Another Upheaval Arises

Bao Guanjie asked the burly man, "Sir, your—" "Yuezheng." Yuezheng was not a given name, but a surname. He was still being cautious. After all, western Yuan was a remote frontier far removed from the northwestern front line; how many people could possibly recognize him? Unfortunately, he had run into He Chunhua. Though the man had not spoken his given name, He Chunhua remembered at once: among the Grand Marshal's subordinates was a fierce general who had suppressed rebel armies two and a half years ago and traded blows back and forth with the Yuan general Wu Di last year. This man was named Yuezheng Qing! It seemed Ling Jinbao's intelligence had been accurate. For the Grand Marshal to dispatch Yuezheng Qing to the Panlong Desert showed how desperately he coveted the Dafang Pot. Conversely, in an era where capable generals were hard to find, eliminating Yuezheng Qing would undoubtedly weaken the Grand Marshal's strength. With this thought, He Chunhua said nothing, turned around, and walked toward the temple. His intention was crystal clear: he meant to sit on the sidelines and watch. Zhang Lianhai smiled. "One who recognizes the circumstances is truly a man of wisdom." Bao Guanjie's face grew dark as water. He Chunhua commanded the largest force; if he refused to join hands, their side would be at a distinct disadvantage against the Heavenly Palace. Fortunately, Yuezheng Qing spoke up: "Please make way." The lamp spirit transformed into a two-headed serpent, hissing at him. Zhang Lianhai said indifferently, "You must defeat us before you can enter." ... In the center of the temple was an open clearing, guarded on all four sides by the Blackwater City troops. The He father and son walked inside. The outer walls had collapsed long ago, offering a direct view of the situation by the pool. Bao Guanjie and Yuezheng Qing seemed to have reached an agreement, leading their squads to advance simultaneously toward both flanks of the Heavenly Palace contingent. Zhang Lianhai's expression also grew grim. These fellows' greed for the supreme treasure had already overridden their reverence for the Heavenly Palace! They had to be taught a lesson. In the earlier battle of Blackwater City, every faction had merely gone through the motions, none revealing their trump cards. He Lingchuan was keen to see what they were relying on. He Chunhua crossed his arms and asked, "What do you think? Do they really dare raise a hand against the Heavenly Palace?" "Otherwise, how will they account for themselves when they return? Everyone came here with orders. As someone else's subordinate, one only needs to answer to those above—who cares if the deluge follows after?" He Lingchuan pointed again. "Look, more people have arrived. It's truly lively tonight." From the shadows of the buildings, another one or two hundred people actually rushed out! He Chunhua looked closely, torn between amusement and exasperation. Judging by their armor and weapons, these were actually Andongese! Right—on the very night Liao Shan had besieged Blackwater City, the Panlong Ruins had emitted the red light for the first time. Taking advantage of the occasion, Liao Shan had dispatched a force to the ruins to seize the treasure. He Chunhua had nearly forgotten about this, never expecting the Andongese still hadn't left. He Lingchuan calculated silently. Tonight, the Panlong Ruins had actually gathered several factions: the Heavenly Palace, Baling, the Grand Marshal, the Andongese, and He Chunhua, with the Jianyang Sect waiting outside the city. Of course, if He Lingchuan counted himself as a separate force, that made a full seven factions, all here for the Dafang Pot. And those were only the ones he could see. Panlong Ancient City was so vast; who knew if other factions were lurking within? In all probability, there were. "What do you think, Father?" He Lingchuan asked. "Can the Heavenly Palace hold them off?" He had to divert He Chunhua's attention to ensure he had no window to cast divine arts. "If the Andongese enter the fray too, it's hard to say." The Andongese were numerous, second only to the Blackwater City troops. If they joined forces with the people of Baling and the Grand Marshal, the three together would number nearly three hundred men. "Moreover, we are waiting on the sidelines. Even if we do not strike, the Heavenly Palace will still be wary." The He father and son had merely withdrawn into the temple, barely a dozen or so zhang from the pool. If the four factions fought tooth and nail, who was to say the Blackwater City troops wouldn't step out to reap the spoils? He Lingchuan asked again, "Why hasn't Zhang Lianhai gone inside himself?" Anyone could see that to seize the Dafang Pot, one had to enter the red light. He Chunhua shook his head; he couldn't figure it out either. Could sending a few attendants inside really seize the Dafang Pot? Zhang Lianhai wouldn't be so conceited, would he? Then what was the Heavenly Palace envoy planning? He Lingchuan knew one key fact beyond what his father knew: he had taken the pot lid from Mount Xu, and six months later the Dafang Pot had suddenly emerged into the world. These two major events were not merely sequential; they had a causal link. The Heavenly Palace had to be fully aware that this journey to the Panlong Ruins might not only recover the Dafang Pot, but might even capture the culprit behind the turmoil at Mount Xu! Under such circumstances, how could the Heavenly Palace merely send a few attendants into the red light to go through the motions? Given what he knew of the Heavenly Palace, even if they hadn't mobilized in full force, they would at least be secretly brewing some foul scheme. Hiss... could it truly be as he suspected? He Lingchuan suddenly felt a twinge of worry. He Chunhua suddenly retrieved a die from his storage ring and tossed it onto the ground. The die had a reddish-gold base, with distinct colors and designs on each of its six faces. He Lingchuan even saw that one face was pitch-black, bearing the image of what seemed like an evil ghost's head, baring its teeth in a grimace. The die rolled across the ground with a clatter. Both father and son looked to see which face would end up on top, but it caught in a stone indentation, balancing right on an edge! "Well now..." That meant it didn't count. Young Master He had gambled plenty and understood immediately. He Chunhua's expression grew even darker. This die was a tool for divination. Its six faces represented six different outcomes: Auspicious, Inauspicious, Great Auspiciousness, Great Calamity, Neutral, and a blank face—which signified unpredictable. He had thought the worst result would be rolling the blank face, never expecting that not even one of the six faces would land! Was this caused by the force interfering with the red string on his wrist? He Chunhua instinctively looked up at the red pillar of light. Rolling again was futile; for divining the same question, only the first roll was valid. Curious, He Lingchuan asked, "What kind of treasure is this?" "This die can divine good or bad fortune in the near term." He Chunhua moved to bend down and retrieve it, but his elder son was quicker, scooping it up in one sweep. "If Father had such a treasure, why didn't you bring it out earlier?" He Lingchuan held the die, turning it over and over in his hands. "Obtained by chance recently." A faint smile tugged at the corner of He Chunhua's mouth. "Why don't you try, Chuan'er? In these Panlong Ruins, our fates are tied together. Since I couldn't divine an outcome, having you point the way would be fine too." "Sure." His mind stirring, He Lingchuan casually tossed the die. It tumbled across the ground for a couple of turns without getting stuck this time. Curious, the onlookers gathered around to look: The blank face was up. This face was stark white, completely devoid of markings. "What does this mean?" He Chunhua's brows knitted almost into a single line. "Undetermined." No fixed outcome; neither good nor ill could be determined. He Lingchuan, on the other hand, seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. "As long as it's not an omen of doom!" When He Chunhua had produced the die, He Lingchuan had actually been startled. Nailuotian called itself the God of Fate; this die was obviously a little trinket it had given He Chunhua. If He Chunhua had actually managed to divine something, then... Fortunately, all was well. By the pool, the three factions aside from the Heavenly Palace kept exchanging covert glances. Zhang Lianhai's primary vigilance was, of course, directed toward the people of Baling. Bao Guanjie spoke incessantly, still trying to persuade him to yield the way, as if completely blind to the refusal written all over Zhang Lianhai's face. They wanted to make another push, or several more. This also demonstrated from another angle that Baling was truly loath to provoke Beijia. "They're dragging their feet too much. Do they plan to dilly-dally until dawn?" He Lingchuan covertly signaled to Qiu Hu and pointed toward the pool, meaning, "Light a fire under them." He had to muddy the waters as quickly as possible. Understanding immediately, Qiu Hu formed an incantation seal with his hands behind his back. A tiny mud snake slithered out from a fissure by the pool. It was shorter than a chopstick and dull yellowish-brown all over, blending almost seamlessly into the sandy earth. The barriers erected by the Heavenly Palace attendants were all designed to ward off external threats; who could have anticipated a snake crawling out from beneath the pool curb right behind them? The moment it emerged, it darted straight for an attendant of the Heavenly Palace and sank its teeth into his ankle! The attendant cried out in pain, "Aiyo!" He had been holding his ritual staff pointed outward, his nerves wound tight; startled by the sudden strike, the divine ability he had been channeling discharged. Bang! A fireball narrowly missed one of the Andongese. At the same time, the mud snake collapsed, turning back into a lump of clay. Destroying the technique and erasing all trace—a deft move. He Lingchuan cast an approving glance at Qiu Hu. The situation by the pool was already precarious; how could it withstand such provocation? With the Heavenly Palace suddenly attacking, the remaining three factions retaliated at once. In an instant, divine arts and arrows filled the air. Bao Guanjie and the Andongese joined forces to pin down the lamp spirit, while Yuezheng Qing seized the opportunity to lunge straight for Zhang Lianhai. To capture bandits, capture the ringleader first; once Zhang was subdued, everything else would be simple. Even now, he did not consider cutting him down with a single blade. Dodging the blow, Zhang Lianhai suddenly raised his voice and shouted, "General He, how about joining forces with me? You may lead all your troops inside!" He Chunhua was currently stationed inside the temple with two to three hundred elite soldiers; whichever side he joined, the scales of victory would likely tip immediately. At Zhang Lianhai's shout, the faces of the other three factions changed. Yet He Chunhua merely stood with his hands behind his back, uttering not a word. The strongest and most formidable force on the field was the Heavenly Palace faction. If his side aided the Heavenly Palace, even if they could enter the pool, they might not end up with the Dafang Pot in the end. Far better to strike out the strongest player first; then the remaining factions would still have a chance. Seeing him choose to stand idly by, the other three factions felt greatly reassured, and their attacks grew even fiercer. Zhang Lianhai raged, "The Heavenly Palace is determined to have the treasure in these ruins! If you dare seize it, your clans and kingdoms will be exterminated!" His opponents heard his words, paused for a split second, and continued their assault. The Heavenly Palace's threat was deafening, sending shivers through their hearts. But they could not halt, because everyone present except He Chunhua was acting under orders. Their superiors commanded them to seize the treasure; could they report back that because the Heavenly Palace wanted it, they had yielded it with open hands? Unacceptable! Whatever those above ordered them to do, they simply obeyed. As for how the Heavenly Palace would retaliate, that was a matter for later. Since they had already raised their hands, they had no fear of causing offense. Besides, the lamp spirit was truly hard to handle; even with the factions joining forces against it, it had killed four men in an instant. Seeing it so ferocious, who dared hold back? In mere dozens of breaths, the Heavenly Palace contingent lost three men, while the Baling Kingdom and the Andongese lost six each. Yuezheng Qing's men had held back slightly, suffering only three dead and four wounded. He Chunhua also heard Zhang Lianhai's threat and knitted his brows slightly. Was the Heavenly Palace's obsession with the Dafang Pot truly so intense? If he were to seize the Dafang Pot, would he be making an enemy of the Heavenly Palace? Anyone else might shrink back at this thought. But He Chunhua, on the contrary, wanted to stay all the more.