Immortal Travel of Longevity

Great Xiang had enough turmoil within its borders, but now, chaos flared up in the outside world as well.

In the Northern Desert Land, many failed to survive this year's bitter winter. It was simply too cold. A solid month of heavy snow had turned the surroundings into a Barren Wasteland where not a single blade of grass could grow, burying even the forest beasts under the drifts.

The former North Desert People—who had later become the people of Xiao—now had no choice but to migrate just to stay alive. They headed for the cities along Great Xiang's borders, their last remaining havens. But with so many refugees, the city supplies fell woefully short. Every beast in the mountains had been hunted down, and the last of the stale grain had been eaten.

Hunger and death mingled in the silence.

With a single rallying cry, the Northern Desert raised an army and marched straight upon Prince Kang's territory.

All for the sake of survival.

The sudden attack from the Northern Desert caught Prince Kang off guard. Water's End City was occupied. Furious, Prince Kang dispatched fifty thousand troops to suppress the invaders.

However, things did not go as smoothly as anticipated.

The strength people burst forth with in times of despair is impossible to gauge. Right now, the Northern Desert was like a starving wolf desperately hunting for food across the Desolate Plains. After plundering the resources of Water's End City and gorging themselves, they immediately launched a frenzied slaughter.

Prince Kang's fifty thousand troops suffered defeat after defeat. They set up camp outside Water's End City, locked in a stalemate.

"What are we supposed to do..."

Morale among Prince Kang's soldiers plummeted. They had endured prolonged pressure, and facing these maddened North Desert People inevitably bred fear in their hearts.

In war, the greatest terror wasn't an enemy's martial prowess, but their absolute lack of fear of death. A human-wave tactic where lives were thrown away without a second thought was truly enough to make anyone tremble.

Meanwhile, internal strife within the realm was also affecting the Kang Territory.

Especially in Weidi, constant harassment plagued the Borderland. The King of Wei began plotting, and Prince Jin was not far behind. Within days of the Northern Desert's uprising, countless spies flooded into the Kang Territory.

Enemies to the front, enemies to the rear.

At this point, Prince Kang could neither retreat nor advance.

"Those bastards!"

Slamming his hand on the table, Prince Kang cursed inside his tent. "Foreign invaders are attacking, yet all they care about is fighting for power! Bastards! Bastards!"

But that was the reality.

The Northern Desert's invasion had handed the other princes an opportunity.

And who would miss an opportunity like that?

Left with no alternatives, Prince Kang found himself completely isolated and without reinforcements. Compounded by the fierce onslaught of the North Desert People, the stalemate at Water's End City was finally broken. The invaders gained momentum once more, seizing two successive cities. Prince Kang's fifty thousand troops suffered over ten thousand casualties in a mere matter of days.

Under this brutal offensive, however, things took an unexpected turn.

Using the words of The Late Emperor, the Imperial Court issued an Imperial Decree.

With foreign invaders at their borders, the realm must lay down its internal arms and unite against the common enemy.

The Imperial Court dispatched thirty thousand reinforcements to the Kang Territory.

Following the tide, the other princes successively mobilized their troops. None sent much—just twenty or thirty thousand men each as a token gesture. With a mandate to unite against a common enemy hanging over their heads, they could hardly refuse to send troops.

And this wasn't purely about saving face.

Though the princes fought endlessly amongst themselves, they treated foreign enemies with the same severity. The thought of sitting back to reap the fisherman's profit would just have to wait.

Before long, troops from all factions converged on the Kang Territory.

Seeing this, Prince Kang breathed a sigh of relief, though it ultimately gave way to a long, heavy sigh.

He knew his time had passed.

Regardless of whether this war successfully suppressed the Northern Desert, he would have no foothold left once it was over.

In terms of both title and actual power, he had lost any chance to compete.

The following year, three days after the Awakening of Insects.

The combined forces of all factions pressed down on the Northern Desert.

They swiftly recaptured the two cities. Faced with absolute numerical superiority, the North Desert People retreated step by step, ultimately holing up inside Water's End City.

But right at this juncture, the unexpected happened.

Prince Kang had caught a chill during the winter. Aggravated by an illness from his earlier years, he returned to his tent after a slaughter, only to suddenly froth at the mouth as he removed his armor. He died abruptly right there in his tent.

Instantly, panic swept through Prince Kang's subordinates.

At the same time, the armies remaining in the Kang Territory sensed something amiss.

Both the Imperial Court and the other princes saw their opportunity.

Among them, the fastest and fiercest was undoubtedly Prince Jin's army.

On the very night of Prince Kang's sudden death, Prince Jin's army completely surrounded Prince Kang's encampment.

"Surrender and you will be spared!"

Yet things did not go so smoothly. With so many eyes watching, they couldn't just let Prince Jin succeed so easily.

At the critical moment, the troops of the Imperial Court and the army of the Prince of Yan arrived.

"Like master, like soldiers. You certainly move fast when taking advantage of someone's misfortune."

The timely arrival of the Imperial Court and the Prince of Yan's forces prevented Prince Jin from getting his way.

Now, it was a three-way struggle over this piece of meat.

However, there was one person utterly uninterested in this affair. At the very onset of the conflict, he had recalled the troops he originally dispatched. That was the King of Wei's army.

Back in Chuanfeng Alley of Qingshan City.

An old man was weaving straw sandals while the King of Wei sat beside him, slurping up a large mouthful of noodles before taking a satisfied sip of broth.

"Can't you find something else to do all day? How much money can weaving straw sandals possibly make?"

The old man looked at the King of Wei. "Then how about you reward me with some money to spend?"

"Follow me, and I'll reward you," the King of Wei said.

The old man curled his lip. "So stingy, yet you still expect people to follow you."

The King of Wei smiled. "What do you know? Only the stingy can accomplish great things."

The old man glanced up at him. "I heard that when you reinforced Prince Kang against the Northern Desert earlier, you dispatched twenty thousand troops. You weren't exactly stingy then."

Prince Wei chuckled. "That bunch in the Imperial Court used The Late Emperor's name to issue an Imperial Decree. Besides, how could anyone refuse to answer the call when foreign invaders are attacking?"

"Is that so?"

The old man shook his head. "But I also heard you called your army back without grabbing a single bit of benefit in the end."

Prince Wei took another sip of broth. "What benefit is there to grab?"

"Heh, do you know how rotten the Kang Territory has become? The economy is in shambles, the military is weak, and the commoners' hearts are filled with resentment. Taking it over would be nothing short of a massive headache."

The old man nodded. "That makes sense, but that's still a sizable military force. Are you really willing to just abandon it like that?"

Prince Wei paused. "You're better off sticking to the jianghu. You don't understand these matters at all, and I can't be bothered to explain them."

The old man laughed. "Now you're the one lecturing me."

Prince Wei snorted softly. "The moment the external threat is resolved, internal conflict will flare up again. No matter how much profit Prince Kang left behind, it's unlikely anyone will actually have the time to sort it out. Add to that the fact that the North Desert People were never honest to begin with—once winter rolls around again, the border will definitely fall into chaos! Right now, the various factions are fighting and have already torn away all pretenses of civility. When that time comes, who's going to suppress the invaders? Will the Imperial Court just issue another Imperial Decree in The Late Emperor's voice? Who would even listen?"

"The North Desert People aren't entirely impossible to deal with, right?"

"You don't understand."

Prince Wei sighed. "In the early years, my men followed the Grand Ancestor on his campaigns in the borderlands. The Grand Ancestor possessed peerless martial valor, but when West Xiao fell, those people still managed to retreat to the Northern Desert. For over a century, the North Desert People have remained a serious threat. Have you ever wondered why the Grand Ancestor didn't simply exterminate them back then?"

The old man thought for a moment before answering, "It wasn't worth the cost?"

"That is part of it," Prince Wei said. "But the main reason was that our armies simply could not march into the high mountains. The moment they crossed over, the soldiers would suffer from severe headaches and dizziness. In severe cases, they couldn't even move. Coupled with the bitter cold, our combat strength would plummet. The price of such a campaign was just too high."

"Oh?"

The old man paused in surprise. "Such a thing actually happened?"

Prince Wei nodded. "The terrain of the Northern Desert is treacherous. As far as the eye can see, there are nothing but steep mountains and dangerous passes. It is a nightmare for any army to overcome. The North Desert People were born there and are completely accustomed to it. Heaven itself aids them. However, such an advantage comes at a price. Their lands are barren, and food is incredibly scarce."

The old man narrowed his eyes at Prince Wei. "If you can figure this out, would the Imperial Court and the other princes fail to see it?"

"It is nothing more than a difference in perspective," Prince Wei explained. "I believe it isn't worth the cost. But if the matter falls into Prince Jin's hands, then it suddenly becomes worthwhile. He only cares about population. Once he captures the people he needs, whatever happens to the borderlands is no longer his concern. He is probably the only one confident in his ability to control those captives."

"Then who will guard the borders?"

"Who else?" Prince Wei chuckled. "The Imperial Court."

The Imperial Court would always be forced to clean up the mess.

A united front against foreign enemies would certainly never happen again.

It seemed as though the Imperial Court was losing on all fronts.

But this was unavoidable. They were the central Imperial Court, not a regional prince. There were certain responsibilities they simply had to shoulder. Prince Jin could afford to be reviled by everyone in the realm, but the Imperial Court could not. Doing so would strip away their one remaining advantage: their universally recognized legitimacy.

"Let them play their games," Prince Wei said. "It will all collapse one day."

The situation was only growing more chaotic by the day.

...

Shangjing.

Amidst the chaotic times, Shangjing City had lost a fraction of its former prosperity.

Even so, the peace found within Shangjing was unmatched by anywhere else.

In the eyes of the common people, no matter how chaotic the world became, the turmoil would never reach Shangjing City.

Lying at the feet of the Emperor, the imperial guard defended the city with an ironclad grip. Foreign enemies would find it nearly impossible to strike here.

Whether it was the commoners or the scholarly literati, everyone was now discussing the state of the world. Such chatter filled every tea house and inn.

Opinions varied, but the overwhelming majority of voices bitterly criticized the Imperial Court's incompetence. With The Late Emperor's achievements standing as a precedent, the prince currently ruling the court was unquestionably inferior. Coupled with the recent troubles in the Northern Desert, discussions on the matter had surged throughout Shangjing City.

Many felt that the current Imperial Court was not only a far cry from The Late Emperor's era, but even failed to measure up to the rebellious princes.

"The way things are going, it's becoming completely incomprehensible."

"Exactly. Prince Kang died suddenly, and I heard his territory ended up going to the Prince of Yan. I originally thought Prince Jin would take it..."

"Ah? The Prince of Yan?"

"How is that possible? The Prince of Yan's territory is incredibly far from those borders. With the two regions completely separated, how can that possibly work? Has the Prince of Yan gone mad?"

"Who knows."

"I really thought it would be Prince Jin."

"Sigh. Regardless of who took it, it likely isn't a good thing. We had a bit of peace over the last two years, but I can't shake the feeling that chaos is about to erupt again."

"I feel the same way..."

The current situation was indeed growing severe.

Quite a few people had grown anxious, yet the Imperial Court remained completely inactive, prompting even deeper speculation.

Could the rebellions actually succeed?

Yu Hongjin, who had come to the streets to buy wine, listened to this chaotic chatter and fell into deep thought.

She thought for a long time but couldn't make any sense of it.

Giving up, she simply bought her wine and headed back.

The Tang Family owned a massive manor in Shangjing City. It was unusually large; when Yu Hongjin first arrived, it took her several days just to explore the entire estate.

After walking through the gates, she spotted a young boy approaching.

"You've got some nerve, Yu Hongjin! Going out to buy wine again! Auntie is going to smack your bottom for sure!"

Yu Hongjin hurriedly hid the wine and glared at the boy in front of her, Tang Shijing. "You talk too much!"

Tang Shijing laughed, stepping forward and snatching the wine pot right out of her hands.

"Hey, give that back!"

"It's mine now."

Tang Shijing chuckled and patted Yu Hongjin on the head.

Stomping her foot in anger, Yu Hongjin snapped, "I'm going to tell Sister Yun!"

"Go right ahead," Tang Shijing replied with a grin. "Auntie specifically told me to keep an eye on you so you wouldn't drink so much."

Yu Hongjin curled her lip, shooting him a cold glare.

Still smiling, Tang Shijing lifted the wine gourd and headed out.

After leaving the estate, he made his way straight to the trading firm.

Arriving at the trading firm, he headed up to the third floor, turned a corner, and entered a study.

Knock, knock.

He rapped on the door.

Only after the person inside responded did Tang Shijing step into the room.

"Father, are you still busy?"

Sitting behind the desk was a white-haired elder, a brush in his hand. Piled before him were countless ledgers and official documents, heavily interspersed with letters.

Tang Mingjing glanced at him. "You have nothing better to do? Why have you come here?"

Tang Shijing lifted the wine in his hand and smiled. "To treat you to a drink, Father."

Tang Mingjing took one look and said, "You snatched that from Yu Hongjin, didn't you."

"Your foresight is divine, Father."

Tang Mingjing scoffed lightly. "You spend your days avoiding proper work."

Tang Shijing stepped forward and took a seat. "How can you say I don't do proper work? Father, I just recently helped you resolve a matter."

Tang Mingjing glanced at him again and massaged his temples. "Spit it out. What is it this time? You never come around unless you're brewing up some scheme."

"Then I won't beat around the bush."

Tang Shijing grinned. "Father, lend me some money."

Tang Mingjing stared at him. "What do you need money for?"

"Business over at the borderlands seems to be doing quite well," Tang Shijing replied.

Tang Mingjing froze in surprise.

He closed the ledger in front of him and looked up at his son.

"You certainly have grand ideas, boy," Tang Mingjing said, his tone strict. "That region is unimaginably chaotic. Are you truly intending to take on a losing venture?"

"You must be joking, Father," Tang Shijing said. "Whether it's a losing venture or not, surely you know better than anyone."

Tang Mingjing fell silent for a moment, occasionally casting a glance at Tang Shijing.

Seeing his hesitation, Tang Shijing pressed, "Just let me try, Father. It won't cost that much anyway."

Tang Mingjing shook his head, yet he remained in deep thought.

This was no small matter.

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