The Emperor Reigns Them All

Chapter 145 How Dare They Hide in the Mountains?

As someone who could never stay idle, Wei Xiaozhuang could not stop talking once he started a conversation. Looking troubled and upset, he sighed like a wise old man and said, “Why are there so many conflicts in this world? Trouble already found us before we even made any enemies! In fact, neither of us wanted to leave the mountain, there’s just no fun in going on this trip. It’s great for me to just train on the mountain without any distractions, and we always have hunters visiting us with half bottles of wine from time to time. We would just sit around one table to enjoy some simple dishes and a couple of shots while listening to the hunters’ brave stories of fighting against wild beasts—Um, actually that’s just what our master told us. He’s even more talkative than me, and he likes to brag all the time. We are both bored of listening to his so-called true stories of experiencing the Jianghu with great ease. He always mentions that he only met one worthy opponent in the entire world, who later on died from an accident, but none of us believed him.”

He added more firewood to the bonfire and continued, “Our master always says that as Taoists, we shouldn’t benefit the whole world only after we’ve become successful, nor should we only care about our own ethical behavior when we hit rock bottom in life—that’s Confucianism, which has nothing to do with us. He also said that no matter how poor we might be, as long as we can still meet our basic needs, we should try our best to help those in need. That’s why he always brings patients to our mountain. Sometimes, he would bring both of us to nearby villages to provide medical care for them without charging them any money. He would only bring us back when we had given out all the herbs we got from the mountain, and we would never travel too far. He said if we travel too far, we would be in the Jianghu. He doesn’t seem to like the Jianghu at all, and we actually can’t help too many people. After all, our temple is extremely poor, we still need financial aid from others.”

Li Ye was rather interested in this master that Xiaozhuang talked about and asked, “Your master is indeed that type of person?”

“Yeah! Pretty weird, right? That’s how both of us feel about him too.”

While Wei Xiaozhuang giggled and continued speaking ill of his master, his eyes, however, revealed what he truly felt about his master—he respected him and he missed him. He said, “I have no idea what this trip is all about. My master might have only told my senior about it, but that’s okay, I’m not interested in finding out anyway. Wherever my senior goes, I’ll follow, and I’ll only go back whenever she feels like it, or when she finds the love of her life.” He giggled again and continued, “Before we left, our master told us that there are many Taoist temples in this world, but not every one of them wishes to do good for the ordinary people. He always insists that it’s the Taoists’ responsibility and mission to help those in need, and as cultivators, there are plenty of things we can do for them. If only all the Taoist temples did the same, there wouldn’t be any unnecessary suffering! And that’s half-way to the goal of attaining world peace!”

“Yes, my master said only half, because the other half must depend on the imperial court. Everyone in this world wants to live a stable and peaceful life, so what’s the point in fighting over power again and again? It’s never going to do any good to this world. The mission of any Taoist sect is to help everyone live a stable and peaceful life, after all. However, he said that the world today is in chaos and we haven’t achieved even half of what we envisioned to do, so he asked us to remember to help others in any way that’s within our capabilities during this trip. My master taught me all his medical practices, yet I’m a bad student who can’t even cure my own illness until you offered your help. Anyway, you’re really impressive! Are you from a Taoist temple as well? Your master must be someone much stronger than my master!”

Wei Xiaozhuang never stopped mentioning his master until Li Ye could not help recalling his own master as well—the one before he time traveled, of course. So, he naturally smiled and said, “My master is indeed truly impressive, and everyone acknowledges that. He once said something similar to your master’s words about the purpose of a Taoist sect.”

“For real?” Wei Xiaozhuang got all excited immediately, probably because this was the first time someone had agreed with his master’s belief, hence he was purely happy for his master. He continued, “Actually, I’ve always believed that although my master is very old now, he still has many insightful opinions on important matters. It’s just that he likes to brag too much.”

The Taoist sects had thousands of years of history, so it was impossible for them to disappear so easily, so it was expected that they had also joined in the fight over power. That thought led Li Ye to think even further about how he should treat Taoist sects should he achieve his goal of ruling the world.

Boji Mountain was not tall, which made it easier to bring outsiders up. And the temple was not big either. A big temple would only attract more residents, which could lead to more unwanted conflicts. An old Taoist in his patched Taoist robe stood at the gate of the temple. He was so old that he only had two teeth left. He stood there looking at the name of his temple and felt there could be no temple better than his.

This Taoist temple might have looked small, but its rich history could be seen from its mottled walls and the red paint that had mostly peeled off. The temple’s three-character name was already beyond recognition, yet judging from the font used, one could still tell it was not written in an official script, just a small seal script instead.

The stairs made of blue stones were already smoothened out and looked very shiny. There were green mosses growing out from the gaps in between the stones. The old Taoist took one step at a time and bent down to pull out those mosses, his movements were neither fast nor slow, and were as calm as his gait.

After pulling out the mosses, the old Taoist straightened his body and massaged his back. He was suddenly reminded of his two disciples who would always come over and check on him whenever he did that. Yet, now they both were not in the temple and that made him a little upset.

There were hundreds of stairs in front of the temple, and they extend toward the forest in different sections. The old Taoist stood on the stone stairs for quite a while as he looked at the thin mist among the mountains in the early morning. He then suddenly smiled proudly and said, “My disciples, don’t expect your journey to end so soon.”

He suddenly flicked his sleeve, looking extremely firm and strict, and said, “The chaotic era is coming and the people of this country will no longer lead peaceful lives. Under such circumstances, how dare any Taoists hide in the mountains?”

He appeared as fierce as a bull!

...

Shortly after, a strong man climbed up to the temple by the winding route in the nearby forest. He wore a short coat, had one hunting bow on his back and one hatchet at his waist, and held a wine sac in his hand and some vegetables in his arms. He saw the old Taoist from afar and shouted, “Sir, I’m here to visit you!”

Seeing the wine sac and vegetables, the old Taoist suddenly looked lively and excited. He leaned forward and looked almost as if he was going to drool. Running toward the hunter immediately, he took his wine sac and smelled the opening of the sac. Obviously, he was mesmerized by that smell, so much so that his eyes had narrowed into two thin curves as a result of smiling. “I’ve been waiting for you all along! What took you so long?”

He looked like the complete opposite of his previous firm self!

The hunter laughed heartily and said, “Are you sure it’s me you’ve been waiting for, instead of this tasty wine?”

“All the same, all the same,” giggled the old Taoist as he dragged the hunter into the temple.

Su Emei finally showed up from behind the carriage. Looking embarrassed and awkward, she glanced at Li Ye and Wei Xiaozhuang with her head down. Seeing that both of them looked normal instead of staring and laughing at her, she finally felt more relieved. She coughed gently and sat down next to the bonfire casually.

Li Ye smiled and said, “That robe looks a little baggy on you, but we can change it once we reach Qing City.”

Su Emei looked at Li Ye with an undecipherable expression, then said casually, “A little baggy is fine, it’s still comfortable. Because its cut is simple, no one can really tell if it’s for men or women, so there’s no need to change it.”

There indeed was no difference between the Taoist robes for men and women, but there were barely any women wearing long robes in Qing City.

She sounded casual, yet she was feeling awkward inside. After all, they did not have much money left to buy new clothes, and Su Emei knew that clothing had to be very expensive in a big city like Qing City.

Li Ye did not argue any further. The three of them sat next to the fire until the next morning, then continued traveling. Since everyone was a strong cultivator, they did not mind spending a little more time resting.

Wei Xiaozhuang could finally walk around freely, so he did not sit inside the carriage. Su Emei did not want to try that either. Li Ye felt bad for sitting on the carriage by himself, so he decided to hold the rope and let the carriage follow them behind.

There were gradually more people on the road, and everyone looked surprised and amused upon seeing the three of them like that, some even chuckled a bit.

Su Emei coughed and said to Li Ye, “Let’s sell this carriage once we reach Qing City so I can pay you for this robe.”

Li Ye figured Su Emei did not like to trouble others, that was why she always felt she owed him something, so he agreed to her suggestion.

“The family you guys are looking for in Qing City must be an influential one. I believe it’s not going to be an easy journey for you,” said Li Ye all of a sudden. “Those assassins were apparently targeting you guys. Ordinary people wouldn’t be sending cultivators with mid-level Qi-refining to be assassins. They were able to detect your whereabouts before we even reach Qing City, and you definitely shouldn’t underestimate them for that.”

Su Emei and Wei Xiaozhuang made some eye contact. They both looked solemn all of a sudden because what Li Ye had said was quite true. Before they left the mountain, their master did not tell them much about their task. It seemed to be quite a simple task, which could be easily accomplished once they reached Qing City. After what happened, however, things were obviously different.

“Which family are you guys looking for?” asked Li Ye.

“The Cui family of Qing Prefecture,” replied Su Emei. “My master said we could ask anyone about them once we reach Qing City... I think they’re quite a big family.”

Li Ye looked a little stunned upon hearing that, his expression had also changed in a strange way.

The Cui family of Qing Prefecture was one of the four big families in Qing Prefecture, and they were also a noble family.

However, none of that really mattered. What did matter was that Li Xian’s wife, the biological mother of Li Ye in this life, was from the Cui family.

When Ms. Cui was going to marry Li Xian, the Imperial Clan opposed the idea strongly because they despised her family background and always looked up to the noble family from Helong. However, Li Xian was both influential and powerful in terms of cultivation at that time, so even Emperor Xuanzong did not object to the marriage.

Once Li Xian married Ms. Cui, however, she was never liked by the Imperial Clan, and was always disdained and excluded by them. That was also one reason why Li Guanshu and Li Yao dared to conspire against Li Ye’s position as Prince An.

Not long after Ms. Cui gave birth to Li Ye, she died of illness. Since then, the Cui family always believed that Ms. Cui died so young because Li Xian never took proper care of Ms. Cui and allowed her to be mistreated in Chang’an. Hence, they developed a poor impression of Li Xian as well. Along with many other reasons, the interactions between the two families became fewer and their relationship turned cold all the way until the Battle of Bagong Mountain.

“By the way, brother Li, why are you visiting Qing Prefecture?” asked Wei Xiaozhuang.

Li Ye smiled and answered casually, “I just happen to be traveling there.”

Wei Xiaozhuang nodded, then looked as if he had been struck by some brilliant idea and said, “Brother Li, you’ve helped us many times, yet we haven’t had the chance to thank you. Since this Cui family are good friends of my master, why don’t you come with us to visit them? Just be our guest this time.”

“Sure, as long as it won’t be too much trouble for the Cui family,” replied Li Ye casually.

“Of course not! They are really close with my master, so they will definitely welcome us, especially when we are going to help them this time!” said Wei Xiaozhuang without thinking.