Chapter 83: Where is this?

He was just about to put the blade back where it was when a thought suddenly struck him, and he recalled the layout of Zhong Sheng’s room.

Driven by some inexplicable impulse, he hung this blade on the wall at the head of the bed as well, and only then did he lie down to sleep.

He also grabbed the divine bone necklace and fiddled with it for quite a while.

There was no doubt that the divine bone necklace was related to Panlong City; He Lingchuan hadn't figured out what changes it would undergo, and he couldn't be bothered to care.

This thing had previously saved his life from Sun Fuping’s true fire, so he had no intention of taking it off.

This sleep was exceptionally sweet.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself standing in a small grove; above him were blue skies and white clouds, and not far away were lush green wheat fields, with crisscrossing paths where the sounds of chickens and dogs could be heard.

There were two farmers by the field, both barefoot, one standing and one sitting, chatting away.

Compared to He Lingchuan, their skin was so dark it shone, and when they laughed, their teeth looked stark white.

One of them said, "How much longer do you have to farm?"

"Two months and twenty-six days."

"I'm envious! I have to report back to the camp tomorrow." The man picked up a sheepskin pouch and took a sip of water. "You still have time to properly keep your wife company and try to produce another chubby boy."

His companion nodded: "You be careful. I heard the Tonglu Highlands to the west were just raided and occupied; the General will definitely send people to take them back later. That place is easy to defend and hard to attack; it’s going to be a tough fight."

"Every month is hard, but don't we still get through every month?" The man laughed and patted his shoulder. "When I come back alive, I'll find you for a drink—your treat!"

"Fine, you can drink all the two-wen wine you want."

The man laughed: "How long has it been since you bought wine? Grain is tight lately, and the price of wine has risen along with it; where would you find two-wen wine now? I heard from the people at the granary that they won't be allowed to brew wine anymore; it wastes too much grain... Hm? Who’s there?"

Both pairs of eyes looked toward the small grove.

He Lingchuan had no choice but to walk out of the woods, putting on a warm smile: "Gentlemen, may I ask where this is?"

He was just a passerby, and the smile on his face was as warm as spring, which was perfectly ordinary in any other village.

But this place was extremely bizarre, because the two farmers were not speaking the language of the Great Yuan Kingdom at all, yet he could understand every word, without missing a single one.

The way these two looked at him, however, instantly turned to vigilance: "Where do you come from?"

The other said: "What are you doing here?"

"Uh, I..." He didn't know either. What had he been doing before, and how did he suddenly end up here?

As He Lingchuan hesitated, the two men surrounded him, distancing themselves from each other to form a pincer movement against him.

One picked up a shoulder pole, and the other grabbed an iron hoe.

The farmers turned into rioters in an instant, and judging by their stance, they didn't look like ordinary field hands. One of them even blew a whistle sharply and roared: "There's a spy!"

The fields were open, and there were six or seven other farmers working not far away; upon hearing this, they all grabbed the handiest tools they had and charged over.

Not one of them hesitated.

"Hey, don't make false accusations!" He Lingchuan was dumbfounded; what kind of reaction was this? He didn't want to get into an inexplicable fight, so he had to turn and run into the woods.

Behind him, whistles and dog barks rang out in turns, making for a very lively scene. He Lingchuan could even hear the sound of straw sandals splashing through mud; there was more than just one or two people chasing him.

Fortunately, the woods were small but dense, and he was fast; after a few twists and turns, the footsteps behind him gradually faded.

Then, the view suddenly opened up before him; the woods had come to an end.

Lying before He Lingchuan was an artificially constructed irrigation ditch, about chest-deep, where the small fish and shrimp grazing on the sandy bottom were clearly visible. The trouble was, it was five zhang (sixteen meters) wide; he couldn't jump across it in a single bound.

He Lingchuan sighed, entered the water, swam across the ditch, and then ran up the hill.

As he ran, the water in his boots squelched, which was incredibly uncomfortable.

Soon, the group of farmers also chased out of the woods, only to be blocked by the ditch. They probably didn't want to get wet either, so they just kept pointing and shouting.

Being too far away, He Lingchuan couldn't hear what they were shouting.

"A bunch of mad dogs, screw you!" He Lingchuan gave them the middle finger and spat on the ground twice to express his anger at being chased for no reason.

However, the expression on his face quickly froze, because footsteps came from behind him again.

He turned around and found several soldiers charging toward him with long strides, looking aggressive.

A rough count showed about seven of them, all wearing light armor, and the uniform actually looked two parts familiar.

Where had he seen it before? He Lingchuan couldn't recall for a moment.

He didn't have time to think; the soldier in the lead took the rope knot from his waist and shouted: "Kneel down, hands up!"

He Lingchuan understood immediately; these must be the City Patrol Guards. The rope knots in their hands were likely soaked in special oils, making them extremely tough and hard to cut. Once they encountered a suspect, they would, without a word, loop the knot over the person's head and wrists and pull it tight, rendering the person unable to resist.

This type of rope knot was lighter and easier to carry than wooden cangues or iron chains, and had long been standard equipment for government offices and city guards. When they told someone to "kneel," if the suspect dared to flee, they would have to bear the consequences of potentially being killed.

This man ran fast, putting some distance between himself and his companions.

This time, He Lingchuan didn't run; instead, he went to meet them, crying out that he was being wronged, while bending his knees as if to kneel.

Seeing him so submissive, the opponent naturally slowed his pace, leaning forward, preparing to loop the rope knot over his head.

Who would have thought that He Lingchuan would grab a handful of grass and mud from the ground and throw it right into his face.

The guard instinctively raised his hand to block, turning his face and closing his eyes.

He Lingchuan lunged forward in a single bound, snatched the rope knot directly from him, and backhanded it onto the guard.

This sequence of movements was smooth and fluid; the guard hadn't even had time to react and was still tasting the mud in his mouth when his head and one arm were already bound.

He Lingchuan grabbed the rope knot to pull him in front of himself, casually drew the long blade from the captive's waist, held it to his neck, and shouted sternly at the other guards chasing behind: "Back off, all of you, back off!"

Being in an unfamiliar place, hiding again and again was not a solution; he had to find a way to turn from defense to offense.

Those few guards were afraid of harming the hostage and indeed stopped, but they didn't hold back their tongues: "Let him go, or we'll beat the yolk out of you later!"

He Lingchuan tugged on the rope knot, making the captive roll his eyes: "Where is this?"

"Zhao Village, are you drunk?"

"And where is Zhao Village?" He Lingchuan frowned, feeling more and more that something was wrong. "Which city, which township?"

These men looked at him as if he were an idiot: "Chipa Plateau, Panlong City, Wenze Township!"

A buzzing sound rang in He Lingchuan's mind.

Panlong City—this land of lush water and grass was actually Panlong City?

Had he entered an illusion again? How did he get in? Wait, what was he doing before, and why did he have no impression of it at all?

It's the last day of the month, please vote~ Qidian changed the rules, and now monthly tickets can also be cast for new books, which can increase the "out-of-circle" value.

And, the prologue is finally over, the golden finger is finally about to appear; are you excited, are you happy?

(End of chapter)