Chapter 652 (2): Standing Under the Bright Moon

Zhu Lian had left to visit Sword Worship Plateau.

Sword Cultivator Cui Wei, Zhang Jiazhen, and Jiang Qu all resided here now.

Wei Bo stood near the foot of the mountain, and he started to slowly walk up with Zhu Lian, whom he had called over on short notice.

Wei Bo smiled and said, "Master Ruan is thankfully no longer the person managing affairs at the Dragon Spring Sword Sect, and it's Miss Ruan running things instead. Otherwise, even I might struggle to conceal everything."

Zhu Lian appeared slightly tense as he asked, "Have you confirmed the identity of that woman?"

Wei Bo nodded and replied, "She's the woman from the intercontinental ship whom Chen Ping'an asked us to search for, Ceremony Mountain's Chun Shui."

She had luckily survived the catastrophic crash of the intercontinental ship in the territory of the Luminous Vermilion Empire back then, adopting the pseudonym Shi Qiu and joining a small immortal force. Afterward, she had revealed through an enchanted picture scroll the collusion between Heavenly Lord Xie Shi and the Imperial Song Clan of the Great Li Empire, as well as their act of framing the Luminous Vermilion Empire.

The Great Li Empire's emperor had specifically discussed this matter in his imperial study before, and Imperial Preceptor Cui Chan had opined that exposing this secret was a completely trivial matter. To be more precise, Cui Chan hoped that this revelation would attract more big fish to bite their bait.

Otherwise, with the current spy network of the Great Li Empire, the surviving maidservant from the intercontinental ship, who was only a Lower Five Tier cultivator, would find it very difficult to escape death even if she had the help of powerful cultivators.

"Are things very troublesome?" Zhu Lian asked.

"Naturally," Wei Bo responded with a smile. "Would I have called you over if things weren't troublesome? These types of matters can be viewed as either major or minor, and they're ultimately the biggest acts of taboo."

"But it also isn't troublesome at the same time. I simply need to confirm one matter," Zhu Lian said.

Wei Bo nodded and said, "As long as you're confident. My reputation is already in the gutter, so I'm not afraid of taking one more hit."

Zhu Lian shook his head and said, "Things aren't that simple. Alright, I know the way, so I'll go by myself. You can return to Cloud Drape Mountain and pretend that you don't know anything at all."

Wei Bo furrowed his brow.

"You need to think long-term for your relationships, so don't trample on them so readily," Zhu Lian continued. "We need to separate our friendship from proper matters like this, Brother Wei. You need to keep your distance from some particular matters."

"Then I'll keep an eye on the regions surrounding Sword Worship Plateau," Wei Bo said with a smile. "We can discuss and formulate a plan if anything changes."

Zhu Lian nodded in response.

Friends needed to reciprocate kindness with kindness.

This was the justice of the martial world.

Wei Bo, who had so-called detained and marched a group of people from the fringes of the Northern Mountain's jurisdiction to Sword Worship Plateau just then, disappeared from the mountain.

Zhu Lian saw the travel-worn group of people.

Cui Wei, who was from the Sword Qi Great Wall and at the peak stage of the Golden Core Tier, felt extremely confused as he guarded the group of people who had mysteriously appeared atop the mountain.

There was a young master with the compound surname Dugu, Maidservant Meng Long, and a woman called Shi Qiu.[1]

Zhu Lian nodded at Cui Wei after arriving, and the latter flew away on his sword.

He looked at the woman whose real name was Chun Shui and said, "I only have two questions, Miss Chun Shui, so please answer them truthfully."

There was a look of slight displeasure on Maidservant Meng Long's face.

The young master with a deathly pale complexion was unfazed.

Chun Shui nodded in response.

Zhu Lian's expression was friendly as he smiled and asked, "Firstly, has Miss Chun Shui come here to look for my young master of her own volition? And secondly, when did you develop these thoughts? Did you want to find a trustworthy person in a foreign land soon after the intercontinental ship crashed? Or have you been forced to come here since all other paths have been cut off?"

Chun Shui's eyes were limpid as she replied, "I never thought about looking for Chen Ping'an before, and I've only changed my mind because my actions have resulted in Young Master Dugu being hunted by others. My only hope is to help Young Master Dugu stay alive, and Chen Ping'an can feel free to hand me over to the Great Li Empire."

She paused for a moment before smiling sincerely and continuing, "This might sound very naive, but these are my true thoughts."

Zhu Lian nodded and said with a faint smile, "I trust Miss Chun Shui to tell the truth."

The hunchbacked old man then turned his head and asked with a wide smile, "You're a noble descendant from the fallen Luminous Vermilion Empire, correct?"

"That's correct," Young Master Dugu replied with a nod. "I don't dare to conceal anything from you, Senior. My real name is Dugu Duanshun, and I now go by the pseudonym of Shao Poxian. I'm from the fallen Luminous Vermilion Empire, and I truly don't want to die yet; hence the choice to use this last-resort plan. I used a debt of gratitude to make this unreasonable request to Miss Shi Qiu, asking her to bring me to Downtrodden Mountain to seek protection and refuge."

"Are you confident of receiving protection and staying alive after arriving at Downtrodden Mountain, or is this a stab in the dark and an act of desperation?" Zhu Lian asked.

"The latter," Young Master Dugu replied.

The three of them had experienced two conflicts while fleeing, with one being an unexpected encounter and the other being a planned assault by accompanying cultivators from the army of the Great Li Empire.

Zhu Lian smiled and asked, "What act of kindness did you bestow upon Miss Chun Shui? Why don't you recount this to me? I only manage trivial affairs at Downtrodden Mountain, and my knowledge is very shallow with the small number of books I've read. I genuinely need to listen and learn from Young Master Dugu."

Dugu Duanshun was rendered speechless.

He had only risked danger to rescue "Shi Qiu" because of impure motives. He definitely hadn't been acting with justice and righteousness in his mind.

There was a forlorn expression on Maidservant Meng Long's face.

How had her young master fallen to such pitiful depths?

Zhu Lian remained silent for a moment before asking, "Where did the final conflict occur?"

"It happened near the Southern Stream Nation, which is extremely far away from the Great Li Empire's Dragon Province," Dugu Duanshun replied. "The reason we were found and attacked was that someone among the accompanying cultivators of the Great Li Empire's army possessed an imperial seal of the Luminous Vermilion Empire, allowing them to track my location. I pretended to travel south after the conflict, and I severed the dragon vein in my body while doing so. Only after this did I cautiously travel north. I most likely wasn't noticed by the scouts of the Great Li Empire."

His explanation was clear and concise.

As for the danger involved and the heavy price paid, Young Master Dugu had never revealed this to anyone else.

"Shao Poxian, are you willing to cling to life on a small plot of land, or do you want to heroically perish with your empire?" Zhu Lian asked.

"Senior, your question is a bit extra," Dugu Duanshun replied with a smile.

Zhu Lian nodded and looked at the pitiful female cultivator from the Northern Complete Reed Continent, asking with a smile, "Miss Chun Shui, do you understand how much trouble your actions will cause for my young master?"

Chun Shui was just about to say something.

However, Zhu Lian had already smiled and continued, "You already explained your thoughts just then, and my memory is good enough to remember them, so I'm simply stating the truth."

Chun Shui nodded and bit her lip, causing tendrils of blood to seep out.

She kept one hand hidden inside her sleeve, tightly gripping an item, so tight that her arm was shaking slightly.

In reality, she also had personal reasons beyond wanting to repay Young Master Dugu for saving her life.

She hoped to deliver an item to Downtrodden Mountain, and after that, she wouldn't care even if Downtrodden Mountain handed her to the Great Li Empire to ask for rewards.

Zhu Lian smiled and looked around.

There were many wild persimmon trees at Sword Worship Plateau, and the bright orange fruits would appear especially adorable as they hung high on the branches during early winter.

Persimmons had a different name in his hometown in the Lotus Flower Blessed Land, and they were called Marquis Lingshuang, a very unique name indeed.[2]

In the end, Zhu Lian said to the young woman, who had an adrift expression, "My young master would definitely be very happy to reunite with you, Miss Chun Shui, if he were present."

Zhu Lian left Sword Worship Plateau after saying this.

"Young Master, this is...?" Maidservant Meng Long asked in a quiet voice.

Dugu Duanshun smiled in acceptance and replied, "It's okay to depend on others and have food and shelter."

Wei Bo reappeared when Zhu Lian reached the foot of Sword Worship Plateau.

Zhu Lian chuckled in anger and said, "Are there any other great mountain gods who stick their heads forward to ask for a beating as you do?"

"I'm bored and have nothing better to do," Wei Bo replied with a shrug.

Zhu Lian clasped his hands behind his back and said slowly, "We definitely need to help the young lady with the pseudonym Shi Qiu, and as I said before, we simply need to confirm one matter regarding the two other people."

"Which is the question: Who told them they could survive if they traveled to the relatively unknown Downtrodden Mountain?" Wei Bo said.

"Such an outstanding observation, Brother Wei!" Zhu Lian exclaimed with a stunned expression.

Wei Bo responded with a polite smile.

Zhu Lian scratched his head and continued with a chuckle, "Alright, I can find some proper matters to attend to as well. After all, I can't put on an apron and cook all the time, even with people complaining that my dishes are too salty or too bland. It's time for Downtrodden Mountain to take some initiative to solve problems, or else an increasing number of unnecessary problems will land on our doorsteps."

He snickered and asked, "Should we choose a soft target to make an example of?"

Wei Bo smiled knowingly.

By the looks of it, Zhu Lian still felt lingering anger about the matter pertaining to the water goddess of the Fine Wine River.

Wei Bo looked toward Downtrodden Mountain and remarked, "What a coincidence. We have more guests to welcome."

The two of them vanished from Sword Worship Plateau and appeared on Downtrodden Mountain.

Zeng Ye and Ma Duyi saw an elegant and ethereal man materialize before them.

As for the old man with a kindly expression? His appearance was far inferior to that of the handsome man with a golden earring, whom the two guests simply couldn't take their eyes off.

Chen Nuanshu hurriedly stood up and introduced Zhu Lian and Wei Bo to the two guests, explaining that the former was the steward of Downtrodden Mountain, while the latter was the mountain god of the Northern Mountain.

Zeng Ye and Ma Duyi were almost shocked to death upon hearing this.

Of the great mountain gods of the Five Mountains, Wei Bo currently possessed the highest cultivation base and the greatest renown!

"It's time to eat, Old Cook, so make some of your signature dishes," Pei Qian said.

Little Mili wiped away her drool and concurred, "Yeah, it's time for your signature dishes."

Zhu Lian nodded in acknowledgment and immediately went to the kitchen to start cooking.

It was as if the kitchen were his small world.

There was a sense of exasperation in Wei Bo's mind.

Zhu Lian was even more handsome than Jiang Shangzhen and entirely capable of making a living off this, yet he stubbornly insisted on being an old cook.

1. A compound surname is a surname with two characters. ☜

2. Marquis Lingshuang (凌霜侯) is legitimately another name for persimmon trees. This name was given by Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty. He once enjoyed a ripe persimmon in a sparsely populated town with almost no food, and he passed the same persimmon tree again after achieving a victory in battle. He thus placed a crimson robe on the tree and bestowed upon it the title of Marquis Lingshuang. ☜

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