Someone Had to Scout the Way

Everyone was aghast.

An unnamed commander in the Great Wind Army was actually this ferocious?

What they didn't know was that, over a hundred years ago, the Zhong Family had trained its troops to be swift as the wind and fierce as fire, striking like thunder to seize the initiative and leave themselves free to calmly butcher their enemies afterward.

Nian Songyu's face contorted with pain, but he shouted, "It can attack people! It's the water—the water in the pool!"

Just a dip in the pool, and these vengeful spirits could physically attack?

Hearing him, He Lingchuan snatched the Soul-Fixing Banner from his attendant Bai Shan, took two quick strides to the pool, and plunged the white flag straight into the water.

The flag soaked up the bloody water in an instant. Thankfully, the runes on it didn't fade.

Then he raised the banner and gave it a vigorous shake toward his companions.

Water droplets splattered across everyone's faces.

But no one dodged. Instead, they looked grateful.

At that moment, the ghost soldiers charged again.

Zeng Feixiong scrubbed his face with a fierce swipe, grabbed his saber, and leaped into a downward slash. "Brothers, attack!"

"Clang!" Metal rang against metal.

His great saber struck the tip of the enemy's spear, and both weapons were knocked aside. Neither side had gained an advantage.

But everyone else was overjoyed.

It worked! They were no longer helplessly taking stabs—taking... thrusts.

Their opponents were cavalry, but they had ten times as many men. Surely ten against one was enough to win?

Everyone's spirits soared. They drew their weapons and clashed with the enemy.

As long as they could touch them, that was all that mattered! They were all elite soldiers. The gap between them couldn't be that great.

Situ Han didn't forget to flatter He Lingchuan. "Young Master, that was incredible! One move turned the whole fight around!" But he said nothing about Nian Songyu being the first to discover the pool's strange properties.

Thinking about it, it made sense. The pool of blood connected the real and illusory worlds, so it should affect both the living and spirits. But... hadn't the vengeful spirits charged out of the pool in the first place? Why couldn't they hurt anyone when they first emerged?

He Lingchuan stared at the Great Wind Army commander, who was swinging his weapon with gleeful abandon. He couldn't shake the feeling that this was exactly what the enemy wanted.

They liked blood and gore, not killing without spilling a drop.

In just a few blinks, the commander had killed two men and helped kill another. Even Zeng Feixiong didn't dare approach him.

Zeng gave He Chunhua a bitter smile. "Father, we don't have enough men."

The two sides seemed evenly matched, but He Lingchuan felt they would have a hard time winning.

One vengeful spirit wounded three men before several soldiers dragged it off its horse. Nian Songyu dipped his blade in the water, rushed forward, and hacked off its head.

At last, the enemy suffered a casualty.

But the Great Wind Army commander had noticed too. He raised a hand, and a streak of cold light shot toward them.

This time, he hurled his spear at He Chunhua!

When the Void Barrier had shattered earlier, the Staff Beast-Mouth had spat out a dim, cracked sphere. Then Sun Fuping had held out his hand to He Chunhua. "The State Decree!"

He Chunhua immediately handed over the Kite Coin that represented his office as governor.

The Kite Coin glowed softly, and the commander's attention was drawn to it at once. Then came the killing blow.

The spirits of Coiling Dragon City surely despised a foreign State Decree appearing on their land.

Sun Fuping was secretly preparing a spell, Nian Songyu was too far away, and Zeng Feixiong and the others were locked in battle with the enemy. He Chunhua was completely undefended.

Fortunately, He Lingchuan was standing beside his father. When he saw the cold light coming, he didn't have time to think. He swung his blade on instinct.

With a deafening clang, the Hundred-Refined Blade snapped in two, and the force of the spear sent He Lingchuan flying.

He felt as if a sledgehammer had smashed into his chest. He couldn't help spitting out a mouthful of blood, then—

He flew over a yard and plunged straight into the pool.

The water was only a thin layer, barely reaching his ankles. Yet when he fell into it, it was as if he'd dropped into a deep lake. With a splash, he vanished without a trace!

But his interception had worked. The commander's spear veered off course and flew past He Chunhua's armpit.

A couple of inches had made the difference between a pierced heart and escaping unharmed.

He Chunhua was horrified and rushed to the edge of the pool. "Chuan'er!"

No matter how he looked, the water remained shallow, its surface rippling without end.

Nian Songyu hurried over, worried that He Chunhua might jump in after his son. But Governor He immediately turned around and swiftly shoved the State Decree into Sun Fuping's hand.

"Is Chuan'er alive?"

"We'll know soon." Sun Fuping looked around, then pointed to the nearest bandit. "You, come here!"

"Me?" The man walked over as told.

Sun Fuping led him to the pool, took out a candle, then reached out and grabbed his shoulder. To everyone's surprise, he pulled off a pale blue Life Fire and pressed it against the wick.

The candle lit, its flame pale blue.

The bandit stared blankly. "What's this?"

"This is your Life Fire. While you live, it burns; when you die, the candle goes out." Sun Fuping nodded. "Go on." Then he shoved him hard.

He had the strength of someone far younger than a man in his sixties.

Before the bandit could react, Sun Fuping's shove sent him tumbling backward into the pool, following in He Lingchuan's footsteps.

"Hey!" Situ Han turned just in time to see what had happened. Dodging a thrust from the Great Wind Army, he rushed back. "What are you doing?"

They were willing to risk their lives for the authorities, but they didn't want to be "sent to their deaths"!

"Shh!" Sun Fuping waved a hand. A force pushed Situ Han back two steps, while Sun Fuping kept his eyes fixed on the candle flame. "Someone has to scout the way."

He Lingchuan had fallen into the pool too suddenly. Sun Fuping had no choice but to send someone else to investigate.

Meanwhile, He Chunhua's men surged forward, doing their best to keep the Great Wind Army commander occupied.

Ten breaths passed.

Then twenty.

The blue flame continued to burn.

"He's still alive." As soon as Sun Fuping confirmed it, He Chunhua let out a long breath. The bandit was alive, which meant there was air beneath the pool. He Lingchuan was probably alive too.

"And there's even better news," Sun Fuping said with a smile. "No more vengeful spirits are coming out."

Only then did He Chunhua remember: since those dozen or so Great Wind Army soldiers had emerged, no new vengeful spirits had appeared from the pool.

That meant—

Sun Fuping gave Nian Songyu a look. Understanding at once, Nian Songyu flipped over and leaped into the pool.

He vanished too.

"This is the only way to seize the Great Square Pot." Their own casualties kept mounting, but Sun Fuping was in high spirits. He shoved He Chunhua's Kite Coin into the Staff Beast-Mouth, and the monster immediately bit down on it.

"Fall back to the formation! Hurry, fall back to the formation and defend against the enemy!" Sun Fuping raised his staff and struck the ground three times in a row. "I need all of you to stand together and raise your spirits!"

The entire force immediately pulled back toward the formation on the ground.

In the time it took, their own troops had already suffered twenty percent casualties, while the Great Wind Army had lost only four men.

These things fought with a ferocity that was hardly human—well, they weren't human to begin with. The moment they realized their wounds were too severe, they tried to take their enemies down with them, killing one more if they could, dragging two down if possible. One cavalryman had been beaten to the ground by the group. Both its hands had been severed, and its chest was riddled with wounds. Everyone thought it could no longer fight back. Who could have guessed that, with its last breath, it would leap up, bare a mouthful of gleaming white teeth, and bite through a bandit's throat?