Chapter 387: The Road Is Broken, the Cart Won't Move

Sifang Shan is not a single mountain peak, but a collective name for four mountain peaks.

Because each of these four mountains has a platform for offering sacrifices to heaven, they are collectively called Sifang Shan.

The people of Da Yu revere the heavenly and earthly spirits immensely; when there is drought, prolonged rain, plague, a recent increase in deaths among people or livestock in the village, some domestic mishap such as that of the village chief or similar, or someone causing trouble by wearing torn shoes and disrupting village morals, etc., they must perform a sacrifice to heaven.

Whether the heavenly spirits can keep up with the requests is unknown, but the people are very devout.

Chen Wuji, following local custom, also held a heavenly sacrifice today.

However, he was not asking for anything or praying for anything; instead, he carried the souls of the people who had suffered disaster and the souls of fallen soldiers, first performing the Ritual of Reporting to Heaven and Earth, and then offering sacrifices to the souls.

As a transmigrant, Chen Wuji inherently holds a deep reverence for the heavenly Dao, but he does not like doing these things.

The heavenly sacrifice was the result of Xu Zengyi's strong urging.

Those who play strategy will not miss any opportunity to win over military and popular hearts.

And performing the Ritual of Reporting to Heaven and Earth and sacrificing to the souls is a very important means.

After the sacrifice ended, Chen Wuji, who had been busy hacking at people, suddenly found himself idle.

He actually had nothing to do.

Li Run had already allocated the battlefield; Chen Wuji's camp was set up on a mountain east of Sifang Shan, while Li Run, accompanied by Qian Fugui and Wu Bu Yong pretending to be his subordinates, established camp on another mountain across the gully, facing each other.

Sifang Shan has deep gullies; this dry river valley is extremely wide, with the two sides facing each other across the gully. Whoever launches the first charge will lose the geographical advantage, making the difficulty comparable to a siege.

This arrangement perfectly matches what Li Run told the Li family: he had surrounded Chen Wuji, yet could not act on this piece of intelligence, not a single word of which was false.

Idle, Chen Wuji took out a bow he seemed not to have used for five or six days, brought Chen Li and others into the mountains, and since he had nothing to do, he might as well go hunting.

It had been a long time since he last practiced his old trade, making Chen Wuji feel a bit nostalgic.

Getting some game would also nicely relieve the boredom of his mouth.

As Chen Wuji and his men were wandering the mountains, Qin Zhihong and Xiao Yuji, dressed in male attire and vigorous outfits, leading a group of similarly disguised Daughter Army, suddenly appeared.

This special unit of theirs is now the treasure in Chen Wuji's palm.

Whenever the soldiers have free time, they gather at the Daughter Army's training site to act as cheerleaders, doing voluntary sparring; each of them seems as if they've taken something extraordinary, looking unusually spirited every day.

This situation leaves Chen Wuji unsure whether it's good or bad; he can only observe for a while before deciding.

"What are you doing up here?" Chen Wuji asked.

Qin Zhihong's sexy, charming little mouth pouted: "You didn't even call me when you went hunting; you know your lovely concubine also wants to be a free path wandering the mountains, to relax."

Chen Wuji's old face darkened: "Speak plainly."

This broken road can actually be driven on.

Fortunately, seeing Qin Zhihong and Xiao Yuji approach, Chen Li and the others had already sensibly retreated; otherwise, just this sentence would have made his old face lose a layer of skin from embarrassment.

Qin Zhihong covered her mouth and giggled: "Okay, okay, to be serious…… she just wants to experience the wind brushing her skin on the mountain again, then feel her heart surge, unable to resist the feeling of overwhelming waves."

Chen Wuji: ……

Damn it, there's no way to talk about this.

"Have you still been playing on the mountain? That wild?" Xiao Yuji's eyes lit up instantly.

Gossip can always instantly arouse people's strongest interest.

Qin Zhihong glanced askance, lightly covering her lips with her hand, and whispered to Xiao Yuji: "What's more, let me tell you, the first time in my life was when this guy ruthlessly took it from me in the mountain pond, or rather, he seized it by force."

"Your husband seems unable to beat you, right?" Xiao Yuji asked in surprise.

Qin Zhihong said somewhat weakly: "Back then I was shy; he suddenly jumped down, subdued my body, and in an instant had his way with me… I… I even forgot to resist, you know? In my panic I uttered a few harsh words, and this guy almost wanted to kill me—how hateful."

Xiao Yuji was stunned: "Oh, you and your husband really are true love, being able to stay together like this?"

"Shut your bird mouth, at first I hated it, later I found it pleasant, I also like that feeling, and then it just stayed that way. Moreover, you don't know that such a thing is called marital intimacy? Since it's marital intimacy, the best choice is naturally to see if he can marry you." Qin Zhihong said with a pout.

"After I went back, I sent people to investigate and found that he could indeed be married; I then used power and authority to coerce him, squeezing him for many days. Hehe, I also count it as avenging a great grudge, making things fair."

Xiao Yuji listened, her whole mind went blank.

She only wanted to say: if this doesn't count as fate, then there is no fate to speak of in the world.

Qin Zhihong glanced at Xiao Yuji: "Don't think I'm stupid; there is actually another very important reason related to my family, which I won't tell you."

Part of her reason for choosing Chen Wuji was to spite someone.

She had married herself off early; if her family is capable, let her become a widow!

"I know, Elder Sister Zhihong is smart to death." Xiao Yuji smiled, pursing her lips.

"Fake woman, don't think I can't see through you." Qin Zhihong gave a soft snort, grabbed Xiao Yuji's arm, and said: "Later we'll send them away; you too try the feeling in the mountains—it's stimulating."

Xiao Yuji shook her head repeatedly: "How could we possibly send them away? They are the Chen family's finest forces; they will surely keep watch over the husband's movements at all times."

"Don't mess around; I don't want people to secretly look at my body without anyone knowing, and this sort of thing can't be ordered openly by the husband."

Qin Zhihong thought it over and had to give up the idea that made her heart flutter just thinking about it.

"It seems indeed impossible to give an open order; forget it, I'll go drill the troops."

Chen Wuji, who had been eavesdropping the whole time, quietly relaxed upon hearing that.

Fortunately, this formidable woman of his did not utter that sentence; what harm would there be in giving an open order?

"Husband, go play your thing; we'll go play ours too. These girls have trained for several days already; they need to see blood and kill." Qin Zhihong threw a charming glance at Chen Wuji, sprang forward with a light step, and arrived beside the group of girls.

Xiao Yuji thought it over and also followed.

Idle as she was, she had also been training these past days, but the effect was minimal, her progress far inferior to that of the young maidens whose bodies had just begun to develop.

After they left, Chen Li and the others quickly followed up, scattering to Chen Wuji's left and right, providing all-around protection for his safety.

"Although this is their own choice, I always feel that I have done something wrong." Chen Wuji shook his head and muttered.

Those girls really look too young.

Chen Li followed Chen Wuji's gaze and glanced: "Family Head, you gave them other options, yet they still chose to take up the knife, showing that this is what they truly want."

"They are all women bearing deep grudges and great hatred; they know exactly what they want. I think they are wiser than those girls who chose to rely on relatives; a lone maiden depending on others' doors, their future days may be far harder than those who chose to take up the knife."