Chapter 254: Yanmen

Chapter 254: Yanmen

To the south I yearn for Dongting's streams, to the north I ponder Yanmen Pass. For rice and grain, both sweet as dreams, I fly away, then fly right back.

The autumn air was crisp and clear, the mountain peaks standing in solemn array. Zhao Changhe rode his horse up to Yanmen, and as he gazed at the distant landscape, he suddenly felt that this poem suited him rather well.

Like a wild goose flying back and forth between north and south, though not for the sake of rice and grain.

As for composing a landscape poem of his own, his mind was currently drawing a blank, not a single line coming to mind. It seemed certain things required the right mood.

Yanmen was not merely a collection of mountains plus a pass; it was an entire commandery, with multiple counties under its jurisdiction. The Hu barbarians storming the pass was also not a case of troops lining up below the walls to exchange blows in a siege that lasted a whole season without end. It was a continuous, unending series of raids and harassments. Along the thousands of miles of the Great Wall, inside and out, the number of engagements, large and small, was beyond counting—a campaign-level span of warfare.

It would seem the great army had completely retreated, yet in truth they would abruptly strike again. While rather uncommon for campaigns in the Central Plains, it was entirely normal for the Hu barbarians.

And right now it was the autumn harvest season, so the movements of the Hu barbarians grew increasingly frequent. If the campaign were to conclude, it would most likely be in the near future. Zhao Changhe had been constantly obsessing over coming to Yanmen precisely to make it in time.

Arriving at Yanmen Commandery City, which could be considered the grand rear of Yanmen Pass, although they were not facing the Hu barbarians directly, the entire city had already been placed under martial law and military control. The city gates did not restrict entry, but those entering the city were extremely scarce, with only one or two seen on very rare occasions.

The inspection at the city gates was also extremely strict, equally harsh toward those coming north from the south. As Zhao Changhe approached on horseback, while still a great distance away, he felt the sharp gazes of a group of soldiers and generals fall heavily upon him, glaring fiercely at his saber and horse, the atmosphere thoroughly grim and tense.

Huangfu Yongxian's governance of the military could be seen from this single glimpse.

Zhao Changhe pulled back the reins with perfect discretion at a distance of an arrow's flight: "A martial artist of the Central Plains, traveling north to resist the Hu. Along the way I have heard of many like-minded companions, and that there is a specialized camp for us. May I ask how this humble self should get there?"

The defending general sized him up once more, and suddenly thinking of someone, his expression turned a bit peculiar.

"The Chivalric Camp is indeed in the city, but we must verify Your Excellency's travel permit before we can let you pass."

Zhao Changhe massaged his temples with a headache. Damn it, with so many things going on he had forgotten. Back in the capital he should have had Tang Wanzhuang or Huangfu Qing arrange a travel permit for him. Having suffered for it upon entering the capital, he surprisingly still hadn't learned his lesson. Clearly back then he could have quietly entered the city to conduct business without drawing any attention, yet his identity ended up being shouted out, causing a total mess. And now? Shout it out again?

It was said that among the Yanmen generals were members of the Wang family. If he shouted out that Zhao Changhe was entering the pass, wouldn't that just be looking for trouble where there was none?

Seeing him hesitate, the defending general seemed unsurprised: "You chivalrous heroes of the martial world, many of you hail from the greenwood, possessing no travel permits at all and too lazy to bother getting them, pridefully deeming yourselves unfettered... But why must it be so? Abiding by a few rules does no harm. For passionate volunteers like you, we won't say much. How about this: name a familiar companion, and we will send someone inside to ask him to come out and identify you."

Zhao Changhe thought for a moment: "I heard Situ Xiao came north."

"Though he came north, he said he was too impatient to stay in the camp, and went off to do his own thing."

"Han Wubing?"

"Have not seen him." There was a faint smile in the general's eyes, thinking to himself that judging by this network of relationships, aren't you fucking Zhao Changhe?

Zhao Changhe was utterly helpless: "Those two bastards... Forget it, I know someone who is definitely here... Could you please invite Yue Hongling to come out for a look?"

The defending general finally laughed out loud: "Heroine Yue is even more elusive, like a divine dragon showing its head but not its tail... But seeing Your Excellency like this, why not directly state the name of the Chivalric Camp's commander? I surmise you two must know each other as well."

"Who?"

"Cui Yuanyong."

All familiar faces... Zhao Changhe suddenly felt that this was the Yanmen version of a gathering of hidden dragons.

As it should be. The frontier winds rose, and the hidden dragons went north, which was far more meaningful than organizing some Langya Sword Discourse at this juncture. By this single matter alone, Wang Zhaoling was completely outshone by his eldest brother-in-law, crushed into nothing but dust.

Just as he was about to say to let Cui Yuanyong come out and identify him, Cui Yuanyong himself emerged, poking his head out from the city wall from afar to take a glance: "I wondered who it was. You fucking should have been here long ago. Let him in, I guarantee this dumbass."

Zhao Changhe didn't mind being called a dumbass at all; after all, in the future it would be your younger sister who would have to face this particular shaft.

If you want to use it yourself, that wouldn't be out of the question either.

Leading his horse into the city, he laughed casually: "Who possesses you? Is this stream of profanity something you should be speaking? Aren't you afraid of being beaten to death by your father?"

"Is this the first time you've heard me curse?"

"I've heard it before, back when you were falsely accused, but it wasn't this exaggerated."

Cui Yuanyong walked down from the gate tower and accompanied him inside, sighing as he said: "I finally know why you used to have a mouth full of foul words back then. This stuff is truly contagious. After staying with a bunch of martial world fellows for barely a few months, I now feel like if I don't start a sentence with a curse, I fucking don't know how to speak anymore. Not to mention you stayed in a bandit stronghold. Speaking of which, you look a lot better now?"

"A bit better, after all, the people I interact with are different now."

"Like Tang Wanzhuang?"

"Mhm..."

Cui Yuanyong squinted at him: "The man Tang Wanzhuang will never get—which dumbass said those words to me?"

Zhao Changhe looked at the sky: "Well, she hasn't gotten me either."

No wonder this fellow was speaking so insolently. Forget it, I won't hold a grudge against you.

"Bah." Cui Yuanyong snorted: "The one who sold my sister to Beimang was her, and now the one entering the fray herself is also her. I simply didn't have time to go to the capital; otherwise, no matter what, I would ask her whether she regrets it or not. Damn it, if she had just entered the fray herself from the start wouldn't that have settled it? Isn't this screwing over my sister?"

Zhao Changhe thought to himself that actually, if you asked Tang Wanzhuang, she still believed making him marry Yangyang was most beneficial to the empire, and she herself didn't want to marry. Except now that these words were being spoken, whether there was some duplicity involved remained unknown.

At any rate, after that chat with Xia Longyuan, he felt these matters were quite meaningless. Others were just watching a monkey show; Wanzhuang exhausting her calculations was merely a joke.

He let out a sigh: "Let's not talk about this, alright? What is the setup of this Chivalric Camp, and what can I do?"

"Why didn't you go play in the grasslands on your own like Yue Hongling and Situ Xiao?"

"Want me to tell the truth?"

"Speak, I won't laugh at you."

"Because I've fucking never been beyond the pass, completely blind to both sides. Am I supposed to go out and wander, or go out to starve to death? It's better to find an organization; at least I'll know what I can do."

Cui Yuanyong burst into laughter, then immediately sighed a little: "This is precisely where you differ from the average martial world fellow."

"Uh?"

"Each and every one of them is self-righteous, thinking they are very formidable, refusing to be restricted, unwilling to be arranged, going out to operate solo. Those who have died out there are beyond counting, and we can't even persuade them otherwise." Cui Yuanyong said with great helplessness: "These are all passionate patriots, a pity they died, but what can we fucking do? Every single one of them truly thinks they are Yue Hongling... You are much stronger than them, yet you possess self-awareness, remaining perfectly sober, knowing what you can do... Or from another perspective..."

"Hmm?"

"You are actually more accustomed to having a group organization? Although you prefer to act alone, in essence you are not a lone wolf. You are completely different from Yue Hongling and Han Wubing, but rather more like Tang Wanzhuang."

Zhao Changhe froze for a moment, then lost his smile and said: "Because of what identity you think I hold, that's the direction in which you think of me, right?"

"Perhaps." Cui Yuanyong stopped his footsteps and pointed to the tavern beside them: "Let me treat you to a meal first, we can talk while we eat. I happen to have a matter here that feels very suitable to entrust to you."

Just as Zhao Changhe was about to say something, a golden light suddenly rose in the sky.

The two of them looked up in astonishment.

"August, the Autumn Equinox. Zhuque of the Four Symbols Sect slew the Mad Lion Helei in Beimang."

"The seventh rank of the Earth Ranking has fallen, positions shift upward sequentially."

"The former eighth rank of the Earth Ranking, Shi Wuding of the Sword Hut, advances to the seventh rank... The former first rank of the Human Ranking, the Vulture Lieya, advances to the thirty-sixth rank of the Earth Ranking... Xue Canghai of the Blood God Sect fills the vacancy at the seventy-second rank of the Human Ranking."

Watching a whole long list of ranking advancements and vacancy fillings, Cui Yuanyong's mouth was half-open, his heart trembling slightly.

A fall on the Earth Ranking... and it was the seventh rank.

Not only was his heart trembling, the entire world was bound to be shaken! How many years had it been since a fall occurred on the Earth Ranking? At the very least, right now the Hu barbarian army was bound to fall into a total mess; the blow to people's hearts and morale would be extremely severe, and there might even be power struggles within the tribes.

Zhuque of the Four Symbols Sect... why would she abruptly kill Helei, helping out so much? General Huangfu was probably laughing his teeth off right now.

Zhao Changhe kept his hands tucked in his sleeves, expressionless. Zhuque killing Helei was not surprising at all. Helei had wanted to chop down Miss Yihuoshe first; his whereabouts had all been unearthed by the Four Symbols Sect. Letting Huangfu Shaozong and the Demon Suppression Department go to encircle and suppress him seemed far less efficient than the Four Symbols Sect. With Zhuque personally taking action, where could Helei possibly run.

Originally he still had a bit of suspicion about whether Huangfu Qing could possibly be Zhuque, but right now the suspicion instead vanished. Huangfu Qing said she wouldn't leave the capital with him, and the next moment Zhuque killed Helei; they didn't look much like the same person.

His thoughts, unlike those of the rest of the world, were not entirely focused on the matter of the Earth Ranking fall. After all, it had been long anticipated... His gaze was instead fixed more on the name at the very end of the Human Ranking, his expression looking quite peculiar.

Long time no see, Sect Master Xue, you've improved, huh.

Sect Master Xue back then claimed to be at the ninth layer of the Entrance Pass, but in truth he could be beaten by someone a layer lower; he was a far cry from the level of the Human Ranking. Right now, perhaps having bitten the bullet and reflected on the pain, he had made some improvements, actually making it onto the Human Ranking. This time, wanting to go to the Blood God Sect to ask for techniques seemed to have become a bit more difficult again?