Young man, please stay

Chapter 357: The Strangeness of the Forest of Ten Thousand Souls

It is definitely impossible to travel from the capital to Mangzhou in one day.

Moreover, the further north you go, the drier, colder and more severe the soil and water become, which is very different from the capital. Therefore, all the ministers who had gone north to hunt in previous years had made all kinds of preparations this time, such as warm clothing, more palatable dry food, and some nourishing pills such as those for the skin and lungs.

This is especially true for civil officials, while military officials are much better. Many knowledgeable people have noticed that many civil officials are taking genuine elixirs, and no one knows where these folk remedies came from. Taking them will only harm the body.

But no matter whether they were from the regent faction or the new emperor faction, the military generals tacitly refrained from reminding the civil officials. After all, one of the main contradictions in the Great Zhou since the Zhaoguan period was the struggle between the civil and military officials. Although it had not yet reached a fever pitch, the trend was very obvious.

……

In the end, they set up camp three times along the way. Three days later, the exhausted Northern Hunting Team finally arrived in Mangzhou.

"station--!"

Wow...

The two thousand Yulin Guards, the accompanying ministers, servants and other people finally started to settle down in an orderly manner and began to build a sturdy tent on a piece of dry grass in the style of Mangzhou.

"It's finally here..."

The one who stepped onto this fresh land earlier than the empress and other important figures was Qin Lang, who came down from the dragon chariot with his back supported.

The moment he came down, looking at the blue sky and white clouds and the dry grass under his feet, he even had tears in his eyes.

It was not because of his deep love for this strange land.

It was just because the bumpy journey made him feel physically and mentally exhausted.

……

During those nights, the imperial guards who stood guard outside the empress and monarch's tents could always see the unspeakable projections in the tents by the light of candles.

This kind of shadow play was very exciting for the young ladies of the Yulin Guards, who were all in their prime, but it was quite strenuous for the male lead Qin Lang.

It was fine at home before, because when she was at home, at least Gu Jin was the more reserved one among the girls around her.

But this time, perhaps influenced by the wild northern atmosphere along the way, Jin'er became more and more relaxed. She was very reluctant about "playing together" before.

But this time the Northern Expedition was different.

The clues were visible from the very beginning when he played with Su Yinping. In the following nights in the tent, he was sometimes even more "dominant" than his wife. When Su Yinping pretended to be coy, Gu Jin would often look on with a cold face and couldn't stand it...

Anyway, if Zhuo Beibei comes back, she will definitely be surprised and say "she finally fits in", and then give this "newcomer" girl some advanced education.

But then again, the empress and the princess have been happy along the way, but the price they paid was that the regent had to suffer.

……

"Precious... uh... Your Majesty."

"Ok?"

Afterwards, the Empress and the others also got off the carriage. Qin Lang looked around at the wide dry grass and faced the endless forest in front of him:
“Isn’t this the Forest of Ten Thousand Souls?”

"Correct."

"?"

Qin Lang guessed it, but was still surprised. He squinted his eyes and carefully observed the forest in front of him.

Honestly, he didn't feel anything special.

Although it was boundless at first glance, it was no different from the time when Hezhuo Beibei passed through the Wild Boar Forest. It was just a deep forest composed of sparse and dense tall trees.

"Don't you feel anything special?"

The empress looked at Qin Lang with some surprise. Qin Lang twisted his wrist, shook his shoulders, and tried to "feel" it, but he really didn't feel anything special with his naked eyes.

"No."

“…This shouldn’t be the case…”

Su Yupan nodded and thought for a moment, somewhat puzzled.

The Ten Thousand Souls Forest will suppress the strength of those above the Grandmaster level. Qin Lang's current level can be said to have just reached the Grandmaster level, so he should not be unaware of such suppression.

Is it...

Is it because he alone possesses three kinds of internal skills?

The several internal skills that the master left for Yao Chi are definitely the world's top secrets. Qin Lang is the first person to "master" three of them alone, so it is not impossible for some special things to happen.

Huh?
Could it be that the Forest of Ten Thousand Souls doesn't even have a suppressive effect on him?
Not only Su Yupan, but Qin Lang also thought of this possibility at the first time and seriously put forward a view:
"Your Majesty."

"Ok?"

Qin Lang bowed in a gentlemanly manner:
"I dare to suspect that it was during the journey that Your Majesty and the Princess showed me... uh... too much concern, which caused my body to become abnormal."

"..."

Su Yupan blushed slightly and spat at him. This was obviously a very improper guess, but if you think about it carefully... well...

During the past few days of traveling north, it seems that I have been using it too much day and night. Even a strong man would find it difficult. Could something really happen to him?

Thinking of this, Su Yupan also called his sister:
"Yin Ping, come here for a moment."

"Oh."

Su Yinping nodded and walked over. Halfway through, she glanced at Qin Lang who was standing beside the empress. Suddenly, she stopped as if she thought of something, then glared at her sister and turned around.

"Humph!"

"?"

Su Yupan was stunned by her sister's reaction, and then realized that her sister must be expressing her dissatisfaction.

He was dissatisfied with his sister for forcibly taking Qin Lang away from him.

Fortunately, the two sisters managed to ease the conflict in harmony during the next few nights, so Su Yinping had no intention of pursuing the matter further. After Su Yupan came over, took her arm, and called her "good sister" in a gentle voice, she just went down the stairs.

"What's the matter... Tell me..."

"Jin'er, you come too."

"What's wrong, Your Majesty?"

"It's... Qin Lang..."

……

The empress discussed the improper speculation raised by Qin Lang with the other women. Qin Lang had nothing to do, so he walked around and watched the girls of the Yulin Guard set up camp.

As a result, he soon discovered that the way of setting up camp today was really different from that on the way.

It's not just the difference between temporary and formal, but in the way of setting up camp, Qin Lang discovered that the Yulin Guards seemed to be particularly strenuous. It often took three or four people using their internal strength to drive a stake firmly.

This puzzled Qin Lang, and he couldn't help but ask a few Yulin guards who were driving piles:
"A few... uh..."

Qin Lang bowed, thought for a moment, and felt that "official master" was inappropriate, so he paused and said:

"Several ladies."

"?"

The two imperial guards were a little nervous, curious, and shy when they saw the handsome female emperor's lover coming. But when Qin Lang said this, they looked at each other and couldn't help laughing. Then they returned the greeting to Qin Lang:

"Meet Master Qin."

"Master Qin, please don't be polite to us. Just tell me what you want to say."

"Oh, it's okay."

Qin Lang waved his hand:

"I don't have any instructions. I just want to ask, is there any explanation for the wooden stakes of this tent? I see you look very tired."

"Thank you for your concern, Lord Qin. This is the Forest of Ten Thousand Souls, so it will be more difficult to fight here."

A bit harder to hit...

Qin Lang frowned and rolled up his sleeves:

"Can you let me try?"

"If Lord Qin wants to give it a try, that's fine."

So Qin Lang aimed at the wooden stake, took the sledgehammer from the Yulin Guard, and hammered it down as usual.

boom…

"?!"

However, the wooden stake did not move at all.

You have to know that the force of Qin Lang's hammer was definitely not small. According to his estimation, at least half of the wooden stake should have fallen directly, or even directly sunk into the ground.

But it didn't move at all...isn't that too exaggerated?
I weighed the hammer again and found that it was filled with lead. The purpose was to prevent it from bouncing back after falling, causing force loss or injury.

After trying a few more times and being reminded by the Yulin Guards, Qin Lang finally realized that the entire Ten Thousand Souls Forest, including the land in front of the forest itself, was unusually denser and harder than other places.

And the fact that Qin Lang, a newly promoted Grandmaster, found it just as difficult to shake the solid ground as several Yulin Guards did actually prove one thing.

"It seems that my strength is also limited..."

Qin Lang raised his head and looked towards the silent and boundless Forest of Ten Thousand Souls. Only then did he feel for the first time the extraordinary nature of the legendary Forest of Ten Thousand Souls.

(End of this chapter)