Chapter 825: Sudden Attack

## Chapter 817: Sudden Attack

"Yes."

Naruo Tian added, "I've calculated your fate line; there are no ominous signs."

He Chunhua secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Naruo Tian truly understood human nature and knew exactly what concerned him most at the moment.

"As for He Lingchuan..."

He Chunhua perked up his ears.

"His destiny is still somewhat vague, but generally, it will be a pattern of initial misfortune followed by good fortune, which aligns with our expectations," Naruo Tian said calmly. "The fate of a divine descent body is intertwined with a deity, making it inherently difficult to calculate."

He Chunhua seemed to understand but not entirely: "Does 'initial misfortune' refer to the divine descent?"

"That's not an inaccurate way to put it." For the mortal body, the descent of a deity is certainly a great calamity.

"And the 'good fortune' later?"

Does 'good fortune' refer to Naruo Tian's successful descent? After all, both fortune and misfortune are in relation to He Lingchuan's body. From his perspective, the pain, uncertainty, and loss of control brought by the deity's descent would certainly be a misfortune. But after the deity descends, could the enhancement of this body be considered a blessing? Perhaps they would then successfully seize the Great Square Jar and leave the Panlong Ruins? Or perhaps this good fortune also signifies the end of their journey through the Panlong Desert, leading to smooth sailing thereafter?

He Chunhua's mind was in turmoil, and he had another concern: Was Naruo Tian deceiving him? Foreshadowing future good fortune for He Lingchuan, just to make him feel at ease about inviting the deity? But how could a "divine descent" possibly be a blessing for his son, Chuan'er?

Before Naruo Tian could answer, a commotion suddenly erupted outside.

It was still before dawn, but He Chunhua heard disorderly footsteps outside the inn and someone screaming, "Help!"

Having just left the front lines, he was exceptionally sensitive to the sounds of conflict. He rushed to the window in two steps, ready to reach out, only then remembering he was still communicating with a deity.

He turned his head, and the incense on the table had extinguished, the grey smoke in the air having dispersed.

Naruo Tian had departed.

Only then did He Chunhua push open the window and look out:

Flames shot skyward.

He had lived in Blackwater City for almost twenty years, and with a single glance, he knew the fires were at the government office and the arsenal. His heart immediately sank.

"This is bad."

Who would attack these two locations first? Either rebels or foreign invaders!

Blackwater City was in the west; domestic rebels wouldn't attack here. So the only possibility was—

Alas, it seemed his eldest son's warning earlier that night was not unfounded.

He Chunhua quickly dressed and rushed to knock on his eldest son's door: "Chuan'er!"

After several knocks, He Lingchuan did not respond.

He Chunhua simply broke the door bolt and pushed the door open.

The room was empty.

Where was he?

His heart leaped, but then he heard his son's voice from behind him: "Dad, something's happening outside!"

He turned around to see his son fully dressed, his hair meticulously neat, and couldn't help but ask, "Where were you?"

"Qiu Hu and I caught some grasshoppers and frogs, and we're grilling them in the backyard," He Lingchuan said, extending his left hand, which indeed held several bamboo skewers. Fat grasshoppers and long-legged frogs, still emitting a smoky aroma, were skewered on them.

Qiu Hu also emerged from nearby.

In fact, whenever He Chunhua secluded himself, whether to sleep or do anything else, He Lingchuan preferred not to be too close to him. He wasn't sure if this 'bargain' father might secretly perform a ritual and summon Naruo Tian to the human world while he was unprepared. As long as He Lingchuan wasn't by his side, this ritual couldn't be completed.

With the situation urgent, He Chunhua didn't notice this slight abnormality, only saying, "Come with me to find Commander Hu!"

The Rongshan disciples quickly gathered, and He Chunhua's personal guards also rushed over. More than a hundred people assembled and hurried towards the government office. He Lingchuan didn't hold back his advice, reminding him, "Send someone to guard the North Gate."

He Chunhua's heart tightened.

That's right; he had previously analyzed that the attackers must be foreign enemies.

No matter how much trouble the enemy caused, as long as the North Gate was held, the unrest within the city would eventually be quelled.

"Zhao Qinghe!"

Zhao Qinghe stepped forward at the call, taking fifty men to the North Gate.

Meanwhile, He Chunhua arrived at the government office to find clerks running around like headless chickens, but Commander Hu was nowhere in sight.

He grabbed a minor official and asked, "Where is Commander Hu?"

He Chunhua had been the commander of Blackwater City for many years, and this official had originally been under him. Upon seeing his old superior, he immediately calmed down considerably: "Commander Hu didn't—didn't come!"

He Chunhua frowned and motioned to his personal guard with his chin: "Go to Commander Hu's house and find him!"

The personal guard acknowledged and left, but before he had gone a hundred meters, an officer rushed over, his face pale: "Commander He! Commander Hu has been killed at his home!"

Commander Hu was gone in less than three hours after they had parted ways at the restaurant? He Chunhua's heart tightened: "Who did this?"

"His family identified that several burly men climbed over the wall and killed him with two knives!"

He Chunhua immediately pulled out his token from his embrace and shouted, "I am temporarily taking over the affairs of Blackwater City! Where are the patrol guards?"

The government office behind them was still ablaze.

However, He Chunhua had served as an official here for over a decade, and everyone from the clerks to the townspeople recognized him. With three shouts, the panic among the people greatly subsided, and they began to follow orders.

In less than fifteen minutes, the chaotic situation significantly improved. The leader of the city defense army also came to report, welcoming He Chunhua, their old superior, back into power. He Chunhua immediately issued a wanted poster for the assailants who attacked Commander Hu.

But there was no relief on his face.

The attackers came to Blackwater City, setting fires and committing murders; it couldn't have been on a whim, could it?

Just then, an urgent bell sound rang out from the north:

"Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong!"

The panic that had just barely subsided in the city surged again, because in a crucial border town, this type of bell sound had only one meaning:

Foreign invasion!

The bell of Blackwater City hadn't rung in almost ten years.

He Chunhua immediately took his men and rushed to the North Gate.

Blackwater City's area was less than half that of the secondary capital, Shihuan City. It took less than fifteen minutes to run from the government office to the North Gate.

As soon as the city battlements came into view, shouts erupted ahead. Everyone looked closely and saw He Chunhua's personal guards chasing several men into the residential area.

Chickens scattered, dogs barked, and cries of alarm filled the air along their path.

He Lingchuan took a glance and realized the men being pursued looked somewhat familiar.

"Qiu Hu, leave one alive."

Qiu Hu nodded and, with a flick of his finger, sent three Rongshan disciples to follow, all diving into the side alleys.

He Chunhua was a hundred paces from the North Gate, where another scene of chaos unfolded:

The city gate was still closed, but it was being slammed repeatedly.

He Chunhua's dozens of personal guards were pushing hard against the back of the gate, preventing the bolts from giving way.

The remaining dozen or so men, along with the newly arrived city defense army, stood atop the gate, shooting arrows downward.

The foreign enemy had already reached the city gates? So fast!

Zhao Qinghe strode forward to meet him: "My Lord, those ruffians tried to attack and kill the gate guards during the chaos, intending to open the city gate, but we arrived and intercepted them."

With that, he pointed inside the gate tower, and everyone saw over a dozen bodies lying on the ground, some guards, some assailants.

There were also fresh bloodstains on the wall, indicating that the recent fighting here had been quite fierce.

"The remaining seven or eight escaped into the market."

He Chunhua was secretly startled. If Zhao Qinghe hadn't arrived in time, Blackwater City would have been wide open by now, allowing the enemy army to march straight in.