Early in the morning, in Zhongnan Mountain, which was shrouded in summer sunshine, clouds steamed, mist danced, butterflies danced, cranes sounded, the bells of several Taoist temples rang melodiously, and Buddhist sounds chanted in the temple.

It was like a paradise beyond the heavens.

Li Ke had a messy beard on his face, a star-shaped bamboo hat, and a patched short front. His lower body was a pair of pale green trousers, and his trousers were rolled up to his knees, revealing half of his calves covered in dirt.

At this moment, he was sitting in an oxcart, wearing a sweat towel, and holding a polished woodcutter in his hand. He looked left and right and saw a woodcutter who had gone up the mountain early to cut wood.

In front of him, Zhao Chong was dressed similarly. He held a black-skinned buffalo pulling a carriage and waved a hemp rope whip. As he strolled, he let out a loud voice and sang Qiao Ge.

Li Ke sat on the bull cart and looked at Zhao Chong for a few moments before he couldn’t help but shake his head and laugh.

He had been following Zhao Chong for the past few days since he escaped from the danger in Anding County. Along the way, he traveled through the counties and disguised himself in all sorts of disguises. Li Ke had even disguised himself as a woman once, and it was hard to tell whether it was real or fake, either as a master or servant of a business trip or as a porter of a fisherman.

As soon as they arrived at the pass, Zhao Chong unpredictably took out these many clothes. The two of them dressed up as Zhongnan Woodcutters and drove their oxcarts up the mountain.

Along the way, Zhao Chong sang whatever songs he went up the mountain, pretended to be what he was, and even imitated the dialects of many places with hypocrisy. He followed his father around Jianghu at the age of ten, and began to lead the Green Forest bandits on Jingxiang Waterway at the age of sixteen. It had been more than twenty years since then. His vigilance, alertness, experience, and all sorts of wonderful methods made Li Ke greatly amazed.

“Brother Zhao, it’s a pity that someone like you isn’t of great use.” Li Ke smiled as he sat on the ox cart.

“Brother Li, isn’t what I’m doing right now just a big deal? Haha!” Zhao Chong laughed loudly, his powerful voice startling the birds in the forest.

Seeing that there was no one left or right in the secluded mountains, Li Ke whispered, “Why do we have to go up Mount Zhongnan?”

“Don’t ask anymore. You’ll know later.” Zhao Chong vigilantly turned around and threw out a sentence, continuing to sing his folk song.

Li Ke stopped talking and sat on the ox cart, rushing along with Zhao Chong.

Along the way, Zhao Chong did not answer any of Li Ke’s questions. Just repeat one thing-“Don’t worry, I won’t harm you.”

Li Ke thought to himself, if he were to harm me, I would already be a corpse. Let this life be taken, just believe him!

Thus, the two disguised themselves as concealed stealth, traveling all the way from Jingzhou to Zhongnan Mountain, which was only a step away from Chang’an.

Looking up into the distance, one could vaguely see the statue of Yao’er at the top of Zhongnan Mountain. Li Ke couldn’t help but think of Qin Mubai and thought to himself, “I’ve heard rumors about Qin Mubai wanting to rebel in Kansai … I don’t believe this kind of thing even if I’m beaten to death.” However, if such rumors spread to the court, what would be good?

Zhao Chong really chopped up two loads of firewood on the mountain and placed them on the ox cart. Then, he turned around halfway up the mountain and walked into the dense forest. Then, he walked onto a rugged mountain path.

After walking for about an hour, the oxcart finally stopped in front of an exceptionally desolate and dilapidated Taoist temple. Zhao Chong stepped forward and knocked on the door. A short while later, a little daoist boy came out. When he saw Zhao Chong, he kowtowed and said, “Old Zhao has sent Chai He here again. Please come in quickly.”

“We’re here.” Zhao Chong turned around and smiled at Li Ke, “Be diligent. Bring the oxcart in, unload the firewood and receive the reward.”

“Alright, Brother Zhao.” Li Ke smiled and jumped off the oxcart. He and Zhao Chong led the oxcart into the Taoist temple until they reached the firewood house in the backyard.

“Your Highness, we are finally safe here.” Zhao Chong dusted off the mud on his body and bowed to Li Ke, “Please follow me.”

“Alright.” Li Ke nodded and secretly anticipated that it was finally time to solve many mysteries.

Zhao Chong led Li Ke through the Taoist temple and into a secluded room. The furnishings in the room were quite simple. There were a few mats, a bed, a table, and tea. That was all.

“It’s been a hard journey. Your Highness will rest here for two days.” Zhao Chong said.

Li Ke looked around, and there were no other idle people, nor did he find anything eye-catching. So he asked doubtfully, “Are you not going to say anything to me or let me see someone?”

Zhao Chong smiled and said, “Don’t worry, you will know what you should know sooner or later. The person who should see you will come to see you sooner or later. He just got out of a great calamity, so why should His Highness be anxious?”

“That’s good too.” Li Ke didn’t say much and sat down on the couch calmly. “I’m really tired. I’ll sleep until I’m full.”

“Your Highness, rest. I’m coming out to do something. I’ll be right back. Three meals a day will be served by the dao servant.” Zhao Chong said, “Please don’t wander around or leave the Taoist temple. Remember.”

“Don’t worry.”

Zhao Chong left. Li Ke lay on the bed with his head and arms resting on his head, looking at the old gray roof and feeling worried, he thought to himself, “I wonder how Yin Yang is doing?” There were also those guards and soldiers, most likely their lives were at stake. As expected, the news had already spread to changan. Right now, I don’t see people or corpses. Father Emperor and Mother Imperial Concubine, what should I be so anxious about? What kind of chaos was there in the Imperial Court?

Li Ke, if you really want to enter Chang’an City now, it’s good that you can at least let your parents feel relieved. However, Little Unbearable was a big conspiracy. Right now, he knew very little about the situation outside, and he was in danger. It was better to listen to Zhao Chong’s arrangements!

The next evening, Zhao Chong returned, still dressed as a woodcutter.

Just as Zhao Chong entered the room, Li Ke asked him, “How is Chang’an?”

“Chang’an?” Zhao Chong smiled and sat down. He poured himself some tea and said, “I didn’t go to Chang’an.”

“Then where did you go?”

“Go see my master and report your death.” Zhao Chong said with a strange smile.

“What?” Li Ke was shocked.

“Your Highness, think about it. I was ordered to intercept and kill you. Don’t you need to give Master an explanation now?” Zhao Chong smiled.

“Then did your master believe me?”

“If you believe, you must believe. If you don’t believe, you must believe.” Zhao Chong played with the teacup.

“I’m very curious …”

“Do you want to know who my master is?”

“That’s right.”

Zhao Chong stood up and sat down across from Li Ke’s table. “That’s a long story. I’m not the only owner.”

“Then how many?”

“Not too many, just three or four!”

Li Ke was stunned and speechless.

“Haha!” Zhao Chong smiled and said, “As the saying goes, a good bird chooses a good minister. Although I am not a good person, I understand this principle. Thus, although I have many masters, there is only one person who truly deserves my loyalty.”

Li Ke’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Are you trying to say that that person … is my father?”

“Tsk! Why don’t you tell me that His Highness is smart?” Zhao Chong clapped his hands and smiled. “That’s right. One of my masters is your father, the current Emperor. However, I have only seen him twice. After all, one is a death row prisoner who should have been executed long ago, and the other is the True Dragon Son of Heaven. Whether I want to see him or he wants to see me, it’s inconvenient,” Zhao Chong nodded.

“What about your other master?” Li Ke asked, “Can you tell me?”

“Sure!” Zhao Chong smiled indifferently and said straightforwardly, “In any case, sooner or later, His Highness will know the truth. Sooner or later, it doesn’t matter. But before I tell you these things, I have a request.”

“Please speak.”

“If he is satisfied with His Highness, I don’t want you to know how to repay me, but please let me live freely.” Zhao Chong said.

Li Ke frowned and nodded, “I promise you.”

“Your Highness is straightforward.” Zhao Chong smiled and said, “A person who can become close friends with Qin Mubai should be trustworthy. Well, I know everything now. Your Highness, may I ask?”

Li Ke took a deep breath and said, “I want to know, who sent you to kill me?”

“Imperial physician, Wei Ting.” Zhao Chong said, “He is one of my masters. He is also my direct savior.”

“Wei Ting? Wei Aochen? … There should be a connection between the two, right?” “If I remember correctly, Wei Ting is still King Qi’s father-in-law. Back then, when Li You was implicated in the rebellion, he was removed from office. Later, he surrendered to his fourth brother, King Wei, and with the help of King Wei, he returned to the court and took charge of the Imperial Stage. Could it be that he saved you when he blocked the appointment of the imperial physician?”

“That’s right.”

“But at that time, the water ghost case had long since passed, and Li You had already rebelled! There was something wrong with the timing!”

Zhao Chong smiled, “Your Highness is so careless. Have you forgotten that death row prisoners only ask to be beheaded in the autumn? Moreover, the Xiangzhou Water Ghost case involved almost 60% of the officials in Jingxiang area, and was also related to the Chang’an and Weidu families. There were countless people in the Imperial Court who were active in such a big case, pleading for mercy and obstructing it. After three months of trial, the case was still not completely closed. It was during this period that I suddenly became a hot spot. “Apart from Wei Ting, who wanted to save his son and nephew, there were also many people who came to plot against me, either to save my life or to kill me as soon as possible.”

“Who are they?” Li Ke asked with a frown.

Zhao Chong smiled and said, “I have long ignored life and death. It doesn’t matter if I die.” But seeing so many people so interested in me, I want to live a few more days. Thus, I surrendered to three masters, the first being Wei Ting. He was an imperial physician, and I was interrogated back and forth by the Dali Temple and the Imperial Stage, and I had been imprisoned in both places. Wei Ting said that he could use the Golden Cicada’s shell to save my life, but only if I could conceal and withdraw some evidence of Wei Xiaochen’s crime, so as to reduce Wei Xiaochen’s guilt.

“You agreed?”

“Not only did he agree, he also did it truthfully.” Zhao Chong smiled, “Because I know that no matter what evidence I give, Wei Aochen and Du Chengyuan will die without a doubt. Because there are people who are bigger than Wei, and they must die!”

“Who is it?”

“He is my second master, your good fourth brother, His Highness Prince Wei.” Zhao Chong smiled even more meaningfully and said, “In King Wei’s eyes, Wei Aochen and Du Chengyuan are extremely inconspicuous characters.” However, these two people were linked to Wei Ting and many of his ministers. It was unknown how many people were advising King Wei that the sooner they died, the better. King Wei did not want to be implicated in any way. Thus, Wei and Du were bound to die without a doubt. At the same time, I am just a bandit leader of the Green Forest who is not deeply connected to the people of the government. Therefore, I am not so concerned about my life and death anymore. “But King Wei really hopes that I can continue to live. Do you know why, Your Highness?”

Li Ke frowned. “I heard from Qin Mubai that the Wei King secretly pulled the one-armed Baiji Zhang Tong. His intention was to ask him to reveal some of the’secret evidence ‘that Qin Mubai and I had in Xiangzhou to falsely accuse us. This is pure fiction. Zhang Tong is also very righteous. He refused and escaped. Could it be that the Wei King wanted to save you?”

“To be more specific, apart from asking me to expose your guilt, he also wants to know the secrets of the Yang Emperor’s Mausoleum’s treasures.” Zhao Chong laughed again, “Actually, the West River Cavern is Emperor Yang’s tomb. I didn’t even know about it before, but I took advantage of it to survive.”

“So it’s like this” Li Ke suddenly nodded his head in realization. “In this way, even if Wei Ting doesn’t keep his promise to save you, he won’t be able to shame King Wei. He has no choice but to save you. Even if he wants to kill you later, he wouldn’t dare offend King Wei because of this!”

“That’s right.” Zhao Chong laughed, “Wei Ting and King Wei, the two of them have their own plans. Zhao Chong happened to be in a circle between the two of them, trying to survive.” Actually, all of this was a coincidence. If your father hadn’t personally come to inquire about the case and told me that you and Qin Mubai found the Mausoleum of Emperor Yang in the West River Channel and found the Imperial Jade Seal, Zhao Chong wouldn’t have thought of such a plan. When King Wei sent people to secretly meet me, he only wanted me to bite back and falsely accuse you and Qin Mubai. At that time, Zhao Mou would not agree, and even if he agreed, this false accusation would be impossible to prosecute, because Zhao Mou did not know anything about you. However, at that time, I told King Wei that other than the Imperial Jade Seal, there was also a secret treasure in the Mausoleum of Emperor Yang. Apart from the wealth of gold and silver, there was also the Emperor Dragon Qi that had been passed down from generation to generation! You and Qin Mubai didn’t discover this, and they couldn’t find it. Only I, Zhao, knew about it! Just like that, I survived. It has been three years since we received the Wei King’s secret order to recruit the heroes of the Greenwood Forest to search for the treasures here. ”

“Fourth Brother, your mental arts are so unorthodox! Even if you have the Emperor Dragon Qi, it shouldn’t be his!” Li Ke punched the table angrily.

“I also know that King Wei is not a good person, so I quickly betrayed him.” Zhao Chong smiled playfully and said, “Just before the autumn beheading, His Majesty the Emperor personally came to patrol the prison as usual. This is the second time I’ve seen him.” Actually, when His Majesty came to see me for the first time, I noticed that he intended to pardon me. The reason, I think, is probably because I indirectly helped him retrieve the Imperial Jade Seal. His Dragon Heart is very happy to love me and the crow. But at that time he was unable to open his mouth because of the justice of the law. But this time, I know that this is my last chance to survive. “I will tell His Majesty everything about Wei Ting and King Wei … His Highness should be able to think of the outcome of this matter.”

“Afterwards, Father Emperor decided to open his eyes and let Wei Ting use the Golden Cicada’s shell to save your life?” Li Ke asked in surprise, “From now on, you have also become the spy of my father ambushing Wei Ting and King Wei?”

“Your Highness, you are truly wise!” Zhao Chong chuckled, “That’s right.” Normally, Zhao was Wei Ting’s hawk paw. In the dark, I recruited some heroes from the Green Forest to help King Wei search for treasures, and occasionally coerced him into kidnapping, killing, and silencing him. “Actually, I am a confidant of His Majesty the Emperor, lurking beside Wei Ting and King Wei. When the time comes, I will fight back-just like what happened today, Zhao Chong will save King Wu!”

“So it’s like this” Li Ke let out a long sigh and finally came to a realization. “Then did you tell my Royal Father about saving me?”

“No.” Zhao Chong shook his head, “First, there was a sudden failure to report back. Second, His Majesty the Emperor said that he would never see me again. He only asked me to help him secretly. If it wasn’t for a shocking event or his orders, I couldn’t reveal my identity.”

“Then my Imperial Father and Imperial Concubine Mother really don’t know anything. Aren’t you anxious and worried?” Li Ke frowned, his face full of worry.

“Your Highness, don’t you want to ask who sent me to kill you?” Zhao Chong said.

“Isn’t it Wei Ting and King Wei?” Li Ke was a little puzzled.

“Heh–” Zhao Chong smiled strangely. “If I were to say it, you wouldn’t believe me. Actually, Wei Ting was the one who wanted to kill you, but King Wei was the one who wanted to save you!”