Chapter 114 - 83: Heaven-Defying Grand Array, The Entrance to the Previous Dynasty’s Ruins

Chapter 114: Chapter 83: Heaven-Defying Grand Array, The Entrance to the Previous Dynasty’s Ruins

He gestured to the wheelchair beneath him. "It’s hard for me to get around, so I won’t cause any trouble for you two."

Zhao Yong turned back. "We’re just escorting some elixirs, and we have so many masters for protection. Lao Shi, have you done so many shameful things that you feel this insecure?"

Zhao Ci’s expression hardened. "While the mission is underway, please address me as Lord Chief Envoy!"

Zhao Yong: "..."

Zhao Ci didn’t waste any time. Seeing that it was getting late, he went directly to the front of the convoy, said a brief farewell to those seeing them off, and gave the order to move out.

The convoy set off.

The cargo wasn’t heavy.

But the carriage protecting it was.

It left deep ruts in the official road.

The procession was vast and mighty, presenting a rather imposing sight.

Zhao Ci thoughtfully sized up Zhao Yong. He felt there was something off about what he’d said earlier. ’What did he mean, I feel insecure?’

Everyone speaks with their own logic.

But Zhao Ci couldn’t quite grasp Zhao Yong’s.

’So, it’s highly likely there’s something I’m missing.’

But when he looked at Zhao Yong’s head, it was completely blank; there were no subtitles.

Zhao Ci thought for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Ninth Imperial Brother, do you think we’ll run into any trouble on this trip to the Northern Three Prefectures?"

As expected.

A line of text suddenly popped up.

[Zhao Yong’s Current Wish]: Hope they can succeed. Wish Completion Reward: Comprehension Value +100, Hand Manipulation Talisman x1.

’Holy shit.’

’I want that talisman!’

’What kind of righteous gentleman could possibly resist this Talisman Paper?’

’But who is ’they’?’

’And what are they trying to succeed at?’

’This dickhead Yongzi, never saying things straight.’

Zhao Yong’s expression tightened for a moment before he returned to normal and said nonchalantly, "The Northern Three Prefectures may be lawless, but no one would dare touch the Court’s forces. You can relax, Lao Shi. As long as you haven’t secretly done anything to anger both gods and men, there shouldn’t be any major problems."

’So much resentment.’

Zhao Ci breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, that’s a load off my mind! In that case, though, Ninth Imperial Brother, you’d better be twice as careful. A gentleman’s balls are out in the open, while a petty man hides his dick. And you, Brother, seem to be hiding quite a lot from me!"

Zhao Yong: "..."

He snorted and said no more.

...

The journey from Lingge to the Northern Three Prefectures took about two and a half days.

There were posthouses along the way for rest, and the journey went smoothly. None of the thrilling incidents one hears about in stories of armed escorts came to pass.

It wasn’t that the local bandits were cowards.

After all, this was a Royal Family consignment. Setting aside whether any force even had the power to intercept it...

Even if they did, and even if they succeeded, what then?

They would be targeted by the Court.

Forget the men in the mountain fortress; none of them would live.

Even the earthworms in their stronghold would be sliced in half lengthwise.

Zhao Ci was a little disappointed. He had genuinely wanted a chance to get into a fight.

He wasn’t sure if his own latent violent tendencies had been awakened, or if it was a side effect of forging his Celestial Demon Body.

So, he was quite disappointed that no petty thieves had jumped out to serve as his sparring partners.

Over the past few days, Zhao Ci had tried countless times to secretly provoke Zhao Yong into action. But the man was exceptionally composed. No matter how Zhao Ci pranced and preened in front of him, he remained completely unmoved.

He simply refused to be provoked into a fight. It seemed that after suffering a few losses, his mindset had undergone another transformation.

Of course.

The journey wasn’t entirely smooth sailing.

The only rough patch came from him.

The main issue was that his 385-pound spear was simply too heavy, and the poor pony beneath him could barely handle the weight. As a result, they had to constantly stop and start, which caused considerable delays.

However, this only meant they had less time to rest at the posthouses. Overall, they were still on track to arrive on time.

On the morning of the third day, the convoy entered the territory of the Northern Three Prefectures.

And then...

Zhao Ci sensed that something was wrong.

Although Lingge was located in the south, it wasn’t like Dian Nan, an environment thick with forests and miasma. But here... the sun was already high in the sky, yet the poisonous miasma hadn’t dispersed.

The soil here was dark, but it wasn’t the rich, fertile black of healthy earth.

Instead, it looked as if sewage had been dumped directly into the ground.

It was currently the autumn harvest season, and in other places, the crops had already been gathered.

Here, however, the crops still clung stubbornly to the fields, looking exceptionally thin and weak. The heads of grain were withered and shriveled, not the least bit plump, and their color was far duller than that of healthy grain.

"The situation here... it seems far worse than I imagined!"

Zhao Ci’s brow furrowed. He periodically observed the pedestrians passing by. Most were sallow and emaciated, their skin discolored to varying degrees. Their bodies all showed signs of chronic poisoning.

Upon seeing the convoy, they instinctively tried to draw closer for a look, but were driven far away by the stout, well-fed Junior Officials.

They could only watch from a distance, cautiously.

This...

Zhao Ci didn’t know what to make of it. Some days ago, Kan Luotang had asked Zhu Li to deliver a small booklet to him. It contained her past observations from the Northern Three Prefectures, recorded in far more detail than most official documents.

Rumor had it that the Northern Three Prefectures were originally established to suppress an exit from the ruins of a previous dynasty, a place called the Five Elements Prison.

Like other such ruins, the Five Elements Prison was said to be filled with treasures, but it was just as full of danger.

The entire ruin was wild and untamable; not even the Court had been able to conquer it.

The Five Elements Prison had numerous, yet extremely unstable, entrances and exits, making them nearly impossible to track.

Furthermore, each time an entrance appeared in the world, a portion of the prison’s toxic substances would leak out, causing a local catastrophe.

Later, a legendary figure took action, designing a Heaven-Reaching Array. Three prefectural cities rose from the earth, and with their very people as the Array’s foundation, they forcibly sealed the largest of the exits north of Lingge.

From then on, the exact location where the entrance would appear could still not be confirmed.