All Under Heaven Received His Grace, Mountains and Rivers Toppled

Zhou Cheng came back to his senses.

His gaze fell upon the bearded man's attire. Its style was utterly different from that of the south, and he could not help asking:

"Brother, are you from the north?"

The man did not wish to say much, but the youth's bearing truly stood out amid the crowd.

The bearded man was a seasoned escort who had traveled north and south. At a glance, he could tell that although the youth had brought only one servant—

Every gesture and movement nevertheless revealed an inborn nobility that was impossible to conceal.

This young master was either wealthy or noble—perhaps both.

Having lived through war, he had long since gained an extra measure of caution and vigilance.

After all, the realm had known peace for only a few years.

At that moment, he had brought his wife and child from the north to Mount Zhongnan solely to fulfill a vow at a Taoist temple.

The man did not wish to invite trouble and ignored him.

The child, sturdy and bright-eyed, was already sleeping soundly upon his broad shoulder.

His wife stood beside him. She was a gentle woman from Jiangnan.

The two made a striking contrast.

Hearing the voice, the woman turned around.

She first tenderly took the child from her husband's shoulder, then rubbed the man's shoulder and softly asked:

"If you're tired, just say so. You're always like this!"

There was a hint of reproach in her eyes.

The man answered her with a tender gaze. "I'm not tired."

Zhou Cheng walked over with a smile.

"This must be Sister-in-law. Brother, you truly are blessed."

Merely from hearing the youth speak, the woman knew he was certainly a southern noble. Only one raised in this capital could speak the refined local tongue so authentically.

Every inch of the capital was worth its weight in gold; living here was no easy matter.

She gently nudged her husband.

Only then did the man speak in a muffled voice.

"I cannot accept being called brother by a young master. We did indeed come from the north."

Upon hearing this, a puzzled look appeared between Zhou Cheng's brows.

"Brother, you crossed mountains and rivers, traveling a thousand miles to Mount Zhongnan. What exactly did you come here for?"

"Surely it wasn't merely to burn incense and pray for blessings?"

The burly man remained silent.

The woman gently clasped her husband's hand and took up the conversation.

"Young Master, do you know who is most famous upon Mount Zhongnan?"

"Of course—it is Junior Guardian Lu, whose might shakes the four directions," Zhou Cheng answered without thinking.

The woman smiled softly.

"Young Master must have come for the Junior Guardian as well. My husband and I came for the same reason."

Her words revealed her reverence for that Junior Guardian.

After hearing her, Zhou Cheng could not help feeling a trace of confusion.

He knew this couple could not possibly know his true identity, yet they were not wrong. He had indeed come for Lu Chen.

The woman seemed to perceive Zhou Cheng's confusion. She pointed toward the mountain road, where it was packed beyond measure, heads bobbing like waves and worshippers gathering like clouds.

Among them were quite a few dressed like the couple, presumably people from the north.

"Most of them come from the north, all to fulfill their vows to the Junior Guardian."

"Fulfill vows?"

Zhou Cheng grew even more baffled.

The woman sighed softly. A thread of sorrow appeared in her eyes as she slowly explained:

"Years ago, I followed my father north when he took up an official post. We happened to encounter the Northern Wind Cavalry riding south. Beacon fires rose everywhere, and all along the north they burned, killed, plundered, and robbed. In the end, my father also died there. Though he was from the south, his soul returned to the Northern Region."

After hearing this, Zhou Cheng roughly pieced together the woman's background.

She had originally come from an official family and moved north because her father had been transferred.

Her family must not have held much influence. Otherwise, how could they have ended up in that war-torn north?

"I had wished to prove my resolve through death, unwilling to suffer humiliation at the enemy's hands. Yet my husband risked his life to save me, and only then did I live to see this day."

Hearing this, the man tightly gripped his wife's hand, offering her silent comfort.

"But..." Deep memories filled the woman's eyes. "There were many refugees back then. More than thirty thousand of us traveled south together. Though we could look after one another, our numbers made too large a target for the northern light cavalry."

"They pursued us relentlessly, yet did not wipe us out in one sweep. Instead, they drove us to Fengling Ferry."

"Young Master may never have heard of this place, but in my heart, it is a place I can never forget for the rest of my life."

Zhou Cheng nodded. He was well versed in military strategy and knew the terrain of the north like the back of his hand.

"Fengling Ferry is a vital crossing on the Yellow River. Downstream lies Tong Pass; one river divides north and south, while the spirit of the Central Plains remains whole. At this place, a rooster's crow can be heard in three provinces. Crossing it grants direct entry into the south. Its strategic importance is no less than Hulao Pass."

Chen Ji spoke from the side, looking somewhat pleased with himself.

"My young master is learned and talented, knowing astronomy above and geography below. By the age of nine, he had already read through ten thousand volumes. With such vast learning, how could he not know a place like Fengling Ferry?"

Upon hearing this, the woman could not help regarding this young master three parts more highly, if it was truly so.

In this age, a family possessing ten books was already considered well-off. To have read ten thousand volumes, his family had to be an illustrious and eminent clan.

Zhou Cheng shot Chen Ji an unfriendly look.

Chen Ji promptly shut his mouth.

At that moment, the man beside them spoke coldly.

"The commander defending Fengling Ferry, faced with the threat of Northern Wind's fifty thousand soldiers, nevertheless declared that while fifty thousand lives were indeed precious, how could they be compared with the safety of the realm?"

Zhou Cheng nodded inwardly. Fifty thousand iron cavalry and fifty thousand commoners were like fish upon the chopping block.

Once Fengling Ferry fell, Northern Wind could bypass Hulao Pass.

The man sneered. "I hate people like that most—those who hang 'all the people under heaven' from their lips all day, while hiding every sort of thievery and debauchery in their hearts. Their bones are soft, yet every deed they do is the conduct of petty men."

Zhou Cheng merely smiled leisurely after hearing this.

The woman continued:

"We had thought death was inevitable. Who would have imagined that when the Junior Guardian learned of it, he rushed over through the night with nine thousand men of the Lu Family Army?"

At this, tears glimmered in the man's eyes, as though he had returned to that desperate time of howling northern winds and iron cavalry surging like a tide.

When one stood at the brink of doom and another risked his life to save him—

Who would not weep?

Men did not easily shed tears; they simply had not yet been moved to the depths of their hearts.

"I still clearly remember how the Junior Guardian looked when he arrived. He was covered in blood, and could only lie facedown upon his horse."

"He encountered several more days of fierce fighting on the road. The Junior Guardian had not closed his eyes for several nights, and with the bitter cold of the Northern Region, he had long been gravely ill. Yet he could not set aside the safety of thirty thousand commoners, so he came in person."

"By then, he could no longer hold himself up, yet he still kept saying—"

"'I came too late.'"

"'I, Lu Shenzhou, came too late. I made you suffer.'"

As the man spoke of this, even his lips trembled, and his voice sank lower.

"Nine thousand men of the Lu Family Army fought fifty thousand Northern Wind cavalry in a bloody battle. They slew eight thousand enemies, and of the Lu Family Army brothers, only a little more than three thousand remained. The Lu Family Army feared not death, and even Northern Wind was frightened into retreat."

Zhou Cheng frowned. He had long memorized the battle reports of the Lu Family Army in the Northern Region, but did not recall any incident at Fengling Ferry.

The man said bitterly:

"Not a single soldier from Fengling Ferry ever came out. Only after the battle ended did the Junior Guardian have the city gates opened."

"That commander set a condition: the military merit would belong to him, and then the gates would open."

"The Junior Guardian agreed."

For some reason, the man suddenly grew somewhat melancholy.

"The Junior Guardian agreed without the slightest hesitation."

"At that time, quite a few among the thirty thousand commoners wished to join the Lu Family Army, but the Junior Guardian refused every one of them."

The man could no longer control his voice. His sobs grew stronger.

"The Junior Guardian said with a smile..."

"'Outsiders, go home early.'"

By this point, the man's voice had become hoarse, and hot tears filled his eyes.

"If I had not needed to protect A'ru back then—she was a girl, and I truly could not rest easy—I would certainly have knelt and begged the Junior Guardian to let me lead his horse and carry his whip."

A'ru was the woman's name.

With one hand, the woman held the child; with the other, she tightly grasped the man's hand.

The man said, "The Junior Guardian once told us to go home early, marry, and have children. Once there were children, there would be hope. If we truly had one, we only needed to let him know."

As they spoke standing there, their hearts and courage shone clear; a man's promise weighed a thousand pieces of gold.

"We promised the Junior Guardian back then. How could we dare break our word?"

"Compared to the Junior Guardian's three days and three nights, racing a thousand miles in a forced march, what did our journey from the Northern Region amount to?"

The man gently stroked the child in his wife's arms, his eyes full of emotion.

"Later, the Junior Guardian retired to Mount Zhongnan. Now this child is already three years old. Some things delayed us over the past three years, but my wife and I thought that no matter what, we had to come this year and tell the Junior Guardian."

"Whether the Junior Guardian knows or not, we had to come."

"We call it fulfilling a vow!"

After hearing this, Zhou Cheng carefully looked at the people on the mountain path who wore the same clothes as the man. Quite a few of them had brought children as well.

The man smiled.

"Young Master needn't look any further. Back then, only thirty thousand of us were saved by the Junior Guardian. But who knows how many tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands throughout the Northern Region have received his grace?"

Hearing this, Zhou Cheng could not help recalling the time Lu Chen had requested leave to retire.

A minister at court had submitted a secret memorial.

"Please execute Lu Chen."

The reason was:

"All under heaven have received his grace. Should he harbor disloyal intentions, I fear mountains and rivers would topple."