Distant Mountain Battle Song

Chapter 223 A Vast Ocean Accepts All Rivers? Impossible!

Under the blue sky, there were only a few white clouds. Below the clouds stood a broad-leaved tree with lush branches and leaves, and beneath the tree lay a man named Yun Ce.

But in Yun Ce's mind, a colorful dream was unfolding.

There were no battles, no crowds, no grand pronouncements in the dream; there was only a patch of green grass, a blanket, and a man fast asleep.

Seeing yourself in a dream is a very strange thing, but even so, when you do see yourself, you just smile at each other and don't even bother to say hello.

Everyone knows what kind of person the other party is; it's all self-evident.

Then, Yun Ce was startled awake, but he didn't know if the other person was still in the mood to continue sleeping wrapped in a blanket on that patch of grass.

He probably won't be able to sleep. People know about his most despicable thoughts and the most despicable things he's done. Right now, he must be just like him, harboring murderous intent.

Yun Ce exerted force on his left arm, and a ferocious blue dragon immediately appeared on it. The force of his fist, carrying his inner energy, thundered through the air for a long distance before gradually dissipating, finally only faintly lifting the curtain.

Eji, who had just returned from the fields, was changing her clothes in the house when she saw the curtain being blown up by the wind. She hurriedly covered her chest, but when she saw that it was Yun Ce peeking outside, she decisively put her hands down and continued to wipe her body with clean water.

Eji always naively believed that men loved women because they loved their bodies. If a woman's body was beautiful enough, she would be loved by many people, and thus, her value would increase.

Yun Ce certainly didn't think so. He did like E Ji, but it wasn't just her body... it seemed like he liked something else too. However, he couldn't put it into words. He would just say that he liked E Ji's body, which would make the woman happier.

This wasn't just Eji's opinion; it was a common view among the women of Yun Family Manor. When the men went out to work, they would bring back either grain or money. If the grain and money were enough for several days, then at night, or when they weren't busy, the men could have their bodies.

The reality is appalling.

When Eji walked over, she looked like a walking orange, exuding a strong orange scent, as if she had just stolen a basket of oranges.

Yun Ce had never seen oranges in the Han Dynasty, perhaps because he had always lived in the north, where oranges probably couldn't be grown.

But it's amazing how things work out. There are no oranges in the north, but there is a plant called orange grass. In the summer, if you soak this grass in water, it will give off a strong orange scent and bring you a strong sense of refreshment. Eji, I just washed myself with this orange grass water.

"Smell it, doesn't it smell nice?"

Eji covered Yun Ce's mouth and nose with her sleeve, wanting to share her pleasure with him.

She loved sharing secrets with Yun Ce that were unique to the two of them. For example, last night, she shared with him the corn that had just grown between her left toes.

The two discussed it for a long time, considering whether to remove it. Eji was afraid of the pain, so Yun Ce had no choice but to have Eji lie down and call Gouzi to come out and deal with the corn.

Yun Ce thought that the reason why Gouzi was acting crazy like he had a virus today might be related to the fact that he used his tentacles to treat Eji's corn yesterday. Anyway, he cursed Yun Ce last night and used very vulgar language.

Today, with her mouth and nose covered by the gauze sleeves, Yun Ce's gaze traveled slightly upwards along the sleeves and came across E Ji's rather ample bosom. He glanced at it, then felt it was inappropriate and tried to look away, but couldn't help glancing at it again. Just then, he heard E Ji giggle and say, "Isn't it beautiful? Don't you want me?"

Yun Ce withdrew his gaze, pushed aside E Ji's sleeve, and glared at her angrily.

"This was taught to me by Anji. It's a method used by concubines of wealthy families to seduce their lords. I'm telling you this now. I didn't blame you for not knowing before, but now that you know, you should be careful not to be seduced."

"No one is trying to seduce me, you can rest assured about that."

"Why isn't anyone trying to seduce you? That girl named Liu Ruyan, and that girl named Shen Lexi, aren't they both trying to seduce you?"

Just as Yun Ce was about to ask her how she knew, he saw a blue-faced guy with a shiny, oily body come out of a small hut next to the stable carrying a fruit platter.

"Tree bud?"

Yun Ce let out a soft cry, and Shu Tuo slid down to Yun Ce's side with a smooth, kneeling motion.

Yun Ce looked at Shu Tuo, then at E Ji, wondering why this guy hadn't died and had instead appeared in the inner quarters.

"Feng An originally intended to use this guy to extract oil, but when I saw him crying and singing, I felt sorry for him, so I took him from Feng An. Feng An also said that this guy was neither male nor female and could be kept in the inner quarters as a laborer, so I arranged for him to live next to the chestnut horse."

From now on, any heavy lifting in the inner quarters can be assigned to him.

Upon hearing this, Yun Ce asked in surprise, "I brought this guy back, how come I didn't notice that he can't distinguish between genders?" E Ji laughed and said, "Feng An said that if a dark blue father and a white mother get together, they can give birth to a sky blue tree branch."

Yun Ce nodded knowingly. That's how the mule came about. It seems that Shu Tuo is the mule devil among devils.

"He is the devil."

"What devil? He's just a pathetic worm that can only be used to extract oil. He was looked down upon by other devils on Tian Ding Mountain, and he's looked down upon here as well. He's almost out of a way to survive, so I've kept him by my side, treating him like a dog skin or a fledgling eagle. Maybe he'll be useful in the future."

Yun Ce was surprised by E Ji's magnanimity. Others would want to kill a demon as soon as they saw it, but she not only gave the demon a way out, but also kept it by her side.

Actually, if you think about it from Eji's perspective, you'll understand. The Yun family is currently short of labor, and they thought that adding a monkey would help them out, so it's not surprising that they took in Shutuo.

"Since you took it in, you're responsible for taking good care of it."

"Hmph, if it doesn't behave, I'll feed it to the dog skin."

The Han people are naturally gifted at farming, and Yun Ce's love for agriculture is also heartfelt. However, the pastoral life he likes is definitely not the kind of pastoral life described by Tao Yuanming, "planting beans under the southern mountain, where weeds grow thick and bean sprouts are sparse," nor is it the kind of life where he picks up a hoe and tills the land himself.

What he enjoys is standing in the fields, watching others cultivate the land for him, watching his crops grow little by little, watching his garden laden with fruits and vegetables, picking some fresh fruit for afternoon tea dessert, and picking some fresh vegetables to stir-fry with just a little oil and salt, bringing out the fresh fragrance of herbs and plants.

Lying under the fruit trees, looking at the abundant fruit, sitting by the loom watching how the women weave silk threads into cloth bit by bit, listening to the frogs croaking outside the window, and looking at the starry night sky.

In short, the joy of rural life lies in enjoyment, not in labor. The former can cleanse the soul, while the latter only strains the mind and spirit. They should never be confused.

Three hundred thousand mu of farmland is very large, even extremely large... it is the kind of vast expanse that stretches as far as the eye can see.

Standing in such a field, it's hard for anyone not to feel a sense of satisfaction.

This sense of satisfaction is incomparable to the satisfaction brought by money. Yun Ce stood alone in the field, enjoying himself for half a day. When he returned, he picked some unripe bean pods.

Just as Yun Ce was rubbing his hands together, ready to feast, Qin Shu and He Qingfang arrived together. It seemed they had something to say. Upon seeing the freshly cooked bean pods, they immediately shut up and started eating.

It must be said that the crops grown in the Han Dynasty are far superior to those barren crops on Earth. Not only are the yields high, but the taste is also excellent. While pea pods on Earth tend to be astringent, the pea pods here are not bitter at all. They are sweet and refreshing, and with the addition of salt, the aroma of the beans becomes even more intense. In particular, the peas, which are about the size of a ping-pong ball, are so satisfying that you can eat one in two bites. The satisfaction is far beyond what you can get from pea pods.

"The Guifang people's outposts have approached Black Stone Plains. After receiving some support, those who volunteered to guard Iron Enclosure Pass fought several battles with the Guifang people's outposts at Ghost King Lake, with casualties on both sides."

However, the situation changed a month ago. The battle became one-sided, with the Rangers suffering heavy casualties and the reason for it still unknown.

Ten days ago, a group of wandering knights who went to Ghost King Lake to investigate the movements of the Ghost Fang people were suddenly attacked and the entire team was instantly defeated. Only one wandering knight, who was knocked into Ghost King Lake, survived by sheer luck.

Only from him did people learn that the Mad Bull Riders of the Ghost Fang people had descended from the Clear Water Plateau. They had abandoned their Mad Bull mounts and mingled with the Ghost Fang people's squads as ordinary warriors, causing heavy casualties among the rangers.

Yun Ce took a bite of a bean and said, "What does this have to do with us? There are plenty of Thunder Smoke Beast generals in Iron Enclosure Pass who can rival the Mad Bull Knight. If the Gui Fang people can do this, they can do it too. Don't tell me that Iron Enclosure Pass is unwilling to send anyone."

Qin Shu said, "It's too little."

Yun Ce looked at Qin Shu and said, "You don't actually want me to go, do you?"

Qin Shu shook his head and said, "Small bombs!"

Seeing Yun Ce hesitate and remain silent, He Qingfang quickly said, "The longer we hold out at Tiewei Pass, the more time we have to prepare. I know it's not good to expose the bombs to the Guifang people in advance, but there aren't many opportunities like this to kill a large number of Guifang Mad Bull Knights in a short period of time."

To be honest, I wanted to try it out, to see if small bombs could really deal with the elite Mad Bull Knights of the Ghost Fang.

Yun Ce nodded and said, "Not bad, you haven't lost your mind yet. You still know that bombs shouldn't be easily handed over to others. The question is, how many people do you plan to take to Iron Enclosure Pass?"

He Qingfang glanced at Qin Shu and said solemnly, "Ten people. I will take my ten guards with me. We will only participate in the battle for ten days. After ten days, we will return regardless of the outcome."

Yun Ce shook his head to calm the dog that was starting to bark in his head again, and said to He Qingfang, "I'll go, I'll go alone."

　Chapter One

　　
　
(End of this chapter)