Where Immortals Once Walked

But times were different now. Today, he was no longer alone. Behind him trailed a grand procession of dozens upon dozens of people.

When the commander went on patrol, there had to be a proper show of force.

There was no fog today, so everything on the opposite bank was clearly visible. The river shoal lay empty and open, with only the occasional shadow of a person moving in the distant woods.

In truth, their own side looked about the same—jagged peaks, forest, riverbank, withered grass.

His adjutant, Chao Qian, pointed the terrain out to He Lingchuan. “The terrain on our western bank is mostly low hills, unlike the opposite side, which has naturally dangerous peaks. Easy to defend, hard to attack.”

Indeed, their own riverbank was open and spacious. The long grass beside the river was dense, and in this season, of course, it was all covered in gleaming white snow.

He Lingchuan walked everywhere, spending the longest time in the woods.

The forest covered more than seventy hectares, and there were no tall mountains nearby overlooking it. It was an excellent place to hide.

The enemy’s two previous raids from across the river had both passed through this place before entering the village.

Before Commander Xiao left, he had hesitated for a long time over whether to cut all these trees down.

The locals had opposed it fiercely. Apart from winter, this dense forest provided them with firewood, hunting, wild vegetables, fruit, and fragrant mushrooms. It was an important source of livelihood.

He Lingchuan’s thinking was exactly the opposite of Commander Xiao’s. “Keep the forest. Cut down that large stretch of water grass west of the river shoal and make sure the river surface and riverbed can be seen clearly at a glance. Clear the grass and trees in the valley, then build two more watchtowers on the rear mountain.”

With that, this passage would be bare from start to finish. If anyone came or went, those on high ground would see everything. Without grass and trees for cover, any enemy who came would also find it harder to disguise themselves.

When the time came, they could hang a few glowspores there as well, so they would not have to fear anyone sneaking in at night.

Chao Qian said, “If this route is wide open, the Jintao people won’t like it. They’ll go through the woods instead.”

One side would have no cover at all, while the other had more than seventy hectares of dense forest. Whether by instinct or tactics, a small raiding party would definitely choose the latter, the route with concealment.

“Isn’t that exactly what we want?” He Lingchuan asked him. “Who was originally the guardian spirit here?”

“A pack of wolf monsters. They also contributed in the previous few battles.”

“Remove them. I’ve already asked Deputy Envoy Wen[1] to appoint another.” He Lingchuan pointed behind him, and Chao Qian saw several flatbed carts joined together, transporting a large tree.

The tree was about twenty meters tall. In this forest, that was not particularly striking, but its bark was cracked all over and covered in bluish-white patches, proof that moss and ferns had once grown thick across it.

He Lingchuan knocked on the trunk. It gave a dull, ringing clank, sounding more like metal than wood.

“Huh, isn’t this the old elm tree monster from the city gate?” Chao Qian found it familiar. He slapped his forehead as he remembered. “When we attacked Yuheng City, it even helped the West Ji people against us.”

“A wise man submits to circumstance. The day the city fell, it surrendered to us. Otherwise, it would’ve been chopped up for firewood long ago.” He Lingchuan smiled. “Some people have worse judgment than this tree.”

The soldiers stepped forward and dug a large pit to bury the old tree’s roots.

In winter, the ground was frozen solid, and shovels could barely bite into it. But these men acted in a wild and direct fashion. First, they dug a small hole and buried explosives inside, then detonated them.

Bury, blast.

Bury, blast again.

After several charges went off in succession, a pit nearly ten meters deep was dug out.

Everyone helped stand the tree upright and fill in the soil. Before long, it had been planted.

Some of the more meticulous men even shoveled snow over and sprinkled it carefully on top.

With no leaves in winter, this old tree stretched its bare limbs like claws. He Lingchuan patted the trunk. Mm, quite sturdy.

He read out the appointment document on the spot, then took out the official seal and stamped it against the tree’s trunk. “From this day forth, you are the official guardian spirit of the Yin River Valley, with jurisdiction over fifty kilometers around you.”

The mountain wind howled, condensing into a strange sound. Everyone listened closely and almost seemed to hear three words: “As you command.”

In only two or three days, every tree and shrub within its jurisdiction would become its ears and eyes.

This was also one of the reasons the northern monster states liked appointing old tree monsters as official guardian spirits. He Lingchuan found it very reasonable. It would not hurt to learn from another state’s advanced experience.

He Lingchuan then instructed, “Every fifteen days, cut four fresh branches from it and place them in water bottles in a quiet room, arranged in the four cardinal directions. Whichever direction’s branch moves on its own without wind means enemies are coming from that direction.”

With this old tree monster present, any enemy who invaded the river forest would be unable to escape the garrison’s eyes and ears.

“Oh, right, recruit a batch of bird monsters too. Owls with night vision would be best. Human eyes are far inferior to theirs at night.” Beijia was full of those things, and they had caused him no small amount of trouble during his flight. “I remember there are a few nests of bird monsters nearby, aren’t there?”

People could not linger for long by the cold riverbank, but these wild monsters could.

Chao Qian recorded each instruction.

In truth, Commander Xiao had laid a solid foundation for He Lingchuan, his successor. All military affairs in Yuheng City were already proceeding in good order, and there was very little he needed to change. In particular, the first batch of recruited soldiers had already completed their initial training and could be put to work.

The problem was that, after the army’s reorganization, its combat ability had not yet been demonstrated, and its numbers were insufficient.

They had barely a little over a thousand soldiers, yet they had to guard the border, defend the city, and patrol the trade road to the south. The shortage was thus immediately obvious.

He Lingchuan did not have any brilliant solution for this either. No one became fat in a single bite, and an army that had fought a hundred battles could not be tempered in a single day.

Fortunately, the Red General had taken Yuheng City with lightning speed and had seized the granaries at once, preventing the West Ji people from burning them. After one autumn harvest, their grain supply this winter was abundant enough that the young men in the barracks could eat meat every two days.

Just for food like that, quite a few people had signed up to join the army.

Once He Lingchuan finished the military matters at hand and returned home, he passed by the Martial Training Hall on the way and heard cries of alarm and roars coming from within.

The cries came from civilians.

The roars were very familiar to him. They belonged to Meng Shan.

Panlong City’s tradition of martial contests had also been brought here by the Gale Army. Two sets of arenas had only just been built yesterday, yet today, there were already people whose hands itched for a fight, stepping onto the platforms to challenge others.

Among the twenty men He Lingchuan had requested from the Red General was Meng Shan.

When he walked over, he happened to see Meng Shan execute an over-the-shoulder throw, smashing some unknown unlucky fellow so hard that the man saw stars.

The onlookers all covered their mouths, but He Lingchuan saw that the poor brat was still alive. His neck was not broken, and his internal injuries were not serious. He simply lay on the ground groaning for a long while, unable to get up.

After joining the Gale Army, Meng Shan was no longer as savage as before. He had begun to understand restraint.

The martial contest in the other arena was much gentler.

The contests here also used a point system. Winners could exchange their points at the armory for equipment and supplies they wanted—of course, money was included as well. The soldiers and civilians of Yuheng City had never tried this kind of setup before, and now they were enthusiastically signing up.

The shops along the side of the street were still being hurriedly built. Standing on this busy, crowded street, He Lingchuan once again felt what he had felt when he first entered Panlong City all those years ago: everything thriving and brimming with life.

By the time he returned home, the sun was already setting.

He Lingchuan brushed the powdery snow from his head and had just removed his cloak when he heard a splash from next door.

“Ms. Sun?” What’s she doing?

Sun Fuling’s voice came through the wall, “Ah, come quick!”

Uh, do I go over? He Lingchuan hesitated for a moment, then lightly leaped up. With one hand braced against the top of the wall, he flipped over in a somersault.

The walls here were much taller than the wood houses of Panlong City, but he was already used to not using the front door.

1. This should be Wen Daolun. ☜

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