Chapter 5: Seeking the Path, Bloodshed and Strife

That night, Xuan Chong and his twenty-three-man unit applied "Breath-Suppressing Talismans" before departing from the grain depot encampment.

In the military, stealth movement at night is a skill that second- and third-in-command officers absolutely must master. There may come a day when the main army is besieged within city walls and requires reliable men to break out and seek reinforcements; the current drill is essentially for that purpose.

Having stood off against the snake-men for so many days, Xuan Chong had developed a rough intuition for where they might be hiding in the surrounding brush. For instance, in areas where the snake-men frequently traveled, the sounds of frogs and birds were noticeably sparse. These details are simple to state but require keen observation.

Currently, the entire grain depot housed five hundred and twenty-six men, yet very few possessed the heart to observe their surroundings or maintain constant vigilance. After the day’s fighting, any spare time was spent gambling.

If one were to truly count them, only Wu Fei himself was capable of handling such a task—or rather, a task fit for a scout.

This is the inherent flaw of a feudal army: there are far too few capable men! One must never compare them to the highly disciplined, self-improving modern military of his previous life.

...

Once Xuan Chong’s unit had cleared the area surrounding the depot, leaving the scent of the snake-men far behind, the guide Xiao Qing, whom Wu Hanluan had assigned to him, proved her worth. She led them to a mountain north of the camp, located a cavern, and led them inside.

A "coo-coo" sound, faint yet jarringly abrupt, startled them. Wu Fei instinctively scanned his surroundings, realizing it was merely the sound of bats within the cave. In this vast limestone cavern, one could occasionally spot patches of bioluminescent moss on the ground, but most of the space was swallowed by a pitch-black void. Any sudden noise in such darkness was enough to terrify a man.

The soldiers following Wu Fei fared even worse. Although they held wooden bits in their mouths to remain silent, their eyes were wide with fear, their hands never straying far from the blades at their waists.

The guide, Xiao Qing, clung to the rock wall using her agile technique, much like a giant gecko. Xuan Chong couldn't help but think: *Like the Xenomorphs from the movies of my past life.*

He mused: if a partially humanized snake-man could scale walls like Spider-Man, what of the pure-blooded snake-men?

As this thought took hold, a vivid image flashed in Wu Fei’s mind: in the absolute darkness, countless snake-like eyes suddenly snapped open, the sound of hissing tongues rising like a rising tide to echo through the cave. Immediately after, swarms of alien-like snake-men would emerge, torches in hand, overwhelming his scout team, only to carry his severed head back to their master to gloat.

Limestone caves are natural breeding grounds for claustrophobia; they are not places that can withstand wild imagination. Wu Fei stared intently at Xiao Qing’s back, took a deep breath, and suppressed the suspicion that she might be a double agent for the third time. He forced himself to be "dull." Everyone knows the principle of trusting those you employ, but in an unknown environment, completely lost in the dark, who can truly trust the loyalty of a defector with ties to the "hostile camp"?

...Uncertainty and suspicion were festering...

As they delved deeper into the cave, the trail of fluorescent markers they left behind stretched slowly into the distance. In the darkness, as everyone’s breathing and heartbeats grew erratic, their grasp on reality began to wane. The only thing they could rely on was the signal Xiao Qing provided, tethering them as they wandered blindly through the black abyss.

Many feared being ambushed by snake-men at any second. They were prepared to fight to the death at the slightest disturbance, even if it meant taking Xiao Qing down with them.

Wu Fei suddenly understood the truth behind "Li Guang losing his way." In the vast desert, without any landmarks, with water and supplies slowly dwindling, and the entire unit led by a guide from an "alien race" they previously despised, they marched into a vast, unknown void. One day, two days—eventually, they would go astray, or perhaps the guide would make a single wrong step in the sandstorm, leading to a dispute, and the guide would be slaughtered. History books would not record how an alien who betrayed the Xiongnu died; the chroniclers would merely sigh: "General Li lost his chance to be enfeoffed."

As a transmigrator, prompted by a certain "system," Xuan Chong took a deep breath and began to adjust his mindset.

Xuan Chong reflected: "Anxiety and cowardice are caused by having no direction for one’s efforts." Just like a person who has just entered the water—if they cannot find a fixed point to grab, they will thrash about, and even water five feet deep can drown them. The more lost one feels, the calmer one must be. The mind must find an anchor for thought and orientation.

As the leader of the unit, Wu Fei knew he had to act as that anchor.

In the cave, Wu Fei tapped his foot lightly. The soldiers fumbling in the dark halted. He signaled for Xiao Qing to pause for the duration of an incense stick.

On the stone path, Wu Fei issued orders to the soldiers in the front and back of the line by drawing characters on their palms.

"Every five steps, pick up a stone. If the moisture level of the stone changes, scrape your finger against your blade to alert me."

"You, focus your attention on the scent. Pay attention to these specific smells, then strike the stone to signal me." Wu Fei pinched a bit of moss, some soil, and a piece of stalactite for the soldier to smell carefully.

"You, listen for the sound of water. The dripping from the cave ceiling has a rhythm. Sync your footsteps to the drops. Signal me—I will listen. If your pace falters, I will stop and ask you if the drops are falling every three seconds or two."

...

Wu Fei assigned tasks to every man in the cave and then resumed the march.

Within moments, the unit stabilized. Though the oppressive atmosphere remained, the "suspicion" that had been growing wildly was doused like a bucket of cold water. The soldiers focused on their assigned tasks and reported to Xuan Chong; once they received confirmation, their steps became much steadier.

But what of Wu Fei himself? The blue fluorescent moss from the ground had begun to stain his boots and creep up toward his upper body.

Wu Fei found that he had seemingly adapted to the darkness. Based on the intelligence provided by the soldiers behind him, he developed a sixth sense that transcended vision, perceiving the height of the cave, whether water flowed on the walls, and the growth of the stalactites.

Xuan Chong knew these were merely projections of his imagination based on the soldiers' reports. These images might not be accurate, but the soldiers' cues, combined with his own rampant imagination, made it feel as if everything were right before his eyes.

However, Xuan Chong did not know that in this realm, imagination born of confusion and curiosity born of ignorance are the most dangerous things of all!

...System: Actually, the student doesn't need to know...

Deep within the Chilian Mountains, a three-dimensional map of the cave system appeared in Wu Fei’s mind, resembling a labyrinth. According to Xiao Qing’s intel, these caverns contained shortcuts that led directly to other mountain peaks.

Xuan Chong analyzed this, concluding it was similar to the terrain in the Qian region of Earth, where locals alone knew the shortcuts through the mountains.

Before transmigrating, Xuan Chong had read online about people from the Qian region boasting, "When we were kids, we all explored the local caves." From a military perspective, the mountainous, cave-riddled terrain of the Dian region made counter-insurgency incredibly difficult; in fact, the banditry in the Southwest was never truly eradicated. It was only much later, under the governance of the new era, that the banditry was finally cleared.

Reflecting on the present, Xuan Chong realized that the army he led could never achieve the "fish and water" harmony with the locals. In other words, how could Wu Hanluan dare to enter the Chilian Mountains to hunt down the snake-men?

Xuan Chong speculated: "Wu Hanluan must have put in a lot of effort to plant secret agents among the various tribes, right?"

...At the front of the unit, Xiao Qing continued to scout the path; she was loyal...

Three-quarters of an hour later, Wu Fei’s unit saw light ahead and emerged from a cave piled with loose rocks, effectively completing their exploration.

Wu Fei opened his silk map and was shocked to find that his current location was separated from his original grain depot by an entire mountain range. Yet, the time he spent passing through the cave was only three-quarters of an hour.

Wu Fei immediately measured the distance on the map with his fingers.

*This distance is wrong,* he thought. *Is this 'shortening the earth' (teleportation), or did the map incorrectly mark the mountain range as too long? Or perhaps some mechanism accelerated our passage through the tunnel—like saving energy while walking downhill, and before I knew it, the light boat had passed ten thousand mountains?*

"Curiosity" flickered in Wu Fei’s mind. A voice seemed to whisper in his ear: "You must figure this out; if you don't understand it clearly, you won't be satisfied."

However, an involuntary yawn from Wu Fei brought this aimless thought to an end.

After the yawn, he noticed his system pop up a window, reminding him that he hadn't performed a "mental health check" in forty-eight hours.

What was the use of a mental health check? The system prompted: *It is primarily for calming the nerves and assisting the brain. Because you have been overthinking, which affects your rest, this mode temporarily seals off certain thought patterns. Get some rest first.*

Wu Fei tapped the "Checkup" button. After a system scan, it prompted: "Shortcut settings abnormal." Xuan Chong paused and looked at the names of these "shortcuts": *Ambush in the Cave*, *Ambushed by Falling Rocks*, *Betrayal of the Snake Girl*, and so on. *Hmm,* Xuan Chong glanced at them and realized these were all useless, paranoid fantasies he’d had in the cave.

After confirming, Xuan Chong dumped these useless, chaotic thoughts into the recycle bin.

The system quickly displayed a rotating hourglass and prompted that the deletion had begun. After a sensation of something being quickly forgotten, Xuan Chong felt as if a great burden had been lifted from his mind. His thinking became clear, he felt relaxed, and his attention could focus on the important matters at hand.

However, Xuan Chong did not know that while the system was scanning, a flicker of blue light jumped out from his pupils, trying to extend and cover his vision, but it was quickly dragged away by a force, much like toilet paper being flushed down a drain.

...System: What kind of ghosts and demons? All trying to get close to me!...

In two days, Wu Fei successfully completed the exploration of three key cave routes centered around his grain depot. While scouting the third cave, he discovered traces of a massive snake-man operation. In that cavern, large amounts of snake skin were left on the ground.

As surely as a camel or horse caravan leaves behind dung, a path taken by snakes will always have shed skin. Xuan Chong immediately relayed this information to Wu Hanluan via a messenger bird.

Wu Hanluan’s reply was immediate: *Return to the supply camp at once.*

Deep down, Wu Fei felt that things were becoming extraordinary.

Scouting the surrounding caves was a task personally entrusted to him by his uncle, which meant it was of critical importance. Now that he had encountered a massive snake-man force, did this mean his uncle already knew about the situation and had sent him to probe their movements?

Wu Fei immediately packed his bags, for the credit was already in his hands.

*My uncle is looking to promote me,* Wu Fei concluded with some certainty.

...Five hours later...

After bypassing the areas touched by the snake-men and returning to the main depot, he found the camp in perfect order. Zhao Tu was there to greet him respectfully—Wu Fei even felt that the units in the camp breathed a sigh of relief upon his return.

Wu Fei scanned his surroundings, his gaze suddenly freezing. The top of the camp flag, which had been empty before he left, now held three human heads! He remembered that when Wu Hanluan took him into the camp as a child, he pointed to the flagpole and said, "This is for sacrificing to the flag."

These heads belonged to the troublemakers in his unit. Wu Fei had long wanted to punish them severely, but he could only manage the ten military strokes that caused flesh wounds. Honestly, the authority of his punishments was far inferior to the bonds between these soldiers and their officers.

In the two days he was away, they had been beheaded.

Back in the camp, Zhao Tu respectfully presented the token of military authority on a tray, showing no sign of his usual ferocity.

Wu Fei had to look at him in a new light. This camp supervisor had crawled out of piles of corpses on the front lines; he could control his murderous aura at will.

At the same time, Wu Fei realized why his uncle had given him a temporary task and taken away his military power for a few days—because he wasn't decisive enough! Or rather, he lacked the sufficient murderous aura; he hadn't dared, nor had he the prestige, to kill.

Wu Fei looked at his deputy and sighed, "General Zhao has worked hard these past two days."

Zhao Tu stepped forward and bowed, "Serving the General is my duty."

Wu Fei helped him up and invited him into the tent. The old soldiers nearby, who had wanted to grumble, turned pale. They realized the young General didn't seem to mind Zhao Tu’s arrogant behavior.

Wu Fei sneered at the old soldiers. *These labor camp units acted like tough guys in front of me, complaining behind my back about having no women or wine, and now they want me to uphold justice? Do they really think I have a "saint complex"?*

Wu Fei quickly determined his current position and interests: Zhao Tu was there to help him compensate for his lack of "morale" and "prestige." Under a dynastic system, if a commander lacks prestige, he cannot reward or punish effectively; if morale is low, the soldiers will desert at the slightest loss.

Previously, facing the provocations of the snake-men, Wu Fei had to worry about the soldiers not rallying even after the gong sounded. Because he was young and lacked the necessary murderous aura, he couldn't kill the leaders who disobeyed military orders. Without enough deterrent force, his punishment limit was only ten strokes. Anything more, and he might face a mutiny from the old soldiers while he slept.

Previously, when Xuan Chong was checking for illicit alcohol, he realized "military orders are like mountains" was complete nonsense. It was because his blade wasn't hard enough to suppress these veteran thugs. His orders were merely "suggestions." Now, these people wouldn't dare collude in front of Zhao Tu. As Wu Fei entered the tent, the other captains tremblingly led their teams back to their respective tents, not daring to make a sound—even the gambling that usually happened at this hour had ceased.

Wu Fei looked at the rejuvenated camp and sighed, "This is what it truly means to lead an army." The heads on the flagpole swayed in the wind, as if in agreement.

...However, above the camp, a blue star flickered...

Six kilometers away, a Taoist priest dressed in robes, looking ethereal and immortal, gazed at the camp. A dark blue light flickered between his eyebrows. If one looked closely, that blue light was an eye. The deep center of the blue eye seemed to hold an endless, insatiable desire for curiosity.

The priest flicked his horsetail whisk, silently reciting an unknown mantra, and looked at the camp with a smile: "The mandate has descended, the year is in Jiazi, and the world shall be auspicious."