Green Mountain

In the dark of night, Chen Ji heard the clash of metal behind him.

Yuan Xing lay hopelessly on his horse’s back, watching the Right Martial Guard and the Hu Ben Army slaughter each other as if two mountains had fiercely collided.

Iron armor grinded against iron armor, producing a piercing shriek, while warhorses crashed into each other, breaking their front legs and collapsing, flinging the riders from their backs.

Yuan Xing muttered, "Kid, do you know how much a warhorse costs in silver? And how much to repair a set of armor? With this happening, I can forget about ever entering the Central Council..."

Chen Ji calmly replied, "You should worry about surviving to return to Shangjing first."

Yuan Xing said in a low voice, "Kid, the Hu Ben Army won’t be held up for long, hurry to Panjin, or neither of us will make it. Once you reach Panjin, I’ll prepare a large ship for you, and you can get as far away as possible. If I see you on the battlefield again, I’ll kick your head around like a ball."

On the other side, Deputy Commander of the Right Martial Guard Yuan Feng’s gaze roamed the battlefield, and upon spotting the Hu Ben Army’s Great Commander, he immediately spurred his horse forward: "Lu Zhan, you think there are none to challenge the Right Martial Guard? Prepare to face me!"

"Fools bring out fools," the Great Commander of the Hu Ben Army Lu Zhan glanced at him, then instructed his trusted lieutenant, "Don’t get entangled, release the Mao Jun to locate the target."

The Hu Ben Army flicked their wrists, releasing the Mao Jun into the night sky.

The Mao Jun circled in the air once, then flew several hundred zhang straight west, eventually hovering in mid-air.

Found it.

Lu Zhan, uninterested in fighting, turned his horse to leave: "Tiger Camp, hold the Right Martial Guard, the others follow me, intercept and kill Yuan Xing."

The Hu Ben Army chased out several hundred zhang but failed to spot Chen Ji’s shadow.

One Hu Ben Army member dismounted at the place where the Mao Jun had circled, crouching to carefully examine the large hoofprints on the ground: "Great Commander, it’s definitely that horse!"

His trusted aide speculated, "Sir, west leads to Panjin. The Panjin Governor is a close ally of Yuan Xiang, the thief might have struck a deal with Yuan Xing to seek refuge in Panjin."

Lu Zhan said quietly, "Pursue, make sure to intercept and kill Yuan Xing before he reaches Panjin."

The Hu Ben Army released the Mao Jun again, which flew westward several hundred zhang, leading the Hu Ben Army in pursuit.

But Zhaolei was too fast—the Hu Ben Army encountered the Right Martial Guard at 1 AM and pursued till dawn at 7 to 9 AM without ever seeing Zhaolei’s shadow.

Gradually, Lu Zhan sensed something was wrong.

Initially, the Mao Jun flew one li and circled twice before returning. But as they pursued into daylight, the Mao Jun had to fly five li to detect prey and return.

The distance between them not only hadn’t closed but was growing further.

At this moment, a Hu Ben Army rider approached to report, "Sir, one Mao Jun can no longer fly."

Lu Zhan commanded coldly, "Switch."

This time, after releasing the second Mao Jun, it took a long time to return. When the Hu Ben Army thought it was lost, the Mao Jun swooped back: the distance from Chen Ji and Yuan Xing had increased even more.

The Deputy Commander approached, "Great Commander, we can’t chase like this. That thief’s warhorse is too miraculous. If we continue this slow pursuit, the Mao Jun will run out of strength and drop dead."

Each pursuit by Mao Jun lasted about ten minutes, with daily capacity totaling about two hours. The Hu Ben Army had chased from midnight to afternoon, causing even three to tire.

Lu Zhan pondered momentarily: "Phoenix Camp, abandon your horses and rest here; Lu Character Camp, each rider take two horses and follow me!"

The Hu Ben Army set out again, pushing forward at greater speed, finally closing the gap.

Until the sun set, Lu Zhan finally spotted a small black dot on the horizon in the distance.

The Hu Ben Army became spirited, immediately lowering themselves onto their mounts to charge forward: "No mercy!"

But as they closed in, they saw, under the setting sun, Zhaolei drinking water by the Da Liao River, a Little Black Cat perched nearby, but no trace of Chen Ji or Yuan Xing.

Lu Zhan frowned, scanning the surroundings, but the plains lay empty with no sign of Chen Ji.

The Deputy Commander queried in confusion, "Did the thief abandon the horse and jump into the river with Yuan Xing?"

Lu Zhan sneered coldly: "We’ve been tricked. The thief abandoned the horse and hid the moment we encountered the Right Martial Guard. The Mao Jun tracked the horse, not the person, from the start."

In the next moment, Zhaolei spotted the Hu Ben Army from afar, opening its mouth wide, joyfully prancing towards them to mock. Wu Yun, grasping its reins, dragged it away, preventing it from flaunting in front of the Hu Ben Army. Zhaolei was strong, Wu Yun dug its paws into the ground barely holding it in check.

After halting Zhaolei, Wu Yun grabbed the reins and leapt onto Zhaolei’s head. Zhaolei whinnied at the Hu Ben Army, pivoted, and galloped away, leaving them far behind within fifteen minutes, vanishing from sight.

The Hu Ben Army silently watched the absurd scene, while the Deputy Commander questioned, "Have these creatures become spirits... Sir, if the thief isn’t heading to Panjin, where could they be going? Would they head to Shangjing Road Linghuang Prefecture, given his deep connections with the Bai Family; or, under Chang Sheng and Qiubai’s cover, head to the West State Prince Mansion?"

Lu Zhan calmly replied, "Fetch the carrier pigeon, relay news to Shangjing, and report this to sir."

A member of the Hu Ben Army, carrying a pigeon cage, rode forward, took a roll of cowhide from the saddle, and unfurled it to reveal a bunch of brushes and rolled mulberry paper.

Lu Zhan pulled a brush from the cowhide bag. The ink on the brush was dry, so the Hu Ben Army member with the pigeon cage stuck out his tongue, which was as black as ink.

Lu Zhan picked up the brush, licked it on his tongue to moisten the dry ink, and then wrote a few sentences on a piece of mulberry paper.

Moments later, the carrier pigeon flapped its wings and flew towards Shangjing.

Lu Zhan turned his horse around: "Send out the order to seal off all major routes going to Western Capital Road, Shangjing Road, Tokyo Road, and West State Road. Set ambushes on all the mountain paths. Also, tell all the mountain bandits on Zhongjing Road that whoever finds the two people will be recruited by the Privy Council. If they fail, they should send the heads of their Big Leader, Second-in-command, and Third-in-command to my Hu Ben Army camp. Otherwise, my Hu Ben Army will come to get them, leaving not a single chicken or dog."

...

...

In the vast world, white snow and black trees were intertwined. When winter came, numerous trees were chopped into firewood, leaving short tree stumps on the ground, making the land look desolate.

Chen Ji dragged Yuan Xing’s leg, walking with uneven steps through the forest. Yuan Xing’s broken arms were simply fixed with branches. He slid lifelessly across the snow, not keeping his mouth shut: "I admit your tactic of using the warhorse to distract Mao Jun was unexpected, but the Hu Ben Army will soon realize the trick. At that time, all major routes will be blocked by the Hu Ben Army and the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, and you won’t be able to escape at all."

Chen Ji ignored him.

Yuan Xing continued, "If you don’t want to go to Panjin, fine, then head to Fuxin, which is now also under my uncle’s control. The Inspector there is his favorite disciple... hiss!"

Yuan Xing was talking when his body hit a rock hidden beneath the snow, causing him to become furious: "Watch where you’re going!"

At this moment, Chen Ji saw smoke in the distance and immediately threw Yuan Xing into the snow, pulling the golden hairpin from Yuan Xing’s head before leaving.

Yuan Xing shouted in confusion, "Where are you going? Hey, kid, you’re leaving me here alone; what if I freeze to death here?"

The sound echoed through the forest, but Chen Ji paid no attention.

Yuan Xing, with his hair disheveled, cautiously watched Chen Ji’s figure disappear from view, then immediately began crawling towards the edge of the forest using his knees and elbows.

But before he could get far, he heard footsteps crunching in the snow from afar, getting closer. Finally, a pair of boots stopped beside him.

Chen Ji looked down at Yuan Xing, who was bent over: "What are you doing?"

Yuan Xing sat dejectedly in the snow: "Can’t I just stretch my body a bit?"

Chen Ji threw a bundle of clothes onto Yuan Xing: "If you don’t want to freeze to death, put these on."

Yuan Xing widened his eyes: "Is this all you managed to steal? Where’s my hairpin?"

Chen Ji replied casually, "I left it under the pillow of that family’s house as compensation."

Yuan Xing sneered, "How kind of you, to compensate for a bit of theft with a golden hairpin. But you robbed my hairpin, doing good and bad deeds altogether! And how do you know the villagers won’t report the hairpin? Then the Hu Ben Army will know where you are."

Chen Ji looked at him: "If you don’t want the clothes, I’ll return them."

Yuan Xing clumsily got into the cotton jacket and pants, while Chen Ji took off his blood-soaked, torn clothes and used snow to clean the bloodstains until his skin turned red before putting on the stolen clothes.

Yuan Xing, now in the cotton outfit, lay comfortably in the snow and sighed: "Kid, victors and losers, I accept my defeat. Let me go. I won’t hold a grudge against you. You’ve cut my Achilles tendon. If I go back now, I can still walk, but in ten days to half a month, it’ll be too late..."

Before he could finish, the trees in Yuan Xing’s view seemed to move.

Except the trees weren’t really moving; it was that Chen Ji silently grabbed his right leg and, dragging him, continued into the depths of the forest. Yuan Xing sighed, "You’re really stubborn and unyielding..."

Chen Ji dragged him through the snow for a day and a night, quenching his thirst with snow, and when hungry, finding an animal to eat raw.

Eventually, leaving the forest, Yuan Xing looked at the distant official road with a sense of familiarity: "Wait, isn’t this the place where I lost nine years of life due to the ambush?"

Chen Ji stopped at the forest’s edge, his gaze searching for something around.

Yuan Xing mocked, "Weren’t you trying to escape? How did you end up getting lost and returning here?"

However, at this moment, the sound of horse hooves came from afar.

Only to see Zhaolei galloping from another direction, carrying Wu Yun, who had his hands tucked inside. Upon seeing Chen Ji, Wu Yun quickly stood up from Zhaolei’s head, and Zhaolei, seeing Chen Ji, shook his head and nearly tossed Wu Yun off.

Yuan Xing suddenly realized something was amiss: "Did you agree to rendezvous here? They can actually find their way back... but why would you choose this spot?"

As he said this, he abruptly looked up at Chen Ji: "Kid, are you heading back to Shangjing? You actually dare to return to Shangjing?"

...

Another update will be posted tonight; everyone can read it tomorrow morning

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