Chapter 157: Emperor's Capital

In the snow, Zhang Zhuo helped Zhang Xia get back on the horse. He patted Zaozao's cheek and said, "Thanks to you. You will be a great contributor to our Zhang family in the future. I'll ask the housekeeper to find a mare for you later..."

Zhang Xia glared at him: "Dad, what are you talking about?!"

Zhang Zhuo laughed: "This is the natural order of heaven and earth, why can't we talk about it?"

Chen Ji looked at this scene and said with emotion: "Everyone says that Lord Zhang is greedy, which may not be true, but people say that Lord Zhang is lustful, which should be true... However, I think Lord Zhang really loves Miss Zhang II. He is wearing an official uniform. I think he was informed of the news while working in the government office, so he rushed here without stopping."

Zhang Zhuo laughed out loud: "The one who knows me is Chen Ji."

Chen Ji suddenly asked, "Master Zhang, this horse is extremely majestic. I heard from Miss Zhang Er that it was brought back from outside by Master Xu Shu, the deputy director of the Imperial Observatory?"

Zhang Zhuo jumped on the horse and said, "This is not a secret. In the seventh year after Xu Shu came back to life, he made great progress in his cultivation. He suddenly said goodbye to Elder Xu and went north, saying that he wanted to find something. Later, I heard him say that he went to the bitter cold land further north of Jing Dynasty, but he didn't find what he wanted, but he brought back this dragon horse."

"I heard from Miss Zhang Er that it is a dragon seed."

Zhang Zhuo said, "Xu Shu said that there is still some ancient blood in the bitter cold land of the north, and it is the most magical to use it to make war horses."

Chen Ji suddenly thought, if as he guessed, Xu Shu was also a person who came down from the forty-ninth heaven, then what was the other party looking for by suddenly traveling thousands of miles to the bitter cold land in the north?
Is it a treasure left behind by the forty-nine heavens in the human world?

Chen Ji asked again: "Master Zhang is well-informed and knowledgeable. Have you ever heard of Xuanyuan?"

This is what he wanted to ask most.

There is no search engine in this world, and looking for any information is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Only someone like Zhang Zhuo, who has an excellent memory and is well-read, can answer his questions and resolve his confusion.

Zhang Zhuo thought for a moment and said, "There is a Fugu Peak in Huangshan Mountain. There is a cave under the Fugu Peak. Inside the cave, there are two characters called Xuanyuan. There is a fragment of a book that records that the sharpest sword in the world is called 'Xuanyuan Sword', but the sword is lost and no one has ever seen it... These are the records that can be found."

Chen Ji nodded and said nothing more. It seemed that there were some things he still had to ask Xuanyuan himself.

He slowly closed his eyes and let the horse carry him away, the ice flow in his body spread out and brought him back to the black sea of ​​clouds and fell on the green mountains.

When he opened his eyes, Chen Ji did not see Xuanyuan on the top of Qingshan Mountain.

The black royal flag embroidered with gold letters was inserted into the cracks of the huge rocks, and there was no one around.

Chen Ji felt strange, and standing on the edge of the cliff looking down, he saw the sea of ​​clouds dispersing, and at the foot of the mountain a piece of farmland had been reclaimed without him noticing.

Xuanyuan took off his royal robe, changed into a set of coarse cloth clothes, and was plowing in the field with his trouser legs rolled up.

Chen Ji came down the mountain to the edge of the farmland and asked curiously, "What are you doing?"

Xuanyuan answered casually, "Farming."

Chen Ji was puzzled: "You are already an immortal who doesn't need to eat or drink, why do you still need to farm?"

Xuanyuan said impatiently: "I like farming, is that not okay? Sheji Sheji, She means land, Ji means grains. Without grains, the world will be incomplete. This is the foundation of a country."

Chen Ji sat down beside the farmland and said, "But there is no one in the word 'Sheji'."

Xuanyuan was startled: "What?"

Chen Ji sat cross-legged and said, "She means land, Ji means grains, where are the people?"

Xuanyuan thought for a moment: "In the heart of the emperor."

Chen Ji laughed cheerfully: "Humor."

Xuanyuan put down the plow on his shoulder and said with a cold face: "What are you doing here today?"

Chen Ji asked seriously, "Have you ever built a cave at the foot of Fugu Peak to practice?"

Xuanyuan was puzzled: "Fugu Peak? Never heard of it."

Chen Ji thought for a moment and asked in a different way: "In the outside world, I found a cave under a mountain with the word Xuanyuan engraved inside. Not far from the mountain, there is a canyon. When people walk through it and look up at the sky, there is only a thin line of blue sky. If it is not midnight, the moon and sun cannot be seen."

Xuanyuan was startled: "Tianzidu? You found Tianzidu?"

Chen Ji was also startled: "What emperor?"

Xuanyuan left the farmland, and in the blink of an eye, he was wearing a black royal robe. The royal robe seemed to come from the void and appeared on him in the blink of an eye: "I was seriously injured and fled to a mountain to recuperate and gain enlightenment... It was also here that I met you."

Chen Ji didn't expect that this place was actually related to him: "What happens after we get to know each other?"

Xuanyuan didn't want to answer this question, but narrowed his eyes and said, "Strange, strange, since you can find the capital of the emperor, it means that Guixu, Lei Ze, Qingqiu Kingdom, Tianshan, Zhangwei Mountain, Fajiu Mountain, and Sun and Moon Mountain are still there, but they have changed their names..."

"That's how it should be."

Xuanyuan looked strange: "There is a sword hidden in the spring of the emperor. I took it after I killed my enemy. If you take its sword spirit, you can use it to nourish the sword seed in your body and ascend to heaven in one step."

Chen Ji's eyes lit up, but then went out in an instant: "It's been more than 16,000 years, the sword must have decayed a long time ago?"

Xuanyuan asked in a serious tone: "Has the Whale Blade ever decayed?"

"No."

"If the Whale Blade is gone, it is gone too. I kept it in the spring, intending to use the world's most unique peak, Tianzidu, to nourish the sword spirit, waiting to use it in the future. I didn't expect that it would be a bargain for you."

Chen Ji became more excited: "Which spring is it? Can you tell me more about its topographical features?"

Xuanyuan avoided answering and said slowly: "Not only this place, I have many treasures hidden in the world. Although I don't know what they are called now, I can help you draw them... But why should I help you draw them?"

Chen Ji said seriously: "If I die one day, can't you borrow my body to return to the world? I am just keeping these treasures for you, and they will all be yours in the future. When you return to the world, you don't have to go through the trouble of looking for them, you can use them right away."

Xuanyuan sneered: "Do you think I'm a fool?"

Chen Ji said helplessly: "You set the conditions."

Xuanyuan thought for a moment, and suddenly waved to the distant army formation: "Feng Huai, Feng Lie, Feng Xiao, Feng Gui!" Four soldiers in the army formation stepped out and knelt on one knee: "Here!"

Xuanyuan turned around and looked at Chen Ji, sneering: "Four people are surrounding you to kill you. When you can defeat them, I will tell you the first treasure hiding place."

Feng Huai held a knife, Feng Lie held an axe, Feng Xiao held a stick, and Feng Gui carried a bow. The four of them were full of energy and fighting spirit.

Chen Ji cursed inwardly, turned around and ran away.

……

……

"Chen Ji, wake up."

"Chen Ji, we're here."

Chen Ji immediately opened his eyes and saw a sea of ​​red.

The setting sun is shining obliquely.

The white snowfield reflects brilliant light, like an orange-red aurora flowing on the snow.

The city gate tower of Los Angeles appeared on the horizon like a mirage.

Chen Ji looked at this scene in a trance.

Zhang Zhuo rode up to him and asked curiously, "What are you thinking about?"

Chen Ji came back to his senses and said with a smile: "Master Zhang, I really want to go back to the clinic and have a good sleep, but the scenery is so breathtaking that I want to stop and take a closer look. What do you think is more important, the destination or the scenery along the way?"

Zhang Zhuo stroked his beard and thought for a long time before responding: "If you ask me, the destination is more important."

Chen Ji was puzzled: "Why?"

Zhang Zhuo laughed, "I am a greedy person. When I see a scene, I wonder if there will be something even more beautiful waiting for me ahead. I will not be satisfied until I see the end... Young man, you saved my official hat during the last uprising, and you saved my daughter's life this time. How can I repay you?"

Chen Ji smiled and said, "Master Zhang, you are too polite. Miss Zhang Er and I are classmates. How can I stand by and watch someone die without helping him?"

"Two different things," Zhang Zhuo thought for a moment and said, "Take part in the imperial examination. As long as you don't kill anyone in the examination room, I guarantee that you will pass."

"So Easy?"

"It's that simple." Zhang Zhuo said, "I know you don't want to get involved in officialdom, but I also know that you are not someone who just wants to stay out of trouble."

Chen Ji looked into the distance and said, "My Lord, you have misunderstood."

Zhang Zhuo smiled and said, "If you were a Confucian civil servant who only cared about keeping to yourself, you would not have jumped off the city wall on the day of the uprising. Just follow my lead and I will protect you..."

Before he could finish his words, Mr. Wang was seen riding his horse at full speed, leaving the Qiansui Army formation and coming to Chen Ji's side.

He said to Zhang Zhuo, "Chen Ji is not suitable to be a civil servant, and he does not necessarily have to take the imperial examination. Come with me to Beijing after the new year, and I will find a job for you in the Ministry of War. The court has been plagued by problems for a long time, what good is there in wasting three years?"

Zhang Zhuo was unhappy: "Why are you here to join in the fun?"

Wang Daosheng replied calmly: "He is more suitable for the border army."

Zhang Zhuo shook his head and said, "The border troops are advancing too slowly."

Wang Daosheng had a blank expression on his face: "If there were no border troops, how could there be peace and prosperity in the south? Lord Zhang looks down on the border troops?"

"Don't blame me, old man," Zhang Zhuo said angrily, "I'm not saying that the border troops are useless, but bringing him with me can help him earlier. With more power in hand, he can do more things."

Wang Daosheng asked lightly, "Who are you to him? I am his teacher, so it is more reasonable for him to follow me."

Zhang Zhuo was stunned. He wanted to refute for a moment, but he didn't know where to start: "I... I can..."

He looked back at Zhang Xia and swallowed his words again: "You have only taught him for a few days, how can you be considered a mentor? Wait, everyone will rely on their own abilities!"

Chen Ji looked at Zhang Zhuo on the left and Wang Daosheng on the right: "My Lords..."

Wang Daosheng said calmly: "You can call him 'sir', but from now on, you have to call me 'teacher'."

Chen Ji: “Teacher…”

Wang Daosheng said slowly, "I don't necessarily want you to come out and work, but if you want to work, you have to follow me, not him. He works for the Xu family and doesn't care about his reputation on weekdays. Who knows how he will be written about in history in the future?"

Chen Ji quietly tightened the reins to slow down, and withdrew from the quarrel between the two adults.

Without his obstruction, Zhang Zhuo and Wang Daosheng became closer and argued more fiercely.

Zhang Zhuo said, "It's still unclear whether you can be transferred to the post of Minister of War in the spring. Why are you making promises now?"

Wang Daosheng: "In the spring of the twenty-fourth year of Jianing, you lost to me in the debate."

Zhang Zhuo raised his eyebrows and said, "You have been demoted twice by His Majesty, and the Donglin Party will not tolerate a heretic like you. What can I do by following you?"

Wang Daosheng: "In the autumn of the twenty-fifth year of Jianing, you lost to me in the debate again."

Zhang Zhuo was immediately enraged and tried to hit Wang Daosheng from a distance on his horse. However, Wang Daosheng was wearing heavy armor and his punches and kicks did not hurt him at all.

Wang Daosheng said indifferently and disdainfully: "It is disgraceful for an official of the imperial court to touch someone."

Zhang Zhuo said angrily, "You bastard, give me your life!"

(End of this chapter)