Chapter 50: Someone Has to Blaze the Trail

Everyone was shocked.

Could an unknown commander of the Great Wind Army be this ferocious? What they didn't know was that over a century ago, the Zhong family's military doctrine emphasized striking as swiftly as the wind and as fiercely as fire, using a thunderous first blow to incapacitate the enemy before calmly finishing them off.

Nian Songyu's face contorted in pain, but he cried out, "It can attack people! It's the water, the pond water!"

Just by touching the pond water, these vengeful spirits could physically attack? Hearing this, He Lingchuan snatched the Soul-Fixing Banner from his attendant Baishan, leaped two steps to the pond's edge, and plunged the white cloth flag directly into the water.

The white flag immediately soaked up the bloody water, but fortunately, the runes on it had not faded. Then, he raised the white banner and shook it vigorously towards his companions. Water droplets splattered everyone's faces. But no one dodged; instead, they looked grateful.

At this moment, the ghost soldiers spurred their horses again and charged forward. Zeng Feixiong roughly wiped his face, grabbed his waist dao, and performed a leaping slash, shouting, "Brothers, attack!"

"Clang!" Metal rang against metal. His great dao struck the tip of the enemy's spear, and both weapons were thrown back; neither side gained an advantage. But everyone else rejoiced. It worked! They were finally no longer passively getting jabbed or... impaled. Although the opponents were cavalry, they had ten times the number of troops. Couldn't they win with ten against one? Everyone's spirits soared. They pulled out their weapons and engaged the enemy. As long as they could touch them, they were fine! Everyone was an elite soldier; the difference shouldn't be that great.

Situ Han didn't forget to flatter He Lingchuan, exclaiming, "Young Master, you're amazing! One move changed everything!" But he said nothing about Nian Songyu being the first to discover the pond's strange properties. Actually, it made sense. This pool of bloody water connected the real and ethereal realms, so it should be effective for both living people and spirit forms. But... didn't the vengeful spirits originally emerge from the well? Why couldn't they harm people when they first appeared?

He Lingchuan glared at the Great Wind Army commander, who was wildly swinging his weapon, and had a feeling this was exactly the scene the enemy wanted. They preferred blood and gore rather than bloodless killing. In mere moments, the commander had personally killed two men and assisted in killing one more. For a moment, even Zeng Feixiong didn't dare approach him. He said to He Chunhua with a bitter smile, "Father, we don't have enough men."

The two sides seemed to be fighting to a stalemate, but He Lingchuan felt that their side would likely have difficulty winning. One vengeful spirit had injured three soldiers, then was dragged off its horse by several soldiers working together. Nian Songyu dipped his dao in water, rushed up, and chopped off its head. The enemy finally sustained casualties.

But the Great Wind Army commander also noticed. He raised his hand, and a cold gleam shot forth like lightning. This time, the thrown spear was aimed at He Chunhua!

Earlier, when the illusory barrier broke, the beast head of the staff spit out a dim, cracked orb. Then Sun Fuping reached out to He Chunhua, saying, "Official Seal!" The latter immediately handed over the kite coin, his token of governorship. The kite coin emitted a soft glow, which surprisingly drew the commander's attention immediately, and then the fatal strike arrived. The heroic spirits of Panlong City must absolutely loathe the foreign official token appearing on this land.

At this moment, Sun Fuping was secretly preparing a spell, Nian Songyu was far away, and Zeng Feixiong and the others were battling enemy soldiers, leaving He Chunhua's defense completely exposed. Fortunately, He Lingchuan was standing beside his father. Seeing the cold gleam approach, he didn't think twice and instinctively swung his dao.

With a deafening "Clang!", the Hundred Refined Dao snapped into two, and He Lingchuan was directly sent flying by the spear's force. He felt as if a sledgehammer had struck his chest. He couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of blood, and then—he flew over ten feet and fell directly into the pond.

Logically, the pond water was only a thin layer, not even covering one's ankles. But when he fell in, it was as if he had dropped into a deep abyss. With a "thud," he vanished without a trace!

But his interception had still been effective. The commander's spear was knocked off course, flying past He Chunhua's armpit. Just an inch or two more would have been the difference between a fatal blow and being unharmed.

He Chunhua was greatly alarmed. He rushed to the pond's edge in one step, calling, "Chuan'er!" No matter how he looked, the pond water remained shallow, with only the surface churning.

Nian Songyu arrived. He had initially worried He Chunhua would follow his son and jump in, but Governor He immediately turned and quickly shoved the official token into Sun Fuping's hand: "Is Chuan'er alive?"

"We'll know in a moment," Sun Fuping said, looking left and right. He pointed to the nearest bandit, "Come here!"

"Me?" The man walked over as told.

Sun Fuping led him to the pond's edge, took out a candle, then reached out and grabbed his shoulder. He actually plucked the pale blue "life fire" from him and pressed it onto the candle wick. The candle lit up, its flame a pale blue. The bandit was momentarily stunned. "This?"

"This is your life fire. As long as you live, the fire burns; when you die, the candle extinguishes." Sun Fuping nodded. "Go on," he said, and then gave a sudden push. The force was not what one would expect from a sixty-year-old man. Before the bandit could react, he was pushed backward into the pond, following in He Lingchuan's footsteps.

"Hey!" Situ Han, who had just dodged a stab from a Great Wind Army soldier, turned and saw the scene, rushing back. "What are you doing!" They were willing to risk their lives for the officials, but not to be "sent to their deaths!"

"Hush!" Sun Fuping waved his hand, and a surge of force pushed Situ Han back two steps. He himself continued to stare intently at the candle flame. "Someone has to scout ahead." He Lingchuan's fall into the pond was too sudden, so he had to send another person to test it.

At this moment, He Chunhua's subordinates swarmed forward, trying to tie down the Great Wind Army commander.

Ten breaths later.

Twenty breaths later.

The blue candle flame remained lit.

"He's still alive." As soon as Sun Fuping confirmed this, He Chunhua let out a long sigh of relief. This bandit was still alive, indicating there was air beneath the pond water, so He Lingchuan was likely not dead either.

"And there's even better news," Sun Fuping said with a smile. "No more vengeful spirits have emerged." Only then did He Chunhua remember that after those dozen Great Wind Army soldiers, no new vengeful spirits had appeared from the pond. Which meant—

Sun Fuping winked at Nian Songyu. The latter understood, and with a flip, leaped into the pond. He also vanished.

"This is the only way to obtain the Grand Square Pot." Despite their side's mounting casualties, Sun Fuping was in high spirits. He stuffed He Chunhua's kite coin into the beast's mouth on the staff, and the strange beast immediately clamped onto the coin. "Return to formation! Quickly return to formation to defend against the enemy!" Sun Fuping raised his staff and struck the ground three times in quick succession. "I need you to work together and raise your morale!"

The entire team immediately retreated into the runic formation on the ground. In this short time, their forces had already sustained twenty percent casualties, while the Great Wind Army on the other side had lost only four members. These creatures fought with inhuman ferocity—well, they weren't human to begin with. Once they realized their injuries were too severe, they would immediately try to take enemies down with them, killing as many as they could, dragging two down if possible. One cavalryman was knocked down by their combined efforts, its arms severed and its chest mangled. Everyone thought it was no longer capable of fighting back. But to their surprise, just before its end, it sprang up, baring a mouthful of gleaming white teeth, and bit straight through a bandit's throat!