Chapter 208: Chen Mou Fulfills His Duty
Lu Jing felt a strong sense of frustration, like failing to steal a chicken but losing the rice instead.
If he had known it would be like this, he should have intercepted Old Chen Shun’an ahead of time!
Meanwhile, Xiao Changping, Luo Kun, and the others silently followed behind, tactfully not stirring up trouble at this juncture. They all took off their Tongming Envoy clothes, preparing to scatter like monkeys in all directions.
This time, the matter of translating monster language had failed, and they had no affinity with the Purple Iron Cattail Milk.
But at least they returned alive and intact, which was better than Chen Shun’an losing his life.
Contentment brings constant joy; only with comparison comes superiority.
At the dock, Warehouse Keeper Fang, the Banner Officer, and Lin Shou Zhuo had been waiting here early.
Warehouse Keeper Fang and the Banner Officer each had their own thoughts, feeling somewhat uneasy, afraid that their immediate superior Lu Jing would catch their little braids and give them a hard time.
As for Lin Shou Zhuo, he had just submitted a certain task when he learned that Old Chen had actually slaughtered that Loach Demon. He was both shocked and delighted, and came upon hearing the news.
After all, Lin Shou Zhuo had also once thought of capturing that Loach Demon, even tracking its traces and probing its lair for a while.
In the end, he didn’t even catch a glimpse of loach froth and could only give up helplessly.
Who would have thought that Old Chen actually caught it!
You call this a second-rate warrior?!
Then what about me, who broke through to the True Intent Realm after a thousand hardships?!
Lin Shou Zhuo was no fool; he had long noticed something off about Old Chen but didn’t call it out.
Not calling it out meant they were still brothers.
If he did call it out, who knows what situation might arise.
People should occasionally play dumb!
At this moment, Warehouse Keeper Fang, the Banner Officer, and Lin Shou Zhuo saw the tower ship docking and Lu Jing and the others disembarking. They immediately came forward with complicated thoughts.
Lin Shou Zhuo scanned the crowd getting off the ship but didn’t see that familiar figure. His brows furrowed, his voice unconsciously raised a bit as he asked,
“Where’s Old Chen?”
Warehouse Keeper Fang also first searched for Chen Shun’an’s figure, then noticed Lu Jing’s grim face, and his heart suddenly skipped a beat!
Bad, something happened!
The Banner Officer felt his back tighten even more, sweat soaking the lining inside his cotton robe. It was clearly freezing cold, yet he felt hot all over.
This is bad, this is bad…
The people getting off the ship looked at each other, and finally Luo Kun sighed, his voice lowered,
“The porpoise… took Shopkeeper Chen away. I’m afraid it’s more likely bad than good.”
Thus, in no time, the crowd on the shore figured out what had happened with taming the porpoise today.
The pot exploded at once.
“The porpoise took someone and escaped?”
“And it was the Water Station shopkeeper, Chen Shun’an?”
“It’s over, probably no chance. Better find the body recovery team early to see if they can retrieve the corpse.”
“Chen Shun’an is Zhao Guangxi’s current favorite. If he dies here, it’ll probably bring trouble to our Wuqing Sticky Rod Bureau.”
“We martial artists leave it to fate in life and death! Since we’re in this line, we’ve long tied our heads to our belts. And they have the face to cause trouble?”
The crowd on the shore discussed animatedly.
Meanwhile, the soldiers and martial artists who had eaten loach meat last night couldn’t help showing regret on their faces.
Old Chen was a good man!
Good people don’t live long.
The Banner Officer’s face grew paler the more he listened, and then Lu Jing called him aside to who-knows-what. His whole spine bent down, almost touching the ground, his face showing panic.
“How could Old Chen possibly die?!”
Upon hearing this news, Lin Shou Zhuo instinctively questioned it.
What a joke—even if he Lin Shou Zhuo, Zhao Guangxi died, or even one day Wuqing County’s gates were breached and foreign barbarians invaded.
Lin Shou Zhuo would unhesitatingly believe that Old Chen was certainly the one who ran the fastest and stayed safest.
That’s character!
Lin Shou Zhuo believed in Chen Shun’an’s character!
So…
What trick was Old Chen playing this time?
Lin Shou Zhuo stood on the dock, the biting River Wind making him squint his eyes.
And soon, with waves of exclamations, his doubts were explained.
“Something’s coming from the river bottom?”
“Quick, sound the horn—it seems like water demons are coming ashore again!”
“No, wait… it seems like a person?!”
Waves of urgent shouts rang out.
The soldiers in blue-trimmed uniform jackets were about to pull nets and form arrays when they heard an extremely unusual sound, like thousands of jade chimes ringing together, coming from the frozen river channel downstream.
The crowd instinctively looked up.
They saw that intact ice surface downstream suddenly arched up and torn apart by a massive force!
Accompanied by a thunderous roar, ice chunks splashed everywhere. A huge bluish-gray figure broke through the ice and leaped into the air.
“Porpoise?”
“Grand Canal Porpoise!”
“The porpoise is back?!”
“There’s someone riding on the porpoise!”
As that shadow drew nearer, the eyes of the crowd on the shore widened round.
They saw a person sitting steadily on the porpoise’s back.
Wearing Tongming Envoy clothes, the hem stained with some ice shards but not looking disheveled at all. His hands gripped the saddle reins, his demeanor calm, his gaze steady.
Who else but Chen Shun’an?
And behind this porpoise followed a group of porpoises, their tail fins slapping the ice in unison, bluish-blue and silver-white backs connecting into a sheet in the icy river.
Lu Jing’s figure quickly appeared on the dock.
He was still dragging the Banner Officer who hadn’t reacted yet; the Banner Officer’s legs were a bit soft, and his collar was askew.
Seeing this, Lu Jing’s expression unchanged, he helped him up, straightened his collar for him, then patted his shoulder and said,
“Well done.”
The Banner Officer was dazed, still not quite reacting.
Weren’t they just checking accounts and questioning if I abused my position for personal gain?
How is it suddenly well done?
Abusing position counts as well done?
Then, when the Banner Officer reacted and saw Chen Shun’an returning leading a group of porpoises.
All his doubts were instantly resolved.
Lu Jing stepped forward to the water’s edge.
He looked at Chen Shun’an for a moment, his tense face finally relaxing a bit as he nodded: “Good, very good.
Chen Shun’an slowly approached, reining in Tun Mengzi, finally floating on the water near the shore. He cupped his hands toward Lu Jing with a smile,
“Lord Lu, Chen Mou has not failed your trust.”
……
“Heard about it? Crouching Tiger Well’s shopkeeper Chen Shun’an brought back a group of porpoises.”
“Nonsense, how could I not know? Last night I was favored by Shopkeeper Chen, who treated me to a skewer of loach meat—truly smooth and refreshing… Even then I could tell Shopkeeper Chen was no ordinary man. Speaking monster language, taming porpoises—wasn’t it all effortless?!”
“You ate that loach meat? How was it, does it really work? I have a friend with a little problem in that area, asked me to inquire…”
Three Forked Road, outside the military camp.
There were massive checkpoints, lined with sabers, spears, swords, and halberds, bows, crossbows, spears, and halberds nearby, all surrounded by rolling logs, cannons, and stones, heavily guarded by soldiers with martial artists patrolling.
At the front of a main road, several second-rate martial artists gripped their sabers and spears, keeping watch on one side while discussing today’s most important event at Three Forked Road.
The snow fell even heavier, covering the ground like silver.
Whirling winds flipped the powdery snowflakes, scattering lightly amid the woods and hills, a scene of cold desolation.
Suddenly, a stunning woman in Daoist robes, holding a whisk, barefooted, stepped through the deep and shallow snowfield, just walking onward.
Walking through the snowfield, through the official road, to Three Forked Road.
“So, hiding here…”
Tian Xuan Saint looked toward the river surface from afar and suddenly smiled.
The guarding martial artists seemed to be chatting, but their eyes were like hawks, constantly watching their surroundings.
Any stirring of grass in the wind wouldn’t escape their ears and eyes.
But at this moment, everyone turned a blind eye to Tian Xuan Saint; even as she passed right in front of them, they were completely unaware.
Bypassing the massive checkpoint, wading through the rolling logs.
Snow still fell, but there was little accumulation inside the military camp; roads were wide and order was impeccable.
True Intent martial artists were sparring with fists, creating a grand momentum.
Wuguan Camp soldiers were also training in transporting grain and fodder.
But they all acted as if they hadn’t seen this uninvited guest Tian Xuan Saint at all.
Letting her advance straight into the depths of the military camp.
“This friend, may I ask how to get to Wuqing County?”
At that moment, a clear voice suddenly sounded from behind Tian Xuan Saint.
Tian Xuan Saint instinctively turned back and saw that at some point, a middle-aged Daoist priest with gentle eyes had appeared, cupping his hands in greeting toward her.
Tian Xuan Saint’s brows furrowed slightly, a flash of surprise in her eyes.
Asking for directions?
How did he see me?
Oh right, I’m standing right here—as long as he’s not blind, it’s normal to see me…
Tian Xuan Saint’s thoughts turned in her mind, her doubts dispelled.
Then she seriously replied,
“Go to the official road outside the military camp, head north, and you’ll pass three tea sheds, a post station, and a mass grave called Bajia Village. Don’t take the wrong path, just keep going and you’ll get there.”
The middle-aged Daoist nodded and said,
“Many thanks, friend. Farewell.”
With that, the middle-aged Daoist strode off toward the official road.
Seeing the middle-aged Daoist go far, Tian Xuan Saint nodded, feeling she had done something trivial.
She was about to continue toward Chen Shun’an on the shore.
But as soon as she moved, she felt her whole body go limp and weary, drowsy, her essence, energy, and spirit ebbing away like a receding tide. It was as if she had been in closed-door seclusion for years without touching the five grains, her body utterly exhausted.
“What’s going on?”
Her heart skipped a beat. Just as she tried to circulate qi to invigorate herself, she felt a burning sensation at the top of her skull.
A wisp of White Qi emerged like light smoke, swirling above her head, gradually condensing into a thin white light that ‘whooshed’ straight into the sky, floating along the official road direction, vanishing in an instant.
The next instant.
Tian Xuan Saint’s figure was completely exposed in the military camp.
The True Intent experts who had been sparring with fists and the patrolling soldiers suddenly became alert—how did a person suddenly appear before them?!
“Enemy attack!”
“Hey, who are you?!”
“Capture first, ask later!”
Waves of angry shouts rang out.
“Buzz—”
Bowstring vibrated.
Berserk, unparalleled qi surged back toward a certain direction.
At the shore, Lu Jing had at some point drawn the Purple Arm Iron Gall Bow, its body gleaming coldly.
He held the bow in his left hand, drew the string with his right, his movements smooth like embracing the moon, yet heavy enough to shatter mountains.
The surrounding air instantly solidified; the howling gale winds across the sky stilled the moment he drew the bow.
The vast mental strength after slaying the five thieves attached to the arrow, making the arrowhead glow faintly blue.
Lu Jing seemed to recognize Tian Xuan Saint.
But he pretended not to know, just roared and abruptly released the string.
“Trespassers in the military camp, kill without mercy!”
Wherever the arrow passed, the River Wind was split in two, leaving a vacuum channel with scorching burn marks at the edges.
Straight toward Tian Xuan Saint!
