Chapter 193: An Old Acquaintance
Chapter 193: Chapter 193: An Old Acquaintance
The conversation went much more smoothly than Zhu Ge had imagined.
After they spoke, he learned that Ding Ding was only a little over eighty years old.
She was much younger than Mr. Langhao, the Jianshui City Lord, but she possessed a sincere and passionate heart.
She immediately assigned half of her personal guard to Zhu Ge.
Five thousand men!
And what’s more, every last one was a soldier of the Soldier Dao Soldier Realm.
In addition, she dispatched a hundred of her disciples from the Yunxi Engineering Institute to accompany his army.
These were all Mo Family disciples, led by a Second Realm expert, and they could forge patrol puppets, Reconnoitre Puppets, and combat puppets for Zhu Ge.
There were also five low-grade Spirit Level Sewing Masters, five low-grade Spirit Level Blacksmiths, and five low-grade Spirit Level Mineral Seekers.
A truly grand gesture!
Setting aside the Soldier Daoist Soldiers, just having these Mo Family disciples was a massive reinforcement for his forces.
When the troops were exhausted, they could simply use Reconnoitre Puppets and patrol puppets to stand watch at night.
Normally, bringing puppets along would be a hassle.
But what if they were built on-site?
That would make things simple and easy.
According to Ding Ding, while a First Realm Mo Family disciple couldn’t be expected to create incredibly powerful puppets, crafting one or two small gadgets was quite simple.
If each of the one hundred disciples made a small earth-and-wood puppet, that would be a hundred puppets right there.
Dispersing these puppets to stand guard would be far more effective than having soldiers do it.
Not to mention the Artisans.
Just like with the Kitchen, these professionals couldn’t directly add to their combat strength, as they weren’t in combat professions.
But for an army, things like torn leather armor and clothing, or damaged armor and weapons, all needed repairs.
So, Zhu Ge decided to go ahead and conduct military formation drills right there in Eagle City.
However, when he arrived at the underground training grounds, he couldn’t help but rub his eyes at the sight of the person before him.
"Scholar?? You’re here?"
...
「Inside a stone house.」
Zhu Ge and a white-haired Yu the Scholar sat across from each other.
The tea was a wild tea from Eagle Mountain, one of Ding Ding’s treasures. It was bitter on the tongue but had a sweet aftertaste.
Zhu Ge wasn’t much of a tea connoisseur; he just found it pleasant to drink.
Yu the Scholar was different. He raised his cup, sniffed its aroma, took a small sip, and closed his eyes to savor it for a moment before slowly swallowing.
"Good tea," he said. "Much better than the bitter tea from Jianshan Village."
Zhu Ge smiled.
He knew Yu the Scholar wasn’t just talking about the tea, but about the past.
The Scholar really did look like some kind of tragically handsome, melancholic hero right now.
But Yu the Scholar’s white hair wasn’t dyed; it was the result of losing too much of his lifespan.
A Second Realm cultivator usually had a lifespan of two to three hundred years, but Yu the Scholar’s hair had turned completely white. One could only imagine how much of his life he had sacrificed to kill the Raincoat Fisherman.
"Scholar, why are you here?" Zhu Ge asked. "What happened at Mengla Slope?"
Yu the Scholar set down his teacup and shook his head. "Mengla Slope... is gone."
Zhu Ge’s heart sank.
"The beast tide was too ferocious," Yu the Scholar said slowly. "Not long after you left, the Demon Beasts from the south began swarming north like a mad flood."
"River Mouth Pass fell. Massive hordes of the Demon Race from Nanyue Mianhuang poured in. Although Mengla Slope had Mechanism Masters defending it, they couldn’t hold. Wave after wave of Demon Beasts came. We couldn’t kill them all, and we couldn’t drive them away."
"The Mechanism Master... you mean the Ju Zi’s son?" Zhu Ge asked.
"Yes." Yu the Scholar nodded. "His name was Mo Yun, a Second Realm Mechanism Master. He and his puppets held the line for seven days and seven nights. When his puppets were all destroyed and his Literary Energy was depleted, he charged in himself. He... died in battle."
Zhu Ge fell silent.
Mo Yun. The young man whose father had been publicly executed by the Raincoat Fisherman. The Mechanism Master who had joined forces with Zhu Ge to hunt down that same man.
He remembered the look in Mo Yun’s eyes—furious and unwilling to accept his fate, but never once retreating.
"Of the Mengla Slope Third Village, fewer than two hundred people survived in the end," Yu the Scholar said.
"Duan Lei and Ji Fuhui are both alive. We took the remaining survivors and fled north. Dozens more died along the way. By the time we reached Eagle City, there were only just over one hundred and twenty of us left."
"City Lord Ding took you in?" Zhu Ge nodded slightly.
"Yes," Yu the Scholar said. "As inheritors of the same Mo Family tradition, she took us in, arranged for our lodging, gave us food and medicine, and even had people treat our injuries. She’s been helping us to this day."
Zhu Ge nodded.
He hadn’t interacted much with Ding Ding, but from her words and actions, he could tell she was a person who valued loyalty and honor.
It was rare for a Third Realm Mo Family Mechanism Master in her eighties to have such a magnanimous spirit.
"What about Duan Lei and Ji Fuhui?" Zhu Ge asked. "How are they?"
"Duan Lei is in the barracks," Yu the Scholar said. "He’s been practicing the Martial Arts you taught him and has already reached the First Realm Anger Realm. He’s not considered powerful yet, but he’s much stronger than an ordinary person."
"Ji Fuhui... that kid is an apprentice in City Lord Ding’s Engineering Institute, learning Mo Family Mechanism Art. He’s quick-witted and a fast learner. City Lord Ding says he’s very talented."
Zhu Ge smiled.
Big Belly Dog and Little Black Egg—one practicing Martial Arts, the other studying the Mo Family’s arts—had both found their own paths.
After a moment of thought, Zhu Ge thought of someone else. "What about Sui Niang? Have you heard anything about her?"
Yu the Scholar shook his head.
’Looks like she’s in Mengzi City...’ Zhu Ge frowned slightly.
As one of the few remaining survivors from Jianshan Village, Sui Niang had truly endured one disaster after another.
Only after the Raincoat Fisherman was killed and she saw his dead body with her own eyes did Sui Niang finally faint and get taken away by her family.
"I hope she’s alright," Zhu Ge said, shaking his head. "My next stop is Mengzi City anyway. Her village is nearby, so if things looked bad, they probably would have fled into the city."
Normally, the cities were all filled to capacity and wouldn’t allow anyone else in.
But during wartime, with population turnover and attrition being so high, the cities had no reason to refuse people from the surrounding areas.
And since Mengzi City was one of the few remaining cities that hadn’t been conquered, Zhu Ge felt slightly relieved.
"Mengzi City..." Yu the Scholar repeated in a low voice, a trace of worry in his eyes. "I heard it’s also under siege. The situation isn’t much better than Eagle City’s."
Zhu Ge nodded. "That’s why I have to go. The sooner I get there, the more people I can save."
Yu the Scholar nodded and said no more.
The two sat in silence for a while. The tea had grown cold.
Zhu Ge picked up the teapot, refilled the cup with hot water, and pushed it in front of Yu the Scholar. "Scholar, what are your plans now?"
Yu the Scholar lifted his cup and stared at the tea leaves floating within, remaining silent for a long time. Then he looked up, his eyes bright and resolute.
"I’m coming with you. You saved my life, and you helped me get revenge on the Raincoat Fisherman."
"You want to reclaim Red River Prefecture, so I’ll follow you. I’ll contribute in any way I can."
"But your body..." Zhu Ge looked at his white hair, hesitating to speak his mind.
"I won’t die yet," Yu the Scholar said with a smile. "I’ve lost a lot of my lifespan, but I can still hold on for a few more years. A few years is enough time for me to help you with many things."
"Who knows, maybe I’ll break through to the Third Realm? Don’t you underestimate my talent."
Zhu Ge nodded.
He knew Yu the Scholar’s temperament. Once his mind was made up, not even nine bulls could drag him back.
Besides, he didn’t want Yu the Scholar to simply grow old and die in obscurity.
’I have to help the Scholar break through to the Third Realm!’
"By the way, Scholar, let me tell you about what I’ve been up to."
"I’ve founded a faction. It’s called the Six Paths Palace!"