Ze Tian Ji (Way of Choices)

Chapter 1148 – Infiltrating Xuelao City

Chen Changsheng smiled and said, “I know that you’re unwilling to accept this, but there truly is no problem.”

Tang Thirty-Six was quiet for a while, then he said, “You’re the best doctor. If you can’t cure it, where can I go to get it treated?”

Chen Changsheng returned, “I’m not skilled in treating colds, and the Cinnabar Pill also isn’t very appropriate.”

Tang Thirty-Six sneered, “I wouldn’t eat that thing even if you gave it to me, because I don’t eat people.”

Chen Changsheng proposed, “So you have to go back first to treat your illness.”

Tang Thirty-Six was quiet again. Then he said, “Our gatekeeper is much older now. Without me to help, I’m worried that his body won’t be able to keep up.”

Chen Changsheng patted him on the shoulder and said, “I’ll discuss this with the others. You go back first. Principal Mao is recovering at Mount Han. You also go.”

On the morning of the next day, Tang Thirty-Six left, and Ye Xiaolian with him. Xu Yourong had agreed to this, though she had not told Chen Changsheng, as she knew that Chen Changsheng was very slow with regards to relationships between men and women; perhaps one could call him completely ignorant. But she also knew that Chen Changsheng was well-versed in many other aspects, like the medical arts.

She glanced at him, but she ultimately chose to say nothing.

Chen Changsheng gazed at the distant army banners fluttering in the wind, his expression calm and determined.

He stood under the pavilion in the mountains, watching the world.

And the world was watching him.

His calmness endowed countless soldiers on the front line with confidence.

In truth, only a few people knew that his heart was not so calm.

Many matters had left him on the verge of crumbling, like those deaths, or Tang Thirty-Six’s unrelenting fever.

Fortunately, however, he had someone to rely on.

Xu Yourong had been standing by his side the entire time, not as a wife, not as a subordinate, but as an equal.

When she held her hands behind her, Linghai Zhiwang and the others even felt like she was taller than Chen Changsheng.

“This morning, we received news that Senior Brother Liang has died. Two elders of the Sword Hall died in the same battle. Guan Bai went to provide support and also died.”

Xu Yourong’s expression was very calm. It was like the news of these deaths had nothing to do with her.

Chen Changsheng closed his eyes. Only after a while did he finally open them again.

“Every person will die. As long as we can eventually resolve this problem, those deaths will not be wasted, will have meaning. They will also be a mercy.”

With this said, she walked down the mountain.

Linghai Zhiwang and those priests followed her with their eyes brimming with both respect and pity.

The soldiers and believers on the front lines needed to gain strength from Chen Changsheng’s calm.

Chen Changsheng needed to gain strength from her.

But who could she rely on?

Even An Hua began to sympathize with her, and began to worship her.

……

……

Xuelao City was very large, and when one added to it the ten-some citadels and the tents set up by the warriors from the various tribes, it occupied a massive area. By the time the southern part of the city was welcoming a chilly and somber wind, the plains to the north of the city were already beginning to accumulate snow. And yet nowhere could one find a trace of the human armies.

Zhexiu was sure that he was the first human—if he counted as a human—to reach these plains. It wasn’t because he was more courageous than the soldiers, or more skilled at taking risks. It was because reaching these plains to the north of Xuelao City had utterly no meaning to the war the human armies were engaged in at this time.

But it was extremely meaningful to his war.

Seven days ago, he had encountered a small troop of demon soldiers in the ruins of an ancient colosseum one hundred and twenty li to the west of Xuelao City.

He had been battling with demons since he was a child, and his understanding of demons far surpassed that of an ordinary person. A few details made him notice that the leader of this small troop was special. The leader was very young and extremely tall. From the style of the clan crest on his accessories, he probably belonged to a clan rather close to the Imperial clan, and he was probably highly ranked in this clan.

Why would a young noble appear on this dangerous battlefield? This was out of line with Zhexiu’s understanding of upper-class demon society. A thousand years ago, the demon aristocracy would have still maintained a reverence for martial process, regarding heroism and military achievements as the source of glory. But they had degenerated ages ago.

Zhexiu continued to track this small troop of demons, ultimately reaching one conclusion.

This young noble had left the city under the protection of his clan’s experts to gain some military merit, but he didn’t want to encounter any danger. Thus, this small troop had only paused at the ruins of the ancient colosseum for less than an hour before veering north. Everyone knew that the human armies could not possibly circle around to the north of Xuelao City in the short term.

As for how that young noble would gain any military merit upon returning to Xuelao City… Zhexiu was confident that this was an extremely simple matter. Perhaps the heads of several dozen human warriors had already been prepared, just waiting for him to put them on that large carriage once he got back to the city.

Xuelao City was already in an extremely precarious situation. For the nobles in the city to still be thinking about fabricating themselves some military merit, Zhexiu didn’t know if they were going senile or were excessively greedy. But someone who dared to play tricks at this hour was unquestionably a powerful person in the Demon race, and that young noble probably had a very special status.

Upon reaching this conclusion, Zhexiu was overtaken by a fierce impulse, and this impulse laid out an extremely risky plan.

He decided to infiltrate Xuelao City.

……

……

A pack of monsters from somewhere began to attack the small troop of demons. With the experts of his clan protecting him, the young noble was unconcerned about his safety. He was even in the mood to watch as the necks of those violent monsters were cut open. His pale white cheeks blushed in excitement as if they had been daubed with actual blood.

The monsters were all killed, but the demon troop inevitably paid some price. The three bravest warriors had suffered significant wounds. Most troublesome of all was that the snow and mud on the ground had been crushed into a slurry that was hard to traverse. The troop decided to camp in the forest for the night, using a blood pigeon to communicate this news to Xuelao City.

Unbeknownst to the demon warriors and young noble of this small troop, this night would be the most terrifying night of their lives.

The scent of blood spread through the forest and some sort of strange beast seemed to be moving through the mud. The clouds in the sky gradually parted, but the stark light of the Moon offered them no courage. They could only hear the sounds of their breathing, could only feel their weapons get colder and colder. Gradually, the sounds of breathing ceased and they could no longer feel the chill of their weapons, as their own bodies were beginning to gradually turn ice-cold.

It turned out that this had also been the very last night of their lives.

The soldiers of this small troop died in silence. There were no sounds of warning, no screams, no struggle, and certainly no fighting. The entire process played out like some bizarre mime show, but there was no audience. Only the sparse stars to the south and the white Moon bore witness.

Early on the next morning, a group of cavalry from Xuelao City rode into the forest according to an earlier agreement.

The ten-some cavalrymen completely clad in armor were escorting three large carriages, the compartments containing the corpses of human soldiers they had gone through great pains to collect from the south. When they thought about the coming reward from their young master, these cavalrymen found it hard to maintain their stern and cold expressions, as the sweetest of smiles crept onto their lips.

But when they entered the forest, they did not see that tall figure, only an absolute tragedy.

The sounds of weeping filled the air as the demon cavalry waved their weapons at the sky. They vented their unease and fear, lamented their sorrows, and swore to take revenge for ‘Gruel’, though it was hard to say if Gruel was the young noble’s name or a prefix for his entire clan. After this, they placed the bodies of their comrades on a carriage and began to make their way back to Xuelao City. They did not dare pause for too long. Of course, their nominal reason was to warn the city as quickly as possible that the human armies had circled around to the north…

On their return journey, the demon cavalry broke into a fierce quarrel. It was probably about how they would deal with the inquiries from the clan elders and how much gold they would need to pay off their guilt. They became even more dejected, so much so that when passing through the needle forest, they forgot that they had originally planned to hunt some deer.

Xuelao City got closer and closer, and more and more shabby buildings began to appear. The majority of the buildings were barely held together with wood and cloth, and seemed extremely fragile. Holes could be found all over them and there was certainly nothing beautiful about them. If not for the fact that lower-class demons could endure bitter cold, they wouldn’t have been able to survive.

Upon hearing the cavalry coming, the lower-class demons who were in the midst of cutting wood and working hurriedly kneeled on the sides of the road, not even daring to raise their heads.

Normally, these cavalry might have been in the mood to let these lower-class demons enjoy the lash of the whip, but they didn’t have the slightest inclination today. They wanted nothing more than to immediately return to Xuelao City. Of course, if they could, they wanted nothing more than to never return to Xuelao City.