Where Immortals Once Walked

Unfortunately, the old water lizard in Longchuan had only heard of Wen Daolun’s death as well. It did not know the exact cause.

What it did know, however, was that after the State of Jintao joined forces with Longchuan’s water bandits and successfully launched their first surprise attack on Yuheng City, they seemed to have learned from the experience, as similar assaults followed one after another.

At the same time, the State of Jintao kept harassing the border while Longchuan’s water bandits raided the trade routes. The two sides coordinated remarkably well, inflicting heavy losses on Yuheng City.

Consequently, Panlong City had no choice but to dispatch reinforcements several times in hopes of helping Yuheng City break out of its predicament.

However, the Longchuan water bandits had mastered the art of retreating whenever the enemy advanced. They deliberately avoided Panlong City’s troops and the Gale Army, instead waging guerrilla warfare throughout the lakes and waterways.

What came next in the records left He Lingchuan even more dumbfounded.

General Fushan Lie of Beijia gradually absorbed Longchuan’s various bandit gangs into his forces. The remnants of West Ji under his command grew increasingly powerful until they could even contend directly with official troops.

At first, the West Ji remnants merely robbed passing caravans and attacked government patrols.

Later, however, they began openly raiding towns and villages, burning and killing wherever they went. They roamed freely throughout southern West Ji, and the mere mention of them was enough to make people turn pale.

During those years, Longchuan was a paradise for bandits.

The water strongholds reeked of wine every day, and every day someone was sharpening a blade.

Countless desperadoes also poured in from every direction, eager to join this grand feast of rebellion and bloodshed.

Several years later, specifically five years after Panlong City conquered the State of West Ji, it was forced to abandon Yuheng City and the former capital of West Ji one after the other.

From that point onward, Panlong City relinquished every territory it had conquered in West Ji and once again retreated behind the defenses of Panlong Wasteland!

It had been a retreat born entirely of necessity.

After finishing the account, He Lingchuan sat in silence for a long time.

The bandit problem in Longchuan actually caused consequences that severe?

He was personally living through that chapter of history inside the Panlong World, and one thing he could say for certain was that Longchuan’s banditry had begun as little more than an irritating skin disease.

No one could have imagined that it would later rot into a gaping wound so enormous that even Panlong City could not deal with it.

As for Xiao Maoliang’s expedition deep into Longchuan, where more than six hundred people had been killed, Yuheng City itself had records of that event. He Lingchuan knew perfectly well what had happened.

No matter how prettily later generations dressed it up, an army was ultimately a machine built for war and naturally inclined to solve problems through violence. The more He Lingchuan learned about Panlong City’s past, the more clearly he understood that neither Zhong Shengguang nor the Red General had ever been softhearted people.

In the end, methods existed to serve objectives.

Besides, although both the county annals and the local clan histories referred vaguely to the “Panlong army,” He Lingchuan knew very well that the troops stationed in Yuheng City and responsible for suppressing Longchuan were not the Gale Army.

They were not even Panlong City’s regular army.

They were troops Yuheng City had organized itself by recruiting locals of West Luo and Changhou, and thus named the Yuheng City Army.

They had trained for only a short time and possessed nowhere near the combat experience of the Gale Army.

In terms of fighting strength, there was simply no comparing them to either of Panlong City’s elite forces.

Could Panlong City simply redeploy the Gale Army to garrison Yuheng City and specialize in wiping out the bandits?

Probably not.

None of the books mentioned it, but He Lingchuan knew that Panlong City had always faced pressure from both the west and north. The Gale Army’s primary responsibility was defending Panlong City itself.

That was their true base.

Even if Zhong Shengguang could spare some troops for Yuheng City, it would only be a drop in the bucket. It could not fundamentally change the situation or alter the overall trend.

In the end, flesh had to grow from one’s own bones. Yuheng City had to discover for itself how to resist outside threats.

From the perspective of later generations, whatever the reason for Yuheng City’s failure to eradicate the bandits, the consequences for its mother city, Panlong City, had been disastrous.

As the southern trade route gradually withered away, Panlong City’s path of communication with the outside world was forcibly sealed once again.

It returned to the old state of being surrounded by enemies on every side, isolated and without support.

Was Fushan Lie the mastermind behind Longchuan’s bandit crisis?

He Lingchuan did not know.

But in that particular contest, Fushan Lie had won.

Had this incident contributed to Panlong City’s eventual decline?

He Lingchuan could not say. However, a meter of ice did not form in a single day.

When disadvantage upon disadvantage and hardship upon hardship accumulated long enough, they would sooner or later produce a qualitative change.

So what could he do?

For He Lingchuan, who possessed the enormous advantage of knowing how history unfolded, what method could he use to overturn this outcome?

The Longchuan bandit problem was indeed extraordinarily complicated. The geography was complicated. The factions were complicated. The people’s loyalties were complicated. However, could that very complexity perhaps be turned to his advantage?

He Lingchuan harbored an even greater ambition.

The Yuheng City of real history had failed.

If he could reverse that defeat, then perhaps Panlong City, which had likewise ended in ruin, might also arrive at a different conclusion.

The temptation was simply too great.

And spare him the nonsense about how “changing an illusory history was meaningless.” After all, a mere illusory history could not grant him real origin energy, yet Panlong City could.

If Panlong City could survive its calamity and overturn its destined end, then what would that mean for him? For the Generous Pot? Perhaps even for the real world itself?

He could hardly wait to find out.

Time slipped by little by little as he remained deep in thought.

The night deepened, and Heishui City sank into a heavy sleep beneath the darkness.

* * *

He Chunhua lay down fully dressed, just about to drift off.

It was a habit he had developed while campaigning, allowing him to rise at any moment in the night if necessary.

Suppressing the southern rebellion, hunting down bandits, and administering policy had drained both his mind and body. Then he had ridden west nonstop all the way to Heishui City. The journey had been exhausting. Tonight, he desperately needed proper rest.

Yet not long after lying down, he sat back up and rubbed his eyes before going to close the window.

Then he set up a barrier, took out a statue and positioned it facing east, and lit seven sticks of incense. He performed the entire sequence with practiced familiarity.

Before long, hazy gray smoke gathered inside the room and condensed into the vague shape of a human face.

He Chunhua’s voice was hoarse with exhaustion as he said, “Greetings, Divine Venerable.”

“You have arrived in Heishui City?”

“Yes. What instructions does the Divine Venerable have?” He was so sleepy he could barely keep his eyes open.

“He Lingchuan is already here?”

“Yes. I need to find a way to bring him into the Panlong Ruins. Strange phenomena have been appearing there repeatedly.” He Chunhua briefly described the pillar of red light that had pierced the sky that evening.

To his annoyance, Naluotian questioned him about every detail and then fell silent in thought for a long time.

He Chunhua waited. When no response came, he finally had to ask, “Is there a problem?”

“When divine artifacts emerge into the world, unusual phenomena often accompany them,” Naluotian said slowly. “But this disturbance is far too great.” It’s far too conspicuous.

He Chunhua immediately became alert. “In the Divine Venerable’s opinion, should we still go?”

“Yes,” Naluotian replied. “The Heavenly Palace may send people as well.”

If it retreated now, and this truly was the emergence of a divine artifact... If the Generous Pot ended up in the Heavenly Palace’s hands...

He Chunhua was startled. “What? Beijia has sent people too?”

“The Heavenly Palace, not Beijia,” Naluotian corrected coldly. “Star-Plucking Tower lost a treasure connected to the Generous Pot. The Heavenly Palace will not abandon that clue. Their people may have arrived long ago.”

If the Heavenly Palace is participating in this contest as well... He Chunhua steadied himself. “What are our chances of winning?”

“You need not fear. The Panlong Ruins are not the Heavenly Palace’s territory.” Naluotian gave a cold laugh. “Panlong City and the Heavenly Palace were old enemies. The stronger the team the Heavenly Palace sends, perhaps the greater the resistance they will encounter inside the ruins or secret realm. Do not rush to be the first one through the door. It would be best to let the Heavenly Palace step on the traps for you. Remember, your most important task is to choose the perfect moment to summon me!”