Chapter 271: Transcendence and Grace

When his men finally dragged him back to consciousness, Wu Shaoyi learned that roving cavalry from Xun Province had struck. The camp was in chaos, soldiers and horses tangled in blood and mud. The single-story house where Zhou Hongyue had taken shelter had been blown apart, killing him on the spot.

Clutching his side, Wu Shaoyi forced himself up to take command, but the troops were already in utter panic. One grain wagon after another was being set alight, and his troops were falling everywhere. Seeing that defeat was certain, he could only give the order to retreat.

Along the way, he gathered what survivors he could find, and it was only this handful that had remained. As for the grain, most of it was gone.

The roving cavalry from Xun Province had cut deep into Xia Province to raid the supply line. They knew they did not have enough men to carry the grain off, so they resorted to simply setting it all aflame.

Having finished his report, Wu Shaoyi bowed his head and said, “I await the lord’s punishment.”

“Severe negligence and the loss of grain, by the law, you deserve death,” said He Chunhua coldly. “However, we’re short of men. I’ll spare you for now and judge you by your performance henceforth.”

Wu Shaoyi could only thank He Chunhua for his leniency.

The pride from their last victory over Xun Province was gone. Half of the royal court’s supplies had been lost, and it would be He Chunhua who had to explain that to the front line. Fortunately, the other half of their supplies remained.

He Chunhua asked, “Bailu Town has constables and a militia. Why didn’t they come to help?”

Wu Shaoyi shook his head. “Maybe they didn’t dare. Maybe they were out chasing bandits. I heard that recently, bandits have been causing heaps of trouble near Bailu Town. They killed a few constables, and a wealthy household there was even wiped out, with more than thirty people slaughtered.”

He Lingchuan frowned and could not help but ask, “Two killings in one small town, wasn’t that suspicious?”

“I strengthened the guard,” said Wu Shaoyi softly. “I heard the one who killed the constables was a local who ran off after the attack. There were also eyewitnesses to the bandits, and they claimed that the bandits weren’t Xun Province soldiers, so I...”

He trailed off. After losing the battle and the grain, any excuse sounded hollow.

He Chunhua’s brow furrowed. “Did you see the enemy general or commander?”

“Yes, he was above thirty years old, tall and thin, and very strong. He was stronger than even Lu Yao,” Wu Shaoyi said. “I hadn’t seen him before, but his men referred to him as their general.”

He Chunhua exhaled heavily before saying, “So those from Xun Province value our grain convoys that much—two towns, two generals. It seems I truly underestimated them.”

This time, the convoys that had left Dunyu City had been split into two. One of the convoys was traveling through Xinhuang, while the other was to pass through Bailu Town. Both paths led through narrow passes, making them easy to defend while hard to attack. And to be safe, He Chunhua had even divided the load. This way, even if one route was ambushed, the other might get through, keeping those at the front line from starving.

“Doesn’t that mean that the roving cavalry from Xun Province also split into two forces to strike both Bailu and Xinhuang?” He Lingchuan said quietly. “Could there be a leak from within our forces?”

“That can’t be it,” said He Chunhua. “We didn’t decide to split until Panjia Gully. Before that, only Mozhe Jingxuan and I knew of the plan. After that, both groups reached their destinations within two days. Even the best spy wouldn’t have been able to read my mind.”

Then was it just a coincidence?

“There are three routes to the north,” He Lingchuan mused. “The easternmost one’s been ruined for years, so no one uses it. That only leaves the other two. If they blocked both, it’s reasonable but risky. They don’t have many men and still dared to divide them.”

The Xun Province roving cavalry operating deep in enemy territory faced constant supply problems. Whoever made that call was bold indeed.

He Chunhua’s expression darkened and grew solemn. “Their methods seem to be entirely different this time. Has someone else taken command?”

The usual way to raid supply lines was to strike in wild terrain, yet this time they had attacked inside a town—swift, precise, and brutal—going straight for the grain convoy’s leader. He Chunhua had barely escaped with his life.

If this were the same opponent, how could Zhao Qinghe and Wu Shaoyi have won so easily before?

“The captives we interrogated knew nothing,” said Wu Shaoyi. “They only obeyed their commanding officers’ orders.”

He Chunhua turned to his eldest son. “Do you think they’ll come again?”

He Lingchuan thought for a moment before answering, “No, they succeeded at Bailu Town but failed at Xinhuang. They should already know now that we’re not easy to deal with, and their numbers are small. Baili Qing also lost over two hundred men. We’re in a completely different situation from the other grain convoy.”

Since Wu Shaoyi’s return, He Chunhua’s forces had grown to nearly eighteen hundred men. They were stronger now, while the enemy was weaker. “And we’ll be on alert. They won’t succeed twice.”

He Chunhua considered it for a long while, then nodded. “They’ve already destroyed over seven hundred thousand kilograms of grain. That’s enough to earn their main commander great merit. If he’s wise, he’ll stop now. If he’s greedy, he’ll lose everything.” His eyes then hardened before he continued, “In fact, I hope he doesn’t stop. If he dares to come again, we’ll have our chance to strike back.”

Once his mind was made up, he no longer feared another attack. Instead, he only feared that it might never come.

After issuing more orders, he got up and said, “We rest one day in Xinhuang. We continue our march tomorrow morning.”

The officers withdrew.

As the sun rose in the east, the troops of Xia Province were utterly exhausted. He Lingchuan washed off the blood and dirt from his body, found a tent, and lay down fully clothed.

He had been fighting all night, so the moment he closed his eyes, he immediately fell asleep.

* * *

When he awoke, the sun was already high up in the sky.

He had not dreamed of anything this time, and it left him feeling slightly disappointed.

Shan Youjun came in. “The captive talked.”

“He confessed after the water torture?”

“No,” Shan Youjun said with a chuckle. “He looks timid, but he’s actually got some guts to him. Each time he broke, he only revealed a little. Jiao Tai almost cut off his balls before he finally gave in.”

When He Lingchuan saw the captive again, the man was half-dead—lips split, eyes sunken, and his face shriveled from pain.

“Give him some water,” said He Lingchuan.

The man drank greedily, draining a bowl in a few gulps before sighing in relief.

Then He Lingchuan pulled the rod from his robe. “Be smart. Tell the truth, and you might just live to see another day.”

The man had been tortured beyond strength. He no longer dared play games. “That’s the Dragon Punishment Pillar. It’s an ancient relic said to be forged from the copper pillars by the Field of Slain Dragons.”

“It’s actually such a high-grade artifact?” He Lingchuan turned it in his hand. Though it looked ordinary, hearing that it was ancient made its touch seem smoother and heavier. “What’s it for?”

“To collect nightmare qi,” said the captive. “Where there’s war, there’s death, as well as wrathful souls. State Preceptor Shuang Ye of Beijia told us to carry this treasure rod into battle, to collect the nightmare qi afterward, and bring it back for transcendence.”

“Nightmare qi?” He Lingchuan raised an eyebrow. “You mean resentment?”

“Not only resentment, but also the unwillingness, fear, and fury of those who died,” said the man, his voice trembling with conviction. “We gather it and take it back for transcendence. It’s a great act of merit!”

“Gathering nightmare qi for transcendence?” He Lingchuan scoffed. “Your state preceptor sure has his hobbies. Did he tell you this himself?”

“It’s true! And it’s not just State Preceptor Shuang Ye’s contrivance or invention!” the captive insisted. “It’s a tradition of Beijia, one that’s been passed down for five to six hundred years!”

Five to six hundred years?

“If nightmare qi lingers, it turns to evil spirits. Haven’t you heard that old battlefields are haunted with wrathful souls?”

Like Panlong Desert?

He Lingchuan arched an eyebrow but said nothing.

The captive continued speaking eagerly, “At least two battlefields became peaceful and blessed after the nightmare qi was collected. The land enjoyed good harvests and calm weather for six or seven years! I saw it myself!”

His belief seems absolute. Shuang Ye’s clearly brainwashed him.

He Lingchuan did not argue with the man. “So this Dragon Punishment Pillar isn’t the only one of its kind?”

“Others have them too, others who were personally chosen by the state preceptor. I don’t know how many, though.”

So Beijia has been collecting this so-called nightmare qi for hundreds of years, through countless wars, and each staff holds the fury and grief of tens or hundreds of thousands.

The captive explained, “Not everyone can use it. Only those with the potential to open the Heaven’s Eye can become attendants like me.”

“How do you open this so-called Heaven’s Eye?”

“You apply a special medicine to the eyes, forty-nine days in a row. The pain is unbearable every time. If you don’t have the aptitude for it, you go blind after one dose.”

No wonder the man had been shocked when he realized that He Lingchuan could see nightmare qi as well. He Lingchuan touched his eyelids lightly.

I seem to have opened the Heaven’s Eye without any suffering. I truly am blessed by fate.

Maybe it’s because of the two treasures on me.

“Then how do they perform that transcendence that you mentioned earlier?”

“The state preceptor sets up an altar and performs a ritual, making an offering to Heaven.”

He Lingchuan tilted the staff, watching the faint, restless mist swirling within the gem. “And you collected all this yourself?”

“I’ve been doing it for eleven years, and I’ve collected from ninety-seven battles and incidents,” the captive said. “I never fought. I only ever came after the fighting was done.”

“Eleven years, huh? You’ve been working quite hard, then.”

This means that he’s gone to seven to eight battlefields a year.

“So this much nightmare qi came from how many dead?”

“I never counted, but it should have come from at least a hundred thousand people,” the captive said. His eyes were dim, but his voice was still reverent. “Five years ago, when the State of Mian’s coup broke out, the royal family was massacred. I collected tens of thousands of people’s worth of nightmare qi in one go.”

He Lingchuan was taken aback. “The State of Mian’s royal family was that large?”