In the end, it still had no way to stay out of the fray and had chosen the Mou Kingdom.
"You aren't the first to be forced to choose, and you won't be the last." He Lingchuan understood clearly that as the conflict between Beijia and the Mou Kingdom grew fiercer, the living space for unaligned demons and wild spirits would inevitably shrink.
They would be forced to take sides.
Pick the wrong side, and you died.
He Lingchuan instinctively thought of the spider demon sisters.
Even great demons as powerful and detached from worldly affairs as they were had been dragged into the maelstrom of conflict; what choice did ordinary people have?
The torrent of fate swept all living things along, whether they wished it or not.
If you could not swim, you would sink to the bottom.
The group had already been traveling for more than an hour. Dong Rui's bats had made two round trips, both times reporting that the Yao army was marching straight toward them and had already crossed into the boundaries of Mount Jing.
They were pursuing closely, and their heading was accurate.
Just then, another disturbance arose.
***
Fine steeds grazed along the long slope, while cooking smoke curled lazily above the valley.
Though weighed down by heavy melancholy, the corner of A'xun's mouth curled slightly the moment he caught sight of this familiar scene.
After trekking for over fifty days, he was finally home.
By his count, his wife was five months pregnant. Her belly ought to be showing by now, right?
Yet as he spurred his mount into Chigu, the sight struck him as increasingly wrong.
Where was more than half the tribe? All he saw were women and children.
And the horses—there were far fewer of them too!
All along the way back, he had hardly seen any herds.
An ominous foreboding welled in A'xun's heart. Flanked by a few personal guards, he whipped his horse into a dead gallop straight for his home.
Mengmeng happened to be walking out from the inner room. He rushed in so frantically that he nearly collided head-on with his wife.
Startled, she snatched up a wooden club kept by the door for self-defense—an implement originally intended for driving off wolves. The moment she saw the intruder was her husband, she let out a sigh of relief, though she did not lower the club. "What are you doing?! A man about to become a father, yet still so reckless!"
A'xun had wanted to pull his wife into a tight embrace, but stopped himself at the last moment and looked down at her belly.
Sure enough, it was protruding.
He dared not touch it—he truly dared not.
"Th-this... is it doing well?" He scratched his head with a silly grin. "Are you well?"
"What wouldn't be well?" Mengmeng pressed a hand to her belly. "You returned late. Did you get the item?"
A'xun's expression darkened, and he shook his head.
He had journeyed all the way to Baimao Mountain in the Julu Kingdom to retrieve the Bright Lantern Cup, only to find that someone had beaten him to it.
Throughout the return journey, his heart had stayed sunk to rock bottom, plagued by endless thoughts.
His father was controlled by that wicked armor. Who knew how many more preposterous and terrifying things he might do? A'xun could not just stand by and let it happen; he could not allow his father to drag the entire tribe into the abyss.
"Then what do we do?"
"Where is Father?" A'xun countered. "Why are there so few people left in the tribe?"
Mengmeng's face grew somber. "The Chieftain took the warriors and marched to war against Zini."
"What!" A'xun was appalled. "When did this happen?!"
"The oath-taking ceremony was yesterday. By the timetable, they should reach Mount Jing tomorrow."
A'xun's mind spun in chaos. "Father is half-mad! How could the tribe just let him run wild like this?"
"Second Uncle tried to stop him." Lingering terror seized Mengmeng as she recalled yesterday's scene. "In the end... the Chieftain brought an axe down right on his neck. Blood sprayed three feet into the air. The tribal medicine man did all he could, but still... still couldn't save him."
"S-Second Uncle?" Stunned disbelief washed over A'xun. "Father hacked Second Uncle to death?!"
The Chieftain had struck down his own flesh-and-blood brother!
Second Uncle had never committed any grave mistake or crime, even if he did have some ambition for the chieftainship... but that was absurd; who wouldn't harbor some ambition?
Two months had passed, and his father's madness had worsened to this extent? Had he truly discarded all familial bonds?
"And the others just stood by and watched?"
"Second Uncle's sons—your two cousins—charged up to resist, but the Chieftain killed them with an axe blow each. The Chieftain was terrifyingly strong; they were no match for him at all. After that... no one dared object." Mengmeng bit her lip. "Everyone was terrified and uneasy, but what choice was there? Some refused to go and tried to slip away quietly, but when the Chieftain caught them, he killed three of them on the spot!"
A'xun clenched his fists and strode outside.
"Hey, where are you going?"
"I'm going to stop Father! I cannot let him lead our entire tribe down a road to ruin!"
Before the words had completely left his mouth, someone nearby called his name.
A'xun turned his head to see the tribal elder.
"You're finally back." The tribal elder beckoned to him. "Come over here."
A'xun ordered his personal guards to wait outside while he followed the elder into a tent.
No one else was inside.
The tribal elder personally erected a boundary barrier before gripping his staff and sitting down. "If only you had returned a day earlier. Your father killed your second uncle and led all the warriors across the mountains to attack Zini."
"This must never be allowed," A'xun said solemnly. "I will mount the fastest horse and ride out to stop Father!"
"How will you stop him?" the elder asked. "Did you retrieve the Bright Lantern Cup?"
"No." A'xun's face fell. "Aside from the Bright Lantern Cup, have you found any other alternative?"
He harbored little hope. In fact, on his way back from the Julu Kingdom to Chigu, a notion had already taken root in his heart.
If all else failed, that was the only course left.
To his astonishment, the elder said, "The final page of the Heavenly Master's notes recorded an incomplete array. It was drawn in exquisite detail, yet the phrasing was vague, never stating what it was used for. Over the past few months, I inquired in secret, nearly draining all my burial savings, before I finally uncovered a lead: in truth, Keshan Palace was originally built to seal the Luosheng Armor! Only in the later days of the empire was it converted into an imperial retreat for the sovereign."
The elder's opening words made A'xun's eyes light up.
"Over a thousand years ago, the founding emperor of the Shanjin Empire personally sealed the Luosheng Armor on Mount Jing, specifically creating the Tiangang Array for that purpose. The designer of that array was the National Preceptor of the Shanjin Empire, whose descendants later became Heavenly Masters and turned that array into an ancestral sealing art."
He produced a tattered yellow booklet. "Can you guess who wrote these Heavenly Master's notes?"
"The National Preceptor of the Shanjin Empire!" A'xun rejoiced. "Elder, are you certain this sealing art is usable?"
The elder gave a bitter smile. "I told you, the sealing art is incomplete."
"You can't be serious!" Did this old fellow also hold back half of his piss every time he got up in the middle of the night? A'xun felt ready to die of anxiety. "Is the sealing art useful or not?!"
"Sealing ordinary monsters and spirits would be no problem, but against a formidable entity, it likely lacks the strength..."
A'xun's spirits plunged from the clouds straight to the abyss, and he could not help cursing under his breath.
"However, the Tiangang Array on Mount Jing is still intact." Cut off mid-speech, the elder furrowed his white brows. This time, he couldn't be blamed for not finishing in one breath. "A few days ago, I went to inspect it and made some repairs according to the sealing art. Perhaps the Shanjin Empire's legacy array can aid you against the Luosheng Armor."
A'xun was not the only one who had been toiling for this cause.
The elder immediately continued, "When the Chieftain set out, I was lamenting that all our previous efforts had come to naught, but you returned at this very juncture! Good, good—the heavens will not destroy our tribe! If you rush there at full speed, you might be able to intercept him at Ke Ridge!"
With that, the elder produced a piece of sheepskin. "The fastest horses have already been prepared for you, and the sealing art is inscribed on this parchment. Study it carefully on the road, and make sure you commit its use to memory."
"Yes!" Taking the parchment, A'xun strode outside.
Outside, several sleek, primed horses stood ready. Leading them was a magnificent black-and-white steed, already saddled and bridled, with dry rations and water skins hung across its back.
His wife stood beside the fine mount, her face filled with anxiety and sorrow.
Partings in Chigu always came without warning, but this time, she felt an ominous premonition.
Knowing what she feared, A'xun held her gently. "Don't worry. I'll go and return before you know it!"
"Trying to deceive me again?" Mengmeng said in distress, tears spilling down her cheeks. "Will my child ever get to meet its father?"
"He will, of course he will!" A'xun lowered his head, pressing his forehead against hers. "I will bring our people back safely. Our child will grow up in a place without hunger, without war, and free from the cold sneers of others!"
Mengmeng nodded. Holding back her sobs, she clung tightly to him.
"Careful... careful not to press against the child," A'xun coaxed softly. "Do you know, on this long journey I saw so many wonderful things. The people of the Julu Kingdom make all sorts of delicious pastries, bite-sized and exquisite; you would definitely love them. And the harbors and great ships, and the seashell jewelry brought by ocean merchants... I heard that the lands across the sea are even better than the Julu Kingdom. Once I return, I'll take you and the child to visit, how about that?"
He spoke with urgent haste. Mengmeng uttered an agreement, but her hands gripped his clothes, reluctant to let go.
Time was precious, leaving A'xun little room to comfort his wife. Though ten thousand words welled in his heart, he could only kiss her forehead lightly and whisper, "Wait for me to return." Then he swung onto his horse and galloped toward Mount Jing.
His personal guards followed closely behind.
Only after galloping thirty paces did he glance back. His wife and the tribal elder were waving at him—one with a gently rounded belly, the other with hair white as snow.
On the Shanjin Plain, without the protection of able-bodied men, how could such vulnerable women, children, and elderly defend themselves?
Other tribals gathered as well, their faces etched with longing and hope.
They hoped he would successfully defeat the Luosheng Armor and bring their warriors back safe and sound.
***
Even though it was merely the ruins of an imperial palace, it occupied half the expanse of Mount Ke.
Broken pillars and crumbling walls stretched from the mountainside to the summit. Back when the empire stood in its glory, palaces and stately mansions had stood here in terraced rows, accompanied by throngs of beauties, joyful laughter, and cheerful voices—a rare display of earthly splendor upon the Shanjin Plain.
The empire's former might was now witnessed only by the fading glow of the setting sun.
Nature had reclaimed its dominion. Keshan Palace was overgrown with wild weeds and climbing vines, long having become a haven for snakes, rodents, and insects.
At present, however, it welcomed several hundred uninvited guests.
Cutting through the ruins of Mount Ke was the most direct route to Zini.
Once they descended the mountain from here, the Ying people would be halfway through their expedition. As long as they seized two of Zini's major towns with thunderous speed, the Chieftain believed, this tough campaign would be half-won.
The newly promoted Left Guard Chief edged closer and ventured cautiously, "Chieftain, we've marched at top speed for twelve hours, climbing uphill all the way. Could we rest for a brief spell? It would make the descent and assault much easier."
He was naturally a loud, boisterous man, but the Chieftain had intimidated him into speaking in gentle murmurs.
The Chieftain was staring lost in thought at a ruined tower among the debris. Hearing the voice, he said, "Resting after only twelve hours of marching? Have my Ying warriors grown so delicate?"
Chapter 1160