Martial Cultivator

Although Yang Furen was the Mountain Lord of Sword Qi Mountain, he did not have absolute authority even over the entire mountain, let alone dare to openly refuse the Great Liang Emperor. As the representative of the Great Liang Emperor, Li Heng might seem amiable, but every word he said carried a veiled threat.

Nothing in his words suggested a willingness to negotiate sincerely.

Yang Furen had dealt with many foreign cultivators, but never had he encountered someone so direct.

Just as Yang Furen was about to speak, a disciple from the mountain approached from a distance. Li Heng smiled and stood up, saying, "Mountain Lord has many matters to attend to, no need to accompany me."

Yang Furen smiled apologetically, then reluctantly stepped out of the bamboo building and called the disciple over, asking, "What is it?"

The disciple whispered a few words in Yang Furen's ear with a somewhat awkward expression, "Mountain Lord, it seems they all know about what happened on the mountain."

Yang Furen gave a helpless smile. There was no need to say much about this matter. Li Heng's visit to the mountain was anything but secretive. He came up the mountain with great fanfare, clearly not caring whether the foreign cultivators knew of his arrival.

This way of doing things was exactly in line with that of the Great Liang Emperor, which explained why he was the most trusted eunuch of the Emperor.

Yang Furen sighed, "I'll go right away."

However, just as Yang Furen had walked a short distance, he heard someone speaking behind him. When he turned around, Li Heng was already standing not far away, smiling and saying, "May I meet the Mountain Lord's guest?"

Yang Furen gave a wry smile and asked, "Was this also within your expectations, sir?"‏‏‏‏‏‏‏

Li Heng smiled without saying a word.

Yang Furen quickly shook his head and said, "I'm afraid I cannot agree to that, sir."

Li Heng replied softly, "Then Mountain Lord's situation might not be very favorable. They aren't known for being reasonable."

"Sir, you yourself are already very unreasonable. Could they be worse?"

Yang Furen felt a headache coming on. Some matters could be approached gradually, given careful thought, but this person seemed to insist on getting results in the shortest time possible, leaving him no time to react or make decisions.

Li Heng noticed Yang Furen's frustration and spoke honestly, "Some things have already been waiting for a long time. Waiting much longer is intolerable for His Majesty, so he ultimately hopes for quicker results."

Yang Furen said nothing, quickly turning and leaving.

……

……

In the guest reception hall of Sword Qi Mountain, the atmosphere was tense. Several cultivators, who were familiar faces on the mountain, stood in the hall, their expressions all very ugly.

When Yang Furen appeared, an old cultivator with a goatee stepped forward and blocked his way at the entrance, asking rather impatiently, "Old Yang, is Sword Qi Mountain really going to become a vassal of Great Liang?"

He was blunt and to the point.

Yang Furen glanced at the old cultivator and was in no hurry to speak. This cultivator with a goatee was named Ouyang Ni, from Red Cloud Mountain, which was not far from Sword Qi Mountain. The two mountains had always been on good terms, and not long ago, a sword cultivator from Red Cloud Mountain had come to Sword Qi Mountain to pick up a sword. That he was the first to speak, and so directly, was naturally not his own intention. Yang Furen did not need to guess who was behind him; he roughly understood.

"Something that even I don't know about, how come you, Brother Ouyang, knows about it," Yang Furen said coldly, his expression stern.

Ouyang Ni frowned and said, "Isn't that eunuch Li Heng and the young martial artist who slaughtered the entire Clearwater Mountain on the mountain? Didn't Sword Qi Mountain agree to forge a saber for that young martial artist?"

Yang Furen replied calmly, "Yes, that's true. So what?"

Although this matter was not exactly a secret, the fact that outsiders knew about it so quickly made Yang Furen realize that there must be a traitor within the mountain.

"Doesn't your Sword Qi Mountain only forge flying swords? How is it that now you're helping someone with such things?" Ouyang Ni said in a low voice. "Now that word has spread, how will the world view you guys?"

Yang Furen remained silent. He had expected to hear such words.

"Fellow Daoist Yang, Sword Qi Mountain's reputation has been maintained for so many years, is it to be discarded just like that?"

This time, it was another elderly man in a gray robe who spoke. He was not particularly close to Sword Qi Mountain but was merely an acquaintance. His presence here naturally was not for his own sake.

Yang Furen frowned and said, "This is Sword Qi Mountain's private matter. Since when does Sword Qi Mountain take orders from your Myriad Herb Mountain?"

Facing Ouyang Ni, because of their friendship, Yang Furen could be polite. However, he had no such obligation toward the man before him.

The gray-robed elder's expression changed slightly, but he forced a dry laugh and said, "We're all fellow cultivators. This old man is also thinking about Sword Qi Mountain. Why be so harsh, Fellow Daoist Yang?"

Yang Furen turned to the others and asked, "Did everyone come up the mountain to question Sword Qi Mountain's actions as well?"

Those few people exchanged glances and merely shook their heads, offering some noncommittal remarks.

Yang Furen frowned and said, "If everyone has no other business, you may go down the mountain."

Upon hearing this, Ouyang Ni immediately spoke up, "Old Yang!"

Yang Furen glanced at his old friend and sighed. "What kind of place is Sword Qi Mountain? Do you think this old man doesn't know what you all are thinking? Sword Qi Mountain can forge swords for sword cultivators. We have done so in the past, we do so now, and we will continue to do so in the future. If Sword Qi Mountain doesn't forge swords, how could it still be called Sword Qi Mountain? But as for forging sabers, the items that Great Liang provided, this old man can't refuse, you all can't offer them either. So why make it difficult?

"As for other matters, you originally didn't concern yourself with them. Why come now and use up what little goodwill remains?"

Yang Furen looked intently at Ouyang Ni and sighed softly, "These are matters for the big shots. Why are the few of you acting as their foot soldiers?"

Some things did not need to be said explicitly, just a hint is enough for those who should understand. Sure enough, after hearing these words, the expressions of the people present changed slightly, looking somewhat uneasy.

Yang Furen sighed, "Go down the mountain."

Ouyang Ni opened his mouth but ultimately said nothing. He glanced at the others, who sensibly clasped their hands and bade farewell.

After they left, Ouyang Ni asked softly, "Old Yang, what are you really thinking? Can't you just tell me something?"

Yang Furen thought for a moment and asked, "Do you know about the imperial decree that descended upon Sword Qi Mountain a few days ago?"

Ouyang Ni nodded, "I’ve heard about it."

Yang Furen continued, "Then do you know that our Sword Qi Mountain couldn't block that imperial decree no matter what?"

Ouyang Ni was stunned.

"Even earlier, you probably also know about that Emperor's journey to the Northern Frontier. Even the Demon Emperor couldn't kill him. Doesn't that tell you something?"

Yang Furen felt a bit irritated. Although he had brushed off those people who came up the mountain today, he knew that after today, there would be no shortage of cultivators coming up the mountain. That was when the real trouble would begin.

Ouyang Ni naturally understood this situation and knew about Yang Furen and Sword Qi Mountain's current predicament. However, he had come up the mountain to gather information, and his expression looked rather ugly. In a low voice, he said, "Old Yang, you’ve got to give me some hint, right?"

Yang Furen shook his head, indicating that there was nothing to disclose.

Ouyang Ni sighed and said nothing more.

"Don't take it to heart. I hope we'll still have a chance to drink together in the future."

After saying this, Ouyang Ni also descended the mountain.