CH 69

Chapter 69: That Incident That I Regret.

Bian Zhonghua raised his eyebrows, thought for several seconds, and finally said: “For as long as I can remember, I’ve been open and honest in all my actions. I have always had a clear conscience, and I never regretted anything in my life. However, on a faraway trip, I experienced an incident that I regret every time I think about it now. The secret I want to tell you is about that ‘incident’ that I regret.”

Originally, Qi Ci wanted to guess what Bian Zhonghua’s third secret was about by beating around the bush. Unexpectedly, what Bian Zhonghua said left Qi Ci even more confused than before. In the end, he had to secretly hope to get better soon, so that he could buy a few jars of strong wine and have a good drink with Bian Zhonghua.

After resting in the Lu Residence for a few days, Bian Zhonghua realized that he couldn’t find good medicinal herbs in this village. So, he reorganized the team and embarked on the road again.

The road was long, and as the sound of horse hooves echoed on the ground, Qi Ci found himself sitting inside the carriage. Wrapped in thick fur quilts, he was leaning against a corner with his eyes closed, resting. Ever since he got injured that day, Qi Ci found himself more tired than usual, often ending up sleeping for the whole day. While he slept, he used to feel a kind of stabbing pain in his chest, but when he woke up and carefully examined himself, he couldn’t find any injury there. Only his red birthmark.

Qi Ci merely assumed that he was too tired, and since he didn’t want to trouble Bian Zhonghua, Qi Ci didn’t bother to tell him.

When the group arrived on a rugged mountain road, the carriage swayed and shook. Inside, Qi Ci was slightly disoriented by the shaking, but he remained dimly asleep. Suddenly, the carriage stopped abruptly, and only then did Qi Ci wake up completely.

Qi Ci lifted the curtain of the carriage and asked the Imperial Bodyguard outside: “What’s wrong?”

The Imperial Bodyguard clasped his fist and saluted Qi Ci, only to say next: “Your Highness, the road is blocked by the collapse of the mountain. We can’t move forward.”

Qi Ci was surprised: “The mountain has collapsed?”

The Imperial Bodyguard replied: “Don’t worry, Your Highness. Lord Bian has gone to find out what the situation is.”

At that moment, Bian Zhonghua was standing on top of the rubble, looking into the distance in surprise.

This wasn’t a slight mountain slide. It was clear that half of the mountain had collapsed.

More than a dozen miles of mountain road was fully crushed with stones and soil, there was no way to pass at all. Not only that, but even the green hills behind the mountain road seemed to have been slashed in half by a cold sword, and where it collapsed, red mud was falling down. Within the red mud, one could faintly see the intertwined roots of the trees.

On top of that, Bian Zhonghua could feel the residue of a strong demonic qi.

Bian Zhonghua guessed that this demonic qi should belong to an extremely powerful demon who had been sealed in this green mountain in the past. Now, it must have found an opportunity to escape, making it look like the mountain had fallen apart on its own.

Bian Zhonghua frowned.

He had clearly planned to cross this mountain road and stay in a small town by evening. But now, with the road collapsed like this, the carriage will be unable to pass. Qi Ci was still injured, and Bian Zhonghua didn’t want him to sleep in the mountains at all.

Worried, Bian Zhonghua jumped down the pile of rubble as he thought about what he should do next. Suddenly, he saw a farmer with a straw hat standing by the rubble with a mattock on his shoulder.

When the farmer saw that Bian Zhonghua had an extraordinary presence and looked as light as a flying bird, he hastened to call out to him: “Gongzi! I saw that you were up there, may I know if the road ahead has collapsed significantly?”

Bian Zhonghua replied: “The road can’t be seen anymore.”

The farmer sighed: “Too bad, too bad. I wanted to clear the way with this mattock, but I’m afraid that it will be impossible to clean the road. With this mattock alone, it would take several hundred years.”

Bian Zhonghua asked: “Why has this place become like this?”

The farmer replied: “A few days ago, in the middle of the night, for some reason the ground suddenly shook, the birds flew away and the beasts roared. After a while, it finally calmed down, but by that time, the mountain should have already collapsed. I heard an old man in our village say that there was an ancient fierce beast sealed deep into this mountain! I’m afraid that beast has escaped, and this world won’t be as peaceful anymore.”

After hearing the farmer mention a village, Bian Zhonghua hurried to ask: “Is there a village near here?”

The farmer nodded: “Yes, you can see a fork in the road a few dozen miles to the east, then turn towards the narrower road! Although the road is narrow and difficult to walk by, after another seven or eight miles, through the deep forest, you will find yourself standing on the ridge of a valley overlooking a broad lake with distant mountains. The village is located next to the lake!”

Bian Zhonghua thanked him and returned to the group. Bian Zhonghua was now ready to lead the group to settle down in the village mentioned by the farmer earlier, to rest and reorganize for one night before setting off again.

Then, Bian Zhonghua and the two Secret Servants finished making decisions. One of the Secret Servants had no objections and nodded his head in agreement, however, the other Secret Servant had a difficult expression on his face. When Bian Zhonghua noticed his strange appearance, he asked: “What’s the matter with you?”

The Secret Servant said: “Lord Bian, I came here to perform a task in the past, and I don’t remember there being a village around here. I’ve also been to the place you just mentioned, and there is indeed a lake there, but the lake is surrounded by mountains, located at the bottom of the valley. This lake has no source or flow, and the water looks stinky and green, like a dead lake.”