Chapter 61: Out of Place?

However, no one had anticipated that the Great Wind Army, now undead, could still deploy such tactics. Evidently, they had calculated that even the most powerful Celestial Thunder array would have its limits. By using ordinary specters to deplete the thunder's power, they knew that once the array failed, these living humans would be like fish on their chopping board. The Season of Furious Sands had only just begun, and as undead, they possessed virtually unlimited time.

The expressions of the living people turned grim; the undead could afford to wait, but they could not. After enduring impacts from hundreds of specters, the array's electric light was noticeably less vibrant than before, clearly indicating a limit to its borrowed power. The Great Wind Army was now probing how much power the array had left. As soon as this batch of specters was exhausted, the Great Wind Army immediately unleashed another thousand or more. In the Dragon-Coiling Desert, such beings were now in endless supply.

The living people's vision blurred, and they lost their composure. A confidant murmured hoarsely, "Lord Governor, w-we..." Would the array be broken immediately if this happened again?

"Calm down! The more you panic, the faster the array will break!" He Chunhua roared. "Once the Imperial Preceptor obtains the Great Square Pot, our predicament will resolve itself!"

Amidst the chaos, someone muttered under their breath, "How much longer will that take?"

He Chunhua suddenly turned, lopping off half of the man's ear with a swift sword stroke. "Do you wish to endanger your comrades? Disrupt morale again, and you will be executed without mercy!" The sight of blood, paradoxically, brought a measure of calm to everyone.

Another hundreds of specters, driven by the Great Wind Army, shattered upon impact with the Celestial Thunder array. By this time, He Chunhua also felt a little dizzy. He looked back at the staff within the array; the Sovereign's Edict, clasped by the beast's head, had noticeably faded in color, and its blue light was weakening, indicating a continuous drain on morale. Yet the blood in the pool rippled only faintly, with no other movement. The Great Wind Army itself suffered no losses, merely sending cannon fodder. How much longer could their side endure if this continued?

He Chunhua sighed inwardly, realizing he had ultimately fallen into the Imperial Preceptor's scheme. The heroic spirits of Dragon-Coiling City had spent their lives resisting invaders, making them exceptionally sensitive to the aura of foreign armies. Furthermore, with the use of the Sovereign's Edict, these hundred or so living people shone like beacons in the dark night, making it difficult for the Great Wind Army to overlook them.

Hmm? But speaking of auras...

He Chunhua recalled something and suddenly felt a surge of vigor.

The South Gate was right there; whether they moved quickly or slowly, they would eventually reach it. Now, the South City Wall was becoming increasingly clear in their sight; another two or three li of walking would bring them to the South Gate. The buildings in the southern part of the city remained intact; Nian Songyu had not yet made his move.

Dragon-Coiling City's unique geographical location meant its defenses were primarily focused on the south. Consequently, during this period, the city walls to the east and west were rudimentary and lacked military installations, while the northern side simply had no gate at all. The only position from which fire could be swiftly launched across a wide area of the city was the South Gate. As it happened, Dragon-Coiling City's main residential area was also in the south, with over sixty percent of the city's homes concentrated there.

He Lingchuan glanced at the South Gate, surmising that Nian and Sun likely didn't see setting fires in the other three directions as a priority. This was why they had left the southern buildings unburnt, presumably waiting for all four of them to rendezvous.

Waiting to rendezvous, then?

He Lingchuan couldn't shake the feeling that something was amiss.

At that moment, the two were just about to round a large mansion by the stream. After passing one more theater, they would reach the main street and then proceed directly to the South Gate. Maotao was already drenched in sweat and squatted down to cup some water to splash on his face. The water in the illusion was undrinkable, but its texture felt very real, making it effective for cooling down and easing discomfort.

"Let's go," he said, rising and striding forward.

He Lingchuan, however, grabbed him by the back of his collar. "Wait."

"What is it?"

He Lingchuan said nothing, leaping onto the mansion's outer wall and swiftly scaling it to reach the corner tower. Within a radius of several li, this was the tallest structure, offering an unobstructed view. Maotao didn't expend such effort; he simply walked through the mansion gate into the courtyard and then climbed the stairs. When he found He Lingchuan, the young master was staring intently southward, muttering repeatedly, "Out of place, out of place!"

Maotao quickly asked, "What's wrong? What's amiss?" His attitude toward He Lingchuan was growing increasingly humble, a shift from his initial tendency to merely flatter the willful young master. He himself hadn't even realized this transformation.

He Lingchuan stared intently at the South Gate, extending a finger. "Do you see the totem?"

"Ah, I see it." The relief carving of such a massive black dragon totem on the city wall would be hard to miss, wouldn't it?

"The triple walls we saw in the desolate desert city, specifically the innermost curving wall, also featured this identical black dragon totem."

Maotao thought hard, then nodded. "Yes, I remember that too."

"You don't think there's anything wrong with that?"

Maotao looked even more bewildered. "What problem? Young Master, please explain clearly; don't be like Imperial Preceptor Sun."

He Lingchuan slowly turned to him. "The most acclaimed and beloved play performed by the Blackwater City opera troupe is called 'Dragon-Coiling Army Breaker.' You've heard of it, haven't you?" (Everyone had heard of it!) "It speaks of Xiluo Kingdom's guardian beast."

Maotao began, "And it speaks of Xiluo Kingdom's guardian beast, the Golden Ox, which was invincible—"

Oh, why had he started singing?

"Xiluo's guardian beast is the Golden Ox, correct?" He Lingchuan indicated the South Gate with his chin. "But the city gate depicts a black dragon! Look, there's an offering table in front of the relief, and a large, three-legged bronze censer adorned with a phoenix holding a ring. This level of veneration is not for minor deities; Dragon-Coiling City clearly worships it as a national or city guardian!"

"But the desolate city outside also worshipped a black dragon, this—" A sudden realization dawned on Maotao, and his eyes widened. "That's odd! This is Dragon-Coiling City in peacetime; even if they worshipped a guardian beast, it should be the Golden Ox!"

"The worship of divine beasts follows established protocols in every country, and even border towns cannot deviate from them. To do so would be a serious offense, leading to major trouble if discovered," He Lingchuan explained. "Dragon-Coiling City should originally have worshipped the Golden Ox, like the rest of the nation. Perhaps after years of continuous warfare and being left isolated and unsupported, they grew increasingly disillusioned with their homeland. This, combined with their conversion to the Sky-Covering God, led them to change the carving to a black dragon."

"Logically, Dragon-Coiling City within this illusion shouldn't contain such a flaw. However, as the Great Square Pot is a treasure of the Sky-Covering God, anything its owner doesn't acknowledge cannot manifest here. Thus, this discrepancy has been preserved," He Lingchuan shook his head. "But it's so large and conspicuously placed that even if living people entering the illusion notice it, they likely won't give it much thought."

Ultimately, it came down to the fact that Xiluo Kingdom had perished over a hundred years ago. Modern people could only learn about it through historical records, and thus lacked the acute understanding they would have for their own nation.

Maotao exclaimed, "No wonder Tao Bo mentioned in his notes that there was something here that didn't align with reality! Young Master, you have excellent perception; we must report this to the Imperial Preceptor at once!"

He leaned out the window, about to jump down, but his neck suddenly tightened as He Lingchuan grabbed him by the back of his collar. "What's the rush?"

"Are we not... not reporting it?" Maotao was momentarily bewildered.