Records of Mysterious Things in the Southern Dynasties

Chapter 482 Uninvited Guest

The man was refined and even somewhat thin. He stood there quietly, his eyes calm and deep, like a scholar who had mistakenly wandered into a battlefield.

However, his appearance instantly reversed the situation. The white-robed soldiers erupted in thunderous cheers, their wounds vanished, and they unleashed terrifying fighting power once more. In no time at all, they drove the Heavenly Slaughter Army off the wall.

On the other side, seeing his promising situation fall apart, Hou Jing was not furious, but rather looked as if he had seen a ghost in broad daylight, his face full of shock.

Because that was none other than Chen Qingzhi, the commander-in-chief of the White Robe Army; that name alone is enough to explain everything.

Even though he looked a little haggard at the moment, the oppressive aura emanating from Chen Qingzhi still swept over us like a tidal wave.

"Hou Jing, are you really going to force me to bully the weak?" His voice wasn't loud, but it pierced through the smoke of battle, each word striking Hou Jing's heart like a heavy hammer.

"No, I wouldn't dare." Hou Jing's hand holding the reins trembled involuntarily. The humiliating memories of being utterly defeated by Chen Qingzhi turned into invisible shackles, locking his throat and extinguishing his arrogance.

Although Chen Qingzhi might be bluffing, the fact that the other party dared to stand there meant he must have something to rely on. Even a starved camel is bigger than a horse; he could easily crush me…

He wasn't actually surnamed Erzhu; he was just an employee of the Erzhu family. With the world settled and the spoils about to be divided, how could he risk anything?

"Retreat!" He had already considered the pros and cons in a flash, so he turned his horse around and gave the order in a muffled voice.

The Heavenly Slaughter Army's offensive crumbled instantly, and their black battle banners, like funeral banners, retreated hastily into the twilight...

~~
On the earthen city wall, Chen Qingzhi watched Hou Jing until he disappeared on the horizon before his legs gave way and he slowly fell backward.

"Commander Chen!" The generals quickly helped him up, their faces full of worry.

"It's alright, I'm just exhausted..." Chen Qingzhi waved his hand and said with a wry smile, "But right now I'm just a showy but useless spearhead."

"It's good that Commander Chen is awake. As long as you're here, we're not afraid of anything," the soldiers said, choking back tears.

"Okay." Chen Qingzhi nodded and smiled, looked around, and asked, "Why are there so few people?"

“We broke out separately,” Ma Fonian hurriedly replied, “but the losses were very heavy, and I estimate that not many brothers will make it back.”

"Sigh, it's all my fault." Chen Qingzhi sighed and blamed himself, "I shouldn't have led you across the river in the first place."

"What are you saying, Commander Chen?" The generals hurriedly replied, "To be able to follow Commander Chen on the Northern Expedition, sweep away the barbarians, and shake the world with our might, we have no regrets even if we die."

"Yes, we have no regrets even if we die!" the soldiers shouted in unison.

"Okay, okay..." Chen Qingzhi's eyes filled with tears. He took a deep breath and said, "Let's not talk about this now. Let's take the brothers back first."

"Yes." Ma Fonian quickly gave Chen Qingzhi a brief summary of the latest situation.

"..." After listening, Chen Qingzhi looked at the surging Yellow River and slowly said, "Then let's continue to wait for the boat to come."

"Commander Chen, is the Dream God really waiting for us on the Yellow River?" the generals asked in hushed tones.

“Yes.” Chen Qingzhi nodded and said, “A Yuan hasn’t come yet; he must have suffered some kind of wickedness from Him…”

"Huh?" The generals had certainly considered the worst, but they generally felt that given Ren Yuan's strength and wit, it shouldn't be that bad...

They couldn't help but look at A Yao, only to see her staring intently at the river, clearly already aware that Ren Yuan was in trouble.

Feeling disheartened, they couldn't help but wonder, if even Chen Shuai was injured like this, who could possibly defeat the Dream God?
~~
The Yellow River rushes down from Kunlun, its turbid waves towering into the sky, churning up thousands of piles of frost and snow. The blazing sunlight dyes the white waves with rainbow colors, and the cliffs on both banks are shrouded in this hazy, beautiful halo, like a long scroll of crystal left behind by the gods.

There were indeed deities within that halo. Wu Yang sat cross-legged on a cloud, Wu Gu sat comfortably to his left, and the Fifth Divine General stood to his right.

The witch, bored out of her mind, ordered, "Fifth, go catch a Yellow River carp and bring it back for me to have a treat." The Fifth God General ignored her.

“My divine generals are not servants. If you want to eat fish, go catch your own,” Wu Yang said on behalf of the fifth divine general.

"Oh dear, you're already unhappy because I gave you this order? And you say you've forgotten your old friendship?" the witch said, winking.

"He was a divine general I sent to protect the mortal body, and he never had any romantic feelings for that woman named Nangong Meng." Wu Yang said calmly, "Right, Fifth?"

"Yes." The Fifth Divine General said respectfully, "Your subordinate has been protecting my god's current body as he walks among mortals. He has forgotten many things, but he has not forgotten his identity."

"Did you hear that? It's all just wishful thinking on the part of that little girl." Wu Yang raised an eyebrow and said, "She actually dared to remove the character 'Meng' from her name and change it to Nangong, trying to distance herself from me in such a childish way. How laughable!"

“I see you’ve gotten into a rivalry with her, otherwise why would you have added the word ‘dream’ back?” Wu Gu chuckled.

"Shut up!" Wu Yang's expression immediately changed.

"Alright, alright, I'll shut up." Wu Gu stretched and said listlessly, "How boring! How long are we going to have to wait?"

“They will cross the river sooner or later,” Wu Yang replied.

"What if they never cross the river?"

“We have much more time than they do, as long as they can afford to waste it,” Wu Yang said nonchalantly.

"Why bother with all this? Just send the Fifth Dimension down and let them go on a rampage, that'll settle things," the witch said, rolling up her sleeves with a bandit-like air.

“To be seen and admire.” Wu Yang uttered two words.

"Sister, you really care about saving face." Wu Gu put her hand to her forehead and said helplessly, "The gods of the Northern Dynasty are all enemies, so who cares what they think?"

"Amitabha." At this moment, a slightly awkward Mandarin voice rang out from the river. "This humble monk is not an enemy of either of you."

The witch's eyes sharpened, and she smiled, "An old friend has arrived."

"Give them a greeting," Wu Yang nodded slightly and gave the order.

"Yes." The fifth divine general immediately parted the clouds and descended the cloud ladder to welcome the guests.

Then they saw a bald, bearded, dark-skinned Western monk, standing on a reed, coming upstream from the lower reaches of the river, followed by a handsome young monk.

Upon seeing the Fifth Divine General, the young monk stared in disbelief and exclaimed, "Fifth Brother, what are you doing here?"

“You are…” the Fifth Divine General asked, frowning.

"I am Faxiu!" the young monk said, pointing to himself. "It's been years, don't you recognize me? Of course, I'm taller and more handsome than before, it's understandable that you don't recognize me."

To everyone's surprise, the Fifth Divine General shook his head and said, "I've forgotten everything from before. The one you know might be the Fifth Dimension, but he has nothing to do with me now."

"Ah..." The young monk scratched his head and said to the Western monk, "Master, is this also a Zen riddle?"

"You should first master the art of silent meditation," the Western monk said with a faint smile. "If someone acknowledges you, then you are an old friend; if they don't, then you are not. There's no need to make a fuss."

"Yes." The young monk quickly nodded in acceptance.

(End of this chapter)