Chapter 00028: The End of Red Cliff Road
# The End of Red Cliff Road
Chapter 28
Novel: After the Immortals Disappeared
Chapter 28: The End of Red Cliff Road
"Trust the Grand Preceptor," He Lingchuan said, gesturing toward Sun Fuping with his chin.
"Even the Grand Preceptor is risking his life. Shouldn’t we have a bit more confidence?"
Sun Fuping and Nian Songyu walked far ahead, leaving a considerable distance between themselves and He Lingchuan, with more than a dozen rows of soldiers in between.
The newly joined group of bandits wasn’t even worth a glance in their eyes.
Situ Han watched their backs and asked, "Can they hear me if I speak?"
"Don’t worry, definitely not," He Lingchuan replied.
He couldn’t even remember how many bad things he had said about these two in the past.
Only then did Situ Han lower his voice and say, "These two are truly arrogant. If we encounter danger in the desert, they probably won’t care about our lives. Young Master He, for the sake of the New Year celebrations every year, please look out for us brothers. We have over thirty men out here trying to make a living, and back in Mang Mountain, there are over a hundred women and children depending on us. If we die, they won’t even have porridge to eat."
Though he referred to killing and looting as "making a living," his expression was sincere, and his worries were written plainly on his face.
"I know," He Lingchuan reassured him.
"I’ll keep an eye on you and make sure they don’t send you to your deaths for nothing."
After Situ Han walked away, He Chunhua asked his eldest son, "What did he mean by 'for the sake of the New Year'?"
"Doesn’t he come to pay his respects to us every New Year?" More importantly, every New Year, Situ Han would prepare a generous gift specifically for Young Master He.
For example, last year, he gave He Lingchuan a string of pearl necklaces, each pearl nearly identical in size, smooth and radiant.
Yes, the same string He Lingchuan later regifted to Uncle Hao.
What did he give the year before that? Hmm, he couldn’t remember.
Of course, there was no need to mention these trivial matters to his father.
He Chunhua shook his head at his son.
The brash kid might be reckless, but he never hesitated when it came to accepting gifts.
---
Blackwater City, He Residence.
Although only two people remained in the household, Madam Ying still instructed the kitchen to prepare an elaborate meal.
Seven dishes were laid out on the table, more lavish than usual.
But she had little appetite.
She only drank half a bowl of millet porridge and took two bites of the steamed bun He Yue had placed in her bowl before setting down her chopsticks.
"Yue'er, where do you think your father is now?" Since He Chunhua had left, it felt as though her soul had gone with him.
Madam Ying couldn’t sleep at night, and her delicate makeup couldn’t hide her weariness.
"He’s probably passed a few relay stations by now," He Yue comforted her.
"Zeng Feixiong knows the desert well, and with Grand Preceptor Sun overseeing things, Father and Brother will surely return before the sandstorm season arrives."
Madam Ying sighed.
"They say your brother is a lucky charm. This time, we’ll really need that good fortune."
He Yue found it strange.
His mother didn’t seem to blame his father for taking his brother along?
Madam Ying asked a few more questions about the affairs of Qiansong County, and He Yue assured her he could handle them.
Finally, she asked, "Still no news from the east?"
"None. The floods have blocked the roads, and the fighting in the east is intense. The rebels behead any spies or messengers they catch, so no one dares to travel there."
Even without his father’s repeated reminders, He Yue would have kept an eye on the situation in the east.
Unfortunately, there was still no news.
---
By the next day, all around them was a vast expanse of yellow sand, with no living creature in sight.
This small stretch of Red Cliff Road led to the ancient city of Panlong, a place no merchant caravan would ever venture.
Every step was taken with care, as even this smooth path was coming to an end.
"There’s no road ahead," came the report from the front of the group.
The He father and son looked eastward, where they could still see the massive base of a mountain slanting upward like a dagger thrust into the sky.
The upper half had collapsed nearly a century ago, crashing onto the Red Cliff Road where the group was supposed to be traveling.
Endless boulders had turned it into a dead end.
Zeng Feixiong murmured, "Perhaps it’s the will of heaven."
To prevent the sleeping spirits of the city from being disturbed by later generations.
"Don’t be so naive," Nian Songyu scoffed, then ordered the group, "Everyone, dismount. We need to lighten our load."
With no road ahead, the horses were no longer useful.
Each person prepared five days' worth of rations and water, and the horses were handed over to a few army cooks.
Situ Han stared at the endless desert.
The undulating sand dunes were clean and pristine, without a single footprint.
"How do we proceed now? If we take even one step off the Red Cliff Road, we’ll be devoured!"
"Of course not. Aren’t you desert bandits supposed to know this best?" Nian Songyu’s words shut him up.
Situ Han felt embarrassed.
As someone who had spent most of his life in the Panlong Desert, he was well aware of the local taboos and had his own tricks and insights.
Nian Songyu pointed to the desert.
"Tell us, how do we proceed without the Red Cliff Road? Surely you have some experience."
"First, all you officials need to keep your Sovereign Tokens hidden. Don’t reveal them, and definitely don’t activate them!" There were many officials in the group.
Nian Songyu raised an eyebrow.
"Why?"
"The spirits in the desert died defending their homeland’s borders. If we march in wearing tokens from another country, isn’t that just asking for trouble? These spirits are single-minded. Avoid them if you can, and don’t provoke them!"
That made sense.
Sun Fuping instructed the officials, "Keep your tokens hidden. Don’t show them."
Then Situ Han said, "Are we heading to Panlong Ancient City? It’s still far, and we can’t possibly make it on foot. I have no solution for that."
Desert bandits usually ventured into the desert to escape pursuit or settle scores, only doing so out of necessity.
No one would willingly take a leisurely stroll through this land of death unless they had a death wish.
"So, we’ll need a different mode of transportation," Sun Fuping said, pulling out three small objects from his robe.
They were three miniature boats, each about an inch long, carved from half a walnut with exquisite craftsmanship.
Not only were the wood grains on the hulls visible, but even the folds in the boatman’s clothes and the strands of his hair were intricately carved.
Just the carving alone was a masterpiece.
"These are treasures I borrowed from a friend. We’ll have to return them after use. Now, everyone, step back!" With that, Sun Fuping took out three translucent green pellets and placed them in the raised right hands of the boatmen on the miniature boats.
Then he tossed the three walnut boats onto the sand.
Nian Songyu exclaimed softly, "Mystic Crystals!"
The green pellets were about the size of quail eggs, and it seemed like they might topple the tiny boats.
But that wasn’t the case.
The moment the pellets touched the boatmen’s hands, they vanished, and the boats began to tremble strangely, as if something was about to burst forth.
Everyone wasn’t foolish and had already stepped back.
Sure enough, the walnut boats expanded at an astonishing rate, growing exponentially in size.
In just two breaths, the one-inch-long toys had transformed into wooden ships over fifty feet long and ten feet high!
They now rested on the yellow sand, exact replicas of the original walnut boats but scaled up.
The boatmen at the prows had also grown to normal human size and walked over to lower the gangplanks for the passengers to board.
(End of Chapter)