Chapter 354 Xiaowu
“Daddy! Daddy Mu!” The little girl called out. She also pressed a kiss in Li Mu’s cheek, her little arms tightly circling Li Mu’s neck.
“Still want to play dumb? Now, you even refuse to recognize your own child. Are you a man or not?” Bai Mochou laughed scornfully, her face written with disdain.
The Huskie also looked up at Li Mu and said, “Mu, you’ve only stayed here for a short span. How come you got yourself a five-year-old kid?”
Li Mu just wished to give the dog a deadly kick. He could not believe it chimed in after Bai Mochou at that juncture.
“Little girl, who are you on earth? We seem not to have met before,” asked Li Mu with patience.
The child curled up in Li Mu’s arms and answered, “Daddy Mu, I am Daji.”
“What? Daji? That little white fox?” Something suddenly slid back to place in Li Mu’s mind. “So, during the few months the little fox spent in the Everlasting Heaven, it has reached the Camouflage Realm and taken the form of a human being?” Li Mu held the child up to examine her. Surely, he spotted a fluffy fox tail sprouting from her buttocks that had been covered by the long black hair.
“Mommy Ting seems a different person now,” groaned the little Daji. Wrapping her arms around Li Mu’s neck, she cast nervous looks at Shangguan Yuting, appearing to be a little scared.
Li Mu said rather sullenly, “That’s not your Mommy Ting but a… loony.”
“What did you just say?” Demanded Bai Mochou, a trace of coldness rising in her eyes and condensing into some icy mist.
Li Mu replied in the same icy tone. “Had it not been that Ting’er’s body might get hurt, I would have already subdued you by now.”
Bai Mochou sneered. “Dare you give it a try.”
At that moment, another figure emerged as a shaft of dim light gleamed before the Nine Heaven Gates. Guo Qingyan, the Goddess of Martial Arts, finally made her exit.
Li Mu and Qiu Yin exchanged a look and almost let loose a cry.
“How come we forgot the Goddess of Martial Arts?”
Li Mu was in a muddle due to the successive appearances of the Huskie, Bai Mochou, and Daji; Qiu Yin was all focused on the duel his master, Li Poyue, had with Dao Chongyang; Guo Yuqing, on the other hand, was dispirited on account of what had happened to Jiang Qiubai, so he had not paid much attention to the situation but had been racking his brain for a way to save his junior fellow apprentice… For those reasons, the three just let Guo Qingyan slip through their minds.
If they had set off early, Guo Qingyan would probably be furious when she got out.
“Whoa, you’re finally here. We’ve been waiting for you for quite a while.” Li Mu beat the others to it, not abashed at all.
Qiu Yin’s mouth opened but then closed shut again. He thought to himself that his third brother was truly brazen. He clearly had forgotten that Guo Yuqing was also there, but he managed to hail her with that shameless lie.
Noticing Li Mu’s unusual hospitality, the Goddess of Martial Arts’s eyes reflected a chink of light. Then, she nodded and stood behind Guo Yuqing without a word.
Seeing that one more breathtaking beauty who was mighty in bearing turned up and Li Mu hailed her in such a brazen and overenthusiastic fashion, Bai Mochou snorted at once and opened her mouth to offer him more biting satire.
But Guo Yuqing spoke at that second. “Let’s get out of this place first. Now the Everlasting Heaven is closed, the whole Nine Heaven Gates will soon vanish. We need to go back to the Wolf Temple now.”
Bai Mochou somehow seemed to fear Guo Yuqing. At his remark, she threw a nasty look at Li Mu and then fell silent.
The group walked down the floating white jade stairs and arrived at the entrance of the tunnel. The moment they all crossed the archway, thundering rumbles carried over from behind them. Li Mu looked over his shoulder to see those white jade stairs soar towards Nine Heaven Gates in a row and land behind the gates. Next, as if there were some rocket propeller beneath it, the Nine Heaven Gates that floated in the sea of clouds like an immortal’s place shot to the universe in the rumbles and eventually disappeared behind the twin suns and twin moons.
The Everlasting Heaven was officially closed.
The group entered the tunnel and passed many labyrinths following their old path. On their way, they saw marks of the battles Jiang Qiubai had with the Wave-making Master and Gu Bansheng. At last, they winded their way to the front gate of the Wolf Temple.
By that time, it was already summer.
The vast pasture was luxuriantly green. Overlooking it from a kilometer in the air, it appeared to be covered under a green blanket with flowers strewn across it. That view was splendid.
“Third Brother, perhaps I have to bother you to do something for me.” Guo Yuqing broke the silence.
Li Mu was a little taken aback. But he quickly said, “Big Brother, please go ahead.”
“When you get back to Taibai County, send someone to escort your sister-in-law and the two children to the Wolf Temple.” Guo Yuqing remarked as he looked down upon the flourishing pasture with a serene look.
Li Mu inquired, “Are you saying you’re gonna stay here?”
Qiu Yin also darted his eyes at Guo Yuqing and said, “Big Brother, are you planning to take over the Wolf Temple again?”
Guo Yuqing nodded. “My junior fellow apprentice is now sleeping in the Everlasting Heaven. All the things he sticks to and takes pride in are in the Wolf Temple. If I also leave, the glory of the Wolf Temple will be buried in the flow of history forever. He once guarded that glory for me. Now, it’s my turn to do it for him. I can’t the selfish man I was anymore… From now on, the Wolf Temple will stand on this land all the time.”
Li Mu nodded solemnly. Then, he said, “Don’t worry, big brother, I will walk sister-in-law and the two kids to the Wolf Temple in person.”
Qiu Yin echoed, “So will I.”
“I will follow you to Western Qin, too. On the way back, I can be your guide.” The Goddess of Martial Arts also volunteered.
In truth, she was quite thrilled at the moment.
Every pasture dweller knew what Guo Yuqing, the Great Jebe, meant to the land. They had once lived through a peaceful and harmonious period. That was an era blessed by the bright brilliance of the Great Jebe’s. Ever since the Great Jebe left the pasture, the tribes on that land sunk into wars and turmoils again. Especially when the Spider Shrine rose to power and started to make waves, the pasture was constantly loomed by a reign of terror. But if the old Great Jebe decided to take charge of the pasture again, the pasture people might be able to retain a relatively peaceful life in the trouble time.
Li Mu nodded and said, “Even better.”
He could not agree more on bringing the Goddess of Martial Arts along with them.
Because he really doubted if he could find the Wolf Temple again when he got back.
Bai Mochou, who was watching them by the side, instantly gave a forceful snort. She showed her despise all on her face, as if she knew he, the love rat, would be more than happy to agree on that.
Li Mu gritted his teeth in exasperation.
“The female ghost is obviously picking on me on purpose!”
“Woof, I want to tag along, too,” the Huskie barked longingly, “take me to the harem of the White Wolf King…”
…
Three days later.
In the border area of the Western Qin Empire…
At Longcheng Pass.
Wu Beichen was standing on the east gate, overlooking all the blocks in the town.
The military camp of the Great Moon Empire had stretched several kilometers around Longcheng Pass. The while tents erected there looked like piles of snow that had not melted away. Those tents were scattered outside the town, which added up to about four thousand. The Great Moon Empire had dispatched around twenty thousand soldiers to besiege Longcheng Pass. In the past six months, the troops had been living and trained outside the place, but never had they launched an attack. What was more, on several occasions, they even delivered provisions to Longcheng Pass. Also, in the recent half a year, people were only allowed to enter the place but not exit from it. By then, the entire Longcheng Pass had been turned into an isolated island.
Therefore, Longcheng Pass had been completely cut off from the rest of the world.
In the first few months, the soldiers and folks in Longcheng Pass were still waiting for Western Qin’s reinforcement to come and recover the border area.
But as time lapsed, fewer and fewer people were counting on the reinforcement.
It was evident that the empire had no strength to spare to recover the lost border area. That allowed the Great Moon Empire to gain a firm foothold there during the past six months.
Wu Beichen breathed a long sigh.
He was a bit at a loss.
He had no idea where the future of Longcheng Pass lay. And perhaps even Zong Wei, the Eight-armed Judge, who was also the highest commander there, could not answer that question properly.
The Great Moon Empire neither attacked them nor tried to make them surrender. The peculiar standoff went on for a long time. Gradually, the dwellers in town were accustomed to the weird atmosphere. As to the Great Moon Empire’s army outside, they found them hardly a threat.
What on earth had happened to the Western Qin Empire?
Nobody could have the answer.
Because no news could get through the city walls.
Wu Beichen’s shift finished in the afternoon. He took off the heavy armor and walked down the city wall accompanied by two trusted soldiers. Then, he bought half a kilo of pork at the military supply office and marched down the alleys until he was at the door of Granny Cai’s place.
As he pushed the door open, he heard loud clinks of colliding swords in the yard.
Caicai was practicing martial skills with a young man who looked barely over 20. The two were exchanging standard sword styles, both engrossed in their excellent practice.
The young man was quite good-looking, cladding a set of handwoven warrior custom. He looked easygoing, a faint smile spreading on his face during the whole time.
“Xiaowu, let’s call it a day. I brought pork here. Let’s cook a decent meal. Fetch your uncle here. I want to have drinks with him.” Wu Beichen invited himself in with ease and greeted the young man, as though he had done it a hundred times. Then, he handed the pork and groceries to Granny Cai.
“Uncle Wu,” Caicai called out with a bright smile, “Brother Xiaowu taught me a set of new sword-using method today.”
Wu Beichen said, “Girl, you’re such a quick learner of all sword skills and combat techniques! I’m afraid your Brother Xiaowu might not have much left to teach you.”
Caicai giggled at that praise.
The young man called Xiaowu smiled timidly and commented, “Caicai is a genius. If she has a reputed teacher to guide her, she can certainly shoot to the moon. I bet in less than 10 years, she will make her known around the globe.” He was sure an outstanding young man. He was bashful, good-tempered, and well-mannered towards everyone.
“I got that from Brother Madcap, too.” Caicai became quite enraptured every time she talked about Li Mu.
Xiaowu also hailed Wu Beichen warmly and then set off to invite his uncle to dinner.
Staring at the back of the young man, Wu Beichen felt he was seized by a surge of mixed emotion.
Five months ago, when the Great Moon Empire thoroughly besieged Longcheng Pass, Xiaowu, his uncle, and their other members of the merchant group that traveled to the pass from Qianyang Province were forced to stay there. For months, they tried all the means to get out of the pass, but none of them worked. Therefore, they had no way but to settle down there. Xiaowu and his uncle bought the house next to Granny Cai’s place and moved in. As they lived right next door, they gradually became friends of Granny Cai and Caicai.
Since Xiaowu was born in a rich merchant’s family, he could afford to get advanced educations and also had learned martial arts from some famous teachers. Young as he was, he was already in the Great Master Realm. That was something by normal standards. Those days, Caicai always practiced her martial skills with Xiaowu and learned a lot about sword-using methods.
Soon, Granny Cai prepared a copious meal.
Xiaowu already got back. He said, “My uncle is not at home. He has something to attend to…”
Wu Beichen smiled at him and said, “No big deal. You can do a few shots with me anyway.”
Moments later, the dishes were served. The mouth-watering smell permeated the room.
Those days, people in Longcheng Pass had fallen short of all kinds of provisions. Only a high official like Wu Beichen could exchange his military contributions for meat and alcohol, and that was only allowed once in a month. As Wu Beichen was a bachelor, every time he obtained his ration, he went to Granny Cai’s place to share the precious meat and alcohol with the old lady and her granddaughter.
After several drinks, Wu Beichen put down the cup beamingly and said, “Xiaowu, the besiege of the Great Moon Empire might not be lifted in a short time. So, do you have any plans to…”
Xiaowu gave a bashful smile and made to make a reply.
But all of a sudden, a jet of light streaked across the cloudless sky and became steadily closer to the yard.
Those in the house all felt they were momentarily dazzled. Then, they saw several figures appear out of nowhere.
Caicai was the first one who realized what just happened. She leaped to her feet and sprinted to the newcomers while yelling, “Brother Madcap…” She just caught sight of Li Mu.
Wu Beichen also rose to his feet, heartened by the pleasant surprise.
The ones who landed in the yard were Li Mu, Qiu Yin, Shangguan Yuting and the Goddess of Martial Arts, who also brought Yuan Hou the aped, General the Huskie, and Daji the white fox.
Xiaowu’s countenance turned slightly stern, his eyes riveted to Li Mu.
“Finally he is here?”