Chapter 210: Nanling County King
Shen Baiwei and Lu Yibei had already been in this dilapidated thatched hut for three hours and five minutes.
As time passed, the sky gradually darkened.
Outside the towering walls of Yumen Pass, one could faintly see smoke signals rising among the undulating sand dunes at the horizon, like fine lines drawn by a brush, soaring upwards and merging into the light gray clouds in the sky.
The setting sun was intense, spilling through the gaps in the clouds.
It seemed to ignite the clouds, creating patchy “flames” that rolled and swirled, making it hard to tell whether those threads connecting heaven and earth were rising from the ground or descending from the sky.
Inside the thatched hut, close to the southern city wall, the sounds of battle drums commanding the fight and the horns from outside the wall occasionally reached their ears.
Each sound intensified Shen Baiwei’s growing agitation, even leading her to think, “Rather than sitting here foolishly, disturbed by those noises and unable to find peace, I would prefer to see the calamity unfold.”
Wasn’t the calamity curious about what was happening outside? Shen Baiwei thought.
Whether or not the calamity was curious, she didn’t know, but her own curiosity was nearing its limit.
This situation was akin to being quarantined at home during a pandemic, feeling bored, and suddenly hearing the couple next door arguing, smashing pots and plates; any normal person would feel some level of curiosity.
But the calamity simply sat there, unmoving, for three hours, causing even more annoyance in Shen Baiwei than the occasional chaotic sounds.
Finally, after flipping through her small notebook three or four times, she “clapped” it shut and walked over to Lu Yibei, who was sitting in a wicker chair, resting with his eyes closed.
“I say, do you plan to just sit here forever? Aren’t you going to see what’s happening outside?”
Lu Yibei opened his eyes a slit, glanced at Shen Baiwei, and then closed them again.
“Not going. Not interested. If Miss Shen wants to know, she can go see for herself. Didn’t I say that just now? Miss Shen is free to do as she wishes.”
“However, Miss Shen must be careful when going out; those guys from Zawen Temple are likely still looking for us. If you happen to encounter them and wish to keep your life, you might be forced to interfere with the past.”
Shen Baiwei, “???”
Did I hear that correctly? The calamity is actually reminding me not to interfere with the past? Isn’t that my line?
“Calamity, something’s off with you!”
“What’s off about me?” Lu Yibei tilted his head.
“Didn’t you say you wanted to see what happened at Yumen Pass that turned it into such a tragic state?” Shen Baiwei questioned. “With you doing nothing now, it’s hard not to suspect you’re plotting something.”
She knew the kind of person the calamity was; while peering into that man’s past, she had already learned quite a bit about the calamity and had recorded it clearly in her notebook.
Logically speaking, during times of disaster and chaos, the calamity could not possibly refrain from getting involved; in fact, mixing in was probably more enjoyable than those who cause the disaster themselves.
The calamity’s pure thrill-seeking nature meant that during long periods of silence, like now, was truly alarming.
She was likely concocting something unbelievably outrageous!
“What can I plot?” Lu Yibei shrugged, looking innocent. “Knowing what’s happening outside doesn’t necessarily require me to go see it in person! Can’t I see through someone else’s eyes?”
Upon hearing this, Shen Baiwei asked in confusion, “What do you mean? Have you been observing the situation outside? But how is that…”
Shen Baiwei’s words suddenly halted.
She suddenly remembered that when tasked with peering into that man’s past, she had seen the calamity defeat Solang Pema, through some special ability that resembled enchantment, albeit not quite enchantment, forcing the reading of Solang Pema’s memories.
If…
Shen Baiwei furrowed her brow and glanced back, her gaze passing through the crude courtyard wall to fall upon the towering city wall.
If that special ability had a broad enough coverage range, it was possible the calamity had been persistently forcibly reading the memories of the soldiers stationed on the wall.
In that case, the calamity could not only know the situation outside at any time but also observe from hundreds of different perspectives.
It was as if there were thousands of cameras installed along the southern city wall of Yumen Pass.
The thought was chilling!
Shen Baiwei studied Lu Yibei, her expression growing intense.
So says, while I was feeling restless over there, this guy had actually been enjoying the thrill of watching the commotion?
Too much! Shen Baiwei thought angrily.
The calamity’s behavior reminded her of when she was in school, isolated by classmates due to various behavioral abnormalities caused by Nightfall Syndrome.
In simple terms, it meant not being invited to partake in anything!
Happiness could be within reach, yet she never managed to touch it, like an outsider…
—
Just as Shen Baiwei had guessed, Lu Yibei had been using the dream-invoking ability borrowed from Meng Meng, briefly inducing the soldiers of the Longxiang Army to dream without them noticing, reading their memories in order to observe the movements around the southern walls of Yumen Pass.
This sounded easy; initially, Lu Yibei thought so too, since her mastery of the dream-invoking ability had reached an extraordinary level.
However, when she actually implemented it, she discovered that using the dream-invoking ability on dozens or even hundreds of distant targets continuously was an enormous burden, preventing her from carrying out other actions as she normally could with a single target.
If it weren’t for this, dear Miss Shen, how could it be possible to enjoy over three hours of uninterrupted quiet time while alone with the calamity?
During this time, by observing through the soldiers of the Longxiang Army, Lu Yibei obtained some very important information.
First, the Shaman Queen’s Army was already very close to Yumen Pass, and would arrive outside the city gates by night at the latest.
Second, the Longxiang Army boasted about having ten thousand soldiers, but years of fighting had reduced the actual number to less than eight thousand.
When the Nanling County King left Yumen Pass, he took away a significant portion of the remaining soldiers, and after excluding those hidden in Zawen Temple and those on special assignments, only about a thousand soldiers remained inside the city.
Of that thousand, scattered throughout the city defenses, only around five hundred remained at the southern wall.
In the past three hours, six cavalry units, each about fifty soldiers strong, had appeared outside the city wall, seemingly as scouts, making only feint attacks before disappearing into the vast sands with incredible mobility.
Although the stationed soldiers of the Longxiang Army could easily fend off the light cavalry’s harassment using fortifications powered by the God Realm, and even achieve some kills, chasing them down would be beyond their capabilities.
It appeared that these few hundred soldiers, even with the backing of the God Realm’s Yumen and substantial support from energy-powered fortifications, might not be sufficient to withstand the approaching forces of the Shaman Queen’s Army.
Lu Yibei concluded that the five hundred soldiers stationed at the southern wall were likely bait set by the Nanling County King.
Very tempting bait!
Judging solely from the probing results of those cavalry units, one would inevitably feel that sending several times the troops could breach the city gates, while even dozens of times more could crush through.
Under such an illusion, recklessly deploying troops to enter the city would lead to an ambush by forces led by the Nanling County King, hidden outside the city, and the forces within Zawen Temple, leaving one trapped with no way to advance or retreat.
Lastly, the most crucial piece of information Lu Yibei discovered was that the Nanling County King seemed to have returned to Yumen Pass!
While continuously reading the memories of those soldiers of the Longxiang Army, she found in the memory of one team leader that the Nanling County King had covertly contacted him late last night, when Xia Lianqing and Long Bang were sweeping the infiltrators from the city.
Lu Yibei had initially thought that some of the infiltrators had escaped the city, leading to conflicts among several tribes of the Shaman Queen’s vanguard forces, resulting in her unexpected achievements and some bragging in front of Long Bang. But now, it seemed mostly the result of the Nanling County King’s hidden manipulation.
It appeared to be coincidence, but in reality, it was inevitable!
She didn’t expect the county king to be a scheming intriguer, leading Shen Baiwei to unwittingly carry the burden of stirring the pot… Lu Yibei thought.
—
“Is that it?” Shen Baiwei questioned after hearing Lu Yibei recount the information she had gleaned.
“Otherwise?!” Lu Yibei rolled her eyes. “Or should Miss Shen tell me what I might have missed?”
“I…” Shen Baiwei opened her mouth, then shook her head. “I don’t know.”
“Well, then that’s settled. No need to keep thinking I’m deceiving you, alright? I actually…”
Before Lu Yibei could finish, a sudden knocking at the door interrupted her words.
“Knock knock knock—knock knock knock—!”
The rickety wooden door made a crisp sound as it was struck. Although the knocker didn’t use much force, the door gave an impression of being on the verge of collapse.
Both Lu Yibei and Shen Baiwei turned to the door, both falling silent, their expressions darkening.
Just as the two were worried whether the pursuers from Zawen Temple had arrived, a strange voice came from outside the door.
“Ladies, I am Li Tietou, a soldier of the Longxiang Army with the designation ‘B’. I know you are inside; I heard your voices… Don’t worry, I mean no harm.”
“Enemies are about to arrive; I just want to escort you to the north of the city for refuge.”
Lu Yibei, “…”
If it weren’t for having read the memories of those Longxiang Army soldiers, she might have believed that there was even a tiny chance, but now… completely unbelievable!
In the memories of those Longxiang Army soldiers, the ‘B’ designation soldiers had long since left Yumen Pass with the Nanling County King, with no knowledge of their fate, how could they possibly appear near this dilapidated hut at this time and place?
So, who was outside the door? A scout of the Shaman Queen? Someone sent by Zawen Temple? Or…
While Lu Yibei was pondering this, a figure suddenly jumped over the wall into the courtyard, cutting off her thoughts.
With just one glance, the doubts that had crystallized in her heart the previous second completely vanished.
She was certain that the visitor was the Nanling County King!
