The Blade-Wielding Legend
Chapter 267 - 182: The Roadblocker of Hua Mountain

Chapter 267: Chapter 182: The Roadblocker of Hua Mountain

"Yuan Zhetian is dead?"

"Exactly, the bounty posters in Pu County and Shanyin were removed. Someone already took his head and claimed the reward."

"What a feat! Who was it, which faction did it?"

"It wasn’t a local power, it was a stranger..."

As the most notorious bladesman in Weinan Road for the past two years, Yuan Zhetian’s death immediately sparked a buzz among the people in the pugilistic world.

When it was learned that three infamous left-path magicians were also killed, many immediately weighed their options in secret, the lust for the bounty fading.

After all, the bounty was an opportunity worth dying for.

Without that chance,

it turned into a death wish.

Meanwhile, Li Yan and his companions had already arrived at the base of Hua Mountain...

"Hua Mountain has always been a divine mountain."

Wang Daoxuan, wearing his bamboo hat and holding a wooden staff, wiped the sweat from his forehead. "The ’Classic of Mountains and Seas’ says, ’Mount Taihua is square-cut, towering five thousand ren high and ten li wide, uninhabited by birds and beasts, but home to a serpent, named the Fatty Worm’s Remains, with six legs and four wings, whose sighting foretells a great drought.’"

"The ’Yu Gong’ also mentioned that Hua Mountain was the place where Xuanyuan the Yellow Emperor met with immortals..."

During the conversation, the majestic mountains stood tall before them. The peaks were steep and impressive, especially since it was early in the first lunar month, and the melting snow on the mountain made the landscape shadowy and white, surrounded by mist, adding to its mystique.

Li Yan felt this even more.

He could smell the Innate Gang Sha Qi blending together, powerful and majestic, like a giant cauldron standing between heaven and earth, its robust aura overwhelming, pressing down on his chest and making it a little oppressive.

"The prestige of the Western Peak is extraordinary indeed."

Li Yan couldn’t help but praise, "It’s said that the Western Peak is one monolithic rock. Who would have thought that Innate Astral Qi would be so integrated with it? It’s a marvel of nature and earth."

Inspired by the sight of this divine mountain, everyone looked forward to their journey on Hua Mountain even more, hurrying their steps, knowing well the dangers of Hua Mountain, famous for its perilous paths.

Hua Mountain had always been an important place for ancestral rituals. At the mountain’s base, there were many temples, some dating back to the Tang Dynasty, and the earliest ones built during the Qin and Han periods, with only ruins remaining.

The area was sacred, and even when the Golden Tent Wolf Country invaded from the south, they dared not damage it, so the preservation was relatively intact.

There were many people on the road, and at the base of the mountain, the noise of the crowd buzzed.

By the temples entering the mountain, the locals were holding a folk festival.

Some men carried iron frames on their shoulders, with children dressed in opera costumes standing on top, made up to look like various divine and immortal figures...

Others built wooden scaffolds four or five layers high, of various shapes: some tall, some upside down, some jutting out, all incredibly precarious, as if they could collapse at any moment.

And on the scaffolds, people in opera costumes stood or moved up and down, as if walking through the clouds...

Besides this, others performed historical stories, always related to ghosts and gods, and using props to mimic gory scenes including impalement, beheadings, and amputations...

As for other activities like the ’dry boat dance,’ there were too many to count.

Vendors were busy making snacks, some people were touring and enjoying the sights, but even more, were devoutly burning incense amidst the swirling smoke.

"Young Hero Li!"

In the bustling crowd, an elderly man approached.

Li Yan quickly greeted him with clasped hands and a smile, "Manager Zhuo, it’s fate that we meet here! What are you up to?"

The newcomer was the owner of the Zhuo Family Shadow Puppetry Troupe in Huayin.

"This is our tradition in Huayin."

Manager Zhuo explained with a smile, "Every year from the Lantern Festival until the 2nd of February, the villages in Huayin come here to hold the festival. That’s ’Heavenly Core’, and that’s ’Blood Fire’, customs continuous since the ancient kings’ rain prayers and rituals."

"Looks like you’re heading up the mountain, huh? Manager Wan and the others came a few days ago, I’m afraid you’re the last ones here."

"Be careful of the melting snow on the mountain path."

"Thank you, elder. We’re just about to ascend."

After saying goodbye to Manager Zhuo, the group sped up their steps.

Passing through the festival crowd, a young scholar-looking man turned his head by chance and his eyes lit up as he waved and called:

"Great Hero Li, Great Hero Li!"

He shouted while running over.

Li Yan turned to look, a bit surprised, "You are that Scholar Yan...Yan Jiuling?"

"I am Yan Jiuling!"

The scholar bowed respectfully.

The very scholar whom Li Yan had inadvertently saved on Tianzhu Mountain.

Li Yan looked puzzled, "Weren’t you, a scholar, going to the capital for the imperial exams? Why are you still in Shan State?"

Yan Jiuling hastily replied, "I visited relatives in Chang’an during the New Year and stayed for many days. Thinking of leaving, I couldn’t miss the scenery of the Western Peak, so I decided to make a detour here."

"Oh, be careful on your way."

Li Yan nodded, brushing him off, and turned to walk away.

"Young master, young master!"

The scholar tried to initiate conversation again but saw his attendant student squeezing through the crowd, tugging at his sleeve in a low voice, "Young master, these are people from the pugilistic world, who kill without blinking, let’s go up the mountain later."

"Why fear when there’s nothing on your conscience!"

Yan Jiuling, carefree and smiling, replied, "Zhu Mo, these individuals possess the spirit of heroes, and it’s rare to encounter them. We must surely get acquainted."

With that, he shook off the attendant student and quickly followed.

"Oh dear!"

Attendant student Zhu Mo stomped his feet in frustration but felt helpless and followed closely.

"Great Hero Li, please wait."

Catching his breath, Yan Jiuling approached with a beaming smile, "I happened to be going up the mountain too. Why not journey together?"

Li Yan was a bit speechless. "If I remember correctly, you are a scholar, destined to be an official, with a very different path in life from ours. Why insist on accompanying us?"

There was a deeper meaning to his words.

Officialdom was complicated, and the ways of the pugilistic world were treacherous. They had entirely different ways of doing things, and besides, there were many secrets they held. A brief encounter was enough; too much entanglement would be a hassle.

Yan Jiuling’s face turned awkward, not knowing what to say.

But nearby, Sha Lifei’s eyes rolled around, and he chimed in, "Brother Yan, since it’s destiny and we’re all going the same way, it wouldn’t hurt for him to accompany us up the mountain."