Finest Servant

Chapter 525 The Difficult Journey

A melancholy tune floated through the air, tinged with faint sorrow and sadness, deeply touching the hearts of these young men who were about to embark on a distant expedition.

"Brother Lin, look, it's Miss Xu. She has come to see us off!" Gao Qiu whispered.

Lin Wanrong looked back towards the eastern hills. In the hazy red glow of the sunrise, Xu Zhiqing's slender and beautiful figure stood like a lone flower on the mountaintop. The morning sun illuminated her pure face, shimmering with a faint golden light. Two streams of crystal-clear tears silently rolled down her cheeks, as pure as the morning dew in the Helan Mountains—heartbreakingly poignant and beautiful.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Thinking of the sand-burial story Xu Zhiqing had told him, Lin Wanrong sighed lightly, his heart flooded with both joy and sorrow. Gritting his teeth, he flicked his horsewhip, and his galloping steed dashed away, leaving all behind, never looking back.

A brilliant array of rosy clouds burst forth, and Xu Zhiqing's figure remained motionless atop the peak, like a petrified 'wife-waiting' rock, unable to move for a long time.

...

As they moved from east to west into the Helan Mountains, the weather gradually turned colder. At first, the road was wide, and towering pine and spruce trees lined both sides. A sea of clouds stretched for miles, and the eye could not see their end. Cherry trees blushing red, lilacs a deep purple, almond blossoms a delicate pink—various uniquely beautiful shrubs filled the valleys and ravines. Layer upon layer of colorful forests complemented the songs of birds, the fragrance of flowers, and the babbling streams, making for exceptionally beautiful scenery. Countless petroglyphs decorated both banks of the valley, creating a vivid gallery that chronicled the history of the Helan Mountains through depictions of the sun, moon, and stars, cattle, horses, sheep, hunting scenes, religious rituals, and weddings.

With such enchanting scenery, they initially did not feel fatigued. The procession meandered westward at a swift pace, breaking through rocky forests.

After covering a distance of seventy to eighty miles in one go, the landscape abruptly changed. The forest grew denser, the mountain rocks steeper, and the valleys were full of scattered, jagged stones of various sizes. Horses slipped and sunk deep into the rocks, making it impossible to ride. Everyone had no choice but to dismount and lead their horses on foot, significantly slowing their pace.

Lin Wanrong looked up; tall mountains and thick forests blocked the sunlight. The dim light inside the forest made it difficult to distinguish the directions.

Getting lost in the mountains was a grave concern, and Lin Wanrong was well aware of this. He took out his compass to confirm the direction. Seeing that they were on the right path, he finally exhaled a sigh of relief.

"General Lin, where do we go from here?" Gao Qiu took a gulp from his water flask and quietly asked. At this moment, they were deep within the vast Helan Mountains, and the farther they went, the more desolate it became. The forest stretched as far as the eye could see, and the wild grass grew taller than a man. The path had long since disappeared, and their war horses had to frequently backtrack.

In Lin Wanrong's memory, there were at least two valleys through which they could cross the east-west expanse of the Helan Mountains—of course, that was in a past life. Straining to search his residual memories, and carefully comparing them to the crude and pitiful sheepskin map that Hu Bugui had found, he nodded solemnly, "Yes, we are in the right place. This is the first mountain range marked on the map. Brother Hu, look—"

The sheepskin map had weathered many years, its ink already faded and incomplete. Hu Bugui could only make out that the triangles on the map represented mountains, but the rest was indecipherable. "Judging by the looks of it, this seems to be the first mountain depicted on the map," he hesitated before adding, "but we have reached a dead-end. Where should we go next?"

Lin Wanrong took a deep breath. They had ventured deep into the forest, where the underbrush was thick and progress was strenuously slow. Worse still, neither the map nor his memory provided any clues on how to proceed. Wandering aimlessly in the forest would not only make it impossible to reach Bayanhot, but they might also risk their lives.

As the commander, he couldn't afford to show his anxiety. He paused to collect his thoughts when a soft sound of flowing water reached his ears. Looking up, he saw a clear stream gently flowing nearby. It washed over the grassy earth, carving a shallow ditch through the forest, where a few pale pebbles lay submerged. A couple of warhorses tethered deep in the woods stretched their necks to drink from the clear water, the scene extraordinarily serene.

"Brother Gao, hand me the compass," Lin Wanrong suddenly shouted, dashing toward the stream.

Gao Qiu complied and hurriedly handed him the compass. Lin Wanrong set it down silently and observed it for a moment. A broad smile lit up his face. "Brother Hu, take a look—"

Hu Bugui and Gao Qiu looked simultaneously, noticing that the stream flowed at an angle to the north-south direction indicated by the compass. "Hmm, it seems the stream flows from the northwest," Gao Qiu remarked.

"Exactly, the northwest," Lin Wanrong abruptly looked up, a gleam in his eyes. "Brother Gao, do you remember what Bayanhot is most famous for?"

"No need to think about it, it's the steppe sheep and golden pelts," Gao Qiu answered without hesitation.

Lin Wanrong nodded, "Correct. According to Advisor Xu, the plains before the mountains of Bayanhot are expansive grasslands, rich in resources, especially abundant in steppe sheep. Being a plain formed by alluvial deposits and located near the Helan Mountains, where do you think the fertile soil and abundant water of the Bayanhot grasslands come from?"

"Of course, from the Helan Mountains," Hu Bugui suddenly exclaimed. "Ah, I see now—General, are you saying that the source of this stream could very well be the same source that nourishes the Bayanhot grasslands?"

Lin Wanrong smiled, gently dipping his hand into the stream. The icy sensation seemed to pierce his heart. He dug out a small pebble from the mud and studied it for a moment before speaking softly, "Notice this stream—powerful enough to carve a ditch through such a dense forest. Now look at this pebble, naturally formed through centuries of water erosion. What does this tell you?"

Hu Bugui and Gao Qiu exchanged puzzled glances. Without waiting for their answer, Lin Wanrong emphatically waved his hand, "—It tells us that the source of this water is highly active and forceful, and it's very likely the same source that feeds the Bayanhot grasslands."

Lin Wanrong observed carefully and analyzed with impeccable logic. Gao Qiu listened intently, nodding his head in agreement. Hu Bugui excitedly said, "General, are you saying that if we follow this stream to its source, we will reach Bayanhot?"

Lin Wanrong shook his head, "Even if we don't reach Bayanhot, we'll likely be very close. Brother Gao, relay my order—change our entire army's direction. Neither man nor beast shall rest. Follow this stream upwards and send scouts ahead to investigate its source."

Having settled on a course, the gurgling stream became their best guide. Over 8,000 soldiers and officers turned their horses and moved upstream. Along the way, they encountered thick undergrowth and accumulated mud on this untrodden path; the difficulty they faced was unimaginable. Every now and then, men and horses would get stuck in the mud, causing alarmed shouts to reverberate throughout the vast, untouched forests of the Helan Mountains.

To prevent veering off course, Gao Qiu constantly checked his compass. The stream, indeed as Lin Wanrong had predicted, consistently led northwest, boosting everyone's confidence. Although the path ahead was still fraught with difficulties, they no longer feared.

The mist in the primeval forest was thick, and they advanced along the stream, stepping into mud that was sometimes deep, sometimes shallow. Every person was drenched and extremely uncomfortable. By the end of the first day, they had lost twenty horses to the mud and over a hundred soldiers had suffered from bites from snakes, rats, and ants. The second day was even worse, with about two hundred people injured.

Travel was hard! And it was even harder within the limitless Helan Mountains! Lin Wanrong deeply sighed.

After two days of such progress, the stream seemed endless. Excluding the time spent sleeping, all other hours were devoted to pressing ahead. Lin Wanrong roughly calculated that they had traveled more than three hundred li in these two days, and their feet were blistered. Yet, the source of the stream was still nowhere in sight. Had it not been for the compass confirming their direction, he would have doubted the path they were on.

"Brother Hu, have the scouts ahead sent any word back?" Lin Wanrong licked his dry lips and poked the branch he was using as a walking stick into the stream for a sip of water, before asking breathlessly. To conserve energy, all the soldiers had been using branches to assist their walking. It was already noon on the third day, and there was still no news from the front. Thinking of the ten-day deadline he had promised Xu Zhiqing, Lin Wanrong felt an urgency like a fire burning within him. What made it worse was not knowing the current situation in the Helan Mountains or whether the great war had begun between Great Hua and the Turks. This feeling of being cut off from the world left him anxious yet helpless.

Hu Bugui wiped the sweat off his face and nodded, "I sent Li Wuling out early this morning. He took a team of twenty scouts to investigate. I don't know what's keeping them; they haven't returned yet."

"Li Wuling?" Lin Wanrong was astonished. "Little Li also came along? Brother Hu, this is exploiting child soldiers!"

Choosing soldiers had been Hu Bugui's task, and Lin Wanrong had not inquired about it. Occupied with finding the way for the last two days, he had been unaware that Li Wuling had also entered the primeval forests at the foot of the Helan Mountains. If Miss Xu found out, what would happen then?

Hu Bugui chuckled bitterly, "General, you know what kind of person this kid is. During the Battle of Wuyuan, he charged behind me and took down two Turkic warriors with a single spear thrust but still wasn't satisfied. He kept complaining that you didn’t let him enter Wuyuan City. This time, he nagged me to no end. When I went to use the latrine, he practiced his swordsmanship behind the outhouse, making such a racket that I couldn't even relieve myself. I had no choice but to bring him along. Fortunately, he's agile despite his youth, and taking a scout team suits him."

Practicing swordsmanship outside the latrine? Little Li really would do anything. Lin Wanrong shook his head and smiled, recalling what Li Tai had told him before they left the capital: to train Li Wuling. He never expected the boy would take the initiative. He wondered how Miss Xu Zhiqing would react when she found out about Li Wuling's whereabouts.

Thinking of Xu Zhiqing, Lin Wanrong remembered her standing atop a hill in the Helan Mountains, her loving gaze, and her melodious farewell song. Such affection would melt any man’s heart. Lin Wanrong gritted his teeth. If he returned alive this time, he’d definitely make Xu Zhiqing his. Old Xu would be the one laughing, gaining such a remarkable son-in-law for free. He chuckled at the thought, lost in his daydream, when he saw someone rushing from a distance, splashing through the stream and drenching his clothes, yelling, "Move aside, move aside! I have urgent military news to report!"

"It's Little Li," Hu Bugui exclaimed, taking quick strides to grab Li Wuling’s sleeve. "General Lin is here."

Li Wuling, drenched and haggard, clung to Hu Bugui, panting heavily.

"Is he scared or just worn out?" Lin Wanrong slapped him on the shoulder and laughed, "Not bad, Little Li. Your running form is becoming as handsome as mine. What news have you gathered?"

"Brother Lin," Li Wuling gasped, his eyes widening, "There’s a lake up ahead, a really big lake."

"A lake?" Lin Wanrong excitedly grabbed Li Wuling's shoulders. "Where is this lake?"

Li Wuling grimaced from the grip, and Lin Wanrong quickly let go, smiling, "My apologies, I got carried away. Where is this lake you speak of?"

Rubbing his sore shoulders, Li Wuling exhaled and grinned, "It’s straight ahead, about sixty li away. I saw it with my own eyes—Brother Lin, does this mean I’ve rendered a great service? During the surprise attack on Bayanhot, you can’t leave me to just watch again."

Lin Wanrong laughed heartily, "Well done, kid. After we steal the nomadic women, I’ll make sure to give you a couple of fair-skinned ones."

"Tsk," Li Wuling waved dismissively and snorted. Hu Bugui burst into laughter.

"With the lake in sight, Bayanhot can't be far," Lin Wanrong mused, a feeling of joy swelling within him. He surveyed the troops and bellowed across the wilderness, "Spread my orders. The entire army is to speed up. We must reach the source of this stream before sunset today!"

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