Distant Mountain Battle Song

Chapter 38 discusses the importance of procedures.

Pingyuan City was even more bustling at night than during the day, mainly because there were too many fires and too many people putting them out. In addition, there were so many arsonists, robbers, murderers, and thieves taking advantage of the situation that the outer city had completely lost its order.

With order broken, all evils were exposed to the light of day. Yun Ce stood on the rooftop, watching an old man be hacked to death by refugees, watching a woman be dragged away by a group of refugees, watching a group of residents smash a young refugee into a pulp with wooden sticks, and watching a female refugee holding a child knock on a door for help, only to be hit on the head by a stick protruding from the courtyard wall and fall to the ground, her child rolling in the street and then being trampled over by a group of people...

Yun Ce put away his binoculars; this was the only way he could express his pity.

In the past, jokes in crosstalk performances, when they actually happened in real life, wouldn't make people happy. The reason we laughed in the past was because we knew it was just a joke and couldn't possibly happen.

Yun Ce was hiding on the roof of a three-story wooden building. This building was the tallest in Pingyuan City. In addition, the high elevation of the building allowed him to overlook the entire city and even see outside the city during the day.

At this time, the city was in chaos. Logically, the city lord and the captains guarding the city should be here to direct the suppression of the rebellion. However, Yun Ce had been here for ten minutes and there was not a single person there.

In contrast, the city lord's mansion not far away was brightly lit. In the huge courtyard, countless people were busy like ants. Judging from the mountain of boxes and cages, they were preparing to escape.

Yun Ce felt that the city lord was somewhat shameless. He turned his head and saw that another large mansion on the other side was also brightly lit. However, the people busy there were a group of armored soldiers, unlike the other side where most of the people were servants dressed in cloth.

A soldier wielding a long-handled machete stood at the gate of the courtyard, shouting something loudly from time to time. Seeing the women and children scrambling to climb onto the sheep cart in a chaotic manner, he actually reached out and pulled one or two of them down. The woman cried and clung to his leg, begging for mercy. This guy actually swung his machete and killed the woman.

The inner city is backed by the outer wall, where there is another gate. Once you leave this gate, there is an endless wilderness outside. Fortunately, you have to pass through this huge pavilion before you can get to the wilderness.

Yun Ce originally didn't want to do anything, but after seeing the commotion at the city lord's and captain's houses, he jumped into the attic, knocked over the lantern to let the lamp oil spill out, and just as he was about to light it, he suddenly noticed a huge map hanging on the wall, stacks of silk books on the table next to it, and even the lotus pot next to it was full of scrolls.

Yun Ce carefully put the map, silk scroll, and other items into the Dragon Ball. He opened a room on the left and saw a mountain of bamboo slips and wooden tablets. He could only sigh regretfully; there were too many for the Dragon Ball to hold.

The room on the right appeared to be a government office. They picked up a few silk scrolls from the table and found they were recommendation letters. These were local talents recommended by Zhang Gongyaliang, the city lord, to Pei Gongjing, the governor of Yunzhou.

After reading the signature, Yun Ce noticed that the date was yesterday. He thought for a moment, then ground ink and picked up a brush to write his own information on a pre-laid recommendation letter.

Throughout the entire process, he was overflowing with praise, showing not the slightest bit of embarrassment. For someone of his caliber, no amount of praise was too much.

To avoid revealing any flaws, Yun Ce checked several more letters to see how they were handled. He discovered that such a recommendation letter cost 50,000 coins, and to get the city lord's seal, it would cost an additional 100,000 coins.

Yun Ce searched the government office for a while but couldn't find the seal.

In a fit of anger, Yun Ce poured a jar of lamp oil onto the bamboo slips and wooden tablets, reluctantly threw out a torch, and hurriedly left.

Flames rose, but they were inconspicuous, since the entire city was ablaze.

Perhaps seeing that the pavilion was on fire, the people from the city lord's mansion and the captain's mansion abandoned many people and many trunks and hurriedly left their respective residences.

With no one left to block the surging crowds on the streets, the City Lord's Mansion and the Captain's Mansion were immediately submerged by the gray-white crowd.

The armored soldiers of the Captain's Mansion cut through the crowd, and a group of horned horses charged out, heads bowed, using their horns to send the frenzied people flying in all directions. Behind these horses, a group of armored soldiers guarded the long convoy closely following, leaving corpses strewn everywhere they went.

I thought that captain was a spineless coward, but I didn't expect that this guy's martial arts skills were not bad at all. He wielded his big cleaver like a windmill, and the fleeing people who rushed over were like bundles of grass under the guillotine, cut off with a light touch.

When the girl in red led her elite troops over, the captain had already gone almost mad with killing. He aimed his knife at the girl in red and swung it down.

The girl in red, wielding a spear, dared not fight back and dodged, but was kicked in the chest by the dismounted captain, sending her flying backward.

Pei Chuan's spear shot out like a venomous snake, piercing the captain's lower back, but was blocked by the armor. The captain, who had just withdrawn his foot, kicked the large cleaver planted on the ground, then twisted his waist and turned, the cleaver spinning like a fan blade as it slashed backward. Pei Chuan, having already thrust his spear, retreated and disappeared into the crowd. Those refugees who couldn't retreat in time were struck by the whirlwind of the cleaver, severing two bodies before finally losing momentum and hacking into a third.

Red Girl swayed as she stood up, let out a shout, and bravely thrust her spear at the captain. The captain grinned maliciously, dodged, and was about to sever Red Girl's neck with his sword when a jar flew through the air. The captain, disregarding the need to kill Red Girl, smashed the jar open with his sword. The jar shattered, and he was covered in the liquid inside.

To the incredulous look of the Red Girl, a pig-headed man tossed her a torch, and the lamp oil flowing on the ground ignited, the flames eventually climbing up to the captain.

Seeing the captain on fire, frantically trying to put it out, Yun Ce waved to the girl in red and prepared to go find the city lord. After all, if this Zhang Gongya didn't stamp his letter of recommendation, it would be useless.

When it comes to kicking someone when they're down, Pei Chuan is an expert. After the captain's body caught fire, he reappeared, brandishing his spear and stabbing wildly at the captain, who was clad in armor and impervious to swords and spears. He didn't expect to kill the captain; he only hoped that this wild stabbing would make the fire on the captain's body burn even brighter.

The streets were in complete chaos, with fires breaking out everywhere. Yun Ce glanced worriedly toward the inn and noticed that everyone's attention was focused on the government offices and the wealthy area, while the inn remained relatively peaceful.

Yun Ce leaped and bounded across two streets on the rooftops before finally managing to spot the chariot of the city lord's mansion. Sure enough, the officials were all quite capable. The city lord, Zhang Yaliang, who was covering the rear for his family, wielded a large halberd and slashed left and right. Almost none of his men could withstand his blows. After killing more than a dozen people, the refugees chasing him stopped in their tracks.

Zhang Yaliang roared, "Those who obstruct me shall die!"

Yun Ce hurriedly jumped down, waving the letter of recommendation in his hand at Zhang Yaliang and said, "Please wait a moment, Lord Zhang. Please stamp my letter of recommendation before you leave."

Zhang Yaliang was stunned for a moment, and saw a strange pig-headed man quickly approaching him. The halberd whistled as it slashed down at Yun Ce's neck. Yun Ce ducked to avoid it, but Zhang Yaliang's halberd blocked the slash. The halberd spun in his hand and immediately turned into a hook, silently hooking towards Yun Ce's back.

Yun Ce reached out and grabbed the blade of the halberd, pulling hard to snatch it away. He planted the halberd in the ground and then respectfully presented the letter of recommendation to Zhang Yaliang, earnestly saying, "This letter of recommendation is very important to me. Please affix your seal, Lord Zhang."

Zhang Yaliang finally snapped out of his shock at having his halberd stolen. However, as a seasoned official, he still accepted the letter of recommendation from the very polite Yun Ce. After glancing at it, he squinted and said, "Oh, Liu Chang'an, but I wonder whose son this young master is?"

Seeing that the fire had started on the long street, Yun Ce felt a surge of anxiety. Seeing that this guy was still dragging his feet even now, he was furious. He raised his hand and slapped Zhang Yaliang across the face. With a loud slap, Zhang Yaliang's head was turned to the side. Yun Ce then grabbed his neck and shook him violently, saying, "Hurry up and use the seal for me."

"I am fully armored, how could I possibly carry an official seal?"

Zhang Yaliang was shaken so badly that he was completely disoriented. Although he didn't know why the other party wanted his seal, he knew that his life was hanging by a thread and that the only thing he could control was the fuse. So he gritted his teeth and refused to say anything.

Yun Ce turned his head and saw that the fire was spreading towards the inn. Enraged, he punched Zhang Yaliang in the face. The punch was so heavy that Zhang Yaliang's cheekbone immediately caved in, and his upper and lower teeth shattered after violently colliding.

Some of the refugees knew of the pig-headed man's power, and when they saw him carrying out his business, they stopped their unsuspecting brothers, wanting to wait until the demon king finished his work before speaking.

It was at this moment that Zhang Yaliang's servants finally had a chance to escape the refugees. Seeing their master being arrested, they rushed forward, intending to rescue Zhang Yaliang.

Yun Ce gripped the halberd with one hand and swept it across, cleaving the burly man who was most eager to save his master in two. The other servants, seeing the pig-headed man's ferocity, all retreated.

"Apply the seal to me..."

Yun Ce grabbed Zhang Yaliang's neck and continued to shake her.

Zhang Yaliang had already been knocked unconscious by that punch, and the broken nasal bone had even pierced his brain. Now, he was barely alive, let alone able to answer him.

In a panic, Yun Ce violently ripped open Zhang Yaliang's belt and tore open his well-tailored armor. Finally, he found a brocade pouch at Zhang's waist, emptied it out, and examined its contents. It was exactly what he needed.

After putting away the brocade pouch, Yun Ce stepped on Zhang Yaliang's sunken face. The ground was soft under his feet, and with the force of the step, he climbed onto the roof and ran quickly toward the guesthouse.

(End of this chapter)