Chapter 28: Red Cliff Road Ends

“You must trust the Grand Tutor.” He Lingchuan motioned with his lips towards Sun Fuping. “Even the esteemed Grand Tutor is risking his life; surely you and I can have some confidence.”

Sun and Nian walked at the very front, maintaining a significant distance from He Lingchuan, with over ten rows of soldiers separating them. The newly joined group of bandits wasn't even noticed by them.

Situ Han watched their retreating backs. “Can they hear me talking?”

“Don’t worry, absolutely not,” He Lingchuan replied. He himself couldn’t even remember how much badmouthing he’d done about those two.

Situ Han then lowered his voice. “Those two are truly arrogant. If we encounter danger after entering the desert, I doubt they’ll care about our lives. Young Master He, for old times’ sake, please look after our brothers. There are over thirty of us trying to make a living, and more than a hundred women and children are waiting for us back in Mang Mountain! If we die, they won’t even have gruel to eat.”

Although he referred to murder and robbery as "making a living," his expression was very sincere. His worry was plainly written on his face.

“I know,” He Lingchuan reassured him. “I’ll keep an eye on you, making sure he doesn’t send you to your deaths for nothing.”

After he walked away, He Chunhua asked his eldest son, “What did he mean by ‘for old times’ sake’?”

“Doesn’t he come to pay us New Year’s greetings every year?” More importantly, every New Year, Situ Han always prepared a substantial gift specifically for Young Master He. For example, last year he gave He Lingchuan a string of luminous pearls, each one almost identical in size, smooth and radiant.

Yes, it was the same string that He Lingchuan later gifted to Uncle Hao.

What did he give the year before last? Hmm, he couldn’t remember.

Of course, there was no need to tell his father about these trivial matters.

He Chunhua shook his head as he looked at his son. The scoundrel might be reckless, but he certainly wasn’t shy about accepting gifts.

***

Blackwater City, the He residence.

Although only two people remained at home, Lady Ying still instructed the kitchen to prepare a lavish meal. Seven dishes were laid out on the table, more abundant than usual.

However, she had little appetite. After drinking less than half a bowl of millet porridge and taking only two bites of the steamed roll He Yue had given her, she put down her chopsticks and stopped eating.

“Yue’er, where do you think your father has reached now?” With He Chunhua gone, it seemed as if he had taken her soul with him. Lady Ying couldn’t sleep at night, and even her elaborate makeup couldn’t hide her exhaustion.

“They should have passed a few post stations by now,” He Yue comforted her. “Zeng Feixiong knows the desert well, and Grand Tutor Sun is there to manage things. Father and elder brother will surely return before the sandstorm season arrives.”

Lady Ying sighed, “Everyone says your brother is a lucky general; this time, he’ll truly need good fortune.”

He Yue found this strange. His mother didn’t seem to blame his father for taking his elder brother.

Lady Ying then inquired about matters in Qiansong Commandery, and He Yue assured her that he could handle everything.

Finally, she asked, “Still no news from the east?”

“No. Flooding has blocked the roads, and the war in the east is intense. The rebels execute any spies or scouts they catch, so couriers don’t dare to go there.”

In truth, even without his father’s repeated instructions, he would still pay attention to intelligence from the east. Unfortunately, there was no news at all at the moment.

***

By the next day, endless yellow sand stretched in every direction—front, back, left, right, up, and down—with no living thing in sight.

This short stretch of Red Cliff Road led towards the ancient city of Panlong, a path no merchant caravan would ever take. Everyone walked carefully, cherishing each step, as this smooth path was also nearing its end.

“The road ends here,” came the message from the front of the column.

He Chunhua and his son looked east, where they could still see the immense base of half a mountain, sloping diagonally upwards like a dagger thrust into the sky. The upper half, however, had collapsed with a crash nearly a century ago, falling onto the very Red Cliff Road the group was supposed to be traversing. Endless rocks had turned it into a dead end.

“I wonder if this is fate,” Zeng Feixiong murmured, “preventing the sleeping spirits of the city from being disturbed by later arrivals.”

“Where’s all this wishful thinking coming from?” Nian Songyu scoffed, then instructed the others, “Everyone dismount. We need to lighten our load.”

There was no path ahead, so the horses were no longer useful. Each person prepared five days’ worth of rations and water, then handed their horses over to a few of the accompanying cooks.

Situ Han stared at the boundless desert. The undulating sand dunes were pristine and untouched, without even a single footprint.

“How do we proceed now? One step off Red Cliff Road, and we’ll be devoured!”

“Of course not. Aren’t you sand bandits the most familiar with this?” Nian Songyu shut him down with a single sentence.

Situ Han looked abashed. As people who had spent most of their lives making a living in the Panlong Desert, they were intimately familiar with the local taboos and possessed their own small tricks and insights.

Nian Songyu pointed to the desert. “You tell us, how do we proceed without Red Cliff Road? I imagine you have some experience.”

“First, all you lords must put away your State Decrees. Do not show them, and certainly do not activate them!” Many officials were among the group.

“Oh?” Nian Songyu questioned, “Why?”

“The heroic spirits in the desert protected their homeland’s borders during their lives. If we walk in there wearing the State Decrees of other nations, aren’t we intentionally planting a flag and inviting hostility? These spirits are single-minded; avoid them if you can, and absolutely do not provoke them!”

That made some sense. Sun Fuping instructed the officials, “Put away your Kite Coins; do not display them.”

Then Situ Han said, “Are we going to the ancient city of Panlong? It’s still far, and it’s impossible to get there on foot alone. I have no solution for that.”

Sand bandits usually entered the desert to escape pursuit or feuds, only when urgently needed. They wouldn’t hike through such a deathly place for no reason; that would be seeking death.

“Therefore, we need a different form of transport.” Sun Fuping took three items from his pouch.

They were three miniature carved boats, each about an inch long, appearing to be crafted from half a walnut. The artistry was exquisite; not only were the wood grain of the hull and the folds of the boatman’s clothing meticulously carved, but even individual strands of his wind-blown hair were rendered with delicate precision.

The craftsmanship alone was master-level.

“These are treasures I borrowed from a friend; they must be returned after use. All right, stand back!” With that, Sun Fuping took out three crystal-clear green pellets and placed one in the raised right hand of each boatman on the miniature vessels. Then, he tossed the three walnut boats onto the sand.

Nian Songyu gasped, “Mystic Crystals!”

The green pellets were about the size of quail eggs, and it looked as though dropping them would capsize the tiny walnut boats. However, that wasn’t the case at all. The pellets vanished as soon as they touched the boatmen’s hands, and each miniature boat began to vibrate strangely, as if something was about to emerge.

Not being foolish, everyone had already moved away. Sure enough, the walnut boats expanded at an astonishing rate, their volume multiplying. In just two breaths, the once-inch-long toys transformed into wooden boats over five zhang long and one zhang high!

They rested on the yellow sand, exact enlarged replicas of the original walnut boats. Naturally, the boatmen standing at the bows had also grown to normal human size, and they walked over to lower the gangplanks for passengers to board.