Mountains Need Not Be High; With Immortals, They Gain Renown

Lin Qi had fallen gravely ill, his life or death unknown!

Yet someone had placed the hope of saving Lin Qi upon Chen Xu. What that person did not know was that Chen Xu and Lin Qi had already become mortal enemies.

How absurd and laughable was that?

Had Xu Wenyuan not been standing before him, Chen Xu would surely have laughed aloud three times.

The moments that made life feel truly exhilarating were precisely like this.

They wanted him to save someone?

Even if he could pass the Star Array and meet that famous scholar, so what?

Would he use his chance to meet a great man to save his sworn enemy?

Light gleamed in Chen Xu's eyes as he asked Xu Wenyuan, "Brother Xu, that person you mentioned merely said that anyone who could pass the Star Array might meet him, correct? Did he ever say that he would grant every request of those who saw him?"

"This..." Xu Wenyuan's tongue immediately tied itself in knots. "This... he indeed never said he would grant every request. But if we can meet him, there will at least be hope, won't there?"

Chen Xu said, "Brother Xu, are you not afraid of wasting all this effort, only for the outcome to fall short of your hopes?"

Xu Wenyuan's lips turned pale and trembled a few times. At last, he gritted his teeth, cupped his hands, and bowed deeply to Chen Xu. "Brother Chen, I understand your concerns. No matter what, at least you and I will have done all we can. As for the result..."

He lowered his head, unable to speak.

Then he suddenly felt a gentle force beneath his hands, lightly lifting him upward.

Xu Wenyuan froze. Following that supporting force, he straightened up and raised his head, only to meet Chen Xu's radiant eyes.

Chen Xu said, "Brother Xu has been rushing about since early morning. You must be tired. Why not come to my home first for something to eat and rest awhile? I should make some preparations as well, so that I may accompany Brother Xu to the north of the city and give it a try."

The young man's voice was gentle yet firm, carrying the unhurried calm of the earth itself. Hearing this, Xu Wenyuan did not know why, but his nose suddenly stung.

Early that morning, he had received news in the county school dormitory that Lin Qi was critically ill, and had immediately rushed to the Lin residence to visit him.

Afterward, he had gone to the north of the city. Frustrated there, he had held down his pent-up gloom and unease before coming to seek out Chen Xu.

He had thought Chen Xu would mock and make things difficult for him, but Chen Xu was entirely unlike what he had imagined.

Xu Wenyuan's tense and anxious mood eased somewhat. He followed Chen Xu into the kitchen and, in a daze, accepted the red bean and black rice porridge and meat-and-scallion flatbread Chen Xu handed him.

One sip of porridge was smooth and sweet; one bite of flatbread was savory, fresh, and crisp.

Xu Wenyuan blurted out, "How can this be so delicious? It is as delectable as the fresh delights of spring!"

[Likes +1+1...]

Chen Xu smiled faintly, but through the Cauldron Scripture, he discovered that Xu Wenyuan's daily like limit was the same as Lin Qi's: ten points.

Lin Qi's daily like limit being ten points could be explained by the fact that he knew some unorthodox sorcery and differed from ordinary mortals.

But why was Xu Wenyuan's limit also ten points?

As Chen Xu pondered this, he guided Xu Wenyuan into idle conversation and took the chance to fleece all ten of Xu Wenyuan's likes for the day.

With that, his balance of attribute points soon increased by another point.

Chen Xu did not sit idle, either. He went to his room to change into clothes suitable for going out, then found a moment to call Granny Lai over and ask her to help sell meat-and-scallion flatbreads on South Market Street.

Granny Lai was so delighted that she kept swallowing, her neck stretching out at an angle. It was clear that she did not merely want to sell them—she wanted to eat them even more.

Chen Xu gave her two meat flatbreads as well, then received a string of praise. "Oh my, didn't I say Young Master Chen was a good man? Only a good man like Young Master Chen could make meat flatbreads this fresh and delicious!"

[Likes +1+1...]

[Accumulated Likes: 454]

[Free Attribute Points: 2]

[Firework Value: 97]

Excellent. Chen Xu packed fifty meat-and-scallion flatbreads for Granny Lai, and she left in high spirits.

On the way to the north of the city, Chen Xu hired a carriage.

That was because his legs were inconvenient, and he could not walk too far with a cane.

Xu Wenyuan was overcome with shame once more. He apologized to Chen Xu repeatedly, blaming himself for not thinking things through and failing to hire a carriage in advance.

Chen Xu did not care in the slightest. "Brother Xu is worried about his friend's illness. It is only natural that some details might escape your notice. Why must you be so harsh on yourself? I should not be such a petty, demanding man, should I?"

That final self-mocking remark immediately eased Xu Wenyuan's mood considerably.

Xu Wenyuan could not help letting out a breath, then gave a self-deprecating smile.

"Brother Chen, many of the finest students in our county have already gathered north of the city. I hear scholars from neighboring counties are also flocking here, and even renowned figures from the Prefectural City wish to come seek an audience.

Though we are going this time to save Brother Lin, it is also an opportunity to make a name for ourselves."

Xu Wenyuan suddenly turned and looked earnestly at Chen Xu.

"Brother Chen, your examinations have gone poorly time and again. We fellow students all know... it is not that your learning is lacking. Fate is simply too difficult to fathom.

"But if you can use this chance to make a name for yourself, or even seize the opportunity to study under a famous teacher, then from this day on, the road ahead will surely open wide, and everything will be different."

By the end, Xu Wenyuan's eyes were full of anticipation, and even his tone carried a faint tremor of excitement.

Chen Xu sat inside the carriage, his body rising and falling slightly with its jolts, yielding to the motion to lessen the pressure the wheels' movement placed on his injured leg.

Feeling the pain in his body, he replied with a soft laugh, "Everything will be different?"

The blue cloth carriage curtain rippled like water, concealing the boundless sky and earth beneath its seemingly gentle sway.

Chen Xu did not know how far into the future he would be able to reach, but he knew that he would certainly give it everything he had!

His heart thudded, and with every breath, the fire in his heart seemed to grow stronger.

[Likes +1+1+1...]

New like notifications emerged one by one from the scripture's panel. Granny Lai's business must have opened with a roaring start.

North of the city, bamboo grove.

This was a nameless little bamboo grove, once merely growing in tangled profusion at the foot of Little Peak Mountain.

Beyond Little Peak Mountain stood a famous mountain called Crane Watching Mountain. Farther still, the Ji River wound through layers of emerald peaks, cold waters shrouded by mountains, cloud-capped summits gathering like a host.

Naturally, this made Little Peak Mountain north of the city seem utterly ordinary, while the small bamboo grove at its foot was visited by even fewer people.

Yet on this day, a famous scholar had come from the northern lands. It was said that he had studied under the Great Confucian Li Yanqing. After completing his studies, he had lectured throughout the Northern Frontier Sixteen Prefectures, and with nothing but a three-inch tongue that never rotted, had forced the tribes of the Five Barbarians to retreat three thousand li beyond the Heavenly Mountains.

He had traveled south from the north, invited by renowned masters across the realm.

He had drunk the strongest wine in the world, sampled the most famous beauties of the Northern Frontier, used his Star Array to trap spirits, demons, and ghosts, shared drinks with a dragon maiden, and gazed upon vast, misty immortal mountains.

Thus it was no wonder that an old saying went: mountains need not be high; with immortals, they gain renown.

Ever since this famous scholar had come to Jichuan County for reasons unknown, Little Peak Mountain north of the city, once silent and obscure, had suddenly come to seem especially tranquil and full of spiritual grace.

Some even proposed renaming Little Peak Mountain Immortal Meeting Mountain!

The talk of renaming it grew louder and louder, but unfortunately, no figure of sufficient authority had ever settled the matter with a single decisive word.

Still, more and more young people gathered outside the little bamboo grove. These brilliant youths all believed themselves to be the most extraordinary one in the world.