The immortal is beside me

Chapter 124: Surname Yue, Name Fei, Character Pengju

1112 AD, Tangyin.

"Oh my, Master, you've come to our shop again. Please take a seat. Please take a seat. What would you like to order?"

At the edge of the market where a banner with the word "Wine" was hung, Zhou Tong leaned over and sat at a wooden table outside the store, looking at the waiter with a bun on his head, who was standing bent over in front of the table and nodding repeatedly.

"You want the strongest liquor? Okay, that's perfect. Our shop has imported a few jars of Shenxianzui from Bianjing. Let's see if it suits your taste, Master."

He poured wine from a jar placed in the innermost part of the bowl, poured it into a small bowl, and respectfully placed it in front of Zhou Tong: "This immortal drunk is extremely strong. Ordinary people will pass out before they can even finish one cup. Master, please try a few sips first. If you think it's too much, I'll replace it for you."

Before he finished speaking, he watched Zhou Tong in front of him pick up the bowl, tilt his head back and drink the wine in it in one gulp. Under Zhou Tong's stunned gaze, he pushed the bowl away and said calmly, "One more bowl, please."

"Alright, Master, please wait a moment."

As the waiter ran away, a fire appeared on the eaves, and a red bird flapped its wings and landed on the roof opposite. Some low voices were heard in the mind.

"Master, you've been drinking more and more recently."

Phoenix lowered his golden eyes and looked at him: "After so many years of fighting outside, you must be very tired, right?"

Zhou Tong glanced at it, his face expressionless: "Killing a group of minions doesn't take much effort."

'It's easy for you to kill a group, but how long have you been killing them?'

Phoenix said: "It has been over three hundred years since the Sakya Rebellion. First you killed the Buddha, then you drove out the foreigners, and then you suppressed the rebellions in various places... How many days have you rested in these three hundred years?"

He knew the Immortal's strength best. Over the past three hundred years, he had participated in thousands of campaigns, but only a handful of enemies could injure him. However, while external forces couldn't break him, internal wear and tear could.

As Fenghuang had said, he'd been constantly on the move for over three hundred years, with little time for meditation and breathing exercises, let alone seclusion. Humans aren't made of iron or stone; even the strongest can't withstand the wear and tear of years. Although Zhou Tong didn't dwell on it much, one small incident showed it.

"Master...how long has it been since you last improved your cultivation?"

Zhou Tong didn't answer the words, but just raised his head and drank another bowl of wine.

"Since a hundred years ago, your cultivation has not improved at all, and there are even signs of stagnation. This is absolutely not the state you should be in for an immortal. You have actually been suffering from hidden injuries for a long time, right?"

Phoenix looked at him and said, "Among the current human cultivators, you have the greatest hope of reaching the Upper Three Realms in the past thousand years. But if you continue like this, you won't even be able to maintain your current foundation, let alone a breakthrough."

'You'll burn yourself out if you keep going like this.'

With a light bang, the empty wine bowl was knocked onto the table. Zhou Tong raised his eyes and looked through the streets and alleys, straight to the city in the distance.

Under the sky, the exquisite and luxurious city walls stand on the ground, and the "Song" flags on the top of the city walls flutter in the wind. At first glance, there is a hustle and bustle of traffic and life inside and outside the city. If you only see the superficial prosperity, it already has some of the scenes of the prosperous Tang Dynasty.

In the hundreds of years since the end of the Tang Dynasty, most of the invading forces have been killed, the scarred Central Plains cultivation world has gained an initial respite, and various sects have restored their former order.

Although it is not as vast as the Immortal Alliance back then, it can still defend half of the Central Plains. After waiting for a few hundred years, until the damaged dragon veins are completely recovered and new top-level powerhouses are born, perhaps it will be a new prosperous era.

On the surface, that was the case, but upon closer inspection, there was something else that worried him. Due to the bitter lessons learned from the invasion of wild god beliefs during the Five Dynasties period, the founding emperor of the Song Dynasty, Zhao Kuangyin, had released military power with a toast, effectively ending the possibility of a recurrence of the late Tang Dynasty's separatist regimes and completely halting the spread of foreign beliefs.

This was originally a good thing, but since Emperor Taizong Zhao Guangyi came to power, the trend of respecting culture and suppressing military began to spread throughout the Song Dynasty. The literati created a prosperous economy and a flourishing poetry and prose, but beneath the prosperity was an empty military and a fear of the military culture that was ingrained in their bones.

How long can this prosperity last?

This was the dark cloud that had been accumulating in his heart, and it was also because of this dark cloud that he was unable to let go and go into seclusion.

His spiritual consciousness moved slightly, and the feeling of being spied on was transmitted to his senses. Zhou Tong looked back, but saw a young man with a bow and arrow on his back leaning his head out from the tree behind him, looking at him cautiously.

Seeing him looking at him, the young man seemed to be slightly startled, but did not run away. Instead, he took a step forward and bowed to him with his fists clasped.

"Greetings, Immortal Master," he asked cautiously. "I heard from my fellow villagers that you are the Immortal Master who protects the people. I wonder if I could ask you for some advice."

Although he is called a teenager, he actually looks only about ten years old. Based on his age alone, it might be more appropriate to call him a child. However, the calmness on his face that does not match his age dilutes his childishness, and instead reveals some of the temperament of a warrior.

At his age, he probably didn't quite understand what the title of "Immortal Master" meant, and only regarded him as a soldier with outstanding martial arts skills.

Zhou Tong looked him over and said, "What do you want to learn from me?"

Hearing that he did not deny his identity as "Immortal Master", the young man's expression changed slightly and he bowed again.

"I've heard that the Immortal Master possesses unparalleled magical skills that can defeat any enemy. I hope to learn even the slightest bit of his skills, so I can join the army in the future and defend my country."

"Join the army?" This question surprised Zhou Tong. "Nowadays, people say, 'A good man doesn't serve in the army, and good iron doesn't become a nail.' Why do you want to join the army?"

"That's what my fellow villagers told me." A flicker of frustration flashed across the young man's face. "But I think someone has to do these things. Otherwise, without a stable army, wouldn't the country be at the mercy of the enemy?"

"Besides," he said with a shy smile, "everyone says that I'm a pretty good shooter."

Zhou Tong glanced at his back, and just as the young man said, he was carrying a longbow on his back that was almost as tall as him, shining with iron in the sunlight.

"Shoot an arrow for me to see." Zhou Tongdao.

Hearing his words, the young man's eyebrows moved slightly, showing a hint of joy. He took the longbow from his back, aimed at the tree behind him, put the arrow on it and pulled the string.

With a whoosh, the arrow streaked through the air, striking a nearby tree no wider than an arm's breadth. With only the strength of a child, the arrowhead penetrated a foot into the tree.

He is indeed a skilled warrior. It's a pity that he has no spiritual roots and cannot embark on the path to immortality. However, if he becomes a military commander, he will surely be a great warrior.

In today's era, mortals with such temperament are rare. Zhou Tong looked at him again and said, "Boy, what's your name?"

"Reply to the Immortal Master," the young man clasped his fists again, "My surname is Yue, my given name is Fei, and my courtesy name is Pengju."

P.S. "History of the Song Dynasty - Biography of Yue Fei": "(Yue Fei) learned archery from Zhou Tong, mastered the technique, and was able to shoot with both hands. After Tong's death, sacrifices were held at his tomb on the first and fifteenth days of each month."

(End of this chapter)