The rest of the trip was uneventful.
They walked a full loop of the Great Wall, stayed one more day in Beidu to visit the Forbidden City, and only then, amid Zhao Xiaodao’s and Zhang Weili’s reluctant goodbyes, boarded the high-speed train south to Haicheng.
…
The following days settled into a pleasant rhythm. Whenever both worlds were quiet, Lu Zheng shuttled between them, nourishing his flying sword in ancient times and enjoying modern life with Lin Wan.
He might spend a morning in the ancient era listening to a storyteller in a teahouse while quietly refining his sword with true qi hidden in his sleeve. By noon he would be back in the modern world picking Lin Wan up for lunch. In the afternoon he would return to antiquity, either helping out at Renxin Hall or strolling through the peach grove to clear his mind.
Dinner depended on mood and circumstance: sometimes cooked over an ancient wood fire, sometimes in a modern kitchen. As for the evenings… those required careful scheduling.
Oh, right. After being away for a full month, a few days after returning he climbed Shaotong Mountain again. This time he brought no Scarlet Centipede Three-Yang Wine, but he did have the Qingqi spiritual tea that Yi Qingtian had given him.
As he entered the temple, he ran into Yuan Jing, who was just heading down the mountain.
“Senior brother, where are you off to?”
Yuan Jing wore his cloud-pattern sword at his waist and carried a small bundle on his back. Seeing Lu Zheng, he smiled and nodded. “The Zhao family in Yingshan Town is being haunted. They begged the temple for help, so I’m going to take a look.”
Lu Zheng nodded. “Is Master in?”
“He is!” Yuan Jing replied. “Master and Uncle-Master Mingjun are both in the back courtyard.”
Lu Zheng saw Yuan Jing off and soon reached the back courtyard. He presented Mingzhang Daozhang with a full jin of Qingqi spiritual tea. They brewed it with stalactite spring water and old mountain-well water. The fragrance instantly filled the entire Baiyun Temple.
Mingzhang Daozhang only took one breath and felt his true qi stirring eagerly. Mingjun Daozhang, whose cultivation was lower, nearly entered sudden enlightenment on the spot.
Unfortunately his aptitude fell short. He circled the gates of enlightenment once and came back out, so he could only sigh resentfully, drain his cup in one gulp, and settle for a direct boost to his cultivation.
“Tea of this calibre can’t possibly be ownerless. Who did you meet this time?” Mingzhang Daozhang asked.
“Your insight is keen, Master!” Lu Zheng cupped his hands. “This is Qingqi spiritual tea from Mount Qingqi in Luzhou, Eastern Sichuan Circuit. It belongs to Brother Yi Qingtian.”
“Mount Qingqi? Yi Qingtian?” Mingzhang Daozhang had never heard the names.
Although Yi Qingtian was a thousand-year great demon living deep in the Great Jing heartland, he rarely left his mountain, so his fame was limited. Feiyu Mountain knew of him only because Qingqi possessed the Biluo Qingxia celestial light.
“Brother Yi is friends with Hu Zhou’s father, Lord Hu Yijun of Dingfeng Mountain in the southern borders. And I am Hu Zhou’s martial instructor, so I was able to establish a connection.”
Lu Zheng first explained the relationship, then recounted his visit to Feiyu Mountain seeking sword scriptures.
“Feiyu Mountain barely has enough Sword Aura Celestial Light for themselves, while Qingqi has Biluo Qingxia. I thought I might build ties, so on the way back I took the Eastern Sichuan route and paid Qingqi a visit.”
“You’ve got some nerve!” Mingzhang Daozhang still felt lingering fear. “That’s a thousand-year great demon. You had no idea of his temperament, yet you dared climb his mountain asking for celestial light?”
Lu Zheng laughed. “My luck held. Brother Yi was extremely courteous. Not only did he give me plenty of Biluo Qingxia, he also gifted me Qingqi Mountain’s famous spiritual tea. The moment I returned, I came straight here to honour you with it, Master.”
Mingzhang Daozhang couldn’t help smiling. Though pleased, he still said, “He must have done it partly for Hu Yijun’s sake. Don’t take it for granted.”
Mingzhang felt that Yi Qingtian allowing Lu Zheng to address him as “Brother Yi” was also due to Lu Zheng’s own impressive cultivation. Face is earned. Otherwise, even if both were friends with Hu Yijun, Lu Zheng would only have been able to call him “Lord Yi the Eagle King”.
Lu Zheng blinked. “It wasn’t entirely for Brother Hu’s sake. I also helped Brother Yi kill a demonic creature.”
Mingzhang Daozhang: ⚆_⚆?
Mingzhang was no fool. Lu Zheng spoke lightly, but what kind of demon could fight a thousand-year great demon? And Lu Zheng never bragged. Using the word “helped” meant he had genuinely contributed.
“What happened?”
“Well…”
Lu Zheng explained the incident, not to show off, but because a disciple of the Heartless True Desire Demon Ancestor had entered Great Jing and targeted the usually solitary Yi Qingtian. He felt Baiyun Temple should know.
If he weren’t so lazy, he really ought to report it to the Anomaly Suppression Department as well. Seeing evil and reporting it is the mark of a good citizen.
“…Brother Yi was far too generous, so my wife and I took our leave and came straight home.”
Mingzhang Daozhang, “…”
Mingjun Daozhang, “…”
When Lu Zheng finished, both daoists stared at him like he was a monster.
Mingzhang: “Blackheart Demon?”
Mingjun: “One of the four great disciples of the Heartless True Desire Demon Ancestor?”
Of course they knew of the Demon Ancestor, but they hadn’t expected Lu Zheng to have grown strong enough to get involved in battles of that level.
“It was mostly Brother Yi carrying the fight. Otherwise my wife and I would never have dared engage.”
“Enough, enough, I get it.” Mingzhang Daozhang waved a weary hand, clearly meaning shut up, my heart can’t take more.
He took a sip of tea to calm himself, then said, “The Heartless True Desire Demon Ancestor is a heavenly demon descended. Though the Central Plains has many masters, demonic beings are the common enemy of the realm. The temple should indeed be informed.”
“Mm.” Lu Zheng nodded.
“One task, one person. You go to Baiyun Mountain yourself.”
“Huh?” Lu Zheng’s head snapped up.
I told you precisely so I wouldn’t have to run to Baiyun Mountain again! But since Mingzhang had spoken, what could he do?
Lu Zheng could only bow and accept.
Mingzhang added, “While you’re there, also brief the temple on that Blackheart Demon’s techniques and arts. Last time the Demon Ancestor appeared, our temple’s seniors did not participate.”
“Yes, Master!”
…
He had only come up the mountain to pay respects and somehow walked away with a new mission. Lu Zheng was speechless.
Fortunately everyone was used to him appearing and disappearing like a ghost lately. He went home, told Liu Qingyan and Shen Ying he’d be gone a bit longer, then summoned a cloud and flew straight north toward the Three Rivers Circuit.
Early the next morning he arrived at Baiyun Mountain in Jizhou.
He climbed the mountain, explained the Blackheart Demon incident to the uncle in charge of receiving guests, and was led to a side hall. There he dictated everything he knew about the demon’s magical techniques while temple disciples recorded it.
When everything was finished, it was already the afternoon of the second day.
Lu Zheng had every reason to believe that Mingzhang Daozhang had refused to make the trip himself purely out of laziness, and had even been too lazy to hear the details of the Blackheart Demon’s sinister arts in person.
