Red Cliff Road Ends

"Trust the State Preceptor." He Lingchuan gestured toward Sun Fuping. "Even a dignified State Preceptor is risking his life; can't you and I have a little more faith?"

Sun and Nian walked at the very front, keeping a long distance from He Lingchuan, with over a dozen rows of soldiers separating them.

The newly joined group of bandits was not even worth their notice.

Situ Han looked at their backs. "If I speak, can they hear me?"

"Rest assured, they definitely can't." He Lingchuan couldn't even remember how many bad things he had said about the two men in front.

Only then did Situ Han whisper, "Those two are truly arrogant. If we encounter danger after entering the desert, I fear they won't care about our lives. Eldest Young Master He, for the sake of our New Year greetings, you must look after our brothers. We have over thirty men out here trying to make a living, and there are over a hundred women and children back at Mang Mountain! If we die, they won't even have porridge to eat."

Although he called murder and robbery "trying to make a living," his expression was quite sincere.

His worry was written plainly on his face.

"I know," He Lingchuan comforted him. "I will keep an eye on you all and won't let him send you to your deaths for nothing."

After he walked away, He Chunhua asked his eldest son, "What did he mean by 'for the sake of New Year greetings'?"

"Doesn't he come to pay us a New Year visit every year?" Most importantly, every New Year, Situ Han would prepare a generous gift specifically for Eldest Young Master He. For instance, last year, he gave He Lingchuan a string of pearl necklaces, each bead nearly identical in size, round and lustrous.

Yes, that was the very same string He Lingchuan had turned around and gifted to Uncle Hao.

What did he give the year before? Hmm, he couldn't recall.

Of course, there was no need to tell his old man about these trivial matters.

He Chunhua looked at him and shook his head; the brat might be reckless, but he certainly never went soft when it came to accepting gifts.

Blackwater City, He Residence.

Although only two people remained in the house, Madam Ying still instructed the kitchen to cook with care, setting seven dishes on the table—a meal even more sumptuous than usual.

But she actually had no appetite. After drinking half a small bowl of yellow millet porridge and taking only two bites of the flower roll He Yue had placed in her bowl, she set down her chopsticks.

"Yue'er, where do you think your father is now?" Ever since He Chunhua left, it was as if he had taken her soul with him. Madam Ying could not sleep at night, and her exquisite makeup could not hide her haggard appearance.

"He should have passed several post stations by now," He Yue comforted her. "Zeng Feixiong is familiar with the desert, and with the great State Preceptor Sun holding the line, Father and Brother will surely return before the sandstorm season arrives."

Madam Ying sighed. "They say your brother is a lucky general; he truly needs good luck this time."

He Yue found this strange; it seemed his mother didn't blame his father for taking his brother along?

Madam Ying asked about some affairs in Qiansong Prefecture, and He Yue assured her he could handle them.

Finally, she asked, "Still no news from the east?"

"None. Floods have blocked the roads, and besides, the fighting in the east is fierce. The rebels behead any spies or scouts they catch, so the messengers don't dare go there."

In truth, even without his father's repeated instructions, he would have kept an eye on intelligence from the east.

Unfortunately, there was still no word.

By the next day, there was nothing but vast, yellow sand in every direction, and not a single living creature to be seen.

This short stretch of Red Cliff Road pointed toward the former Ancient Coiling Dragon City; no merchant caravan would ever travel this way.

Everyone walked each step with care, for even this smooth path was coming to an end.

"There's no road left," came the news from the front of the team.

The He father and son looked east to see the massive base of half a mountain peak slanting upward, like a dagger thrust into the sky.

As for the upper half, it had collapsed with a roar nearly a hundred years ago, crashing onto the Red Cliff Road that this team was supposed to be traveling.

Endless mountain rocks had turned it into a dead end.

Zeng Feixiong muttered, "I wonder if this is heaven's will." Not allowing the spirits sleeping in the city to be disturbed by those who came later.

"How can there be so much wishful thinking?" Nian Songyu sneered and ordered the group, "Dismount; we must lighten our burden."

With no road ahead, the horses were no longer needed. Each person prepared five days of dry rations and water, handing the horses over to a few army cooks.

Situ Han stared at the boundless desert.

The undulating sand dunes were clean and tidy, without even half a footprint.

"How do we proceed from here? If we step one inch off the Red Cliff Road, we'll be devoured!"

"Of course not. Aren't you sand bandits the most knowledgeable about this?" Nian Songyu shut him down with a single sentence.

Situ Han looked sheepish. As people who had made a living in the Coiling Dragon Desert for most of their lives, they were well aware of the local taboos and had their own little tricks and methods.

Nian Songyu pointed at the desert. "You tell me, how do we walk now that there is no Red Cliff Road? I assume you have some experience."

"First, all you officials must put away your State Decrees. You must never show them, and certainly never activate them!" There were many officials in this group.

Nian Songyu said, "Oh? Why?"

"The spirits in the desert were defending the frontiers of their homeland when they were alive. If we walk in wearing the State Decrees of other nations, isn't that deliberately planting a flag to draw hatred? These things are single-minded; we should avoid them if we can, but never provoke them!"

That made some sense. Sun Fuping instructed the officials, "Put away your Kite Coins; do not display them."

Then Situ Han asked, "Are we going to the Ancient Coiling Dragon City? It's still far away, and it's impossible to get there just by walking. I have no way to help with that."

Sand bandits burrow into the desert mostly to evade pursuit or blood feuds, driven by temporary desperation; no one in their right mind would go trekking through this land of death unless they were tired of living.

"Therefore, we must switch to a different mode of transport." Sun Fuping pulled three items from his robes.

They were three miniature carved boats, each about an inch long, appearing to be crafted from halves of walnut shells with exquisite skill. Not to mention the wood grain on the gunwales, even the folds in the boatmen's clothing and their flowing hair were carved with delicate precision.

Judging by the craftsmanship alone, they were of master-level quality.

"These are treasures I borrowed from a friend; I have to return them when we're done. Alright, everyone, stand back!" With that, Sun Fuping took out three translucent cyan pellets, placed them into the raised right hands of the boatmen, and tossed the three walnut-sized vessels onto the sand.

Nian Songyu let out a low cry: "Mystic Crystals!"

The cyan pellets were the size of quail eggs, and it seemed as though they would crush the tiny boats upon impact. Yet, that was not the case at all; the moment the pellets touched the boatmen's hands, they vanished, and the entire vessels began to vibrate strangely, as if something were about to burst forth.

No one was foolish enough to linger, and they had already retreated to a safe distance.

Sure enough, the walnut boats expanded at an astonishing speed, their volume increasing exponentially. In just two breaths, the one-inch toys had transformed into wooden ships over five zhang long and one zhang high!

They sat upon the yellow sand, scaled-up versions of the original walnut boats. Naturally, the boatmen standing at the bows had also grown to the size of normal humans; they walked over and lowered the gangplanks to allow the passengers to board.