荔枝影院

Edited by: Michyrr

“Senior!”

Wang Chong was somewhat caught off guard.

“I’m fine, I’m fine! Kid, thank you. To think that this old man would see such a supreme treasure of the formation arts in my lifetime! It’s wonderful!”

The Formation Elder waved his hand.

As he spoke, he began to flip through the book, and after just a few pages, his voice began to dwindle away and his eyes seemed almost glued to the pages. By the very end, he had completely forgotten Wang Chong’s existence and seated himself on the ground to read.

While startled at first, Wang Chong soon didn’t know whether he should laugh or cry. From the look on the Formation Elder’s face, nothing he said now would get through.

As Wang Chong stood guard over the Formation Elder, a constant stream of martial artists came up to bid farewell, and the crowd began to shrink.

After some time, a familiar figure appeared on the eastern horizon, holding an extremely striking white cane.

Wang Chong hastily went up to welcome him.

“Village Chief, where is my master? Wasn’t he with you?”

Now that matters in the northwest had been settled, Wang Chong was only waiting around for the Wushang Village Chief and the Demonic Emperor Old Man. Although Wang Chong had not seen the two of them on his way back to the surface, he had already received a special signal from them indicating that they were alright.

This was not the first time the three of them had been separated, and though they had each encountered their own trials and tribulations, nothing had ever been able to hold down his master and the Wushang Village Chief, and the same could be said for Wang Chong.

The Wushang Village Chief stopped, and after taking a flabbergasted glance at the cross-legged Formation Elder, intoxicated in the pages of the Formation Divine Treatise, he solemnly turned to Wang Chong.

The Wushang Village Chief got straight to the point. “Your master wanted me to deliver a message. He says that you shouldn’t wait for him and should go back to the capital first. He has some matters to settle and can’t go back with you.”

“!!!”

Wang Chong was startled by this message—nothing like this had ever happened in all the time he had spent with his master—but he soon regained his composure.

“Understood. Tell Master that I will wait for him in the capital,” Wang Chong quickly answered.

Although he didn’t know what was delaying his master, since his master’s mind was made up and he had even told the Wushang Village Chief to inform him, Wang Chong would naturally respect his decision.

“Right, Village Chief, with matters settled here, what other plans do you have?” Wang Chong said.

“Heh, old men like us aren’t as busy as you youngsters. I don’t have anything special to attend to. I plan to spend a few days here, meet up with your master, and then decide on what to do next.”

The Wushang Village Chief stroked his beard and smiled.

“嗯。”

“Mm.”

Wang Chong nodded. Since the village chief already had plans, Wang Chong wouldn’t force anything on him.

Creee!

At this moment, a sharp cry came from the distance, drawing the attention of both Wang Chong and the Wushang Village Chief. In the distance, a large rock eagle with a wingspan of more than two meters was flying toward them, distinguished by the golden hoop on its left leg and the red band on its right.

“Chong-er, it seems like you can’t remain here for long!” the Wushang Village Chief suddenly said.

He and the Demonic Emperor Old Man had accompanied the army to Talas and Khorasan, so he was extremely familiar with the army’s signalling methods. Ordinary correspondence used carrier pigeons while important military messages were conveyed by rock eagles with wingspans not surpassing one meter. But the rock eagle up there had a wingspan of two meters, and the golden hoop and red band on its legs indicated matters of utmost urgency.

This was not a rock eagle used in ordinary circumstances.

Creee!

A solemn-faced Wang Chong whistled and waved a hand in the air. A moment later, the rock eagle seemed to find its target and energetically descended toward Wang Chong.

Wang Chong reached out a hand to receive the rock eagle while everyone else present watched.

Opening the bamboo tube on the rock eagle’s leg, Wang Chong extracted a thin sheet of paper. With just one glance, he grimaced and his face turned grave.

“Village Chief, something has happened in the capital, so I’ll have to leave first. I’ll have to leave my master to you!”

Wang Chong bowed, then he let the rock eagle go and began to walk toward the crowd, letter in hand.

“Sirs, do any of you have a carriage I could borrow?” Wang Chong suddenly said.

“I do!”

“I do!”

The crowd instantly reacted and enthusiastically converged on Wang Chong.

......

At the same time, in a place several kilometers from where Wang Chong was...

“Foul beast!”

A cold roar resounded across the rolling green hills.

Thump!

A young figure, his long hair in disarray, dropped to his knees.

“Master...”

The young man’s entire body trembled while cold sweat poured down. In the blink of an eye, sweat began to drip down from his sleeves.

Caw!

Several birds took to the air. The mood was somber.

The Demonic Emperor Old Man, wearing his black robe, loomed over the earth like a furious lion. Ji Andu kneeled down in front of him, his complexion ashen.

After several years, he had once more run into the most terrifying existence in his life.

All was silent, neither of them saying a word.

......

A resplendent carriage rolled up to Wang Chong’s side. He had been provided a clean set of clothes, rations for the road, and even a driver. Out of respect for Wang Chong, the martial artists had even prepared a bag of silver for him.

After the events in the northwest, Wang Chong’s ability to call upon the martial arts world was even greater than Song Yuanyi’s.

After all, Song Yuanyi could only call upon the members of the righteous path while Wang Chong could call upon the members of both paths.

“Young Master Wang!”

Just when Wang Chong was about to board the carriage, he heard a rush of footsteps behind him.

“Young Master Qingyang?” Turning his head, Wang Chong saw that it was Young Master Qingyang and Sword Dragon.

The pair stopped several steps away. After exchanging a glance with Sword Dragon, Young Master Qingyang stepped forward and said, “Young Master Wang, Sword Dragon and I thought it over. Without Young Master Wang, the two of us would have died beneath the earth, and Young Master even cured this one’s infirmities, fulfilling my long-cherished desire to learn martial arts.

“...Moreover, after the events of the northwest, this one has decided that he has seen enough of the world, nor is there really any good place for me to go. If Young Master doesn’t mind, this one and Sword Dragon are willing to follow Young Master.”

Wang Chong was taken aback by these words and shot another glance at Young Master Qingyang and Sword Dragon.

Seeing how hesitant Wang Chong was, Young Master Qingyang added, “I have heard that Young Master has always been advocating having the Great Tang army proactively attack foreign foes like Arabia, Ü-Tsang, the Eastern and Western Turks, and Mengshe Zhao, replacing defense with offense, in order to protect the people of the Great Tang. This untalented one, as a Tang, is also willing to assist Young Master with this effort. Moreover, this one has already seen enough of the martial arts world. In the future, this one hopes to experience the battlegrounds of foreign lands.”

Upon hearing this, the hesitant Wang Chong immediately smiled.

“There’s no reason for Young Master to make up so many reasons. I agree! Come and join me!”

Wang Chong extended a hand toward Young Master Qingyang.

Young Master Qingyang possessed extraordinary abilities, and Wang Chong had wanted to recruit him upon their first meeting, but he had lacked a good opportunity. Once they were out, the sudden emergency at the capital had made Wang Chong dispel any such thoughts, but if Young Master Qingyang was offering, Wang Chong was happy to accept.

Wang Chong had just worried that Young Master Qingyang did not sincerely want to follow him and was simply trying to repay his kindness. From the look of it, however, he had been overthinking things.

If he didn’t agree now, Young Master Qingyang would probably get frantic and think up even more excuses.

“Hahaha, wonderful! Sword Dragon, let’s go!”

Young Master Qingyang waved behind him, and Sword Dragon happily chuckled as the pair entered Wang Chong’s carriage.

“Hyah!”

With the crack of a whip, the carriage set off for the capital.

......

The carriage traveled as quickly as possible, only stopping to take in supplies or rest.

Wang Chong had a grave expression on his face the majority of the time, with the rest of the time spent treating Young Master Qingyang’s injuries and cleaning the motley Stellar Energies that had not been entirely absorbed yet.

Young Master Qingyang truly possessed formidable talent. In this short while, he had completely solidified his foundation and had mastered various martial arts.

Not only that, Young Master Qingyang had an unconventional way of thinking. He could discuss martial arts theory with Wang Chong and even inspire him.

The carriage continued south, but as it was passing through Tong Pass, Wang Chong stopped the carriage.

“Young Master Qingyang, the capital will be extremely dangerous, a vortex at the center of the Great Tang. But before this, I have an even more important matter that I need you to help me with.”

Wang Chong looked across at Young Master Qingyang and solemnly took out a token.

“Although the conflict between the militarists and Confucians is intensifying, what I’m most worried about is not the inside, but the outside. The Arabs remain ambitious, and the other countries also harbor ill intentions that make it difficult for me to rest easy. I need you to go to the triangular gap and accomplish an extremely important mission for me.”