The Return of Stars to the Jianghu

"Why does the Tang Clan leader want to see me?" Luo Yifei broke the brief silence.

“I don’t know about that; you’ll have to ask the sect leader yourself. His instructions to me were—he doesn’t necessarily need to see you. But judging from the current situation, you seem particularly eager to see him,” Song Han replied.

"Yes, is there any way I can see him sooner?" Luo Yifei asked.

"Yes, head north, cross the border into the territory of Later Tang, and I can arrange for troops to escort you eastward to Lin'an City at full speed."

……

Five days later, Luo Yifei arrived in Lin'an City.

Along the way, he experienced the fastest speed that could be achieved by the relay of horse-drawn carriages and riverboats, traveling east and then north, with the carriages and riverboats taking turns to move forward.

In fact, if Luo Yifei had extensive horseback riding experience, he could achieve even greater speeds on horseback without the constraints of a carriage.

When Luo Yifei and his group arrived in Lin'an City, it was already late, so they had to wait until the next day to pay their respects to the Tang Clan leader.

The next day, Song Han brought back a message to Luo Yifei: the Tang Clan leader was not in the mansion.

Luo Yifei and the other two had no choice but to wander around Lin'an City under Song Han's arrangement, and they truly experienced the prosperity of Lin'an City.

Two days later, Song Han received a secret letter from the Tang Clan leader.

"You won't be able to see the sect leader in Lin'an City. He went to Mount Emei and will go directly to the capital to report on his duties after his return. He told me that if Luo Yifei wants to see him, he should go directly to the capital," Song Han said to Luo Yifei and the other two.

Luo Yifei and Qi Yuan did not respond, and they remained silent the entire way.

“He went to Mount Emei, presumably to meet Lin Quan, the leader of the Red-Clothed Sect,” Bi Li broke the silence.

"The teleportation altars cannot be activated, and the one on Mount Emei is no exception. They need to be closed at the appropriate time. If a large number of altars are activated, it will definitely bring disaster to this world." Qi Yuan got straight to the point, directly stating the point of contention they had been having these past few days.

“But you also said that the path to immortality is everyone’s aspiration. What if the other end of the altar leads not to Earth, but to the Immortal Realm?” Luo Yifei replied.

“If they can turn it on, we can turn it off,” Qi Yuan replied.

"So, if I go back this time, I'm afraid I won't have the chance to come back next time?" Luo Yifei asked.

“Yes, if it takes too long, Lin Quan will close the altar,” Qi Yuan replied.

“Let me say something,” Bili tried to break the tense atmosphere, “Luo Yifei, if you can find your friends before the altars close, and you return to your world called Earth together, then Qi Yuan and Lin Quan can close these altars, which would prevent the two worlds from falling into war.”

“If any evil cult had taken control of the teleportation altar on Mount Emei, Lin Quan would have shut it down or even destroyed it before then,” Qi Yuan said solemnly.

"Stop talking, pack your things, and come with me to the capital." Song Han hadn't participated in their conversation, but seeing their differing opinions, he tried to ease the tense atmosphere.

"Oh, right, we also need to bring one more person along," Song Han added.

……

Earth, Phoenix Forest, Underground Base.

The place has been completely transformed; the traces of the fire seem to have been erased.

The charred desks and chairs were replaced with new ones, the blackened walls were repainted, and the broken window glass was removed and temporarily replaced with new glass.

Ye Xuehan and Nan Tian followed Nie Ri, the third leader of the Phoenix Team, into the base through the stairs of the underground garage.

The light bulbs in the hallway have been repaired, but the elevator is still not fixed.

Ye Xuehan and her companion entered the basement and first saw the red sofa and the black shelves. However, the shelves were now empty; the expired drinks on them had been removed.

"Let's go inside. Some people have already moved in, and the equipment is ready," Nie Ri said to the two.

Ye Xuehan and Nan Tian walked inside, unlike Shen Lixi and Luo Yifei four years ago who took a detour around the base, but went straight to the location of the ancient well.

In fact, there's nothing left to visit in the Phoenix Forest underground base now.

Walking inside, through the glassless windows, you can see that the electronic equipment and desks and chairs in the room were moved from the office building in Qianmo City.

"It's just ahead," Nie Ri said to the two of them.

The two looked ahead and saw a sign on the door that read "Interstellar Laboratory".

The door is not closed.

A man stepped out and called out, "You're here, Xuehan." This man was Shen Lixi's father, Shen Cheng.

"Uncle Shen." Ye Xuehan followed him into the room and saw Wanli, who was setting up the scaffold with Luo Yan. "Uncle Luo, Uncle Wanli."

After seeing the two off at the door, Nie Ri turned back and went to the room next door.

"You're here. Sit down and rest for a bit. We'll be right there," Wanli said to Ye Xuehan.

A moment later, the two men set up the frame at the wellhead and adjusted the lifting ropes.

“Alright, just like I told you before. To prevent being torn apart by touching the tunnel edge, you must land at the designated location, which is the middle of the tunnel. Once you reach the location, the rope will detach.” Luo Yan sat down in the chair next to the two of them.

At this moment, Nie Ri also brought a backpack from the next room and handed it to Nan Tian.

“There are supplies in the bag, you two must stay together,” Nie Ri said to the two. “We’ve already made contact with the agent on the other side. He’ll be there to meet you. Put on your diving suits and get ready to go in the water.”

"Don't worry, it's fine. I'll go down right behind you." Wanli patted Nantian on the shoulder.

……

In the mountains and forests near Tongren County in the northwestern part of the Southern Han Kingdom on the Floating Continent.

In the dead of night, most of the bandits in the cave had fallen asleep, leaving only a few on patrol. Two bandits stood guard at the cave entrance.

Horses were of little use here, so Han Yue had no choice but to lead his soldiers up the mountain in secret.

After confirming that Sanmu was inside the cave during the day, Han Yue knew that the cave was easy to defend and difficult to attack, so he had no choice but to pretend to be defeated and flee.

Climbing mountains at night requires not only physical strength but also keen eyesight. For this reason, Han Yue specially selected a few men from the soldiers provided by the magistrates of Lanxi County and Tongren County to raid the bandit's den at night with him.

Having just been besieged by the government troops during the day, the bandits were naturally on high alert, and the two guards at the gate looked around anxiously, fearing that something unusual might happen.

When they were almost at Shandong Pass, Han Yue ordered the soldiers behind him to stop.

He picked up his bow and arrow, ready to shoot the two men, and everyone held their breath.

After waiting a while, in the instant when the two bandits were back to back and could not see each other, Han Yue fired two arrows in quick succession, killing them both one after the other.

The soldiers also quietly sneaked into the cave as planned.

The guards, like ghosts, quietly dealt with the patrolling bandits.

However, a patrolling bandit spotted them and shouted, "The soldiers are here! The soldiers are here!"