Chapter 75: Chapter 72 Mount Wuliang
The demon horde scattered in disarray, and Li Hao found Fu at the top of the city walls.
Seeing Fu fallen unconscious with serious injuries, Li Hao couldn’t help but heave a silent sigh.
It was his fault for arriving late, failing to protect Fu properly.
Li Hao located Yue Shuhong and asked him to arrange for someone to treat Fu’s injuries.
Yue Shuhong agreed without hesitation; he immediately had someone carry Li Fu down and sent the best military doctor to treat him.
Wei Feng, bringing along Li Yuanzhao and Ren Qianqian, found Li Hao and witnessed the scene here as well.
The monsters outside the city had been routed; below the high walls, corpses were strewn everywhere—no different from the west side of the city. If anything, there were more bodies, and the blood flowed even thicker!
There weren’t many injured on the city walls. Seeing Li Fu being carried down and then looking at Li Hao, who didn’t even have blood on his sleeves and appeared unscathed, a twitch formed at the corner of Wei Feng’s mouth.
Since ancient times, it’s always the family’s warriors who covertly protect their young masters; this was the first time he had seen a young master covertly protecting a warrior of the family.
It seemed the Li Family was turning the world of Tiangang upside down…
“Your sword.”
Li Hao saw Ren Qianqian and remembered, immediately handing over the sword he was holding.
Suddenly a thought crossed his mind: No, it’s “your” sword.
Ren Qianqian, clearly unaware of what the young man in front of her was thinking, took the sword with a complicated look in her eyes, yet her gaze remained fixed on Li Hao’s face.
She, who had always known her beloved sword as well as the back of her hand, didn’t even notice the slightly dulled edge of the blade at that moment.
“Are you really at the Fifteen Li Realm?”
She bit her lip slightly, asking with complex emotions.
This question was also eagerly sought by Du Qiuyue and the others; despite seeing Li Hao walking on air and defeating the horde of demons, everything seemed like a dream—too surreal.
Wei Feng’s expression changed slightly; he looked at his young mistress with concern. Encountering a monster like Li Hao was a massive blow for his peers. If his young mistress’s sword spirit collapsed and she never recovered, it would be terrible!
Li Hao simply smiled, without saying a word.
But that was an answer in itself.
Ren Qianqian thought about the bright moon and couldn’t help but ask, “That sword technique of yours…”
“Want to learn it?”
“Mhm!”
Ren Qianqian’s eyes suddenly brightened, and she nodded emphatically.
“Sad to say, that’s one of my family’s peerless sword techniques and it’s not to be shared. Nonetheless, if you’re willing to become a retainer of the Li Family, or agree to serve for thirty years in the Yuan Camp, I could teach you,” Li Hao said.
Ren Qianqian was stunned, but then she clenched her teeth and said, “I can be your retainer.”
“Mine?”
Li Hao was surprised: “Do you understand what being a retainer means? Once you are one, it’s for life. With your father being a Grandmaster and your status, you’ll enjoy endless wealth and honor in the future.”
In his eyes, it was clearly an unnecessary act.
Not like him, burdened with a debt, in need of settling.
“Yes, miss, please don’t be rash!” Wei Feng quickly said.
If the young miss could learn something by following Li Hao, he would certainly welcome it, but to become someone’s retainer… such status was far too low!
If Li Hao weren’t right there, he’d have been even more stern.
Ren Qianqian shook her head, saying, “As long as you’re willing to teach me that sword technique, I’m willing. Moreover, I’ve long heard about your Li Family’s Listening Rain Tower, which encompasses myriad Cultivation Techniques from all over the world. If I become your retainer, could I also take a look inside?”
“You sure have a knack for calculating your gains,” Li Hao responded with a smile. “But to enter the Listening Rain Tower, I’ll have to consider your performance.”
“No problem,” Ren Qianqian said earnestly.
Wei Feng couldn’t hide his anxiety: “Miss, for such a significant matter, you should discuss it with your master. You…”
“I am myself, and he is himself. He has his own path as a Grandmaster. In the future, I will have my own path too!” Ren Qianqian spoke with seriousness.
How foolish… Wei Feng’s mouth twitched, wondering what sort of path one could have as a retainer.
He dared not imagine how, upon returning from this trip, his master would most likely skin him alive.
Li Hao had not expected this youngster to be so stubborn, but through the years, he had come to understand the people of this world—they were quite shrewd.
Some entrenched feudal ideologies were deeply rooted, like the idea that a man is nothing without achievements —looked down upon and despised by everyone!
Women too, in this martial world, while there are certainly gentlewomen of noble families, there are also many girls who from a young age aspire to vie with the sun and moon.
Not to mention this little girl comes from a martial arts family.
What was even more critical was that she had comprehended the essence of the sword, was obsessed with and focused on swordsmanship, and could even do things beyond common sense to practice her skills.
Just like he would be thrilled to travel thousands of miles over mountains and through valleys for a game of chess.
“Alright then, think it over on your way back, and we’ll talk again once we return to Qingzhou.”
Li Hao said, afraid that the young lady might act impulsively.
Upon hearing this, Wei Feng couldn’t help but give Li Hao a grateful look, his mind rapidly going over how he could persuade his young lady to drop this idea.
Ren Qianqian, however, shook her head slightly, saying no more, as she knew her mind was made up and no one could dissuade her.
Li Hao glanced at Li Yuanzhao next to him, who seemed to have a belly full of words to say to him, patted his shoulder, and signalled that they would talk later.
Li Yuanzhao, understanding Li Hao’s intention, contained his excitement and nodded vigorously.
With that settled, Li Hao found Yue Shuhong and inquired if there were any collections of poetry, paintings, musical scores, or perhaps recipes from some illustrious chefs in Cangyu City.
It was a rare occasion for him to go out and he did not want to return empty-handed.
Hearing Li Hao’s request, Yue Shuhong was a bit perplexed and bewildered.
He had thought Li Hao would ask about other things, but instead, it was all about these… irrelevant trinkets?
He gave a strange look, considering that these young masters might have some peculiar hobbies, he didn’t ask further and told him everything he knew.
Still, as a military man, he hadn’t paid much attention to such things and promptly summoned a scholar from the mansion and had him take Li Hao for a stroll around the city.
Mount Wuliang.
As one of the top powers of the Great Yu Dynasty, the realm of Brahma Pure Land where Mount Wuliang was located was extremely vast, home to continuous mountain ranges, imposing and majestic Arhat Buddha Halls, and over a thousand Mahayana Buddha peaks.
The vast clouds and mists wafted about, giving the entire pure land an ethereal, transcendent aura.
At this moment, in front of the Vajra Heart Palace on one of the Mahayana Buddha peaks.
A man and a woman, two figures, climbed from the foot of the mountain to the entrance of this grand and imposing palace.
“This is the Vajra Heart Palace of my junior brother Qianfeng.”
The young monk, clad in a kasaya, said with a smile.
“Vajra Heart Palace?”
The woman beside him had cascading black hair, a face as beautiful as a peach blossom heart, and eyes as clear as a tranquil lake, now filled with surprised and bright ripples:
“Vajra Heart Palace? Last time he was still a Gandharva Dharma God, and now, now he’s already a Vajra?”
Gandharva Dharma God and Vajra were both titles within the Buddhist ranks of Mount Wuliang.
The Gandharva Dharma God required the cultivation level of Divine Travel Realm. To be a Vajra, one had to reach the Fifteen Li Realm.
“Junior brother Qianfeng is naturally clever, came to the mountain at the age of six to study under the Infinite Ancient Buddha, reached Power Passage Realm Perfection at the age of less than eight, Perfect Zhou Tian at ten, succeeded in inheritting our Buddha’s true spirit at the age of ten and a half, and at fourteen, he was already in the Divine Travel Realm.”
The young monk continued with a smile, “Since returning from slaying a demon down the mountain last year, junior brother Qianfeng secluded himself for three months. Before the age of eighteen, he broke through Divine Traveling, formally entered the Fifteen Li Realm, was conferred the title of Vajra, with the Dharma name Qiankun Vajra!”
The woman beside him showed a look of shock.
“Qiankun” Vajra, that Dharma name was quite significant.
It was evident how highly Mount Wuliang regarded him.
Her eyes deepened with admiration, and the image of that figure wielding a sword to slay demons in the demon forest became much clearer in her mind.
“Hurry, take me to see him.”
The woman said eagerly.
The young monk glanced at her and chanted a Buddha’s name softly:
“Nan, although junior brother Qianfeng is a secular disciple of our Buddhist sect, he has great aspirations, I’m afraid your visit this time may be…”
“I don’t care, let me see him, I will speak to him myself,” the woman interrupted with a shake of her head, knowing what he was about to say, but she had always been bold in love and hate, wanting to clear up everything.
“Alright then.”
The young monk upon hearing this, shook his head slightly, remembering what his master had said about greed, anger, and delusion, this female donor had committed the delusion.
“Please announce my arrival, I’ve come to register for junior brother Qianfeng,” said the young monk as he approached the entrance of the heart palace and spoke to the two soldiers wearing armor and holding steel spears.
The soldiers’ armor bore a special mark with a golden “Yuan” character scorched into their shoulder armors, which made the young monk think of the young man’s illustrious status inside and couldn’t help but feel a mix of envy and admiration, but immediately realized that he was being greedy and quickly chanted a Buddha’s name in his heart.