Chapter 195

He exerted his true qi, so his voice shook the entire square: "You may have already heard about today's objective. That's right, it is to escort the most important merchant caravan of this autumn and winter back to Puxiegou! As long as we send them from Baixiong Pass back to Puxiegou, we can return in triumph. Since the fall of Weicheng, Puxiegou has been the westernmost front line of Panlongcheng, blocking the sharp fangs and claws of Baling and the Xianyou Nation for us. Therefore, protecting our allies is protecting our Panlongcheng; protecting our fellow countrymen and our nation is protecting ourselves! Gentlemen, charge forward and protect our Panlong!"

The crowd below was spirited and impassioned: "Charge forward and protect our Panlong!"

By the second shout, the common civilians watching from the sidelines also naturally followed along and shouted, the sound shaking the south of the city.

Afterward, the south gate of Panlongcheng swung open, and General General Nanke led the troops out.

Passing through the magnificent Great Nandamen once again, He He Lingchuan looked up and couldn't help but gasp.

He still remembered the chilling aura he felt when he first passed through here; later, during several dream entries, he took care to collect medicinal herbs and finally, after entering the dream the night before, bought the rarest main ingredient—Rotten Heart Grass, which grows in extremely yin places—thereby refining the Du Hunsan powder.

Yes, among the relics left behind after Sun Sun Fuping was executed was the recipe for making Du Hunsan. This medicine could make people see "unclean things" in a short period of time, and could also temporarily mask the aura of living people with spirit fire. Of course, He He Lingchuan only wanted its first effect now.

He had swallowed the Du Hunsan when he took the oath in the South Square; passing through the Great Nandamen again at this moment finally confirmed his long-held suspicion: beneath the south city gate, countless Three-Corpse Insects, invisible to the human eye, were dancing!

These things, which looked like mist, were no different from what he had seen in the Panlong Desert, but when ordinary soldiers and civilians of Panlongcheng passed through the Great Nandamen, they wouldn't hear any strange sounds.

They were like air—invisible and intangible, yet truly existent.

He He Lingchuan even saw them nimbly entering and exiting through the small holes in the walls of the barbican—between the first and second major gates, because the city walls were too high and had overhanging eaves, even the midday sun found it hard to shine onto the ground of the barbican. Therefore, this place became the territory where the Three-Corpse Insects moved freely.

They would pass through every pedestrian; this was probably why He He Lingchuan felt the chill beneath the city, but they wouldn't actively invade the human body or interfere with thoughts.

It was evident that Zhong Sheng, who possessed the Great Fang Hu, had a powerful ability to control the Three-Corpse Insects.

At this point, He He Lingchuan finally understood why Panlongcheng dared to open its gates for trade and didn't fear enemy troops disguising themselves to enter the city and cause chaos:

The city gates were guarded by invisible Three-Corpse Insects, and they were exceptionally sensitive to human emotions, especially malice.

Anyone harboring malice toward Panlongcheng, no matter how deeply hidden, would be stimulated and magnified by the Three-Corpse Insects; the specific manifestation would probably be a sudden onset of madness, and the city guards only needed to apprehend them.

With the blessing of the Great Fang Hu, the basic policies and the overall landscape of the entire Panlongcheng had changed accordingly. He He Lingchuan felt once again the inseparable fusion between this divine artifact and the fate of the city.

Eighteen hours later.

General General Nanke's troops were walking on the vast wasteland.

The Panlong Wasteland was not as lush with water and grass as the Chipa Plateau behind Panlongcheng; the basic terrain here was shrub tundra and sparsely dotted thickets.

It was autumn, the pasture had already turned yellow, and the desolate bleakness of all things being killed by the frost was particularly evident on the wasteland.

He He Lingchuan sat on horseback, lifted his water skin, and took a small sip of fresh water.

The troop of 1,200 men had gone to Baixiong Pass and back, and had already grown to 1,900 men, with over two hundred large carts fully loaded with goods.

Yes, they had already successfully met the merchant caravan and were now escorting them back to Puxiegou.

These supplies were mainly for civilian use, which could ensure that the residents of Puxiegou could safely pass the grueling winter on the wasteland.

General General Nanke was experienced in marching; after meeting the caravan at Baixiong Pass, he didn't rush to head back, but ordered the entire army to rest well for three hours, allowing both men and horses to get sufficient rest.

Everyone knew clearly that the return journey was the main event.

From the moment he left Panlongcheng, He He Lingchuan had been secretly pondering the newly acquired divine ability; after a dozen hours had passed, he had gained some insights.

He He Lingchuan got along well with his companions; after all, he was easygoing, didn't fight or compete, and his combat skills were solid—who wouldn't like this kind of "three-good" teammate?

Door-Panel rode side-by-side with him, chatting idly for a long time.

This tall man was like his nickname; his shoulders were broad and his chest thick like a door panel, and when he blocked the front during combat, he gave people a strong sense of security. They say nine out of ten strong men are simple-minded, but his own personality was far from "honest and simple."

He He Lingchuan had already heard a lot of gossip from him, such as the fact that the Battle of Baijiagang three days ago was also commanded by General General Nanke; that battle was fought very beautifully, not only beheading over eight hundred enemies but also killing the enemy general Hua Muna on the spot.

Hua Muna was the younger brother of Hua Hua Mucuo, the commander of the Baling Army stationed in Weicheng, and was quite fierce. This pair of brothers had fought back-to-back on the battlefield for many years; the death of Hua Muna must have been a heavy blow to his brother Hua Hua Mucuo.

Encouraged by this great victory, Panlongcheng decided to strike while the iron was hot and immediately launched the most important material transport for Puxiegou. At this moment, the Baling Army in Weicheng had just suffered a major defeat and their morale was low; before they finished readjusting, they probably wouldn't come to provoke them again.

Probably.

Hearing this, He He Lingchuan couldn't help but say: "What kind of personality does Hua Hua Mucuo have?" In war games, one must calculate the psychology of the opponent, especially the opponent's commander.

"I heard he is quite steady and doesn't like to be greedy for merit or advance rashly." Door-Panel sighed, "If he were the type to slap the table and rise in anger, our transport trip would have a ninety percent chance of being intercepted." But in reality, no one could be sure whether Hua Hua Mucuo would retaliate in anger or swallow this insult.

He He Lingchuan thought about the strategy given by Sun Sun Hongye in his heart. The reality was of course much more complex than talking on paper, but would Panlongcheng intentionally set a trap in this direction? After all, they had already fought seven battles in the early stages, with both sides winning and losing, and the true intention of Panlongcheng had been masked by battle after battle.

Although no one pointed it out, He He Lingchuan still vaguely felt that this transport mission was very different from the usual ones.

As the number of times he entered the Panlong dream increased, He He Lingchuan had already discovered that his dream return to Panlongcheng was not a continuous linear progression in terms of time, but a fragmented scene switching.

Every time he entered, it was a time node of this world, and there were events, big or small, happening.

While this world was tempering him, it seemed to be showing him something as well.

Perhaps it was because he had been silent for too long, Door-Panel suddenly said: "Broken Blade, why did you join the Patrol Guard?"

He He Lingchuan was startled: "To protect our home and nation, what other reason could there be?"

"That's too generic." Door-Panel smiled, "The skinny man joined the Patrol Guard because he wanted to work hard to save money and let his family live a good life; Willow's older brother was killed by the Xianyou people, and she wants revenge; as for me, I want to build a career. Who doesn't have their own little abacus?"

No matter how far-reaching a person's beliefs are, they must have a realistic foundation to support them.

"I want to join the Great Wind Army." He He Lingchuan said honestly, "But I heard that if you aren't a squad leader, you aren't qualified to join the Great Wind Army."

"Join the Great Wind Army?" Door-Panel looked at him, "Is it because of the prestige of General Hong?"

"You could say that." He He Lingchuan had entered the dream many times but hadn't yet met General Hong; he had only glanced at him from afar before logging off.

"General Hong is the motivation for many people to enlist. I see you are usually taciturn, I didn't expect you to admire heroes too."

He He Lingchuan laughed.

The four words "taciturn" were actually used on him, used on the arrogant and domineering little bully of Black Water City—if the He family heard this, who knows what expressions they would have.

But then again, in the dream, he really did think more, do more, and talk less.

In reality, he needed to cover up and disguise himself.

But here, he could be his true self.

A different scenery appeared on the horizon, and Door-Panel let out a long breath: "Ahead is the Ghost Needle Shi Lin."

As the troop moved forward, the scenery ahead became increasingly clear.

He He Lingchuan had been to this place several times before. The Ghost Needle Shi Lin was a very famous landscape on the Red Cliff Road; its periphery was at least a hundred zhang away from the main Red Cliff Road, and travelers in later generations could only gaze at it from afar.

Countless years ago, this place must have been a river valley with dense vegetation, and flowing water had eroded the terrain into crisscrossing gullies; later, the great river changed its course and stopped flowing here, so the wind and sand took over, carving one mountain peak after another into shapes that looked like screens and sails.

As long as you were willing, you could walk countless paths in the Ghost Needle Shi Lin.

This was also a rare wonder on the flat wasteland.

"This is the best place for an ambush." Three-dimensional intersections, with no telling how many layers above and below. He He Lingchuan muttered, "Will we go through the Ghost Needle Shi Lin?"

"We can see it, so General General Nanke can't possibly not see it." Door-Panel held his head high, "I don't think so."

The skinny man rode his horse to catch up: "How about I start a betting pool? One tael of silver."

He He Lingchuan laughed: "Fine, then I bet we will. After all, the Ghost Needle Shi Lin is too big; wanting to go around it would take at least ten more hours. More time spent means more risk."

"The pool is open, the pool is open." The skinny man raised his volume, looking smug, "Bet on whether our troop goes through the Ghost Needle Shi Lin or not, starting at one tael!"

Although the scenery on the wasteland was good, it was monotonous after a long time, and everyone was feeling bored during the march; suddenly hearing that he was opening a betting pool, they responded enthusiastically.

The skinny man grinned from ear to ear; historically, the house always won on both sides without losing, and he was about to have more income.

"Why is there noise in the back?"

At the front of the army, General General Nanke looked back.

The adjutant immediately said: "I will go and scold them."

General General Nanke then ignored it and said to the messenger: "Pass on my order: bypass the Ghost Needle Shi Lin."

The terrain of the Ghost Needle Shi Lin was too complex and was the best place for an enemy ambush. He didn't need to take this risk, and taking a slightly longer route didn't matter.

The messenger accepted the order and was about to spur his horse to run to the back when suddenly, the sound of rapid hoofbeats was heard from the front, and a rider galloped over.

The scout who had been scouting the path ahead had returned.

The horse was steaming all over, clearly having just galloped for its life.

The scout didn't have time to dismount, saluting while panting: "A large number of enemy troops have appeared in the northwest direction, less than fifteen li away from us!"

(End of chapter)