Chapter 205 – Desolate Liangzhou (Part Five)

Songqing had surrendered.

Upon hearing this news, even Ye Beizhi couldn’t help but show a look of shock.

Ye Beizhi didn’t linger by the walls any longer and headed straight back to the inn. Before leaving the gate entirely, he glanced back one last time. He saw the scout carrying the message being let into the city, the tired horse collapsing from exhaustion the moment it crossed the threshold. Its hooves twitched on the ground briefly before it ceased moving altogether.

Back at the inn, Ye Beizhi shared the news with everyone.

𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

The room fell silent for a long time until Xue Qiming ventured to break the silence. "So... how long can we stay here for the longest?"

Fang Dingwu replied, "Normally, marching from Songqing to Liangzhou would take seven days. With an army of that size, it might take longer."

"Seven days..." Xue Qiming turned to Rao Shuang. "Can Craftsman Tang finish within seven days?"

"I don’t know," Rao Shuang said with a shake of her head. "Over the past two days when I brought him meals, his expression has grown more tense and serious. He’s only been eating a single meal a day... it seems he’s at a critical stage."

After a heavy silence, Ye Beizhi suddenly said, "We miscalculated."

"Hm?" Everyone looked up at Ye Beizhi.

"What did we miscalculate?" Chi Nanwei asked Ye Beizhi.

"The time we have," Ye Beizhi said, lifting his head to look at the group. "We don't have seven days."

Chi Nanwei rolled her eyes at him. "Of course it’s not seven days. Didn’t Brother Dingwu just say their numbers would slow them down? It would be impossible for such an army to arrive in seven days."

Ye Beizhi shook his head. "It will take less than seven days."

Chi Nanwei’s tone faltered. "W-what do you mean?"

Ye Beizhi sighed. "If their cavalry advances first, they can reach us in three."

Hiss—

Everyone collectively drew a sharp breath.

Rao Shuang’s beautiful eyes widened. "If... if that’s true, and accounting for the time if took for the scout to deliver the message... wouldn’t that mean..."

Baili Gucheng nodded slowly and said gravely, "The Northern Qiang cavalry... could arrive any moment."

At this point, only Xue Qiming could still muster a smile. He patted Ye Beizhi on the shoulder and said, "Didn’t expect you to be so sharp. You figured out something the rest of us missed?"

Ye Beizhi glanced at him and replied flatly, "I’ve fought against Northern Qiang before."

Xue Qiming awkwardly withdrew his hand. "

Heh, heh

... forgot about that."

Baili Gucheng thought for a moment and said to Rao Shuang, "Miss Rao, could you ask Forsaken Phoenix how much longer he needs? Once we know, we can make a plan."

Rao Shuang nodded and left at once.

***

Tang Jinnian’s alchemy room was in the inn’s innermost room, the quietest place, to avoid disturbances.

Rao Shuang arrived at the door and knocked gently.

"Come in," Tang Jinnian called out hoarsely from within.

Rao Shuang pushed the door open softly and entered.

In the innermost room, all the furniture had been removed, leaving the space empty. Tang Jinnian sat cross-legged on the floor in the center of the room. In front of him was a small, palm-sized cauldron that had a blue flame licking at its underside.

Inside the cauldron, a pool of black liquid occasionally bubbled, and the Transcendence Stone floated on its surface, tumbling slowly. It was noticeably smaller than before.

Tang Jinnian’s face looked somewhat haggard, with dark gray hollows under his eyes, a sign of his prolonged efforts. He had been staring intently at the flames beneath the cauldron, only glancing sideways quickly when he noticed someone entering before shifting his gaze back.

Realizing it was Rao Shuang, Tang Jinnian eventually said, "You came at the right time. Watch the fire for me. I need to deal with the Soul Locking Sunflower."

Rao Shuang was momentarily startled before hurriedly replying, "

Ah

... okay, sure." She then quickly sat down beside Tang Jinnian.

This wasn’t the first time Rao Shuang had helped monitor the flames in the past few days. Whenever Tang Jinnian needed to eat or take care of personal matters, he would ask her to take over for a while. Although the task wasn’t particularly difficult, it required complete precision, so Tang Jinnian only asked for her help when absolutely necessary.

Seeing that Rao Shuang had settled in, Tang Jinnian stood up, walked to a nearby table, and carefully took the Soul Locking Sunflower out of his robe. He then used a prepared pestle to slowly grind it into juice.

The room gradually filled with the Soul Locking Sunflower’s peculiar fragrance.

"So..." Rao Shuang’s eyes remained fixed on the flames as she spoke. "They asked me to find out how much longer you need."

"What?" Tang Jinnian raised an eyebrow. "Have the Northern Qiang forces arrived already? Didn’t you tell me yesterday that Songqing City was blocking their way?"

"Songqing City has fallen. They’ve already surrendered to the Northern Qiang," Rao Shuang revealed with a sigh.

Tang Jinnian nodded, though his hands didn’t stop moving. "So you're saying I don't have much time left?"

Rao Shuang couldn’t help but glance at Tang Jinnian’s weary face. His sooty unwashed hair, hanging down his back, was nearly matted into a single clump.

Frowning slightly, Tang Jinnian spoke without looking up. "Watch the fire... It's not like the Soul Locking Sunflower is on my face, so why are you staring at me?"

Rao Shuang quickly turned her head back and stammered, "Th-they said... if the Northern Qiang cavalry advances first, the cavalry could reach Liangzhou in three days."

Hearing this, Tang Jinnian frowned even more deeply. "Three days? That’s not enough. Three days definitely won’t do. I still need at least six days to finish concocting this medicine."

"What should we do then?" Rao Shuang asked.

By this time, Tang Jinnian had finished grinding the Soul Locking Sunflower. Holding the bowl of medicinal nectar, he walked over and said, "I’m only responsible for refining the medicine. What to do is up to them. Let them figure it out themselves. If the process of refining the Transcendence Stone is interrupted, it will be impossible to find a replacement."

Rao Shuang was silent for a moment before nodding. "Understood."

Tang Jinnian waved at Rao Shuang. "Alright, that’s it... You can leave now."

Rao Shuang stood up and stepped aside. She saw Tang Jinnian sit down in the spot where she had been sitting and carefully pour the liquid from the bowl into the cauldron without spilling a single drop. The black water in the cauldron rapidly turned a deep purple, like a starless night sky.

"What are you still doing here?" Tang Jinnian’s hoarse voice rang out.

"Okay I'm leaving," Rao Shuang replied softly, turning and leaving the room.

Returning to the original room, the answer Rao Shuang brought back made everyone frown deeply.

"Six days?" Fang Dingwu frowned. "It’s hard to say if Liangzhou Prefecture can hold out for three days, let alone six."

Xue Qiming was in no mood to joke at this point. He said, "This is a deadlock. If we leave now, that stupid Impending Sword's lover will be alone. If we stay, we all die here." After saying this, Xue Qiming glanced around and found everyone staring at him.

He quickly waved his hands and complained, "Why are you looking at me like that? Don’t tell me y'all are planning to stay and fight the Northern Qiang to the death? Good heavens... Do you really think we can take on a million-strong army?"

Everyone fell silent. Deep down, they knew Xue Qiming had a point. In the face of a million troops, their martial skills would make no difference.

Chi Nanwei quietly slipped her hand into Ye Beizhi’s palm and looked up at him. "Dummy... what do you think?"

Ye Beizhi glanced at Baili Gucheng by the bed, who was looking at the unconscious Yang Lu with a complicated expression.

"We stay," Ye Beizhi decided.