Chapter 77: Good, Very Good, Very Good

The world is too bitter, so one must use illusory beauty to offset it; this is true for both the living and the dead.

"Later, Nian Songyu climbed the city gate to mount crossbows and fire cannons to burn the city. Most importantly, he blew up the Zhong residence, which tore apart that illusory dream and startled the Black Flood Dragon," He Lingchuan shrugged. "Nothing to be done; everyone has a bad temper when they wake up."

"The Great Square Pot has been in Panlong City for over twenty years; Zhong Shengguang had long since established a close connection with it. It makes sense that his soul was drawn into the Great Square Pot after his death, becoming its artifact spirit." He Chunhua was applying ointment to his eldest son's cheek; the skin and flesh at the wound were curled outward, and the special ointment could hasten healing.

"If we cannot take the Great Square Pot away, I fear the Red Cliff Road will continue to have the Mad Sand Season in the future." He pondered for a moment, then asked, "By the way, I heard the Heavenly God possessed you first; why did it run off later?"

"I don't know either." He Lingchuan looked bewildered. "When the white light hugged my face, my mind went blank. By the time I regained consciousness, it had already run out to find Nian Songyu."

"How long did that process take?" He Chunhua turned to ask the other witnesses.

"Only about three to five breaths' time," Situ Han recalled.

"Did you have any headaches or dizziness?"

"Yes, I did! How did you know, Father?" He Lingchuan asked in surprise. "My temples were throbbing non-stop, and they still hurt like hell even now."

He Chunhua thought for a moment: "Go back and have the Great Shaman take another look to see if your soul has suffered any damage."

"Oh." What did this "another" mean? He Lingchuan felt a slight sense of alarm; when had the Great Shaman ever looked at him before? The topic quickly circled back to the Great Square Pot.

"Is this divine artifact truly fused with Panlong City?"

"Perhaps it's true?" He Lingchuan thought from the opposite perspective. "Otherwise, the Great Square Pot used Three-Corpse Insects to control enemies and turn them against their own, and the Great Wind Army was invincible—why didn't Zhong Shengguang take the opportunity to fight back to his homeland? It shows there are limitations to using this treasure."

"Things from the Heavenly God are not so easy to use." He Chunhua nodded. "It's a pity, there's no way to use it to quell the rebellion. By the way, the Black Dragon finally said its mission was complete. What do you think that was..."

Seeing the four of them staring at him with burning eyes, He Chunhua gave a slight smile and held back the rest of his words.

What could he possibly get out of these four straight-shooters? It would be better to go back and discuss it with He Yue.

Not being able to obtain this treasure left He Chunhua very unwilling. It was also the first time He Lingchuan had seen his father so keen on something, even to the point of sighing and wringing his hands in regret.

He felt an impulse in his heart, willing to spare no cost to complete it for him.

Of course, this was the original body's subjective emotion, not his own.

Fortunately, He Chunhua also understood that the expedition had to end. Just opening the pool-well passage had exhausted all their resources; the possibility of everyone finding a second way to obtain the Great Square Pot was slim to none.

Besides, the heroic spirits of the Great Wind Army patrolled the entire city; it looked like protection, but it was actually surveillance.

If the living wanted to start major construction in the desolate city of Panlong, these heroic spirits might not agree.

They could only obediently return; they had no capital to be willful.

At this moment, the food in the pot was cooked.

Fried rice cakes boiled in water turned into rice porridge; the texture was a bit gritty and not as smooth or lubricating as specially simmered white porridge, but the benefit was that it kept one full, especially when paired with flatbread and salted meat.

Everyone slurped it down. Sitting in this desolate, isolated city like this, listening to the rain tapping on the eaves while watching the heroic spirits of the Great Wind Army wander about, they all felt as if they were in another lifetime.

He Lingchuan even took out good wine and shared it with everyone.

Once full of food and wine, the sleepiness set in.

After more than ten hours of heart-pounding events, exhaustion took over. Ceng Feixiong called his personal guards to stand watch, and everyone fell asleep as soon as they lay down.

￥￥￥￥￥

He Yue had lain down very early, but he kept tossing and turning until the second watch before he could barely fall asleep.

The past few days had been the most difficult time for the He family; he had to handle heavy county affairs during the day and comfort his grieving mother at home at night—every single task was a daunting one.

By the time he finally lay back in bed, his sleepiness was gone, and his mind was full of thoughts on how to act to support the future for his mother and himself. The passing of his father was a fatal blow to this family.

After a few days, the energetic young man was almost completely worn out.

However, at the cockcrow of this day, there seemed to be some commotion outside, followed immediately by urgent knocking on the door: "Second Young Master, get up quickly! Father and the Eldest Young Master are back!"

The usually composed old steward's voice was now distorted with excitement.

He Yue scrambled up, stood stunned for a few breaths, then suddenly grabbed the long robe by the bed and rushed out.

The front courtyard was bustling, and everyone was beaming with joy, as if they had picked up a giant gold ingot.

The gloom and misery that had shrouded the He residence for the past two days vanished in an instant.

Who else could be surrounded in the center of the crowd but the father and son, He Chunhua and He Lingchuan? Although they were covered in dust and looked somewhat haggard.

The usually steady Second Young Master of the He family could not care about decorum and let out a loud cry, hugging his father and brother.

He Chunhua stroked his head: "Alright, alright, you've worked hard during this time."

He Lingchuan chuckled: "You have to wag your tail to count as welcoming us home."

He Yue rubbed his eyes, feeling both overjoyed and incredulous: "The Mad Sand Season hasn't ended yet; how did you get back? Did you not pass through the desert?"

"It's a long story!" He Lingchuan rubbed his face. "Let us wash up and get cleaned up first; there must be two pounds of dust to scrub off."

"I also have important matters to report!" He Yue could distinguish the importance of things; he grabbed his father's arm and said word by word, "The intelligence from the east has finally arrived. The rebel army at Woling Pass has been quelled, and Grand Marshal Dong Haoming has raised an army in rebellion!"

This bombshell left the He father and son dumbfounded.

He Chunhua suddenly looked up to the sky and laughed, as if all his worries and troubles had been swept away: "Good, very good, very good!"

At this time, Lady He also rushed over, looking at her husband with teary eyes: "You've finally returned!"

……

It was not until the east was bright that He Lingchuan climbed out of the bathtub, stretched comfortably, and felt like he was reborn.

How could there be such luxury in the desert? He soaked in two large tubs of hot water, plus the bathhouse worker the He family had paid extra to find, before he finally scrubbed the old mud and dust off his body.

He felt as if he had come back to life.

The Mad Sand Season was far from over; that this group could safely walk out of the Panlong Desert relied on the escort of the Great Wind Army's heroic spirits. Wherever these heroic spirits walked, the vengeful souls and Three-Corpse Insects would automatically scatter, and even the wind and sand were less swirling, allowing humans to pass.

(End of chapter)