Chapter 59

Chapter 59

“Hanba.”

Qin Ying sat at her desk, shifting to a more comfortable position with her chin resting on her hand.

Her neighborhood was part of an Ancient District full of historic buildings, where many old customs were still preserved.

For instance, the older generation would often prepare their burial shrouds and Coffins long before they actually passed away.

Many of these prepared Coffins were kept openly in their homes, receiving a fresh coat of lacquer every year.

Therefore, seeing a bright, polished Coffin in someone’s house was not an unusual sight in this part of the Old City.

When she was seven or eight, Qin Ying had played hide-and-seek with her friends. Driven by a clever urge to win, she had scrambled inside someone’s Coffin to hide.

She stayed hidden for an entire afternoon, driving her playmates and her grandmother nearly frantic with worry.

They had to call Qin Zhiguo, who finally hauled her out of the Coffin as evening fell.

That day, Qin Ying’s palms were smacked ten times as punishment.

To scare her into never doing it again, they made her watch fantasy horror movies all night.

Because of this, Qin Ying’s impression of a Hanba was still stuck on the image of a monster with sharp claws piercing through a Coffin lid, emerging under the moonlight to suck blood.

Han Lie and the others were inside the house. From her perspective, Qin Ying could only see the blue roof tiles and not the expressions of those within.

As she focused on listening, a small complaint rose in her heart.

The perspective of this box was too limited; it seriously hampered her sense of immersion.

If only she could be like a guardian spirit, hovering over Han Lie’s head for an immersive viewing experience.

She merely whispered Han Lie’s name in her mind, but as if sensing her, the wooden bead on Han Lie’s chest and the branded red mark both flared with heat simultaneously.

Is the Supreme Deity watching us again? Han Lie couldn’t help but daze for a moment.

In his momentary distraction, his arm was suddenly gripped by Commandant Lin.

Commandant Lin, who had just been slumped on the straw mat, suddenly flushed red as if experiencing a final burst of lucidity.

He found strength from somewhere to clutch Han Lie tightly. “Ah Lie, you must return to Luoyang immediately to report this!”

“There are thirty-seven Courier Stations between Yunwu County and Luoyang. If you switch horses at every station and travel day and night, you can reach Luoyang in eight days.”

“Only you have the endurance and physical strength to survive eight days of travel without rest. Anyone else would surely drop dead from exhaustion.”

A tablet three fingers wide was pressed into Han Lie’s hand.

Having just woken up after the snake venom was neutralized, Commandant Lin was unaware of the delicate situation in the Commandery. He issued the order to Han Lie in his capacity as a Superior Officer.

“Furthermore, a great plague always follows a great drought. We must inform the Prefect immediately so the citizens can be evacuated.”

“Commandant Lin, please lie down first.”

Seeing that the man seemed on the verge of fainting from agitation, Han Lie gripped the Commandant’s waist token and firmly held Commandant Lin down.

His strength was immense, and Commandant Lin was forced back onto the cattail mat.

The disoriented Commandant Lin tried to rise twice without success, his eyes rolling back in frustration.

The Old Physician on the side finally found his opening.

Stepping forward, his hands moved like lightning as he pricked over a dozen silver needles into Commandant Lin’s head.

Commandant Lin’s rolling eyes snapped back into focus, and the bulging veins on his forehead receded.

He lay paralyzed on the bed, unable to move.

The Old Physician slowly withdrew his hands. “Since you’ve used such precious medicine, lie still and recover.”

With Commandant Lin incapacitated and only able to move his eyes, the room suddenly fell silent.

There were no outsiders present, so there was no risk of information leaking. The group decided to sit on the floor to deliberate.

“Commandant Lin, the situation is complicated. Let us explain first.”

When Wu Er had sent word to the Prefectural Office, he had pinned all the blame on the County Governor.

However, the Prefectural Office had yet to respond.

Moreover, evacuation was a matter of grave importance. The people of Yunwu, having just suffered through a drought, were low on food and water. Most importantly, they were all sickly; a large-scale migration would likely leave countless corpses in its wake.

Without absolute evidence, no one would dare to make such a move.
By the same token, returning to Luoyang to seek reinforcements was equally futile.

To expect the Jade Balance Army to march out of Luoyang based on nothing more than a Commandant’s waist token and a single Yong Bird feather was pure fantasy.

Commandant Lin lay flat on a straw mat. The Old Physician had inserted several needles into his forehead, which had calmed him down considerably.

After hearing the current situation, he suddenly let out a long sigh. “I can only blame the fact that we are of low rank and our words carry no weight.”

Following that sigh, his mind cleared significantly. He closed his eyes and pondered for a moment before looking askance at Wu Er.

“Do you remember the characters on the Hanba’s Lacquered Coffin?”

Wu Er was Commandant Lin’s deputy, and the two shared a deep rapport. He frowned in thought for a moment before saying, “Golden Saddle?”

Commandant Lin breathed heavily. “Exactly. It was Golden Saddle Mountain!”

Chief Clerk Li, who had been standing with his arms crossed like an outsider, interjected, “Chixia Golden Saddle Mountain, three hundred li north of Yunwu County City?”

Chief Clerk Li was a local power in Yunwu County and knew its affairs like the back of his hand.

He couldn’t help but stroke his beard, but then his expression changed drastically. “Are you saying the Hanba is in Golden Saddle Mountain?”

“Did you enter Golden Saddle Mountain?”

Lying there, Commandant Lin recalled, “I suddenly remembered an important matter.”

“There are rumors in the Yunwu region that there is a Divine Shrine in Golden Saddle Mountain. It is the residence of a Mountain God who controls Earth Fire, and it is surrounded by thunder and lightning. Humans dare not enter recklessly.”

“Only on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, by offering a fine steed to the sacred mountain, can the thunder and storms be halted for a single day.”

“The commoners would take that opportunity to enter the mountain and search the rock faces for a precious medicinal herb.”

Realizing the implications, Wu Er’s face turned pale instantly. “When we entered, there was no thunder in Golden Saddle Mountain, and it wasn’t the fifteenth of the first month either.”

Chief Clerk Li’s expression remained steady, but the beard he accidentally plucked out betrayed the turmoil in his heart.

“White Jade covers the ground of Golden Saddle Mountain. Between the White Jade and the Blue-Grey Clay, a precious herb that extends life grows. It is called Immortal Grass.”

“Two years ago, the Imperial Court in Luoyang ordered Yunwu County to provide an annual tribute of ninety-nine stalks of Fresh Immortal Grass.”

This number caused Qin Ying, who had been listening from the side, to curse inwardly.

Immortal Grass and Fresh Immortal Grass-a single word’s difference meant worlds of disparity.

‘Fresh’ meant the tribute had to be delivered to the capital whole, roots and soil included, to ensure the nobles received it while the leaves were still moist and fresh.

Yunwu County was located in the northwest. According to what Commandant Lin just said, there were thirty-seven Courier Stations between Yunwu County and Luoyang; the distance was likely no less than three thousand li.

To transport ninety-nine stalks of fresh herbs to the capital over thousands of li while ensuring they stayed alive required a non-stop relay from one Courier Station to the next.

The money and grain consumed in the process were enough to grind many commoners to death.

Outside the box, Qin Ying rested her chin on her hand and did some calculations.

Considering the rarity of this herb and the losses during transport, if they had to guarantee ninety-nine stalks for the annual tribute, it was absolutely not enough for the commoners to enter the mountain only once a month on the fifteenth to gather them!

“To cope with this Corvée Labor, the commoners must have found another way to break the thunder, allowing them to enter and exit the mountain constantly to pick the herbs!”

Qin Ying’s voice suddenly rang in Han Lie’s ear.

Before he could react, Commandant Lin continued, “The agreement was broken. I’m afraid that is the root of this disaster!”

The light from the Migu Flower illuminated the room. Chief Clerk Li’s face was deathly pale. “The great drought… signs of it also began appearing two years ago.”

A decree from two years ago caused the rules of Golden Saddle Mountain to be broken.

A great drought appeared two years ago.

And in Golden Saddle Mountain, where the thunder had vanished, Commandant Lin and his men had seen the Coffin where the Hanba resided.

The answer seemed ready to come out.

Commandant Lin’s voice, tinged with terror, echoed in the room. “So, the Hanba in that Coffin might have been forming for who knows how many years, only trapped by the thunder!”

“After recuperating for two years, it’s about to come out!”