383: The three of us greeted the old man! (asking for monthly tickets)

On that day, large snowflakes fell like mats on Yunding Mountain, drifting down onto the Commanding Platform.

Below Yunding Mountain, horses trampled through the snow, a thin black line rapidly moving through the blizzard.

“Giddy up!”

“Giddy up!”

“Giddy up!”

“...”

The thundering hooves kicked up snow dust, and the clanging of armor echoed as they rode straight towards the Ninth Mountain.

A troop of over a dozen soldiers, shouting like Phoenixes, galloped towards the Ninth Mountain!

Soon, the gates of the Ninth Mountain's military camp appeared in the distance.

But from afar, figures could be seen in the snowy wind outside the gate.

Each of them wore splendid robes, carrying themselves with an air of elegance, clearly accustomed to a life of ease. Yet, the falling snow had already covered half their feet, and a thick layer of snow accumulated on their heads and shoulders, but none of them moved from their positions.

It was as if they were being punished by standing!

Or rather, these people were there voluntarily.

“Councilor Gao, I beg you, for the sake of our past friendship, please inform Ninth Zhonglang so that this subordinate may meet him. Otherwise, my heart will truly be restless.”

A middle-aged man, dressed in a crimson robe with gold-woven flying birds, a green jade crown on his head, and a mustache, spoke in a low, humble tone to the person in front of him, his eyes filled with earnestness.

As he spoke, the middle-aged man turned aside, his face turning very ugly, and he shouted at a young man a few steps behind him, who was wearing a sky-blue long gown with a contrasting lapel and a green jade belt at his waist, “Get over here!”

However, the Young Master's face was bruised and swollen at this moment, showing embarrassment, his face flushed, and he approached with his head down.

Upon closer inspection, he seemed to be the Young Master from an aristocratic family who had his armor publicly removed at the military camp gate a few days prior.

And the middle-aged man glared fiercely at the other party, “Rebellious son, you are truly disgracing my Guo family!”

After scolding him, the man then turned to Councilor Gao in front of him, speaking with a tone of disappointment, and cupped his fists, “Councilor Gao, this rebellious son was previously addicted to play. I originally wanted him to join the army to temper his character, and eventually go to the battlefield to fight against Demons and bring glory to my Guo family. Who would have thought that this rebellious son would leave the military camp without permission, finding excuses to go to the brothels to drink with women? If I hadn't received news of his armor being removed last night, I would still be in the dark.”

“Guo was furious at the time, and personally disciplined him. You say, with this happening, Guo also has no face to see Ninth Zhonglang. But the General has just returned from fighting Demons outside, achieving extraordinary merits, and we, as subordinates, are dragging him down. It's truly inexcusable. Therefore, this subordinate must meet him and bring this rebellious son to kowtow and apologize.”

The man's words were sincere, and the expression of shame on his face made people believe every word came from his heart.

This person's identity was the Magistrate of the southern part of Jinguan City, belonging to the civil official hierarchy, similar to a county magistrate, under the jurisdiction of the Dao Fu Division, assisting in governing the South City.

As for Councilor Gao in front of him, he wore white chainmail, possessing a scholarly general's demeanor. Gao Yu looked at this colleague, with whom he had some acquaintance, his eyelids slightly lowered, and his tone light.

“Magistrate Guo, are you sure your Young Master was just being playful? Shall I repeat what he said in the brothel?”

As he spoke, Gao Yu glanced sideways at the young man opposite him.

The other party was so frightened by this glance that he shivered.

Magistrate Guo, whose surname was Guo, choked upon hearing this, his mouth opening and closing.

“Go back. If those words truly spread and reach the Zhonglang General's ears, it won't be as simple as kowtowing and apologizing. For the sake of our camaraderie, calm down, stay away from those troubles, and serve the General well! Otherwise, don't blame me for not cherishing old friendships, even if the General doesn't act.”

Gao Yu's tone was calm, but by the end, it carried a hint of chill.

Did the other party truly think he didn't know their little schemes?

Magistrate Guo's face alternated between pale and green for a while, finally bowing deeply to Gao Yu, “This subordinate understands!”

And Gao Yu's gaze swept over the other seven or eight families. When those people saw his gaze, their panicked expressions changed like a mask, squeezing out a smile, wanting to speak, but then they heard human voices and horse neighs from the mountain below, and couldn't help but look back.

It was a troop of soldiers!

Leading the way was a burly man in red armor, with dark skin and piercing eyes!

Someone recognized him: this man was Lu Ming, one of the three Piaoji Generals under the Ninth Mountain Zhonglang General.

A Piaoji General who usually kept a low profile, not revealing his capabilities.

The thunder of hooves rapidly approached. Gao Yu, who was blocking the military camp gate, raised his hand and turned to order the armored guards at the gate, “Open the gate!”

Immediately, the gate guards “boomed” as they raised the iron-forged gate, and the people at the entrance also quickly made way.

Soon, that troop of soldiers, swift as the wind, thundered on without stopping, raising a cloud of flying snow dust, and charged directly through the gate.

“Bang!”

The gate fell heavily.

The armored guards re-formed their ranks, standing guard at the gate.

Those figures outside looked at the backs of these soldiers, their eyes filled with a hint of envy.

The scene at noon yesterday shook the entire Jinguan City. The corpses of hundreds of Heavenly Gate Devils were escorted back to the city by the Ninth Mountain Army, causing a tremendous visual impact on those who witnessed it firsthand.

Those Demon corpses, like small mountains, were shocking and chilling to the heart!

Hundreds of Heavenly Gate Devils were enough to destroy several Fu Gates, which was terrifying to even imagine. But now these Demons had become corpses, slain by someone. Thus, the news of the Ninth Mountain Zhonglang General slaying a large number of Demons spread quickly.

Even more shocking was that powerful figures in the city detected that among those Demon corpses were fragments of Wucang Great Demons!

More than one!

This was a heavy blow to many people in the city who harbored ill intentions.

This Zhonglang General was truly inconceivable. The battle at Tianxiong Pass had just ended, and in the blink of an eye, he had slain countless Demons, spanning thousands of miles from south to north.

It was as if he had three heads and six arms!

This made some individuals who had been engaging in petty schemes during this period feel as if they were sitting on pins and needles, fearing that their misdeeds would come to light, and that one day the thunder of hooves would sound at their gates, leaving them trembling with fear.

Now, the prestige of the Ninth Mountain was even more soaring, and the citizens of the city held the Ninth Mountain in great respect. As for those who had withdrawn, they were filled with bitter regret.

Once they withdrew, they would never have another chance.

Just thinking about the corpses of those hundred-plus mountain-like Heavenly Gate Devils, those were treasure mountains! It was unimaginable how many powerful individuals could be cultivated with the flesh and blood of those Demons, and these resources would naturally benefit the soldiers of the Ninth Mountain!

“All of you, leave. I gave you a chance, so who's to blame!”

Gao Yu looked at their expressions, flung his cloak, and disappeared on the spot.

Meanwhile, inside the Ninth Mountain military camp, Lu Ming's small troop of soldiers trotted through the training ground and arrived at the Commanding Platform.

“Whoa!”

Lu Ming pulled on the reins, his large horse neighed loudly, its front hooves lifted, and it stopped. He then dismounted swiftly, stepped onto the Commanding Platform, and headed straight for the tower behind.

As he made this movement, two figures emerged from the tower, both clad in red armor; they were Liu Qing and Cloud Skyborn.

Lu Ming hurried forward and met with the two.

“You called me back so urgently, what happened?”

“A mountain suddenly appeared behind the local Zu Mountain in Taiping County. It’s shrouded in mist and inaccessible. I heard that a few days ago, the local residents saw a large crimson bird suddenly appear above that mountain and fly into it!”

“According to the descriptions of the eyewitnesses, it bears some resemblance to the divine bird the General mentioned at General Mountain, and the date of its appearance was also on the same day, one after the other!”

Lu Ming moved swiftly, his gaze solemn, as he questioned the two about why they had called him back in such a hurry, and then reported the results of his investigation in Taiping County.

Previously, before the General left Jinguan City, an astonishing anomaly erupted at General Mountain, three hundred li to the west, where a crimson fire bird appeared, resembling the legendary Heavenly and Earthly True Spirit Phoenix. After the General resolved the matter at General Mountain, a messenger from Tianxiong Pass arrived with a message, and the General departed. Before leaving, he instructed them to continue searching for clues of that fire bird along General Mountain.

Later, from Taiping County, over eight hundred li southeast of the city, his soldiers sent back news that locals had seen a similar large bird fly into that newly appeared mountain!

As for that newly appeared mountain, they had heard about it when they were investigating the celestial anomaly, following the General's orders. Outside Taiping County, there was a Zu Mountain. Not long after the heavy snowfall, that Zu Mountain showed unusual celestial changes, similar to a mirage: a never-before-seen mountain had appeared out of thin air in the Void Realm behind that Zu Mountain!

This was the origin of the matter!

Thus, Lu Ming personally led troops to investigate and seal off the news. Upon arrival, he found that the mirage was very strange, and the Zu Mountain was covered in mist. People and animals who entered would be like hitting a ghost wall.

He was about to investigate further when he received an urgent message from Cloud Skyborn, telling him to quickly return to the Ninth Mountain.

“Put that aside for now!”

“No matter how big the matter, it's not as important as the General's!”

“Let's go up the mountain first!”

Liu Qing spoke at this point, then lifted his feet and ascended into the air.

“The General is back?” Lu Ming also followed, stepping into the air, his dark, large face showing a hint of excitement. The General was their backbone.

“Tiansheng, you tell him!” Liu Qing frowned.

Lu Ming also frowned, feeling the atmosphere was a bit strange, and couldn't help but look at Cloud Skyborn beside him.

Cloud Skyborn, however, appeared calmer. Facing Lu Ming's probing gaze, he began to explain the current situation they had gathered, finally saying,

“The General's whereabouts are currently unknown; he might very well be in the Ten Thousand Mountains.”

“Because it’s already been almost four days since the General disappeared. Assuming the General broke through the teleportation passage midway during that battle and landed outside the Ten Thousand Mountains, with the General's Divine Ability, he should have returned by now. But there's still no news, so we can only prepare for the worst!”

Lu Ming listened, his brow furrowed into a “Sichuan” character.

“You mean, we can now confirm through the General's Contracted Demons that the General's life is not in danger, but his location might be in the Ten Thousand Mountains?”

“Exactly!” Cloud Skyborn nodded.

Lu Ming's heart eased slightly, then his eyes moved as he remembered something.

“Have you two forgotten something?”

Liu Qing and Cloud Skyborn almost said in unison, “What is it?”

“I remember that the General was seriously wounded on the Demon Battlefield while blocking the Wucang Great Demon and was recuperating at Fulong Ridge. At that time, several Sect Seniors assisted the General in his recovery, and among them, one person from our Ninth Mountain played a crucial role. It was that old Senior who followed the General from Qingshan County. Tiansheng, do you remember? The General's Primordial Spirit had not yet recovered, and he relied on a sculpture condensed by this Senior to manifest a Clone, sending you to chant spells and kill enemies?”

“This old Senior clearly had impressive cultivation, yet he held no position in the army. Later, when the army returned from the battlefield, this old Senior disappeared from the military camp after passing through Chuanzhong Pass.”

“I think this old Senior could be a Breakthrough point; we can go look for him.”

He didn't suddenly remember; rather, the existence of this old Senior in the military camp was somewhat special, and some things felt strange. Even as the three closest individuals to Chen Yuan, they did not know this Senior's identity.

Upon hearing his words, Liu Qing and Cloud Skyborn showed unusual expressions, their eyes revealing a thoughtful look.

Cloud Skyborn reacted, thinking of someone who might be able to provide an answer to this question.

“Since the old Senior you mentioned followed the General from Qingshan County at that time...”

“The person we are going to see next might be able to provide the answer.”

“Just a reminder, this is someone the General needs to treat well.”

“Let's go!”

As he spoke, he quickened his pace, heading straight for the snowy summit of the Ninth Mountain.

Lu Ming couldn't help but feel surprised and quickly followed.

Not long after, the three passed directly through the Restriction and arrived at the summit, heading straight for the backyard of the Ninth Mountain Zhonglang Hall.

The passing maids and armored guards all made way and saluted when they saw the three.

And the three walked swiftly, passing through the winding covered bridge, and circled to a courtyard behind the Zhonglang Hall.

Before the three even entered, their ears perked up; there was the sound of Sword Qi piercing the air inside.

As they passed through the arched gate, the three Piaoji Commanders saw a woman in red, amidst the flying snow in the courtyard, holding a green blade. The sword light was sharp, and upon closer inspection, wherever the sword edge swept, the tiny snowflakes were all cut in half!

That red dress looked particularly dashing in the white snow!

And the woman in red also sensed the arrivals, quickly sheathing her sword and standing upright, her heroic eyes sweeping over them.

“Commander Lian!”

“This is Cavalry General Liu, and this is Cavalry General Lu.”

“We three have come to pay our respects to the elder!”

As he spoke, Cloud Skyborn stepped forward and cupped his fists towards Lian Nishang.

Lian Nishang had also seen the other two in Qingshan County, and she nodded, “Follow me!” (End of Chapter)