Chapter 236: Harvest

The next morning, when dawn had just arrived, Sun Bingchen and his men had already packed their belongings and were preparing to leave the Hui Clan Gathering.

The urns that contained the ashes of the twenty-six corpses from last night were stored in twenty-six leather baggage which was cushioned with hay on the inside as well. They hung on the saddles of each guard’s steed. Even if the journey was long and arduous, these urns would not break.

Even though some were wounded previously and did not manage to recover completely after two days of reconditioning, their mobility would essentially not be affected.

However, all of them could not be as relaxed as they were when they had left Gan Province as soon as they left the Hui Clan Gathering. Everyone made various kinds of preparations, ranging from sharpening their swords to feeding their steeds with enough fodder. They even carried a sufficient amount of dry provisions and water with them too. Most of the guards had also sought help from the blacksmiths at the blacksmith workshop in the Hui Clan Gathering to forge mirror armor plates that they could wear underneath their clothes.

Yan Liqiang also made some preparations during these two days as well.

He would still carry the Horned Python Bow with him, which was placed behind the saddle of his rhinodrake steed. At the same time, he had also upgraded his quiver. Normal quivers could only be filled with a total of thirty-six arrows. One quiver would be enough for a person to bring because of the physical limitation imposed during a battle. There weren’t many who were capable of shooting out thirty-six consecutive arrows, even if they were considered to be an exceptional archer. However, in Yan Liqiang’s case, this would not be a problem. Because of this, he would not only carry one quiver, but three quivers. In total, he would be carrying a total of 108 arrows with him.

Besides the quiver, Yan Liqiang even hung an ashwood spear and a shield on the saddle. It seemed that the bow and spear together made a complete set.

The atmosphere when leaving the Hui Clan Gathering was no picnic. Even so, the guards were slightly relieved when they saw three quivers hanging on Yan Liqiang’s saddle. Oddly enough, that gave them a sense of security, as if their minds were put to ease. Even if the Blackwind Bandits were to come again, there would be nothing to fear. With just with a draw of his bow, he could give everyone a confidence boost, because as long as Yan Liqiang was here, he could kill the Blackwind Bandits like he was playing around.

The exploits of Yan Liqiang’s first encounter with the Blackwind Bandits that day had been quietly circulating amongst the guards for the past two days. Some said that Yan Liqiang had slain more than a hundred Blackwind Bandits all by himself in that battle, while some even said that he had killed about eighty to ninety people in total. Regardless of the number, this terrifying figure was enough to make people be in awe and make comrades feel reassured.

When Yan Liqiang and the others were leaving, Chief Chang Lu of the Hui Clan Gathering took the initiative and personally escorted them to the doors of the mud wall. During these few days, the arrival of Yan Liqiang and the other men had generated a lot of income for the Hui Clan Gathering as they not only ate, drank, and slept in the inn, but also bought a lot of things for their provisions. Before they departed, Liang Yijie left Chang Lu five rhinodrake steeds that he had obtained from the Blackwind Bandits as the entire expense for Sun Bingchen’s men at the inn for the past two days. This caused Chang Lu to smile until his eyes were obscured, like a coyote with narrowed eyes.

In places like Lan Province and Gan Province, there was no need to worry about selling rhinodrake steeds because the northwestern provinces were originally teeming with them. Moreover, these were the finest rhinodrake steeds in the Great Han Empire, so selling them was of no concern. Countless horse dealers would wander to various parts of the northwestern provinces to collect steeds each year. In fact, the rhinodrake steeds that the Blackwind Bandits had left behind were of good quality and could be immediately used as military steeds. The five rhinodrake steeds that Liang Yijie gave him could generate revenue several times more than the expenses they spent at the inn, even if he casually sold them off. It was no surprise that Chang Lu was happy. Even if he decided not to sell them, the steeds would also be extremely useful by keeping them for his own use.

“Travel safe and good luck, everyone. Come back when you pass by next time…”

Yan Liqiang was already out from the Hui Clan Gathering, yet he could hear the sound of overly polite yet comical farewells coming from the Hui Clan Gathering market town.

Yan Liqiang lightly rubbed Goldie’s head who was also laying down on the saddle. On the other hand, Snowstorm Cloud was making loud noises while walking and shaking its neck, as if extremely reluctant to carry the dog on its back. Yan Liqiang had to use a lot of effort just to strap the injured Goldie onto the saddle just now. This rhinodrake steed had its own dignity too. Snowstorm Cloud had allowed Yan Liqiang to ride on its back, but when Yan Liqiang tried to subtly strap Goldie on its back, the rhinodrake steed displayed extreme resistance, unwilling to cooperate with him. But thanks to Yan Liqiang’s knowledge and skill in tending to a rhinodrake steed, he was able to appease Snowstorm Cloud after expending a lot of effort to do so.

Yan Liqiang looked at Ye Tiancheng who was currently on horseback in the middle of the formation. Several guards around him were watching him closely too. Ever since the encounter with the Blackwind Bandits, Ye Tiancheng had been strangely quiet for the past two days. He didn’t utter a single word the entire day and did whatever he was told to do without making a fuss. Ye Tiancheng lowered his head, not looking right or left, as he rode on the steed. His behavior was reassuring to the others.

In spite of that, Yan Liqiang knew that Ye Tiancheng clearly had something on his mind, something that was a definite contrast to calm demeanor he was showing on the outside. However, he didn’t have the slightest clue as to what Ye Tiancheng was planning to do. All he could do now was to proceed with caution.

The sky today was clearly much more serene than the previous days. Even though the chills from the end of winter still remained in the air, it was difficult to stop the smell of spring from emerging.

While breathing in the fresh air of the wilderness, Yan Liqiang’s thoughts started becoming lively as well. He thought about the changes he saw during his entry to the Heavenly Shrine last night. The two days of battle had caused the abrupt increase of ‘usable spirit points’ on the ‘toy capsule machine’ with the capability to create life to 178. At the same time, the ‘usable vitality points’ and ‘usable intelligence points’ had also broken through to 20,000…

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In Yan Liqiang’s eyes, the Blackwind Bandits that had flocked in were considered as raw materials for his toy capsule machine.

However, Yan Liqiang could hardly share this secret harvest with anyone, and he could only keep it inside his heart. Meanwhile, it would also prove to be somewhat difficult for Yan Liqiang if he wished to activate one capsule with his vital Qi based on his current internal cultivation. In spite of that, Yan Liqiang had a feeling that the things accumulated in the toy capsule machine at the Heavenly Shrine would be put to great use sooner or later. He would only have to look at Goldie to come to that conclusion. As a dog, it was able to bring so much help to Yan Liqiang. If the toy capsule machine could create other animals like the eagle that the late Sacred Flame priest controlled, wouldn’t that also mean that he would have clairvoyance as an ability? And perhaps he could make the toy capsule machine start creating humans…

When that thought flashed through Yan Liqiang’s mind, his heart violently palpitated, which he managed to suppress afterward…

He had been through fire and water in reality during these past few days while Yan Liqiang’s life at the Divine Sword Sect in the Heavenly Realm was considerably more peaceful. Besides running simple errands of a storekeeper, Yan Liqiang would just spend his time cultivating or reading books.

He wasn’t able to bring back the cultivation realm and treasures from that world. However, the knowledge and experiences he had acquired from that world was forever his as long as he could grasp them well. No one would be able to take them away from him either.

The sound of a steed galloping rang in his ear. Yan Liqiang did not have to turn around to know that it was Liang Yijie who was approaching him.

Sun Bingchen was rarely directly concerned about the troops’ errands on most days. Generally, Liang Yijie would be responsible for handling the matters concerning all the troops. This man was worthy to be called the spine and backbone of the entire party.

“The ones who went to Gan Province to seek reinforcements aren’t back yet…” Liang Yijie said as he stared toward the direction of Gan Province. It sounded as if he was muttering to himself, but Yan Liqiang knew that Liang Yijie was actually talking to him.

“Lei Sitong never wanted Ye Tiancheng to make it out alive in the beginning. He knew we were flanked by the Blackwind Bandits, so there’s no way that the troops under him would recklessly come to aid us. Even if the guards that Lord Sun dispatched were able to find the troops who had escorted us before, the commander of those troops will find a random excuse. He’d probably say that he needed further instructions from Lei Sitong, or that they didn’t bring enough supplies, or so forth in order to easily delay their movements for ten days or half a month!” Yan Liqiang lightly chuckled helplessly and continued, “The reinforcements from Gan Province will never come…”

Sun Bingchen also knew that the reinforcements from Gan Province would never come. Dispatching his men to Gan Province to seek aid was just a facade to calm all the guards down. If someone said that Yan Liqiang did not understand all of this before, then he would have surely understood it by now after recuperating for two days.

“This is why we can only rely on ourselves for everything!” With a slight crease on his forehead and a frown on his face, Liang Yijie continued, “The Blackwind Bandits might not retreat that easily…”

Yan Liqiang’s eyes shone brilliantly as he said, “Brother Liang, have you heard of the phrase, ‘the fighting spirit is awakened by the first roll of drums, but depleted by the second, and exhausted by the third’? The Blackwind Bandits undoubtedly won’t retreat just like that. However, they suffered two heavy casualties ever since we encountered them in the first place. This was enough to dispirit them. I believe they are currently struggling to rise up again, otherwise, Lord Sun wouldn’t have allowed us to venture out from the Hui Clan Gathering before the reinforcements from Gan Province even arrived. I do have a plan in mind and I want to discuss with Brother Liang for a bit…”

“Tell me, what do you have in mind?” Liang Yijie quickly revealed an interested expression on his face when he asked the question.

Yan Liqiang licked his lips and explained, “Actually, we don’t have to wait for the Blackwind Bandits to come and respond to their attacks. We can take the initiative and use our opponent’s methods for a change. We can also set up a trap for the Blackwind Bandits to fall into it on their own accord, giving them a severe punishment…”

“What kind of trap?”

“As long as we find a suitable terrain, we can directly ambush them. Even if the number of Blackwind Bandits exceeds ours by several fold, we don’t need to be afraid…” Yan Liqiang said as he gestured with his hand to reiterate his plan to Liang Yijie.

Liang Yijie’s eyes glistened as he listened to the plan and found it promising. After muttering for a while, he faced Yan Liqiang and gave him a nod. “Liqiang, hold on for a second. I will discuss this with Lord Sun and see what he thinks of this.”

“Alright!”

Liang Yijie kicked the stirrup slightly and mounted on his rhinodrake steed before running straight toward Sun Bingchen who was standing in front of the troops.

Yan Liqiang watched Liang Yijie as he steered his steed toward Sun Bingchen and talked to him with his side facing Yan Liqiang. Afterward, Sun Bingchen turned his head around and glanced at Yan Liqiang who was standing at the back of the troops before muttering something for a while and giving a subtle nod…