Tian Jizi was lying on the kang, fast asleep, while Jin Zijin sat on a low stool beside him, speaking in a hushed voice.
"Master, Zijin is eternally grateful for your care in this life. At this point, I really shouldn’t disturb you; I should let you live out your days peacefully on Qi Mountain. Yet, Zijin is dull and less skilled, failing to measure up to Yu Jizi even after years of your meticulous teaching. If we don’t stop him now as he conducts his ritual, he will be even harder to conquer once he has obtained a younger body. Master, your lifelong wish has been to restore the Dao Sect to its orthodox roots and keep it independent from the Imperial Court. If Yu Jizi cannot be killed, then that wish is unattainably distant. Master, if Zijin dares to ask you to leave seclusion, does that make me an unfilial disciple?"
Just a second ago, Tian Jizi was sound asleep, but at the next second after Jin Zijin finished speaking, he suddenly sat up.
He sat upright on the bed-couch, his aged eyes still piercing as they shot a look at Jin Zijin, and said, "You’ve managed to hold your own against him for so long and have even forced him to act personally. You’ve already greatly exceeded his disciple Huo Li. His real adversary has always been me. Over fifty years ago, I was defeated by his hand and have never been able to reconcile with that defeat, haha..."
Tian Jizi, invigorated, got out of bed, donned a white Eight Trigrams Robe, and triggered a mechanism in the room, pulling out a dusty sword case.
Opening the sword case, inside lay a shining golden longsword, silent.
With a smile, Tian Jizi took out the longsword and nodded slightly, saying, "Old friend, I told you, when I unsheathe you again, it will be our time to redeem our past disgrace."
Jin Zijin looked at his master in astonishment. This sword was the supreme treasure of the Dao Sect, of which he had only heard but had never seen, so it was just .
It was said that Yu Jizi was keen on acquiring this sword, which, like the Youying Pearl, had vanished without a trace, only to be in the master’s possession all along.
At the same time, he felt some concern. It was good that Master could come out of retirement to help, but there was his intermittent mental disorder...
While he was concerned, Tian Jizi just looked at him and smiled faintly.
"Worried about the Dao Sect, worried about the Imperial Court? I think you’re more worried about that female doctor! In light of the stories she’s written for me over the past half-year, I suppose I do owe her a rescue, consider it payment for her efforts."
"Master?" Jin Zijin’s heart was filled with mixed emotions; his master knew it all.
Tian Jizi sighed, "I don’t blame you. I’ve known all along that you are a man of the world and couldn’t possibly stay with the Dao Family forever. Neither you nor Yue Rujing belongs to it, but you don’t need to worry about me or the Dao Sect. Without you, Tianzong still stands strong in defending Qi Mountain."
"Do you think I’ve really grown senile? I’ve been shrewd my whole life. The most muddled I’ve ever been was over fifty years ago when I was defeated by Yu Jizi, a complete disaster. A person should only be muddled once; how could I remain so forever?
Let’s go, let’s find out where they are. It’s time to settle things with him."
Today, the Dongzhou army camp had exploded into chaos; they had been guarding a prisoner, yet the prisoner had vanished?
With tens of thousands of men, not one knew how the disappearance had happened—he had simply vanished into thin air.
Che Xiangyuan felt the matter was too grave, and without waiting for Xiao Jinyan and the others to return, he sent a secret report to the Emperor.
The identity of the one who had abducted Jin Ziyuan was unknown, but regardless of who was responsible, such a person was too terrifying.
And Jin Ziyuan, at this moment, was following beside Yu Jizi, his eyes vacant and lifeless, mechanically moving his feet like a puppet.