Translated byきつねonAugust 26, 2022
Chu Changge saw through the young chief's doubts and laughed. "Central Plains martial arts is unfathomable, vastly rich and highly esoteric, which you won't have the chance to learn. But if you have a son in the future, you can send him to Black Wind Mountain to study it."
The sides of the South, East, North, and West's faces were full of black lines. Leader, isn't it already enough that you bring harm to others, and now, you even want to do the same to other people's unborn sons? This is a sin, indeed a sin! They could already imagine the miserable experience of the future young chief's son when he came to the Central Plains and inquired about Black Wind Mountain. Poor future young chief. He was destined to have a bad life even before he was born.
However, the young chief, unaware of the truth, was overjoyed that he even shed grateful tears and his attitude towards Chu Changge became eagerly attentive. "Since the invaders drove us out of the palace, they have strictly ruled over the walls, and now that place is impregnable. We have attacked it several times, but we would suffer countless deaths and injuries each time before we could even get close. They have powerful archers defending the walls, and the gates have been tightly closed and never opened once." The teenage chief began to present the current situation on Hua Tiansheng's side.
Murong Yunshu asked, "It has never been opened once?"
The young chief replied, "Not even once."
Murong Yunshu asked more questions, "Then, what do they eat? What do they rely on to replenish their military strength?"
The young chief was flabbergasted. "I wasn't aware of these problems. They never seem to lack any food or run short of soldiers."
"That's not realistic." Murong Yunshu wondered, "Not running short of soldiers is still understandable. The troops will always be there as long as they don't die or get injured. But no shortage of food is impossible. With so many people in the city, it is impossible for them not to eat or drink. If they eat and drink, the food will decrease. Unless they have hoarded food for three years, it is impossible for them to not go out of the city for three years without food being cut off."
The young chief said, "When they attacked the city, the grain hoarded inside was only enough for less than three months."
Murong Yunshu commented, "Then, there must be another path to and from the city. And they are relying on that path we don't know about to keep replenishing the food into the city."
The young chief countered, "There is no other way out except for the east and west gates. My soldiers have been lying in ambush outside the east and west gates and have never seen them leave the city. "
Murong Yunshu said, "There must be another entrance over there."
The young chief shook his head. "Impossible. I grew up in the city. If there is another door, there is no way I wouldn't know about it. Unless......" Suddenly, he brightened up as if he had thought of something. "I remember my great grandfather gave my father a silk brocade bag. He instructed him to open it and take the clan to escape according to the route drawn inside the bag if our place was invaded by foreign enemies. "
Murong Yunshu asked joyfully, "Where is the bag now?"
The young chief looked gloomy. "Inside the city. Three years ago, when the invaders attacked from the East Gate, my father saw that there was no hope for us to defend the enemy. So he asked me to lead the forbidden army to escort the women, children, the old and the young out of the city. He, himself, died in battle in the city. The bag was given to him by my great grandfather ten years ago on his deathbed. At that time, the city was very peaceful. My father did not expect our place to be invaded one day, so he did not take it to heart, and the bag was left in a brocade box in his study. The invaders must have found it after occupying the city and learning the secret way to get out of the city."
Murong Yunshu pondered for a moment at his words. "In that case, we have no choice but to force our way through."
The young chief said, "Forcing our way through won't work. We have tried many times, and not once did it not end in failure. Although you have outstanding martial arts skills that you can fly over the walls, there is a deep and wide moat outside the city walls where you must cross by boat. The moment you get close, you will be discovered."
North Guardian said, "It's good to be discovered. We never do things secretly anyway."
West Guardian nodded in agreement. "Yes, we want to be discovered by them. So that they can see how powerful we are."
The young chief responded, "You won't say that after seeing the city walls."
Murong Yunshu, Chu Changge and the others looked at each other. Can it be that the walls are made of iron?
At this time, Li Shaoqing, who had been watching without saying anything, said, "I was blindfolded when I went. But after going in, Hua Tiansheng did not restrain me. I have seen the city wall once. Even though I saw it from the inside, it still shocked me. It was the strongest, tallest, and defensible wall I had ever seen. Hua Tiansheng told me that it was a defence against you. With a wall like that in place, even if Chu Changge's martial arts skills were high, he wouldn't be able to help."
Li Shaoqing's words made Murong Yunshu, Chu Changge and the quartet even more interested in the wall that Hua Tiansheng had built. "Take me to see the wall that is specially designed to deal with me." Chu Changge laughed without much concern.
The young chief said, "Alright. You guys come with me."
Led by the young chief, the group soon arrived at the small forest a few hundred meters outside the moat of the city wall. "That gate across from us is the East Gate. That moat is fifty meters wide."
Looking at the city wall on the other side of the moat from afar, the crowd was astonished. The wall was at least twenty meters high, more than twice as high as the average city wall in the Central Plains. And below the wall was the moat where one could not set up ladders. This height was not a problem for Chu Changge and others who had excellent qinggong, but for ordinary soldiers, it would be even harder than reaching the sky. The most incredible thing was not the height of the wall but its surface. It was not made of stone but iron. Genuine iron.
Murong Yunshu wondered, "It's not hard to build the wall high, but to add a layer of iron on the surface is too incredible. How did Hua Tiansheng do it?" She had never even thought of this way of fixing the wall, let alone doing it. Apparently, the fear Hua Tiansheng had for Chu Changge was deep into his bone marrow. [+]
The young chief shook his head. "I don't know. The city walls were only seven or eight meters high and built of stone before. There was no moat outside, either. After they occupied it later, it became like this."
Li Shaoqing interjected, "I know. The iron was melted inside burning boilers and poured on the wall from top to bottom until the molten iron solidified."
Murong Yunshu praised, "From this point of view, Hua Tiansheng can be considered a military wizard. It's a pity that he used it in the wrong place. He has built the walls like an iron cage, so I'm afraid it's impossible to force our way inside."
Chu Changge suggested, "I will go into the city tonight to explore the city before making any plans."
Li Shaoqing said, "Absolutely not. His city is specially designed to deal with you, and the walls are only the first barrier. After entering the city, there are various other mechanisms. Especially in the forbidden palace where he lives, there is a mechanism that only the indigenous chiefs and prime minister-level officials know."
Chu Changge frowned. "Only Yunshu knows how to unlock the mechanism, but she has fallen for Hua Tiancheng's trick and will fall asleep once it gets dark. If we break in during the day, many archers will be on the walls. I'd rather be alone. It will be too dangerous to bring Yunshu along."
Li Shaoqing said, "This is Hua Tiansheng's greatest strength. He understands you and Murong Yunshu and knows that each of you has your own strengths. That's why he made a move using peerless beauty. He used this strange move to subdue Murong Yunshu first, thus leaving you isolated and helpless. He would never have thought I would be with you and tell you about this."
Murong Yunshu added, "In addition to you, he also missed one point."
Li Shaoqing asked, "What?"
Murong Yunshu pointed to the young chief and said, "Him."
The young chief said, "Good. He must not have expected that you would meet me. I am familiar with the mechanisms in the city. As long as I go with Chu Changge, those mechanisms will no longer be a problem. We can go straight to the forbidden palace."
Chu Changge laid out his plan, "Alright. Tonight we will go to explore the way first."
After returning to the ingenious people's residence outside the city walls, Murong Yunshu and Chu Changge discussed the details of the night's operation with the young chief. During the discussion, Murong Yunshu suddenly remembered a critical issue that had been overlooked all this time. "When we left Shu Province, Hua Tiansheng was in the brothel, being watched by Soul Chaser and Suo Ming. Now, he has gone from Shu Province to Tianlong Mountain and escaped from Tianlong Mountain to Puhua Island. Where did Soul Chaser and Suo Ming go?"
North Guardian exclaimed, "That's right. Before we left, Madam clearly instructed Soul Chaser and Suo Ming to keep an eye on Hua Tiansheng. Why is there no sign of them now that Hua Tiansheng has taken his flight?" East, South and West also expressed their bafflement.
Chu Changge asked, "What was the order you gave them?"
Murong Yunshu answered, "Keep an eye on Hua Tiansheng."
Chu Changge said, "Then they must still be with Hua Tiancheng right now. The Twelve Heavenly Killing Demons are all with this kind of character. They will literally do whatever you order them to do. If you say keep an eye on Hua Tiansheng and don't let him leave Shu Province, then they won't let Hua Tiansheng leave Shu Province unless they die. Since you said to keep an eye on Hua Tiansheng, they will still keep an eye on him. Wherever Hua Tiansheng goes, they will follow. They will never lose him." [T/N]
Ugh. Black lines suddenly appeared on Murong Yunshu's forehead. "Don't they know how to be flexible?"
Chu Changge said, "No."
"......" Fine. It was her fault for not making her words clear. But it was good that they were still keeping an eye on Hua Tiansheng right now. Murong Yunshu uttered, "Since they have been following Hua Tiancheng, they must know where the secret path is. You should quickly contact them and ask them to lead us through the secret passage."
Chu Changge responded, "It's useless for me to contact them. You have to be the one to contact them. They are your people now. Whatever I said is useless."
Murong Yunshu froze and didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "How did you train them to be such obedient people?"
Chu Changge answered, "I didn't train them. They were born that way."
The East, South, West and North quartet also nodded heavily. "The Leader is not lying. The Twelve Heavenly Killing Demons were born like this, lacking a tendon in their brains. Madam, you should contact them quickly. With their help, we will be able to kill Hua Tiansheng by surprise!"
Murong Yunshu thought about it and said, "It's better not to bother them. It's better to eat off your own strength."
South, East, North, and West were choked speechless. Is this the time to eat your own strength? We should unite in the face of the enemy!
Chu Changge looked at Murong Yunshu with a smirk and asked, "Madam, do you not know how to contact them?"
"Uh. Yes." Murong Yunshu smiled awkwardly and said, "They usually hang around me all the time. If I need them, I just call them out. The way I contacted them was by just calling them out. But now, even if I did it a hundred times, they wouldn't hear me."
Chu Changge laughed helplessly. "Then there's really no way out. Even though I have a code word to call them out, they won't appear even if they see it right now."
Murong Yunshu said, "I always thought you guys were connected by telepathy."
"......"
The above are the voices of all those present who understand the Central Plains language.
After having dinner, Murong Yunshu went to bed. As soon as it was dark, Chu Changge and the young chief were fully loaded and ready to go. Chu Changge instructed, "Old East, Old South, you stay behind to protect Madam. Lil West, Lil North, you will meet us at the grove by the moat."
Li Shaoqing interjected, "Then, what do I do?"
Chu Changge glanced at him and said, "You do the same as Yunshu; go to sleep."
Li Shaoqing: "......"
Chu Changge and the young chief came to the moat shortly after setting off with the West and North duo. Chu Changge quietly said, "Lil West, Lil North, you two will stay here. If I encounter any trouble, I will send a signal to inform you. When you receive the signal, go back to Madam immediately, do not act rashly and rush into the city."
"Yes." The West and North duo accepted the order.
Chu Changge asked the young chief, "Are you ready?"
The young chief nodded. "I'm ready."
Looking up at the high city wall, Chu Changge grabbed the back collar of the young chief and twisted him away with the posture of bending a dead chicken, stepping forwards toward the moon and going away.
The North and West duo looked at each other. That was a very good treatment. If it were them, the Leader would have kicked them up to the city tower and then flown up to catch them.
Translated byきつねonAugust 26, 2022
Chu Changge saw through the young chief's doubts and laughed. "Central Plains martial arts is unfathomable, vastly rich and highly esoteric, which you won't have the chance to learn. But if you have a son in the future, you can send him to Black Wind Mountain to study it."
The sides of the South, East, North, and West's faces were full of black lines. Leader, isn't it already enough that you bring harm to others, and now, you even want to do the same to other people's unborn sons? This is a sin, indeed a sin! They could already imagine the miserable experience of the future young chief's son when he came to the Central Plains and inquired about Black Wind Mountain. Poor future young chief. He was destined to have a bad life even before he was born.
However, the young chief, unaware of the truth, was overjoyed that he even shed grateful tears and his attitude towards Chu Changge became eagerly attentive. "Since the invaders drove us out of the palace, they have strictly ruled over the walls, and now that place is impregnable. We have attacked it several times, but we would suffer countless deaths and injuries each time before we could even get close. They have powerful archers defending the walls, and the gates have been tightly closed and never opened once." The teenage chief began to present the current situation on Hua Tiansheng's side.
Murong Yunshu asked, "It has never been opened once?"
The young chief replied, "Not even once."
Murong Yunshu asked more questions, "Then, what do they eat? What do they rely on to replenish their military strength?"
The young chief was flabbergasted. "I wasn't aware of these problems. They never seem to lack any food or run short of soldiers."
"That's not realistic." Murong Yunshu wondered, "Not running short of soldiers is still understandable. The troops will always be there as long as they don't die or get injured. But no shortage of food is impossible. With so many people in the city, it is impossible for them not to eat or drink. If they eat and drink, the food will decrease. Unless they have hoarded food for three years, it is impossible for them to not go out of the city for three years without food being cut off."
The young chief said, "When they attacked the city, the grain hoarded inside was only enough for less than three months."
Murong Yunshu commented, "Then, there must be another path to and from the city. And they are relying on that path we don't know about to keep replenishing the food into the city."
The young chief countered, "There is no other way out except for the east and west gates. My soldiers have been lying in ambush outside the east and west gates and have never seen them leave the city. "
Murong Yunshu said, "There must be another entrance over there."
The young chief shook his head. "Impossible. I grew up in the city. If there is another door, there is no way I wouldn't know about it. Unless......" Suddenly, he brightened up as if he had thought of something. "I remember my great grandfather gave my father a silk brocade bag. He instructed him to open it and take the clan to escape according to the route drawn inside the bag if our place was invaded by foreign enemies. "
Murong Yunshu asked joyfully, "Where is the bag now?"
The young chief looked gloomy. "Inside the city. Three years ago, when the invaders attacked from the East Gate, my father saw that there was no hope for us to defend the enemy. So he asked me to lead the forbidden army to escort the women, children, the old and the young out of the city. He, himself, died in battle in the city. The bag was given to him by my great grandfather ten years ago on his deathbed. At that time, the city was very peaceful. My father did not expect our place to be invaded one day, so he did not take it to heart, and the bag was left in a brocade box in his study. The invaders must have found it after occupying the city and learning the secret way to get out of the city."
Murong Yunshu pondered for a moment at his words. "In that case, we have no choice but to force our way through."
The young chief said, "Forcing our way through won't work. We have tried many times, and not once did it not end in failure. Although you have outstanding martial arts skills that you can fly over the walls, there is a deep and wide moat outside the city walls where you must cross by boat. The moment you get close, you will be discovered."
North Guardian said, "It's good to be discovered. We never do things secretly anyway."
West Guardian nodded in agreement. "Yes, we want to be discovered by them. So that they can see how powerful we are."
The young chief responded, "You won't say that after seeing the city walls."
Murong Yunshu, Chu Changge and the others looked at each other. Can it be that the walls are made of iron?
At this time, Li Shaoqing, who had been watching without saying anything, said, "I was blindfolded when I went. But after going in, Hua Tiansheng did not restrain me. I have seen the city wall once. Even though I saw it from the inside, it still shocked me. It was the strongest, tallest, and defensible wall I had ever seen. Hua Tiansheng told me that it was a defence against you. With a wall like that in place, even if Chu Changge's martial arts skills were high, he wouldn't be able to help."
Li Shaoqing's words made Murong Yunshu, Chu Changge and the quartet even more interested in the wall that Hua Tiansheng had built. "Take me to see the wall that is specially designed to deal with me." Chu Changge laughed without much concern.
The young chief said, "Alright. You guys come with me."
Led by the young chief, the group soon arrived at the small forest a few hundred meters outside the moat of the city wall. "That gate across from us is the East Gate. That moat is fifty meters wide."
Looking at the city wall on the other side of the moat from afar, the crowd was astonished. The wall was at least twenty meters high, more than twice as high as the average city wall in the Central Plains. And below the wall was the moat where one could not set up ladders. This height was not a problem for Chu Changge and others who had excellent qinggong, but for ordinary soldiers, it would be even harder than reaching the sky. The most incredible thing was not the height of the wall but its surface. It was not made of stone but iron. Genuine iron.
Murong Yunshu wondered, "It's not hard to build the wall high, but to add a layer of iron on the surface is too incredible. How did Hua Tiansheng do it?" She had never even thought of this way of fixing the wall, let alone doing it. Apparently, the fear Hua Tiansheng had for Chu Changge was deep into his bone marrow. [+]
The young chief shook his head. "I don't know. The city walls were only seven or eight meters high and built of stone before. There was no moat outside, either. After they occupied it later, it became like this."
Li Shaoqing interjected, "I know. The iron was melted inside burning boilers and poured on the wall from top to bottom until the molten iron solidified."
Murong Yunshu praised, "From this point of view, Hua Tiansheng can be considered a military wizard. It's a pity that he used it in the wrong place. He has built the walls like an iron cage, so I'm afraid it's impossible to force our way inside."
Chu Changge suggested, "I will go into the city tonight to explore the city before making any plans."
Li Shaoqing said, "Absolutely not. His city is specially designed to deal with you, and the walls are only the first barrier. After entering the city, there are various other mechanisms. Especially in the forbidden palace where he lives, there is a mechanism that only the indigenous chiefs and prime minister-level officials know."
Chu Changge frowned. "Only Yunshu knows how to unlock the mechanism, but she has fallen for Hua Tiancheng's trick and will fall asleep once it gets dark. If we break in during the day, many archers will be on the walls. I'd rather be alone. It will be too dangerous to bring Yunshu along."
Li Shaoqing said, "This is Hua Tiansheng's greatest strength. He understands you and Murong Yunshu and knows that each of you has your own strengths. That's why he made a move using peerless beauty. He used this strange move to subdue Murong Yunshu first, thus leaving you isolated and helpless. He would never have thought I would be with you and tell you about this."
Murong Yunshu added, "In addition to you, he also missed one point."
Li Shaoqing asked, "What?"
Murong Yunshu pointed to the young chief and said, "Him."
The young chief said, "Good. He must not have expected that you would meet me. I am familiar with the mechanisms in the city. As long as I go with Chu Changge, those mechanisms will no longer be a problem. We can go straight to the forbidden palace."
Chu Changge laid out his plan, "Alright. Tonight we will go to explore the way first."
After returning to the ingenious people's residence outside the city walls, Murong Yunshu and Chu Changge discussed the details of the night's operation with the young chief. During the discussion, Murong Yunshu suddenly remembered a critical issue that had been overlooked all this time. "When we left Shu Province, Hua Tiansheng was in the brothel, being watched by Soul Chaser and Suo Ming. Now, he has gone from Shu Province to Tianlong Mountain and escaped from Tianlong Mountain to Puhua Island. Where did Soul Chaser and Suo Ming go?"
North Guardian exclaimed, "That's right. Before we left, Madam clearly instructed Soul Chaser and Suo Ming to keep an eye on Hua Tiansheng. Why is there no sign of them now that Hua Tiansheng has taken his flight?" East, South and West also expressed their bafflement.
Chu Changge asked, "What was the order you gave them?"
Murong Yunshu answered, "Keep an eye on Hua Tiansheng."
Chu Changge said, "Then they must still be with Hua Tiancheng right now. The Twelve Heavenly Killing Demons are all with this kind of character. They will literally do whatever you order them to do. If you say keep an eye on Hua Tiansheng and don't let him leave Shu Province, then they won't let Hua Tiansheng leave Shu Province unless they die. Since you said to keep an eye on Hua Tiansheng, they will still keep an eye on him. Wherever Hua Tiansheng goes, they will follow. They will never lose him." [T/N]
Ugh. Black lines suddenly appeared on Murong Yunshu's forehead. "Don't they know how to be flexible?"
Chu Changge said, "No."
"......" Fine. It was her fault for not making her words clear. But it was good that they were still keeping an eye on Hua Tiansheng right now. Murong Yunshu uttered, "Since they have been following Hua Tiancheng, they must know where the secret path is. You should quickly contact them and ask them to lead us through the secret passage."
Chu Changge responded, "It's useless for me to contact them. You have to be the one to contact them. They are your people now. Whatever I said is useless."
Murong Yunshu froze and didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "How did you train them to be such obedient people?"
Chu Changge answered, "I didn't train them. They were born that way."
The East, South, West and North quartet also nodded heavily. "The Leader is not lying. The Twelve Heavenly Killing Demons were born like this, lacking a tendon in their brains. Madam, you should contact them quickly. With their help, we will be able to kill Hua Tiansheng by surprise!"
Murong Yunshu thought about it and said, "It's better not to bother them. It's better to eat off your own strength."
South, East, North, and West were choked speechless. Is this the time to eat your own strength? We should unite in the face of the enemy!
Chu Changge looked at Murong Yunshu with a smirk and asked, "Madam, do you not know how to contact them?"
"Uh. Yes." Murong Yunshu smiled awkwardly and said, "They usually hang around me all the time. If I need them, I just call them out. The way I contacted them was by just calling them out. But now, even if I did it a hundred times, they wouldn't hear me."
Chu Changge laughed helplessly. "Then there's really no way out. Even though I have a code word to call them out, they won't appear even if they see it right now."
Murong Yunshu said, "I always thought you guys were connected by telepathy."
"......"
The above are the voices of all those present who understand the Central Plains language.
After having dinner, Murong Yunshu went to bed. As soon as it was dark, Chu Changge and the young chief were fully loaded and ready to go. Chu Changge instructed, "Old East, Old South, you stay behind to protect Madam. Lil West, Lil North, you will meet us at the grove by the moat."
Li Shaoqing interjected, "Then, what do I do?"
Chu Changge glanced at him and said, "You do the same as Yunshu; go to sleep."
Li Shaoqing: "......"
Chu Changge and the young chief came to the moat shortly after setting off with the West and North duo. Chu Changge quietly said, "Lil West, Lil North, you two will stay here. If I encounter any trouble, I will send a signal to inform you. When you receive the signal, go back to Madam immediately, do not act rashly and rush into the city."
"Yes." The West and North duo accepted the order.
Chu Changge asked the young chief, "Are you ready?"
The young chief nodded. "I'm ready."
Looking up at the high city wall, Chu Changge grabbed the back collar of the young chief and twisted him away with the posture of bending a dead chicken, stepping forwards toward the moon and going away.
The North and West duo looked at each other. That was a very good treatment. If it were them, the Leader would have kicked them up to the city tower and then flown up to catch them.
