From here on out, he would have to rely on his own wits. So, He Lingchuan shifted the topic. “Father, why do we have to return to the capital?”

“Well, that’s where the He Family’s roots are. It would be utterly unfilial not to return,” He Chunhua replied matter-of-factly.

He Lingchuan rolled his eyes. “Come on, you know there are ears all around. Do you really have to make me spell it out?” He then leaned close to his father, his voice barely above a whisper and easily drowned out by the clatter of hooves as he asked, “The King killed off the whole family, so why the hell would we go back just to serve him again?”

He Chunhua’s brow furrowed. “Where else could we possibly realize our ambitions?”

A man must have backing to achieve greatness. Is that not obvious?

“Well, what about the State of Baling to the west? Doesn’t Qiansong Commandery border four other states? The monster state in the northeast doesn’t seem too bad either…” He Lingchuan was mid-sentence when he had to duck a slap aimed straight at his head. After dodging the slap, he continued, “Anyway, the kingdom is in complete chaos. I mean, even peasants are waving their makeshift flags and calling themselves kings! As for beyond the kingdom? Rulers and kings get switched out like the pictures in a revolving lantern. I heard that in the State of Xuan to the east, they’ve had eleven kings in twenty years. The shortest reign lasted only nineteen days!”

I mean, talk about a high-risk profession.

What’s gotten into this brat? Is he seriously considering treason? He Chunhua’s expression turned cold as he said, “Those are tiny, insignificant states. How could they possibly compare to Great Yuan? We’ve stood for over sixty years. Our systems are in place, and everything is well-established.”

He Lingchuan exhaled heavily. “There’s barely even a chance that we live through this trip. Can’t you at least speak honestly with me for once?”

He Chunhua blinked in surprise, then his eyes narrowed suddenly. “Have you been possessed?”

The question came so abruptly that cold sweat broke out on He Lingchuan’s back. “What?”

What’s going on with him? My eldest son is known for his boldness, not insight or perception. He shouldn’t have been able to detect anything amiss with me. He Chunhua studied him for a moment, then warned in a low voice, “Don’t ever speak such treasonous words again.”

A gust of sand-laden wind blew past, and He Lingchuan sneezed.

So even Father is good at hiding his thoughts.

They were all seasoned players in this game. Oddly enough, that made him feel a little reassured.

It might seem like Commandery Administrator He had been swept into this power struggle unwillingly, but in truth, it was still unclear who had schemed against whom.

* * *

The expedition team had finally entered the Hongya Trade Route.

Beyond the mountainside stretched a world of yellow sand, vast and boundless.

Dunes rose and fell in the scorching wind. Some dunes were no taller than dirt mounds, while others towered over a hundred meters like mountains. However, they were not solid like mountain cliffs. Some of these massive dunes might vanish overnight, only to reappear in a distant hollow the next morning.

All vegetation had vanished, not a single hint of green remained.

It was an endless world of sand in every direction.

The Hongya Route cut directly through the desert. A bit over fifteen meters wide, it was broad enough for several carriages to ride abreast. The paving stones had long since lost their original hue, worn down and uneven from countless footsteps. Some of the bricks were newly laid—part of a restoration effort split between Heishui City and neighboring states. Others were ancient, their blackened surfaces layered with age.

The result made the Hongya Route resemble a gray-black serpent slithering across the sea of sand.

Zeng Feixiong was walking alongside the He father and son. Noticing He Lingchuan’s curiosity about the road, he explained, “The stains on the bricks are all blood. Some fresh, some old. This road is infested with sand bandits, and battles frequently occur. In fact, some of this blood is over a hundred years old. The Hongya Route was once the main supply line for Panlong City. Back then, there were countless deadly clashes atop it.”

To siege a city, you had to cut off its reinforcements and supplies.

He Lingchuan felt a surge of bloodlust and fury sweep over him at those words, as if the stench of war itself had come roaring in from the past.

So many brutal battles, so many vibrant lives cut short, so many impassioned cries to defend home and state, only to be swallowed by the endless desert sands, leaving nothing behind.

Three years after the fall of Panlong City, West Luo fell. Six years later, the State of Xianyou followed suit.

These two old rivals had fought bitterly for decades, only to collapse together, their bones buried in the dust of history.

“Is that why everyone flies Zhong banners?” He Lingchuan pointed to the tall banners at the head of their unit.

This was clearly an army of Great Yuan, led no less by the venerable State Preceptor Sun, yet their banners bore, loud and proud, a single character: 钟 (Zhong)[1].

They were men of today roaming the land, yet they carried banners of a bygone dynasty.

This was the case not just for the unit. Almost every caravan and company along the Hongya Route would fly the same banner, as if broadcasting some secret message across the whole desert.

Of course, once they left the trade route and entered the territory of other states, these banners would be stowed away. That was why He Lingchuan had heard of “Zhong banners” before but had rarely seen them in person.

“Wrathful spirits and twisted monsters roam this desert. They devour anything they catch, but they never set foot on the Hongya Route. Because this is the very path that the Gale Army once marched countless times. Everyone flies Zhong banners to honor them, as well as to seek protection.”

To He Lingchuan, it did not feel like tribute but imitation.

Zeng Feixiong pulled down the cloth covering his face, spat into a rag, and tucked it away. “You’re not even allowed to spit or piss on the Hongya Route. Everything has to be collected and carried out. Otherwise, it’s seen as a sign of disrespect and might provoke the wrath of the fallen heroes’ spirits.”

He Chunhua added, “Back then, many states didn’t believe in such superstitions. They even forbade their merchants from flying Zhong banners while traveling the Hongya Roue. The result—”

“Was that they eventually had to allow it,” He Lingchuan finished, catching on. “No point in picking fights with the dead.”

Just then, several loud shouts rang out behind them.

They turned to see that a small snow-white dog had darted out from another caravan further back, sprinting off the Hongya Route and bounding toward a nearby sand dune.

Its owner, a five-year-old girl, gave chase instinctively and quickly went beyond the boundary of the Hongya Route herself.

Before her family could react, an escorter rushed forward, shouting after her, “Come back! Hurry!”

That was what He Lingchuan and the others had heard—the man’s frantic cry.

The child’s mother, a noblewoman in fine dress, walked over and said, “Must you shout like that? You’ll frighten my daughter!”

“If she doesn’t come back, you’ll lose her!” the escorter shouted again. “Hurry, there are actual monsters out there!”

The desert lay still and silent, like a painting. There was not a single creature in sight.

The girl stopped, glancing back at the caravan, then toward the distant white dog, clearly torn.

Her mother clicked her tongue in annoyance. “Go fetch her.”

However, the escorter did not budge. He had no intention of stepping off the Hongya Route.

So, the noblewoman had no choice but to march over herself. She scooped up her daughter and turned to carry her back.

Nothing happened.

“You useless excuse for a—” she began to scold, but the insult never finished. The ground beneath her feet suddenly gave way.

A gaping maw erupted from below, swallowing both mother and child in a single bite.

Their scream was terrible but short.

They had been less than three steps off the Hongya Route.

The creature that devoured them did not immediately sink back into the sand. Instead, it turned and darted toward the nearby white dog.

It looked vaguely like a flounder, with a mouth growing straight out of the top of its head. Its body was wide, flat, and disc-shaped, colored almost exactly like the yellow sand. Had it not revealed itself, even if He Lingchuan had been standing right next to it, he might not have even been able to discover that it was there.

1. This is Zhong Shengguang’s surname. Zhong Shengguang was the commander who led the defense of Panlong City. ☜