# 1641
Chapter 1641: The Approaching Stars
"Qiye-ge, who is he?"
In the distance, Wu Quan watched Huo Qubing's horseback silhouette riding ahead and couldn't help but ask.
"Huo Qubing."
"You mean... the Huo Qubing who was enfeoffed at Langjuxu?" Wu Quan said in astonishment. "Why do I sense the aura of 【Dominant Emperor】 on him?"
"He is indeed the 【Dominant Emperor】, and also the first powerhouse in Great Xia's history to break through to Human Apex." Lin Qiye explained. "At the same time, he is the oldest founder of Night Watch."
Lin Qiye's gaze lingered on Huo Qubing's back. Not long ago, that sentence of his had once again echoed in Lin Qiye's ears, his expression somewhat complicated.
Although 【Dominant Emperor】 could allow one to grow to terrifying heights in an extremely short time, the cost was also enormous. Huo Qubing had not said how long he himself had left to live, but from the urgency faintly visible in his eyes, Lin Qiye could tell that this Marquis's life was nearly exhausted.
Hearing this string of titles, Wu Quan nodded in surprise, then seemed to have thought of something.
"Right, isn't this the Western Han dynasty? Why aren't they speaking classical Chinese?"
Lin Qiye glanced back at this fifteen-year-old boy and explained with a smile, "Classical Chinese like 'zhi hu zhe ye' is a written style, a refined language ancients used specifically to record things. Their daily communication was all in vernacular Chinese. However, this colloquial vernacular is extremely prone to regional and temporal differences. For example, in modern Great Xia, how many dialects are there? Also, the habits and ways people in nineteenth-century Great Xia spoke were also different from modern people.
Just a hundred years can create such enormous differences. If separated by a few thousand years, using vernacular to record events would make modern people feel like they're reading heavenly texts. Thanks to classical Chinese as a fixed written form, later generations can understand historical records."
Wu Quan suddenly realized.
But he seemed to have thought of something else and asked in confusion, "Qiye-ge, didn't you say that vernacular Chinese changes over long periods? The Western Han is already over two thousand years from our era, right? Why do I feel like their way of speaking isn't much different from ours?"
Hearing these words, Lin Qiye suddenly froze in place.
Right... why do the people of this era speak habits so similar to modern people? Even ignoring dialect differences caused by geographic location, just this gap of over two thousand years, the Western Han people's speech patterns should be very different from modern.
Before Wu Quan woke up, Lin Qiye hadn't noticed this problem at all. He thought it was because Merlin had left a language magic array in his soul back then, allowing him to communicate with Western Han people without barrier... but why could Wu Quan understand them too?
Lin Qiye furrowed his brows in deep thought for a long time but still found no answer... He was, after all, not a professional scholar, so he could only set this疑惑 aside for now.
The army formation advanced across the barren land. Since most soldiers were on foot, the speed was not fast. Lin Qiye didn't know exactly where they were, only that the sun in the sky gradually sank westward, and they seemed to have moved far away from the desert area.
Wu Quan followed behind Lin Qiye, riding a horse while dozing off. Only when the army ahead suddenly stopped did he regain consciousness.
"Why did we stop?" Wu Quan glanced at the sky; it seemed still early.
Lin Qiye didn't speak. After some time, a general rode his horse to Lin Qiye's side and respectfully said:
"My lord, the Marquis requests your presence."
Lin Qiye raised an eyebrow and nodded. "Alright, I understand."
Lin Qiye turned to instruct Wu Quan a few words before striding toward the front of the formation. There, Huo Qubing, Zhan Yuwu, Yan Zhong, and several other generals had gathered, their expressions somewhat grave.
"Without the Black Dog's Fang, the efficacy of the exorcism array is greatly weakened... Now that these evil spirits grow more rampant by the day, if we camp in the wilds, it's no different from lambs entering a tiger's den!" An old general stroked his long beard and spoke solemnly.
"What's the alternative? The nearest city is dozens of li away, and even if we rush there through the night, these thirty thousand soldiers can't possibly enter the city. As long as we're in the wilds, danger is inevitable."
"Our scouts sent to the nearest city have returned—they don't have any Black Dog's Fang either..."
Everyone fell silent at once.
"How many more days until we reach Chang'an?" Just then, Huo Qubing suddenly spoke.
"Reply, my Marquis, at least five more days." Yan Zhong answered.
"Five days..." Huo Qubing raised his head to look at the gradually darkening sky, his brow slightly furrowed. "What if we march day and night?"
"Day and night march? My Marquis, the nights are teeming with evil spirits!" A general reminded.
Huo Qubing didn't answer. He only furrowed his brows as he stared at Yan Zhong.
"If we march day and night, without rest at full speed... three and a half days to reach Chang'an."
"What if we abandon seventy percent of the supplies?"
Hearing these words, all the generals' expressions changed. "My Marquis, what are you planning? Although the evil spirits in the wilds are dangerous, we don't need to rush back to Chang'an this desperately, do we?"
"Yan Zhong."
"If we abandon another seventy percent of supplies... two days to reach Chang'an!" Yan Zhong gritted his teeth and answered.
Huo Qubing nodded. "Issue the order—abandon seventy percent of supplies here, immediately proceed at full speed. We must reach Chang'an before the third night falls!"
"Yes!" Zhan Yuwu didn't hesitate in the slightest, turning to relay the order to the army.
The other generals stood frozen, seemingly unable to comprehend why Huo Qubing was so desperate to return to Chang'an.
"My Marquis, the exorcism array..."
"Continue setting up the array. Even without the Black Dog's Fang, the other materials can still have some effect." Huo Qubing turned to face the crowd. "Once the army moves, Yan Zhong, you'll command the western flank. Song Qing will command the eastern flank. Yuwu leads the vanguard. This Marquis will command the central camp. As for the rear guard..."
Huo Qubing's gaze fell on Lin Qiye, asking with a tone seeking his opinion:
"Lin Qiye, would you be willing to guard the rear for me, to prevent evil spirits from attacking from behind? If you're willing, upon returning to Chang'an, this Marquis will personally petition for your rewards."
Everyone's gaze fell on Lin Qiye. Except for Yan Zhong, the others' eyes were filled with astonishment. They knew the Marquis had brought back a young man from Xue County, but they never expected the Marquis to value this young man so highly.
The rear of a large army is the most vulnerable and dangerous position. The Marquis assigning him to guard it indicated great recognition of his strength.
Lin Qiye didn't hesitate much before nodding. "No problem."
Upon receiving Lin Qiye's reply, Huo Qubing's expression visibly relaxed. He quickly issued a few more directives, and Lin Qiye rode directly toward the rear of the formation.
The dim setting sun vanished, and the world fell into darkness. Lin Qiye rode while gazing up at the starry sky, his brow furrowing tighter. He spoke with some uncertainty:
"...Have these red stars gotten closer than yesterday?"