Eternal Saber

The group chatted the whole night, reluctant to part, and felt no fatigue.

Thinking about today's farewell and not knowing when they might meet again, deep feelings of reluctance surged within them.

In this lifetime, after all, there are no video calls, no high-speed trains or planes.

Some people, once parted, may never meet again in this lifetime.

Until dawn broke and it was time to part, everyone began to rise.

The chubby old man, Zhiwei, Mei Yingxue, and Meng Liangyu all left.

"After leaving the city, just return to the Snow Mountain, don't linger outside."

The chubby old man's voice suddenly echoed in Chen Tang's mind.

This is the art of secret transmission.

Chen Tang nodded.

In the blink of an eye, only Qingmu and Chen Tang remained in the courtyard.

The others intentionally left them some space to chat freely.

Qingmu's beautiful eyes were wandering, lightly biting her red lips, she said, "Is there any gift you want? Sister can decide to give it to you."

Chen Tang thought carefully, looked at Qingmu, and cautiously asked, "Anything I want?"

Qingmu's heart was pounding wildly, but she pretended to stay calm, saying, "Yes."

"Then let's agree first, you can't get angry, and you can't hit anyone."

"Okay."

"Can it be a bit over the top?"

"Ah, hurry up and say it, you're dragging your feet, I'll regret it soon!" Qingmu's face grew even redder.

"You said it, so I won't beat around the bush."

Chen Tang took a deep breath and said, "Here's the deal. Later, when I settle down in the Jianghu, I'll give you an address. With your status, you're sure to have plenty of silver to spend. By then, just send some silver monthly. Not much, a hundred or eighty taels a month, so I can lay back..."

"Get lost! Are you asking for death?"

"What's with you, why are you getting worked up?"

"Who told you to dawdle, this princess regrets it now!"

...

Chen Tang escaped from Qingmu's clutches, thought for a moment, and headed to Li Junqing's residence.

It was still early in the day.

Presumably, Li Junqing hadn't risen yet.

Chen Tang, in front of the guard at the entrance of the courtyard, whispered, "Later, tell your young lady..."

"Are you leaving?"

At that moment, a voice came from the room.

The next moment, Li Junqing pushed open the door and came out, dressed neatly, looking tired, as if she hadn't slept all night.

"Yeah."

Chen Tang nodded and said, "It's nothing, just came to say goodbye to you."

Li Junqing lightly pressed her lips, seemingly wanting to say something.

Unfortunately, some words never came out.

Li Junqing smiled slightly and said, "Chen Tang, thank you for those words you once told me. The road in Jianghu is long, take care of yourself."

"You too."

Chen Tang smiled, nodded, clasped his hands, and bade farewell.

Afterward, he went to the residence of Li Boxiong and others.

Li Yan, Li Boxiong, and a few others hadn't slept all night, dealing with various matters in Wu'an County.

In these past few days, too many things had happened in Wu'an County that needed handling and reporting.

After saying goodbye to them, Chen Tang took the Thunder Leopard, found Wei Qun and a few others, and left the city.

Near Wu'an County, they found a place backed by mountains and water, where they buried Cai Yin's sword, clothes, and Qin Xiaomei's body. After paying respects before the grave, they descended the mountain.

Chen Tang asked, "Brothers and sisters, what are your plans for the future?"

The nine of Wei Qun had already left the Cyan Dragon Bureau, and they were no longer the Cyan Dragon Guard.

Wei Qun said, "We haven't thought of it yet, but we plan to travel together. With our skills, we can surely make a living in Jianghu."

"Xiao Chen, what about you?"

Wang Yanli asked, "After all, you publicly killed a Profound Celestial Sect alchemist, this matter might not be so easily resolved. Why not travel with us? In case something happens, we can look after each other."

"I still have something to do, so I won't go with you."

Chen Tang politely declined.

He didn't want to involve Wei Qun and the others.

If the Profound Celestial Sect sought revenge, Wei Qun and the others probably wouldn't be able to stop it.

For now, he could only return to the Snow Mountain to hide for a while; it was a good time to focus on cultivating martial arts and honing his martial skills. He would see how things went after the storm passed.

Seeing Chen Tang's firm tone, they couldn't persuade him further.

"Brother Chen Tang, take care!"

Wei Qun changed his address, patting Chen Tang on the shoulder.

"You all take care as well."

Chen Tang clasped hands with them in farewell, mounted his horse, and soon vanished at the end of the official road.

Before long, Chen Tang left the official road and headed toward the Three Thousand Snow Ridges.

Entering the Snow Ridge, the snow underfoot grew thicker.

The Thunder Leopard, burdened with a person, could still tread through the snow, but its speed had slowed.

After walking for a while, Chen Tang's mind stirred, and he instinctively looked back.

Ever since he left Wu'an County, he had a feeling of being followed.

This did not surprise him.

The chubby old man had hinted at such before parting.

Chen Tang continued walking toward the Snow Mountain.

After a while, he looked back again.

At some point, two people appeared not far behind, clad in Copper Armor, and with Cyan Dragon Swords at their waists.

Lu Chang, Xie Xing!

The two Guards Captains from the Cyan Dragon Bureau of Wu'an County!

Chen Tang pulled the reins, turned around, and watched Lu Chang and Xie Xing approach, stopping not far away.

Lu Chang said blandly, "Chen Tang, no need for futile resistance, just come with us."

"Where to?"

Chen Tang asked.

"To the capital."

Xie Xing replied.

Chen Tang chuckled softly and said, "So it wasn't Tan Wujiu who gave the order, but the command of the Cyan Dragon Lord?"

Lu Chang and Xie Xing remained silent.

"Haha."

Chen Tang laughed at himself and said, "The Cyan Dragon Lord really thinks highly of me, sending two Guard Captains to catch me."

Anyone who can hold the position of Guard Captain in the Cyan Dragon Bureau must cultivate to the Fifth Grade, developing Inner Qi.

And Chen Tang was only of the Eighth Grade.

Not to mention capturing one Chen Tang, even catching ten would be more than enough.

Chen Tang said, "I just don't understand, what is the relationship between your Cyan Dragon Bureau and the Profound Celestial Sect? Song Wood died, the Profound Celestial Sect hasn't reacted yet, and your Cyan Dragon Bureau has already sent people."

The Mountain Guest once asked him this on the Snow Mountain.

At the time, he found it strange and later received no answer.

But after this incident, he indeed felt something odd was going on.

Perhaps the Cyan Dragon Bureau used to obey Emperor Qian.

But with the new emperor's ascension and insufficient prestige, it might have lost control over the Cyan Dragon Bureau.

More importantly, Emperor Qian was once a First Grade Grandmaster.

The new emperor should be around thirty years old, absolutely impossible to reach the First Grade Grandmaster level.

Insufficient prestige and strength make it highly possible to lose control over the Cyan Dragon Bureau.

Facing Chen Tang's inquiry, Lu Chang and Xie Xing remained silent, just moving towards Chen Tang.

"If you have nothing to say, then sorry."

At this moment, Chen Tang said lightly.

Lu Chang and Xie Xing frowned with a chill in their hearts.

Chen Tang's words sounded strange.

Moreover, since seeing them, Chen Tang had been too calm, seemingly not afraid at all!

Did he have any backup?

But all the way here, they detected no crisis nor saw Chen Tang contacting anyone.

In this vast Snow Ridge, what backup could there be?

As the two pondered, suddenly a deafening roar was heard!

Roar!

The roar was so terrifying that the two of them shuddered, ears ringing, an involuntary fear rising in their hearts.

The next moment, a large shadow enveloped them.

The two instinctively looked up.

They saw a huge, snow-white Fierce Tiger pouncing with its bloody maw open, exposing sharp fangs, a strong stench of blood hitting their faces!

Squish!

Their hands had just touched the sword hilts, not even having drawn the Cyan Dragon Sword, when the Mountain Lord bit them in half!

Blood and innards spilled onto the snow.

The Mountain Lord chewed a few times, tongue curling, disdainfully spat out two pieces of Copper Armor.

Then, the Mountain Lord lowered its head, picked up the lower halves of their bodies and the fallen innards, ate them, licking its lips, seemingly still unsatisfied…

"Thunder Leopard, don't be afraid!"

Chen Tang instinctively patted Thunder Leopard's neck, wanting to comfort him a bit.

He had been following the Mountain Lord for months and was used to such scenes.

But seeing the Mountain Lord, such an exotic beast, and witnessing such a bloodthirsty scene, Thunder Leopard must have been terrified.

After speaking, Chen Tang looked down and saw Thunder Leopard staring vigilantly at the distant Mountain Lord, front hoof slightly lifted, scraping the snow, eyes unexpectedly unafraid!

"This horse seems a bit wild, not afraid of this?"

Chen Tang muttered to himself.

No matter how divine Thunder Leopard seemed, it was still just a horse; could it really contend with the Mountain Lord?

After eating, the Mountain Lord glanced at Thunder Leopard.

The Mountain Lord's gaze was originally somewhat contemptuous.

But it noticed the bulge on Thunder Leopard's head, seemed to hesitate, stared for a while before looking away, and led Chen Tang toward the Snow Mountain.

The reason Chen Tang was so calm was that he already sensed the Mountain Lord's presence.

Not far along, the Mountain Lord suddenly stopped and, as if sensing something, looked back warily.

Chen Tang quickly followed the Mountain Lord's gaze.

Behind, there was only endless snow, no signs of people or anything suspicious.

The Mountain Lord did not move forward, still looking back, seemingly sensing something.

But soon, its ears twitched, it turned and continued moving forward.

After nearly an hour, Chen Tang reached the foot of the Snow Mountain.

Letting Thunder Leopard run freely, Chen Tang followed the Mountain Lord up the Snow Mountain.

"Senior, I'm back."

Heading towards a cave, Chen Tang said, "Everything is settled at the foot of the mountain. But I've offended the Profound Celestial Sect and fear I'll have to hide on the mountain for a while."

"Hehe."

At this moment, a voice came from behind Chen Tang: "I knew someone was orchestrating behind the scenes! Feng Xu has not set foot in the Divine Land for years, never concerned himself with court matters; how could he suddenly act, going to Black Water Country for a mere Pingzhou sake, stealing tokens?"

Hearing this voice, Chen Tang was startled.

It was the voice of He Yeqian, Governor of Pingzhou!

"Brother He is absolutely right."

Another voice spoke: "In the whole world, there are few who can invite Feng Xu out of the mountain; today I want to see who is hiding within the Three Thousand Snow Ridges, thwarting our plans!"

This voice was also very familiar.

Gang Leader of the Black Water Gang, Xiao Zhengyuan!

Two First Grade Grandmasters gathered at the Snow Mountain Peak!

(End of Volume One)