Chapter 116: Life Spring

Zou Ying was delighted that Li Bucai helped her force the Young Marshal to return, and said, "Indeed, Young Marshal, rather than suffering here, you should hurry back to Sky City. Since you left a few days ago, His Majesty has been worrying about you all day; you ought to go back and pay your respects to His Majesty. If we cannot bring the Young Marshal back, the old minister has no way to report to His Majesty."

Now it is no longer as simple as settling accounts. She must prove to Li Bucai that she does not merely rely on the Emperor's authority as he assumes. From this situation, as long as Li Bucai does not see her personally board a Transport Cloud, he will keep tailing her. If she leaves now, the Father Emperor will never again permit her to come here, and with heavy troops guarding the area, seizing a chance to return to Zhuowang Hall is already impossible.

"It's only a day, isn't it? There's still one night left; tomorrow we'll recalculate the accounts." The Young Marshal silently resolved, then firmly said to Zou Ying, "I said I won't go back, and I won't. When I return, I'll tell the Father Emperor that everything is fine here, so he need not worry about me." After speaking, he walked straight toward the cell, slammed the cell door shut with a "Bang", clenched his pearl‑like lips, and stared resolutely at Li Bucai.

"This… this…" the Young Marshal pouted, leaving Zou Ying at a loss, and cast his gaze toward Li Bucai, hoping he could think of a solution.

She didn't want to leave, yet she couldn't utter harsh words in front of the court officials; gentle persuasion wouldn't make her comply. Li Bucai said, "Since the Young Marshal doesn't consider this place impoverished and is willing to stay, General Zou can safely return to report to the Emperor. As long as Li Bucai is here, we will never let the Young Marshal lose even a single hair."

Zou Ying shook her head helplessly, feeling a bit regretful; the troops borrowed for training the land had never included the Young Marshal, and she had arranged everything for him single‑handedly. If any mishap occurred, she would become a criminal. Since Li Bucai said that, there's even less chance to summon the Young Marshal back, so she can only hand the Young Marshal over to Li Bucai, eager to report to His Majesty, and immediately tender her resignation to the two of them…

…

Late at night, a jailer hurried in.

"Master, Rui Tong has returned."

"Oh?" Li Bucai's eyes lit up, and he sprang up, "Quick, bring her over."

Footsteps sounded; Rui Tong led two scouts to Li Bucai's side. The three had trekked the Hundred‑Mile Mountain road these past days and had drawn the terrain of the area into a map, which they placed into Li Bucai's hands.

Although Li Bucai had previously obtained a territory map, its topography was very vague, whereas this freshly drawn map showed mountains and waters distinctly, very clear.

Li Bucai's primary goal for tomorrow is to go to Yin Valley and eliminate the Goblins that have been attacking the Undead Clan, in preparation for establishing a horse‑raising fortress there.

The map precisely marked the location of the Goblin Stronghold: at the end of Yin Valley, 20 li from the Undead Clan's settlement—Little Valley. The detail indicates they have probed deeply.

"Approximately how many Goblins are in that stronghold?" Li Bucai asked, pointing at the marked settlement on the map.

"Master, when we arrived there, it had become an empty stronghold; there was no sign of Goblins."

"Empty stronghold?" In less than half a month, the Goblins that had long dwelled there abandoned it—could it be because the Undead Clan no longer lives there, leaving them without food? Yet in recent days no Goblins have raided our camp, which suggests something odd. Li Bucai asked, "How well do you understand Goblin habits? Do you know why they abandoned the stronghold?"

Their knowledge of Goblins was only superficial; Rui Tong shook her head.

"Alright then, you've worked hard these days; go back and rest well, and also ask Yue Ji to come over for me."

Rui Tong bowed and took her leave.

Soon after, Yue Ji arrived: "Master…" Whenever Yue Ji spoke with Li Bucai, she involuntarily became shy and dared not meet his gaze.

"Rui Tong and the others just returned, having discovered that the Goblins that previously attacked Little Valley have now abandoned their stronghold. You've fought Goblins for years; do you know the reason behind this?"

Yue Ji was also taken aback; having never encountered this before, she said, "Perhaps they migrated to Lotus Flower Valley, to the Life Spring."

Li Bucai asked in surprise, "Life Spring?"

"The Life Spring was accidentally discovered by our ancestors; with that holy spring, our clan could proliferate to this day. Originally we lived there, but on this land many hostile other races exist, Goblins being one of them. Fearing our clan's growth, since ancient times, each year other races have waged war to seize our Life Spring. There have been several major wars; they allied several races to attack us simultaneously. The most recent was last year, when a Goblin army waged war on us. At that time our clan still had a few thousand members, but the Goblins outnumbered us severalfold. Ultimately we were outmatched and defeated, and the Life Spring was taken, a struggle that continues to this day. Our clan also suffered devastating losses; now only a few hundred of our bloodline remain. I, Qian Fan, happened to meet the Master on the Heavenly God Platform and was rescued, but I was poisoned by their corpse toxin while trying to seize the Life Spring. Without the Life Spring, our extinction is only a matter of time."

Never before had any Undead Clan member mentioned the Life Spring to him; Li Bucai shouted, "Why are you only telling me now about something so important!"

If he had known early that the Life Spring concerned the Undead Clan's fate, Li Bucai, as clan head, waiting until now to fight for it—such a spring that can instantly propagate life—falling into hostile hands would pose an obvious threat to the clan and its territory.

"I… I…" Yue Ji hadn't expected Li Bucai to react so strongly; like a child scolded by a parent for a mistake, her voice was so low it was hard to hear.

She naturally understood the importance of the Life Spring, and the reason she never mentioned it to Li Bucai was that when she previously handed the clan head position to Li Bucai, she had several times handed the Scepter to him, giving the impression that he had little interest in the Undead Clan's leadership, even the headship itself. Could he really launch a brutal war for the Undead Clan? Moreover, at that time she was still unfamiliar with Li Bucai, and the territory had just begun construction, so she intended to bring it up later after achieving great merit. Until later, after the battle with Tan Jiang, when she thought of earning merit, Li Bucai, to protect the Undead Clan from loss, only allowed Wu Zhuoyue and others to fight. Since then, Li Bucai has been swamped with affairs for several days, without even a chance for a private conversation, which is why it was delayed until now.

Li Bucai knew she was a shy girl, often shyer than Yan Qiu, and realizing his tone was a bit harsh, he softened it, saying, "In the future, for urgent matters like this, no matter how busy I am, just come to me directly."

Yue Ji meekly nodded.

The map showed that about 30 li west of the Yin Valley's mouth lay a cluster of valleys, radiating from a central mountain; eight valleys encircled that peak, resembling a lotus flower.

Li Bucai pointed at the map and asked, "This must be Lotus Flower Valley, right?"

Yue Ji nodded, "The Life Spring is at the summit of the He Rui Peak in the center."

"The last time you went to seize the Life Spring, how many Goblins were there?"

"At least a few thousand; I took eight hundred men, and only a handful returned."

"Then how many Goblins are in the great stronghold of Yin Valley?"

Yue Ji shook her head, speaking softly, "Because the Goblins there outnumber those guarding the Life Spring, we've never dared approach their stronghold, so we're not really sure how many there are."

All the Goblins in Yin Valley have migrated to the Life Spring; by that count, there are at least three to four thousand there. Yue Ji said, "How about we wait a bit before going."

Li Bucai understood she meant to wait and recruit more troops before going, but the Life Spring is a water that can proliferate life; how it does so, Li Bucai did not know. He did know, however, that Goblins reproduce astonishingly fast, so by the time they gather forces, the Goblins could have multiplied further, making it hard to match their numbers.

With a few thousand Goblins and only five hundred troops, and still needing to leave some to guard the San Shui Pass, how could they have a chance of victory?

At this moment the Young Marshal was perched on the cell door, listening closely to their conversation; Yue Ji's voice remained so low he couldn't hear clearly, and out of curiosity asked, "What are you talking about? Going to fight Goblins tomorrow?"

Li Bucai didn't hide it either, and nodded his head.

"Then let me go now; I'll prepare properly, and tomorrow I'll fight for you." The Young Marshal was eager to leave this suffocating dungeon, eager to prove he was not just ordinary.

Li Bucai shook his head, "No."

The Young Marshal instantly raged, "Li Bucai, I'm kindly offering to fight for you. Besides, the village rule I broke during the day has already been punished; it's only half a night left. I haven't eaten all day. If I don't go out, you're keeping me here; without restoring my spirit, how can I fight tomorrow?"

She understood that Li Bucai's imprisonment was largely because he couldn't report to the Father Emperor, so he stayed here to be locked up with her. If only she were locked in while he remained outside, living in the palace as usual, drinking fine wine, the Father Emperor would know; publicly he might say nothing, but privately he would certainly trouble him.

Li Bucai said, "What I mean is, you'll still have to stay here tomorrow."

The Young Marshal was startled, then burst out, "Why? You said it was only one day of confinement, and you also said the village rule cannot be changed arbitrarily. Are all your words…"

Before she could finish, Li Bucai said, "I did say those things, but I also promised General Zou that I couldn't let the Young Marshal lose even half a hair, so tomorrow's confinement isn't because you broke the village rule; it's for your safety, so I have to compromise with you."

"You… you…" She could not bear being locked here again; at least today he was with her, even if they had nothing to say, at least there was a living person. He said he could do it, and had said he would lock himself here again tomorrow, so it would definitely happen. If that were the case, tomorrow she'd be the only one locked here—she'd go mad.

She was about to erupt, then held back, pondering an escape plan.

"I know you're thinking of my safety; not letting me slip through the pass during the day and keeping the Young Marshal here is also for his safety, right? At most that's it; tomorrow I'll go with you, and won't act alone."

Li Bucai still shook his head.

"Li Bucai, don't push me too far."

Li Bucai ignored it and said to Yue Ji, "It's settled. You go back and prepare; we'll set out at first light tomorrow."

Yue Ji replied and took her leave; after she exited the cell, Li Bucai stretched lazily and collapsed onto a pile of grass to sleep.

The Young Marshal, at a loss, muttered, "Fine, tomorrow I'll do everything you say; this should work, right."

"Li Bucai, a tiny village chief, how dare he command the Young Marshal's grand carriage."

If such conditions aren't offered, he'll stay locked here forever, waiting for his return; with the Young Marshal's restless nature, how could he endure it?

She knew she could not trust herself, having no other way, she said angrily, "You despicable scoundrel, tomorrow I will publicly issue a military order; that should be enough, right?"

For extraordinary people, extraordinary measures are required. Li Bucai heard this, sat up, and said, "Young Marshal, if you are determined to go, there is no joking in the army; you must think twice before acting, for if you regret it later it will be too late."

"Who joked with you?"

"Then it's settled; please, Young Marshal, rest early. Tomorrow at dawn, Li Bucai will await the Young Marshal's arrival." Having said that, he turned back over, never mentioning the matter of releasing the person; the village rule must not be broken.

……