72. Mount Wuliang
Chapter 72: Mount Wuliang
The demon horde retreated in disarray, and Li Hao found Fu Bo unconscious and severely injured on the city wall.
Seeing Fu Bo's state, Li Hao sighed. It was his fault for arriving late and not being able to protect Fu Bo.
Li Hao asked Yue Shuhong to arrange for Fu Bo's treatment. Yue Shuhong agreed immediately, ordering the best military doctors to take care of him.
Wei Feng, along with Li Yuanzhao and Ren Qianqian, found Li Hao and witnessed the scene. The demon corpses outside the city lay in heaps, just like on the western side of the city, except the number was greater, and the blood flowed thicker!
There were not many wounded on the wall, but seeing Li Fu being carried away and Li Hao standing there as if nothing had happened, Wei Feng couldn't help but twitch his mouth in disbelief. Historically, household warriors were supposed to protect their masters. It was the first time he saw a master secretly protecting the household warriors.
Was the Li family trying to defy the heavens?
"Here's your sword."
Seeing Ren Qianqian, Li Hao remembered and handed the sword back to her. He suddenly recalled a phrase: No, it's your sword.
Ren Qianqian, unaware of what was running through the boy's mind, took the sword with a complicated expression, her gaze lingering on Li Hao's face. Normally, she could immediately sense any slight damage to her beloved sword, yet she didn't even notice the slightly chipped blade.
"Are you really at the Fifteen Li Realm?"
She bit her lip slightly, asking with a complex mood.
This was the answer Du Qiu Yue and others were eager to know. Despite witnessing Li Hao's display of power and defeating the demon horde, it all felt like a dream, too surreal.
Wei Feng's face changed slightly, glancing worriedly at his young lady. Encountering a monster like Li Hao was a severe blow to peers. If her Sword Heart collapsed and she became depressed, it would be a disaster!
Li Hao smiled, saying nothing, but that was answer enough.
Recalling the image of the rising moon, Ren Qianqian couldn't help but ask, "That sword move of yours…"
"Want to learn it?"
"Yeah!"
Her eyes brightened as she nodded emphatically.
"Unfortunately, it's one of my family's exclusive techniques, not taught to outsiders. If you're willing to become a retainer of the Li family or serve in the Yuan Unit for thirty years, I could teach you," Li Hao replied.
Ren Qianqian froze but then suddenly gritted her teeth, "I can be your retainer."
"My retainer?"
Li Hao was surprised. "Do you know what being a retainer means? It's a lifetime commitment. With your father being a master, you have endless wealth and glory ahead of you."
To him, it seemed unnecessary. It wasn't like she had a debt to repay, unlike himself.
"Yes, Miss, don't be impulsive!" Wei Feng quickly interjected.
If the young lady could learn something from Li Hao, it would be ideal, but becoming a retainer... that would be lowering her status too much!
If Li Hao wasn't present, Wei Feng would have been much harsher.
Ren Qianqian shook her head. "As long as you teach me that sword technique, I'm willing. Also, I've heard your Li family's Tingyu Pavilion contains countless techniques. If I become your retainer, can I see them too?"
"You have quite the abacus, don't you?" Li Hao chuckled. "But to enter Tingyu Pavilion, I'd have to see your performance first."
"No problem," Ren Qianqian replied earnestly.
Wei Feng, desperate, said, "Miss, you should discuss such important matters with Master. You…"
"I am me, and he is him. He has his path as a master, and in the future, I'll have my own path!" Ren Qianqian replied seriously.
Foolish... Wei Feng's mouth twitched. How could there be any path as a retainer?
He dared not imagine the repercussions when they returned. The master would likely strip him of his skin.
Li Hao hadn't expected this little girl to be so determined. However, after all these years, he had come to understand the competitive nature of people in this world.
Some feudal beliefs were deeply rooted. For example, a man without achievements was equivalent to a waste, despised by all!
Even women, in this martial world, had aspirations to challenge the heavens.
Moreover, this girl was from a martial family.
More crucially, she had awakened her Sword Heart, obsessed with the sword to the point of doing irrational things.
Just as he would cross mountains for a game of chess, he was equally passionate.
"Alright, consider it on the way back to Qingzhou, and we'll discuss it there," Li Hao suggested, hoping she wouldn't act rashly.
Hearing this, Wei Feng looked at Li Hao gratefully, his mind racing on how to dissuade the young lady from her thoughts.
Ren Qianqian slightly shook her head, not saying more. She knew her heart was set, and no one could sway her.
Seeing Li Yuanzhao, who seemed to have much to say, Li Hao patted his shoulder, indicating they'd talk later.
Li Yuanzhao understood, suppressing his excitement, and nodded vigorously.
With that settled, Li Hao found Yue Shuhong and inquired about poetry collections, paintings, musical scores, or cookbooks by renowned chefs in Cang Yu City.
Since he was out, he didn't want to return empty-handed.
Hearing Li Hao's query, Yue Shuhong was puzzled. He expected Li Hao to ask about other things, but these seemed... unrelated?
With a strange expression, Yue Shuhong thought these young masters might have peculiar interests but didn't question further, sharing all he knew.
As a martial general, he wasn't well-versed in such matters, so he summoned the city's scholars to accompany Li Hao around the city.
…
…
Mount Wuliang.
As one of the top powers of the Dayu Dynasty, Mount Wuliang occupied a vast area known as the Pure Land of Brahma Heaven, covering thousands of miles, with mountain ranges stretching as far as the eye could see, majestic Arhat temples, and over a thousand Great Vehicle Buddhist peaks.
The ethereal clouds drifting across made the Pure Land world seem otherworldly.
Now, before the Vajra Heart Temple on one of the Great Vehicle peaks.
A man and a woman climbed from the foot of the mountain, arriving at the magnificent temple entrance.
"This is Junior Brother Qian Feng's Vajra Heart Temple."
The bald, robed monk smiled as he spoke.
"Vajra Heart Temple?"
Beside him, the woman had hair like a waterfall, a heart-shaped face, and eyes like clear lakes. At this moment, surprise and a radiant gleam filled her gaze.
"Vajra Heart Temple? Last I heard, he was a Garan Dharma God, but now, he's already a Vajra?"
Garan Dharma God and Vajra were Buddhist titles in Mount Wuliang, representing rank.
Garan Dharma God required cultivation at the Spirit Traveling Realm, while Vajra demanded reaching the Fifteen Li Realm.
"Junior Brother Qian Feng is gifted and wise. He ascended the mountain at six, apprenticing under the ancient Buddha of Mount Wuliang. Before eight, he was at the Peak of the Tongli Realm. By ten, he completed the Zhou Tian, and by ten and a half, he attained the true soul of our Buddha. By fourteen, he was already traveling the Spirit," the monk recounted with a smile. "Last year, after returning from demon-slaying, Junior Brother Qian Feng closed himself off for three months, breaking through the Spirit Traveling Realm before eighteen, officially stepping into the Fifteen Li Realm, and was granted the Vajra title, known as the Qian Kun Vajra!"
The woman's face reflected her astonishment.
"Qian Kun" Vajra—what an immense title!
It showed how much Mount Wuliang valued him.
Her eyes deepened with admiration, recalling the figure slicing through demons in the demon forest, now clearer in her memory.
"Quickly, take me to him," she urged.
The young monk glanced at her, softly chanting a Buddhist mantra:
"Miss Nan, though Junior Brother Qian Feng is a lay disciple of our Buddha's gate, his aspirations are lofty. I fear your visit…"
"I don't care. Let me see him. I'll tell him myself," the woman interrupted, shaking her head. She knew what he was going to say but was determined to speak her mind clearly.
"Alright then."
The monk sighed, shaking his head, recalling his master's words—greed, anger, and delusion. This woman before him had succumbed to delusion.
"Please inform him that I'm here to register for Junior Brother Qian Feng."
The monk approached the temple entrance, addressing two armored guards with steel spears.
Their armor bore unique insignia, with a gold-etched "Yuan" character on the shoulder plates, reminding the monk of the young man's noble background within. A hint of envy flickered in his heart, quickly quelled by a silent Buddhist prayer.