Last night, Qiu Chuji left a very deep impression on him. The skill of making raindrops hang upside down with just a few strokes of his whisk, and the ability of water dripping through stone, was something he was no match for now.
Upon seeing this, Liu Bowen quickly turned his head to the side, otherwise he would get another knock on the head. He muttered to himself, "I thought we came to Zhongnan Mountain to participate in a prayer ceremony."
Li Boyang's face darkened as he said, "Should I listen to you or me?"
He's not out of his mind to go to the prayer ceremony. He just stole the True Sect's most treasured possession, and now he's going to show off at the True Sect? If he's recognized as the man in black who stole the Nine Yin Manual, then he'll be in big trouble.
Liu Bowen immediately stopped arguing and obediently packed his luggage.
The two settled their bill at the inn's counter and hurriedly left. Still struggling to find the latest chapters of your novel? I recommend a WeChat official account: r/d/w/w444 or search for "hot online novels" (remember to remove the "/" when searching, otherwise you won't find it). There are lovely ladies there to help you find books and chat with you!
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Chapter 93 A Chance Encounter with Jueyuan
Outside the town at the foot of Zhongnan Mountain is an official road.
The official road extends outward from the entrance of the town, leading to Chang'an City, which is also the town's only exit to the outside world.
The official road outside the town is lined with lush forests, and the crisp chirping of birds and the sound of falling leaves carried by the wind can be heard from time to time.
Creak! Creak!
This is the sound of a solid wood axle wheel rolling on the official road.
On the quiet official road, a caravan appeared, consisting of several hundred escorts and dozens of horse-drawn carriages, each pulling a large wooden box.
The horses were struggling to walk, and the wheels left obvious scratches on the official road, indicating that the large wooden box placed on the carriage was very heavy.
The entire escorting convoy consisted of Mongols, all of whom were highly skilled horsemen, with scimitars hanging at their waists, wearing Yuan Dynasty military uniforms and helmets. They were all Yuan Dynasty soldiers.
These Yuan soldiers rode on horseback, advancing at a leisurely pace, occasionally glancing warily around.
They were almost at their destination, and there had been no mishaps along the way. The Yuan soldiers seemed somewhat relaxed, and the few at the front of the column were chatting.
"With begging for a thousand households, isn't it a bit inappropriate for the Imperial Advisor to do this?"
"Yes, I've heard that immortals live on Zhongnan Mountain. Will we offend them by doing this?"
"Shut up, all of you. The Grand Preceptor has his reasons for doing this. Just deliver the goods. If you dare to gossip again, don't blame me for being impolite."
Qiyan is not a name, but a Mongolian surname, which means a rushing torrent in Mongolian.
The "thousand households" were military officers of the Yuan Dynasty, commanding more than seven hundred people. They were officials of the fourth rank in the Yuan Dynasty, neither high nor low, belonging to the middle-level military officers.
"May the Eternal Heaven protect us, and please don't let those gods take their anger out on us."
"Qiyan has over a thousand households, and two people have appeared in front of him."
Just as these Yuan soldiers were chatting idly, two men appeared directly in front of the escort team.
Both men were dressed as scholars, so they were naturally Li Boyang and Liu Bowen, who had recently left the town.
"The whole team stop. You go and stop them, and see who they are."
At the head of the caravan, Qi Yan, the commander of a thousand households, said something to his left and right. Immediately, two men mounted their horses and rushed out to Li Boyang. Holding their curved swords horizontally, they gestured for the two men to stop and looked down at him, saying:
"Halt!"
Liu Bowen frowned slightly upon seeing the visitors' attire and explained, "We are scholars who have traveled the world. We have just finished our journey through Zhongnan Mountain and are preparing to leave."
"A scholar?"
After carefully observing Li Boyang and Liu Bowen, one of them noticed that they were dressed in scholar's robes and looked refined and gentle, without any hint of murderous intent. They were indeed very similar to the scholars he had met before. One of them immediately spurred his horse to return and report.
"The two men who begged for favors numbered over a thousand and were scholars."
Qi Yan, the thousand-household commander, nodded and said, "So you are two scholars. Let's continue and deliver the goods quickly. I'm getting very nervous."
The carriage, escorted by the Yuan army, continued on its way, and the Yuan soldiers who had been blocking Li Boyang returned to their ranks.
"Teacher, they are all soldiers of the Yuan Dynasty."
Standing by the official road, Liu Bowen, who was giving way to the caravan, said softly.
Li Boyang stared at the wooden box behind the carriage, then looked at the sacred wheel marks left on the road by the wheels, and said:
"Your teacher isn't blind, do you think I wouldn't see it?"
Watching the carriages pass by, Liu Bowen muttered, "In two or three days, it will be the day of the Quanzhen Sect's prayer ceremony. These Yuan army troops are coming to Zhongnan Mountain at this time..."
"Bowen, can you guess what's inside this big wooden box?"
These Yuan soldiers were clearly there to cause trouble for the prayer ceremony. Even without Liu Bowen saying it, it was obvious that the contents of this large wooden box must be extraordinary for the Yuan army to escort it so carefully.
Liu Bowen observed for a moment and said softly, "The wheel tracks on the ground are very deep, which means the large wooden box is very heavy. It must be some kind of weapon."
Li Boyang nodded. This carriage was indeed a weapon, and not just any weapon, but a cannon.
In the original Wudang world, during the Quanzhen Sect's prayer ceremony, Shi Le, the ancestor of the sect, had a plan to bombard Zhongnan Mountain, but he was forced to retreat by Qiu Chuji, the Changchunzi, who brought out the Xue Chan Golden Knife personally bestowed by Genghis Khan.
Cannons were invented as early as the Song Dynasty and played a prominent role in the Song-Jin War. However, due to technological limitations, their range was only two hundred li.
By the time of Genghis Khan in the Yuan Dynasty, the Yuan Dynasty already had the world's first professional artillery unit, which shone brightly in the Mongol westward expedition led by Genghis Khan.
"Let's go, what are you standing there for?"