Chapter 1150: Infiltrating Snow Old City
Chen Changsheng smiled and said, "I know you're unwilling, but there really isn't a problem."
Tang Thirty-Six was silent for a moment, then said, "You're the best doctor. If you can't cure it, where else can I go for treatment?"
Chen Changsheng replied, "I'm not skilled with colds, and the Cinnabar Pill isn't the right remedy either."
Tang Thirty-Six sneered, "I wouldn't take that stuff even if you gave it to me, because I don't eat people."
Chen Changsheng said, "So you need to go back first and get treated."
Tang Thirty-Six was silent again for a while, then said, "Our gatekeeper has aged a lot. Without me to help, I'm worried whether he can hold up."
Chen Changsheng reached out and pressed his shoulder, saying, "I'll discuss it with others. You leave first. Dean Mao is recovering in Cold Mountain—you go there too."
The next morning, Tang Thirty-Six departed, and Ye Xiaolian followed him. This was with Xu Yourong's consent. She didn't tell Chen Changsheng, because she knew he was very slow on matters between men and women—or rather, completely clueless. But she also knew Chen Changsheng was very knowledgeable in other areas, like medicine.
She glanced at him but ultimately said nothing.
Chen Changsheng gazed at the military banners fluttering in the distance, his expression calm and resolute.
He looked down at this world from the Chaotic Mountain Pavilion.
This world was also watching him.
His calm gave countless soldiers on the front lines confidence.
In truth, only a few knew that his heart was not calm at all.
There were many things that were becoming unbearable for him—matters of life and death, for instance, and Tang Thirty-Six's unrelenting high fever.
But fortunately, he had support.
Xu Yourong had always stood by his side, not as a wife, nor as someone who belonged to him, but as an equal.
When she clasped her hands behind her back, even the King of Linghai and others felt she seemed taller than Chen Changsheng.
"This morning, we received word: Senior Brother Liang is dead. Two Sword Hall elders died in battle at the same time. Guan Bai went to reinforce them and also died."
Xu Yourong's expression was very calm, as if these deaths had nothing to do with her.
Chen Changsheng closed his eyes. It was a while before he opened them again.
"Everyone dies. As long as the problem is ultimately solved, this kind of death is not a waste. It has meaning, and it is also compassion."
After saying this, she walked down the mountain.
The King of Linghai and the priests followed her with their eyes, filled with awe, yet also some pity.
The soldiers and believers on the front lines needed to draw strength from Chen Changsheng's calm.
Chen Changsheng needed to draw strength from her.
Then who could she rely on?
Now even An Hua had begun to sympathize with her, and then worship her.
...
...
Snow Old City was vast. Adding its dozen satellite cities and the tents set up by tribal warriors who had come from all directions to reinforce it, it occupied an extremely wide area. When the cool, rustling wind had just arrived in the southern part of the city, snow was already beginning to accumulate on the plains north of the city, yet there was still no trace of the human army.
Zhe Xiu was very certain that he was the first human—if he could be considered human—to set foot on this plain. Not because he was braver or more adventurous than other soldiers, but because, for the human army, coming to the plains north of Snow Old City at this time held no significance for the overall battle situation.
But it was very significant for his own battle.
Seven days ago, at the ruins of the Ancient Colosseum, one hundred and twenty li west of Snow Old City, he had encountered a demon squad.
He had been fighting demons since childhood, and his understanding of them far surpassed that of ordinary people. Certain details caught his attention regarding the special nature of that squad's leader—a very young, very tall noble. Judging from the clan emblem he wore, he belonged to a family very close to the imperial clan, and his status within the clan should have been quite high.
Why would such a young noble appear on a dangerous battlefield? This didn't align with Zhe Xiu's understanding of demon high society. If this were over a thousand years ago, the demon princes and nobles still maintained a martial spirit, drawing honor from bravery and military achievements. But now, they had long since decayed.
Zhe Xiu continued to tail that demon squad and eventually reached a conclusion.
This young noble had left the city under the protection of his clan's experts to accumulate military merit, but he didn't want to encounter any real danger. That's why the squad had only stayed at the Ancient Colosseum ruins for half a day before heading north—everyone knew that in such a short time, the human army couldn't possibly circle around to attack Snow Old City from the north.
As for how the young noble would produce enough military merit when he returned to Snow Old City... Zhe Xiu believed that would be a very easy matter for him. Perhaps dozens of human warrior heads were already prepared, just waiting for him to return to the city and load them onto the cart pulled by the captive beast.
Snow Old City was already in an extremely dangerous moment, yet the princes and nobles inside were still scheming to cheat military merit. One didn't know whether to call them foolish or simply too greedy. But those who dared to pull such tricks at a time like this were undoubtedly truly great figures among the demons. That young noble's identity should be quite extraordinary.
From the moment he reached these conclusions, Zhe Xiu felt a powerful impulse, and for that impulse, he devised a very risky plan.
He decided to infiltrate Snow Old City.
...
...
A group of beasts, from no one knew where, attacked that demon squad. Protected by his clan's experts, the young noble wasn't worried about his safety. He even had the leisure to watch the sight of those frenzied beasts having their neck arteries severed, his pale face flushed with excited red, as if smeared with real blood.
The beasts were all killed, but the demon squad also paid a price. Three of the bravest warriors were seriously injured. The worst part was that the snow and mud on the plain had been trampled into a mess, mixed together, wet and muddy, making travel difficult. The squad simply set up temporary tents in the woods, stayed overnight, and sent out messages via blood pigeons.
The demon warriors in the squad and the young noble never imagined that this night would become the most terrifying night of their lives.
The smell of blood gradually spread through the woods. Something seemed to be moving in the wet, churned-up mud. The world was so silent. The clouds in the night sky slowly scattered, and the clearly visible moon couldn't provide them with any courage. They could only hear each other's breathing, only feel their weapons growing colder and colder. Gradually, the breathing stopped. They could no longer feel the chill of their weapons, because their bodies were slowly turning cold.
It turned out that this was also the last night of their lives.
The demon soldiers in the squad died without a sound. No warning cries, no screams, no struggle, no fighting. The whole process was like an extremely eerie silent play, but there was no audience—only the sparse southern stars and the white moon witnessed it all.
The next morning, as agreed, a cavalry unit from Snow Old City entered these woods.
More than a dozen fully armed cavalrymen escorted three large carts. In the carts were the bodies of human soldiers they had worked very hard to find in the south. Thinking of the young master's reward to come, these cavalrymen could no longer maintain their stern, cold expressions. The sweetest smiles involuntarily crept onto their lips.
But when they entered the woods, they didn't see that tall figure. They only saw a scene of utter tragedy.
Cries rang out incessantly. The demon knights waved their weapons at the sky, venting their inner unease and fear, expressing their grief, swearing to avenge "Gu Ai." Whether "Gu Ai" was the young noble's name or a prefix for the entire family was unclear. Next, they loaded the bodies of their comrades from the woods onto the carts and began their journey back to Snow Old City, not daring to linger at all. Of course, their stated reason was that they needed to return to the city quickly to raise the alarm—the human army had already reached the north...
On the journey back to the city, the demon knights once again fell into fierce argument, likely about how to answer the clan leader's questions and how to use gold coins to buy off the impending blame. The squad's morale sank even lower, so much so that when they passed through that coniferous forest, they forgot to pick up the venison they had agreed upon on the way there.
As they drew closer to Snow Old City, the number of dilapidated buildings they could see gradually increased. Most of the houses were cobbled together from felt and wood, looking very flimsy, letting the wind in everywhere, and lacking any aesthetic appeal. If not for the lower-class demons' ability to endure bitter cold, they probably couldn't have survived at all.
Hearing the urgent hoofbeats, the lower-class demons who were chopping wood or working hurriedly knelt on both sides of the road, not daring to look up.
On normal days, these knights might have taken pleasure in using their whips to make these lower-class demons feel pain. But now, they had no such mood. They wished they could return to Snow Old City immediately. Of course, if they could, they would rather never return to Snow Old City at all.