Chapter 28: Chapter 29: The End of Red Cliff Road

"Have faith in the National Preceptor." Hee Lingchuan jutted his chin toward Sunx Fuping. "The great National Preceptor himself is taking on this danger personally. Surely we can have a little faith, right?"

Sunx and Nian walked at the very front, a long distance from Hee Lingchuan, with over ten rows of soldiers separating them.

They clearly paid no mind to this newly joined group of bandits.

Situ Han stared at their backs. "Can they hear me if I talk?"

"Relax, definitely not." Hee Lingchuan himself had lost count of how many bad things he’d said about those two up front.

Only then did Situ Han lower his voice. "Those two are truly arrogant. Once we’re in the desert, if we run into danger, I’m afraid they won’t give a damn about our lives. Eldest Young Master Hee, for the sake of our annual New Year’s greetings, you have to look out for us brothers. The thirty-odd of us came out here to make a living, but we have over a hundred women and children back on Mang Mountain! If we die, they won’t even have gruel to eat."

Although he called murder and robbery "making a living," his expression was utterly sincere.

His worry was written all over his face.

"I know." Hee Lingchuan reassured him. "I’ll keep an eye on you all. I won’t let him send you to die for nothing."

After he had walked away, Hee Chunhua asked his eldest son, "What did he mean by ’for the sake of our New Year’s greetings’?"

"Doesn’t he come to pay his respects every New Year?" Most importantly, every year, Situ Han would prepare a generous gift specifically for the Eldest Young Master Hee. Last year, for instance, he had given Hee Lingchuan a Bright Pearl Necklace, each pearl nearly identical in size, round and radiant.

That’s right—the very same one Hee Lingchuan later regifted to Uncle Hao.

’What did he give me the year before that? Hmm, I can’t remember.’

Of course, there was no need to tell his old man about such trivial matters.

Hee Chunhua watched him and shook his head. ’This brat may be reckless, but he’s certainly not shy about accepting gifts.’

￥￥￥￥￥

「Black Water City, Hee Residence.」

Although only the two of them remained at home, Madam Ying still instructed the kitchen to prepare a meticulous meal. A total of seven dishes were placed on the table, making it an even more lavish spread than usual.

But she had little appetite. After half a small bowl of millet porridge and two bites of the flower-shaped bun Hee Yue placed on her plate, she put down her chopsticks.

"Yue’Er, where do you suppose your father has reached by now?" It was as if Hee Chunhua’s departure had taken her very soul with him. Madam Ying couldn’t sleep at night, and her exquisite makeup couldn’t conceal her weary expression.

"They’ve likely passed several post stations," Hee Yue reassured her. "Zeng Feixiong is familiar with the desert, and with Grand State Preceptor Sunx overseeing everything, Father and Brother will certainly be back before the Sandstorm Season."

Madam Ying sighed. "They say your brother is a lucky star. This time, he’ll truly need good fortune."

Hee Yue found this odd. ’It seems Mother doesn’t blame Father for taking my brother along?’

Madam Ying went on to ask about matters in Qiansong County, and Hee Yue assured her that he had everything under control.

Finally, she asked, "Still no news from the east?"

"None. The roads are blocked by floods. Besides, the fighting in the east is intense. The rebels are beheading any spies or scouts they find, so the messengers don’t dare go there."

In truth, even without his father’s repeated instructions, he would have paid close attention to any intelligence from the east.

Unfortunately, there was currently no news at all.

￥￥￥￥￥

「The next day.」

Vast, rolling yellow sand stretched in every direction. Not a single living creature was in sight.

This short stretch of Red Cliff Road led toward the old Panlong Ancient City, a route no caravan would ever take.

Everyone cherished each step, for they knew this smooth road was about to come to an end.

"The road is gone!" A message came from the front of the procession.

The Hee father and son looked eastward and could see the massive base of half a mountain slanting upward, like a dagger aimed at the sky.

The upper half, however, had collapsed with a thunderous roar nearly a century ago, crashing down onto the Red Cliff Road where the expedition was meant to travel.

Endless boulders had turned it into a dead end.

Zeng Feixiong muttered, "I wonder if this is the will of heaven." Perhaps it was meant to keep outsiders from disturbing the slumbering Heroic Spirits within the city.

"Enough of your wishful thinking," Nian Songyu scoffed, then ordered everyone, "Dismount. We need to lighten our burdens."

With no road ahead, the horses were of no more use. Everyone prepared five days’ worth of rations and water, handing their mounts over to a few of the army’s grooms.

Situ Han stared out at the boundless desert.

The rolling dunes were pristine, without so much as a single footprint.

"How are we supposed to continue? One step off the Red Cliff Road, and we’ll be eaten alive!"

"Of course not. Shouldn’t you Sand Bandits know this best?" Nian Songyu silenced him with a single sentence.

Situ Han looked awkward. As men who had spent the better part of their lives making a living in the Panlong Desert, they were all too familiar with its taboos and had their own little insights and tricks.

Nian Songyu gestured toward the desert. "Why don’t you tell us how to proceed now that there’s no Red Cliff Road? I presume you have some experience in this matter."

"First, all you officials must put away your Society Commands. Do not, under any circumstances, show them, and certainly don’t activate them!" There were many officials in their group.

Nian Songyu said, "Oh? And why is that?"

"The Heroic Spirits in this desert spent their lives defending their homeland’s borders. If we walk in there bearing the Society Commands of another nation, isn’t that just asking for trouble? These entities are single-minded. It’s best to avoid them if possible. Whatever you do, don’t provoke them!"

That made some sense. Sunx Fuping instructed the officials, "Secure your yuan coins. Keep them hidden."

Then, Situ Han added, "Are we headed for the Panlong Ancient City? It’s still far. We can’t possibly walk there. As for that, I have no solution."

Sand Bandits usually entered the desert to escape pursuit or feuds, only doing so out of urgent necessity. They wouldn’t trek through this land of death for leisure; only someone with a death wish would do that.

"Therefore, we will switch to a different mode of transport," Sunx Fuping said, taking three objects from within his robes.

They were three miniature carved boats, each about an inch long, appearing as if sculpted from half a walnut shell with exquisite craftsmanship. Not only was the wood grain on the hull visible, but even the folds in the boatman’s clothing and the strands of his wind-tousled hair were rendered with delicate precision.

The carving work alone was of a master’s caliber.

"These are treasures I’ve borrowed from a friend and must return when we are done. Now, everyone, stand back!" After speaking, Sunx Fuping took out three crystalline green pellets and placed one into the raised right hand of each boat’s boatman. He then tossed the three small Walnut Ships onto the sand.

Nian Songyu gasped, "Profound Crystals!"

The green pellets were the size of quail eggs; it seemed like they should have been heavy enough to topple the little Walnut Ships. But that wasn’t what happened at all. The moment a pellet touched a boatman’s hand, it vanished, and the entire boat began to tremble strangely, as if something were about to burst forth.

No one was a fool; they had already backed away.

Sure enough, the Walnut Ships began to swell at an incredible speed, their volume multiplying exponentially. In the span of just two breaths, the inch-long toys transformed into wooden boats more than five zhang long and one zhang high!

They rested on the yellow sand, perfect enlargements of the original Walnut Ships, scaled up in every proportion. Of course, the boatmen at the prows were now life-sized as well. They moved to lower the gangplanks for passengers to board.