Where Immortals Once Walked

“Heading west...” Lu Yao muttered, then his expression darkened. “No. We can’t let them join up with Pei Xinyong. If they manage to get together, I’ll be the one on the back foot. Do they have horses?”

“None. There was no space on the boats for any horses.”

As for the back of the crocodiles, none of the horses dared climb aboard.

“Fly to Desheng Town at once. Tell them to raise their guard! Wu Shaoyi’s water route is meant to get him ahead of us, but without horses, he can’t march fast. Within thirty kilometers, only Desheng Town has stables!”

The red-tailed peregrine falcon spread its wings and soared away.

One of his subordinates leaned close and asked, “General, what do we do now?”

“What else? We have to move even faster!” Lu Yao sneered. “We have to drag Pei Xinyong into the fight and cut off his contact with Wu Shaoyi. Desheng Town already holds six or seven hundred of our brothers. So long as they’re alert, they’ve nothing to fear from two hundred men.”

He had fought for many years and was no stranger to decisive moves. His strategy was already clear: join forces with Pei Xinyong as quickly as possible to annihilate the state troops, while bogging down Wu Shaoyi at Desheng Town, thereby severing his link to Pei Xinyong. Once the official forces were destroyed, he would have time to negotiate with Pei Xinyong at leisure and then dispatch men to deal with Wu Shaoyi at his convenience.

* * *

The official column had just reached Langming Cave, where the guides led them into a side road bound for Qianteng Town.

Seeing no pursuers ahead or behind, everyone exhaled in relief.

He Chunhua had chosen the western road precisely to buy time, slipping through during the window when Pei Xinyong was busy driving off Lu Yao’s ambush at Whistle Rock. By leading hundreds of soldiers and civilians through Langming Cave and into the fork, he had avoided a head-on clash with returning brigands.

The first stage of the plan was complete.

Now they had to push for Qianteng Town at the fastest speed possible.

Zeng Feixiong glanced at He Chunhua, sighing inwardly. The commandery administrator had borne the heaviest losses. Young Master He was usually so flippant and carefree. Who would have thought that he would die like a hero?

But He Chunhua’s brow had been furrowed all along. He now asked the guide, “How far to Qianteng Town?”

“Less than eight kilometers. The road was repaired two years ago. It’s straight, broad, and easy to walk.”

No sooner had he spoken than a burst of red smoke flared in the sky to the east.

A scout on the peaks had lit the signal! The pursuers were here.

So soon? The soldiers were stunned. With mountain roads so twisted, had the brigands flown to catch up this quickly?

Before He Chunhua could issue orders, another red plume of smoke rose in the western sky.

That signified that Pei Xinyong’s army had also turned back.

When it rains, it pours.

He Chunhua was unsure how Pei Xinyong would react upon reaching Langming Cave. Would he keep advancing to clash with Lu Yao, or veer into the side road to chase the state troops instead?

He could not wager the lives of hundreds of soldiers and civilians on such uncertainty.

Mozhe Jingxuan stepped close, murmuring, “My lord, our pace is too slow. If we abandon our burdens, we could be thirty percent faster.”

By “burdens,” of course, he meant the villagers of Immortal Spirit Village. Human legs could never keep up with horse-drawn carriages and wagons. And worse, they had brought their families and belongings along.

The narrow road was half-blocked by civilians, slowing down the soldiers’ speed.

Only eight kilometers left—eight deadly kilometers. Every step forward mattered.

He Yue’s eyes were still red from grief, but now he objected. “The road is too narrow, and we’re all mixed together. If we abandon the villagers and try to force our way ahead, their cries and resistance will only slow us down further.”

He Chunhua said nothing. Instead, he summoned two spellcasters. “Have you succeeded with the ritual?”

“No.” One of them was drenched in sweat, clutching He Chunhua’s mandate token. “No... There’s no response at all.”

Since earlier, a faint but chilling aura of killing intent had coiled around the commandery administrator, making all who faced him tremble beneath the weight.

Zeng Feixiong immediately dispatched thirty more men to the rear to reinforce the guard. With the twenty cavalry already stationed there, they now had fifty, and that should be enough to serve as the first line of defense should the brigands strike.

He Yue, who had been keeping a close watch on their surroundings, suddenly pointed ahead. “Look, there’s the dawn redwood forest! Those trees are massive!”

Everyone lifted their eyes. Sure enough, on the right side of the road stretched some dawn redwoods. Some were only as thick as a bowl’s rim, but the largest took ten men linking arms to encircle, soaring to a staggering height of over fifty meters!

With their arrow-straight trunks, the forest was a breathtaking sight.

He Yue pointed at the tallest and asked the guide, “Is that the Grandfather Tree?”

The guide shook his head and replied, “No. The Grandfather Tree is even taller than that, and it isn’t here. It stands by the lake beside Desheng Town.”

The locals called the oldest, most venerable of ancient trees the “Grandfather Tree.”

He Yue turned to his father with a solemn look and said, “Father, since the local spirit isn’t responding, why don’t we let these redwoods serve as our defenders?”

“These redwoods?” He Chunhua’s expression shifted. His brow, knotted tight, loosened a little. “Good idea!”

The commandery administrator immediately gave the order for the trees to be felled to block the road!

The fleeing villagers had carried off their valuables, but most of the men had also brought tools. After all, both lives and wealth needed weapons to safeguard them. Among those tools were axes, used for splitting firewood in peacetime, and now for protection.

Many soldiers, too, favored the axe.

At He Chunhua’s command, officials and commoners alike threw themselves into the work with grim fervor. He further instructed them to target the largest trees.

Everyone knew their survival hung by a thread, so no one held back. Each man poured in every ounce of strength.

Before long, three giant trees shuddered, their crowns blazing gold and crimson in the autumn light, then toppled with thunderous booms.

They had aimed carefully so the trunks fell squarely across the road.

With such massive barricades in place, no horse could pass. The only way for pursuers to continue giving chase would be to dismount and drag the trees aside by hand.

Realizing this, the men worked with renewed vigor.

When the fourth giant tree was nearly brought down, a sudden gale swept through the forest. Wind lashed their faces, forcing eyes shut.

The gust howled like a roar, reverberating in every ear, “Audacious! How dare an outsider official harm my subjects!”

The redwood closest to He Chunhua shook violently, its crown bending unnaturally downward. Cracks rippled along the trunk, bulging until they suggested a face that had blurred features like some uncanny impressionist painting.

And yet everyone present felt its gaze upon them, heavy and furious. He Chunhua, most of all, standing at the forefront, was forced to bear the brunt of its wrath.

But he remained perfectly calm. Brushing a leaf from his shoulder, he said evenly, “So you are the guardian spirit of this land? I called you several times with ritual, and when you would not answer, I had no choice but to take this step.”

Of course, this tree was not the guardian spirit’s true body. The tree was only a vessel for its voice. The spirit itself remained rooted near Desheng Town.

The redwood rumbled back, brusque and disdainful, “You are not the parent-official of this land. I have no obligation to heed your summons!”

As the local lord of the land of this mountain range, it had long been left untroubled. No one sought its aid, and even the local officials had not called on it in ages.

[End of Second Arc]

Please read the thoughts/notes section.