The South Border, in a small county town.
The gloomy sky was like moldy cotton wadding. A strong wind carried fine snowflakes, falling rustlingly. The temperature between the mountains and forests was so cold that water would freeze instantly. In such weather, even the most experienced herbal collectors dared not go up the mountain.
But at this moment, there was a figure darting through the dense forest, as if it were swimming in water.
A red vine entangled on a tree was cut off, and the dripping sap was collected into a bamboo tube.
“The year’s cold is so abnormal, many places will have to prepare for sacrifices again.”
Huang Donglai raised his head and drank some vine juice, looking at the grayish sky, he exhaled a breath heavily.
He was the only ‘male virgin’ from Wangshan City who survived the sacrifice.
His steady and vigilant nature was not innate.
As a child, his father had passed away early, and he lived with his mother in Wangshan City as an orphan. With no men in the family and his mother unwilling to remarry, the town chief took away their land.
Fortunately, this place was a barren land, and other people’s fields had many wastelands that few men were willing to cultivate.
His mother went to cultivate the edges of others’ lands. Sometimes she got lucky and could reclaim them before others could return. Other times, the land was just leveled, and seeds hadn’t been sown yet when someone else seized it.
His mother never argued but silently looked for more wasteland.
This cycle repeated endlessly.
By the time Huang Donglai turned twelve, he was already a skilled herbal collector in the mountains, more agile than monkeys, and had learned from his mother how to survive in the cracks.
Thus, this pair of orphans miraculously survived.
He once thought that life would continue this way.
But one day, the town chief came with a large group of people. He was very afraid because his mother had just planted sweet potatoes and promised to make roasted sweet potatoes for him.
Unexpectedly, those villagers who had come to the house due to land issues did not look threatening this time. Instead, they all wore smiles and brought venison and clothes, even candy from big cities.
But his mother’s face was as white as snow.
That night, he ate the candy and felt that the other children in the village were lying—the candy wasn’t sweet at all.
The next morning, his mother dressed him in new clothes and shoes she had never worn before, making him look beautiful.
Under the watchful eyes of other town chiefs and priests, his mother held his hand tightly, causing him pain, and told him to listen carefully.
Huang Donglai was terrified; he had always been obedient.
Then, he was sent up the mountain with a group of villagers and a girl of the same age. They went with gongs and drums, and people kept comforting the two children, saying they were going to serve the Mountain God and live good lives, eating candy every day.
But the candy wasn’t really that good.
Just as he was thinking this, the sedan chair suddenly flipped over.
Everything spun, and he fell into the woods.
He saw the woman who had overturned the sedan chair—she was the one who had cultivated countless wastelands and had considerable strength.
In his life, Huang Donglai heard his mother’s last voice, which was so desperate:
“Run! Never come back!”
At that moment.
With the wind whistling past his ears.
No one could catch him anymore.
“Huff…”
Huang Donglai took a long breath, shaking off his confusion.
Staying in the mountains was very dangerous…
Crack—
Suddenly, there was a sound of a branch breaking far away.
Huang Donglai became alert immediately, letting the porcelain bottle slip from his hand while taking in the surroundings. He quickly determined the best escape route and even set a few simple traps…
“Cough… Cough…”
The coughing continued for a long time, becoming weaker and weaker.
A person?
Huang Donglai quietly sensed the other’s breath and pushed aside the leaves to look.
It was a middle-aged man, his ragged clothes barely recognizable as military scouts’ uniforms. His feet wore tattered rope sandals, clearly showing he had undergone unimaginable long journeys.
There was a long wound on his abdomen, nearly fatal, indicating he was on his last legs.
But after noticing Huang Donglai, his eyes sparkled with a glimmer of hope.
“Young brother.”
“Who are you?”
Huang Donglai didn’t approach.
“Qingmu City scout, I don’t have much time left. Long story… short…”
The man’s dry lips moved, his voice hoarse:
“Disaster beasts and Southern Shang Dynasty remnants are stirring, only His Highness can resolve it. My military intelligence is urgent.”
“If you’re willing, take this letter to Qingmu City.”
“If you’re unwilling to take risks, run quickly. It’ll be too late if you delay…”
Huang Donglai remained silent, not speaking.
He believed that the man claiming to be a scout was already dead.
He wanted to believe the man, but he could only tell him not to get involved in such major matters.
Qingmu City would be the first to suffer, becoming the most brutal battlefield.
But halfway through, he recalled the man’s eyes shining when he collapsed in the cold wind, just like the harsh winter years ago when a woman had urged him to run.
He dreamt of that day countless times, wondering if not running would have led to a different outcome.
“Rest in peace, don’t mind the simplicity.”
Huang Donglai turned back, took the wax-sealed letter from the man’s hand, and dug a hole to set up a memorial stone. Only then did he realize he didn’t know the man’s name.
He took off the man’s waist badge:
Lu Yi.
Huang Donglai held the waist badge and looked towards Qingmu City, muttering to himself.
“Mother… This time, I won’t run away.”
…
At the same time.
In Qingmu City.
Zhong Ling looked at the disorganized army formation and still standing Li Mo, feeling somewhat disheartened.
The disaster beasts were even harder to deal with than she had imagined. She had studied military formations since childhood and was capable of commanding tens of thousands of troops in battle, with thousands of elite soldiers forming arrays.
Don’t underestimate this number; ordinary people couldn’t even do synchronized calisthenics neatly, let alone ten thousand troops.
She believed she had already pushed Zhong Family’s military formation to its limits.
But facing Li Mo’s Qiongqi, she still felt deeply powerless.
“Uncle Qu, was there anything lacking in my performance just now?”
“Mmm…”
Qu Sheng thought for a moment, his gaze involuntarily shifting to the calm young girl nearby, and asked:
“Are there any insights on the similarities between martial arts and military formations? Miss Ying has extraordinary martial arts skills as evaluated by the Yantian Sect, what do you think?”
“There are indeed some insights.”
Ying Bing put down her teacup and lifted her eyes:
“In terms of martial arts, Zhong Ling’s grasp of the Zhong Family’s military formations should be at a minor success level.”
“I saw four elements in the formation: wind, fire, mountain, and forest. Each element individually is impeccable, but they don’t complement each other.”
“Brilliant!”
Qu Sheng raised his eyebrows and clapped in praise, addressing the surrounding generals: “I had you all study military treatises, yet your attainments are not as good as those of these two young ladies.”
“Complementing each other…”
Zhong Ling pondered, understanding the principle but unsure how to implement it, only staring blankly at Ying Bing.
“You’ll understand after a game of Go.”
Ying Bing took out a chessboard from a large doll.
“Great!”
There are many similarities between Go and military strategy.
Zhong Ling sat opposite Ying Bing.
Thirty seconds later.
She was curious about Ying Bing’s moves. Indeed, Cold Fairy’s style was extraordinary; the pieces went straight along a line. Was there something hidden in it?
She was about to place another piece.
“You lost.”
“Huh? We just started, right?”
“But I’ve already formed five in a row.”
