"It's impossible. The warriors who are traveling with me are all carefully selected by the sect. They are the best at running and surviving in the wild. The mountains outside Shengjing City are rolling and undulating. Once they enter the forest, they will be like eagles rising into the sky. When a fish enters the sea, it disappears without a trace and is hard to find!”
Su Youzhen sneered and shook her head, definitely not believing it.
"Is it a goshawk taking off, or a turtle catching a turtle in an urn? We will know the answer soon!
"During this period, Miss Su is temporarily staying in Erjin Small Courtyard. When the time is right, I will find another place to stay and arrange for Miss Su to meet Princess Yunle."
Jiang Li smiled and was noncommittal.
"Okay, I will believe you once. If everything is verified, I will contact the master and convey your proposal to her!
"But if you lied to me, I will definitely avenge the blood feud of three of my classmates who died tragically under your sword!"
Su Youzhen nodded, stood up, and strode out of the room.
"Xuanxin, you and Su Youzhen live in the second courtyard together, help me keep an eye on them!"
Jiang Li thought for a while and said, "Also, you should go to Prince Yiyong's Mansion now and try to contact Luo Ying and tell him that I want to see Princess Yunle!"
"Don't worry, Brother Fifteen, I'll go now!"
Jiang Xuanxin accepted the order and immediately stood up and left.
"There are less than two months left before the martial arts competition. I must seize all the time to practice!"
Jiang Li turned around and walked into the training room on the first floor of Lanhong Pavilion, jumped into the Hunyuan Baoding, soaked in the Crocodile Dragon Jingyuan Powder liquid, and practiced the twelve-movement secret method of Yijin Marrow Cleansing Meridian to temper his body and strengthen his body.
Three hours later, he finished practicing and walked out of Lanhong Pavilion. Jiang Xuanxin also returned from Prince Yiyong's Mansion and brought a reply from Luo Ying.
Princess Yunle had accompanied Emperor Jing to the Xishan Royal Hunting Ground two days ago, and it would take half a month at the earliest to return to Shengjing.
However, Luo Ying sent a message to Bi Falcon, requesting Princess Yunle to intervene and suspend the disposal of six Hua Xiao Dao warriors as a weight in future negotiations with Hua Xiao Dao.
When Jiang Li heard this, he could only wait patiently for Princess Yunle to return to the capital.
For the next ten days or so, Jiang Li went to the racecourse every morning to learn equestrian skills from Old Man Tu, and spent the rest of his time practicing martial arts and cultivating his Qi.
Nourished by various rare secret medicines, precious pills, and medicinal wines, Jiang Li practiced hard every day, running the Nine Breaths and Taking Qi several times to restore his physical state. One day of practice was equivalent to the effect of an ordinary person's ten days of practice.
The physical realm is close to the middle stage of the Tai Chi realm. Not only has the coordination and flexibility been greatly improved, but the bones and strength have also grown significantly.
According to this progress, there is great hope to advance to the fifth realm of martial arts, Juqing Realm, before the martial arts examination.
Although there is no external assistance in the practice of Qi pulse, Lingbao Tianzun's innate energy guidance technique is the supreme method of regulating the breath, and the practice of Qi refining can make great progress with each passing day.
There is more and more true energy condensed in his meridians, and a lot of true energy has also accumulated in the qi sea dantian in his lower abdomen.
In terms of Qi strength alone, he is no longer inferior to Tai Chi warriors of the same realm.
However, before reaching the state of mad energy where the true energy is released, the true power of the energy pulse cannot be fully exerted.
Mo Yunliang passed on his Hundred Steps Divine Fist, but its power is still limited.
However, as long as he persists in his practice, he will even advance to the fifth realm one step ahead of his martial arts.
"Brother Fifteen, General Luo Ying sent someone to deliver a letter, saying that it was Princess Yunle Bi Falcon who sent a message!"
On this day, Jiang Li was practicing the three sword moves in the courtyard, and Jiang Xuanxin walked in holding a small bamboo tube.
Jiang Li took the bamboo tube, broke the mud seal on it, and poured out a roll of paper. There was only one line of small words written on it: Jiang Li, my father is in the Xishan paddock to test the prince's martial arts and riding skills. The date of his return has not been determined yet. If you want to see me, you can come to the outside of Xishan Paddock and Luo Ying will send me a message.
"Emperor Jing is still in the Xishan paddock!"
Jiang Li closed the note and frowned slightly.
The Great Zhou Dynasty's conquest of Beimang was about to take place. Emperor Jing was not in Shengjing City to discuss military and state affairs with his ministers. How could he be so leisurely that he went hunting in the Xishan paddock and spent nearly a month testing the prince's martial arts and riding skills?
Jiang Li felt something was a little strange, but he was just a young concubine in Zhenwuhou Mansion, and he was still unable to touch Emperor Jing's plans and actions.
"Xuan Xin, pack your things and inform Mo Yunliang that we will leave the city today and go to the Xishan Paddock!"
Jiang Li sheathed the red dragon scale sword, walked back to the room to pick up some necessary items, and then left Lanhong Pavilion with Jiang Xuanxin.
After a while, the three cavalry figures rode out from the side gate of Zhenwuhou Mansion and galloped towards the outside of Shengjing City.
As they passed two intersections, two more people joined them on horseback. They were Mo Yunliang, a master of Qi who had returned from sending his daughter to the Jade Cauldron Sect for training, and Qianhu Luo Ying, a Qilin Guard.
Five people formed a team, walked out from the west gate of Shengjing City, and rushed towards the Xishan paddock five hundred miles away.
The Lantern Festival has passed, and the weather is getting warmer day by day. The snow on the roadside melts at noon, flows everywhere, and freezes into ice after sunset, making it even more difficult to travel than when a blizzard rages.
Although the horses ridden by the five people are not miraculous horses like Heisha and Zhui Feng, they are still the best horses chosen among a hundred.
However, they spent most of the day marching more than two hundred miles. The official road was icy and slippery, so they could only find a leeward mountain col and set up a tent to rest for a while.
When the sun rose the next day and the ice and snow melted again, we got on our horses and continued on our way.
Finally arrived outside the Xishan paddock on the evening of the second day.
"Jiang Li, you don't have the token to enter the Xishan Paddock, so you can only suffer for one more night. I will go to the paddock first and inform Princess Yunle that we will meet at the entrance of the Xishan Paddock tomorrow!"
The five of them were still more than ten miles away from the Xishan paddock, and they saw the light of the bonfires gathering into clouds on the Xishan Mountain from a distance, like a red flame dragon lying across the mountain.
Luo Ying pointed in a direction and said, "There is a long-abandoned mountain temple five miles away where you can temporarily escape the cold."
He bowed his hands and said goodbye, rode out, rushed towards the red flame dragon's light belt lying across the western mountain, and soon disappeared into the vast night.
Jiang Li and the others turned around and headed towards the mountain temple pointed by Luo Ying.
Although Xishan is only more than five hundred miles away from Shengjing City, the temperature is much colder. The mountains are covered with snow and there is no sign of melting.
The sound of the horse's hooves stepping on the snow was heard far away. After half a stick of incense, the four of them turned around a mountain ridge. Through the moonlight, they could see a black outline two to three hundred meters ahead. Lying on the earth is exactly what Luo Ying said about the mountain temple.
This mountain temple has been abandoned for an unknown period of time. The ruins are ruined and dilapidated. The cold wind blows through the broken walls, emitting a permeating whine, accompanied by the crisp sound of bells and the neighing of horses.
"There is someone in the temple!"
Mo Yunliang's eyes flashed, and he looked at the mountain temple in front of him. He could see the faint light of fire coming out of it, and the faint smell of alcohol coming with the wind.
"This place is close to the Xishan Paddock. There shouldn't be any idlers. Maybe it's the Jinwu Guards and Qilin Guards who are patrolling and guarding the surrounding area. Let's go over and take a look!"
Jiang Li nodded, and the four of them slowed down their horses and approached the mountain temple slowly to avoid causing unnecessary misunderstandings.
