Chapter 70: Return to Tiger Mountain

Chen Yi He ran back to the room without finishing his drink, after all the monk had died because of him; once the government sent people, it would be troublesome to clean up.

Just now the swordsman made a move, eliminating the monk for Chen Yi He; Chen Yi He merely offered him a cup, but did not go out to ask further.

Chen Yi He knew this place was not suitable for a long stay.

As for the next stop, Chen Yi He had already figured it out while drinking; although the Dragon King was gone, he still had to return to Tiger Mountain, where Xu Jia was waiting for him. He also needed to personally bring back the news of the Dragon King's death.

Early the next morning, Chen Yi He sneaked out of the inn. Before leaving, he didn't forget to glance at the neighboring room.

Half a year ago, in that guest room, he and the Dragon King stole the money and martial arts manuals of the two master and disciple, Old Monster Wu Chuan……

"Ya! Ya! Ya!"

Whipping his fast horse, leaving no trace, Chen Yi He had to rush back to Tiger Mountain as quickly as possible!

……

"Hu……" After passing through Mountain Range City, when he arrived at Tiger Mountain, it was already late spring.

In the blink of an eye, nearly a year had passed, and Tiger Mountain had hardly changed……

Here, the mountains still surrounded on all sides, the trees still layered in overlapping ridges, the peak still pierced the clouds, the mist enveloping the verdant mountain body, making the mountain colors appear vast and illusory, ethereal and elusive…… Looking up past the clouds, sunlight shone down from directly above, unbiased, and just then an eagle flew by, casting a patch of black shadow……

Compared to when he came last year, it was exactly the same.

Only this time, there was no Dragon King to greet him with a feast, and Xu Jia was not accompanying him.

Chen Yi He dismounted from his horse, waiting for Xu Jia to come meet him; he wanted to tell Xu Jia about his experiences over the past year, as well as matters concerning the Dragon King.

But after a long wait, Xu Jia still didn't appear. Chen Yi He thought to himself, "That shouldn't be! From a casual glance at the tiger's mouth, I should be able to see myself!"

Chen Yi He calmed his mind, then sensed the strangeness around him—no familiar aura, no human presence.

After searching the entire Tiger Mountain, he found not a single person! Under the Dragon Tiger Gate's banner, everything was empty; the dust and fallen leaves piled thick on the tiger's mouth, very thick.

"Where is Xu Jia? Where are the brothers of Dragon Tiger Gate?" Chen Yi He wondered. A hint of unease rose in his heart.

Following the memory's impression, he went to look for the White-furred Giant Tiger; the stream was still that same stream.

Chen Yi He entered the dark cave, he could clearly hear the echo of his own footsteps, exactly as before, yet that terrifying aura was gone; Chen Yi He didn't know whether it was because he had become stronger, or……

Or perhaps the White-furred Giant Tiger's fear was no longer there. Having searched the entire cave, he found no trace of the White-furred Giant Tiger.

The cave was empty; when Chen Yi He walked back to the cave entrance, he discovered that the huge stone that could seal the entrance had shattered into seven or eight smaller pieces.

Chen Yi He touched the cracks in the stones; on them lingered a strange power.

"What on earth is going on?" Chen Yi He, with an uneasy heart, slowly walked back to the tiger's mouth.

He sat on the tiger's mouth for three days and three nights, still seeing no one, and decided to leave.

"Who!?" Just as Chen Yi He turned around, he suddenly shouted angrily.

Only saw a person crouched beneath the steps leading up to the tiger's mouth, cautiously looking at Chen Yi He, eyes full of vigilance. Being shouted at by Chen Yi He, he almost rolled down the steps. By the time he reacted, Chen Yi He was already standing before him.

Chen Yi He recognized this person. He was a close aide of the Dragon King, also a capable officer of Dragon Tiger Gate, and had previously poured wine for him.

"Why are you sneaking around, what are you doing?" Chen Yi He asked.

"Uh…… um……" The person stammered, being stimulated by Chen Yi He, unable to speak for a moment.

"Where are the brothers of Dragon Tiger Gate? Where is Xu Jia?" Chen Yi He asked again.

The person let out a "wa" and burst into tears.

"Calm your emotions, slowly tell me, it's fine." Chen Yi He had a foreboding, and involuntarily furrowed his brows.

The person cried for a long time; after crying, he knelt before Chen Yi He and pleaded, "Yi He, you must uphold justice for our Dragon Tiger Gate!"

"Speak properly, why are you kneeling?" Chen Yi He was a bit anxious, his heart aching, he said to the person, "You…… you…… do you know…… about the Dragon King's matter……"

The person nodded, tears streaming down…… "I originally didn't believe it, but until today seeing you alone sitting on the tiger's mouth, I couldn't help but believe…… our boss…… wa wa wa……"

Chen Yi He gave a wry smile, how could he not know? How could he keep it hidden? He still wanted to personally bring back the news of the Dragon King's death. Now the rumors in the jianghu are flying everywhere! He kindly comforted, "I really have no news of the Dragon King; I truly don't know whether he's alive or dead."

For some reason, Chen Yi He suddenly had a thought that the Dragon King might still be alive, after all he had never personally seen the Dragon King's grave or corpse.

To see the person alive, to see the corpse dead. Without seeing, nothing counts.

"Boss, how could you just abandon us brothers like that!" Chen Yi He, having received no news of the Dragon King, essentially declared the Dragon King's death sentence; the person cried out in anguish, "The brothers are still waiting for you……"

"What exactly happened?" Chen Yi He helped the person up, anxiously asking, "Where did the brothers go? Where is Xu Jia?"

The person pointed his hand toward the distance and replied, "They were arrested!"

"What exactly happened?" Chen Yi He knew that was the direction of Mountain Range City.

"Six months ago, when you left Tiger Mountain for two or three months, a group of Embroidered Uniform Guard came and wiped out our Dragon Tiger Gate completely!"

"The Dragon King once said, Tiger Mountain is layered with peaks and lush trees; as long as the brothers hide, they won't be caught! Moreover, such a small Mountain Range City, where would the Embroidered Uniform Guard come from?"

"The boss of Eternal Joy Gate, Ma Ming, was killed; the court blamed our Dragon Tiger Gate, and later Eunuch Zhang sent the Embroidered Uniform Guard to replace the city's troops…… It happened to be early autumn, when plants were dry, they set a huge fire that ignited the entire Tiger Mountain!" The person, holding back sobs, continued, "We were choking in the cave, unable to stay; otherwise we would have been burned to death or smoked to death……"

"How ruthless the Embroidered Uniform Guard!" Chen Yi He slammed his fist into the rock face, making a hole! Ma Ming was clearly killed by Li Lan, yet the court blamed this grudge on him and the Dragon King!

What a fine move of framing and shifting blame!

"When we came out of the cave, the Embroidered Uniform Guard was already waiting, hoping we would walk into their net. Xu Jia, too, was arrested."

"Are they still in Mountain Range City?"

"They seem to be still in Mountain Range City's Great Prison, but in a couple days they'll be escorted to the Imperial Capital."

"Escorted to the Imperial Capital?" Chen Yi He puzzled.

"Awaiting autumn assizes."

"In front of all of Eternal Joy Gate's people?"

The person shook his head, "I only know that everyone will be able to see."

"Just now this news came out?"

The person nodded again, "It was announced three days ago; they'll set out in three days."

"Damn!" Chen Yi He knew that now that the Dragon King was gone, the court's people dared to move against Dragon Tiger Gate! And they probably just wanted to stop Eternal Joy Gate from pestering this matter. "We can't let Xu Jia and the brothers die pointlessly……"

Chen Yi He patted the person's shoulder and said, "I'll take care of this; you now take charge of preparing good horses—these are banknotes, buy as many as you can within three days."

"This?" the person asked, looking at the large stack of banknotes Chen Yi He pulled out.

"Remember, don't expose your identity, tie up the horses at a spot one li outside the city; next step, I'll tell you later." Chen Yi He instructed.

"Okay!"

"By the way, what's your name?"

The person replied, "My name is Gao Di Chun."

"Gao Di Chun?"

"Gao as in high mountain, Di as in earth, Chun as in sincere, the Chun with three water dots."

"All right, hurry up! Be careful in everything you do."