The two found a narrow path at the foot of the mountain, winding and twisting, with no end in sight.
To prevent Pang Jin from getting lost even though there was a path, Yan Liang acted as his guide. This made Pang Jin almost think that it was him, not Pang Jin, who was sweeping the tomb.
The mountain forest was shrouded in lingering mist, and sunlight streamed down through the intertwined branches of the new trees. Yan Liang looked down at the sunlight and shadows on his body, recalling how he and Pang Yu had gone up Tanhua Mountain for the sake of Tanhua Village, and how they had been captured by Bai Yutang afterward.
He was still walking on the mountain path, as if the old days had returned, but the boy following behind him was not the same person, and there would be no white-clad swordsman cutting down trees and appearing in front of him.
When they arrived at Grandpa Yan's grave, Pang Jin patted his clothes and then placed the jar of Daughter's Red wine and Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang's swords in front of the grave.
Yan Liang looked at the words on the tombstone; they were unrestrained and elegant, and belonged to Bai Yutang.
Pang Jin said that after Zhan Zhao resigned from his official post, he and Bai Yutang fought against Li Yuanhao of Western Xia. Later, the war ended and Western Xia submitted to the Song Dynasty. Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang then disappeared from the martial arts world.
—They are friends.
Pang Jin said this.
He was also his friend.
Yan Liang thought.
Worshiping oneself is a very delicate matter. When Yan Liang saw Pang Jin pulling weeds, he followed suit and lit an incense stick after cleaning up.
Does your grandfather come every year?
Yan Liang asked.
“Yes, I used to,” Pang Jin thought for a moment, “but my health hasn’t been very good lately, so I haven’t come here much.”
Yan Liang smiled quietly as he watched the wisps of smoke curl into a smile.
After finishing their visit to the graves, the two packed up their things and went down the mountain. When they passed a tea stall, they were a little thirsty from the trip up and down the mountain, so they went in and had a bowl of tea.
The young man in the teahouse had left, and the two men who had sat at the same table with him were also nowhere to be seen.
"You didn't encounter any tigers, did you?"
The tea server remembered them and, seeing that the two had returned safely, asked them a question with concern.
"No, it's probably just good luck."
Pang Jin responded cheerfully.
After finishing their tea at the tea stall, the two continued walking into the city. By the time they passed through the city gate, it was already evening. Yan Liang looked at the red sunset and said, "I'm hungry. How about you?"
"I'm hungry too."
The two exchanged a glance, then put their arms around each other and went to a restaurant.
At this point, their luck turned sour.
There's a saying in the martial arts world: "Sixty percent of the heroes are Lei, forty thousand are Su." This means that while forty thousand heroes in the world have joined Su Mengzhen's ranks, more than sixty percent of them actually belong to Lei Sun's faction.
Su Mengzhen was the master of the Golden Wind and Fine Rain Pavilion, while Lei Sun was the master of the Six and a Half Hall. The former had good relations with the imperial government, while the latter had established a firm foothold in the martial arts world and the outlaw world, each with their own strengths.
Both Jin Feng Xi Yu Lou and Liu Fen Ban Tang are headquartered in Bianjing, and they have fought countless battles for territory.
Pang Jin and Yan Liang happened to stumble upon a fight between the two sides over the odds.
Yan Liang asked, "What would you like to eat?"
Pang Jin thought for a moment and said, "Let's eat fish."
Yan Liang said, "Are you treating?"
Pang Jin refused, saying, "I have no money, you can pay."
Two guys, who were seriously contemplating a conversation about their appetites, stumbled into the scene where Six and a Half Hall and Golden Wind and Drizzle Pavilion were facing off.
Yan Liang was reaching into his purse, muttering to himself, "That restaurant is very expensive. My family is very poor."
Pang Jin didn't believe it: "If you were really poor, would you still come to visit me every day?"
Yan Liang then took out his money pouch, looked up and said, "Being poor and wanting to play with you aren't mutually exclusive..."
As the two turned the corner, they heard a whooshing sound as a sword flew straight towards them. Yan Liang reacted swiftly, drawing his sword to block the attack with a fierce aura.
The flying sword was cleaved in two and fell to the ground with a few clinking sounds.
Yan Liang didn't rush to see what was happening ahead. Instead, he glanced at the knife in his hand, lost in thought. The glint of the blade reflected in his eyes, making his bright, star-like eyes stand out even more.
He looked up again and saw that Pang Jin had already drawn his sword and charged into the midst of the melee. The ancient sword Juque rang out with a clang. It had been silent for a long time since Zhan Zhao's death, and this was the first time that Pang Jin had used it in actual combat.
Sword intent is like a person; Zhan Zhao's sword intent is as fierce as the frost in winter, while Pang Jin's sword intent is as gentle as the melting snow in spring.
Yan Liang stood still, thinking back to Pang Yu's cowardice back then, and suddenly realized—Pang Yu was cowardly, while Pang Jin was fierce.
The grandfather and grandson are completely opposite in this respect.
After the chaotic battle, which ended with a mixed outcome, Pang Jin contentedly sheathed his sword, feeling a sense of pride in having helped those in need – this was probably what the martial world was all about.
He could tell that these were two groups of people and chose to help the weaker side. Two of the three people they had met at the teahouse were on the weaker side, but the young man in the fur coat was not among them.
The two injured men thanked Pang Jin, and they also remembered the two boys they had met briefly at the teahouse.
Pang Jin waved his hand modestly, but inwardly he was extremely smug.
After the group left, Yan Liang, holding his knife, asked Pang Jin, "Do you know who they are?"
Pang Jin said, "I don't know. But my helping them has nothing to do with who they are. I should lend a hand when I see injustice."
"You've gotten yourself into big trouble." Yan Liang patted his shoulder with a heavy heart.
Pang Jin was completely bewildered: "...?"
He soon realized what Yan Liang meant by the big trouble.
The owner of Jinfeng Xiyu Tower was sitting in the restaurant they were going to. As soon as they entered the restaurant, they were invited to a private room on the second floor, where Su Mengzhen was sitting and waiting for them.
Su Mengzhen had already heard the report from the two who had returned about the matter—the fight was not at his behest, and he himself was unaware of it; it could only have been caused by the Six and a Half Hall.
He felt a little apologetic for involving the two boys. Seeing them walking into the restaurant from upstairs, he thought he would invite them in for a chat.
"My name is Su Mengzhen."
The young man said this, and he seemed extremely cold at this moment, unlike his approachable manner when he was laughing lightly in the teahouse earlier.
He was usually a man who rarely smiled, but he was amused by the conversation between Yan Liang and Pang Jin in the teahouse earlier.
Pang Jin was first bewildered, then surprised—he had naturally heard of Su Mengzhen, the renowned swordsman of the Red Sleeves.
Yan Liang smiled slightly, showing no surprise whatsoever.
Su Mengzhen's gaze lingered on the knife Yan Liang was holding for a moment. As someone who used knives, he could naturally tell that the knife was made of ordinary material and was nothing special.
At this moment, Pang Jin was unaware that he had participated in the struggle between Liufenbantang and Jinfeng Xiyulou. He was simply happy to meet the legendary figures and introduced himself in a cheerful manner. Yan Liang followed suit and also revealed his name.
Su Mengzhen said that the meal they ate would be charged to his account as a thank you gift and to express his apology.
After a brief exchange, Su Mengzhen left. He had an appointment with someone who would be arriving shortly, and he had only managed to meet them when he had some free time.
The door closed, and Pang Jin sat down in the chair. After his initial excitement, he heard Su Mengzhen mention the Six and a Half Hall, and he understood the meaning of Yan Liang's previous words. He sighed, "Is this the big trouble you were talking about?"
"Yes, is it big?"
Yan Liang winked at him.
“Yes,” Pang Jin replied, then laughed. “But I don’t regret it.”
Since someone was willing to treat them to dinner, the two of them ordered without any hesitation, ordering several dishes in a row. While waiting for the food to be served, Pang Jin noticed that Bai Yutang's knife was still placed next to Yan Liang. Recalling the speed with which the other party had drawn his sword earlier, he asked, "Do you use a knife?"
Yan Liang raised an eyebrow: "No, I use a stick."
As he spoke, he pulled a short iron staff from his wide sleeve.
Pang Jin was wondering why he hadn't noticed the short stick hidden in the other person's sleeve when the stick suddenly extended.
Yan Liang met Pang Jin's gaze and smiled, "Want to see?"
Pang Jin nodded frantically, took the black iron staff, and studied it with great amazement. The mechanism in the middle was very ingenious, and he couldn't figure out the principle behind it even after studying it for a long time.
Does this stick have a name?
Pang Jin asked a question.
"Yes," Yan Liang replied lazily, slumped in his chair, a smile on his face. "A charlatan."
"God what?"
Pang Jin suspected that there was something wrong with her ears.
Yan Liang patiently repeated: "The charlatan—just the charlatan you're thinking of."
Pang Jin's lips twitched: "Why are you so casual about choosing names?"
Yan Liang remained noncommittal: "If I were really so casual, I wouldn't even know how to come up with a name."
As soon as the food was served, Yan Liang sat up straight and, along with Pang Jin, grabbed their chopsticks and began to eat heartily.
In a private room four rooms away from theirs, Su Mengzhen waited for the person he was waiting for.
"Master Su."
Zhuge Shenhou nodded to him.
Su Mengzhen stood up and bowed to him, not only out of courtesy from a junior in the martial arts world to a senior, but also out of respect for Zhuge Zhengwo.
In a court filled with mediocre officials, Zhuge Zhengwo was a rare wise man.
Jin Feng Xi Yu Lou maintained good relations with the imperial court, but this did not mean that Su Mengzhen held any goodwill towards those in power. He could not tolerate those who, despite holding high positions, never shared the burdens of the Song Dynasty. The Song Dynasty was in decline, its future uncertain, yet those in high positions seemed oblivious, continuing their life of song and dance.
Zhuge Zhengwo and Su Mengzhen met this time to discuss the Jin people's disturbances on the border, and the Song army's repeated retreats. Although the Jin state had not openly launched a war, it had been subtly testing the Song Dynasty's bottom line. The army that should have been protecting the border remained silent, while it was the martial arts practitioners who were angry and rebelling.
"Qi Shaoshang, the chief of Lianyun Village, led his men to repel the Jin army a few days ago." Su Mengzhen said solemnly, "but the border troops apologized to the Jin people."
He had never met Qi Shaoshang, but they admired each other. After learning about this, he appreciated Qi Shaoshang even more and was even more disappointed with the officials and soldiers of the Song Dynasty.
Zhuge Zhengwo frowned slightly, momentarily at a loss for words, and could only sigh softly.
They eat the grain grown by the people of the Song Dynasty, yet they do things to curry favor with the enemy... This is truly disappointing and frustrating.
After a moment of silence, Su Mengzhen asked, "What does the Marquis think of His Highness the Crown Prince?"
Zhuge Zhengwo said, "Since His Highness the Crown Prince began attending court... he has a deep father-son relationship with His Majesty, and today His Majesty praised his calligraphy in court."
After saying this, Zhuge Zhengwo felt a sharp pain in his heart. He thought he had found a promising talent, but it turned out that the talent was crooked.
Su Mengzhen had already learned about the Crown Prince's performance through various channels. Today, he asked Zhuge Zhengwo this question simply to get a more definitive answer, and the latter's response confirmed his suspicions:
—His Highness the Crown Prince has no talent for governing the country; he is just like the Emperor.
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