Chapter 00115: The Goal To Resolve Calamity and Overcome Misfortune
# The Goal: To Resolve Calamity and Overcome Misfortune
Chapter 115
Novel: After the Immortals Disappeared
Chapter 115: The Goal: To Resolve Calamity and Overcome Misfortune
He Chunhua seemed to hear his thoughts and continued to persuade, "Even if the Water Spirit has some power, it can't be right every time."
He Yue, who had just come out, heard this and quickly added, "Exactly. The temple keeper just said that the Water Spirit does make mistakes sometimes. Maybe it's facing its own disaster and can't even predict good or bad fortune anymore?"
"That makes sense."
He Lingchuan took a deep breath.
"No need to persuade me anymore, I understand."
"Big brother..."
"I said no need to persuade me!" He Lingchuan sharply interrupted him.
"Don't bother me!"
This was in line with the eldest son's character, so He Chunhua wasn't surprised.
However, Madam Ying, who had just come out, said, "How are you talking? Yue'er is just trying to help you!"
He Lingchuan turned and walked away.
He Chunhua waved his hand to mediate, "Alright, alright, he's in a bad mood. Don't take it to heart."
He Lingchuan's mind was in turmoil.
He remembered the words Nian Songyu had said before his death: "You're not far from death!"
At that time, it was the so-called "Heavenly God" who had possessed Nian Songyu and uttered those final words.
He Lingchuan had always thought it was just Nian Songyu's dying curse and hadn't paid much attention to it.
But what if the "Heavenly God" had seen something?
The Heavenly God had initially wanted to possess him, He Lingchuan, but had been expelled from his consciousness in the illusion of the sea of consciousness.
That altered illusion, the corner of the street in the illusion, the glowing mark inside the broken wall at the corner...
Even the so-called "Heavenly God" had been driven out of his sea of consciousness by an unknown force.
He hadn't forgotten that scene!
Was this the power of calamity?
These past events, combined with the two extremely bad omens the Water Spirit had given today, could they all be connected?
A sense of urgency, never felt since his transmigration, surged within him.
He Lingchuan's heart was a tangled mess.
At that moment, a guard came running and reported to He Chunhua.
After listening, He Chunhua immediately called his eldest son, "The intelligence has been interrogated! Chuan'er, come here."
He Lingchuan had no choice but to walk back.
"Look at your surroundings. Right now, the important thing is to focus on the major task at hand, to eliminate the bandits! Besides, if you really are facing a calamity, perhaps it will happen tonight. Bandits seeking your life—isn't that a great misfortune? As long as we successfully leave the Immortal Spirit Lake, the doubts will resolve themselves!"
He Chunhua placed his hand on He Lingchuan's shoulder and continued, "Chuan'er, you must believe me, believe in the Great Shaman, understand?"
He Lingchuan looked at him and took a deep breath.
"I understand."
If only it were that simple.
"That Water Spirit is playing tricks; it must have some ulterior motive," He Chunhua said gravely.
"It wouldn't do these things without a reason. Believing in it is just causing unnecessary trouble for yourself."
He Lingchuan nodded.
He Chunhua then called everyone back to the main house.
As they walked back, He Lingchuan's mind was filled with thoughts.
If the "great misfortune" omen from the Water Spirit's divination was accurate, did it mean he would end up like Nian Songyu, dying a tragic death far from home?
If there was still a glimmer of hope, how could he grasp it?
From this day forward, he would have to be constantly vigilant about his life, to find a way to unravel the misfortune that seemed to cling to him—if it truly existed.
The most terrifying aspect of the Water Spirit's prophecy was that it told the night traveler that there was a deep chasm ahead, but it didn't say how far away it was.
From now on, every step he took would be filled with anxiety.
Sigh, before leaving Blackwater City, he should have visited the Great Shaman Zhaomandu.
Perhaps he could have gained something.
But at that time, as a transmigrator, he had been too nervous and wanted to stay as far away from that mysterious old man as possible.
...
In the kitchen, muffled groans could be heard.
The village house had poor soundproofing, so even though Fatty Wang's mouth was gagged, everyone could hear his painful moans.
This fatty was really out of luck.
Not long after, the sound of water being splashed came from the kitchen.
Then, the personal guard Zhao Qinghe came out and said, "Sir, the situation is not good."
He Chunhua found a chair and sat down.
"Speak."
"Two days ago, these bandits did attack a nearby town, but it wasn't Qianteng Town—it was Desheng Town! It's only forty miles from Immortal Spirit Village. And the bandits stationed in Desheng Town weren't two hundred—they were twelve hundred!"
Twelve hundred! That many! Everyone was shocked.
He Yue murmured, "That's almost the size of a regular army."
He Lingchuan had originally thought there would be at most two or three hundred.
Two or three hundred bandits against the local militia—if they launched a surprise attack, the odds of winning were high.
Who would have thought that the bandits from Desheng Town and Immortal Spirit Village combined would number nearly fifteen hundred!
Forget a small town—if these bandits had some discipline and combat ability, they could even take a city by surprise—
Any ordinary city, caught off guard, as long as those two conditions were met.
But these two sentences were just the appetizer.
The intelligence that followed was even more shocking:
"They are the Buxin people. This time, they came down from Woling Pass by water. They aren't ordinary bandits—they're rebel deserters!"
The three key words "Woling Pass" flashed through He Lingchuan's mind like lightning.
All the troubles the He family had encountered, in the end, always circled back to Woling Pass!
These people were actually deserters from the Woling Pass battlefield.
The true state of the battle at Woling Pass had only become clear to him after he returned to Blackwater City from the Panlong Desert.
The government forces had won, the rebel leader had been killed, and the remnants had fled.
At that very moment, the Grand Marshal had rebelled in the capital, attempting to seize power.
The government forces at Woling Pass naturally had to rush back to protect the king, leaving the fleeing bandits to their own devices.
Woling Pass was less than two hundred miles from here.
Calculating the direction, perhaps this was on the route of the deserters' retreat.
Everything added up.
Zhao Qinghe continued, "The leader isn't called Lu Han—it's Lu Yao."
As soon as this name was mentioned, He Chunhua slammed the table and stood up.
"Are you saying it's Lu Yao, the Left Tent General under the rebel leader Hong Xiangqian?"
"Yes, it's Lu Yao!"
He Chunhua clasped his hands behind his back and paced back and forth in the dining room twice.
It was rare to see him so agitated.
He Lingchuan nudged He Yue with his elbow.
"How many generals are under the rebel leader?"
He Lingchuan had heard of Hong Xiangqian's name.
This was the rebel leader who, in two years, had marched a thousand miles north, captured Woling Pass, and shaken the Great Yuan Empire.
In the northern and western regions of the Yuan Kingdom, the common folk described him as a green-faced, fanged, cruel, and vicious rebel leader who drank human blood and skinned people alive, leaving drought-stricken lands wherever he passed.
Of course, this was part of the Yuan court's propaganda war.
He Lingchuan thought, isn't this guy like a drought demon reincarnated?
As for who was under Hong Xiangqian's command, He Lingchuan's original body had only a vague idea.
Now, the lack of common knowledge was showing.
He Yue whispered, "At the start of the uprising, there were four. At their peak, there were fourteen. After the defeat, only five survived the battlefield. The Left Tent General Lu Yao truly deserves the title 'utterly vicious.' He's a real cannibal, especially fond of stir-frying the hearts of children under five, claiming it to be the most fragrant and crispy delicacy in the world. It's said he even wrote a cookbook, 'Fifty Ways to Cook Two-Legged Sheep.'"
(End of Chapter)