Climbing High to See Far

Using money to pave the way, Zhang Xuezhou located the places where Rong Tianding and Yi Shuo had frequented.

"We left the city yesterday morning!"

The image of the old Rong Tianding and Yishuo is frozen at the city gate.

Rong Tianding and Yishuo left the city, while the old man entered.

When entering the city gates of Chang'an City, inspections are inevitable. The old man noticed other people while queuing to enter the city yesterday morning.

Using his Person-Fixing Technique, Zhang Xuezhou also glimpsed the scene the old man had witnessed.

He handed the loose silver to the old man, then took the plank and left the city.

Rong Tianding and Yi Shuo must have searched for the tunnel in Chang'an City to no avail before choosing to leave the city.

The good news is that Rong Tianding and the others were safe yesterday morning; the bad news is that Rong Tianding most likely went to search along the Yangling direction.

However, the Holy Mother of Wudang never lived in the area near the imperial tombs.

The Yangling area is teeming with malevolent Sha Qi; ordinary people who become entangled with it could die instantly.

Zhang Xuezhou had no choice but to call a carriage to search along the road and see if he could find Rong Tianding and the others.

"Guest, a monk with great Divine Ability is performing a ritual in Yangling. Are you also going to see the excitement of the ritual?"

The coachman was very talkative, which is a common trait among most coachmen. As long as the passengers didn't mind, they would chat for a bit.

If customers make a request, they might even earn a small tip from the information they've heard through the grapevine.

Those heading to Yangling at the moment are either craftsmen, soldiers from the imperial court responsible for rotating patrols, or onlookers.

Zhang Xuezhou's attire was undoubtedly the last type.

Ordinary religious ceremonies are nothing special, but this time the monks performing the ceremony Divine Ability powerful, even managing to hang lanterns on the main streets of Chang'an City.

In Yangling, thousands upon thousands of red lanterns were hung.

Ordinary people had never seen such bright red lanterns hanging high in the air before, and crowds of people came to watch the spectacle in an endless stream.

Guests like Zhang Xuezhou are not unusual; there were even more people watching the spectacle a few days ago. His carriage could carry five or six people at a time.

"To," Zhang Xuezhou glanced around and casually replied, "Are there many people going to Yangling to see the excitement lately?"

"There are so many that you can't count them all," the coachman said talkatively. "But all the Sima Gates are closed, so all you can see are rows of red lanterns on the city walls, not the lanterns inside!"

"It's worth the trip to see what's going on outside," Zhang Xuezhou said.

"It's very lively outside. A few days ago, there were thousands of people watching the excitement at each city gate, though the ground was a bit trampled," the coachman said. "It's even more lively inside Yangling. My brother-in-law's wife's family has someone working there, and they're talking about it with great enthusiasm!"

"How enthusiastic are you?" Zhang Xuezhou asked, puzzled.

"That's pretty amazing!" the driver said. "The officer said that besides countless fluttering red lanterns, there were also lotus flowers falling from the sky, filling the air with their fragrance!"

"That's amazing?"

"It's really that amazing, but we definitely can't see it from below the city gate," the driver said. "If you're willing to pay a little more, I'll take you to the other side of the mountain. As long as you're willing to climb higher, you're sure to see the lotus flower!"

"Alright!"

Zhang Xuezhou casually tossed two and a half taels of silver, and the coachman immediately cracked his whip and sped up the carriage.

Zhang Xuezhou wasn't necessarily interested in seeing the spectacle at Lianhua, but rather he hadn't seen Rong Tianding and Yi Shuo along the way, nor had he noticed any signs of digging a pit.

Below the city gate, crowds of people were watching the spectacle. This place was clearly not suitable for digging a pit, and the search for the four Sima Gates would likely yield little result.

Climbing to a high place for a panoramic view is a good idea. Even if Zhang Xuezhou has the ability to patrol with his Yang Soul, he still needs to find a safe place to release his Yang Soul.

The mountains are clearly a good place.

It was early spring, after the Lunar New Year, and the weather was freezing cold everywhere. Even if people liked to watch the excitement, they wouldn't stay on the mountain for long, so there would be very few people in the mountains.

Zhang Xuezhou agreed to go up the mountain to watch the excitement, and the coachman felt that he had landed a good business deal today.

Just as Zhang Xuezhou thought, it was convenient to climb the mountain to enjoy the view and watch the excitement, but it was also freezing cold.

He's recently had several groups of these customers; most of them leave quickly and return even faster, eventually needing to take his carriage back.

The driver was excitedly calculating his own plans, while Zhang Xuezhou's gaze swept back over this familiar area.

The first thing that comes into view is the East Sima Gate, where rows of lanterns hang high on the city tower, and the figures of Song Dongjia and others can still be vaguely seen.

Meanwhile, tourists wandered around the city gate, pointing and commenting on the unusually large area of lanterns.

The coachman turned a corner at the East Sima Gate and then strolled towards the barren mountains surrounding Yangling.

Although one can enjoy a panoramic view from a high vantage point, the mountains surrounding Yangling are not very tall; the tallest ones are only a little over a hundred meters high.

As for where is the best place to overlook Yangling, that depends on individual interpretation and location.

But it is indeed very cold in these mountains.

As Zhang Xuezhou alighted from the carriage, he happened to see wealthy people trembling as they came down from the mountain, and the coachmen who had previously solicited customers were shouting as they went up to them to solicit more.

"Guest, I'll be waiting for you here. If you need a carriage ride, just call out ' Wang Er Ershazi'," the coachman said with a smile.

"Become!"

Zhang Xuezhou gave a brief reply.

If you walk five li from the East Sima Gate towards the South Sima Gate, you will reach a small village Chang'an City.

The village has only about ten households, who make a living by farming and hunting.

As you walk up the mountain, there's a muddy path worn down by the villagers, which Zhang Xuezhou used to climb the mountain.

As a cultivator, Zhang Xuezhou was much stronger than ordinary people. He was not afraid of the cold, and the heavenly robe he wore was designed to keep out the cold and heat.

Walking 100 meters on flat ground only takes three to four minutes, but climbing a mountain takes much longer.

Zhang Xuezhou trudged through the muddy path, stepping over some leafless, thorny vines. His figure swayed along the mountain path before finally disappearing into the forest.

Occasionally, he could see one or two shivering onlookers coming down the mountain.

But the higher you go up the mountain, the fewer people there are.

When Zhang Xuezhou stood on the slope of the small hill, there was no one around him.

Looking down from the mountaintop, the entire panorama of Yangling comes into view.

This is indeed an excellent spot for observation; as far as the eye can see, there is a sea of red lanterns, almost covering the central area of the imperial mausoleum.

The vast distance and the sheer density of the lanterns left only a sea of red in sight, making it difficult to discern any other movement.

Unless one has the ability to see far and wide, a normal tourist who's just watching the spectacle would only glance at it once before heading back down the mountain.

Zhang Xuezhou looked around and then found a spot towards the back.

He sat down cross-legged, about to escape his Yang Soul to explore and investigate, when his gaze swept over the village below, he saw a burly figure in the distance carrying a large plate into a thatched hut.

"He looks a bit like my cousin?"

When looking out from a high vantage point, it is difficult to discern clearly, and Zhang Xuezhou was no exception.

But it's very convenient for him to verify.

His yang spirit escaped and then roared down.

When he was only a few dozen meters away from the village, he saw Rong Tianding busily cooking ingredients.

Inside the thatched hut, the sounds of Yi Shuo and Kong Anguo whispering could be heard again.

"How did that happen?!"

Zhang Xuezhou and Kong Anguo had some minor acquaintance, but Yi Shuo and the others did not know Kong Anguo.

Zhang Xuezhou finds it difficult to understand how the group of people came together and lived in the village.

But when a cough came from inside the thatched hut, Zhang Xuezhou immediately understood.