Chapter 00145: Mountain and Marsh
# Mountain and Marsh
Chapter 145
Novel: After the Immortals Disappeared
Chapter 145: Mountain and Marsh
"Head west..."
Lu Yao pondered for a moment, and his expression changed, "Not good, we can't let them meet up with Pei Xinyong."
Otherwise, he would be the one at a disadvantage.
"Did they bring horses?"
"No, there wasn't enough room on the boat."
With the Crocodile's Back, the horses wouldn't dare to board either.
"Quickly go to Desheng Town and order everyone to be on high alert! Wu Shaoyi is taking the water route to try to get ahead of us, but without horses, they can't travel fast. Within a radius of sixty miles, only Desheng Town has horses!"
The Red Falcon took flight, and one of his subordinates approached Lu Yao, asking, "General, what should we do now?"
"What else can we do? Accelerate forward!" Lu Yao sneered, "We must drag Pei Xinyong into the battle and cut off his connection with Wu Shaoyi. Hmm, there should be six or seven hundred brothers in Desheng Town right now. As long as we stay vigilant, we need not fear his two hundred men!"
Having fought for many years, he was decisive and quickly formulated the current strategy.
That was to swiftly unite with Pei Xinyong to eliminate the officials while keeping Wu Shaoyi and the others trapped in Desheng Town, severing their connection with Pei Xinyong.
Once the officials were eliminated, he would have time to discuss long-term plans with Pei Xinyong, and then send someone to deal with Wu Shaoyi.
After the official troops arrived at Langming Cave, they turned onto a side path under the guide's direction, heading towards Qianteng Town.
Seeing no pursuers behind them, everyone let out a long sigh of relief.
He Chuanhua chose to head west to create a time difference, taking advantage of Pei Xinyong's distraction with the ambush at Shuaizi Rock, leading hundreds of soldiers and civilians to Langming Cave and turning onto this side path.
In this way, they avoided the awkward confrontation with the returning mountain bandits.
Overall, the first phase of their objective was successfully completed.
Next, they needed to escape to Qianteng Town as quickly as possible.
Zeng Feixiong glanced at He Chuanhua, secretly thinking that the greatest loss was that of the county governor.
The young master, usually frivolous, unexpectedly died like a hero in the end.
He Chuanhua's tightly furrowed brows had not relaxed since earlier, and he was asking the guide, "How far is it to Qianteng Town?"
"Within fifteen miles. The road behind was just repaired two years ago, it's straight and easy to travel, and wide."
As soon as he finished speaking, a burst of red smoke erupted in the eastern sky.
That was the signal released by the scouts who had climbed the mountain peak: the pursuers were coming!
So soon? Everyone was surprised; the mountain road was winding, the bandits must be risking their lives to catch up!
Before He Chuanhua could give any instructions, red smoke unexpectedly rose in the western sky as well.
This indicated that Pei Xinyong's troops had also turned back.
This was what one called a roof leaking just as the rain began to fall.
He Chuanhua was uncertain how Pei Xinyong would react upon reaching Langming Cave—would he continue forward to confront Lu Yao, or would he turn onto the side path to pursue the officials?
He couldn't stake the lives of hundreds of soldiers on such uncertainty.
Mo Zhe Jingxuan leaned closer and whispered, "My lord, we are moving too slowly. If we just abandon the burdens, our speed could increase by at least thirty percent."
The so-called burdens naturally referred to the villagers of Xianling; human legs could not match the speed of horse-drawn carts.
Moreover, they were dragging their families along.
The mountain road was narrow, with the commoners taking up half of it, naturally slowing the speed of the officials.
They were only fifteen miles away from Qianteng Town now—fifteen life-and-death miles! Every step closer was crucial.
He Yue's eyes were still red, but he countered, "The mountain road is narrow, and both sides are mixed together. If we abandon the villagers and move forward, they will surely wail and obstruct us, which might slow the convoy down even more."
He Chuanhua remained silent and called over two sorcerers, "Is the ritual not yet successful?"
"It cannot succeed."
One of them was sweating profusely, holding He Chuanhua's State Order in his hand, "There... there is no response."
Since earlier, a layer of indistinct hostility had surrounded the county governor, making those facing him feel immense pressure.
Zeng Feixiong immediately pointed out thirty more men to head to the back of the convoy for support.
Adding to the original twenty riders, these fifty men would serve as the first line of defense in case the mountain bandits attacked.
He Yue had been paying attention to the surrounding situation, and at this moment suddenly pointed to the roadside ahead, "The Water Fir Forest has arrived, what huge water firs!"
Everyone looked up, and indeed, on the right side of the mountain road was a small patch of water fir forest, with trees of varying thickness; the thinnest was about the size of a bowl, while the thickest could be embraced by ten people, standing at an astonishing height of over fifteen zhang!
Paired with their straight, arrow-like forms, it was a spectacular sight.
He Yue pointed to the tallest tree and asked the guide, "Is this the Grandfather Tree?"
The guide shook his head, "No, that one is much taller, and it’s not here; it’s by the lake next to Desheng Town."
Locals referred to the oldest and most senior ancient trees as Grandfather Trees.
He Yue said seriously to He Chuanhua, "Father, since they won't help us, let’s use these water firs to defend against the enemy!"
"Water firs?" He Chuanhua's expression shifted, looking at the water fir forest, his tightly furrowed brows relaxing slightly, "Good idea!"
Immediately, the county governor ordered to chop down trees to block the road!
The fleeing villagers, aside from bringing their valuables, had most of the men wielding weapons, as both lives and wealth needed protection.
Many had brought axes, usually for chopping firewood, but now for self-defense.
Among the officials, many also wielded axes as weapons.
With the county governor's command, both officials and civilians threw themselves into the fervent tree-chopping effort.
Not only that, but He Chuanhua also instructed them to specifically target the giant trees, the larger the diameter, the better.
Everyone understood that life and death hung by a thread, and at this moment, they did not hold back, each exerting their utmost strength.
Before long, three large trees trembled with their golden-red crowns, crashing down with a resounding roar.
Everyone chopped carefully, ensuring that the trees fell perfectly across the center of the mountain road.
With these giant trees blocking the way, the pursuers' horses could not pass at all; the only way was to use manpower to move them aside.
Thinking this, everyone’s motivation surged even more.
As they chopped the fourth giant tree, a sudden gust of wind swept through the forest, making it hard for people to open their eyes.
The sound of the wind roared, echoing in everyone's ears:
"Boldly, a foreign official dares to harm my people!"
The water fir closest to He Chuanhua suddenly shook violently, its crown unusually drooping.
The surface of the trunk bulged with cracks, appearing from a distance like a human face, though the features were unclear, resembling a pure impressionist painting.
Yet everyone could feel its gaze, especially He Chuanhua, who had to face all its fury head-on.
But he remained exceptionally calm, even brushing off the leaves on his shoulder before saying, "Are you the local Mountain and Marsh? After several failed prayers, I have no choice but to resort to this desperate measure!"
In truth, this tree was not the true body of the Mountain and Marsh; it was merely being used to transmit sound.
The real Mountain and Marsh was still rooted by the lake next to Desheng Town.
The water fir spoke unceremoniously, "You are not the local magistrate; I need not respond to your summons!"
As the land god of this mountain range, it had rarely been sought after, and even the local officials had not called upon it for a long, long time.
Tomorrow (2022.9.1) it will be on the shelves!
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(End of Chapter)