Chapter 00270: General Hong and the White Deer Town
# General Hong and the White Deer Town
Chapter 270
Novel: After the Immortals Disappeared
Chapter 270: General Hong and the White Deer Town
Beside him, Shan Youjun said, “I’ve heard that the Mian Kingdom has been established for nearly a hundred years. These royal families aren’t skilled at anything other than producing offspring, and they multiply quickly. Over a hundred years, their branches have spread far and wide, surely more than thirty or forty thousand.”
“And these are the ones who died in the capital and its surrounding areas, the princes, their relatives, and servants, and so on.”
Well, he forgot that those with power and wealth are often more resilient than rats. “Your legs are so long, are you heading to the scene even though it’s not the battle of the Beijia Kingdom?”
“This is a task entrusted by the National Master; it must be done.” The captive lowered his head. “The battle last night happened between you and the people of Xunzhou. I was merely sent as an envoy of the Beijia Kingdom to collect nightmares. However, the amount collected is pitifully small.”
“You mean to say there are too few dead people?” Jiao Tai sneered, raising his hand to strike the captive in the stomach. “What a good little offspring!”
The captive retched violently from the blow, and Shan Youjun scolded his companion, “Enough nonsense, the master is talking!”
He Lingchuan, however, focused on the four words “pitifully small” and asked, “Pitifully small? What do you mean by that?”
“Last night, at least two hundred people died,” the captive managed to respond after catching his breath. “By rights, I should have collected at least over a hundred streaks of red light — you saw it too — but there were only very few, at most a dozen. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have stayed here for so long!”
“Too few?” He Lingchuan’s eyes flickered. “Has this situation never occurred before?”
The captive shook his head.
In other words, something here is blocking the Celestial Dragon Staff from retrieving the ‘Nightmare Qi’?
At least on the surface, Xinhuang Town appeared to be an ordinary little town.
He changed the subject, “You don’t know their objectives, do the people of Xunzhou?”
The captive shook his head.
“But they let you accompany them.” Yan Zanli had aligned himself with the Beijia Kingdom, which was the northern demon kingdom, so clearly, there was no reason to refuse an envoy sent by the latter. “So, do you know which general is behind the sneak attack on White Deer Town?”
“He was originally a great general of the Beijia Kingdom, named Hong Chenglüe. He has achieved countless military exploits. Some of the Nightmare Qi I collected comes from battles he initiated.” The captive’s voice was hoarse, and he reached out for water.
“Give it to him.”
After drinking some water to soothe his throat, the captive continued, “Later, he avoided battle and lived in seclusion for a long time. I hadn’t heard any rumors about him until this time, when he suddenly came out to lead the cavalry of Xiuzhou.”
“He devised the sneak attack plan himself?”
“Yes. The governor of Xunzhou ordered the cavalry here to follow his command.”
“You know where their previous hideout was, right?”
“I’ve been there, but... but I’m not familiar with Xiuzhou. After leaving, I couldn’t find it again.” The captive stammered, “I only know they have a base north of White Deer Town, which seems to be a forest farm. It was there that I met Hong Chenglüe.”
“Did they discuss what to do in case the sneak attack fails?” Any offensive plan must come with contingency plans for failure.
The captive shook his head repeatedly, “I don’t know. They didn’t let me participate in their discussions about the military strategy.”
“Also, why is the demon puppeteer Dong Rui acting alongside the Xunzhou cavalry?” He Lingchuan was puzzled, “Isn’t he a wanted criminal of the Beijia Kingdom?”
“Uh, I heard that as long as he participates in our actions, he can receive a pardon.”
He Lingchuan raised an eyebrow, “Oh? He has committed serious crimes, and he can still be pardoned?”
The captive awkwardly replied, “I’m not clear on the details.”
“Has what you said reached Chief He?”
Before the captive could answer, Shan Youjun interjected, “Only the master and I have heard the confession.”
He Lingchuan smiled slightly, understanding that Shan Youjun was asserting his loyalty, “Good.”
Following that, he went to find He Chunhua and recounted the new intelligence he had received.
Upon hearing that the Beijia Kingdom had sent someone to collect ‘Nightmare Qi’ for transmigration, He Chunhua scoffed, “Do they think we’re fools? Who would do this for no profit?”
“I thought the same.” Indeed, not of the same family, not within the same door. “However, it seems those sent by Beijia believe in it deeply.”
“The most brilliant of deceptions is one that even fools the deceivers.” He Chunhua mocked, “Besides, after five hundred years of indoctrination, as long as they say it’s a tradition, regardless of how foolish it is, the Beijia people won’t question it.”
He held the short staff that He Lingchuan had handed him, examining it multiple times, rubbing it over and over.
When his eldest son began to speak of “Hong Chenglüe,” he naturally stored the short staff within his robes, his actions very casual.
He Lingchuan frowned secretly as he noticed this, but since his father wanted the short staff, he found it hard to oppose.
“Hong Chenglüe? I have indeed heard that name before,” He Chunhua said thoughtfully, “Skilled in warfare and swift in action. Having such an opponent is truly not a blessing for Xiuzhou. Hmm, it’s best that this military expedition can lure him out and eliminate him; otherwise, letting him cause trouble behind the northern lines will always be a great disaster.”
He glanced at He Lingchuan and suddenly said, “Chuan’er, your subordinates Mao Tao and Shan Youjun are both skilled at gathering information. Why don’t you head to White Deer Town for me? I need more information about Hong Chenglüe.”
The Xiuzhou army would be staying here until the early morning, giving them ample time.
He Lingchuan readily agreed and pointed out the people he would take with him.
Among these subordinates, Shan Youjun had been more prominent lately, and He Lingchuan took him everywhere.
The older Mao Tao, feeling unsatisfied, upon hearing that the master would go to White Deer Town, eagerly stated, “Take me along! It’s better for me to handle the country bumpkins!”
He Lingchuan smiled and added Jiao Tai to make it three main pillars.
It never hurts to have more hands when scouting for information in a foreign land.
Ling Guang jumped onto a horse, sitting more stably than the others.
As for the terrifying beast, the Rock Wolf, it was left behind in the camp.
Everyone made their way west.
...
As they entered White Deer Town, strangers drew wary and distant glances from the townspeople.
He Lingchuan and the others came from the east, and along the way, they discovered fallen corpses, most of them in Xiuzhou military uniforms, some already gnawed by wolves and other wild beasts.
Once they entered White Deer Town, the makeshift camp set up by the Xiuzhou army had already been reduced to ashes, with corpses scattered haphazardly.
At that time, Wu Shaoyi had been driven away and hadn’t returned, nor would the Xunzhou soldiers clean up the aftermath for their foes, leaving the bodies of the Xiuzhou army exposed to the elements.
As He Lingchuan and the others arrived, many crows were driven away, as were the lurking wild dogs from the nearby woods.
As the group inspected the battlefield, they found no living soul.
Some corpses showed clear signs of additional stabbings, indicating that Hong Chenglüe’s troops had carried out the task meticulously, leaving no one behind.
The tactics he employed here were similar to those used by Bai Liqing in Xinhuang, targeting the leaders first and then dealing with the disorganized crowds, causing Wu Shaoyi to lose half of his forces before he even had a chance to react.
As for the remaining half, given the current quality and standards of the Xunzhou army, it would be very difficult for them to hold their ground.
According to the feedback from Shan Youjun and the others, more than half of the deceased had fatal wounds to their backs.
This meant they were killed while fleeing, unable to muster a decent resistance.
Of course, the supplies had been burned to a crisp.
However, Mao Tao did find fresh footprints near the grain carts, these prints left on the charred ash, clearly appearing only after the battle had ended.
Furthermore, they were the footprints of civilians.
This indicated that the townspeople of White Deer Town had entered the battlefield to scavenge for anything edible or usable and then left.
Not finding more useful intelligence on the battlefield, He Lingchuan entered the town.
Surprisingly, aside from five or six buildings near the temporary camp that had been affected, White Deer Town appeared largely intact.
The town’s bread shop had opened in the morning, and the shopkeeper was kneading multigrain dough, while the townsfolk still strolled through the streets.
Upon the arrival of He Lingchuan and his companions, the townspeople kept their distance, their eyes particularly cold.
He nodded at Mao Tao, who understood and went over to the bread shop.
The others roamed around the town, and Shan Youjun remarked quietly, “I see that the doors and windows here are intact, unrobbed.”
The Xunzhou people don’t rob the civilians? That’s a monumental oddity.
These cavalrymen had infiltrated behind enemy lines, usually scavenging wherever they went.
Who do they rob? They rob civilians and local merchants, under the guise of sustaining war with war.
Yet White Deer Town seems unaffected; could it be that the Xunzhou people had enough from raiding the supplies in Wu Shaoyi's camp yesterday?
Jiao Tai pointed at a large door in an alley, “Who says that? Look at this house.”
The two imposing blackwood doors of this house seemed to belong to a respectable family.
There was even a plaque above the door, though half of it had been smashed down, and the door stood wide open without anyone inside, allowing anyone to come and go.
Jiao Tai went inside and soon slipped back out.
“Inside, it’s a mess, ransacked. Even worthless things were smashed, and the ground still has blood and hair.”
He Lingchuan nodded and instructed his subordinates to spread out and gather information.
He himself approached the townsfolk to ask questions, but they all kept their distance, and when he got too close, they either ran away or shook their heads, saying they didn’t know or hadn’t seen anything.
He touched his own face, a rather handsome young man; could he really look as fierce as the Rock Wolf, Lu Xin?
Later, he noticed a boy around six years old, smaller than normal but with a big head, doodling on a wall in an alley.
The “artwork” was haphazardly drawn with long charcoal sticks.
Hmm? Charcoal sticks?
He Lingchuan approached, putting on a kind face, “Little friend, where did you find that charcoal?”
Hearing the voice, the boy turned back, looking at him warily but remained silent and didn’t run away.
“Do you want some candy?” He Lingchuan nudged Ling Guang, who reluctantly pulled a wrapped candy from his medicine pocket and handed it to the child.
The boy snatched the candy with sooty hands, unwrapping it to stuff it into his mouth, while pointing in the direction of the camp, “Found it there.”
“Did robbers come last night? Did they come into the town to steal things?”
The boy shook his head.
He Lingchuan asked again, “Do you recognize those robbers?”
The boy remained silent, his eyes darting around as he clearly pondered.
Ling Guang didn’t need He Lingchuan's prompt and waved another candy in front of him.
The boy reached out to grab it, but where could he catch it?
Easier to be nimble than a monkey, it wasn’t easy.
“There’s plenty of candy.” Ling Guang was too stingy and should have offered more, “As long as you tell the truth.”
(End of this chapter)