Chapter 20: The Pre-Departure Ritual

"No, it's still there." State Preceptor Sun was confident. "Otherwise, how do you think the Panlong Wasteland turned into a desert?"

He saw He Chunhua flipping the broken comb over and over, with no intention of handing it over, and just as he wanted to reach out to ask for it, He Chunhua said first: "I'll keep it for now."

Sun Fuping knew he didn't trust the two of them, so he dismissed the idea of asking for it.

He Lingchuan was a bit surprised: "Eh, isn't it said that the resentment of the Great Wind Army is immortal, sucking away the vitality of the entire wasteland?"

"If that were true, it would only be the appearance. Without the Great Fang Hu, they would have long dissipated between Heaven and Earth. Don't forget that since they can hatch thousands of Heart-Confusing Worms, then containing thousands of resentful souls should be no pressure."

The Heart-Confusing Worm has no form, no body, and no quality, similar to a soul body, or rather, it belongs to a part of the human soul itself. The Great Fang Hu can contain this kind of thing, and it is very likely that it can also contain resentful souls.

Nian Songyu also said on the side: "The Panlong ruins are actually not far; we should go and return quickly. Perhaps we can withdraw before September and not have to face the fury of the Panlong Desert directly."

It was already August 15th, and there were only fifteen days left until September. Come to think of it, the Panlong Desert didn't throw a tantrum according to the calendar; how could the time of changing its face be so precise? It might be delayed or it might be early.

He Chunhua nodded: "We were also gathering people while searching for the leopard tooth; we can set off the day after tomorrow morning!"

Nian Songyu frowned: "Can't we do it tomorrow? It's already mid-August..."

Before he finished speaking, Sun Fuping waved his hand to interrupt him: "Let's make it August 16th. It's already difficult for Governor He to gather people at this time. I need some time to prepare the pre-departure ritual here."

Before the King's army sets out, the State Preceptor must perform a ritual—first for divination, and second for prayer.

In ordinary times, how could the small commandery soldiers of Qiansong Commandery enjoy this kind of specification? Before dispersing, He Lingchuan found Nian Songyu again: "Commandant Nian, what about the explanation?"

Nian Songyu's mind was full of the Panlong Desert, and he asked casually: "Explanation for what?"

"The person who leaked the information about my injury." He Lingchuan reminded him. "Give me a name, and I won't bother you later."

Both sides had reached cooperation, and Nian Songyu hadn't expected this playboy to still want to get to the bottom of it; it was simply ignorant of what was good for him. His expression was cold: "My guards said that person can no longer be found."

The words were left there; what could this rural rich second generation do? He Lingchuan looked regretful: "Really can't be found?"

Nian Songyu twitched the corner of his mouth: "A sesame-sized matter. Young Master He should focus on the present first."

Uncle Hao walked past from the back and happened to hear this sentence.

In the evening, Red and White Dao suddenly came to find He Lingchuan.

"Eldest Young Master He, something big is wrong!"

He Lingchuan listened, first surprised, then thoughtful: "Don't panic, how big of a deal is this? Where is Uncle Hao? Find him for me!"

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Two days flashed by.

Due to the efforts of all parties, these twenty-plus hours were calm and peaceful.

The horror of the Panlong Desert was deeply rooted in people's hearts, and every year there were negative examples of people dying, but He Chunhua still gathered two hundred people within the specified time.

The team that He Chunhua pulled together was not all soldiers; there were also many criminals exiled to the frontier.

The exile period of the Yuan Kingdom was very long; other countries only required ten to fifteen years, but it was eighteen to twenty-five years. Criminals exiled to Heishuicheng had long been prepared that they couldn't return.

The Yuan Kingdom had been in civil war for years, either with vassal kings carving up territory or grassroots uprisings. Fighting like this, the army was consumed batch after batch, and it had long been difficult to recruit soldiers.

Qiansong Commandery had had many foreign wars in the past ten years, and the regular army had suffered serious attrition, so Heishuicheng tried its best to absorb soldiers from the local area. Whether they were exiles or murderers, as long as they were strong and healthy, they entered the ranks, and even received pay, exempting them from daily labor.

State Preceptor Sun brought a royal pardon this time.

Anyone who followed them to explore the Panlong Desert would immediately regain their freedom after the matter was accomplished, no matter how great their past crimes were, all would be pardoned.

And there were heavy rewards.

Under heavy rewards, there must be brave men. There were many things in this world worse than death, for example, being poor.

The bounty offered by the government was enough for these poor wretches to say goodbye to their five fingers, marry a proper wife, take three or four concubines, have five or six fat boys, and buy seven or eight acres of high-quality paddy fields, so that the whole family could live comfortably for the rest of their lives without doing anything.

Simply put, either die suddenly or get rich suddenly.

Besides, the frontier was full of desperate people, and the number of applicants was actually dozens more than He Chunhua had expected.

And the Deputy Lieutenant who led this team, Zeng Feixiong, his father had been crazy for nearly twenty years and had the disease of deficiency; the medicine money he ate every month was more than his salary, and he was already in debt. He Chunhua promised that if he was willing to lead the team to take a trip to the Panlong Desert, all debts would be written off, and his old father could enjoy his old age, have medicine to eat, have people to serve him, and finally have people to wear hemp and filial piety to send him off.

In this chaotic era, wanting a good end might be several times harder than getting rich suddenly.

Thus, Zeng Feixiong came.

It was the fifth watch, the sky was not yet bright, and the team had already finished packing at the north gate of Heishuicheng, waiting for the State Preceptor to perform the ritual.

The altar had already been set up here, and Sun Fuping had bathed in advance, changed into a bright yellow long robe, and ascended the altar.

Only the Supreme Ruler and the State Preceptor could wear clothes of this color; others would be beheaded.

He Lingchuan was very interested, because the ritual of praying to gods and performing magic in this world was not something that could be settled by simple peach wood swords, talisman paper water, and urgent commands.

Sun Fuping took out the long staff and tapped it lightly on the ground, and the monster on the staff head looked up to the sky and roared loudly.

This monster had a wide nose and big mouth, protruding eyes and jaw whiskers, and its roar was like a cow, shaking the wilderness.

Passersby on the road were curious and gathered into a crowd of onlookers.

The monster roared three times, each louder than the last, and the last one was like muffled thunder, making people's eardrums buzz.

As if responding to the beast's roar, the clouds in the sky thickened and darkened rapidly, and finally, several loud thunders exploded in the deepest part of the cloud cluster, rumbling down.

This is called the interaction between Heaven and Man.

After another ten breaths, it actually rained.

The cloud cluster was only above the heads of the team, so the rain only fell on the soldiers; the clothes and hair of the onlookers were dry and not wet at all.

Such precise control was remarkable.

"The monster on the staff head is Yazi, which has the ability to summon wind and rain, but it is missing two horns." He Yue, standing beside his brother, murmured. "Why doesn't State Preceptor Sun use luck to pray for rain? Wouldn't that be less exhausting?"

His voice was very low, but Nian Songyu still heard it: "Can't use it, lest the ritual goes into chaos later."

"Is this not the ritual?" He Lingchuan stood between him and his second brother, using himself as a barrier to separate them. "Then what is the State Preceptor doing?"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 21 =====