Where Immortals Once Walked

The noise all around them was deafening. Qiu Hu stepped forward and lowered his voice until only the He father and son could hear him, “The enemy may be planning to surround the city. Should I take some men and slip out through the west gate first? That way, we’ll have people outside who can coordinate with us from both sides.”

He Lingchuan’s first thought was: Good idea!

Leaving a small, elite force outside the city would give them enormous flexibility. They could scout the enemy, coordinate attacks from within and without, and respond quickly to any changes.

Before he could answer, however, He Chunhua waved a hand. “No need. We’ll have a way out.”

“Old man...”

“Just trust me.” He Chunhua spoke decisively. “I’ll have some preparations made.”

He had always been meticulous in his affairs and was not the sort to make empty claims. If he said he had a way, then he most likely did. And so, He Lingchuan gestured to Qiu Hu, telling him to hold his horses.

Qiu Hu nodded and went off to see to other matters.

Watching his departing back, He Chunhua remarked to He Lingchuan, “That guard the Rongshan Sect assigned you is quite capable. He has the makings of a general.”

When enemy troops suddenly appeared outside the walls, how many ordinary soldiers could react so quickly?

And the Rongshan Sect actually sent someone of this caliber to serve as Chuan’er’s personal guard?

Just how highly do they value him?

He Lingchuan merely chuckled.

𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

The thoughts only flashed through He Chunhua’s mind. The battle immediately consumed all his attention again, and he began calculating the balance of forces inside and outside the city.

He had brought a hundred personal guards with him. The Heishui City garrison that had just been assembled numbered 780, while those from Rongshan accompanying his eldest son added another fifteen.

Altogether, they had roughly 900 fighting men.

“Nine hundred isn’t enough.” He Chunhua rubbed his temple. “When I left Heishui City two years ago, the garrison still numbered 2,200. How did it fall to only 780?”

Zhao Qinghe immediately replied, “I asked around. Last year, Commandery Administrator Hu petitioned to reduce the city’s military forces, saying that maintaining them was too expensive. The royal court approved it, so the garrison was cut to 1,500. Then, when the northwestern front grew desperate, another 700 were transferred away.”

“Ridiculous!” He Chunhua pressed a hand to his forehead. “This is a frontier fortress!” That Hu fellow truly had not died unjustly.

He Lingchuan, however, understood how it had happened. Heishui City had enjoyed peace for many years. On top of that, the season of mad sand came every year, effectively making military operations impossible for four or five months at a stretch. Over time, Commandery Administrator Hu had inevitably grown complacent. The Heishui City garrison had been personally established by former Commandery Administrator He Chunhua. The troops were not allowed to privately cultivate military lands to support themselves, either. They were a proper frontier army, and their upkeep fell squarely on the local government.

When local finances were already strained, feeding and paying that many soldiers was an enormous burden.

The Yuan court had once subsidized those military expenses, but after years of relentless internal turmoil, it had long since stopped being able to spare the money.

Commandery Administrator Hu lacked He Chunhua’s talent for finding new sources of revenue. All he could do was look for ways to cut expenditures.

Seen from that angle, it was not entirely unreasonable.

And so, little by little, things had deteriorated into the present predicament.

Nine hundred men were barely enough to defend the city. If they wanted to actually drive the Andong troops away, though, that force was rather lacking, especially considering the quality of the soldiers...

“Nine hundred really isn’t enough. We’ll have to recruit from within the city.” He Lingchuan rubbed his chin. “I’ve been back for several days now, and I keep seeing strong-looking men wandering around town. There are also quite a few cultivators.”

“Cultivators?” He Chunhua immediately understood. “They must have come for the Panlong Desert too.”

“Exactly. Aren’t they ready-made reinforcements? It’d be a waste not to use them.”

He Chunhua considered the idea, then surprisingly smiled. “That could work.”

Afterward, he hurried straight to the marketplace in Heishui City.

His personal guards beat gongs all along the way, drawing the townspeople over.

Facing the city’s assembled residents, He Chunhua launched into an impromptu speech to calm the populace, as well as recruit troops at the same time.

He made only three points.

First, Heishui City had high walls, deep defenses, sturdy fortifications, and powerful weapons. It would be extremely difficult for an outside army to storm the city by force. Otherwise, the enemy would never have needed to resort to tricks to open the gates from within.

Second, He Chunhua had already defeated the Andong people twenty years ago. He had beaten them three times before, and he could beat them a fourth.

Finally, Heishui City had abundant grain and was fully stocked with weapons and armor. There was no need for the citizens to worry. Strong and able-bodied men were now being recruited to defend their homes and protect the city, and both pay and compensation would be exceptionally generous!

The Soul-Stealing Mirror asked He Lingchuan, “Does this place actually have plenty of grain?”

“Who knows?” Judging from what He Lingchuan knew of the administrative competence of Yuan’s local officials, that claim was probably something He Chunhua had simply made up. “What else is he supposed to say? That we’re almost out of grain, the weapons have rusted, and there isn’t enough armor to go around?”

If He Chunhua uttered even one extra sentence of brutal truth, half the people here would probably flee.

He Chunhua had governed Heishui City for more than ten years and had always maintained a close relationship with the people.

Most of the city’s residents could not even recognize Commandery Administrator Hu on sight, but they placed enormous trust in He Chunhua.

Now, Commandery Administrator Hu had been assassinated, the gates were under siege, and threats had appeared both inside and outside the city. Everyone was terrified, as it was as if a storm were closing in from every direction.

Then, at precisely that moment, the former commandery administrator suddenly appeared in Heishui City and calmly took command.

He Lingchuan stepped forward at just the right time to support him. Drawing a deep breath, he projected his voice across the crowd, “Lord He defeated the Xun Province rebels in the north and is now the governor-general of Ya Province. He was granted the title Marquis of Martial Defense and appointed General of Lasting Peace. Just one month ago, he also put down the rebellion in the south! The paltry enemy outside Heishui City is nothing worth mentioning! This city is filled with hidden dragons and crouching tigers. Experts and powerful cultivators have gathered here from every direction. If everyone lends a hand, we can drive off the enemy sooner and reopen the city gates!”

That final sentence was aimed at the other factions lurking within Heishui City. The common people, naturally, did not understand that layer of meaning. What they did understand was that He Chunhua had accumulated one military achievement after another. Knowing that such a powerful—and familiar—figure had come to take charge immediately steadied many hearts.

The subsequent recruitment drive proceeded fairly smoothly.

Within four hours, Heishui City had enlisted more than three hundred men.

The newly recruited able-bodied men were given what little time they had to learn basic formations, practice with weapons, and rehearse how to kill enemies.

In the middle of all his other work, He Chunhua still found time to ask Zhao Qinghe, “Have any cultivators volunteered to join?”

Zhao Qinghe shook his head.

Just as expected. He Chunhua gave a cold laugh. “Then let’s invite them to volunteer.”

He Lingchuan, standing nearby, said, “There’s no hurry.”

“No hurry?”

“They still don’t want to get involved. If you drag them in by force, old man, it could backfire.”

They certainly did not want to drive those people over to Andong’s side instead.

Without even realizing it, He Chunhua had grown quite accustomed to asking his eldest son’s opinion. “Then what are we waiting for?”

“Until they think we have a real chance of winning.” He Lingchuan smiled. “Better yet, until they start getting impatient themselves... From what I can see, that won’t take long.”

He Chunhua slowly nodded.

He Lingchuan saw contemplation in his father’s eyes.

He Lingchuan could not tell whether He Chunhua was thinking about what he had just said, or about him.

Later, when He Lingchuan returned to his lodgings to rest for a while, the mirror asked him again, “Is the situation right now somehow part of your plan too?”

When He Lingchuan had originally been making his plans, the mirror certainly had not noticed anything like this included in them.

Still, its master often acted with deeper intentions that it only discovered once events were already unfolding.

“Don’t be ridiculous.” He Lingchuan washed his face, then lay back on the bed and closed his eyes to rest. “Andong suddenly attacking Heishui City was an accident. It’s not as though I invited them here.”

A person should never fantasize that every part of a plan would unfold exactly as intended, or that every development could remain under perfect control.

After the battle at Mount Xu, He Lingchuan had come to understand one thing very clearly: accidents were the true constant in life.

“It really is an accident?” The mirror still sounded suspicious.

“There’s nothing strange about Andong attacking Heishui City in itself,” said He Lingchuan. “Just like the old man said, a weak nation with powerful neighbors is in danger. And now that the season of mad sand has disappeared, Heishui City has lost one of its natural barriers. Foreign enemies no longer have to worry about being caught in a prolonged campaign here. But the timing... They really picked one hell of a moment. This attack has completely thrown my original plan into a mess.”