In just two days, one of their two commanders had fallen gravely ill and the other had died. The leading generals wore dead-serious expressions, and the atmosphere in the tent was heavy to the extreme.
Yet whenever their gazes drifted past Wang Liu's corpse, the faint, peculiar twitch of a smile showed at the corners of their mouths. Everyone had heard tales of a man dying in the throes of passion, but none of them had ever witnessed it firsthand.
No one doubted the cause of death. Wang Liu's lecherous nature and rampant debauchery were well known to all.
"General Feng, now that it has come to this, only you can take charge of the Xuanwei Battalion. How should we handle this matter? We ask General Feng to decide!"
The seniority and prestige of the other vice generals fell far short of Vice General Feng. The generals urged him with one voice, and Qin Sang chimed in as well.
Vice General Feng waved his hands repeatedly. "My talent is shallow and my learning meager; I dare not take matters into my own hands.... In my view, we must report this to the General Commander and let him make the decision."
The General Commander had been unconscious the entire time. Following the other officers into the command tent, Qin Sang was startled to see his sunken features and sallow, jaundiced face.
Illness had truly struck like a collapsing mountain.
They ordered the military physician to forcefully awaken the General Commander. Vice General Feng leaned in close and whispered a brief explanation. The General Commander's vacant eyes suddenly widened, a sickly flush surging into his cheeks as he began coughing violently, his lips trembling.
Judging by the shape of his mouth, he was likely mouthing the word "useless."
Under the watchful eyes of the gathered officers, the General Commander struggled to hand over the commander's seal to Vice General Feng before fainting once more.
By the time they finished deliberating how to handle Wang Liu's funeral arrangements, dawn had already broken.
Returning to his tent, Qin Sang found Wu Chuanzong waiting inside.
"Sir," Wu Chuanzong began hesitantly, "how are General Wang's funeral affairs going to be handled? I heard both women found in his tent are to be executed?"
It seemed Wang Liu's scandal had spread through the camp overnight, reaching even Wu Chuanzong's ears.
Qin Sang was hardly surprised. Wang Liu had been arrogant to a fault and offended countless people; plenty were eager to help broadcast his disgrace.
"Don't go spouting nonsense outside," Qin Sang said, leaning lazily back into his bear-pelt seat. "General Feng has already issued a gag order. General Wang died of exhaustion from worrying day and night over military affairs. Naturally, those inside and outside his tent at the time must be put to death... Hm?"
Qin Sang sat up straight. "Did you take a fancy to one of them, boy?"
Wu Chuanzong turned beet red and waved his hands frantically. "No, no... Please don't misunderstand, sir! I just heard that both girls were poor souls coerced by General Wang. Back in Hening County, if not for you, sir, my brothers and sisters would have starved to death or been slaughtered by rogue soldiers. Every day back then, Chuanzong prayed that the heavens would open their eyes and grant us a way to live, and our prayers brought us to you. I was thinking... what they are feeling right now must be just what Chuanzong felt back then..."
Qin Sang let out an "oh." Throughout this time, Wu Chuanzong had stayed by his side and held fast to his own moral principles, and Qin Sang had never interfered.
"After learning the truth, the magistrate's wife took her own life in prison last night, but the girl is still alive. In a little while, I'll petition General Feng and arrange for you to handle the loose ends. Keep things clean."
"Understood!"
...
Mount Guling, the thousand-year-old road.
Until a new General Commander was officially appointed, Vice General Feng took temporary command of the Xuanwei Battalion.
With Wang Liu out of the way and scouts delivering solid intelligence pinpointing the ancient road's location, Vice General Feng immediately detached half their forces to launch a feint against Guling Pass to distract the defending garrison. Qin Sang, meanwhile, led the First Battalion, the Eighth Battalion, and the Supply Battalion into the ancient road to clear the path.
Standing atop a peak at the entrance of the ancient road, Qin Sang looked out over the endless stretch of mountains, unable to see very far ahead.
Though overgrown with tangled vegetation, close inspection revealed faint chisel marks along the cliffs in several spots.
It was hard to imagine how mere human effort could have carved out such a treacherous military passage amidst these towering peaks and ridges.
"Have you remembered yet? Where was it?"
Qin Sang turned his head to ask the herb gatherer beside him.
This was the very herb gatherer Wang Liu had captured—the one who claimed to have encountered immortals in Mount Guling. Wang Liu had kept him alive to silence any naysayers, allowing him to escape with his life.
After finding the gatherer, Qin Sang had spoken with him several times. The man did not seem mad, though he had been scared out of his wits by the ferocious soldiers.
The herb gatherer pointed tremblingly toward the depths of the ancient road. "I... I remember now. Right over there."
Following the direction of the gatherer's finger, Qin Sang's face darkened, and he barked coldly, "You still dare lie before this general! How could a few herb gatherers have made it this far?"
"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare..."
The herb gatherer's legs shook so hard he could barely stand. "I... I entered the mountains from over there. There was an animal trail where... where we could ride donkeys. Later, the others were eaten by wolves, and I was terrified... I ran... ran the wrong way..."
Qin Sang's expression softened slightly. Nodding, he ordered those around him, "Head down the mountain and clear the path!"
Even with the manpower of three battalions, blazing the trail proved no easy feat. Some of the ancient trees along the road had grown so thick that several men could not encircle their trunks. Unable to chop them down, the troops had to cut bypass routes around them.
Fortunately, their objective was a surprise raid, and Duyakou held the defending army's granaries and depots, so they carried minimal baggage and rations. Traveling light, the army could squeeze through even where the path narrowed.
As the men grew more practiced and spread out, their pace accelerated. In only half a day, they pushed forward a considerable distance; at this rate, it would not take long to clear the entire ancient road.
After laboring for most of the day, Qin Sang finally had the troops properly deployed. Just as he prepared to lead the herb gatherer deeper into the mountains to search, an uproar erupted ahead, and someone came hurrying over to report, "General, a cliff has collapsed up ahead, blocking the ancient road!"
"A landslide?"
Qin Sang's face changed slightly. If the ancient road was blocked, it was not merely a matter of losing their tactical window.
"What is the exact situation? How severe is it?"
The soldier stammered, "A section of the cliff sheared off and crashed down, but it looks like... like it was cleaved by a blade."
The soldier wore an expression of sheer bewilderment.
Hearing this, Qin Sang felt a sudden jolt in his heart. "Take me there at once!" he urged.
The vanguard soldiers had already penetrated deep into the range. Only after traversing two mountains did Qin Sang see the severed cliff face. Just as the soldier had described, an isolated crag had cleaved off, its shear surface smooth as a mirror, looking genuinely as though cut through by a blade.
The falling boulders had smashed onto the ancient road, and piles of rubble blocked the path completely.
"Send word for the Supply Battalion to bring up tools and clear the road!"
Qin Sang issued the command distractedly, glanced around, and impatiently executed his movement technique, leaping toward the highest peak nearby.
The herb gatherer had said that the immortals they saw had flown in precisely this direction!
Could it be that immortal cultivators truly fought a battle in Mount Guling?
Urgency surging through him, Qin Sang dashed to the mountaintop at maximum speed.
The peak was shattered, rocks pulverized, ancient trees snapped, and vegetation flattened.
Beyond that, scorch marks marred the ground, and more startling still, remnants of ice crystals clung to the foliage in shaded crevices—as if this area had traversed all four seasons in a single night.
The scene instantly brought Qin Sang's thoughts back to the banks of the Chenshui River, leaving him overwhelmed with pleasant shock and excitement.
Chapter 43