By the time He Lingchuan, Captain Li, and the others hurried over, Commandant Zhao had already lifted the severed head and shouted to the four directions, "Root out evil to the last! The bandit Lu is slain!"
Decapitating the bandit chieftain of Woling Pass was a tremendous merit.
"Hey..."
Commandant Zhao glanced over. "What?"
"Lu Yao died far too quickly. He got off easy." He Lingchuan scratched his head. This Commandant Zhao was truly adept at snatching credit. Ah well, no one was going to fight him for it anyway.
The remaining handful of Lu's bandits instantly scattered in all directions to flee for their lives, no longer capable of stirring up trouble.
Yet He Lingchuan felt waves of heat radiating from his collar.
Was that divine bone necklace acting up again at a time like this?
It had done the very same thing this morning in the immortal's cave dwelling, burrowing into the ground to tamper with who-knew-what, which ended up collapsing the entire cavern.
What good stuff had it sniffed out this time? His spirits rose, and he tested the waters by taking a few steps away.
The farther he walked, the hotter the divine bone grew, as though shouting for him to turn back.
*What are you running for? There's treasure here!*
Pretending to chase down fleeing bandits with saber in hand, he paced back and forth several times, only to find that the divine bone necklace settled down into its usual quiet state solely when he stood right next to Lu Yao's headless corpse.
In other words, Lu Yao carried something the divine bone coveted?
He Lingchuan's eyes darted around. Crouching down beside the corpse, he began rummaging through it. Useful or useless, he pocketed whatever was in Lu Yao's robes. The maneater also wore two rings on his hands; without time to tell whether they were spatial storage items, He Lingchuan simply stripped them off and slid them onto his own fingers.
He had done this plenty of times today and was practically an expert now. In the blink of an eye, he cleaned the body out before anyone could even step in to stop him.
Standing nearby, Zhao Qinghe coughed twice. "Eldest Young Master, Commandant Zhao is watching you."
Starting to loot corpses before the battle had even concluded—the young master's conduct was simply too outrageous, to the point that even he felt rather embarrassed.
Without needing to look up, He Lingchuan could feel Commandant Zhao's glare, brimming with displeasure and contempt.
Looting the big boss was supposed to be a perk reserved for the Garrison Command soldiers, yet this brat had beaten them to the punch. Had he not been the son of an out-of-province Governor-General, Commandant Zhao would have slapped him across the face twice already.
After a few quick grabs, He Lingchuan stood and walked away. Fortunately, the divine bone necklace was no longer hot.
This proved that whatever it had set its sights on was now in his possession.
By this point, victory and defeat were settled, and Pei Xinyong and the soldiers gradually halted their blades.
Troops and bandits looked at one another, both catching the wary vigilance in each other's eyes.
Lian Deng sprinted over. Pei Xinyong cut straight to the point, his voice rising three pitches. "These are the reinforcements you spoke of?"
Lian Deng had no choice but to confess the truth. "General Wu was rescued by the soldiers, and together with the Crocodile God, they... they accepted the court's amnesty!"
He gave a bitter smile. "From here on out, we're on the government payroll."
Pei Xinyong drew a sharp breath, finding the world utterly surreal.
Last night, Wu Shaoyi and the frontline intelligence had both told him that the one receiving the Yuan royal court's amnesty was supposed to be Lu Yao. How had the wind shifted so completely by today, turning Wu Shaoyi into the one eating from the public trough instead?
What in the world had transpired over these past few hours? Or had Wu Shaoyi turned traitor long ago?
To make matters worse, Commandant Zhao's posture remained arrogant as ever. Raising his chin, he asked, "Pei Xinyong, do you surrender or not?"
By now, the fog had thoroughly dispersed, and Pei Xinyong could see that the government forces numbered around a thousand men—fewer than his own side. The problem was, Wu Shaoyi's former subordinates, whom Lian Deng had summoned back, were now standing on the soldiers' side as well.
The numbers between the two camps were roughly equal. Moreover, Pei Xinyong's own left shoulder was crippled, sending piercing pain through him with every movement.
The atmosphere grew exceedingly delicate.
He Lingchuan stepped forward and coughed loudly. "Remnants of Lu Yao's band remain in Desheng Town, and the newly surrendered General Wu is locked in a fierce struggle there. How about we set aside our differences and wipe out the bandits first?"
Commandant Zhao raised no objection.
Pei Xinyong hesitated briefly, then nodded as well.
And so, the three forces rode abreast, hurrying toward Desheng Town.
Along the way, Zhao Qinghe spotted a suspicious figure sneaking through the small woods beside the road.
He threw a meaningful glance, and several cavalrymen from the Auxiliary Army charged over.
What followed required little elaboration. Wu Shaoyi's unit was holding out against Lu's bandits in Desheng Town. The arrival of the government forces instantly tipped the scales of victory to their side. Lu's bandits were killed or scattered, though most threw down their weapons and surrendered as captives.
Amid the chaos, Pei Xinyong led his troops in pursuit of the fleeing bandits, chasing them farther and farther until they vanished from sight.
He Lingchuan saw through this maneuver completely. The two Garrison Command commanders also seemed disinclined to bother, turning a blind eye to it.
Pei Xinyong's combat prowess was considerable, and having already secured ample merits today, they had no desire to stir up fresh trouble.
In any case, Pei's band would not linger locally. Wherever they drifted off to next would be for the local officials to lose sleep over.
After reclaiming Desheng Town, Commandant Zhao left Captain Li behind to handle the prisoners and detached a force toward Xianling Village to the east, while he rode on with Wu Shaoyi, He Lingchuan, and the others toward Qianteng Town.
This leg of the journey was finally peaceful and uneventful.
Before long, He Lingchuan reunited with his family's convoy.
He had already dispatched Maotao earlier to carry word back, and the He family had been craning their necks in anticipation.
Father and son were overjoyed to see one another.
He Chunhua parted the crowd and galloped toward his son, grabbing him by the shoulder and shouting, "You brat, you brat!"
He was so overcome with emotion that the rest of his words caught in his throat, unable to push past, and his handsome, refined face flushed crimson.
Seeing him like this moved He Lingchuan as well. He gave an honest grin. "Old Man, I don't kick the bucket that easily!"
This time, He Chunhua understood his meaning perfectly, saying through gritted teeth, "I knew you were born lucky, tough as nails! Even falling off a cliff couldn't kill you!"
The rest of the crowd swarmed around, offering congratulations on the eldest young master's escape from the jaws of death, returning hale and whole.
Observing He Lingchuan closely, they saw plenty of minor wounds but no grave injuries, and everyone marveled at his extraordinary luck. Anyone else would have been smashed to paste from such a fall, yet he came away with only scratches, his face entirely unmarred.
The scene of the father-son reunion instantly turned festive.
He Yue rushed forward, wrapping his arms around his elder brother's shoulders and laughing heartily. "You made it back alive!"
At the pressure, He Lingchuan hissed, baring his teeth in pain. "Ouch!"
Right across his shoulder was an axe wound; the bleeding had long since stopped, but He Yue's squeeze tore it open once more.
Startled, He Yue hastily apologized and turned to fetch the army surgeon.
Madam Ying's eyes grew moist as she looked at her eldest son, murmuring, "It's enough that you're back. It's enough that you're back!"
He Lingchuan flashed a grin, revealing a row of white teeth. "I've caused Mother much worry." He then reached into his robes, pulled out the peach wood mirror, and presented it to Madam Ying. "This belongs to you, does it not?"
Madam Ying was delighted. Taking it, she stroked it gently. "You managed to reclaim it!"
Seeing her eldest son's blood-streaked face, she could not help lifting her handkerchief to gently dab at the blood oozing from his brow. "There is water in the carriage. Go wash your face properly."
This gesture took He Chunhua by surprise, but He Lingchuan chuckled. "Right away." Striding into the carriage, he had Qian-ma ladle some water for him to wipe his face.
Shortly after, He Yue brought the army surgeon inside.
After a day and a night of bitter fighting and relentless travel, finally sinking into the soft brocade mattress proved too much to resist. While the surgeon treated his wounds, He Lingchuan succumbed to exhaustion and drifted into a deep sleep.
Yet after the surgeon left, the divine bone necklace against He Lingchuan's chest suddenly began to flicker with a faint red glow once more.
The light was dim and lasted only a few breaths, escaping all notice.
However, the tortoise egg concealed in He Lingchuan's robes suddenly gave a slight twitch.
...
While sleeping soundly, He Lingchuan seemed to hear an aged voice in his haze:
"He Lingchuan, when you pass by the Revived Old Locust Tree at Fengling Ferry, please bury the tortoise egg in the root cavity beneath the tree."
The voice was entirely unfamiliar. Puzzled, He Lingchuan wondered, *Who is that?*
As though hearing his inner thought, the other party replied directly, "I am the Water Spirit of Xianling Lake. I intended to enter your dream to find you, but was barred at the threshold. Despite pleading repeatedly and harboring no malice, I could only transmit this solitary sliver of divine intent after immense hardship. Heh, if even approaching your dream is this difficult, then I have found the right person."
*Wait, is this guy that old tortoise monster?* He Lingchuan recalled having a matter of life and death he wanted to ask, yet for the moment, he could not remember it at all.
"Through divination, I determined that you are the only one capable of keeping my true form away from the crocodile demon; thus, I ask for your aid," the voice continued. "However, the dire omen of great calamity I foresaw was by no means empty words."
He Lingchuan wanted to ask whether he was truly doomed to die.
"In this world, no outcome is set in stone," the Water Spirit continued. "Alas, your fate is bound by a mighty power, beyond anyone's ability to probe. I have barely managed to divine a few lines of verse, which I hope will help you escape the calamity of mortal peril before long."
*Riddles again?!*
...
After an unknown amount of time, He Yue shook He Lingchuan awake. "We've arrived! Hurry and get out of the carriage!"
He sat up, murmuring under his breath. He Yue seemed to overhear his brother muttering about 'hiding one's flaws' and 'the false and the true,' and could not help smiling. "Brother, what are you chanting?"
"Had a dream. There was an old fellow who wouldn't stop prattling at me, but refused to say anything genuinely useful." He Lingchuan yawned as he hopped down from the carriage, finding a sky full of stars and a gentle evening breeze. This nap must have lasted at least four hours.
"Have we reached Qianteng Town?"
"We passed Qianteng Town long ago; we're in Wuliu County now. Qianteng Town is just a small hamlet of around three hundred people. If our convoy wants proper resupply, we had to come here," He Yue said with a smile. "The magistrate of Wuliu County sent word that he's hosting a banquet at Hongtai Restaurant to welcome us and help soothe our nerves."
"The magistrate of Wuliu County is being this attentive?" He Lingchuan paused. "He's certainly well informed."
"Xianling Village, Qianteng Town, and Desheng Town all fall under Wuliu County's jurisdiction," He Yue explained as he walked alongside him. "The magistrate heard that rebels slaughtered a village to assemble their forces here and even hunted down high officials of the royal court. He expressed great shock, which is why he wishes to extend his deepest regards to us."
*Did 'high officials of the royal court' refer to the Old Man?* Heh, indeed. He Chunhua already possessed an official letter of appointment, making him the Chief Administrator of Xiazhou by law—truly a regional dignitary.
It was only natural for the magistrate of Wuliu County to be attentive. At that thought, He Lingchuan stretched contentedly, glancing left and right. "Hey, why does our convoy look so small?"
"The county post station is quite large, and local gentry offered two manors free of charge for our lodging, so all of our people have been accommodated. Furthermore, the civilians from Xianling Village already parted ways with us back in Qianteng Town; Wuliu County will handle their subsequent resettlement."
Chapter 147