Chapter 3030: Night Talk by the Pond

Fan Shuang scratched his head, "This prisoner, how did you handle him?"

"After capturing him dead, we pushed him to the bottom of the mountain cliff. There's a nest of bear demons nearby, unusually ferocious; the garrison might think he was attacked by bear demons, chased, and fell to his death."

What is most abundant in the deep mountains and old forests?

Demons are most abundant, accidents are most abundant.

Fan Shuang's clenched heart did not relax: "No matter what, we must hurry to inform Jucheng!"

Tiangong secretly stationed troops in Taoguo, even hiding charm beasts; this matter is no small affair.

The food and drink expenses for tens of thousands of troops are no small matter; Fan Shuang, having fought in the Dragon God War with the Emperor, knows that whether an army is to fight or to garrison, the first problem to solve is grain and fodder.

Just now, the disaster refugees downstairs also said that the officials who went out to requisition grain and livestock were state officials!

That is to say, Taoguo has been supplying military provisions to the Tiangong army all along, even before the Beijia internal turmoil.

Taoguo joined the war alliance on one hand, while harboring the Tiangong army on the other—what does this mean?

Fan Shuang considered himself not politically sensitive, but he already felt that upon careful thought, this matter was extremely frightening.

Indeed, people's hearts are hidden behind their bellies.

The immediate priority is to quickly deliver this intelligence to Du Xiang's hands!

￥￥￥￥？

When He Lingchuan came to find Sun Fuling, the sky had already darkened, and the evening clouds were splendid.

She was staying in an official residence in Xunying City.

Bolang State once had terrestrial territory; Xunying City was one of its main land cities, serving as a hub connecting water and land, with prosperous trade, many land goods transshipped here to go to the sea capital.

This residence belonged to a merchant, temporarily requisitioned for two days by the Cangyan army; the merchant expressed no objection.

Xunying City is also famous for its hot springs; this residence has several hot spring pools, continuously emitting white steam.

When He Lingchuan found Sun Fuling, she was leaning against a rockery stone, her feet soaked in the spring water, slightly squinting her eyes.

A pair of barbarian boots were placed by the poolside. She wore a blue outfit today, with golden wrist guards on her hands, a golden waist belt, and no hairpin on her head, only a high ponytail.

He Lingchuan could tell at a glance that she had just taken off the Red General's helmet not long ago.

Previously, Sun Fuling had been a tutor in Panlongcheng, always wearing long skirts and coiled hair, refined and gentle, as if untouched by the mundane world; but after returning to reality, she was either commanding troops in battle or attending joint military councils, and even when she resumed being Sun Fuling, her attire became increasingly sharp, making it convenient to switch at any moment into the Red General.

The faint light of the evening glow filtered through the gaps in the leaves, illuminating the tenderness between her brows and eyes.

He Lingchuan walked behind her and helped rub her shoulders: "Are you exhausted?"

Defeating Bolang State appeared easy and simple to outsiders, but in reality, it was their long-planned high-intensity battle; if any mistake occurred in between, allowing the Bolang King to catch his breath, this surprise attack would turn into a positional war, and no one knows how long it would be dragged out.

As the main attacker, the Red General actually bears great pressure.

She softly hummed, leaned back against him, and then fully relaxed.

The spring bubbled, all around was empty, only a few sparrows hopped on the branches, chirping and flying away.

This moment of relaxation belongs only to the two of them.

He Lingchuan also took off his shoes and socks, stepped into the pool to soak his feet, then lent his shoulder for Sun Fuling to lean on.

She was so comfortable she could hardly open her eyes, her breathing even; if not for her special constitution, He Lingchuan would have thought she was asleep.

If she were a cat, she would start purring now.

He Lingchuan held her, also closed his eyes, and let his mind wander.

He Lingchuan and Sun Fuling are usually too busy; it's rare to steal half a moment of leisure.

The spring water is warm, the dawn breeze gently brushes, and there is a beauty in his arms.

He Lingchuan originally only wanted to rest for a moment, but unexpectedly fell into a drowsy sleep.

This sleep was too deep, and he even had a dream.

Until someone pinched his nose.

"Hmm?" such a heavy nasal tone.

Sun Fuling laughed, released her hand, and pointed to the sky: "It's almost midnight; want to go back to the room to rest?"

He Lingchuan stretched, his joints cracking all over: "I'm hungry, need to find something to eat."

The two of them were loafing here, and no guard dared to come disturb them.

Sun Fuling then took out a paper box from her storage ring, opened it, revealing neatly stacked eight pieces of pale yellow pastries.

"Come, mung bean ice cake. I bought them at the market before coming back."

When Xunying City was first captured by Chiyan State, it was once somewhat chaotic, but now it has reopened its city gates and marketplaces. Although this city was originally governed and taxed by the sea clan, it was established as a trading city, with logistics and operations entirely reliant on humans, not the sea clan's main base, so the war left it without major shadows.

This pastry is extraordinarily delicate; a little force will crush it. He Lingchuan took a piece to taste and praised it endlessly: "Delicious! Like biting into an ice pearl. Oh, you went to the market, why didn't you call me?"

Previously, He Lingchuan always accompanied her when shopping in Panlongcheng; Sun Fuling had a habit of liking to walk, shop, and eat along the way.

"Then you weren't talking with Du Shan?" Sun Fuling herself also ate a piece of ice cake, face full of satisfaction: "Yuanling accompanied me; she really is good at shopping!"

"Is that so?" He Lingchuan didn't believe it. He had never seen anyone who could shop more or loved shopping more than Sun Fuling.

Sun Fuling noticed, pinched the flesh on his waist clockwise with force.

Dead ghost, your waist is also this stiff, can't pinch out even half a tael of flab.

"She ate her way through five full streets, bought many things, and her storage ring was completely full."

The storage ring of the Qin Hai Nightmare King is no joke; it can hold a lot.

The Red General took off her battle armor, the Qin Hai Nightmare King wore her clam horns—these are two women who love shopping immensely.

"At first, she took such a large night pearl to buy salty sugar rice cakes." She formed a ring with her thumb and index finger, "made the vendors look foolish."

Just that one night pearl alone could buy rice cakes for ten streets' worth of people, and still eat until their bellies were round.

Qin Hai Nightmare King usually lives in the deep sea, never having browsed the bustling markets of the fan yao state's major cities; upon entering, her eyes lit up.

Even though the main street of Xunying City has shown some decline these days due to war, with goods not as abundant as usual, but it's still enough to accommodate a sea clan member.

"Amazing, amazing." He Lingchuan secretly sighed in relief.

Finally, someone took over this duty of accompanying her on walks.

"I just received news from Ju City; the Empress again asked me when I would bring you back to the country. She really wants to see you."

The Empress is Ying Hongchan, wife of He Chunhua. Even before the general offensive against Baling was launched, the Shen King had sent her and her grandsons to Cangyan.

Besides taking care of the grandsons, the Empress, idle and with nothing to do, also paid close attention to the marriage affairs of Jiuxiao.

Sun Fuling kicked the water, and the spring pool made a splashing sound.

"After finishing the battle in Bei Jia and returning, should I prepare a small gift for her when we meet?"

How difficult it will be to finish this war? But since she avoided the main issue and focused on the trivial, He Lingchuan went along with her and asked: "Do you know her preferences?"

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