Misty Rain of the Old Times

Chapter 322 A Smooth Road

Before dawn, a raging fire broke out on Niu Shou Mountain. Neither wind nor rain could stop the spread of the fire, and the flames illuminated half the sky red.

In less than half an hour, the bandit's lair on Niu Shou Mountain was burned to the ground, and the place that once terrified people became a thing of the past.

By the time the sky was turning white, the fire had been extinguished and a little smoke was rising, as if telling of the sin that had happened here.

After watching the place being completely engulfed in flames, Chen Xuan turned around and left. He already knew the answer he wanted. The man really didn't know much and was just an insignificant marginal character, but what he revealed was enough. He just wanted a definite answer, not a detailed chain of evidence.

The man was already dead, having committed suicide. He died in the flames and was burned to ashes.

He was not a bandit, but just a small character who followed orders and did things for money. Chen Xuan had never thought of killing him, but he still committed suicide. In his own words, he would die if he went back, and his relatives would be implicated. Dying here was the best outcome.

An operation against Gao Jingming ended in failure. With such an incident, anyone who had anything to do with it would not survive.

This person, when he doesn't have the means to control his own destiny, then he is helpless...

In the morning, the wind stopped and the rain stopped, and the bright sunshine shone on the world again.

The carriage was traveling on the official road to Beijing. Last night's wind and rain had made the road muddy. In the mountains and forests, and in the deep valleys, there were many streams rushing, like white jade belts.

In the car, Chen Xuan and Gao Jingming were playing chess. After a move was made, Chen Xuan laughed and said, "On our way to Beijing, not to mention every move and every word, but everywhere we went was under the observation of others."

Gao Jingming looked at the chessboard, pondered for a moment, and then placed a piece down. He said nonchalantly, "That's normal. This trip to Beijing to take the exam is legitimate. Our accommodation and transit records are all kept. We don't need anyone watching us. Anyone with a little bit of skill can understand our movements."

"That's true," Chen Xuan nodded in agreement, and then asked with interest, "So, Master, you still have the same intention as before? Now that you know who is targeting you..."

Gao Jingming made his move calmly and said with a smile, "So what?"

"I really admire your character. To be honest, I'm not afraid of you laughing at me, young master. If I were in your shoes, I would have backed off long ago," Chen Xuan said with emotion.

Shaking his head, Gao Jingming pondered the chess game calmly and said, "What else can I do? I'll just sink into this world of pleasure and enjoy a lifetime of glory. I have to do something to make my life worthwhile. Ah Xuan, you also said something similar. As for my afterlife, I won't be around anymore after that. How can I care so much?"

"So this is what I admire about you, young master," Chen Xuan said sincerely.

He smiled and said, "A Xuan, don't talk about me. If you were in my shoes, based on my understanding of you, I don't know what terrible things would happen."

"Well, you can't say that, because I'm a rough man, a warrior, a reckless man. I can only use violence. I can't solve the problem, nor can I solve the problem of the person who caused the problem. Unlike you, you have more issues to consider within the rules," Chen Xuan said frankly.

Gao Jingming suddenly laughed and said: "As long as the goal can be achieved, the process is not important."

"Young Master, you've learned bad things," Chen Xuan was speechless, then he pondered and said, "In fact, many things really can't be solved by violence. Now I feel a little touched. Because some things, if they are not changed from the root, will still take root and sprout again after being destroyed by violence, and grow vigorously over and over again. That's why people like you are needed to stand up."

Gao Jingming said after making a light move: "I just want to give it a try and see how far I can go. I don't have too much hope in my heart."

"Even if there is no return?"

"Even if there is no return!"

"Even if it's a family as big as the Wu family? Even if the Wu family only represents a tiny part of some group, even if you really threaten that group and thus attract the unanimous targeting of the entire group?" Chen Xuan asked again.

Glancing at him speechlessly, Gao Jingming said, "Ah Xuan, I'm not even qualified to start right now, so please stop putting pressure on me, okay?"

"Haha, pressure is motivation. Just go ahead and do it, young master. Even if the worst result happens, I'm not exaggerating, safety can still be guaranteed, and the sky won't fall," Chen Xuan said, looking down at the chess board.

Then he found that he could not place a piece, and the dragon had been blocked by Gao Jingming. He simply threw away the chess piece and disrupted the chessboard, saying: "I don't want to play anymore. In terms of layout, I am not even worthy of carrying your shoes."

"So, Xuan, you cheated by overturning the chessboard?" Gao Jingming said with a helpless smile.

With a smug smile, Chen Xuan said, "Yes, I can flip the chessboard. What can you do to me, Master?"

"If you can't win, just overturn the chessboard. Who will play with you in the future?" Gao Jingming said as he cleared the chessboard.

Shrugging his shoulders, Chen Xuan left the carriage road: "Then let's not play anymore. Anyway, this is how things are. You just need to know what's going on. Now it's just a small fight to make you behave yourself and give up when you see difficulties. If you continue to insist, you know better than me what you will face."

The one who arranged people to target Gao Jingming in Niu Shou Mountain was the Wu family, the Wu family with a five-hundred-year-old history. This was the answer Chen Xuan had gotten from that person before, and it was verified through special means that the other party did not have the mental will of that death warrior to withstand Chen Xuan's methods.

However, he was too small a figure to know much, and was practically clueless. Chen Xuan only knew the true mastermind behind the attack on Gao Jingming from him. As for why Gao Jingming was targeted, he had no idea. Perhaps the hidden danger had been planted since Gao Jingming had excitedly reported cassava, a crop that was easy to grow and had a high yield and could be used as food.

Don't ask why. Some people 'feel' that things that are not good for them have no need to exist, or that they must be in their own hands so that they can play the greatest value at the critical moment. If others don't reach that level, they will be in trouble.

Anyway, Gao Jingming has been told that he still wants to realize his ambitions and do something, and Chen Xuan is also happy to see how far he can go.

Gao Jingming didn't even bother to put away the chessboard and followed him out of the carriage road. "It's not as serious as you say, Axuan. The past two years may be the best opportunity. If I seize it well, there's a good chance I can break some bones. The prerequisite is that I have to be valuable enough. Otherwise, no matter how good the situation is, it's just empty talk. But many deeply rooted things are not so easy to shake. I guess I can only do it to the extent of causing pain."

Chen Xuan understood what Gao Jingming said. In the past two years, Emperor Shang Xuan had grown old. How much longer could he hold on? Although no one dared to say it openly, many people could see that this year's Autumn Examination would probably be his last.

Can he last another three years?

Very difficult.

Once the throne changes, the court structure changes. As Gao Jingming said, he has enough value in such an environment and can take the opportunity to do many things.

Although he understood it in his heart, Chen Xuan was too lazy to bother thinking about it. He shook his head and said, "Master, don't tell me this. It gives me a headache. I'm good at chopping people, so forget about the rest."

He changed the subject and pointed ahead, saying, "Youlongpo is not far away, right?"

"Well, it's less than ten miles away. My master had an accident there that year, which ended his future in the imperial examination," Gao Jingming nodded.

Chen Xuan smiled and said, "It's been almost thirty years. Time flies. Now the young master has already walked this road again with the master's will..."

As they chatted and laughed, the ten miles passed quickly and Chen Xuan and his friends arrived at Youlongpo.

Nearly thirty years have passed, and with the passage of time, this place is no longer what it used to be, and nature has covered up the past.

It is said to be a slope, but in fact it is a valley, so deep that you can't see the bottom. A stream flows out of the valley. The heavy rain last night caused the stream to rise sharply, but it was not enough to destroy the bridge. It flowed to the downstream and gathered into a lake, and then flowed to the distance.

When passing by here, Chen Xuan looked around, closed his eyes slightly and felt carefully, his eyebrows moving slightly.

Even with his cultivation as a grandmaster, he could not sense any remaining aura after nearly thirty years, but it did not prevent him from seeing some things based on the surrounding environment.

At this moment, an extremely shocking picture appeared in his mind.

It was a stormy evening, the sky was gloomy with lightning and thunder, and heavy rain was pouring down. The valley was flooded with surging water, mixed with rolling mud and rocks. In the terrifying torrent, a terrifying creature that was a hundred feet long was looming. It swung its tail and raised waves to destroy the mountains, and its scaly claws left ten feet of claw marks on the cliff.

That horrible creature was just passing by downstream, bringing despair and disaster to some people who 'happened' to pass by here!

Slowly opening his eyes, Chen Xuan looked downstream. More than ten miles away, there was an irregular lake with a diameter of ten thousand feet. There were long and short tributaries on the edge of the lake, like cracks.

"That lake wasn't formed naturally; it was clearly carved out by a horrific battle. I seemed to see the flashing of swords soaring into the sky, and I seemed to hear the roars and wails of terrifying beasts, as blood rained down. To this day, there are still creatures in the lake that have been lucky enough to consume its precious blood."

Chen Xuan had already known that when Mr. Yushan passed by here, he did not encounter an unexpected disaster, but a dragon was causing trouble. He just happened to be there at the right time. The dragon had already been slaughtered by three masters working together. To this day, Gao Jingming has a part of the dragon hanging around his neck.

The mistake that happened more than 20 years ago did not happen again, and Chen Xuan and his group passed Youlongpo smoothly.

Gao Jingming looked at Chen Xuan curiously and asked, "Xuan, why do I feel like Li is a little eager to try? What are you thinking about?"

Chen Xuan said with a bit of regret: "Nothing, I was just wondering, if we encounter the dragon from more than 20 years ago this time, can I kill it by myself?"

Gao Jingming: "...A Xuan, are you serious?"

"Think about it, it's not illegal. But then again, according to your description, even if I encounter it, I would only have about a 90% chance of success. It's not very safe. It's a pity that the dragon died a long time ago, otherwise I could have given it a try," Chen Xuan said, shaking his head.

"I'm going to read," Gao Jingming said and returned to the car.

Curling his lips, Chen Xuan said, "How ridiculous that a mere scholar doesn't know a great master in person."

Looking back, Chen Xuan looked at the road ahead, thinking that the journey until he reached Beijing would probably be smooth sailing...

(End of this chapter)