Li Mochou traveled through many places, following the map provided by Wang Ming and asking people for directions.
She finally found Li Ping's home.
"Aunt, I am Wang Ming's disciple. Master told me to go out and travel, and instructed me to come and visit you when passing by here."
After confirming Li Ping's identity, Li Mochou began to build rapport and exchange pleasantries with her.
Li Ping said, "Mr. Wang is so thoughtful. It's rare for you to come here, Mochou, so you must stay here for a while before going back."
Li Mochou said, "Alright, Aunt."
Li Mochou's arrival initially attracted the attention of some people, but upon learning that she was the disciple of the Mr. Wang who used to live here, they paid her no more mind.
At night,
Because of Li Mochou's arrival, Li Ping kept busy making dinner to entertain the guest, even specially slaughtering a sheep.
When dinner was almost ready, Guo Jing, who worked under Temujin's command, also returned home.
Learning that a guest had arrived and that she was also his junior sister, he was very enthusiastic and entertained her.
Abundant food filled the table.
Guo Jing and Li Ping also took their seats at the table and were about to start eating.
Li Mochou suddenly stood up, sneaked around the perimeter of the tent to inspect it, and then returned to her seat.
Facing the mother and son, who were full of confusion, Li Mochou did not say much, and directly recited a section of the formulas for the Illusion Sword.
This was a passage Wang Ming had deliberately taught Li Mochou before she set out, promising to teach her the complete set once the task was accomplished.
Li Mochou said, "This is the formula for the Illusion Sword. It should be able to prove my identity, right?"
Guo Jing replied, "Naturally. This is Master's unique martial art."
Li Mochou said, "Master said that back when he was stranded in the desert, it was thanks to your mother and son saving him. A person cannot be ungrateful for such kindness."
Li Ping sighed and said, "Given how much Master has taught Jing'er over the years, whatever was owed was paid back long ago. There's no need to dwell on it."
Li Mochou said, "Master anticipated that you would say this. Master said that his life cannot be offset by a few books of the Four Books and Five Classics and martial arts manuals; it isn't that cheap."
Without waiting for Guo Jing and his mother to continue speaking,
she stood up again and went out to take a look around. This was what Wang Ming had instructed her to do in case someone was eavesdropping.
She returned to her seat once more.
Leaning slightly toward Guo Jing and his mother, she lowered her voice and said:
"Master asked me to convey this to you: once Temujin conquers the Jin Dynasty, he will definitely attack the Song Dynasty. What choice will you make then?"
Li Mochou paused, gave Guo Jing a complicated look, and continued:
"Right now, you are the Golden Blade Prince Consort, and if you continue to obey Temujin's orders to attack the Song Dynasty, you can presumably be enfeoffed as a khanate in the future."
Hearing this, Guo Jing immediately explained:
"Junior Sister, you've misunderstood. Ever since Rong'er died, I decided never to marry for the rest of my life. Therefore, this Golden Blade Prince Consort business has nothing to do with me. However, this matter does need to be made clear to the princess as soon as possible so as not to delay her. As for wealth and glory, I do not care about them at all, and let alone attacking the Song Dynasty—Guo Jing will never, ever do such a thing."
Guo Jing believed that Huang Rong had died, so he had vowed never to take a wife again.
Li Ping also suddenly said:
"These past few days, the Great Khan has suddenly shown us mother and son unparalleled favor, bestowing countless gold, silver, and jewels. Although it is said to be a reward for your service in the Western Expedition, I have lived in northern Mobei for twenty years and know quite a bit about the Great Khan's temperament. It seems there is another reason behind this, and it must be this matter."
Guo Jing took a brocade pouch sealed with fire-lacquer from his bosom:
"That's right. When the Great Khan handed this brocade pouch to me today, the expression on his face was quite unusual. I'm afraid this might be related to it."
Li Ping took the brocade pouch, examined it for a moment, and said:
"Open it and take a look."
"We can't. Breaking the golden seal on the fire-lacquer is a capital offense," Guo Jing hastily stopped her.
Li Ping smiled and said:
"The brocade-weaving technique of Lin'an Prefecture is famous throughout the world. Your mother is from Lin'an and learned this method since childhood. Why would we need to damage the fire-lacquer? We just need to pierce the brocade pouch, and mend it back to its original state afterward without the slightest flaw."
Guo Jing was overjoyed upon hearing this. Li Ping fetched a fine needle and gently unpicked the silk threads on the brocade.
Li Mochou quietly watched Guo Jing and his mother open the brocade pouch. Such a deeply affectionate man who cared nothing for wealth and glory and was willing to remain unmarried for the rest of his life for his deceased lover was truly a rarity in the world, which involuntarily made Guo Jing gain many points in her heart.
At the same time, she also felt terrified. Before her departure, this master who had forcibly taken her as a disciple had predicted the mother and son before her eyes, as well as this act of unpicking the brocade pouch, down to the smallest detail without the slightest error. How could she not be alarmed?
Yet she still harbored a sliver of wishful thinking, looking at the brocade pouch in Li Ping's hand and waiting...
However, her body was very honest and she was about to go out to patrol once more. She remembered that someone would supposedly eavesdrop this time.
As a result, the moment she lifted a corner of the tent flap, she saw a young woman clearly heading this way, and she was immediately startled.
She immediately turned back to stop Guo Jing and the others, returning to the table to pretend to make polite conversation.
Sure enough, a short while later, the woman entered the yurt to look for Guo Jing.
It turned out that this woman was none other than Princess Huazheng. Not wanting to slight Huazheng's face, Guo Jing took Huazheng out of the tent to talk outside, creating an opportunity for his mother.
Yet Li Mochou, sitting upright at the table now, had beads of light, cold sweat breaking out on her smooth, clean forehead.
Master had once said that if she failed to guard against eavesdroppers on this trip, Guo Jing might not die, but she and Li Ping definitely would.
A wave of relief welled up in her heart; it was a good thing she had taken Master's words to heart.
Now she didn't even dare to call Wang Ming her cheap master in her mind, fearing that Wang Ming would perceive it.
Guo Jing casually found an excuse to dismiss Huazheng and returned to the tent.
He saw that his mother had already opened the brocade pouch and pulled a piece of paper from the seam.
Guo Jing walked over and unfolded it with his mother. As they looked at it, they stared at each other in blank dismay, and a chill involuntarily ran through both of their bodies.
It turned out that what was written on the paper was a secret decree from Genghis Khan, ordering Ögedai Khan, Tolui, and Guo Jing to immediately move their three armies southward after breaking the Jin Dynasty, take Lin'an by storm with lightning speed to annihilate the Song Dynasty, and henceforth unite the realm under Mongolia. The secret decree further stated that if Guo Jing could achieve this great merit, he would certainly be enfeoffed with land and crowned a king with generous rewards, but if he harbored any disloyal intentions, Ögedai Khan and Tolui already held imperial edicts to execute him immediately, and his mother would likewise be subjected to death by a thousand cuts.
Guo Jing stood dazed for a long time before saying, "Mom, if you hadn't opened the pouch and seen this secret decree, the lives of our mother and son would not have been preserved. Thinking that I am a man of the Song, how could I betray my country for glory?"
Li Ping said, "What should be our course of action now?"
Guo Jing said, "Mom, you will just have to endure some hardship, and we shall flee back south overnight."
Li Ping said, "Indeed. Go and pack quickly, and make sure not to leak any traces."
While Guo Jing and his mother were discussing, Li Mochou went to ask for the secret decree. Logically speaking, Guo Jing shouldn't have given it to her, but at this point, nobody cared anymore.
Li Mochou took the secret decree and was likewise shocked.
The contents above were also much the same as what Wang Ming had said.
Instantly, the trace of wishful thinking in her heart completely died.
At this moment, in Li Mochou's mind, Wang Ming was no longer human; he was a monster.
"Stop packing, run immediately." Li Mochou was very anxious at this moment.
"Junior Sister, we still have plenty of time. I'll go bring a few more horses to prevent the Great Khan from sending troops to chase us," Guo Jing said.
"Stupid! The entire tribe is Temujin's eyes and ears. If you go bring a few horses over with such a huge commotion, even a fool would know something is wrong." Li Mochou was somewhat panic-stricken at this point.
"That's right. What Miss Mochou says is correct. I'll go fetch two horses and we'll leave immediately."
Then, the three of them took only the necessary dry rations and horses, and under the cover of night, fled the camp and headed south.
Li Mochou herself did not know how to ride a horse, but Wang Ming felt that how could a tool person who couldn't ride a horse work? Wouldn't that ruin things?
Thus, he acted as a strict teacher, supervising her in learning to ride.
Thinking of this, a sense of grievance would well up in Li Mochou's heart. Being such a grown-up, she was still beaten with rattan switches by Wang Ming, and in a very mischievous manner at that.
She couldn't beat him, so what could she do?
The baby is suffering in her heart, but the baby doesn't say.
As they neared the Song border, the pursuers finally came. Fortunately, they had set off early, and with Guo Jing leading the way and continuously taking detours, they finally managed to enter the city first by a hair-raising margin.
By that time, the horses of Li Ping and Li Mochou had collapsed to the ground foaming at the mouth; Guo Jing's horse was a Blood-Sweating Stallion, incomparable to ordinary horses like theirs.
This final sprint had squeezed out their last remaining potential.
Once Guo Jing entered the city, he immediately relaxed, and so did Li Ping.
"We've entered the territory of the Song Dynasty; the Mongolian troops and horses cannot enter. Let's find a place to rest for a while, shall we?" Guo Jing proposed.
"Keep running! Don't stop until we've walked out of this city. Master said that the spine of the Song has been broken; threatened by Mongolia or given some benefits, they will sell us out just like Duan Tiande." Li Mochou now treated Wang Ming's words as golden rules and resolutely carried them out.
Hearing this, Li Ping also proposed continuing the journey.
Only after they left the border town did they begin to rest and reorganize.
Before you continue