After the Immortal Disappeared

Chapter 459: Chapter 458: The First Effort

In one voice, they roared, ”Loud and clear!”

Their angry shouts were like thunder, piercing the clouds and startling countless night herons.

The Envoy swallowed. The Red General tossed the edict back at him. ”Men, escort the Envoy to get some rest. He has to take this order to Panlong City tomorrow.”

Two soldiers stepped forward and led the Envoy away.

Her hand resting on the hilt of her sword, the Red General stood facing the Panlong Army.

She wore her Ghost Head Mask today, its features especially menacing in the flickering firelight.

A night wind blew past.

She did not move. Neither did the several thousand soldiers.

After a long moment, the Red General gave the order in a low voice, ”We will wait for Commander Zhong’s final decision. For now, dismiss! Go back and rest!”

No one moved.

The Red General turned and strode away.

Only after her figure vanished into the darkness did the western square of the city erupt with a BOOM, nearly overturning with the sound of furious curses.

The fury of the Panlong Army burned hotter than the torches they held aloft.

Spitting and cursing were everywhere. Hee Lingchuan heard someone nearby cursing the Monarch’s ancestors back nineteen generations.

’So disrespectful.’

Door Panel hadn’t brought his shield, so he could only stomp hard on the ground twice. ”Goddammit... Those cowards in the Capital City! Those good-for-nothing bastards who’ll have sons born without buttholes!”

Hu Min spat into the holes Door Panel had made. ”Why don’t we just fight our way back to Xiluo and take the Capital City? Better than being stuck between a rock and a hard place here!”

Aluo shushed him. ”Don’t talk nonsense.”

Willow asked Hee Lingchuan, ”Broken Blade, what’s so bad about fighting our way back? We don’t even need a single soldier from the motherland as reinforcements. Why would the Monarch... why...” She couldn’t continue, so enraged that she had to take a deep breath to calm herself.

”Why is he afraid of us coming back?” Hee Lingchuan said mildly. ”Because we are too strong, and the motherland is too weak.”

The group exchanged glances. They recalled the edict the Red General had just read. It sounded condescending and was worded majestically, but the entire document reeked of panicked fury.

”’They fear the people on their northwestern border more than they fear the enemy.’”

”Exactly!” A soldier from a nearby squad overheard and chimed in loudly. ”They fear the people on their northwestern border more than they fear the enemy. The motherland is guarding against us! Us!”

After defending this exclave alone for over a decade, to be feared, suspected, and ostracized by their own country... anyone’s heart would turn cold.

”Yeah, the motherland would rather borrow troops from the Beiga Kingdom than let us return!”

”A motherland like this is worse than no motherland at all!”

The surroundings were a clamor of voices.

After some time, Hee Lingchuan finally heard the most crucial sentence:

”With a motherland like this, we’re better off not going back!”

Someone quickly responded:

”Yeah, if we go back, we’ll just be pushed aside and looked down on. We might as well stay on the Chipa Plateau.”

”Get it straight. The ones who’ll get pushed aside are the lords. What’s it got to do with us? We’re soldiers. Where could they go that they wouldn’t need us?”

”To be cannon fodder?” another retorted bluntly. ”Remember the forty thousand elites transferred by the motherland last time? Every one of them was a hero here. When they went back, they were broken up and reassigned. In the end, some died, some deserted. How many are left now? So much for elite soldiers. If we go back, that’s the fate awaiting every one of us!”

”Would the Monarch love his soldiers like Lord Zhong does? Can he command troops with the divine skill of the Red General? Look at them trying to suppress rebellions back home—the more they suppress, the more chaotic it gets!”

”Yeah, a single bad soldier is one thing, but a bad general makes the whole army rotten. If we go back now, we’ll be nothing more than bandits in a time of chaos. We’d never be as prosperous as we are on the Chipa Plateau!”

Listening to the cacophony around him, Hee Lingchuan let out a soft breath.

’So, the King of Xiluo’s reaction was exactly what Panlong City expected, wasn’t it?’

’Everything Panlong City has done has perfectly pressed the King of Xiluo’s buttons.’

’Before the Monarch could even issue the Relocation Command, Panlong City jumped the gun. That shows their impatience.’

’The Panlong Army ignored the Jinxi Corridor offered by the Baling Kingdom, instead carving their own path back through the Xiji Kingdom. That shows their disrespect for authority and their willfulness.’

’They destroyed a kingdom in just a few days, something Xiluo is far from capable of. That shows they are an army of arrogant soldiers and fierce generals.’

’With all these traits combined, what Monarch wouldn’t be wary?’

’If Zhong Shengguang were to return to Xiluo with such an army, who in the entire kingdom could stand against him?’

’Wouldn’t an army like this conquer the Xiluo Capital City with ease?’

’Therefore, even if the Monarch was hesitant before, upon hearing of Zhong Shengguang’s great victory in Xiji, he finally made up his mind:’

’They must not be allowed to return!’

’The Relocation Command? Forget it.’

’There were already courtiers who opposed the relocation, arguing that the Panlong Wasteland was Xiluo territory, an ancestral inheritance that could not be casually ceded.’

’So, in the name of righteousness, he would order the Panlong Army to defend the border region and forever guard the frontier!’

Hee Lingchuan even suspected the timing of the Red General’s victory report.

If she had waited until after conquering the Xiji Royal Palace to send the message, the round trip for the news would have taken at least ten days. The Envoy from the Xiluo Capital City couldn’t possibly have reached Yuheng City so quickly.

In other words, the Red General sent the victory report to Xiluo first, and only then did she lead her army to leisurely besiege the Xiji Royal Palace.

The Red General, or rather, the Celestial God Mitian, truly looked down on both the Xiji and Xiluo Kingdoms.

Tonight, in the west of Yuheng City, the Panlong Army was destined for a sleepless night.

Hee Lingchuan looked in the direction where the Red General had disappeared.

’This must be Zhong Shengguang and the Red General’s plan.’

’They knew full well that public opinion cannot be defied or suppressed, but it can be guided. So they channeled the condemnation and anger of the soldiers and people toward the Xiluo Kingdom.’

’This is what’s known as making a retreat by feigning an advance.’

In truth, the Xiluo Kingdom was the real culprit. They weren’t being wrongly blamed.

If not for its weakness and cowardice, the Panlong Soldiers and People would not have had to endure so much suffering.

And yet, Zhong Shengguang and the others had no idea what price they would one day pay for choosing to remain in the Panlong Wasteland!

’If they insisted on returning now, could they avoid that heroic sacrifice more than a decade from now? Could everyone live on in peace?’

Because of the Monarch’s order, the Panlong Army halted their return east, continuing to garrison Yuheng City and maintain their standoff with the Jintao Army.

The Xiluo Envoy rode at top speed for Panlong City to find Zhong Shengguang.

Clearly, the Red General and her troops had to await the final decision from Panlong City.

...

「At the crack of dawn,」 Hee Lingchuan went to fetch water with a bucket, but he saw a few figures by the river.

One was by the riverbank, while the others were a good distance away.

Just from her silhouette, he could tell the person by the river was the Red General.

Her presence was simply too powerful.

”Who’s there?” One of the Red General’s Personal Guards behind her sensed him, their sharp gaze flicking over.

The Red General’s voice was very calm. ”It’s fine. Go on and get your water.”

Without even turning her head, she knew what he was there for.

Hee Lingchuan walked forward, rinsed his bucket in the river, and asked, ”Why aren’t you resting, General?”

The Red General stood facing east, gazing at the white mist floating over the river.

”I don’t need to.”

Right. Hee Lingchuan then remembered that her body had been transformed by Mitian Divine Power into that of a Demigod; she didn’t need to eat, drink, or sleep like ordinary mortals to maintain her strength.

There were people around her, but to Hee Lingchuan, she seemed to stand apart from the world, isolated from everything.

”General.”

The Red General didn’t speak, only tilting her masked head slightly.

”Even if the Monarch objects, the army could still fight its way back, couldn’t it?”

”If we fight our way back, do you know what we’ll have to face?”

Hee Lingchuan shook his head. ”I only know what we *won’t* have to face.”

”Oh?”

”After returning to the kingdom, at least we won’t have to face the combined attacks of Baling and Xianyou. We won’t be isolated and without support.”

The Red General nodded. ”And then?”

’And then...’

”Even if we could go back, do you think the Panlong Army and these several million civilians could live peaceful, prosperous lives, far from the chaos of war from now on?” the Red General said coolly. ”That’s impossible. No such sanctuary exists in this world.”

’But they could avoid annihilation. The story of the Panlong Wasteland wouldn’t have to end in the most tragic way.’ Of course, Hee Lingchuan couldn’t say this out loud. He could only state with conviction, ”It’s worth a try! In the Xiluo Kingdom, there are at least two things worth fighting for with all our might!”

”And what are they?”

”A future and hope!” ’And a chance to escape our destiny,’ he added silently.

The Red General raised her head slightly, as if she had been moved.

”You believe that a future and hope can be found within the Xiluo Kingdom?” Her voice was indifferent, but if one listened closely, they could detect the hidden sarcasm.

”Is it on the Panlong Wasteland, surrounded by enemies on all sides?” Hee Lingchuan retorted bluntly. ”Even if Lord Zhong were to return and seize the throne, the foundation he’d build would still be stronger than one in the Wilderness, wouldn’t it?”

The Red General laughed. ”Such treasonous talk? Hee Lingchuan, you’ve got some nerve.” Back in the kingdom, spouting such words would cost you your head, or at least half your life.

”I am only saying what the Panlong Army is thinking.” Hee Lingchuan took a deep breath and made a solemn plea. ”General, please, take us back to the kingdom!”

The Red General didn’t reply, turning to look east again.

A few miles past the river was the heavily guarded border of the Jintao Kingdom.

’Is she fighting her own internal battle?’ Hee Lingchuan wondered.

”Get your water and go back.”

So Hee Lingchuan bowed to her, filled his bucket with clear river water, and left without looking back.

’At least I tried.’

But even as a member of the Great Wind Army, his status was low and his words carried no weight. The Red General would not listen to his opinion.

This golden opportunity to change Panlong City’s ultimate fate might have just been missed.

Hee Lingchuan sighed helplessly. Then he recalled the conversation between King Yuanl and his nephew Shao Jian that he had overheard in the ruins of Thousand Star City.

King Yuanl was convinced that the three items he had his nephew deliver to Zhong Shengguang were more important than himself, more important than the entire Yuanl Kingdom.

’What about Zhong Shengguang?’

’Would he think the same way?’

After returning, Hee Lingchuan lay down again in the dilapidated shack, gazing at the starry sky through the large hole in the roof.

The more immersed he became in this Soul Village, the more he had to care about, and the more he hoped it wouldn’t meet its predestined end.

But this piece of history was exceptionally stubborn. Changing the outcome seemed incredibly difficult.

After daybreak, everything was as usual.

Hu Min said to the group, ”Let’s start a betting pool. Who bets we continue east, and who bets we head back west?”

”Did you catch that gambling addiction from Skinny?” Willow snorted. ”One tael of silver. I bet the Red General will continue east. We’ve come this far; it makes no sense to turn back in disappointment.”

Hu Min jutted his chin toward Hee Lingchuan. ”Captain, what about you?”

”I’m betting we head west.”