Elsewhere, under the covert escort of King Zhou's trusted aides, Li Jing kept a low profile and quietly left Zhaoge City.
He did not dare delay in the slightest. Traveling day and night through wind and rain, he spent several months on the road before finally setting foot in Chentang Pass once more.
Yet the moment he entered the pass, Li Jing sensed that something was wrong. In just a few short months, the atmosphere of Chentang Pass had undergone an earth-shaking transformation.
In the past, the common people wore worried expressions, fretting every day over the wars at the border and Zhaoge's harsh policies. Now, each of them looked calm and peaceful, with none of the misery of oppression left on their faces.
The crops between the fields were lush and vibrant, growing more luxuriantly than in any previous year. Everywhere he looked was a heartening sea of green.
Even the surrounding air had become exceptionally fresh and pleasant. Li Jing stopped and took a deep breath, and the exhaustion from months of travel vanished in an instant.
Filled with astonishment and doubt, Li Jing hurriedly stopped a passing soldier, intending to ask what had happened.
But when the soldier turned and recognized him, he instantly erupted with wild joy. Forgetting to answer entirely, he sprinted toward the pass while shouting at the top of his lungs:
"General Li has returned! Our General Li has returned safely!"
The cheers instantly spread through the streets and alleys. Soldiers ran about spreading the news, and when the common people heard it, they too poured into the streets, their faces filled with delight.
In their hearts, as long as Li Jing returned safely and had not been punished by King Zhou, Chentang Pass could preserve this peace, and they would no longer