Chapter 1320

Cold in the three nines, hot in the three dog days.

Early in the first month, it is precisely the Minor Cold period, the coldest time of the year; the surrounding area is inhabited, the earth is desolate and vast, with occasional trees, their slender branches sticking into the sky, bare and bald, the only thing that can somewhat block the view being the bird nests built on the branches; by late month, the theoretical temperature rises slightly, but in reality, there is little difference.

The ice on the Yellow Sand River is three feet thick, with hardly any large ships; looking around, all that can be seen are horses with iron nails nailed into their hooves and wrapped in cloth. Only at the places where the waterway allows passage upstream and downstream will there be officials from the Heposuo, specially responsible for breaking ice, doing their utmost to ensure normal navigation of vessels.

However, the lower reaches of the Yellow Sand River are a hundred li wide, and not all of it can be frozen.

Ice first forms as "shore ice," then spreads toward the river center.

If the river center is deep, the current swift, and heat storage abundant, it will retain a long unfrozen waterway, which is thus called the "Qinggou."

"Cilala, cilala————"

Thick sheepskin rubbing against the ice surface, ice chips bouncing out.

The fisherman drags the raft, inch by inch toward the river center; when he sees the surrounding ice has thinned somewhat, turned slightly bluish, he jumps onto the raft, uses a bamboo pole to probe the ice, pushes himself and the sheepskin raft forward, waiting for the ice to thin further, the color turning black, when the weight beneath produces a sound, he swings the pole hard to smash the ice, until reaching ice-free water, thus entering the channel, where he lowers the fishing net.

The thicker the ice, the more valuable the fish.

A Yellow River carp, in summer priced by copper cash, in winter priced by silver.

In winter, to travel by raft, one must drag the raft inward; the ice surface goes from thick to thin, and a moment's carelessness may lead to falling into the river; the shock of cold water causes the calf muscles to cramp instantly, and uncontrollable choking on water, and within a few blinks, one can freeze to death.

Each year, unknown numbers of fishermen on the Yellow Sand River, seeking convenience, take a few extra steps, only to end up frozen into ice blocks drifting about.

Previously, medium-sized merchant ships could be seen; these past two years, with the waterway established, fishing boats are considered the only vessels visible on the Yellow Sand River in winter.

But today is different.

A small boat goes upstream against the current; the fishermen are slightly surprised that this group of people, despite having a waterway, prefer to take the boat.

The boat travels east-west, not north-south to cross the river, meaning it is taking a detour; since it is a detour, taking the boat is neither cheaper nor faster than using the waterway.

Not only the river-center fishermen, but the fish schools in the water likewise observed.

"Hualala."

Icy water splashes onto the face; the fisherman withdraws his gaze, flustered, pressing down on the large carp leaping onto the boat, thanking Heaven for its grace.

Within a radius of a thousand li, large fish with golden-red eyes sway their tails, bow their heads to forage, passing messages secretly, one after another.

Heavenly light shines on the water surface, flowing onto the back of the large carp, slowly drifting, witnessing the small boat pass overhead.

"Puff!"

A large hand plunges into the water, mixed with white bubbles, true Gang contracting and releasing.

"Such a fat large carp————"

The last words fade from hearing.

Bottom of the Yellow Sand River.

Golden eyes wide open.

"Ah Fei, don't move, fall out!"

"Such a fat large carp! It ran to the bottom of the boat by itself." River water shakes off, the bearded man Yan Zhi sternly grips the fish's gills, his forefinger makes a slash, opening the belly and intestines, then scrapes off the scales on the body, picks up the nearby iron pot, "I have heard that the carp in the Yellow Sand River differ from those elsewhere, being exceptionally fatty and delicious; it is rare to have the chance to come, and one must not miss tasting it."

The punter turns back to warn: "Do not casually reveal your cultivation; this journey, my lord has repeatedly instructed and warned, if you expose a flaw, all prior effort will be wasted, and we will both be sinners of Nanjiang————"

Yan Zhi helplessly: "Lord Fei, it is precisely by not revealing cultivation that one appears strange; you must not have seen the fishermen's gaze just now; now it would be better to reveal somewhat, or perhaps it would not seem so strange, and they might think it is a martial master coming on patrol."

"Yes, Old Yan makes sense; in winter, the Yellow Sand River freezes, and Dashun again has a waterway; besides fishing, who would have a boat?"

"The waterway cannot be taken either."

How could these few not want to take the waterway? But helplessly, they must have a travel permit issued by the local office when riding horses upstream; before the waterway, they must also undergo inspection by clerks; they worry first that there may be some hidden measure in the waterway capable of identifying experts without permits, and second, that less contact with others means less exposure, avoiding the betrayal of accent and common knowledge.

It is not that they cannot speak Dashun dialect; those who can come here have already been carefully selected; not only do they speak Dashun official speech, but also some Yellow River regional dialects; yet even with fluency, it is inevitable that some accent and common knowledge will slip through.

Rent a large boat, no large boat; take the waterway, no waterway.

The last four people can only switch to a small boat, attempting to make contact with the water demon.

"Today's matter is inherently covert; only a few in the stronghold know of it, and Dashun will certainly not guard against it; I feel that hiding and concealing actually makes exposure more likely." The third person speaks, "Perhaps the so-called 'darkness under the lamp'—pretending to be a martial master—would be more reasonable."

Fei Wei falls silent for a moment, neither agreeing nor refusing, rubbing his palm along the oar, then gazing at the fourth person on the boat.

"How is the situation?"

The fourth person picks up a turtle shell, rubs its patterns, then unfolds a map.

"It is still there, unmoved, no Dashun Martial Saint has approached; the nearest Liang bandit is over four thousand li away; we have already arrived at Qinggong Bay," I read the divination signs pointing south, the exact location unclear, possibly within a radius of several hundred li; careful searching will surely yield contact.

The three spirits are lifted, not waiting for joy.

Fei Wei's heart clenches violently, as if a rubber band stretched to its limit then violently snaps back, striking his chest; his face changes drastically; a master forged through a thousand hammerings, how could he fail to grasp this meaning?

A sudden surge of passion!.

"Be careful!"

Under the violent shout, the four, having rehearsed countless times in their hearts, quickly press backs together, gripping their weapons.

Boom—!

Heaven collapses, earth splits, water surges upward.

The surface of the Yellow Sand River resembles a trembling bedsheet; the sheepskin raft instantly lifts into the air; the four's vision departs the river surface, gazing at the vast sky, they turn their heads in terror.

"Underwater!" Fei Wei shouts again.

But it is already too late.

Several people float half in the air, with no point of leverage; the attacker strikes first, a long staff full of holes, a coral-like giant hammer descends from the sky, smashing toward Fei Wei.

Evil wind blasts the face; Fei Wei trembles with rage, instantly releasing over eighty zhang of true Gang, practicing the Horizontal Cultivation Divine Ability.

In the instant of the sneak attack, the opponent's qi mechanism is fully revealed, a supreme great demon, capable of striking————

Two hundred and more bones shatter simultaneously, resonating as one; afterward, large amounts of blood spurt from the violently compressed, cracked skin, scattering in the cold air.

Blood mist fills the air.

A blurred figure of flesh and blood flies out of the blood mist, crashing into the water.

Inhaling large amounts of blood mist through the nostrils, in midair, the remaining three pupils dilate, black hair stands on end, faces filled with foolish stupor.

Boom!

The sound lagged half a beat — this was the first heavy hammer blow.

Boom—rumble!

This was the water surface being torn open by the corpse.

"Run!" Yan Zhi roared.

Crash.

White steam flowed; a blood-mangled humanoid creature was embedded in the riverbed, two small fish biting onto the Qiankun bag at its waist, swimming with all their might.

On the river surface, the fat fish seized two great hammers, spinning close to its body, generating a tigerish wind, cursing and grumbling.

"Sneaking about, trespassing on my Green Carp clan territory, ambushing the Great King — you deserve death! You deserve death! I am a great general under Lord Qinghe — kill kill kill! Kill kill kill!"

Yan Zhi was horrified to the extreme; in his desperation he actually reached out, grabbed the companion ahead of him, and yanked him backward violently.

"Yan Zhi, you! Ah!!"

A miserable scream rang through the Yellow Sand River, stimulating Yan Zhi's nerves all the more.

Run!

Run!

The great hammers spun; the fat fish killed two Southern Border men with two hammer blows, leaving one survivor — it pretended to give chase, pursued until the man reached the shore, then followed a few more li before giving up.

"Splash."

The water bulged, rolled and broke open; fine white streams washed over emerald scales like green jade; a green dragon undulated and floated up.

"Bu Neng Dong," carrying a great cleaver, swaying its tail, approached leisurely; the fat fish wiggled its hips, looking immensely pleased with itself.

"Hulu-lu————"

"Bu Neng Dong" blew a string of bubbles from its nostrils, paid no heed, turned and dove down.

The river water submerged the green jade.

"Ha, ha! Run! Run!"

The cold wind cut like knives.

Yan Zhi trod on the water surface, running for his life toward the shore; even after stepping onto land he dared not stop, just kept pressing forward, forward!

He crossed mountains and ridges, forded rivers and streams, traveled by starlight and moonlight; his speed was so great that travelers only felt patches of white mist suddenly left on the road, as if someone had just exhaled here.

Who knows how long passed; with no Qi presence behind him, Yan Zhi felt he had escaped, yet he still dared not rest, as if he meant to run back to the Southern Border in a single breath.

Little did he know, behind him a small white dragon spread its claws, mimicking a falcon's wings, making "hu hu hu," "fu fu fu," "Eagle takes flight!" sounds, following him all the while.

Thousands of li away, the clashing Yellow Dragon gradually halted; the roiling great river returned to calm; the stirred yellow mud slowly settled, regaining a measure of clarity.

Si Nan, who had been recording seriously, lowered her head to look down.

The sound of breaking water.

Liang Qu flipped onto the deck, wiping away water stains: "Rest a bit, half a quarter-hour."

Si Nan had no questions, simply assuming the Huai King was weary. Returning from leave, Liang Qu was diligent to the point of astonishing her — he actually made up the progress bit by bit; now it seemed she might write one less explanatory report for the Supervisor my lord.

Inside the room.

Incense curled.

On the table lay a soaking-wet Qiankun bag; at this moment, Long Li lifted the Qiankun bag, picked off the waterweeds, casually wiped the table dry, and left the room.

Liang Qu seized the Qiankun bag, grinning.

Simple, easy, and pleasant.

He had thought it would be at the Five Gu Nine Poisons level; never expected merely a mid-stage Entering Zhen Xiang, plus another mid-stage, and two Hunt Tigers.

This configuration — let alone Liang Qu personally performing 【Summon Spirit】, just the upper-realm great yaomo Fat Fish and the mid-stage "Bu Neng Dong" would suffice.

At first glance it seems the Southern Border has no one; on closer thought it's not strange.

The Five Gu Nine Poisons aren't dedicated errand-runners for the Yao Dragon; they're big shots too.

To get good stuff you must be upward-compatible, which causes Liang Qu himself to always fight hard battles; setting aside the hard battles he fights, a mere liaison mission team with two Xiang and two Tigers is already quite elite, and the Southern Border dispatched several at once.

The Ru Kun bag weighed not light.

The Ru Kun bag is a divine-ability token method the Great Shun made using Grandmaster remnants; other forces fundamentally don't have it and won't make it — merely opening exchange has been going on for no short time, inevitably some leak through various channels into Southern Border and Northern Court hands.

Some exchangers died and the bag was gone; some exchangers still live but the bag is gone, excuse "bag lost," stolen; some exchangers still live and the bag still exists but they've never used it publicly.

Ci said the imperial court is preparing an investigation, to inspect and register; anyway Liang Qu himself never sold any privately, so he's not afraid of inspection.

Not selling — now this one has fallen into his hands, it's his.

First time harvesting a Ru Kun bag as spoils.

Open it.

Two portions of inferior-grade Creation Great Medicine, three portions of Great Medicine.

Gazing at the medicinal materials before him, Liang Qu pondered, then a flash of inspiration — he kept only the two portions of Creation Great Medicine, set aside the three portions of Great Medicine separately, and summoned Yuan Tou.

"Take these three portions of Great Medicine, deliver them to Lord Jihe, just say — it's compensation from the imperial court for disturbing Lord Jihe's residence; the gift is modest, just a token of goodwill."

"Also mobilize three Jiang Tun, send them along this line————"

"You say, lost?"

"Yes!" Bearing the Rakshasa Sha's pressure alone, Yan Zhi's mouth was dry and tongue parched.

"What about the survivors?"

"Dead, all killed by Lord Jihe's subordinates!"

Rakshasa Sha's gaze condensed: "You're certain it's Lord Jihe?"

Yan Zhi swallowed a mouthful of saliva, raised his head to wipe sweat, not daring to admit he'd been scared out of his wits and only fled for his life, never daring to look at what the yaomo looked like, only catching a hurried two glances — in his peripheral vision the figure was broad and fat, body surface auspiciously black and smooth, indeed no different from the great yaomo Ji Kui; he nodded forcefully.

Rakshasa Sha retreated half a step, vision going black.

He died before achieving success in his mission.

The first Lord Jihe was actually killed by those who took him for an invader, his belongings were lost—how could he return to explain to Heishui Duoyan Ye, how could he explain to the tusi?

Hesitating, thinking of going.

"No, I must go again to confirm, to strive—if it truly is Lord Jihe's men, they certainly would not act privately; the items must be in Lord Jihe's hands! Those precious medicines all have markings."

On the windowsill, two small white paws scratched, half a tail swaying left and right.

Three days apart.

"Sneaking about, trespassing on the Zhu Wang clan's land, ambushing the great king—death is deserved! Death is deserved! I am the great general under the Zhu Wang throne—kill, kill, kill! Kill, kill, kill!"

Liang Qu waved his hand once, then dispensed three portions.

"Send these three portions of great medicine to Zhu Wang, and say it is compensation from the imperial court for disturbing Zhu Wang's residence—though little, it is a token of goodwill."

Five days apart.

The third line, Defeat King.

Liang Qu stopped the fat Defeat, warning it that it truly was defeat.

Three times all were ambushes, unfavorable for development.

Thus.

"Sneaking about, what are you doing here?"

"Want to see the great king? I am the great general under the throne—whatever you wish to say or give, hand it to me!"

"Send these three portions of great medicine—"

"This, this—"

Dusk grew dim, heaven and earth utterly plunged into darkness.

Raksha Sha heard reports from all sides, gasping heavily.

Five days, short five days—bribing the demon king, the plan to add resistance to the Great Shun failed one after another, people and wealth both lost, the first two situations identical, truly making people suspect the plot was leaked, that the Great Shun had been preempted.

Fortunately, after one, then two, not three—Defeat King's side improved slightly, breaking the cycle of misfortune, yet it was only about receiving things, not acting. His subordinate general delayed one day, then the next day simply shoved away the waiting envoy, even vomiting—

A mouthful of saliva.

"What's wrong with the Shahe River?"

"Do the three demon kings have not a single heart to stir?"

"Impossible, absolutely impossible—there must be a problem somewhere!"

Raksha Sha pressed his hands on the desk, his cheeks twitching—he was among the few not foiled by the Great Shun's thousand-mile soul-lock, sent by the tusi to infiltrate the Great Shun, coordinating the obstruction plan—how could he return with no achievement? So many demon kings, how could none succeed?

But where is the problem?

Southern Frontier.

Dawn approached, the sun rose high, pale golden light scattered the darkness, seeping through the window paper, spreading through the room.

Surging blood and qi rose and swelled, manifesting as ascending fish-blood centipedes, limbs clenched, curling into balls, steaming waves of heat rising, one surge stronger than the last, like ocean tides, wave after wave unceasing.

Li Xiaya drenched in sweat, one hand covering her face, she looked to the sky and laughed loudly.

—

"Hahaha, hahaha!"

"Breakthrough! Breakthrough! Breakthrough! Huai Wang, I want you to aid my cultivation!"