Songshan County, inside the gatehouse.
Xu Xinnian listened to the deputy general’s report on casualties, then silently let out a breath.
“Go on, tell the soldiers to keep a sharp eye out. Don’t give the enemy’s experts a chance to launch a night raid.”
After two sieges, the enemy’s elite soldiers remained unharmed; those who had died were all assorted troops made up of refugees.
The main general of the Yunzhou army was a clever man. He used the lives of refugees to deplete the defending troops’ cannons and crossbow bolts. Besides, he also mingled experts among the disorderly army, so they could seize the chance to climb the walls, kill at will, and destroy the defending ballistae and cannons.
“The enemy’s main general is clever, but night raids seem particularly foolish.”
Second Brother Xu glanced at Miao Youfang beside him and said,
“Something about this seems odd.”
Miao Youfang could not make sense of it at all and shrugged. “What’s odd about it? I think he’s smart, knows how to take the chance to raid by night when they’re unprepared.”
“I told you just now the disadvantages of a night assault. A seasoned commander wouldn’t be so reckless, unless he has a deadline by which he must seize Songshan County,” Xu Xinnian analysed calmly.
“Anyway, I only care about killing the enemy. I never get involved in thinking matters,” Miao Youfang clarified up front, then started to boast.
“Perhaps I never told you, back in the great Hundred Thousand Mountains of the Southern Marches, I helped Silver Gong Xu break into the Buddhist stronghold at Nanfa Temple and fought to the death with Buddhist masters.
“In the end, I defeated the second-rank al-Asura of the Buddhists, laying the foundations for the southern Yao uprising. With my help today, you can rest completely assured.”
Xu Xinnian glanced at him and said slowly,
“I met Protector Yuan in Qingzhou City. He told me all about what happened in the great southern mountains.”
Miao Youfang froze for a moment as his boasting was exposed, then forced a grin and said,
“That wretched monkey Yao really is a pain.”
To this, Xu Xinnian sincerely agreed.
“Great minds think alike.”
The two men exchanged a knowing sideways glance, as if to say,
So, you’ve also been through some truly awkward moments.
At that moment, a soldier hurried in and reported loudly.
“Sir Xu, the enemy sent over a letter on an arrow.”
Xu Xinnian’s gaze flickered but he replied calmly,
“Bring it here.”
Miao Youfang stood up immediately, took the arrow letter from the soldier, and handed it to Xu Xinnian.
The latter opened it and read. After he finished, he gave a cold laugh.
“What does it say?” Miao Youfang asked quickly.
Second Brother Xu replied coldly, “The enemy’s main general is someone called Zhuo Haoran. He says he’ll take the city in three days, cut off my head, and send it to my elder brother as a greeting gift.”
…
Ten li east of the city gate, in the Yunzhou army camp.
The bonfires blazed, one tent after another stood silent. The soldiers had settled early, while the armoured troops patrolled back and forth, vigilant and ready.
Further out, scouts watched the perimeter.
Outside the command tent, Zhuo Haoran, armoured and powerfully built, personally executed a captured Great Feng scout.
He licked the blood-soaked blade and gave a fierce, savage grin.
“I never expected the one defending Songshan County would be Xu Qi’an’s cousin. When I’ve taken Songshan County and taken that fellow’s head, I’ll see that it’s well-preserved and sent to the Xu family.”
Deputy General Zhao Tian said gravely,
“According to this scout, that Xu Xinnian is a disciple of Zhang Shen of Cloud Deer Academy and is an expert in military strategy. We mustn’t be careless.”
Knowing well how arrogant Zhuo Haoran could be, he quickly added,
“Still, with General’s courage, the fall of the city is only a matter of time. If the commander-in-chief hears that you’ve taken Xu Xinnian’s head, there will be rewards for certain.”
Zhuo Haoran nodded.
“Pass on my orders, whoever takes Xu Xinnian’s head will be granted a thousand taels of silver and made a centurion.”
…
The next day, Xu Qi’an awoke from his meditation to find a woman before him who seemed like a lilac blossom, wreathed in melancholy.
She was beautiful indeed, and yet that air of sorrow made one forget her beauty and want only to draw close, to hear her heart’s sorrow.
“Xu Lang, you’re awake,” Luo Yuheng said softly.
It’s you, Little Sorrow… Xu Qi’an breathed a sigh of relief. Among the Seven Emotions, the hardest to handle were the ‘Desire’, ‘Anger’, and ‘Evil’ personalities.
The anger personality was relatively manageable: just a bad temper, quick to anger, and prone to violence.
But the desire personality was what Xu Qi’an dreaded most. It meant he was in ‘pile driver mode’ twenty-four hours a day and his waist would suffer greatly.
He had never experienced the evil personality. Last time it appeared, it was the last one out, and Luo Yuheng had chased it away early on.
From his little aunt’s wariness, Xu Qi’an guessed the evil personality was probably something like the vicious empresses in palace dramas.
As long as those three didn’t show up, Xu Qi’an didn’t care about the rest.
Little Sorrow was delicate and sentimental, and always lamented that she was old enough to be her lover’s mother.
“National Teacher, you are as beautiful as the morning sun, making it impossible not to lose oneself,” Xu Qi’an said, as if caring for a fragile flower, comforting the sensitive Little Sorrow.
Little Sorrow showed a bashful and happy expression and said softly,
“Xu Lang, there is no need to call me National Teacher. Just call me Yuheng.”
There we go, you’re starting to social die again… Xu Qi’an shivered, thinking, what’s the point? As soon as you return to normal later, you’ll want to cut me down with your sword.
…
The outskirts of the Abyss, the edge of the primeval forest.
Led by the beyond-mortal leaders such as Heaven Gu Grandma, the fourth-rank experts of the seven tribes were all gathered at the edge of the primeval forest.
A heavy pressure weighed on the hearts of the shaman clans. The explosive surge of the Gu God’s power often meant that a beyond-mortal Gu beast could be born.
A crazed and mutated monster, and a beyond-mortal at that, meant nothing but slaughter and destruction. In the history of the shaman clans, quite a few chieftains had died at the hands of beyond-mortal Gu beasts.
It could be said that the beyond-mortal Gu beasts were only dealt with at the risk of the chiefs’ lives.
“The Gu God’s power is several times stronger than usual.”
The speaker was a fourth-rank elder of the Corpse Gu tribe, who was accompanied by three sturdy walking corpse puppets.
“Even leaving aside the issue of a beyond-mortal, the number of fourth-rank Gu beasts and Gu insects will skyrocket in the short term. If we are careless, we might well fall.”
The Poison Gu tribe’s elder spoke while looking at the six elders of the Strength Gu tribe.
The great elder swore:
“What are you staring at? I’ve killed more Gu beasts than you’ve eaten meat.”
Though he spoke defiantly, the great elder’s brow was still furrowed tightly.
There had not been many outbreaks of the Gu God’s power in their lifetimes, they had only experienced it twice, and neither event could compare to the chaos of the previous day.
After absorbing and digesting through the night, the Gu insects and beasts near the Abyss had most likely already initially transformed.
Strength itself was not the key issue. The main concern was that the primeval forest surrounding the Abyss was vast and boundless. To carry out a blanket search was nearly impossible. If even the slightest oversight occurred, future beyond-mortal Gu insects might be able to survive and grow.
“Fortunately, Silver Gong Xu is helping us. He’s a martial artist, skilled at killing. With his assistance, we are truly like a tiger with wings.”
The second elder of the Strength Gu tribe said.
The elders of each tribe nodded slightly. Even the Poison Gu, Corpse Gu and Desire Gu tribes, who did not like Central Plains people, had to admit that what the second elder said was true.
“If only there are arcanists to help, we could just bombard the Abyss with cannons and save a lot of trouble. Or, a system like the Human Sect Daoists, with their sword formations.”
A middle-aged man beside Heaven Gu Grandma said.
As the group were discussing this, they saw a golden light riding the wind towards them. It was Silver Gong Xu, with a fiery ring burning behind his head.
At his side was a woman flying on a sword. She stood on the sword, wore feathered robes, her hand held a horsetail whisk, and the vermilion mark on her brow was especially eye-catching.
At the moment they saw her, the shaman men were all dazed, then revealed obsessed looks. Their reason told them this was a pale-skinned Central Plains woman, but their eyes told them she was the most beautiful woman in the world.
In this woman, each saw the one they were most enamoured with.
Xu Qi’an landed, nodded towards Heaven Gu Grandma and the others, and said,
“This is the Daoist Leader of the Human Sect, the National Teacher of the Great Feng.”
Daoist Leader of the Human Sect… other than Heaven Gu Grandma, everyone stared at Luo Yuheng in astonishment. If they remembered correctly, the current Human Sect Daoist Leader was a second-rank expert.
“I specially invited her to help cleanse the Gu beasts,” Xu Qi’an continued.
With a Human Sect sword cultivator involved, cleansing Gu insects and beasts would be much easier. The elders of the Strength Gu, Heart Gu, Heaven Gu and Dark Gu tribes all brightened immediately, genuinely delighted.
But the elders of the Poison Gu, Desire Gu and Corpse Gu tribes were either silent or awkward, for in their hearts, they were hostile towards Xu Qi’an.
He represented the Great Feng dynasty.
Why should they treat their enemy with courtesy? That was the shared feeling among them.
But upon seeing Xu Qi’an bring the Daoist Leader of the Human Sect all the way from the capital to help the shaman clans cleanse Gu beasts,
Such sincere goodwill left them unable to utter anything harsh.
To get the National Teacher of the Great Feng to come to the Southern Marches must have cost him a massive favour… the three tribes’ elders thought to themselves.
“To be able to invite the Daoist Leader of the Human Sect, he must have spent a huge favour,” the great elder said emotionally.
Other tribes may keep their doubts to themselves, but the Strength Gu tribe were always ones to speak their mind.
Xu Qi’an glanced at Luo Yuheng and gave a casual “oh”:
“No worries, the National Teacher is my Dao companion.”
As soon as he spoke, Xu Qi’an saw that the expressions of the twenty-odd people present instantly turned very strange.
The Daoist Leader of the Human Sect is his dual-cultivation partner…I
Heaven be damned, such an unmatched beauty had been conquered by this crude martial man…
Silver Gong Xu truly lives up to being the top martial artist of the Great Feng. The strength of the Central Plains is deeper than any of us imagined…
Hmph, she stole my man…
Various thoughts flashed across everyone’s minds.
Heaven Gu Grandma nodded to Luo Yuheng and said,
“Let’s depart.”
…
With Luo Yuheng’s help, the task of cleansing the Gu beasts became much easier and quicker.
A sword cultivator about to face tribulation, the power she unleashed earned her the admiration of all the shaman clans.
At dusk, Xu Qi’an and the others withdrew from the Abyss and returned to the tribe.
He did not return to the Strength Gu tribe with Longtu. Instead, he caught up to Heaven Gu Grandma and said,
“Grandma, may I have a word?”
Heaven Gu Grandma, leaning on her cane, walked a stretch with him. The old lady asked kindly,
“Is it about asking for reinforcements?”
Xu Qi’an nodded.
Heaven Gu Grandma continued walking, pondering,
“Forget the Desire Gu and Poison Gu tribes, their prejudices against the Great Feng are too deeply ingrained to change overnight. The Corpse Gu tribe might be persuaded. Wei Yuan is Youshi’s enemy but the rest don’t resent Great Feng so much.
“The Dark Gu tribe, due to their habits, are only slightly better than the Strength Gu tribe, but they lack supplies and live in poverty. You might try from this angle.”
Due to their habits? Do they play hide-and-seek all day… Xu Qi’an resisted making a joke.
“The Heart Gu tribe are relatively rational, Chunyan seems to like you well enough. Negotiate earnestly and it shouldn’t be too hard. The Strength Gu tribe just need promises of food, their people are warlike and unafraid of sacrifice. The Heaven Gu tribe are not adept at fighting, best at star-gazing and techniques similar to arcanists, so don’t count on us.”
“Thank you, Grandma.”
Xu Qi’an cupped his fist.
After asking for the whereabouts of the tribes, he and Luo Yuheng returned to the Strength Gu tribe. Once the National Teacher was inside the room, the first thing she did was paste talismans on the doors and windows, cutting off all connection with the outside.
Xu Qi’an, meanwhile, sent Xu Lingyin to stay in Lina’s room.
Slap, slap, slap…
In the dim candlelight, with the Southern Marches’ sweltering heat and the annoyance of mosquitoes, Xu Qi’an kept swatting mosquitoes for the National Teacher, doing so late into the night.
…
The next morning, as the sun just rose, Xu Qi’an, seizing the moment before the National Teacher was awake, headed for the Dark Gu tribe.
The Dark Gu tribe was located in the south-west of the Abyss, a fairly large town, with three-metre-high earthen walls, backed against the mountains, and a small river flowing gently by outside.
The town had a population of about seven thousand.
Of course, that was not the full population of the Dark Gu tribe. The shaman clans had multiplied for thousands of years in the Southern Marches and formed numerous small tribes. Scattered around this big town were many small villages.
Xu Qi’an used shadow-jumping all the way. By the time he reached the Dark Gu tribe, the sun had already climbed high.
The river outside town glowed with golden-red light, quietly flowing by.
The town was eerily quiet, as though everyone had suddenly disappeared from a place brimming with life, a disturbing silence.
He looked around and saw a child in Southern Marches garb, sitting at a house entrance nibbling on a cornbread.
“Where are the adults in your home?”
Xu Qi’an approached.
As he spoke, he observed the boy. The clothes were simple. The cornbread seemed to be his breakfast.
The little boy stared blankly, clearly not understanding the Central Plains tongue.
At that moment, a young man crawled out from the shadow by the water vat at the door, wearing a mix of azure and blue, complexion deathly pale, head wrapped in an azure scarf.
“Are you Silver Gong Xu?”
The young man asked respectfully.
“Are you his father?” Xu Qi’an asked back.
“I’m in the patrol team. As soon as you entered town, we noticed. The chief instructed that if Silver Gong Xu arrived, I was to take you to him.”
After speaking, the young man glanced at the child,
“His parents are hiding. They won’t come out for at least two hours.”
Speaking of hiding, I kind of… Xu Qi’an nodded calmly,
“Lead the way.”
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