“I asked for a well-being charm for you.”

Every time the Qin Emperor left the palace, he would be accompanied by grand honour guards. The imperial guards cleared the path as the commoners stood in line on the street to watch. It was majestic, and of course, extremely troublesome. 

That was why they were only sitting in a low-key carriage at this moment with blue curtains blocking out the busy street view outside. 

This carriage was no different from other carriages on the street. 

They were on a secret trip this time. 

Ji Yue dressed very normally today. A long azura-blue cheongsam and a conical bamboo hat hid his charming facial features, making him appear gentler. 

He handed another of the same hat to Wei Lian, who was dressed in green. “Put this on later.”

Ganquan Temple’s incense burned vigorously as noble and official ladies often climbed the mountain to burn incense and pray. The men in the family also tagged along occasionally. Ji Yue and Wei Lian have special identities. If they were recognised on the mountain, it would cause enormous chaos. 

Wei Lian nodded. 

The carriage travelled all the way to the foot of Bailu Mountain as this was the furthest the carriage could go. The rest of the way was required to be made on foot. Many carriages from the official guests also stopped here, many rich and well-fed madams as well as precious ladies with veils came down from within. 

Wei Lian put on his hat, covered his delicate face with the hanging white veil, and leaned over to lift the curtain. 

The air was slightly humid from the rain last night and today’s sky was quite cloudy. There were many people wearing the same hat, helping the duo to be less eye-catching. 

However, the moment he and Ji Yue came down from the carriage, they still attracted a lot of attention. Bailu Mountain was, after all, mostly filled with female visitors. Having two young men with outstanding posture suddenly appear, they were bound to catch everyone’s eyes. Evey if their appearances were covered, their figures were still on display. 

The crowd wondered which husbands these two were. 

The long stone steps stretched all the way up and they were already crowded with people. Many young ladies that stayed in their chambers constantly lacked the strength or the stamina. With slippery stone steps on top of that, they had to take consistent rests between every few steps. 

Ji Yue was not a fan of big crowds, so he clenched Wei Lian’s hand and whispered, “Let’s go another way.”

Wei Lian raised his eyes and let Ji Yue lead him the way. 

* * *

Back of the mountain... 

Looking at the mottled and weed infested stone steps in front of him, as well as the muddy potholes from the rain, Wei Lian pondered for a moment and asked sincerely, “Where is the path?”

Ji Yue raised his chin, “Up ahead.”

Wei Lian turned and left. 

Why did he come here to dirty his shoes instead of taking the well-maintained and open road?

Lian Gongzi, who has a slight obsession with cleanliness, was very much against this. 

Ji Yue smiled behind him and brought up, “Wei Lian, is your light movement skill not good enough to keep your shoes free of dust and your clothes free of leaves?”

Wei Lian paused and turned back. 

“Of course not.”

When the two’s eyes met, they dashed out at the same time. The two figures raced through the forest like an arrow released from the bow’s string. 

Green and slender bamboo as far as the eyes could see with lingering dewdrops that brought out their verdant colour. With the duo’s excellent light movement skill, they advanced, hardly touching the ground with the help of the steady bamboos.

The oncoming wind brought fresh air, blowing open Wei Lian’s gauze veil attached to his hat. The young man with picturesque features, a green outfit with a folding fan, it was as if he was integrated with his green surroundings. 

Not long before they set foot on flat ground built on the hillside. 

Ji Yue landed before Wei Lian, only by a few moments. 

Both of them have stable breath and spotless outfits. 

Ji Yue looked sideways and commented, “You are a step slower.”

He raised his head and brushed a bamboo leaf on Wei Lian’s hat.

Wei Lian calmly replied, “You have mud on the soles of your shoes.”

The older man did not move a step after landing, even tried to rub off the mud on the sole of his shoes. Did he expect that Wei Lian would miss it?

Ji Yue: “...”

He was convinced, “This one lost. Young Hero Wei is very talented.”

Wei Lian was too lazy to deal with this childish man. 

He turned back towards where they had just come from—or rather flew from. It was covered with mud for a long distance, like there was never a plan to repair the path. 

Any ordinary person who went this way using the steps would be tried to death. 

Wei Lian asked, “How did you know there is another way in at the back of the mountain?”

Ji Yue replied, “We lived in Ganquan Temple for a period of time. So it was natural for us to know. Many apprentice monks would use this path to carry water.”

Wei Lian corrected, “...They are not apprentice monks, they are ascetic monks.”

This was not a path meant for walking, all right!

A smile rippled from Ji Yuw’s face. “Are you not curious about the reason for my stay here?”

Because this was a private trip, he no longer needed to use the royal address. 

They were the only ones in this remote back mountain with lush bamboo forests, it was rather quiet and relaxing. 

Wei Lian replied, “It is not hard to guess.”

Ji Yue said, “Oh?”

“My guess is that every time you return from a victorious battle, you would stay in Ganquan Temple for a few days.” Wei Lian glanced at the older man. 

Ji Yue was stunned. 

“You said you did not believe in ghosts and deities, and you do not believe in religion.” Wei Lian watched him quietly. “But you said, you will believe it if it means helping…mother’s soul find peace.”

Ji Yue’s mother was also his mother now. 

“You actually do not like to kill.”

“You do not like war, blood, separation, but do it anyway.” Wei Lian whispered, “If you do not do these things, someone else will. You just did it faster than others and made it end earlier.”

Ji Yue had never been bloodthirsty, never loved to massacre, and was not a tyrant. But it was necessary. 

There was someone who was willing to raise the butcher’s knife to protect the common people. 

But it did not mean erasing the fact that such a task was covered in immorality. 

Wei Lian patted the older man on the shoulder, “I also know how tired you are.”

How could a person not be tired after carrying and supporting this huge burden?

The year Ji Yue pacified the civil strife among the former Empress Dowager’s relatives, the internal situation of the Qin Empire was chaotic. The fifteen-year-old young Emperor seemed far from old enough to be a great ruler. 

The Qin Empire was a fat meal in other countries’ eyes, waiting to be divided up by a group of scheming and treacherous people. 

So…he struck first. 

He launched nine wars in twelve years and was triumphant. He was also despised by people all over the world, bearing countless curses and resentment. 

Ji Yue’s hand holding the sword was nothing less than firm. 

Killing people on the battlefield without blinking an eye, spreading his nickname as King of Underworld all over the world. 

But unbeknownst to everyone, the cold faced and ruthless King of Underworld was the one who was the most tired of everything and just wanted it to end. During the celebration of each victory, their peerless supreme Emperor needed to stay in the temple to dispel the eternal nightmare of the war, help the souls of the deceased find peace, and silence the wailing that was deep like the ocean.

He was not afraid, just sad. 

Even the people in the Qin Emperor palace forgot that his Majesty was just a teenager who liked rabbits. 

It was very cruel for a boy who likes rabbits to shoulder the responsibility of the ruler during troubled times. 

These were things that Ji Yue never mentioned before, but Wei Lian could deduce them. 

* * *

Wei Lian gently hugged him to soothe him. 

Ji Yue lowered his eyes slightly, and the light in his eyes flickered, like a thin layer of snow fell off a tall and strong cedar that had endured for a long time. 

Then, the spring breeze turned into rain. 

“Cough—!” A cough interrupted their hug. 

“We are on holy land, would the two benefactors be mindful of their behaviour.” 

Wei Lian immediately separated himself from Ji Yue, but his hand was still tightly held by the older man. 

The visitor looked with a ‘hideous’ expression.

It was a young monk dressed in a monk’s robe, about twenty-five or twenty-six and looked very handsome. 

If this monk was to grow out his hair, he would be a very handsome young master. 

Ji Yue greeted, “Master Jing Chen.”

Wei Lian: “?!”

He heard how Ji Yue described Master Jing Chen. 

A man of good moral standing, profoundly skilled as a senior monk, and the temple’s abbot. 

Shouldn’t he be an old man with a white beard?

Ji Yue explained, “Although Master Jing Chen is young, he has high seniority with overwhelming accomplishments. 

Jing Chen was proud of the praise. “Amitabha阿彌陀佛 I know this phrase has a deep meaning as it mean ‘may the lord Buddha preserve us!’, but from my point of view as someone who does not practice in religion, it’s like people saying amen at random time. , the benefactor over-flatters.”

But he could not suppress the smile at the corner of his mouth. 

Wei Lian uttered, “...Hello, Master.”

Jing Chen smiled brightly. “Yes, yes.”

Wei Lian: “...”

This man did not look like a high monk at all…

“Benefactor Ji, we meet again.” Jing Chen returned to the main topic. “This monk is an old acquaintance of  Benefactor Ji and would like to talk about our former times. Could this young benefactor wait for the time being?”

Wei Lian looked at Ji Yue who gave a small nod. 

Wei Lian looked away and said, “Then I will offer incense at the front yard first.”

* * *

A winding path led to a secluded residence, a temple rich with flowers and trees, lush forests and bamboo, the chirping of birds and flowing mountain streams, all encouraging good monastic practice.

The quiet environment was very suitable for self-cultivation. This was also the reason why Ji Yue always found peace here after a battle. 

Otherwise, he would have been driven crazy going back into the deep palace cage that brought him many bad memories just after the bloody battlefield. 

In the courtyard, two men sat opposite of each other with a tea set on the stone table. 

Jing Chen hit the nail on the head. “Benefactor Ji is here to talk about the change in Tianrui Star’s movement?”

The only change in Ji Yue was his eyes. “Yes.”

“What was told to you is true.” Gone with Jing Chen’s prior unreliable appearance, even his tone was dignified. “A great disaster is coming, and there will be a ray of bloody disaster in the southeast.”

Southeast again. 

Ji Yue asked, “Can this disaster be safely handled?”

Jing Chen replied, “Yes. But I fear…that time has passed. There is only one way to turn the tide.”

“A way to avoid this disaster will all depend on the benefactor with you just now.”

The emotion in Ji Yue’s eyes sank. “What do you mean?”

Jing Chen made himself a cup of tea. “That benefactor has a divine fate.”

Ji Yue: “...?”

Was Wei Lian some kind of man that had to exist?

Having the True Dragon fate was not enough, now there was divine fate on top of it?

“There is nothing for Benefactor Ji to worry about. That benefactor is a secular mediator and his fate should be extremely precious.” Jing Chen used ‘should be’ which made Ji Yue’s heart sink. 

Only ‘should be’?

Jing Chen continued, “He was in contact with divine energy…maybe a stroke of luck. Someone from beyond this world has granted him the ability, which can be used in this disaster. Only he can solve this.”

But the price might be…his life.

Someone from beyond this world…?

The first person that came to Ji Yue’s mind was Wei Lian’s mysterious Shifu. 

There are all kinds of wonders in the world. There are always things that are beyond ordinary people’s cognition. Commoners burn incense and take part in a religion, believe in ghosts and deities, the imperial household offer sacrifices to pray for rain, fortune-telling, and ordinary people are always in awe of heaven and nature. 

And in this world, there must be people beyond this world who cultivated the divine path. There have always been many rulers who have sought after the elixir of immortality their whole lives and are eager to see the trace of immortals in order to live forever. 

But those who exist live in seclusion and do not interfere in human affairs. 

Ji Yue hurriedly asked, “Will he be safe?”

Jing Chen shook his head. “This monk sees…death plagues him. Everything points to disaster.”

Ji Yue’s pupils dilated. 

* * *

“Ji Yue!” Wei Lian squeezed out from the crowd and saw Ji Yue coming towards him. His eyes lit up and ran over. 

Ji Yue looked up and said, “Yes?”

“I asked for a well-being charm for you. Done by a great master.” Wei Lian put the talisman into Ji Yue’s hand. “You must wear it to keep you safe.”

Ji Yue looked at the well-being charm in a slight daze. 

“What did you and the Master talk about?” Wei Lian asked offhandedly. 

After a moment’s silence, Ji Yue closed his hand with the talisman inside and said with a smile, “Nothing much.”

“Just former times.”