ChangNing’s Imperial Army

Chapter 60 – Nobody Knows Who I Am Here
After passing Yunxiao city, there was still a long distance to go before arriving at Mount Ting Tai. It was widely known for the beautiful mountain features. There was a waterfall within the mountain that suspended in midair. At the bottom of the waterfall was a jasper deep pool. What took people’s breath away were the hundreds of huge rocks next to the pool. The small ones were around half a meter long; the big ones were close to five meters in length. They looked like natural steles.

Naturally, a great place as such attracted several scholars and literary people of Great Ning, who left their signatures on top of those rocks.

There was a type of four gilled fish within the pool that was very delicious. Even by sprinkling some salt and oil on it before steaming it would create a nice aroma. Every single one of it could be sold for four to five taels of silver. Of course, common folks could not afford to eat them.

After Mr. Shen and Master Cha left Anyang, they canoed along the river. They were a little faster compared to the Navy’s fleet heading down south. After they passed by Yunxiao city, they disembarked. Mr. Shen went to buy a small donkey to pull their cart. Just like that, they took the scenic route and walked towards Mount Ting Tai.

When Shen Leng and the rest left Ningwu county, Mr. Shen and Master Cha was already on the outskirts of Yunxiao city. It was a rather well-known place, and several people visited it because of its reputation.

 

Master Cha asked Mr. Shen if he wanted to go back to take a quick look, but Mr. Shen shook his head without saying a word.

On the outskirts of Yunxiao City, there was an ordinary looking mountain. When they were at a distance away, they could vaguely see a daoist temple within the forest at the top of the

Master Cha could not help but think – it took at least ten days for them to get there from Anyang; at that time, Mr. Shen carried a baby and spent more than ten days traveling while struggling psychologically. It must be the most painful time of his life.

“Sir, why Anyang?” asked Master Cha, who could no longer hold back.

Mr. Shen sat on the cart and seemed to be deep in thought. His train of thought got interrupted by Master Cha’s words. He looked at her and smiled bitterly.

“Initially, I intended to take the child and fled as far as I could. However, I know that if that person wanted to find me, no matter where I hid, it was of no use. If the child followed me, he was bound to die. It’s not that I wanted to go to Anyang, but rather, when I was making a trip to Huaiyuan city, I passed by Anyang and overheard Meng Changan’s father talking to that daoist in a restaurant.”

Master Cha was shocked. “You intentionally left Shen Leng at the side of the road so Meng Changan’s father would find him and bring him home? Since you already knew that, why did you wait more than ten years before you went back?”

Mr. Shen lowered his head. “The first three years of being hunted down were the most dangerous. She will not let me go…three years later, I found you and started to be more careful in hiding. I thought that if I go to see Leng, perhaps the person who was hunting me down might see him. If that were to happen, everything would fall through.”

“I don’t think you remember this – after I took you home, we spent more than two years running for our lives. I spent five full years to thoroughly get rid of the men she sent. I spent another five years controlling my urges to go back. I was hoping that Leng would live to see me.”

The wooden handle of the whip snapped in Mr. Shen’s hand/

 

He lifted his head and smiled. “Fortunately, the heavens did not let me down.”

Master Cha lightly patted Mr. Shen on the shoulder. “It’s all in the past.”

Mr. Shen shook his head. “It’s not in the past yet…Zhuang Yong still doesn’t know what happened in the daoist temple. Hence, I dared to approach him. He is His Majesty’s counselor. However, I can’t be sure whether or not Zhuang Yong is associated with her in any way…we are lucky enough – Zhuang Yong treats Leng pretty well.”

“The reason why I’m bringing you to Mount Ting Tai this time is because firstly, I wanted to get a sword for you. Secondly, I want you to remember this place. After a year or two, once Leng is fully matured, when he is able to properly protect and take care of himself, I will have no choice but to leave you two. The longer I am out in the open, the more you guys will be put in danger. Once Leng gets to Fifth pin and marries you, I will go to Mount Ting Tai and live with Chu Jianlian.”

Master Cha’s nose felt sore. She held her tears back with all her might.

Mr. Shen let out a long sigh. “The ten years that I was most afraid of have passed. The future will not be as scary. I was most worried about Leng not making it during those ten years. I did not even dare to go over to secretly take a look at him. That night, it was snowing heavily and the winds were too strong. When I saw the Meng family’s carriage, I left Leng on the road side. I was afraid he could not see him. I even pinched him and made him cry…”

Mr. Shen lifted his hand and rubbed the corner of his eye. “That brat. His cries were sure loud.”

Master Cha passed him a handkerchief. Mr. Shen shook his head. “I’m not crying though.”

Master Cha responded, “Yeah, a bird happened to pee at the corners of your eyes…”

Mr. Shen took the handkerchief and wiped his eyes. “Can’t you be more sweet-tempered when you are caring for someone?”

Master Cha replied, “Is the bird pee salty?”

Mr. Shen was speechless.

Master Cha asked out of curiosity, “Why did you not dare to confirm Leng’s identity later on?”

Mr. Shen replied, “After I pinched Leng and made him cry, I did not expect the people who were hunting me down in the snowy night to keep going. They followed his cries and chased over. I had no choice but to ward them off by luring them into the forest and fight them. After I killed them, I went back but Leng was already gone. In order to protect his safety, I moved the corpses of the assassins to a place that was dozens of miles away from Yulin town, to disguise the fact that I passed through Yulin town…”

He looked at Master Cha. “Which is why I told you, the timing, place and people were right.”

Master Cha nodded. “Leng is strong. In the future, he will definitely achieve great things.”

Mr. Shen laughed. “Yeah…he will soar to the skies.”

He looked at Master Cha. “You have to accompany him; keep accompanying him. Leng is very decisive and he distinguishes gratitude and grudges clearly. However, at his very core, he is too kind. Whatever he can’t see clearly for himself, help him with that. As for things he cannot judge clearly, help him with it. More often than not, daoist fortune tellers are liars. However, some legitimate daoists might sometimes be able to pry into heavens’ secrets. You have better features compared to Meng Changan. In the future, the person who Leng cannot do without most is you.”

Master Cha blushed slightly. “Ok…”

Mr. Shen shook his head and smiled. “Right, when we get to Mount Ting Tai, please be more polite to Chu Jianlian. He saved my life before. After I left Anyang, that person sent even more highly-skilled men to hunt me down. I had no choice but to get Chu Jianlian to help me. His graceful and elegant sword techniques…even now when I think about it, I’m still in awe…”

 

“Chu Jianlian. Exactly what kind of person is he?”

“Pitiful person.”

Mr. Shen looked afar. “Leng is actually a little similar to him.”

“In what way?”

“Fate.”

Mr. Shen was silent for a moment before he said, “Chu Jianlian’s background is actually very bizarre. He is the descendant of the imperial family of Great Chu of the previous dynasty. His ancestors managed to escape the clutches of Great Ning’s soldiers and went into hiding. They changed their last name to Chu. Nonetheless, they still long and pine for the glorious days their family used to bask in.”

Master Cha’s mouth twitched. “Leng is not similar to him at all. His life is so crappy, Leng will have the best life! The best!”

Mr. Shen responded, “Yes, yes, yes. I’m wrong.”

 

Master Cha asked, “He’s not attempting to overthrow Ning and restore Chu, right?”

“He’s alright. He’s not that prejudiced. I met his father once – he was an old man who stayed at home daydreaming about himself being an emperor, refusing to snap out of it. Chu Jianlian grew up in such an environment, no matter what, he would have been affected psychologically, even if it’s just a little.”

She grunted. In truth, she was not that interested in Chu Jianlian.

 

If given the time, she was more willing to use it on thinking about Leng – thinking about where that fella was, how he was, and whether or not he would get into trouble.

“By this time, Leng must have at least gotten to Hesu division. After passing through Hesu, and Xidong division, he would enter Hujian. The original Nanyue Empire should be Great Ning’s 20th division, except that several years have passed but the name has not been decided yet. The emperor is very slow when it comes to this matter.”

Mr. Shen seemed to have accidentally blurted that out as he was being overwhelmed with emotions.

Master Cha’s eyes lit up. “Are you thinking of Leng too?”

Mr. Shen narrowed his eyes. “Too?”

 

Master Cha turned her head and looked at the sky. “Why aren’t the birds peeing…”

Mr. Shen laughed. “Once the Leng that you yearn and long for returns from the southern coastal border region, he will at the very least become a military officer, a Class A Sixth pin…That is something within Zhuang Yong’s jurisdiction. You don’t have to worry too much about it. If Zhuang Yong wants to promote Leng, he would write it in the memorial to the emperor once Leng comes back. If the emperor is overjoyed, he might very well make him a Class A Fifth pin.”

Mr. Shen heaved a sigh of relief. “It’s already considered extremely quick beyond reasonable limits.”

Although he said it so casually, he knew deep in his heart that it was very difficult for him to get to Fifth pin from Class B Sixth pin.

Master Cha supported her chin with both hands and was somewhat in a daze. “Can a Class B Fifth pin official have a wife?”

Mr. Shen was speechless.

At this time, the stupid Leng that Master Cha had been yearning and longing for had just left Jiangnan. He was about to enter Hesu, just as Mr. Shen predicted. Hesu was longer on the north-south, and shorter on the east-west. The Grand Canal stretched through it.

As they were cruising through Hesu, the Navy’s commander Zhuang Yong’s men had caught up with them. In his handwritten letter, he reprimanded Cen Zheng and Bai Xiu. He also conveyed the emperor’s decree. After they knew that Zhuang Yong was being demoted and had his salary forfeited, both Cen Zheng and Bai Xiu looked extremely unhappy.

In Zhuang Yong’s handwritten letter, there was a special reminder – it seemed to have been written specifically for Shen Leng…that nobody was to go against Cen Zheng’s orders, or Cen Zheng will have full authority to punish them directly.

After Shen Leng heard that, he narrowed his eyes and seemed to have seen Zhuang Yong’s stern face. Du Weiming stood behind Shen Leng. He became more perplexed. General Zhuang Yong has given Cen Zheng a greater authority – doesn’t this pose a bigger threat to Shen Leng?

At the same time, in a town not far from Anyang, there were six to seven men decked in white clothes. They walked waited outside the small courtyard, which Mr. Shen bought. The leader was a man who looked like he was only 24 or 25 years old. His white clothes were like the snow. He looked very grave and stern. However, upon scrutiny, one would notice that there was something wrong with his right eye – the whites of his eye could not be seen. It was entirely black. He was born with it.

The young man, Hei Yan, looked around him. He waved his hand left and right and the other people decked in white clothes split up thereafter. They guarded the front and back of the alley. There was even someone guarding the back of the small courtyard.

After Hei Yan had made the necessary arrangements, he walked out of the alley. There was a beautiful carriage waiting outside the alley. The young man lowered his voice and said a few words outside the carriage. The door opened and a middle-aged man, who was similarly decked in snow-like white clothes got off. The only difference in their clothes was that he had three fiery red floating clouds on his sleeves.

If Meng Changan saw him, he would definitely be shocked. That was because the person was the owner of Deng Di Restaurant.

The middle-aged man got off the carriage and looked around. He seemed to harbor some contempt towards this shabby and rundown town. He took out a handkerchief and covered his nose as he walked. “Little Hei, open the door by tapping on it. Be more courteous, don’t scare him.”

The person who was referred to as ‘Little Hei’ was one of the two fiends of Liu Yun Sect in Changan city, whose name struck fear in every single person. Who was not afraid of Hei Yan and Bai Ya of Liu Yun Sect?

Hei Yan nodded. “Understood. There is only a disabled old man living in the small courtyard. However, he should know the whereabouts of the daoist.”

The middle-aged man grunted and looked around once more. “Dismiss the men. We don’t need so many of them. This is not Changan city, nobody knows Ye Liu Yun.”