Chapter 8: Up the Mountain Together
Li Jianyu didn’t rest for long. He went to delegate and arrange all the matters for the Harvest Festival, meticulously covering every detail to prevent any oversights while he was away.
After nightfall, Li Jianyu met up with Zhao Linxu’s party at the foot of Water God Mountain.
“Your Majesty.”
After spending some time together, Li Jianyu was no longer particularly stiff around Zhao Linxu. After all, this Emperor was quite easygoing.
“Call me… Young Master.” Zhao Linxu smiled. It was better if the Emperor’s participation in the spirit mushroom frenzy wasn’t widely known.
“Ah…”
Watching Li Jianyu’s slow response, Zhao Linxu stroked his chin and began to wonder if this “cold beauty,” as others called him, was truly cold by nature or just… a little slow to react.
It was fine when they didn’t know each other well. But now that they were more familiar and Li Jianyu was a bit more relaxed, did his reactions seem half a beat slower?
“Young Master, you didn’t bring anyone?” Li Jianyu glanced behind Zhao Linxu. Besides Yuefeng, who was chewing on grass with its head down, there was no one else.
“There are shadow guards. They will appear when needed.”
Li Jianyu nodded. He had brought shadow guards too, though naturally, they weren’t out in the open.
“Let’s go.”
Li Jianyu had originally thought he was very clever for remembering to bring a horse; otherwise, they would have had to ride together again. However, now that his foot was sprained, he still had to ride with him.
It seemed there was no escaping it.
Why did it feel like his relationship with Zhao Linxu was being built on horseback?
Li Jianyu led Zhao Linxu along a small path. The night was deep and quiet, with no one in sight. Yuefeng trotted along in the moonlight.
“Young Master, since you are familiar with these mountain paths, do you know the sorceress who lives on Earth God Mountain?” Zhao Linxu casually started a conversation.
“It might not be Earth God Mountain, but in any case, a sorceress in the forest, with a face full of pockmarks.”
“…”
“I don’t know. Why… why is the Young Master suddenly looking for a sorceress? Do you wish to learn secret arts?”
Zhao Linxu shook his head. “Just want to make an acquaintance.”
“What about the mysterious man from that night? Is the Young Master looking for him to make an acquaintance as well?”
Zhao Linxu was stunned.
“Why does the City Lord suddenly ask this?”
…What do you think.
“The Young Master is searching for someone so extensively in Luoye City. As the City Lord, I naturally want to know more. It’s impossible for the Young Master to go to such great lengths for just one man. Could there be a hidden reason? If I know, I can also prepare and ensure the Young Master’s safety.”
Li Jianyu had heard that the Emperor had two younger brothers, and the fifth one, Zhao Zhanqi, was particularly restless.
“Shh… The most impossible is often the closest to the truth.” Zhao Linxu winked, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking.
Li Jianyu felt stifled.
“Besides the phoenix tattoo, does Your Majesty remember any other characteristics of that man?”
“Hmm…” Zhao Linxu frowned and thought seriously for a moment before saying in a low voice, “Although I couldn’t see his face clearly, in the scattered memories and fragments, that person had a bewitching figure, skin as smooth as silk, and a deliberately suppressed voice that was melodious and pleasant, clear and crisp. And also…”
“…That’s enough.”
Thinking about having to spend more time alone with this barbarian, Li Jianyu felt that life was meaningless.
Later, the two of them found a place to set up camp. Zhao Linxu went to the nearby small river to fetch water, while Li Jianyu went to gather firewood nearby.
Li Jianyu held a paper lantern for light in one hand and a bundle of firewood in the other.
Crack.
Li Jianyu stopped and looked at the branch he had stepped on.
He bent down to pick up the broken branch and saw a flash of silver light on the tree trunk in front of him. It was fast and very faint; if he hadn’t bent down to pay attention, it would have been easy to miss.
What was that!
“Ugh!”
Li Jianyu turned around and saw a man a short distance away, clutching his stomach and collapsing. Zhao Linxu was standing behind him, holding a dagger.
A gust of wind blew past, and Li Jianyu smelled the thick scent of blood.
“There are assassins.” Zhao Linxu wiped the blood off his dagger. “But they’ve all been dealt with. Don’t let the shadow guards intervene for now.”
This assassination attempt was just a probe. He didn’t want the other party to know his details, how many shadow guards he had brought, or how strong they were.
Li Jianyu carried the firewood and returned to the camp with Zhao Linxu. Along the way, he saw two other bodies.
“There were two more by the river. I dealt with them on the spot.”
“They’re not from the jianghu, are they?”
“No, they’re assassins.”
Li Jianyu nodded and didn’t ask any more questions.
He knew this man wasn’t as straightforward as he appeared. See, he was full of schemes. He probably had his own plans for coming up the mountain this time, under the nice pretense of helping him pick the spirit mushroom.
He was just being used. In this world, there were naturally no trustworthy and honest people who would help others unconditionally.
In any case, he would still get the spirit mushroom, so it was a net gain, not a loss.
XXXXXX
The two of them slept for a while, and as soon as the sky began to break, they continued on their way.
Li Jianyu looked around and said, “We’ll be there in half a day. It’s not far.”
Zhao Linxu stroked his chin.
They could get there in half a day, provided there were no obstacles on the way.
“…Ah!”
Zhao Linxu pulled on the reins. Up ahead, a woman was half-kneeling not far away, seemingly injured.
A woman alone in the deep forest…
Zhao Linxu’s eyes lit up. “Could it be that sorceress?!”
Li Jianyu swallowed the certain “no” that was on the tip of his tongue.
Zhao Linxu rode forward and asked, “What’s wrong, miss?”
The woman slowly turned her head. Although her face was pale, it couldn’t hide the bewitching aura of her features.
Not the sorceress…
The woman took a deep breath, clutched the corner of her clothes, and said timidly, “I’ve sprained my ankle.”
Zhao Linxu raised an eyebrow and glanced at Li Jianyu.
Just like you.
“Where do you live, miss? Shall we take you back?”
“J-just nearby! Just ahead.” The woman was full of gratitude.
Zhao Linxu had the woman ride with Li Jianyu, while he led Yuefeng on foot.
“Ahead… right.”
After walking for a while, Zhao Linxu frowned. “Are we there yet?”
The woman said it was just a little while, but as far as the eye could see, there were still no signs of human habitation.
“We’re… we’re almost there…”
The woman lowered her head, looking at a loss.
Zhao Linxu lightly placed his hand on the iron whip at his waist.
Li Jianyu said, “We’ll take you this far.”
Any further and they would deviate from their original route. Besides, as far as he knew, there were no residences nearby. Something was definitely strange about this.
The woman was stunned, and her eyes immediately turned red.
“Young Master… just… a little bit… just a little bit further.”
“In that case, walk yourself.” Li Jianyu’s tone was cold.
The woman was silent for a moment, then suddenly snatched the reins and, with a “Giddy-up!”, charged forward desperately.
Li Jianyu was thrown back by the sudden force. He barely managed to steady himself, but the fierce wind rushing at him made it impossible to open his eyes. His ears were filled with the sound of the rushing wind and the “clop-clop” of hooves.
“…Hey!”
The reins suddenly slipped from Zhao Linxu’s hand. He reacted extremely quickly and chased after them.
“Yuefeng! Stop!”
Fortunately, Yuefeng was an intelligent horse. Hearing its master’s command, it immediately brought its hooves to a screeching halt.
Li Jianyu used the momentum to push the woman off the horse, but the woman knew martial arts. She twisted Li Jianyu’s arm back and pulled him down with her.
The woman smiled. “It’s too late!”
When Zhao Linxu caught up, he saw a faint, eerie red light emerge from the grass beneath their feet.
It was a large-scale formation. The ground was covered with complex, intersecting patterns, and all of them were inside it.
“It’s the Joyful Moon Cult…” Li Jianyu’s brows furrowed tightly.
This was going to be troublesome.
“Joyful Moon Cult?”
Li Jianyu said, “A gay… a demonic cult whose power is at its peak. It is said that the cult leader kills without batting an eye and acts erratically and perversely.”
Damn, I almost blurted out ‘Gay Cult’.
Previously, members of the Joyful Moon Cult had plundered the property of the commoners on the border of the neighboring Baihua City. When the Lord of Baihua City came to Li Jianyu to complain and seek help, he had described the cult members as all wearing purple robes, with silver patterns and yellow collars as decoration.
Although he knew they were supposed to represent the moon, Li Jianyu couldn’t help but call them “gay purple,” “gay cult,” “gay this, gay that.” It had gotten to the point where the Lord of Baihua City and Meng Qingshu also unconsciously started calling them the “Gay Cult,” even though they didn’t know what it meant. In the end, no one could change the habit.
And now, countless people in purple robes, holding longswords, appeared all around them.
“The demonic cult wants the spirit mushroom too?” Zhao Linxu smiled and drew his iron whip.
“Beauty, get behind me.”
