Chapter 209: The Intentions of the Panlong City People

There was a large wormhole in the roof beam, and dozens of termites moved in and out, head to tail, as if engaged in some clandestine activity. He Lingchuan stared at them for a long time before realizing he had entered a dream again.

Now there was only one destination in his dreams: Panlong City.

He wanted to get up, but his arms and legs were stiff and somewhat unresponsive, as if an old car, idle for five or six years, was trying to start up again.

As soon as He Lingchuan sat up, he saw a stool in the room lying on its side in an unnatural position.

After he walked around his small house, he discovered that all the firewood was gone, and the two fat fish in the rainwater vat were also missing. He quickly returned to the bedroom, moved two bricks in the corner, and peered underneath.

Fortunately, the medicine and silver hidden there were still intact.

Simply put, his home had been burglarized. The thief, who had come to pilfer, might even have spat in disdain, thinking his family was too poor to have anything worth stealing.

However, his saber was still conspicuously leaning by the bed; the petty thief hadn't dared to touch it.

It was clearly a military saber, with engravings and a serial number. According to Panlong City law, stealing military assets resulted in dismemberment, and a petty thief wouldn't be able to sell this sword even if they stole it.

As He Lingchuan scratched his head, the courtyard gate creaked open, and Hu Min walked in.

Seeing He Lingchuan standing at the doorway, he was startled at first, then overjoyed. "You're awake?"

Judging by his expression, this question was not simple. He Lingchuan blinked. "Yes, I'm awake. What happened to me?"

"You've been unconscious for three days! The military doctor treated your injuries and said the spider venom in your body was too severe, needing three to five days to completely clear. How many times were you bitten by those cave spiders?"

He was poisoned too?

Seeing his confused expression, Hu Min rubbed his hands together. "What's the last thing you remember?"

"Falling into Granny Zhu Er's lair," He Lingchuan mumbled vaguely. "I thought I was dead for sure. How am I still alive?"

"Everyone thought you had died a heroic death; the military merits office had already issued your pension, but there was no one to claim it. It turns out you seem to have fallen into an underground river in the spider's den and were washed all the way to White Poplar Post. You were only discovered by a horse herder three days ago. Seeing you in a Great Wind military uniform, clutching a sword, he rushed to report it. Leader Xiao guessed it was you and personally went to retrieve you."

"Ghost Needle Stone Forest is twenty to thirty li away from White Poplar Post. If you hadn't floated onto the shallows, no one would have known it was connected to the underground river of Ghost Needle Stone Forest!" Hu Min clapped him on the shoulder. "You're incredibly lucky, kid!"

What could He Lingchuan say? He could only sigh, looking up at the sky. "It seems fate hasn't decreed my end; even the heavens are helping."

He knew deep down that this was just an illusion created by the Panlong dreamscape. The last time, he had suddenly gone offline at the end of the river valley interception battle, and the dreamscape had also arranged a "falling into water" ending for him then.

"Can't it be a little more creative? Can't it use a different excuse? Do I always have to fall into water?"

Hu Min asked curiously, "What did you say?"

"Nothing!" He Lingchuan gave a dismissive laugh. "By the way, how did that great battle end?"

"That was eight days ago. Oh, and your contribution was immense. I heard you burned down the cave spiders' lair, and Granny Zhu Er was so scared she stopped fighting and rushed back. That allowed General Nan Ke's troops to successfully escape Ghost Needle Stone Forest, and together with the reinforcements from the city, they repelled Hua Mucuo."

He Lingchuan knew very well that at the time, there were two fronts. "What about the other battlefield?"

"While Wei City's main force was drawn away by General Nan Ke, General Hong led us to take Wei City by stealth. The process involved many twists and turns, but in the end, Wei City still fell into our hands." Hu Min had also participated in the Battle of Wei City, so he recounted his experiences.

The battle on General Hong's side was no less convoluted than the one at Ghost Needle Stone Forest. He Lingchuan listened intently and subconsciously asked, "Why did Baling Kingdom suddenly send a large army to Panlong Wasteland?"

It should be noted that in the fifteen years prior, the kingdoms of Baling and Xianyou had been long-standing rivals of Panlong City. The war progression had varied in intensity and speed; sometimes, both sides would even cease hostilities, refrain from invading each other, and engage in trade.

Panlong City, this thorn in their side, had become something both kingdoms were accustomed to seeing. After trying to remove it for over a decade without success, they simply left it alone. Even frequent border skirmishes were handled with a passive approach.

But He Lingchuan now understood that this situation likely arose because Baling Kingdom or Xianyou Kingdom had internal problems, making it difficult to manage both internal and external affairs, thus leading them to relax their invasion of Panlong Wasteland.

So why was Baling Kingdom suddenly revitalized, sending out an army of 40,000 all at once?

Hu Min shrugged. "I wouldn't know. I'm just a soldier, only concerned with fighting; information from the upper echelons takes a long time to filter down."

"However, after Hua Mucuo gathered Shao Yingyang's remaining forces, he wasn't resigned to defeat and turned to attack Wei City. General Hong led us to hold our ground and not sally forth, so Hua Mucuo had no good strategy. After all, he himself had personally fortified that city, so he knew best how difficult it was to attack." Hu Min burst into laughter here. "Then, the wasteland had a goose-feather heavy snowfall for three days and three nights, along with hail!"

"The Baling people were terribly frozen, with no food or clothing, and no place to settle nearby. They were as pitiful as wild dogs on the wasteland! Oh, and a Baling detachment seemed to have slipped away beforehand, probably due to infighting among their high command. It was then that General Hong sent troops for a night attack on the Baling army camp, winning a great victory. Hua Mucuo also stopped pretending, abandoned his armor, and returned home." Hu Min's mouth couldn't stop smiling. "They haven't even finished retreating yet; you haven't seen how dispirited and cowardly they look!"

He Lingchuan also smiled.

With Wei City taken, the Baling people had no strongholds in the eastern Panlong Wasteland. How could these 40,000 troops live on wind and dew? So, withdrawal was inevitable.

For the past year or so, both sides had been engaging in guerrilla warfare. Influenced by the objective conditions of the wasteland, each battle involved a few hundred to one or two thousand troops, and both sides had grown accustomed to this rhythm. As soon as Shao Yingyang arrived, he aimed to catch Panlong City off guard by setting traps, fighting quickly, and overwhelming Panlong City's small detachments with a sudden large army.

The most crucial part of this was to exploit the information asymmetry quickly.

According to his plan, by the time Panlong City reacted, the elite forces of the Great Wind Army would have been annihilated, and perhaps General Hong would have been captured, directly shaking the very foundation of Panlong City.

However, such a strategy came with both great benefits and great drawbacks. If they couldn't even achieve the easy victory that was within their grasp, the problem of insufficient logistics would immediately become prominent. Wei City itself couldn't support so many troops, let alone now that the 40,000-strong army had become a wandering force.

Next, all advantages – timing, location, and popular support – would be lost, and the entire Panlong Wasteland would turn against them.

"So we recaptured Wei City," Hu Min exclaimed with emotion. "Your home is back."

"Home?" He Lingchuan felt nothing. "What happened to that Shao fellow?"

"He's dead. General Hong personally finished him off."

He Lingchuan, however, was thinking about the words Shao Yingyang had said to General Hong. What did "the former Goddess Mitian" mean? And what was a "Divine Emissary"?

Mitian was the deity protecting Panlong City. What was different about the former and the current one?

Regarding deities, the information he had obtained was, after all, too little.

"Divine Emissary" was easier to understand. Did it refer to someone who had undergone a "divine descent," or rather, a vessel?

He was very curious. Did the invincible General Hong completely obey Mitian's will, or did she still retain her own consciousness and thoughts?

In other words, was the war fought by Mitian, or by General Hong herself?

At this moment, Hu Min took out several silver ingots and gave them to He Lingchuan. "This is the money you won."

"I won?" Why did he have no recollection?

"Before the battle at Ghost Needle Stone Forest, did you place a bet with the team?" Hu Min chuckled. "Your teammates came twice, but you weren't awake. Finally, a skinny fellow brought the money and asked me to pass it on."

He walked out to scoop water and wash his hands. He glanced into the vat, which was empty. "Huh, did you eat the fish?"

He Lingchuan shook his head. "My house seems to have been robbed. The fish and firewood were stolen, but the saber is still here."

"No matter how blind a petty thief is, they wouldn't dare steal a military saber," Hu Min chuckled. "Are you going to report it?"

"Can it be recovered?"

"Honestly, I don't think it can be recovered," Hu Min said pragmatically. "Although city regulations severely punish thieves, you were unconscious for three days, anyone could have entered, so it will probably be hard to catch the thief."

Furthermore, it was just a bit of firewood and two fish that were lost; the amount was too small, so the officers probably wouldn't even bother with it.

"I thought Panlong City was a utopia, but it turns out petty criminals and thieves are everywhere." This was the victim's complaint.

"Well, that's just how people are, it's unavoidable," Hu Min comforted him. "You've earned great merit again this time; you should change your residence. Move to a good neighborhood, and naturally, no thieves will bother you."

He Lingchuan looked around the small courtyard where it only took three steps from the gate to the bedroom. "You're right, I should get a new place."

Practicing martial arts here felt increasingly inconvenient; he couldn't fully extend his limbs, let alone practice throws or projections.

Stepping out of the courtyard, He Lingchuan was taken aback:

Outside the gate, things were actually piled up everywhere: jars, pots, large bags, and small bags. He almost had no space to step.

"What is this?" He casually picked up a jar, brushing away the white snow from its mouth. He found the yellow mud seal was perfectly intact and unopened. He leaned closer and sniffed. "It smells wonderful, like wine?"

This jar of wine weighed at least thirty jin, and the mud seal had the words "Chuntai" on it.

Hu Min saw it and chuckled. "It's Chuntai wine, from the old wine shop in the south of the city. It goes down smoothly, and it's not cheap."

He also helped He Lingchuan check a few other earthenware jars. As soon as he opened a lid, he covered his nose. "Oh my, what a strong smell!"

These jars contained various pickled vegetables, such as pickled gourds, cabbage, and radishes. Judging solely by the smell, they had been fermented long enough.

If the Chuntai wine was bought as a gift, then these jars of pickled vegetables were likely homemade.

He Lingchuan lifted the cover cloth of another basket and found five large, rock-hard frozen fish inside. Their eyes were remarkably bright, and on them was a fishy-smelling note. On it, scrawled crookedly, were the words:

"My son came home alive. Thank you."

The sender was "Big Fatty Zhu's family from Five-Finger Lane."

Another large package of cured meat was golden and fragrant, wrapped in multiple layers of oiled paper and tightly tied with straw rope. On the outermost layer of oiled paper, it was directly written: "Good deeds are rewarded. I'll send more when you finish this."

Although these two items had messages written with charcoal sticks, at least they had notes. Most of the other things had no notes or sender's names, so he didn't know who sent them, but it was clear they were heartfelt gifts.