Patrol Captain

Outside the study, snowflakes danced and blanketed the floor. Inside, the crackling charcoal fire dispelled the chill. Two bronze candlesticks stood on either side of the desk, their wicks casting a dim, yellowish glow that stretched the shadows across the room into a long, narrow space.

There were no books or writing brushes on the table, but instead a sand table, with fine sand piled up to depict mountains, valleys, passes, and cities, and several bamboo flags inserted among them, marked with two different colors.

Behind the sand table, on a large chair, the Grand Preceptor of the Great Qian Dynasty, Helian Shan, sat upright, clad in armor. His scales gleamed coldly in the dim light, his gray hair was disheveled and tied in a bun, and his face was deeply lined with wrinkles, making him look like an old man in his twilight years. Yet, his posture was like a lean tiger crouching, his back straight, exuding an aura that made it hard to breathe.

Before the table, the imperial official deftly lifted his hood, shaking off the snowflakes. As the hood fell, a face was revealed: a middle-aged man with stern features and a short beard.

The man bowed, clasped his hands in a fist salute, lowered his head slightly, and spoke in a very low but firm voice, breaking the silence of the study with an unquestionable tone: "Lord Helian, His Majesty urgently summons you back to the capital!"

As soon as the words were spoken, the candlelight in the study dimmed, casting the shadows of the two men on the wall. One stood solemnly with clasped hands, while the other sat upright like a tiger. A silent stillness permeated the dim light and shadow.

Behind the table, half of Helian Shan's face, which had been hidden in the candlelight, was revealed as he leaned forward.

The dim firelight shone on his face, but could not illuminate the shadows between the lines on his face. Helian Shan's eyes were half-closed, and red veins crawled in the cloudy whites of his eyes, hiding a sharp light like a cold star. It was the murderous aura that had been accumulated from long-term high position and bloody battlefields. Even when he was sitting still, people dared not look directly at him.

"Return to the capital?" he spoke, his voice low. "Your Majesty, could you please state the reason?"

The man below did not look up, and said in a muffled voice, "Now that the Prince of Liang is causing chaos, the people are not at peace. His Majesty has asked you to return to take charge of the situation. His Majesty is also concerned about your safety."

"Raise your head before you speak!" Helian Shan said in a deep voice.

The imperial envoy opposite him looked up upon hearing this.

"Say what you just said again!" Helian Shan's eyes were somewhat frightening in the lamplight.

"The Prince of Liang has rebelled, and His Majesty has ordered you, sir, to return and take charge."

Before she could finish speaking, Helian Shan, behind the table, raised his hand to interrupt her, his cloudy, bloodshot eyes fixed on her.

“Lu Tianji, you can’t lie to me.”

Helian Shan called out the name of the person who had come. This person was a deputy commander of the Imperial Guard, belonging to the Emperor's personal guard.

"I want to hear the truth. Why does Your Majesty want me to go back at this time?"

Lu Tianji felt as if he had been seen through, so he lowered his head, not daring to meet the eyes of this veteran of three dynasties, and remained silent.

Helian Shan frowned, stood up from his seat, and then walked down, saying as he went:

"It seems there's something inconvenient to say. Commander Lü, please keep quiet."

Lu Tianji loosened his clenched fists and said in a low voice:

"Lord Helian, please don't make things difficult for me. This is how His Majesty's decree was issued."

"I dare not presume to know His Majesty's thoughts."

"However, recently, rumors have been circulating in the court, causing His Majesty to lose his appetite and become unpredictable. We urge the Grand Preceptor to return to the capital to stabilize the unsettled hearts of the people in the court."

Upon hearing this, Helian Shan stopped in his tracks and stared intently at the deputy commander of the Imperial Guard.
"Tell me, what rumors are circulating in the court?"

Upon hearing this, Lü Tianji straightened up and raised his head, but still dared not meet the eyes of this veteran official who had served three dynasties.
"At present, the King of Liang has led his army into the pass. The court has sent generals one after another, but they have failed to defeat the enemy and instead suffered heavy losses. His Majesty is furious, and the ministers are shirking their responsibilities, causing turmoil in the court. There are even rumors that the Great Qian Dynasty is about to collapse, which has made people uneasy."

"At this critical juncture, news came from Shu that the Grand Preceptor had relinquished power to General Chen, allowing him to take over and control the entire Shu army, which made the court even more uneasy and caused endless debates about the matter."

"Most of the ministers in the court believed that this Imperial Envoy Chen had long harbored rebellious intentions and was very likely to become the second King of Liang. The key point was that after he took power, the officials from the capital that His Majesty had sent to assist him were secretly detained by him, and their fates and whereabouts were unknown."

"Under such circumstances, rumors began to circulate in the court, saying that the Grand Preceptor was aiding and abetting evil, letting the tiger return to the mountain, which could very well lead to the collapse of the country and commit a great sin."

"I suppose His Majesty's decree to urgently summon you back to the capital is to have you return and quell this turmoil."

Lu Tianji, the deputy commander of the Imperial Guards, solemnly recounted some of the current situations in the court.

Upon hearing this, Helian Shan's wrinkles deepened, and a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

"Even at this point, these guys still can't control their mouths."

"I'm afraid these good-for-nothings have said a lot of bad things about me, such as that I also intend to rebel? Hmph, there must be quite a few who have impeached me before His Majesty!"

Lu Tianji's expression changed slightly. The Grand Preceptor Helian was indeed right; quite a few officials had indeed impeached this pillar of the Great Qian Dynasty in court. However, he quickly concealed his expression, adjusted his arm, and said with an unnatural look:

"Lord Helian is a veteran of three reigns, serving His Majesty with utmost loyalty and devotion. No one doubts his loyalty to His Majesty and the Great Qian Dynasty."

"Please don't overthink it, Lord Helian!"

The flickering firelight reflected in Helian Shan's eyes, eerily bright in the dim light, but he ultimately sighed.
"No one understands my good intentions. They only need to talk in the court, but they don't know that the situation in Shu is dire and people are dying every day."

"If I do not abdicate, the country will be too weak to stand alone. Sooner or later, Shu will become a powder keg, ready to explode at any moment. When that happens, it will spread to the outside world, and it will be even more terrible than the Northern Liang rebels. The situation will probably be completely out of control, and there will be no way to recover what has been done."

"I don't think there's anything wrong with this move."

"It seems that even His Majesty cannot understand the intention behind this, which is why he summoned me back at this time."

Seeing the desolate and lonely expression on the old national advisor's face, Lü Tianji was somewhat moved, and couldn't help but lower his head.

"My lord, let's return to the capital!"

Helian Shan turned to the side, hands behind his back, head slightly tilted back, eyelids drooping. Finally, he opened his eyes, his gaze filled with complex emotions: resentment, determination, and anger. Finally, he spoke.
"I will not return to the capital!"

"What?" Lu Tianji's expression changed drastically. He confirmed it again. "Lord Helian, this is His Majesty's decree."

Helian Shan didn't speak. He walked to the window, opened it, and a cool breeze carrying snow rushed into the inner room, making the candlelight flicker erratically. He looked at the swirling snow outside the window.

"If I were to leave now, all my previous efforts would have been in vain, and now Sichuan is under attack on three fronts."

"The Northern Liang troops in the north have been driven back by Chen Yuan, so we don't need to worry about the pressure on the northern front for the time being. I will stay in charge of the Western Demon Kingdom, while Chen Yuan will deal with the problem of the Ten Thousand Mountains in the south. The division of labor is clear."

"If I leave now, and there is no Martial Saint-level Great Divine Power to guard the place, the Demon Kingdom and the Demon Clan will surely make a comeback. What is the point of me staying here for so long? Ding'an Prefecture will still be overwhelmed by the Demon Tide and lose its balance. I will not do such a stupid thing."

"I urge Commander Lü to return and report to His Majesty, explaining the situation and assuring him that this old minister will make amends in the future."

Upon hearing this, Lü Tianji hurriedly tried to persuade the old imperial advisor to accept the imperial decree and return to the capital with him.
"My lord, this is, after all, His Majesty."

However, Helian Shan ignored him and turned his back to the deputy commander of the Imperial Guards.
"Guards!" As soon as the words were spoken, the sound of clashing armor and footsteps quickly rang out from outside, and then the silver-armored general who had led the way earlier and several armored soldiers strode in.

"Imperial Preceptor!" The silver-armored general stood ramrod straight, clasping his hands in respect.

"Arrange for Commander Lü to rest. Send him out of the city first thing tomorrow morning. Do not make a fuss about it. Tell everyone who knows about this to keep their mouths shut. Anyone who disturbs the morale of the army will be executed."

"Yes," the silver-armored general responded, then stepped forward two paces to Lü Tianji's side and gestured for him to enter.

"Commander Lü, please."

Lu Tianji watched the old man's retreating figure, hesitated, then sighed, turned around, flicked his sleeves, and left the study.

The others followed suit and left, closing the door to keep the wind and snow out.

After everyone left, Helian Shan's once upright figure seemed to have lost its strength, becoming somewhat hunched. He muttered something to himself in the empty air.
"Your Majesty, do you also believe that this old minister is aiding and abetting evil?"

"This old minister cannot leave; if he does, he will utterly break the spirit of the soldiers in Shu!"

He sighed deeply, then began to cough.

Looking out of the study, the wind and snow howled, and the dim lamplight was swallowed up by the night.

The following morning, in Guang'an Prefecture, at the prefectural office.

One by one, figures emerged from the gate of the small courtyard.

They were all singers, dancers, waiters, and cooks from last night's banquet.

Everyone wore excited smiles and chattered away, showing no trace of the fear and panic that had lingered the night before.

"The lord of the Ninth Mountain is truly generous with his gifts; this trip was definitely worthwhile."

"Get rich, get rich!"

"."

After a short while, in the main hall of the courtyard, a captain in blue armor strode in and bowed to Chen Yuan, who was seated inside, to report:
"General, everyone has already left."

"Are there any oversights? Have all the memories been erased?" Chen Yuan asked calmly.

"Reporting to the general, apart from our own brothers, everyone else's memories of the Undying King have been erased."

Chen Yuan nodded, then asked, "Has your General Liu returned to the city?"

"Reporting to the general, General Flying Cavalry's troop has not yet returned, but the groups of brothers sent to deliver messages to several nearby prefectures and passes have already returned to their posts," the subordinate captain in blue armor reported.

"Hmm, they must be on their way back because the journey is too long. That's settled then. Once General Liu returns, you shall convey my orders that, apart from Chishui Prefecture, you may pass through the other six White Bone Cities to spy on the demons and monsters of the Ten Thousand Mountains. If you encounter danger, you may choose one of the six nearest prefectures to take refuge in. The kings of the six cities will give me some face."

Chen Yuan said so.

The content following these words is the "attitude" he received when he hosted a banquet for the seven kings last night.

Except for the "Southern Heavenly King" who left midway through the meeting, the other six kings were willing to give him face and agreed to his request. His troops could pass through and take refuge in case of emergency.

To be honest, this result was beyond Chen Yuan's expectations. It went more smoothly than he had imagined, making his trip worthwhile.

"Yes, Your subordinate will convey the General's words to the General of the Flying Cavalry."

Chen Yuan then stood up.

"I am now returning to the Fusi Commandery. You all follow Liu Qing and be careful."

Now that he had finished discussing matters with the Seven Kings, the next step was to prepare for war mobilization. Cloud Peak Mountain was recruiting soldiers, and it was time for him to return and take charge of the overall situation.

After saying that, Chen Yuan's figure quickly blurred in the air and disappeared in an instant.

"Respectfully seeing off the general!" The blue-armored captain bowed, and after all the noise stopped, he raised his head, then turned and walked out of the hall.

Just as I was about to leave the hall, I almost bumped into someone walking quickly towards me.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be Gou Zhi, a local military officer.

"Sorry."

"I saw that everyone who went to the banquet yesterday has returned. I thought General Chen must have returned as well, so I rushed over to see where General Chen is," Gou Zhi said, glancing into the hall as he watched the captain come out.

"Unfortunately, my general has just left and returned to the Fusi." The blue-armored captain clasped his hands in a fist salute to the lieutenant general, said this, and then turned and left.

Upon hearing this, Gou Zhi was filled with disappointment. He wondered when he would see General Chen again.

On this day, in Chengdu, seven thousand li away from Guang'an Prefecture, it was the fifth day since the recruitment notice of the Yunding Mountain Circuit Office was posted.

The recruitment site at the foot of Yunding Mountain was even more bustling than in the previous days, with a constant stream of people coming to sign up.

Several days have passed, and the excitement in Chengdu has not yet subsided. The news has spread to other prefectures, and many people who have heard the news have rushed from various prefectures to participate in the recruitment assessment for the mountain-crushing army.

The Ninth Mountain still stands out, while the other mountains receive the same rain and dew.

One point that has caught everyone's attention is that the six mountain-climbing armies that were wiped out in the battle against the demons a few years ago, such as the First Mountain, the Second Mountain, and the Third Mountain, are now being reorganized and recruiting soldiers.

The twelve mountain-felling flags once again fluttered in the wind atop the various mountain peaks!
Meanwhile, the long-dormant machine of the Yunding Mountain Daofu Division began to operate. In the forging workshops of several divisions responsible for forging swords and armor, the hammers of the craftsmen were smoking from their swings. A large number of forging-related tasks were even assigned to the subordinate prefectures. All departments of the Daofu Division were operating at overcapacity, carrying out a war mobilization in full swing.

At noon that day, at the Zhonglang Hall on the Ninth Mountain.

Gongsun Yang was entertaining several old friends who had come to the Ninth Mountain to visit the General.

Qin Rushuang, Daoist Li Guanyi, and Ji Wuming, a disciple of Mount Shu
They were all familiar faces who had fought alongside the Ninth Mountain, discussing how to mobilize martial arts sects to participate in this war.

Suddenly, at a certain moment, a hurried sound came from outside the hall.

"The general is back!" (End of Chapter)