Chapter 726: Received a Major Task

Chapter 719: A Major Undertaking

The sky was filled with mist, and the land lay draped in white. The mountains, forests, and open fields were silent, with only the cold wind howling.

In a world that resembled a still life, a caravan approached from the distance, traveling southeast along the main road.

The rumble of carriages, human voices, and neighing horses broke the silence of the land.

Liutiao spurred his horse toward a large carriage and knocked on the carriage door: "Boss, wake up, we're almost there!"

A few moments later, the carriage curtain was pulled back, revealing a sleepy face.

It was He Lingchuan.

"Oh, where's Master Sun?" He only remembered playing chess with Sun Fuling, and then—

Then Liutiao woke him up.

"She rode ahead, leaving the carriage for you to sleep in." Liutiao looked at him with a gaze full of sympathy. "Boss, you're quite something."

He finally had a chance to travel with a beautiful woman, only to fall asleep. Hah, he deserved to be lonely forever.

He Lingchuan jumped off the carriage, stretched, and still felt unsatisfied.

After the Battle of Xushan, when he re-entered Panlong City, he felt as if a lifetime had passed.

Perhaps he was truly mentally exhausted after experiencing a major battle in reality, that he even fell asleep again in his dream.

He had promised Sun Fuling to accompany her on a trip to Yuheng City, but he couldn't abandon his post without permission. Therefore, he sought an eastward mission from General Hong to fulfill his promise.

Seeing his proactive attitude, Zhong Shengguang and General Hong discussed it and assigned him a major task.

It was so significant that He Lingchuan even felt a little regret.

But military orders were absolute, and there was no going back, so he could only cheerfully accompany Master Sun on her journey.

Naturally, they were all traveling in plain clothes. He and his team members disguised themselves as caravan guards.

This caravan consisted of over three hundred people. They departed from the trading post in Panlong City and traveled south along the newly opened trade route. Their destination was Baishawan, a free port in the south.

The snow-covered plain beneath their feet was originally Xiji territory. After Panlong City conquered Xiji, it finally opened up a sea route, allowing free trade with the outside world.

From this moment on, Panlong City was no longer isolated and gained the potential to explore new avenues. This was a goal Zhong Shengguang had diligently pursued for many years.

Therefore, the Xiji trade route was undoubtedly of great significance to Panlong City.

White snow covered both sides of the main road. He Lingchuan saw this scenery on the first day of their journey, then the second day... by the fourth day, he was still seeing snow and had grown tired of it.

The world after a snowfall was beautiful indeed, but it grew monotonous after a while.

The children in the team, however, were very happy, chasing, running, rolling around, and having snowball fights, playing to their hearts' content.

The wind came from ahead, carrying light, cheerful flute music.

In the monotonous world of ice and snow, the flute music was like a squirrel leaping through the forest or a snow weasel gliding silently over the ground. It was light, swift, and refreshing.

He Lingchuan asked for a horse and rode in the direction of the flute music.

After a dozen paces, he saw the flutist.

Master Sun was also on horseback, wearing a white cloak. Hearing the approaching hoofbeats, she turned her head and glanced at him with her luminous, expressive eyes: "Awake now? Did you sleep well?"

He Lingchuan looked embarrassed, like a primary school student caught sleeping in class: "Very well, very well."

To say that no one would recognize her if her face was covered, what a joke! Given Master Sun's eyes, even if she wore a night suit, she could never deceive him.

He lowered his gaze and naturally shifted it to the flute in her hand.

He couldn't tell if the Heaven Centipede Bone Flute was whiter or if Master Sun's hand was.

This flute...

He remembered Grand Master Qingyang's cold sneer in the sandbar.

She said the flute's owner died a miserable death.

The listener paid close attention, and for He Lingchuan, that sentence carried a lot of information.

Facing her now, his mood was extremely subtle.

The moment he re-entered Panlong City and saw Sun Fuling, he was filled with emotion and yearned to embrace her, but there were too many people around, *ahem*.

"What are you thinking about?" Master Sun took a large red apple from her satchel. "My student gave it to me; it's already washed."

Her face was slightly red from the cold. From He Lingchuan's perspective, the apple appeared as red as a beauty's blush.

"How many students does Master Sun have in total? That's one of the three great unsolved mysteries of Panlong City." He took the apple, and with a crisp sound, broke it into two halves. "Half for each of us."

Sun Fuling smiled and reached out to take her half.

This apple was so sweet! He Lingchuan, having just woken up, was also thirsty. He finished it in a few bites, discarding the core, only to turn and find that Master Sun was eating very gracefully, having taken only two bites.

"If you eat so slowly, the apple will freeze in no time." The temperature was at least seven or eight degrees below zero.

Sun Fuling slowly replied, "I can chew ice too."

He Lingchuan chuckled, not believing her.

"You don't believe me?"

"I believe you, I certainly believe Master's words." He cast all those chaotic thoughts to the back of his mind.

The world was vast, and everything else was fleeting. He just needed to fully enjoy this moment.

With a beauty accompanying him, this freezing journey seemed not arduous at all.

Just then, a peregrine falcon descended from the sky and landed on a carriage roof:

"Hey, hey, two hawfinches have been following you persistently. I've chased them away twice, but they flew a distance, circled back, and returned."

He Lingchuan reached out and stroked its head: "It seems we're being watched."

Just then, a sharp whistle sounded from ahead, three short, urgent blasts.

Military whistles had a fixed usage, and these few blasts meant an unexpected discovery ahead.

He Lingchuan put away his leisure thoughts and hurried forward with Sun Fuling.

Seventy paces away, by the roadside lay a large expanse of ruins; some buildings were still smoking.

He Lingchuan recognized that they were originally guest rooms, stables, and fodder rooms, but now almost none were intact.

Dingzi, the new scout from the Broken Blade Squad, had just emerged from the ruins. Upon seeing He Lingchuan, he said, "This was supposed to be the Green Wolf Post where we would spend the night, but now it's like this."

"Are there any casualties?"

"Two postmen were killed, and we heard the others fled into the mountains. We've already sent people to look for them."

"Heard? From whom?"

Dingzi pointed to the side, just as two injured individuals were being helped out and put onto a carriage. "Two are being treated; they should survive."

Those two injured individuals seemed quite conscious. He Lingchuan gestured with his chin towards them: "Go and get some information."

"Yes, sir."

A merchant came from behind and was greatly surprised at the sight: "Oh dear, when I came to Panlong City, this Green Wolf Post was perfectly fine! It's only been half a month at most, how could it possibly be..."

After the Xiji trade route was opened, many merchants took short trips, bringing goods from Baishawan to Panlong City, then buying local specialties from Panlong City and returning to Baishawan or other places to make quick profits.

This merchant had rested at the Green Wolf Post on his way here, but on his return journey, it had become ruins.

Other team members came to observe and began discussing animatedly.

It was getting dark, and logically, the Green Wolf Post was meant to be their stop for the night. Everyone would have eaten and drunk, then soaked their feet in hot water to relieve their fatigue; the thought alone was comforting.

But now the post was gone, and so was the hot water, leaving everyone standing in the freezing wilderness.

The caravan leader, seeing this situation, immediately told everyone: "Don't panic, don't panic! We'll go to the next post to rest! It's only thirty li further!"

End of Chapter