Tang Dynasty Bandits

Chapter 130 Revisiting Mount Tai
After Lan Suting was held in Zhuoying's arms, Zhuoying, like a cat smelling thorns, pressed her chest against Lan Suting's shoulder with joy and inhaled the faint orchid fragrance on Lan Suting's body.

This womanly demeanor, so immersed in love, was far more beautiful to Zhu Wen than her usual reserved and dignified self.

"Is Fairy Zhuoying planning to trick my Zhizhen into bathing with her this time?" Zhu Wen's lips curled up slightly, revealing a playful smile: "She's still young. It's fine for her to bathe with Junmei, but she should wait a while before getting involved with Lady Zhuoying. Otherwise, she might get addicted and lose interest in her studies."

Lan Suting blushed deeply and covered her face with her small hands, saying, "What...what are you saying..."

"Now I'm talking to Fairy Zhuoying as your elder brother, Zhizhen. As the eldest brother, I have to make the decisions about your marriage," Zhu Wen said, seizing on the past when he tricked Lan Suting into recognizing him as his elder brother.

Zhuoying was a little embarrassed when his thoughts were exposed, and retorted, "Since you all consider yourselves to be Zhizhen's brother, you should be more mindful of your words. I have never heard of such playful banter between siblings."

This woman was clearly begging Zhu Wen for a favor, yet she dared to speak so frankly, which was somewhat unexpected for Zhu Wen.

However, he wasn't offended and laughed, "Well said. Besides, I should avoid suspicion."

He suddenly reined in his horse and stopped. Then a giant wolf, almost the size of a tiger and entirely white, emerged from the dew-covered grass. Beside it was another giant wolf of similar size with brown fur, which gently rubbed its head against the white wolf's face.

"Xiao Bai, is this your wife?" Zhu Wen asked with a smile.

The white wolf raised its head and howled, seemingly in response to Zhu Wen's words.

Zhu Wen immediately grabbed Tian Jun by the waist and pulled her into his arms. Tian Jun had been a little jealous watching Zhu Wen carry Lan Suting on his lap and strategize, but now that Zhu Wen was hugging her in public, she felt both shy and happy.

"This is Tian Si Niang, my Jun Mei, my current lover. You met her before. Isn't she as beautiful and lovely as your wife?"

Rather than showing off his romantic partners to others, Zhu Wen preferred to share his happiness with his animal friends.

The white wolf's eyes shone with a clear amber light as it affectionately nuzzled its head toward Tian Jun.

"Touch it, Little White likes you very much." Zhu Wen stuffed a large piece of prepared jerky into Tian Jun's hand.

Tian Jun readily accepted the jerky and fed it into the white wolf's gaping maw without any fear.

The white wolf took a small bite and then fed most of it to the brown she-wolf. The she-wolf swallowed it whole and then eagerly licked the white wolf's ear with her tongue.

When she was about to pet the white wolf, Tian Jun hesitated slightly. But seeing the giant wolf's intelligent eyes, she had no more doubts and placed her hand down, gently stroking the white wolf's raised head.

The white wolf let out a comfortable hum, appearing to be thoroughly enjoying itself.

"Your friend's fur is so soft, completely different from that of a regular wolf." Tian Jun was somewhat surprised that a giant wolf almost the size of a tiger had a coat of fur as fine as a weasel's.

"Its fur was softer when it was a puppy." Zhu Wen admired his old friend's beautiful and majestic appearance, feeling that its white fur shimmered in the sunlight, like a creature from a dream.

"I don't know what breed Little White is. But a white wolf king like this must be quite rare."

During the last battle at Mount Tai, Xiaobai lost several of its members. However, for wolves, it is only natural for the wolf king to repay the life-saving grace of its cubs, and for them to fight desperately for the wolf king, even to the point of dying for it.

Wolves have a very strict social hierarchy, with only the alpha and queen having mating rights. They are extremely loyal in their relationships, and the alpha will let the queen mate first when feeding. If other wolves try to interfere, they will often be attacked and even killed.

Zhu Wen suddenly realized that he had traveled to many places with Xingxiang in the past, so why hadn't he brought her to see Xiaobai?

However, it's unclear what their relationship would be. They've never confessed their feelings to each other; they're just friends.

Tian Jun was unaware that while Zhu Wen was holding her, he was thinking of his former love. She happily fed the two wolves jerky and stroked their fur with pleasure.

The brown female wolf's fur wasn't as soft as the white wolf's, but Tian Jun still seemed to like it very much.

A knight who loves freedom like her wouldn't dislike wolves. Of course, that's on the condition that the wolves don't harm her beloved warhorse; otherwise, she would develop a strong aversion to them.

Such a beautiful pair of wolves even made Zhuoying a little tempted. She cautiously approached on horseback, intending to offer them food, but the white wolf suddenly widened its eyes and let out a fierce howl, which startled Zhuoying's horse, causing it to neigh loudly and stand up on its hind legs.

Zhuoying hurriedly pulled on the reins, squeezing her long legs together to avoid falling off the horse, but this frightened Lan Suting, who was in her arms, so much that her face turned pale.

"Xiao Bai doesn't seem to like you very much," Zhu Wen said to Zhuo Ying. "Perhaps it's because Lady Zhuo Ying has too many thoughts about you."

Chuo Ying asked in bewilderment, "But if we're talking about intellect, who can surpass the unparalleled wisdom of Liang Yu Lang Jun?"

Zhu Wen readily accepted Zhuoying's flattery: "What I meant was that Xiaobai couldn't sense any sense of freedom from Lady Zhuoying."

The silhouette remained silent.

Her upbringing made it difficult for her to experience true freedom. Only when she confided her feelings to Lan Suting could she feel a sense of unbridled joy.

Zhu Wen knew that there was nothing he could do about it, and he couldn't blame Zhuo Ying.

After bidding farewell to the two wolves, the group continued their journey towards Mount Tai, where the peaks along the way became increasingly rugged, precipitous, and beautiful.

As they approached Baiyun Temple, Zhuoying suddenly dismounted and left the group. Zhu Wen, accompanied by Lan Suting and Tian Jun, strolled leisurely into the temple gate.

"Summon your manager to come out and see me," Zhu Wen said rather rudely to the pretty maid who came forward.

He was now an acquaintance of the Taishan Sect, so of course they would recognize him.

The group was welcomed back into the Moon Palace. Then, an elderly woman dressed in luxurious clothes, surrounded by several sword fairies, slowly walked over: "I am the new head of Mount Tai. What business does Young Master Zhu have with me?"

The old woman appeared to be over sixty years old, with a mix of black and white hair, a face full of wrinkles, and eyes that revealed the vicissitudes of time. However, from her tall stature and prominent nose, one could still vaguely discern the figure and appearance of her youth.

"What makes you, old woman, call yourself the sect leader?" Zhu Wen sneered. "Where is Fairy Zhuoying now?"

"My men have received confirmation that Lady Ying has tragically perished due to her involvement in the battle between the rebel army and the government forces at Muling Pass..." The old woman tried her best to appear respectful.

"So, did you get the Zhenyi Alliance's approval to take over?" Zhu Wen continued to question.

"The leader of the Zhenyi Alliance is no longer alive..." the old woman explained.

"With the ascension of Alliance Leader Wang, his surviving disciple, Shang Rang, automatically became the new leader of the Zhenyi Alliance. Isn't that obvious? When you became the sect leader, did you report this to Shang Rang?"

The old woman, momentarily flustered by Zhu Wen's relentless questioning, replied, "I was recommended by the entire sect, but I haven't had a chance to consult with Lord Shangrang yet. I'll send someone there immediately..."

"No need, I, Zhu Wen, disagree." Zhu Wen suddenly felt bored and looked at the old woman with the eyes of someone looking at trash: "I heard that before the war you said that after the Grass Army was annihilated by Marshal Yan, you would capture 'that bitch' Zhuoying and send her to the Pinglu Army camp to entertain the troops?" Born in such a place, it's no wonder that Zhuoying is full of scheming. She lives a life of constant danger and walking on thin ice.

"This matter..." The old woman's eyes flickered, "How did Lord Zhu Wen know about it?"

With a single glance, seven or eight sword beams shot towards Zhu Wen.

But two of them suddenly turned around and stabbed towards the old woman.

A figure in white entered gracefully through the side door, her movements ethereal, like a fairy treading on water.

The old woman finally turned completely pale.

She leaped back, dodging the two sword beams aimed at her.

Previously, several of Chuoying's confidants escaped and claimed that Chuoying's ambush of Chen Liqing had failed, and that he had been stabbed to death by Chen Liqing with a green-sinking spear, falling into the pool in the cave and leaving no trace of his body.

Faced with the men's plea for loyalty, the old woman did not immediately trust them, but instead locked them up.

But the appearance of the shadowy figure made the old woman realize that not only did Zhu Wen want to settle accounts with her for the previous capture of Lan Suting and handing her over to Chen Liqing, but the shadowy figure also wanted to wipe her and her cronies out of the world.

"The Five Peaks Incense Gathering is imminent, you cannot touch me! The Taishan Sect cannot afford another internal conflict!" the old woman screamed, waving her dragon-headed cane to block the sword light attacking her, her movements surprisingly swift.

“In such a fiery pit, old women would have an intense hatred for young and beautiful girls,” Zhu Wen sighed. “But there is indeed such a need in the world. For example, if there were no camp prostitutes, the number of respectable women who would be violated by the army would be a hundred times greater.”

No matter how high-class a brothel may be, it cannot change its fundamental nature as a cesspool. However, the enormous profits involved can only assimilate the women who have fallen into it; once they gain power, they transform from victims into perpetrators.

In comparison, it would be much better for Zhuoying to be the sect leader. After all, Zhuoying is deeply in love with Lansuting, and if she is too mean to the girls, Lansuting will not be happy.

As for completely destroying rules that people dislike, Zhu Wen never intended to do so, just as he always considered the Foolish Old Man Who Moved Mountains to be a foolish thing.

But if Lan Suting had similar thoughts, it would be different; Zhu Wen would only find her pure, lovely, and pitiful.

"I have made a grave mistake, but if I die, the Taishan Sect will only descend into chaos!" the old woman said resolutely. "Besides, Zhuoying does not have an absolute advantage right now. Does Young Master Zhu Wen really intend to engage in this bloody battle?"

"Who said we were going to fight? We'll just take you down." Zhu Wen said, grabbing Tian Jun by the back of her knee and lifting her up so that she could have a clear view of the situation in the hall.

The spear was thrown out like lightning, piercing the old woman's chest. With its remaining force, it also pinned a sword fairy behind her to the ground.

"You used too much force," Tian Jun said to Zhu Wen, looking down at him.

"It's nothing, I'm not some kid who's never killed before." Zhu Wen put Tian Jun down and turned to Zhuoying: "Anyone else you want to kill?"

Zhuoying's expression remained gentle and elegant, but her calm words sent chills down the spines of all the Taishan disciples in the hall.

"Have."

Judging from her appearance, she already had an absolute chance of winning the Five Peaks Fragrance Gathering, so she didn't mind launching a major purge within the sect before the competition.

However, Zhu Wen could understand Zhuoying's actions quite well. He also knew what terrible fate Zhuoying would suffer if Yan Shuai won the Battle of Muling Pass and bet on the Cao Army.

……

Deeper into the white clouds, in a pavilion, a man and a woman, both wearing veils, sit facing each other. On a stone table, they play a game of backgammon.

The woman suddenly giggled, "Looks like there's going to be more bloodshed on Mount Tai!"

Her voice was sweet and seductive; if an ordinary man heard it, he would surely melt.

The man opposite remained unmoved, and two beams of light, colder than ice, shot out from behind his veil, making him seem as if he were shrouded in a blanket of snow.

"It's just a small-scale operation, nothing special."

"Then can't we make this place interesting?" the woman said with a light laugh, covering her mouth.

“It would be dishonest to win if two against one.” The man’s voice was firm, and it was easy to guess who he was referring to as the “one.”

The woman glanced at the man and suddenly sighed, "In that case, we can only finish this game of chess first."

Her sigh seemed to carry a deep sorrow, captivating the heart and soul, enough to confuse even a renowned monk. But the young man opposite her didn't even glance at her, his demeanor remaining as aloof and icy as ever.

The woman continued, "Tell me, if people in the martial arts world knew that the Flower King of the Ming Cult and Yang Xingmi, the young master of the Hidden Sword Manor, were strolling arm in arm on Mount Tai, what would they say?"

The person on the other end seemed slightly taken aback, but then gave a reply.

"First of all, the closest we ever got was more than a foot apart, so there was no way we could be said to be swimming arm in arm."

"Secondly, Hidden Sword Manor is not like the Tang Clan of Bashu, where the manor is passed down from father to son. I, Yang Xingmi, am just one of the two true disciples, not some young master."

"Third, Mr. Yang does not like people older than himself, so please, Mr. Hua, have some self-respect."

If an average woman heard such a response, she would probably turn pale.

But the woman opposite her simply covered her mouth with her hand and burst into laughter, laughing so hard she was doubled over and couldn't straighten up.

A mountain breeze swept by, lifting the veil covering her face and revealing a stunningly beautiful, unparalleled face.

She had a pair of lake-blue eyes and a head of shiny, golden hair.

Yang Xingmi said he didn't like women older than himself, but the woman clearly looked to be only around twenty years old. On the other hand, Yang Xingmi, a top disciple of Cangjian Manor, although young, was definitely not under twenty.

"Brother Xingmi, what you said is extremely interesting, a hundred times more pleasant to hear than what ordinary stinky men say!" The stunning beauty praised loudly, genuinely admiring Yang Xingmi's answer.

Yang Xingmi ignored her, casually tossed the jade dice, and then used his long, slender, white fingers, as white as ice, to place the pieces: "Flower King, you lost this game."

(End of this chapter)