Chapter 47: Taking Away the Black Rose

By the time they emerged from the Heavenly Dragon Temple, it was already evening; outside, a warm breeze gently brushed against them, and the fragrance of flowers and grass was overwhelming. Zhao Ti walked back toward the city under the lingering glow of the setting sun.

After returning to the inn to eat a little, he began to practice his energy, the Illusionary Yin True Qi enveloping heaven and earth within his body, covering the Sunflower True Qi, which hid itself in a corner, daring not to make any move.

This Illusionary Yin True Qi is actually so domineering, Zhao Ti thought silently; it seems that when In the Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre, Kun Chenglian practiced, it was likely not the complete version.

The world changes like the blue sea turning into mulberry fields, with war raging everywhere; many martial arts become more and more damaged as they are passed down, and quite a few have even been directly lost.

He completed one full Great Cycle of his Cultivation Technique and felt his internal energy had increased again; with seven days remaining until Ji Mo Zhi's agreed arrival time, he should be able to break through to the fifth layer of the Illusionary Yi Yin Zhi Method.

The fifth layer of the Illusionary Yi Yin Zhi will open the Zhongchong acupoint on the finger; at that time, besides the Shaoshang acupoint, true Qi can also be unleashed from the Zhongchong acupoint to injure others.

In the blink of an eye, several days passed; this morning, as he practiced until dawn, the fifth layer of the Illusionary Yi Yin Zhi was achieved.

Zhao Ti raised his hand and struck the beam above; only two light, ethereal, and gloomy sounds rang out, and immediately two small holes appeared in the beam, deeper than an inch.

After resting, and after washing and eating in the morning, Zhao Ti took Zhou Dong and the two of them went for a stroll in the city; calculating by time, Ji Mo Zhi would arrive the day after tomorrow, and the monks of the Heavenly Dragon Temple were currently intensifying their energy practice, so it was inconvenient to go there and disturb them at this time.

Wandering around Dali City, they arrived at the Wuwei Temple, which was extremely lively; no one knew what festival in Dali it was, but the number of devotees was far greater than usual—men and women, whole families, octogenarians, and young children, all laughing and playing, making a great commotion.

Just then, Zhao Ti saw a figure in black, slender and graceful, standing under a tree not far from the temple gate, appearing cold and aloof amidst this bustling crowd.

He walked over and smiled, saying, "Miss Mu."

Mu Wanqing's eyes were like black lacquer; she stared at him for a long moment: "Young Master Zhao is indeed a man of his word."

Hearing her voice desolate and different from the gentle and pleasant tone of the past, Zhao Ti thought that Qin Hongmian must have returned these past few days; she had probably joined Zhong Wanqiu and Gan Baobao to trouble Duan Zhengchun, and it was likely she already knew her true lineage.

As for Duan Yanqing's original plan being unable to be implemented, two of the Four Great Villains had already left; whether Duan Yanqing remained in the Ten Thousand Enemies Valley was uncertain, and since Mu Wanqing had been with him before, those original timelines had long since passed.

He smiled slightly: "I must keep my promise."

Mu Wanqing lowered her eyelashes slightly: "Is the Black Rose still well?"

Zhao Ti said, "It is well-fed and strong; I did not bring it out today."

Mu Wanqing looked at him and said, "I will go with you to get the horse."

Zhao Ti looked up at the sky: "The weather is clear and bright today; Miss Mu, walk around with me to see the scenery of Dali City; there is no need to rush to get the horse."

Mu Wanqing said nothing; Zhao Ti walked into the Wuwei Temple with his hands behind his back; after a few moments of silence, Mu Wanqing followed behind him, stepping forward.

After strolling around inside the Wuwei Temple and then visiting famous sights in the city, by afternoon Mu Wanqing said, "I must return."

Zhao Ti said, "It is still early; why such haste?"

Mu Wanqing said, "I told my master I would be out for a moment; now that I have been gone for so long, she might come looking for me..."

Zhao Ti nodded, naturally knowing Qin Hongmian's temperament, and said, "In that case, let us meet again tomorrow at the Wuwei Temple."

Mu Wanqing said, "Then we will not get the horse today." Saying this, she turned and left toward the north.

The next day, as soon as Zhao Ti arrived at the Wuwei Temple, he saw Mu Wanqing rushing toward him from a distance; seeing him, she said, "Young Master Zhao, where is the horse?"

Zhao Ti smiled: "Did we not say we would stroll around and get the horse last?"

Mu Wanqing shook her head: "I must leave Dali immediately; that horse... you may ride it for now."

Zhao Ti asked in surprise: "Why leave so suddenly? Where is the urgency? Getting the horse does not take long."

Mu Wanqing said in a low voice: "After returning yesterday, I was scolded by my master; my master has packed and is preparing to leave the city and return to the mountain; I seized an opportunity to come out and tell you."

Hearing this, Zhao Ti pondered: "I will not stay in Dali for long either; I will definitely ride the Black Rose away; if Miss Mu wants to get the horse again, I am afraid she will have to go to Tokyo."

"Tokyo?" A look of distraction passed through Mu Wanqing's eyes: "Was what you said earlier about your home being in Tokyo the truth?"

Zhao Ti said: "Why would I lie? Tokyo is not very far; it is not the ends of the earth; you have even been to Jiang Nan; why can you not go to Tokyo?"

Mu Wanqing remained silent for a few moments; then, just as she was about to speak, she suddenly saw two women walking through the crowd and exclaimed in panic: "My master has found me; that Tokyo... let us talk about Tokyo later."

Zhao Ti saw two women in the distance looking around through the crowd; both were dressed as martial artists; he surmised one was Qin Hongmian and the other was Gan Baobao; Mu Wanqing went up and said a few words to the two of them, and then they all disappeared into the flow of people.

He pondered slightly, then turned and said, "Let us return."

Zhou Dong and Su Da agreed enthusiastically; the three of them returned to the inn together; Zhao Ti went to the inn's backyard to take a look at the Black Rose; this horse had not gone out to frolic for several days, and upon seeing him, it immediately began to paw the ground with its hooves.

Zhao Ti walked over and stroked its head: "Your owner has matters to attend to; you will follow me for now."

The horse seemed to understand; it rubbed its head directly into the crook of his arm; after stroking it a few times, Zhao Ti left with a smile.

Early the next morning, Zhao Ti rushed to the Heavenly Dragon Temple; he had not spoken more than a few words with Benyin in the meditation chamber when suddenly a little novice monk entered: "Venerable Abbot, the National Lord has arrived."

Benyin was stunned and looked at Zhao Ti: "Benefactor Zhao, I do not know why the National Lord of our country has come here; would you be willing to meet him?"

Zhao Ti wondered why Duan Zhengming had still come to the Heavenly Dragon Temple and said, "Meeting him would do no harm."

The little novice monk went out and, after a moment, brought two people in; the leader had a long beard and wore a black robe, with a handsome and clear appearance; behind him was a young man, his face flushed with red and yellow, his expression extremely bad; this was indeed Duan Yu.

Duan Zhengming entered and joined his palms in greeting; although the Heavenly Dragon Temple was a royal temple, it was a place of the empty gate, so the rites of ruler and subject were not observed, nor were family generations discussed; the two met with equal courtesy.

At this moment, Duan Yu spotted Zhao Ti at a glance and showed joy: "Brother Zhao? Brother Zhao said we would meet again; indeed so."

Zhao Ti saw his qi was unstable and frowned, asking: "What has happened to Brother Duan?"

Duan Yu said: "Brother Zhao does not know; I was sent to deliver a letter to a place called the Ten Thousand Enemies Valley, but I was struck by a disabled villain who spoke using ventriloquism; my eight extraordinary meridians were injured; fortunately, the guards of my family arrived in time, otherwise I would have been tortured to death by him."

Zhao Ti nodded; it was not the original poisoning, but an attack by Duan Yanqing; it seemed the meridians were injured quite deeply, which was why Duan Zhengming had brought him to the Heavenly Dragon Temple to seek medical help.

Duan Zhengming saw that the two knew each other and said: "Venerable Master Benyin, this person is..."

Benyin hurriedly introduced Zhao Ti's identity; hearing this, Duan Zhengming pondered slightly, then his expression changed drastically as he said: "Could this be the face of the Crown Prince of Yan of the Great Song?"

Zhao Ti had not used a false name, and Duan Zhengming, as the King of Dali, inheriting the thoughts of previous Dali kings, had always wanted to become a vassal of the Great Song, so he remembered the names of the recent close relatives of the current Great Song imperial family.

Zhao Ti smiled: "National Lord Duan has keen eyes, but this matter cannot be spoken of."

Duan Zhengming composed his expression and said: "The rules of the Song imperial family, I know a little; I was indeed presumptuous."

Beside them, Benyin was stunned and could not help but show a bitter smile; he had already estimated Zhao Ti's status highly, but he did not expect him to be a prince of the Song country; he could not help but say: "Benefactor Zhao, this..."