The Glory After Rebirth [ɇÇ”Ÿä¹‹Å°Šè£] Chapter 274- 276

Chapter 274: The Oncoming Return to the Capital City of the Team

With a calm look on his face, Yuwen Tong said, “You may cut to the chase with me, Your Highness. I don’t like it when people beat around the bush.”

The King Yu, not offended at Yuwen Tong’s bluntness, responded, “I like your straightforwardness, Marshal. My intention is very simple – I wish to strike up a friendly relationship with you.”

He didn’t say anything about wanting Yuwen Tong’s help. He just said he intended to cultivate good relations with him.

“And how do you want to do that?” Yuwen Tong looked at him.

Eyes on Yuwen Tong, an earnest expression on his face, the King Yu replied, “Marshal, I think you know very well that although you’ve ceded half of your military power, there’s no guarantee you and your family will be safe forever. I hope you’ll give more consideration to your escape route. Actually I invited you to meet me here today because there’s a particular thing I want to tell you about – the sole reason why my father set out to eliminate you so soon was that the Wan Kingdom’s emperor, in order to ensure Shan Congwen’s safe return from the Great Yue, had agreed to prolong the period of validity of the non-aggression treaty to twenty years!”

Yuwen Tong’s brows briefly twitched, his eyes flashing towards the King Yu.

Seeing that there was finally an expected expression on Yuwen Tong’s face, the King Yu secretly felt a slight sense of relief and continued, “Think about it – the non-aggression treaty will last twenty years. Such a long time is more than enough for my father to put the North-western Army under his command, turning them into an imperial guard, which will, naturally, render you redundant.”

The King Yu had made it very clear – what with this twenty-year peace treaty, Yuwen Tong had become the emperor’s greatest threat, and on no account would the emperor let Yuwen Tong live; if Yuwen Tong wanted to survive, he must find a way out, and offering him a way out was exactly why the King Yu had come here.

“I’ve always been holding you in high regard and admiring you, Marshal. When I was a young boy, what I heard the most often was battlefield report about where you, who was then still a general, had won yet another victory. So since childhood, I’ve been looking up to you as a hero of the Great Yue, the incarnation of the God of War. I never believed that you’d ever do anything traitorous. If I’m enthroned, I’d want to see you remain the marshal of the Great Yue.”

The King Yu, having expressly made his point, fixed Yuwen Tong with a gaze, waiting for him to make a decision.

Yuwen Tong didn’t make a reply immediately. After a while, he rose to his feet. “Thank you for your advice, Your Highness. Consider your efforts to cultivate good relations with me successful. As for what might come next, we shall have further talks about it.”

Inwardly the King Yu was very satisfied. Yuwen Tong’s positive response to his overtures was a good start!

“Sure. You don’t have to rush into any decisions. I arranged this meeting merely because I wanted you to know about the cause of that unfortunate incident, so that you’d be more aware of the situation.”

Having achieved his ends, the King Yu didn’t try to persuade Yuwen Tong to stay longer when Yuwen Tong expressed his intention to return.

“Your Highness, do you think Yuwen Tong will agree?” said the King Yu’s henchman, watching Yuwen Tong’s receding back.

The King Yu replied in a deep voice, “He will agree.”

“Well, if by any chance the King Duan…”

“Zhou Mingyuan?” the King Yu sneered. “Impossible. Back then when Yuwen Tong and Ling Zhang were on their way to this city, Ling Zhang was almost poisoned in Wu City, for which Peng Fang was the one responsible. Although at that time Peng Fang hadn’t openly taken Zhou Mingyuan’s side, Yuwen Tong has definitely found out about the truth, and even if he hadn’t, we’ll have to figure out a way to make sure he’s informed. Everybody knows how protective Yuwen Tong is of Ling Zhang. You think he would still choose Zhou Mingyuan after this matter comes to his knowledge?”

“Uh… there are no permanent enemies.”

The King Yu shook his head. “Yuwen Tong is different, and if he really could put aside Zhou Mingyuan’s previous attempt on Ling Zhang’s life, he would be too formidable, and what he wants to be would by no means be merely someone who helps a prince accede to the throne.”

His henchman fell silent.

…

Meanwhile, Yuwen Tong had returned to the Ling Mansion, and Ling Zhang had seen Tao Yi off.

“What was it Tao Yi wanted to see you about?” Yuwen Tong was the first to start asking questions.

On hearing this, Ling Zhang, who wanted to asked him about his meeting with the King Yu, had no choice but to tell him about why Tao Yi had visited him. “I declined the invitation, because I don’t want to get them into any trouble, given the circumstances.”

Yuwen Tong nodded. “It’s indeed not the right time, but if you really want to meet them, I can make it happen.”

Ling Zhang shook his head. “No, that won’t be necessary. Knowing that they care about me is enough for me. Right now you need me more than they do.”

Yuwen Tong was briefly stupefied and then, as a beam broke across his face, reached out his hand with the intention to sweep Ling Zhang into his embrace to make out with him.

Ling Zhang slapped his hand away. “Stop it. You still haven’t told me what your meeting with the King Yu was about.”

“Just as I expected, he wants me to take his side and assist him to take the throne,” said Yuwen Tong blandly. “It turns out that previously I kind of underestimated him. At this juncture, he’s showing more daring and greater resolution than Zhou Mingyuan is.”

Unfortunately for the King Yu, no matter how audacious and committed he was, it was already too late. In addition, Yuwen Tong didn’t believe a single word of what he’d said during the meeting. His statements about admiring Yuwen Tong as a hero could only fool the unsophisticated. If Yuwen Tong really helped the King Yu ascend the throne, the King Yu would also try to eliminate him just like the incumbent emperor. None of the members of the Zhou family was trustworthy.

“What did he say?” asked Ling Zhang curiously.

“He told me about the cause of this upheaval. The period of validity of the peace treaty between the Wan Kingdom and the Great Yue has been extended to twenty years,” said Yuwen Tong.

“Twenty years?” Ling Zhang was astonished. To his knowledge, previously it’d been ten years.

Yuwen Tong appeared very calm. “I’ve long since come to know about this. It doesn’t matter whether it is twenty or thirty years. Actually the Wan Kingdom would’ve made it fifty if they have to. All they want is for Shan Congwen to return safely, and for their country to have enough time to regain strength. When they have enough troops and provisions, they might immediately wage another war.”

It was ridiculous that the Zhou family, after suffering so many losses during their previous dealings with the Wan Kingdom, still hadn’t learned their lesson and had actually believed it. Or maybe they just needed something to justify their attempt to eliminate him.

It wasn’t for merely one or two days that the emperor had been wary and suspicious of him anyway.

“Are you saying that the Wan Kingdom could scrap the treaty at any moment? Then what should we do?” The possibility of the outbreak of another war concerned Ling Zhang.

“That won’t happen anytime soon. Without help, the Wan Kingdom needs at least five years to regain enough strength to start another war,” replied Yuwen Tong.

Five years? Ling Zhang felt slightly relieved. Chances were that after five years, many matters would have been settled. Relaxed, he failed to see that a glint flitted across Yuwen Tong’s eyes.

Without help, the Wan Kingdom indeed would need that much time, but what if they got help?

Yuwen Tong didn’t remind Ling Zhang of this, because there were some things he’d been planning, the developments of which would depend on potential changes of situation.

Yuwen Tong’s cession of half of his military power was indeed being a hindrance to the emperor’s further moves, and it’d even silenced many of the courtiers. Added to the cession of power had been a farce which had ended in a rather ugly fashion, and maybe because of this, the emperor, apart from paying generous compensation for the Yuwen family’s loss during the search, had willingly granted Yuwen Tong’s request for a long extension of his leave of absence in an effort to get a fig leaf.

There was no telling whether or not people were still discussing it in private, but on the surface, nobody was so insensible as to bring up what had happened in the residential compound of the Yuwen family earlier.

Yuwen Zhi had also taken a leave of absence and hadn’t been attending court meetings. Yuwen Feng and Yuwen You, however, were unable to rid themselves of the prying eyes. When in the imperial court, no matter how hard the other courtiers tried to nose out the details, the two of them refused to breathe a single word of the incident, having no intention whatsoever to satisfy their colleagues’ curiosity.

On this day, after a court meeting, Yuwen Feng and Yuwen You chanced upon each other.

“Granduncle.” Yuwen Feng made a bow with hands folded in front.

Yuwen You inclined his head, flicked a glance at him and sighed, “Is your father okay?”

Yuwen Feng replied, “He’s just suffering from some ailments caused by depression. He’ll recover in a couple of days.”

“And your brother?”

It was a few moments’ silence before Yuwen Feng said, “A court physician said there’s a high chance he’d never be able to walk again, so he’s been giving us a rather hard time recently.”

Yuwen You reached out his hand to pat his shoulder and asked, “You have grudges, don’t you?”

Yuwen Feng slightly shook his head. “Granduncle, if I say I don’t, you definitely wouldn’t believe me, but I also know that this time around my mother had only herself to blame. At bottom it was my fault. As her son, I failed to detect in time signs of my mother’s plan, almost allowing her to bring a disaster to our family. I inwardly hate myself more than anybody.”

Yuwen You made no remarks, sighing repeatedly. After quite a while, he said, “If you need my help, all you have to do is ask. The Yuwen family… is faced with an oncoming calamity, which makes many of our personal grudges trivial. Only by surviving this calamity will we be able to have a chance to settle the other matters.”

Yuwen Feng nodded. “I understand.”

What the Yuwen family was faced with was far more serious than just a calamity. If they failed to tackle it in the correct way, everybody bearing the surname ‘Yuwen’ in this family would meet their end. Nobody wanted to die.

Yuwen You, after parting from Yuwen Feng, sighed constantly on his way back and didn’t stop even when he was at home.

“Father, just now Tong had someone deliver a message here, saying that he’d pay us a visit in a while, that the team sent to Tanyang should return to the capital city in two days,” said Yuwen Si.

Yuwen You inclined his head, finally a hint of delight appearing on his face. “I see.”

…

In the Ling Mansion.

“I wonder whether or not news of what happened in the capital city has reached my grandfather’s and uncle’s ears. If it has, they must be very worried right now,” said Ling Zhang.

“I’ve personally written them a letter to explain everything already,” said Yuwen Tong.

Ling Zhang was astonished. “And when did you do that?”

He found that recently Yuwen Tong had been quite mysterious about his letters to his family in Tanyang, keeping them from him.

Yuwen Tong replied, “Quite a few days ago. I think their reply is about to arrive.”

Ling Zhang looked at him. “Don’t you keep this kind of thing back from me ever again. You must tell me. I don’t want my family to worry about us.”

Yuwen Tong hadn’t been intentionally trying to hide it from Ling Zhang. He’d just been too busy and forgotten that he needed to inform Ling Zhang. At this moment, after hearing Ling Zhang’s words, he naturally hastened to promise that next time he would tell him beforehand and would never keep it from him ever again.

Ling Zhang’s mood lightened somewhat as he heard his promise.

Chapter 275: Departure for the Millennium Pavilion

“Second Master Ling had originally planned to come to the capital city in a few days. Fortunately, my cousin’s letter arrived in time and Second Master Ling changed his mind,” said Yuwen Jin.

Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong were going to leave the capital city in a couple of days, went to the Millennium Pavilion first and then Tanyang. Ling Zhaowen would miss them had he been unaware of it and come to the capital city.

“It never crossed my mind that so many things would happen during our absence. Will we be able to finish the preparatory work for the wedding on time?” Yuwen Chi asked with a serious look on his face. He’d always had a perceptive understanding of the whole picture and anticipated some time ago that Yuwen Tong would hand over part of his military power, but he hadn’t expected that it’d happen so soon, and the occurrence of such an absurd incident had also come as a surprise to him. Although he was asking about the wedding, what he worried about was something of a higher plane – the fate of the Yuwen family.

“We will,” answered Yuwen Tong. Of course he knew what his uncles and cousins were concerned about. “I’m afraid I’ll have to put you to the trouble of dealing with all family matters for some time. I’ll sort things out after I return with Brother Zhang.”

Yuwen Chi felt that there was some kind of undertone in his words, but Yuwen Tong didn’t explain anything and just signaled him to look at Yuwen You. Having come to understand, Yuwen Chi nodded and said, “Rest assured, we’ll be cautious and have everything properly handled in the capital city.”

While Yuwen Tong was consulting with Yuwen Chi and the others about something, Yuwen Jin and Ling Zhang found a quiet spot to talk. First Yuwen Jin told Ling Zhang about their stay in Tanyang and also handed him what Ling Maomao had asked him to deliver to Ling Zhang. Ling Zhang watched the little wooden figurine in his hand which had been carved with childish technique. The features of it were rather rough, and he could tell at a glance that this was Ling Maomao’s work.

“Maomao wanted you to have this and keep him in mind at all times,” said Yuwen Jin.

Ling Zhang gave a smile, solemnly thanked Yuwen Jin for his trouble and started fingering the wooden figurine, inevitably homesick.

“He also wanted to come with me to the capital city to see you. Originally my uncle was very happy about it and intended to convince Second Master Ling to allow Maomao to come with us, but afterwards news of what happened here spread to Tanyang, and we realized that the situation here instantly became dangerous, so all of us didn’t dare bring him here any longer,” added Yuwen Jin.

After Yuwen Jin finished his remarks, both of them fell silent.

“Brother Zhang, do you regret having agreed to marry my cousin?” Yuwen Jin suddenly asked.

Ling Zhang’s face wore a quizzical look. “Why are you suddenly asking about this?”

Yuwen Jin sighed, “A little short-tempered as I am, I have a shrewd idea of what might be coming for our family. On our way back, my uncle was saying that he had no idea whether it was fortunate or unfortunate of you and my cousin to have decided to get married in these circumstances. If you two haven’t proclaimed that you are getting married, and something does happen, you could still–”

“Stop that nonsense!” Ling Zhang interrupted him, frowning. “You guys think I’m a coward who’d prefer life to dishonor?”

“That’s not what I mean,” Yuwen Jin hastened to explain. “I know you are not that kind of person. It’s just that Second Master Ling has been quite worried ever since what’d happened here came to his knowledge. My uncle and I and the others are all very guilty. We feel that this is not the right time, that we’re going to incriminate the Ling family.”

Ling Zhang shook his head. “Enough. Don’t sound so defeatist. This is just the beginning. Why are you getting so dejected as though you’re admitting defeat? Aren’t you the one who trusts your cousin the most? Since he told you to hang in there and wait for us to come back, he definitely has a plan. Have faith in him.”

The time had not come for Ling Zhang to confide Yuwen Tong’s plans and resolution to Yuwen Jin, so he could only drop a hint to him in a roundabout way. He added, “And for the record, I’ve never regretted it from the moment I decided to come to this city with Yuwen Tong, so don’t ask me this kind of questions ever again.”

Yuwen Jin raised his hand to scratch his head, feeling a sense of relief, awkwardly making an apology.

“By the way, where are you going with my cousin, Brother Zhang? Is it really so important that you have to leave at this juncture?”

Ling Zhang slightly nodded. “It’s very important.”

Yuwen Jin threw his chest out. “Then just go with my cousin. I’ll keep an eye on the Ling Mansion and make sure nobody in here is subjected to bullying.”

Ling Zhang smiled, “Thanks.”

…

Two days later, Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong secretly left the capital city and moved into the new manor.

Ji Yin was still absent, but he seemed to have come back once, for there was a message for them, in which he told them to go directly to Cangzhou to meet him.

Ling Zhang was worried about what might happen in the capital city, so he planned to go there and come back as quick as possible. After reading the message, he immediately instructed servants to get his baggage ready, preparing to depart. Almost all important parts of the revamp of the manor had been finished, and the rest of it didn’t require his occasional supervision. Yuwen Tong designated Yue Qi and some others to stay in the capital city. Apart from guarding this manor, their job also includes keeping a weather eye on the forces in the city and promptly reporting to him if anything happened.

Ling Zhang was bringing all his twenty-four security guards. Yao Yi and other personal bodyguards of Yuwen Tong’s naturally were going with them as well.

On that very night, they left the manor, heading south.

…

They rode non-stop on fast horses and reached Wu City at noon the next day.

At the sight of them, Ji Yin who had been waiting for them asked, “Is there anybody following you?”

Ling Zhang shook his head with absolute certainty. They had taken several detours on their way to Wu City, used some formations to conceal their traces, and also changed their disguise several time. Currently, both he and Yuwen Tong didn’t look as they used to. One of them appeared to be an itinerant merchant traveling to another city, and the other an accountant. There was no way any outsiders could recognize either of them.

Ling Zhang’s security guards and Yuwen Tong’s personal bodyguards had all scattered, covertly following the two of them, keeping a certain distance away from each other.

“On my return to Wu City, I heard of what happened in the capital city. That fatuous and self-indulgent emperor is unbelievably narrow-minded and ungrateful. It’s been such a short time since you handled the threat from the Wan Kingdom for him, yet he’s already bursting to get rid of you. You people of the Yuwen family are too soft. If I were you, I would’ve long ago contacted the North-western Army, staged an uprising, beheaded that fool sitting on the throne and become the emperor myself,” said Ji Yin without any scruples or a shred of respect for the incumbent emperor, sounding as though the emperor were an ant in his hand that he could squeeze to death at any moment.

After saying this, he added, “If you can’t handle it, I can do you a favor. It’ll take merely a couple of saber strikes to exterminate the Zhou family – first you’ll have to promise not to mention it to the clan leader, of course.”

Ling Zhang was startled at these words. “Grandfather–”

Yuwen Tong had begun speaking. “Thank you, Mr. Ji. Lives of members of the Zhou family are just a small matter, but the stability of the political situation of this country and people’s well-being are a big issue. I’m willing to spend more time to settle it. If things do get beyond my capabilities, I promise I’ll ask you for help.”

Ji Yin bobbed his head. “I’m glad to hear that you have it all planned out.”

When Ji Yin took them to the place where they were going to spend the night, there were still some thoughts whirling in Ling Zhang’s mind. A moment ago, when his grandfather had been talking about exterminating the Zhou family, there hadn’t been the slightest change in his tone which was so bland that he almost sounded apathetic. Ling Zhang believed that Ji Yin hadn’t been joking, that he had sounded so indifferent because he did have scanty regard for the lives of members of the Zhou family. He recalled that previously, when he’d been talking with Ji Yin about the new manor, Ji Yin had told him there was no need for him to worry about the loyalty of servants in the manor, because he could just use drugs to keep them under control if necessary… At that time he’d believed that Ji Yin was just joking and hadn’t taken it seriously, but now it seemed that that hadn’t been a joke.

In that year, the very reason why his mother couldn’t return to the Millennium Pavilion had been because she’d gone too far in her act of revenge, wiping out the whole family of the scum who’d killed her brother. The Millennium Pavilion had believed that her deeds had gone beyond the pale and threatened to expose the existence of the clan, so they’d decided to bring her back to receive her punishment. He had thought that on no account would his mother, who in his vague memory had always been a gentle woman, exterminate a whole family because of the wrong done by one man, that there must be some other reason, but now, after hearing Ji Yin’s previous words, he suddenly came to realize that there was another possibility – it was indeed to vent her anger that his mother had killed the members of a whole family. And his grandfather seemed to have the same mentality, not at all caring whether or not there was anybody innocent in the Zhou family. The only misgiving Ji Yin had about exterminating the Zhou family was that the leader of the Millennium Pavilion might find out. With a father like this, his mother…

Ling Zhang felt that it was somewhat disrespectful and unfilial of him to inwardly judge his mother and grandfather. In the final analysis, it was for his sake that his grandfather had offered to wipe out the Zhou family, and he was the last person to secretly comment on it. Besides, the Zhou family would definitely be wiped out in the future – if Yuwen Tong’s plan was a success…

“Grandfather, you’ve been on the run all along recently. Do you need to have a few days’ rest here before setting off for the Millennium Pavilion?”

On hearing this question and his tone, Yuwen Tong, who was walking side by side with Ling Zhang and knew him very well, came to realize that Ling Zhang had done some careful thinking just now.

“It’s okay. Grandfather is still robust. I just walked more than usual in the past few days. Staying here to rest won’t be necessary. Besides, you two are probably both worried about the situation in the capital city, so I think we should depart as soon as possible, but I’m afraid those guards you’ve brought with you will have to stay here,” said Ji Yin.

Both Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong were unsurprised at Ji Yin’s words. The Millennium Pavilion’s consent to their visit had come as a great surprise to them, and it would be quite abnormal if they were allowed to bring their guards.

“Before our entry into this city, I’ve instructed them to stay here and wait for us,” said Yuwen Tong.

Ji Yin nodded, looking at Ling Zhang. “What about your security guards?”

“I gave them the same instruction,” replied Ling Zhang. “Is the Millennium Pavilion in Cangzhou, Grandfather?”

Why were they not allowed to have their guards accompany them any further? Had the Millennium Pavilion been in Cangzhou all these years, by any chance? It was so close to the capital city of the Great Yue all along?

“It’s not here,” replied Ji Yin. “Just follow me, and don’t ask any questions. I’ll keep you safe.”

Since Ling Zhang had decided to go to the Millennium Pavilion, naturally he had some time ago prepared himself to follow the Millennium Pavilion’s rules. Finding his grandfather’s request understandable, he didn’t persist with his questioning and just flicked a glance at Yuwen Tong.

Yuwen Tong held his hand, signaling him to show some patience.

Ji Yin told them that they were to leave at midnight, that they should have a good rest before that.

“My grandfather told us not to ask any questions and just follow him, but he didn’t say anything else, which means that… we could watch.”

Yuwen Tong smiled, “That’s right. Mr. Ji didn’t disclose any details probably because it’s against the rules.”

“Where do you think the Millennium Pavilion is? My grandfather said it’s not in Cangzhou, but he insisted Brother Wang and all the others stop following us in this city.” Ling Zhang’s curiosity was piqued.

Yuwen Tong was much calmer than him. “Don’t worry. We’ll find out soon enough. Compared with this matter, how that mysterious clan leader will treat us after we enter the Millennium Pavilion concerns me more.”

Chapter 276: Arrival at the Millennium Pavilion

At midnight, Ji Yin showed up promptly. Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong had also got everything ready, and the three of them left the place where they’d put up.

They rode for ten full days before reaching their destination.

Yuwen Tong gazed at the border town in front, a grave look on his face, appearing to be fully aware of what kind of place they had just arrived in.

Ling Zhang was also astonished, for they’d been traveling north-west all along…

“Grandfather?”

“Here we are.”

Ling Zhang widened his eyes. This little town ahead of them was where the Millennium Pavilion was? No way. How was this secluded? How come nobody had ever found it for hundreds of years?

While Ling Zhang’s mind was in a whirl, Ji Yin continued, “We’ll spend the night in this town and set off for the mountain at the first light of day.”

Ji Yin pointed forward and Ling Zhang looked in that direction.

This frontier town was called Tongguan Town, lying to the south of Youzhou, bordering Shengzhou to the north, not far away from the fort of the North-western Army in the north. The geographical location of Tongguan Town was somewhat special. Although it was a fairly short distance away from the fort as the crow flew, a trip to the fort would take a very long time, what with the winding and narrow route between the two. Tongguan Town was surrounded with mountains, and to its west and north, in particular, vast mountains stretched to as far as the eye could see; those to the south and east were relatively low, with passable paths amid them.

The mountain Ji Yin was pointing at was the Sanguan Mountains, which was behind Tongguan Town.

The range of the Sanguan Mountains was very, very long, covering a vast area whereby the Great Yue, the Wan Kingdom and the Luohai Kingdom separated from each other. Standing loftily on the border between the three countries, it boasted countless towering, snow-capped peaks and precipitous cliffs. Birds could fly over it, but no human being could cross it, which made it the most secure border between the three countries.

It was rumored that in the depths of the Sanguan Mountains, windstorm that could devour people was a frequent occurrence, that there were also boundless poisonous miasma, ferocious beasts like jackals, wolves, tigers and so on, which were yet another reason deterring people apart from the dangerously steep terrain. Barely anybody would venture into the depths of the Sanguan Mountains. Even the most audacious ones living in the three countries didn’t dare go any deeper into it than the periphery.

Only when he saw Ji Yin pointing to the depths of the Sanguan Mountains did Ling Zhang came to realize that he’d misunderstood. This town was only a town, not the Millennium Pavilion, but the fact that the Millennium Pavilion was sited right in the depths of the Sanguan Mountains came as yet another great surprise to him.

Nobody could have foreseen this. Even Yuwen Tong was amazed. Having spent many years in the north-west, of course he had heard of the rumors about the Sanguan Mountains. He had taken some men to explore it out of his worries about the impassability of this natural barrier. Forbidding as it was, with his kung fu skills, it was not necessarily impossible for him to climb over it. However, due to the toxic miasma in the depths of the mountains, there was a very high risk of getting lost or even poisoned there. Trying to climb over the mountains would be perilous. On top of that, there was also icy windstorm there…

It was after scouting out the lie of the land several times that Yuwen Tong had finally confirmed that no common soldier could cross the Sanguan Mountains. Even if people with consummate kung fu skills might be able to force their way through, they posed no threat to him, for this kind of people were few and far between, and there were probably only a couple of them in the whole world. If someone with this kind of skills wanted to cross the border, going through a checkpoint would be a far better choice than climbing over the Sanguan Mountains at considerable risk to their own life. After confirming that the Sanguan Mountains were indeed a solid barrier impassable for most, Yuwen Tong had made arrangements for the periphery to be patrolled on a regular basis and had never again paid any special attention to them. Who could have thought that the Millennium Pavilion was actually in a place like this?

“There were toxic fog and miasma and windstorm in the mountains, and the boundaries of the Millennium Pavilion are protected by many defensive formations, so you must stay close to me all the time after we enter the mountains. In no circumstances should you lag behind,” exhorted Ji Yin.

“Grandfather, the habitability of this kind of place must be really poor. Why did you choose to live here?” Ling Zhang was very confused.

Ji Yin smiled, “Well, it has its compensations – nobody would disturb us, and as it’s on the border between three countries, none of the governments have jurisdiction over it. Moreover, although the Sanguan Mountains are a dangerous area, not all parts of them are uninhabitable. You’ll know what I mean when we get there.”

Ji Yin’s mysterious tone piqued Ling Zhang’s curiosity.

They put up at an inn in Tongguan Town that night and left the town to enter the Sanguan Mountains at daybreak the next morning.

…

Along the roundabout path, they proceeded. When they just entered the Sanguan Mountains, they kept hurrying forward without any of them saying anything. Ji Yin and Yuwen Tong both excelled at lightness skills. Although Ling Zhang still relied heavily on his Qi to keep up his speed, he moved a lot faster than common people could. Swooshing like the wind along the rugged mountain path, the three of them soon reached the area which residents of Tongguan Town, in the ordinary course of things, wouldn’t venture into.

After crossing this borderline, Ji Yin, with Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong hot on his heels, kept streaking deeper into the mountains. It was half a day before he slowed down.

Ling Zhang’s breathing had become somewhat uneven when they got to this place. His powers of endurance couldn’t hold a candle to Ji Yin’s or Yuwen Tong’s. Had they kept traveling at this pace, he wouldn’t be able to last long.

Ji Yin, quite gratified to see that his grandson hadn’t straggled behind so far, said, “The path ahead is much tougher, and we’ll have to start to beware of poisonous fog and miasma about half a day later. I’ll be going slower from here. Mind your step and follow close behind me, Zhang’er.”

“Okay.” Ling Zhang nodded.

And then Ji Yin led the way, Ling Zhang following in his wake, Yuwen Tong bringing up the rear. As expected, the terrain was growing much more dangerous, and there were a lot of places that even average kung fu practitioners couldn’t get through, which Yuwen Tong carried Ling Zhang and used his lightness skills to leap over. There were giant boulders with sharp edges, high precipices, slippery steep mountain paths, and tall dense thorns. Large beasts like bears could also be seen.

After half a day, Ji Yin came to a halt. It was already dark. Ling Zhang could see clouds of white fog in the area ahead. The fog was uneven in color and smelled somewhat weird. Ji Yin took out two alexipharmic pills and had Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong each swallow one.

“We could easily get lost if we travel in these mountains at night. Let’s just spend the night here and resume our journey tomorrow morning.”

Ling Zhang naturally raised no objections. His kung fu was not as good as theirs. If he insisted on continuing, he would only wind up becoming a burden.

Yuwen Tong went hunting and brought back a pheasant and some other wild animals, plucked and cleaned them in a stream and roasted them. They had anticipated that they’d have to stay overnight in the mountains, so they’d bought a lot of seasonings beforehand in the town. The meal turned out to be quite satisfying.

Ling Zhang took a couple of sips of the water he brought with him, heaved a sigh of contentment and looked at Yuwen Tong, eyes glinting. In the knowledge that he’d enjoyed the food very much, Yuwen Tong reached out a hand to stroke Ling Zhang’s cheeks and then used his thumb to wipe away the water at the corners of his mouth.

Ji Yin sneaked a glance at them and inwardly gave a snort. Seeing that this Yuwen boy dared take liberties with his grandson in his presence, he pointedly let out a soft cough, interrupting the affectionate eye contact of the two youngsters opposite him.

Embarrassed, Ling Zhang tore his eyes away from Yuwen Tong. Yuwen Tong, however, appeared pretty composed.

Ji Yin, who had a below-average appetite, hadn’t eaten much roast meat. He added some firewood into the campfire and said, “We put up here tonight. By the end of tomorrow we should get to our destination.”

Ling Zhang rose to his feet, cleared a space beside the fire, carried over a pile of broad withered leaves that he’d collected a while ago, spread them over the ground, took off his overgarment and lay it on top of the leaves. “Grandfather, you may sleep here.”

The corners of Ji Yin’s mouth unnoticeably curled in a faint smile at the sight of the primitive “bed”, but the words came out of his mouth were, “You sleep there. My skin is quite thick. There’s no need for you to go to such trouble.”

Ling Zhang had specially prepared it for Ji Yin, so of course he wouldn’t sleep on it himself. After coaxing Ji Yin for a few moments, he managed to convince him to accept the offer.

Yuwen Tong had also made a simple “bed”, but due to the presence of his grandfather, Ling Zhang was ashamed to share it with Yuwen Tong. That “bed” was not very broad, and if the two of them were to sleep on it together, they’d have to cuddle up against each other, which Ling Zhang felt would be quite embarrassing.

Ling Zhang simply squatted on his hams to perform Qi circulation. Having traveled in such dangerous terrain at Ji Yin’s and Yuwen Tong’s usual speed for a full day, he felt rather tired. Performing Qi circulation would be helpful in restoring his strength and easing the soreness in his legs.

Yuwen Tong drew him over to sit down on the spot he’d cushioned with leaves. “I’ll keep you company.”

Thus, that night, Ji Yin was sleeping on the side. Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong, in a cross-legged sitting position and a state of self-oblivion, kept circulating their internal energy throughout their meridian networks.

With Ji Yin and Yuwen Tong beside him, Ling Zhang was fully relaxed and didn’t have to worry about potential disturbance by wild beasts at all, spending the whole night in self-oblivion.

At daybreak the next morning, as the gray light of dawn went through his eyelids, he woke up from his Qi circulation and saw that the campfire they’d made last night had burnt out some time ago. Ji Yin and Yuwen Tong had awoken before him and were eating pancakes with water.

“You woke up. Have some food. We’ll set off in a while.” Yuwen Tong walked over, pulled him to his feet and handed him water and pancakes.

Ling Zhang took them, finished a big pancake with water, put on his overgarment, took Yuwen Tong’s hand and followed Ji Yin into the thick woods pervaded by poisonous fog and miasma.

…

Ling Zhang didn’t dare let down his guard for a single moment, holding Yuwen Tong’s hand tightly all the time for fear of getting separated from him, because the fog was thickening as they progressed deeper, and he could barely make out his own hands. Fortunately, Ji Yin was ahead of them all along and they stayed on his heels.

In this foggy area, apart from toxic fog and miasma, there were also dangerously abrupt mountain roads and clusters of thorns.

Just like Ji Yin had told them, it indeed took them nearly a full day to get through the foggy area. When they rid themselves of the fog, it was almost dusk. Then Ji Yin led them onto a circuitous path. Ling Zhang vaguely felt that this was a huge formation. On the surface they were taking one turn after another at random in Ji Yin’s wake, but actually their every step was following a certain pattern.

When Ji Yin told them to stop again, stars could be seen twinkling in the sky.

“Ahead of us is the last hurdle, and the Millennium Pavilion is right behind it. We sleep in the open here tonight. Tomorrow morning, you two are to stay here waiting, and I’ll go inside to report to the clan leader first and then return to take you in. This is my token. If anybody comes here while you’re waiting, show this to them.”

Ji Yin handed his token to Ling Zhang, who solemnly took it. The next day, he would meet the leader of the Millennium Pavilion and… his father. If truth be told, he was somewhat nervous.

The next morning, Ji Yin left. Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong stayed where they were, waiting for Ji Yin to return. When it was almost noon and Ji Yin was still not back, Ling Zhang became rather worried. Yuwen Tong, who was much more composed than him, consoled him, “Take it easy. I’m sure Mr. Ji will come back to take us inside. Let’s have a bite of lunch. I saw a brook there. How about I go get another couple of pheasants and roast them?”

Ling Zhang inclined his head. “Sounds good.”