Chapter 00210: The Intentions of the People of Panlong City
# The Intentions of the People of Panlong City
Chapter 210
Novel: After the Immortals Disappeared
Chapter 210: The Intentions of the People of Panlong City
There was a large wormhole in the beam of the roof, with a dozen white ants entering and exiting, as if they were about to engage in some illicit activity.
He Lingchuan stared at them for a long time before realizing that he had fallen into a dream again.
Now, his dream had only one destination:
Panlong City.
He wanted to get up, but his arms and legs felt stiff, somewhat unresponsive, as if an old luxury car that had been idle for five or six years was trying to start up again.
As He Lingchuan sat up, he noticed that the stool in the room had fallen in a very unnatural way.
After walking around his small house, he found that the firewood had all been taken, and the two fat fish in the rainwater tank were also missing.
He hurried back to the bedroom and moved aside two bricks in the corner to take a look.
Fortunately, the medicines and silver hidden here were still intact.
In simple terms, his home had been robbed.
The thief who came in to steal might have even spat in disdain, finding his home so poor that there was nothing worth stealing.
However, his saber was still boldly leaning against the bedside; the thief had not dared to touch it.
At first glance, it was a military knife, with words and a serial number on it.
According to the laws of Panlong City, anyone who stole military supplies would have their hands chopped off, and a petty thief would have no way to sell this knife.
While He Lingchuan was scratching his head, the courtyard door creaked open, and Hu Min walked in.
Seeing He Lingchuan standing at the door, he was first taken aback, then overjoyed: “You’re awake?”
From his expression, it was clear that this question was not simple.
He Lingchuan blinked: “I’m awake, what’s wrong with me?”
“You’ve been unconscious for three days! The military doctor treated your injuries and said the spider venom in your body was too severe, and it would take three to five days to expel it completely. How many bites did those underground spiders give you?”
He was poisoned too?
Seeing his confused expression, Hu Min rubbed his hands together: “What’s the last thing you remember?”
“Falling into Zhu Erniang’s lair,” He Lingchuan mumbled, “I thought I was done for, how am I still alive?”
“Everyone thought you had perished heroically; the compensation from the military affairs office was issued, but they couldn’t find anyone to claim it. It turns out you fell into the underground river of the spider lair and were washed to Baiyang Zhan, where you were discovered by a herdsman three days ago. He saw you wearing the Dafa Army uniform, clutching a knife, and hurried to report it. Xiao Toudou guessed it was you and personally went to bring you back.”
“The Ghost Needle Stone Forest is twenty to thirty miles from Baiyang Zhan; if you hadn’t floated to the shallow bank, no one would have known it was connected to the underground river of the Ghost Needle Stone Forest!” Hu Min patted his shoulder, “You lad, truly blessed!”
What could He Lingchuan say? He could only sigh to the heavens: “If fate does not allow me to perish, then heaven must help me.”
He understood deep down that this was merely an illusion created by the Panlong dreamscape.
Last time, he had suddenly logged off during the climax of the valley ambush, and the dream had arranged for him to have a drowning ending.
“Is there no creativity? Can’t you come up with a different excuse?” Did he look like he was lacking in water from the five elements?
Hu Min asked in surprise: “What are you talking about?”
“Nothing!” He Lingchuan laughed, “By the way, how did that great battle end?”
“That was eight days ago; ah, your contributions were significant! I heard that the lair of the underground spiders was burned down by you, and Zhu Erniang was so frightened that she stopped fighting and hurried back. General Nanke’s troops were able to escape the Ghost Needle Stone Forest smoothly and joined forces with the reinforcements sent from the city to repel Huamu Cuo.”
He Lingchuan was very clear that there were two sides to the story: “What about the other battlefield?”
“Taking advantage of the main force of Weicheng being drawn away by General Nanke, General Hong led us to sneak into Weicheng. There were many twists and turns in the process, but in the end, Weicheng was captured by us.” Hu Min, who also participated in the battle for Weicheng, shared his experiences.
The fighting on General Hong’s side was no less complicated than that in the Ghost Needle Stone Forest.
He Lingchuan listened intently and instinctively asked: “Why did the Baling Kingdom suddenly send a large army to the Panlong Wilderness?”
It should be known that for the past fifteen years, Baling and Xianyou had been old rivals of Panlong City, with the war ebbing and flowing, sometimes fast and sometimes slow.
They often ceased hostilities and traded with each other.
Panlong City had been a thorn in the eye for both countries, and after trying to remove it for over a decade, they had simply left it alone, even treating the frequent border skirmishes with indifference.
But He Lingchuan now understood that this situation was likely due to internal issues within either the Baling Kingdom or the Xianyou Kingdom, making it difficult for them to manage both internal and external affairs, which led to a relaxation of their occupation of the Panlong Wilderness.
Now, why had the Baling Kingdom suddenly become invigorated and sent out forty thousand troops?
Hu Min shrugged: “I’m not sure about that.” He was a soldier, focused only on fighting; information from the higher-ups took a long time to trickle down.
“However, after Huamu Cuo gathered the remnants of Shao Yingyang’s forces, he was not discouraged and turned to attack Weicheng. General Hong led us to hold our ground, and Huamu Cuo had no good way to deal with it; after all, he had personally reinforced that city, and he knew best how difficult it was to attack.” Hu Min laughed heartily at this point, “Then it snowed heavily for three days and nights on the wilderness, along with hail!”
“The Baling people were frozen terribly, with no food or clothing, and with no place to settle nearby, they were like wild dogs on the wilderness, utterly pitiful! By the way, it seems that a group of Baling people slipped away early, probably due to internal strife. At this time, General Hong sent people to launch a night attack on the Baling military camp and won a victory. Huamu Cuo no longer pretended and fled home, discarding his armor.” Hu Min couldn’t close his mouth, “They still haven’t fully retreated; you’ve never seen such a dispirited coward!”
He Lingchuan laughed as well.
With Weicheng captured, the Baling people no longer had a foothold in the eastern Panlong Wilderness.
How could these forty thousand troops survive in the wilderness? Thus, the withdrawal of troops had become a foregone conclusion.
For the past year and a half, both sides had been engaging in guerrilla warfare, influenced by the objective conditions of the wilderness; each battle involved a few hundred to a couple of thousand troops, and both sides had become accustomed to this rhythm.
With Shao Yingyang’s arrival, he aimed to catch Panlong City off guard by setting a trap, striking swiftly, and overwhelming the small teams of Panlong City with a sudden large army.
The most important thing in this was to seize the time to create an information gap.
According to his plan, by the time Panlong City reacted, the elite of the Dafa Army would have already been consumed, and perhaps General Hong would also have been captured, which would directly shake the foundation of Panlong City.
However, such strategies carried both great benefits and great risks.
If the fat meat that was delivered to the mouth was not eaten, the contradictions of insufficient logistics would immediately become apparent.
Weicheng could not support so many troops, let alone now that the forty thousand troops had become a wandering army?
Next, all favorable conditions would be lost, and the entire Panlong Wilderness would turn against you.
“So we recaptured Weicheng,” Hu Min sighed, “Your home has returned.”
Home? He Lingchuan felt indifferent: “What happened to the one surnamed Shao?”
“He’s dead; General Hong personally took care of him.”
What He Lingchuan was thinking, however, were the pieces of information that Hu Min had revealed.
What did Shao Yingyang say to General Hong about “the former Mitian Niangniang” and “the divine envoy”?
Mitian was the deity that protected Panlong City; what was the difference between the past and the present?
Regarding deities, he had ultimately received too little information.
The divine envoy was easier to understand; did it refer to the person who received the “divine descent,” or perhaps, the vessel?
He was very curious whether the invincible General Hong completely obeyed Mitian’s will or still retained his own consciousness and thoughts.
In other words, was the battle fought by Mitian, or was it fought by General Hong himself?
At this moment, Hu Min took out a few pieces of silver for He Lingchuan: “This is your winnings.”
“I won?” He had no recollection of it.
“Before the battle in the Ghost Needle Stone Forest, didn’t you place a bet in the team?” Hu Min laughed, “Your teammates came by twice, but you were still unconscious; in the end, a skinny monkey came to get the money and asked me to pass it on.”
He stepped outside to scoop water to wash his hands and casually glanced at the tank, which was empty: “Oh, you ate the fish?”
He Lingchuan shook his head: “It seems my home was robbed; the fish and firewood were stolen, but the knife is still here.”
“Even the most blind thief wouldn’t dare to steal a military knife,” Hu Min laughed, “Are you going to report it?”
“Can it be retrieved?”
“To be honest, I don’t think it can be retrieved,” Hu Min said realistically, “Although the city rules impose heavy penalties on thieves, you were unconscious for three days, so anyone could come in; it would be difficult to catch the thief.”
Moreover, only a bit of firewood and two fish were lost; the amount was too small, and the officials would probably be too lazy to care.
“I thought Panlong City was a paradise, but I didn’t expect that petty thieves would be everywhere.” This was the victim’s complaint.
“People are bound to be like that,” Hu Min comforted him, “You’ve made a great contribution this time; it’s time to change your residence. Move to a better location, and naturally, there will be no thieves at your door.”
He Lingchuan looked around this small courtyard, which only required three steps from the courtyard gate to the bedroom: “You’re right; I should change my house.”
Practicing martial arts here felt increasingly inconvenient; his hands and feet couldn’t stretch out much, let alone project.
Stepping out of the courtyard, He Lingchuan was taken aback:
Outside the door was unexpectedly filled with things—jars, pots, large bags, and small bundles; he could hardly find a place to step.
“What is this?” He casually picked up a jar, brushed off the white snow on the mouth, and found that the yellow clay seal was intact and had not been opened.
He leaned closer to smell it, “It smells good; is it wine?”
This jar of wine weighed at least thirty pounds, and the clay seal had the words “Chuntai” written on it.
Hu Min looked at it and laughed: “It’s Chuntai wine, produced by the old wine shop in the south of the city; it goes down smoothly and isn’t cheap.”
He also helped He Lingchuan check a few more clay jars, and as soon as he opened the lid, he covered his nose: “Oh no, what a strong smell?”
These jars were all pickled vegetables, such as pickled cucumbers, cabbage, and radishes… Judging solely by the smell, they had been fermented for quite some time.
If the Chuntai wine was bought as a gift, then these jars of pickled vegetables must have been pickled by the owners themselves.
He Lingchuan lifted the cover of another basket and found five frozen, stiff fish inside; the fish’s eyes were bright, and there was a strongly fishy note attached to it, with a crooked note that read:
“My son returned home alive; thank you.”
The signature was from Zhu Dapang’s family in Wuzhi Alley.
Another large package contained yellow, fragrant cured meat, wrapped tightly in layers of oil paper, with a layer of grass rope tied securely.
On the outermost layer of oil paper, it was directly written: “Good people will be rewarded; after eating, I will send more.”
Although these two items were written with charcoal, at least there was a message; most things had no notes or signatures, so it was unclear who sent them, but the heartfelt intentions were evident.
Happy National Day!
Congratulations to book fan @Er Yao for experiencing a long love run, and may the lovers finally become a couple.
Hardworking people deserve happiness.
Wishing you a happy marriage and a long life together.
(End of Chapter)