The Huben Army soldiers of the Jing Dynasty surged like a tide, escorting Lu Jin onto a black palanquin that slowly made its way towards Changbai Mountain.

Wu Hongbiao walked beside the palanquin and whispered, “My Lord, Jiang Tan confessed in the Imperial Prison that the Crown Prince of Prince Jing from the Ning Dynasty traveled north with a pledge of allegiance, intending to defect to our dynasty. The handsome young man behind Imperial Physician Yao earlier was indeed the Crown Prince. Shall I, your humble servant, try to recruit him? Prince Jing was persecuted by the eunuch faction, and the Crown Prince harbors a deep-seated desire for revenge, which could be very useful.”

Lu Jin calmly replied from inside the palanquin, “There’s no need. Rushing things never leads to a good outcome. As long as he desires revenge, he will come to us eventually.”

Wu Hongbiao hesitated. “My Lord, could I send someone to bring Chen Ji back? He is alone in the Ning Dynasty, and I, your humble servant, worry about him…”

Lu Jin gently reassured him, “You’ve seen for yourself since you returned that the court is in turmoil. Those who resent me are as numerous as fish in a river; in the past fortnight alone, there have been over twenty attempts on my life. Bringing him back would only put him in danger alongside us. Let him remain in the Ning Dynasty for now; it’s at least more stable there.”

Wu Hongbiao lowered his head. “Understood.”

Lu Jin smiled inside the palanquin. “I know you’re concerned about him. After we go up the mountain this time, you should remain at the Martial Temple and devote yourself to cultivation. I’ll arrange for ten pieces of vibrant green jade to be sent to you. The moment you enter the Seeker’s Realm, you can go south and assume Si Cao Yi’s position. With you to protect him then, I can rest more easily.”

Wu Hongbiao’s expression brightened, and he immediately cupped his fists, his voice ringing out, “Understood!”

Lu Jin suddenly asked, “Who were those two individuals accompanying the Crown Prince?”

Wu Hongbiao replied, “Although their beards and hair obscured their faces, I, your humble servant, still recognized them: Liang Gou’er and Liang Mao’er.”

Lu Jin seemed surprised. “Oh, it’s him.”

When the palanquin reached the foot of the mountain, Lu Jin quietly said, “Stop the palanquin.”

Once the palanquin came to a halt, Lu Jin lifted its curtain and slowly began walking up the mountain.

Wu Hongbiao was momentarily stunned. “My Lord, why aren’t you using the palanquin?”

Dressed in a simple grey robe, Lu Jin replied without looking back, “Living on this mountain are living gods. A secular official, by nature, must set aside all arrogance.”

Wu Hongbiao whispered, “The Mountain Chief, Lu Yang, hasn’t yet ascended to immortality, so he shouldn’t be considered…”

Lu Jin casually interjected, “The Mountain Chief hasn’t ascended simply because he hasn’t found another Sword Seed Official in this world. Once he does, he will naturally ascend to the Forty-Nine Heavens.”

Wu Hongbiao asked, “Should the Huben Army accompany us? What if someone sets an ambush on the mountain path…”

Lu Jin smiled. “There’s no need for them all. Just a few chosen men to accompany me up the mountain will suffice. Within the Martial Temple’s domain, no one can assassinate an imperial official.”

Holding up his robes, he unhurriedly walked through the snow, across the mountain forest, past the rime ice, and ascended a further 1,442 stone steps.

Climbing a mountain is incredibly arduous for a mortal body, yet Lu Jin walked in silence, requiring no assistance, pushing on from dawn until midnight, until he reached the gates of the Martial Temple.

There, standing amidst the snow and mist, was the archway of the mountain gate. A plaque above bore four grand characters: “Foremost Master Under Heaven!”

Carved on the pillars flanking the archway was a somewhat unpolished couplet:

“I am a man beyond the Heavenly Lord’s decree.
Beholding mountains and rivers, a spirit utterly free.”

Lu Jin stopped beneath the archway, not advancing another step.

He took a deep breath, bowed profoundly with cupped fists, and proclaimed loudly, “Today, Lu Jin of the Bureau of Military Affairs presents a great offering, humbly requesting the Martial Temple to descend the mountain and restore our nation!”

The following morning, Old Man Yao deliberately stayed the night in Erdaobaihe Town, waiting until full daylight before setting off up the mountain.

However, upon reaching the mountain’s base, they discovered that the Jing Dynasty’s Huben Army was still stationed there. As the four approached, the soldiers eyed them fiercely, blocking the path leading up the mountain.

Old Man Yao approached the Huben Army with his hands clasped behind his back and remarked lightly, “Do you dare obstruct even guests of the Martial Temple?”

The Huben Army soldiers exchanged glances, then slowly yielded a narrow path, just wide enough for one person to pass.

Old Man Yao walked straight through the ranks of the Huben Army, without a sideways glance, and began ascending the stone steps.

On the stone steps, Zhu Yunxi glanced back at the Huben Army and quietly asked, “How could someone who had fallen from grace recover their position so swiftly, and immediately upon their reinstatement, wield such immense power?”

Old Man Yao’s expression remained impassive as he replied, “His standing among the younger generation in the Jing Dynasty is exceptionally high, so his return to power is hardly surprising. Some even speculate that Lu Jin’s removal from office wasn’t a genuine fall from grace, but rather a deliberate pretense to draw out all those who secretly opposed them, only to then eliminate them entirely.”

Liang Gou’er raised an eyebrow. “When he was out of office, his network would surely have been purged by political rivals, and his confidants discreetly eliminated. What a ruthless mind.”

Old Man Yao sneered, “If he weren’t ruthless, could he have abandoned his own nephew in an enemy state?”

Chen Ji had once promised Liang Gou’er in a letter that if he brought it to Lu Jin in the Jing Dynasty, he would surely be reunited with his wife, Jiang Liuxian. Liang Gou’er, naturally, also knew the relationship between Chen Ji and Lu Jin.

“No wonder the old man was so sarcastic with him yesterday; what he did was truly underhanded,” Liang Gou’er muttered in confusion. “He wields immense power in the Jing Dynasty, so why doesn’t he allow Chen Ji to return? It makes no sense. Even if the Jing Dynasty is dangerous, could it possibly be more perilous than an enemy state?”

Old Man Yao shook his head. “That, I do not know.”

As they spoke, footsteps echoed from further up the mountain.

Old Man Yao looked up and saw it was Lu Jin descending.

At that moment, Liang Gou’er suddenly pulled Zhu Yunxi close and whispered urgently, “Close your eyes!”

On the stone steps, Lu Jin, dressed in his grey robe, slowly walked past Old Man Yao and the others, neither party uttering another word.

Trailing behind Lu Jin were Wu Hongbiao and a woman in purple. The woman carried a long saber, and a scar on her left cheek stretched from her cheekbone to the back of her ear, where there was also a small hole.

It seemed an arrow had once grazed her cheek and pierced through her ear. This injury had marred her appearance, adding a touch of grim severity to her otherwise delicate features.

Heavy snow, rime ice, and narrow stone steps surrounded them.

The woman in purple moved with a lightness that suggested a snow spirit, ethereal and otherworldly. As she brushed past them, her gaze swept over each face, then settled, unperturbed, on the path leading down the mountain.

Liang Mao’er turned to watch the woman in purple disappear, and just as he opened his mouth to speak, a hand clamped over it.

He stared wide-eyed at his older brother, but through the disheveled strands of his hair, he caught a glimpse of eyes as calm as a lake, within which a slowly closing clam seemed to reside.

Only after Lu Jin and his companions had moved far out of earshot did Liang Gou’er slowly lower his left hand, his shoulders slumping in defeat.

Liang Mao’er exclaimed urgently, “Brother, it’s Sister-in-Law!”

Old Man Yao turned to look. “Is she Jiang Liuxian, the one who stole the Liang family’s saber techniques?”

Liang Mao’er quickly confirmed, “It’s definitely my sister-in-law; there’s no mistaking her.”

Old Man Yao frowned. “Then why didn’t she recognize you?”

Liang Mao’er hesitated. “She left a long time ago. I was very young and thin when she departed…”

Old Man Yao murmured, “Ah, no wonder little Gou’er told the Crown Prince to close his eyes. He must have feared that she would be startled if she realized a successor to the Liang family’s saber techniques was present.”

He cast a sidelong glance at Liang Gou’er. “Weren’t you constantly looking for her before, drinking like a fool every day, even shouting ‘Liuxian, Liuxian’ in your sleep at my clinic, making me, an old man, think the place was haunted in the middle of the night? Now that you’ve found her, why don’t you acknowledge her?”

Liang Gou’er lowered his head, glanced at his empty sleeve, and walked alone towards the mountain. “I won’t acknowledge her,” he said.

Liang Mao’er hurried to catch up, saying anxiously beside Liang Gou’er, “Sister-in-Law might have her own reasons, Brother. You’ve yearned for her for so many years; now that you’ve finally seen her, you should at least say something, shouldn’t you? If she knew about your current situation, she would surely…”

Liang Gou’er stopped and cut him off. “Say what? That I’ve lost an arm? That my Governing Meridian is severed? That I miss her terribly? That I now need her pity?”

Liang Mao’er was rendered speechless.

Liang Gou’er said flatly, “Mao’er, I’m no longer a part of the jianghu world. She still is. We were never meant to meet again, and having met, we shouldn’t have acknowledged each other.”

In his youth, he had once believed that by proclaiming his ambition to be famous throughout the land, he would become a true figure of the jianghu, destined one day to shine brilliantly.

But with the passage of time, it seemed he had left no mark on the jianghu whatsoever.

Liang Gou’er pulled out the letter Chen Ji had given him from his robe. “If I truly wanted to see her, I should have presented this letter yesterday when I met Lu Jin!”

Liang Mao’er whispered, “Brother, if you genuinely don’t want to see her, why are you still holding onto that letter?”

Liang Gou’er froze.

The next moment, he frantically used his mouth and left hand to tear the letter into tiny fragments. Then, he pulled out a sachet from his chest, long devoid of its original fragrance, and flung it into the distance.

Liang Gou’er walked further up the mountain, his silhouette desolate.

Liang Mao’er wiped away tears with the back of his hand. “Everything used to be fine,” he choked out, “how did it come to this?”

Old Man Yao sneered, “Who says he isn’t crying? He’s wailing so loudly in his heart that I can hear him from two li away.”

The old man continued his ascent, speaking softly amidst the snowy mist, “In truth, life shouldn’t have reunions. Sometimes, a brief reunion isn’t a reward from fate, but a punishment. Mao’er doesn’t grasp this, nor does Chen Ji. But that’s alright; you’re both still young. You’ll understand when you reach my age.”

After they had all departed,

Someone emerged from the rime-laden trees, treading through the snow, their footsteps crunching with each step.

The figure approached the discarded sachet, bent down, and carefully picked it up.

She gazed up at the mountain for a long time before turning and walking away once more.

The ascent continued in silence from morning until dusk.

Upon reaching the mountain gate, Old Man Yao gazed at the four characters “Foremost Master Under Heaven!” on the archway, his expression somewhat dazed.

In the distance, water cascaded from a gap between Dragon Gate Peak and Sky Chasm Peak, forming a hanging spring that resembled a waterfall. Its roar could be heard ten li away, and it appeared like a white silken ribbon.

At that very moment, however, on the main peak of Changbai Mountain, the silver-mirror-like surface of the lake suddenly churned with surging waves.

From the thatched huts scattered around Tianchi Lake, people heard the commotion in the water and rushed out to stare at the lake’s surface. “Thirty years,” someone exclaimed, “we’ve waited again!”

“Quick, quick! I’ve toiled in cultivation for over a decade; this time, it must be my turn!”

In that instant, a three-foot-three-inch horizontal saber flew out from the lake, soaring directly towards the sky.

After flying over a hundred zhang, it shot straight out beyond the mountain.

A person from the Martial Temple cried out, “Damn it, how could it be given to an outsider again!”

Amidst the shouts, over a hundred people burst from their thatched huts, simultaneously looking up to track the saber’s trajectory while rushing down the mountain.

Upon reaching the mountain gate, everyone watched wide-eyed as the horizontal saber landed in Zhu Yunxi’s hand. They immediately began to curse, “Who the hell are you…!”

Their words abruptly ceased.

A middle-aged man in plain clothes exclaimed in surprise, “Mr. Yao?”

Old Man Yao looked up at him. “Ah, Little Wu.”

The middle-aged man, referred to as Little Wu, respectfully cupped his fists and bowed. “Mr. Yao, I trust you have been well.”

Seeing the others standing dumbfounded, he quickly prompted them, “Do you want a beating? Salute at once!”

The people of the Martial Temple quickly bowed in respect.

Little Wu straightened up, then hesitated. “Why has Mr. Yao come?”

Old Man Yao casually inquired, “Where is your Mountain Chief?”

Little Wu looked troubled. “Mr. Yao, you’ve arrived at an inconvenient time. Our Mountain Chief left the mountain early this morning.”

Old Man Yao paused, surprised. “He went down the mountain? Where did he go?”

Little Wu explained, “To report, Mr. Yao, Grand Councilor Lu Jin of the Bureau of Military Affairs sent word last night that agents from the Military Intelligence Bureau heard the resonance of martial arts in Luocheng, Ning Dynasty, and even found some sword ash by tracing the sound. It appears the successor of the Sword Seed lineage has finally emerged, and the Mountain Chief has gone down to eliminate them.”