Chapter 149: The Advantage of Primordial Energy (Additional update for Silver Alliance Rixin Shuo)

Lian Deng didn't even need to dismount; he tilted his head to observe for a moment and said, "The government carriage column went this way." There were many side paths on the west road, and the government troops had put a lot of effort into choosing this one.

Further ahead, giant trees lay across the roadside, stacked in a crooked mess.

"Hey, there are traces of heavy objects being moved on the ground." Lian Deng looked down closely, "The weight is astonishing; the surface layer of sand and mud has been scraped away."

"Are these the giant trees?" He Lingchuan got down to inspect the giant cedars, "The cross-section is very fresh, the wood sap hasn't dried; they were cut down less than an hour ago."

"The government troops used them to block the road; very clever."

Even so, both were a bit uneasy. They were already so close to the government troops—less than an hour's travel—so what about Lu Yao? How far was he from the government troops?

He Lingchuan's face was as calm as water, "Move faster."

Climbing over the mountain slope further ahead, thick fog rushed toward them.

"Such thick fog!" Lian Deng was annoyed, "I can't even see the road."

He Lingchuan glanced at him, his eyes filled with doubt, "Can't see?"

"Ah, it's about to be so thick I can't see my own fingers." Lian Deng said strangely, "Don't you feel it? Hey, there's light on you."

"Light?" He Lingchuan looked down and indeed saw a faint, hazy glow radiating from his body.

Primordial energy?

This meant that his straight-line distance to the government troops was already very close, within the range where He Chunhua's State Decree was effective.

When they set out from Black Water City, He Chunhua had temporarily incorporated his eldest son into the army, promoting him to Vice-Captain. It wasn't favoritism; this was just a tiny military rank, but being in the ranks qualified one to enjoy the primordial energy bonus.

Was there any place here to use primordial energy? In He Lingchuan's view, only a very faint layer of fog drifted in the mountain forest, which couldn't block his vision.

No sooner had he finished speaking than Lian Deng walked toward the mountain forest on the right. He Lingchuan grabbed him, "What are you doing?"

Lian Deng looked bewildered, "Walking."

"The road is here." He Lingchuan pointed ahead, "Where are you going?"

"Isn't that a cave?"

"..." He Lingchuan understood, "Follow me. I don't know what kind of array my father set up; you need primordial energy to recognize the path."

Lian Deng had no choice but to obey, clicking his tongue as he walked:

"My goodness, aren't we just going to crash into trees?"

And then they walked right through.

Although Wu Shaoyi intended to defect to the Royal Court, he hadn't met He Chunhua yet and hadn't become a member of the government army, so Wu Shaoyi and his subordinates couldn't enjoy the primordial energy bonus. In Lian Deng's eyes, He Lingchuan was leading him to either crash into trees or walk through mountains, and sometimes even worse, walking straight toward cliffs with white clouds drifting by, making his liver tremble.

Yet the two of them were perfectly fine, with no problems at all.

It's really good to have primordial energy. Lian Deng sighed, missing the days when he could also enjoy the primordial energy bonus.

As they walked, He Lingchuan suddenly stopped and let out a soft "Huh."

"What's wrong?" In Lian Deng's view, the two were about to crash into a mountain wall.

"I see Lu Yao, on the mountain road across the cliff." He Lingchuan said solemnly, "Pei Xinyu is walking with him, followed by a large crowd of people, at least seventeen or eighteen hundred."

He lowered his voice significantly; in this "Ji"-shaped terrain, sound could easily echo throughout the valley.

Currently, he and the rebel army opposite were positioned on the left stroke and the right hook of the "Ji" shape; although a deep cliff and ravine separated the two sides, their lines of sight were completely unobstructed.

At least for He Lingchuan, he could see everyone on the mountain road opposite clearly.

Lian Deng whispered, "Are they also walking in circles?"

"... No!" He Lingchuan observed for a moment before saying, "They are walking on the correct path, not detouring or walking in circles."

Lian Deng said strangely, "That's not right, is it?" Everyone was an insurgent army; he was blinded, but Lu Yao wasn't. What kind of logic was this? He Lingchuan sneered, "He is holding a cloth strip, and the other end of the cloth strip is in the sky... Hmm, I see that red falcon. This thing is flying in the sky, leading them out of the fog."

Lian Deng realized, "That's it! Birds of prey fly at high altitudes, and the array cannot blind their eyes!"

The red falcon could see through it, so naturally, the array couldn't trap Lu Yao.

What to do? "At this distance, can you shoot it down?"

Lian Deng shook his head decisively, "Too far. It would be fine if it were closer. Uh, actually, my archery isn't particularly outstanding."

He Lingchuan looked at him with disdain. Was this a euphemism for "very bad"? I gave you a chance, but you're useless!

"There's a small path on the side; let's get closer before thinking of a way." The government troop column was moving slowly; if this continued, being caught up by the mountain bandits was only a matter of time.

The two men spurred their horses to a faster pace, bypassing this massive "Ji"-shaped cliff, where another small path led into the mountains a hundred zhang behind the rebel army.

The road was uneven and full of branches; the two horses barely walked half a li before they couldn't go any further.

He Lingchuan and Lian Deng had no choice but to abandon the horses and walk.

By now, they were running in the forest halfway up the mountain, moving almost in parallel with the rebel army, but at an altitude four or five zhang higher.

The reason they didn't climb onto the mountain ridge was that the ridge was bare, making it hard to hide from the red falcon's sharp eyes.

"There's a chance!" Although Lu Yao and the others were riding horses, the direction guided by the red falcon changed constantly, so they didn't dare gallop madly, as the road conditions were complex.

One in the sky, one on the ground, the trouble they often faced was that the trees by the road were too tall, and the cloth strip would occasionally get caught on the treetops...

Every time this happened, the red falcon had to deviate from its course, wind the entangled cloth strip back, and then continue guiding, otherwise it would lead its master into a ditch.

He Lingchuan whispered this situation to Lian Deng and then said, "At that time, it has to fly downward. This can be utilized. We are closer to the treetops; within eight zhang, can you hit it?"

He said eight zhang to be safe; the treetops ahead were at most six zhang (nineteen meters) high.

"I can!" Lian Deng was confident now, "I could even hit it with a slingshot!"

"Fine, follow me."

The two quietly trailed the bandit army, using the dense canopy to hide themselves while waiting for an opportunity.

Heaven was truly not unkind to He Lingchuan.

Just half an incense stick later, the opportunity came.

This time, the cloth strip accidentally got caught on a huge camphor tree.

It was too big, and the red falcon found it hard to avoid.

Lu Yao discovered the cloth strip was caught fast and tugged twice, finding it wouldn't budge, so he whistled to notify the one above.

The red falcon heard the signal and descended, preparing to detour around this branch and pull the cloth strip back.

If it couldn't be pulled back, the bandit soldiers would have to climb the tree themselves to untie it, which had already happened once before, so Lu Yao also reminded it to be extra careful.

This moment was a god-sent opportunity for He Lingchuan and his companion, who were standing on the mountain wall, three or four zhang higher than the bandits on the ground.

It would be a shame if they missed.

Watching the red falcon fold its wings and descend, rushing toward the treetop, He Lingchuan whispered like a mosquito, "Now!"

They were too close to the bandit army; if Lu Yao and the others discovered them, they really had no confidence in escaping.

The two ran here, and Lian Deng didn't have time to catch his breath before taking a long breath, pulling the bow from his back, nocking an arrow, and aiming, shooting with a "whoosh!" Success or failure depended on this arrow.

The sound of breaking air was very weak, but the red falcon was extremely alert; before the feathered arrow even touched it, it spread its wings slightly and flipped, actually dodging it by a hair's breadth! That arrow grazed its belly.

However, a miss was a miss.

Both their hearts went cold.

This was bad. Not only did they miss the target, but they would also let the red falcon issue a warning. By then, seventeen or eighteen hundred bandits below would surround and beat the two of them; they would be finished.

Useless! Useless, useless, useless! He Lingchuan cursed repeatedly in his heart, watching the red falcon turn its head after flipping, looking toward where they were hiding, its sharp beak opening, preparing to cry out.

No, must seal its mouth! He subconsciously pulled out the broken saber at his waist and threw it fiercely.

Although this saber was thrown with great speed, its path was crooked, drawing an arc in mid-air, flying behind the red falcon; naturally, it wouldn't pay attention.

Who knew this thing would naturally make a turn and come back around.

The red falcon turned to avoid it, but it was too late.

The two saw a burst of blood mist explode in mid-air, the red falcon let out a squawk, and fell straight down!

This... this actually worked?

Both were stunned.

He Lingchuan subconsciously opened his mouth wide, looking at his right hand.

The Right Hand of God, indeed.

"Run!" Lian Deng didn't have time to give him a thumbs up, grabbed his arm, and dragged him forward, "Go! If we don't go, we'll be turned into meat paste!"

The two didn't say a word, rushed toward the mountain ridge, and started running like crazy.

Naturally, He Lingchuan led the way, with Lian Deng following closely behind. The thick fog was the best protective color; once they ran far enough, they would be safe.

The bandit army below also discovered something was wrong. Lu Yao stepped forward to catch the red falcon, seeing that half its wing was gone and there was a long, deep cut on its belly, deep enough to see the viscera, but he didn't know what the weapon was.

Was it an arrow? It didn't look like it.

He was both heartbroken and furious, pointing straight ahead, "There are people there!"

The bandit army rushed forward.

Pei Xinyu pointed to the right, saying in a deep voice, "I heard footsteps there, and stones falling."

"Inside the array, I'm afraid even hearing is interfered with!" Lu Yao still had his wits about him when angry, and said without hesitation, "Split up and pursue! Watch your feet!"

The two didn't say much, each grabbed one end of the cloth strip, leading their subordinates—one forward, one to the right—in pursuit.

They both knew clearly that the red falcon had fallen and could no longer lead the way. The only way now was to capture the person who launched the sneak attack to guide them, so the bandits would have a chance to escape the fog.

Only the government troops' scouts could have wounded the red falcon in the fog.

Here, He Lingchuan was running on the mountain ridge. Lian Deng said while running, "Brother Chuan, you have such a unique skill in throwing flying knives, why didn't you show it off earlier instead of watching me make a fool of myself?"

He Lingchuan chuckled dryly, "I've never practiced it; I just threw it blindly." He hadn't thought much at the time.

Lian Deng's face wrinkled. If throwing blindly could be that accurate, how could he, who had practiced, compare? He Lingchuan recalled the arc the broken saber had drawn—beautiful and tricky, directly giving the red falcon a back attack.

Thanks to all the great alliances for their generous sponsorship. Today, I'll update for Rixin Shuo first, and the rest tomorrow. See you tomorrow at 12 noon! Updates will basically be at this time from now on.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 150 =====