Chapter 491: Homeward Bound Tales

Night as dark as ink, two figures silently left the warehouse outside East Peace Prefecture.

Like a drop of water merging into a river, it caused not the slightest ripple.

Chen Wen and Qian Gui both dressed as ordinary merchants, blending into the morning crowd leaving the city, heading west.

Their goal was to return to the Chen Dynasty.

The entrance to the Light Curtain Passage lay in a hidden valley farther west.

Leaving the territory of East Peace Prefecture, the surrounding scenery gradually grew desolate.

Travelers and vehicles on the official road also became sparse.

Qian Gui quickened his steps to walk side by side with Chen Wen, reporting in a low voice.

"My lord, the covert network in East of Mountains has been fully activated, entering a state of silent alert."

"Shi Dun remaining at Mount Liang is enough to maintain contact with Instructor Lin and Strategist Wu."

"On Heavenly King Chao's side, absolutely reliable personnel have been arranged for guard duty, safety assured."

Chen Wen gave a slight nod, his gaze sweeping over the somewhat desolate fields on either side of the road.

Although it was spring, under False Song rule, livelihood clearly had not fully recovered from last winter's cold.

He spoke slowly, his voice steady.

"The Mount Liang affair is, for now, concluded."

"Elder Brother Chao Gai is safe, core members like Lin Chong and Wu Yong remain unlost, so the seed of the 'Northward Aspiration' ideal is considered preserved."

"Although Song Jiang seized power relying on the stone stele, and the Iron Crow Army locked onto the so-called 'Mandate of Heaven', popular sentiment ultimately cannot be completely swayed by a single stone."

Qian Gui nodded in agreement.

"Indeed. The Imperial Seal incident will be our next breakthrough point."

"According to reports, Duan Jingzhu has taken the horse and Imperial Seal stealthily into North of the River, awaiting an opportunity to move toward East of Mountains."

"The Iron Crow Army attaches great importance to this, having placed many hidden guards along the route."

"Imperial Seal......"

Chen Wen softly repeated it, the corner of his mouth curling into a cold arc.

"Forge the Mandate of Heaven, and it remains false in the end."

"What we must do is, at its most dazzling moment, shatter it completely."

He shifted the tone of his speech.

"However, the gains and losses of a corner of East of Mountains are no longer the most critical matter at present."

Qian Gui's expression tightened.

"My lord, do you mean... the killing aura of the North?"

As the actual head of the Office of Pacification, he naturally also noticed any movements in False Song Bei Jing.

The rise of the Jin spread like a prairie fire, already impossible to ignore.

Chen Wen stopped his steps and gazed toward the northern horizon.

There, in his 'Shi Yong', a strong, chaotic, and aggressive 'Fortune Momentum' was frenetically converging and swelling.

Like a continually rolling and expanding blood‑black cloud, it bore a bone‑chilling killing aura of weapons, making one's heart palpitate.

"Wanyan Aguda has united the Jurchen tribes; the momentum is already set."

"The False Song Imperial Court is corrupt, its military defenses lax, and the Northern Border line is as good as nonexistent."

"A great change…… is right before our eyes."

He withdrew his gaze, looking at Qian Gui with sharp eyes.

"All our previous arrangements at Mount Liang, whether planting ideals or accumulating strength, were fundamentally to cope with the impending catastrophe about to sweep in."

"The 'Humiliation of Jingkang'…… though I do not know the specifics, the weight and humiliation these four words bring in the causal fragments are crystal clear."

Qian Gui drew a deep breath of cool air.

Although he cannot directly sense Fortune Momentum like Chen Wen can, through intelligence analysis he can also infer the peril of the Northern Border situation.

Merely hearing such a clear judgment from my lord's mouth still sends a shiver of alarm through him.

"If that is indeed the case… False Song would likely be unable to resist."

"Even if Mount Liang does not split, resisting the Jin with all its might would be merely a drop in the bucket."

"Therefore, the 'Northward Aspiration Army' must become independent as soon as possible and grow strong."

Chen Wen's tone was firm.

"It cannot be merely a faction within Mount Liang, nor can it be bound by Song Jiang's appeasement policy."

"It should become a banner, a core, gathering all who refuse to kneel and dare to resist the Jin."

"In a situation where the False Song Imperial Court cannot be relied upon, and may even hinder from behind, to stand alone and carve out a sky of one's own."

He paused, then continued.

"Moreover, my urgent return this time has as its primary task the integration of Chen Dynasty resources."

"Previously, limited by the passage and my own ability, support for East of Mountains consisted mainly of ideals, information, and a small amount of technical infiltration."

"Now that I have broken through to Level 4, the restrictions of 'Ability Granting' have greatly lessened, and the Light Curtain Passage has also been optimized by Zhao Lao Nian."

"It is time to provide the 'Northward Aspiration Army' with a more substantive and stronger backing."

A flash of realization passed through Qian Gui's eyes.

"Technical equipment, training methods, and even… elite cores personally empowered by my lord?"

"Not bad."

Chen Wen nodded.

"The Ministry of Works' new equipment, especially weapons developed based on the Yuen‑Fortune Momentum counter principle, shows significant effect against enemies influenced or even enhanced by the Iron Crow Army."

"Ability Granting can quickly cultivate grassroots officers and elite squads, turning the tide of local battles at critical moments."

"Moreover, the grain and materiel accumulated by Great Chen can also be secretly channeled to support the past, albeit limitedly."

He raised his head to glance at the sky, then quickened his pace.

"Time waits for no one."

"We must, before the Jin launch a full-scale southern invasion, give the Northward Aspiration Army an initial combat capability and secure a foothold in Shandong and even Hebei."

"This requires the whole of Great Chen to coordinate and support."

Qian Gui followed closely behind, unable to refrain from sighing.

"Who would have thought that the late emperor of our Great Chen would now have to exhaust himself to save the False Song's populace in this 'script'?"

Chen Wen fell silent for a moment, then spoke slowly.

"Not for the False Song court, nor for the Zhao family's emperor."

"Only for the land of Huaxia, not to have it trampled by barbarian iron hooves."

"Only for the myriad living beings, so they do not suffer the calamity of a fallen nation and exterminated race."

"The aspiration of Northward Aspiration lies in protection and revival."

"This is no different from our original intention when we founded Great Chen in those chaotic times."

He paused, his tone carrying a barely perceptible heaviness.

"Moreover, I have a premonition that the Iron Crow Army's promotion of this 'Jingkang Incident' is far from merely reenacting history."

"Such violent turmoil, such a vast sea of suffering beings, the resulting 'Yuan energy'... is likely beyond imagination."

"Their purpose may be deeper than we imagine."

Qian Gui nodded, his face grave.

The two said no more, lowering their heads and hurrying on.

Several days later, they reached that hidden valley.

The valley's entrance appeared ordinary, with naturally formed mist swirling about.

But Chen Wen could feel the rule-repelling force exerted by the immense, invisible yet substantive light curtain that spanned heaven and earth ahead.

Zhao Lao Nian's improved stabilizer was operating deep within the valley, emitting a soft light that to some extent neutralized that heart-pounding repulsion.

But even so, for beings like Chen Wen and Qian Gui, who are sources of variables, crossing remains no easy feat.

"Let's go."

Chen Wen drew a deep breath, and the extraordinary life essence within him, together with the Lv. 4 system power, slowly circulated, resisting the light curtain's rule suppression.

He stepped forward first, entering that hazy halo.

Qian Gui followed closely behind.

Familiar sensations of compression and tearing came, as if to strip away and crush both soul and flesh.

But compared to last time, this pain was indeed reduced by more than ten percent, and its duration seemed somewhat shortened.

Zhao Lao Nian's improvements were effective.

No one knew how long had passed—it felt like an instant, yet also like an eternity.

Before their eyes, the light and shadow shifted abruptly.

That suffocating repulsion receded like a tide.

Beneath their feet lay solid ground, and the air was filled with a grass-and-tree scent slightly different from that of the False Song side, yet more familiar.

They now stood upon the land of Great Chen.

Behind them was the enormous, hazy light curtain that seemed to connect to another world.

Great Chen called it the 'Western Border Light Curtain'.

Chen Wen stood in place, eyes slightly closed, feeling the flow of power within him and adapting to the subtle discomfort brought by the rule shift.

After a moment, he opened his eyes and said to Qian Gui.

"Send word to Zhang Cheng, Wang Ru, Zhao Lao Nian, and... His Majesty."

"We have returned, and there are important matters to discuss."

His gaze turned eastward, toward Bianjing, the capital of Great Chen.

His eyes were calm, yet they held the power to shift the balance of two worlds.

The spark in Shandong has been kindled; now it is time for Great Chen, this solid backing, to reveal its true strength.

The prairie fire of Northward Aspiration needs more fuel and an east wind.

And this is precisely the purpose of his journey.