Chapter 77: Good, Good, Good

The world is too bitter, so one has to use illusory beauty to counter it; the living and the dead are the same.

"Later, Nian Songyu climbed the city gate, set up crossbows, and fired cannons to burn the city. Most importantly, he destroyed the Zhong residence, tearing apart the illusory dream, which then disturbed the Black Flood Dragon." He Lingchuan shrugged, "No way, everyone has a bad temper when they wake up."

"The Great Fang Hu was in Panlongcheng for over twenty years. Zhong Shengguang had long since established a close connection with it. After death, his soul was taken into the Great Fang Hu and became an artifact spirit; this also makes sense." He Chunhua was applying ointment to his eldest son's cheek; the wound here was gaping, and the special ointment could urge healing.

"If we can't take the Great Fang Hu away, the Red Cliff Road will likely still have sandstorm seasons in the future." He pondered for a moment, but still asked, "By the way, I heard the Heavenly God first possessed you, why did it run away later?"

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

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

"About three to five breaths." Situ Han recalled.

"Was there any headache or dizziness?"

"Yes, yes! How did you know, old man?" He Lingchuan wondered, "My temples are throbbing incessantly, and it still hurts like hell."

He Chunhua thought for a moment: "Go find the Great Shaman when we get back to see if your divine soul has suffered any damage."

"Oh." What did this "again" mean? He Lingchuan became slightly vigilant; when had the Great Shaman seen him? The topic soon circled back to the Great Fang Hu.

"Is this divine artifact truly integrated with Panlongcheng?"

"Perhaps it's true?" He Lingchuan thought from the other side, "Otherwise, the Great Fang Hu used three-corpse worms to control enemies and defect, and the Great Wind Army was invincible; why didn't Zhong Shengguang take the opportunity to fight back to his home country? It can be seen that there are limitations to using this treasure."

"Things of the Heavenly God are not so easy to use." He Chunhua nodded, "It's a pity, we can't use it to suppress the rebellion. By the way, the Black Dragon finally said its mission was complete. You guys say, that is..."

Seeing the four people looking at him with burning gazes, He Chunhua smiled slightly and withdrew the rest of his sentence.

What could he ask these four straight-forward guys? It would be better to go back and discuss it with He Yue.

Not getting this treasure, He Chunhua was very unwilling. He Lingchuan also saw for the first time that his father was so keen on something, even sighing and wringing his hands.

He had an impulse in his heart, willing to complete it at any cost.

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

Fortunately, He Chunhua also understood that the expedition had to end. Just opening the well passage had exhausted all resources; the possibility of everyone finding a second way to obtain the Great Fang Hu was slim.

Besides, the Great Wind Army heroic spirits were patrolling the whole city, seemingly protecting, but actually monitoring.

If the living wanted to engage in major construction in the Panlong Wasteland City, these heroic spirits might not agree.

They could only obediently go back; they didn't have the capital to be willful.

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

Adding water to fried rice cakes and boiling them turned them into rice porridge. The texture was a bit gritty, not as smooth and moisturizing as specially boiled white porridge, but the advantage was that it was filling, especially when paired with naan bread and salted meat.

Everyone slurped it up. Sitting in this desolate city in the wilderness, listening to the rain tapping on the eaves while watching the Great Wind Army heroic spirits wander, they all felt like a lifetime had passed.

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

After eating and drinking their fill, the sleepiness came.

After a dozen hours of heart-pounding excitement, fatigue rose to their heads. Ceng Feixiong called his personal guards to stand guard, and everyone fell asleep as soon as they lay down.

￥￥￥￥￥

He Yue had lain down very early, tossing and turning until the second watch before barely falling asleep.

The past few days had been the most difficult time for the He family. During the day, he had to deal with heavy county affairs, and at night, he had to comfort his grieving mother when he got home; each was a daunting task.

By the time he finally lay back on the bed, he was wide awake again, his mind full of how to act to support his mother's future. His father's passing was a fatal blow to this family.

After a few days, the energetic young man was almost tortured to death.

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

The old steward, who was usually very decent, now had his voice changed in excitement.

He Yue scrambled up, froze for a few breaths, and suddenly grabbed his long coat by the bedside and rushed out.

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

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

Surrounded by the crowd, who else could it be but He Chunhua and He Lingchuan? Although they were covered in dust and somewhat haggard.

The usually calm Second Young Master of the He family couldn't care about decency 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, overjoyed yet finding it hard to believe: "The sandstorm season hasn't ended yet; how did you come back? Could it be you didn't pass through the desert?"

"It's a long story!" He Lingchuan rubbed his face, "Let's get cleaned up first; there must be two jin of dust on me."

"I also have important matters to report!" He Yue knew the priority, grabbing his father's arm and saying word by word, "The intelligence from the east has finally arrived; the rebel army at Woling Pass has been pacified, and Grand Marshal Dong Haoming has rebelled!"

This bombshell stunned the He family father and son.

He Chunhua suddenly laughed up at the sky, as if all his worries and sorrows had been swept away: "Good, good, good!"

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

……

It wasn't until the east was bright that He Lingchuan climbed out of the wooden tub, stretched comfortably, and felt like he was reborn.

Where could one have such enjoyment in the desert? He soaked in two big tubs of hot water, plus the bathhouse worker the He family had temporarily hired, before he finally scrubbed off the old mud and dust.

He felt like he was alive again.

The sandstorm season was far from over. This group's safe exit from the Panlong Desert relied on the escort of the Great Wind Army heroic spirits. Wherever these heroic spirits passed, the vengeful spirits and three-corpse worms would automatically scatter, and even the wind and sand weren't as swirling, allowing humans to pass.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 78 =====