Chapter 00024: The Red Cliff Road
# The Red Cliff Road
Chapter 24
Novel: After the Immortals Disappeared
Chapter 24: The Red Cliff Road
At the back, He Lingchuan could only rely on his own wits.
He changed the topic and asked, "Father, why do we have to return to the capital?"
"The He family's legacy is there. How can an unfilial descendant not return?"
He Lingchuan rolled his eyes.
"There are ears everywhere. Do I have to spell it out?" He leaned closer to his father's ear, his voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz, easily drowned out by the sound of hoofbeats.
"Our entire family was killed by the emperor. Why should we go back and serve him?"
He Chunhua frowned.
"Where else can we achieve our ambitions?"
A man's success and glory, does it not require support?
"The Balin Kingdom in the west is an option. Doesn't our Qiansong County border four countries? I think the monster country to the northeast is also good..."
He Lingchuan kept his eyes open, dodging a slap from He Chunhua.
"Besides, the country is in turmoil. Those peasants who rise up with banners dare to call themselves kings! Look abroad, emperors change like lanterns! I heard that in the Xuan Kingdom to the east, eleven emperors have changed in twenty years, the shortest reigning for only nineteen days."
A truly high-risk profession.
What's wrong with this brat, always thinking of treason? He Chunhua said sternly, "How can those small countries compare to Great Yuan? We've been established for over sixty years, with everything in place."
Heh.
He Lingchuan took a deep breath.
"We've just survived a near-death experience. Can't you tell me something from the heart, Father?"
He Chunhua was slightly startled and suddenly stared at him.
"What has possessed you?"
The question came out of nowhere, and cold sweat broke out on He Lingchuan's back.
"What?"
The eldest son was brave but not particularly sharp.
He shouldn't have seen through his father's reservations.
He Chunhua looked at him for a moment and said gravely, "Don't say such treasonous words again."
A gust of wind and sand blew by, and He Lingchuan sneezed.
Father's thoughts are deep too.
Both are cunning old foxes.
But this actually made him feel somewhat at ease.
It seemed that Prefect He was passively drawn into this whirlpool, but who was really scheming against whom?
￥￥￥￥￥
The team led by Grand Tutor Sun finally set foot on the Red Cliff Road.
Passing through the mountains, they were greeted by a vast expanse of yellow sand.
Dune after dune stood in the hot wind, some as small as mounds, others towering like mountains.
But they were nothing like solid cliffs; some massive dunes could disappear overnight, only to reappear suddenly in other depressions.
All vegetation had vanished, not a trace of green in sight.
As far as the eye could see, there was only desolation.
The Red Cliff Road cut through the desert, five zhang wide, allowing several carriages to travel side by side.
The stone bricks on the ground had lost their original color, worn uneven by the countless footsteps of merchants.
Some bricks were new, as Blackwater City and neighboring countries had taken turns repairing sections of the road; others were ancient, their surfaces layered with varying shades of black.
This made the Red Cliff Road resemble a giant gray-black serpent slithering through the sea of sand.
Zeng Feixiong walked alongside the He father and son.
Seeing He Lingchuan's curiosity about the bricks, he explained, "The bricks are stained with blood, both old and new. This road is plagued by bandits, and many battles have taken place here."
"By the way, some of the bloodstains are over a hundred years old. The Red Cliff Road was once the supply route for Panlong City. It's said that countless massacres occurred along these roads."
To besiege a city, one must cut off its reinforcements and supplies.
Hearing this, He Lingchuan felt a surge of fierce energy.
So many brutal battles, so many lives lost, so many cries of defending the homeland—all buried under endless yellow sand, leaving nothing behind.
Three years after the fall of Panlong City, the Xiluo Kingdom perished; six years later, the Xianyou Kingdom also fell.
These two old rivals had fought for decades, only to both collapse into the dust of history.
"Is that why everyone flies the 'Zhong' banner?" He Lingchuan pointed to the tall banner at the front of the procession.
This was clearly the army of Great Yuan, led by the esteemed Grand Tutor Sun, yet the banner bore a large "Zhong" character.
People today travel the world, yet they fly the old banner of a bygone dynasty.
Unbelievable.
In fact, it wasn't just their team; almost every traveling group on the Red Cliff Road flew the Zhong banner high, as if sending a message to the entire desert.
Of course, all groups would take down the Zhong banner once they left the Red Cliff Road and entered other countries' territories.
So, although He Lingchuan had heard of it, he rarely saw this banner.
"Wraiths and mutated monsters roam the desert, devouring anything they catch, but they don't set foot on the Red Cliff Road because it was the path the Great Wind Army took countless times. Everyone flies the Zhong banner to honor the Great Wind Army of old and to seek safety."
To He Lingchuan, it wasn't so much an honor as it was an imitation.
Zeng Feixiong pulled down the cloth covering his face, spat on a handkerchief, and put it away.
"Saliva and urine must not be carelessly spilled on the Red Cliff Road. They must be collected and taken away, or it will be seen as disrespect and anger the spirits here."
He Chunhua added, "In the past, many countries didn't believe in this and forbade their merchants from flying the Zhong banner on the Red Cliff Road. The result—"
"The result was that they had to allow it later," He Lingchuan understood.
"The living have no need to quarrel with the dead."
At that moment, several loud shouts came from behind.
Everyone turned to see a small white dog running out from another group at the back.
It left the Red Cliff Road in a few steps and dashed toward the nearest dune.
Its little owner, a five-year-old girl, instinctively chased after it as soon as the dog slipped from her grasp.
Soon, she too left the Red Cliff Road.
Her family hadn't reacted yet when a guide rushed over from behind, shouting at her, "Come back! Come back quickly!"
What He Lingchuan and the others heard was his yelling.
The child's mother, a noblewoman, walked over and said discontentedly, "Lower your voice! Don't scare my child!"
"If she doesn't come back, your child will be gone!" the guide continued to shout.
"Come back quickly, or the monster will eat her!"
The desert was eerily quiet, with no wildlife in sight.
The little girl stopped, looking back at the group and then at the distant white dog, hesitating.
The mother said disdainfully, "Go and carry her back."
The guide refused, not wanting to take a single step off the Red Cliff Road.
The mother had no choice but to stride toward her child, pick her up, and head back.
Nothing happened.
"Useless man..."
The noblewoman's curse was cut short as the ground beneath her feet suddenly gave way.
A large mouth appeared from below, swallowing both her and the child in one gulp.
The screams were brief but horrifying.
At that moment, they were less than three steps from the Red Cliff Road.
After devouring the two, the monster didn't immediately dive back down but quickly moved toward the white dog not far away.
The creature resembled a flounder, with its mouth on top of its head.
Its body was like a large, flat disc, blending perfectly with the yellow sand.
If it hadn't jumped out, even He Lingchuan might not have noticed it up close.
(End of Chapter)