Ze Tian Ji (Way of Choices)

Chapter 819 – The Stamping of Hooves Disorders the Morning Light

Guan Feibai used his sleeve to wipe the sweat off his forehead, not knowing whether the sweat was because he was hot or because he was nervous.

“Is he making the Cinnabar Pill?”

His voice was somewhat hoarse and also very low, as he was worried that other people might hear.

Zhexiu also didn’t know what was happening in the hall, but he had taken the Cinnabar Pill before and knew what it smelled like. He nodded.

Upon receiving this confirmation, Guan Feibai took a deep breath.

In the snowy plains of the north, the Cinnabar Pill was the hottest conversation topic, so it was only expected that he knew of this legendary and divine medicine that could save the dying and regrow bones.

But he was taking in this deep breath not out of shock, but because he had confirmed the truth of that other rumor.

So it really was Chen Changsheng that had refined the Cinnabar Pill. Then was it really made with his blood?

Half a year ago, one of his martial uncles from the Mount Li Sword Hall engaged in bloody battle with the twenty-first Demon General outside the Black Mountain Army headquarters. He came away from the battle with one of his arms severed and his blood nearly spent. Even the Sacred Light technique was ineffective, but at the final and most desperate juncture, one Cinnabar Pill had brought him back.

As he thought about this, Guan Feibai truly didn’t know how he should face Chen Changsheng.

……

……

The door to the rear hall was finally opened. A wave of heat surged out, causing the pear tree to shed its leaves and making it feel like midsummer.

Chen Changsheng walked out with Nanke’s support, his face pale as if he had just started recovering from some terrible disease.

The Archbishop of Wenshui hurriedly stepped forward to welcome him.

Chen Changsheng handed him a small bottle.

The bottle naturally contained the incomparably precious Cinnabar Pills.

For a bit more than a year, Chen Changsheng had been providing a small bottle of Cinnabar Pills for the soldiers on the frontline every month.

There was a limit to his blood.

Time-wise, this month’s Cinnabar Pills should have been made a couple of weeks ago and been completely distributed. However, he had taken heavy wounds from the Demon Lord in the mountains and lost a great deal of blood. Afterwards, he was recovering in Sloping Cliff Horse Farm, so it was simply impossible for him to make them.

He had never once said anything about it, but he was actually rather anxious, because he knew that there were many soldiers teetering on the verge of death in many places, like Blue Pass, Snowhold Pass, Cong Province, and Black Mountain, that were waiting for the Cinnabar Pill. It was those people who were truly anxious.

Thus, by the time he left Hanqiu City, he had already sent a secret message to Wenshui to have the Daoist church here prepare the appropriate ingredients. Upon his arrival today, he disregarded the fact that his injuries had not fully recovered and began to make the pills.

Now that this bottle of Cinnabar Pills had finally been finished, it would naturally be sent to the armies on the frontlines.

At the very beginning, the Orthodoxy’s Hall of Illustrious Persons had been in charge of distribution, but this task was later passed to the Tang clan. He was currently in Wenshui, but he had no intention of continuing to let the Tang clan handle this matter, as everything that had happened that night in the mountains had been caused by the Tang clan, and the Tang clan clearly did not care for the kindness he was expressing through the Cinnabar Pill.

Chen Changsheng ordered, “Send someone to deliver this overnight to Hanqiu City. Find the supervisor of Scholartree Manor. They know how to distribute the pills.”

It was very quiet. The archbishop did not reply, nor did he take the small bottle.

He had no intention of defying this divine edict, nor was he weighing pros and cons. He was simply too shocked.

There was some very important information contained in this order, and one piece of information was certain to stun the entire continent.

Wang Po had returned to Tianliang County.

Whether or not he himself had returned, Scholartree Manor had arrived, which meant that he had as well.

Everyone knew that Scholartree Manor was Wang Po.

Yet most shocking of all to this archbishop was not this news, but the small bottle itself.

In sending someone to deliver this bottle overnight to Hanqiu City, he would be given plenty of opportunities to pull underhanded tricks, if he was willing to do it.

The archbishop’s complexion incessantly shifted, one moment red and the next moment white, and then finally returning to serenity.

He took the small bottle without even the smallest tremble.

“I will not betray Your Holiness’s trust.”

……

……

Zhexiu looked at Chen Changsheng’s wan complexion and cautioned, “Blood can replenish itself, but if you keep this up, it will have a large effect on your cultivation.”

Chen Changsheng replied, “I eat a lot of spirit fruits and precious herbs every day. The problem shouldn’t be too great.”

Zhexiu replied, “If you want to be a Saint, it will be a massive problem.”

Chen Changsheng fell quiet, not responding.

Zhexiu stared into his eyes and said, “Did she not stop you?”

Chen Changsheng knew that he was not referring to Xu Yourong or the writer of the letter, but the little Black Dragon.

He couldn’t help but smile upon recalling that intense quarrel he had with her at the very start.

Zhexiu continued, “Compared to saving those people, it’s far more important to this world that you get stronger.”

Chen Changsheng’s gaze paused on the pear tree outside the door as he said, “II understand this reasoning, but… It would be fine if I had never thought about this method, but since I now know that as long as I use some of my blood every month, I can save several dozen lives, it’s truly difficult for me to not do it.”

Guan Feibai, who had been quiet all this time, replied, “That’s reasonable. I would also find myself in a difficult position if I were you.”

Zhexiu had grown up in the harsh and cruel wastelands of the north and found it impossible to understand the thought processes of these disciples from the famous righteous sects of the south. Shaking his head, he said no more.

“When you were making medicine, the Daoist church announced your arrival to Wenshui.”

Guan Feibai turned to Chen Changsheng and asked, “What I don’t understand is that even though you’ve revealed your identity, making the Tang clan unable to touch you, how can you rescue Tang Tang? Even if you personally pay a visit, if they don’t let you in, what can you do? Not even the Pope can force their way into the ancestral hall.”

“I also don’t know. I’ll look at the situation tomorrow.”

Chen Changsheng glanced at the night sky. Seeing the countless twinkling stars, he surmised that tomorrow would be a clear day.

The weather was warm and pleasant during the day, but a wind suddenly blew in over the night. A winter wind came down from the mountains of the north, entering the city through the Wenshui and lingering around the Daoist church.

The pear tree lightly swayed, once more shedding a few of its leaves. It looked rather dreary, apparently forecasting a possible change in weather.

……

……

The change came on the morning of the next day.

It was not a sudden sprinkling of snow, nor was it a blinding wind. It was countless claps of thunder.

The thunderous stamping of hooves shattered the morning light and made the earth quake, sending the plains into turmoil. Wenshui City rang with warning bells, and the city gates, which had not closed in several centuries, closed with unimaginable speed.

The various types of defensive divine crossbows mounted on the city walls turned to face the northern plains. Countless somber and powerful strands of Qi shot into the air, a sign that the countless arrays within the city gate, walls, and even underground were beginning to move.

Just by seeing the number of defensive divine crossbows, the density of the arrays, and the flying carriages streaking through the sky, one understood that Wenshui City’s defenses were incredibly powerful, so far surpassing the norm that they were even comparable to Luoyang’s defenses.

Even more awe-inspiring was the fact that, although they were visibly shocked at the thundering hooves, none of the soldiers by the city gate, the fast-reacting Tang clan guards, or even the ordinary peddlers and servants panicked. In a very orderly fashion, they quickly retreated into the city.

It was obvious that although Wenshui City had never once been sacked in these countless years, it had never forgotten how to fight.

Without even considering the unfathomable ‘foundational resources’ of the Tang clan, just the staunch defenses of the city and the well-trained soldiers and populace ensured that any attacker would have to pay a most miserable price. Even the most bloodthirsty, cruel, and ruthless demon wolf cavalry would not dare charge straight into the fray. They would assuredly pause outside the range of those several hundred divine crossbows.

As expected, the thundering hooves gradually halted, that black tide stopping on the plains a thousand zhang out from the city.