Chaotic World Book-Chapter 259 - 254 Yanmen

Thinking of the waters of Dongting in the south, yearning for Yanmen Pass in the north. Rice and millet are worth longing for; fly away and then fly back again.

The autumn sky is clear, peaks stand solemnly in orderly rows, Zhao Changhe arrived at Yanmen, gazing at the distant scenery, and suddenly felt that this poem was quite fitting for himself. ƒrēenovelkiss.com

Just like the geese flying back and forth between the north and the south, his purpose was not for the grains.

As for writing a poetic description of the scenery, he was stuck now, not able to come up with a single line—some things require the right mood.

Yanmen was not just a group of mountains with a pass; it was an entire county, with several more counties under its jurisdiction. The barbarians knocking at the gate was not a matter of troops facing off for a season without end, but a sustained and continuous raiding, with battles of varying scales, large and small, inside and out along the Great Wall stretching thousands of miles, belonging to the level of campaigns.

It seemed like the whole army had withdrawn, but in reality, sudden attacks recurred, something not often seen in the battles of the Central Plains but quite normal for the barbarians.

Now it was the harvest season, and the barbarians were increasingly active. If the campaign was to end, it would likely be soon. Zhao Changhe had longed to come to Yanmen precisely to catch it in time.

Upon arriving at Yanmen County, considered well behind the lines of Yanmen Pass, he didn’t face the barbarians directly, but the entire city was already in martial law. The city gates were not restricted, but there were very few entering, with only one or two seen occasionally.

The inspection at the city gate was also extremely strict, equally severe for those coming from the south. As Zhao Changhe approached on horseback, he could feel from a great distance the sharp gazes of a group of soldiers, fiercely scrutinizing his sword and horse, creating an atmosphere of tension and grim determination.

Huangfu Yongxian’s way of handling the military was evident.

Zhao Changhe reined in his horse at a bow’s shot distance, "A martial artist from the Central Plains, heading north to fight the barbarians. On my journey, I’ve heard there are many fellows with the same intent, and there are specialized camps for them. Could you tell me how to get there?"

The commanding officer looked him over again, and suddenly thought of someone, his expression becoming a bit strange.

"The Hero Camp is indeed within the city, but we need to check your travel permit before you’re allowed in."

Zhao Changhe rubbed his head in frustration. Damnit, too many things slipped his mind. He should have had Tang Wanju or Huangfu Qing sort out a travel permit for him while he was in the capital; he had suffered for lack of one and still hadn’t learned his lesson. He could have entered the city quietly without attracting any attention, but instead, his identity was exposed in an awful mess. And now? His identity exposed again?

It was said that the leader of Yanmen was from the Wang Family. If Zhao Changhe’s entry into the city was called out, wouldn’t that just be stirring up trouble for no reason?

Seeing his hesitation, the commander seemed unsurprised, "You jianghu heroes, many of you come from the ranks of outlaws, without any travel permit and too lazy to get one, claiming to be unbounded... But what’s the point? Following some rules isn’t bad. For these spirited heroes, we don’t fuss about it. How about this; you name a familiar comrade, and we’ll send someone to invite them out to identify you."

Zhao Changhe thought for a moment: "I heard that Situ Xiao has gone north."

"Although he’s gone north, he said he was too impatient to stay in the camp and went off to do his own thing."

"Han Wubing?"

"Haven’t seen that person," the commander’s eyes twinkled with amusement, thinking to himself, aren’t you just showing your relationship tree, you must be Zhao Changhe, right?

Zhao Changhe felt rather helpless: "Those two bastards... Forget it, I know there’s definitely someone... Could you please ask Yue Hongling to come out?"

The commander finally laughed out loud: "Ms. Yue is even more elusive than a Divine Dragon... But seeing as you are who you are, why not just directly name the leader of the Hero Camp? I guess you must know each other."

"Who is that?"

"Cui Yuanyong."

All familiar faces... Zhao Changhe suddenly felt this was like a Yanmen version of a Hidden Dragon gathering.

It should be like this. The frontier wind rises, hidden dragons head north; this single act was far more meaningful than organizing any Langya sword summit at this juncture. In just this one matter, Wang Zhaoqing was outshone by his elder cousin, crushed to dust.

Just as he was about to say to let Cui Yuanyong come out to identify him, Cui Yuanyong himself appeared, sticking his head out from the city wall to take a look: "I wondered who it was, you should have come earlier, you asshole. Let him in, I vouch for this idiot."

Zhao Changhe didn’t mind being called an idiot; after all, it would be his sister having to face this one in the future.

If you want to use it yourself, that’s not impossible either.

He led his horse into the city and said lightly with a laugh, "Who’s possessed you, spouting all those swear words? Aren’t you afraid your dad will beat you to death?"

"Is this the first time you’ve heard me swear?"

"I’ve heard it before, when you were wronged, but it wasn’t this exaggerated."

Cui Yuanyong came down from the city wall, walking with him into the city, sighing, "Now I understand why you used to curse all the time. This stuff really is contagious; after staying with a bunch of jianghu men for a few months, I feel like I can’t speak without swearing, not to mention you were staying in bandit strongholds. Speaking of which, you seem much improved now?"

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

"For example, Tang Wanzhuang?"

"Um..."

Cui Yuanyong cast a sidelong glance at him, "The man Tang Wanzhuang will never get, who was the dumbass that said that to me?"

Zhao Changhe looked up at the sky, "Even this hasn’t been achieved."

No wonder this guy is insolent, forget it, I’ll let it slide.

"Pfft." Cui Yuanyong snorted, "The one who sold my sister to Beimang was her, and now she’s the one who’s met her downfall. If I wasn’t too busy to visit the capital, I would’ve definitely asked her whether she regrets it or not. Damn it, had she met her downfall earlier, wouldn’t that have spared my sister?"

Zhao Changhe thought to himself, if you actually asked Tang Wanzhuang, she would still believe marrying me to Yangyang to be most beneficial for the Empire; she herself doesn’t want to get married. But whether this statement now would be insincere, that’s uncertain.

Anyway, after chatting with Xia Longyuan, I felt these matters were quite pointless. Others are just watching the show; all of Wanzhuang’s careful planning is just a joke.

He sighed, "Let’s not talk about this anymore, what’s the deal with this Hero Camp, and what can I do?"

"Why don’t you go out and have fun on the grassland like Yue Hongling and Situ Xiao?"

"Should I tell you the truth?"

"Go ahead, I won’t laugh at you."

"Because, damn it, I’ve never been outside the pass, I would be totally blind. Should I go wander and starve to death? Better to join an organization—at least I’ll know what I can do."

Cui Yuanyong couldn’t help but laugh, followed by a sigh, "That’s what makes you different from the average adventurer."

"Uh?"

"Each one thinks they’re something special, believes they’re mighty, doesn’t want to be constrained or arranged, prefers to go it alone, and countless die out there, we can’t convince them otherwise," Cui Yuanyong said helplessly. "They are all passionate patriots, their deaths are a pity. But what can we do? Damn, they all think they’re Yue Hongling... You’re much better. You have self-awareness and a clear mind about what you can do... or to put it another way..."

"Yeah?"

"You actually tend to favor being part of a group? Although you prefer to act alone, you are not a lone wolf at heart, unlike Yue Hongling and Han Wubing. Actually, you’re more like Tang Wanzhuang."

Zhao Changhe was momentarily taken aback and chuckled, "It depends on what kind of role you think I am. That’s how you’re interpreting my actions."

"Perhaps." Cui Yuanyong stopped walking and pointed to a nearby restaurant, "First, let me treat you to a meal. We can talk while eating. I do have a bit of business that I feel would be very suitable to entrust to you."

Zhao Changhe was about to say something when suddenly a golden light appeared in the sky.

Both men looked up in surprise.

"August, the Autumn Equinox. The Four Symbols Sect’s Vermilion Bird slays the mad lion He Lei in Beimang."

"Number seven on the Earth List falls, and the ranking shifts accordingly."

"The previous number eight on the Earth List, Sword Pavilion’s Wuding, moves up to the seventh spot... The previous number one on the Human List, Vulture Hunting Teeth, ascends to the thirty-sixth on the Earth List... Blood God Sect’s Xue Canghai, fills in at seventy-second on the Human List."

As they watched a cascade of names move up the ranks and fill the vacancies, Cui Yuanyong’s mouth hung open, his heart trembling.

A fall on the Earth List... and it’s number seven.

Not only was he shaken, but this was likely to cause a shock across the land! How many years had it been since something like this had happened on the Earth List? At least now, the barbarian troops were probably in disarray, the blow to morale and soldier spirits extremely severe, with potential power disputes within their tribes.

The Four Symbols Sect’s Vermilion Bird... why would they suddenly kill He Lei, giving such help? General Huangfu must be laughing his teeth off by now.

Zhao Changhe, with his hands in his sleeves, showed no expression. Vermilion Bird killing He Lei was not surprising. After all, He Lei wanted to kill Miss Winged Fire Snake first, and it was the Four Symbols Sect that found his whereabouts. Letting Huangfu Shaozong and the Demon Suppression Department go after him seemed less efficient than the Four Symbols Sect. With Vermilion Bird’s personal involvement, how could He Lei escape?

All this time, he had a suspicion that Huangfu Qing could be Vermilion Bird, but now that doubt had dissipated. Huangfu Qing said she wouldn’t leave the capital with him, but then Vermilion Bird kills He Lei, which doesn’t seem like the same person.

His thoughts were not entirely focused on the fall on the Earth List, as the world would expect, considering the forewarning... His gaze was more fixated on the name at the end of the Human List, his expression slightly odd.

Long time no see, Sect Hierarch Xue, you’ve made progress, huh.

Back then, Sect Hierarch Xue said he was at the Mystical Gate Ninth Layer, but in reality, he was someone who could be bested by someone from the Eighth Layer, far from the standard of the Human List. Now, he must have gone through self-reflection and improvement to make it onto the Human List. It seems it got a bit more difficult to try to get the cultivation technique from the Blood God Sect?

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