Chaotic World Book-Chapter 261 - 256 Grassland

Riding out of the fortress in a frantic hurry, Zhao Changhe caught a glimpse of the faint military tents on the distant horizon and, with a shiver, veered off into a secluded detour, silently cursing himself for being stupid and getting rattled for no good reason.

He Lei’s death had been announced to the world, while Yue Hongling’s place on the Human List was a clear status symbol—if her death had been unreported, at the very least, it meant she was still alive.

It appeared that one of the greatest advantages of the Chaotic World Book, besides causing trouble and showing off, was confirming safety...

Realizing this, he could deduct by analogy—someone as famous as Yue Hongling, if truly fallen somewhere, would have already been trumpeted by the nomadic Tribes. Since that wasn’t the case, it was likely she hadn’t been captured, and there was an even greater chance she hadn’t encountered danger at all; it was purely his own paranoia.

How vast the grasslands were! To the west lay the Gobi, to the north the Great Desert, and even crossing the desert led to more grassland. One might not encounter a soul for thousands of miles, so it was quite normal to lose contact for a month or two.

Cui Yuanyong must have felt quite speechless just now, praising Zhao Changhe’s intelligence on the one hand while watching him behave foolishly on the other.

What can you do... concern breeds chaos. If your sister went missing, I’d be just as anxious...

In any case, during this mission outside the fortress, he would look for news of Yue Hongling along the way. It wasn’t impossible for two tasks to converge into one.

Zhao Changhe calmed his mind and quietly guided his horse along the circuitous route, observing his surrounding environment. Inside versus outside the fortress, separated just by a gate, seemed like two different worlds, causing a heavy impact on one’s spirit.

"Beyond Yanmen Pass, homes of the wilderness lie, where neither mulberries grow nor hemp they ply; No pear nor jujube trees for a hundred miles, where in the spring could peach and apricot blossoms vie?"

This was the divide between agrarian and nomadic lifestyles, with just a mountain separating two civilizations.

While in the Central Plains, seeing countless mountains never stirred a poetic sense, but the stark division of civilizations upon leaving the pass suddenly inspired many lines of poetry, including the famed "Let not the steeds of the north cross the Yin Mountain," a thought that hadn’t occurred to him before... But now, seeing the grasslands and military tents, he abruptly realized that this was the junction of Yin Mountain and Taihang—the nomadic horses were indeed crossing the Yin Mountain!

The intersection of civilizations meets here, yet time and space connect, an intriguing sensation.

This was still a war zone, not the focus of Zhao Changhe’s mission. He made a wide detour, racing westward.

Northern Hu was a collective term, in truth a confederation of various Tribes. Although Tie Muer was also called a Khan, from the perspective of Central Earth, their concept aligned more with an Alliance Hierarch. Even within his own Tribe, there were countless subdivisions. He himself was from the Golden Wolf Tribe, with others like the War Lion and Black Wolf making up many more, but recently his own Tribe had been under significant pressure.

He Lei was the leader of the War Lion Tribe, and the Black Wolf King who fell to Yue Hongling when she ascended the Human List were both powerhouses from Tie Muer’s Tribe.

It was uncertain whether this would spur certain thoughts among the other Tribes; it was hard to say, after all, being third on the Heavenly List, Tie Muer’s deterrent power was no less formidable to the grassland Tribes than Xia Longyuan’s was to the Central Plains’ forces.

Who was second on the Heavenly List?

The Great Shaman of Longevity Heaven.

He, in fact, was not from the same Tribe as Tie Muer, but he didn’t engage in tribal disputes, merely residing in the Divine Hall, indifferent to who ruled the grasslands. Nevertheless, his dominion over the grasslands might be stronger than Tie Muer’s.

But he did partake in the war of the Central Plains... The Demon Fox Chi Li was his direct disciple.

From this perspective, it could be said that Xia Longyuan single-handedly subdued both second and third. They had not personally appeared on the front lines, possibly indicating some tacit understanding with Xia Longyuan.

Or perhaps it was a kind of remote power play?

For instance, could that bolt of lightning be related to the Divine Hall of Longevity Heaven? Zhao Changhe felt there was a possibility, at least a blind man wouldn’t call down lightning over that bit of disrespect, but a Hu deity currently in battle might be more likely.

In any case, given the nature of the various Tribes of the grasslands, the camps of the Alliance Army were often not located together, with some even being extremely far apart, thus affording Yue Hongling and others the opportunity to create disturbances. It was well-suited for martial arts masters to do things like raiding the Black Wolf Camp.

This time, a small squad was heading to a distant Tribe’s encampment, primarily to gather intelligence, and if the chance arose, they might also attempt actions like burning supplies, akin to a military Scout unit but more akin to special operations. Dangerous, yes, but they were all martial arts experts, not ordinary soldiers, meant mainly for reconnaissance, not a suicide mission. In case of trouble, they could scatter and run; it was unlikely that a whole unit would be wiped out with no one able to return.

Cui Yuanyong felt it essential at least to establish what had happened, to confirm any deaths. If they weren’t dead but trapped or captured, rescuing them was still imperative.

Zhao Changhe also believed it was crucial, his rapid ride filled with a sense of duty.

The distance was indeed vast; Wuzhui unleashed its full power and galloped for an entire day until darkness fell, yet there was no sign of the destination.

Zhao Changhe unfolded the map only to realize it was pointless to look; if he didn’t know his own location, what use was the map?

Feeling a headache coming on, Zhao Changhe sensed people approaching from a distance. He reined in his horse and looked around, spotting a small mound. He hurriedly rode behind it to take cover and watch. frёeweɓηovel_coɱ

Damn, on these boundless plains, even finding a mound isn’t easy. Luckily, Wuzhui is full of spiritual energy and keeps quiet.

Under the cover of night, a convoy slowly approached. The troops were well-disciplined, numbering over a thousand. It seemed like a military convoy, but the amount of vehicles and horses suggested a merchant caravan, yet the carts were empty.

Zhao Changhe was a bit astonished. Most of them appeared to be from the Central Plains... It seemed like they were trading with the grasslands, and they had already emptied their goods. But why didn’t they fill the carts with other things to take back?

Are people still trading during a time of war?

Zhao Changhe thought of Ji Yinan’s shop. Where did these goods from the grasslands come from at such a time?

Since there are goods from the grasslands coming south, could there be goods from the Central Plains going north?

Someone speaking in standard Central Earth official dialect joked, "At a time like this, who would fear horse bandits? I said it was impossible."

Another replied, "It’s not the horse bandits we fear. Who would dare to come near this area at such a time? We fear those masquerading as horse bandits, who are actually real soldiers."

"They wouldn’t do that, surely. Fine for regular days, but to pull such stunts now?"

"Don’t be sure," someone sighed. "Do you know there are others besides the grassland tribes who pretend to be horse bandits to rob people?"

"Who else?"

"Obviously, Huangfu Yongxian. If he robs us, you can only swallow your teeth along with the blood. That old guy wouldn’t dare cause trouble over this, but he’d dare to steal from you."

Zhao Changhe had an idea.

Damn it, Central Plains merchants are selling grain to the Northern Hu right now, right? He had heard of such things before but never imagined they would go on during wartime. Impressive.

Huangfu Yongxian had long been guarding the border. He probably had his own strategic considerations and hesitated to cause a disturbance, so directly seizing the goods back might be a viable option.

The conversation continued:

"It’s more disgusting lately. Do you know about the solo horse bandit?"

"What? A solo horse bandit, can that work?"

"It can when she’s called Yue Hongling."

Zhao Changhe: "..."

"So we must have a lot of people. With just a few less, it’s already happened several times where Yue Hongling alone robbed a group."

"That’s how it is..." The person’s neck shrank. "She’s not around here now, is she?"

"With so many of us this time, she wouldn’t dare. Maybe she’s waiting for us on the road at Yellow Sand Market. Some people got roughed up by her on this path before, causing widespread alarm." The previous person gritted his teeth, "Wait until I return to report to the Family Head, we’ll find a way to get back at that bitch. She’s living in the Central Plains after all. You can run from the monk, but not from the temple. Offending us won’t be so easy to get over!"

Someone laughed, "This time we’re over a thousand people strong. If she has the guts, let her come. We’ll strip her naked for the brothers to have some fun."

What followed was a string of obscenities.

Zhao Changhe frowned and pondered for a moment, then suddenly realized something and looked up at the sky.

The Big Dipper points north... and that’s where this troop is heading.

He sorted it out in his mind and had a rough idea of what was happening... These people were likely trafficking grain and weapons to the tribe he originally wanted to visit, only he was off in his position, leaning towards the north. After unloading, they continued northward with empty carts to stock up at Yellow Sand Market.

Zhao Changhe hesitated for a moment.

Should he head south to check out that tribe, or north to Yellow Sand Market?

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