Chapter 974 - 813: Escaped

Return home?

Chen Ji curiously asked, "Why do you suddenly want to return home at this moment?"

"There is no other choice but to return," Old Ears lay back in the sea, watching the sky gradually darken, "This old fellow has roamed the Jianghu for many years, been a mountain bandit, Head Chieftain, traveled overseas, visited Japan, but the only things I don’t meddle in are the matters of the Ning and Jing Dynasties. The things you’re doing now are too significant, enough to change the power dynamics of the two dynasties; I can no longer continue to mix with you like this."

Old Ears sighed, "This old fellow never expected that you could cause such a huge affair. Five million taels of silver, enough to raise seventy to eighty thousand elite cavalry. If such an elite cavalry were placed on the battlefield, it would be enough to determine the victory or defeat of the battle. Do you know there’s a saying between the two dynasties, that two million taels of silver raised elite enough to exchange for a Divine Dao Realm Grandmaster? If this cavalry surrounded Kujue Temple, even Chan Zhao would have to achieve Nirvana."

Chen Ji floated in the sea, observing from the side: "Is your heart with the Jing Dynasty?"

Old Ears laughed disdainfully, "Over the years, the Ning and Jing Dynasties each argue their case and they can’t clear it up, neither can I, so I decided to ignore... But if one day the Ning and Jing Dynasties truly fight, in the end, I am a Jing Dynasty person, just as your master is ultimately a Ning Dynasty person."

Old Ears boredly clapped his hands on the water, "Boy, the enmity between the Ning and Jing Dynasties cannot be explained in just a few sentences. Your master’s father died at the hands of the Jing Dynasty’s Pingyang Marquis, and my uncle died at the hands of the Ning Dynasty’s Datong General Zhang Jin, saying this or that, outsiders see this old ear as the world’s Taide, but in the end, this old ear is just a mere mortal with parents, siblings, uncles, nephews. Don’t just look at this old ear, even the heaven’s Immortals worry every day about finding an official door for their own children, in the end, they’re just more powerful people."

Chen Ji was silent, this is the first time Old Ears openly showed his identity, breaking the thin paper window between them.

And this is also the first time the other mentioned the Forty-nine Heavens.

Old Ears said slowly, "The Ning and Jing Dynasties kill each other, it’s just one father killing another father, one son killing another son, in the end, the son is without a father, the father is without a son... Although this old ear doesn’t understand the point of this endless fighting, the world is what it is."

Chen Ji suddenly asked, "Why haven’t the two dynasties been able to unify until now? Others may not know, but you should have some insight. It’s long been known that it always goes from unity to division, division to unity, it doesn’t make sense to be divided for a thousand years."

Old Ears thought for a moment, then pointed to the sky meaningfully: "Because some don’t want to see a unified dynasty. Nowadays, the Imperial Decrees of the two dynasties can only plead for rain, wanting to expel evil and protect the peace still requires the Emperor’s Blood Book, but a long time ago, Imperial Decrees could command the gods."

Chen Ji’s pupils contracted.

Old Ears chuckled, "However, the Immortals in heavens have different ideas, some want unification, but the precondition for unification is that another Saint must appear in the human world."

Chen Ji puzzled: "Why must there be a Saint?"

Old Ears calmly replied, "Uncontrolled royal power is more ferocious than the Immortals themselves."

Chen Ji suddenly realized why both Qi Shrouding Cloud and Yuan Hengli Zhen, these two coming from Forty-nine Heavens, aspire to be the first Martial Saint of the two dynasties: "How does a Saint constrain royal power?"

Old Ears chuckled again, "Why worry about so much? You’ll understand once you become a Saint; if you don’t become one, you don’t need to know. Most things in the world are like this, ordinary people disturb themselves by worrying about matters they shouldn’t concern themselves with."

Chen Ji replied annoyed, "Just asking."

Old Ears shifted the conversation, "But this old fellow is not leaving today, still waiting for some time. Besides, before leaving, you need to accompany this old fellow to a place."

Chen Ji curiously asked, "What place?"

Old Ears chuckled, "You’ll find out when the time comes."

Chen Ji replied, "Okay... You’ve come down from the mountain, nothing else to handle?"

Old Ears lay in the water, replying leisurely, "You’ll find out when the time comes."

Chen Ji thought about asking if you’re not going to kill me, contention over the Sword Seed Path could actually be so peaceful, but he ultimately didn’t ask, because the other would tell sooner or later.

This time, after going to the Jing Dynasty, then returning to the Ning Dynasty, it’s like a dream, yet in the world, no feast lasts forever.

The sunset sank beneath the sea, at the juncture of sky and water only the most profound blue remained, the old and young floated and sank in the sea, as if time had stopped.

Worries too.

Old Ears watched the last tranquil blue glow on the horizon with emotion, "To be honest, you’re an interesting fellow, these times can be considered among the most interesting periods of this old fellow’s travels in the world."

Chen Ji smiled and asked, "Which else can be more interesting than this?"

Old Ears thought for a moment, "Traveling with your master was also interesting, just that getting scolded by him made my head hurt a bit. This old fellow hates when travels end the most, just like cutting off a piece of flesh, but that’s also one of the meanings of travel, leave when it’s time to leave."

Chen Ji looked at the darkening sky, "Indeed, it’s time to leave."

...

...

Jianing 33rd Year, March 29th.

Auspicious for travel and wealth acquisition.

Avoid fasting and rituals.

In the morning, a great fog rose from the sea, five large ships of the Anti-Japanese Army quietly lay at anchor on the sea, indistinct in the mist. Today Chen Ji did not lower the small boat to Dinghai Port to buy newspapers, everything was quiet.

Suddenly, a series of galloping horses shattered the silence, the iron horseshoes crisply clashing on the stone road, heading straight for Dinghai Port.

Hu Yue led over sixty people, all wearing gray cloth garments and each carrying various weapons, arrived before a large ship. Someone on the large ship lowered a gangplank, over thirty men stepped down the gangplank in single file.

Immediately after, another group followed closely, led by the Minister of War, Wang Changzhen, bringing over two hundred cavalrymen from the Central Army Commander’s Mansion to the dock, yet halted under the pier arch without entering.

He glanced at the sea, coming to Dinghai Port this time took an entire day delayed at Gusu Post, luckily it wasn’t too late, the Anti-Japanese Army’s ships were still present.

Wang Changzhen held his reins, quietly observing from across the pier.

Beside the large ship where Hu Yue was, there were dockworkers untying the ship’s cables from the pier’s General Pillar. The men on the ship hoisted the sails and, while setting sail, coldly observed the few large ships of the Anti-Japanese Army at sea.

The ship moved, seemingly heading towards the large ships of the Anti-Japanese Army in the sea. Just then, one of the large ships of the Anti-Japanese Army unexpectedly raised its anchor and slowly headed towards the port.

This Anti-Japanese Army ship neither moved early nor late; it chose to move at this precise moment.

The men on the ship were stunned, momentarily unsure whether to continue sailing outwards. The person who sent them here hadn’t mentioned this unexpected change.

Wang Changzhen was also taken aback. He said in surprise, "Wasn’t it said that the Anti-Japanese Army was avoiding the Ministry of War’s transfer document and dared not dock? Why is it actively docking today?"

The General at the Central Army Commander’s Mansion speculated beside him, "Perhaps the ship has run out of water?"

Wang Changzhen calmly replied, "No, they can fetch water from passing merchant ships; there’s no need to dock."

The General asked in a low voice, "My lord, what do we do now?"

Wang Changzhen pondered for a moment, "Wait until they come closer to take action; it’s the same."

The Anti-Japanese Army ship slowly sailed into the dock, and all sixty-odd men came to the edge of the deck, their eyes following the ship’s slow movement, each gripping their weapons tightly.

Just as the Anti-Japanese Army ship was about to align with them, Hu Yue softly said, "Throw the grappling hooks to pull the ship closer, storm the ship, and remember, I want them alive."

The men on the ship had just taken out the grappling hooks when hoofbeats suddenly sounded outside the dock.

Wang Changzhen turned his head to see Prince Fu in striking red attire approaching from afar on horseback.

His expression changed as he spurred his horse forward to block him, "Your Highness, don’t go in; this is all arranged by Mr. Hu!"

But Prince Fu, undeterred, said in a deep voice, "Move aside!"

Wang Changzhen still wanted to block him, but Zhou Kuang gave his horse a quick nudge, getting ahead of Prince Fu. He removed a bundle of ropes from beside his saddle, swinging it to clear both Wang Changzhen and the Central Army Commander’s Mansion troops out of the way.

Prince Fu rode through the opened gap without stopping, directly reaching the Berth Pier, where he halted and looked at the approaching large ship of the Anti-Japanese Army.

Wang Changzhen’s face changed, and he barked to the General, "Don’t let them act. With Prince Fu present, it becomes an assassination of the royal family, and you and I would face the severe punishment of lingchi!"

The General’s expression also changed. He immediately produced a green silk flag and waved it among the troops. Upon seeing the flag order, the men on the ship restrained themselves and did not move, allowing the large ship of the Anti-Japanese Army to dock at the pier.

The General looked towards Wang Changzhen, "My lord, what now?"

Wang Changzhen pondered for a moment, "First, capture the one wearing the mask; this person holds no official position, and misusing military power is also a severe crime. Then, charge Chen Yu with dereliction of duty as a supervising officer, which will also help the Hu Family remove these two people."

At this time, someone on the Anti-Japanese Army ship threw down a plank, and a young man was the first to walk down it, stretching lazily, "Finally ashore. I got seasick and almost moldy on the sea... Eh, Prince Fu, why are you here?"

Zhou Kuang quietly reminded Prince Fu from beside him, "Your Highness, that’s Chen Yu of the Chen family, who recently took on the task of supervising the Anti-Japanese Army."

Prince Fu understood and called out loudly with a smile to Chen Yu, "I’ve been hearing a lot about the Anti-Japanese Army lately and came to see what kind of deity it is."

Chen Yu laughed heartily and turned to beckon to the large ship behind him, "Hurry, everyone come down and show Prince Fu what kind of deities you are!"

In the next moment, Zheng Jiye and Uncle Zheng led dozens of Anti-Japanese Army members off the ship one after another.

Prince Fu, seeing the sparse number of people, asked in confusion, "Eh, wasn’t it said that the Anti-Japanese Army has hundreds of people? How come there are only so few? And wasn’t the leader wearing a mask? Why is that person not here?"

Chen Yu widened his eyes, "What is Your Highness talking about? There’s no one wearing a mask."

He patted Zheng Jiye on the shoulder, "This is the head of a thousand households of the Anti-Japanese Army, Zheng Jiye!"

He then patted the old man beside Zheng Jiye, "This is Zheng Jiye’s right-hand man, Uncle Zheng!"

Prince Fu couldn’t help but laugh as he sized up Zheng Jiye and Uncle Zheng, "Did just the two of them lead the Anti-Japanese Army to two victories?"

Chen Yu seriously replied, "Your Highness, why look down on meritorious warriors?"

Prince Fu laughingly retorted, "Don’t put titles on me! I ask you, where are the two masked men and the five adopted sons?"

Chen Yu shrugged, "I have no idea."

Prince Fu was somewhat disappointed, "Did they run away?"

At this time, Wang Changzhen led the Central Army Commander’s Mansion and arrived. Looking at Chen Yu in front of him, he asked in a deep voice, "Where are the others? The one with the mask?"

Chen Yu widened his eyes, "What is Lord Wang talking about? I don’t understand. There’s no one else on the ship. Why are you all asking about the mask-wearing person, it’s so strange."

Wang Changzhen took a deep breath and gestured to his troops, "Board the ship, search!"

Chen Yu stepped aside, smiling as he watched the Central Army Commander’s Mansion personnel board the ship, "Why doesn’t Lord Wang believe me? There’s really no one on the ship."

Wang Changzhen remained silent, waiting for the Central Army Commander’s Mansion to search the ship. But after thoroughly searching the large ship of the Anti-Japanese Army, they found it empty, with only some food and fresh water left.

The Central Army Commander’s Mansion then sailed into the sea to search the four stationary large ships.

On their return, a Vice General, with a long sword at his waist, returned to the deck and shouted to Wang Changzhen, "My lord, they’re gone. Those four ships are empty!"

Wang Changzhen was astonished, "They ran away... just like that? Are they abandoning Dinghai Port?"