Chapter 838: At the End of the Road

“There seems to be golden light flashing in that direction.” He Lingchuan’s gaze sharpened. “The lamp spirits!” Are those from the Heavenly Palace fighting the king of the aberrant creatures?

He Chunhua’s eyes were heavy with concern. “Chuan’er, do you think...”

Before he could finish, He Lingchuan answered bluntly, “Zhang Lianhai is doomed. And if we don’t hide properly, so are we.”

Qiu Hu, however, asked quietly, “What are those from the Heavenly Palace doing in the east?”

The people from the Heavenly Palace were no fools. Hiding was clearly the safest option, yet they had still chosen to run around a city crawling with monsters.

He Lingchuan answered without hesitation, “Obviously, they were following those ghostly lights.”

“The Generous Pot!” He Chunhua understood immediately. “They decided the divine artifact was over there!”

For the Heavenly Palace to take such an enormous risk and rush east, they must have had some degree of confidence.

Of all the adventurers inside the city, whose knowledge and discernment could possibly surpass that of the Heavenly Palace?

He Chunhua said nothing, but the thought clearly tempted him.

If the Generous Pot really was hidden somewhere in the eastern ruins, then if they managed to seize it, perhaps they could put an end to this bizarre nightmare.

He Lingchuan watched the situation in the east while keeping one eye on He Chunhua. “The golden light is gone.”

Everyone exchanged looks, too horrified to speak.

Had Zhang Lianhai and his ten-odd subordinates really died that quickly?

Seeing He Chunhua’s gaze shift uncertainly, He Lingchuan could more or less guess what he was thinking. “Old man, don’t tell me you’re thinking of going east too. Zhang Lianhai is a perfect warning of what happens.”

“If we plan carefully, it may not be impossible.” He Chunhua looked at his eldest son, and something flickered almost imperceptibly in his eyes. Had He Lingchuan not been watching this cheap old man so closely the entire time, he might have missed it.

Outwardly, however, He Lingchuan pretended not to notice. “What kind of plan? Split up?”

He Chunhua pondered briefly. “If we can draw the snow beast leader’s attention somewhere else, we may have an opportunity.”

“Zhang Lianhai probably thought the same thing. Look how that turned out! And who are you planning to use as bait, old man?” He Lingchuan refused him to his face. “Me? Not happening!”

He was no longer the Young Master He who had been forced to follow He Chunhua into the Panlong Desert two years ago. Now, he had the ability to say no.

What an unruly brat! Yet He Chunhua did not get angry. “Chuan’er, since you’re able to stay so calm and composed, do you have another good idea?” If this were the old Chuan’er, he would probably have lost his head by now and repeatedly urged me to think of something.

He Lingchuan was just about to answer when a howl suddenly came from the northeast.

The sound was deep and powerful. Even from such a distance, it still struck fear into the heart, and it was highly distinctive.

It was the aberrant creature leader.

It had moved again. No one knew which faction was about to suffer this time.

“Move!” He Chunhua immediately made the decision. “Now, while it’s been drawn away!”

With someone else serving as bait, they had to seize the opportunity.

He beckoned, and Zhao Qinghe and the other trusted men immediately followed.

He Lingchuan also gave the Rongshan men a few quick instructions, and Qiu Hu and the others stepped forward at once.

He Chunhua waved at He Lingchuan. “Too many people make it harder to hide. Cut a few!”

Together, the two groups totaled twenty-two people. It was far too many.

He Lingchuan refused to give way. “No. If we’re cutting numbers, both sides cut the same amount.”

He Chunhua finally could not help but glare at him.

But time was too precious to waste arguing. He forcibly swallowed his anger and dismissed five of his own trusted men. He Lingchuan also sent away five from his side, leaving exactly twelve people altogether.

Time was life itself. He Chunhua immediately led the group down from the easternmost exit of the city wall.

But he was moving too quickly, and the wall stairs had long since fallen into disrepair. His foot slipped off a step, and he nearly stumbled.

He Lingchuan happened to be beside him and casually reached out to steady him.

He Chunhua instinctively grabbed his son’s wrist to regain his balance, then released it as soon as he was steady.

He gave his eldest son a complicated look but said nothing more. He merely turned around and continued leading the group forward.

Below the wall were carriage stations, merchant warehouses, and armories. All these buildings sat within the wall’s shadow, providing the group with even more cover.

They carefully avoided several aberrant creatures and proceeded east while staying almost flush against the base of the wall.

Several times, He Chunhua led them down the wrong route and into dead ends, forcing the group to backtrack and find another way. During the process, they startled two smaller aberrant creatures.

Fortunately, He Lingchuan and Zhao Qinghe reacted quickly and shot them dead almost immediately, preventing any commotion.

When He Chunhua was about to lead everyone toward yet another dead end, He Lingchuan could not stand it anymore. He pointed toward an alley to the west. “Take this one! The street layout in eastern Panlong City isn’t built in a neat grid.”

Eastern Panlong was the old city district. Zhong Shengguang had never carried out much reconstruction there after becoming commander, so its urban layout differed greatly from the rest of Panlong City. A road might appear to head east, yet choosing the eastern route could actually send someone farther and farther away.

“Oh, alright.” He Chunhua readily accepted the suggestion.

Sure enough, halfway down the alley, it curved east.

His eldest son had chosen correctly.

He Chunhua simply handed over command of the route. “You’re a child of fortune. You lead the way.”

At this point, He Lingchuan accepted without ceremony.

The group’s progress immediately became much smoother, and they did not encounter another dead end. When He Chunhua looked back toward the south gate, he could confirm from their position that they really had moved far to the east.

His eldest son was remarkably good at finding the way.

Just then, several roars sounded ahead, followed by a series of heavy impacts. It turned out that more than a dozen aberrant creatures had gathered in an open area and were fighting among themselves. The place had once been a vegetable market and was comparatively broad, with no cover for more than three hundred meters around it.

Qiu Hu murmured, “No wonder they’re wounded.” While defending the wall earlier, he had noticed that most of the aberrant creatures were injured. One rhinoceros-like aberrant creature had even had its horn broken off.

So the wounds had come from infighting.

The group was just about to circle around when one aberrant creature was suddenly rammed away by its opponent.

Crash!

It smashed straight through a low building in front of them.

The collapse came without warning, and now their cover was gone.

Amid the rising dust, humans and aberrant creatures stared directly at one another.

This unexpected encounter left both sides frozen motionless.

He Lingchuan forced two words through clenched teeth, “Run. Now!”

Since they had already been exposed, there was no point moving cautiously anymore. He spun around and took the lead eastward. Everyone followed close behind and sprinted at full speed.

The aberrant creatures howled and gave chase.

Who knew why these things hated humans so much?

The group ran while the aberrant creatures pursued, creating no small amount of noise. As more and more aberrant creatures joined the chase behind them, He Chunhua decisively shouted, “Split up!”

Zhao Qinghe and Qiu Hu each selected several men and ordered them into separate streets and alleys.

The twelve people instantly split into four groups.

The creatures behind them seemed to hesitate as well, apparently unsure which group they should pursue.

After wavering for quite a while, they finally split into twos and threes and chased after different targets.

Only sixteen or seventeen aberrant creatures remained on the trail of the He father and son.

He Chunhua ran another seven hundred meters or so and found the wind and snow striking his face ever more violently. The snow blinded his eyes, while the powerful wind constantly tried to push him backward.

He could not help but ask, “Chuan’er, how much farther?”

He Lingchuan leaped onto a rooftop and scanned the distance several times before coming back down. “Looks like at least two to three kilometers.”

“Two to three kilometers.” He Chunhua gritted his teeth, seemingly calculating something. “Almost there. Almost.”

If he could avoid using it, then he would!

He Lingchuan could tell that He Chunhua seemed to be suppressing something.

Still, everyone looked anxious and strained right now, so his behavior did not particularly stand out.

Just then, a scream came from nearby, followed by a man shouting curses at the top of his lungs until his voice cracked.

Very soon, those curses also turned into screams.

Clearly, the aberrant creatures had caught them. ℯℓ.

Zhao Qinghe’s expression changed. “That was Liu Yu.”

Liu Yu was one of He Chunhua’s trusted men. He had followed him all the way from Heishui City to Xia Province, then Dunyu, and later the Yuan capital.

Who would have thought he would ultimately be buried in the Panlong Desert?

At that moment, several deep, thunderous roars sounded from the north.

He Lingchuan and Qiu Hu exchanged a look, both of their expressions grave. Judging by the sound, the snow beast leader that had yet to show itself to them was probably not far.

He Chunhua naturally heard it too.

The four of them stopped because another open stretch lay ahead. This place had once been the confluence of two rivers. The water was very shallow now, but the channels and surrounding area were completely exposed, without anything to provide cover.

Quite a few aberrant creatures were lingering there as well.

If they did not want to alarm them, they would have to take a massive detour.

A very massive detour.

He Chunhua swallowed and said hoarsely, “I’m afraid we won’t make it.”

He Lingchuan gave him a strange look. “We can set up a few tricks to fool their eyes and get across.”

But that would require arranging them on the spot, and arranging them would take time.

Compared with taking a detour, it was hard to say which option would be more troublesome.

“Chuan’er, Chuan’er!” He Chunhua grabbed his arm. “Your father is tired. Let’s rest for a moment!”

His eyes were bloodshot. He truly did look exhausted, even somewhat haggard.

He Lingchuan studied him carefully for a moment before silently nodding.

Qiu Hu and Zhao Qinghe were anxious, but at this point, they could only follow the two into a stone enclosure.

In front of the enclosure lay the ruins of a building. Judging from the foundations, it had probably once been a merchant station, but the years had reduced it almost completely to rubble.

Oddly enough, the stone pen once used to hold horses behind it had survived.

The area was enclosed by stone on all sides, and the passageways were narrow enough that large aberrant creatures could not enter.

He Chunhua leaned against the stone wall and caught his breath twice. After glancing at He Lingchuan a couple of times, he suddenly pressed a hand to his lower abdomen. “I... I need to relieve myself.”

Well, there was no stopping that.

The other three could only turn around and walk away, maintaining a distance of about ten meters.

He Chunhua went around the corner. Before long, the sound of water could be heard.

The Soul-Stealing Mirror inside He Lingchuan’s robes suddenly said, “Your old man’s muttering something under his breath too.” The splashing water nearly covered it up, but it could not fool the mirror!

“Hm?” He Lingchuan’s heart tightened. Has that cheap old man used taking a piss as an excuse to get us out of the way?

He had no time to think. With a flick of his foot, he kicked a small stone backward.

Smack!

The pebble struck He Chunhua squarely in the back with remarkable accuracy.

Pain shot through He Chunhua’s back, startling him badly, and the mosquito-soft murmuring immediately stopped.

Before he could flare up, He Lingchuan had already started teasing him. “Old man, since when did you start mumbling to yourself while you piss? When did you pick up that habit?”

He Chunhua was mildly furious as he fixed his clothes. “Why did you kick me?”

“I was afraid something evil might take advantage of you.” He Lingchuan looked completely serious. “This city is full of undead. The moment your spirit weakens or your heart wavers, they can easily invade you.”

Naluotian claimed to wield the “power of fate.” It was entirely possible that it had already sensed that something had gone seriously wrong during the He father and son’s trip into the Panlong Ruins.

If He Lingchuan wanted his plan to succeed, he absolutely could not allow He Chunhua any opportunity to communicate with Naluotian.

He absolutely could not let He Chunhua discover anything unusual. Otherwise...