Chapter 5: Something Happened
By the time Zhao Linxu finally came down the mountain, Li Jianyu felt as if his body had been completely hollowed out.
That man was truly, in every sense of the word, at odds with his body, especially the part where his butt was. Before, it had been subjected to the unspeakable, and now, it had been jolted so much it felt like it was about to split into four cheeks.
To say more would be to shed tears. And what was even more sorrowful was that after returning to the manor, Li Jianyu had to secretly go up the mountain again that night.
He had to figure out why the phoenixes had brazenly flown to Water God Mountain.
Wind God Mountain was a towering and dense mountain forest outside Luoye, and it was where the phoenixes rested.
At this moment, on a winding mountain path, Li Jianyu tripped over a stone. As his body swayed, the fruit in his basket scattered all over the ground.
Why hadn’t Dabao come down to meet him…
Could it be angry? Dabao had a bad temper, but Erbao and Xiaobao had always been well-behaved. Why was there no response from them either?
…They couldn’t possibly not recognize him, right?
Zhao Linxu’s search for that person had been intense lately. Just in case, Li Jianyu had deliberately disguised himself to go up the mountain.
In addition to learning from Zhao Jiangxue and sticking pockmarks on his face, Li Jianyu had also changed into women’s clothing, complete with a “flying immortal” hair bun and a red gauze dress. Looking in the bronze mirror, he couldn’t even recognize himself. It was truly… too ugly to look at directly.
Although as a man, Li Jianyu had strong opinions about his slender build, he had to admit it was quite useful for disguises.
Crack.
He stepped on something hard. Li Jianyu looked down, and his heart instantly went cold.
It was a broken arrow.
A chilling murderous aura flared in Li Jianyu’s eyes. He no longer cared about the fruit and quickened his pace up the mountain.
“Dabao!”
“Dabao, where are you!”
After a while, Li Jianyu finally heard a faint cry.
A response, at last. Li Jianyu followed the sound into a cave and saw Erbao lying curled up by the stone wall, looking very weak, its head drooping listlessly.
Dabao and Xiaobao weren’t there. Li Jianyu knelt down in front of Erbao and gently stroked its head.
“What’s wrong?”
Erbao nuzzled against Li Jianyu, burying its head in his embrace.
It was ice-cold.
A phoenix’s body temperature was always on the high side. Holding Erbao, Li Jianyu could finally be certain.
Erbao was sick!
Erbao had been pregnant before, with a little phoenix in its belly. Perhaps it was because of this that its body was weak, leading to its current illness.
“Don’t be afraid.” Li Jianyu hugged Erbao tightly. The phoenix’s body was enormous, so Li Jianyu could only embrace the great bird’s fluffy head and neck.
After a while, Dabao and Xiaobao also returned.
“Where did you go?”
Dabao placed a plant in front of Li Jianyu.
It was a pale blue flower with small fruits at its center.
“Drunken Man’s Fruit… you went to Water God Mountain?”
Dabao nodded.
“What were you doing there?” Li Jianyu’s expression hardened, and he said in a low voice, “Because of the spirit mushroom, that place is crawling with highly skilled martial artists! What if someone saw you…”
If he wasn’t mistaken, the existence of the phoenixes had already been discovered. Otherwise, why would there be a broken arrow?
“Did you get into a conflict with someone at the foot of the mountain?”
Seeing Li Jianyu’s anger, Xiaobao immediately looked pitiful and nodded aggrievedly.
A chill ran down Li Jianyu’s spine.
“Why did you go to Water God Mountain!”
Dabao nudged its beak towards Erbao in dissatisfaction.
“…You wanted to pick the spirit mushroom to cure Erbao?” Li Jianyu had always been telepathically linked with the phoenixes. Even though they couldn’t speak, he could always accurately guess their thoughts.
Dabao and Xiaobao nodded in unison.
Li Jianyu was stunned.
Looking at the three listless phoenixes, Li Jianyu took a deep breath and said, “Don’t go to Water God Mountain again. I will go pick the spirit mushroom.”
Li Jianyu stood up. “This place has been discovered, and it’s too close to Water God Mountain. It’s definitely not safe to stay here anymore. Take Erbao to Earth God Mountain. It’s more secluded there. Then, wait for me to find you. If you’re discovered, run. If you can’t run, don’t hold back when you fight back.”
“Dabao, take care of your wife and younger brother.”
Dabao raised its head and let out a long cry.
XXXXXX
The area outside Luoye Garden was planted with bamboo. Although it seemed somewhat at odds with Zhao Linxu’s temperament, he was quite satisfied with his lodgings. The main reason was that the courtyard was excellent, making it refreshing to practice his martial arts.
At this moment, Zhao Linxu was in the backyard practicing with his sword. The sharp wind from his blade made the bamboo sway back and forth, creating a pleasant rustling sound.
“Your Majesty.” A shadow guard knelt to the side.
Zhao Linxu sheathed his sword. “What have you found?”
The shadow guard said, “The identity of the assassin at the Fulai Inn that day has been confirmed. They are the Fifth Prince, Zhao Zhanqi’s, men.”
Zhao Linxu smiled.
“We guessed as much. Besides Old Fifth, who else would go to such great lengths and use such unscrupulous means to take Our life?”
If it hadn’t been for that mysterious man’s help that night, he probably would have been done for. This time, he had made such a grand spectacle of coming to Luoye City, letting the whole world know. He certainly hoped Zhao Zhanqi wouldn’t miss this opportunity. Otherwise, wouldn’t it be a disappointment?
“Go and check on how Old Fifth’s preparations are coming along. Will he be coming to Luoye City for the Harvest Festival?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Zhao Linxu thought for a moment and asked, “Where is Li Jianyu now?”
Zhao Linxu recalled what the commoners had said when he was traveling incognito.
When he and Li Jianyu went out, whether in the city or outside, Li Jianyu was constantly stopped by commoners who wanted to give him gifts or talk to him. Even if Li Jianyu didn’t respond much, or had no gifts to give in return, the people would still greet him with great enthusiasm. His reputation was extremely high.
While Li Jianyu was being pulled aside by the commoners to look at rice, Zhao Linxu had taken the opportunity to ask why everyone loved their City Lord so much.
“Oh! We have to love him! Brother, you might not know since you’re an outsider, but our City Lord is amazing! After the City Lord took office following his uncle’s death, all our lives have improved a lot.”
“That’s right, thanks to the City Lord, our production has increased several times over! The City Lord is so knowledgeable. Brother, do you see that well over there? It used to be very hard for us to draw water, but after the City Lord installed that wheel and two sticks for us, you just press the outer stick, and it moves the inner one, and the bucket comes up by itself.”
“Yeah, and there’s more! Some crops can’t be planted together, or some can be planted together to ripen at the same time.”
They were all small, trivial details, and the commoners recounted them in bits and pieces. They didn’t seem like much, but when added together, it was a different story.
He looked so cold, but his popularity was extremely high.
“The City Lord is inspecting his soldiers. It seems he is preparing for an expedition.”
Zhao Linxu raised an eyebrow and picked up a fox fur cloak from the side.
When he arrived at the City Lord’s manor, he indeed saw rows of soldiers in neat armor, standing ready to set out. Li Jianyu and Meng Qingshu were inspecting weapons and counting their numbers.
Zhao Linxu leaned against a pillar by the door, crossed his arms, and smiled. “Beauty, where are you going to fight a war?”
Li Jianyu bowed properly to Zhao Linxu. “Reporting to Your Majesty, this subject intends to go to Water God Mountain to pick the spirit mushroom.”
“I didn’t realize Beauty also liked such rare things. But can these soldiers really fight against the highly skilled martial artists of the jianghu?”
“We’ll just overwhelm them with numbers.”
These men were decent in a war, but when it came to snatching things… their chances of success were not high. But what else could he do?
Li Jianyu sighed internally.
Zhao Linxu looked at the scene before him, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. He shook his head and said, “We can help you obtain the spirit mushroom. You won’t need so many people. Just bring a few agile shadow guards.”
Everyone knew that Zhao Linxu was highly skilled in martial arts.
Li Jianyu, however, was startled, thinking he had misheard.
Making the Emperor run an errand for him??
Li Jianyu touched his own face.
It was melon-seed shaped, with perfect lines. It wasn’t that big.
“Of course, We have a condition.”
“This subject will naturally obey Your Majesty’s command.”
Zhao Linxu walked up to Li Jianyu and said seriously, “Your manor’s private army and Luoye’s garrison troops. We will have one opportunity to use them.”
The court’s garrison troops were different from Luoye’s soldiers. The position of City Lord was passed down through generations, and Luoye’s soldiers belonged to the City Lord, not the court.
“Your Majesty is the Nine-Dragon Son of Heaven. They are naturally at Your Majesty’s disposal at any time.” Li Jianyu lowered his eyes slightly.
“City Lord Li, remember what you said today.”
After saying this, Zhao Linxu left, leaving Li Jianyu behind with lingering doubts in his heart.
“Your Majesty, are you really going up the mountain?”
Chen Zhishu was waiting outside.
“That’s right. Spread the news well. Make sure Old Fifth knows.” Zhao Linxu patted Chen Zhishu’s shoulder. “You all should also prepare well these next few days. When We go up the mountain…”
Zhao Linxu hadn’t missed it. When he offered his help to Li Jianyu, the City Lord, who was usually as cautious and guarded as a cat around strangers, had a flash of surprise and gratitude in his eyes.
It was a chance to both do someone a favor and “go fishing” at the same time. Why not?
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
