Green Mountain-Chapter 644 - 501: Twenty Years of Grievances

The smoke screen from the burning wine banners enveloped the long street, and the sound of shouting and killing inside the tavern was deafening.

Si Caogui's bamboo hat had long been lost, revealing his weathered face, his eyes fixated on the swaying carriage curtain.

The two people inside and outside the carriage had been old acquaintances for twenty years, but there was no joy in reuniting with an old friend.

The 'Princess Liyang' lifted the carriage curtain and slowly stepped out, calmly saying, "It's been a long time."

Si Caogui looked at the woman in front of him, her face was that of Princess Liyang, but those eyes were so familiar, always like a quiet black lake with fire flowing beneath the surface. Moreover, the official gateway could not deceive anyone.

Si Caogui was certain, the woman before him was Lu Ye, a name that didn't seem like a woman's name.

At this moment, the Eight Diagrams on the edges of Mrs. Lu's palms flickered in and out of sight, the eight divinations of Qian, Kun, Kan, Li, Zhen, Gen, Xun, and Dui were being born and extinguished one by one.

Si Caogui felt a faint pain in his chest and recalled, "Zhen, Li, Kan, Gen, Xun, Dui each strike a pilary soul, while Qian and Kun strike the core soul…Ah Jie, did I get it wrong?"

Mrs. Lu said indifferently, "Was it Lu Jin who taught you?"

Si Caogui pondered, "Zhen trigram, Zhen for thunder, lightning and water resolve, marsh and wind surpass. Just now, one palm strike knocked a Corpse Dog soul out of my body, no wonder I didn't feel a sense of alertness."

Mrs. Lu walked toward him step by step, and Si Caogui suddenly said, "Ah Jie, after you faked death, we searched for you over ten years, the lord is still searching for you, never having given up."

Mrs. Lu stood still, "The fake death back then was flawless, why did you think I was still alive?"

Si Caogui replied calmly, "Because you didn't pass on the Eight Trigrams Dragon to Chen Ji before you 'died'."

Mrs. Lu appeared in thought, "No wonder, so the flaw was there."

Si Caogui continued, "The lord said, the Eight Trigrams Dragon was a unique official gateway of the Qing Wentao family, unique in the world, you are a person of deep feelings and righteousness, you absolutely wouldn't let it be buried in the world. Over the years, I've tested many times while staying by Chen Ji's side, finally confirming that he gained the official gateway after entering Taiping Medical Hall, so since you never passed the Eight Trigrams Dragon to him, it means you didn't die…we've been looking for you all this time."

Mrs. Lu remained silent.

Si Caogui sighed, "I've watched over Chen Ji all these years, always assuming you'll come to see him, but I didn't expect you to be so heartless, never showing up even once. I watched him being bullied and slandered by Mrs. Liang, watched him sleep in a house with broken windows without even a brazier in winter, watched him be relegated to Taiping Medical Hall as a mere apprentice. Ah Jie, how could you bear it? However, finally found you, the last time in Changping, when you used the Eight Trigrams Dragon, I knew it must be you."

Mrs. Lu nodded slightly, "So it was you who kept buying information from Xiao Man, trying to find out what kind of people Chen Ji had met, to see if I'd ever quietly visited him. That time in Luocheng, it was your people that Xiao Man had Taotie devour."

Si Caogui candidly admitted, "That's right."

Mrs. Lu's eyes narrowed slightly, "How deep is Chen Ji entangled in the Military Intelligence Department, how much has he done for you?"

Si Caogui mused sentimentally, "He's very much like you. Just like back then when all of us believed you were omnipotent, every time we reached despair, it was to rely on you to complete the mission. Now, Chen Ji always surprises me, even when I think there's no way forward, he finds a way to survive. If not for you, he should have been groomed to be the Division Head... If he could be adopted into the Chen family's main house, then succeed in the position of Division Head, why worry about the grand cause of our Jing Dynasty not succeeding?"

Mrs. Lu questioned firmly again, "How many people know his identity?"

Si Caogui smiled and said, "Rest assured, Ah Jie, only Lord Lu and I know. Lord Lu only wants to find you and doesn't want to make it difficult for his nephew, after all, Chen Ji is one of the few family he has."

Mrs. Lu sneered, "Lu Jin is so afraid of me that he must find me to root me out?"

"It's not fear but missing you; you are the most cherished family the lord has in this world, he yearns to reunite with you every day," Si Caogui earnestly said, "The lord has said, he no longer blames you."

Mrs. Lu seemed to have heard a joke, "He...doesn't blame me?"

Si Caogui did not respond to this, but earnestly continued, "Ah Jie, back then when we first came to the Ning Dynasty, it was you who took us in. I still remember the time when our attempt to assassinate Military Strategist Envoy Jiang Xu failed, Lord Lu secretly sent us to Ning Dynasty. Once we got off the ship at Tanggu, the first hot meal we had in Ning Dynasty was made by you."

Mrs. Lu recalled as well, "I remember how ragged you all looked, like twenty-seven homeless stray dogs, happy just to have a bite to eat. After eating your fill, you'd sleep soundly. I made you a big pot of pan-seared noodles, and you didn't leave a single strand. Back then, the Military Intelligence Department was still just a fledgling idea, Lu Jin hadn't yet become a Military Strategist Envoy and had no army pay, but had twenty-seven mouths to feed. As people kept coming, I had to scrimp and save."

The siblings, Lu Jin and Lu Ye, had families that had fallen on hard times. Lu Jin kneeled for three days and nights at the door of Vice Minister Yuan Zhong to earn a position within the Privy Council, gaining a chance to accomplish great deeds by heading south.

Back then, the Privy Council hadn't allowed Lu Jin to establish the Military Intelligence Department, so Lu Jin worked secretly with just those twenty-seven stray dogs under his command.

Yet it was those twenty-seven stray dogs that upheld the Military Intelligence Department.

Mrs. Lu travelled frequently between the Imperial Capital and Guyuan, Lu Jin between the Jing Dynasty and the Ning Dynasty, until a year later when the Military Intelligence Department finally took form, gaining new blood.

Si Caogui suddenly said, "Ah Jie, you shouldn't have left the Military Intelligence Department to go to Guyuan with Qing Wentao, you should have been the Chief of the Military Intelligence Department."

Mrs. Lu looked at the smoke in the sky, "So, should I have continued to perform in Yujing Garden to earn silver and sustain the Military Intelligence Department, Ah Gui? I have things I wanted to do. During those days in Yujing Garden, I had to meet so many people, sing many songs, play many tunes, later I bought Yujing Garden but never went again."

The world all thought Lu Jin upheld the Military Intelligence Department alone, not knowing it was a woman who supported it, as this matter wasn't glorious.

Si Caogui took a deep breath, "Come back to the Jing Dynasty with me, apologize to Lord Lu, you two are siblings, as long as you're willing to apologize, there's still a chance."

Mrs. Lu smiled, "Explain to me why I should apologize to him?"

Si Caogui replied without a change in expression, "A person from the Jing Dynasty did something for a Ning Dynasty general and betrayed their own homeland; being allowed to apologize and live is already a grace."

Mrs. Lu countered, "Did he ever tell you how he returned to the Jing Dynasty, or how he stole someone else's credit to earn fame? Did he tell you how he betrayed me, leaving a scar on my face?"

Si Caogui interrupted, "Ah Jie, the lord is not that kind of person."

Mrs. Lu said casually, "No matter, there's no point in explaining to you, I will eventually go to the Jing Dynasty to find him. I just want to ask you a question, was Si Caoding one of your twenty-seven back then, who is Si Caoding?" 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Si Caogui shook his head, "No."

Mrs. Lu walked toward Si Caogui step by step, "Lu Jin planned to kill Qing Wentao, this revenge I must exact; these years he's been looking for me just for fear I'd expose his disgrace, afraid of me seeking revenge. As for Si Caoding, I will find him."

Si Caogui slowly said, "Since Ah Jie is unwilling to return with me, I have no choice but to keep you in the Ning Dynasty forever."

In the next moment, Mrs. Lu leapt forward, and Si Caogui thrust his short knife forward, not expecting Mrs. Lu to move like a dragon, elegantly shifting to stand behind him.

As Mrs. Lu twisted her steps, the Eight Diagrams on the edge of her palm spun rapidly, finally settling on the Li trigram.

Li represents fire, fire on a mountain, heaven and man are united.

This strike whistled toward Si Caogui's back, but it was as if he had eyes on the back of his head; his bones crackled, and his spine twisted like a snake, narrowly avoiding the blow.

Si Caogui retreated backwards, but as his body passed the carriage, he heard Mrs. Lu's stern voice, "Thirteen!"

In an instant, the carriage disintegrated, along with the arrows embedded in it, scattering in all directions.

Inside the carriage, the person previously known as "Yuan Cheng" had long removed the black head covering and burst out; it was Shi San, who had once assisted Chen Ji and Mrs. Lu with Third Master Hu back in Changping.

He swung a palm-sized moon hook at Si Caogui, who was already dodging Mrs. Lu just now, unable to avoid it, and thus was cut on the right eye by this swing, with blood gushing out.

Si Caogui countered with a reverse slash, but Shi San nimbly dodged like a monkey.

However, Si Caogui's blade was too fast, and Shi San, only in the Innate Realm, could only brace himself and take a hit at the ribs, flying back into the carriage.

Shi San called out in pain, "I'm going to die, Landlord, save me!"