Li Jinglong first led Hongjun to Jingong Palace to express his gratitude to Li Longji and Li Heng. However, he received news that Li Longji and Guo Ziyi had left for Lingwu early in the morning. They had taken the six armies with them, received Li Longji's decree of abdication, and were preparing to offer sacrifices to the heavens at Lingwu.
When they arrived at the rear hall of Jingong Palace, Hongjun saw the autumn wind rustling. A stooped old man was squatting under a wutong tree covered in fallen leaves, looking left and right. Li Jinglong said, "Marquis of Shu Li Jinglong requests an audience with His Majesty …"
The old man turned his head. Hongjun and Li Jinglong were both stunned. It was actually Li Longji!
"Where's the chamberlain?!" Li Jinglong instantly exploded and roared, "Gao Lishi! General Gao! "
Gao Lishi had gone early in the morning to announce the decree of the Exorcist Division. When he returned, he was drinking tea and wiping his sweat in his room. Li Longji had abdicated in name, but everyone knew that the real reason was that he had been forced to abdicate by the crown prince. Otherwise, there would not have been the Mahuaipo incident. This all-powerful monarch had actually turned into this desolate and bleak evening scene.
"Aiyo …" Gao Lishi groaned. "Marquis Yadan … no, Marquis of Shu, how can I be so busy by myself? Didn't I just return to the palace? Calm your anger, calm your anger. Your Majesty, why bother? "
Li Longji's hair was white and his face was full of black spots. He seemed to be looking for something behind the tree. Gao Lishi didn't give him any chance to explain. He grabbed him and dragged him back to the room. Li Longji shouted, "Let me see! The jade bracelet is here! "
Li Jinglong was speechless for a moment. He stood in the bleak autumn wind, not knowing what to say. After a while, he stepped in and thanked Li Longji. Hongjun took a few steps in the courtyard, once again feeling the pain and torment of birth, old age, sickness, and death.
"Everyone will grow old and die," the Carp Demon said behind Hongjun's back.
The Carp Demon was getting longer and longer, and Hongjun could not carry it anymore. Hongjun suddenly asked, "Will Jinglong also become like this?"
"That's for sure," the Carp Demon said, "In old age, all the glory and disgrace of a lifetime have become a thing of the past. Don't you see how sad it is? How miserable was that? When Li Jinglong gets old, maybe … "
"Then I also like him very much." Hongjun said, "To be able to walk through this life, it is a beginning and an end."
Carp Demon: "…"
The conversation came to an abrupt end. Hongjun suddenly thought of something else, but the Carp Demon said, "Put me down and let me walk around."
Hongjun placed the Carp Demon in the garden and went behind the tree. He wanted to see what the old man was looking for, but he suddenly saw a square foot hole behind the tree. There were a lot of weeds growing outside. He squatted down to look into the hole. Suddenly, a white, furry fox head popped out, and he was immediately startled.
"Shh," the fox said.
Hongjun: "You …"
"It's me!" The fox's voice was Yu Zaoyun. It jumped out in a few steps and burrowed into Hongjun's arms. Hongjun fell to the ground. Yu Zaoyun said again, "Have you found a place in Demon City? I heard this morning that Li Jinglong was conferred the title of Marquis of Shu. Do you have a place? "
"Wait …" Hongjun said in surprise, "You have a body?"
"I picked it up in the mountains. Let's leave it at that for now." Yu Zaoyun said, "I was worried, so I came back to see him."
In the dim room, Gao Lishi pressed Li Longji down on the table and fed him spoonful by spoonful of ginseng soup. From time to time, he said, "Your Majesty, come, open your mouth, ah —"
Li Longji drank until his beard was covered in grease, dripping all over his body. Gao Lishi didn't even bother to wipe it for him.
The room was damp and gloomy, and it was airless. The scene of palace maids and palace attendants in the past was long gone. When Li Longji and Yang Yuhuan escaped from Chang 'an, they abandoned most of the palace servants. It was Hongjun who made the decision to send six armies to escort the officials' families and palace servants out of the city. The Emperor abandoned the common people and only cared about running for his own life. Even now, there was no one to serve him, only a few palace maids waiting outside to listen to his orders. Almost all of the ministers changed their tune and followed the Crown Prince.
Gao Lishi, an old minister, accompanied the old Emperor alone. When he was in power, he was arrogant and insufferably arrogant. Now, in this autumn, he was also desolate.
Li Jinglong only wanted to find something to say, but Li Longji was already muddle-headed and dizzy. Even if he said something, he wouldn't be able to hear. At this time, Li Jinglong couldn't help but think of himself and Hongjun. As a mortal, he would grow old, but Hongjun might never grow old or die. In the future, when he was seventy years old, he would pass away and leave Hongjun all alone. What would he do?
After thinking for a long time, Li Jinglong only said one sentence, "What does General Gao think about the future?"
"I'm old." Gao Lishi said, "The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. I'll just stay here and accompany His Majesty."
At this time, the Carp Demon walked around the garden a few times. When he arrived at the courtyard, he suddenly saw two golden pheasants facing the pond, feeling sorry for themselves.
"Ah!" The Carp Demon finally found them. That day, it followed the moat of the inner palace and wandered around. When it saw them from afar, it only suspected that they were old acquaintances. However, it couldn't enter the inner palace. Today, it was looking for an old acquaintance.
Ever since Green Fatty and Red Skinny flew away from the Chang 'an, they had been separated from the Carp Demon. Now, for some reason, they were in the Jin Palace of Shu and had become Li Longji's garden pet. Seeing a long fish running towards them, Green Fatty asked, "What is that?"
"A grass carp that has become a spirit." Red Skinny said coldly.
"It's me! It's me! "The Carp Demon said.
The two golden pheasants looked indifferent. The Carp Demon said, "It's me! Zhao Zilong! Your life-saving fish! "
Green Fatty and Red Skinny remembered and said together, "Oh! Benefactor! "
"So it's benefactor!"
The golden pheasants looked at each other and pretended to greet the Carp Demon warmly. The Carp Demon said, "I was wondering why you were here!"
At the same time, the golden pheasants thought, could it be that they were here to repay the kindness …
The Carp Demon was very happy and felt very close. After all, they had gone through life and death together. He asked, "Why are you here?"
It turned out that after leaving the Chang 'an, the two golden pheasants had planned to return to Shu. However, it was too far away from home. The roads in the Guanzhong area were very complicated and the golden pheasants' feathers were very bright. They were afraid of attracting covetous eyes, so they could only move at night. It was dark and the golden pheasants had no sense of direction. They wandered around for almost two years without leaving Hanzhong. In the end, they were exhausted and found a place to live in seclusion in Chen Cang.
Then An Lushan rebelled, Chang 'an fell, Li Longji's chariot and horse entered Shu. When they arrived at Chencang, they were blocked by a mountain ridge. Only then did the golden pheasants know that they could enter Shu if they went west. They were very excited and used all their strength to move away a stone blocking the road, revealing the mountain road.
After Yang Yuhuan's death, Li Longji suddenly regained consciousness. Gao Lishi was like a headless fly. He immediately regarded the golden pheasants as auspicious signs sent by the heavens and renamed Chen Cang as "Precious Pheasants". Thus, the golden pheasants were like national treasures and were brought all the way to Shu. They were enshrined in this garden.
After the Carp Demon heard this, he couldn't help but sigh. Green Fatty and Red Skinny looked at the Carp Demon sympathetically and said, "What about you? How are you doing? At first, I thought you were dead. "
The Carp Demon turned around to let them see and said, "I'm going to turn into a dragon."
"Congratulations." The golden pheasants said in a neutral tone.
The Carp Demon said, "To be a demon, you have to have a big vision and ambition. Don't you want to fly up to the branches and become a Phoenix?"
"You're crazy." Green Fatty said, "The Water Clan can become a dragon through cultivation. That is destined by the heavens. Chicken and Phoenix are two different species okay. A Phoenix is born as a Phoenix. A chicken is born as a chicken. Have you heard of a chicken that can become a Phoenix? Tell me about it. "
The Carp Demon thought about it and agreed. He seemed to have forgotten that the laws of nature couldn't be defied. Suddenly, he felt that the golden pheasants seemed to be born indifferent. They were always neither cold nor hot. He didn't even care about how they became dragons.
"Here, benefactor, do you want to eat earthworms?" Red Fatty dug a few times in the soil and dug out an earthworm to give to the Carp Demon. The Carp Demon said, "No, I'm going back. That's all."
"How did you come in?"
"With Hongjun."
"Hongjun?" Green Fatty and Red Fatty remembered at the same time.
"Mahamayuri, didn't you come when Dazzling Golden Palace issued the Order of Birds?" The Carp Demon said, "Now that he has become the Demon King …"
The two golden pheasants flapped their wings wildly and with a swoosh, they turned into shadows and disappeared in front of the Carp Demon.
"Your Majesty —!"
"Your Majesty!"
Hongjun was chatting with Yu Zaoyun while waiting for Li Jinglong. Suddenly, the two golden pheasants rushed over and pounced on Hongjun. The golden pheasants flapped their wings and their feathers fell. They opened their mouths and made a lot of noise. Hongjun was dizzy and his eyes were filled with chicken feathers.
"Your Majesty, we've been waiting for you!"
"Your Majesty, please take us in!"
"Your Majesty is really handsome!"
"That's right, that's right. No wonder you're called Hongjun!"
"Shut up!" Yu Zaoyun said angrily, "I hate birds like you the most. It's so noisy."
Although Yu Zaoyun found a little fox as a host, his aura was still there. The golden pheasants immediately fell silent and were dumbstruck. Hongjun said, "You guys …"
"We're Green Fatty and Red Fatty from Shu Di …"
"We heard that Your Majesty is moving to Shu Di, so we're here to pledge our loyalty to you …"
"When we were fighting Chang 'an, we just received the Order of Birds. We hurriedly flew over and finished the fight …"
Li Jinglong also came out. When he saw the two golden pheasants crowing non-stop in front of Hongjun, he was confused. Gao Lishi came out of the garden and saw that the pheasants could talk. He immediately screamed and shouted, "Monsters —!"
Hongjun tried his best to distinguish that the two pheasants were here to pledge their loyalty. He nodded and said, "Come with me."
The Carp Demon only just arrived. When he saw Green Fatty and Red Fatty, it was as if they had turned into chickens. They flattered Hongjun to the heavens and the earth, the scales on his body immediately stood up. He was furious. Hongjun cupped his fists and bid farewell to Li Longji. He took the fox, carp, and the two pheasants and left with Li Jinglong.
"I think, if there's a chance, I'll let you see him again." Hongjun and Li Jinglong left Shu Palace. Hongjun said to Yu Zaoyun.
Yu Zaoyun said indifferently, "Let's talk about it again. Sometimes, it's better not to see each other. Moreover, the person who loves him, to be honest, can't be considered me. Yang Yuhuan died a long time ago. Now, it's Yu Zaoyun."
"It's the same." Hongjun said, "You've always been in Yuhuan's heart."
Yu Zaoyun didn't say anything.
The golden pheasant hurriedly said, "Let's see each other again."
"That's right. There's still love left. There's a beginning and there's an end, right?"
Yu Zaoyun simply lost his temper and said, "What does it have to do with you two!"
The fox was the pheasant's natural enemy. However, with Hongjun around, the pheasant wasn't afraid at all. They talked back and forth, making Li Jinglong's head hurt.
After leaving the Imperial Palace, Li Jinglong didn't return to the inn. He hired a large carriage and ordered it to go out of the city. He also informed Chao Yun, who was staying at the inn, to pack some clothes and bring Trandol to the carriage. There were so many animals squeezed together in the carriage. There was a snake, a fox, two pheasants, and a carp. It was as if he had become the leader of a circus troupe.
"Where are we going?" Hongjun saw that the autumn scenery was just right and couldn't help but feel happy.
"We're going for a walk to inspect the fief of the Marquis of Shu." Li Jinglong brushed away the pheasant feathers on his body and said, "While we're at it, I'll take you to choose a new location for the Demon Metropolis."
The location had to be decided as soon as possible. There were still many things to be done. Li Jinglong had to wait 120 days for Atay and Ashina Chong to return. He had to solve the problem of the Demon Metropolis and then go to Ruoergai to find another Acalanatha artifact. When the demons heard this, they actually cheered together. Even Yu Zaoyun couldn't help but sigh with emotion.
"We finally have a home." Yu Zaoyun didn't expect that the Demon Metropolis, which had fallen apart for thousands of years, was finally able to establish a country. It was all thanks to a mortal.
The Carp Demon said, "I want to transform into a dragon. You have to leave me a bigger pool."
"You won't live here when you transform into a dragon." Hongjun laughed.
"I'll still have to come back to see you in the future." The Carp Demon said.
Li Jinglong ordered the carriage to leave Chengdu. They first caught a boat and went downstream along the Min River. This time, the boat followed the current and arrived at Yuzhou in less than a day and a half. They also bought some food and clothing for Trandol and Chen Feng who stayed in Chengdu. When they returned, they would discuss the matter of choosing a location for the Demon Metropolis with Han Guolan. They would first ask him for money and materials to spend. In the future, they would slowly repay him with the convenience of trade with the Demon Metropolis.
After leaving Yuzhou, they went downstream and arrived at Fengjie. They went ashore at Fengjie and changed horses. Green Fat and Red Thin were unexpectedly home near the Three Gorges. They were immediately excited and soon disappeared without a trace. Hongjun had experienced years of war. Ever since he entered the Chang 'an, he had almost never spent this kind of carefree time. He only felt that the mountain wilderness was ethereal and incomparably beautiful.
"You see, everything we did was worth it." Li Jinglong said to Hongjun with a smile as he bought scones from the Fengjie market.
"It was worth it." Hongjun replied. After leaving Fengjie County, Ba Shu's forts and fortifications were scattered everywhere. It had the style of Taihang, but it was not as simple and majestic as the Taihang Mountains. Instead, it was full of elegance. Ba Shu was a land of outstanding heroes. The deeper they went into the mountains, the more abundant the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. Li Jinglong's mana came from the Heart's Lamp. He could not feel it and was not familiar with the art of Geomancy. However, demons were very sensitive to spiritual energy, just like water vapor.
"We'll reach the Wu Gorge in half a day's time." Li Jinglong unfolded the map and looked at it with Hongjun in the valley. He said, "This is the point we set at the beginning. It's one of the dragon veins."
With this reminder, Hongjun instantly remembered and said, "Maybe there's a magic weapon?"
"Not necessarily." Li Jinglong said, "But we can be sure that the place with abundant spiritual energy is the intersection of the earth veins."