Chapter 532

"It's rare for the Great Lady to come find this Daoist."

"Why would I have nothing better to do than find you?"

"That's true. Then what is the Great Lady here for today? I thought the Great Lady would keep me imprisoned forever."

"Stop talking nonsense and beating around the bush. Come out."

"Good."

On the border between Yizhou and Jiangzhou, there is an isolated island in Jiangzhou called Xie Mountain. The island is the mountain, and the mountain is the island. There is an unknown Daoist temple on the top of the mountain.

Xie Mountain is not high, standing in the middle of the river, quite eye-catching.

Especially since it possesses the sunset red maples, known as one of the ten scenic spots of Jiang Nan. Every autumn evening, travelers who dock to climb Xie Mountain to admire the maples are endless.

However, it is currently spring, and the red maples are not yet red.

And Yizhou is located behind the southeast of Jiangzhou, separated from the Hongzhou front line by one Jiangzhou, but it is still affected by the war on the southwest front line.

In the past, there might have been sporadic travelers from the ends of the earth climbing ashore to admire Xie Mountain, where the red maples were not yet red.

But now, on the Dajiang, it's either southwest scholars and people rushing south to Yangzhou to take refuge, or grain and material transport ships heading west to support the southeast. The latter are prepared by various southeastern prefectures to support the southwest, transiting through Jiangzhou to be transported to the front line.

Consequently, Xie Mountain, located in the middle of the Dajiang and suitable for admiring the river sunset, has become desolate instead. However, Xie Mountain is not far from Xunyang City in Jiangzhou.

Zhang Shixiu, a direct-line Daoist from Long Hushan known as a "Yellow-Purple Noble," is also not quite sure how long he has been living in a hut on Xie Mountain.

Ever since leaving the Snow Wood Villa, he has never seen that approachable Second Lady again. After being brought to dock here by those cold-faced Yue women, he hasn't been out for a long time.

Only occasionally, when looking at the ships on the river from the cliff, does he catch a glimpse of the golden-haired Great Lady walking in the mountains and forests below.

However, this Great Lady doesn't pay much attention to him on weekdays. After moving to Xie Mountain, she has never come, only sending a few Yue women to guard his hut of cultivation.

Zhang Shixiu is not angry, nor does he feel lonely.

He just misses the carp pond at the Celestial Master's Mansion on Long Hushan, surrounded by flowers and engraved with the two characters "Lei Chi" (Thunder Pool). In the past, when he passed by the pond twice at dawn and dusk, the carp in the pond would welcome and see him off. Over time, he developed an affection for them, and not throwing some biscuit crumbs to feed them makes him feel like something is missing...

And today, the hut is no longer just his figure. That Great Lady, who sees the head but not the tail of the dragon, suddenly arrived, dropped a word, and left coldly.

Zhang Shixiu patted the dust off his body, carried a peach wood sword on his back, left the hut, and followed the golden-haired Hu woman's figure on the mountain road ahead.

Before going down the mountain, he turned his head and glanced toward the southwest.

The river is boundless, with only ships coming and going like black dots.

That is the direction of Xunyang City in Jiangzhou.

Zhang Shixiu sighed lightly and walked quickly down the mountain.

After the time it takes to burn a stick of incense.

Zhang Shixiu looked at the Xue Zhongzhu pacing with his hands behind his back ahead, and asked:

"I heard the Second Lady has returned?"

"Who did you hear that from?"

"Yesterday evening, some chaotic sounds came from the foot of the mountain, and this Daoist vaguely caught a glimpse of the Second Lady's figure."

Xue Zhongzhu didn't answer. After walking for a while, he asked leisurely:

"Daoist Zhang is a direct-line member of the Celestial Master's Mansion, right?"

"You could say that."

"It is said on the mountain that the thunder technique of Taiping Long Hushan is unparalleled in the world, and there is also a treasure called the Thunder Talisman, which is both offensive and defensive. Those who are proficient in it are invincible. I wonder if Daoist Zhang brought it? It would be nice to let this seat open my eyes."

Zhang Shixiu suddenly asked:

"Does the Great Lady and your sect need this Daoist to hinder the Great Buddha's actions?"

"No need."

"Then why did the Great Lady ask this question?"

"Oh, there is one matter that requires your help. Will Daoist Zhang go?"

"What matter?" He paused, and Zhang Shixiu, who had accepted the Lady Yunmeng Order, probed: "Can you explain it first?"

"Go kill the Jiangzhou Jiangzhou Cishi and destroy the Prince Xunyang's Mansion."

"..."

"Why don't you speak? Didn't you ask this seat? I'm telling you truthfully, will you go?"

"The Great Lady overestimates this humble one. This is not something this Daoist can complete alone, and furthermore..."

Xue Zhongzhu interrupted:

"Furthermore, the Long Hushan where you are located has been flirting with the Prince Xunyang's Mansion for a long time, and you can't bring yourself to do it, right?"

Zhang Shixiu looked at his nose and his heart.

Xue Zhongzhu, however, did not let him off at all, sneering:

"Last time you and your Junior Brother Lu came together, he left first later. Before leaving, did you instruct him to bring back this seat's words?"

Zhang Shixiu frowned slightly.

Xue Zhongzhu curled her lips:

"Then do you know that after you brought the words over, the Prince Xunyang's Mansion still went its own way, and even the Jiangzhou Registrar, who is close to them, took the lead in issuing an order to restrict Yue women, stating that anyone and anything related to our Lady Yunmeng Sword Swamp must be investigated."

Zhang Shixiu was silent.

Xue Zhongzhu's lips revealed a mocking smile:

"It seems they don't care about your safety at all."

Zhang Shixiu shook his head:

"This Daoist's life is thin and insignificant."

"Then why the hell did you accept the Lady Yunmeng Order?"

"If this Daoist accepts the order, I will exert effort."

Xue Zhongzhu chuckled lightly, noncommittal.

Zhang Shixiu was a bit silent, following her down the mountain.

He didn't ask what the matter was down the mountain either.

Before long, he discovered that the Great Lady had brought him to a maple forest.

Walking toward the depths of the maple forest.

At this time, Zhang Shixiu suddenly said:

"Great Lady, have you ever thought about the matter of face and substance?

"We have even used the Lady Yunmeng Order. Even if we win and successfully block the Great Zhou Imperial Court from building the Donglin Great Buddha, will that Empress Majesty in the Luoyang court bow her head?

"This not only makes this Saint's face unable to hold up, but hasn't our Lady Yunmeng's face also been stained with mud? After all, we used our trump card.

"If this continues, not only will the Great Zhou Imperial Court not be convinced and will retaliate again, but the Great Buddha dispute will continue and intensify. We will continue to block it, wasting time with the imperial court for no reason, round after round.

"Great Lady, may I ask, is it wise to oppose the entire Great Zhou Ten Circuits with just the land of Tiannan?

"In the end, one side loses face and gains substance, but if face is lost, can substance still survive? Since we are in a high position, we should maintain face even more. Not to mention whether we will lose, assuming a narrow victory, where should Lady Yunmeng's face be placed?

"And the imperial court will never give up until they build a Great Buddha. This is almost a dead end. Neither the winning side nor the losing side has ended. Even if we block it this time, what about next time?"

Zhang Shixiu spoke earnestly.

Xue Zhongzhu walked forward quietly, suddenly saying:

"Are you finished?"

"Mm."

Xue Zhongzhu seemed to have been looking for the way just now. Only then did she come to her senses and wave her hand:

"Let's go, it's just ahead. Didn't you say that if you accept the Lady Yunmeng Order, you will help? Then come."

Zhang Shixiu was stunned.

He couldn't help but take a few more looks at Xue Zhongzhu's back.

Actually, when he said those words, Zhang Shixiu was already prepared to be beaten by the Great Lady.

After all, this Great Lady's temper is famously explosive.

Xue Zhongzhu walked silently in front.

Her expression was calm.

In her ears, the words her Second Xiao Shimei said when she returned yesterday faintly echoed again.

Xue Zhongzhu felt she was right.

What's the harm in telling some things? Lady Yunmeng Sword Swamp doesn't care.

Moreover, the Lady's Palace allows dissenting voices to exist in the Tiannan Jianghu, such as the Sanqing Daoist Sect.

Right now, what should be done is to gather all the power that can be gathered, rather than focusing on and magnifying internal contradictions.

You must know that even a piece of toilet paper has its use.

The same applies to Zhang Shixiu, who is in Cao's camp but has his heart in Han.

Zhang Shixiu wanted to say something but stopped.

At this time, Xue Zhongzhu in front stopped:

"We're here."

Zhang Shixiu looked up and saw a group of buildings ahead, with classical houses, carved dragons and painted pillars, built in this deep mountain maple forest.

Xue Zhongzhu brought Zhang Shixiu to a courtyard.

In the courtyard, an old Daoist priest sat withered with his eyes closed, with a bowl of noodle soup in front of him. The noodles were finished, leaving only the soup. After Xue Zhongzhu and Zhang Shixiu arrived, the old Daoist opened his eyes and asked, "Want a bowl?" Xue Zhongzhu shook her head coldly, the old Daoist nodded lightly to signal, and let them pass.

Zhang Shixiu passed by and glanced at the gray Daoist robe on the old Daoist, roughly recognizing this person's identity. It seemed to be a temple guardian of that unknown Daoist temple on Xie Mountain. He didn't know his origin, nor what connection he had with Lady Yunmeng Sword Swamp.

However, before Zhang Shixiu could think more, he saw several figures in the main hall ahead.

His gaze condensed slightly, and then he restrained it.

"Great Lady, who is this little Daoist?"

In the main hall, Wei Shaoqi and Du Shuqing were seated, with a huge sand table in front of them, on which mountains and rivers were crisscrossed, very realistic.

Zhang Shixiu had never seen such a detailed sand table map.

At this time, Wei Shaoqi's gaze fell straight on the young Daoist brought in by Xue Zhongzhu, and he asked a question.

Xue Zhongzhu's expression was indifferent, as if she didn't intend to introduce him much:

"Zhang Shixiu, Taiping Long Hushan."

Wei Shaoqi nodded thoughtfully.

He asked again:

"What about the Second Lady? Didn't she return last night?"

"Left this morning."

Wei Shaoqi asked curiously: "Just returned, why leave again?"

Xue Zhongzhu squinted and didn't speak.

Du Shuqing stared at the sand table and spoke softly:

"I heard that there was quite a commotion in Xunyang City, and the Jiangzhou main hall seems to have captured quite a few of your Sword Swamp people."

Xue Zhongzhu frowned slowly.

The Second Xiao Shimei originally wanted to find the Xiao Shimei, but halfway there, a change occurred in Xunyang City. All the original informants lost contact. For a time, the specific information in the city was unknown. After a few days, they learned the bad news through the official announcement...

Wei Shaoqi asked earnestly:

"It won't affect our actions, right?"

Xue Zhongzhu shook her head: "Important people are fine."

Du Shuqing immediately asked: "Important people in the city? Who?"

Xue Zhongzhu didn't speak, her expression not very good.

They were still using the method they used before to confirm the Xiao Shimei's safety. After confirming from the Lady's Palace that she was fine, although a change occurred in Xunyang City, the Xiao Shimei's safety should be fine. It was possible she wasn't affected. Otherwise, if Yue Chuzi was captured, the Jiangzhou government wouldn't be able to hide it.

However, although that was the case, she had still lost contact with the Xiao Shimei. The Second Xiao Shimei originally planned to stay in Xunyang to find the Xiao Shimei, but encountered a very urgent matter and returned first.

Before leaving in the morning, the Second Xiao Shimei also said that this suddenly discovered matter needed to be verified in detail, so she left hurriedly and went to Xunyang again...

Xue Zhongzhu suddenly asked:

"Alright, let's talk about business. What do you think about the news brought back by the Second Xiao Shimei?"

What matter? Zhang Shixiu was full of curiosity, but then heard Wei Shaoqi stroke his beard and say:

"The Jiangzhou main hall suddenly issued an announcement saying that there is a danger of a major flood during the plum rain season, the whole city is under martial law for ten days to rescue the flood, and the key facility for the rescue is the Twin Peaks... Interesting."

Du Shuqing suddenly reminded: "The Xunyang Grottoes are also in the Twin Peaks."

Zhang Shixiu asked earnestly: "Understood. Then what about the Donglin Great Buddha?"

"It has also been suspended, and the Jiangzhou main hall and Jiangzhou Cishi Ouyang Lianghan announced to the outside world that the Buddha construction is suspended for ten days, and the laborers will rescue the flood first."

"I have seen that Twin Peaks. It's a good flood control project. Why is it useless? Is there another major flood?"

"Don't know. The announcement says that building the Xunyang Grottoes used too much mountain stone, damaging the water conservancy, so the flood has recurred this year."

Du Shuqing pointed to the Xunyang Grottoes on the map and asked:

"Has anyone of our people seen the scene inside the Xunyang Grottoes? Are you sure it has stopped work inside? It's not fake?"

Xue Zhongzhu nodded:

"Before the Second Xiao Shimei returned, she sent people to take a look from afar. The Buddha indeed seems to have stopped construction for several consecutive days, and no one is seen climbing and working on it... However, there has been heavy fog on the Xunyang River recently, filling the Twin Peaks, looking a bit blurry and difficult. But due to flood control, it is heavily guarded there, making it difficult to get close to observe."

Hearing this, the crowd couldn't help but look at each other.

"Heh."

Wei Shaoqi suddenly chuckled.

The crowd looked over, only to see his expression filled with emotion:

"This move is interesting."