After Yu Qing left, Chong’er found a corner, opened the oil-paper package, and saw ten steaming hot white steamed buns inside. He took one bite, and rich, fragrant meat juices flowed out. They were meat buns. He immediately ate his fill with great satisfaction, his face full of happiness.
Despite his small and thin build, his appetite was quite large. Ten buns disappeared in no time.
As soon as the sun rose, the group set off again. The bearded sergeant kept his word. Chong’er was indeed assigned to watch the luggage. He climbed into the luggage cart and sat on a pile of bags. It was definitely much easier than yesterday.
In fact, after the whole day yesterday, he had not felt tired at all. His energy remained plentiful. He even found it strange that others looked so exhausted.
Little did he know, it was all thanks to those three bowls of spiritual rice. He did not practise martial arts to consume energy, nor did he circulate qi to absorb and refine spiritual energy. The spiritual power from the three bowls had simply spread throughout his limbs and body. He could go a month without food or drink and not starve. Walking for a day used up almost nothing.
Day after day passed. Five days later, the group finally left Liezhou territory.
The moment they crossed the border, a vast range of imposing mountains loomed ahead, carrying a unique aura.
Right after the border came the ancient tomb wasteland, filled with an air of mystery.
Before entering, all the examinees received a notice. The ancient tomb wasteland covered a huge area. Unless something unexpected happened, it would take half a month to cross. During this period, restrictions on everyone would be stricter. This was also the only section of the journey to the capital where they had to stay at post stations. There was no choice. There were no towns along the way, only specially built post stations.
Of course, the post stations where they would stop had already been prepared in advance by relevant personnel.
When towering ancient trees appeared on both sides of the road, the eerie and uncanny atmosphere of the ancient tomb land gradually unfolded.
About an hour after entering, someone inside Yu Qing’s carriage suddenly pointed out the window and shouted, “Over there, quick, look! That should be the landmark where Liezhou enters the ancient tomb wasteland. Seeing this means we’ve already gone deep into it.”
Everyone crowded to the window to look outside. Yu Qing was no exception.
Beside the road was a canyon. At the end of the canyon stood a gigantic dark-grey immortal skeleton, almost as tall as the canyon itself. It seemed embedded in the mountain in a sitting posture, its hands appearing to rest on both sides of the canyon walls, like a king seated on a throne, awaiting worship from those entering the canyon. Its presence was majestic and intimidating.
Unfortunately, travellers only passed by the mouth of the canyon. No one went to pay homage.
“The ancient tomb wasteland, the burial ground of giants. This is the legendary strongman who served the immortals.”
The speaker’s voice was full of emotion. The powerful visual impact of first seeing it was plain to hear.
Yu Qing was also seeing it for the first time, but his gaze quickly shifted to the great archer riding past on horseback. While the examinees were filled with amazement at the fantastical scene before them, the bow and arrows on the great archer’s back had already been drawn into his hands. The clear increase in alertness was obvious.
This made Yu Qing’s heart tighten slightly. At the very least, the great archer’s action showed that this area required heightened vigilance. He quietly raised his own guard.
The day passed without incident. The group arrived safely at the destination post station.
Due to the special environment, there were truly no other places to rest along the way. Ordinary people neither dared nor had the ability to run inns on this route. The only places normal people could stay and rest were the official post stations. Because of the special circumstances, the post stations along this road were allowed to serve both officials and civilians. This also increased profits and helped maintain the stations. Due to high demand, the post stations here were quite large and well-equipped.
This particular post station had a special role today. It was closed to the public and received only the group heading to the capital for the examinations.
Travellers passing by would receive notices at the previous or following stations. They could either push on through the night to the next one further ahead or stop early to rest. The station ahead would not accept them no matter how much money they offered. Sort it out yourselves. If anything happened, no one would take responsibility.
The sun set in the west. The sky was filled with evening glow.
“Beautiful scenery is often found in dangerous places!”
The examinees who got off the carriages were moved by the stunning view before them. Many began to sigh and recite poetry, one line after another.
In front of them stood a very beautiful inn. A ring of enormous ancient trees surrounded an open clearing, and the inn sat right in the middle of it. Beyond were strange peaks and clear waters. Many tree houses perched in the towering ancient trees. Someone stood on the platform outside a tree house collecting dried clothes. The red glow of the sunset made everything look extraordinarily beautiful.
The group of scholars could not hold back. They all wanted to go up and admire the view. Unfortunately, it was not allowed. Those upper areas were not even places for them to stay. It would be too easy for trouble to happen.
The escort envoy Fu Zuoxuan paid no attention to the scholars and strode towards the main hall of the post station.
On his left was a man in grey robes, a walker urgently dispatched by Sinan Prefecture to Liezhou to assist in protecting the examinees. His name was Jin Huahai.
On his right was an old man with greying hair named Jiang Yinian, the most senior great archer within the Liezhou military. Nearly half of Liezhou’s great archers were his disciples or grand-disciples.
At the bottom of the steps outside the main hall of the post station, a dark-skinned man who had been waiting in advance cupped his hands and said, “Lord Fu.”
Fu Zuoxuan stopped and asked, “How is the situation?”
The dark-skinned man replied, “We have swept the area within three li of the post station. No suspicious activity so far. Hidden sentries have been placed around. Any unusual approach will trigger an early warning. The entire post station, inside and out, has been treated with medicine. Snakes, insects, rats, and ants dare not come near.”
This man was from the Liezhou military. The prefect Lu Jiwei was still uneasy about this route through the ancient tomb wasteland, so he had sent two groups of concealed elite troops ahead of time. They arrived early at the post stations where the examinees would stay, taking full military control and setting up defences around each one.
The dark-skinned man was the leader of the first group. The second group was already resting and preparing at the next post station. In short, the two groups alternated in preparing each day’s stopping point, handing over responsibilities layer by layer.
Fu Zuoxuan nodded. “Thank you for your hard work.”
“Just doing our duty.” The dark-skinned man replied politely and then withdrew.
Fu Zuoxuan turned to face the two men beside him. “Old Jiang, Mr Jin, although the prefect has sent advance guards to protect us, we cannot relax our own defences!”
Jiang Yinian said, “I will arrange shifts here. Nine great archers per watch.”
Jin Huahai added, “Sinan Prefecture will deploy some people inside and outside the post station as hidden sentries. Lord Fu can rest easy.”
As he said, the night passed peacefully with no unusual incidents.
Day after day went by. The journey offered endless fantastical sights. The official road cutting through the ancient tomb wasteland seemed like a miracle in itself.
From time to time they saw giant skeletons, either abandoned in the wilderness or half-exposed above ground. The examinees had gradually grown accustomed to them and no longer found them strange…
Deep in the mountains, on a flat mountain peak, stood three men and two women.
The man and woman standing side by side were none other than the “Black and White Fiends” couple who had once spied on the movements at the Mu residence from the Yue Lai Inn in Liezhou prefectural city.
The other two men and one woman were also demon cultivators. The tall, thin man with dishevelled hair and a hooked nose was named Gao Yuan. The bald, burly man in white was named Jiang Shan. The old woman in grey robes, hunched over with a cane and wrinkled like dried pigeon skin, had no name and was known as Granny Rat.
These three demons were local demon cultivators of the ancient tomb wasteland. They had been invited by the Black and White couple to join in a major scheme, but their words carried some displeasure. They did not seem happy.
While the five demons were exchanging cold remarks, a flying eagle broke through the gloomy clouds and descended from the sky. When it reached above the five demons, it released its talons and dropped a bamboo tube.
Gao Yuan raised his hand, caught the tube, opened it on the spot, pulled out a scroll of paper, read its contents, then looked into the distance. He took a deep breath and said, “The examination group has already set off. They should reach our ambush point around noon. In broad daylight like this…” He glanced up at the densely overcast sky. “At least heaven is cooperating.” Then he turned his head towards the Black and White Fiends. “I really don’t understand. Why didn’t you act before the examinees gathered? Why wait until they have a large escort and force a bloody head-on clash?”
Bai Lan said bitterly, “It’s not that we didn’t want to. Those damned officials are simply too cunning. First, Sinan Prefecture is using certain examinees as bait to set traps. Charging into the city to fight openly would indeed break taboos. Second, they keep changing how they transport the examinees. We cannot just stop everyone we see on the road. That would be suicide. The most hateful thing is, when someone finally succeeds, those damned officials publicly announce that the dead person never registered for the exam, claiming they were not an examinee. Who can verify it with them?”
Gao Yuan snorted coldly. “The escort force is no small matter. Crashing into them head-on will surely bring heavy losses. I advise you two: it’s not too late to back out now!”
Hei Yunxiao laughed heartily. “Brother Gao need not worry. With the three of you helping, this matter will definitely succeed.”
The bald man in white snorted. “Let me make it clear. I am only assisting. My people will not take part in the killing.”
Hei Yunxiao said, “With Brother Jiang Shan’s help, those great archers will be as good as nothing. As long as Brother Jiang Shan summons a sky-full of thick fog, it will be enough to match ten thousand troops. The actual fighting will be handled by my three hundred brothers. All of you need only provide strong support. Afterwards, I will keep my word. The benefits will be shared equally with everyone. However, let me say this upfront: if anyone goes back on their word, pretends to agree but secretly slacks off or plays tricks without putting in real effort, don’t blame me for going to the Lady and spreading some gossip!”
Hearing this, Gao Yuan, Jiang Shan, and Granny Rat all darkened their faces and fell silent.
They had heard about the matter with Lady Qixia, but none of them wanted to get involved. Even after learning the examination group would pass through the ancient tomb wasteland, they had planned to act as if they knew nothing.
In the end, there was only one reason: Lady Qixia’s strength was far inferior to Sinan Prefecture’s.
The Black and White couple were here to grab a quick prize. Once done, they could run. But what about the three of them?
They had cultivated in the ancient tomb wasteland for many years, built their own territories, developed their own forces and assets. It had taken years of hard work to reach this stable position. Stirring up trouble near their own home and provoking the largest power in the Jin Kingdom, what was that if not foolishness?
The moment they acted, they would be exposed immediately. It would be strange if Sinan Prefecture did not flatten their lairs in retaliation.
Not just them. Any demon cultivator with a territory, forces, and a certain level of status basically refused to get involved. A monk can run, but the temple cannot. Earning money with your life but not living to spend it, why bother?
Yet the Black and White couple had come looking for them. At first they refused. In the end, the couple brought up Lady Qixia and asked one question: did they want to stand by and watch the Lady become a laughingstock, or were they willing to help her vent her anger together?