With a guide leading the way, Senior Brother Yan and I were finally able to travel with peace of mind. We had journeyed two or three thousand li—perhaps even more—truly wandering across a thousand miles and making the four seas our home. Now that we were flying low over the forest, the endless clouds of mist and the vast, lush sea of green below hardly seemed like anything at all. After all, there was a good chance I would soon be able to see Song Wanyi and the others!
"Is everyone in the army doing well? Apart from Princess Yu, are my grandmother Zhou Ying and my mother Ren Min also all right?" I hurriedly asked. The forces had split into three factions, and my mother and grandmother, along with Li Qinghe, Ziyi, and the others, would certainly have joined Song Wanyi's side. How could that side not be elite?
"Emperor Xia, how would people like us know about those matters? Everyone should still be doing fine, I suppose. I can say a little about military affairs. For example, we've reorganized the army recently, and our production of immortal crystals has long been self-sufficient. Everyone's in high spirits, and the army feels just like home. Although Princess Yu is a woman, she has tremendous force of character and has appointed many formidable generals. Take Marshal Jing Yun on the left and Marshal Zhao Yu on the right—they're both outstanding newcomers. But even more remarkable is that Princess Yu recently invited a woman named Ruan Qiushui, Marshal Ruan, to join us. When we were in danger, she appointed Ruan Marshal as supreme commander, placing her a rank above the left and right marshals. We were utterly baffled at first, but we soon learned how formidable Marshal Ruan was. We came all