Young Noble Be Monster Slaying

Seeing the commotion, Lin Bei hurriedly asked, "What's going on?"

Someone reported to him, "I heard them say... they found Chu Liang!"

"What?" Lin Bei uttered in shock.

He immediately rose into the air and hovered above the crowd.

Lin Bei shouted, "Make way, make way!"

The crowd of people had piled up like a small mountain. They all tried to squeeze inside as if their life depended on it. There was no way they would clear the way for Lin Bei at that moment.

While Lin Bei was growing impatient, someone patted his shoulder from behind.

"I'm right here."

Lin Bei turned around and saw Chu Liang standing there!

Overjoyed, Lin Bei shouted, "Chu—"

However, Chu Liang quickly covered Lin Bei's mouth. "It's too dangerous here. Let's head to Silver Sword Peak and talk there."

Taking advantage of the moment when the crowd was distracted, Chu Liang pulled Lin Bei out of there. The two of them rode the Fierce Draconic Colt and flew away from Red Cotton Peak.

On the way to Silver Sword Peak, Lin Bei couldn't help but chatter away.

"Where have you been all these years? You look fine, so why didn't you ever contact us? Do you know how much everyone at Mount Shu missed you? We've been exhausted handling things these past years. Your teacher even put up a tablet with your name on it and burned incense for you during festivities..."[1]

It had been so long since Chu Liang last saw Lin Bei that he actually found this storm of chatter quite endearing. He didn't stop Lin Bei and simply continued flying toward Silver Sword Peak.

When they got to Silver Sword Peak, they found that no one was there.

"Huh? Where is everyone?" Chu Liang asked.

"Your teacher went out to collect debts," Lin Bei answered. "After Silver Sword Peak started offering credit services, some people couldn't pay back. So, Little Yi put your teacher in charge of debt collection. Senior Aunt Feng loves doing it. She waits eagerly for someone to miss a repayment so she can go after them."

Well, that's... something. She turned her hobby into a job, I guess.

Chu Liang chuckled and asked, "So, the one managing Red Cotton Peak is Little Yi?"

He had already guessed it. If Silver Sword Peak had to pick the most intelligent being among its members and residents, then six-year-old Chu Yi was the obvious choice. The Golden-Furred Hou would be the second choice.

"That's right." Lin Bei nodded. "Not long after you left, Shang Ziliang and I continued bringing the account books to Silver Sword Peak as usual. When we ran into problems, your teacher had no idea how to handle them. That's when Little Yi stepped up to offer advice.

"There were a lot of the things that you'd already explained to us, but we couldn't remember what you'd said. However, Little Yi figured all of them out. So, over time, we just listened to him. After all, he's a member of Silver Sword Peak too."

"I can tell you're all working well with him. You've even become the Four Overlords of Mount Shu," Chu Liang said with a chuckle.

"Heheh," Lin Bei laughed embarrassedly. "The Four Overlords? That's just our friends in the martial world showing us their affection."

"Where is Little Yi now?" Chu Liang asked. "Does he need to be at the Four Extremities Hall for the recruitment?"

"No, he usually works behind the scenes. On the surface, Red Cotton Peak is still being managed by the four of us and your teacher," Lin Bei replied. "But no matter how busy he is, he never misses his lessons with Senior Brother Yuan. That is the one thing that's fixed in his schedule and cannot be changed even if he's struck by lightning. He said it's something you mentioned before—regardless of what major events were happening, he still had to keep learning and studying."

If only my esteemed teacher were as mature as Chu Yi... Silver Sword Peak would surely thrive without any worries, Chu Liang thought with a sigh.

He then glanced around and asked, "What about Xiaoyu'er and her sister?"

"They're the mascots of Red Cotton Peak now. According to the plan you had for the fruit garden, we got them a carriage decorated with flowers. They parade around Red Cotton Peak twice a day. They've got a lot of fans."

"It seems that everyone has been really busy. What about the Golden-Furred Hou?"

Everyone has something to do, but Big Head can't possibly be busy, right?

Lin Bei gave Chu Liang a strange look. "Who do you think is pulling the carriage?"

Oh, wow.

I guess it's because it would cost money to hire a spirit beast for that. Silver Sword Peak sure makes good use of its resources, leaving no one idle… humans and beasts alike.

Lin Bei said, "Oh, right. You know that little golden dragon you met at the imperial palace? We brought it back with us. It's hanging out with the White Dragon at the Dragon-Fishing Pool now."

Seeing that Silver Sword Peak was so empty, Chu Liang did not feel like going around and disturbing anyone.

He told Lin Bei, "Go let everyone know I'm back. I'm going to head out to take care of something. I'll be back at night."

Suddenly nervous, Lin Bei quickly asked, "Where are you going? Should I get one or two hundred subordinates to go with you?"

Chu Liang had only just returned. Lin Bei was afraid that once Chu Liang left Mount Shu, he would run into danger and disappear for several years again.

Woah, Chu Liang thought in surprise. Things sure are very different now. The way Lin Bei casually made that suggestion just shows how much wealth and influence he now possesses.

Chu Liang laughed. "It's nothing dangerous. I'm just going to find an esteemed senior from Mount Shu."

…

The Whale-Riding Immortal had previously told Chu Liang about Jin Mucuo, an Eminent One from the Southern Regions. Jin Mucuo had been a disciple of the Mount Shu Sect, and he had maintained a close relationship with the Mount Shu Sect even after becoming an Eminent One.

Years ago, the Whale-Riding Immortal sought Jin Mucuo out to inquire about the Divine Ruins scroll, hoping to negotiate a trade. Jin Mucuo agreed to it, but before the trade could take place, Xuan Yinzi, a formidable diabolical cultivator, found him first. All Jin Mucuo managed to leave behind before he died was a letter for the Whale-Riding Immortal.[2]

When the Whale-Riding Immortal and Chu Liang were done sharing what they knew about the Divine Ruins scroll, they concluded the corpse that Chu Liang had found and taken a part of the scroll from was highly likely to be Jin Mucuo's remains. After some discussion, the Whale-Riding Immortal and Chu Liang decided that Jin Mucuo's family should be informed about the location of his corpse.

Jin Mucuo had a younger sister who served as the overseer of the Golden Jade Temple. It was situated by the South River, which was not far from Mount Shu.

Chu Liang mounted the Fierce Draconic Colt and took off. The ball of fire that was the Fierce Draconic Colt flew through the sky for a while. Before long, they arrived at the banks of the surging South River, where a beautiful and secluded Daoist temple stood amid the quiet.

The temple courtyard wasn't large. From above, Chu Liang could see a peach blossom tree in full bloom, adorned with jade-green leaves on its branches.

Chu Liang dismounted and instructed the Fierce Draconic Colt to wait outside. Then he walked over to the door and knocked.

Knock, knock, knock.

He knocked three times, but no one answered.

Huh?

Before going to the temple, Chu Liang had done a bit of research on the Golden Jade Temple. It was not a major force in the martial world, but it was well-known locally and had many visitors going there to pray and burn joss sticks.

Why would a temple like that be closed for no reason? And why is there not even one person around?

Knock, knock, knock.

Chu Liang knocked again, but there was still no response.

He thought about it for a moment. Then he applied a bit of force and pushed the door open, letting himself in. Inside the temple, there were silver jade shrubs[3] with blooming flowers. The bricks that formed the temple floor were so spotless they were gleaming, suggesting the fallen leaves had been swept away recently. It didn't seem like the temple had been deserted.

Just as he was about to walk further inside, a command rang out clearly. "Come here."

With a whoosh, a horsetail whisk[4] wrapped around Chu Liang's waist and pulled him to the side. Chu Liang didn't resist and allowed himself to be pulled behind a tree trunk. His vision momentarily darkened, then it brightened again just as abruptly.

It turned out there was a hidden realm in the temple.

The hidden realm wasn't large, taking up an area of land that an average hill occupied. At the center of the hidden realm stood a tree with blossoms in full bloom, identical to the one outside. It likely served as the gateway between the real world and the hidden realm.

Unlike in the real world, the hidden realm wasn't absent of people; there was a middle-aged Daoist nun clad in plain white robes. She was the one who had pulled Chu Liang in with the horsetail whisk.

"What do you want? Speak quickly," the Daoist nun urged, looking like she was facing a great enemy.

The sight of the nun's skittish appearance gave Chu Liang a fright.

Chu Liang stammered, "I… Uh… Are you this temple's overseer, Jin Yuzhi? I came to inform you of some news regarding Esteemed Senior Jin Mucuo."

"That dead fool?" Jin Yuzhi frowned. "Did you find his corpse?"

"Yes." Chu Liang nodded, feeling puzzled. "How did you know he's dead?"

"This is the Life Blossom Tree…" Jin Yuzhi pointed at the tree. "There used to be two of them. His tree withered and died more than ten years ago. Naturally, that meant he was gone."

"His remains are in a cave a few dozen li outside Mount Shu. If you're free, I can take you to retrieve his bones."

"Mount Shu?"

At the mention of Mount Shu, Jin Yuzhi stiffened and trembled in fear.

She replied, "I'm definitely not free. You can just tell me the rough location. I'll go get him when I have time."

"Uh… sure," Chu Liang said, just going along with what Jin Yuzhi wanted in the end.

He couldn't exactly drag her to the cave after all.

Just as he was about to draw a map to leave behind, he suddenly heard a sound come through from the tree outside the hidden realm.

It was the creepy laughter of a savage woman.

"Little beauty! Today's your last day to make your repayment! If you don't give us the money, don't blame me… Hee-hee-hee!"

1. The tablet is a wooden or stone plaque inscribed with the name of the deceased. It's placed in household altars or ancestral halls to honor and remember the deceased. During memorial rituals, festivities, special occasions etc, offerings like incense, food, and drinks are placed at the altar for the dead. ☜

2. In case anyone forgot, Xuan Yinzi is the previous sect leader of the Dark King Sect. He’s the old guy that’s sealed in an underwater cave. He sends out the little jar monsters that Chu Liang then kills. In other words, he’s the old guy that Chu Liang is torturing without realising. ☜

3. It's a kind of succulent plant. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crassula_arborescens for more info. ☜

4. Buddhist and Daoist monks use it as a spiritual tool. Basically looks kinda like a horse's tail on a stick. See this https://www.jinli.com.au/blog/the-fuchen-horsetail-whisk-a-taiji-study-in-the-yin-and-yang for more info. ☜

GLTD Alternate Universe's Thoughts

Translator: LD

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