Master Zhishēng quickly walked over, cupped his hands, and bowed in greeting.
“Your Excellency, greetings. This unworthy disciple of mine is young and has just come down from the mountain for the first time. He doesn’t know the immensity of heaven and earth, so please forgive any offensive remarks he may have made.”
He was indeed from Wudang, possessing good manners. Even with his high status and being a peak expert, his words were polite and showed no arrogance.
“Li Miao, come here at once and apologize to him!”
At this point, Li Miao finally came to his senses and raised an eyebrow.
The Daoist name of this young Daoist priest actually had the same pronunciation as his own name.
Li Miao was still a bit unconvinced. Li Miao had appeared out of nowhere, and after learning he was a Wudang disciple, he began to criticize various Wudang experts, finding fault with seven out of eight, as if there was no one he admired.
Li Miao, with his youthful temperament, couldn't tolerate this. Upon seeing his backer return, he was about to complain.
However, he suddenly saw Daoist Li Qing behind Master Zhishēng, subtly winking at him.
Looking further down, Master Zhishēng was politely standing in front, but Daoist Li Qing’s hand was on his sword hilt.
Li Miao was suddenly startled.
His eyes darted around, and a wronged expression immediately appeared on his face.
“Yes… Master…”
He stood up, seemingly reluctantly, and walked towards Master Zhishēng.
Upon reaching Master Zhishēng’s side, he quickly flashed behind him, peeking out with his head to look at Li Miao.
Master Zhishēng saw that Li Miao did not stop him and that Li Miao had walked behind him, and only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.
Li Miao was no ordinary disciple. Wudang had only found such a promising talent after so many years, and if anything went wrong, the entire Wudang would be heartbroken.
“Your Excellency, this unworthy disciple of mine is young and ignorant, I hope he hasn't made you laugh.”
“Speaking of which, I still haven’t asked for Your Excellency’s esteemed name?”
Master Zhishēng asked.
“Jinyiwei Commander, Li Miao.”
Li Miao said indifferently.
Master Zhishēng frowned in thought for a moment, then was momentarily surprised.
“Oh, is it ‘Four Seasons Commander’ in person? This humble Daoist, Master Zhishēng, offers his respects.”
“Oh?”
Li Miao raised an eyebrow.
It’s not “Deathly Commander” anymore?
Could it be that after Lao Qifeng said “Deathly Commander” that day, seeing his displeasure, he mobilized the Beggar Clan disciples to correct his nickname?
“How did Daoist Master Zhishēng know this nickname of mine?”
Li Miao asked curiously.
Seeing Li Miao’s interested expression, Master Zhishēng began to elaborate.
“Your Excellency’s righteous deed in Tai’an City has already spread throughout the jianghu. However, there are various accounts; some say Your Excellency single-handedly annihilated half of the Ming Cult, while others say Your Excellency subdued half a city of rampaging commoners with a single palm. To this day, there is no definitive conclusion.”
“As Your Excellency made his first appearance in the jianghu, people were quite curious about him and went to Shuntian Prefecture to inquire. They got an explanation from a Jinyiwei Baihu, and it then spread.”
“It is said that Your Excellency has guarded the capital for twenty years, never leaving, yet he is like a stabilizing force within the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards). Whether it’s imperial relatives or great bandits, as long as Your Excellency acts, no matter when, they are bound to be captured.”
“The four seasons of spring, summer, autumn, and winter in Shuntian Prefecture’s jianghu are all decided by Your Excellency.”
“Hence the name ‘Four Seasons Commander’.”
“Ah?”
Li Miao was a bit stunned.
His nickname, which meant he only worked four hours a day, could be interpreted like this?
This is truly getting more and more ridiculous. Do jianghu people have any real business to attend to?
However…
Li Miao twirled his fingers.
It’s better than “Deathly Commander”… so it’s an improvement?
Seeing that Li Miao hadn’t spoken for a while, Master Zhishēng spoke again.
“Just now, my martial nephew and I heard a disturbance from the mountain path and went to investigate. We found a group of thirty-eight people; the leader’s build resembled a Yang Family member, likely a Ming Cult rogue.”
“Did Your Excellency come here for them?”
Seeing that they were getting to the main topic, Li Miao no longer dwelled on his nickname.
“Exactly, I’ve been tracking this group of rogues all along.”
“Seeing a faint light here, I came looking, thinking that if they were jianghu people, I’d drive them away to prevent them from being discovered and silenced by the Ming Cult, which would only alert them if I tried to rescue them. ”
“I didn’t expect them to be Daoist Masters from Wudang.”
Master Zhishēng nodded.
“So that’s how it is.”
“Your Excellency, do you require assistance from Wudang?”
Logically, when the imperial court and the Ming Cult clashed, Wudang usually kept to itself, not getting involved.
But, who made the Ming Cult so beastly during this period?
The massacre in Tai’an, the breaching of Shaolin, and Xing Chi’s passing. These three events can be said to have incurred the wrath of the jianghu. Wudang and Shaolin had been called equals for many years, sharing a bond, and Xing Chi was highly respected. Now that they had encountered this, they naturally had to contribute.
What Li Miao did in Tai’an City still lacked a definitive account in the jianghu. Jianghu people were also prone to exaggeration when spreading news, so Master Zhishēng didn’t have a precise estimate of Li Miao’s martial arts.
Master Zhishēng simply assumed that Li Miao was not confident in taking down the Ming Cult members, which was why he was merely following behind and hadn’t made a move.
Therefore, his current offer was out of good intentions, wanting to lend a hand.
He himself was with Li Miao and feared any mishap, so it was better to avoid trouble. But if he cooperated with the imperial court, with no worries, he, as a peak expert, was not afraid of the Ming Cult.
Li Miao, however, waved his hand.
“No need.”
“I’m just seeing if they intend to gather; I’m thinking of letting them gather before I kill them. If I can encounter the Ming Cult Leader and kill him as well, it would save me some trouble.”
Master Zhishēng thought to himself, what big talk.
Is Ji Tianrui that easy to kill?
Was it false that Shaolin’s mountain gate was breached and Xing Chi was forced into passing by Ji Tianrui?
How high could the martial arts of a “young man” in his early thirties be? Could it be that he was accustomed to throwing his weight around in the Jinyiwei and had become arrogant, thinking the jianghu was nothing special?
Master Zhishēng was kind-hearted, and Li Miao was a good official who had saved the people of Tai’an. He didn’t want Li Miao to needlessly lose his life, so he quickly tried to persuade him.
“Your Excellency, the Ming Cult is, after all, a great sect with a thousand-year heritage, with experts like clouds within its gates. Ji Tianrui was also a demonic figure who once dominated the jianghu. Although he faked his death and escaped back then, he is likely even more difficult to deal with now.”
“And you must not be careless.”
Li Miao merely waved his hand and remained silent, a look of disdain on his face.
Seeing that Li Miao’s mind was made up, Master Zhishēng pondered for a moment and sighed.
“How about this, this humble Daoist will have my martial nephew take my disciple back to Wudang, and I will accompany Your Excellency on this journey.”
“Relying on my sect’s heritage, this humble Daoist can also be considered a peak expert. If Your Excellency brings me along, should you encounter Ji Tianrui, you will have a helper.”
He thought that if he encountered Ji Tianrui, he definitely couldn’t defeat him. But taking Li Miao and escaping, he still had some confidence.
Very few people in the jianghu truly knew about the Celestial Human Realm. Even in great sects like Shaolin and Wudang, only a few individuals within knew, and Master Zhishēng was not among them.
He had also never fought Ji Tianrui back then, so he only thought of Ji Tianrui as an extremely powerful peak expert. If he had known about Celestial Human and the Three Paths Unification, he probably wouldn't have been so confident.
Upon hearing this, Li Miao looked Master Zhishēng up and down, then burst into laughter.
Wudang, Shaolin.
These two truly lived up to their reputation as righteous great sects with long traditions and an emphasis on cultivating the mind. The few he had encountered, whether it was Xing Chi, Yongjie, Xing Xiu, or this Master Zhishēng in front of him, were all good people.
Li Miao stood up.
“Very well.”
“Now that we’ve reached Yuzhou Province, we are not far from Shuntian Prefecture. The Ming Cult probably intends to rendezvous in Shuntian Prefecture to avoid being wiped out on the way.”
“I won’t keep these baits around any longer.”
“There’s no time like the present; tonight, let’s kill these people.”