After Centurion Li, who was skilled in various medicines and poisons, had checked the tea and food one by one, Meng Jianqing’s group finally sat down to eat.
The two Captains sitting across from him said mockingly, “Captain Meng is truly a careful man. No wonder Commander Shen values you so highly!”
Meng Jianqing replied nonchalantly: “I dare not claim such praise.”
Centurion Qin didn’t understand why Meng Jianqing had requisitioned these two Captains, who were unwilling to follow his orders, along with their ten subordinate guards. Seeing that Meng Jianqing didn’t take offense, he naturally couldn’t say anything, but muttered to himself whether these two would refuse to obey orders and disrupt the overall situation when trouble arose.
This roadside inn had cramped quarters. When Meng Jianqing’s Imperial Guards arrived, the other diners quickly settled their bills and made way. The innkeeper looked nervous and personally came out to attend to them, deeply afraid of making any mistakes.
Meng Jianqing studied the boundary marker beside the official road outside the inn. Going further ahead would be the Luzhou territory. The intelligence reports he had received said that since Jiang Wuji had descended from the Qinling Mountains, he had appeared three times, each time closer to Yingtian Prefecture. His last appearance was at Qianshan, northwest of Luzhou. From Qianshan to Yingtian, Luzhou was a necessary passage.
Why was Jiang Wuji heading toward Yingtian Prefecture? He shouldn’t be unaware of the delicate relationship between Xiaoxi Tian and the imperial court.
A single rider came racing down the official road. Meng Jianqing whistled once, and when the rider saw clearly who was sitting in the small inn, he quickly reined in his horse, rolled down from the saddle, knelt on one knee before Meng Jianqing, and said breathlessly: “Reporting to Captain Meng, the person you’re looking for didn’t enter Luzhou city. He took a detour toward Zhaoming Temple!”
Meng Jianqing ordered him to lead the way, and they immediately assembled and set out.
Zhaoming Temple was twenty li southwest of Luzhou, originally built by Emperor Wu of the Southern Liang Dynasty to commemorate Crown Prince Zhaoming. Among the so-called “four hundred and eighty temples of the Southern Dynasties,” there were several Zhaoming Temples alone.
The autumn colors were late, and yellow leaves flew chaotically on both sides of the official road. In the distance, they could see the shimmering waves on White Lake, dazzling to the eyes.
Meng Jianqing suddenly reined in his horse.
The guide running in front couldn’t stop his horse in time and was caught squarely by trip ropes that sprang up from the dust. Fortunately, his reflexes were quick enough – he jumped down from his saddle in time and rolled into the grass by the roadside.
There was more than one trip rope. The dozen or so riders following behind Meng Jianqing were all tripped up and tumbled awkwardly from their saddles.
Immediately, volleys of arrows shot out from the dense forest. In the blink of an eye, four guards had been struck by arrows and fallen.
The two Captains shouted orders for their men to draw swords and shields, forming a circle on the spot to block the rain of arrows.
Meng Jianqing let them pin down the ambushers in the dense forest while he, Centurion Qin, and Centurion Li each led their subordinate guards, following the guide as they continued racing toward Zhaoming Temple.
The two Captains cursed angrily, but with the arrows continuing to fall, their men dared not stop.
When they rounded a pine grove, they encountered the second wave of attackers. Meng Jianqing left eight guards to cover the rear.
Zhaoming Temple was now in sight.
But in the middle of the official road stood a black monk like an iron tower, leaning on a staff as thick as a wrist. The prayer beads on his chest, upon closer inspection, were actually carved from human bone.
On both sides of the official road were rice paddies with mud up to the ankles.
Meng Jianqing’s group reined in their horses.
Centurion Qin had been racing all the way and was so exhausted he could barely catch his breath. He reached Meng Jianqing’s side and said between gasps: “This monk’s surname is Lu. People call him Lu Jingang (Lu the Vajra). He’s also a disciple of Ouyang Buxiu.”
Meng Jianqing was slightly surprised: “Is this the Southern King Lu Jingang from Dongting Lake?”
Centurion Qin sighed: “Exactly so!”
On Dongting Lake, there were two great leaders – Southern King Lu Jingang and Northern King Tie Luohan (Iron Arhat), both disciples of Ouyang Buxiu and once subordinates of Chen Youding. After Chen Youding’s defeat, these two had retreated to Dongting Lake. Although they submitted nominally, they had always refused to come ashore and surrender. Since these two usually only engaged in robbing passing merchants and had no other rebellious activities, and with many border troubles, the court had turned a blind eye to them, leaving them to be dealt with later.
If Lu Jingang were here, then where was Tie Luohan? Were the two of them worried that Jiang Wuji might defect after entering Yingtian Prefecture, so they had come to intercept him?
Meng Jianqing turned to look at Centurion Li: “Centurion Li, this battle is yours.”
Lu Jingang had always been famous for his iron body conditioning. Meng Jianqing estimated that if his men fought this brute monk head-on, it would be very difficult to deal with him in a short time.
Centurion Li silently put on his deerskin gloves. His four subordinate guards simultaneously nocked arrows to their bows.
Meng Jianqing and the others all retreated several zhang.
At Centurion Li’s command, the four guards released their arrows simultaneously.
Lu Jingang stood contemptuously facing the arrows, too lazy even to swing his staff to block them. The iron arrowheads struck his body with ringing sounds.
Centurion Li gave another command, and his four guards’ four longbows were doubled into two, using their feet to draw the bows and shooting three arrows at once.
The sharp whistling sound of arrows cutting through the air made Lu Jingang’s expression slightly more serious. Not daring to be careless anymore, he swung his staff to deflect the arrows.
Mixed among the arrows was a cluster of mother-and-child iron thorns. When struck by the staff, they split into nine pieces, spinning chaotically as they hit Lu Jingang. The iron spikes on the rings were dark azure-black – if not for Lu Jingang’s thick skin, even the slightest scratch from these spikes would seal his throat with blood.
The powerful arrows were manageable, but these poisoned, hidden weapons mixed among the arrows were truly treacherous. Lu Jingang cursed angrily: “You cowards only dare to hide behind and shoot arrows! You might as well go back to your mother’s arms!”
Centurion Li suddenly retreated rapidly.
The flying locust stone he threw didn’t hit Lu Jingang, but another flying locust stone. When the two stones collided, one immediately exploded, emitting a brilliant flash of fire and thick smoke mixed with a pungent, spicy smell that instantly filled the entire road.
Violent coughing sounds came from Lu Jingang in the smoke. Two close guards also began coughing.
Centurion Li’s hands didn’t stop – he threw two more medicinal stones. This time, what exploded was a thick fragrance.
Meng Jianqing and his men had wisely taken out face masks to cover their mouths and noses.
Meng Jianqing shouted: “Move out!”
He and Centurion Qin charged forward first. As they approached the thick smoke, Meng Jianqing suddenly pulled Centurion Qin, leaping up as his left hand whipped out a long rope that wrapped around an old pagoda tree at the other end of the road, carrying Centurion Qin as they flew across. Lu Jingang’s staff came down in a furious blow, crushing the bones of two horses that screamed piteously as they fell into the rice paddies.
Meng Jianqing paid no attention to how Centurion Li and the others would deal with Lu Jingang, who had inhaled the intoxicating fragrance but hadn’t yet collapsed and was in a wild rage. He just dragged Centurion Qin as they raced toward the nearby Zhaoming Temple.
Centurion Qin felt like his old bones were about to break apart.
Meng Jianqing suddenly stopped, almost throwing Centurion Qin into the roadside ditch.
Less than a li ahead stood the high wall of Zhaoming Temple’s rear courtyard. Grass and trees grew wild, and water gurgled. In the grass lay a dozen or so corpses. In front of a broken stele, there were two people on each side. On the right side were two men – one was a bearded giant carrying an iron staff, whom Centurion Qin whispered was Tie Luohan, and the other was a thin, tall man who was Tie Luohan’s most capable assistant, He Qi. On the left side, the two men wielding wolf-tooth clubs were twin brothers. Centurion Qin said these two were originally notorious bandits from the Shanxi road who called themselves Jiao Da and Jiao Er – probably not their real names, but since everyone called them that, no one bothered to investigate their true names.
Meng Jianqing finally saw the Jiang Wuji he had been thinking about day and night for the past two months, even in his dreams.
Jiang Wuji stood among these four men who were eyeing him like tigers, leaning against the stele with a pair of silver hooks in his hands. His body was covered with bloodstains – he was seriously injured.
He was slightly thinner than in the portrait, though this was understandable. His eyes were bloodshot, suggesting he hadn’t had a good night’s sleep since leaving the Qinling Mountains.
When Meng Jianqing and his companion appeared, all five men turned their gazes toward them.
Meng Jianqing ignored the others and first cupped his hands toward Jiang Wuji, saying: “Brother Jiang, I am Meng Jianqing. On the orders of Imperial Guard Commander Shen Guangli, I invite Brother Jiang to the capital for a meeting.”
Tie Luohan’s expression immediately changed dramatically: “Little junior brother, did you arrange to meet with them?”
Jiao Da laughed strangely: “Tie Luohan, who is your little junior brother? Your old master threw away such a good disciple and still wants to control others from taking him? Brother Jiang, the Imperial Guard, is a tiger’s den – not a place you should go. My master has long heard of Brother Jiang’s talent and youth, and would like to invite Brother Jiang to visit him. What does Brother Jiang think?”
Though his appearance was vulgar, his speech was quite cultured. Meng Jianqing was secretly surprised, wondering what kind of person these two bandits’ master could be.
Tie Luohan shouted, “Stop talking nonsense! Little junior brother, don’t talk to these scoundrels. Let’s go to Dongting Lake first and stay for a few days. After some time, when the master’s anger subsides, he’ll naturally change his mind. Brother Lu and I will plead with him – master and master’s wife love you so much, they definitely won’t let you wander outside like this. Come—”
He reached out to pull Jiang Wuji, but Jiang Wuji blocked him with his hook and said coldly, “I dare not presume so highly. Please let me pass!”
Tie Luohan was stunned, his face unable to save face.
Meng Jianqing said from the side: “Where is Brother Jiang planning to go? If there’s anywhere I can help, I will certainly do my best.”
Tie Luohan immediately called out: “Little junior brother, don’t forget master’s instructions not to associate with these people!”
Meng Jianqing was secretly amused. Didn’t he know that at this moment, whatever he said, Jiang Wuji would do the opposite?
Sure enough, Jiang Wuji turned to Meng Jianqing and said: “Very well, I want to go to Zhaoxin Nunnery.”
Centurion Qin whispered: “Zhaoxin Nunnery is exactly three li due east of Zhaoming Temple.”
Meng Jianqing studied Jiang Wuji and said, “Brother Jiang seems to be injured already? If Brother Jiang doesn’t object, I’m willing to make the trip for you.”
Jiang Wuji’s expression changed dramatically, but Meng Jianqing had already turned and run toward Zhaoxin Nunnery.
Jiang Wuji said urgently, “Senior Brother Tie, will you let me go or not?”
This call of “Senior Brother” immediately made Tie Luohan beam with joy: “Alright, wherever you want to go, I’ll escort you there!”
Seeing the wind changing direction, Jiao Da and Jiao Er immediately cupped their hands and smiled: “Brother Jiang, please go ahead, please!”
Meng Jianqing turned back and smiled at Jiang Wuji.
Even in his anger and urgency, Jiang Wuji still sensed the deep meaning in Meng Jianqing’s smile. It took him a while to understand—
If not for Meng Jianqing’s move forcing them to break the deadlock, even if he had stood there until tomorrow, he couldn’t have passed through the two barriers of Tie Luohan and the Jiao brothers to reach Zhaoxin Nunnery.