HNYWEF -Chapter 195 Acting Up

Taizong Reign Year 5, Sixth Month, Fourth Day

South Huizhou.

Zhou Xiong stood on a mountain ridge, looking at the peak ahead.

The mountain wasn’t tall, but it was steep. The rocks were dark greenish-black, with crooked pine trees growing out of the cracks.

At the summit was a protruding boulder shaped like a twisted human head with a crooked mouth. From afar, it looked like it was grinning at someone.

He recognized that rock. Not as something he had seen before—but as something he knew. It was as if someone had drawn a map in his mind and marked a single point, telling him: this is it.

And now, that point was right in front of him.

He stood on the ridge, staring at the mountain for a long time.

Wind rose from the valley below, carrying a chill.

He didn’t move. Just stood there, looking at that crooked-mouthed stone, until he finally stepped forward and walked toward the foot of the mountain.

He hadn’t gone far when he stopped.

By the roadside ahead stood a wooden sign, crookedly planted in the ground. A few words were written on it:

“Military restricted area. No entry for civilians.”

The handwriting wasn’t good, but it was readable.

Behind the sign was a mountain path. At the entrance, several large rocks had been piled up, blocking most of the way.

Two soldiers sat on the stones, wearing armor and holding spears in their arms, dozing off.

Zhou Xiong stood in front of the sign and glanced at the words—“restricted area.”

He looked around. No barracks. No fort walls. Only mountains, trees, rocks—and those two sleeping soldiers.

He hesitated.

Force his way in? Obviously not. If he were mistaken for a spy, an arrow could come flying out from somewhere and he wouldn’t even have a chance to cry injustice.

He turned around and headed toward where he thought the military camp might be.

The camp was on the east side of the mountain, about two li from the foot.

It wasn’t large. A wooden fence enclosed it, and two soldiers stood at the gate with swords at their waists. The moment they saw him approach, their hands went to their hilts.

“Stop! Who goes there?”

Zhou Xiong took out his official document from his robe and handed it over. One soldier took it, opened it, read it, then glanced at him before turning and going inside.

The other soldier remained where he was, watching him closely, hand still resting on his sword hilt.

After a while, the first soldier returned, followed by a military officer wearing armor and a sword at his waist. He walked with brisk steps.

He stopped in front of Zhou Xiong, sizing him up, then looked at the document in his hand.

“Minister of Works Assistant Craftsman? Marquis of Jiuyuan County?”

Zhou Xiong nodded.

The officer frowned.

He looked at Zhou Xiong, then at the mountain, then back at Zhou Xiong again.

“May I ask, my lord marquis, what brings you to South Huizhou?”

Zhou Xiong said, “Not official business. Personal matter. I’m going up the mountain to find something.”

The officer’s frown deepened.

“Up the mountain? To find what exactly?”

Zhou Xiong looked at him without explaining anything.

The military officer waited for a moment. Seeing that Zhou Xiong still didn’t speak, he handed the official document back.

“My apologies, Marquis. This mountain is off-limits.”

Zhou Xiong took the document back but didn’t move. “Why?”

The officer tilted his chin toward the mountain. “It’s a military restricted area. Without an official order from the Ministry of War, no one is allowed inside. If the Marquis has the document, please show it. I will immediately let you pass. If not, please return.”

Zhou Xiong stared at him, and the anger inside him flared up again.

He had left Chang’an and traveled nearly a month, crossing hundreds of li of mountains, baked by the sun and drenched by rain. Now he stood at the foot of this mountain, and that deep blue silhouette he had been searching for was somewhere up there, in a place he could not see.

And this officer was telling him—no document, no entry.

It was the rules. The officer hadn’t done anything wrong.

What angered Zhou Xiong was himself—why he had become so impatient, so rushed that he had even forgotten something as simple as haste makes waste.

At this point, he had no choice but to start acting unreasonable.

“The Ministry of War’s document?” he said quietly, every word squeezed out through his teeth. “I walked all the way from Chang’an, nearly a month, and you want me to go back and fetch a document and come again?”

The officer’s expression didn’t change. “My lord, I am only following regulations. There are beacons, watch posts, and armories on this mountain. You are an outsider; without official orders, I cannot let you in. If anything happens, I cannot bear the responsibility.”

“Cannot bear it?” Zhou Xiong stepped forward. “There are plenty of things you can’t bear. So because you can’t bear it, I’m supposed to just stand here? Because you can’t bear it, I’m supposed to waste my entire trip? That’s your problem, not mine.”

The officer frowned. “My lord, I respect your title and will speak politely. But without the document, you cannot enter this mountain. Even if you curse until nightfall, you still cannot go in.”

Zhou Xiong stared at him, his chest rising and falling violently.

His mouth opened, and words surged out like a broken floodgate.

“Have you been stuck in this remote mountain for years? Do you even know who I am? I am the Marquis of Jiuyuan County. My son is married to Princess Changle, and my daughter-in-law is the Emperor’s eldest legitimate daughter. You want me to go back for a document? Believe me, I only need to send a letter to Chang’an and you’ll be guarding a beacon tower tomorrow.”

The officer’s face turned red. His lips moved but no words came out.

Zhou Xiong didn’t stop. “What, do you think I’m here to steal your weapons? I’m just an official from the Ministry of Works. What could I possibly do on your mountain? Steal your knives? Your armor?”

The officer’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He took a half-step back.

Zhou Xiong stepped forward again. “You’re afraid of responsibility, but I’m not. You’re afraid of trouble, but I’m not. All you know is how to be afraid of everything except delaying important matters. I’ve walked for nearly a month, and you shut me down with one sentence—‘no document’? Who the hell do you think you are?”

He finished speaking.

Zhou Xiong stood there, breathing heavily, glaring at the officer.

The officer stood rigidly, his face alternating between red and pale. His hand rested on his sword hilt, gripping and releasing it repeatedly.

The two soldiers nearby kept their heads down, not daring to breathe loudly.

The wind swept through the camp gate, making the flags whip loudly. Cicadas screamed in the distant trees, their cries sharp and ragged.

With things having escalated this far, what else could be done?

Nobility—people like this were not easy to offend.

After a long silence, the officer finally spoke again, his voice much lower than before.

“My lord… where exactly is the thing you’re looking for?”

Zhou Xiong looked at him but said nothing.

The officer waited a moment, then added, “I’ll send men with you up the mountain. You search for what you need, and then come back down. Don’t wander around, and don’t touch anything you shouldn’t.”

Zhou Xiong looked at him—and then nodded.

As long as he could go up the mountain, everything else could be negotiated.