Green Mountain

Old Ears looked at Yuan Xing’s earnest expression, wanting to speak but holding back.

Yuan Xing wasn’t one to hesitate, snatching the skewer from Chen Ji’s hand: "Godfather, take a break, let me roast the meat. Don’t worry, whenever I’m idle at the Right Martial Guard Camp, I roast meat, and my skills are top-notch."

Old Ears looked at Chen Ji: "Where did you pick up this lackey? Did you put black magic on him?"

Chen Ji said calmly, "Never mind about him. Where did you hide Jingzhe?"

Old Ears looked helpless: "I’ve told you, Jingzhe is a living thing. It’s normal if it ran off after waiting for you for so many days. Don’t keep looking at me like that. Am I the kind of person who sneaks around?"

Chen Ji nodded, "Yes, you are."

While roasting meat, Yuan Xing sneakily glanced at the two of them. Seeing Chen Ji being so rude to Old Ears, he was itching all over but dared not reveal Old Ears’ identity.

Old Ears glanced at him: "Got thorns on your butt? Stop grubbing around and roast your meat properly."

"Got it," Yuan Xing replied.

But then Old Ears asked, "You’ve saved your mother, met your master, what’s your next plan?"

Chen Ji’s expression shifted: "Were you at Nanqu Lane on Lantern Festival Night?"

Old Ears pretended to be deaf and dumb: "Huh? What’s Nanqu Lane?"

Chen Ji let out a cold laugh: "Then how did you know I went to Shangjing to meet my master?"

Old Ears clicked his tongue: "I guessed. What else would you go to Shangjing for if not that...?"

He changed the subject: "Let’s take a boat to Japan next. I hear there are things you need there, like the Grass Cutting Sword, Ten-Handed Sword, Budu’s Soul, Mikazuki Munechika, Tongziqu An Gang. I’ll take you to Japan; maybe you can evolve all your six to ’Golden Cicada’."

Yuan Xing stood beside, full of admiration. He didn’t expect this old man to go to such lengths to help Chen Ji with his cultivation.

He hadn’t heard of the other swords, but he had heard that the Grass Cutting Sword was the Emperor of Japan’s legitimate token. Using that to refine sword seeds would be like taking a dump on the Emperor’s face.

Yuan Xing looked Chen Ji up and down, thinking the guy wasn’t particularly handsome or imposing... The thought in his mind was just three words: Why him?

At this moment, Chen Ji wasn’t concerned about Japan, only asking curiously: "Golden Cicada?"

Old Ears explained: "The realm of sword seeds doesn’t mix with ordinary Executive Officers. At the start of sword cultivation, Sword Qi forms into a black iron lump, called ’Heavy Weapon’. It’s not much different from ordinary weapons, clumsy and slow."

"Then it evolves to a bronze color, known as ’Wind Mill’. It’s more useful then, quick within ten steps, and the sword seeds fast within twenty steps, giving an advantage in combat."

"After that, it evolves to silver, called ’Pilean’. It can hit a bull’s-eye at a hundred steps but is limited to that range. It’s fragile, even brushing against armor leaves marks that take months to heal, or you’ll end up with a destroyed sword and losses."

"After Pilean, it’s ’Golden Cicada’. Once the sword seeds evolve to Golden Cicada, it can kill invisibly from hundreds of steps away. Within hundreds of steps, nothing is swifter than the Golden Cicada, and reaching this level is truly entering a higher realm."

Chen Ji, hearing this, muttered to himself: "Heavy Weapon, Wind Mill, Pilean, Golden Cicada, corresponding to Mortal Warrior, Postnatal, Innate, Seeking Dao Realm... What about Divine Realm, what is the sword seed called beyond Golden Cicada?"

Old Ears tore a strip of venison and stuffed it into his mouth: "Above Golden Cicada, there’s no fixed form. Some cultivate sword seeds like green jade, known as Guini, extremely fast but fragile; some cultivate stable sword seeds like a Heavy Sword, known as Jufan, not as fast as Guini but can fight day and night without breaking; some cultivate transparent sword seeds that can see through ten miles and take a head, known as Dragon Eye..."

Chen Ji pondered.

Old Ears looked at Chen Ji, speaking slowly: "Even if an Executive Officer reaches the Seeking Dao Realm, he’ll still die from a hidden arrow; a Great Grandmaster hit by Southern Dynasty’s cannon will half die. When surrounded by thousands of troops, eventually, you’ll run out of strength. A single sword seed can take down six to seven hundred people before it dulls. Even in the world of Divine Dao Realm Grandmasters, each has weaknesses, unless..."

Chen Ji curiously asked: "Unless what?"

Old Ears casually said: "Unless this Grandmaster possesses six different sword seeds."

Yuan Xing suddenly looked at Chen Ji, with his eyes even more eager: "Godfather, if you’d like something else to eat, on the way I saw a dark tree hole, maybe there’s a bear hibernating, I can catch it, and the bear skin can keep you warm."

Chen Ji said moodily: "Stay put."

Old Ears slowly said, "The more sword seeds, the slower the cultivation. While the future is boundless, what if you perish? That’s why you need to collect famous swords from around the world quickly. Otherwise, when can you reach the Divine Realm? Martial Temple’s Mountain Masters generally take over twenty years to painstakingly reach the Divine Realm, only the current Mountain Master is extraordinarily gifted, taking less time."

Yuan Xing’s expression turned strange.

Ignoring others’ eyes, Old Ears continued speaking to Chen Ji: "And you? You’ll have to put in six times the effort. You wouldn’t want to reach the Divine Realm at one hundred and twenty years old, would you?"

Chen Ji sighed: "Your own cultivation realm isn’t high, but you’re quite concerned with others’ realms."

That sentence made Old Ears and Yuan Xing hold back their words.

Old Ears’ eyes turned: "Sword Seed Path isn’t without shortcuts. The Ning and Jing Dynasties each have a National Guardian Divine Sword, cultivated daily with the nation’s fortune. Obtaining the National Guardian Divine Sword could let you reach the Divine Realm sooner."

Chen Ji felt a stir in his heart but didn’t reveal it. He saw the flames in the bonfire weakening and promptly nodded toward Old Ears: "Go get some more dry firewood, see if there’s any thick wood. With some thick wood covered with leaves, it can keep warm all night."

Yuan Xing was dumbfounded. He looked at Chen Ji, then at Old Ears, hesitating for a moment: "Godfather, let me go instead."

Chen Ji calmly said: "Sit tight and roast your meat. He stole my Jingzhe and ate and drank for free. It’s his turn to go."

Old Ears stood up: "Fine, I’ll go."

After Old Ears entered the forest, Yuan Xing looked at Chen Ji, wanting to remind him but fearing he’d get his head kicked off like a ball, so he immediately shrank back.

Chen Ji calmly reminded: "Dare to expose his identity, and your head will be kicked off like a ball."

Yuan Xing was so shocked his mind was in turmoil, stuttering: "You, not, wait a minute, you know?"

Chen Ji looked at the bonfire, meaningfully saying: "Yuan Xing, sometimes it’s best to play dumb in life."

Yuan Xing sighed: "Daring to send that person to gather firewood, the courage of my godfather is something I’ve never seen before in my life. I’m impressed!"

He changed the topic: "Godfather, I’d like to call upon my dear friends and relatives to admire your splendor. We can all go to the Ning Dynasty to serve you tea..."

Chen Ji casually replied: "No need."

Yuan Xing lamented: "What a pity."

...

...

Midnight.

Old Ears was leaning against a tree stump sleeping, while Chen Ji leaned on Zhaolei’s belly, holding a Wu Yun in his arms.

Yuan Xing lay in the snowy ground beside the bonfire, unable to sleep for a long time. His gaze shifted between Chen Ji and Old Ears, seeing that it was a prime opportunity to escape, but he kept hesitating.

After a moment, he quietly got up, crouched down, and retreated into the woods until his figure disappeared from sight.

Wu Yun meowed once, and Chen Ji petted its head.

Old Ears, eyes still closed, asked: "Just let him run off like that? Having a henchman like that isn’t bad, I feel like he would willingly give you his ribs to eat."

Chen Ji also replied with eyes closed: "He won’t get far with a limp. When it’s daylight, we’ll catch him. After a few times, he’ll learn his lesson and stop thinking about escaping."

But before the light of day, the sound of hooves and a muffled noise came from outside the forest.

Chen Ji and Old Ears opened their eyes together to look, but a thick fog had arisen in the forest, making it hard to see clearly.

After waiting a moment, they saw Yuan Xing alone leading two horses back. One of the horses was carrying someone on its back who was struggling continuously, his mouth bound tightly.

Chen Ji and Old Ears exchanged glances, both a bit puzzled.

Chen Ji curiously asked: "He ran away, yet he voluntarily came back?"

Yuan Xing righteously replied: "Godfather, what are you saying? I still have to serve you tea, how could I run away... Besides, I couldn’t if I tried."

Chen Ji looked towards the person on the horse’s back: "And who is this?"

Yuan Xing laughed heartily: "This is the dear friend and relative I mentioned last night, the Four Peace County Marquis, Yuan Xi. I feared I couldn’t serve the two of you well alone, so last night I specifically went to his house to ’invite’ him to come along with us to the Ning Dynasty, to serve at the forefront and rear."

As he spoke, he pulled the sock out of Yuan Xi’s mouth: "Come, Yuan Xi, greet godfather and this old gentleman."

Yuan Xi opened his mouth: "Yuan Xing, you..."

Yuan Xing pinched Yuan Xi’s lips together and apologized to Chen Ji: "Sorry, this person is a bit crude."

Old Ears said blankly: "I’d curse you too if it were me."

Yuan Xing stuffed Yuan Xi’s mouth again and handed a rein to Old Ears: "Old gentleman, there’s over three hundred miles to Goryeo Mirror City Port. Riding a horse would be more comfortable."

Old Ears looked at the rein in his hands, unable to speak for a long while.

Without further words, Chen Ji mounted his horse: "Let’s set off."

Yuan Xing hurriedly mounted his horse too, riding alongside Chen Ji with Yuan Xi in tow. He removed a bundle from the saddle and handed it over: "Godfather, Yuan Xi also brought you some snacks from home."

Yuan Xi: "Mmm mmm mmm!"

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