Chapter 2744 - 2743: Mandate of Heaven

Chapter 2744: Chapter 2743: Mandate of Heaven

After the two youngsters left, Prefect Pan ordered tea for Wuu Yong.

He furrowed his brow at Wuu Yong and said, "I never expected that you, Brother Wuu, would have such connections with the Duke of Qi. Now that the Duke of Qi is in trouble, what are your plans?"

Wuu Yong replied, "To untie the knot, one must find the person who tied it. The situation with the Duke of Qi arose because of matters concerning the Duke of Wu. If the issues with the Duke of Wu can be resolved, the Duke of Qi will naturally be fine."

Prefect Pan rubbed his head and said, "Indeed, this is the crux of the problem. Yet the Duke of Wu has disappeared, and both our office and the Dali Temple, along with the Ministry of Punishment, have dispatched people to investigate, but there is still no trace."

Wuu Yong said, "The Duke of Wu is nothing but loyal to Your Majesty, especially with Fang La causing turmoil in the South Yangtze, making it a time when people are needed most. If Your Majesty comes to his senses, he would certainly restore the Duke of Wu’s position."

"That’s true!"

Prefect Pan nodded and said, "With your words, Brother Wuu, I am relieved. Rest assured, as long as the Duke of Qi is here with me, I will protect him with all my might and will never allow outsiders to succeed."

"Brother will offer thanks to you on behalf of the Duke of Qi!"

Wuu Yong rose and payed a heavy tribute to Prefect Pan.

At the Great Xiangguo Temple of the Capital City, Long Fei went over and had someone usher him to a side room.

After a while, a bald-headed Great Monk accompanied by a middle-aged man with a leopard head and tiger beard entered to meet Long Fei.

Long Fei was well-acquainted with them, and after meeting, he did not stand on ceremony, gesturing for the two to sit down and talk.

The bald-headed monk was none other than Lu Zhishen. When Long Fei had invited Lu Zhishen to join in protecting Tang Sanzang last time, his status in the Great Xiangguo Temple significantly increased, and he has now been appointed as the Martial Monk Hall Manager, commanding all the martial monks in the temple to safeguard its security.

The man beside him was Lin Chong, who had committed an offense and was taken by Lu Zhishen to hide in the Great Xiangguo Temple.

In the Buddhist Sect’s Holy Land, even the external enforcers cannot enter to search.

Upon seeing Long Fei, the two asked in surprise, "How did Brother Long come to the Capital City?"

Long Fei replied, "One of my disciples is the daughter of the Duke of Qi. Hearing of the Duke’s mishap, she became anxious within the sect, so I brought her here to take a look."

Lin Chong tapped his hand on the table and said, "It’s all my fault, implicating the Duke of Qi."

Lu Zhishen said, "Why blame brother? It’s all that treacherous minister Gao Qiu. He framed brother for his son’s sake. If brother hadn’t stopped me, I would have gone inside and chopped him up to rid the people of their harm."

Lin Chong said, "Gao Qiu also has people protecting him, going inside would not only be useless but would further aggravate my crime!"

Lu Zhishen snorted in frustration, "Then let’s leave this wretched place and find an uninhabited mountain top to establish ourselves as kings, why endure this nonsense?"

Lin Chong sighed and said apologetically to Long Fei, "I’m sorry, Brother Long. Right now, I cannot protect myself, and can’t do much to help you."

Long Fei chuckled, "I have already hired someone to handle this, no need for either of you to lend a hand. Has the Duke of Wu considered how this matter should conclude?"

Lin Chong replied dejectedly, "With the court plagued by traitors and Your Majesty further misled by Empress Li, affecting governance, I am helpless; all I can do is take one step at a time."

Long Fei sipped his tea and offered a suggestion, "I’ve heard that the Duke of Wu’s son is currently cultivating under the Kunlun Sect?"

Lin Chong nodded and said, "Indeed!"

Long Fei said, "There it is. The current Emperor greatly believes in Daoism and holds Kunlun in high regard. I anticipate the Kunlun Sect Leader will come to the Capital City to recruit disciples in three days, then you could seize the opportunity to seek his assistance. As long as he speaks, Your Majesty will surely pardon your crimes."

"This?"

Lin Chong raised his eyebrow and said, "I’ve heard that those from outside do not concern themselves with worldly matters, can this really be done?"

Long Fei smiled, "Of course it can. The disciple that the Kunlun Sect Leader is recruiting is the nephew of the Duke of Wu and the son of the current Empress. With such a connection, Your Majesty will certainly show mercy!"

"So that’s how it is!"

Lin Chong’s expression immediately eased considerably, and he clasped his hands toward Long Fei and said, "Thank you for the guidance, elder brother. I will immediately have word sent to my younger sister. If it works out, I will definitely present you with a grand gift in gratitude, Brother Long."

Long Fei waved his hand and said, "We are brothers, why say such things. I’m only staying in the Capital City for a day, can’t do much for you. Your future path must be walked by yourself. You and Brother Lu remember, do not act rashly in the future; always consult the Duke of Qi first. He is a wise man and should know how to help you decide on a plan."

"Noted!"

The two nodded together, and once the matter was discussed, Long Fei vanished into a shadow.

This was merely one of his Divine Senses, like a reflection in water.

Both Lu Zhishen and Lin Chong were astounded, marveling that Brother Long was indeed a worldly master.

Wuu Yong and Song Yuchan visited her father and soon returned to the inn, leading the two youngsters.

Long Fei said to Wuu Yong, "Earlier, I met with the Duke of Wu, and he will return to surrender in three days. You shall assist and act accordingly, and at that time, someone will come to rescue him."

Wuu Yong was delighted, "It’s good that the Duke of Wu has been found; once he steps forward, the Duke of Qi will naturally be fine."

Long Fei nodded and said to Song Yuchan, "Will you stay here, or return to Liangshan Island with me?"

Song Yuchan said, "Father instructed me to follow the mentor back; he said he already divined this will pass with no real danger."

Long Fei nodded, and after receiving a salute from Wuu Yong, he left with his two disciples.

After seeing her father, Song Yuchan felt much better, and along the way, she became cheerful and chatty.

Though she was young, she was quite thoughtful and curiously asked Long Fei, "Master, why does the Emperor dislike loyal ministers? My father and the Duke of Wu are good men, so why does the Emperor punish them?"

Long Fei replied with a smile, "When you have free time, spend more time reading with Brother Yan Qing. The books contain all these truths."

"Really?"

Song Yuchan turned to Yan Qing and said, "Brother, can you tell me about it?"

Yan Qing scratched his head and said, "With Master here, how dare I show off."

Long Fei instructed, "You tell Junior Sister."

He slowed down the Chaos Beast a bit, allowing the two youngsters to enjoy the scenery of the mountains and rivers below.

They were so small and had never been anywhere before.

This was their first time out and they found everything fascinating.

Yan Qing said to Song Yuchan, "Throughout the generations, there have been wise emperors and foolish ones. Not every emperor favors treacherous ministers. Our current emperor is vainglorious, indulging in external objects, neglecting state affairs, and naturally baffled by treacherous ministers. The treacherous ministers are sycophantic, pleasing people, and fawn over the emperor, which naturally delights him."

Song Yuchan shook her head and said, "This won’t do, if this continues, there will be only treacherous ministers and no loyal ministers, and won’t the Imperial Court descend into chaos?"

Yan Qing replied, "Exactly, once treacherous ministers are numerous, a country is doomed. Wars will erupt everywhere, and eventually, a wise ruler will unify the kingdom, restore order to the court, and start anew."

Song Yuchan’s eyes sparkled as she said, "Then I want to be that wise ruler."

Yan Qing laughed heartily, "Since ancient times, there’s been only one Empress, there hasn’t been a second one yet!"

Song Yuchan pouted and said, "So what, I’ll be the second one."

Long Fei, listening to his two disciples, couldn’t help but chuckle.

As they passed over the sky above Yang Valley Pass, Long Fei had the Chaos Beast hover over the General’s Military Residence.

He waved his hand at an ancient pine below, and with a creak, the pine opened up, revealing a young man who instantly fell to the ground with his eyes closed.

A maid came over, saw what happened, and was so frightened that she dropped what she was holding and ran out screaming, "A demon, a demon!"

Song Yuchan and Yan Qing looked at each other in astonishment.

Soon, a couple brought people over, quickly wrapping the young man in clothes and excitedly bowing to the sky, joyfully exclaiming, "Our Erlang has returned, our Erlang has returned!"

Without revealing himself, Long Fei had the Chaos Beast continue on their way.

Yan Qing asked excitedly, "Was that the tiger-fighting hero Wu Erlang down there?"

Long Fei nodded.

Yan Qing clicked his tongue in wonder, "He actually resurrected from within the tree?"

Long Fei asked him, "Have you heard of Wu Erlang’s story?"

Yan Qing replied, "I’ve heard from my father; he died heroically for his brother."

"I heard it too!"

Song Yuchan looked up at Long Fei with a smile, happily saying, "It must have been Master who saved him?"

Long Fei nodded and said, "He is destined to be connected with our Liangshan Island and will soon come to the island to become a disciple. By then, you will be fellow disciples."

"That’s great!"

Yan Qing and Song Yuchan were delighted, but before they got far, a light came from the direction of the General’s Military Residence.

Song Yuchan jumped up and shouted, "Someone went to the General’s Military Residence."

Yan Qing asked, "Should we go back?"

Long Fei raised his brow, stared at the direction of the General’s Military Residence, shook his head, and sighed softly, "It seems Kunlun has already received the decree from above."

Yan Qing asked, "Was that light from the Kunlun Sect?"

Song Yuchan said, "Are they trying to snatch our Master’s disciples?"

Long Fei said, "It looks that way!"

Both of them were indignant and said, "How can they do that? Such shamelessness!"

Long Fei laughed and said, "Everything has its destiny, perhaps this is Wu Erlang’s destined path!"

Both pursed their lips, still feeling a bit uncomfortable.

Long Fei looked to the sky, secretly thinking that it might be time to ascend, fulfilling the destiny meant for him.