Chapter 894: Seven Lucky Wheels

He Lingchuan exhaled softly and looked back at everyone. “Where is Mr. Lu?”

Their most important task on this trip to Baisha Port was to escort Lu Xun, but Fu Shanlie had come for He Lingchuan.

“Not a scratch on him,” Liu Tiao mumbled, gesturing with his chin. “He’s coming.”

He Lingchuan saw Lu Xun approaching with steady steps and agile movements, clearly not injured.

He breathed a sigh of relief. If this patriarch of the Lu family had been injured under his protection, Panlong City would have lost face entirely.

“What about the river bandits?”

“As soon as the battle began, Mr. Lu brought out a treasure to kill the enemies. The river bandits were either dead or fleeing, completely routed,” Liu Tiao said, pointing to the opposite bank. “Men Ban and Hu Min are leading the pursuit.”

A cloud of dust rose on the opposite bank, indeed showing the pattern of pursuit.

The battle ended quickly. From the bridge explosion and He Lingchuan falling into the water to the enemy’s retreat, it took only a little over thirty breaths.

However, He Lingchuan had been fighting intensely underwater the entire time. Now that he relaxed, it felt like ages had passed.

His back was soaked, making it impossible to tell if it was water or sweat.

Fu Shanlie’s cunning and ferocity left a deep impression on him.

Probably, Fu Shanlie had the same impression of him.

“First, let’s cross the river and link up with them,” He Lingchuan ordered. Three mages from the guard stepped forward, chose the narrowest point between the banks, and murmured incantations with their hands pressed to the ground.

Knowing they were about to construct a land bridge, Lu Xun told his attendant, “You go help them too.”

“Yes,” the man replied, stepping forward and pressing his hand to the sandy ground, casting spells alongside the mages from Yuheng City.

This section of the riverbank slowly began to extend and approach the opposite bank.

It took more than two quarters of an hour for the land bridge to be completed.

Everyone quickly rode their horses across.

This was only a temporary passage; cracks already appeared by the time the last few people crossed. A proper bridge for trade would have to wait for Qianjin Stockade to come and repair it.

However, the Yuheng army had already sent up a signal flare. Nearby outposts would have seen it and would soon dispatch personnel to survey and build a permanent bridge.

While the land bridge was being built, A Luo wasn’t idle either. He came over with his medical kit to treat He Lingchuan’s wounds.

He Lingchuan had been brave during the fight, not even flinching, but now he grimaced in pain as A Luo treated his injuries.

“Bear with it!” A Luo grumbled. “He tore open your Zhongfu acupoint, and his claws were poisoned! This venom is potent; if we don’t scrape it out quickly, you’ll turn into a zombie!”

He Lingchuan looked down. There was a large hole in his right armpit, big enough for at least four fingers, bloody and with blackened edges.

“Did you use too little anesthetic?” Every scrape of the blade against his flesh caused excruciating pain!

“No, it wasn’t too little,” A Luo shook his head. “The Ba poison itself can suppress the effects of anesthetics, making the victim suffer consciously.”

He Lingchuan couldn’t help but roll his eyes. *Damn it, how could I forget this treacherous family trick of the Fu Shan clan?*

*Sigh, Fu Shanyue, my good brother, don’t blame me later when I slay your father.*

Lu Xun also walked over to check on him. “How are Commander He’s injuries?”

While working, A Luo was as concise as ever: “Treatable. Your arm won’t be crippled.”

“What kind of monster in the water injured Commander He?”

“Fu Shanlie,” He Lingchuan said, enduring the pain. “As a reciprocal gesture, I also severed one of his arms.”

Lu Xun was a bit surprised. “Do Ba also like fighting in water? I only heard they excel at earth-escape.”

Fu Shanlie was a Bega demon general whose reputation had risen sharply in recent years. Yet, this young commander from Yuheng City managed to fight him to a standstill, even when ambushed.

He looked at He Lingchuan with newfound respect.

“This Ba is a bit special,” He Lingchuan said. He had never seen Fu Shanyue display any remarkable abilities in water. Was he deliberately holding back, or was the skill of water-escape unique to his father?

A Luo’s treatment method was truly rough, so He Lingchuan changed the subject to distract himself: “By the way, Mr. Lu, the magical artifact you used against the enemies was quite dazzling.”

“That’s an artifact someone lent me. If I encounter trouble, I can ask it to act,” Lu Xun chuckled. “Otherwise, with my own abilities, I wouldn’t be able to control it at all.”

He Lingchuan found it intriguing: “It can be lent like that?”

They had all witnessed the flying wheel’s ferocity; it almost transcended the realm of existing artifacts.

“When this set of Seven Fortune Wheels was forged, there were originally seven in total. After the ancient war between immortals and demons, only three remained. This is one of them; the other two are still with their masters.”

Liu Tiao was astonished: “So it’s an ancient treasure!”

No wonder it killed so efficiently.

“I’m only borrowing it. If anything happens to me, the treasure will automatically return to its owner; no one else can use it.”

He Lingchuan let out a long “Oh.” No wonder Lu Xun openly used the Seven Fortune Wheel and freely admitted it was an ancient treasure—because no one else could covet it.

Lu Xun chuckled again: “This treasure is good, but it can’t be used for too long in battle each time. It takes three to five months to accumulate enough spiritual energy for one brief use.”

The more powerful an artifact, the more astonishing its energy consumption. It was impressive that these ancient artifacts could still be used at all.

While they talked, the land bridge was completed, and everyone filed across.

Liu Tiao shot several more signal arrows into the sky.

Less than a quarter of an hour later, Men Ban, Hu Min, and others returned at the signal, bringing back over a dozen captives. The remaining river bandits had scattered and fled.

Reviewing the ambush, both sides had dead and wounded.

Most of He Lingchuan’s injured were wounded in the water; those aquatic demons bit fiercely.

The losses of the Xiji puppet army, however, were mostly on land, and some were captured alive.

He Lingchuan, however, was quite satisfied.

Before the battle, there were fewer than forty Yuheng soldiers crossing the bridge.

When suddenly ambushed, forty men against over two hundred river bandits not only held their ground but also managed to eliminate enemies, indicating that their soldiers’ quality, tactics, and combat skills were far superior to the enemy’s.

While He Lingchuan could train the Yuheng army, and Fu Shanlie could train river bandits, the disparity in combat power between the two sides remained vast. Of course, the guard members He Lingchuan chose were the best of the best, whereas Fu Shanlie’s river bandits were essentially a rabble.

Nevertheless, it also showed that the Yuheng army’s training and combat efforts over the past six months had yielded significant results, and their military strength was rapidly increasing.

Men Ban and others also reported that several masters were mixed among the land bandits, which was the main reason for the casualties in the guard.

“Those might be Fu Shanlie’s own retainers.”

As He Lingchuan walked further, he discovered that the dispatched scouts had died in the dense forest, which explained why no warning had been sent earlier. Traversing the Longchuan trade route from south to north involved crossing countless bridges, and some traps simply couldn’t be avoided.

If they couldn’t be avoided, they would force their way through with sheer strength. On this trade route, neither attacks by the Xiji puppet army on the Yuheng army nor the Yuheng army’s encirclement and suppression of the Xiji puppet army were uncommon.

The conflict between the two sides had intensified to a fever pitch.

“Mr. Lu, you’ve been startled,” he said to Lu Xun, expressing his sincere apologies. “It was our inadequate protection.”

“Not at all,” Lu Xun waved his hand. “Commander He fought bravely, and the Yuheng army remained composed under attack. This battle also allowed me to make an assessment of Panlong City.”

“An assessment?” He Lingchuan wondered, *What did he need to assess?*

With the gates of Yuheng City in sight, everyone subconsciously let out a long breath.

They were finally back.

Their battle robes stained with blood, they drew countless curious glances along the way.

After entering the city gates, He Lingchuan, as usual, dismissed the guard, sending them to rest and treat their wounds. He then invited Lu Xun to have tea at the city inn while he went to an inner room to change his clothes. It would be improper to bring a guest into the city covered in bloodstains.

He was injured, so changing clothes was slow. At this crucial moment, his adjutant, Chao Qian, rushed over. Seeing He Lingchuan’s difficulty moving, he quickly stepped in to help:

“My Lord, I heard there were some incidents on the road?”

He Lingchuan smiled: “Fu Shanlie finally got his chance to ambush me.”

He had instigated infighting among the Longchuan river bandits, leading Fu Shanlie to hate him to the core and repeatedly try to kill him. However, He Lingchuan had recently been focusing on the Yuheng army’s military training, tirelessly drilling his several thousand men, and rarely traveled far from the city. Fu Shanlie had thus struggled to find a suitable opportunity to strike.

After waiting so long, he finally received the good news of He Lingchuan’s trip to and from Baisha Port. How could he possibly let such an opportunity slip?

Chao Qian’s face turned pale upon hearing this: “Where is Fu Shanlie?”

The Commander was back, which at least meant Fu Shanlie hadn’t succeeded. But looking at all these injuries, the battle must have been fierce, right?

“Sorry, he got away,” He Lingchuan said, taking a severed arm from his storage ring and handing it to him. “I promised you earlier that I would avenge Miao Mingming.”

Chao Qian froze, then slowly reached out and took it.

At first glance, the severed arm appeared no different from a normal human arm, but its muscles were exceptionally firm, and its nails were long and sharp, like a wolf’s claws.

*Was this Fu Shanlie’s arm?*

He wasn’t sure what to feel, murmuring, “Thank you, Great Commander!”

Miao Mingming was a relative who had sought refuge with him but had been drained of blood and killed by Fu Shanlie. He Lingchuan had promised him at the time that he would surely avenge Miao Mingming.

Chao Qian hadn’t expected that the Great Commander, despite his busy schedule, would remember this promise and specifically fulfill it for him.

With his clothes changed, He Lingchuan patted his shoulder: “There will be other opportunities for revenge later. Just wait.”

Then he walked out, leading Lu Xun towards the city guard headquarters.

Seeing his pale face, Lu Xun said with concern, “Commander He, you should rest properly for your injuries. I can walk there by myself.”

He Lingchuan’s wounds had been treated, his right arm was splinted to his chest, and he had taken more painkillers. He now smiled and said, “It’s nothing. I can run and jump.”

Lu Xun had personally experienced the dangers of the previous battle. Seeing He Lingchuan speak casually and not take his injuries seriously, he secretly admired him. He had heard that the Dafeng Army was tenacious and always victorious; seeing Commander He’s performance, he knew it was no exaggeration.

Before they arrived, someone emerged from the office building, striding towards them.

He Lingchuan looked closely and saw it was Zhong Shengguang!

He had arrived more than half a day earlier than expected, reaching Yuheng City before Lu Xun.

Zhong Shengguang greeted them with a beaming smile: “Mr. Lu, you’ve finally arrived!”

Lu Xun looked at him intently: “Could you be Commander Zhong?”

“Indeed,” he confirmed.

The two men laughed heartily, linked arms, and chatted like old friends, without any awkwardness.

He Lingchuan saw the laugh lines around Zhong Shengguang’s eyes, knowing he was genuinely pleased and not just putting on an act.

Zhong Shengguang led Lu Xun into the main hall of the office building, then specifically into a small meeting room. After the attendants served tea and refreshments, he dismissed everyone—

Except for He Lingchuan.

He had the right to stay.