Returning from the abyss

Chapter 1301 Scout

When the porter finished eating, wiped his mouth and stood up, Lu Ning casually threw a few copper coins on the table.

The porter walked through two streets and turned into an alley. This alley was filled with run-down courtyards, where peddlers and hawkers usually lived. They didn't care about much, just set up a few bunk beds in the house, and even used straw mats as blankets, or even just some straw. In such a place, people would basically freeze to death in winter.

The porter pushed the door open, and when Lu Ning jumped in to take a look, she discovered that he had actually squeezed in among the people on the bunk bed, lay down and fell asleep, as if he was really just a porter.

This wood demon was different from the one she had seen before that could transform into a human form. If the demonic aura had not been surging when the demon was using magic, she would not have recognized it. But this one couldn't hide its demonic aura when it transformed.

Simply put, weaker than that.

After Lu Ning stared at it for a while, she found that the demon had actually fallen asleep. She thought for a moment and decided to go back first. She had no intention of taking precautions. If the demon didn't take action, who knows how powerful it is.

She left some colonies to keep an eye on the demon's movements, and then returned home.

Teng Liuyun also acted quickly. Not long after she arrived at Bibao Tower the next day, two soldiers came to look for her.

The attire of these two was obviously different from that of Fang Dong's men who had been lost for several days. Their armor was obviously carefully crafted. They were probably his personal soldiers and even had visors on their faces.

"But Miss Lu?"

Seeing Lu Ning, the two soldiers asked. Lu Ning nodded, they looked at each other and said, "General Teng invites the young lady to come into the camp for a chat."

"Enter the camp?"

"General Teng has prepared a tent for receiving guests, which is next to the main camp." The soldier said, "You will know the details once you go there."

Lu Ning nodded: "Then lead the way, the sooner we go, the sooner we can return."

Two soldiers brought a horse to Lu Ning, and the three of them rode back and rushed to the camp as fast as they could.

Teng Liuyun was also very distressed at this time.

He sent out not only Fang Dong's troops, but also arranged multiple troops to investigate the bandits in the mountains. But now, the situation is not optimistic.

The news Fang Dong brought back was neither good nor bad. However, Teng Liuyun realized that he could not drive out all the bandits in southern Xinjiang in a short period of time. This required training troops, and training troops required money and food. However, the court obviously could not give him so much time and money to train troops, and would only accuse him of incompetence.

He could protect those young generals, but who would protect him? Except for a few hereditary military officers, the status of other generals in the court was not very high. Although Qin Zhong intended to raise the status of generals, he still could not solve a fundamental problem, that is, a great general must be trained on the battlefield, but at the same time, it is easy to die on the battlefield. And no matter which dynasty, people who practiced literature always outnumbered those who practiced martial arts.

Although Teng Liuyun had several good friends in the court, he was unable to really influence the military operations.

"General, Miss Lu has arrived." A personal soldier reported.

"Okay, I'll go see him."

Putting aside the headache, Teng Liuyun cheered up and walked towards the specially built tent.

A special tent was set up on the side of the main camp. When Teng Liuyun walked in, he saw Lu Ning sitting inside.

"Hello, Miss Lu." Teng Liuyun walked over to sit opposite Lu Ning. "In the military camp, there are not many good conditions. But what you and I are talking about requires careful consideration and cannot be discussed in the city."

"General Teng, you're too polite." Lu Ning smiled. "I think it's about the bandits in the mountains?"

"That's right." Teng Liuyun nodded. "Fang Dong is just a young man. He has only learned some paper military tactics and only knows a few people he knows. When I heard your last name, I made a rough guess. Miss Lu is the daughter of Lord Lu Qingxu, Lu Ning?"

"Oh? Lord Teng knows my father?" Lu Ning asked.

"Although Lord Lu Qingxu is a civil servant, his behavior is not like that of a civil servant at all. I have also heard of him serving as an official in the same court. Now that the court is in turmoil, it is hard to believe that such a capable official as Lord Lu was dismissed."

"Thank you, General Teng, for speaking up for justice. But my father has already returned home, so let's not talk about the dismissal. Let's talk about the banditry. I wonder what General Teng wants me to do."

"I'm being too arrogant and calling you my niece. My niece, the current situation in southern Xinjiang cannot be resolved by a single military operation. Half of my soldiers were brought from the capital, and the other half were recruited here. However, fighting in the mountains is different from fighting on the plains, and they lack training. However, the court is urging me to end this war as soon as possible, so I have no choice but to use other methods."

"How can I help?"

"Compared to the untrained soldiers, the people in the martial arts world are skilled in martial arts. I hope my niece can serve as a scout for me and find out the true strength of the bandits in the mountains."

"General Teng didn't tell me directly about the conscription?" Lu Ning asked with a smile.

"I have heard something about your niece. People who practice martial arts are usually unwilling to be controlled. I want to ask for help from people in the martial arts world, so I must show enough courtesy and sincerity." Teng Liuyun knocked on the table. "Yesterday I interrogated the prisoner. Although I haven't pried open his mouth, I did get some information. Most of the bandit strongholds in these mountains may have defected to the Nanman. We have to find the location of their bandit strongholds in a targeted manner."

"What happens next? How does General Teng intend to attack the mountain?"

"It is late autumn now. If I had time, I would like to train my troops. But the court is urging me so hard that I can only use poison." Teng Liuyun stroked his beard.

"Poisonous trick..."

“Even in the south, in this late autumn, the grass and trees are beginning to turn yellow…” Teng Liuyun snorted.

He wants to burn the mountain!

Lu Ning immediately realized Teng Liuyun's plan.

This move was indeed cruel. The wildfire would continue to burn who knows how much mountain land it would destroy. And if it really burned through, the people in those villages would have no chance of living in the mountains anyway.

“…This is a sin.”

"I know, but I have no choice. I must return to the court before winter, and the war will end. As long as all the southern barbarians in Wei are driven out, I can return. As for who comes after that, it is not something I can control." Teng Liuyun said, "By then, the one who set the fire was also my order, and all the consequences will be my responsibility."

"Okay." Lu Ning nodded, "This place is full of mountains. General Teng doesn't want me to walk through them all by myself, right?" "No need. Just explore the Hengling Mountains." Teng Liuyun said, "I can attack the other small hills directly, but the Hengling Mountains are too big to attack all at once. We must find the location accurately."

"How do we control the fire?" Lu Ning asked.

"You don't have to worry about this." Teng Liuyun said.

"Then let me ask some relevant questions. What can I get by doing this?" Lu Ning asked.

"Whatever you want, I can give it to you within the limits of my authority."

"I want a copy of 'Dreams of Mountains and Seas', some silver, and a set of flying knives," Lu Ning said.

"Everything else is easy, but if you want money, I can only give you one hundred taels of silver. The army is not a government office, and even I have limited money to spend."

"That's enough." Lu Ning took out a drawing. "This is the style of flying knives I want. There are a total of twenty-six of them. I hope they will be ready when I come back."

"When are you going to come back?"

"Is there still a time limit?" Lu Ning asked back.

"Time is running out. I hope Miss Lu can give me an answer within half a month." Teng Liuyun said.

  =

After Lu Ning left, General Teng Liuyun gathered several generals and military advisors and told them about his decision to burn the mountain.

These people have fought side by side with Teng Liuyun for a long time, so they naturally know that the situation has reached a critical moment.

"General, we understand that you need to ask for help from people in the martial arts world. But we can't just rely on one person for such an important matter, right?" said a military advisor.

"Of course she is not the only one. I have instructed several soldiers a few days ago to contact the martial arts masters in several nearby states and counties to work together. It's just that they don't know about these people." Teng Liuyun said.

"But if they start fighting in the mountains..."

"That's just a matter of the underworld."

The fights between the people in the martial arts world were not within Teng Liuyun's consideration. As long as some of these people could bring back the location of the mountain stronghold, it would be enough.

It was already dusk when Lu Ning was sent back to the city. She still needed to prepare to go into the mountains. Of course, mountain reconnaissance was much easier for her than for others. Her demon eyes could penetrate the interference of trees in the mountains and easily see the people inside. This was also the reason why she was able to quickly kill all the Nanman pursuers when she rescued Fang Dong.

However, when she was going home, she passed by the food store and saw the demon who was finishing his meal again.

It still tirelessly made those remarks about the situation in Wei during the meal, but there was nothing more. Lu Ning sensed the colony and saw that this demon was like a real porter today, looking for work to do, earning a little money, and then buying some cheap food here to eat.

There was no change... But she could still observe for a while. It was just right that she still needed to hone her martial arts. After achieving minor success in the Nine Transformations of Senluo, she only dispersed the internal energy that had gone astray, and had not yet truly mastered it.

This pure Yin mental method can melt ice into water when it is mastered. Although it may be a bit exaggerated, it allows Lu Ning to release icy true energy at will. After being able to inject this cold energy into the human body, her every move and every style has the risk of causing injury if touched.

But the coordination of internal force and martial arts moves requires practice. If you want to immediately inject the icy true energy into the opponent when you hit him, you must seize the moment of contact. Previously, Lu Ning had grasped some feelings when she was venting the excess internal force. Now she just needs to continue practicing according to this feeling.

In addition, she also found a way to use the innate purple qi. Although she currently has no corresponding skills to use, she can still use her internal strength to force it. As long as she can squeeze out a little, she can make a qualitative change in the power of her moves. When Lu Ning tested it before, she could actually cut a smooth cut on the bluestone by controlling the sword in this way.

Although her sword was sharp, it was made of just ordinary iron. If she used it to chop stones normally, the sword would most likely break.

This trip into the mountains might determine how well she could complete the main quest. She missed a lot of the first part of the quest at Zhenjian Villa, and it was a loss of experience. But she had to try to get all the rewards in the second part. After all, this kind of staged quest would become more difficult as time went on. If she couldn't snowball in the beginning, she might not be able to catch up with the progress of other tourists in the later stages.

After packing up, Lu Ning went to bed early. Before dawn the next day, she set out for the Hengling Mountains.

The Hengling Mountains were where the founding emperor of the Wei Dynasty stopped when he was expanding the territory. With this as the boundary, the Wei Dynasty set aside a state and stationed troops to guard against the southern barbarians. The mountainous areas in the south are different from the northern part of the Great Wall, the Western Barbarians, and the East China Sea. Because it is difficult to carry out farming, the population cannot expand on a large scale. Most people live in tribes in the mountains. There is no formed army, so it is difficult to become a big threat.

This was the judgment made by the emperor at that time. Later, as Emperor Wu Dong Yan defeated the pirates in the East China Sea and burned 300 miles of coastline; Emperor Cheng chased the Western Barbarians to the foot of Huaiyin Mountain and engraved a stone to record his achievements, the world believed that the Wei Dynasty had completely eliminated the troubles from all directions, and the day when all nations would come to pay tribute was just around the corner.

It only takes one incompetent ruler to shatter this dream.

Lu Ning sighed as she looked towards the mountains in the distance. It would take two days just to get into the mountains, so she didn't have much time left. She could only hope that there weren't so many bandit camps in the mountains.

She used her demonic eyes to observe the breath of living things in the forest and entered the Hengling Mountains.

There were many miasma and poisonous insects in the mountains. Even the southern barbarians who had lived here for a long time would not choose such a place. Lu Ning relied on his Qinggong to circle around the mountain. After figuring out the general distribution of miasma, he found a camp on a hilltop.

This place is too close to the outside of the mountain. Ever since the relationship with Wei became increasingly tense, the villages close to the outside of the mountain have all moved deep into the mountains. The village here should be abandoned.

But in Lu Ning's demonic eyes, he saw the aura of many people and a demon.

"Wooden element again?"

She frowned slightly and went around to the back of the village.

There were no ferocious costumes outside the village. Some wooden fences surrounded the village, and even a few medicinal gardens were built. Lu Ning thought it would take some effort, but she didn't expect that she would see the monster in the village just by climbing a tall tree.

It was very tall, wrapped in cloth, and had a hat on its white and yellowish body that matched its huge height, but it was not in human form after all, and looked quite strange.

——This is a ginseng spirit.

Several people were picking medicinal herbs grown in the medicine garden. After filling a basket, they took it to the ginseng spirit, knelt down and kowtowed to him.

The ginseng spirit extended a few tentacles and took the herbs into its body. The people raised their heads and opened their mouths. The ginseng spirit hung a few tentacles on the mouths of the people, and some crystal liquid oozed from the tips of the tentacles and fell into their mouths.

After drinking the liquid, the men kowtowed a few more times, then picked up their bows and spears and went into the mountains to hunt.