Walking on the mountain road at night was no easy feat. Yu Shuang lit two lanterns and hung them on the side of the carriage so they could barely see the road ahead.
As the weather warmed up, most of the snow on the Three Saints Mountain had melted. On the muddy path, there was some melted snow in each small depression. When the horses' hooves stepped on them, splashes of mud flew up.
Shen Qingfeng was sitting in the carriage. He lifted the curtain and stared at the pitch - black Three Saints Mountain outside the window, his eyebrows tightly knitted.
In fact, everything that had happened in the Eastern Palace just now had exceeded Shen Qingfeng's expectations.
Xia Chuli didn't know what had stimulated him, but his emotions were fluctuating greatly. Was it because of himself? Because he was no longer close to him? No, that was impossible.
Shen Qingfeng let out a self - deprecating smile. He wouldn't believe it.
In his previous life, Xia Chuli had also gradually become extreme and cold - blooded like this. In this life, with his protection, no matter what, Xia Chuli wouldn't reach that point. However, Xia Chuli had been suppressing his feelings for a long time. He was like a taut rubber band that would eventually snap. He had to resolve this potential crisis, so he must act as soon as possible.
Find Xiangcheng and start to build the Listening Wind Pavilion.
He urgently needed a force he could control.
Shen Qingfeng closed his eyes tiredly. He let the carriage curtain fall and slowly leaned back in the soft carriage. But the words Xia Chuli had just said kept echoing in his mind.
"So, the person you really want to support is actually Lu Yan, isn't it!"
He knew why Xia Chuli would think so. Lu Yan was a feudal lord of the Northern Kingdom. He had quelled wars and had made great political achievements. In the Northern Kingdom, he won the hearts of the people and had a good reputation. Moreover, Lu Yan even had the chance to inherit the throne. Making Lu Yan the King of Lixia seemed to be the best choice.
However, the Northern Kingdom was too far from Lige. Even if Lu Yan had made great achievements in the Northern Kingdom, so what? Changing the place meant changing everything. Would the people of Lige recognize him? Not to mention that in front of Lu Yan, there was the legitimate heir, Xia Chuli.
If he wanted to support Lu Yan, it would be no different from rebellion. Rebellion was a waste of manpower and resources and would lead to chaos. This was not what he wanted. What he wanted was a peaceful and prosperous world, a Lixia without war where the people could live and work in peace.
Shen Qingfeng rubbed his temples tiredly and let out a soft sigh as he leaned against the cushion.
"Whoa—!"
Yu Shuang pulled the reins and said, "My lord, we're almost there. We have to get off the carriage and walk from here."
"Okay."
Shen Qingfeng was helped off the carriage by Yu Shuang. He looked around. This was the back of the Three Saints Mountain. Because the mountain was relatively high, the water vapor brought by the summer east wind was blocked by the mountain on the sunny side. As a result, the shaded side lacked moisture, and the vegetation was not very lush. It was mainly small shrubs.
"Following this direction, we still have to walk for about the time it takes to burn an incense stick." Yu Shuang pointed to a snow - covered coniferous forest.
Shen Qingfeng observed for a while and nodded, saying, "Take the package I gave you. Let's go now."
The Three Saints Mountain got its name "Three Saints" because it was a small mountain structure composed of one main peak and two secondary peaks. It was part of the Minqi Mountain Range, one of the five major mountain ranges in Lixia.
Because of its high altitude, the top was covered with snow all year round. If the Golden Summit Temple hadn't been burned down, according to its previous altitude, the temple would only have been snow - free from June to September each year.
The place where they were standing now was much higher than the Golden Summit Temple, and one was on the sunny side while the other was on the shaded side. The strange stone gate that Yu Shuang had discovered was very hidden, in a mountain stream on the shaded side of the Three Saints Mountain.
Yu Shuang tied the horse well and gave one lantern to Shen Qingfeng while holding one in his own hand. He walked in front to lead the way for Shen Qingfeng. The two of them shuttled through the snow - covered coniferous forest with the weak light of the lanterns. They walked unevenly on the snow, which creaked under their feet. Occasionally, they would step on and break a few dry branches with a "crack". Those subtle sounds were surprisingly clear in this quiet mountain.
The night was getting deeper. There were still no stars in the sky, and no light shone through the gaps in the trees. They seemed to be walking inside a huge animal. The only light sources were the two small lanterns in their hands.
As they walked, Yu Shuang reminded Shen Qingfeng of where to be careful under his feet. Shen Qingfeng had never walked on such a road before. The road was so bumpy that he was sweating all over. It took about the time it took to burn two incense sticks before they reached their destination.
As previously mentioned, this was a mountain stream on the hillside. The mountain stream slanted straight down and seemed to have cracked into the interior of the mountain. Looking down, it was bottomless, but the sound of gurgling water could be heard from inside, with a heavy echo. It seemed that the mountain stream must extend quite a long way inside.
Next to the mountain stream, there was a natural cliff on one side and a steep rock wall that extended vertically up to the snow line on the other side. The two of them crossed the mountain stream along a naturally fallen giant tree and just managed to stand on the top of the cliff. This place was very narrow. At most, it could only accommodate ten adults standing upright.
It was truly a natural three - step - tiered and peculiar geographical feature.
Yu Shuang held up the lantern and chopped the shrubs growing on the cliff with his knife. Then he piled them all to one side. After that, he reached out his hand and felt on the cliff wall for a while. After confirming something, he put down the lantern and drew out his sword from his waist.
Shen Qingfeng leaned in to take a look. He saw that there was a thick layer of ice there, and the shape of a door was faintly visible behind the ice.
"It has been snowing these days. It's too cold here, so the ice forms quickly." Yu Shuang explained. He took a step back, raised his sword, and hacked directly at the ice on the door.
"Crash!"
Since Yu Shuang had been here before and the ice had just formed recently without going through the process of melting and refreezing, Yu Shuang only hacked a few times before the ice shattered all over the ground, revealing the stone gate behind.
Shen Qingfeng narrowed his eyes, held up the lantern, and walked forward to take a closer look.
The stone gate was entirely black, about two steps wide from left to right and about half a zhang high from top to bottom. Judging from this size, if the internal passage was not widened, it could only accommodate two people walking side by side at a time.
The stone gate was very solid. It felt like it was made of good - quality granite and then deliberately painted black.
He held the lantern higher, and the light became brighter. The reliefs on the stone gate were all revealed.
Just as Yu Shuang had said, the stone gate was carved with Xing Tian and dragons. Xing Tian stood in the middle, and two dragons were coiled on each side respectively. In the other areas, there were some soldiers standing or kneeling below. Each of them held a weapon in their hand, and their faces were all turned towards the statue of Xing Tian in the center. Their hands were raised high as if they were worshipping something. There were also some paper copper coins carved in relief on the upper part.