Chapter 52 Siege
Standing next to Cheng Yuan, Chu Jianshan said to Dong Huai Ren, "I didn't expect Sect Master Dong to be so enthusiastic, personally finding witnesses. I am truly flattered."
Dong Huai Ren looked at him upon hearing the voice, sized him up, and asked with a puzzled expression, "Are you also from Changjin Mountain?"
Chu Jianshan replied, "I am a friend of Cheng Yuan and the others, so I can be considered half a Changjin Mountain person."
Dong Huai-ren sneered: "Since it's not, what business is it of yours?"
Chu Jianshan pretended to suddenly realize something: "So you're from Changjin Mountain! I had no idea Changjin Mountain was so powerful that it had already taken over a sect like Shaoxuan Sect!"
"You!" Dong Huai Ren pointed at Chu Jian Shan's nose and cursed, "What did you say! When did I say I was from Changjin Mountain?! Can our Shao Xuan Sect be suppressed by Changjin Mountain?"
Chu Jianshan put away his frivolous demeanor and said seriously, "Since it's not, then what business is it of yours?"
Chu Jianshan specifically emphasized the word "you" to warn him that he should mind his own business if it wasn't his own.
But Dong Huai Ren was completely unimpressed. Instead, he went to complain to Jiang Yan: "Is this how you treat guests at Changjin Mountain?"
Jiang Yan stepped down and bowed to Dong Huai Ren: "Sect Master, please don't be offended. He was only thinking of Changjin Mountain, that's why he was so anxious."
Dong Huai-ren retorted, "I'm also thinking about Changjin Mountain. Think about it, two lives were lost. Don't you want to go to Linyi Gate for an explanation?"
Jiang Yan lowered her eyes: "I will definitely avenge the loss of Changjin Mountain."
"That's more like it," Dong Huai Ren breathed a sigh of relief and promised, "If you want revenge, our Shao Xuan Sect and other sects will definitely stand with Chang Jin Mountain!"
"Sect Leader," Cheng Yuan suddenly spoke, advising Jiang Yan, "This matter is still unclear, so it's best not to act rashly."
But to everyone's surprise, Dong Huai Ren instantly flew into a rage: "How can it not be clear! This matter is already very clear, it was Lin Yi Sect who killed Immortal Lord Xie and Immortal Venerable Chu!"
He pointed at Cheng Yuan, saying, "That's your master! Your mentor who taught you and guided you! You didn't even think about avenging him?"
Cheng Yuan replied, "I will avenge my master myself, but I cannot drag the entire Changjin Mountain into it."
"Ha," Dong Huai Ren sneered, "What an ignorant child! It's not just about Changjin Mountain anymore. Everyone knows what kind of behavior Linyimen has. If we don't strike first, none of us will survive!"
Chu Jianshan raised an eyebrow. Dong Huai Ren had finally said what he really wanted to say. It was a pretense to stand up for Chang Jinshan; his real intention was to remove the person they feared.
Cheng Yuan continued, "But once we launch a campaign, it will only bring more disasters. At that time, with lives piled up, will right and wrong still be clear?"
Dong Huai Ren glanced at him, his eyes filled with ruthlessness, and said in a low voice, "Right and wrong are not important. As long as we can get rid of this great scourge, Linyi Gate, what do those lives matter? In the future, Linyi Gate will wreak havoc on the world and harm even more people!"
He became more and more excited as he spoke, and his spittle almost sprayed onto Chu Jianshan's face. Chu Jianshan pulled Cheng Yuan back almost imperceptibly.
"Sect Master, please don't get agitated," Jiang Yan advised. "Our Changjin Mountain has its own considerations for this matter. Please take a seat and don't get angry."
Dong Huai Ren snorted and stormed off. But when he sat down, he muttered something to the servant beside him. The servant nodded and left to carry out his orders.
Seeing that Jiang Yan seemed to have realized what was happening, Chu Jianshan stopped arguing and tried to return to his seat, but Cheng Yuan stopped him.
"There are a lot of people in the back, sit with me."
Chu Jianshan thought about it and realized it made sense, so he sat down next to Cheng Yuan.
As soon as he sat down, Cheng Yuan piled up a lot of food on his plate, gradually filling his small bowl. Chu Jianshan looked down and burst into tears.
It wasn't out of gratitude, but rather because the food and wine at the front table were far more lavish than those at the back! No wonder Cheng Yuan had been so eager to have him go there—why should he be treated like that?! Are the nobody at the back table not even human?!
Chu Jianshan grumbled inwardly, but didn't stop talking. The food here was better than what came later. He ate one, and Cheng Yuan picked one up for him. Just as he was enjoying his meal, Cheng Yuan suddenly said out of the blue, "Your taste is quite similar to my master's."
Chu Jianshan stopped eating instantly, and the food in his mouth lost its flavor. After chewing a couple of times and swallowing, he slowly began to move to the side.
Cheng Yuan knew he was going to slip away again without even looking at him, so he reached out and grabbed him with practiced ease, pretending to be angry and saying, "Eat here, don't run away."
Chu Jianshan said "oh" and went back to eating. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that the servant next to Dong Huai Ren had run over to his side. Although he was a little puzzled, he didn't pay much attention to it.
But the servant headed straight for Chu Jianshan, and just as he was about to pass by Chu Jianshan, he pulled his hand back into his sleeve, seemingly to reach for something.
"Ah Yuan!" The sect leader's wife suddenly screamed, and the servant was so frightened that he withdrew his hand.
Upon hearing this name, Chu Jianshan's heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly looked up.
Chu Qinglan seemed to have gone mad, repeatedly calling out things like "A Yuan, where are you?" Jiang Yan tried to hold him, but Chu Qinglan was surprisingly strong and broke free, falling off the stage.
Chu Jianshan almost couldn't help but rush over, but he managed to suppress the turmoil in his heart.
Chu Qinglan lay on the ground, looking back at Jiang Yan, her eyes filled with tears: "A Yuan is back, isn't he? I saw him come back!"
"Qinglan, stop fooling around." Jiang Yan went over to help her up: "He's long gone."
“No,” Chu Qinglan shook her head, “A Yuan is back, A Yuan is back…”
"Someone come here," Jiang Yan turned and called out, "help the lady down."
Chu Qinglan was carried out, muttering "A Yuan is back" to herself the whole way. When she passed Chu Jianshan, she gave him a deep look.
"Tsk tsk tsk," Dong Huai-ren continued to fan the flames, "Look at him, how pitiful he is, Sect Leader Jiang, what are you still hesitating about?"
"I said, Chang Jinshan will make a decision on this matter, so there's no need for the sect leader to worry about it." Jiang Yan rarely showed such backbone, but Dong Huai Ren didn't care at all. His expression seemed to say, "Let's see how long you can hold out."
Chu Jianshan lost his appetite and made up an excuse to leave the banquet. He went to Buyun Bridge, leaned on the railing, and looked down at the fish swimming around in the water, fighting for food.
There was a willow tree by the bridge, now only bare, slender branches swaying in the wind. Suddenly, a figure appeared behind the dense willow branches; Cheng Yuan had actually followed them.
"What are you thinking about?" Cheng Yuan walked over and asked, leaning down next to him.
Chu Jianshan lowered his eyes: "I'm thinking... is this battle absolutely necessary?"
Cheng Yuan sighed almost imperceptibly and said, "From what I can tell, although the sect leader doesn't want the Shao Xuan Sect to benefit, his idea of attacking the Lin Yi Sect won't change. It's just a matter of time. In fact, I have a feeling that day is not far off."
"Cheng Yuan," Chu Jianshan suddenly called out to him.
"What's wrong?"
Chu Jianshan looked up at him: "About your background..."
Cheng Yuan knew what he wanted to ask. His bloodline of Linyi Sect had been verified. In the standoff between the two sides, if his identity were discovered, this could very well be used against him.
Cheng Yuan comforted him, saying, "Don't worry, I am a member of Changjin Mountain, and that will never change. No matter what they think, I will only do what I believe is right."
Chu Jianshan nodded, then fell silent again.
"Alright," Cheng Yuan pulled him into his arms, "Don't think about it so much. Once it's all over, I'll take you away, okay?"
Chu Jianshan looked up and asked, "Let's go? Where to?"
Cheng Yuan said, "Anywhere is fine, let's go somewhere...where no one knows us, and we'll never have to worry about the world again."
Chu Jianshan laughed and said, "Doesn't it sound like an elopement?"
Cheng Yuan laughed along, "Let's elope then. What about you? Would you like to come with me?"
Chu Jianshan curled his lip: "What about your master? Aren't you going to keep looking for him?"
When this was brought up suddenly, Cheng Yuan was silent for a while before slowly saying, "I used to be very stubborn. I always insisted that he was not dead. But later I slowly realized that it was not that I couldn't accept his death, but that I couldn't accept his departure, that I couldn't accept that he abandoned me."
“But now,” Cheng Yuan cupped his face in his hands, looked at him earnestly, and said, “I have you now, you won’t abandon me, right?”
Chu Jianshan looked at him, feeling a mix of emotions. He was caught between the identities of Chu Jianshan and Chu Qingyuan. He had pushed Chu Qingyuan into the abyss, but he had also pulled him back up. Could Cheng Yuan still love such a fickle person purely?
Seeing that Chu Jianshan did not answer, Cheng Yuan felt inexplicably flustered and urged him to answer, "Is it right?"
"right."
Chu Jianshan wrapped his arms around his neck and buried himself in his chest. This time, no matter how many difficulties and obstacles there were, he would never abandon his A Yuan.
Bang--
Suddenly, a loud bang came from the sky, and Chu Jianshan and Cheng Yuan immediately became alert.
"It sounds like the sound of the barrier around Changjin Mountain," Cheng Yuan remarked.
Chu Jianshan asked in confusion, "Could it be that someone is attacking the barrier? Aren't all the sects inside Changjin Mountain? How could this be... wait!"
They both understood and exclaimed in unison, "Linyi Gate!"
Poor Dong Huai Ren was just earnestly persuading Chang Jinshan to be the first to stick his neck out, but now Lin Yimen has taken the initiative. Well, that's fine too, if we're going to die, we'll die together.
Cheng Yuan and Chu Jianshan rushed back. Inside Guiyan Hall, everyone heard the noise and gathered at the door to wait for the person who came to report the situation.
The purpose of Linyi Gate is unclear now; we must not act rashly.
"Report—"
A gatekeeper disciple stumbled over, panting and barely able to speak: "The newcomers are from the Linyi Sect, and they've brought five thousand cultivators with them. They've already surrounded Changjin Mountain!"
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