Records of Mysterious Things in the Southern Dynasties

Chapter 470: He who knows the current affairs is a hero
Erzhu Rong led the Tianlu Army in a northward retreat.

Although the Heavenly Slaughter Army had lost all morale, their silent march was enough to make the generals feel the desolation of defeat.

Yuan Ziyou was also very sad. When he retreated to Wangwu Mountain, he looked at the towering mountain and sighed, "Will I ever see Wangwu again in this lifetime?"

To the generals of the Erzhu family, these words were nothing short of a huge sarcasm. Some even rolled up their sleeves, ready to teach him a lesson and teach him a lesson for his sarcastic remarks!

"Stop being so rude!" Erzhu Rong shouted, "You must always respect the Emperor!"

"Yes." The disciples hurriedly responded, wondering what had gotten into the deity.

Gao Huan, Hou Jing, and others knew perfectly well that times had changed. Previously, they held absolute power and could naturally look down on the emperor.

But now that their attack on Luoyang has failed, the people will naturally assume that Yuan Hao is poised to secure his rule. If they don't appease the emperor now and get his help in winning over the hearts of the people, the day when the Erzhu family is deserted by their own people is probably not far off.

"May I ask Your Majesty where you will rest tonight?" Erzhu Rong asked the emperor for the first time ever, putting his own interests into practice.

“I think it’s at the foot of Wangwu Mountain.” Yuan Ziyou was no fool; he wouldn’t do something so stupid as to take advantage of someone’s kindness.

"Alright, set up camp!" Erzhu Rong readily agreed and immediately gave the order.

~~
After leaving the camp, Erzhu Rong locked himself in his command tent and sighed deeply, occasionally talking to himself.

Hou Jing, who was guarding outside, could vaguely hear him saying things like "Why did Heaven create both Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang?" and "Don't force what is not meant to be." It is clear how much of a blow Chen Qingzhi's complete defeat was to Erzhu Rong.

Hou Jing was somewhat dismissive. There were plenty of capable fighters in the world, so why did he have to be the best? What about Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King of Chu? In the end, he was still defeated by Liu Bang, who was not a strong fighter.

Of course, he only dared to think these words in his heart and would never dare to say them out loud.

While he was lost in thought, he suddenly saw a handsome man in black robes with an indifferent expression appear before him.

Hou Jing was immediately horrified. No matter how distracted he was, he shouldn't have let someone appear in front of him without him noticing.

He was about to warn them when he drew his sword to meet the enemy.

The man pressed his knife back into its sheath with one hand and made a shushing gesture with the other: "Your master isn't panicking, so what are you yelling about?"

"..." Hou Jing felt that what the other party said made sense. He forced himself to calm down and asked in a low voice, "What brings you here?"

“My master wishes to see your master,” the man said. “Please invite him to the summit of Wangwu Mountain for a meeting.”

After saying that, he vanished from Hou Jing's sight.

Hou Jing jolted awake, rubbed his eyes, and looked around. The patrolling soldiers were still there as before, as if the uninvited guest from before was just a dream.

But he was certain that the man had actually come.

Hou Jing trusted his judgment, so he turned and went into the tent, whispering, "My Lord."

"I understand. You're coming with me." Erzhu Rong had obviously known about their conversation beforehand and had already changed into his precious, tattered armor.

"My Lord, who is that deity?" Hou Jing asked hastily.

"You'll find out when you get there." Erzhu Rong tightened the straps of his armor, clearly a little nervous.

He knew that the other party's master must also be a god, and that he himself was not in his best condition...

"Should we get more manpower? At least call on the King of Shangdang," Hou Jing suggested.

"Useless," Erzhu Rong said indifferently. "Let me teach you a lesson. If you don't want others to know you're weak, stop bluffing and doing useless things." "Yes, Your subordinate understands," Hou Jing hurriedly replied, bowing his head.

After he learned about the 'Heyin Incident,' although his lord didn't say it aloud, he was actually constantly blaming himself for giving such a bad idea...

So it's best to keep a low profile and behave yourself.

~~
The master and servant then leaped to the main peak of Wangwu Mountain, Tiantan Peak.

Wangwu Mountain is named for its shape resembling a king's house. It connects Shanxi and Hebei provinces and is a vital part of the capital city. It is known for its unique, rugged, and beautiful scenery and is the foremost of the ten great Taoist grotto-heavens.

Its main peak, Tiantan Peak, is known as the "Pillar of the World" and is revered as the "Ultimate Realm of Taoism." Every three li (approximately 1.5 kilometers) there is a palace, and every five li (approximately 2.5 kilometers) a hall, with incense burning ever brightly. Even today, hundreds and thousands of Taoist priests still reside here.

But when Erzhu Rong scanned the area with his divine sense, he found the entire Tiantan Peak to be deathly silent, with all the Taoists fast asleep.

Seeing that no one was awake, he couldn't help but spit out, "Damn it, I've been tricked."

"It's not the Divine Lord, look over there," Hou Jing pointed to the Sky-Gazing Stone at the highest point and reminded him.

"..." Erzhu Rong looked up and his pupils shrank. He saw a man and two women standing there, looking at him with different expressions.

He immediately broke out in a cold sweat. Even if he was injured and in poor condition, there shouldn't be any survivors. Even Chen Qingzhi couldn't escape his divine sense!
There is only one possibility: the opponent's strength far surpasses that of oneself.

'Could it be an ancient god?' Erzhu Rong muttered to himself, but then found it absurd. What ancient god could there be in this world?
"Are you mute?" The beautiful and dignified young woman asked with a playful smile that seemed out of place with her usual demeanor. "Come up and talk."

"..." Erzhu Rong looked at the three of them warily, feeling for the first time that he was finding it difficult to move forward.

"So he's deaf too." The girl giggled, her voice as melodious as a silver bell, yet it sent chills down his spine.

“My Lord, that was the man just now.” Hou Jing, oblivious to the dangers, whispered to Erzhu Rong.

"I know," Erzhu Rong managed to squeeze out the two words from his throat.

"So you're neither deaf nor mute, huh? Then hurry up and come up!" the girl laughed. "Or do we have to ask the Fifth Divine General to go down and invite you again?"

"No need." Erzhu Rong composed himself and leaped onto the boulder.

Hou Jing followed closely behind.

The two arrived at the Sky-Gazing Stone, where, under the clear moonlight, they saw the woman at the head of the group dressed in black, her head veiled in black. Even with Erzhu Rong's divine power, he could not see through the veil to her true face, only her dreamlike eyes.

He only glanced at those eyes before feeling a deep weariness and couldn't help but yawn repeatedly.

Erzhu Rong was terrified. He had to use almost all his divine sense to stay awake... If he hadn't been on guard, he probably would have fallen asleep without even realizing it.

The consequences are simply unimaginable.

"Tsk tsk." At this moment, the unmasked girl laughed: "I've long heard that Erzhu Rong of the Northern Dynasty was a remarkable hero, but who knew he was nothing special after meeting him today?"

"Why do you say that, Your Excellency?" Erzhu Rong asked, frowning.

Hou Jing was secretly astonished upon hearing this; he had never heard his lord use honorifics before.

“You’ve been panicking like a dog from the very beginning.” The girl sneered mercilessly, “So the Heavenly Slaughter God who slaughtered the entire Northern Wei court is nothing but a coward who bullies the weak and fears the strong.”

"I call this 'discretion is the better part of valor'," Erzhu Rong snorted. "You two have come from afar, surely not just to make fun of me?"

(End of this chapter)