Chapter 589: Lü Zu's Last Words

Zhang Juxian had descended the mountain. After returning to the Immortal Coffin Cave with a trusted confidant, Zhang Shangshan sensed that the situation seemed to be exceeding expectations. His master, Wei Jin, who was always composed and serene even in crisis, also began to show deep unease. The old man, who had lost his copper-rusted peacock tail, leaned a hand on the white jade archway of the mountain gate. After a moment's hesitation, he asked softly, "Shangshan, do you know who named you back then?"

Zhang Shangshan looked puzzled. "Wasn't it my deceased mother?"

Wei Jin shook his head and sighed, "Of course not. Everyone on Talisman Mountain knows that I was once a capable commandant under Grand General Gu. All these years, I've joked with you that my early retirement was a clever way to protect myself, but that's not the truth. Although Grand General Gu disbanded all his direct troops, he still went to Tai'an City to serve as Minister of War. The imperial court never harbored any thought of discarding him once his usefulness was over. Thus, most of Gu's former generals, whether in official positions or in retirement, have lived comfortably all these years. There was no need for them to hide and avoid trouble; they barely had time to enjoy their lives. It's just that there weren't many old people on the mountain to begin with, and later they scattered. The younger generation isn't well-informed, so they believed whatever I said. In reality, when the imperial court weighed the pros and cons, they ultimately granted Xu Xiao, not Grand General Gu, the title of King of Beiliang with feudal rights, and they always had contingency plans. If Grand General Gu had become King of Beiliang and Xu Xiao the Minister of War, then Talisman Mountain, originally named Golden Rooster Mountain, would be where Xu Xiao's trusted former subordinates would be standing now."

Zhang Shangshan was stunned speechless and asked tremblingly, "Then my father?"

Wei Jin suddenly brimmed with heroic spirit and chuckled, "Your father, his real name is Zhang Gonglian. He was one of the six personal guards of Grand General Gu, a man who personally slew several Spring and Autumn vassal kings. Girl, all these years you've complained that your father wasn't heroic enough, that being a bandit isn't a true hero. Your father carried a belly full of grievances that he couldn't speak to anyone about. This secret, even you couldn't be told; it was meant to be taken to the grave with me."

The old man murmured to himself, "Golden Rooster Mountain is a 'dead ground' in military texts. Other locations in Beiliang, in theory, should have offered more flexibility for maneuvering than Golden Rooster Mountain. Yet, without exception, they were all effortlessly cleared out by that cripple, Xu Xiao. Each time one was eradicated, that cripple Xu would announce his demands to the imperial court for warhorses, grain shipments, and military pay, and Emperor Zhao could not refuse him. This is likely the butcher's confidence; under his very nose, he can play however he wants, can't he? On the front of the mountain, many people have likely already died, and such incidents have happened many times before. Many spies, like your father and I, who have been entrenched and living incognito for years, could only endure it until their deaths. Ultimately, the intricate schemes devised by these high-ranking court officials behind the palace walls are built upon our lives. I watched helplessly as those young people, kept in the dark until their deaths, perished one by one. Far away in Tai'an City, there were naturally high-ranking officials in first or second-rank robes coldly observing your father and me, silently awaiting news of our deaths from their intelligence reports. Apart from Grand General Gu, not one of those fellows would even frown."

The old man withdrew his hand, rubbed the girl's head, and said sadly, "That's why I never wanted you to know these unpleasant things, the grudges and rights and wrongs of the previous generation. Grand General Gu once praised your father's military talent and wanted to take him to the Ministry of War in the capital, whether to fulfill his ambitions or to live a peaceful retirement. Both would have been fortunate circumstances enviable by ordinary people. But your father was stubborn. He resented the imperial court for not granting the Grand General a kingship, only giving him a worthless Minister of War position. And as for the widely known incident where eight people were summoned to the capital to be jointly enfeoffed as Pillars of the State—wasn't that even more of an insult to the Grand General? Your father was so furious that he came here with me. Even when the Grand General left the capital to oversee the military and political affairs of the northern regions, he sent a secret letter asking your father to accompany him to Liangliao. But your father first disliked that it was Xu Xiao the Cripple's place of origin, and more importantly, he was afraid that you, girl, wouldn't be used to the even harsher icy and snowy conditions there than in Beiliang. No matter how much I tried to persuade him, he refused to go."

A scout rushed anxiously from the back of Talisman Mountain to the mountain gate, delivering what could only be described as terrible news. Wei Jin merely nodded, without much surprise, and sighed, "Girl, you should know the answer now. Your name was given by the Grand General back then. It was even agreed that when you grew up, you would marry his youngest son and become a daughter-in-law of the Gu family."

Zhang Shangshan, who had been dazed, asked, "Master, what did the scout just say?"

Wei Jin said bitterly, "The moment Mi Fengjie left, I knew things were going badly. Sure enough, the imperial soldiers on the front mountain were merely a diversion. The real force is behind the mountain. General Huangfu Ping of Youzhou has personally led troops here. There are more than a hundred border crossbowmen alone, far beyond what the domestic Wujun scouts can match. They have already entered the mountain."

Zhang Shangshan's face immediately turned ashen.

Wei Jin showed a resigned expression. "I'm also puzzled. This mountain appears to be a 'dead ground,' yet it's actually unbalanced in attack and defense, and not crucial to the overall strategy of Youzhou. When the Grand General, who was masterful at troop deployment, sent your father here, it was clearly with some personal motive. How then did he attract the interest of that madman, Huangfu Ping?"

Zhang Shangshan asked in anguish, "Master, is there a traitor on the mountain?"

The old man gave a bitter laugh. "It doesn't matter anymore. Wherever you go, there will always be people who fear death."

Zhang Shangshan asked dazedly, "Master, why don't we let Father surrender? If there's no war, no one will die."

The old man showed no anger or disappointment. He calmly shook his head and said, "My foolish girl, people die even without fighting. The Han family of Jizhou, renowned for their loyalty, was wiped out entirely. The Xu family of Beiliang also lost many people outside the battlefield, and even that former Crown Prince almost died. To be frank, I've been watching that cripple Xu of Beiliang for nearly twenty years, and only now do I realize that if our Grand General had become King of Beiliang, it might not have been a blessing."

Just as Zhang Shangshan was about to speak, Wei Jin flicked the girl's forehead with his finger, and she immediately fainted. A young man, with a young golden snub-nosed monkey perched on his shoulder, caught her. Wei Jin calmly said, "First, take the young lady to the secret room to hide. Hou Xiashan, even if you die, you must die only after you've taken the young lady to Liangliao. Your life, and your name, were given to you by Talisman Mountain. It's time to repay that debt."

The young man's eyes were resolute. He nodded, picked up the woman he admired, walked past the mountain gate archway, and was about to enter the secret passage known only to three people on the entire Talisman Mountain.

This horrifying inside information finally caused the violent temperament, honed from years of battlefield combat, that Wei Jin had managed to suppress through years of cultivation and self-restraint, to completely resurface.

But before Wei Jin could make a move, all was lost.

A woman, with a compassionate expression and an aura of an immortal or Buddha, slowly walked up the mountain. She looked at Xu Fengnian and said softly, "Mi Fengjie has escaped."

Xu Fengnian scoffed, "He's the big fish our Youzhou General has set his sights on. Why don't you go catch him?"

The woman tied her long black hair with a thin red string, braiding it into a casual ponytail that rested on her neck. She extended a finger, lightly stroking a soft strand of hair that hung to her chest, her eyes serene.

Xu Fengnian certainly wasn't so brazen as to treat her like a maid. He could only smile at this female Bodhisattva's inaction, then tapped his toe and vanished in a flash.

Wei Jin was an old, seasoned veteran, having lived through many changes, and indeed, he was a generation older than Zhang Gonglian, who used the alias Zhang Juxian. But for the young man beside him to simply vanish without a trace, with no prior warning and not even a ripple of energy left behind afterward, was even more inconceivable than hearing that Mi Fengjie had quietly attained the First-Rank Finger-Profound realm!

The Master of Sunken Sword Cave did not hesitate. He abandoned his lair, carried thirty-six swords, and fled for his life.

A tree dies if moved; a person lives if they move.

He had toiled for sixteen years at the threshold of the First-Rank realm, comprehending twenty-four swords that he believed were filled with spirited intent, only then crossing that step. But in just two years after that, he soared into the Finger-Profound realm, gaining twelve new swords in those short two years!

He neither wanted to fight to the death against Beiliang's cavalry like the Sword Emperor of Western Shu, nor did he want to be led to Qingliang Mountain and serve as a pawn for that young vassal king.

Then he was stopped by a young man he had seen earlier on Talisman Mountain. He heard the young man say something inexplicable: "Mi Fengjie, this fortune you've attained was not originally yours. Like that King of Qingcheng, it was all borrowed from Beiliang."