At dawn, Hongjun opened his eyes again, completely recovered. The bed was warm, as if someone had slept in it. There was still Li Jinglong's scent on the pillow, and there was a fragrant plum blossom beside it.
"Zhao Zilong." Hongjun sat up, holding the plum blossom, and asked, "Did you pluck it for me?"
The basin was empty.
"Where's the fish?" Hongjun stood up and looked around, only to hear Li Jinglong and Mo Rigen's excited voices not far away.
He changed into his martial attire, afraid that the two would quarrel. However, when he reached the hall, he immediately shouted.
Atay was wearing a luxurious mink fur cloak, holding the blue Divine Wind Fan in his hand, smiling as he spoke to Li Jinglong and Mo Rigen. The Carp Demon jumped a few times on the table, happily listening. In the hall, behind Atay stood a dark-skinned Turkic youth with messy hair, wearing leather armor, and several throwing knives at his waist.
Hongjun originally thought that Atay would shout "Hi Monkey Bi", but unexpectedly, everyone fell silent.
"Atay!"
"Hongjun." Atay uncharacteristically smiled, his eyes filled with the joy of reunion.
After a few breaths, he shouted "Hi Monkey Bi" and hugged Hongjun tightly.
Hongjun did not expect Atay to really come. He was so excited that he did not know what to say, "You're here! You actually came! "
Atay smiled, "The Exorcism Division is in trouble, how can I not come? Hongjun, this is my good brother, Ashina Chong. You two know each other, both use throwing knives. "
"Kalasmi." The Turkic youth pressed one hand to his left chest and bowed to Hongjun, meaning "Hello". Hongjun hurriedly cupped his fists in return.
Li Jinglong said, "We're still missing Yongsi, but we're all here."
"It's too far," Atay said. "I suggest we act first. Don't wait for him. Just leave a letter."
It turned out that more than a month ago, Atay had brought the appointment document to Gu Wusun Road to gather his troops. Twenty days after he had settled down, he received the news that Li Jinglong had asked a caravan to bring him. He immediately set off and returned to Hexi.
Calculating with his fingers, he found that Qiu Yongsi had sent the letter to a villa by the West Lake. After the letter was delivered, it had to wait for a transfer. Even if Qiu Yongsi flew over, it would be impossible for him to arrive before the beginning of spring.
"One is one." Li Jinglong said, "With two more fresh troops, I feel much more at ease."
"Come and see," Atay replied. "I caught one of these when I passed by Yatin."
After he finished speaking, Atay remained calm and composed. He waved his fan and left the hall with them. They went to the drill ground.
"Hey, fire-spitting sissy," the Carp Demon said. "You're still fanning yourself in the middle of winter. Don't you feel cold?"
"This is gentlemanly." Atay smiled reservedly and waved his Divine Fan of Wind. The ring on his finger glowed faintly, and the wind suddenly became warm, rolling up thousands of snowflakes.
"If you were there that day," Mo Rigen said, "we wouldn't have had such a tiring battle with the Mystic Fairy."
In autumn, when the heat was heavy, a group of people sat and waited for Atay to fan himself. With this reminder, Hongjun immediately realized that he was right! With Atay around, they wouldn't have to be afraid of the snowstorm!
"The Snow Demon is secondary." Atay walked across the drill ground and came to a cage. Inside the cage was a man in ragged clothes, with a ferocious face and a pair of terrifyingly large eyes.
"We caught him when we were passing by Yadan."
Hongjun knew at first glance that it was a demon, but he didn't know what kind of demon it was. When the Carp Demon saw it, he was so frightened that he shouted, "Snake!"
The demon was a Sand Snake. Its eyes were fixed on the group, and it flicked its forked tongue from time to time. It looked very tired. After all, winter was the season of hibernation. However, it was accidentally caught by Atay and had not eaten or drunk for many days. It looked very tired.
The Sand Snake's voice was low and hoarse. He replied, "You promised not to kill me."
Atay said gracefully, "You also promised to tell them honestly. Tell them what you heard."
"The Battle Corpse Ghost King has fallen into their hands." The Sand Snake looked at Hongjun with fear in his eyes. He said, "They found the human body of the White Deer. The Monster King asked the God of Plagues to use the White Deer's mana to gather an army of Battle Corpse Ghosts. They are ready to attack at any time to assist the Tianma in the present world and kill the Son of Heaven in the human world. That's all."
"Wait!" Hongjun was shocked. He said with a trembling voice, "Say that again?!"
The Sand Snake looked up and met Hongjun's eyes.
It turned out that the Sand Snake used to live not far from the General's Tomb in Yadan. Twenty years ago, it was successful in its cultivation. When Mystic Fairy and the God of Plagues came, it was recruited by the Monster King and became a messenger. After that, it sent messages from time to time. It also helped Mystic Fairy buy some sesame seed cakes and fruits from the night market in Shazhou and ran errands for the two big demons.
The God of Plagues was from the Central Plain and was sent here by the Monster King. Mystic Fairy was a local demon born and raised here.
"Wow." Hongjun said, "So demons have a household register?"
"Mystic Fairy wasn't like this in the past." The Sand Snake looked at Hong Jun. Among the crowd, Hong Jun was the only one who felt a little familiar, but the aura around him was very majestic. It thought that he might have something to do with a demon, but it tactfully kept its mouth shut and said, "Later, everyone heard that her temperament changed greatly."
"Everyone?" Mo Rigen frowned and said, "How many demons do you have?"
"They were all transferred away the year before last." The Sand Snake said, "Birds and beasts, flying in the sky, swimming in the water. I know a lot of them."
"Where did they go?" Li Jinglong suddenly felt that there was trouble.
The Sand Snake answered, "I don't know. They were all transferred away by the Monster King to serve Tianma."
That day, Ah Tai had only asked about Li Jinglong's background roughly. He did not expect Li Jinglong to find out so much inside information.
"How did they contact each other?" Li Jinglong asked again.
"Through a wall painting of Mogao Grotto," the Sand Snake answered.
Everyone: "!!!"
Atay facepalmed and patted Li Jinglong's shoulder. He meant that he really couldn't force a confession out of them, so he had to do it.
Li Jinglong didn't care about anything else and asked in detail. The Sand Snake was very cooperative and answered almost all of his questions. On the wall painting, the Monster King's form was the shadow of a dragon. This conspiracy had been planned since twenty years ago. Zhang Hao first came to Dunhuang and found Mystic Fairy living in seclusion at the northern foot of Mount Qilian. Eighteen years ago, the two demons worked together to catch a spirit beast. Legend said that this spirit beast lived in a wall painting of Mogao Grotto. Every once in a while, it would come to the human world to reincarnate.
When it left Mogao Grotto and came to the human world, the God of Plagues and Mystic Fairy successfully intercepted it. They polluted it with Devil Qi and kept refining it.
"White Deer," Mo Rigen murmured and looked at Li Jinglong.
"Is it the beauty you're looking for?" Atay was surprised.
The Carp Demon reminded him, "It's a man now."
"Don't mention it." Mo Rigen facepalmed and said, "We don't know whether Lu Xu is alive or dead. Who cares whether he's a man or a woman?"
"I don't know what that is," the Sand Snake answered. "But the God of Plagues was beaten up badly that day. I remember very clearly that he asked me to find help …"
When he was hunting the white deer, the God of Plagues had obviously met a strong opponent, and this opponent had given him a good beating. The White Deer that was caught also had a small problem. Its physical body dissipated and only a pure spirit body was left. Mo Rigen immediately said, "The White Deer that lost its physical body would soon return to the Heavenly Vein if it didn't have a place to stay."
"Later, the God of Plagues and the Mystic Fairy controlled the White Deer and corroded its body with demonic energy. Then, they used its mana to control the ghouls one by one …"
However, it took an extremely long time to completely demonize the White Deer. This process lasted for nearly ten years. After the White Deer turned into a Black Deer, it took another eight years to assimilate the big and small Corpse Kings who fought the Corpse Ghosts. In the end, it was confirmed that only Liu Fei and his subordinates were willing to come out of the coffin and be controlled by the two monsters.
The other king was still in a coma, but the Monster King couldn't wait any longer. He ordered the Mystic Fairy and the God of Plagues to recover the West of the River as soon as possible, especially to get rid of the thorn in their side, Geshu Han.
Therefore, the Mystic Fairy let Liu Fei lead the ghouls army and act alone. Unexpectedly, Liu Fei was accidentally awakened by the Grey Wolf. Then, the Mystic Fairy was furious. She personally summoned a black fog from the mural and swore to capture Liu Fei alive. Then, by chance, they found the other half of the White Deer's reincarnation eighteen years ago!
"Where's Lu Xu?" Mo Rigen asked in a trembling voice.
"I … I don't know what method they used," the Viper answered. "Anyway, after she returned, she was injured. Was it you guys who beat her up?"
The Viper observed the crowd. When it didn't get an answer, it said, "Later, they went to Yadan. The spirit beast woke up the Ghost King and gathered a hundred thousand ghouls to attack the Jade Gate Pass …"
"What?!" Everyone cried out.
Li Jinglong realized the seriousness of the situation and looked at Atay. Atay spread his hands helplessly and said, "When I heard the news, I hurried over."
Hongjun suddenly heard that the most troublesome ghouls, the Ghost King, had left the coffin and was even more powerful than Liu Fei. He immediately thought of the ghouls massacring the city. The general guarding the Jade Gate Pass was his own uncle! His heart was immediately filled with fear. It was as if he could already see the miserable state of the battlefield.
"What do we do?" Hongjun asked in a trembling voice.
Li Jinglong made a prompt decision and said, "When are we going to attack?"
"The day after tomorrow? Yesterday? The day before yesterday? " The Viper counted on its fingers. Winter didn't keep track of the number of days. It said, "They told me to report to the Demon King because they found …"
"Alright," Atay said, "That's all."
Li Jinglong was startled and looked at Atay. Atay said, "The surprise attack is coming."
Li Jinglong nodded and immediately turned back to the hall, saying, "Battle conference! Hurry! "
Li Jinglong rushed into the hall and said to the guards, "Inform General Jia and all the deputy generals. There's an urgent military situation. Immediately!"
The Turkic youth called Ashina Chong patted Hongjun's shoulder and said, "Don't worry."
As soon as Li Jinglong responded, Hongjun instantly felt something he hadn't felt in a long time. All of his worries disappeared in an instant. This time, he didn't even say 'trust me'. Instead, he replaced his words of comfort with actions.
Hongjun nodded and looked at the Viper Demon in the cage again.
"Let me go." The Viper Demon said, "You promised to let me go!"
Ashina Chong pulled out a throwing knife and looked at the Viper Demon. Hongjun hurriedly said, "Don't kill him."
Ashina Chong took back the throwing knife. Hongjun didn't dare to make a decision. Seeing the Viper Demon looking at him pitifully, he said, "I'll go ask the Chief Scribe."
"Your Majesty." The Viper Demon said, "I'm not lying at all!"
"I'm not your Majesty." Hongjun replied. He turned around and went to look for Li Jinglong. At this time, people were coming and going in the mansion. It was full of soldiers guarding the Jade Gate Pass. Li Jinglong put on his armor while explaining the information he got from the captives to everyone. He also pointed out the marching route and asked Jia Zhou to arrange for sentries to guard the pass in case of a surprise attack.
"Impossible!" Jia Zhou said, "We have the beacon towers. How can there be a surprise attack without any information?"
"The other side has a demon that can control the wind and snow." Li Jinglong said, "Your subordinates can't light the beacon at all."
Jia Zhou was silent for a moment. Li Jinglong sat down, took the armor and boots from a soldier and put them on. He said, "Send me two thousand men. Prepare ropes and crossbows. Set up an ambush on the main roads of the Qilian Valley. They are … here, here and here." Li Jinglong pointed at several places and said, "They must pass through these places."
Jia Zhou made a prompt decision and shouted, "Go! All go! Send five thousand elite soldiers to Chief Li! "
On the map, a red line was drawn from Ya Dan. It passed through the southwest to the northwest of the Qilian Mountain. It then passed through the Jade Gate Pass and finally entered the Jade Gate County.
Atay muttered, "They are coming from Ya Dan. If we rush over now, we can arrive first if there are no accidents. But how are you going to deal with two hundred thousand ghoul cavalry? "
Li Jinglong said, "We'll talk about the battle plan immediately."
"That snake demon …" Hongjun pointed outside and asked.
"We'll release it later." Li Jinglong put on his armor and quickly walked out of the hall. He answered, "Exorcism Division, listen up!"
Atay and Mo Rigen immediately responded. Hongjun replied, "Here!"
Li Jinglong looked back at Hongjun and said, "Why don't you stay and accompany your uncle …"
"I have to go with Chief Li." Hongjun tidied up his flying daggers and said to Jia Zhou, "Uncle, don't worry."
Mo Rigen and Li Jinglong looked at each other. Li Jinglong nodded slightly.
Jia Zhou said, "Go, come back safely."
Li Jinglong, Hongjun, Atay, Mo Rigen, and the Turkic youth left the residence. They all mounted their horses and left the city.
However, outside the city, Li Jinglong reined in his horse in the wilderness. He seemed to be thinking.
Hongjun asked, "What's wrong? Is there a problem? "
"Could it be a spy?" Atay seemed to have expected that there would be such a stop. He turned his horse around and everyone started a second small meeting.
Hongjun, "…"
Hongjun had seen this scene many times. He immediately understood that Li Jinglong's appearance just now was for the snake demon to see! He thought to himself, 'You two are too cunning!'
"I don't think so." Li Jinglong answered.
Mo Rigen said, "I don't think so either. When Chief Li asked, it was very scared."
Atay muttered, "Mm, I didn't expect it to be so scared."
"Scared of what?" Hongjun asked, "I didn't notice it at all."
"You." Ashina Chong suddenly said.
Hongjun, "???"
Atay immediately stopped him with a look. He smiled and said, "Hongjun, you can call him Qiong. He's very similar to you. Both of you like to speak the truth."
"In your words, I have a pure heart." Ashina Chong said leisurely.
"Why is it scared of me?" Hongjun asked.
"Alright." Li Jinglong stopped the discussion and said, "Then, everyone, let's move together. Let's go explore first."
Everyone agreed and urged their horses to move out.
The Carp Demon said behind Hongjun's back, "It's scared of you, just like I'm scared of cats."
Hongjun then remembered that his father was a peacock and his adoptive father was a Phoenix. Snakes seemed to have a natural fear of powerful bird monsters, so he didn't ask any more questions.
Atay whistled and smiled at Hongjun, "Hongjun! Throw Zhao Zilong over. "
The Carp Demon said, "Spitting fire sissy! What are you doing?! "
Atay answered, "I haven't seen you in so long. I miss your hairy legs. Come over and let me pet you. "
Everyone laughed. Hongjun thought that Atay wanted to tease Zhao Zilong, so he threw the Carp Demon over. Atay then grabbed the Carp Demon and rode to the front.
The wind gradually became stronger. The horses left Yumen County and galloped on the plains. Hongjun only felt that the warhorse he was riding was running very slowly. It was far from the horse Shen Jun from before. However, when he was having nightmares, he had chopped and hacked, killing all of them. He couldn't help but feel guilty.
"Are you feeling better?" Li Jinglong urged his horse and came to Hongjun's side.
Hongjun nodded. Li Jinglong asked again, "Do you want me to take you?"
Hongjun waved his hand to indicate that it was okay. Mo Rigen's words last night had more or less untied the knot in his heart. Although he still had doubts about the "demonic seed" and he still felt strange when he saw Li Jinglong, at least his uneasiness in front of Li Jinglong had been reduced by a lot.
"Do you want to stay in Yumen?" Li Jinglong asked again.
The others, intentionally or unintentionally, sped up and left the two of them at the back. It was as if they had discussed it beforehand and left a chance for them to talk.
Hongjun tilted his head and looked at Li Jinglong. He answered, "No."
"Why?" Li Jinglong asked again.
"I'm afraid I'll miss you guys." When Hongjun saw Atay come back today, he suddenly dispelled that thought. He once thought that their departure was a farewell, but people who left would always come back with new friends.
Li Jinglong said again, "But your uncle is here."
Hongjun slowed down and crossed the stream with Li Jinglong. He sped up again, thought for a moment, and answered, "The Northwest is too cold. I'm not used to living here."
Li Jinglong laughed and said, "Then you say it yourself. I won't say it. Otherwise, your uncle will hate me and have another enemy."
Hongjun thought of Chong Ming and also laughed.
"Come here." Li Jinglong stretched out his hand to Hongjun and said, "I'll take you."
Hongjun's mind suddenly appeared in his dream. The nine year old Li Jinglong was waiting in the alley and stretched out his hand to lead him into the Exorcism Department.
Li Jinglong's hand was held very tightly, as if he was afraid that he would lose him. However, Li Jinglong brought him into the irrecoverable array and in the end, made him lose everything he once had …
Hongjun: "Jia!"
Li Jinglong shouted from behind and said, "Wait!"
Li Jinglong shook the reins and followed closely.
In front, Atay rode along with Mo Rigen and Ashina Chong along the foot of the mountain towards the Northwest of Mount Qilian.
Ashina Chong looked back from time to time and saw Hongjun and Li Jinglong, one in front and one behind, becoming two small black dots in the sky.
"Don't look." Atay laughed and said, "It's taken."
Ashina Chong casually replied on the horse, "You people of the Central Plains have such a rule? Whoever sees it first gets to have it? "
Mo Rigen was startled and then understood. He couldn't help but laugh.
Atay said to Mo Rigen, "Don't laugh, Mo Rigen. I haven't laughed at your destined husband yet."
Mo Rigen's smile came to an abrupt stop. His face flushed red and then his brows furrowed.
"It seems like everyone in the Exorcist Department has their own troubles," Ashina Chong said.
Atay said casually, "Isn't that so? We're going to save Mo Rigen's lover now. "
"Not yet." Mo Rigen replied, "Don't talk nonsense."
Ashina Chong said again, "The 'demonic seed' you're talking about, is it in the child behind you who's playing with throwing knives?"
"Don't tease him." Atay's expression became serious and he replied, "Chong, I don't care how you play with him, but don't touch Hongjun."
Ashina Chong smiled indifferently and said, "If he's willing to follow me, why would I need to find someone else?"
Mo Rigen replied, "Do you have the Chief's Mind Lantern? You can't control the demonic energy in Hongjun's body. "
Atay pondered and said, "Mo Rigen, this is a serious matter. Are you sure that Hongjun is really the person that the snake demon spoke of?"
The Carp Demon poked half of its head out of Atay's chest and looked at Ashina Chong and listened to their conversation.
"Before you arrived, we had already fought a hard battle." Mo Rigen replied, "In Hongjun's nightmare, he saw his parents die, and the demonic seed was triggered."
The Carp Demon suddenly said, "Does the Mind Lantern really have the ability to dispel demonic energy? Sigh, why is our Hongjun so pitiful? "
"Leave it to the Chief," Mo Rigen said helplessly, "Let's see how lucky he is."
The Carp Demon said again, "See how lucky he is? Are you serious? That's not a good thing! "
Everyone was speechless.
"Why do you say that?" Ashina Chong didn't understand and asked again.
Atay was impatient and explained, "Perhaps only the Mind Lantern in Li Jinglong's body can dispel the 'demonic seed' in Hongjun's body. That's what we're talking about today. After this battle, Li Jinglong will go to the Dazzling Golden Palace of Taihang Mountain to see if there's a solution. "
Ashina Chong thought and sang, "In the dark grassland, my beloved girl lights a lantern for me, only then can I summon the dawn — Hyah!"
It was a Turkic folk song. Ashina Chong's meaning was obvious. With love, the darkness could be dispelled.
Atay didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He shook his head and said, "He won't understand."
It started snowing again. At the foot of Mount Qilian, everyone gathered. Mo Rigen threw a leather armor to Hongjun. Hongjun put it on and stretched his arms. Atay waved his fan and a strong wind blew, sending the five of them to a cliff at the top of the mountain. There was a small wooden house on the cliff for military surveillance. Standing there, they could see the end of the Great Wall under the afterglow of the setting sun.
The Great Wall started in Liaodong, meandered through Bohai, Lukou, Hebei, Jinyang, Guanzhong … It passed through nearly a hundred counties and connected the Qin Dynasty and the Han Dynasty. It connected the immortal achievements of the emperors in ancient times, connected the ballads of the five barbarians, connected time and the vast land of Shenzhou. At this point, the vast land that extended into the cold winter finally returned to nothingness.
The wind carried the pungent smell of corpses. Even Hongjun could smell it. It was already very obvious.
"Where's the ambush?" Atay asked.
The setting sun shone from the northwest over the Great Wall and towards the mountains. Li Jinglong held the Sword of Wisdom in his hand and was wearing armor. He pointed to the distance and motioned for everyone to look.
There were abandoned ancient beacon towers on both sides of the mountain range. The soldiers sent by Jia Zhou were even faster than them. They had already dropped hook ropes from high places and were lying in ambush on both sides of the mountain range. More than ten tough ropes were shot out and fell towards the cliff where everyone was.
Mo Rigen transformed into a Grey Wolf. He bit the rope and wrapped it around the big stone. He whispered, "The Ghoul Legion is approaching here. Where did Liu Fei go? "
In fact, after solving the problem of Hongjun's demonization, Liu Fei bid farewell to them and left. Li Jinglong didn't have time to look for his whereabouts, but guessed that he was most likely lying in ambush nearby. Or he was tailing the Ghoul Legion and waiting for an opportunity.
"I'll be counting on you later." Li Jinglong said, "Hongjun, once the Ghoul Legion passes through here, use your flying daggers to cut off the snowy peaks on both sides."
Hongjun stood in front of the cliff and opened his palm. The four Immortal Flying Daggers merged into one, revealing the Mo Sword. He nodded.
Ashina Chong was very surprised and looked at Hongjun.
"Can you use magic?" Grey Wolf asked worriedly.
Hongjun replied, "I've completely recovered. You don't have to worry."
Li Jinglong observed the nearby terrain for a moment and said, "There are a few places on the cliff that can be used as footholds. I'll have to trouble you later. "
Everyone nodded and looked into the distance. The setting sun was like blood, slowly sinking into the horizon. A black wave appeared on the horizon, as if there were thousands of soldiers and horses coming towards the end of the Great Wall.
An army of 200,000 ghouls! The army surged towards the Great Wall like a tide in the desolate Gobi Desert, crashing into it earth-shattering!
Atay was dumbfounded. Ashina Chong laughed and said, "This group of demons doesn't plan to hide at all."
"200,000 troops." Mo Rigen said, "No matter what county it is, once the iron hooves arrive, it will be crushed to death."
Li Jinglong suddenly said, "Hongjun."
Hongjun turned to look at Li Jinglong.
The light of the setting sun shone in front of the two, shining on Li Jinglong's handsome side profile. He seemed to have something to say and looked at Hongjun.
"They're here!" Mo Rigen interrupted Li Jinglong's unspoken words.
Hong Jun immediately looked towards the valley and saw that the ghoul army had smashed through a large section of the Great Wall and was swarming in through the gap. The vanguard had already charged into the valley in a grandiose manner. Then, the sky changed color, and a gust of cold wind blew. Accompanying the wind was a blizzard that blotted out the sky and covered the earth.
"It's not time yet!" Li Jinglong grabbed Hongjun's hand tightly. In an instant, the earth trembled as more and more cavalry poured into the valley. Everyone on the cliff held their breaths.
Grey Wolf suddenly let out a low growl, his pupils constricting. Using the last ray of dusk, he saw the main force of the army, two warhorses that had crossed the Great Wall.
There was a tall warrior riding on one of the warhorses. The warrior was wearing a mask of iron armor. On the other warhorse was a thin youth wearing a black scout uniform. It was Lu Xu!