Green Mountain

The clatter of hooves echoed through the forest, accompanied by a whimpering sound.

Chen Ji and Old Ears rode ahead, Yuan Xing lagged behind with Yuan Xi. Yuan Xing watched their backs, muttering something quietly: "Trespassing the Martial Temple Mountain Gate... Five Sounds of Martial Arts Roar... six sword seeds... No wonder they dared to return to Shangjing City!"

It seemed Yuan Xing had figured out many things.

Hearing Yuan Xi whimpering, he patted his back and gently comforted him: "Stop whining, don’t you understand what ’immense wealth’ means?"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Xi widened his eyes, and his whimpering lessened.

Yuan Xing continued speaking to himself: "It’s because of our many years of friendship that I brought you here. Don’t be ungrateful. When I become the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, I’ll appoint you as the Council Chief Executive Officer, allowing you to command all the military forces in the world."

Yuan Xi’s whimpering ceased completely, and his face was full of confusion.

Yuan Xing pondered: "But don’t be like Yuan Cheng, who opposed me after becoming Council Chief Executive Officer."

Yuan Xi was uncertain and suspicious.

Yuan Xing glanced secretly at Chen Ji and Old Ears, lowered his voice, and said: "Stop whining, and I’ll remove the cloth from your mouth, how about that?"

Yuan Xi hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

When Yuan Xing removed the cloth, Yuan Xi immediately asked eagerly: "Where are we going?"

Yuan Xing thought for a moment: "To the Ning Dynasty to become a hostage."

This changed Yuan Xi’s expression drastically: "Yuan Xing, you damn..."

Before he could finish speaking, his mouth was stuffed again with a cloth.

Yuan Xing sighed deeply: "You really don’t understand me."

Yuan Xi struggled even more fiercely.

Yuan Xing suddenly remembered: "Haven’t you met him? Indeed, that person hasn’t come to Shangjing for over ten years, and when he last came, you had already returned from the Imperial Academy to your fief..."

He couldn’t make it too obvious, or his head would be taken as a trophy ball.

But Yuan Xi wasn’t in the mood to listen to anything more?

...

...

Another twenty li forward, and Yuan Xi struggled for twenty li.

Yuan Xing said to himself: "You shouldn’t keep struggling like this."

He straightforwardly untied Yuan Xi, who turned and ran out of the forest without even bothering to remove the cloth from his mouth.

Yuan Xing waited a while, then greeted Chen Ji and Old Ears: "Adoptive Father, Master, I’ll go catch him back."

With these words, he spurred his horse and galloped out. Moments later, he returned, dragging Yuan Xi along.

Yuan Xing grinned: "You act like practicing martial arts diligently will harm you. When you left Shangjing, I told you even if you return to your fief and inherit your title, you shouldn’t fall into debauchery, but practice diligently. One day when our dynasty marches south again, it will be our time to achieve fame."

This angered Yuan Xi, who tore away the cloth from his mouth: "Have you achieved that yourself, you son of a...?"

Yuan Xing’s expression froze: "Anyway, I’ve reached the Seeking Dao Realm, and you haven’t."

Yuan Xi broke free from Yuan Xing’s grip and fell to the ground, standing up without caring about the pain: "You know very well how you reached the Seeking Dao Realm. Do you dare to say you were the most diligent back at the Imperial Academy? Have you forgotten being thrashed by Yuan Xingzhi in the Martial Arts Hall like a spinning top?"

Yuan Xing pulled on the reins impatiently: "Why say this now? I’m presently the Right Martial Guard Commander."

Yuan Xi sneered: "And how did you get that command? If you weren’t Yuan Xiang’s illegitimate son, would the Right Martial Guard Command have passed to you?"

Yuan Xing solemnly stated: "Don’t mention Yuan Xiang, lest Adoptive Father misunderstand."

Yuan Xi: "..."

A moment later, Yuan Xi took a deep breath: "Are you not aware of the court’s situation over the years? Back in the 33rd year of Lisheng, I led 120 subordinates south past Chongli Pass, only to find at Yuan Cheng’s Central Army Tent that we were to offer tens of thousands of taels of silver or be sent to our deaths as vanguards."

Pointing towards Siping County, he accused angrily: "How many households does Siping County have? How much grain is produced annually? He had the audacity to demand ten thousand taels of silver. Even flattening Siping County’s land wouldn’t suffice! I narrowly escaped with seven subordinates, and to this day, I can’t face the widows’ eyes."

Yuan Xing was silent for a moment: "Why didn’t you tell me earlier?"

Yuan Xi laughed coldly thrice in anger: "Tell you? You’re the Right Martial Guard Commander, the Marquis of Changping County, the illegitimate son of the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat. It’s beyond me! The year the army returned triumphant, Zhou Chang, Li Si, Jiang Chai, and I, having narrowly escaped death, sought you out to drink many times. Yet, we had to send invitations to the gatekeeper to see you. We waited at the Jinzou Institute on Tokyo Road for half a month without seeing you. Where were you?"

Yuan Xing was speechless.

Yuan Xi angrily scolded: "Speak! Where were you?"

Yuan Xing exploded in anger: "Do you think my Right Martial Guard was relaxing under Chongli Pass when Yuan Xiang and Yuan Cheng were at odds? I was sent to attack Midnight Pass and met the damn Southern Dynasty’s Divine Machine Camp, losing over 800 men in a single day! You think I didn’t see you because I was indulging after returning to Shangjing? My Right Martial Guard also had fallen soldiers, and I had to comfort widows and orphans. During that time, I didn’t go home for two months, and I didn’t even know my concubine had a child with the Second Steward! I had no idea that you all were seeking me out!"

Yuan Xi was momentarily stunned.

Chen Ji and Old Ears were startled by the sound of a quarrel and turned their horses around to silently watch the two people.

Yuan Xi suddenly asked, "I heard from a merchant in Siping that you took the most beautiful widow as a concubine, is that true?"

Yuan Xing hesitated for two moments: "...It’s true."

Yuan Xi cursed loudly: "You dog, damn your ancestors!"

Yuan Xing impatiently said, "She’s so good-looking, she’d be bullied by others if left outside, so what if I took her in? I, Yuan Xing, have over thirty concubines, she doesn’t even get to see me once a month, isn’t that good enough? I even sent her son to the Imperial Academy!"

Yuan Xi spat in Yuan Xing’s face: "Ridiculous reasoning!"

Yuan Xing sighed, waved his hand, and said, "You should leave."

Yuan Xi turned and ran.

...

...

After ten minutes, Yuan Xing caught Yuan Xi again.

Catch, release, catch again. This repeated five or six times, intending to crush Yuan Xi’s fighting spirit. But Yuan Xi was a stubborn type, running every time he was released, without hesitation, refusing to give in.

Yuan Xing helplessly took Yuan Xi to ask Chen Ji for help: "Please, adoptive father, place two sword seeds on this person’s throat."

Yuan Xi’s expression changed.

Chen Ji directed two sword seeds, one pressed against Yuan Xi’s neck, the other against his back.

Yuan Xi felt the cold touch of the sword seeds and silently stared at Yuan Xing, nearly grinding his teeth to bits.

Yuan Xing earnestly said, "Don’t look at me like that. When you learn the truth, you’ll thank me... What will it take for you to obediently come with me?"

Yuan Xi gritted his teeth in thought for a long time before finally responding fiercely: "Ahead is Hualai County, capture Zhou Chang as well! On this route, there’s also Li Si and Jiang Chai!"

Chen Ji: "..."

Old Ears clicked his tongue, sighing, "That’s why you two can be friends."

Seven days later.

Chen Ji and the others passed through Hualai County, then detoured to Chengping County, and finally arrived at Hou’an County.

At midnight, he and Old Ears set up a bonfire in the mountains outside Hou’an County until dawn, when Yuan Xing, Yuan Xi, Li Si, and Zhou Chang brought Uncle Jiang Chai before them.

Jiang Chai struggled fiercely, but the four pressed him down in front of Chen Ji, unable to break free no matter what.

His neck strained with blue veins, face red, he said, "Are you all out of your damn minds?"

Yuan Xing sighed, "Do you forget what we said at the Imperial Academy back then? Share the hardships together."

Jiang Chai lamented, "You didn’t mention a word about sharing the good times!"

Yuan Xing pointed at Jiang Chai and said to Chen Ji, "Adoptive father, this man is named Jiang Chai, the hereditary Lord of Hou’an County. Back at the Imperial Academy, he was the most diligent in studying. Later, he failed the Imperial Examination because he didn’t bribe the Left Minister. We all went to the Martial Arts Hall together, and he’s the only one who could match Yuan Xingzhi with weapons."

Chen Ji asked with curiosity, "He matched Yuan Xingzhi? What realm is he at?"

Yuan Xing clicked his tongue, "He’s in the Innate Realm. Yuan Xingzhi manages opponents effortlessly, but he fought him while in the Innate Realm. Don’t think less of him for only managing twenty rounds against Yuan Xingzhi. Across the entire Twelve Central Forbidden Armies, finding someone who can last twenty rounds against him is rare. If we hadn’t gone as four, we couldn’t have held him down."

Jiang Chai scolded angrily, "What good is talking about it now, still had my position taken by Yuan Cheng?"

Chen Ji threw the dry wood in his hand into the bonfire: "Why was your position taken?"

Jiang Chai stubbornly said, "Old...

Yuan Xing smacked the back of his head: "Who are you calling old?"

Jiang Chai fell silent for a long time, then spoke again, "Yuan Cheng’s aides demanded money from me, which I didn’t have, so they sent me on a night raid to Yinhu Pass. I captured a Southern Dynasty military family member outside Chongli Pass, who revealed a mountain path bypassing Yinhu Pass. I immediately decided to penetrate behind Chongli Pass and burned a convoy of supplies. I thought I’d be rewarded when I returned to the Central Army Tent, but Yuan Cheng rebuked me for disobeying orders and took my position, and flogged me twenty times, making me a vanguard."

Yuan Xing lamented, "Yuan Cheng set back the Ning Dynasty’s grand plan of unification."

Jiang Chai sneered, "And Yuan Xiang is any better? Just another of the same breed!"

Chen Ji’s gaze swept across the five people present—one in the Seeking Dao realm, four in the Innate Realm, one County Marquis, two County Lords, one County Man, and one County Son.

Old Ears scratched his head in puzzlement on the side.

Chen Ji directed a sword seed to stick against Jiang Chai’s back, then looked up at Yuan Xing, "No more people to capture? If you keep this up, there won’t be enough sword seeds."

"No more, no more!"

...

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