Xie Lian's heart began to beat wildly, and even his fingertips trembled slightly.
But he kept his composure and said nothing. He just raised his head slightly and whispered in Huacheng's ear: "...Sanlang, don't move. The voice outside sounds very much like my master. Don't get discovered first..."
While the resemblance was strong, he couldn't be certain. There were people with strikingly similar voices, and he and the Imperial Master hadn't seen each other in centuries, so it wasn't impossible that his memory had slipped. There was no need to act rashly for now; wait and see. Perhaps they could uncover more secrets. Hua Cheng also lowered his head slightly, put his arm around his waist, and whispered, "Okay... don't move either."
The two of them were pressed together by the earth and rocks on all sides, their bodies pressed together, their ears rubbing against each other, a slight warmth gracing their ears. Though it was inappropriate, Xie Lian's mind quickly flashed through the thought, "Being a 'fellow student' isn't bad either."
At this time, the voice asked again: "Where are the two of them? Where did they go?"
"The two of them"? Xie Lian instinctively assumed they were referring to himself and Huacheng, and with a slight start, he wanted to listen carefully to who was speaking to him. But strangely, the "State Master"—let's call him "State Master" for now—hadn't responded to his question.
It was truly strange. From this distance, Xie Lian and Hua Cheng could both hear the "National Master"'s question. Logically, his voice wasn't too loud, and he wasn't shouting at the top of his lungs. So, the other person shouldn't be far away. If he answered, they would have been able to hear at least a little bit. However, the truth was, they couldn't hear a thing at all.
The Imperial Master added, "Thanks for their hard work. But don't worry about those little weeds; they won't amount to anything. We have more important things to do right now."
Xie Lian then understood that “the two of them” didn’t refer to him and Hua Cheng, but to the two accomplices of the “National Master”.
Things were getting increasingly bizarre. The Imperial Master's tone clearly indicated he'd received a response, yet it sounded like he was simply talking to himself, or perhaps to the air. Xie Lian's mind conjured this bizarre image, but he quickly dismissed it, thinking there was another possibility: the Imperial Master could hear that person's voice, while no one else could.
His suspicions grew, and he listened intently with bated breath. Every word the Imperial Master spoke was more worthy of careful consideration. He added, "Are there only so many people in the mountains? Anyway, take them all to the copper furnace first. I'll figure out how to deal with them one by one. The sooner the better. We must arrive within two days."
Copper furnace!
Moreover, it was "within two days." The ability to shrink a thousand miles wasn't available in Tonglu Mountain, so how could they arrive in two days? And they had to bring everyone with them. And how did they "deal with" them?
After a pause, the voice continued, "Call them both over, and let's go to the Copper Furnace together. We can't leave anyone behind if we're going to deal with His Royal Highness. Right now, His Highness hasn't fully awakened yet. If he does wake up... it's hard to imagine what he'll do this time."
Xie Lian was stunned.
Is this talking about him?
At this moment, the mountain rumbled, and Xie Lian felt the earth and rocks around him tremble slightly. The Imperial Master outside asked, "What's wrong?"
He also said to Hua Cheng from inside the stone wall: "What's wrong?"
Hua Cheng whispered, "Something's changed over there."
Their foreheads touched again. Xie Lian's right eye saw the scene from Yinyu and Quan Yizhen's cave. It must have been from a moment earlier. Yinyu finally dug Quan Yizhen out of the rock wall, dragging him down, panting, and letting out a breath. Unexpectedly, the unconscious Quan Yizhen suddenly leaped up and ripped the mask off his face!
Just now, Quan Yizhen was pretending to be unconscious!
He must have been very familiar with Yinyu's habit of pacing when he was thinking, the tone of his voice, and the strength of his beatings. He probably knew who it was when Yinyu slapped him with a shovel. No one would have thought that someone with Quan Yizhen's personality would resort to cheating someday. Although this was just an ordinary and lame trick, it was unprecedented for Quan Yizhen. Therefore, no one was prepared. Under the mask, Yinyu's face was filled with astonishment, dull and pale, and he was obviously stunned. Quan Yizhen was extremely excited. He jumped up with blood all over his head and shouted, "Senior Brother!"
Yin Yu's mouth twisted, as if he had seen something extremely terrifying. Suddenly, he put his hands on his head and said, "I'm not!"
After yelling loudly, he took off running, attacking the people who were blocking his way as he ran, saying, "Don't follow me! Don't follow me!"
Quan Yizhen also ran after him, completely ignoring the bombardment, and shouted happily: "Brother! It's me!"
Yinyu couldn't help but roar and swear, "Damn it, you're the scary one! I told you not to follow me!!!"
The sound of the hammers clanging along the way made the mountain rumble. The Imperial Master asked in confusion, "What's going on over there? Why is there so much noise?"
Still no one answered him, but the Imperial Master seemed to have gotten the answer and said, "I see. Kids these days are really noisy. I'll be leaving first. I still need to make some preparations. We'll meet up again when you get to the bronze furnace!"
He was actually leaving just now. Upon hearing this, Hua Cheng covered Xie Lian's ears again. Xie Lian closed his eyes. Instantly, a violent tremor shook his entire body, and the stone wall he had been crouching against finally blew apart. The two of them leaped out together, landing lightly and breathing fresh air again. However, outside was an empty cave. Neither the Imperial Master nor the mysterious second person were there; they had vanished without a trace.
Xie Lian and Hua Cheng exchanged a glance, unhurriedly pursuing. Before they could separate, a man in black burst into the cave across from them. It was none other than Yin Yu. Brandishing a geomancer's shovel, he charged towards them, shouting, "City Lord!!! Your Highness the Crown Prince!!!"
Behind him, Quan Yizhen, already bleeding from a broken head, rushed in. Huacheng waved his hand without even looking up, and Quan Yizhen immediately raised his hand to block the blow. However, Huacheng's move was no match for a fist. With a bang, a puff of red smoke exploded around Quan Yizhen. As the smoke slowly dissipated, only a round, red tumbler remained, spinning in circles.
The tumbler's eyes widened, a look of innocence. It was the same trick Huacheng had used against Lang Qianqiu last time. Yinyu finally stopped running, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and walked over, saying, "Thank you, City Lord."
Hua Cheng said, "You're not that scared, are you?"
Yin Yu was still frightened and said with a wry smile, "To be honest, when I see His Highness Qi Ying, I just want to run as far away as possible."
Xie Lian listened, feeling both amused and sympathetic. It seemed Yin Yu had been deeply traumatized by Quan Yizhen's "personality." The roly-poly doll was still on the ground, its eyes wide open as it staggered from side to side, unnoticed. Xie Lian, feeling pity for it, was about to pick it up when he felt the ground tremble violently. His body began to stagger, almost more so than the roly-poly doll itself. He quickly steadied himself and asked, "What's wrong? Is there an earthquake?"
Although Xie Lian didn't need help, Hua Cheng still supported him and said to Yin Yu, "Go out and take a look."
Yinyu recovered extremely quickly and said, "Yes!"
He responded and picked up his geomancer's shovel. In a matter of seconds, he had swiftly carved a hole into the side of the rock wall. Sunlight streamed in from outside. Yinyu glanced at it, a look of astonishment on his face. Xie Lian asked, "Your Highness Yinyu, is the ground shaking, or is the mountain collapsing?"
Yinyu said, "Neither! It's this mountain monster...it's running!"
Is it running? Xie Lian and Hua Cheng exchanged a glance, then rushed forward and, upon seeing the mountain monster's exterior, were speechless.
It's really running!
Beyond the mountain, the scenery was rapidly receding, almost becoming a colorful line. It seemed as if they were riding in a speeding carriage, or sitting on the shoulders of a galloping giant!
Hills, rivers, plains, and forests were all flattened by the mountain monster, crushed and shoved to make way. A howling wind surged in from the cave entrance, sending the three men's hair and clothes flying. Yin Yu said, "At this rate, we'll probably reach Tonglu in two days..."
Two days?
Xie Lian's mind suddenly became clear. So that's how it is!
No wonder, no wonder there was no answer from the "other person", no wonder the Imperial Master asked the other party to take them to Tonglu Mountain within two days. Because at that time, the "Imperial Master" was not talking to anyone, but to this mountain monster!
Hua Cheng must have understood, and said, "It's just right. We can use the wind here, so we don't have to walk slowly. He said we'd meet at Tonglu. Once we get there, we'll know exactly what he wants to do."
Xie Lian, however, had a serious expression. Hua Cheng noticed this and asked, "Brother, what's wrong?"
Xie Lian asked, “What do you mean by ‘not fully awakened yet’?”
The voice had just said, "His Highness hasn't fully awakened yet. If he does wake up... it's hard to imagine what he'll do this time." Xie Lian frowned and asked, "If that person is really my master, and the 'Crown Prince' he's referring to is me, then what does that sentence mean?"
Hua Cheng said, "Brother, don't overthink it. First, that person may not be your master. Second, the 'Crown Prince' he mentioned may not be you. Don't forget, Crown Prince Wu Yong is also the Crown Prince."
Xie Lian asked, “But what if it is? I have some unfounded guesses. Can you help me understand if they make sense?”
Hua Cheng said, "Okay. Brother, you decide."
Xie Lian said, "Tonglu Mountain has three great mountains: old age, sickness, and death, but not life. If the man just now was truly my master, and the one he was talking to was a mountain monster, and he can communicate with mountain monsters, then the 'two of them' he mentioned are most likely the other two mountain monsters."
Hua Chengdao: "I agree with this. Anything else?"
Xie Lian said, “Also, I’m wondering, do these three mountain monsters possess human consciousness? Perhaps they themselves are humans incarnated? Why isn’t there a mountain of ‘life’? Because ‘life’ hasn’t yet taken form; ‘life’ is still a person, and this person… is the Imperial Master!”
The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. His heart pounded as he continued, "Tonglu Mountain was once the territory of the Wuyong Kingdom. 'Birth, Old Age, Sickness, and Death', there are four in total; Prince Wuyong has four guardian deities as well; and the Imperial Master Xianle who taught me from childhood also happened to have four! One main one, and three deputy ones. Does a country usually have four Imperial Masters? I didn't think there was anything wrong with it before, I thought it was just a convention, but later I realized there's no such convention. Do you think this is a coincidence, or is there some connection between them?"
Hua Cheng said, "It's not surprising that it's a coincidence. Aren't there four famous scenes? The Four Great Evils aren't enough for four, so they have to force one to make up the number."
Xie Lian said, “But I don’t know why, but I have a strong feeling. Birth, old age, sickness, and death, the four guardian gods of Wuyong, the four masters of Xianle… perhaps they are all the same four people.”
He continued his train of thought, "If my four masters are really the four guardian gods of Prince Wuyong, then why did they become our Xianle's national masters? Why did they come to teach me? Why did the national masters tell me the story of Prince Wuyong? Why did they want me to become someone like Prince Wuyong? Is there something else about me that I don't even know about? What do you mean I haven't woken up yet? Could it be that I am actually..."
He was just beginning to get carried away with his thoughts when Hua Cheng grabbed his shoulders and said firmly, "No! I can guarantee you're you, not anyone else. Trust me. Don't let your imagination run wild."
Xie Lian finally woke up from his dream and said, "...You're right. I was just overthinking it."
The Imperial Master was the person he knew best, besides his parents. While he often disliked his disobedience and was wary of his status, he was generally a good teacher. It's easy to fall into delusion, suddenly realizing you might not understand someone you thought you knew so well.
Furthermore, there was another point: they were too similar. So far, the experiences of Prince Wuyong depicted in the Wuyong Temple murals, though incomplete, had already given him a vague, almost terrifying, sense of reincarnation.
Hua Cheng slowed down his tone and said, "But, brother, first think carefully about your master's background."
Xie Lian thought about it carefully and said, “…I’m not sure.”
Really, he couldn't even recall where his master came from. After a moment's hesitation, Xie Lian said, "The Imperial Master was there before I was even born. I only knew him as Mei Nianqing, but that was undoubtedly a pseudonym. I've wondered before why the Imperial Master, so powerful as he is, hadn't ascended to the Immortal Realm. But if that person just now was him, then he must have lived longer than I have. If he truly wants to deal with us..."
Hua Cheng said nonchalantly, "It's okay. He just needs to live longer. No matter who he is, we'll fight him. Just remember, I'm here for you. I'll always be by your side."
Xie Lian was slightly startled. Yin Yu’s presence was already low, and he had been tactfully silent, so he had almost forgotten about her. Only then did he ask, “City Lord, do you need to find someone else?”
They had emerged, but Pei Ming and the others had no idea where the mountain monster had swallowed them and taken them to. Xie Lian hurriedly said, "Let's find them together. Your Highness Yinyu, please wait."
Yin Yu said, "Your Highness, there's no need to call me Your Highness... I've long since stopped being a priest in Heaven."
Xie Lian smiled and said, “Then you can just call me by my name. No need to be so polite. I’ve long ceased to be the Crown Prince.”
Yinyu glanced at Huacheng behind him and said hurriedly, "I dare not, I dare not, I dare not."
Xie Lian said, “Why should I be afraid of that?” He took two steps and was about to pick up the Quan Yizhen tumbler when suddenly a figure dropped from the sky and landed heavily in front of him, making a crisp sound of bones breaking.
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