A Good Person Comes Calling

Ring! Ring!

The sun shines brightly overhead, and the sound of horse bells fills the air.

A caravan of over a hundred people was traveling along the official road, with lush green weeds on both sides.

The caravan members were dressed in Tang People robes, with jade pendants hanging from their waists and Tang Dynasty swords on their backs.

There were also people dressed in foreign attire, both men and women, wearing brown robes, gold rings on their hands and feet, and gold ornaments in their hair.

Such a caravan did not attract much attention from the local people when it approached the city gate.

They were already Sikong to this; an old man selling drinks by the roadside even chuckled.

"Another caravan returning from Kingdom of Chenla). This year it's a bit later than usual; it's already getting warmer."

The old man immediately called out, "Cool and sweet drinks!"

His drink, served in two large wooden barrels, was made by boiling herbs and flowers, and after it cooled, some sugarcane juice was added.

It has both the fragrance of herbs and the sweetness of fruit; a bowl of it will make you feel completely comfortable when the summer heat is intense.

As the caravan drew closer, a fragrant aroma of spices wafted through the air, mingling with the scents of food sold in the market outside the city.

There is a saying among the people of the Great Tang Dynasty that among the agarwood from various foreign countries, Chenla) was the best, followed by Champa.

As early as the Tianbao era, the Kingdom of Chenla sent a prince to pay tribute and was awarded the title of Guoyi Duwei.

More than sixty years ago, the Kingdom of Chenla and the Kingdom of Champa fought each other.

Great Tang merchant who was purchasing agarwood was robbed by the Kingdom of Champa. Enraged, he drew a map and offered a plan to the Kingdom of Chenla, which led to the ambush and killing of the enemy general.

Therefore, the Kingdom of Chenla once again sent envoys to Chang'an to Chang'an with a merchant caravan.

At that time, there were many idle people in Chang'an. The new emperor had just ascended the throne, but he was being controlled by his ministers. So he issued an edict to return the gifts, selected envoys, and sent them to Chenla. After they returned, he could then legitimately bestow official titles and ranks upon his subordinates.

Unexpectedly, shortly after the envoy went to Chenla, he discovered that Kingdom of Champa rice varieties that were drought-resistant and early-maturing, as well as many other products, making it a prosperous and wealthy country. He reported this to the Great Tang.

The Tang emperor was overjoyed and dispatched two hundred elite imperial guards to help the Kingdom of Chenla annex Champa. From then on, the Tang and Chenla Kingdoms had increasingly frequent exchanges.

Women from Kingdom of Chenla) possessed a unique charm.

Merchants traveling to Kingdom of Chenla) would marry local women, thus gaining local relatives and recruiting local people into their merchant groups.

These merchant caravans would pass through Nanzhao, which is now known as the Great Kingdom of Tianchang, every year on their way back to the Great Tang Dynasty.

Therefore, the local people did not find it strange at all that different nationalities were mixed together in these merchant groups.

Whether it was called Nanzhao or Great Kingdom of Tianchang, they always treated Tang People merchants with great respect.

Even though Zheng Tianchang has acted perversely in recent years, he has never targeted these Tang People merchant groups without cause.

The local people felt they were blessed and were happy to do business with them, hoping to share in their good fortune.

In the caravan, a young man in brown robes with a gold ring on his arm rode up and, as expected, ordered a bowl of drink first.

"Old man, in previous years when we came to this area near the royal city, we always saw the soldiers on the city walls lax and wandering around aimlessly, and the vendors rarely had happy faces. Why does the scene look so different today?"

The old man was taken aback and also looked up at the city wall.

"Something big has happened in the city lately, they probably don't have the time to stroll around."

The old man thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "Besides, it's always a good thing that General Cheng has been released; everyone will inevitably be a little happier."

The young man in brown asked in surprise, "Old General, General Cheng Xin? What makes you say he was released? Could it be that he was once captured?"

The old man chuckled, "Yes, but that's all in the past now."

The young man in brown took another water bag from the horse's back, had the old man fill it, and then casually asked a few more questions.

A moment later, he returned to the caravan, approached the carriage, and handed the water bag through the carriage window.

There were only two people in the car: a slightly overweight elderly Tang People man with a round face and black beard, and a young man dressed in white, wearing a gold ring, and with a white turban wrapped around his head.

The two sat facing each other in the car, which contained only a square wooden box.

The water bag was passed in through the window and caught by the young man.

"Prince Bamo, it seems there has been another change in Nanzhao. The Zheng king, who usurped the throne of Nanzhao, has completely fallen out with General Cheng and was killed by the general's henchmen just a few days ago."

The young man in brown outside the carriage reported in a low voice.

The person in the carriage said, "Do not call me prince, call me by my Han name, Li Chenxiang."

The young man in brown replied, "Yes!"

Li Chenxiang hesitated and asked, "Elder Su, will the changes in Nanzhao affect us?"

The round-faced old man stroked his beard thoughtfully and said, "Both the Zheng and Cheng families have a long-standing relationship with the Red Emperor. Regardless of which family is in power, they should not be enemies of merchant groups like ours."

"And..."

Elder Su, which made his eyes appear small, but at this moment, his small eyes were full of spirit.

"Where could the Cheng family find an accomplice to kill the Plain King? Perhaps it's the very person who was supposed to come to meet us, and they just happened to take care of this matter on the way!"

Li Chenxiang's face lit up with joy, but then he shook his head, his expression turning sorrowful.

"No, the news about our matter has already been leaked. How urgent is it?"

"Even if the people sent by the Great Tang were on two missions, they should have found us first before dealing with the Nanzhao matter. How could they have killed the king in Nanzhao and stayed there for several days?"

Elder Su snapped out of his reverie, "That's true."

He felt secretly ashamed.

Ever since he sent someone to Chang'an to ask for help, he had been waiting day and night, hoping that someone would come as soon as possible, and his mind had become less sharp than before.

Li Chenxiang, on the other hand, although he always likes to ask others for their opinions first, is actually very opinionated and has excellent self-control.

"Since that's the case."

Elder Su said, "According to the original plan, after entering the city, a few of us will quietly leave the caravan, change our appearance, and have the guards disguise themselves and stay in the caravan in our place to avoid attracting attention."

Li Chenxiang nodded heavily; this wasn't the first time they'd done this.

Just as the caravan was about to enter the city, suddenly, the copper bells on the horses' necks rang out in a chaotic cacophony.

The horses in the entire caravan seemed startled, neighing, rearing up, and turning their heads away, refusing to move forward.

When the people near the outer city gate saw this, they were afraid that the horse would be startled and go berserk, so they quickly ran away.

As the crowd dispersed, a wandering ascetic who had been among them became clearly visible.

This man wore a crescent-shaped iron headband, had disheveled hair, was tall and thin, with a long face like a horse, but surprisingly large eyes. He carried a steel staff and coldly looked at the caravan.

"The two of you were truly resourceful, like a boat on a stormy sea, tossed about but not sinking, but unfortunately, you couldn't escape the inescapable net, the dragon and snake swallowing the boat."

The monk ignored the rest of the caravan, focusing only on Elder Su's carriage.

"You two, one rich and the other noble, why waste your lives over an inanimate object? Hand it over, and we'll part ways here, never to meet again. Wouldn't that be more pleasant?"

The expressions on everyone's faces changed.

Li Chenxiang placed one hand on the box first.

Inside the box was actually just a large drum made of python skin, but it was famous far and wide and was called the "Mountain King Divine Drum".

The owner of the Mountain King Divine Drum was a reclusive and extraordinary monk from the snowy mountains of the Tubo Plateau.

More than a hundred years ago, the Great Tang launched a campaign against Tubo. The massive army pressed on the border, Inner Guard carried out assassinations, a mutually reinforcing process.

Hai Donglai killed several veteran Tubo generals, which finally angered the Tubo, who then invited this extraordinary monk to join them.

The Mountain King Divine Monk claimed he wanted to resolve the conflict between the two countries and asked Hai Donglai stop.

Hai Donglai n't listen to such nonsense and started the fight without responding to a single word.

Who knew that this divine monk was indeed extraordinary? The two fought fiercely for many times, with neither gaining the upper hand.

Later, Blood-Colored Starry Sky appeared in the world. The Great Tang had completely recovered its lost territory. After weighing the options, it agreed to cease hostilities with the Tubo Empire.

Hai Donglai and the Mountain King Divine Monk made a pact to fight each other every ten years.

Sixty-seven years ago, rumors circulated that Hai Donglai been captured in the snowy plains, and among those who had killed him was this Mountain King Divine Monk.

The two fought for ninety years until seventeen years ago, when the Mountain King Divine Monk was defeated and died, and Hai Donglai was also seriously injured and almost died.

Seven years ago, the chief disciple of the Mountain King Divine Monk fought Hai Donglai again and was killed within thirty moves.

In the same year, the Tubo was embroiled in internal strife and completely split apart, with the remaining disciples of the Mountain King going their separate ways.

People say that the legend of the Mountain King Divine Monk has come to an end.

However, not long ago, in the capital of Kingdom of Chenla, a monk's identity was revealed. He was a disciple of the Mountain King Divine Monk and possessed the Mountain King's Weapon Soul Divine Drum.

The Tubo experts investigated the past, discovering that they were trying to seize the Divine Drum. The Kingdom of Chenla and the Tang People merchant group were also implicated, causing a series of upheavals.

Once the turmoil subsided, no one in Kingdom of Chenla dared to leave this treasure within the country.

Only Li Chenxiang volunteered to deliver the treasure to the Great Tang. He selected guards and, together with the daredevils in the merchant group, divided them into several groups, each disguised, and Chucheng overnight.

Elder Su immediately Chang'an, hoping his family could contact the Inner Guard for help.

Unfortunately, the news leaked out, and they were ambushed several times along the way.

Otherwise, given their cultivation levels, why would they need to hide in the carriage to recover from their injuries? They could easily travel over mountains and valleys and head straight for Chang'an.

"Your Excellency, how dare you intercept us before the capital of the Great Kingdom of Tianchang? We truly underestimated your courage."

Elder Su pressed his hand against the inside of the carriage and spoke outwards, "Very well, it seems we are ultimately not destined for this treasure. Please, sir, come aboard and take it."

The ascetic merely sneered.

"Zheng Tianchang is the only formidable rival here, but I'm not going into his palace, so what's the big deal?"

"On the contrary," the monk said in a low voice, "Su Xian's mechanical carriage is probably even more dangerous than the royal palace."

"If you really don't want to die, bring the stuff out of the car."

Royal Palace, West Brightness Pool.

Chu Tianshu lay on a rattan chair, his left hand resting on his dantian, while his right hand reached out towards the pool.

The five fingers move in a circular motion, pressing, flicking, and pricking motion, as if plucking the strings of a zither, employing all the techniques of the Wisdom King Finger Spear.

This hand was at least five zhang (approximately 10 meters) from the edge of the pool, and even further from the center.

However, the entire pool seemed to be being pounded by unseen raindrops.

Waves splashed and lapped in all directions, creating a continuous tinkling and swishing sound.

Cheng Xin walked over, he could see from afar the scene of Chu Tianshu flicking his finger, causing the air to distort and the airflow to shoot out.

"Grand Uncle, you seem to be enjoying yourself."

Cheng Xin, with a hint of envy, said, "I've already sent a letter to Chang'an, but I don't know when I'll receive a reply."

Chu Tianshu nodded slightly.

Although he was prepared to meet Hai Donglai, there was a problem: no one knew where Hai Donglai.

This person should be 147 years old this year, which is more than twice the retirement age.

But this old fellow clearly doesn't have the habit of staying in one place for years on end.

His wanderings and leisurely travels made Hai Donglai's intimidating power even more unpredictable.

If Chu Tianshu wants to see him, he should first consult an expert and schedule a time.

Cheng Xin continued, "I have already found many old comrades, and they have been settled both inside and outside the capital. Next, we need to deal with the rest of the country. I think..."

"Etc."

Chu Tianshu suddenly sat up from the rattan chair, looked south, and blinked.

"It seems someone unleashed Fist Intent at the outer city gate; it appears to be of Buddhist origin."

Cheng Xin was taken aback, his old face turning slightly red.

He had just said that everything was settled inside and outside the capital when things went wrong.

"His skills are alright."

Chu Tianshu pondered, "Could it be Zheng Tianchang's friend, coming to seek revenge on me?"

"That guy is pretty good; he just blocked the city gate and challenged me to a fight, instead of running in and starting a fight right away."

(End of this chapter)