Chapter 68: The Choice of the Three Sects

"Why hasn't he woken up yet?"

"It should be any moment now."

In a quiet room, Zhou Yingxue and Deng Baixuan are standing on the side, while Zhang Jingfeng holds the pulse of a person on the bed, slowly channeling true energy into him.

This person is none other than the Taishan Sect disciple whom Li Miao grabbed casually that day to ask for Zuo Lishan's location, and who was then shaken and scared into a faint by the aftermath of the battle between the few.

After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, he wakes up slowly, but he is momentarily flustered, fearfully shaking off Zhang Jingfeng's hand, and curling into a ball on the bed.

Tomorrow is the day of the Five Mountains Sword Alliance meeting, and the three sect leaders have been waiting anxiously these past few days, so they can't care about much else.

Zhou Yingxue goes up and seals the disciple's acupoints, and then interrogates him in detail.

The disciple answers the questions in a disjointed manner, and it took a full half-hour for the three sect leaders to finally hear and understand the situation of that day.

Zhou Yingxue seals the disciple's acupoints again to knock him out and looks at the other two.

"Zuo Lishan... it seems it's not as simple as colluding with the Ming Sect. His appearance has already shown strange signs, and having cut himself off from the righteous path of the Jianghu and the Imperial Court, he has no way out except for the Ming Sect."

"With no sign of him now, either he is already dead, or he has already fled and defected to the Ming Sect."

"The main person has run away, and tomorrow is the Five Mountains Sword Alliance meeting. Whether it is the Imperial Court or the Ming Sect, the day of action should be tomorrow... how should our three sects conduct ourselves?"

The few were silent for a long while, and Zhang Jingfeng said: "Leave! Regardless of what choice the two sect leaders make, my Hengshan Sect will leave now."

Deng Baixuan said: "But the letter Sect Leader Liu left..."

Zhang Jingfeng raises his hand to stop Deng Baixuan: "Sect Leader Deng, listen to me."

"At this moment, whether it is the Huashan Sect, the Taishan Sect, or the Ming Sect, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, or even the Imperial Court, none of them are on the same path as us. Only our three families have consistent interests; at the very least, the more people who can survive, the greater the chance of carrying this disaster. So I will make it clear to the two of you."

"Sect Leader Liu is worth trusting. But no matter how trustworthy she is, she can only point out a path she can see clearly. And at this moment, I don't think things are still under the control of Sect Leader Liu, or even the Imperial Court."

"I have thought about it these past few days; the Imperial Court should have known that Zuo Lishan colluded with the Ming Sect, took the Huashan Sect in advance, and then planned to use the Taishan Sect to kill the chicken to warn the monkey at the Five Mountains Sword Alliance meeting, and then round us all up."

"This should be the reason why Sect Leader Liu would say 'This matter is a foregone conclusion; stay here and there will be no worry for your lives'."

"But we still have to leave."

"First, if staying really meant nothing would happen, why did Sect Leader Liu rush down the mountain herself, even taking all the Huashan disciples with her?"

"Second, the battle that day involved Battalion Commander Li, Zuo Lishan, and Lan Lechuan. This means that apart from Lan Lechuan, there was no one else from the Ming Sect present. The Ming Sect, excluding the Sect Leader, respects the Left Envoy; who could make him act as this vanguard and even lose his life?"

"Moreover, you have also seen the traces left behind. If another such battle comes, the three of us will be dragged into it, and we will surely die."

"Third, getting involved in the affairs of the Taishan Sect, the Imperial Court wants to round us up, I accept it. As long as we can preserve the sect's inheritance and the disciples' lives, it's fine. But it cannot be here."

"The mess of this Five Mountains Sword Alliance meeting, the Ming Sect has already thrown a Left Envoy into it, and I don't know what kind of mess it will turn into later. If we are in it, we will be trampled to death if we are not careful."

"Return to the sect first; once the Imperial Court people arrive, we will immediately kneel and receive the decree."

"We have already delayed for many days; tomorrow is the Five Mountains Sword Alliance meeting, and it is possible that the Ming Sect and Imperial Court people are already at the foot of the mountain."

"If we can leave, we leave; if we can't... then we will leave it to fate."

The three looked at each other, turned and walked out the door together, each calling their disciples, not even bringing luggage or dry rations, and rushed to go down the mountain.

During this time, Taishan Sect disciples came to stop them, but the few pushed back with a mix of soft and hard words. In this situation, there is no need to save face for the Taishan Sect.

And the Taishan Sect has naturally been in a state of panic these past few days; seeing the few leave in a hurry, the sect was also in chaos for a while. Those with clever minds secretly brought money and followed behind the three sects, wanting to leave together.

The others saw this and followed suit, so the number of people in this group became larger and larger.

So after a period of chaos, the group headed down the mountain in a mighty force.

But they ran head-on into Cheng Yuanzhen, who was bringing troops.

Cheng Yuanzhen didn't pay much attention to a few Jianghu people at first, but seeing more and more people coming head-on, his expression became increasingly ugly.

Finally, he shouted: "Surround that group of people in front for me!"

He brought more than two hundred people from the Shuntian Prefecture, plus more than two hundred Embroidered Uniform Guards, and more than a thousand soldiers from Tai'an City; surrounding the hundred or so people opposite, he didn't need to worry about any mishaps.

The three sects were a bit nervous at first, and they all put their hands on the hilts of their swords, preparing to take action.

But seeing the uniforms of the soldiers and Embroidered Uniform Guards opposite, Deng Baixuan's shoulders slumped first, and then he let out a long breath that seemed like joy and sighing.

"Two... fortunately..."

Although they didn't manage to run away, at least they ran into the Imperial Court's people. If it were the Ming Sect's people, they would probably have to fight for their lives.

Defecting to the Imperial Court doesn't sound good in the Jianghu, but at least it's a choice everyone can understand.

Defecting to the Ming Sect... back when Ji Tianrui suppressed the Jianghu, some people would say, "The Imperial Court is the Imperial Court of the Great Shuo, and the Jianghu is the Jianghu of the Ming Sect."

Then Ji Tianrui died.

No matter how strong you are, no matter how high your martial arts reach the sky, the one who sits in possession of the entire world is the Emperor of the Great Shuo.

Offend the Ming Sect, people die. Offend the Imperial Court, the sect is destroyed. It's that simple.

So the three went together, walked quickly to Cheng Yuanzhen, and bowed: "My lord."

"Zhou Yingxue, Deng Baixuan, Zhang Jingfeng." Cheng Yuanzhen called their names one by one.

"Go back."

Zhang Jingfeng raised his head in astonishment: "My lord!"

"I said, go back."

"I am here by Imperial decree to execute the rebellious scoundrels."

"You few commoners, are you trying to oppose the Imperial Envoy?"

Cheng Yuanzhen's gaze swept across the faces of the few.

Zhang Jingfeng suddenly realized a problem.

'I'? This person... fair-faced and beardless, with a sharp, thin voice; how does he seem like a eunuch? There are no eunuchs in the Embroidered Uniform Guard!

Eunuchs have always served the Emperor in the Imperial Palace and have never been involved in Jianghu affairs.

Looking at the people around this person, who seem to be his confidants... they all seem to be eunuchs.

And those two hundred or so Embroidered Uniform Guards have distanced themselves from this side, clearly divided, and hostility can be faintly seen on their faces.

Zhang Jingfeng made one last probe: "My lord, a few days ago, Lord Li Miao of the Embroidered Uniform Guard sent someone to leave us a message, and we already know about the Taishan Sect colluding with the Ming Sect."

"This trip is precisely to go down the mountain, report to the government, and capture the rebels together."

Cheng Yuanzhen sneered: "Who cares about your Lord Zhang or Lord Li. I am the one in charge here. I said go back; don't you understand?"

Zhang Jingfeng understood.

He had counted the Imperial Court as one side before, which was hasty.

At this moment, another side within the Imperial Court had appeared. And it didn't seem like the attitude of Li Miao a few days ago, which was arrogant but carried a warning.

So the three sects of Hengshan, Hengshan, and Songshan, plus the Taishan Sect disciples who fled down the mountain, were like fallen leaves swept up by a surging tide, and were washed back onto Taishan again.

It was nearing sunset.

At the foot of Taishan, Li Miao and Wang Hai rode their horses into Tai'an City.

(End of chapter)