Chapter 844: Dead End

There seemed to be a golden light flashing in that direction. He Lingchuan's eyes glinted. "It's a Lamp Spirit!"

Was the Heavenly Palace team fighting the King of Beasts?

He Chunhua's eyes were filled with gravity. "Chuan'er, do you think..."

He Lingchuan didn't wait for him to finish, stating directly: "Zhang Lianhai is dead; if we don't hide well, we're dead too."

Qiu Hu, however, whispered: "What is the Heavenly Palace team doing going east?"

The Heavenly Palace members weren't fools. It was clearly safest to hide, yet they insisted on running around in an environment teeming with monsters.

"To follow the direction of the mystic light, of course," He Lingchuan replied without hesitation.

"The Great Square Pot!" He Chunhua immediately understood. "They've determined the divine artifact is there!"

The Heavenly Palace was rushing east despite the immense risk; they must have some certainty.

Among the adventurers in the city, whose insight and knowledge could surpass that of the Heavenly Palace?

He Chunhua said nothing, but his heart was stirred.

If the Great Square Pot truly was hidden in the eastern part of the ruins, could acquiring it put an end to this bizarre situation?

He Lingchuan watched the situation to the east while also keeping an eye on He Chunhua. "The golden light has disappeared."

Everyone exchanged bewildered glances, too stunned to speak.

Zhang Lianhai and his dozen or so subordinates died so quickly?

He Lingchuan saw He Chunhua's gaze waver and likely guessed what he was thinking: "Dad, you're not thinking of going east too, are you? Zhang Lianhai is a cautionary tale."

"If we plan meticulously, it might not be impossible." He Chunhua looked at his eldest son, his gaze somewhat flickering. This expression was very subtle; had He Lingchuan not constantly paid attention to his adoptive father, he might have overlooked it.

But He Lingchuan feigned ignorance: "What kind of plan? Splitting up?"

He Chunhua mused: "If we can distract the Snow Beast leader, we might have a chance."

"Zhang Lianhai thought the same thing; look at what happened to him! Besides, Dad, who do you intend to use as bait?" He Lingchuan refused outright, "Me? No way!"

He was no longer the young Master He who had been forced to follow He Chunhua into the Dragon's Coils Desert two years ago; he had the ability to say no.

"What a rogue!" He Chunhua wasn't angry. "Chuan'er, you're so calm and collected; do you have another good idea?"

The former eldest son would have been utterly flustered by now, repeatedly urging him to come up with a plan, right?

Just as He Lingchuan was about to speak, a howling sound suddenly came from the northeast.

The howl was low and powerful, still intimidating even from this distance, and very distinctive.

It was the monster leader.

It had moved again. This time, who knew which team would be unlucky.

"Hurry!" He Chunhua made a snap decision. "While it's distracted!"

With outsiders acting as bait, they naturally had to seize the opportunity.

He waved his hand, and Zhao Qinghe and other trusted aides immediately followed.

He Lingchuan also gave a few instructions to the Rongshan people, and Qiu Hu and others immediately stepped forward.

He Chunhua waved at He Lingchuan: "Too many people makes it hard to hide; get rid of a few!"

Twenty-two people combined from both sides—that was too many.

He Lingchuan wouldn't budge: "No, if we reduce, we reduce together."

He Chunhua finally couldn't help but glare angrily.

But time was too precious to argue. He forcibly swallowed his anger and reduced his trusted contingent by five people.

He Lingchuan also reduced his group by five people, making exactly twelve in total.

Time was of the essence. He Chunhua immediately led the team down from the easternmost exit of the city wall.

But he walked too fast, and the wall ladder was dilapidated from disuse. He missed a step and nearly stumbled.

He Lingchuan was right beside him and instinctively reached out to steady him.

He Chunhua instinctively grabbed his wrist to maintain balance, releasing it as soon as he stood firm.

He glanced at his eldest son, his gaze complex, but said nothing more, only turning his head and leading the team forward.

Below the city wall were coaching inns, commercial shops, and armories. These buildings were all in the shadow of the city wall, providing more cover for everyone.

The team carefully avoided several monsters, mostly keeping close to the base of the wall as they moved east.

Several times, He Chunhua led them the wrong way, into dead ends. The team had to circle back and find a new direction. In the process, they startled two small monsters.

Fortunately, He Lingchuan and Zhao Qinghe were quick-witted and agile, shooting them dead in two quick moves, without causing a commotion.

Seeing He Chunhua about to lead the team into another dead end, He Lingchuan couldn't stand it anymore. He pointed to an alley to the west: "Take this path! The street layout in the east of the city isn't well-planned; it's not all straight lines."

Dragon's Coils East City was an old district. Zhong Shengguang hadn't renovated it much after becoming the commander. Its urban layout was quite different from other areas of Dragon's Coils City. It currently looked like they should go east, but choosing the eastern path would actually lead them further astray.

"Oh, alright," He Chunhua readily agreed.

Indeed, this alley turned east just past its midpoint. His eldest son's choice was correct. He Chunhua handed over the command to him: "You're a lucky general; you lead the way."

At this point, He Lingchuan casually agreed.

The team's progress was indeed very smooth, with no more dead ends. He Chunhua looked back at the South City Gate and could confirm that their position was indeed to the east, having traveled quite far.

His eldest son led the way really well.

Just then, a few monster roars came from ahead, followed by several banging impacts.

It turned out that a dozen or so monsters were gathered in an open space, fighting. This open space had once been a market and was relatively wide, with no cover for over a hundred zhang in circumference.

Qiu Hu whispered: "No wonder they're injured." When guarding the city wall earlier, he had noticed that most of these monsters were injured, and one rhinoceros-like monster even had a broken horn.

So it was infighting that caused their injuries.

Just as everyone was about to circle around, one of the monsters was sent flying by its opponent, colliding with a low house in front of them with a "crash" and knocking it down.

This was sudden, and their cover was gone.

Amidst the swirling dust, humans and monsters met each other's gazes.

This unexpected encounter startled both sides, leaving them frozen and motionless.

He Lingchuan squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth: "Run, quick!"

Since they were exposed, there was no need for caution anymore. He turned and led the way east, with everyone following closely, running at full speed.

The monster horde roared and gave chase.

Who knew where their intense malice toward humans came from?

As the group ran, the monsters pursued, creating considerable noise. Seeing more and more monsters closing in from behind, He Chunhua decisively said, "Split up and run!"

Zhao Qinghe and Qiu Hu each picked a few subordinates and ordered them to split off into other streets and alleys.

The twelve people instantly split into four groups.

The monsters behind seemed to be momentarily stunned, unsure which group to pursue.

After hesitating for a while, they finally gave chase in twos and threes.

Only sixteen or seventeen monsters were now trailing the He family father and son.

He Chunhua ran another two hundred zhang or so, feeling the driving snow and wind become increasingly fierce. Not only did the snowflakes blind his eyes, but the strong wind also desperately pulled people backward.

He couldn't help but ask He Lingchuan: "Chuan'er, how much further do we have?"

He Lingchuan jumped onto a rooftop for a few quick glances into the distance, before coming down and telling him: "It looks like at least five or six li still."

"Three to five li." He Chunhua gritted his teeth, as if calculating something. "Almost... almost there."

If it can be avoided, then avoid it!

He Lingchuan saw that he seemed to be suppressing something. However, everyone was looking anxious now, so his anomaly didn't stand out.

Just then, a tragic scream came from nearby, along with someone loudly cursing, their voice cracking.

Soon, the cursing turned into pained cries.

Clearly, they had been caught by the monsters.

Zhao Qinghe's expression changed. "That's Liu Yu's voice."

Liu Yu was He Chunhua's trusted aide, having followed him all the way from Blackwater City to Xiazhou, Dunyu, and then Yuandu. He hadn't expected to ultimately perish in the Dragon's Coils Desert.

At that moment, several dull yet loud roars came from the north.

He Lingchuan and Qiu Hu exchanged glances, both with grave expressions. Judging by the sound, the Snow Beast leader, who hadn't shown itself yet, was probably not far from them.

He Chunhua could, of course, hear it too.

The four stopped, as ahead lay another open area. This had once been the confluence of two rivers; now the water was shallow, but there was no cover around the riverbed.

Many monsters were also gathered here.

To avoid startling them, they would have to make a wide detour.

A very wide one.

He Chunhua swallowed, saying hoarsely: "I'm afraid we won't make it in time."

He Lingchuan looked at him strangely. "We can get past with some illusionary tricks."

But that would require setting them up on the spot.

Setting them up would take time, and compared to taking a detour, it was unclear which option would be more troublesome.

"Chuan'er, Chuan'er!" He Chunhua grabbed his arm. "Your father is tired; let's rest for a bit!"

His eyes were bloodshot, and he indeed looked very tired and somewhat haggard.

He Lingchuan observed him closely for a moment before silently nodding.

Although Qiu Hu and Zhao Qinghe were anxious, at this moment they could only follow them, jumping into a stone enclosure.

In front of the stone enclosure was the former site of a building, which, judging by its foundation stones, was likely a commercial lodge. Unfortunately, it had been completely ravaged by time, whereas the stone enclosure behind, meant for corralling horses, had been preserved.

It was surrounded by stones on all sides, and the alleyways were narrow, preventing larger monsters from entering.

He Chunhua leaned against the stone enclosure, catching his breath for a moment. He glanced at He Lingchuan, then suddenly clutched his lower abdomen and said: "I—I need to take care of something."

That couldn't be stopped.

The other three had no choice but to turn and walk away, keeping a distance of three zhang from him.

He Chunhua went to the corner, and soon the sound of water could be heard.

The mirror in He Lingchuan's arms suddenly spoke: "Your old man is muttering something." It was almost drowned out by the gurgling water, but it couldn't deceive the mirror!

"Hmm?" He Lingchuan's heart tensed. Was this adoptive father using peeing as an excuse to get rid of them?

Without time to think further, he hooked his foot back, kicking up a small stone with his toe.

With a "thwack," the pebble hit He Chunhua squarely on the back, with remarkable accuracy.

He Chunhua felt a pain in his back and was startled, the faint, mosquito-like murmur stopping immediately.

Before he could react, He Lingchuan had already mocked him: "Dad, you're muttering while peeing? When did you pick up this habit?"

He Chunhua was slightly annoyed, and while adjusting his clothes, said: "Why did you kick me?"

"I was afraid you'd be possessed by evil spirits," He Lingchuan said earnestly. "This city is full of lingering spirits, and once you're feeling guilty or weak, it's easy for them to invade you."

Naraku Heaven boasted of controlling "the power of destiny," and it was highly probable that he had noticed a major change in the He family father and son's journey through the Dragon's Coils ruins.

For He Lingchuan's plan to succeed, he absolutely could not allow He Chunhua to find an opportunity to communicate with Naraku Heaven.

He absolutely couldn't let He Chunhua notice anything unusual, otherwise...