The Azure Mountain

Chapter 62

In the small courtyard of Taiping Clinic, Crow hopped back and forth on the tree branches, as if seeing something incredible.

Old Man Yao stood up from the bamboo lounger, so shocked he said "you you you" several times in succession.

I sat cross-legged on the ground, sensing the faint sword energy within my body.

Old Man Yao bent down and twisted my ear: "Snap out of it! What just happened?!"

"Ow, ow, ow," I grimaced.

Originally I was still feeling proud and spirited, but Old Man Yao's twist immediately brought me back to reality.

Just like all children after growing up—no matter how successful they'd become outside, when they returned home they'd still be nagged by their parents.

I quickly asked: "What's wrong, Master?"

Old Man Yao released my ear and straightened up, saying irritably: "I'm asking you—what you just cultivated was the Sword Seed path?!"

"Yep."Old Man Yao stroked his beard, momentarily at a loss for what to ask, speechless.

It wasn't that he lacked knowledge and was therefore shocked by this.

It was precisely because he knew what the Sword Seed path meant that he was shocked.

Old Man Yao held it in for a long time: "How did you cultivate the Sword Seed path?!"

I said innocently: "Didn't you say that if I cultivated the Sword Seed I could cut down officials and princes, and the two paths would complement each other...?"

Hearing this, Old Man Yao was shocked again. He stared and said: "Don't talk nonsense! I was just saying that casually. You mustn't do anything rash! Let me tell you, the best way to cultivate the Mountain Lord path is to wait for those high officials to die on their own. That way you won't bring disaster upon yourself."

Speaking of which, he patiently persuaded: "The entire cabinet combined doesn't even have ten teeth left. They're all old things about to rot away—they won't live much longer. Just wait a bit more. Don't be so hasty."

I realized Master was truly worried I would actually do that!

I quickly smiled and said: "I'm just joking with you. I'm not someone who kills indiscriminately."

Old Man Yao corrected: "Those Grand Secretaries aren't exactly innocent people either... But if you kill too many, there will eventually be a misstep. Which Grand Secretary doesn't have great enforcers guarding them?"

"Yes, yes, I understand," I nodded.

Old Man Yao had now recovered and sat on the bamboo lounger asking seriously: "Where did you learn the Sword Seed path? This is the Martial Temple's greatest secret. How could you possibly learn it? Could it be the person Jing Dynasty has been searching for all along is you... No, that's not right. The age doesn't match—you weren't even born yet."

"Could it be your uncle or your mother who passed it to you? That's not right either. How could they possibly have access to the Sword Seed path..."

I answered frankly: "Master, an immortal taught me in a dream."

Old Man Yao rolled his eyes: "If you don't want to say, you don't need to make up lies. Get lost."

However, I said seriously: "Master, I'm not lying. The immortal in my dream is named Xuanyuan. I've been dreaming of him since I can remember, but in the past I couldn't see clearly and couldn't converse. Now I can talk with him properly."

Old Man Yao carefully observed my expression. The youth was incomparably sincere.

He pulled out six copper coins from his sleeve and scattered them on the ground, but this time, no matter how many times he cast them, each divination was different.

"The hexagram is chaotic. Could it really be an immortal helping you?" Old Man Yao smacked his lips: "I didn't expect your connections to be so extensive."

I: "..."

Old Man Yao let out a long sigh: "...To actually learn the Sword Seed like this—where can one even reason about this? Do you know that if we ranked the world's cultivation paths into nine grades, even if the Sword Seed path claimed to be second, no one would dare claim to be first?"

"Do you know that Lu Yang has been immersed in martial arts his entire life without marrying or having children? How many young talents from Jing Dynasty entered the Martial Temple just hoping that when Lu Yang had no hope for the great path, he would pass down the Sword Seed path? Yet how many people waited from youth to old age, futilely growing white hair?"

Having said this, he looked at me and said leisurely: "If Jing Dynasty discovers you're cultivating the Sword Seed path, they will mobilize the entire Military Intelligence Division to kill you. Aren't you afraid?"

I said in a low voice: "Master, I'll cultivate secretly... Would Lu Yang personally come to kill me?"

"That he wouldn't. Lu Yang's lifelong cultivation isn't to achieve longevity after accomplishing the great path, but to find new opponents," Old Man Yao shook his head. "He would even look forward to you cultivating to Divine Path Realm and then having a battle with you. But even if he doesn't act, you still won't survive. Come, let me see your lifeline—I might have read it wrong before..."

I said: "Master, I won't let others know I'm cultivating the Sword Seed path."

Old Man Yao looked straight into my eyes: "But I know."

The small courtyard fell quiet. Crow also stopped hopping about, as if a large hand had enclosed this place. Even the air pressure became dense.

Old Man Yao said slowly: "I can tell you're a very cautious person. So cautious that on the way back to Taiping Clinic from the Zhou Manor, you gripped that shard of porcelain the whole way. When I asked if you'd killed anyone, you said no. But since you're cautious enough, why would you dare cultivate in front of me? Don't you know the most difficult thing to read in this world is the human heart? How can you be certain I won't betray you? If I report this news to Jing Dynasty, I might get ten thousand taels of gold. Maybe they'd even build me a golden house."

I sat cross-legged on the ground, lowered my head in thought for a moment: "A person carrying too many secrets is like carrying a great mountain—it makes one unable to breathe. I'm willing to believe you won't harm me. After all, you've saved me twice. If you really plan to trade me for gold, then go ahead."

Old Man Yao observed me for a long time, finally saying slowly: "Don't tell anyone else, no one at all."

Crow also observed the old man and youth under the tree, feeling that their relationship... had finally improved somewhat, with more trust.

Old Man Yao said: "Didn't you cultivate the Sword Seed path? Let me see your sword energy."

"Alright," I mobilized the sword energy within my body, making it flow through my meridians and finally shoot out from my right fingertip, striking the ground.

It stirred up some dust.

"Ha," Old Man Yao scoffed: "So a person really does laugh when speechless. She Dakang's fart has more power than your sword energy. Liu Quxing won't work—he only releases stale farts."

"...You're so harsh. Didn't I just start cultivating less than an hour ago?"

Old Man Yao pondered: "Lu Yang uses Jing Dynasty's North Sea to nurture his sword. What do you use to nurture yours? Back then, Lu Yang's father took him to travel across mountains and rivers for a full year before choosing the North Sea. You chose your sword-nurturing place too casually just now. Could you have chosen my Taiping Clinic?"

Having said this, Old Man Yao looked disappointed: "Since you have the Sword Seed path, you should have told me earlier so I could take you out to look around and choose the best sword-nurturing place. Whether it's the hundred thousand great mountains of the southwest or the Seven Divine Mountains of the Esoteric Sect, all would be better than here! How can you decide such a thing casually!"

I pointed east: "Master, I chose the sun as my sword-nurturing place."

Old Man Yao's expression froze. He slowly raised his head to look at the rising sun: "You..."

......

......

At this time, furtive sounds came from outside the courtyard wall: "Baili, Baili, step on me to climb up. Slowly, slowly, don't fall."

Crow flew up into the sky and left early.

I turned to look at the courtyard wall and saw Princess Baili poke her head out, quietly examining the courtyard.

"Wow, Chen Ji, Physician Yao, you're awake? Good morning!" Baili stood on the Prince's shoulders, swaying as she greeted us.

I asked doubtfully: "Princess Baili, you and the Prince are also up this early?"

Princess Baili explained with a smile: "We already finished morning classes with Teacher Wang. Teacher Wang is so fierce—my brother got his palm hit with a board again this morning."

Outside the courtyard wall, the Prince urged: "Baili, climb over first, then we'll chat."

Baili pushed with both hands and flipped over, climbing down the ladder into the courtyard.

Old Man Yao looked at her familiar movements, raised his eyebrows, and looked at me with a grave expression.

I quickly said: "Master, I already gave you all the toll fees."

"I almost forgot," Old Man Yao's brows relaxed. He stood up holding a bamboo switch and went into the apprentice dormitory: "You all chat. I'm going to wake She Dakang and Liu Quxing."

A moment later, the ghostly wails and wolf howls of the two senior brothers rang out from the room. One covered his buttocks to fetch water, the other covered his buttocks to sweep the ground. Liang Mao'er cheerfully went into the kitchen to start the fire and cook.

Surprisingly, Princess Baili also rolled up her sleeves and skillfully scooped a spoonful of lard into the wok in the kitchen. It looked like she was preparing to help cook.

I asked doubtfully: "Why is the Princess so skilled?"

Baili smiled: "We were all like this at the academy. The teachers didn't allow us to bring servants—everyone had to be self-sufficient."

"Everyone is self-sufficient?"

"Not exactly," Baili thought and said: "Some from very wealthy families would pay classmates from less well-off families to help with laundry and cooking. They lived more comfortably. My brother wanted to do that too, but I wrote to Father and reported him!"

The Prince leaned weakly against the kitchen doorframe: "Baili, think about it this way—some students from declining families who want to attend Donglin Academy already exhaust their entire family's resources just paying tuition. But afterward they still have the provincial examination, and after that they have to go to the capital for the metropolitan examination. If they pass, they still need to buy a house and property in the capital—all of this costs money. We save effort, they earn money. What's wrong with that?"

"It's not allowed anyway!"

With a sizzle, the Princess skillfully heated the wok with oil and poured in the washed and cut cabbage. She was making spicy and sour cabbage—the fragrance wafted into the courtyard.

Taiping Clinic used to be like a corner forgotten by the world, but now it was like a bustling compound full of the aroma of life.

This aroma of life pulled me back from the world of enforcers to the mortal realm.

I struggled to stand up and lay on the bamboo chair, wearily closing my eyes slowly.

I gathered the molten flow from the sixteen furnace fires and allowed the ice flow to spread to every corner of my meridians, once again falling into the depths of the dark cloud sea, returning to that ancient battlefield.

......

......

I landed on the green mountain and opened my eyes to see Xuanyuan wearing golden armor, sitting on the edge of a cliff with the royal banner as a staff, gazing into the distance.

The banner no longer fluttered, nor did the golden armor make clanging sounds.

Following his gaze, I saw snow-covered mountains on that side, covered with ten thousand years of unmelting snow.

In the past, every time I came, he was like a war god fighting among ten thousand troops. This time, Xuanyuan was like a lonely traveler sitting in his own amber.

I came to the cliff's edge and stood beside Xuanyuan: "What are you looking at?"

Xuanyuan suddenly turned to look, his gaze like thunder and lightning, extremely sharp: "Why are you here again? Nurturing the sword requires hundreds of years of hard work. Didn't I tell you not to come until you've chosen your sword-nurturing place?"

"I've chosen," I said.

"Just choosing isn't enough. You need to settle your heart and spend time crossing the star sea to communicate with it, making it your sword-nurturing star," Xuanyuan said slowly. "Then you'll understand that four hundred-plus years of painstaking effort is all worth it."

"I've already communicated with it."

Xuanyuan slowly stood up: "You never used to lie... Which star did you choose? Let me guess—with your personality, you should choose the brightest one in the sky, Sirius. But even with Sirius, divine consciousness needs several years to reach it. How could you possibly complete it in one hour?"

I was silent for a moment: "I chose the sun. It's quite close. You might not have realized—the sun is also a star."

Xuanyuan was stunned for a long time: "The sun... You actually chose the sun? Once you plucked away the brightest star in the sky but didn't cherish it. Now you've plucked away another one..."

"Hm?"

On the green mountain, the wind blew across the banner. Xuanyuan stood at the cliff's edge, unmoved, as if he'd turned into a statue.

I asked seriously: "I borrowed the sun's fire and cultivated the first wisp of sword energy. But the sword energy has very little power, and once used, it's gone. I saw your sword on the battlefield piercing through like a shuttle, extremely sharp and invincible. How can I forge such a sword?"

Xuanyuan suddenly said: "Go back. I don't want to teach anymore."

I looked up in shock: "You said you won't teach just like that?! People need to keep their word. An hour ago you said you could teach, and now you say you won't. Isn't that too hasty?"

"Say what you want. I'm not teaching anyway," Xuanyuan gripped the royal banner and walked down the mountain: "Don't come anymore in the future."

I panicked and followed behind Xuanyuan, chasing him all the way down the mountain.

Xuanyuan crossed over ten zhang with one step, walking as if on flat ground. I could only take the winding mountain path, stumbling as I chased down.

Fortunately, in this dream I had no illness or injury. Otherwise just running down the mountain would hurt me to death.

"Hey, walk slower. Let's discuss this," I shouted. "Why won't you teach? Is it because I chose the wrong sword-nurturing place, or because of our past grudges?"

"You don't need to know," Xuanyuan said as he walked. "You and I are enemies. I don't want to teach my enemy."

I quickly said: "Although I'm really not the person you know... but I observe that you're handsome and imposing, upright and incorruptible. I imagine that if you have a grudge with him, it must be his fault. If he did something inappropriate, I'll apologize to you on his behalf."

Xuanyuan turned around abruptly at the foot of the mountain, looking at me calmly: "?"

He was stunned, incredulous: "You're apologizing to me? You apologize so easily?"

I nodded: "Very sincerely."

Xuanyuan laughed heartily: "Did you all hear that? He apologized to me! He actually apologized to me!"

I: "..."

"You want to learn the Sword Seed path that badly?" Xuanyuan asked gravely.

"Yes."

"Fine," Xuanyuan waved his large hand.

I saw the frozen battlefield come alive. A burly soldier walked out from the battle formation, holding a long halberd, kneeling on one knee: "My King, why have you summoned me?"

Xuanyuan pointed at me: "Kill him."

Having said that, he looked at me again: "I won't take advantage of you. His realm has been suppressed—only slightly higher than yours now. Defeat him and I'll teach you."

"Huh?" I looked at the strongman wielding his halberd. The huge bronze halberd cut through the air with a whistling sound that hurt my eardrums!

Hiss!

I gasped and woke up on the bamboo lounger.

I hadn't even reacted yet when I'd already been killed by the halberd soldier. Even the pain felt so real, as if everything just now wasn't a dream but truly dying once.

This Xuanyuan was using this opportunity to take revenge, wasn't he?

At this time, Baili was still cooking in the kitchen. The Prince sat beside the bamboo lounger cracking sunflower seeds. Seeing me wake in shock, he asked curiously: "What, having a nightmare? You..."

While speaking, the Prince saw my eyes.

This apprentice youth clearly wasn't even looking at him, yet he felt his heart skip a beat, as if a fierce beast was beside him breathing out heavy, bloody air.

Liang Mao'er carried out dishes from the kitchen—white porridge with spicy and sour cabbage and small pickles, light and refreshing.

He looked at me: "Eat before sleeping."

I shook my head and slowly closed my eyes: "I'm not hungry right now. Thank you."

The Prince came back to his senses. He examined me more carefully but found I was just lying wearily on the bamboo chair with nothing unusual.

He must have seen wrong.

At this time, I had already returned to the battlefield. I saw the halberd soldier standing intact at the green mountain's peak, not immediately attacking.

Xuanyuan sat on a boulder, looking at me: "Did you learn your lesson?"

I remained silent.

Xuanyuan scoffed: "In this world, you're not the only one who dares to be cruel to yourself. Those who can charge into battle formations—which one isn't a fierce warrior who climbed out of piles of corpses? Facing fierce warriors like the halberd soldier, just relying on courage and ferocity is useless. We've seen plenty of fierce people. You must learn to discard all fancy thoughts and master true combat skills."

I pondered... True combat skills?

Xuanyuan said calmly: "You asked me to teach you the Sword Seed path, but you don't even have basic combat skills and fighting spirit. Giving you the Sword Seed path would be like placing a razor-sharp sword in a child's hands—it can hurt others but also hurt yourself."

I nodded: "Let's begin. Come again!"

Xuanyuan said: "This time, you cannot run down from this mountaintop. If you run, I won't teach you the Sword Seed path anymore."

I asked doubtfully: "But in combat, running away when you can't win is also a wise move."

"You're much smarter than before, but being smart is good, yet a person can't only have cleverness," Xuanyuan sneered. "But there will always be mountains in this world you can never avoid. At that time, you need some fighting spirit and courage."

Xuanyuan walked to the halberd soldier's side and pointed at his ribs: "The human body has thirty-six death acupoints: temple, Qimen acupoint, Fengchi acupoint, Tanzhong acupoint..."

He pointed out each death acupoint for me to see: "If your halberd thrust just now had shifted one inch to the left, even with the halberd soldier's tremendous strength, he couldn't use it. This is the difference between having combat skills and not having them. Also, your turning thrust just now looked good, but it was useless. Killing doesn't need to look good."

I took a deep breath: "Understood."

He didn't know how many battles Xuanyuan had experienced. I only knew this was the best teacher I could encounter!

The halberd soldier no longer waited and swung his bronze halberd to attack.

I also no longer avoided, only dodging and weaving on this mountaintop, searching for combat methods.

I stared tightly at the direction the bronze halberd was chopping, and my body lightly shifted right. The bronze halberd passed by my face, chopping down from one inch outside my nose!

Xuanyuan's eyes lit up.

However, before he could praise me, the halberd soldier flipped his wrist, and the crescent blade of the bronze halberd turned and cut into my abdomen.

This bronze halberd in the halberd soldier's hands was like a living thing. Clearly it was a heavy weapon, yet in his hands it became extremely cunning.

When I returned to the green mountain again, Xuanyuan said with a dark face: "You dodged well just now. Why didn't you anticipate the opponent might have other moves after dodging? Combat is like playing chess—you must think ten steps ahead for every move. With the same strength, whoever can anticipate the enemy first will win!"

I nodded seriously: "Understood. Come again!"

I fought from morning to noon, then from noon to evening. I never won, but the more I fought, the more serious and excited I became.

I didn't count how many times I'd died. I only knew that the more I died, the more crude and direct my fighting style became.

Like steel sent into the furnace to be reforged, then hammered repeatedly into shape, beating out all impurities.

I suddenly realized that the skills forged this way had no routines, weren't performed for anyone to see, and were closer to the essence of killing techniques.

Xuanyuan watched me fight again and again, as if tireless. This youth didn't have that person's combat instincts, but had exactly the same fighting spirit.

Obsessed.

Possessed.

"Now you finally look a bit like him."

......

......

In the evening, I opened my eyes in Taiping Clinic's small courtyard. Xuanyuan had ordered me to rest for half an hour.

I let out a slow breath, as if returning from purgatory to the bustling mortal world.

This time I fought the halberd soldier for the time it takes one incense stick to burn, locked in stalemate. When I woke, I was exhausted to the extreme.

I raised my head to see the Prince, She Dakang, Liang Gou'er, and Liu Quxing playing dominoes at the dining table. Princess Baili and Liang Mao'er stood watching.

Liu Quxing's pile of copper coins was huge, including a silver peanut he'd won from the Prince.

Princess Baili looked at me in surprise: "Oh, you're awake! Are you hungry? What would you like to eat?"

I smiled: "Why isn't the Princess playing with them?"

Baili shook her head: "I don't gamble. My father also forbids gambling."

"Huh? Isn't the Prince gambling?"

Baili smiled: "It's fine. I'll report him later."

I: "...Such deep sibling affection."

I felt a wave of hunger, but before I could say anything, I heard people outside the gate shouting: "Prince, Prince, get ready to go to White Cloth Lane!"

The Prince's eyes lit up: "Today is the day Courtesan Liu from Qinhuai River comes to Luocheng. I heard this Courtesan Liu is skilled in poetry, literature, music, and chess, and is as beautiful as a celestial being. We must go see!"

Liang Gou'er clapped and cheered. He hadn't drunk alcohol for several days—the wine worm in his belly was acting up fiercely.

However, Princess Baili poured cold water: "Chen Ji is still injured. If everyone leaves, who will look after him? Brother, you keep saying you want to be friends with him. Is this how you treat friends? Are you even human?"

The Prince scratched his head, somewhat troubled.

Liu Su was a top courtesan even in Jinling's Qinhuai River. She came to Luocheng today to cut the ribbon for a new embroidery building in White Cloth Lane. How could he miss this?

Liang Gou'er whispered: "Prince, how about we go and leave Mao'er and the Princess at the clinic tonight?"

The Prince was somewhat troubled: "The money is on Baili."

Liang Gou'er: "..."

I: "..."

Indeed, Baili was the real patron. That's why the Prince had to take her wherever he went.

The small courtyard fell quiet. Everyone lost interest in playing dominoes.

For a while, everyone pondered countermeasures, while only I conserved energy, preparing to continue entering the battlefield to fight.

At this time, Liang Gou'er on the side came up with an idea: "Prince, why don't we take Chen Ji along too?!"

I: "...I'm injured and can't go."

The Prince looked at Liang Gou'er: "Right, he's injured, and the wounds are on his chest and thigh. We can't even carry him on our backs."

For the sake of mooching alcohol, Liang Gou'er had no bottom line. He immediately patted his chest: "Mao'er and I will carry his bamboo chair. After we finish drinking, we'll carry him back!"

I: "..."

You really are a genius. You'll do anything to drink alcohol.

The next moment, Liang Gou'er called Liang Mao'er, and they lifted the bamboo chair and walked out the door, as if carrying a bamboo sedan chair.

I sat up on the swaying bamboo chair: "Hey? I don't want to go!"

Liang Gou'er paid no attention: "It's not up to you now. Come with us! If you want to sleep, just lie on the bamboo chair. Rest assured, we won't let you fall! That's White Cloth Lane, that's Courtesan Liu. Are you a man? How can you not be interested in this kind of thing?"

I was helpless: "I'm still injured!"

The Prince followed beside the bamboo chair saying: "I heard it's not easy to see Courtesan Liu. You have to submit poetry, and only if she likes it will she let you in... Do you have any new poems from these past few days? I'll buy them!"

I fell quiet. Right now I still had ninety-four taels of silver hidden in the brick crevice under my bed—at most enough to buy three ginseng roots and light six more furnace fires.

But if I wanted to kill the Division Officer, that was far from enough.

I was silent for a moment: "I happened upon a few lines. Maybe they'll be useful."

Princess Baili's eyes brightened: "Let's go to White Cloth Lane!"

Everyone came outside. A group of martial world people had been waiting at the door, each with long swords and sabers at their waists.

Seeing Liang Gou'er and Liang Mao'er carrying me, they showed astonishment and whispered to each other: "Who is so imposing that Liang Gou'er and Liang Mao'er are carrying his sedan chair together?"

I quickly smiled awkwardly: "It has nothing to do with me. I'm injured and didn't want to go, but Brother Liang Gou'er insisted on taking me to White Cloth Lane to broaden my horizons. I didn't make him carry the sedan chair."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief...

Along the way, over ten people were lively and laughing. The Prince didn't seem like a prince but more like a wandering guest in the martial world who ate large chunks of meat and drank large bowls of wine.

I sat on the bamboo chair. From time to time, passersby cast glances at the bamboo chair. My face wasn't thick enough, so I simply closed my eyes and sank back into the battlefield, returning to combat.

I felt I was about to touch a certain threshold. The halberd soldier wasn't undefeatable.

......

......

In front of White Cloth Lane's 'Embroidery Building,' flower baskets were arranged for hundreds of meters, even occupying other establishments' entrances.

On the wide second-floor terrace of the Embroidery Building, wooden railings were hung with red silk, looking especially festive.

The Embroidery Building's owner was named Zhang Chang, an obscure minor figure. But some said he was once a servant in the second branch of the Xu family from Shanghai—this made everyone have to regard him highly.

The Xu family—the Xu family of Chief Grand Secretary Xu Gong.

Noble families wouldn't directly touch businesses in White Cloth Lane, Red Cloth Lane, or Qinhuai River—the reputation was bad—but privately they all had their own fronts. Everyone knew who was behind Zhang Chang. It went without saying.

Therefore, as soon as the Embroidery Building opened, not only did Liu Mingxian from the Liu family come to support it, but many noble family sons also came with literary friends. Some came to see Courtesan Liu, some came to boost the Xu family's business—each had their own thoughts.

In front of the Embroidery Building, two young ladies wearing plain white ruqun dresses and draped in white sable fur stood prettily in the autumn wind's coolness, smiling broadly at the guests outside: "Lords and young masters, our Embroidery Building welcomes all guests tonight. There are many elegant seats on the first floor—spacious and bright. But if you wish to go upstairs to see our young lady, you need a presentable poem. If our young lady is pleased, one poem can bring three people together. There's a desk and writing materials at the entrance. Everyone, please."

A young scholar immediately picked up a brush at the desk and quickly wrote a poem, handing it to the two young ladies.

One young lady took the paper and ran upstairs. In just a moment, she ran back down, smiling coquettishly: "Young master, my lady says your poem won't do."

This Courtesan Liu gave no face at all. If she said no, it was no—not the slightest bit willing to be tactful.

That young scholar's face turned red with shame as he lowered his head and squeezed into the crowd.

After this test, quite a few people without real talent immediately lost heart.

Outside, Liang Gou'er and other martial world people muttered among themselves, whispering to each other, not knowing how they could enter this Embroidery Building.

Some said climb in, some said kill their way in—not one serious suggestion.

At this time, the Prince lost his nerve and said in a low voice: "Baili, we only have half a poem. Will it work?"

Baili thought: "If she knows her stuff, this half sentence can top a hundred others. It will definitely work."

Liang Gou'er came over and said: "But one poem can only bring three people, and we have twelve."

Having said this, the Prince and Princess Baili looked together at me sleeping on the bamboo chair...

"Chen Ji, do you have other poems?"

"Chen Ji?"

"Chen Ji, wake up."

No matter how the Prince called, I didn't wake.

The Prince grew anxious but had no solution. Without poems, how could they enter?

At this time, after pondering, Baili pulled out a golden melon seed from her little purse and stuffed it into my palm.

I opened my eyes: "Got them."