Chapter 358

The name Xinghe was given by Xia Hong.

In the first year of March, in order to gather enough beast blood for breaking through the Cold-Resisting level, he frantically hunted intermediate cold beasts, coming from Red Wood Ridge all the way south to the riverbank for the first time.

Seeing that the water and grass on the riverbank were lush and clearly not ordinary things, Xia Hong named it with the character "Xing."

As the Lord of Great Xia, Xia Hong's naming naturally had an official nature, so from the first year, everyone in Great Xia referred to the southern river as Xinghe.

Unlike the people of Great Xia, the Jiuzhen' term for Xinghe is Heng River.

The term Heng River first spread from Jiangxia Town.

From the map of the Jiuzhen, it can actually be seen that the eastern entrance on the north bank of Heng River appears to be sandwiched by two towns, one south and one north, but in reality, the Chui Mountain Town in the north is still two or three kilometers away from the entrance. The one truly controlling the entire entrance is still Jiangxia Town.

From the character "Heng" (Horizontal), it can be seen that Jiangxia Town discovered very early on that this river flows east-west, which can also indirectly prove that Jiangxia's exploration of the north bank of Heng River actually began very early.

Mo Ao Calendar Year 131, September 28, Nighttime

On the north bank of Heng River, in the main building of an unknown camp in the eastern section, Xia Hou Qin paced back and forth with a nervous expression, looking up at the window on the west side of the main building from time to time, with a trace of terror clearly in the depths of his pupils.

"It's been nearly half an hour since nightfall, and they haven't returned. What to do, what to do?"

"The Army Leader's strength is so strong; nothing will happen, nothing will happen."

"How could that Vajra Master's strength be so strong?"

"If the Vajra Master is so strong, then the strength of the other four masters..."

Half an hour ago, which was the eve of nightfall, he had finally managed to shake off the entanglement of the Great Awakening Temple's tonsured bhikshus and fled back to Jinbi Village. At this moment, he was already in a state of lingering fear, and now his mind was filled with a thousand thoughts—one moment worrying about the safety of Army Leader Xia Houzhang, the next shocked by the terrifying strength displayed by the Great Awakening Temple this time. His entire person was visibly flustered.

Ta ta ta...

Suddenly hearing hurried footsteps outside the door, Xia Hou Qin turned his head violently. Seeing that it was a subordinate who walked in, his expression instantly grew low again.

"My Lord, the people from Beishuo Town have also fled back. There are eighteen people in total. The two leaders are Garrison Commander Huang Lin and Pei Yang of the Town Defense Army."

Hearing the subordinate's report, Xia Hou Qin instantly snorted coldly.

"Eighteen people fled back? Beishuo actually sent so many people. Hmph!"

People from the six towns of Jin Shan, Wu Chuan, Longgu, Yangqu, Chui Mountain, and Basha had already fled back to Jinbi Village one after another, but the number of people who fled back from each town earlier was at most seven or eight. Beishuo actually had as many as eighteen.

Eighteen people fleeing back doesn't mean Beishuo only put eighteen people into Qinghe Village.

Not counting those killed by the meditation courtyard bhikshus during the arson, just after the arson ended, there were over 150 people who successfully gathered on the west side of the earthen wall in Qinghe Village.

Jiangxia was the main force of the arson tonight. Xia Hou Qin knew very well that his family had only sent over sixty people, and when they finally gathered at the west earthen wall, only over forty remained. In other words, the people from the other six families present at the time added up to over 110. Adding those who fled early and weren't surrounded, there were even more.

Later, they fled from the west earthen wall, and those five thousand gray-clad bhikshus pursued relentlessly and killed another portion. In the end, even fewer people were able to flee successfully.

"At the beginning of the year, when the Eight Towns' Army Leaders discussed matters, it was clearly agreed that the spies sent by the seven families other than Jiangxia to lurk in Qinghe Village could not exceed ten. Now it seems that not a single family kept the agreement. Beishuo could flee back eighteen people; I estimate they put at least over forty spies into Qinghe Village."

After Xia Hou Qin finished speaking, he sneered repeatedly. If it were ordinary times, he would of course be angry that the Qizhen didn't keep the agreement, but the situation tonight was different.

The Great Awakening Temple's strength was so strong; no one had expected it.

If these seven families had truly followed the original agreement and only sent very few spies, then the only one unlucky tonight would have been Jiangxia.

That subordinate clearly could understand Xia Hou Qin's words and nodded: "As of now, our people have returned twenty-three. The other six towns basically have seven to eight each. Beishuo has the most with eighteen. The total number added up is not even ninety. Judging by the fire at the beginning of the action at dawn, there were at least over two hundred. In other words, this lurking operation caused the Eight Towns a total loss of over a hundred Cold-Resisting level experts."

"More than that!"

Xia Hou Qin's expression froze slightly, and his tone was heavy: "Don't forget, there are also over a dozen experts who went to scout the Great Awakening Temple, two to three from each family. Not a single one has returned yet. I estimate..."

It had been nearly an hour since nightfall. At this time, if they hadn't returned, the probability was that they would never return. Xia Hou Qin naturally understood this in his heart.

That subordinate clearly hadn't realized this point yet and was stunned upon hearing it:

"Lord Gu, Commander Zhang, Commander Zhu—they can't return?"

Hearing these three names, a trace of heaviness instantly flashed across Xia Hou Qin's face.

Xia Hou Gu, Zhang Yuan, and Zhu Qing—these three were all top-tier Cold-Resisting level experts in Jiangxia Town, with strength all above twenty-five zong. Among them, his cousin Xia Hou Gu even had a base strength as high as thirty-five zong.

Three experts had actually just folded over at the Great Awakening Temple side.

Of course, it wasn't just the three from Jiangxia Town; the experts sent by the other seven towns to scout also hadn't returned. It could basically be determined that they had all met with misfortune.

These dozen or so experts were different from ordinary Cold-Resisting level ones; they were the backbone of each town. Usually, the death of one would be a major loss. Like this, dying over a dozen at once had never happened before.

"That Vajra Master's strength is truly too terrifying. If it weren't for Uncle personally taking action, our people would likely have died in Qinghe Village. What's most hateful is that the Jiuzhen died so many people, the loss is so huge, yet we haven't even been able to gather a single bit of the Great Awakening Temple's specific situation, and furthermore..."

Speaking of this, Xia Hou Qin's tone froze, and he turned his head to look at the west side, his face full of worry.

Until now, Uncle Xia Houzhang hadn't returned either.

Before fleeing Qinghe Village, Xia Hou Qin had personally witnessed the situation of Xia Houzhang fighting the Vajra Master. It was very clear that Uncle Xia Houzhang was no match for the Vajra Master.

Now that he hadn't returned, could it be...

"Impossible, absolutely impossible. Uncle's strength is superb. Even if he couldn't fight that Vajra Master, fleeing shouldn't be a problem. Yes, yes, yes..."

Xia Hou Qin could only comfort himself this way and continued to wait.

Hu...

After another ten minutes or so, a sound of wind suddenly came from the west side.

Xia Hou Qin turned his head violently to look toward the west side and discovered a figure galloping toward the main building. A strong joy instantly erupted on his face.

But this joy didn't last long and was soon replaced by worry.

"Uncle, how are you?"

The one flying in from outside the door was, of course, Xia Houzhang.

But Xia Houzhang's state at this moment was too terrible.

His face was deathly pale, his breath was chaotic, and that golden brocade robe had also become tattered. After flying into the main hall of the main building, he couldn't even stand steadily. Using his blade to support his body, he finally sat on the main seat.

"Cough cough... cough... pfft..."

After sitting on the main seat, he coughed up several mouthfuls of fresh blood in succession.

A large section of broken silver white bone was exposed on his left shoulder, and his left arm was almost connected only by tattered flesh and skin, hanging weakly downward, as if a slight force could pull the entire arm off.

When had Xia Hou Qin ever seen his uncle in such a disheveled posture? He was even at a loss when stepping forward to support him, and his heart was clearly in complete disarray.

"What are you panicking about for a minor injury? As long as I'm alive, it's nothing!"

Seeing his nephew's flustered expression and such a disheveled performance, Xia Houzhang clearly didn't like it. He first scolded angrily in a low voice, then took out a golden medicinal pill from his bosom and swallowed it. After closing his eyes to regulate his breath for a moment, he opened his eyes to look at Xia Hou Qin and asked in a low voice: "Of the nineteen people who went to scout the Great Awakening Temple side, has anyone returned?"

Xia Hou Qin was scolded by his uncle, and his emotions had slowly calmed down. He hurriedly shook his head and replied: "Not a single one returned."

Hearing this answer, there wasn't a single bit of surprise on Xia Houzhang's face. Clearly, he had expected it long ago.

"That Vajra Master of the Great Awakening Temple has strength at least above seven jun, and his physical body is also surprisingly strong. In the entire Jiuzhen, those who can be his match in a one-on-one fight definitely don't exceed the number of fingers on one hand. He is so powerful; the other four masters can be on par with him, so their strength must be similar to his, perhaps even stronger than him. Xia Hou Gu and the others didn't die unjustly..."

Speaking of this, Xia Houzhang's tone paused slightly, and a trace of annoyance appeared on his face as he continued: "It's hateful that nineteen people were sacrificed, and not a single piece of useful information was gathered. What exactly is the situation inside the Great Awakening Temple? What are the characteristics of those four masters? And what were those boys they took away in the previous seven years used for? Now, we know nothing at all. If I had known it would be like this, I would have just gone to scout the Great Awakening Temple myself. Making this scene caused many people to die in vain."