Starting with a Wei Wu soldier

Chapter 224 Martial Arts and Literary Struggle

Thick, milky, almost tangible white mist filled every inch of space deep within Cloud Mist Ridge. The silhouettes of towering ancient trees twisted into menacing, ghostly figures in the mist, slippery moss covered jagged rocks, and the air was filled with a strange, indescribable fragrance—a mixture of decaying leaves, damp earth, and a cloying, slightly fishy aroma. The sounds of insects and birds were absent; only the occasional, faint rustling sound or the sighing wind carried by the flowing mist could be heard.

Chen Xing's group of over two hundred men, led by Lan Ke and protected by the elite troops led by Dian Xiong, trudged through the mist-shrouded mountains for two days like a line of ants lost in a giant maze. They retraced the route Yang Zheng's troops had taken when they were attacked, avoiding known areas of poisonous miasma, using specially made powder to repel snakes and insects that tried to approach, and choosing relatively open and easily defensible high ground to camp at night. They lit huge bonfires mixed with sulfur and mugwort, and assigned men to take turns keeping watch, vigilant for any unusual activity that might appear in the fog.

However, aside from the inherent danger of the environment and the pervasive psychological pressure, the anticipated attack did not occur immediately. The mysterious "saint" seemed to be merely observing from the shadows, not in a hurry to reveal herself. This unknown waiting only made some soldiers more uneasy.

On the afternoon of the third day, the group traversed to the entrance of a gourd-shaped valley. The valley entrance was narrow, with steep cliffs on both sides covered with slippery vines and thick moss. The mist inside the valley seemed thicker than outside, and the faint sound of flowing water could be heard.

Lan Ke stopped, cautiously examining several strangely shaped, deep purple shrubs with serrated edges at the valley entrance. He then bent down to carefully examine some tiny, neither-animal-nor-human footprints on the mud. His expression turned grave: "Your Majesty, this place... the atmosphere is off. These 'Ghost Tooth Vines' usually only grow in extremely filthy or poisonous places. And these footprints, they seem to be barefoot, varying in size, but the gait is light and eerie... we've probably approached their core area of ​​activity."

Dian Xiong, already impatient with this cautious approach, slammed his giant axe on the ground and muttered, "Your Majesty, now that we're close, why keep guessing? Let me take a few dozen brothers and go into the valley to investigate! If that pretentious saintess dares to show herself, I'll chop her down with one blow and see what other poisonous insects and mist she has to offer!"

"General Dian, you mustn't be reckless!" Lin Wan'er hurriedly advised, though her face was also slightly pale, her eyes remained calm. "The enemy is adept at using cunning methods and relies on the terrain to launch a forceful attack, which plays right into their hands. General Yang's fate is a stark reminder. We are here to communicate and resolve the conflict, not to fight."

"Communication? How can we communicate? We can't even see a shadow of a person!" Dianxiong glared.

Chen Xing remained silent, observing the valley's terrain and the unusual plants. Suddenly, he raised his hand and pointed to a rock wall on the left side of the valley entrance: "Look there."

Following his gaze, everyone saw that on the slippery rock wall, about ten feet above the ground, a pattern made of fresh moss and some kind of white pebbles had silently appeared—a mountain, a moon, and a woman's silhouette, exactly the same as the pattern wrapped in the banana leaf, only larger and clearer.

Almost at the same moment everyone noticed the pattern, a faint, yet seemingly direct, silvery tinkling sound drifted from the depths of the valley. The sound was not melodic, but it possessed a strange rhythm that made one's heart sway slightly involuntarily.

Immediately afterwards, the thick fog in the valley began to churn and surge violently, as if some enormous creature were breathing within it. The previously faint rustling sounds suddenly amplified, becoming dense and eerie—the sound of countless arthropods crawling and flapping their wings!

"Be on guard!" Dian Xiong roared, and two hundred elite soldiers instantly formed a circular formation, shields facing outwards, spears like a forest, crossbows nocked, aiming at the misty valley entrance.

However, what emerged from the fog was not the barbarian warriors one might have imagined.

First, hundreds and thousands of brightly colored, venomous insects of various sizes—centipedes, scorpions, spiders, and many other strange insects whose names were completely unknown—surged out like a tide from the ground and crevices in the rock walls at the valley entrance, densely packed and enough to make one's scalp tingle. They did not attack immediately, but stopped about twenty paces away from the army formation, pacing restlessly, making rustling sounds, their compound eyes gleaming with a cold light.

Immediately afterward, the mist parted slightly to both sides, revealing more than ten slender figures, seemingly weightless, gracefully appearing on the cliff face above the valley entrance, treading across the jagged rocks and hanging vines. These women wore short blouses and skirts woven from natural plant fibers and bird feathers, revealing their toned arms and calves. Their skin was a healthy honey color, and their faces were painted with patterns similar to the totems using colored clay. Their eyes were sharp and wild, and they carried blowguns, short bows, or strange bone flutes. They were all women, ranging in age from their teens to their thirties, with the leader being particularly tall and possessing the most intricate facial markings. She now coldly surveyed the "intruders" outside the valley.

Behind these women's figures, deep within the thick fog, a more indistinct figure could be vaguely seen, sitting on some kind of simple sedan chair. The sound of silver bells seemed to be coming from that direction.

"It's the 'Mountain Spirit Guards'!" Lan Ke exclaimed in a low voice, his voice tense. "Your Majesty, the one with the most tattoos at the head should be the leader of the guards. And the one in the mist behind... that's probably the 'Holy Maiden' herself!"

When Dianxiong saw the enemy appear, and that it was a woman, he felt even more slighted and his anger surged. Without asking for permission, he suddenly roared, "Playing tricks! Take this axe!" He actually wanted to swing his giant axe and throw it at the female guard leader on the cliff!

"Dianxiong! Stop!" Chen Xing shouted sternly.

But Dian Xiong's fighting spirit had already been ignited. The giant axe had already left his hand, spinning and crashing towards the cliff wall with a fierce whistling sound! This axe strike was so powerful that if it hit solidly, the rock would shatter!

However, just as the giant axe was about to strike its target, the female guard leader, who had been standing still, suddenly raised the bone flute in her hand, put it to her lips, and blew out a short, sharp note.

"Buzz—!"

A strange scene unfolded. The swarm of poisonous insects that had been restlessly wandering on the ground seemed to have received a command. Some of the larger scorpions and centipedes suddenly sprang up and fearlessly met the flying giant axe head-on! Crack! Crack! Crack! The poisonous insects were instantly shredded by the axe blade, their juices splattering everywhere, but this also successfully caused the giant axe's trajectory to deflect extremely slightly.

It was by a hair's breadth that the heavy battle axe grazed the female guard leader's side before crashing into the rock wall behind her, sending debris flying but failing to harm her in the slightest. She didn't even blink; she simply put down her bone flute and cast a cold gaze at Dian Xiong as if looking at a dead man.

Dian Xiong was enraged when his first attack missed. Just as he was about to order the crossbowmen to fire, Chen Xing stepped forward and blocked the way.

"Dian Xiong! Step back!" Chen Xing's voice wasn't loud, but it carried an unyielding authority. Even though Dian Xiong was unwilling, he could only glare fiercely at the cliff face before reluctantly retreating.

Chen Xing looked up at the female guard leader on the cliff face, and then at the hazy figure deep in the mist behind her. He spoke loudly, his voice echoing in the silent valley, seemingly temporarily drowning out the rustling of the insects:

"I, Emperor Chen Xing of Xingqi, have come as promised. Now that the master of the canyon has appeared, why not remove the insects and snakes and reveal himself? To treat him with trickery and hidden arrows is neither the way to treat a guest nor the behavior of a hero."

His words, delivered with internal force, were clearly audible. The female guards on the cliff seemed to understand part of it, exchanging glances. The female guard leader then raised her bone flute again, playing a series of even more complex notes.

The swarm of insects on the ground receded rapidly into the valley like a receding tide, disappearing into the mist and rock crevices, leaving only some insect corpses and a faint fishy smell. The female guards on the cliff also made slight room to the sides.

The thick fog rolled in again, and the simple sedan chair, carried by four strong female guards, slowly emerged from the fog until it stopped at the edge of the cliff. A woman sat upright in the sedan chair.

She appeared to be in her early twenties, wearing a long, dark blue dress embroidered with silver stars and exotic floral patterns, over which she wore a shawl woven from the feathers of some unknown bird, its sheen shimmering. Her long, black hair, unlike the female guards', was left loose and flowing, adorned with a few small silver bells and fresh wildflowers. Her face was also painted with patterns, far more intricate and elaborate than the female guards', resembling a mysterious starry sky totem, making her eyes appear especially bright, like the clearest spring water in a mountain stream, yet unfathomably deep, carrying a world-weariness and insight beyond her years. In her hand, she toyed with the silver bell hairpin she had previously given to Chen Xing.

Eyes facing each other.

Chen Xing's gaze was calm and profound, carrying the majesty and scrutiny of an emperor.

The woman's gaze was filled with curiosity, inquiry, and a hint of undisguised, condescending shrewdness and cunning. She gently shook the hairpin in her hand, and the silver bell rang again, producing a melodious yet enigmatic sound.

"The emperor of the Northern Dynasty..." she began, her voice clear and melodious like a nightingale's song in a valley, yet carrying a strange, ethereal echo. She spoke in somewhat stiff, but generally understandable, official language, "You said you came as promised. But do you know that entering my 'Holy Mountain' requires abiding by my 'Mountain Rules'? Disturbing all spirits and turning weapons against each other is a grave taboo."

Chen Xing remained unmoved: "My subordinates have mistakenly entered this sacred land and have committed many offenses, for which I apologize. However, your troops have harassed us with treacherous poisons, wounding my soldiers and blocking our passage, which is not the behavior of a friendly neighbor. I have come here in person today to ask clearly: Is it war or peace? If it is war, I am unwilling but not afraid; if it is peace, then please draw up a line, and I will accept it. However, this insect and snake fog should be put away; it only increases casualties and does nothing to help the situation."

Upon hearing this, Lan Fenghuang's eyes flashed with surprise. She seemed not to have expected the emperor to be so direct, and that he showed little fear in the face of her "home advantage" and strange methods. Instead, he adopted an equal, even slightly oppressive, negotiating stance.

She tilted her head, sizing up Chen Xing, then suddenly smiled, a smile as bright as sunlight piercing through the mist, yet devoid of warmth: "His Majesty the Emperor is quite straightforward. However, the 'Mountain Rules' cannot be disregarded. Since you dared to come, you must possess some courage and ability. How about this..."

She extended her slender finger, pointing to the valley below: "In this valley, there are three small 'thresholds.' The first is 'strength,' the second is 'wisdom,' and the third is 'heart.' If you can lead your people safely through these three thresholds and stand before me, I will acknowledge your qualifications to speak with my 'Baiyue Sect,' and the past can be forgiven. Perhaps... we can even discuss the matter of passing through. If you cannot pass..." Her smile faded, a cold glint flashing in her eyes, "Then I can only ask Your Majesty and your warriors to remain forever in this Cloud Mist Ridge, keeping company with all living beings. What do you say, Your Majesty? Do you dare to give it a try?"

A physical confrontation? A debate over words? Or perhaps an even more unpredictable test?

Chen Xing gazed at the mysterious and beautiful Miao saintess on the cliff face, then looked at the tense soldiers behind him and the worried Lin Wan'er and Lan Ke, and a slow smile appeared on his lips.

"Interesting." He slowly uttered three words, his voice steady and powerful. "Since the Holy Maiden has laid down her terms, I will accept them."