Chapter 00279: Scent of Hair
# Scent of Hair
Chapter 279
Novel: After the Immortals Disappeared
Chapter 279: Scent of Hair
More than an hour later, the pursuing troops of the Xiazhu army slowly returned.
Hong Chenglüe had managed to escape again; that fellow was slicker than an eel, but He Chunhua had managed to capture another thirty or forty Xuanzhou cavalrymen.
After deducting the losses caused by the surprise attack on this camp, only over two hundred men remained under Hong Chenglüe’s command.
After a night of back and forth, engaging in either a full-speed march or leading troops to kill enemies, He Chunhua couldn't hide his weariness anymore and asked He Lingchuan, “How are the grain carts?”
“Thirty-four carts were burned, but we salvaged quite a bit of grain, and we are currently organizing it.” He Lingchuan didn't waste his efforts after all. “Preliminary estimates suggest that we lost around fifteen hundred shi last night and tonight.”
The rock wolf, Lu Xin, had also dealt a fair amount of damage to the Xuanzhou troops, in return sustaining two arrows and having its right claw slashed.
Right now, it was being bandaged by the medicinal monkey, Lingguang.
He Chunhua let out a long, heavy breath. “That’s still manageable.” With nearly nine thousand shi remaining, he wouldn’t have to go to the front empty-handed to report.
He then started to inquire about the battles in the main camp.
Wu Shaoyi received his carrier pigeon message and prepared in advance, which prevented Hong Chenglüe from launching another successful surprise attack.
However, there were only around four hundred defenders remaining, while the enemy had three hundred cavalry.
This battle fought by the Xiazhu was exceptionally tough.
The Xuanzhou cavalry began shooting arrows and launching fire before they could even breach the bladed palisades.
Fortunately, Wu Shaoyi had already commanded someone to wet the tarpaulins and various devices with water, which made this wave of fire attacks less effective.
The essence of a surprise attack lay in that "surprise" element; if you didn’t catch the enemy off guard, the effectiveness would be greatly reduced.
Hong Chenglüe then called on his men to use gunpowder explosives.
However, the grain carts were scattered and hidden, and the destruction caused by the gunpowder was minimal.
After two strong assaults at the outset proved ineffective, Hong Chenglüe realized from the enemy's formation that they had long been prepared.
Next, Elder Liang personally stepped in to entangle Hong Chenglüe; otherwise, this fellow would truly unleash a massacre, and the Xiazhu soldiers wouldn’t stop with just a few casualties.
The cost of this was that Elder Liang was injured on his right shoulder and ribs, and the injuries were not light.
He was skilled in sorcery, and facing a command military general like Hong Chenglüe on the battlefield, he was bound to suffer some losses.
Elder Liang's disciples treated his wounds, and He Chunhua stood by, expressing gratitude for the effort the Chuan Yun Pavilion disciples had put forth in guarding the camp that night.
This also served as an opportunity to test the quality of the Chuan Yun Pavilion disciples, and He Chunhua was somewhat satisfied with their performance.
As for the little soldier who had dozed off on duty and caused delays, he was executed that very night.
At dawn, Zeng Feixiong led his team back.
From the proud and upright posture of this group entering the military camp, He Lingchuan knew they had won.
Sure enough, Zeng Feixiong rushed over to report, “My lord, Bai Liqing has been executed!” The soldiers from the rear presented a severed head, lifeless and unwilling to close its eyes, and it was indeed Bai Liqing.
“Good, good!” He Chunhua's spirits lifted, and he felt a surge of relief from the stress in his chest. “Tell me about the battle in the mine.”
It turned out that the Xuanzhou forces left behind in the abandoned mine were all injured soldiers and logistical support; the real defense force only had fifty men.
Zeng Feixiong's team had faced such weak opponents and executed a surprise attack with intention and surprise, as the enemy couldn’t effectively organize any resistance.
However, at that moment, Bai Liqing had regained consciousness and was commanding his remaining men to retreat into the mine.
Inside was narrow and dark; as long as they left some men to hold the rear, the officials could hardly break in.
Their reliance was merely that the mine had an exit leading to the rear mountains.
However, Jiao Tai had already led men to eliminate the Xuanzhou guards and seize the exit.
When he saw Zeng Feixiong signaling from the front mountain, he immediately set fire to the mountain at the mine exit, blowing it up and sealing off the exit completely.
Bai Liqing and his men were trapped in the mine, unable to escape.
Then, Jiao Tai ordered to ignite it and fill the mine with smoke.
The Xuanzhou people, overwhelmed by tears and difficulties breathing, had no choice but to exit from the front mountain mine and raise their hands in surrender.
Zeng Feixiong, under He Chunhua's orders, confiscated all weapons and then commanded the killing, not leaving a single survivor!
The first to be executed was Bai Liqing.
Dealing with the captive corpses was quite simple; just throw them back into the mine and seal it with the remaining gunpowder.
He Chunhua looked at the head of Bai Liqing and chuckled, “This big gift from Hong Chenglüe, I have received.”
Zeng Feixiong continued, “Bai Liqing had a famous general under him named Fu Xin. Just before he was beheaded, he was loudly cursing Hong Chenglüe. I saw this and decided to let him go, along with a dozen of his men. Out of one hundred thirty-six captives, I only let sixteen go.” That was wiping out a minor flaw.
He Chunhua nodded. “Very good. Let him return, and add to Hong Chenglüe’s troubles.”
Didn’t Hong Chenglüe want to use his hands to clear out these burdens?
How could He Chunhua let the opponent have his way?
After this Fu Xin returned, harboring resentment, he would be at odds with Hong Chenglüe at every turn, which would be much more useful than simply killing him.
He Lingchuan's heart stirred, and he interjected, “What about Dong Rui?”
Dong Rui shouldn't have died so quietly, right?
“He jumped on the strange bird and flew away the moment the first wave of arrows was shot,” Zeng Feixiong replied with embarrassment. “There were trees blocking the way, so we couldn't shoot him down.”
He Lingchuan patted his shoulder.
As expected.
Dong Rui's escape skills were always maximally leveled.
Zeng Feixiong then took out the storage ring and returned it to He Lingchuan, “Thank you, young master. With those explosives assisting, we saved a lot of effort.”
After he left, He Lingchuan wanted to return to the tent when his father called out to him:
“Chuan'er, what about that comb?”
“Hmm?” He didn’t understand for a moment. “Which comb?”
“The one you took from Hong Chenglüe’s home in Bailu Town.” He Chunhua asked him, “To be precise, it seems like it was taken by his neighbor.”
“Oh, here it is.” Hong Chenglüe had been so cautious, clearing out his home before he left Bailu Town, but what a pity that fate was unpredictable, as the old woman next door had already slyly taken a comb.
He Lingchuan had obtained the item from her, and it still had hair wrapped around it.
Not thinking much of it, he presented the comb.
However, He Chunhua did not accept it. “Can you tell if the hair is from a man or a woman?”
“... Let’s try.” He Lingchuan pondered for a moment and whistled.
A few breaths later, the rock wolf, Lu Xin, emerged from a dark corner, wagging its stiff tail at him.
He Lingchuan brought the comb closer. “Smell the hair on this and tell me if its owner is a man or a woman.”
The rock wolf yawned widely. “Twenty pounds of beef.”
He Lingchuan’s expression froze, “For such a simple task, your asking price is that high?” It had only been a few months, but the once simple-minded tundra wolf had changed into something like this?
“Or you can do it?”
“Fine, fine.” He Lingchuan compromised. “I’ll owe you one. When I get back to Dunyu, I’ll buy you some top-quality beef.”
The old woman had promised not to have used the comb to comb her hair.
Moreover, the strands of hair had a bit of brown color, making it unlikely to belong to the old woman.
The rock wolf brought its moist nose closer, sniffing fervently.
Its sense of smell was several times more acute than ordinary dogs; it could even construct a three-dimensional image in its mind solely from scent molecules.
“A woman, in her thirties, in poor health, takes medicine all year round.” The rock wolf said disdainfully, “The smell of so much medicine is threatening to drown my nose.”
Only then did He Chunhua happily take the wooden comb, praising his son, “Well done!”
He Lingchuan asked him, “Father, what do you want this comb for?”
“Being prepared is never a bad thing.” He Chunhua shrugged, “Hong Chenglüe’s neighbor, have they ever claimed that they have a harmonious marriage?”
“Hmm, Hong Chenglüe takes care of his sick wife diligently, serving her medicine and tonics every day, and reportedly has to massage her whole body every few days to prevent muscle atrophy. The old woman said she had never heard them quarrel.” Living in such a dilapidated house with thin walls, any noise could be heard through the walls easily.
“Good, good.” He Chunhua nodded, “By the way, how are your wounds?”
“I’m fine, I’ll attend to them now.” He Lingchuan returned as he had the medicinal monkey; these minor injuries could certainly be dealt with.
What he didn’t know was that after he left, He Chunhua ordered not to see any guests and instructed his guards to keep a close watch at the tent entrance.
He himself then used a black cloth to block all the light leaks from the tent.
What He Chunhua was doing inside the tent was known to no one.
Until half an hour later, when the dawn broke.
The bloody night finally ended, and He Chunhua came out of the tent facing the rising sun, taking a deep breath.
He called over two people and whispered instructions to them.
These two took their orders and galloped away with over thirty riders.
By the time it got light, He Chunhua finally gave orders to the main force:
“Pack up camp and hit the road!”
Without rest, the grain convoy needed to hurry to the front line as quickly as possible.
The attack and defense battle from last night was finally won, and the morale of the troops surged, making them not resistant to setting off immediately.
Xinhuang Town was too impoverished; ordinary soldiers were bound by military orders and couldn’t leave the camp.
Staying here was no different from being in the outskirts.
He Lingchuan, however, requested leave to temporarily depart from the team, taking with him about ten of his subordinates to the west.
After traveling several dozen miles, he found the previously hard-fought battleground and buried Mao Tao properly.
“On the day of the Zhongyuan Festival, no matter where I am, I will burn money and paper representations for you.” He Lingchuan spoke to the new grave marker, “I’ll find a master craftsman to make some long-legged slender paper girls for you; I guarantee every one will be to your liking.”
This was Mao Tao’s wish during her lifetime, and even in death, it could be fulfilled.
The journey of the grain convoy continued onward smoothly.
As they passed through the treacherous mountain pass, He Chunhua sent out scouts in advance, and the convoy’s vigilance was raised to the maximum.
However, even after everyone had successfully passed through, nothing happened at all.
He Chunhua had long since concluded that Hong Chenglüe's vitality had been severely damaged and would not take action again, finally feeling at ease as they traversed this perilous stretch.
The rest was all flat land.
Reviewing the battles of the past two days, he and Hong Chenglüe had both suffered losses and victories.
However, Hong Chenglüe originally had over six hundred men but was now down to only two hundred plus, more than half lost.
Counting it up, it seemed that Hong Chenglüe suffered the greater loss.
If it weren’t for last night’s mutual assaults deciding the outcome, the grain convoy would not have been so easy to pass through today’s treacherous barriers.
The speed of marching on the plains was swift, and two days later, the grain convoy finally reached the northern front!
General Zhao Pan, guarding the borders, learned of the news and had already been waiting by the roadside.
He Lingchuan looked and saw a sea of soldiers, the welcome ceremony quite grand.
(End of Chapter)