Chapter 00214: First Contact
# First Contact
Chapter 214
Novel: After the Immortals Disappeared
Chapter 214: First Contact
He Lingchuan couldn't help but notice that her features were deep-set, her nose was prominent, and her cheekbones were slightly higher than those of ordinary women.
Her appearance was both three-dimensional and exquisite, yet it had nothing to do with the delicate beauty of a gentle lady.
He then recounted his experiences after jumping out of the spider's lair, deliberately omitting the part about his self-inflicted injury.
Sun Fuling remained silent throughout, listening intently, until he paused and she said, "The legend of Lady Zhu Er has been around for a long time; it turns out to be true? In that case, it must have been a Yao Xian in ancient times."
"Yao Xian?" He Lingchuan thought for a moment, "That's right. If a human becomes an immortal, they are called an Xianren; if a monster becomes an immortal, they are called a Yao Xian."
"But now it is bound by the mountains and marshes. Well, at least it originally had an agreement with the mountains and marshes to not harm past humans."
Sun Fuling seemed somewhat emotional, "Once a Yao Xian, now it is nothing more than this."
"Are you very interested in the ancient immortals?" This woman was almost unable to eat.
"Just a bit of a sigh."
Sun Fuling stirred the firewood with her chopsticks, "In ancient times, there were many immortals and immortal techniques. If we had been born then, we could have soared through the clouds and escaped from this prison."
"Prison?" He Lingchuan caught the implication in her words, "For so many years, Panlong City has been as solid as a rock, and with fierce figures like General Hong, don't you think it has a bright future? In fact, the Panlong Wilderness is vast; some small countries are even smaller than it."
"Other small countries are not trapped like Panlong City, forced to struggle for survival."
Sun Fuling rested her chin on her hand, "Baling and Xianyou have been trying to conquer the Panlong Wilderness for over a decade without success. If only they could coexist peacefully with Panlong City."
"This wilderness is a corridor to the eastern Xilu Kingdom and the northeastern Luhu. If they can't take this place, Baling and Xianyou won't be able to expand eastward."
He Lingchuan dipped his hand into the rainwater barrel and casually drew a map on the table, "Luhu is upstream from Hongchuan. If you take a boat east from here, you can reach the sea."
"Then why do they insist on expanding?"
This question stumped He Lingchuan.
Although the world has never been peaceful, the reasons for national expansion are usually specific and realistic.
"Do you know, Miss Sun?"
"They are constantly eroded by the northern Yao Kingdom. Although there have been a few counterattacks in between, they still lose more than they win."
Sun Fuling also dipped her hand in the water and continued to draw on He Lingchuan's map, "For example, Baling lost the Honghe Terrace high ground four years ago, losing its most important source of copper and iron. Some troops can't even replace their rusted weapons; how can that last long?"
He Lingchuan was puzzled, "Their territory was taken by the Yao Kingdom, so they come to take ours?" He had never heard of such history in the operas or novels he had read, nor was it recorded in the local history archives.
At this point, he had a thought.
Among Sun Fuping's belongings was a notebook that He Chunhua had taken for himself, not allowing the two brothers to see it, claiming it contained too many strange and unorthodox methods, mainly detailing Sun Fuping's various methods of searching for the Great Fang Pot.
But was there a possibility that it also contained specific historical records of Panlong City?
"Who told you that the Xilu Kingdom is weaker?" Sun Fuling sighed, "The weak will not be sympathized with; they will only be invaded."
"Four years ago, Baling was defeated in the Battle of Honghe Terrace, and the old national master Qian Hang resigned in shame. Shao Yan replaced him as the new national master."
She continued, "Baling has three national masters, and Shao Yan, as the newcomer, needs time to establish himself. The battles between Baling and Panlong City in recent years have been dull and uninteresting, after all, it has been a stalemate for over a decade, and even the iron men have grown weary. Shao Yan probably thinks Panlong City has become lax in its defenses, which is why he suddenly sent Shao Yingyang to lead a large army southward."
He Lingchuan stared at her, "How do you know so much?" Still, that was the point; the girl could barely fill her stomach.
"I attend every class at the Asking Immortals Hall. Besides analyzing the situation, there are also critiques from famous scholars that are thought-provoking."
Sun Fuling smiled, "Moreover, I often go to the history archives to borrow books."
He Lingchuan was taken aback, then overjoyed: "There is a history archive here!"
"Yes, it's right next to the Zhi Zhen Office that you often visit. I even stood on the history archive's building to feed Mr. Zhang."
"Zhang... is that the octopus demon who tests people's talents? That thing seems to be a picky eater."
"Do you have extra food to feed it?"
"I'm not always this poor."
Sun Fuling's smile faded, "In five days, I will receive my salary, and now I don't have to pay off my brother's debts, so I just need to get through these few days."
"Then what does Miss Sun do for a living?"
Sun Fuling raised her head slightly: "I teach at the Shumin Academy."
"So you are a female teacher at a government school; I am honored."
The Shumin Academy had quite a reputation.
He Lingchuan had heard neighbors to the east complain that other people's children could attend the Shumin Academy, bringing glory to their ancestors.
It was named after the great mountain of its origin and was originally a local school, previously called Shumin Xiang.
It was said that last year, Zhong Shengguang personally inscribed it as Shumin Academy, and it was renamed thereafter.
This alone showed the significant change in Zhong Shengguang's mindset.
He got sidetracked.
In fact, Panlong City was mostly like other places, with private schools and clan schools everywhere, while Shumin Academy was an unequivocal government school.
Not just any child could attend; even having money wouldn't guarantee entry.
Similarly, the teaching positions at prestigious schools were not easy to obtain.
Sun Fuling's younger sister from the Sun family had some skills.
As a formally appointed teacher at Shumin Academy, Sun Fuling's salary was certainly higher than that of ordinary residents, at least enough to support herself.
"You're too polite."
Sun Fuling tilted her head in return.
The water boiled, and He Lingchuan poured a cup for her: "No wonder you are so knowledgeable. In the future, if I encounter difficulties, I will seek your guidance."
"Sure."
Sun Fuling took the cup but did not drink, as if warming her hands, "Liu Tiao said you just moved to Panlong City not long ago and are unfamiliar with the place. If you have any questions in the future, feel free to ask me directly."
After saying that, she stood up to take her leave, "It's getting late, so I won't disturb you any longer. You should rest early."
She left He Lingchuan's small courtyard, closing the door behind her.
This Miss Sun walked very quickly; did she have to rush to class at the academy? He Lingchuan picked up the rejected hot water and drank it all.
The two teams of the Support Army and Songyang Prefecture merged, becoming even larger, and with the support of Yuanli, what kind of monsters or bandits would dare to block their way? The journey ahead was very peaceful.
The next day, the Support Army arrived at Ruxian, which was only a step away from the territory of Xia Prefecture.
He Chunhua couldn't hold back and casually cleared out two troublesome monster nests and bandit dens during the march.
The Support Army had traveled with him from Heishui City to here, experiencing various battles, and their morale and appearance were completely different from when they set out.
Due to the existence of the Panlong Desert as a natural barrier, the border had actually been quite peaceful in recent years.
The main tasks of the Heishui City army were to deal with sand bandits and patrol the Hongya Road, with not many opportunities for formal combat.
However, an army is like a weapon; the more it is honed, the sharper it becomes.
Although this troop, in He Lingchuan's eyes, was not even comparable to the Great Wind Army, it was still significantly inferior to the Panlong City patrol army.
However, Mo Zhejingxuan and Wu Shaoyi now held it in high regard, saying, "It can confront the royal army without losing face; it's just a pity that the numbers are a bit small."
He Lingchuan did not think they were just flattering.
After traveling thousands of miles by land and water, he had witnessed the current state of the Great Yuan Kingdom's military equipment being neglected and its discipline being lax.
Especially as his experience grew, he found that even the official armies, whether local or central, had combat capabilities that were truly unremarkable.
No wonder that back then, Hong Xiangqian led a group of peasant militias and could defeat the official troops repeatedly, even capturing Woling Pass, causing Shi Huan and Guodu to frequently report danger.
Three feet of ice do not form in a single day.
While the continuous victories against bandits and monsters certainly boosted morale, He Chunhua's mood did not improve at all.
From the increasingly dire conditions along the way, it was clear that the people's livelihoods in Xia Prefecture were devastated, monsters were causing chaos, and bandits were rampant; it was likely far worse in the south!
From now on, that would be his territory.
With so many troubles at home, which leader could be happy?
On this day, the troop arrived at Ruxian and stopped to resupply.
From here, it would take no more than fifteen hours to reach the capital, Dunyü.
The arduous long march was finally nearing its destination.
Madam Ying was in high spirits, washing away the travel fatigue at the post station, changing into a new brocade outfit, and tidying her makeup.
She felt radiant as she looked in the mirror before stepping out.
However, in the resting hall, there were only her two sons, a monkey, and two wolves roasting by the fire; her husband was nowhere to be seen.
In just this short time, she had only spent less than an hour grooming herself!
Madam Ying's expression suddenly shifted from sunny to cloudy: "Where is your father? Is he off looking for the Marquis of Songyang again?"
He Chunhua rarely discussed political matters with his wife, but during this journey north, he had been chatting happily with the Marquis of Songyang, feeling a sense of camaraderie.
Madam Ying was greatly annoyed, but her husband was discussing serious matters, whether it was the northern situation or the cooperation between the He family and Songyang Prefecture; she couldn't say much.
Every time they reached a pleasant topic, He Chunhua would laugh heartily, while Madam Ying would be so angry her teeth would itch.
Just the day before, her husband had even sent that woman some silver silk charcoal, how considerate!
As the man and woman chatted more and more harmoniously, would it eventually lead to them applauding together?
Her voice suddenly rose, startling He Yue, while He Lingchuan lazily said, "Mother, please calm down. Father went to the county office to handle official business."
Madam Ying was skeptical: "Really?"
"It is true."
He Yue chimed in, "Father went with a stern face."
Madam Ying was embarrassed: "Is that so?"
As long as her husband wasn't off looking for another woman, that was good enough.
He Lingchuan propped his long legs on the low table: "Father is currently preoccupied with sorting out political and military affairs."
Of course, he only said half of it; the man’s playful nature and serious business were not mutually exclusive; men always had two sides to them.
In the previous encounters with monsters and bandits, He Chunhua had treated them as training exercises, sending several of his subordinates to take turns leading troops, even letting He Yue have his share of fun, while He Lingchuan had remained comfortable from start to finish.
He wanted to join in, but He Chunhua laughed and patted his shoulder: "Why use a bull's knife to kill a chicken?"
When did he become his father's bull's knife? "In fact, Mother, you need not worry about the Marquis of Songyang at all."
(End of Chapter)