Chapter 822: Spring Breeze Enters the Old City
That black tide halted on the distant plains. Even with the Tang family's specially crafted far-seeing lenses, it was difficult to make out the origins of these cavalrymen.
Not long after, over a hundred riders broke away from the formation and galloped toward Wenshui City, completely disregarding the divine crossbows mounted on the walls. Watching this scene, even though they had drilled countless times, the defending soldiers and Tang family guards grew tense—after all, they had never faced real combat.
The city lord, accompanied by his subordinates, rushed hastily to the battlements, his clothes not even properly fastened, let alone wearing armor.
Staring at the tide of cavalry in the distance and the hundred-plus riders drawing ever closer, the city lord's face grew paler and paler.
Seeing that the hundred-plus riders had already entered the attack range of the divine crossbows, he still dared not give the order to fire. Sweat poured from him like pulp. He turned to the Tang family guards and shouted in panic, "Where is the main family? Why hasn't anyone from the main family come?"
The city lord of Wenshui City was appointed directly by the imperial court, but he knew very well that he could never truly be the master of this city.
For countless years, the master of this city had borne only one surname—Tang.
Some time had passed since the alarm was raised. Even if their reaction was slow, someone from the Tang family should have arrived by now.
Why, until now, were there only guards on the walls, with not a single Tang family magnate in sight?
A staff officer stared at the hundred-plus riders growing ever closer, and a thought struck him. He murmured, "The main family hasn't stirred, which means there's surely nothing to worry about."
Hearing this, the city lord found it quite reasonable. Wiping the cold sweat from his face, he asked in a trembling voice, "Then... who exactly are these people?"
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Time passed. The hundred-plus cavalry arrived before Wenshui City.
No battle broke out, because the people on the walls soon learned their identity.
Those who had come to Wenshui City were not the demon race's expeditionary force, but two thousand guardian cavalry.
Their mission was to escort three Holy See archbishops into Wenshui City.
The reason the three Holy See archbishops had come to Wenshui City was even simpler—to attend to His Holiness the Pope.
No matter how displeased the soldiers and civilians of Wenshui City were with this sudden commotion at dawn, they had no reason to bar them from the city.
—The vast majority of the two thousand guardian cavalry remained on the plains, showing no hostility.
The heavy city gates, which had only just been closed, slowly opened.
Under the gaze of countless pairs of eyes filled with complex emotions, two large palanquins, escorted by a hundred cavalry, entered Wenshui City.
Archbishop Anlin exchanged a few words with the city lord through the curtain, showing no intention of stepping out.
On the streets, some citizens stared curiously at the figures within the palanquins, while others knelt and prayed incessantly, deeply devout.
The King of Linghai and White Stone Daoist still sat together in one palanquin.
"The Tang family reacted quickly. It won't be easy to attack," the King of Linghai said expressionlessly, his gaze passing through the curtain to settle on the Tang family guards on the distant walls—clearly not imperial troops.
There was deep meaning hidden in these words. White Stone Daoist smiled faintly but said nothing.
The King of Linghai glanced at him and said, "Wenshui City has never seen war. Why is the Tang family so vigilant and cautious, even going so far as to set up divine crossbow formations far beyond regulations and keep so many private soldiers? Could it be... they intend to rebel?"
The implication was even clearer. White Stone Daoist restrained his smile but still said nothing, unsure how to respond.
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Two thousand guardian cavalry escorted three national religion magnates to Wenshui City.
Their justification was perfectly sound—to ensure the safety of His Holiness the Pope.
No one could argue with that.
But no one would forget the key point: the Papal Palace had not notified Wenshui City in advance.
To take without asking is theft; to arrive without asking is invasion.
Two thousand guardian cavalry suddenly appeared outside Wenshui City, their thunderous hoofbeats tearing through the dawn light.
Though nothing happened, the entire city felt tension and unease that morning.
A thousand years ago, when the demon army invaded the south, they besieged Luoyang City for a long time, their vanguard reaching only three hundred li from the capital, yet they never attacked Wenshui City.
Looking further back into history, during the chaotic era of heroes vying for supremacy, the continent was engulfed in flames of war, people displaced, and a thousand li of scorched earth—yet Wenshui City alone never suffered any attack, quietly watching the turmoil of the world.
In all those years, this was the first time Wenshui City had ever seen an army with its own eyes.
What did the national religion mean by this? A show of force to the Tang family and the imperial court? Concern for the Pope's safety? Or perhaps an attempt to intimidate certain people within Wenshui City?
The Prince of Zhongshan, serving as the imperial envoy, had not immediately returned to the capital after leaving Songshan Military Prefecture. Instead, he was touring the northern military prefectures on behalf of His Majesty the Emperor. When he received this news at Yonglan Pass, the first question that came to mind was not these matters, but rather—why hadn't the national religion gone to Congzhou?
That day, the King of Linghai and the other two national religion magnates, with two thousand guardian cavalry, had descended upon Songshan Military Prefecture like a thunderbolt. Using the assassination attempt on the Pope as a pretext, they had forcefully seized the position of the military prefecture's divine general, largely because their arrival was so sudden.
Those two thousand national religion cavalry had been stationed around Xunyang City. The route to Songshan Military Prefecture was mostly wilderness, so it was understandable that they could evade the court's surveillance. The problem was, when had the three national religion magnates left the Papal Palace? No one in the capital had known.
The court naturally would not allow such a thing to happen again. After the three national religion magnates left Songshan Military Prefecture with their two thousand cavalry, their movements had been under the Great Zhou military's control. Everyone knew they were heading toward Congzhou Military Prefecture.
This was also what many in the court had predicted.
With such a grand display, the national religion could not possibly be targeting only the position at Songshan Military Prefecture.
Congzhou Military Prefecture, located in the west, had harsh conditions but was extremely important. Most crucially, it was where Xue Xingchuan had risen to prominence. Even though he had been dead for three years and the court had conducted multiple purges, his influence could not be completely eradicated.
From any angle, Congzhou Military Prefecture should have been the national religion's next target.
Who could have imagined that the three national religion magnates and two thousand guardian cavalry would cross that lifeless stone mountain and gobi desert overnight, suddenly appearing outside Wenshui City!
What did the national religion intend to do? Had the young Pope truly gone mad, planning to massacre Wenshui?
The Prince of Zhongshan finally began to ponder these matters, his expression growing increasingly stern.
He would never believe such an absurd conclusion, because he was certain the young Pope was incapable of such an act.
Moreover, trying to massacre Wenshui with only two thousand cavalry? That would be severely underestimating the Pope's intelligence and the Tang family's unfathomable strength.
Just then, a sudden cheer erupted from the street outside the military prefecture.
The Prince of Zhongshan frowned slightly and asked, "What's happening?"
After a moment, the noise outside showed no sign of stopping; instead, it grew louder, as if the entire Yonglan Pass was celebrating something.
Divine General Jianxi entered the military hall and said in a low voice, "News just arrived. A new batch of cinnabar pills will begin distribution tomorrow."
The Prince of Zhongshan's gaze grew deeper. He thought to himself that while the Pope's intelligence might be uncertain, his bearing was truly extraordinary.
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Wenshui was one of the world's few ancient cities. In the depths of winter, remnants of snow and yellow leaves complemented each other, making the scenery all the more profound.
Looking at the mottled, aged city walls and the shop signs that had weathered centuries of wind and rain unchanged, anyone could feel the weight of history within.
Thinking of the great clan within the city, this sense of historical depth took on a few more layers of weathered and powerful meaning.
Even the King of Linghai, after entering the city, was not as irritable as usual, becoming somewhat taciturn.
He lifted the curtain, first glimpsing the citizens standing or kneeling by the roadside, then catching sight of a stretch of water.
Wenshui City was farther north than the capital, yet the famous river that ran through it did not freeze even in the harsh winter, flowing with an inexhaustible vitality.
Only the frost-covered grass along the riverbank and two or three small yellow flowers that had clearly frozen to death testified to the immutable laws of the seasons.
When they reached the Daoist temple, the palanquins stopped. The King of Linghai walked along the stone steps through the forest, with White Stone Daoist and Archbishop Anlin following behind.
At the end of the quiet stone steps lay the sacred gate of the rear hall.
Inside the gate stood a pear tree, and beneath the tree stood a young man.
The King of Linghai did not like this young man.
He never had.
Even after learning that the other was the orthodox successor of the national religion, he still could not understand why His Holiness the Pope, whom he deeply respected, had designated this person as his heir.
In his view, while this young man was not exactly cowardly, he lacked sharpness and vitality, appearing lifeless and utterly uninteresting.
Without interest meant no love or hate; without strong love or hate, one could not understand what responsibility meant.
It was only at this moment, seeing the figure beneath the pear tree, that he vaguely understood something.
It wasn't lifelessness.
It was tranquility without ripples.
This young man was like a small stream.
The stream might be shallow, but it was very clear, allowing one to see the fish swimming at the bottom and every person's own reflection.
The stream appeared gentle and fragile, yet it was the most resilient—even the sharpest sword could not cut through it.
The stream seemed calm, but in truth, it contained unimaginably surging power, capable of splitting mountains and carving paths, flowing westward to the sea.
Like Wenshui City—everyone knew he should not come, or rather, it was inconvenient for him to come, yet he came anyway.
The King of Linghai finally understood the Pope's choice.
He knelt calmly.
White Stone Daoist and Anlin exchanged a glance, their expressions slightly surprised, then they too knelt.
The young man turned around and said, "Rise."
A gentle breeze blew, and countless tiny white flowers fell from the tree, scattering over him and resting on his shoulders, looking like fresh snow, utterly pure.
White blossoms were everywhere, covering the ground.
It was the cold depths of winter, yet such a beautiful sight—why?
Perhaps because yesterday, when he was refining pills in the Daoist temple, the garden had suddenly warmed, and life had begun to stir.
Thus, as if overnight, a spring breeze had arrived, and the pear tree had burst into full bloom.
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(End of Volume Five: Battlefield Yellow Flowers)