The Beacon of Kyushu

Zhang Xubai pointed with his finger and swore solemnly, "Take it seriously! If I tell you even a single lie, I will die a miserable death!"

The middle-aged eunuch nodded and said, "I have heard that the Longhu Mountain Heavenly Master's Mansion is very famous in the Central Plains. Taoist Priest Zhang and Taoist Priest Deng have often mentioned you to His Majesty. Although you are young, you are the grandson of the current Heavenly Master after all. You will not talk nonsense for no reason. I will trust you for now."

Zhang Xubai hurriedly thanked him again, but the middle-aged eunuch stopped him, "No need. It's still unclear whether Her Majesty agrees or not, and I can't guarantee it. If Her Majesty is determined not to go to Baiding Temple to accompany His Majesty, there is nothing I can do." As he said that, he locked the small door and returned to the palace alone. No news came from him for a long time.

The weather in Quyue was extremely hot, and it was noon. The scorching sun almost made Zhang Xubai faint. He kept wiping the sweat from his head with his hands, and secretly used his internal strength to try to hold on for a while longer, so as not to fall down before Yang Yun'e left the palace. Fortunately, he waited and waited, and finally waited for the small door to open before he fainted, and waited for the personal maid to come and ask questions.

"Hey, are you the Little Heavenly Master Zhang Xubai? I am the maidservant of Empress Yang. The Empress wants to ask you something. If you can answer it, the Empress will follow your instructions and leave the palace to accompany the Emperor. If you are talking nonsense, don't blame the Empress for being cruel. I will drag you, an unlearned person, into the palace and beat you to death!"

Zhang Xubai asked, "What's the matter?"

The maid asked, "Why does your majesty want to go to Baiding Temple? What will happen if you don't go?"

Zhang Xubai said: "If the queen doesn't go, I'm afraid... I'm afraid the lives of mother and child will be in danger."

The maid didn't believe it would be so. She snorted coldly and was about to ask the soldiers to arrest her, but Yang Yun'e had already walked out in a phoenix crown and red robe. Zhang Xubai saw the queen coming and bowed his head and said, "Little... little Zhang Xubai, I greet the queen."

Yang Yun'e stared at Zhang Xubai and said with her red lips raised, "Blessings and infinite heavenly master, is this young Taoist priest the young heavenly master Zhang Xubai? I heard from the palace servants that you have come to me and want me to go to Baiding Temple to accompany the king. Is this true?"

Zhang Xubai said: "Yes... yes."

Yang Yun'e was puzzled and said, "Whether I accompany you or not is up to your majesty. As the leader of the Taoist sect, why do you have to interfere in this matter?"

Zhang Xubai was a little nervous, and said with his fingers: "This... this is not what Xiaodao meant, but what the hexagram meant."

Hearing this, Yang Yun'e was slightly curious and asked, "What does the hexagram say? Please tell me in detail."

Zhang Xubai said: "The hexagram shows that if the queen does not go to Baiding Temple today, it will not only be bad for His Majesty, but you and your son will also be in danger of their lives."

Yang Yun'e didn't understand the deep meaning of Zhang Xubai's words, but she inadvertently recalled that a few months ago, the Song Dynasty had sent envoys to Quyue to ask for her mother and son. She couldn't help but think in her heart, "Although I was born and raised in Quyue since I was a child, I have heard people mention Longhu Mountain. It seems that since Zhang Daoling founded the Zhengyi Sect in the Eastern Han Dynasty, all the successive Heavenly Masters have been immortal-like figures. Although Zhang Xubai is still young, he must have his own uniqueness to represent Longhu Mountain. If the hexagram is true, perhaps the envoys of the Song Dynasty will come and ask for our mother and son again. If Li Huan is confused for a while, he can't stand it. The Song envoy is so eloquent that he really handed me and my child over. It is true that we can avoid the humiliation here. But I am afraid that the Song Kingdom treats us worse than Li Huan. It is not good to just get out of the dragon's den and into the tiger's den. "Zhang Xubai saw that Yang Yun'e was thoughtful, and guessed that his words must have worked. He hurriedly continued according to Wan Jianfeng's meaning: "My queen, you are very smart. I believe you must understand the principle of believing it is better to believe it than not to believe it. In my opinion, you should take fewer followers and go to Baiding Temple. I have said all here. I hope my queen will think twice."

Yang Yun'e nodded slightly and said, "Well, for the sake of my child, I will go."

Seeing that the plan had been largely successful, Zhang Xubai suppressed his joy and said calmly, "Well, I'll take my leave now."

Yang Yun'e said: "Thank you, Little Heavenly Master. If this divination is true, I will never forget your kindness in the future!"

Zhang Xubai smiled and said somewhat unconfidently: "Don't worry, your majesty. I...I never lie." After he said that, he waved his whisk, acted like a hermit, and slowly left.

Seeing Zhang Xubai walking away, Yang Yun'e said to her maid, "Yanping, go and call a few more people to come with me to Baiding Temple."

When the maid heard that the queen actually agreed, she worriedly reminded her, "Your Majesty, if this is true, it's fine. If it's not true, I'm afraid that His Majesty will blame you, and then you will suffer. In my opinion, we should stay in the palace and not go out."

Yang Yun'e shook her head and said, "No, I have made up my mind. I will go to the temple and pay my respects to you right away!"

In less than half an hour, a team appeared in front of Baiding Temple.

Walking on the outside of the team were a dozen or so vigorous imperial guards with long swords on their hips. Inward were eunuchs, palace maids, and a small but luxuriously decorated sedan chair. The person in the sedan chair seemed a little anxious, and she would occasionally lift the curtain to look out, but when she found that she was still in the wilderness outside the city, her frown deepened.

The team had been walking for a long time, and when they were about one or two miles away from Baiding Temple, a young man with ragged clothes and a wooden stick in his hand and riding a donkey suddenly came out from the side of the road. "Hey, aren't you tired after walking so far in the middle of the day? Why don't you stop and rest for a while and chat with me?" This young man had a ruffian look on his face and spoke in a nonchalant manner. It was Wan Jianfeng. Zhang Xubai, the little Taoist priest who had just cheated according to the plan, also walked out somewhat ashamedly, holding the whisk tightly in his hand without saying a word.

When the imperial guards saw these two people suddenly appear in the deserted mountains, they thought that there were bandits outside Hualu City. They all drew their long swords and looked at them with eager eyes. When Yang Yun'e saw the sedan chair suddenly stop, she thought that something must have happened outside the sedan chair, so she stayed in the sedan chair and dared not move. Wan Jianfeng rode his donkey nonchalantly, taking out a wine gourd from his waist as he walked, as if he regarded these imperial guards as grass.

When Wan Jianfeng was about to reach the guards, Zhang Xubai's figure flashed slightly, and he actually got to the sedan chair before Wan Jianfeng. Seeing that Zhang Xubai's martial arts had reached such a superb level at such a young age, the guards did not dare to act rashly. "Blessings of Heaven, I... I have failed the Empress's trust, I am sorry. But... But only in this way can we save Master Baoen and the people of the Song Dynasty. I will go back and kneel down to burn incense afterwards."

(End of this chapter)