Chapter 681
Boasting for a Lifetime
Old Ears sat in the snow-covered mountains, oblivious to his appearance, watching Lu descend the mountain under the dark clouds.
He pulled Wuyun into his arms, stroked her head, and sighed, "The mother and son both seem very fierce and decisive, but they are actually very conflicted people. They are conflicted in their actions and speech. It's as if there's a city gate with a thousand-pound gate in their mouths, like the Chongli Pass. They have to think about what they want to say before they can say it. But when the gate is actually opened, they can't say anything."
This time, the dark clouds listened quietly without interrupting.
Old Ears chuckled: "However, only people with a conscience are conflicted. They're afraid of saying the wrong thing and hurting others, afraid of doing the wrong thing and implicating others, so they think carefully before they speak and deliberate before they act."
The old man, mimicking a human voice, said, "'Greetings, sir. Could you please do me a favor? If you can't, that's alright, I'll think of something else.' You see, a conscientious person wouldn't want to trouble others. You haven't even asked if you can help him, and he's already backing down. A heartless person wouldn't hesitate; they'd treat everyone like a hoe to till the land, and when the hoe breaks, they'd just replace it with a new one. They wouldn't miss anyone... and naturally, no one would miss them either."
The dark cloud seemed to understand, and meowed, "Does someone miss you?"
Old Ears watched as Lu's figure completely disappeared into the forest, then rubbed Wuyun's head and said, "Thank you, I'm not hungry."
Dark Clouds closed their eyes helplessly.
……
……
When Madam Lu arrived at the edge of the forest, she did not rush to sneak into Mirror City. She quietly hid behind a tree, watching the sky gradually darken until the sun sank into the western mountains, before she quietly set off.
Outside Jingcheng Port are densely packed low-rise houses with white walls, gray tiles, and gable roofs, similar to those in Ningchao.
These low houses seemed to have never been planned by anyone; they were crammed together crookedly, as if they were just a random, improvised arrangement. Lu Shi huddled in the shadows under the eaves, moving closer to the embankment.
Lights were on in the low-ceilinged house, and the occasional shouts of a drunken man and the coquettish complaints of the tavern owner could be heard from time to time.
Lu suddenly stopped. Twenty paces away, a squad of Zhongwu Guards rushed into a tavern and questioned each customer about their whereabouts the previous night. Those who could not answer, had no corroborating evidence from at least two people, or appeared flustered were all taken away by the Zhongwu Guards for interrogation.
No matter where they come from, they cannot escape it.
After the Lu family and the Zhongwu Guards took the people away, they continued walking forward. When they passed the tavern, they saw the waiter and the proprietress crying and cleaning up the mess.
It's unclear what kind of promise the Martial Temple made to the Great Lord of Shouyang, that he was willing to offend the merchants traveling north and south. After this incident, Jingcheng Port will probably be in a slump for two or three years before it can recover to its current prosperity.
Lu looked up suddenly and saw a middle-aged man in gray cloth standing on the roof of the watchtower in Jingcheng Port, with a long sword hanging motionless beside him.
Wu Kezhi.
Wu Kezhi looked down over the entire port, watching the Zhongwu Guards go in and out of the houses. Suddenly, he turned his head to look at a corner, but the corner was empty.
Lu walked among the low houses, stopping and starting, until he finally reached the edge and looked out over the embankment. However, there were more Zhongwu Guards guarding the embankment, and more than twenty braziers were burning at the entrance, illuminating the embankment as bright as day.
They couldn't infiltrate, and even if they did, they couldn't possibly bring ginseng out.
She closed her eyes, memorizing the harbor's layout, then turned and disappeared back into the forest. She circled around to the sea, far from the port, stood on the edge of a cliff several meters high, and leaped.
Lu jumped into the cold, dark seawater, determined the direction of Jingcheng Port, and swam vigorously towards the port. After a short while, he reached the embankment and switched to breaststroke to slow down, quietly approaching the Anlan.
Reaching the stern of the large ship, out of sight of the Zhongwu Guards, she climbed up the ship's side onto the deck, the cold seawater dripping from her clothes onto the deck with a soft pattering sound.
On the deck, the boatmen, whose lights were on, were gathered together gambling with dice. Hearing the noise, they turned around and saw Lu's appearance. They all stood up silently, while some went to find a weapon.
Old Li stepped forward, glanced back at the shore, and asked in a low voice, "Boss, what's going on? Are those Koreans searching for you? Shall we fight them?"
Madam Lu shook her head: "It's none of your business, don't worry about it."
Old Li said with concern, "Please come inside and change your clothes. You'll catch a cold in the dead of winter..."
Madam Lu calmly interrupted, "How's the ginseng you were asked to collect coming along?"
Old Li quickly replied, "I bought it by weight, and I bought 67 jin. The worst ginseng weighed one liang (50 grams), and the best weighed one liang and one qian (75 grams). I was going to buy some more, but the Zhongwu Guard arrived in the evening and stopped us from doing business. They told us to go back to the boat and wait for inspection."
Lu lowered her head and calculated in her mind: one jin is sixteen liang, and sixty-seven jin is about a thousand pieces. She wondered if that would be enough for Chenji.
She looked up at Old Li and said, "Bring them all. Don't worry about their condition. Pack them tightly and wrap them in oil paper. I'm taking them with me."
Old Li asked in astonishment, "Take him away?"
He looked at the seawater below the deck: "You're going to swim back with the ginseng, why are you in such a hurry? The seawater is so cold..."
Madam Lu urged, "Go quickly!"
Old Li went into the cabin, and a moment later came out carrying a heavy bundle. He threw the bundle on the deck, said "Wait a moment, boss," and went into the stern to retrieve a sheepskin float.
He blew on the sheepskin float for a while before tying it tightly with a leather rope and handing it to Madam Lu: "Even a Dao-Seeking Realm official would have trouble carrying that sixty-plus jin of ginseng while swimming. It will be easier for you with the sheepskin float." Madam Lu picked up her bundle and turned to leave. As she reached the edge of the deck, she looked back: "We are all seasoned veterans of the martial world. I don't need to teach you how to handle inspections. Tonight at dawn, the Koreans should be leaving. We'll set sail directly for Japan, stay there for a while, and then return to Ningchao."
Old Li understood her unspoken meaning: "And you, boss?"
Lu threw a cable from the deck into the sea: "Don't wait for me."
Having said that, she picked up her bundle and sheepskin float, and silently slipped into the sea along the mooring rope. Old Li came to the edge of the deck and watched as Madam Lu, holding onto the sheepskin float, swam away.
……
……
In the mountains, Old Ears sat cross-legged in the snow, muttering to himself, "It should be alright to take a quick look, right? I'm just checking if he has any other injuries, not trying to peek into any secrets."
He reached out to lift Chen Ji's clothes, but was pressed down by Wu Yun, who was squatting on top of Chen Ji, with his claws.
The old man said helplessly, "Can't even this old man take a look?"
Wu Yun looked solemn, his ears turned back, and he would occasionally yelp at the old man's ears.
Old Ears crossed his arms and negotiated with Dark Cloud: "Let me see, just one look, otherwise this old man will feel uneasy."
After saying that, he reached out again, only to have his hand pressed down by the dark cloud's claws once more.
Old Ears sighed, "This old man doesn't have much time left. He might pass away tonight. Can't you grant this old man one wish...?"
Before he finished speaking, the dark clouds suddenly perked up their ears and looked sharply into the mountains and forests.
Old Ears followed Dark Cloud's gaze suspiciously: "That woman is back?"
It's not the Lu family.
Under the moonlight, he saw a robust tiger hiding behind a pine tree several dozen paces away, cautiously revealing half of its face. The tiger's reddish-yellow and black stripes and its fangs were intertwined; if it weren't for the snow, the old man's ears probably wouldn't have been able to spot it.
The tiger noticed that Dark Cloud and Old Ear were looking at it, but instead of running away, it just stared back at Dark Cloud.
Old Ear stroked his beard thoughtfully: "Why does this old man feel that this tiger's eyes are a bit cunning?"
Just then, sounds came from the mountains and forests again—the crunching of snow underfoot, flickering firelight, and shouts that grew louder as they approached: "Sasusay!"
The sounds of people were mixed with the barking of hunting dogs. The tiger, which had been quietly watching, heard the noise and turned to flee into the forest.
Dark Cloud looked at Old Ears, who squinted at the torchlight in the forest and translated, "Search the mountain... We should go. We can't wait for that woman any longer. Maybe she abandoned her son and ran away?"
The dark cloud meowed angrily, "Impossible."
But no sooner had he finished speaking than a black figure arrived before the Loyal Guards; the Lu family had returned.
Panting, Madam Lu threw the bundle on the ground: "I don't know if a thousand old ginseng roots will be enough. If not, I can only ask the senior and Wuyun to dig some more."
Old Ears pointed to the firelight below the mountain and sneered, "Still digging for ginseng? We're about to be dug up like ginseng ourselves."
Madam Lu did not answer, but squatted down and gently stroked Chen Ji's forehead. Looking at Chen Ji's closed eyes, she could not remember the last time she had looked at her sleeping son so carefully.
Suddenly, Madam Lu knelt down in the snow and kowtowed to Old Ear: "I will lead the search party to the east, and you go west, cross the mountain to Jingchao. No matter which city you reach, just find the Lantern Inn and have them tell Hu Laosan that someone will escort you back to Ningchao. Senior, I beg you."
Since the old ear didn't speak, she didn't get up.
A moment later, Old Ears waved his hand, both amused and exasperated, "Go on, go on."
Without further hesitation, Lu turned and ran eastward at breakneck speed. His movements were so loud that they attracted the barking of the hunting dogs. Someone below the mountain shouted, "Chaba!"
Old Ears slowly rose, brushed the snow off his robes, and sighed softly as he watched Lu's retreating figure: "The martial world, oh the martial world."
He turned to look at Chen Ji, and immediately asked with a troubled expression, "How can we take him with us?"
Old Ears stared at Wuyun, who was perched on Chen Ji, and finally said helplessly, "What the hell is this? How many years has this old man not suffered such injustice?"
After saying that, he bent down, parted the dark clouds, and actually picked up Chen Ji on his back, muttering to himself, "After today, you can brag about this for the rest of your life."
Old Ears carried Chen Ji on his back and his bundle in his hand as he walked into the deep mountains. A dark cloud gently leaped down and landed on Old Ears' head, where it settled.
Old Ears rolled his eyes and said irritably, "You too." (End of Chapter)