Be More Sensible

Nian Songyu was somewhat haughty. "Has Lord He ever heard of the Endless Sea south of the firmament? Hurricanes rage there year-round, undercurrents boil beneath the waves, and sea monsters roam freely. It is said to be a sea no living person may enter. I once traveled south under the king's orders and entered and left the Endless Sea twice, yet returned unscathed both times." These country bumpkins truly did not know the height of heaven or the depth of earth.

He Lingchuan coughed. "When you entered and left the Endless Sea, you had guides, didn't you?"

"Of course."

"But from September each year until February or March of the next—sometimes even April—there are no guides at all in the Coiling Dragon Desert. No one dares go!" He Lingchuan looked at his father. "Over the past fifty years, this desert has swallowed at least four thousand lives. That is only the number counted from victims' families filing reports; the real number cannot be verified. And when the desert truly bares its fangs, do you know how many people return alive?"

"One!" He raised a finger. "Only one in fifty years, and that person had already gone mad. According to the shamans' diagnosis, he lost one soul and one spirit. He would never regain his sanity for the rest of his life."

State Preceptor Sun lifted his eyelids slightly, his bearing naturally that of a state preceptor. "The Grand Marshal has already sent people to search for an item. If we find it, we may be able to enter and leave the Coiling Dragon Desert safely. Besides, I will do my utmost to protect the party."

He Chunhua sneered inwardly. After taking such a long detour, they had finally revealed the dagger beneath the map, hadn't they? Yet his face showed surprise. "What item might that be?"

What had the Grand Marshal sent people to find, that it had caused his son to fall off a cliff?

"It is a relic left behind by Zhong Shengguang. With it, when entering and leaving the Coiling Dragon Desert, the resentful spirits guarding the ruins may permit us passage." Nian Songyu said, "The clues the Grand Marshal uncovered all point to the Sand Leopard clan on Red Cliff Road. Does Lord He know that Zhong Shengguang's spirit pet in those days was a Sand Leopard?"

"Indeed. I seem to have heard of it."

"Now its descendants and clansmen are all in the Coiling Dragon Desert. We went to ask them about it and had a small conflict." Nian Songyu brushed it off lightly. "Several Sand Leopards left, so we spent forty or fifty days searching for them one by one. Later, we discovered that one of them may have entered Blackwater City."

He Lingchuan laughed. "Easy. Just plaster the whole city with notices offering a reward for a leopard. Blackwater City, after all—monsters walk everywhere."

Sun Fuping said to He Chunhua, "Then we must borrow the prefect's strength. Time is precious; the battle for Woling Pass cannot wait a moment. In the time we have spent talking, that battlefield has likely harvested who knows how many more lives. Only by finding the Great Square Pot as quickly as possible can we bring this unjust war to an end."

He Chunhua considered it. "If the token is found, I will send out the best guides to lead the way for you."

"Just the twenty or so of us will not be enough. We need at least a military force." Nian Songyu was somewhat dissatisfied. "The Coiling Dragon Ruins are a place of utmost evil. Only a nation's fortune can suppress them!"

That meant no fewer than two hundred men, and the military officer leading them would have to wear a State Decree. Otherwise, how could he mobilize the nation's fortune to protect their bodies?

He Chunhua looked troubled. This was plainly a mission that sent men to their deaths. What commander would have a heart big enough to take it on?

Seeing this, Sun Fuping immediately said, "There is something I perhaps should not say. Yet back then, Lord He emerged unscathed from the God-Offering Case. On the way to his demotion to Qiansong Prefecture, he had sufficient travel funds and people making arrangements for him. Later, he received two exceptional promotions. Could it be that none of this came from the Grand Marshal speaking on his behalf several times?"

Criminals exiled to the frontier had their faces tattooed and inked, then labored in barren lands for more than ten years. He Chunhua had not been one of those unfortunate souls, but Blackwater City was thousands upon thousands of miles from the capital. He had been only eleven years old then, and his entire household had died. If no one had secretly looked after him, sent him travel funds, and given enough benefits to the escorting officials, the hardships and obstacles along that road could easily have claimed He Chunhua's life.

The wronged souls on the road of exile were too numerous to count. One more of him would not have made any difference.

Not to mention his later achievements, promotions, and exceptional advancement. He Chunhua himself had indeed proven capable, but without anyone at court, it was difficult to catch the emperor's eye.

Good wine need fear no deep alley? Hah, utter nonsense.

He Chunhua had also guessed that some noble person above had spoken on his behalf, but he had never expected it to be the Grand Marshal.

Sun Fuping continued, "Recovering the Great Square Pot and taking Woling Pass are achievements as great as the heavens. Our king has personally decreed that anyone who renders merit on this journey will be promoted one rank."

He Chunhua was silent for a while before finally saying, "This subordinate will arrange the manpower at once. State Preceptor Sun and Commandant Nian, please first move to the guest residence. Later, we shall welcome you both at Pine Crane Pavilion and wash away the dust of your journey."

Their purpose achieved, the two rose with pleased expressions. He father and son escorted them to the main gate, where they strode away.

Watching the two men's backs vanish around the street corner, He Lingchuan asked his father, "Are we really sending people into the Coiling Dragon Desert with them?"

He Chunhua said nothing and appeared burdened with worries. He still had prefectural affairs to handle. After telling his son, "Do not tell Madam about this," he hurried away.

He Lingchuan returned to the residence. He Yue was accompanying their mother outside, and they encountered his elder brother in the garden.

Madam Ying asked her eldest son, "Who are these guests?"

He Lingchuan answered solemnly, "The state preceptor and the second son of the Governor of Xun Prefecture. They came to discuss confidential business with Father!"

"The state preceptor?" Madam Ying froze. "What state preceptor?"

"You should be asking which state preceptor." He Lingchuan corrected her. "It is State Preceptor Sun Fuping, who came all the way from the capital."

He was a figure of the highest rank, someone even kings and marquises would honor as a distinguished guest. Madam Ying was very surprised, but she did not pursue the matter further. She only asked He Lingchuan, "Is it good news or bad?"

Since it was "confidential," it was not proper for her, a woman, to ask carelessly. When He Chunhua handled prefectural affairs, Madam Ying had never interfered.

"Half good, half bad." He Lingchuan was very serious. "It depends on how Father handles it."

Madam Ying's eyes shifted. "Why did he call you along?"

Since it concerned confidential matters, her husband should have summoned the steadier younger son instead.

"I am involved in it too." He Lingchuan's expression darkened slightly. "Mother, what do you mean by that? Should Father not call on me when something happens?"

He felt a little irritated again.

"You are involved too?" Madam Ying looked him up and down. "Could it be that you have caused another mess?"

"Is that how you see me?" He Lingchuan also pulled a long face. "As someone who only knows how to cause trouble?"

Yet this time, Madam Ying seemed to have guessed right.

Ying Hongchan softened her tone and earnestly advised him, "Lingchuan, you have grown up. You must be more sensible and more steady, so that you can help your father bear his burdens."

She glanced toward the main gate. "I am going outside to distribute food. You two brothers have a chat."

Supported by a maidservant, she left. He Yue, however, remained behind.

"Big Brother, shall we have some tea?"

He Lingchuan understood and followed him toward the side hall.

They had only taken two steps when He Yue said to him, "Mother speaks bluntly and means no harm. Do not take it to heart."

"Your mother is my mother too. Do I need you to comfort me?" He Lingchuan shot him a sidelong glance. "She finds me irritating beyond measure, but cherishes you like a treasure. It has been that way since we were children. Hey, no need to explain. Explaining is covering up!"