Chapter Seventeen Departure from Jinling

  Liáng Tuōér raised an eyebrow and smiled, saying: "Who made me a rare good person! Hehe, actually it's mainly for my master. Although Master didn't say it explicitly, I know he's always worried about the fate of the Tang Dynasty. Since childhood, Master has raised me, and I have no way to repay him, so I can only do my best to let him worry less."

  As the wind blew, he had previously known that Liang Ze was not like an ordinary thief, but he didn't expect him to still care about the rise and fall of the country. Listening to this speech moved him deeply. "You are as old as I am, yet your martial arts skills are so formidable, surely your master must be extraordinary too, what kind of person is he?"

  At the mention of his master, Liang Ze suddenly became subdued and said: "My master has raised me for over a decade, but he has never told me about his origins. I don't know how old my master is, nor has he ever mentioned it. However, since I can remember, his appearance has not changed at all. I learned many techniques from him when I was young, and only after I ventured out into the world did I gradually discover that they were unique skills of the Taoist school. Moreover, his behavior and actions are vastly different from those of ordinary people, and he is extremely particular about cultivating his character and nature. Even if he is not a high-ranking member of the mystical sect, he must be a disciple of the Taoist school. He views everything with great indifference, as if only the Nine State Divine Instruments can make my master take notice. I often see him observing the stars at night, and when I asked him about it several times, he didn't give me a clear answer. In fact, I know that he is calculating the future trends of the country's fortune. According to reason, an outsider should no longer be concerned with worldly affairs, but my master seems to have some unresolvable emotional entanglement, which has left me thinking deeply for a long time without any result.

  He had previously felt that Liang Ze and his master were likely to have a deep connection with the Taoist sect, but after hearing this, he was surprised. The drought demon, Lu Yun Mountain, seemed to be related to many things about the Taoist sect. However, since today's world is good for Taoism and Buddhism, and temples are everywhere, he didn't think much of it.

  Liang Zei looked out at the night sky again, and now the full moon had emerged from the dark clouds, hanging in the middle of the horizon. Judging by the darkness, it was already around midnight.

  Patted the wind and said: "Let's stop here for tonight, go rest well."

  Out in the wilderness, in a desolate and remote area, during the harsh winter season, not to mention the lack of water, even if there was some, it would only be icy mountain spring water, which is fundamentally impossible to use for washing. Having drifted with the wind for many years, I've long since stopped paying attention to external material things. After slightly tidying up my appearance, clearing out a patch of empty space, laying down a bed mat, and lying down to sleep.

  Liang Zei took another look at the hazy night sky, and for some reason, let out a soft sigh, then closed the heavy red wooden door.

  Time is like a faint mist, hard to touch and even harder to grasp. No matter what your attitude is, time will pass anyway. The so-called "seize the day" is just a phrase to encourage oneself, but among all these people in the world, who can truly seize time and make it stop for even a moment?

  The sleeper, blown by the wind, will not realize that after this night, he will leave Yangzhou, where he was born and raised. He will be greeted with a vast sky he never thought of; he will experience a brilliant and strange journey he dare not think of.

  The night passed quickly. The next morning, he woke up to the sound of voices in the wind. Opening his eyes, Bi Han and Liang Tou'er were both smiling at him with a smile on their faces. He immediately realized that he had overslept, smiled awkwardly, and jumped up from the ground all at once.

  Bi Han's eyes sparkled as she gazed at him, covering her mouth to stifle a laugh. "Following Master, I originally said whether or not to wake you up. But Big Brother Liang said don't wake you and see how long you can sleep."

  His face turned even redder with embarrassment, and his cheeks felt a bit hot as he asked, "How long did I sleep?"

  "You, you little brat, sleeping like a pig! We've been waiting for you for more than an hour!" Liang Stealer stood with his hands on his hips, looking up at him with a cold tone.

  "Ah? One hour!" Su Feng was greatly surprised, then apologetic, saying: "Yesterday's rush was too exhausting, I'm really sorry..." Before he could finish speaking, Bi He couldn't hold it in anymore and burst out laughing. This time, however, it made Su Feng even more confused, looking at Liang Tou'er whose face was also full of suppressed laughter.

  Bihuan patted her chest, calmed down a bit, but still had a smile all over her face, saying: "He deceived you, I just woke up not long ago. How could it be an hour, less than half a moment, and you actually believed it."

  Liang Ze spread his hands and smiled: "If I didn't say that, how would he have gotten up so quickly?"

  Looking at the speechless expression on Sui Feng's face, Zei and Bi Han couldn't help but laugh again. Sui Feng could only smile brightly and then looked around at his surroundings again.

  "Did all that really happen here last night? Or was it just a dream I had?" The events of the previous night were still vivid in my mind, but as time passed, they seemed increasingly unbelievable and unreal.

  Liang stole forward, patted the shoulder of Sui Feng and said: "Zhuang Zhou dreamed of a butterfly or a butterfly dreamed of Zhuang Zhou, for thousands of years there has been no conclusion. Last night's affair was indeed too fantastic, it is normal that you can't accept it for the time being, thinking too much is not good, why not face it calmly?"

  He nodded slightly in the wind, and saw again the sword mark on the brow of the Taicheng god statue, and his heart was filled with emotion once more.

  The three of them then used the well in the temple to fetch some mountain spring water, each washing up a bit, and ate some dry rations before finally leaving the Taoist temple where they had experienced all sorts of strange and fantastical things the night before.

  Arriving at the foot of the mountain, Liang Shanyu couldn't help but turn his head and take another look, sighing in amazement: "I never thought that this unknown place would have such a strange landform."

  "How much further is it to Jinling?" He was originally clueless about Feng Shui, and compared to figuring out what's special about this place, he'd rather figure out when they could arrive at Jinling.

  Jinling is the ancient city of Jianye, which was established as the prefecture of Xuanzhou during the Tang Dynasty. The Yangzhou referred to in the phrase "with a belt wrapped around one's waist worth 100,000 yuan, riding a crane down to Yangzhou" refers to the ancient division of Yangzhou, roughly covering the area from Guangling to Jinling and its surrounding areas. Although the city of Yangzhou is indeed prosperous and beautiful, it still can't compare to the ancient capital of Jianye. I had previously heard my father tell stories about the great emperor of Eastern Wu establishing Jianye as a powerful state, and I have always yearned for Jinling.

  "What's the hurry? We don't have horses. To get to Jinling, it's over 200 miles away, and at our speed, it'll take us at least three days." Liang Zei said, looking in the direction of Jinling.

  "Is it that far? Then how much longer will it take us to reach Qiantang?" Bi He also felt somewhat unexpected, but she had been drifting in the Jianghu for many days and knew the hardships of rushing on the road, so she wasn't particularly surprised.

  She had just finished asking, and the goose feather-like snow started falling again. The previous accumulated snow had not melted yet, and now with the new snow, the road became even more slippery. Liang Shuai looked up at the sky, a piece of dark cloud, without any sunlight. He said: "After arriving in Jinling, taking the water route will be much faster, at most three days we can arrive in Qiantang. The snow has started again, be careful not to slip on your feet. I have walked this road before, there are a few households ahead, tonight we will stay overnight."

  The three men said no more and hastily set off on their journey.

  The water town in southern Jiangnan has the most humid climate in winter, and when the temperature drops, it must be followed by several days of heavy snow. Except for some official documents being transmitted within the imperial court or some large merchant groups, plus some wandering martial artists, ordinary people basically stay indoors and do not go out. Therefore, along the way, the three men mostly see only the vast snowy scenery, occasionally meeting one or two wandering travelers, and nothing else.

  The three of them spent a full three days like this, and although each day was dull and uneventful, they quickly became familiar with each other. Liang Tou'er seemed to be about the same age as them, but had already turned eighteen, five years older than Sui Feng. Bi He was three months younger than Sui Feng, and was at the tender age of adolescence.

  All the way, Liang Ze'er told them about his previous experiences. The hidden imperial palace, entering the mortal world, stealing treasures... Two people, one a down-and-out young man and the other a noble lady, who would have imagined such a life? They listened with great interest. Liang Ze'er was originally lively and active, and his words were humorous and exaggerated, adding oil to the fire. The two of them were like they had personally experienced it before, and they felt extremely pleased. Looking at their originally gloomy faces gradually having smiles, Liang Ze'er also felt a sense of relief in his heart, thinking: "Originally I just wanted to teach them more about the ways of the Jianghu, didn't expect them to be so happy."

  Because of the heavy snow, it took three people three days to barely reach Jinling. When they arrived outside the city, the sunset had already fallen, and the lanterns were hung high. Although the moonlight was not clear, it could be seen that it was very late.

  The night color is like a wisp of smoke, enveloping the entire inner city in a haze. Only the towering ancient city wall remains, telling the story of the ancient history of the past. "Do you still remember that fifty years ago, the magnificent six dynasties' capital was only preserved as a county-level name? The change to a prefecture has only been ten or more years, and in just a few decades, there have been such earth-shattering changes." Watching the majestic ancient city of Jinling under the moonlight, it seems that the waves of the Yangtze River are still echoing behind him, sighing incessantly.

  "Little Wind, don't be sentimental, think about where we'll spend the night tonight." Suddenly, Liang Tou'er said a sentence that brought Su Feng back to reality.

  Looking at the tightly closed city gate, he smiled awkwardly with the wind and said, "The city gate is already closed? I don't know what to do either."

  Bi Han also felt anxious, "Can't we just call out for someone to open the city gate?"

  Liáng Tuō ér smiled helplessly and said, "You think this is your own home? I'd also like to open it. Unless there's an urgent message or a letter, generally, the door won't be opened."

  "Then didn't you also arrive very late in Yangzhou before? How did you get in?" Suddenly realized by Su Feng.

  Liáng Tuō ér said: "Of course we're not leaving through the main gate. Since I'm known as the divine thief, I naturally used some tricks."

  "Means? Then can you send us in too?" Bi He asked.

  "Can't you hear? He jumped in." Xun Feng stared at the high city wall of Jinling.

  "Hmm", Liang Ze replied, "If it were just me, that would be fine. But with the two of you added on, I won't be able to bring you in. The more prosperous a city is, the more solid and tall its walls are, making them harder to climb over. Unfortunately, neither of you has any lightness skills; otherwise, I could have gone up first and thrown down a rope for you."

  "Can't I just because I haven't practiced qinggong?" Bi Huan said somewhat discontentedly.

  "Hmm, on a rainy and snowy day like this, the city wall is already slippery. Even if ordinary thieves have ropes, they can't guarantee their safety, let alone you who don't have any lightness skills? This city wall is estimated to be over ten zhang high, if you're not careful and fall down, you won't die but will definitely become disabled." Liang Stealer said seriously.

  "I don't know if you can pull us up, but if so, as long as we hold tight to the rope, I suppose there won't be any danger." Su Feng agreed, and since they were already close by, it was really tempting not to go in and take a look. Moreover, it was already late at night, and if they didn't enter the city, would they have to spend the night outside?

  Liáng Tuōér was silent for a moment, then raised his head and said: "Alright, I'll lower the rope later. You tie it around your waist, so even if you slip with your hands, you can ensure your safety."