy from other worlds.

He looked at it for a while, then smiled and said, "Master, please stand up. Master, please stand up."

After Cui Shouzhi stood up, Li Yun spoke up, "I've heard that Wudang is a Taoist paradise. Today I finally got the chance to see it. It really lives up to its reputation."

"Even the Taoist priests on the mountain all have an air of immortality and demeanor."

Cui Shouyi smiled at Li Yun and said, "Your Majesty, your internal martial arts skills are also quite extraordinary. I wonder who taught you?"

Li Yun was stunned, then looked at the Taoist priest.

He did learn some breathing techniques when he was young. After he grew up, these techniques had become his instincts, and he breathed according to them all the time, so he had put this matter behind him.

His extraordinary strength and various aspects of his physical fitness must be related to this breathing method.

Just as he was about to speak, his follower Su Zhan trotted over and stood near Li Yun, lowering his head and saying, "Master, military intelligence."

Li Yun followed him to the side and asked, "What's the matter?"

Su Zhan bowed his head deeply and said, "Governor Huang has already conquered Tangzhou."

"More than 2,000 soldiers were captured in Tangzhou. Now, they have marched into Yuzhou. He asked his superiors whether to attack Yuzhou..."

Hearing this, Li Yun narrowed his eyes and did not answer directly. Instead, he said lightly: "Don't reply yet. Wait two days and see."

After saying this, he turned around and looked at Cui Shouyi, laughing loudly, "Master, let's go up the mountain."

(End of this chapter)