He was a formidable general who had fled a fallen city in the third year of the Panlong calendar to pledge allegiance to Zhong Shengguang. With a distinguished battle record of his own, he had been placed in direct command of troops immediately upon joining Commander Zhong and had won several victories over the years.
Channeling true power, his voice boomed across the entire square. "You may have already heard today's objective. That is right—it is to escort the single most vital caravan of this autumn and winter safely back to Puxigou! The moment we bring them back from White Bear Pass to Puxigou, we can claim triumph. Ever since the fall of Weicheng, Puxigou has served as Panlong City's westernmost frontline, shielding us from the sharp teeth and vicious claws of Baling and the Xianyou Kingdom. Thus, protecting an allied state means protecting our Panlong City; guarding our fellow countrymen and neighbors means guarding ourselves! Brave warriors, charge to the front and protect our Panlong!"
Spirits ran high below the platform, the crowd stirring with fierce passion. "Charge to the front, protect our Panlong!"
By the second cheer, the surrounding civilians had joined in instinctively, their cries shaking the southern city.
Then the South Gate of Panlong City swung wide, and General Nan Ke led his army forth.
Passing beneath the magnificent South Gate once more, He Lingchuan looked up and could not help drawing a sharp breath.
He still remembered the icy chill he had felt the first time he passed through here. Over his subsequent dream entries, he had taken care to gather medicinal ingredients, finally acquiring the rarest primary herb—heart-rotting grass, which grew only in places of extreme yin—after entering the dream the previous night. With it, he had concocted Soul-Shielding Powder.
Indeed, among the effects left behind after Sun Fuping's execution was the formula for Soul-Shielding Powder. This medicine briefly allowed one to see "unclean things" and could also cause one's life flame to temporarily mask the aura of a living person. For now, He Lingchuan needed only its first effect.
He had swallowed the Soul-Shielding Powder during the oath-taking ceremony at South Gate Square. Passing under the South Gate now, he finally confirmed his longstanding suspicion:
Swarming beneath the South Gate were countless Three Corpse Worms, invisible to the naked eye!
These mist-like entities were no different from the ones he had seen in the Panlong Desert, yet ordinary soldiers and civilians of Panlong City heard no bizarre noises when passing through the South Gate.
They were like air—unseen and untouchable, yet unmistakably real.
He Lingchuan even saw them flit effortlessly in and out of small openings in the barbican walls. Between the first and second gates, because the walls were towering and fitted with eaves, even the midday sun could scarcely reach the flagstones of the barbican enclosure. As a result, this place had become the free roaming ground of the Three Corpse Worms.
They drifted straight through every passerby—likely the reason He Lingchuan had felt that chill beneath the gate. Yet they did not proactively invade human bodies or disrupt people's thoughts.
Evidently, Zhong Shengguang, who possessed the Dafang Pot, wielded formidable mastery over the Three Corpse Worms.
At this point, He Lingchuan finally understood why Panlong City dared open its gates to trade without fear of enemy infiltrators slipping inside to cause chaos:
The gates were guarded by unseen Three Corpse Worms, creatures exceptionally sensitive to human emotion—especially malice.
Anyone harboring ill intent toward Panlong City, no matter how deeply buried, would have it provoked and amplified by the Three Corpse Worms. In practice, this likely manifested as sudden bouts of madness, leaving the gate guards to simply round them up and arrest them.
With the divine support of the Dafang Pot, the fundamental policies, appearance, and strategic landscape of the entire Panlong City had been reshaped. Once again, He Lingchuan felt the inseparable bond between this divine artifact and the city's destiny.
...
Thirty-six hours later.
General Nan Ke's army was marching across the vast wasteland.
The Panlong Wasteland was not lush with water and grass like the Chipa Plateau behind Panlong City; its terrain consisted mostly of shrubby tundra dotted with scattered groves.
It was autumn now. The pasture grass had withered to yellow, and the bleak, desolate chill of dying nature was especially pronounced across the wasteland.
Mounted on his horse, He Lingchuan raised his waterskin and took a small sip of clear water.
The force of twelve hundred men that had set out for White Bear Pass had now grown to nineteen hundred, accompanied by more than two hundred heavily laden freight carts.
Indeed, they had successfully rendezvoused with the merchant convoy and were currently escorting them back to Puxigou.
These supplies consisted mainly of civilian livelihood goods, sufficient to guarantee that the residents of Puxigou could endure the grueling winter on the wasteland.
General Nan Ke was a seasoned campaigner. Upon receiving the caravan at White Bear Pass, he had not rushed to turn back; instead, he had ordered the entire army to rest for six hours, allowing both men and mounts to recuperate thoroughly.
Everyone knew that the return journey was the real test.
Ever since leaving Panlong City, He Lingchuan had been quietly pondering his newly acquired divine ability. After dozens of hours, he had gained a few insights.
He Lingchuan got along quite well with his squadmates. After all, he was easygoing, didn't scramble for petty gains, and possessed solid martial skill—who wouldn't appreciate such a dependable teammate?
Door Plank rode abreast with him, chatting idly off and on for quite a while.
The hulking fellow lived up to his moniker, his shoulders and chest as broad and thick as a wooden door plank. Standing in front during battle, he inspired an immense sense of security. Though people often said that nine out of ten stout men were simpletons, his personality was far from "honest and simple."
He Lingchuan had already gleaned plenty of inside gossip from him. For instance, the battle at Baijiagang three days prior had also been directed by General Nan Ke. That engagement had been won brilliantly, claiming more than eight hundred enemy heads and even slaying the opposing general, Hua Muna, on the spot.
Hua Muna was the younger brother of Hua Mucuo, the supreme commander of the Baling forces garrisoned in Weicheng, and had been known for his fierce bravery. The two brothers had fought back-to-back on battlefields for many years, so Hua Muna's death was bound to be a crushing blow to his elder brother, Hua Mucuo.
Bolstered by this grand victory, Panlong City had decided to strike while the iron was hot, immediately launching this most critical supply transport to Puxigou. At this moment, the Baling army in Weicheng had just suffered a major defeat and their morale was in the dirt; before they finished regrouping, they shouldn't come looking for trouble.
Or so they hoped.
Hearing this, He Lingchuan could not resist asking, "What kind of temperament does Hua Mucuo have?" In military gamesmanship, one had to factor in the psychology of the opponent, especially that of the enemy commander.
"I hear he is quite composed and dislikes reckless advances to chase glory," Door Plank sighed. "If he were the sort to slam the table and fly into a rage, our escort mission would be ambushed nine times out of ten." Yet in reality, no one could predict whether Hua Mucuo would seek vengeance in anger or force himself to swallow this bitter pill.
In his heart, He Lingchuan weighed the stratagems Sun Hongye had offered. Reality was naturally far more complex than armchair theorizing, but was Panlong City intentionally setting up a trap in this direction? After all, seven battles had already been fought in the preliminary stages with mixed outcomes, and Panlong City's true intentions had been veiled beneath layer after layer of combat.
Though no one pointed it out, He Lingchuan still harbored a faint premonition that this escort mission was vastly different from usual.
As the number of times he entered the Panlong dreamscape grew, He Lingchuan had already discovered that his dreams of Panlong City were not a continuous, linear progression in time, but rather fragmented scene transitions.
Every time he entered, it marked a temporal node in this world, where events great or small were unfolding.
While this world tempered him, it seemed to be revealing something to him as well.
Perhaps seeing that he had fallen silent for too long, Door Plank suddenly said, "Broken Saber, why did you join the Patrol Guard?"
He Lingchuan paused. "To protect our home and defend our state. What other reason could there be?"
"Too vague," Door Plank chuckled. "Skinny joined the Patrol Guard to save up money and give his family a better life. Willow's elder brother was killed by Xianyou men, so she wants revenge. As for me, I want to forge a name and build an illustrious career. Who doesn't have their own petty calculations?"
No matter how grand a person's convictions were, they required a foundation in reality to sustain them.
"I want to join the Gale Army," He Lingchuan replied honestly. "But I heard that anyone below a squad leader isn't even qualified to apply."
"Join the Gale Army?" Door Plank glanced at him. "Drawn by General Red's fame?"
"You could say that." He Lingchuan had entered the dream many times, yet he had never actually met General Red face-to-face, having only caught a distant glimpse before logging off.
"General Red is the driving force behind many recruits enlisting. Seeing how quiet you usually are, I never guessed you idolized heroes too."
He Lingchuan let out a wry chuckle.
To think the words "quiet and taciturn" would ever be applied to him—to the overbearing young tyrant of Blackwater City. If the He family heard this, who knew what expressions they would wear?
Then again, inside the dream, he truly did think more and do more while speaking far less.
In reality, he had to conceal himself, had to wear a mask.
Here, however, he could simply be his true self.
A distinct sight emerged on the horizon. Door Plank let out a long breath. "Up ahead is the Ghost Needle Stone Forest."
As the column pressed forward, the landscape ahead grew increasingly distinct.
He Lingchuan had passed this area several times in the past. Ghost Needle Stone Forest was a famous landmark along Red Cliff Road. Its perimeter lay at least a hundred fathoms from the main Red Cliff thoroughfare, so travelers in later generations could only gaze upon it from afar.
Countless ages ago, this place must have been a lush river valley where flowing water carved out a crisscrossing maze of ravines. Later, when the great river shifted its course and no longer flowed here, the wind and sand took over, sculpting peak after peak into shapes resembling folding screens or billowing sails.
If one wished, one could find countless routes winding through Ghost Needle Stone Forest.
It was a rare wonder across the flat wasteland.
"This is an ideal spot for an ambush." It had multiple tiers crossing above and below, who knew how many layers. He Lingchuan muttered, "Will we pass through Ghost Needle Stone Forest?"
"If we can see it, there's no way General Nan Ke can't," Door Plank said, lifting his chin. "I don't think we will."
Skinny urged his horse forward to catch up. "How about I start a wager? One tael of silver."
He Lingchuan smiled. "Sure, then I bet we will. Ghost Needle Stone Forest is simply too vast; bypassing it would take at least twenty more hours. More time means more risk."
"Bets are open, bets are open!" Skinny raised his voice, grinning smugly. "A wager on whether our army takes Ghost Needle Stone Forest or not! Bets start at one tael!"
Though the wasteland scenery was scenic, it became monotonous after a while. The troops had been growing bored on the march, so hearing him propose a wager, they responded enthusiastically.
Skinny's grin stretched from ear to ear. The house always raked in both ends without losing, so he was about to make another tidy profit.
...
"Why is there clamor in the rear?"
At the vanguard of the army, General Nan Ke looked back.
His adjutant immediately said, "I will go reprimand them."
General Nan Ke paid it no further heed and turned to the herald. "Pass my order: skirt around Ghost Needle Stone Forest."
The terrain of Ghost Needle Stone Forest was far too treacherous—the perfect site for an enemy ambush. There was no need to take such a risk; an extra detour hardly mattered.
The herald acknowledged the command and was about to spur his horse toward the rear when the hurried clatter of hooves rang out ahead, a lone rider galloping toward them at breakneck speed.
The advance scout had returned.
The horse was steaming all over, clearly having just run for its life.
Without even dismounting in time, the scout saluted while gasping for breath: "A massive enemy... enemy force has appeared in the northwest, less than fifteen li from us!"
Chapter 189