Nightfall

A blockage had appeared in a dark line of the God-stunning Array; as a result, the exit of the line should be completely blocked. According to the cycle of life and death of the tactical array, the flow of Qi of Heaven and Earth from north to south was forced to stop completely. Therefore, the stagnation in the city became more and more serious until it flowed backwards and used the heaven and earth itself to clear away the blockages.

The prescription given by Mo Shanshan to treat Chang’an was very simple and extremely rough. It was really hard to imagine it coming from such a beautiful and gentle girl. If she were treating a real person, that person would definitely bleed to death from all his orifices after taking this medicine. However, if it were Chang’an itself taking the prescription, would it work?

Ning Que was silent for a long while before asking, “Where’s has it been blocked? And how?”

“The exit of this line is the south gate, which is also just the entrance to the God-stunning Array. It faces the Vermilion Bird Avenue. If it were to be blocked, we would have to seal this gate. As for how we are going to do it…”

Mo Shanshan said, “I want to use rocks to seal this gate.”

There did not seem to be a problem with blocking the gates with rocks. However, Ning Que knew that physically blocking the gate would not make any difference to the aura of heaven and earth. He immediately understood what she meant and thought of the rocks in the bottom of the Daming Lake at the Front Gate of the Devil’s Doctrine. He thought of the Stone Array Tactics.

“Are you sure it’ll work?” He asked.

Mo Shanshan shook her head and said, “I’m not, but I cannot think of any other methods. You told me that the last method is the best, that is why I wish to try.”

This was indeed something that Ning Que said often.

After a moment of contemplation, he said, “Even though it is a little risky, it seems interesting.”

They were pressed for time, so they had to start the blocking of the Vermilion South Gates immediately. Ning Que asked the Blue Dragon sect at the city gates to inform the Spring Breeze Pavilion and the palace of this arrangement.

The administrative abilities of the Tang Imperial Court were demonstrated perfectly in the next few hours. It did not take long for the Ministry of Workers of the Imperial Center Administration to send several Array Tactical Masters and more than 3,000 civilian workers who were temporarily recruited to the South Gate. They were then put under the command of Mo Shanshan.

Mo Shanshan asked, “We need at least 30,000 rocks. Where can we find that many?”

Ning Que looked at the houses in the city and said, “If we can’t find any, we’ll demolish the houses.”

The assistant minister from the Ministry of Revenue fell silent when he heard that. Then, he said softly, “There is a lake 1,500 meters south of the city where there are many rocks. When we were building the mansions of the lords…”

Ning Que continued without waiting for him to complete his statement. He said, “The lake with rocks is the best choice. Your Excellency, tell Ms. Mo if you have any ideas. We are in a rush for time, so there’s no time for pleasantries.”

The assistant minister agreed.

Mo Shanshan asked, “I need heavy rocks that are more than a hundred pounds. Can we move them?”

The assistant minister answered, “The machinery in the Ministry of Workers warehouse is being brought here. We can move even rocks tens and thousands of pounds from the lake to the Southern Gate.”

The imperial court decreed that the south gate of Chang’an City would be closed. The grain team and the public would all enter and exit through the other gates, and thousands of volunteers and technical officials of the Ministry of Revenue and Array Tactical Masters would move the massive rocks and start constructing the array under Mo Shanshan’s command. The South Gate immediately turned into a large and lively construction site.

Confirming that there was no other problem, Ning Que bid Mo Shanshan farewell.

Mo Shanshan asked curiously, “What are you going to do?”

Ning Que answered, “The last method is the best, but it is not yet the last moment. I want to see if I can find another method.”

Mo Shanshan said calmly, “Good luck.”

Ning Que bowed at her with his hands folded in front, then he turned and left.

Vermilion Bird Avenue was the only way connecting the Southern Gate and the city center of Chang’an.

The sky in late autumn was sometimes clear and sometimes dark, depending on the clouds in the sky.

When Ning Que walked north along the Vermilion Bird Avenue, clouds drifted from outside the city, dimming the sunlight in the sky and casting a large shadow over it, lowering the temperature in the city.

The stone carvings on the Vermilion Bird Avenue were darkened because of the changing light.

Then, there was a gust of autumn wind and rain started to fall, driving the pedestrians on the street to the sides.

Ning Que did not move but stood on the spot instead.

He reached behind his back for the Big Black Umbrella, only to feel the hilt of his blade. Then he remembered that the Big Black Umbrella was no longer with him and neither was the Big Black Horse and the carriage.

Sangsang was not with him anymore, either.

Ning Que thought of how he and Sangsang had felt when they first saw the carvings. He recalled how he had fallen in front of it, covered in blood. He kept silent, and he felt a myriad of emotions stirring within him.

When the Headmaster took him and Sangsang in one of his travels, they had returned to Chang’an once. Then, the Vermilion Bird appeared in the black horse carriage.

The Vermilion Bird was a Divine Talisman in the God-stunning Array, and Ning Que was the master of the array. Because of his relationship with his teacher, the two did not have to speak to communicate with each other.

There were no words, only emotions and thoughts echoed between him and the Vermilion Bird.

“You’re only at the peak of the Knowing Destiny State.”

Ning Que looked at the Vermilion Bird carving that seemed to come alive after being drenched in the rain. He thought to himself, “What use is it against a powerhouse like the Abbey Dean?”

Yang Erxi panted as he held back his pitch-fork. He leaned against it and stood in the wild plains, taking a rest.

There was a grave in front of him covered in fresh mud. It had just been freshly piled up.

The pork trotters on the pitch-fork had already been given to the refugees. These days, he started to fight with grassland barbarians holding cutlasses. The pitch-fork in his hand grew sharper and sharper because it was frequently used.

It was used to pick up mud and dig graves, and was much easier to use than blades.

He had dug many graves in the past few days and buried many of his compatriots.

After a short rest, Yang Erxi spat and yelled at his companions in the distance. He picked up his pitch-fork over his shoulders and wearily headed towards the forest in the west.

There were more than 2,000 new graves in these wild plains. They were all small and ugly.

The Tang Army would never abandon any of its compatriots, no matter whether dead or alive.

Even if it couldn’t be done during the war, they would try their best to find the bodies of their compatriots after the war.

However, this was part of the Tang Empire. Burying the soldiers here would mean that they were buried in their homeland.

They heard that the last Emperor was brought back to Chang’an as ashes in a box.

These deceased soldiers had nothing to be displeased about.

Shortly after the start of the war, Chao Xiaoshu brought the Valiant Cavalry Battalion out of Chang’an to fight against the grassland cavalry at the Eastern Border. In the following days, several veterans came to join their ranks voluntarily. At the same time, their were joined by what was left of the Northeast Border Military that withdrew from the Yan territory, and their numbers increased.

At present, the number of this army had exceeded 30,000, and it had been officially named the Volunteer Army by the imperial court. However, due to the lack of equipment, especially war horses, they were still weaker when compared to the grassland cavalry.

Just yesterday, the Eastern Border Volunteer Army and the grassland cavalry fought their first real war. The Volunteer Army, which was weaker, gained the final victory with unbelievable courage.

The victory had cost the lives of thousands of volunteer troops at the Eastern Border.

However, what alarmed Chao Xiaoshu and generals of the Valiant Cavalry Battalion was that nobody had seen Prince Long Qing and his fallen knight commanders in the valiant battle. What was even more disturbing was that of those who were trying to invade, the powerful Divine Hall Papal Cavalrymen and the elite grassland cavalry were missing.

Chao Xiaoshu looked at the forest in the west and thought of the emergency military report that had been sent by Pingyuan County. His face seemed to be covered with frost as he said, “They have gone to Chang’an.”

The Eastern Border Volunteer Army continued to fight, but the logistics were tough and they were beyond exhaustion. They had already exceeded their capabilities in the fight yesterday, defeating most of the grassland cavalry.

At this time, even if they knew that Prince Long Qing was heading straight for Chang’an with the elite cavalry, they were no longer able to make any response, nor were they likely to catch up in front.

Liu V listened to Chao Xiaoshu’s proclamation and his expression turned unusually dignified. However, he was still puzzled and he said, “Although Long Qing’s army is elite, it is absolutely impossible to capture Chang’an City.”

This was the reason for Chao Xiaoshu’s icy features.

It was clearly pointless, so why was Long Qing willing to give up so many troops just to gain time to go straight to Chang’an? There was only one explanation. Long Qing firmly believed that when his cavalry arrived, Chang’an City would have fallen.

Before the vast green hills of the Verdant Canyon.

There was a plain before the green hills.

This flat and fertile plain mostly belonged to Qinghe County. A small portion of land had been requisitioned by the Military Ministry. Besides meadows, there were many fields that have been cultivated for many years.

After several days of bloody battles, the autumn grass was already painted with blood.

Thousands of hectares of fertile land were trampled by the thousands of troops and horses of the West-Hill Divine Palace Coalition Army.

Many tragedies have occurred this autumn. The farmers scattered and fled, the rice in the fields was not harvested. The rice reeds hunched their bodies feebly in the wind, looking like criminals waiting to be hanged.

On the right side facing of the Verdant Canyon, there was a relatively flat paddy field that had not been trampled by fighters. The paddy in the field was thickly dotted with golden yellow and looked very beautiful.

Ye Su was standing in this paddy field.

He walked towards the Verdant Canyon.

With the wind rising in his footsteps, the golden ears of rice were blown, curled around and bounced up like a golden sea, and then the sea of rice gradually parted for him.

The sea of rice had to make way for him because he had a thin wooden sword.

Jun Mo was the proudest person in the Academy after Ke Haoran. He was the legendary Mr. Second.

Ye Su was a Haotian Taoism genius who had broken the realm between life and death decades ago. They were both legendary figures.

They were the truly supermundane beings.

Who would come out victorious in the meeting between the two?

Everyone’s gaze was on the paddy field and the wooden sword.

All were silent, and there was only the gentle hissing of war-horses and some uneasy kicking hooves.

For more than two days, the cavalry soldiers who were always ready to attack dismounted one after another because they knew that they were mere mortals who could not interfere in the battle. It was a fight for dignity among powerhouses.

In the divine chariot, Ye Hongyu looked at the Verdant Canyon silently, her fingers tapping lightly on her blood red divine robe.

Ye Su arrived at the Verdant Canyon.

He looked at the metal canopy and at Second Brother’s black armor.

Finally, his gaze landed on the iron sword. He frowned slightly, as if he was about to say something.

Second Brother’s voice rang out. It was still as stern and serious.

He looked at Ye Su and said, “You’re standing at the wrong spot.”

Ye Su did not expect that to be the first thing he heard.

He calmed himself and asked seriously, “Why is it wrong?”

“That is a farm, not a path.”

Second Brother said, “A path is for walking while a farm is for planting food. There is a path, but you did not use it and chose to walk across the farmland. That is ruining crops and is naturally wrong.”

The disciples of the Academy in front of the Verdant Canyon were a little anxious because of Ye Su’s visit. However, they could not help but laugh because it felt like how their Senior Brother had lectured them over the years.

He did not say anything else, neither did he frown nor hesitated. He just looked at someone and said “you’re wrong” because you were actually making mistakes. That was how Second Brother was.

No matter if the other party was the World Wayfarer of Haotian Taoism, the Emperor, or a prostitute, if he or she were making mistakes, then they had to be lectured. That was the Second Brother’s rule. There was nothing more important than this truth, and these were considered Etiquette.

It was wrong to ruin crops, and it was wrong to stand in the wrong spot. It was also wrong to wear clothes of the secular world while keeping his hair in a Taoist bun. To Second Brother, Ye Su was problematic in every way. This made him very unhappy and even a little disappointed.

Ye Su felt Second Brother’s bad mood and could not help but smile. Jun Mo was exactly the person he had heard of. He smiled and said, “Your ways are outdated. Furthermore, this is a war.”

Second Brother said, “Those who always keep in accord with time will never be outdated. Things like planting crops and harvesting have been done for many cycles and will not change with the times.”

Ye Su stopped smiling and he asked, “And how will you control others?”

Second Brother said, “The battle of Verdant Canyon has lasted more than two days. I did not spare a single enemy who set foot on the field. Although the cavalry does not know it, they knew how to take advantages and avoid disadvantages. That is why the paddy field that you are standing in still remains.”

Ye Su looked around the field of rice, slightly startled.

Yesterday, with the permission of the disciples of the Academy, the West-Hill Divine Palace Coalition Army collected corpses overnight, leaving a few corpses in front of the Verdant Canyon, but there was still blood in the fields.

There should have been a large rice field near the paddy field where he was standing.

That rice field had been trampled into waste soil, and rice was scattered on the ground. It looked rather bleak.

The blood in the rice field was the deepest and most coagulated, looking like pulp.

It was just then when Ye Su realized that Jun Mo was not lying.

The cavalry soldiers that once stepped on the field had all been all killed by him.

One would lose both his sword and his life if he did not pay close attention in such an intense battle. However, in such a situation, Second Brother still insisted to use his iron sword to carry out his rules.

What kind of person was he?

Ye Su stood in the field in a prolonged silence. Then, he reached out and plucked an ear of rice and rubbed it gently. He looked at the ground that was drenched in blood and said, “How can you teach me anything if I don’t want to be taught?”

Second Brother said, “I’ll teach you because you’re making mistakes. And if you don’t want to be taught, I will beat you until you do.”