Meanwhile, at the foot of a mountain not far from Mount Tai, Ye Xingchen slowly arrived with his arms folded. He remembered that the last time he had come here seemed to have been with that fellow Ye Fan. Looking back on it now truly filled him with wistful sighs. Lost in thought, he glanced back at Chu Feng and could not help teasing him:
"We've barely been walking, and you're already exhausted. Don't tell me your kidneys are weak? A young man shouldn't be like this. There are certain handiworks you ought to give up, or these underlying problems will wound your dignity when you have to fight someday!"
Panting for breath, Chu Feng looked somewhat helpless when he heard this. They had traveled nearly a hundred kilometers along the way, he thought. Covering that distance on his own two legs was simply too much for him. Wanting to cry but having no tears, he shook his head and complained:
"Brother Ye, stop teasing me. Do you think I'm as strong as you? This is sheer torture! If we keep walking at your pace, my legs are going to snap! I can't compare with you!"
Unconvinced, Ye Xingchen shook his head. Looking at the stairway reaching toward the sky before him, he slowly walked onward. Since ancient times, he thought, Mount Tai had been a place visited by princes, nobles, generals, and ministers. In those dynasties that had reached the pinnacle of power, even supreme emperors had come here to perform the Feng and Shan sacrifices.
What they sought was not everlasting life, but peace and prosperity for their dynasties, with favorable winds and timely rain. This alone showed just how exalted Mount Tai's position had been within those dynasties.
Thoughtfully, he glanced at the corpse before him and