Green Mountain
Chapter 336 - 276. Recognition of the Heavenly Venerate

Chapter 336: 276. Recognition of the Heavenly Venerate

In the corridor of the inn, the blood of the Heavenly Strategy Army soldiers pooled into a small stream, dripping through the cracks of the wooden floorboards below. The droplets hit the floor beneath with a splattering sound, as if rain were falling inside the room.

Once the blood stopped dripping, the inn fell completely silent.

It was akin to the sudden hush after a torrential summer storm, revealing a freshly cleansed and tranquil sky.

Chen Ji leaned against his Whale Blade, standing wearily in the twilight glow; the towering figure of a Heavenly Strategy Army soldier slumped in the shadows, leaning against the wall with an ashen face, panting silently.

He clutched his chest, as if doing so could slow the bleeding.

At this moment, the phrase "winner takes all" manifested vividly, yet Chen Ji, as he gazed upon the bodies strewn across the corridor, found no joy in his heart.

In the stillness, the soldier struggled to lift his head, saying, "Can I take a look at the sword seed?"

Chen Ji paid him no mind and simply waited in silence for the last vestiges of his life to dissipate.

The soldier coughed up blood and weakly sneered, "Stingy bastard... Don’t think having a sword seed is a good thing. From the day you started cultivating, you’ll live the rest of your life under the imposing shadow of the Mountain Master. The Mountain Master will come for you."

Chen Ji asked softly, "Does the Temple of Martial Arts hold a high status in the Jing Dynasty?"

The soldier’s eyes gradually lost focus. "It’s the Temple of Martial Arts, after all..."

Chen Ji asked again, "Have you met Lu Jin?"

The soldier’s gaze flickered. "Lord Lu’s name... is not for the likes of you to speak..."

With that, the light in his eyes faded completely. A flow of ice surged out of his body, merging into Chen Ji’s dantian.

Feeling the quantity of the icy energy, Chen Ji was somewhat disappointed. Ever since witnessing the torrent of icy power from Prince Jing, all others seemed pitifully insignificant.

It seemed that cultivating the Mountain Lord Sect’s Scripture required the deaths of countless prominent figures.

In the next instant, the heavy sword on the ground began to decay inch by inch under a searing blaze. The firelight, as intense as the sun, brightened the dim inn to the clarity of broad daylight.

Clang.

The sound of a sword unsheathing echoed across the skies above Guyuan.

The sound did not emanate from him but instead resonated directly in the heavens.

Chen Ji looked up in astonishment. He had heard this sound before when killing Wang Chongli of the Thousand-Year Army. Now, it rang out again.

A surge of pure Sword Intent burst forth from the ashes of the heavy sword, shooting into the patterned mark on Chen Ji’s waist... The invisible sword energy within the second streak of the pattern was forged into a new sword seed by this surge of pure Sword Intent.

Wait, a second sword seed?

Chen Ji recalled the recurring nightmares of his childhood, where Xuanyuan seemed to wield only a single sword seed.

With a thought, both sword seeds floated out of the patterned mark and now hovered quietly before him, appearing like two identical black bamboo leaves.

He lifted his tattered garment to inspect the first streak in the pattern, which had changed from black to a pale brown. The molten energy it once imprisoned was now entirely gone; whether it could be replenished remained uncertain.

At this moment, footsteps sounded behind him, prompting Chen Ji to retract the sword seeds.

Tiptoeing cautiously around the gaps between the corpses, Xiao Man poked her head out nervously, searching: "Young Master? Young Master, are you still alive..."

Chen Ji turned his head, locking eyes with Xiao Man. She exclaimed with delight, "Young Master, you’re alive!"

But before Chen Ji could respond, she suddenly panicked again, hastily turning to head in the opposite direction, as if she’d lost her head and needed to retrieve it.

However, the corridor formed a loop, and soon enough, she arrived on Chen Ji’s other side. "Ah!"

Just as she prepared to flee again, Chen Ji called out, puzzled, "Why are you running? I’m not a ghost!"

Xiao Man froze in place, her head lowered, fiddling with her nails.

Chen Ji frowned. "What’s wrong?"

Xiao Man hesitated for a long time before cautiously asking, "Young Master, can Wu Yun understand me when I speak?"

Chen Ji seemed to realize something, his lips curving into a faint smile as he replied, "Yes."

Xiao Man hesitated even longer before asking tentatively, "And can you understand what it’s saying?"

Chen Ji chuckled softly. "Yes."

In a fluster, Xiao Man began to explain, "Earlier, when I searched your clothes and took your silver, I was worried Mrs. Liang would take it from you again, not that I wanted to steal it myself. And as for the cave cucumber on your table, I only ate one; that thing’s rare and expensive. I was afraid it would spoil if I didn’t eat it..."

Her voice grew quieter and less confident as she spoke. "So you knew everything? No wonder it—Wu Yun—kept glaring at me and wouldn’t let me touch it."

Chen Ji waited silently for her to finish before softly saying, "Thank you."

Xiao Man froze in place. "Huh? Young Master, why are you thanking me?"

Chen Ji spoke gently, "Thank you for coming to save me."

Xiao Man waved her hands quickly. "It’s only what I should do. I promised Aunt I’d protect you... Oh, by the way, Young Master, earlier in the corridor, I saw a flash of white light. Did you see it? And there was that sound of a sword being drawn from the sky—was that related to you?"

Chen Ji’s heart stirred slightly.

Wu Yun, perched on the beam above Xiao Man’s head, let out a meow: "She knows too much."

At that moment, the sound of tiles shifting came from above, drawing the attention of both humans and the cat towards the ceiling.

...

...

On the roof, Zhang Xia lay flat against the tiles, anxiously eavesdropping on the sounds below. The others followed suit, pressing their ears against the tiles to listen as well.

Her brows furrowed deeper and deeper. Earlier, she could hear the sounds of killing and clashing blades, but now, all was silent.

Qi Zhenzhuo propped himself up and whispered cautiously, "Did the Heavenly Strategy Army leave?"

Zhang Xia didn’t respond, her concerns growing heavier. Someone must have lost and died for the fighting to cease so completely. Yet, considering the disparity in numbers, there was no way Chen Ji had won.

She stood up and moved toward a crack in the tiles. "I’m going down to see."

Qi Zhenzhuo stepped in front of her. "Second Miss Zhang, I am an Executive Officer; let me go."

Zhang Xia thought for a moment, then nodded. "Alright."

Qi Zhenzhuo approached the crack, cautiously poking his head through to look. All he could see was the body of a Heavenly Strategy Army soldier lying at the entrance.

He raised himself back up, sitting at the edge of the crack and taking deep breaths, his whole body trembling, unable to bring himself to descend.

Zhang Zheng barked angrily, "Look at you, trembling like a coward! Are you going down or not? If you’re not going, I will!"

"I’ll go!" Qi Zhenzhuo gritted his teeth and jumped down through the crack.

Zhang Xia and Zhang Zheng leaned over the crack, listening intently for any movement below.

Suddenly, a retching sound came from within the crack.

Zhang Xia poked her head inside and saw Qi Zhenzhuo vomiting uncontrollably at the entrance to the Superior A Room.

In the corridor, Qi Zhenzhuo braced himself against the doorframe, expelling bile and stomach acid together. When the vomiting subsided, he raised his head to look down the corridor at the corpses strewn chaotically. The sight made him start dry heaving all over again.

It was too horrific. One had to step carefully even to avoid treading on a corpse in this corridor.

Footsteps sounded not far away, and Qi Zhenzhuo forced himself to stand upright, only to see Chen Ji walking slowly through the Purgatory Corridor, Whale Blade in hand, fresh blood still dripping from its tip.

Qi Zhenzhuo stumbled backward in fear. "Y-you..."

Chen Ji frowned. "Where are the others?"

Qi Zhenzhuo came back to his senses and hurriedly explained, "They’re still upstairs. Did you... did you kill all the Heavenly Strategy Army soldiers in the building? You...!" He retched again.

Chen Ji paid him no attention, brushing past him and entering the Superior A Room.

From the crack above, Zhang Xia spotted Chen Ji and exclaimed in joy, "You’re alright! I thought you were..."

She turned her head, taking a deep breath to compose herself and wiping her eyes with her sleeve before continuing. "I’m glad you’re fine."

Below the crack, Chen Ji stacked chairs and tables. "Hurry and come down. The defenses at Xuwei Lane won’t last much longer. Once the Heavenly Strategy Army breaks through Xuwei Lane, this place will soon fall as well. Since reinforcements are nowhere to be seen, we need to move to the grain and oil store quickly."

Zhang Xia acknowledged his words and led the roof’s occupants down one by one. As they reached the room’s entrance, they reacted just like Qi Zhenzhuo, doubling over and vomiting uncontrollably.

Witnessing the slaughter of their kind, such mutilated bodies, was a terror that struck at the deepest part of the soul. The moment their gazes fell on the dead, a fierce internal conflict arose—a clash between what they saw and their understanding of humanity—pouring waves of fear and nausea into their minds.

Everyone retched, except for Chen Ji, Xiao Man, and the Crown Prince.

Chen Ji turned to the Crown Prince. While the prince was pale-faced, he fared far better than the others. Chen Ji’s heart stirred—either the Crown Prince possessed a will far stronger than ordinary people, or he had already witnessed such harrowing scenes before and had become desensitized.

The Crown Prince caught Chen Ji’s gaze and said in a hoarse voice, "I underestimated the Right Guard earlier. If I survive to return to the Imperial Capital, I will submit a memorial to reward your service."

Chen Ji cupped his hands respectfully. "Protecting Your Highness is my duty; you need not concern yourself."

With those words, he carried his Whale Blade through the corridor, considering how to guide everyone safely downstairs. When he passed by Chen Wenxiao, the latter recoiled in terror. "Stay away from me!"

Xiao Man’s eyes darted about craftily. She sneaked up to Mrs. Liang’s side and exclaimed loudly, "Madam!"

Mrs. Liang turned to her, and upon seeing the blood all over her, she fell to the floor in fright. "You... what do you want?"

Xiao Man took a step forward, crouched beside her, and stared intently into her eyes. "Madam, you’ll return all the assets Aunt left behind to my Young Master, won’t you? Gufu Building outside the East Gate, Yujing Garden in the Eight Great Hutongs, Chen’s Grain and Oil Store, the silk shop outside the Bell and Drum Tower, and the 320 mu of fertile farmland in Changping—not a single one can be left out."

Mrs. Liang nodded in panic. "I’ll return them! The moment we get back to the Imperial Capital, they’ll be his!"

Xiao Man’s cunning glint reappeared as she continued, "Is that all? If my Young Master marries into a prestigious family, won’t you also need to provide a dowry on his behalf? I think Tianbao Pavilion beside Gufu Building looks great. I know Tianbao Pavilion belongs to the Chen family, and the deed is in your possession!"

Mrs. Liang hurriedly agreed. "Tianbao Pavilion too!"

Satisfied, Xiao Man stood up and turned her mischievous gaze toward Chen Liqin, Chen Wenxiao, and Wang Gui.

Just as she pondered how to seize the opportunity to punish them, Zhang Xia’s voice called out, "Xiao Man, come help!"

Xiao Man immediately responded, "Coming!"

Among the group, Zhang Xia recovered earliest after vomiting. She led Xiao Man in gathering bedsheets and blankets from every room, teaching Xiao Man to twist them into ropes tied with fisherman’s knots. They secured this makeshift rope to the broken "cliff" of the staircase and let it dangle below.

One by one, everyone slid down the rope to the floor below. Xiao Man went last. As she raised her head, she spotted Wu Yun, perched on the beam, staring intently at her.

She waved at it and whispered, "Hurry, come down!"

Wu Yun gazed at her for a moment, then suddenly leaped from the beam and into her arms.

Xiao Man froze, dumbfounded, staring at the black cat cradled in her hands. "You’re finally letting me hold you?"

She had tried countless times before—sneaking up while the cat was asleep, or reaching out while it ate—but never succeeded in touching it.

Previously, she couldn’t understand why, but today, she realized her every move had been seen by Wu Yun all along.

"You’re not mad at me anymore?" she asked tentatively. Then, recalling what Chen Ji had said earlier, she added hurriedly, "...Heavenly Master Nine Heavens Yingyuan Universal Thunder?"

Wu Yun regarded her coldly, nodding toward the rope as if to say: Stop talking, hurry and go.

Xiao Man grinned with delight. She placed Wu Yun on her head, grabbed the rope with both hands, and began sliding down.