Chapter 213: First Contact

He Lingchuan couldn't help but notice her deep-set features: a high nose and slightly more prominent cheekbones than most women. Her face was both striking and refined, yet it bore no resemblance to the delicate or gentle beauty of a young lady from a good family.

He then recounted his experiences after falling into the spider hole, deliberately omitting the part about slitting his own throat.

Sun Fuling listened intently without a word until he finished. Then she said, "The legend of Mother Zhu Er has existed for a long time; is it really true? It seems that in ancient times, she was also a demon immortal."

"A demon immortal?" He Lingchuan mused. "That's right, humans who become immortals are called immortals, so monsters who become immortals would be demon immortals."

"But now it's bound by the mountain and marsh, or at least it had a prior agreement with them not to harm passing humans." Sun Fuling sounded a little wistful. "Once a demon immortal, now nothing special."

"Are you very interested in ancient deities?" This woman could barely afford to eat.

"Just some thoughts." Sun Fuling quickly poked the firewood in the stove. "In ancient times, there were many immortals and immortal arts. If we had been born then, we could have flown on clouds and left this confined place."

"Confined place?" He Lingchuan detected a deeper meaning in her words. "For all these years, Panlong City has been as solid as a rock, and powerful figures like General Hong have emerged. Aren't you optimistic about it? The Panlong Wasteland is actually quite large; some tiny nations aren't even as big."

"Other small nations aren't trapped in such a desperate situation as Panlong City, forced to struggle for survival." Sun Fuling propped her chin on her hand. "The nations of Baling and Xianyou have been stubbornly trying to conquer the Panlong Wasteland for over a decade. How good it would be if they could coexist peacefully with Panlong City."

"This wasteland is a corridor to Xiluo in the east and Luhuhu Lake in the northeast. If Baling and Xianyou can't conquer this area, they can't expand eastward." He Lingchuan dipped a finger in the rainwater jar and drew a map on the table. "Luhuhu Lake is upstream on the Hongchuan River; from here, you can travel east by boat all the way to the sea."

"Then why do they absolutely have to expand?"

That stumped He Lingchuan.

Although the world was never truly peaceful, the reasons for national expansion were usually specific and practical. "Do you know, Miss Sun?"

"They themselves are constantly being encroached upon by the northern demon nations. Despite several counterattacks, they've lost more battles than they've won." Sun Fuling also dipped her finger in water and continued drawing upward on He Lingchuan's map. "For example, Baling lost the Honghetai Highlands four years ago, thus losing their most important source of copper and iron ore. Some of their armies can't even replace their rusted weapons. How can they possibly continue like this?"

He Lingchuan said, surprised, "So their territory was taken by demon nations, and now they want to take ours?" He had never heard of this history in any of the operas or storybooks he'd read, nor was it recorded in local archives.

A thought suddenly struck him. Among Sun Fuping's belongings was a notebook that He Chunhua had kept for himself, never showing it to his sons. He claimed it contained too many heterodox practices and mainly detailed Sun Fuping's methods for finding the Great Square Vase. But was it possible that it also contained specific historical records of Panlong City?

"Who made Xiluo weaker?" Sun Fuling sighed. "The weak are not pitied; they are merely invaded."

"Four years ago, Baling was defeated in the Battle of Honghetai. Old Grand Preceptor Qian Hang resigned, taking the blame, and Shao Yan succeeded him as the new Grand Preceptor." She continued, "Baling can have three Grand Preceptors, and as a newcomer, Shao Yan needed time to establish his position. The battles between Baling and Panlong City over the past few years have been dull and uninteresting; after all, it's been a tug-of-war for over a decade, and even iron men grow weary. Shao Yan probably assumed Panlong City had neglected its defenses, which is why he suddenly dispatched Shao Yingyang to lead a large army in a southern attack."

He Lingchuan stared at her. "How do you know so much?" He thought again, *This girl can barely afford food.*

"I attend every class at Wenxian Hall. Besides discussions on current affairs, there are insightful comments from renowned scholars." Sun Fuling smiled. "And I often borrow books from the archives."

He Lingchuan was surprised, then overjoyed. "There's an archive here?"

"Yes, it's right next to the Improvement Bureau you often visit. I even fed Mr. Zhang from the archive building."

"Mr. Zhang..." Was that the octopus demon who tested talents? That creature didn't seem to be a vegetarian. "You had extra food to feed it?"

"I'm not always this poor." Sun Fuling's smile faded. "I'll be paid in five days, and I no longer have to pay off my brother's debts, so I just need to get through these next few days."

"What do you do for a living, Miss Sun?"

Sun Fuling subtly raised her head. "I teach at Shumin Academy."

"So you're a teacher at an official academy, my apologies for my disrespect." Shumin Academy was quite renowned. He Lingchuan had heard his eastern neighbor scold his son, saying that other people's children could attend Shumin Academy, bringing honor to their ancestors. Named after the large mountain where it originated, it was originally a village school, formerly known as Shumin Xiang. It was said that last year, Zhong Shengguang personally inscribed it as Shumin Academy, and its name changed thereafter.

This single act showed a significant shift in Zhong Shengguang's mindset.

But I digress.

In fact, Panlong City was probably like most other places, with private and clan schools everywhere. Shumin Academy, however, was a full-fledged official institution. Not just any child could attend it; even wealth alone wouldn't guarantee admission.

Similarly, securing a teaching position at a prestigious school was no easy feat. Sun Jiayuan's sister was clearly very capable.

As an official, tenured teacher at Shumin Academy, Sun Fuling's salary, while not necessarily significantly higher than an average resident's, was at least enough for her to support herself.

"You're too kind," Sun Fuling replied, inclining her head.

The water boiled. He Lingchuan poured a cup for her. "No wonder you're so knowledgeable. In the future, if I encounter any difficulties, I'll have to consult you often."

"Alright," Sun Fuling accepted the cup but didn't drink, as if just warming her hands. "Liutiao said you've only recently moved to Panlong City and are unfamiliar with the place. You can ask me directly if you don't understand anything in the future." With that, she stood up to take her leave. "It's late, I shouldn't disturb you further. Get some rest."

She left He Lingchuan's small courtyard, closing the door behind her with the back of her hand.

Miss Sun walked so quickly; did she always have to rush to make it to class at the academy? He Lingchuan picked up the rejected cup of hot water and drank it in one gulp.

Once the Reinforcement Army and the Songyang Prefecture's forces merged, they became even larger. With the added power of yuan energy, what monsters or bandits would dare block their path? The rest of their journey was very peaceful.

The next day, the Reinforcement Army arrived in Ruxian County, just a stone's throw from Xiazhou territory.

He Chunhua couldn't contain himself and, during the march, casually cleared out two troublesome demon lairs and bandit dens.

The Reinforcement Army had marched with him all the way from Heishui City, enduring various battles, and their morale and demeanor were completely different from when they started. Because of natural barriers like the Panlong Desert, the border had been quite peaceful in recent years. The Heishui City army's usual duties mainly involved fighting desert bandits and patrolling Red Cliff Road, leaving them with few opportunities for formal combat experience.

However, armies are like weapons: the more they are honed, the sharper they become.

Although in He Lingchuan's eyes, this army was far from comparable to the Dafeng Army, and even inferior to Panlong City's patrol guards, Mo Zhejingxuan and Wu Shaoyi now held it in high regard. Their exact words were, "They can stand against the King's forces without inferiority, though it's a pity their numbers are a bit small."

He Lingchuan didn't think they were merely flattering him. Having traveled thousands of miles by land and water, he had personally witnessed the disarray of Dayuan's military preparedness and its lax discipline.

Furthermore, as his experience grew, he realized that even the official armies, whether local or central, had truly underwhelming combat capabilities.

No wonder Hong Xiangqian, leading a group of peasant rebels, was able to repeatedly defeat government troops, even capturing Woling Pass, and frequently threatening Shi Huan and the capital.

Rome wasn't built in a day.

While successive victories against bandits and demons certainly boosted morale, He Chunhua's mood did not improve in the slightest. Judging by the increasingly dire conditions along the way further north, with Xiazhou suffering from impoverished livelihoods, rampant demon disturbances, and widespread banditry, the situation in the south was likely far more severe!

From now on, that would be his territory.

What leader could be happy with so many problems in their own domain?

That day, the army reached Ruxian County and stopped there for supplies. From this point, it was less than fifteen hours' travel north to the capital, Dunyu.

The arduous journey was finally nearing its end, and Lady Ying was in high spirits. At the inn, she washed away the dust of travel, changed into a brocade gown, and tidied her makeup. Feeling radiant as she looked in the mirror, she then stepped out.

In the lounge, however, there were only her two sons, a monkey, and two wolves warming themselves by the fire. Her husband was nowhere to be seen.

She had only been getting ready for less than an hour!

Lady Ying's expression instantly clouded over. "Where's your father? Don't tell me he went to see Marquis Songyang again!"

He Chunhua rarely discussed state affairs with his wife, but throughout this journey north, he had been chatting happily with Marquis Songyang, as if regretting not having met him sooner. Lady Ying was greatly annoyed, but her husband was discussing serious matters—either the situation in the north or the cooperation between the He family and Songyang Prefecture—so she couldn't really object.

Each time their conversation hit a suitable point, He Chunhua would burst into hearty laughter, making Lady Ying's teeth ache with irritation. Just the day before yesterday, her husband had even sent silver thread charcoal to that woman—how thoughtful!

The more this man and that woman chatted, the more in sync they became. Would it naturally lead to something more?

Her voice suddenly became sharp, startling He Yue. He Lingchuan lazily said, "Calm down, Mother. Father went to the county office to attend to official business."

Lady Ying was skeptical. "Really?"

"It's true," He Yue chimed in. "Father left with a stern face."

Lady Ying looked sheepish. "Is that so?"

As long as her husband wasn't looking for another woman, that was good.

He Lingchuan propped his long legs on the low table. "Father is currently preoccupied with rectifying administrative and military affairs."

Of course, he only spoke half the truth; chasing women and serious business were not at all contradictory. Men are always thinking with two heads.

The previous few skirmishes against demons and bandits, He Chunhua had treated as training exercises, sending several of his subordinate generals to lead troops in rotation. Even He Yue had gotten his fill of excitement, but He Lingchuan had remained at ease from start to finish.

He had wanted to participate, but He Chunhua had just smiled and patted his shoulder, saying, "Why use an ox-cleaver to kill a chicken?"

When had he become his father's ox-cleaver? "Actually, Mother, the person you least need to worry about is Marquis Songyang."