Retiring after achieving success
After returning from Liuhe Temple, the Jiangnan affair is over. Lin Chong has made his choice, and we respect and let it go. The deep regret and sense of powerlessness will take time to heal, but we also know that it is time to plan our own retreat.
After enduring brutal rewards (for most, those rewards paled in comparison to the price they paid) and the court's covert and overt wariness and division, the surviving Liangshan leaders had dispersed. Key figures like Song Jiang and Lu Junyi were transferred to other positions, effectively acting as house arrest; Wu Yong and Hua Rong eventually hanged themselves at Song Jiang's tomb; Li Kui was poisoned to death... Each piece of news, one after another, sounded the final, desolate note to the heart-wrenching Liangshan elegy.
Liangshanpo, which once stirred up the turmoil of the Song Dynasty, has completely become the dust of history.
The Jiangnan life-saving network we secretly arranged basically completed its mission after the war. In addition to Lin Chong, we indirectly or directly affected the fate of some people:
Li Jun, Tong Wei, Tong Meng, and others left for overseas to create their own future (although this was not directly arranged by us, the early hints to Li Jun may have played a role).
Zhang Heng contracted an illness and received medicine, luckily surviving. Although his whereabouts are unknown, his life is not in danger.
Yan Qing saw through the current situation and retired with Li Shishi. This was an outcome we had no hand in, but were happy to see.
Even according to the vague information that Lu Renjia found out later, in the final chaos, it seemed that there were some minor generals who were not core members but had met us briefly. They were able to escape and hide their identities by relying on some vague rumors we spread earlier about "overseas survival routes" or "hiding in Taihu Lake".
Although these achievements cannot be compared with the long list of casualties, the survival of every life is the greatest comfort to our hard work and risky planning over the years.
"It's time to wrap up all the affairs in Jiangnan and return to Erxian Mountain." Yiqing said calmly as he looked at the final report compiled by Lu Renjia.
Hearing this, Lu Renjia's face showed a complex expression, one of reluctance and relief: "Brother, Miss Bu, are you... leaving now?"
For several years, he has diligently carried out our plan here in Jiangnan, taking enormous risks, and has long considered this undertaking his own mission. Now that it's suddenly coming to an end, it's inevitable that he feels disappointed.
"Junior Brother Lu, thank you for your hard work over the years." Yiqing looked at him with sincere gratitude in his eyes. "Without you planning and strategizing here, our plan would never have been able to be implemented to this point. Now that the major events are over, the court will surely re-evaluate Jiangnan. These strongholds are no longer necessary. Continuing to maintain them is a recipe for disaster."
I nodded and said, "Mr. Lu, you've done enough. It's time to think about yourself and let go of this heavy burden."
Lu Renjia was silent for a moment, then sighed, "I understand. It's just... I feel a little empty for a moment." He paused and asked, "What should we do with these strongholds... and the remaining funds?"
Yiqing had already given it careful thought. "All bases, immediately cease all covert activities and gradually withdraw core personnel. Houses and properties, if possible, should be sold; otherwise, let them go to waste. All traces of us must be erased. A portion of the remaining funds will be used as compensation for you and Shi Jian and the others over the years and as a foundation for your future livelihood. The rest will be donated to several reliable charities or temples in Jiangnan to provide relief to the orphans and widows who lost loved ones in the war. It can also be considered... a way to accumulate merit for our trip."
The arrangement was thoughtful and compassionate, ensuring a safe escape for followers while not forgetting the original intention of saving the world.
Lu Renjia bowed deeply: "I will follow your instructions, Senior Brother! Renjia will handle it properly and leave no room for any mistakes."
"What are your plans after dealing with all this?" Yiqing asked.
Lu Renjia smiled, a smile that carried a certain open-mindedness that comes from someone who has seen through the world. "After going through so much, my desire for fame and fortune has long faded. When this is over, I might find a small town with picturesque scenery, open a small academy, teach a few children, and spend my free time fishing in Taihu Lake. That would be a comfortable way to spend the rest of my life."
"That's great." Yiqing nodded, "If you have time, you can come to Erxian Mountain to find us."
"must!"
In the days that followed, Lu Renjia methodically implemented the contraction plan. The Taihu Tea House, Suzhou Silk Shop, Hangzhou Warehouse, and several other later-established contact points were quietly cleared out, personnel laid off, and funds transferred. All traces of us and Liangshan were meticulously erased, as if they had never existed.
At the same time, we began preparing to leave. The production of the glass mirror had long ceased, and the alchemy room had been restored to its original state. The fragments of colored glass and the tools used to create it, which had once brought immense wealth, were completely destroyed by Yiqing's spell and sunk deep into Taihu Lake, leaving no hidden dangers that might attract covetous eyes.
As I took one last look around the Xishan Island teahouse we'd run for so long, a wave of emotion washed over me. This had once been our base for defying fate, a place filled with intense planning, late-night conversations, and anxiety about distant wars. Now, everything was about to return to peace.
"Can't bear to leave?" Yiqing's voice sounded behind him.
I turned around, looked at his handsome face and those eyes that seemed to be able to accommodate everything, and shook my head: "There's nothing to be reluctant about. This is just a stopover that has completed its mission. Our destination is not here."
He walked forward and naturally took my hand. His fingertips were slightly cool, yet they held a reassuring strength. "Well, our home is in Erxian Mountain, in... a place where it's just you and me."
His words were soft, but they sounded like the most solemn promise.
After everything was settled, we said our solemn farewells to Lu Renjia, Shi Jian, and the others. There was no grand banquet, just a cup of tea and a few words of farewell. Shi Jian remained silent, but his eyes were filled with reluctance as he kowtowed three times. Lu Renjia, his eyes red, promised to visit Erxian Mountain someday.
On a dawning morning, we boarded an ordinary boat and left Xishan Island, this Jiangnan water town that had carried so much blood, tears and struggle.
As the boat sailed on the water, the morning mist swirled, and the distant mountains were as dark as ink. Looking back, the Taihu Lake was shrouded in mist, and the former strongholds, smoke, and plots gradually blurred and eventually disappeared from sight.
We didn't look back.
We spoke in silence along the way, but our moods were completely different from when we arrived. Less heaviness and urgency, more a sense of peace and relief after things have settled. We no longer sought to conceal our whereabouts, but we remained low-key, like ordinary wandering companions, enjoying the scenery along the way, savoring the hustle and bustle of the city, and leisurely returning north.
When the familiar Erxian Mountain came into view again, a true sense of "homecoming" came over me. The mountain was still the same, the clouds and mist still lingered, and Zixu Temple stood quietly on the mountainside, as if time had never passed.
When the little Taoist boy Qingsong saw us return, he flew over to us like a bird in joy, chattering around us non-stop, telling us about the trivial matters in the temple and his long-lasting longing for us.
When Master Luo saw us, he simply nodded slightly. His gaze lingered on our clasped hands for a moment, a flicker of understanding and a touch of relief in his eyes. He didn't ask any further questions, simply saying, "It's good that you're back. Your worldly ties are over. From now on, you should practice meditation."
We respectfully accept.
After settling in, life seemed to have truly entered a new, peaceful orbit. Yiqing continued his daily practice and study of the Daoist Canon, but his expression was no longer as aloof and aloof as before. A touch of the gentle, worldly warmth permeated his features. He would take me to the mountaintops for morning breathing exercises, explain scriptures to me under the pines in the afternoon, and gaze at the stars with me in the courtyard at night.
I continued to cultivate the "Spiritual Platform Purification Mantra" and the Dao of Music. Perhaps it was a change in my state of mind, or perhaps it was the accumulation of years of experience, but my control of music, especially the mysterious "Dao Yin," had made significant progress. While still far from Yiqing, I could occasionally resonate with a trace of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, producing ethereal and cleansing music. The sound of the pipa, the melody of pine trees, and the circling of birds created a new scene on Erxian Mountain.
We no longer cared about the turmoil of the outside world. The factional strife in the imperial court, the wars at the border, the grudges in the martial arts world, all seemed to have become stories from another world. Occasionally, wandering Taoist friends or visitors would come up the mountain and bring some news from the outside world, but we would just listen and let it go, not worrying about it anymore.
Heroes gather and part, but eventually the story of Liangshan ends. The saga of Liangshan has ended, but the world's strife never ends. But we have escaped that vortex, and in this unfathomable place, we have found each other and inner peace.
Retire after success and live in seclusion. This is not an escape, but a choice of the most suitable destination for each other after going through all the ups and downs.
Cloud heart and Luan Yin, accompanying each other. In this troubled world, the most gentle destination, we already have it.
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