Distant Mountain Battle Song

Chapter 102 Ancient Things Have Become Spirits
"Even if the fire is meaningful, does it warrant sacrificing Lord Pompeii's entire family?"

“I have my doubts. I suspect that the fire here may have a deeper meaning.”

"So, did you detect any unusual energy fluctuations?"

"No, or perhaps we are too far from the so-called spark."

"Then let's go find Han De. I believe that if we find Han De, we should be able to find that spark."

Without taking a break, Yun Ce sneaked towards Han De's governor's mansion.

The city lord's mansion is in the south of the city, while the governor's mansion is in the north.

As darkness fell, Yun Ce's movements became much easier. Although he still encountered people who wanted to kill him, he mainly avoided them, not wanting to kill anyone, as too many people had died here.

Just as Yun Ce leaped over a high wall and was about to use it to jump onto the other side, he suddenly heard Lao Cao's voice.

"Han is about to collapse. Everyone, hang in there. We must get the Shehuo."

"I still don't understand. Logically speaking, if the Han Dynasty doesn't want us anymore, the Shehuo (a traditional folk performance) should automatically go out. Why is the Shehuo in Chuyun Prefecture still burning? Old Cao, if you don't tell me the reason today, I will leave Chuyun City, go to the Royal Hunting Ground to find my family, and return to the Han Dynasty in anonymity. It's not like I can't live as a rich man."

"No one can understand the reason behind this. The ancestral fire is enshrined in the Chang'an Shehuo Temple. If the Emperor of the Great Han does not want to leave Yunzhou and severs the connection between the ancestral fire and the Shehuo of Yunzhou, our Shehuo will surely be extinguished."

Since the Emperor of the Great Han Dynasty has already issued an edict to stop going out of Yunzhou, he must have severed the connection between the ancestral fire and the Yunzhou folk fire. The Yunzhou folk fire, which should have been extinguished, has not only not been extinguished, but is said to be burning even more vigorously.

Some say this foreshadows the possibility of Izumo Prefecture establishing its own kingdom, or even separating its own folk performances from the Izumo Prefecture's traditional folk performances.

“Old Cao, plotting to conquer the world is not something we people can do. Now that Old Cui, Old Dai, Old Wang, and Old Ge are dead, if we keep going like this, I don’t think we’ll live much longer.”

"Sigh, it's come to this point. If we don't fight for the Shehuo now, I'll be really unwilling. Remember, if we hand over the Chuyunzhou Shehuo to the Emperor of the Great Han, we can have anything we want in the Great Han. It's not impossible for us to become a new powerful clan."

"Alright, let's hold on for two more days. If we still can't find an opportunity to get the Shehuo (a type of folk performance), we'll leave Chuyun City and head to the Royal Hunting Grounds immediately. I wonder if that Liu Chang'an is reliable or not."

"The worst outcome is just ruining a few women, which is not a big deal."

Yun Ce slowly climbed down from the high wall and tiptoed away from where Lao Cao and the others had gathered. He planned to go ahead of them to Han De's place to see what this so-called Shehuo was, something that would make these people risk their lives to get it.

When Yun Ce arrived at the governor's mansion, it was already an hour later. A fierce battle had just taken place there, and a group of masked warriors were clearing away the enemy's corpses.

Yun Ce landed on a large tree like a big bird, coldly observing the busy armored soldiers.

The governor's mansion was crowded with people, mostly heavily armored warriors. They were all slumped over, seemingly resting. Some of the armored warriors lay directly in the flowerbeds, making a mess of the plants. Some warriors even took off their boots and stomped their salty feet into the hot spring pool, causing the precious fish inside to float belly-up.

Yun Ce looked for more than half an hour but did not see Governor Han De. He also felt that Han De could not be in the governor's mansion. If he were, those armored soldiers would not be so presumptuous.

"Doggy, have you found anything?"

The dog's tentacles swayed in the wind, diligently analyzing the scents carried on the breeze.

Before the dog could give any instructions, Longzhu became somewhat agitated. Yun Ce stretched out his arm and casually probed two directions. When he pointed to the left, Longzhu quieted down. Yun Ce then jumped down from the tree and searched to the left.

To the left is a large residential area. The inn where Yun Ce stayed when he was in Chuyun City was nearby, as was the academy. The pavilion he burned down was almost half-finished, but now it's burned down again.

Back in the small courtyard where he used to live, Dragon Ball quieted down.

The courtyard was still there, but the houses where they used to live had all been burned down. The dragon ball had lost its target, but Yun Ce wasn't in a hurry. He found a clean spot and sat down.

The dog still left long, silvery trails that swayed in the wind.

Just as Yun Ce was about to fall asleep, the sky suddenly darkened. Looking up, the blood moon, which had been barely illuminated, was now obscured by a layer of dark clouds.

Just as Yun Ce was looking for shelter from the rain, the cool spring rain poured down.

The rain poured down, and Yun Ce huddled under the eaves, trying his best to hide himself from others. "The first rain of the Flower Moon Festival has finally fallen, it's time for us to go."

These words suddenly reached his ears, and at the same time, the dog's silver hair pointed to the ground not far to the left.

The guesthouse was connected to the academy. At the academy, a patch of charred ground was suddenly lifted up, and a tall, thin figure slowly emerged from the ground. Soon, eight more people crawled out of the hole. They had been underground for a long time, and even though it was pouring rain, they didn't care at all. Standing in the rain, they were still in high spirits even though they were being drenched.

The eight people stood motionless in the rain for five or six minutes. Then Yun Ce saw a thin figure emerge from the dark tunnel. This person was carrying a box about a foot square.

From the moment the box rose from the ground, Yun Ce's wristband became scorching hot, and the dog fell off the wristband and into the mud.

Yun Ce curled up into a ball in the darkness, feeling the Dragon Ball's intense desire for what was in the box.

The last time the Dragon Ball absorbed another Dragon Ball, it was with a hint of disdain and contempt, unlike this time when it was filled with longing.

The person holding the box, like the eight who had come out before, also enjoyed a moment of spring rain. Then he said to his burly companion, "We can't move the folk performance until the Flower Festival. Now that the spring rain has come, the time for the Flower Festival has arrived, and we should leave here."

The burly man said, "What a pity for Izumo City, what a pity for Izumo Prefecture."

"Let's go, there's nothing to regret. We have Shehuo (a traditional folk performance), we can plan slowly, and with generations of people laying the foundation, there will eventually be a day when our Shehuo can be spread all over the world."

Seeing the others laughing triumphantly in the rain, Yun Ce stomped his feet on the half-wall, and as the wall collapsed, his body flew like a cannonball toward the last person to emerge.

The burly man at the head of the group sneered, seemingly having anticipated the sneak attack. His massive fist, accompanied by a whooshing sound, slammed into Yun Ce's charging body.

Yun Ce also threw a punch, and the two fists collided in the air with a loud bang. The burly man's expression changed drastically, and he immediately changed his fist into a grab, grabbing at Yun Ce's body as it rolled to the left.

Yun Ce's body spun around in the muddy water, then reached out to grab the person in the middle, clinging to the strong man's arm.

In the blink of an eye, the other guards also realized what was happening. They didn't care about Yun Ce and immediately stood back to back, protecting the person holding the box. At the same time, they drew their long swords, instantly separating Yun Ce and the person holding the box into two different worlds.

Faced with the long blade slashing down, Yun Ce quickly retreated, took a heavy punch, and returned to the low wall where he had started.

"Let's kill him together. This man must not be allowed to live," the burly man said, but received no response from his companion. As he turned to look, a strand of silver hair silently slipped into the top of his head.

The feeling of power disappearing horrified the burly man, who exclaimed, "Who are you?"

Yun Ce did not answer. Urged impatiently by Long Zhu, he pushed aside the guards protecting the middle-aged man and took the wooden box directly.

Upon opening the box, a raging fire burst forth, engulfing Yun Ce before he could even dodge.

There was no burning sensation; it felt as if countless needles were piercing his body. Yun Ce wanted to scream, but he couldn't move his body at all.

In an instant, the fire engulfed his entire body. Yun Ce was in unbearable pain and tried several times to beg Gouzi to save him, but he couldn't sense Gouzi's presence at all.

The heavy rain continued to fall from the sky, landing on the flames and making them burn even more fiercely. When Yun Ce could no longer bear the pain and collapsed into the mud, the golden flames surged into the Dragon Ball like a tide.

Yun Ce lay in the mud, panting heavily. When he came to his senses from the panic, he immediately checked his whole body. The feeling of being burned by the flames was real, but after being burned by the fire, his clothes and hair were completely undamaged.

Without time to think, Yun Ce kicked a long sword away. The sword spun in mid-air and severed the necks of three people before landing. Yun Ce continued kicking the sword until all eight heads were on the ground. Without bothering to clean up the scene, he plunged into the dark fire and fled without looking back.

He had to do it this way; his head was filled with the dog's loud cries for him to run away, which was almost exploding his brain.

Actually, even without the dog's warning, the wind pressure from high above had already terrified him. He knew he was sure a giant bird was descending from above.

Under the cover of darkness, guided by the dog, Yun Ce crossed the dilapidated academy, passed through the once bustling but now deserted market, and plunged into the now foul-smelling river. He swam freely for seven or eight hundred meters, tore through the thick metal fence at the foot of the city wall, and finally, along with the rainwater and sewage, was expelled from the city.

Even after leaving Izumo City, the sound of the dog howling and running for its life still echoed in its head. Ignoring the filth all over its body, it followed a group of equally terrified dogs as they ran wildly across the wasteland in the rain.

(End of this chapter)