Chapter 21: The Wastelands of the Northwest Border

ower reigns supreme, facing the emperor without kneeling is a capital offense!Luckily, Zhang Liyang was inside the room. When the eunuch beside the emperor lifted the curtain, Zhang Liyang had already..."Your Highness, farewell."

"Thank you for your concern, but these five hundred cavalry were transferred from your Liangzhou city. I'm afraid the superiors will find fault with you..."

"Your Highness, there is no need to worry. Your safety is the most important thing right now. We can talk about other things later."

Yu Chengshi also heard about Mu Yinghua's attack, so when Mu Yinghua left Liangzhou City the next day, he secretly mobilized 500 cavalry to escort her.

As a magistrate, Yu Chengshi normally wouldn't have the authority to move troops. However, Liangzhou City was special, so before any official documents arrived, Yu Chengshi also held the position of the city's military commander.

Although these five hundred cavalry were deployed to protect the princess of the Great Qin Dynasty, mobilizing troops privately would inevitably become a target for attack from others.

Seeing Yu Chenshi's resolute expression, Mu Yinghua no longer insisted. She thought to herself that if someone really used this matter to attack Yu Chenshi in court, she would go directly to Emperor Dagan and explain the situation, seeing who Emperor Dagan trusted more.

With the addition of 500 cavalry from Liangzhou City, Xiao He Shan's forces now boasted over a thousand cavalry. With such strength, unless the opponent deployed significantly more troops, Mu Ying Hua's safety would be guaranteed.

With renewed confidence, Xiao He waved his hand. With a deafening roar, he surrounded Mu Yinghua and Cai Ning's carriages in the middle, then sped northwestward.

Although land travel is a bit faster than water travel, in reality, land travel is much more difficult.

It's not pleasant to be in a carriage on unpaved roads, especially when thousands of iron riders pass by on the dusty trails, kicking up dust that fills the air like a sandstorm. This leaves Mu Yinghua with no choice but to close the carriage windows tightly.

In Mu Yinghua's carriage, Mu Yinghua sat on a soft cushion, which effectively reduced the bumps from the carriage. However, the tightly closed windows and doors made it difficult for Mu Yinghua to breathe, leaving her only with the boredom of sitting in the carriage and watching Zhang Liyang gradually disappear.

As Mu Yinghua's personal eunuch, Zhang Liyang was naturally in this carriage as well. But at this moment, Zhang Liyang had fallen into cultivation and didn't notice Mu Yinghua's attention on him.

After his last sparring session with Xiao Heshan, which led to Huangdi achieving mastery, Zhang Liyang began cultivating the next stage: the Golden Emperor stage!

Native gold nourishes the lungs, and five elements belong to the skin!

The strength of Zhang Lixiang's lungs allowed him to hold his breath for ten minutes or so effortlessly after taking a deep breath.

Furthermore, Zhang Liyang's current body is like a giant furnace. The fire in his heart has been burning in the iron furnace for a long time. Now, with the strengthening of his lungs and increased oxygen intake, the flames in the iron furnace are getting higher and more ferocious.

This led to Zhang Liyang's heart, blood, spleen and stomach, and muscles continuing to grow stronger.

Fire gives birth to earth, earth gives birth to metal. Under the strong foundation, Zhang Liyang also found that his cultivation speed was getting faster and faster, and his body was becoming stronger and stronger.

Like climbing one peak after another, never stopping to move forward.

Inhale, exhale~.

Inside the carriage, with every breath Zhang Liyang took, a faint white light seemed to flash between his nose and mouth, incredibly mystical.

At noon, the team rested for half an hour in a grove of trees, and Mu Yinghua took the opportunity to breathe in the fresh air.

As the team marched steadily northwest, the weather grew progressively colder. The wind intensified, and the air became increasingly dry.

Before, there were still glimpses of green. But ever since I left Liangzhou City, there hasn't been a single patch of green along the way. There is only endless barren mountains and swirling sand.

"Isn't there a village over there"

During her break, Mu Yinghua looked around and spotted a village, but it seemed abandoned, devoid of any human presence, only dilapidated ruins remained.

"Well, yes, it was just abandoned."

Zhang Liyang's eyesight was better than Mu Yinghua's, so he saw more clearly. Among the dilapidated village, Zhang Liyang vaguely saw rows of white bones.

"Sigh, after decades of war, people are almost gone. It's just the civilians here who suffer."

"So, Your Highness, this trip to Flying Dragon City is a heavy burden indeed."

"Well, I know." Mu Yinghua nodded, her eyes seeming to flash with a certain light. "Rest assured, I will definitely use the imperial grace well and allow the people of Feilong City to live good lives."

After a midday break, we continued our journey. In the evening, we rested at an inn. However, during the night, Xiao Heishan specifically sought out Zhang Liyang.

"General Xiao, is there something the matter"

"Grandmaster Zhang," Xiao He bowed. "Has the princess gone to sleep"

"Well, I just went to sleep." Zhang Liyang gently closed the door and came to the courtyard with Xiao He Shan. "I see General Xiao has something on his mind"

"Oh, Zhang Gonggong, I really can't sleep."

Xiao Heishan let out a soft sigh, then poured out his inner turmoil.

Originally, from the day after tomorrow until Feilong City, there were no more stations or cities along the way. This means that Mu Yinghua will have to sleep in the open air and eat what he can find starting tomorrow.

"General Xiao, please rest assured, I will explain this to His Highness. I believe His Highness will understand General Xiao's predicament."

"Thank you, Mr. Zhang, for your understanding. In fact, I have another idea."

"General Xiao, please speak."

"That's it..."

After chatting with Xiao Heshan for a while, Zhang Liyang left the courtyard. Only Zhang Liyang remained standing in the courtyard, rubbing his chin as if deep in thought.

The next morning, the team washed up and set off again.

Because the war had just ended, there were almost no pedestrians on the road, which allowed Xiao He Shan to walk faster with peace of mind.

At this speed, Zhang Liyang estimated that it would take him only about nine days to reach his destination, a journey that would normally take twelve days.

Although the team was moving quickly, Xiao He Shan remained vigilant. No matter what, the team always protected the carriage in the middle.

At the same time, Xiao He also sent out more than a hundred scouts ahead. With a force of over a thousand, he deployed more than a hundred as scouts to detect danger in advance.

Three days later, the team had arrived in the wasteland. Looking around, there was nothing but barren land as far as the eye could see, leaving one with a feeling of utter solitude, as if they were the only person in the world.

“Father-in-law, we found a small stream ahead. We plan to camp there tonight. What do you think...”

"Everything is going according to General Xiao's plan."

As Zhang Liyang and Mu Yinghua had no idea about military encampment, they naturally wouldn't give random orders. As for Cai Ning, he also completely listened to Xiao Heshan.

But Cai Ning, the Right Attendant Minister of Rites, didn't seem to have gone through such turbulence. His originally rather thin frame became even thinner.It has been half a month since the message arrived, during which time Zhang Liyang's three hundred blood pills had been consumed by him like candy.