A Bounty Beneath the Sea of Sand

This was just a drop in the bucket. Besides, they'd given away all the water, so what would everyone drink later?

It would take a full two days just to walk from here to the nearest waystation.

He Lingchuan folded his arms. "I'll bet you ten silver that State Preceptor Sun already has a plan. We don't need to worry about it." It was always easy to enjoy the shade beneath a great tree.

Ten silver? Situ Han's face fell. "I can't afford that bet."

Sun Fuping glanced at them, then brushed a finger across his ring. A round, plump ball the size of a pomelo appeared in his hand.

The old geezer really did have something up his sleeve. He Lingchuan watched as Sun Fuping shoved the ball into the monster's mouth at the top of his staff—

The enormous ball disappeared.

Then Sun Fuping turned the staff around, aimed the beast's head at the pool, and murmured a few words.

The monster opened its mouth and spouted a thick, long jet of water straight into the pool.

"This is a Bullet Fish's spray bladder," Sun Fuping explained casually.

He Lingchuan thought he'd heard of this strange fish. It lurked in the lakes and seas of the Yuan Kingdom's interior, and could even blast large land animals—cattle, horses, young elephants—into the water with its jets, where they became its prey. Its spraying power was incredible. During the dry season, it could survive out of water for a month or so.

But its spraying ability wasn't what they needed now. The bladder could contract to store water, and its weight was even reduced.

A true treasure for crossing the desert.

They had been filling the pool for more than two quarters of an hour when Nian Songyu suddenly said, "Something's wrong. The water level hasn't spread for a while."

Given the size of the monster's outlet, the bottom of the pool should have been full by now, with water even spilling over to cover half the pool. But before their very eyes, only two-thirds of the bottom was wet. The remaining third was still bone-dry.

Where had all the water gone?

Sun Fuping reached down and pressed the bottom of the pool. "There's definitely something to it. The water's being sucked inside."

"What do we do, then?"

Sun Fuping's expression darkened slightly. "Let's wait and see."

Another two quarters of an hour passed. The monster had finished spouting all the water from its belly. It even coughed twice. But there was hardly any difference in the amount of water at the bottom of the pool.

Everyone knew they were in trouble now.

Plans never kept pace with change. No matter how carefully Sun Fuping had prepared, there were always times when he couldn't keep up with events.

Nian Songyu thought for a moment, then turned and ordered Zeng Feixiong, "Go collect everyone's waterskins."

Zeng Feixiong was startled. "Take away our drinking water? We still have to hold out in the desert for days. And what if it still isn't enough?"

Nian Songyu looked at Sun Fuping. When he saw that the State Preceptor said nothing, he stuck to his decision. "We can't let all our efforts go to waste. Go collect the water at once."

On a desert march, water was what kept you alive. Zeng Feixiong couldn't imagine how much the men would resist this order. "B-but..."

Nian Songyu's expression turned cold. "Do you want to disobey orders?"

Zeng Feixiong panicked and couldn't help looking toward He Chunhua.

Nian Songyu's gaze darkened further. These petty officials really had no sense of what was appropriate.

He Chunhua had no good solution either. Should they disobey orders and turn back, or pour everyone's drinking water into the pool and leave it to fate?

Neither choice seemed rational.

He couldn't make up his mind when his eldest son drawled, "Why make such a fuss? If you take the soldiers' clean water, how are they supposed to get out of the desert?"

Nian Songyu said coldly, "A journey of a hundred miles is ninety miles only halfway. What if we're just short by this much?"

"Can you guarantee we're just short by this much?"

Nian Songyu smiled. "I can."

And what if he couldn't? By then, the water would already be gone and the deed would be done. Would the soldiers dare to mutiny?

He Lingchuan rolled his eyes and turned to ask Sun Fuping, "The bottom of the pool has to be filled with water, right?"

"Right."

"What if it's not clean water?" He Lingchuan's focus was on this point. "Would some other liquid work?"

"Such as?"

"Blood." In case the two of them got the wrong idea and started talking about human sacrifices, he hurriedly clarified, "I mean the blood of monsters or strange beasts. The Coiling Dragon Desert is full of huge creatures. It shouldn't be hard to find a few and bleed them."

Sun Fuping's eyes lit up. "That makes sense! Blood sacrifices are often used to worship the gods. If we mix fresh blood into the pool, the Great Square Pot shouldn't mind. It might even like it." He tossed the Walnut Boat to Nian Songyu, then pointed at He Lingchuan. "Take some men into the desert and bring back a few giant beasts."

Everyone took another dose of Soul-Suppressing Powder and entered the desert again.

The desert creatures and Three-Corpse Insects grew more active in the cool night. Nian Songyu brought out the Walnut Boat for everyone to stand on, then ordered the boatmen to drop bait into the sand and fish.

Nian Songyu stood while He Lingchuan sat. Neither could be bothered to look at the other.

This time, the fishing wasn't going well. For a long while, no prey took the bait. He Lingchuan's back began to ache from sitting, and when several Three-Corpse Insects swam around the Walnut Boat, he called someone over to massage his back.

"Feels good. Yes! A little lower, that's it, lower! Put some strength into it."

The young master of the He family sighed in comfort. The pursuit of pleasure really did wear away the bones and dissolve the marrow. Who would have guessed that three months ago, he'd been a homebody who couldn't stand having anyone come within half a meter of him?

Nian Songyu shook his head to himself. Then he heard He Lingchuan ask, eyes closed, "Why did Commandant Nian come to Blackwater City in person?"

"What?"

"This is a mission no one is expected to survive. How could the General Who Conquers the North bear to send his beloved son into danger?" He Lingchuan cracked open an eyelid. "Is he your real father?"

He Nian Songyu's cheek twitched. "Didn't Governor He bring you along too? Are you not his flesh and blood?"

What a vulgar jab. People without wit never knew how to be tactful. He Lingchuan waved a hand. With a thunk, a dagger shot out and stuck into the wooden rail Nian Songyu was leaning against.

For the record, his aim was still terrible. Once he threw a knife, he had no idea where it would end up.

Before Nian Songyu could react, his guards had already rushed two steps forward and drawn their swords, ready to shout at He Lingchuan.

He Lingchuan raised a finger to his lips and shushed them, speaking first. "Quiet. You'll scare the prey away!" He pointed below the boat. "Have you forgotten our top priority? Careful, or you'll face military discipline!"

Nian Songyu waved his men back and said evenly, "I can survive. You might not. Be sensible and obey. Be a good dog, and perhaps you and your father will make it home alive. Otherwise, Madam Ying will be widowed, and as for your younger brother—"

He licked his lips. His eyes gleamed with excitement, touched by a trace of cruelty. "Don't worry. Whether you're dead or alive, I'll find a way to help him return to the Great Capital. I'm sure he'll be very popular there!"

He Lingchuan stared at him, his expression slowly darkening.

Why had the Governor of Xun Prefecture, the Grand Marshal, and State Preceptor Sun—the three great powers—joined forces?

Perhaps his father shouldn't have accepted the mission involving the Great Square Pot.

He Lingchuan was about to speak when the boatman's fishing rod suddenly bent under a heavy pull, almost dragging him right off the bow.

At last, something had taken the bait!

Working together, everyone finally hauled the thing up from beneath the sand.

It was another Earth Dragon, but two sizes smaller than the two they'd caught earlier that day—small enough to fit in the boat.