Red Cliff Road

From here on, I'll have to rely on my own wits. He Lingchuan changed the subject: "Father, why must we return to the Great Capital?"

"The He family foundation is there. How could an unworthy descendant not return?"

He Lingchuan rolled his eyes. "There are eyes and ears everywhere; must I speak so plainly?" He leaned toward his father's ear, his voice as thin as a mosquito's buzz, easily drowned out by the sound of hooves. "Our entire family was killed by the Emperor. Why go back and throw our lives away for him?"

He Chunhua frowned. "If not there, where else can we realize our ambitions?"

A man of great stature builds his career and reputation; does he not need a foundation to rely on?

"The Baling Kingdom in the west would work, wouldn't it? Doesn't our Qiansong Prefecture border four different nations? I think that monster kingdom to the northeast isn't bad either..." He Lingchuan kept his eyes on the road, dodging a slap He Chunhua aimed at his head. "Besides, the country is in turmoil. Those mud-legged rebels who raise banners dare to call themselves kings! Look abroad—changing emperors is like a revolving lantern! I heard that in the Xuan Kingdom to the east, they've gone through eleven emperors in twenty years. The shortest reign was only nineteen days."

A high-risk profession, indeed.

Which nerve in this brat's brain is misfiring? Why is he obsessed with treason? He Chunhua kept a straight face. "Those are tiny, insignificant states. Can they compare to the Great Yuan? We have been a nation for over sixty years; our institutions are complete."

Heh. He Lingchuan let out a long breath. "We've just had a brush with death. Can't you speak from the heart with me, Father?"

He Chunhua was slightly startled, then stared at him. "What has possessed you?"

The question came out of nowhere, and cold sweat broke out on He Lingchuan's back.

"What?"

His eldest son was brave but not particularly sharp-witted; he shouldn't have seen through his reservations. He Chunhua looked him over twice and said in a deep voice, "Don't ever say such treasonous things again."

A gust of sand blew past, and He Lingchuan sneezed.

His father's mind was deep indeed.

They were both calculating old foxes. But this, strangely, made him feel a bit more at ease.

It seemed Governor He had been passively dragged into this vortex, but behind the scenes, who was really calculating against whom?

State Preceptor Sun's procession finally stepped onto the Red Cliff Road.

Passing through the mountain pass, a world of yellow sand stretched out before them, vast and boundless.

Dune after dune stood in the hot wind; some were as small as dirt mounds, while others were dozens of zhang high, rivaling mountains. Yet they were nothing like the solid cliffs; some giant dunes would vanish overnight, only to reappear suddenly in other depressions.

All vegetation had vanished; there wasn't a hint of green.

As far as the eye could see, there was only the vast, desolate expanse.

The Red Cliff Road was carved through the desert, five zhang wide, enough for several carriages to travel abreast. The stone bricks on the ground had lost their original color, worn uneven by the thousands of feet and hooves of passing merchants. Some bricks were new, as Blackwater City and neighboring states had each taken responsibility for repairing sections of the road; others were ancient, their black surfaces varying in depth, layered one upon another.

This made the Red Cliff Road look like a giant gray-black snake crawling through the sea of sand.

Zeng Feixiong, walking beside the He father and son, noticed He Lingchuan's curiosity about the bricks and explained, "Those are bloodstains, both new and old. There are many sand bandits on this road, and many battles have been fought here."

"Actually, some of those stains have been there for over a hundred years. The Red Cliff Road was the supply route for Coiling Dragon City back in the day. It's said that countless massacres took place around these very paths."

To attack and besiege a city, one had to cut off the enemy's reinforcements and supplies.

Hearing this, He Lingchuan felt a wave of blood-soaked intensity wash over him.

So many brutal slaughters, so many vibrant lives, so many resolute cries to defend the homeland—all buried in the end by the endless yellow sand, leaving nothing behind.

Three years after Coiling Dragon City fell, the Xiluo Kingdom perished; six years later, the Xianyou Kingdom followed.

These two old rivals had fought for decades, only to end up face-down in the dust of history.

"Is that why everyone hangs the 'Bell Flag'?" He Lingchuan pointed to the large banner fluttering at the front of the procession.

This was clearly an army of the Great Yuan, led by the esteemed State Preceptor Sun, yet the banners were embroidered with a massive character: "Bell."

People of the present day traveled the world, yet they flew the old flags of a fallen dynasty. It was inconceivable.

In fact, it wasn't just their group; almost every traveler on the Red Cliff Road hoisted the Bell flag high, as if sending a message to the entire desert.

Of course, once any group left the Red Cliff Road, they would stow the Bell flag before entering other national territories, which was why, despite having heard of it, He Lingchuan rarely saw the banner.

"Wraiths and mutated monsters roam the desert, eating whatever they catch, but they won't step onto the Red Cliff Road because this is the route the Great Wind Army traveled countless times. Everyone hangs the Bell flag to pay tribute to the Great Wind Army of the past and to ensure their own safety."

If you asked He Lingchuan, that wasn't a tribute—it was a blatant imitation.

Zeng Feixiong pulled away his face mask, spat into a cloth, and tucked it away. "You can't just spill saliva or urine on the Red Cliff Road. You have to collect it and carry it away, or it's considered disrespectful and will anger the spirits here."

He Chunhua added, "In the past, many nations didn't believe it and forbade their merchants from flying the Bell flag on the Red Cliff Road. As a result—"

"As a result, they had to allow it," He Lingchuan understood. "The living have no need to pick fights with the dead."

Just then, several shouts came from the rear.

The group looked back to see a small, snow-white dog run out from another procession behind them. In a few bounds, it left the Red Cliff Road and bolted toward the nearest sand dune.

Its little owner was a five-year-old girl. The moment the dog slipped away, she instinctively chased after it.

Soon, she too had left the Red Cliff Road.

Before her family could react, a caravan guard rushed over from the back, shouting at her: "Come back! Get back here!"

The shouting He Lingchuan and the others heard was his voice.

The child's mother, a noblewoman, walked over and said with dissatisfaction, "Keep your voice down! You'll scare my child!"

"If she doesn't come back, your child is as good as dead!" the guard roared back. "Get her back! The monsters are coming to eat people!"

The desert was as empty as a still painting; not a single wild animal was in sight.

The little girl stopped, looked at the caravan, then at the small white dog in the distance, and hesitated.

The mother said with disdain, "Go and bring her back."

The caravan guard refused, not wanting to step even an inch away from Red Cliff Road.

The mother had no choice but to stride toward her child, scoop her up, and head back.

Nothing happened.

"Useless men..." The noblewoman hadn't even finished her curse when the ground beneath her feet suddenly collapsed.

A massive maw erupted from below, swallowing her and the child in one gulp.

The scream was harrowing, yet cut short.

At that moment, they were less than three steps away from Red Cliff Road.

After devouring the two, the monster didn't rush to submerge itself, but instead moved rapidly toward the white dog nearby.

The creature resembled a flounder, with a mouth positioned on the top of its head and a body like a large, flat, circular disc, its color blending perfectly with the yellow sand. Had it not leaped out on its own, even if He Lingchuan had been standing right next to it, he might not have noticed its presence.