Chapter 335: Please Help the General Understand

Everyone who heard the news thought Mrs. Ji had found new life and come to terms with things. Little did they know, she was already pregnant with the ghost child then!

Mrs. Ji was carried in on a stretcher. She seemed to have no strength to walk, and her gaze was vacant.

Although she was the human mother of a Jindu child, she was still a mere mortal, so the Great Wind soldiers didn't guard against her.

Unexpectedly, as more civilians gathered to watch, she suddenly found the strength to sit bolt upright and scream, "Give me back my sons! My two sons sacrificed their lives for Panlong City. I went through immense hardship to bring these children into the world, and now you want to kill them too! Are you even human? Give me back my sons! Give them back!"

Her screams were hoarse and cracking. She writhed on the stretcher, her face contorted like a vengeful ghost. Even the crows on the treetops were startled and flew away.

The crowd instantly fell silent, and her sharp wails seemed to echo in the sky.

Xiao Maoliang coldly raised his chin. Soldiers nearby rushed forward to gag her and tie her hands, securing her to the stretcher before swiftly carrying her inside.

Commander Xiao then bowed to the surrounding citizens and announced loudly, "Esteemed elders, this woman was bewitched by an evil deity, giving birth to a ghost child and harming our city dwellers. Today, she faces justice. There is no need for you to dwell on this!"

Hearing this, the crowd slowly dispersed.

He Lingchuan watched the scene, feeling an indescribable mix of emotions. The skinny man beside him also sighed heavily.

Who was truly to blame for the tragedies of Aunt Yun and Mrs. Ji?

When Wen Daolun brought his son home, the entire Wen family erupted in chaos.

The women of the household took turns weeping, and Wen Daolun was distraught, his heart burning with anxiety.

Only a few hours later, when Zhong Shengguang saw him again, Wen Daolun seemed to have aged several years.

Accompanying Zhong Shengguang was the travel-worn General Hong.

She had received an urgent report via a sparrow hawk and had indeed rushed back from the front lines on horseback.

The two great leaders of Panlong City had finally appeared together.

Because He Lingchuan had interacted with Mrs. Ji, Wen Daolun summoned him to the mansion to repeatedly question him for details. He was also present at this time.

Wen Daolun was already as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. Upon seeing General Hong, he immediately bowed deeply, "General Hong, please save my son's life!"

Before he could fully bend down, General Hong gripped his arm.

Her eyes were still hidden in shadow, and her voice was hollow and cold. Yet, she was Wen Daolun's only hope at that moment. "Let's assess the situation first."

He Lingchuan particularly noticed that despite the room being brightly lit, the light still couldn't illuminate General Hong's face mask.

However, the face mask she wore this time was different from the one at Scarlet Peak Mountain. It was an exquisite wolf-head mask, with wolf eyes positioned at the human eye level, and it was entirely reddish-gold.

Wearing a face mask in battle was not unusual at this time; it was an effective protection against a hail of spears and arrows. Many Great Wind soldiers also wore face masks in battle, though it was unknown if this was due to General Hong's influence.

Upon entering the inner room, the mask disappeared, and He Lingchuan once again saw her beautiful face.

Wen Xing's sleeves and trouser legs had been cut open. General Hong walked to the bedside, observed him briefly, and then pressed the injury on his arm twice.

She didn't immediately draw a conclusion. Instead, she carefully examined the ghost child's remains on the tray. Then, she called for a needle and extracted a tiny "fruit kernel" from its head.

This "fruit kernel" was broken in half.

He Lingchuan found it somewhat familiar. General Hong then asked, "Who killed it?"

He could only awkwardly reply, "I did."

"It was you again." General Hong's voice betrayed no emotion. "You killed both youngest ones."

He Lingchuan was now certain: he had destroyed the ghost child's brain core.

"Since it was attacked by Jindu's Ninth Son, Wen Xing must have been afflicted by the Wood Transformation spell," General Hong stated with certainty. "This is True Monarch Tongming's specialty, far beyond the divine power of the Jindu Mother."

The four characters "True Monarch Tongming" made He Lingchuan's heart skip a beat.

The He family had been falsely accused of offering sacrifices to gods years ago, and the charge was that they had offered a living sacrifice to this "True Monarch Tongming."

He had never expected to hear that name from General Hong at this moment.

"Can he be saved?" Wen Daolun only cared about this. "Or, can this injury be transferred?"

He Lingchuan remembered that Wu Shaoyi had used a secret wound-transferring technique to move a severe injury onto another bandit. Although it had many side effects, the recipient could still live for several more years.

Panlong City had many capable people. It seemed someone else knew this trick.

"It cannot be transferred," General Hong said lightly. "Do you think a mere wound-transferring technique can deceive the eyes of a deity?"

Wen Daolun was utterly disappointed.

General Hong seemed to consider for a moment before saying, "If my true body were to descend, removing this divine spell would be effortless; but as it is now..."

Hearing the words "true body," He Lingchuan realized that it was actually the deity Mitian speaking.

General Hong paused. "True Monarch Tongming lent some power to the Jindu Mother, but this single cub alone couldn't have done it. It must have consumed other cubs and then burned its own life force to launch the attack. Even if you hadn't killed it, it would have died very soon."

Wen Xing was in a critical condition, and her words were not spoken idly. "You must understand that the Wood Transformation spell, from its casting to its effect, consumes a vast amount of life force. Conversely, only by pouring an immense amount of flesh and blood essence into Wen Xing's body can he resist or even reverse the invasion of the Wood Transformation spell!"

In other words, the "wood transformation" process was reversible. Wen Daolun murmured, "An immense amount of flesh and blood essence, immense... Can you do it?"

"Let alone mortals, even divine generals cannot achieve it. Even if all the prisoners of war and death row inmates in Panlong City were killed, it would still be far from enough," General Hong turned to Zhong Shengguang and said. "No human can possess such immense life force."

She emphasized the words "no human." The room fell silent for a moment, and the atmosphere suddenly became subtle.

If humans couldn't, then what?

Wen Daolun naturally didn't miss it. His mind raced, and he froze on the spot. "Could it be?"

General Hong further explained, "Currently, only divine spells can counteract divine spells. If there's no divine spell, one can only hope for a divine..."

Before she could finish, Zhong Shengguang suddenly said quickly to He Lingchuan and the others, "Everyone out."

"Everyone" included He Lingchuan and the other guards, the house servants waiting nearby, and the doctors, including Helian Chen and A Luo.

Everyone exited as instructed, leaving only Zhong Shengguang, General Hong, Wen Daolun, and the still unconscious Wen Xing in the room.

He Lingchuan was the last to leave. As he pulled the door shut behind him, he faintly heard Wen Daolun's whisper, "How can this be?"

His voice carried deep despair, leaving He Lingchuan perplexed even after closing the door.

Were the last few words General Hong had been interrupted from saying "divine artifact"?

As a dream-traveler from over a hundred years in the future, He Lingchuan knew very well that Panlong City at this time concealed a divine artifact:

The Great Square Flask.

Did Wen Daolun not know that Zhong Shengguang possessed such a treasure? Why then was he so desperate?

The women of the Wen family waiting outside saw everyone exit. Their eyes lit up, especially when they saw Helian Chen, and they swarmed forward, speaking all at once:

"Mr. Helian, how is our Xing'er?"

"Is he awake yet? How long until he recovers?"

"Are his injuries contagious?"

"Why is General Hong here? Has something gone wrong?"

Helian Chen was overwhelmed. A Luo quickly stepped forward to shield him, saying, "We cannot speak of it yet! Lord Zhong and General Hong are currently in urgent discussion!"

The women of the Wen family were even more astonished. "What does Xing'er's injury have to do with General Hong! Neither of them is a doctor, why are we waiting for their decision?"

"Why can't Mr. Helian tell us?"

Helian Chen was about to retreat to a side room when the Wen family matriarch stepped forward and scolded the younger women for their lack of manners. Just as the doctors breathed a sigh of relief, the matriarch herself ambled over and said, "Doctors, let's talk inside!"

The storm's epicenter – Wen Xing's sickroom – was, paradoxically, silent. A barrier must have been placed to strictly prevent any sound from escaping.

After about fifteen minutes, the door suddenly opened. Zhong Shengguang himself came out to invite the matriarch inside, saying that Wen Xing had woken up.

The matriarch, overjoyed, went inside. The other women were still kept outside the door.

He Lingchuan quietly stood among the crowd, observing Zhong Shengguang. Seeing his somber and unrelaxed expression, he knew things had not gone well.

Shortly after, General Hong, wearing her mask, emerged, closed the door behind her, and asked Zhong Shengguang, "How is the situation now?"

"Brother Wen's decision is made and will not change," Zhong Shengguang looked at the tightly closed door. "You should return to the front lines."

General Hong nodded and strode away, her subordinates following closely.

But before she had taken two steps, she suddenly turned back and beckoned to He Lingchuan. "Broken Blade."

Calling him? He Lingchuan paused, then quickly followed.

General Hong tossed him a small, transparent glass vial containing the broken brain core of the Jindu cub. "Your spoils of war."

The loot from monsters He Lingchuan killed still went to him.

General Hong then said, "You've been performing well lately. What reward do you want?"

He Lingchuan hadn't thought of anything immediately, so he could only say, "I have a few questions, General, if you could enlighten me."

General Hong readily agreed, "Ask."

"General, can Wen Xing not be saved?"

"As you just heard, he was injured by a divine spell, which is beyond my capabilities," General Hong said. "Divine spells can fundamentally alter our bodies. Current magic cannot achieve that."

"Current"? Did adding this prefix mean it was possible in the past?

General Hong added, "All I can do is awaken Wen Xing so he can bid farewell to his family before he dies."

But if Wen Xing's condition was incurable, they could have just announced the outcome earlier, letting everyone inside and outside the room give up hope. Why did the three of them then need to discuss behind closed doors?

The peculiarity of this matter must lie with the divine artifact, the Great Square Flask.

Observing from the perspective of someone from the future, it wasn't difficult for He Lingchuan to deduce that General Hong was about to say that a divine artifact could save Wen Xing's life.

But in the end, they actually didn't intend to use the Great Square Flask to save him?

Why?

He Lingchuan observed the deep affection and filial piety between Wen Daolun and Wen Xing, far surpassing that between his own father and him. How could they stand by and watch their son suffer a fatal injury? Could it be that Zhong Shengguang or General Hong disagreed?

General Hong seemed to have heard his unspoken thoughts and suddenly spoke. "A year ago, Wen Daolun divined his son's fate and already foresaw a great misfortune and disaster approaching. That is why the entire family opposed Wen Xing joining the army. With today's events, Wen Daolun is ironically able to accept it calmly."