145: Chapter 145 Heading North to Bianliang

Li Xiuyuan would eventually have to go to the Yellow River.

Back at Yunfeng Mountain, the courtyard was filled with the aroma of food, and Gu Xiao handed over his phone.

On the screen were a few photos; at a glance, a hint of a smile appeared on Li Xiuyuan's face.

These photos had been sent to Gu Xiao by Lin Zhanpeng; they were group photos of his family, along with Lin Yaling.

"After this Lin Yaling finishes reuniting with her family, she needs to come by the bureau. After all, there is a deity from the Ancient Heavenly Court residing in her body; we can't just leave it be. By the way, I can't get away for this trip north, but Lu Xingyun can go with you."

"His area has been calm lately, with nothing going on anyway. The bureau was going to send him on a business trip regardless, so we might as well have him go with you."

Gu Xiao said.

Jiang Xinhan, who was holding a bowl nearby, quietly interjected: "Mr. Gu, you actually don't need to keep watching me here. I won't disappear."

"Cut the crap. You? You won't disappear?"

Gu Xiao glared at him, clearly still brooding over yesterday's events.

He paused, then muttered: "Anyway, staying here is fine. Just watching you is safe enough. Going on a business trip with him is another story—god knows what we might run into..."

Gu Xiao swallowed the second half of his sentence halfway through.

It seemed he had remembered some unpleasant past event.

Li Xiuyuan glanced up at him and said indifferently: "Speak freely. My life is tough; I can handle it."

Gu Xiao shrank his neck and picked up his chopsticks: "Eat, eat!"

He buried his head and dug into his food.

...

...

Early the next morning,

Yunfeng Mountain welcomed a familiar guest.

In the courtyard at the foot of the mountain, Gu Xiao was squatting on the threshold brushing his teeth, toothbrush in his mouth, covered in foam, when he looked up and saw a familiar figure strolling up the mountain path.

The man was wearing an old jacket and holding a cup of soy milk bought from a street vendor, slurping it happily.

"Yo, you're awake? I was just about to call you."

Lu Xingyun greeted Gu Xiao from afar.

Gu Xiao nodded and gave an indistinct "Mm."

"You're living the good life, aren't you? Look at this place, beautiful mountains and waters, no need to be sent on business trips every day, you've even put on some weight."

Lu Xingyun walked up the steps, looked Gu Xiao up and down, and clicked his tongue twice.

"Bullshit, how could I have gained weight?" Gu Xiao rinsed his mouth and stuck his toothbrush into the cup.

Lu Xingyun looked around the courtyard and spotted the fishing gear in the corner at a glance: "You still have the heart to go fishing?"

"Speaking of that, I caught a twenty-pound fish the day before yesterday."

Gu Xiao nodded proudly toward the other man.

Any angler would have been unable to resist posting about it on social media in that situation, but Gu Xiao had held himself back because everyone else in the bureau was busy; if they knew he was out fishing, they would have flipped their lids.

Lu Xingyun's face was filled with envy, jealousy, and hatred: "You still have the heart to fish? I've been worked like a donkey lately, getting transferred everywhere and driven to death."

Gu Xiao wiped his face: "The capable do more work; this shows that the higher-ups recognize you."

"Fuck that~ I'm certainly capable, but I don't need to do more work."

While the two were bantering, Jiang Xinhan walked out from another room. Seeing Lu Xingyun, he respectfully bowed and offered a salute.

Once he had walked away, Lu Xingyun nudged Gu Xiao with his elbow and lowered his voice: "Old Gu, you're not kidding. Just looking at his face in the photos, it's indeed exactly the same as Lord River God, but seeing him in reality, you can really feel a big difference."

Gu Xiao said: "The first time I saw him, I was so scared my crotch was soaked in sweat."

"Sweat? I doubt it."

Lu Xingyun shook his head and smiled meaningfully.

...

...

The morning mist on the mountaintop had not yet dissipated. A massive, silvery-white creature was coiled on that giant rock, its scales covered in a thin layer of dew that shimmered with faint light under the morning sun.

When Lu Xingyun walked up the mountain, those golden vertical pupils opened slightly, looking at the newcomer.

"Tsk, truly majestic." Lu Xingyun said, gazing at Li Xiuyuan before him.

"Let's go."

Li Xiuyuan spoke, his voice like a deep bell.

White mist spread down from the mountaintop, shrouding the entire mountain path. Lu Xingyun only felt his vision suddenly turn white, the sound of wind whistling in his ears, and his feet had already left the ground.

Wrapped in the mist, Lu Xingyun rose into the air and sped toward the north.

The outline of Yunfeng Mountain rapidly shrank beneath the mist, and that patch of verdant green eventually disappeared at the edge of the horizon.

"We need to go to Bianliang first; the Yellow River waterway passes through there. The Guiliu Society has appeared there recently, and the Mysterious Investigation Bureau also has a temporary outpost there."

Lu Xingyun stood on Li Xiuyuan's back, slapped a talisman under his feet to stabilize himself, and stood up straight.

The white mist traveled north, crossing rolling mountain ranges and vast plains.

The scenery on the ground gradually changed from lush greenery to vast, desolate expanses, and the crisscrossing waterways were gradually replaced by a stretch of muddy yellow land.

In less than half an hour, the outline of a grayish-yellow ancient city appeared beneath the mist, with a muddy yellow waterway winding past it.

"That's Bianliang down there. We need to find a place to land; we can't let people see us."

Lu Xingyun looked down.

Li Xiuyuan's gaze pierced through the mist and landed on the ancient city.

This ancient city possessed an extremely profound history; even now, it still retained some ancient buildings.

It had many names: Dongjing, Bianjing, Bianliang.

A thousand years ago, it was the most prosperous capital of the Zhao Song dynasty, known as the "Dream of Splendor in the Eastern Capital."

In those days, Bianliang had a population of a million, with merchants gathering and four rivers flowing through it; it was the most dazzling pearl in the thirty thousand li of mountains and rivers.

The world-famous painting "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" depicted the prosperous scene of heavy traffic on the bridges and boats coming and going in this city.

However, after a thousand years of flux, this former capital had faded from its glory. The Yellow River had changed its course several times, and floods had repeatedly submerged the city, with layers of silt accumulating and burying those past prosperities underground.

The Bianliang of today was just an ordinary old northern city.

Li Xiuyuan's body twisted in the air, finding an empty, deserted spot, and plummeted straight down.

The moment he landed, the white mist retracted, transforming back into a moon-white robe that draped over him.

"That was exciting enough."

Lu Xingyun landed steadily, dusted off his clothes, took out his phone, and made a call.

He confirmed the location with the person on the other end, hung up, and a dark cloud suddenly appeared on his face.

Li Xiuyuan looked at his expression and said indifferently: "Something happened?"

Lu Xingyun nodded, his voice heavy: "Yeah. Those bastards from the Guiliu Society have gone insane."

"They captured a few colleagues from the Mysterious Investigation Bureau, used living people for sacrifices, and even sent over a video."

He looked up, his gaze turning cold, "They're purely provoking us."