Chapter Four 

Looking at the giant hand of the half-orc that could crush rocks, Cheng had nowhere to hide. A sense of fear rose from the bottom of his heart and swept through his entire body. Am I going to die here? Suddenly, a white hand stretched out from beside him, as if picking up a dewy magnolia, gently meeting the half-orc's huge hand. At the moment the palms touched, the white hand's thumb and index finger lightly touched, the tail finger slightly curled up, and a wave of fluctuations in the air came from the palm. Faintly, a tai chi pattern emerged from the palm, then turned slightly red and instantly turned into a raging fire. The half-orc roared and fell backward. His huge body was engulfed by the flames in an instant, turning into a giant fireball. Magic! Cheng's mind blurted out this term. There were still legendary spells in this time and space! He looked back in awe, and a beautiful face came into view. The woman was about thirty years old, with long hair tied up in a cloud bun and wearing a pure white jade crown. Her exquisite face was as lustrous as white jade without any wrinkles. Her features were extremely beautiful, but her expression was extremely cold and indifferent, with a kind of aloofness that kept people at a distance. She wore a light blue gown without any extra adornments, and only wrote two thin lines of characters with a brush on the clean collar: The river flows beyond the sky, and the mountains have no end. The injured female rider had already called out, "Master Zhuo!" The woman named Zhuo snorted, withdrew her slender jade finger, and leaned against the hilt of her sword at her waist, holding her head high and ignoring the half-orcs. Her sword caught Cheng's eye. Unlike the inferior swords mass-produced in the 21st century, the scabbard of her sword was silver-white with naturally formed phoenix feather patterns. The sunlight shone on it, and the radiance flowed like a flying phoenix. A gentle male voice slowly said, "Yue, don't be afraid. Our Taiyi True Sect is here, and we won't let you suffer any harm."

At some point, more than ten people had gathered around. Among them were three men with long beards dressed in light blue robes and wearing jade crowns on their heads, just like the woman. The others were dressed in black and white, both men and women, of varying ages. Judging from their respectful attitude, they seemed to be disciples of the few people.

The oldest of them spoke. He had a long beard that reached his chest and looked calm. Beside him, a majestic man took a step forward, his sword-like eyebrows raised as he spoke in a cold voice, "Beasts! Are you not extinct yet?"

Without waiting for the elder's command, more than ten disciples of the Taiyi True Sect had already drawn their long swords and took up positions, forming a vague encirclement. The beastly warrior's huge nostrils flared, staring viciously at the detestable humans in front of him.

The man gripped the handle of his sword, and suddenly released a fierce killing intent that made people breathless, even before he had made a move.

At the moment when the beautiful woman with the surname Zhuo unleashed her fiery attack barehanded, those beastly warriors already knew they had reached the end of their lives.

"Gugel!"

One of the beastly people let out a pleading roar.

"Gugel!"

All the remaining beastly warriors were shouting.

Gugel looked over each of his fellow tribesmen's faces, then his broad chest suddenly rose, and he let out a muffled roar from his chest. His mighty bones made a piercing "gege" sound, his muscles twisted and swelled, bursting through the animal skin he was wearing. His curly hair turned into a dense mane, his fingers grew sharp claws, his shoulders spread open, and in front of everyone, he transformed into a male lion.

The Gelug'er shook its mane and leaped up, growling as it broke through the two Taiyi True Sect disciples. The two disciples spun around and fell to the ground, revealing a bloody claw mark on their chests.

The majestic man slapped his sword sheath, and his long sword flew out with a fierce momentum, sweeping towards the beastly barbarians in the field. The rest of the disciples also approached with their swords, launching their attacks.

A human suddenly turned into a wild beast, which was more amazing than magic. Cheng was stunned as he watched. The elder who spoke first smiled and nodded at him, "You're good. Not bad."

Cheng was taken aback before he realized that this elder probably saw him risk his life to protect the female rider named Shuang'er, even being knocked away. This was a misunderstanding, but Cheng had no intention of explaining.

The embarrassed look on the female rider's face flashed by. As a girl, she was naturally shy and didn't expose his behavior at the time.

By now, the Taiyi True Sect disciples had already reached the beastly barbarians, and a fierce battle ensued. They moved swiftly and their swords flashed like snow, occasionally accompanied by various spells. Especially the long-bearded man, his long sword glowed with unpredictable light, his moves were as swift as the wind, and in a blink of an eye, two half-beasts were splattered with blood and fell to the ground.

As blood splattered, Cheng felt another pain in his head. By now, he had experienced enough to know that whenever he felt a headache, someone had died. Sure enough, one of the beastly barbarians had been pierced through the heart by a sword. Cheng sat down and closed his eyes, silently counting in his heart. One, two, three, four... he had felt the pain seventeen times. In addition to the twelve half-beasts, five Taiyi True Sect disciples had also died.

None of the remaining beastly barbarians survived. They fought to their death in a hopeless situation, and were ultimately wiped out. As Cheng looked at the huge bodies of the beastly barbarians lying on the ground, he felt both a splitting headache and a sense of sorrow. These beastly barbarians knew they had no hope of victory, yet none of them retreated. Perhaps they too were fighting for their survival on this grassland.

One Taiyi True Sect disciple checked the corpses in the field, then bowed to the long-bearded elder with the jade crown, "Reporting to Elder, all the beastly barbarians have been wiped out. Our five disciples died in battle. I have ordered someone to collect their bones and take them back to their hometown."

The long-bearded old man sighed and said, "Zifeng, don't you understand? The ancient immortals did not care for life or death. They did not take joy in death nor did they resist it. They came and went freely, with ease. In the hundred years of human life, they went along with the great flow of things. Live peacefully when alive, and die peacefully when dead. Bury them in the northern field, why bother with relocation?"

The disciple of Taiyi True Sect, with a serious expression, said, "Disciple understands."

The old man turned his head and bowed to Cheng. "Ling Caiquan of Taiyi True Sect. May I ask for your name, sir?"

"Cheng."

Cheng held his head, barely standing up. He felt a strange sensation, as if he were expanding from the inside out, making him very uncomfortable.

"Are you alone, little brother?"

Thinking of Duan Cheng's heart twitched. "There was another companion. But he was killed by the half-beasts."

"Half-beasts? Oh, do you mean these beastly people?"

After Ling Caiquan finished speaking, he looked him up and down, suddenly showing surprise.

A team of Qin army light cavalry crossed over the mountain and saw the wounded female rider. They immediately surrounded her.

"Miss Yue, the general has ordered you to return to camp immediately."

Yue frowned unhappily. "Ling, Shang, Su, Zhuo, the four internal tutors of the sect have all come. Hurry and report back to them. I will go back with them."

The name of Taiyi True Sect was evidently not small, and the soldiers who had fought many battles got off their horses and saluted. Some guarded them, while others went to report back.

The beautiful woman named Zhuo and the female rider spoke in low voices, then rebuked her, "Your old injuries have not healed, and your strength cannot be fully exerted. How can you sneak out by yourself? If we had not coincidentally passed by, what would have happened!"

The young woman, though physically weak, still objected, "I am also in the army, why can't I go to the battlefield? The general said, people will eventually die, either like stars in the sky or like autumn leaves. This time out of the pass, life and death are irrelevant."

The beautiful woman asked, "Is this what the true leader said?"

The female rider nodded.

The group exchanged glances, and Lin Caiquan said, "Since that's the case, let's go see the true leader first."

Turning his head, he said, "Little brother, you come too."

Cheng was confused and didn't know who the teacher or the leader they were talking about was, nor did he know who these people were. He had no choice but to go along with them since he had inexplicably arrived in this time and space and knew nothing. However, it seemed that following these people wasn't a bad idea.

Cheng collected a short knife and dug into the grass. The soil underneath was sandy and not easy to dig. If it were in the past, he wouldn't even think about digging such a large hole, but at this moment, although he was sweating profusely and exhausted, he seemed to have endless energy and quickly dug a decent-sized pit.

Duan's body had already cooled down. Cheng sat beside him and wanted to smoke a cigarette, but he didn't even have a match.

After a long while, Cheng picked up Duan's body and placed it in the pit. Looking at his friend's still surprised face, Cheng silently said in his heart: You said that outside of our world, there are many other equal worlds. Maybe you've just gone to another world, and I hope that world is better than this one. You left just like that, leaving me alone, not knowing where to go next... Cheng took out all of Duan's belongings, including his phone, wallet, keys, a sealed plastic bag, and a bottle of pills. He took out the phone expectantly, but there was no signal at all.

Cheng put the items in his backpack and placed both phones beside Duan's body. Who knows, many years later, someone might find them and guess where the deceased came from.

At the moment when he covered the sand with soil, Cheng felt empty in his heart, as if he had lost something and was completely at a loss. Buried under the yellow sand was not only his friend but also his past. From now on, in this strange time and space, he was the only one left to face the unknown road ahead.

"Let's go. This place is not suitable for staying too long," said Lin Caiquan as he patted Cheng on the shoulder.

Cheng rubbed his face hard and then looked up. "Let's go."

The group from Taiyi Zhenzong had horses with them, and Cheng was given a horse to ride after losing his own in the fight. From their conversation, Cheng learned that the female rider's name was Yue, and she was the personal guard of the chief commander of the Left Wu Army's first legion.

Yue's master was the commander himself, General Wang Zhe. Yue grew up in the army and was never allowed to fight on the front lines by Wang Zhe, who kept a close eye on her.

Three months ago, the legion was ordered to clear out the beastmen from the western border of the empire. Although the beastmen were fierce, they were no match for the Left Wu Army. After more than ten battles, the beastmen were severely defeated and retreated deep into the grasslands. The Left Wu Army pursued them, and both sides engaged in frequent battles.

In this battle today, a formation from the first battalion of the Left Wu Army was sent out. When victory was certain, some soldiers rode out for a surprise attack. Yue secretly followed them and would have been killed if they hadn't encountered Taiyi Zhenzong.

As for Taiyi Zhenzong, they didn't come here by chance. In fact, their purpose was to find General Wang Zhe, the chief commander of the Left Wu Army's first legion.

Taiyi Zhenzong is a Daoist sect with one head teacher and six teachers. The four teachers who came together this time were all of the same generation as Wang Zhe, and they were Taiyi Zhenzong's four teachers: Lin Caiquan, Shang Lexuan, Su Weiyang, and Zhuo Yunjun.

Lin Caiquan ranked second only to the head teacher in Taiyi Zhenzong's hierarchy, but he was very friendly and answered Cheng's questions with pleasure, and the two of them had a pleasant conversation all the way.

Shang Lexuan was the imposing middle-aged man. He was as fierce as fire, and his cultivation was even stronger than Lin Caiquan's. At least half of the beastmen warriors died under his Wu Ding Sword.

Su Weiyao was over fifty years old, carrying a strange-shaped long sword on his back. His face was thin and stern, seeming to be full of concerns, and he remained silent all the way.

The middle-aged beautiful woman was Zhuo Yunjun. She had no good impression of Cheng, a stranger she met halfway, and was cold and indifferent all the way.

The group bypassed the battlefield and headed north under the leadership of the Qin army light cavalry. Lian Caiquan felt strange about Cheng's dress and hairstyle, and asked him intentionally or unintentionally about his background. Cheng estimated that no one would believe his true background, so he made up an old story, saying that he and his companion were merchants from a distant place, and they encountered bandits on the way, and all their goods were lost. They barely saved their lives, but then they encountered savage beasts, and his companion died, leaving only him.

This story could not even deceive a ghost, but Lian Caiquan didn't care and just nodded without probing.

Cheng breathed a sigh of relief and had time to enjoy the scenery around him.

Although this time and space had spells and half-beasts that were unimaginable, at least the scenery around Cheng was within his understanding.

The sky here was extremely blue, and the air was extremely pure. Cheng didn't know if the visibility was too high or his vision had become stronger, but he found that his sight was at least doubled than before. The grassland in front of him was not completely flat. As far as his sight could reach, gentle hills undulated on the vast land, with the highest one being only more than ten meters high, and the lowest one only three meters. The group walked among them, giving Cheng the feeling of traveling on the green sea, moving from one wave to another.

Looking east, at the end where the sky and the grassland connected, he could vaguely see a snow-covered mountain range, like a sleeping blue dragon blocking the earth. The mountain range was originally majestic, and the mountains became higher and higher from east to west. The westernmost peak was connected to the blue sky, and it was unclear whether the covering above was white snow or floating clouds.

"That's the Great Snow Mountain," Lian Caiquan told him, "there is only one pass in the mountains. After passing the pass, heading east is the inland of the Six Dynasties."

"Six dynasties?" Although Cheng's history was not good, he was not unfamiliar with this term. Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the Six Dynasties known for their golden powder and elegance. Although the appearance of the half-beast people had shattered Cheng's idea of ​​pretending to be a charlatan using known history, he could not help but ask. "In the ninth year of the Ren emperor, the Six Dynasties met at Xuanze, Xing Baima declared to the heavens, and took blood as an oath to unite as one. It has been more than three hundred years since then," Ling Caiquan smiled and said, "Don't you know, little brother?" Should I know about this? Cheng slightly lifted his lips, revealing a subtle and implicit expression. He often used this kind of smile when dealing with clients in his previous job, for sensitive issues, neither confirming nor denying, the meaning was just - "What do you think?" The communication methods cultured by modern civilization are really extraordinary. Ling Caiquan was also unable to decipher it for a while. He had not figured it out yet when a yellow sand appeared in the dim sunset, like an arrow splitting the grassland waves, rolling forward. In front of the yellow sand was a chariot pulled by four white horses. A middle-aged man stood with his hands behind his back on the chariot. He wore plain clothes, and his face was calm. Even standing on the bumpy chariot, his body remained straight, and those eagle-eyed sharp eyes showed his unique military temperament. As soon as she saw the middle-aged man, Yue hid behind the team. She was seriously injured and had been staggering along the way, almost unable to ride a horse. If it were not for Zhuo Yunjun and Su Weiyang, who was cold-faced but warm-hearted, taking care of her, she would have fallen off the horse early on. Seeing the Taiyi True Sect's party, the chariot stopped from afar, and the middle-aged man walked over and saluted Ling Caiquan and others, "Han Geng has seen all the leaders." Ling Caiquan smiled and stroked his beard, "It's been a few years, and my nephew has advanced again. His cultivation is becoming more and more refined. I'm afraid he is about to break through, right?" Han Geng said confidently, "The leaders have sharp eyes." "Good! Good! Good!"

Lin Caiquan smiled and said, "It won't be long before our Taiyi Sect gains another top-notch expert. Congratulations!" Han Geng replied, "If the teacher commands us to travel thousands of miles to the west, it must be for an important matter. The general has already been waiting in the camp upon hearing the news. Please follow me." Accompanying Han Geng were over a hundred cavalrymen, all dressed in black leather armor, tall and sturdy with no expression on their faces, like a group of stone statues. After the commander gave orders, the cavalry split into two columns and led the way. Han Geng abandoned his carriage and waited until everyone was on the road before turning to glance at Yue. Yue had nowhere to hide, so she could only stiffly say, "Mr Han." Seeing that she was unharmed, Han Geng visibly relaxed, but his face darkened at the sight of bloodstains on her lips. He reached out lightning-fast and grabbed Yue's pulse, his brow immediately furrowing. Su Weiyao shook his head and rode forward without a word. As they passed by, he suddenly flicked a pill from his sleeve. Han Geng caught it in surprise, but before he could say anything, Su Weiyao was already far away. After traveling ten li to the north, they circumvented a mountain and suddenly saw a large flagpole. The three-zhang-high flagpole stood tall, as if it could pierce the sky. Two dancing dragons and phoenixes were written in large characters on the black flag: "Left Wu." Two small red characters in circles were next to it: "First." In the twilight, the huge banner fluttered in the wind, the black flag and the blood-red characters shining brilliantly, silently emitting a terrifying and majestic aura. The First Legion of the Left Wu Army was completely different from the ordinary army camps. Under the big flag was the general's tent, located on a fishback-shaped hill at the forefront of the entire camp, with no visible protection around it. This arrangement was entirely based on the strong confidence in the commander, and it was easy to imagine how self-assured the Left Wu Commander was. A middle-aged man dressed like a scholar stood under the tent and bowed respectfully to the group. "I am Wen Ze, an officer under the command of the general. I have seen the masters of Taiyi Sect."

He stood up and calmly said, "The general is waiting inside the tent. Please excuse the slow and simple conditions of the army."

"Thank you, General Wen."

After exchanging pleasantries, Linqi, Caiquan, and two others went to the general's tent while the remaining disciples rested under Wenzhe's arrangement. Han Geng took the reluctant Yue away with him.

Wenzhe was surprised to see that Cheng was dressed in modern clothes. Cheng quickly explained, "I am just a passing merchant who was lucky enough to be taken in by Master Linqi after being attacked by bandits."

"Oh," Wenzhe nodded and greeted Cheng politely.

After a moment of hesitation, he said, "There's one tent left. Please stay for the night, Mr Cheng."

Cheng didn't expect to stay in a five-star hotel. He was grateful for any shelter that could keep him out of the open field, so he thanked Wenzhe for his kind offer.

The tent was made of old, weather-beaten cowhide, but it was still tied tightly and carefully. Inside, there was no bed, only a bedroll on the ground. Cheng didn't pay much attention to the details and just collapsed onto the bedding as soon as he entered.

He had only spent an afternoon in this strange world, but it felt like a month had passed. He was exhausted and just wanted to sleep.

As he fell into a deep slumber, a barely perceptible white light flowed out of his body and slowly seeped into the sandy soil where the green grass was growing. The grass had been cleared when the tent was set up, leaving only the roots buried in the sand. But as soon as the white light touched the roots, they began to grow again at a visible speed, sprouting green leaves.

Cheng was completely unaware of this strange phenomenon. In his dreams, he relived the events of the afternoon: the fierce half-beast people, the stalwart Qin army, the brutal fighting... he saw Yue's torn clothes, Zhuo Yunjun's graceful figure, Linqi, Shang Lexuan... and the shot-down Duan. He saw himself standing alone in the middle of a battlefield covered in corpses, every breath filled with a terrifying scent of death...