Chapter 124

The soldiers' vision was a blank white, dust stinging their eyes, they could barely see the monster's outline, and without hesitation swung their blades to chop.

Several dull thuds rang out.

The soldiers felt their tiger mouths shaken until they ached, yet the monster remained unmoved.

"Stop quickly!" a voice calling to halt suddenly rang out.

The Deputy General took a close look, realized it was his own general, and hurriedly shouted: "General, run quickly! I'll deal with these monsters!"

The general laughed and cried, hurried over, grabbed the Deputy General's arm, and explained: "This isn't any monster; it is His Majesty's convoy."

"You all also stop quickly!"

The general shouted at the other soldiers.

At this moment, the rising dust gradually dispersed, and the transport vehicle's large headlights illuminated the surroundings as brightly as daytime.

The bewildered soldiers finally saw clearly what the so-called monster looked like.

Although its size was indeed huge and its shape unprecedented, one could tell at a glance that this boxy thing with unique wheels underneath was absolutely not a living creature.

"A convoy?" the Deputy General's face full of shock, "General... this... this is a vehicle?"

The other soldiers all stared at the transport vehicle, frozen in place.

The general laughed and said: "When I first saw it, I was just as surprised as you, but this is indeed a vehicle; His Majesty said it's called... what was it? Gas..."

"Automobile," Xiao Qidi walked out from behind a vehicle, "Specifically, this kind is called a transport truck."

Seeing Xiao Qidi appear, the Deputy General instinctively heightened his vigilance.

The general's face showed embarrassment, and he quietly told the Deputy General: "We misunderstood His Majesty; His Majesty really sent food over."

"General Zhang," Xiao Qidi called out lightly.

The commander who led the hundred-thousand-strong Daxuan army to Xi Tun Guan immediately turned and ran over, saying: "I am here, your subordinate!"

Xiao Qidi ordered: "Arrange for people to come over, line up to receive food and water, eat and drink their fill to restore strength, then follow the convoy to Lin Xian Cheng, where accommodations have already been prepared for the hundred-thousand army."

"Lin Xian Cheng?" General Zhang muttered, "When did this place acquire a city?"

Xiao Qidi said: "It used to be Lin Xian Village; now it has merged with Xi Tun Guan and been expanded into Lin Xian Cheng. You'll know once you get there."

"Ah, I see... I will obey!"

General Zhang immediately ordered the Deputy General and several dozen soldiers nearby to quickly dispatch personnel over.

Soon after, several dozen commanders, a hundred commanders of a thousand, and nearly a thousand Centurions arrived in succession, and under the overall commander General Zhang's direction, they began lining up beside the trucks.

The cargo compartments of more than a dozen large trucks were all opened, the people inside moved goods outward, and the soldiers outside received them.

The people inside the cargo compartments and the drivers were all selected from the villagers of Lin Xian Village, having undergone specialized training for a long time, and were highly proficient in vehicle operation and material transport procedures.

While moving the goods, they demonstrated and explained to the soldiers.

"This is canned meat; pull up the ring on top to open it, and inside are meat chunks that can be eaten directly."

"This is for drinking, called a functional beverage; just twist open the cap like this and you can drink it."

"Each person gets two cans and one bottle of drink; first fill your stomach to replenish strength."

"Once we reach Lin Xian Cheng, we'll give everyone better hot food!"

"Also, these are feed and fresh grass prepared for everyone's horses; open the bags, mix them together and feed them, so the horses can also eat something good."

The soldiers exclaimed in amazement, not only about the cans and drinks, but even the large boxes used to contain these items were something they had never seen before.

But they had no time to ask details now; they were busy memorizing what they were taught so they could later pass it on to all soldiers.

Everything proceeded in an orderly manner.

The cans and drinks were distributed immediately to every tent in the camp.

Commanders, commanders of a thousand, and Centurions tirelessly taught everyone how to eat these things, passing it on tenfold then a hundredfold; although there were a hundred thousand troops, they all managed to eat in a short time.

For a while, in the countless tents, exclamations of amazement rose and fell.

It was the first time in their lives they had eaten such delicious meat; although it was cold, its flavor was fragrant and rich in fat, far surpassing any meat they had ever eaten before.

Also there was that water called functional beverage.

Contained in a semi-transparent magical soft bottle, drinking it tasted fragrant and sweet; describing it as immortal sweet dew would not be an exaggeration.

All the soldiers were both amazed and delighted, opening their bellies to eat heartily.

After the canned meat and drink went down, they felt that the fatigue from the past ten-plus days of forced march was worth it.

After about an hour and a half.

The hundred-thousand army, up and down including warhorses, had all finished eating, and then set off for Lin Xian Cheng following the automobile convoy.

The night sky was filled with stars; on the ground, more than a dozen trucks maintained a steady speed leading the way, followed by a vast sea of Daxuan troops stretching as far as the eye could see.

Xiao Qidi did not ride in a vehicle but rode a horse, following behind the convoy.

Not far behind him were the commanders of the hundred-thousand army.

General Zhang, the Deputy General, and others rode their horses, whispering to each other, then slightly increased their speed to come alongside Xiao Qidi.

"His Majesty..." General Zhang chuckled, "Everyone is curious what this automobile actually is, as well as the meat cans and sweet drink... where do they come from?"

Xiao Qidi said lightly: "No need to rush; once we arrive, you will all gradually come to understand."

"Yes... His Majesty." General Zhang could only suppress the doubts filling his heart.

Xiao Qidi added: "It's not that I don't want to give you an explanation; it really can't be made clear in a few words, and you need to experience it firsthand to understand."

"Yes, I understand, your subordinate."

General Zhang clasped his fists in salute, rode his horse back into the main troop.

This time, both people and horses had eaten well, and with great curiosity about Lin Xian Cheng, they all hurried forward with light steps.

Originally the route would have taken about three hours, but the hundred-thousand army completed it in less than two hours.

At midnight, a majestic city wall gradually appeared before their eyes.

From afar one could see that the tall city wall was lined with rows of huge bonfires, illuminating a large area below brightly.

General Zhang and the others were utterly shocked.

They had always known that the Xituan Pass region of Xuan Guo was an extremely barren wasteland, and even in recent months it had been suffering from famine, yet they never expected that here there would be such a vast and towering wall, far larger than the walls of any other city in Xuan Guo, including the Royal City.

No, one should say, even including the other states, there is likely no place in the world with such a wall.

Just one wall built so magnificently—what an unimaginable sight the city inside must be!

How wealthy a place must this be to afford such construction?

But the Xituan Pass region is clearly the most desolate and poorest part of Xuan Guo...

This is simply... too incredible.

As the leading motorcade reached the foot of the wall.

The heavy, wide, tall gate slowly opened, and the motorcade entered.

General Zhang dismounted, and as he approached the gate, he eyed the gate guards with suspicion.

These guards wore uniforms he had never seen before, and the spears they held and the swords at their waists were clearly far superior to the weapons they usually used.

The further he walked, the more he felt as if he had dreamed himself into an unknown world.

He rubbed his eyes and shook his head, wondering if he was really dreaming.

Then he reached out and pinched his thigh hard.

Sharp pain shot through him, making him grit his teeth and shudder.

"Hey... not a dream, not a dream." He gave a foolish laugh and furtively glanced back.

He saw the other generals behind him also staring wide-eyed, looking around while pinching their arms and thighs.

Obviously, he was not the only one reacting this way.

After General Zhang and the other commanders passed through the city gate, Duan Wu stepped forward, first bowed to Xiao Qidi, then clasped his fists and said:

"General Zhang, commanders, I am Duan Wu, the Great General of Lin Xian Cheng, and I welcome you all here."

General Zhang and the others hastily returned the salute.

Duan Wu then said, "The camps arranged for your hundred-thousand-strong army are right ahead; the tents have already been pitched, and it's getting late, so please all rest as soon as possible."

"Thank you, General Duan."

"No need for formalities, please follow me."

Afterward, under Duan Wu's leadership, the hundred thousand troops successively entered the city wall and reached an extremely flat, open super-large camp.

Here, too, bonfires were lit everywhere, illuminating everything brightly.

"Those are the tents," Duan Wu explained, pointing ahead, "Inside each tent are bunks, upper and lower, each tent can accommodate a hundred people."

General Zhang and the others nearly had their jaws drop.

"Th-that... that's a, a tent?" General Zhang stammered, "I thought... I thought it was some kind of big, big house!"

The other generals' eyes bulged, hardly able to believe what they saw.

They had never seen such huge tents in their lives, and from the outside the material looked anything but ordinary.

"General Duan... a single tent like this must surely be more troublesome and expensive to build than a house," one general couldn't help asking.

Duan Wu wore a proud expression, "No, it's actually easier and cheaper than building a house."

Everyone sucked in a breath, their faces full of disbelief.

Another general said, "General Duan, are you deceiving us? Such tents are rare in the world; even the Capital Royal City has none, and likely only you have them under heaven. A thousand such large tents capable of housing a hundred thousand soldiers... we simply cannot imagine how much manpower and material it would take to make them."

Duan Wu grinned, "Don't worry, I'm not hiding anything from you—these are all gifts from the Jinli Fairy, ready-made objects; we just need to send people to set them up here, costing neither money nor effort."

"Jinli... Fairy?" the generals exclaimed in unison, "You have an immortal here?!"

Duan Wu became even more proud, "That's right—if it weren't for the Jinli Fairy descending here a few months ago, how could this place have been built into Lin Xian Cheng? Later I'll take you to pay proper respects."

The generals immediately asked, "Do immortals really exist in this world?"

"What does the Jinli Fairy look like?"

"Why did the Fairy descend to this place?"

"Could you take me to pay respects right now?"

"Ah, the things we've seen—those transport vehicles, canned meat, functional drinks, and even the fodder for the horses—could they also be gifts from the Fairy?"

"..."

The voices of dozens of mouths asking east and west made Duan Wu's head buzz.

He quickly raised his hand, "Please, everyone, settle down; tonight just rest well, tomorrow I guarantee I'll take you on a good tour and give you proper answers, alright?"

"All right, all right, all right!" General Zhang laughed happily, "Then we'll trouble you, General Duan."

Duan Wu waved his hand, "Alright, assign your soldiers below, a hundred per tent, go in and rest; I've stationed people beside each tent so you won't be confused about how to use them, and I'll have your warhorses settled by our troops as well—bottom line, everyone just get a good night's sleep."

"Yes, General Duan!" the generals clasped their fists.

Here, the hundred-thousand-strong army successively entered the tents to rest.

Meanwhile, Xiao Qidi arrived at a residence.

Just as he stepped inside, a figure flew into his embrace, "You've finally come back!"

Xiao Qidi's eyes softened, "I told you not to wait for me."

Ning Jinli lifted her head, smiling, "That won't do—I've prepared a midnight snack for you, and I bought your favorite milk tea."

"Jinli..." Xiao Qidi gazed into Ning Jinli's eyes, black as gemstones, unable to help himself, he lowered his head and leaned toward her rosy cheeks.

"Cough!" a sudden cough rang out.

Ning Shan, wearing a big undershirt and big underpants, walked in from the side door, holding a large plate piled with mutton slices, his eyes narrowed as he stared fixedly at the two embraced in the doorway.

Xiao Qidi's pupils flickered; he hastily let go and stepped back two feet, bowing his head respectfully and clasping his fists, "Uncle Ning, I didn't expect... you're still awake."

Ning Shan set the plate on the table, "I was going to sleep, but my daughter insisted on waiting for you to come back here, so I had no choice but to keep her company."

"Thank you, Uncle," Xiao Qidi whispered, glancing sideways, then asked softly, "And... Aunt?"

"Here." Ye Zhiqiu came over carrying a big basket of washed fresh vegetables, "The hot pot is already ready, the vegetables for dipping are all set, sit down and start eating."

"Come, sit down quickly." Ning Jinli pulled Xiao Qidi's hand and walked to the side of the table, "This is still the first time you've had a meal together with me and my parents."

Xiao Qidi appeared calm on the surface, but his hands had unconsciously tensed up.

Ning Jinli laughed and said, "Don't be nervous, you've known each other for so long, my parents won't eat you."

"It would be better to eat him than to eat hot‑pot lamb." Ye Zhiqiu muttered casually after sitting down.

Ning Shan chuckled, "Alright you, improve your attitude toward people, don't make them feel uncomfortable even having a meal."

Ye Zhiqiu raised an eyebrow, "I've already let our daughter date him, isn't my attitude good enough? On the contrary, you're lecturing me—do you not want to eat?"

"Hehe..." Ning Shan gave an apologetic smile, "Eat, eat, eat—just sit tight, I'll get the hot pot ready for you."

Xiao Qidi pondered briefly, walked up to the couple, and cupped his fists, "Aunt, Uncle, these days you've worked hard helping to build Lin Xian Cheng; I've never had the chance to properly thank you."

"You're welcome, you're welcome—I'm just idle anyway." Ning Shan said while putting vegetables into the hot pot.

Ye Zhiqiu rolled her eyes at Ning Shan, "I've been busy here for almost two months before you finally showed up, and you're quick to claim credit."

"Aunt," Xiao Qidi produced a delicate gold‑inlaid jade hairpin from his pocket, "This is something I selected from the palace treasury; I'm giving it to you. It may not compare to your own jewelry, but please don't disdain it."