Chapter 37: Disagreement

Except for him and Situ Han, the food others prepared for themselves was very rich. The cured meat Nian Songyu brought looked unremarkable, black and red, but when roasted over the fire, it was fragrant, obviously with many seasonings added. Cutting two pieces to go with fine white flour buns, the exploration had two parts of the flavor of an outing. He Chunhua mixed a bowl of oil noodle tea. Forced by boiling water, the aroma of sesame and peanuts drifted further than the meat aroma. He also added some cashew nuts and walnuts, and the grade was immediately raised.

He Lingchuan always felt that drinking this kind of thing required a stormy gulp to be satisfying, but his father's eating manner was elegant, quiet, and soundless.

He Chunhua heard the National Master's words and pondered for a moment, his face changing: "Went at the wrong time? Wait, he couldn't be talking about the Wild Sand Season, could he?"

"All treasure hunting teams avoid the Wild Sand Season, and then return empty-handed. Zhu Gen used all known methods and divine powers, but could not detect the existence of the Great Fang Hu. Therefore, he concluded that this treasure was likely well hidden by Zhong Shengquan, or even by the god he worshipped; to find it, one must satisfy the prerequisite conditions." Sun Fuping said slowly, "Otherwise, even if later generations searched every inch of the Panlong ruins, they could never find it."

He Lingchuan's mouth was oily, eating deliciously, but it didn't delay his speech: "Zhong Shengquan hated the coalition forces, of course he wouldn't want them to get the Great Fang Hu. Is there a possibility that the Great Fang Hu was taken back by the god and is not in the human world? And the various strange phenomena in the Panlong Desert today are all caused by vengeful souls—uh, no, by heroic spirits. After all, Three-Corpse Insects are born in the human body, they aren't a specialty of the Great Fang Hu, right?"

He himself followed the principle that no matter how bitter things are, you can't make your mouth suffer. First, he tore off a soy goose leg and ate it, then crunched on two pieces of fragrant noodle pancakes.

The noodles in Heishuicheng are chewy and strong after being boiled, and then roasted dry with hot air, which is actually a bit like instant noodles, his good companion in another world. And the locals boil the noodles, coat them with flour, fry them into pancakes in a pan, and sprinkle some chili and spices, which is a high-quality dry ration, suitable for home and travel.

He Lingchuan had requested extra meat and eggs at the time.

He practiced martial arts, and his appetite was much larger than others; he couldn't do without staple food and meat at every meal.

He was simply a rice bucket, and his eating manner was crude. Nian Songyu glanced at him with disdain: "Three-Corpse Insects that can even invade cultivators must be a specialty of the Great Fang Hu."

From the moment a person is born, Three-Corpse Insects accompany the human body. The older they grow, the more they make trouble, confusing thoughts, nourishing greed, and generating evil thoughts. So it is actually also called the "Three-Corpse God," and it is definitely not as low-level as an insect. For a person to practice and attain the Dao, a necessary hurdle is to wield the wisdom sword and sever the Three-Corpse Insects, in exchange for a clear heart and mind.

Of course, this severs the Three-Corpse Insects in one's own body.

The Three-Corpse Insects lurking in the Panlong Desert can even make cultivators with clear hearts and minds fall into the trap, and they can be active outdoors for a long time, fearing nothing but sunlight.

This enhanced version of Three-Corpse Insects must have come out of the Great Fang Hu.

He Lingchuan chuckled: "According to the National Master's idea, the Great Fang Hu only appears during the Wild Sand Season?"

"Very likely."

"Then we won't accompany you, you stay and play slowly." He Lingchuan got up at once and walked out without looking back, "Father, let's go home!"

Wild Sand Season? Are you kidding me? There are thousands of ways to commit suicide; he didn't need to come here specifically!

A figure flashed before his eyes, and Nian Songyu stood with his sword, blocking the ladder: "Go back and sit down, otherwise I'll send you on your way now, no need to wait for the Wild Sand Season!"

"Huh?" He Lingchuan laughed instead of getting angry, "So quickly, your true colors are showing?" He turned to his father, "Father, these two goods just want to use us as cannon fodder; are you going or not?"

He Chunhua put down the noodle tea he had drunk halfway and stood up: "The National Master is well-planned and has victory in his grasp. Even without the help of Heishuicheng, it seems he can still seize the treasure and return."

Nian Songyu's smile carried a ferocity: "You think this is still Heishuicheng? Killing you is as easy as killing a chicken! With you father and son gone, this team of two hundred people will still be led by me; who dares to object!"

If the He father and son were dead, of course, the highest-ranking person would take power. This team would still be in their hands.

Zeng Feixiong had long stood up, and at this time, his half-blade was out of the sheath with a "clang": "Commandant Nian, watch your words! We only support Prefect He!"

The personal guards guarding outside the building heard the sound and rushed over, surrounding everyone.

In just a few words, the situation here became tense.

He Lingchuan rolled his eyes. What would happen if they tore off their masks? Would the two of them dare to kill their father and son? Not to mention that Nian Songyu was a fierce man, could his own two hundred people deal with National Master Sun?

Was this a good opportunity to kill them both? These thoughts flashed through his mind, and the answer was obvious: Dare, cannot, not.

Their father and son couldn't seem to retreat unscathed; they had to think of another way.

"Young man, your temper is really strong." Sun Fuping dropped the cake and gulped down a few mouthfuls of water, "Prefect He, you have always had a reputation for being steady; why are you joining in the fun with this kid? If it were a certain death situation, would I run thousands of miles to die?"

Before Prefect He could speak, He Lingchuan answered for him: "You wouldn't, you would only let us die."

These two old and young things had been ill-intentioned from beginning to end.

Nian Songyu squinted at him: "Still want to raise the price? Still think once isn't enough?"

He looked at He Lingchuan, and the more he looked, the more disgusted he became; He Lingchuan looked at him, and it was the same.

Neither of them bothered to cover it up anymore.

"Everything else is easy to say, National Master, life is extinguished wherever the wild sand passes. Not to mention playing around, one shouldn't even have the thought of trying!" He Chunhua coughed, "Besides, the food and water we carry can only support us for three to five days, not enough to drag it out until the Wild Sand Season arrives."

He was trying to ease the atmosphere, and Sun Fuping was very cooperative: "If we can trigger the Wild Sand Season, I have the confidence to bring everyone out unscathed; if we can't, we will return to Heishuicheng before the real Wild Sand Season arrives, how about that?"

"Trigger the Wild Sand Season?" Sand bandit leader Situ Han couldn't help but interject, "This can also be triggered in advance?"

And then die in advance? He had always shrunk in the corner, quietly finishing a naan bread, and taking out a few black-skinned scorpions to roast. He knew he wasn't qualified to speak; everyone here was his big boss.

But listening, how did he seem to have followed a dead end? "Wait, please wait!" He thought about it, and his face changed, "There are still people on Red Cliff Road now. If the Wild Sand Season appears in advance, they will definitely die!"

"There are only a few days left until the Wild Sand Season; everyone knows they shouldn't grab the last copper coin." Nian Songyu didn't care, "Besides, the Wild Sand Season in previous years wasn't specific to a certain month, day, or moment. Prefect He, hasn't there been casualties on this road every year?"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 38 =====