Chapter 819: A Sudden Attack
“Yes.”
Naluotian continued, “I have examined your thread of fate. There are no ominous signs.”
He Chunhua quietly let out a breath of relief. Naluotian truly understood people. It knew perfectly well what He Chunhua cared about most right now.
“As for He Lingchuan—”
He Chunhua immediately pricked up his ears.
“His fate is still somewhat obscured, but broadly speaking, it follows a pattern of calamity first and fortune afterward. That is in line with what we expect.” Naluotian’s tone remained indifferent. “The fate of a vessel prepared for divine descent becomes entangled with that of the god itself, so such things are naturally difficult to calculate.”
He Chunhua only half understood. “The calamity first... does that refer to the divine descent?”
“That interpretation is not wrong.” For the skin-sack being descended into, a god’s arrival was naturally an enormous disaster.
“And the fortune afterward?”
Does that “fortune” mean that Naluotian would descend successfully? After all, both fortune and calamity here are being judged from the perspective of Chuan’er’s body.
But from Chuan’er’s own perspective, the pain, uncertainty, and complete loss of control that comes from the descent could only be a calamity. And after the divine descent, would the transformation and strengthening of his body count as fortune?
Perhaps that would allow us to seize the Generous Pot successfully and leave the Panlong Ruins, or perhaps this “fortune” refers to what comes after the entire Panlong Desert expedition, when everything would finally go smoothly for us.
He Chunhua’s thoughts were in chaos.
And there was one more concern he could not suppress.
Could Naluotian be lying to me?
Is it deliberately telling me that Chuan’er still has good fortune ahead so that I’d stop worrying and summon it without hesitation?
But how could divine descent possibly be a blessing for Chuan’er?
Before Naluotian could answer, a sudden commotion erupted outside.
The eastern sky was still dark, yet He Chunhua could hear chaotic footsteps outside the inn, along with someone screaming, “Help!”
He had only just left the battlefield and was extraordinarily sensitive to the sounds of violence.
In two strides, he reached the window and was about to throw it open when he remembered that he was still communicating with a god.
He turned around only to see that the incense on the table had already gone out. The gray smoke in the air had dispersed as well.
Naluotian had already left.
Only then did He Chunhua push open the window and look outside.
Flames were surging into the sky.
He had lived in Heishui City for nearly twenty years. One glance was enough for him to identify where the fires were burning.
The government office and the armory.
𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞
His heart sank.
This is bad.
Who would attack those two places first? Either rebels or an invading enemy!
Heishui City lay far to the west. Yuan’s domestic rebels had no reason to attack here. That left only one possibility.
He sighed inwardly.
It seemed his eldest son’s warning that evening had not been without reason after all.
He Chunhua dressed at top speed, then rushed over and pounded on his son’s door. “Chuan’er!”
He knocked several times, but he received no answer.
He Chunhua simply shattered the door bar and pushed his way inside.
The room was empty.
Where is he?
Alarm surged through him. Then He Lingchuan’s voice came from behind, “Old man, something’s happening outside!”
He Chunhua spun around.
His son was fully dressed, even his hair combed neatly into place.
He could not help but ask, “Where did you go?”
“Qiu Hu and I caught a few grasshoppers and frogs. We were roasting them in the rear courtyard.” He Lingchuan stretched out his left hand, and sure enough, he was holding several bamboo skewers. Fat grasshoppers and long-legged frogs were skewered onto them, still giving off the smoky aroma of charred meat.
Qiu Hu appeared from nearby as well.
In truth, whenever He Chunhua shut himself away alone—whether to sleep or do anything else—He Lingchuan avoided staying too close.
He still could not be certain whether this cheap old man might secretly perform some ritual and summon Naluotian into the mortal realm while he was unprepared.
As long as He Lingchuan was not nearby, the ritual could not be completed.
With the situation so urgent, He Chunhua noticed nothing unusual. He merely said, “Come with me. We’re going to find Commandery Administrator Hu!”
The Rongshan disciples assembled with remarkable speed. He Chunhua’s personal guards rushed over as well. More than a hundred people quickly gathered and headed toward the government office.
He Lingchuan did not bother hiding his thoughts. “Send someone to secure the north gate.”
He Chunhua’s heart tightened.
Right.
He himself had just concluded that whoever was attacking had to be an external enemy.
No matter what chaos they stirred up inside the city, as long as the northern gate remained secure, the disturbance could eventually be suppressed.
“Zhao Qinghe!”
Zhao Qinghe stepped forward at once and led fifty men toward the north gate.
He Chunhua continued to the government office. When he arrived, clerks and runners were darting around like headless flies. Commandery Administrator Hu was nowhere to be seen.
He Chunhua grabbed one junior clerk and asked, “Where is Commandery Administrator Hu?”
He Chunhua had governed Heishui City for more than ten years, and this clerk had once served under him. The moment he saw his former superior, he visibly calmed down. “Commandery Administrator Hu hasn’t, hasn’t come!”
He Chunhua’s brow furrowed. He jerked his chin at one of his guards and ordered, “Go to the Hu Residence and find him!”
The guard acknowledged the order and ran off.
He had not gone even a hundred meters when a constable came sprinting toward them, face drained white. “L-Lord He! Commandery Administrator Hu was beheaded in his own home!”
Less than six hours had passed since we separated at the tavern, and yet Commandery Administrator Hu had died? He Chunhua’s heart tightened. “Who did it?”
“His family identified several burly men. They climbed over the wall and killed him with two slashes!”
He Chunhua immediately pulled a command token from his robes and shouted in a ringing voice, “I am temporarily assuming authority over the affairs of Heishui City! Where are the patrol and defense forces?”
Behind them, the fire at the government office was still burning.
But He Chunhua had served here for more than a decade. From officials to ordinary citizens, practically everyone knew him. He shouted the order three times. The panic around him visibly diminished, and people began following instructions.
In less than fifteen minutes, the chaotic situation had improved considerably.
The garrison commander also came forward to report. He was more than happy to see his former superior take charge again.
He Chunhua immediately issued a wanted order for the killers who had attacked Commandery Administrator Hu.
Yet, his expression remained grim.
The enemy had come into Heishui City, started fires, and murdered officials. Surely they had not done all this on a whim.
Just then, rapid bells began ringing from the north.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
The panic that had only just begun to settle surged once again.
Because in a frontier stronghold, that bell had only one meaning: enemy invasion!
The warning bell of Heishui City had not rung in nearly ten years.
He Chunhua immediately led his men toward the north gate.
Heishui City was less than half the size of Shihuan City. It took less than fifteen minutes to run from the government office to the north gate.
The battlements had only just come into view when shouts erupted ahead. Everyone focused their eyes. Several of He Chunhua’s personal guards were chasing a handful of men into a residential district.
Their pursuit sent chickens scattering and residents crying out in alarm.
He Lingchuan glanced over. Several of the fleeing men looked vaguely familiar.
“Qiu Hu, leave one alive.”
Qiu Hu nodded. He curled one finger. Three Rongshan disciples immediately followed him into the side street.
He Chunhua advanced another hundred meters or so before reaching the north gate, where another scene of chaos awaited him.
The city gate was still shut, but something outside was pounding against it with heavy booms.
Dozens of He Chunhua’s guards were bracing themselves against the gate from inside, preventing the crossbar from giving way.
The remaining dozen or so guards stood on the walls alongside the city defense troops, firing arrows downward.
The enemy’s already at the walls?!
Zhao Qinghe strode over. “My lord, those villains took advantage of the confusion to attack the gate guards and tried to open the gate. We arrived just in time and managed to stop them for the time being.” After saying that, he pointed toward the gatehouse.
Everyone looked over and saw more than a dozen corpses lying on the ground. Some of those corpses were city guards, while others were attackers.
Fresh blood splattered the walls, clear evidence of how fierce the fighting had been only moments earlier.
“The remaining seven or eight fled into the city streets.”
He Chunhua was secretly shaken. If Zhao Qinghe had arrived even slightly later, Heishui City’s gate would already have been thrown wide open, and the enemy army could have marched straight in.