How did I, a fake bodyguard, become a terrestrial immortal?

"A living person?"

Lu Yang looked at the stone gate of the sunken shipyard.

Zhou Shun nodded.

His gaze fell on the half of the Xuanwu Dart Token, and his thoughts seemed to return to twenty-one years ago.

……

The old ferry crossing was not yet abandoned at that time.

The Qinglong River has a rapid current, and merchant ships and escort fleets come and go every day. The taverns and inns on the riverbank are lit up all night.

The night Lu Chenzhou arrived at the old ferry, it was raining heavily.

Just as Zhou Shun finished stowing the ferry, he heard the sound of rapid hoofbeats coming from afar.

A caravan carrying goods crashed through the rain and came to a stop outside the ferry crossing.

The two horses pulling the cart were exhausted. One of them had just stopped when it knelt down in the mud.

The driver was tall and wore a black outfit soaked in blood.

The Xuanwu Dart Flag behind him was only half intact, its surface riddled with holes left by swords and knives.

Zhou Shun recognized the other person at a glance.

"Chief镖头 Lu?"

At that time, Lu Chenzhou had already made a name for himself in the Northern Border Escort Agency.

Wherever the Xuanwu Banner goes, bandits avoid it, and even martial arts sects are willing to give it some face.

But that night, he had no bodyguards with him.

There was only one escort vehicle, completely sealed off with black cloth and chains.

"Open the shipyard."

Lu Chenzhou jumped off the carriage, his voice a little hoarse.

Looking at the still-bleeding wound on his chest, Zhou Shun hesitated and said, "Chief镖鲁, the Sunken Shipyard has been closed for many years, and the waterways inside..."

"I know."

Lu Chenzhou took out a black token from his pocket.

The front of the token is engraved with Xuanwu (a mythical tortoise), while the back features an ancient character for "dart".

The Xuanwu Escort Order was still intact at that time.

Upon seeing the token, Zhou Shun dared not ask any further questions.

He was about to retrieve the iron key to open the shipwreck when a cough suddenly came from inside the carriage.

Lu Chenzhou.

The person in the car spoke very weakly, making it impossible to determine their exact age.

"Your men are all dead."

"If you keep sending them, you'll die too."

Lu Chenzhou didn't turn around. After a moment of silence, he said, "When I accepted the escort mission, I knew this trip would be difficult."

"It's not too late to regret it now."

The people inside the car paused for a moment.

"If you abandon this mission, I can guarantee no one will blame you."

Lu Chenzhou looked down at the chains on the carriage, his expression unchanged.

"When Lu was escorting goods across seventeen provinces, he never abandoned his mission halfway through."

"Or we'll send you to the Western Frontier!"

"Either I die on the road..."

The car fell silent again.

By the light of the ferry crossing, Zhou Shun could vaguely see a pale hand peeking out from under the carriage curtain.

A dark gold chain was fastened to that wrist.

The chain is engraved with tiny coiled dragons, something that no ordinary martial arts sect could possess.

Before Zhou Shun could get a good look, the sound of horses' hooves came from afar.

More than ten men in black robes appeared outside the ferry crossing.

They all wore white masks without facial features, and rainwater fell on the masks and slid down their blank faces.

The leader raised his hand.

"Lu Chenzhou, hand over the person who received the order."

Lu Chenzhou stood in front of the caravan, his right hand slowly clenching.

"Want to take on the escort mission?"

"Take my life to rob me!"

The man in black robes did not continue to persuade him.

Several figures rushed out at the same time.

The blade flashed through the rain, heading straight for Lu Chenzhou's vital points.

Lu Chenzhou did not draw his weapon.

He took a step forward, letting the two long swords slash at his shoulder and chest, and then threw a punch.

The black-robed man at the forefront collapsed in the chest and was sent flying backward, knocking several people behind him into the river.

The remaining pursuers paused in their movements.

Lu Chenzhou stood in the rain, blood dripping continuously from the corner of his clothes.

Despite his severe injuries, he did not retreat even a single step.

"Zhou Shun! Open the door..."

Zhou Shun then came to his senses and hurriedly untied a wide-bottomed barge on the shore.

Lu Chenzhou pushed the caravan onto the boat and then cut the rope connecting the cart shafts by himself.

Zhou Shun poled the barge along the bank into the reeds, while Lu Chenzhou stood at the stern.

Several men in black robes tried to catch up, but they could not get even half a step ahead of him.

Lu Chenzhou only jumped back and landed on the bow of the barge when it arrived outside the shipwreck dock.

Zhou Shun moored the barge in front of the stone gate.

Lu Chenzhou placed the complete Xuanwu Dart Token into the groove of the stone gate.

The moment the token touched the stone gate, the Xuanwu pattern, which had been dormant for many years, gradually lit up.

The heavy stone gate slowly rose, and the waterway hidden in the mountainside reappeared before the two.

Lu Chenzhou retrieved the token and signaled Zhou Shun to continue rowing the boat.

The stone gate descended again behind them, completely blocking the pursuers.

The underground sewers were pitch black.

Zhou Shun lit the oil lamp at the bow of the boat, which could only illuminate a distance of a few feet ahead.

The barge carrying the escort vehicle sailed along the current into the depths of the sunken shipyard.

After traveling some distance, the person in the car spoke again.

"Lu Chenzhou, your son was just born."

Lu Chenzhou's eyes showed a slight change.

The person in the car continued, "Your escorting me to the Western Border will only make those people more certain that the Lu family is involved in this matter."

"Aren't you afraid they'll find the child?"

Lu Chenzhou remained silent for a long time.

"I have entrusted him to someone I can trust."

"He will not learn martial arts, nor will he inherit the Lu family's security escort agency."

"If he just acts like an ordinary person, no one will notice him."

A soft sigh came from inside the car.

"Do you really think he can hide from those people?"

Lu Chenzhou did not answer.

Zhou Shun didn't dare to ask any questions and could only continue rowing the boat.

The barge eventually came to a forked waterway.

The left side leads to the main channel of the Qinglong River, from where you can turn towards the western border.

To the right is an abandoned tributary with extremely low water levels, making it impassable for ordinary boats.

Lu Chenzhou told Zhou Shun to stop.

"Go back."

Zhou Shun was taken aback for a moment: "Chief镖师 Lu, it's still a long way ahead."

"I'll walk the rest of the road myself."

Lu Chenzhou took off the money pouch from his waist and placed it on the bow of the boat.

Zhou Shun didn't touch it.

"Those men in black robes are still guarding outside. If I go back now, I will only face certain death."

"After the stone gate closes, they can't get in for the time being."

"Go out from the right tributary and walk three miles along the mountain path to return to the north side of the old ferry."

"Don't tell anyone what happened tonight."

"If anyone asks, just say you've never seen me before."

……

"And then?" Lu Yang asked.

Zhou Shun snapped out of his reverie and slowly shook his head.

"There was no 'later'."

"I left the shipwreck dock from the tributary and hid in the mountains for three days before daring to return to the old ferry."

"Those people wearing white masks are gone. But Chief Escort Lu hasn't returned either."

Lu Yang looked down at the half of the Xuanwu Dart Token in his hand.

He, the adopted father, knew that continuing to escort the bodyguard might implicate his newborn son, yet he still chose to send that person to the Western Frontier.

I don't know whether to say he adhered to professional ethics.

He's just too stubborn.

Zhao Mingtang noticed something else.

"Did those pursuers refer to the people in the car as the 'missioned men'?"

Zhou Shun nodded.

"That's exactly what they call it."

"That man also had a royal dragon chain on his wrist?"

"I only saw it once, so I can't be completely sure."

Zhao Mingtang did not press further, but his expression became noticeably more serious.

In the royal family of Dali, there has never been a so-called "mandate of heaven".

At least among the royal records collected by the Prince An's Mansion, there is no record of these three characters.

Lu Yang then asked, "What is the relationship between the woman in black robes from two days ago and the pursuers from back then?"

"I don't know."

Zhou Shun's face showed a hint of lingering fear: "However, the mask she wore was exactly the same as those people's."

"Before she planted the Gu worm in me, she asked me many questions about Chief Escort Lu."

"She asked Chief Escort Lu which stone gate he entered the Sunken Ship Dock from, and which fork in the road I took him to. She also asked if the people in the car were alive at the time."

Hearing this, Lu Yang understood that the black-robed woman's abduction of Fang Xuan was probably just one part of the whole plan.

What she really wanted was the Xuanwu Dart Token in her possession, and the Xuanwu Zhenyue Seal hidden within his body.

Lu Yang, holding half of the token, walked to the stone gate of the Sunken Ship Dock.

As soon as the token approached, half of the Xuanwu pattern on the stone gate lit up.

The heavy stone door trembled slightly, but did not open completely as it had twenty-one years ago.

"There's only half a piece; it's not enough to open the main door," Zhou Shun said.

Are there any other entrances?

"There is a waterway under repair."

Zhou Shun pointed to the right side of the stone gate: "The entrance is very narrow, too narrow for a carriage to pass through, but people can get in."

"Let's repair the waterway." Lu Yang put away the token. "Rescue Fang Xuan first, then we can study this door."

Zhou Shun nodded, but did not lead the way immediately.

His gaze fell on the Yong'an token at Zhao Mingtang's waist, and his expression became somewhat hesitant.

"There's one more thing."

Zhao Mingtang keenly noticed Zhou Shun's gaze and slowly asked, "Is it related to the Great Li royal family?"

Zhou Shun remained silent for a moment.

"Before Chief Lu entered the Sunken Ship Dock, the person in the car asked him a question."

Everyone fell silent at the same time.

Zhou Shun gazed at the dark underground waterway and slowly spoke, "That man asked Chief Escort Lu... if you really send me to the Western Border, aren't you afraid that the Great Li Dynasty will be overthrown?"

Zhao Mingtang's expression suddenly changed!