No matter how hot the weather, coolness could be easily found in the mountains north of Chang'an. The forests were dense, and mountain springs could be found occasionally, but not a single animal could be seen. Some said the mountains had long lost their spiritual energy, so all the animals had fled. Others said that the construction of Chang'an had altered the dragon veins, so the mountains, though seemingly lush, were actually long dead.
There were all sorts of theories, but the absence of animals in the mountains was an undeniable fact.
However, the vegetation was abundant, with towering trees requiring three people to encircle their trunks. Therefore, to call it a dead mountain was clearly illogical.
This was a very strange phenomenon. More than one Sui emperor had sent people to investigate, but none could find a reason for the lack of animals. Yet, the mountain did not soon become a barren, desolate mound, as many had confidently predicted. Naturally, another legend that arose from this was also debunked.
Many versions of the legend have circulated, but the most chilling is undoubtedly the one about the Sui Dynasty's demise on the day the mountain becomes barren. Of course, such a legend always involves a reclusive sage. Some say it was an old man with a white beard, possessing an ethereal and otherworldly air. Others say it was a fairy in flowing white robes, with fair skin and jade-like bones. Still others say it was spoken by a Buddhist ascetic, with a fierce face.
Regardless of who said it, the message remains the same.
The gist is that when the mountain becomes a barren mound, the Sui Dynasty will come to an end. This contradicts the prophecy that the crescent moon embracing Chang'an will ensure its survival. Naturally, the people of the Sui Dynasty were more inclined to believe the latter. As long as the mountain stands, Chang'an will remain.
The silence of the mountain was broken by the sound of footsteps crunching through fallen leaves. Three men and one woman appeared in this perpetually deserted mountain. There were no paths; walking on the thick layer of fallen leaves felt like walking on a thick carpet. It was comfortable, but the four people moving through the woods wore solemn expressions. Footsteps echoed, creating an eerie feeling of walking through the quiet, deep forest, almost like traversing the underworld.
Leading the way was a scholar-like figure in a long cloth robe, his age indiscernible. The remaining three were several meters behind him, walking in single file, each step following in the footsteps of the one before them. It seemed that the four of them had walked so far that only one person's footprints remained.
The scholar in the lead suddenly frowned, then quickened his pace. The others followed suit. Second in line was a village girl in a long blue floral dress, carrying a basket. Behind her was an elderly man in a royal blue robe, his gaze occasionally shifting to the young woman ahead of him with a complex expression.
Last in the procession was a young man. Dressed in brocade robes and adorned with a jade belt, he was clearly of high status. His features were delicate, with thin eyebrows and large eyes. His chin was slightly pointed compared to the others, but it was pleasing to the eye. His mouth was small, and his lips were red. This elegantly dressed young man seemed somewhat out of place walking with the other three.
The first was a scholar in plain clothes, the second a village girl, the third a wealthy man, and the young man himself appeared incongruous with them.
The scholar in plain clothes leading the way was Zhuo Buyi, but after gesturing, he quickened his pace. The others stopped following his footprints and instead fanned out to surround him. If one looked closely, one would notice that even walking on the soft fallen leaves, they left no trace. The decaying leaves remained unchanged after being trampled underfoot.
It appeared to be only one person's footprints.
Before the four of them was an open space, with a pile of extinguished charcoal beside a rock. Zhuo Buyi crouched down to feel the temperature of the charcoal, then shook his head and said, "They've been gone for at least half a day."
"I'm curious."
The young man in brocade robes, walking at the back, frowned slightly and said, "Why didn't they choose the fastest escape route? Why did they have to enter this mountain? Undoubtedly, escaping here would leave traces, more or less."
The old man in the royal blue robe was Li Nan. He seemed very respectful to the young man in brocade robes, bowing slightly as he answered, "Perhaps they weren't in a hurry to escape at all."
Zhuo Buyi nodded and said, "If they were in a hurry to leave, it means they didn't know about the court's plan to mobilize troops in the northwest. But if they're deliberately delaying like this, they've probably already found out. That means... at least a third person took another route and brought the news back, and the person who went into the mountain was just buying them time."
"It might not be a person. Crane Cry Daoist went west and found no trace. If it were a person, they couldn't hide it from his innate divine eyes,"
Li Nan said. "No."
The proprietress, dressed in a blue floral dress, squatted down beside the rock and examined it carefully. She then picked up some soil, smelled it, and said, "There weren't just two people here. Although there were traces of two people left along the way, I'm certain there were three who fled this way."
"If you say so, then it must be so,"
Li Nan said.
For some reason, there was something different in his eyes when he looked at the proprietress.
The proprietress, however, seemed to dislike him completely. She stood up and walked to Zhuo Buyi's side, saying, "One person's steps were unsteady. It wasn't left by the seriously injured young monk, but there was also someone with them whose martial arts skills were mediocre, or perhaps they didn't even know how to cultivate."
"Who could it be?"
The young man in brocade asked.
"You'll know when you find them."
The proprietress also seemed to dislike this young man in brocade, coldly replying before moving forward again. The young man's expression changed slightly, but he held back his anger. Li Nan approached him and whispered, "Your Highness, she once traveled west with Prince Zhong."
Upon hearing this, the brocade-clad young man addressed as "Your Highness" by Li Nan's expression subtly changed. His eyes, however, were filled with respect when he looked at the proprietress.
Just then, Zhuo Buyi's expression suddenly shifted: "Someone's coming from behind! They're moving very quickly!"
...
...
Fang Jie's first few days at the Martial Arts Academy were uneventful. Every morning he listened to the professors lecture on military strategy, read and wrote, and in the afternoon he would be taken by Qiu Yu to the waterfall to endure torture. Of course, occasionally he would be called away by Dean Zhou to have his body studied in a secret room.
Because Fang Jie rarely spent time with other students, rumors of his arrogance began to circulate within the Martial Arts Academy. And after arrogance, people would often add three words:
Arrogant good-for-nothing.
In the eyes of the other students, although Fang Jie's current strength was considerable, he couldn't cultivate and would sooner or later be surpassed by the other students who could. Cultivation is endless, and even the best physical physique is ultimately just a fixed, unchanging body. Therefore, the students' initial admiration for Fang Jie gradually turned into disdain.
Most people believed that although Fang Jie was currently very strong, within three years, Yu Xiao, Pei Chuxing, Xie Fuyao, and others, who were perhaps even stronger than him to begin with, might leave him far behind.
Fang Jie treated such comments as a passing breeze, completely ignoring them. He continued to associate with the same few friends: Zhang Kuang, Mo Xidao, and Xie Fuyao. Occasionally, he would have a drink with Yu Xiao and Pei Chuxing, though he would never offer to treat them.
On the sixth day after entering the Martial Arts Academy, the morning class was taught by Professor Mo Wanwu, who lectured on the use of scouts. In warfare, scouts are indispensable. Scouts are often the best soldiers handpicked by the army, responsible for reconnoitering enemy positions, terrain, and even assassinating enemy commanders.
Fang Jie and Zhang Kuang were both scouts by training, so when Mo Wanwu said today's topic was how to equip and manage scouts, they couldn't help but exchange a knowing glance.
"A good scout can sometimes be more effective than an army's general. The commander-in-chief is the army's brain, and the general is its two arms. Where the brain thinks, the arms follow. The scout is the commander-in-chief's eyes. A scout's success can lead to an army's victory. Similarly, a scout's failure can influence the commander-in-chief's judgment, leading to the defeat of the entire war."
"Professor!"
As Mo Wanwu finished speaking, a student raised his hand and said somewhat flippantly, "Aren't you exaggerating a bit? If scouts are really that important, why is the highest rank in a scout unit only a captain? A sixth-rank official, that's too low!"
"What's your name?"
Mo Wanwu asked. "Liu Shuang of Chuzhou."
The student stood up, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "My father is Liu An, the prefect of Chuzhou."
"I didn't ask who your father is."
Mo Wanwu replied calmly, then slowly walked to Liu Shuang's side and asked, "Do you think what I said earlier was somewhat exaggerated?"
"I just thought that while scouts are important, to say that they are the eyes of a commander-in-chief seems a bit too much. A commander must be knowledgeable in astronomy and geography, discerning right from wrong, and have a broad perspective. How could he make judgments based solely on information gathered by scouts? As far as I know, during the reign of Emperor Taizong, General Li Xiao, when pacifying Jiangnan, was once surrounded by the Southern army, yet he defeated 70,000 Southern soldiers with only 3,000 men. This seems to have nothing to do with scouts, doesn't it?"
"Are you from Chuzhou?"
"Yes!"
"Chuzhou is also in Jiangnan... Li Xiao was from the North."
Mo Wanwu said casually. "What do you mean by that, sir?"
Liu Shuang blushed, unable to contain his slight anger as he asked.
Mo Wanwu smiled and said, "Nothing, I just happened to remember that Li Xiao is from the North. What's wrong? Besides… let me ask you, Li Xiao's victory of three thousand against ten million is indeed brilliant. But if he had had scouts and mobs to gather intelligence beforehand, would he have fallen into the Southern army's ambush? And do you know that of those three thousand of the Sui Dynasty's most elite soldiers, only twenty-six remained after reinforcements arrived and they broke through the encirclement? Even if Li Xiao defeated the enemy, and everyone says he fought brilliantly, I despise him simply because he lost three thousand elite soldiers due to not gathering intelligence beforehand. Three thousand Sui Dynasty elites, exchanged for a mere tens of thousands of Southern army remnants—was it worth it?"
"Are you saying, sir, that you are stronger than General Li?"
Liu Shuang asked angrily. Mo Wanwu ignored him and continued, "It was precisely because of this battle that Li Xiao petitioned the court for forgiveness. Emperor Taizong, mindful of his great contributions, did not punish him, but Li Xiao never dared to neglect scouts again. To prevent such a tragedy from happening again, he invited many skilled warriors from the Imperial Guards to train soldiers, forming the first purely scout force in the Sui Dynasty. Before that, intelligence gathering was done by generals and commanders arbitrarily assigning a force. These things… are you aware of them?"
This last sentence was directed at Liu Shuang.
"I only know that you, sir, were disrespectful to General Li!"
Mo Wanwu sneered, "Is talking about respect the same as being respectful? Even if Li Xiao wasn't a god, does that mean he can't be criticized by later generations? I dare not say I'm better than Li Xiao, but I say he was wrong. And if you think I'm wrong, you can ignore it, but you're not allowed to argue."
"Why can you criticize General Li's mistakes, but we can't criticize you?"
Liu Shuang asked angrily. "Because Li Xiao is dead, even if I say he's wrong, he won't crawl out of the ground and beat me up out of anger. But I'm still alive. If you question what I say and I'm unhappy, I can beat you until your own mother wouldn't recognize you. Understand?"
"I… I disagree!"
Liu Shuang said, "How can a professor from the Martial Arts Academy be so unreasonable?"
"Because this is the Martial Arts Academy, whatever the professor says is right."
Mo Wanwu said, "I know many of you think he's right and I'm wrong. So how about this: tomorrow, all of you who think Liu Shuang is right will team up with him. I'll lead the remaining students in another team, of course, my team will only be one-fifth the size of yours. See how useful scouts are, you'll see."
Fang Jie smiled, finding himself quite fond of the Martial Arts Academy's style.