Beyond the Ji River

Beyond the Ji River

Outside Xiaoshan Town, amid the pounding of the Alarm Drum, squads of militia hurried onto the walls under their captains' urging, muskets and firearms in hand. Several cannons had their covers stripped away and were aimed beyond the town.

In their sight appeared a long column, numbering roughly more than a thousand people.

"Where did these people come from?"

The townsfolk were all uneasy and bewildered.

The highly aggressive savage tribes around the garrison town had long since been scattered by them. The remaining gentler tribes survived by depending on the town; their economy and livelihood were controlled by it, and they were constantly being absorbed into it. There were now no savage tribes of more than two hundred people within two hundred li of the area.

Once those people drew closer, the townsfolk noticed that at first glance, they somewhat resembled savages. Yet upon closer inspection, there were obvious differences.

Most savages covered themselves with animal hides and leaves, their civilization at a low level. But the vast majority of these people wore cloth garments. A few were even dressed magnificently, draped in blue-and-yellow attire, with crowns woven from colorful feathers and gold thread upon their heads.

It was clear that they not only possessed distinct class divisions, but also a certain degree of organization and discipline. They were by no means comparable to any savage tribes the townsfolk had encountered before.

Where exactly had these people come from? It was as if they'd drilled up from underground.

A militia leader asked the town mayor whether they should take the initiative and attack, but was refused. The town's foremost duty was to preserve the lives and safety of its residents. So long as these unknown people did not linger here, destroy the fields, or attack Xiaoshan Town, the town would not strike first.

Chen Zheng brought several students with him and took responsibility for recording these people's appearances, clothing, ornaments, manner of communication, and so on, one by one. He intended to hand the records to a messenger afterward for delivery to the provincial capital.

A group of people of unknown origin appearing on the wilderness was absolutely not something that could be ignored.

He soon discovered that these people weren't heading toward the town, but entered those ruins instead. Before long, their figures were obscured by the remaining high walls and pillars.

Within the ruins, several savages crawled out of the Giant Python Cavern and said a few words, trembling with fear, to an elderly man who looked like a priest and held a gold-and-silver staff.

Anger appeared on the old man's face. With a point of his hand, someone immediately came forward and whipped those savages.

He walked to an open space, took out a candle, and lit it. As he muttered something under his breath, white smoke soon rose from it, forming a long branch shaped like a willow twig. It slowly lifted and pointed in a certain direction.

He called out, and at once a dozen or so powerfully built men stepped forward, clad in leather armor and carrying short blades and spears. After he spoke a long string of words to them, they bowed their heads to him, then mounted creatures that resembled both mongooses and cats. Amid the creatures' sharp, clipped cries, they sped toward the southeast and quickly vanished from sight.

A man wearing a white mask stepped out from the crowd and said in Celestial Xia Language, "So few people? Can they find them?"

The old man turned around and answered confidently in Celestial Xia Language as well, "Erlan is the finest warrior of my tribe. He has the bloodline of the gods and possesses power equal to the gods of your Celestial Xia."

The man said in a teasing tone, "Let's hope so. Your opponents this time aren't ordinary."

At that moment, before the arched bridge over the Ji River, Cai Weng heard the sound of gunfire ahead. He raised a hand in signal, and the group immediately slowed their horses. He reined in and leaned forward to look, then turned back to Wen Guo. "Nephew Wen, go ask who they are."

Wen Guo nodded, removed his cloak, and rode off. Seeing that only one person was approaching, and that he wore a Daoist robe, the bridge guards made no further excessive moves.

Wen Guo negotiated with those people beneath the bridge for quite some time before hurrying back. "Uncle Cai, I've asked. Those people are all garrison soldiers from Guanshan Town. They said that a few days ago, they discovered followers of the Other God Cult attempting to destroy the bridge, so they stationed men here to guard it."

Wen De asked, "Can we cross now?"

Wen Guo shook his head. "They said their captain's orders are that no one may pass until the Other God Cult followers have been dealt with. We're no exception."

Wen De said in surprise, "Not even with our travel pass from the Profound Residence?"

Wen Guo said helplessly, "That's exactly the problem. None of them know how to identify a Profound Residence travel pass. They're afraid ours may be forged, so they refuse to let us through no matter what. They also refuse to send word to inform the town."

For a moment, Wen De had nothing to say.

Cai Weng pondered for a moment. "We can't afford to be delayed here. Besides, these Other God Cult followers are very likely the group we're pursuing. That makes it even more impossible to wait. We'll take a detour."

With the strength of their group, they could have forced their way across. Even if this squad of militia had firearms, they couldn't have stopped them. But such actions would inevitably cause casualties. They weren't bandits; they had to conduct themselves according to rules and laws. They certainly wouldn't injure or kill soldiers under the Protectorate Office's jurisdiction, and doing so would likely trigger great chaos.

They could pursue responsibility afterward for the crime of delaying the Profound Residence's affairs. But how could they hold a grudge against a few militia who were faithfully carrying out their duties? Thus, the best way to avoid conflict now was to cross elsewhere.

Wen De said, "Uncle Cai, is there another place where we can cross this river?"

The horse beneath Cai Weng suddenly twisted twice. He patted its neck to soothe it. "When I came here last time, the Ji River was far more violent than it is now. But now it's much shallower, and the current isn't as swift. It should be because there hasn't been any rain for the past two months. There ought to be a place to cross at one of the narrow stretches downstream. If all else fails, we'll leave the horses and attendants here for now. The four of us can fell trees and make a boat, cross first, then return for them once we reach Guanchen Town."

The Wen brothers both thought this made sense.

Zhang Yu had no objection either.

Thus, the group turned and rode downstream along the Ji River. Yet this time, their luck seemed poor. Even as the sky gradually darkened, they failed to find a suitable place to cross.

Cai Weng stopped then. Reining in by the riverbank, he gazed at the surging waters and said, "It's already late today. Let's continue searching tomorrow. If we still can't find a suitable place by morning, the four of us will find a way to cross first."

Zhang Yu actually felt that whether the sky was dark or not made little difference to the four of them. Cai Weng had kept emphasizing the need to save time, so they could have let the attendants rest first while they continued searching.

But Cai Weng was the one in charge this time. Since he had changed his mind, Zhang Yu wouldn't voice opposition unless something especially unusual happened.

The group looked around nearby and found a patch of higher ground. The attendants dismounted, unloaded tents and other supplies from the packhorses, and chopped down trees. Before long, they had erected several large tents.

Four single-person tents stood at the corners, while two large tents occupied the center.

Afterward, they dug a deep trench around the camp with shovels. Outside it, they placed a ring of simple chevaux-de-frise, and strung ropes hung with bells through the gaps. It was entirely the manner of a military encampment.

Since followers of the Other God Cult might be nearby, they couldn't light fires to roast or cook food. Fortunately, everyone had medicinal pellets supplied by the Protectorate Office, and they carried enough fresh water, so this would not affect them much.

After speaking with Cai Weng and the others for a while, Zhang Yu came out alone. Wrapped in a cloak, he stood on high ground and looked into the distance at the mountain peak, still magnificent and steep amid the deepening dusk.

Over these past few days of travel, they had drawn ever closer to Goddess Peak.

The beacon tower said to be visible from Celestial Xia's homeland once lit was there. If he had the time in the future, he could go pay it a visit.

After watching quietly for a while, he returned to camp and entered his single-person tent. He washed up simply with the water they had drawn, swallowed a Primordial Elixir, then sat down cross-legged.

After meditating for a Xia hour, he emerged from his trance. By then, the surroundings had gone completely quiet. At a thought, light rose around him, and the Great Dao Unified Text appeared.

Ever since receiving Tao Dingfu's warning that day, he had kept strengthening his vigilance. What had happened during the day made him feel that danger was drawing near. Perhaps those Other God Cult followers were nearby, and it was very necessary to strengthen his own abilities.

The Divine Essence he possessed now could only read two Seal Glyphs. As for the Profound Text, the three new Seal Glyphs he had obtained needed to be read together according to the Profound Residence's Seal Method before it was possible to find the Heartlight Seal, so he couldn't use them for the moment. That left only the Turbid Canon.

Only "Control Seal" remained unread in the Turbid Canon. In truth, improving this Seal Glyph was the most practical choice. The "Sword" and "Control" seals were originally one whole. The Sword Seal had already been read, while the Control Seal had remained vacant all this time. He had endured it for far too long.

If he read it as well, then this seal would be relatively complete.

Having made his decision, he immediately looked toward the Control Seal. As his Divine Essence gradually diminished, light rose from the Seal Glyph and enveloped his entire body.

In an instant, he felt some subtle change occur within him. It wasn't a true, tangible transformation, but rather that his affinity with and command of swords had reached a higher level.

There had originally been a veil between him and the sword, but at that moment, it seemed to have been completely erased. There was no longer the slightest obstruction between them.

At a thought, a flash of snow-bright radiance lit up his cloak, and he drew the Xia Sword, laying it across his knees.

He could feel that drawing the sword this time had been incomparably smooth. It was truly that where his heart went, the sword followed; where his intent stirred, the sword moved. It wasn't dependent upon the Xia Sword's own power.

At that moment, he even had the impulse to go outside and practice his sword forms. But with a mere turn of thought, he easily suppressed the emotion and returned to the tranquil state from before, without a single ripple.

He was about to put away the Turbid Canon when his gaze suddenly paused. After reading the Control Seal, the Sword and Control seals had not merged once more. Instead, a new Seal Glyph had actually emerged above them!

"This is..."

His eyes flickered, yet without hesitation, he poured Divine Essence into it. As the Seal Glyph lit up, his body was once again shrouded in radiance.

When the light receded, he raised the Xia Sword and stared at it. Just as he was preparing to make a move, a faint ripple suddenly came from the Heart Lake Seal.

Hm?

He slightly turned his head and sensed that Cai Weng had emerged from his tent and left the camp without alerting anyone.

"Where is Brother Cai going?"

After thinking it over, he had no intention of following to spy on him. Cai Weng presumably had his own plans. Besides, although he had not displayed much ability before, his cultivation was undoubtedly far higher than Zhang Yu's. Nothing should happen to him.

Yet Cai Weng did not return for a long time.

Then, around the middle of the night, Zhang Yu, who had been meditating, suddenly opened his eyes.

Many footsteps sounded outside, drawing steadily closer to their camp!

A slight adjustment today, so there will only be one update. Two updates will resume tomorrow.