Chapter 83: This place?

After handling it for a long time, He Lingchuan finally yawned. "It won't be easy to fix you, but I'll do my best," he said.

Just as he was about to put the knife back, a thought suddenly struck him, reminding him of the arrangement in Zhong Shengguang's room. Unaccountably, he also hung the knife on the wall by his bed before finally lying down to sleep.

He also picked up the divine bone necklace and fiddled with it for a while. There was no doubt that the divine bone necklace was connected to Coiling Dragon City. He Lingchuan hadn't yet figured out what changes it might bring, and for the moment, he was too lazy to bother. This item had previously saved his life from Sun Fuping's true fire, and he had no intention of taking it off.

He slept exceptionally soundly.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself standing in a small grove. Above him, blue skies met white clouds, and not far off, lush green wheat fields stretched out, crisscrossed by paths, with the sounds of chickens and dogs audible.

By the field, two barefoot farmers, one standing and one sitting, were chatting. Compared to He Lingchuan, their skin was incredibly dark and shiny, and when they smiled, their teeth gleamed white.

One of them asked, "How much longer will you be farming?"

"Two months and twenty-six days."

"Lucky you! I have to report back to camp tomorrow," the man said, picking up his goatskin waterskin and taking a drink. "You still have time to spend with your wife and try for another chubby boy."

His companion nodded. "You need to be careful. I heard that the Tongluo Highlands to the west were just taken in a surprise attack. The general will surely send people to reclaim them. That place is easy to defend but hard to attack; it will be a tough fight."

"Life's always tough, but we get through it, don't we?" the man chuckled, patting his shoulder. "When I come back alive, I'll find you for a drink, and you're buying!"

"All right, drink as much two-wen wine as you want."

The man laughed. "How long has it been since you bought wine? Grain is scarce lately, and liquor prices have risen accordingly. Where can you find two-wen wine now? I heard the people at the granary say they're no longer allowing wine to be made; it uses too much grain... Hmm? Who's there?"

Both men's gazes simultaneously turned towards the small grove.

He Lingchuan had no choice but to step out of the grove, putting on a gentle smile. "Excuse me, gentlemen, where is this place?"

He looked like an ordinary traveler, with a smile as warm as spring. This would have been perfectly normal in any other village. But this place was exceptionally strange, because the two farmers were not speaking the language of the Great Kite Kingdom at all, yet he understood every single word.

The look in the two men's eyes, however, instantly turned to vigilance. "Where are you from?"

The other asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Uh, I..." He didn't know either. What had he been doing before, and how had he suddenly arrived here?

As He Lingchuan hesitated, the two men surrounded him, spreading out to create distance between themselves and forming a pincer movement to encircle him. One grabbed a carrying pole, the other picked up an iron hoe. The farmers instantly transformed into a hostile mob, and their stance didn't look like that of ordinary field laborers. One of them quickly blew a whistle and shouted loudly, "There's a spy!"

The field was open, and six or seven other farmers working nearby, hearing the shout, grabbed the handiest tools near them and rushed towards this spot. Not one hesitated.

"Hey, don't slander me!" He Lingchuan was dumbfounded. What kind of reaction was this? He didn't want to fight a senseless battle, so he turned and ran into the grove.

Behind him, whistles and dog barks sounded alternately, creating a great commotion. He Lingchuan could also hear the slapping sounds of straw sandals splashing through muddy water, indicating that more than just one or two people were chasing him. Fortunately, the grove, though not large, was very dense, and he was fast. After twisting and turning, the footsteps behind him gradually faded.

Then, his vision suddenly cleared, as the grove came to an end. Before He Lingchuan lay an artificially constructed canal, with water roughly chest-deep. Tiny fish and shrimp nibbling on aquatic plants on the sandy bottom were clearly visible. The problem was that it was five zhang (sixteen meters) wide, far too wide to jump across in a single leap.

He Lingchuan sighed, entered the water, swam across the canal, and then ran up the hill. As he ran, the water sloshing in his boots squelched annoyingly, making him quite uncomfortable.

Soon, the group of farmers also emerged from the grove, but the canal blocked their path. Presumably, they didn't want to get wet, so they just kept gesticulating wildly and shouting. From too far away, He Lingchuan couldn't hear what they were shouting.

"You bunch of mad dogs, go to hell!" He Lingchuan gave them the middle finger and spat twice on the ground to express his anger at being chased for no reason.

However, the expression on his face quickly froze, because he heard footsteps again from behind him. He turned around to see several soldiers charging towards him, looking menacing. A quick count revealed about seven people, all wearing light armor. Their uniforms looked somewhat familiar.

Where had he seen them before? He Lingchuan couldn't recall at the moment. He had no time to think further. The soldier at the front untied a rope knot from his waist and shouted, "Kneel down, hands up!"

He Lingchuan understood immediately. These must be city guards. The rope knots they held were likely soaked in special oil, making them highly resilient and difficult to cut. When encountering a suspect, they would, without explanation, loop the knot over his head and wrist, pull it tight, and the person would be unable to resist. Such rope knots were lighter and more portable than wooden cangues or iron chains, and had long been standard equipment for yamen (government offices) and city defenders. When they commanded a suspect to "Kneel," if the suspect dared to flee, they would face the consequence of possibly being killed.

This man ran fast, creating some distance from his companions. This time, He Lingchuan didn't run away. Instead, he went to meet them, shouting that he was wronged, and at the same time bent his knees as if to kneel. Seeing him so compliant, the soldier naturally slowed his pace, leaning forward, ready to loop the knot over his head.

Unexpectedly, He Lingchuan grabbed a handful of grass and mud from the ground and flung it directly at the soldier's face. The soldier instinctively raised a hand to block, turning his face and closing his eyes. He Lingchuan darted forward, immediately snatching the rope knot from him, and with a swift backhand motion, looped it around the soldier. This series of actions flowed smoothly. The soldier hadn't even had time to react, still tasting the mud in his mouth, when his head and one hand were already snared.

He Lingchuan pulled the soldier in front of him by the rope knot, casually drew the long knife from the captive's waist and held it to his throat, then sternly told the other pursuing soldiers, "Retreat, all of you!"

In an unfamiliar place, continuous evasion was not a solution. He needed to find a way to turn defense into offense.

The few soldiers, wary of hurting their comrade, indeed stopped their advance, but their words were harsh: "Let him go, or we'll beat you to a pulp!"

He Lingchuan tugged the rope knot, making the captive's eyes roll back. "Where is this place?"

"Zhaojia Village. Are you drunk?"

"And where is Zhaojia Village?" He Lingchuan frowned, feeling increasingly uneasy. "Which city, which county?"

The soldiers looked at him as if he were an idiot. "Chipa Plateau, Coiling Dragon City, Wenze County!"

A buzzing sound went off in He Lingchuan's mind. Coiling Dragon City, this land of lush water and rich pastures was actually Coiling Dragon City? Had he entered an illusion again? How had he gotten in? Wait, what exactly had he been doing before, that he had absolutely no recollection of it?