The Keel Waterwheel sprayed water ceaselessly at the enemy troops. A single droplet could pierce a soldier's armor, but that was not the deadliest part. The truly lethal danger was that the water it spewed was teeming with insects.
Once these insects burrowed into flesh, they could multiply into tens of thousands within half an hour, and in two hours, they would strip a person down to bare bones. This was Lu Tangsheng's first-tier weapon. His soldiers naturally knew its terror, and seeing the waterwheel advance, none dared resist; the enemy formation was on the verge of collapse.
Ma the Fifth, He Yuxiu, and Qin Tianjiu seized the opportunity to lead the charge, intending to drive the enemy entirely out of Tianyi City.
Lu Tangsheng produced a bottle of medicinal wash and poured it over himself, rinsing away every insect clinging to his body.
He handed the bottle to Nian Shangyou. Once Nian Shangyou had washed the insects off, he said to Lu Tangsheng, "Give me your second weapon."
Lu Tangsheng was reluctant, but Nian Shangyou frowned. "We've fought all the way to this point—are you going to throw away military merit that's practically in your hands?"
After a moment's hesitation, Lu Tangsheng handed a bronze mirror to Nian Shangyou.
The bronze mirror was covered in green patina, and its surface was draped with a blue cloth that was also mottled with rust.
One could not afford to despise its filth, for this cloth was of vital importance. Nian Shangyou aimed the mirror toward the Keel Waterwheel and pulled the blue cloth away.
A murky reflection of the Keel Waterwheel appeared on the bronze mirror's face. The waterwheel was completely unprepared, and none of the others had noticed Nian Shangyou's actions.
*Crack!*
One of the Keel Waterwheel's legs snapped. Its colossal frame lost balance and crashed heavily to the ground.
No one understood what had gone wrong with the Keel Waterwheel. Little Chuanzi rushed forward in a frantic attempt to repair it. Nian Shangyou smiled faintly, continuing to aim the bronze mirror at the machine.
A hand of bare bone without flesh or blood emerged within the mirror's surface, clutching the reflection of the waterwheel. Its fingers twisted and clenched, snapping the keel in two.
Almost at the exact same instant, the keel of the actual Keel Waterwheel snapped as well.
Little Chuanzi went pale with fright. Looking at the jagged, uneven break on the keel, it was obvious someone had broken it with bare hands. Yet aside from himself, no one had come anywhere near the Keel Waterwheel.
Just as Little Chuanzi tried to splice the keel back together, Nian Shangyou shifted the bronze mirror to point straight at him.
The reflection of Chuanzi in the mirror showed no flesh or blood—only a skeleton.
The skeletal hand seized the arm bone of Little Chuanzi. Chuanzi felt a searing agony shoot through his forearm, though he had no idea where the pain had come from.
Just as Chuanzi's forearm bone was on the brink of snapping, a sharp pang pierced Nian Shangyou's wrist. The mirror jerked off course, and Little Chuanzi's figure vanished from its surface. The agonizing pain in Chuanzi's arm disappeared with it.
Clutching his wrist, Nian Shangyou glared across the battlefield and saw a man with deep wrinkles and a face pitted with pockmarks, aiming a slingshot straight at him.
This man was none other than Boluo. He had spotted Nian Shangyou and seen the reflection inside the mirror.
Boluo had been quite a fighter in his day, and the slingshot in his hand had claimed many lives. But he had not fought for years, his skills had grown rusty, and this slingshot was not his old weapon, but one he had hastily put together right before battle.
"Watch out, everyone! Beware of that bronze mirror!" Boluo shouted warnings to the crowd, feeling a gnawing pang of regret.
*I should have aimed for his head just now. But if I did, would it really have killed him?*
That bronze mirror was difficult to guard against, and Nian Shangyou had grown far craftier. Ducking behind his soldiers, he only poked the mirror out from time to time.
*Snap!*
Ma the Fifth's leg bone broke, and he crumpled to the ground with a stumble.
Nian Shangyou locked the bronze mirror onto Ma the Fifth, muttering under his breath, "Snap his neck! Finish him!"
Muttering was useless. The mirror had one flaw: it could only break bones at random.
Ma the Fifth felt a sharp stab beneath his ribs, which were on the verge of snapping, when Xiao Yeci raised a mercury mirror, blocking the bronze mirror's line of sight.
Mirror against mirror—Xiao Yeci thought this trick might counter the bronze mirror.
She had been a bit too optimistic. The bronze mirror was a first-tier weapon; how could it be so easily countered? Nian Shangyou slightly adjusted his angle, and the bronze mirror reflected Xiao Yeci's leg bone. With a twist and a snap from the skeletal hand inside the mirror, Xiao Yeci collapsed to the ground as well.
Having succeeded, Nian Shangyou immediately shifted positions, using the mirror to seek his next target. This time, he aimed at He Yuxiu, who was locked in fierce combat.
The mirror had already reflected He Yuxiu's skeleton when Lu Chunying suddenly hurled an Eight Immortals table. The table landed squarely in front of He Yuxiu, blocking the bronze mirror's view.
Nian Shangyou blinked in surprise. How had she thrown that table with such precision?
There was an art behind it!
Nian Shangyou was a veteran of battle after all, and he could tell Lu Chunying had not tossed the table casually. She had employed Sever the Path to Forge a Way, using the table as her tool to sever the path. Seeing as her mastery of the technique was likely unrefined, she had resorted to this clever shortcut.
Nian Shangyou ignored the table and aimed the mirror directly at Lu Chunying. This young girl was far too clever, and people like her posed a massive threat on the battlefield.
Sensing danger, Lu Chunying relied on her speed, weaving back and forth through the street.
With his rich combat experience, Nian Shangyou deduced Lu Chunying's route and was on the verge of locking onto her when the bronze mirror suddenly slipped from his grasp.
Where had the mirror gone?
Startled, Nian Shangyou looked up. The mirror was sitting right atop that Eight Immortals table, its reflective surface pointed directly at him.
Nian Shangyou dodged in panic. The Eight Immortals table, carrying the mirror, spread its four legs and bolted into the distance.
Lu Tangsheng panicked. That was his most precious weapon, far more valuable than his three-eyed fire musket.
He rushed toward the table to snatch the mirror back, only to hear the table speak: "Don't go touching things! Mirrors belong on tables. Our family went through a lot of trouble to put things in order; don't you come making a mess!"
This Eight Immortals table was also a first-tier weapon. Back when Li Banfeng first arrived in Xiaodu, he had forced Qiao Yi to give him three first-tier weapons, and one of them had been this very table.
This table loved tidying up, and for some reason it had put away the bronze mirror. However, the table was not particularly fast.
Lu Tangsheng caught up in two strides. Just as he reached out to snatch the mirror back, He Yuxiu delivered a kick that sent him flying.
Lu Tangsheng had been so fixated on retrieving the mirror that he hadn't considered who was standing behind the Eight Immortals table.
The kick fractured his sternum. Before Lu Tangsheng could get back up, Fatty Qin, relying on his thick hide and flesh, braved the rain of arrows and charged straight for him.
Having fought his whole life, Lu Tangsheng was no coward. Raising his three-eyed fire musket, he fired three consecutive shots at Fatty Qin.
This musket did not use gunpowder, so its velocity and power were somewhat lacking, but the three pellets flew with great accuracy straight toward Qin Tianjiu's face.
If Fatty Qin dodged, Lu Tangsheng would find a chance to escape. If Fatty Qin took them head-on, the insects would burrow into his body.
Yet Lu Tangsheng could not fathom Fatty Qin's response. Fatty Qin opened his mouth, drew a deep breath, sucked the three pellets right into his gullet, and swallowed them whole.
What was he doing? Did he think he wasn't dying fast enough?
Not only was Lu Tangsheng bewildered, but even Ma the Fifth was terrified. "Brother, you can't eat that!"
Fatty Qin paid no heed. In two strides, he reached Lu Tangsheng. Lu Tangsheng fired another three shots, and Fatty Qin swallowed those just the same.
Lu Tangsheng pulled the trigger, wanting to fire again, but Fatty Qin leaned in and bit off the barrel, chewed it up, and swallowed it.
"You—!" Lu Tangsheng's eyes flushed red with grief for his weapon.
Fatty Qin took another bite, swallowing the remaining half of the musket together with one of Lu Tangsheng's hands.
Lu Tangsheng let out a bloodcurdling wail. In the end, Nian Shangyou still showed regard for their old bond; he pulled out the prized treasure he had kept tucked away at the bottom of his chest.
There were eight catfish whiskers growing on his face—two on his upper lip and six on his lower.
Plucking the third whisker from the left side of his lower lip, he hurled it toward Qin Tianjiu. The whisker plunged into Fatty Qin's left cheek and grew rapidly, boring through his oral cavity until it pierced clean through his right cheek.
Qin Tianjiu had no idea what was happening. With the whisker piercing through both of his cheeks, he stood rooted to the spot, appearing to feel no pain and showing no reaction whatsoever.
Nian Shangyou used the chance to rescue Lu Tangsheng. With a severed hand, Lu Tangsheng was in excruciating agony, but his life was not in immediate danger.
Qin Tianjiu's condition looked grim. He remained frozen in place while the whisker protruding from his right cheek continued to grow. When it reached over a foot in length, it abruptly hooked around, darting straight for the center of his brow.
Ma the Fifth limped over and grabbed the whisker, trying to yank it out by force, but it had grown far too stiff to budge.
Lightbulb rushed up, smeared some oil over the whisker, and used an inch-force unique to Oil Cultivators to jerk it free.
The moment the whisker left his cheek, Qin Tianjiu took a couple of breaths and quickly regained his mobility.
Relying on the momentum of the oil, the whisker tried to slide back toward Nian Shangyou. Qin Tianjiu drew a sharp breath toward the whisker, slurping it right up like a strand of noodles and swallowing it down.
Lightbulb was stunned. "Ninth Master, you can eat that too?"
Ma the Fifth hadn't even had time to stop him. He had no idea what had gotten into Fatty Qin. The man had gulped down a bellyful of insect pellets, eaten a three-eyed fire musket, and now consumed this whisker; there was no telling if he could even be saved.
Watching from afar, Nian Shangyou felt his heart bleed. Gritting his teeth, he snarled, "Eat it, then! In a moment, it'll shred your intestines and pierce your belly!"
He wanted to retrieve his whisker, but a more pressing crisis had arrived: He Yuxiu, flanked by Youtao, had fought their way right before him.
The pair coordinated with seamless synergy. Youtao employed the art of Flirting and Bantering; struck by the technique, a swarm of soldiers found their strikes limp and powerless, and He Yuxiu cut them down to the last man. The remaining soldiers lost all will to fight and fell back in disarray.
They were Lu Tangsheng's men. Lu Tangsheng was gravely injured, and both of his first-tier weapons were lost. Under such circumstances, how could the soldiers muster the heart to fight?
With broken ribs, Xiao Yeci cried out, "An army routed falls like a landslide!"
Tangyuan produced his fountain pen, flinging ink into midair where it coalesced into a line of characters: "When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter!"
Both unleashed Words Come True simultaneously. Under the stacked techniques, the soldiers' will to fight evaporated completely.
Coupled with He Yuxiu's relentless slaughter, the enemy force collapsed into a full rout all the way to the exit of Tianyi City.
Focusing his mind, Ma the Fifth caused clusters of flames to erupt across the ground. He had used Joyous Fire Consuming the Body on Tianyi City.
This was not meant to harm Tianyi City. Tianyi City was poisoned by the Rot-Fin Ray and currently lay unconscious; Ma the Fifth wished to stimulate it with the joyous fire so it would wake as quickly as possible.
*Rumble!*
Tianyi City began to shake continuously. Ma the Fifth's method had worked.
Now, as long as they could drive Nian Shangyou and his forces out of Tianyi City, they would have a chance to escape.
Unwilling to admit defeat, Nian Shangyou turned to a soldier. "Notify the troops aboard the ships to enter the water and support us immediately!"
The soldier returned a moment later. "Lord Nian, our warships have been surrounded."
Nian Shangyou turned pale with shock. "Surrounded by whom?"
"It appears to be the White Falcon League," the soldier answered.
Nian Shangyou froze for a moment, then told the soldier, "Quickly request reinforcements from Lord Qiao. This truly has become a bitter battle!"
***
Qiao Yi sat in his study, looking at the bruised and battered Nian Shangyou.
"The altar at Hao City... was lost?"
Nian Shangyou choked back tears. "My lord, your subordinate fought valiantly against the enemy, but we were simply outnumbered—"
Qiao Yi's cheek twitched slightly. According to the battle report that had just arrived, the altar at Hao City, which had been under repair, was completely destroyed—its damage even more severe than during the bombing.
A report arrived from the Ministry of Works: a massive quantity of deceased spirits continued to escape the Great Crucible, and no substitute could yet be found for the two missing lotus leaves.
A report arrived from the Ministry of War: Prince Zhenshuo, having learned that Dingye City was attacked, had come to inquire about the safety of his family.
Prince Zhenshuo commanded immense prestige within the Shang State and was also a staunch supporter of Qiao Yi. He had sent thirteen scions of his family into the Bandit Suppression Battalion—five in the Difeng Battalion and eight in the Qingrui Battalion.
If Qiao Yi remembered correctly, all thirteen were on the casualty list.
He pondered what had gone wrong tonight. Which force had been the diversion, and which had been the primary assault? What was the true objective of Puluo Province's surprise raid?
After thinking for a long time, Qiao Yi felt his thoughts become a tangled mess.
The Ministry of Rites came to report that Imperial Commissioner Critic requested an audience.
"Him? Coming to see me?" Qiao Yi smiled. "I would very much like to see him as well. Bring him in."
The moment Nian Shangyou heard Critic was entering the study, his first instinct was to leave as quickly as possible.
Yet given the current situation, it seemed inappropriate to ask anything of Qiao Yi. After weighing his thoughts, Nian Shangyou offered a quiet word of caution: "My lord, be exceedingly careful."
Qiao Yi's face was ashen. "Things have already come to this. What is there left to be careful of?"
Critic entered the study and bowed to Qiao Yi. "Lord Qiao, by order of the Emperor of Great Shang, I have come to Chaoge to inspect government affairs. I urgently wish to know the situation in Hao City and Dingye City."
"Urgently?" Qiao Yi squinted at Critic. "Could it be that you were truly unaware of the situation in those two places?"
Critic frowned. "I am a foreigner; your manner of phrasing makes it difficult for me to understand. I have received some news regarding Hao City and Dingye City, but the information is not detailed enough. There are many specifics I wish to verify with you."
Qiao Yi caressed the armrest of his chair, letting his palm rest on the center of the armrest, where a mechanism was concealed.
He adjusted his manner of speech, making it as direct and plain as possible. "You just said 'verify'? You want to know the achievements Puluo Province gained after its surprise raid?
"You are deliberately humiliating me. In truth, you were the very first link in this raid. Arriving in Chaoge under the guise of an Imperial Commissioner, you threw Chaoge into turmoil. Next, Puluo Province dispatched forces to stage a secondary attack on Hao Province, then seized the opportunity to raid Dingye and Chaoge, and subsequently joined hands with the White Falcon League to assault Hao Province, ultimately taking advantage of the chaos to succeed. I presume I have not misstated the sequence of events?"
Critic shook his head. "I believe your description is entirely inaccurate. Two terms in particular were used improperly. You said 'achievements'; I believe it should be called 'military triumphs.' You said 'surprise raid'; I believe it should be called 'war.'"
"This counts as war?" Qiao Yi threw his head back and laughed. "Puluo Province waging war against my Great Shang? Go ask the peddler if he possesses such courage! Don't you find it preposterous hearing yourself say that?"
"There is nothing preposterous about it," Critic replied, perfectly calm. "War takes many forms. What ordinary people consider war might involve two nations exchanging formal declarations, agreeing upon a time and place, and then marching their armies to battle. In truth, that is merely one form of war.
"What has unfolded before you is another form of war. You may feel this form is terribly unfair; you may feel this war contained far too many ambush elements.
"Yet this is Puluo Province's way of fighting. You have lost this war—the outcome is as simple as that."
With a chilling expression, Qiao Yi said, "It is too early to speak of outcomes. Do you think this matter simply ends here?"
Critic looked at Qiao Yi. "I know you are unreconciled. Had the Bandit Suppression Battalion been given a little more time, or had you received prior intelligence allowing you to make more preparations, the outcome of this war might have been vastly different.
"Yet reality holds no such 'what-ifs.' You have already lost, and you must calmly accept the reality of defeat."
Qiao Yi gripped the armrest tightly. "Setting victory and defeat aside for now—I intend to take your life right this moment!"
Critic remained placid. "You can kill me. I was prepared for that before setting foot in Chaoge. But I hope you are prepared as well, because before I die, I will leave behind a catastrophe for Chaoge—a catastrophe you can never bear, one that may inflict irreversible consequences upon the entirety of the Shang State."
Qiao Yi chuckled. "Do you think the current situation can still be reversed?"
"I believe it can," Critic said. "Some matters can still be covered up, and some can still be calmed. You are the expert in these things; how to proceed in detail is something you know far better than I.
"What you need right now is a reasonable justification and a buffer period. I can give you the justification—I am the Imperial Commissioner dispatched by the Emperor of Shang, and I can convey the imperial will on his behalf.
"As for the buffer, you must secure it yourself. But if you have no wish to calm this war, and instead seek to escalate it, there will be a great deal of suffering awaiting you in the days to come."
Qiao Yi fell silent for a moment, then lifted his hand from the armrest. He asked Critic, "Was it you who helped the peddler contact the White Falcon League?"
Critic shook his head. "I do not possess such capability. I am not a member of the White Falcon League; I believe you have already investigated this. To mobilize so much military strength from the White Falcon League and secure such immense aid—only the peddler could accomplish that."
Qiao Yi stared at Critic. "What is your status in Puluo Province?"
"An ordinary person," Critic said. "No special status."
"If you are merely an ordinary person, why risk your life for Puluo Province?"
"I love Puluo Province. Truly, from the bottom of my heart." Critic pointed to his chest. The present occasion being somewhat unusual, he did not unbutton his shirt.
Qiao Yi nodded slightly. "Lord Commissioner, please return and rest. Qiao will pay a visit to your manor on another day."
Critic departed.
Qiao Yi sat in silence for over half an hour, then suddenly remarked, "In both internal governance and foreign diplomacy, the peddler handles things quite well."
Nian Shangyou did not know how to respond and could only echo Qiao Yi's sentiment: "Being the Lord of Puluo, he naturally possesses extraordinary talent."
Qiao Yi instructed, "Go to Dingye City, summon the surviving officers and soldiers, and ask them just who it was that raided the encampments."
***
In Hulu Village, Li Banfeng carried the wine gourd, wiping down Tou Youlu's wounds.
Tou Youlu gazed into a mirror for a long time, looking at the wound on his cheekbone and sighing. "With such a handsome face, what shall I do if a scar remains?"
Li Banfeng took the opportunity to ask, "Senior, were you born this handsome?"
Tou Youlu moved his head up and down in a nod. "I was born beautiful."
Li Banfeng was pondering a serious question: just what kind of circumstance could have caused him to grow like this?
Suddenly, Hong Ying spoke from the side: "Seventh Master, this big head looks quite amusing. What's his background?"
"Who are you calling a big head?" Tou Youlu glared at Hong Ying.
Sensing a wave of hostility, Hong Ying frowned at Tou Youlu. "What of it? Is it forbidden to say your head is big?"
Tou Youlu looked Hong Ying up and down and asked, "Why do you wear your hair piled so high?"
Hong Ying snapped, "What business is it of yours?"
The two glared at each other, sending a chill down Li Banfeng's spine.
"Yingying!" the Lady chided from the side. "Do not stir up trouble!"
Huffing with annoyance, Hong Ying left alongside Zhao Xiaowan. Zhao Xiaowan knew this giant head was of extraordinary origin, but she genuinely did not recognize him.
Li Banfeng could tell that neither Zhao Xiaowan nor Hong Ying knew Tou Youlu.
As the founder of a path, with such a bizarre appearance, the well-traveled Lady ought to have recognized him.
Hong Ying should have all the more. She was the champion of the Travel Cultivators; even if she had never seen the Travel Cultivator founder, she should at least have heard some rumors.
Tou Youlu was fuming. "I will never forget those who bully me."
Li Banfeng said, "Hong Ying didn't bully you. She just doesn't know how to speak politely."
Tou Youlu's anger had not subsided. "She was laughing at me! Laughing at me is bullying me!"
Li Banfeng offered no further explanations, quietly continuing to cleanse Tou Youlu's wound.
Tou Youlu sniffled. "I was born in Santoucha. From childhood, so many people laughed at me. Later, I didn't want to stay in Santoucha anymore, so I went to other places. I wanted to find a place where no one laughed at me.
"Yet I couldn't find one."
Li Banfeng asked, "So you just kept walking?"
Tou Youlu nodded. "Yes, walking on and on. Walking endlessly is quite fine, too—just like the clouds in the sky, drifting along, inquiring the way, looking for an inn to rest."
*Drifting along, inquiring the way, looking for an inn to rest... isn't that Floating Clouds Inquiring at Stations?*
Li Banfeng brought out that sheet of snot-stained paper. "But I heard people say you met with an accident, and then..."
Tou Youlu glanced at the paper, clearly familiar with it. "Some people thought I died. In truth, they were deceived. I didn't die; I simply went to Wansheng Province.
"I heard others say that many people in Wansheng Province were as handsome as me, so I wanted to go take a look."
Li Banfeng had always been curious about Wansheng Province. "Are the people of Wansheng Province truly as handsome as you?"
Tou Youlu raised an eyebrow. "They're still a bit inferior to me! There's a person called the Heavenly Maiden—you should have heard of her. She's from Wansheng Province, and she has perhaps seventy percent of my good looks!"
Li Banfeng mentally compared the appearances of the Heavenly Maiden and Tou Youlu, concluding that Tou Youlu's remark was fairly objective: compared to Tou Youlu, the Heavenly Maiden was indeed rather ordinary.
"Then why did you return to Puluo Province?"
Tou Youlu looked into the distance. "Wansheng Province is quite a nice place; very few people laughed at me there. But I still felt Puluo Province was better. Even though people here always laugh at me, Puluo Province is vast, and there are many places I have yet to visit. I still believe I can find that place where no one laughs at me."
Li Banfeng asked, "What do you think of Hulu Village?"
Tou Youlu shook his head. "Not that great. Quite a few people here laugh at me too."
Li Banfeng asked again, "Then why did you help us fight?"
Tou Youlu said, "The peddler asked me to help you. Since the peddler came asking for my help, I naturally had to lend a hand.
"The peddler never laughs at me. He helped me in the past, and he said that someone who loves walking endlessly deserves a Daoist sect—and so Travel Cultivators came to be.
"I know I may never find that place, but in Puluo Province, having traveled to so many places, I've seen such magnificent scenery and so many beautiful women along the way. Truly so beautiful! Only a place this beautiful is worthy of me!"
Li Banfeng nodded. "Puluo Province is indeed very beautiful."
Tou Youlu sought confirmation once more: "You never laugh at me, and I truly regard you as a friend. Tell me the truth: do you really think I'm handsome?"
Li Banfeng nodded. "Not only handsome, but overflowing with talent!"
Tou Youlu was startled. "How did you know I was talented?"
"I've read *Floating Clouds Inquiring at Stations*. Its literary grace is superb."
Tou Youlu's eyes grew moist. "You truly understand literary talent. The last person who said I had literary talent was a bookseller, and I gave him a copy of *Floating Clouds Inquiring at Stations*. Since you have such discerning taste, I'll give you a copy too."
In truth, there was no need to possess two copies of the same book; if Hong Ying wanted to read it, Li Banfeng could simply copy it out for her.
Yet Tou Youlu was offering it with such warm generosity that Li Banfeng naturally could not refuse.
Still, the man was only a head without clothes or luggage—where could he possibly be keeping *Floating Clouds Inquiring at Stations*?
Tou Youlu rolled into a patch of grass and drew a deep breath through his nose, sucking in quite a few blades of grass.
Closing his eyes and twitching his nostrils, Tou Youlu let out a sneeze, shooting a book straight out.
Li Banfeng picked up the book. Slimy nasal mucus slowly dripped down the cover.
The stickiness and elasticity of this mucus reminded Li Banfeng of that sheet of paper. "Was that sheet of paper yours, or Old Train's?"
Tou Youlu snorted. "Eighteen Wheels secretly laughed at me. Wasn't it only right for me to make him help me tell a lie?"
Li Banfeng wanted to see if there was mucus inside the book. Turning a page, he was astonished to discover that this copy of *Floating Clouds Inquiring at Stations* was entirely different from the one he had read before.
P.S. It seems *Floating Clouds Inquiring at Stations* consists of more than one volume.
Chapter 782