Xuanqing Guard

Unlike Wu Kai, who strode across Zhuo Huo Pass with great swagger, the atmosphere on Xiaochuan’s side, just a few days’ march from the pass, was much more oppressive.

Why? It’s not because Xiaochuan was full of ragtag troops with poor fighting spirit, but because they’d been so thoroughly thrown off by a diversionary maneuver that everyone was left reeling.

Just as Shen Hao had predicted earlier and as the Four Divisions’ analysis deduced, the thirty thousand soldiers assembled here at Xiaochuan were all pulled over with a ruse, using false Orders as a smokescreen. The point of gathering here, of course, wasn’t just to guard against the Barbarian Race sneaking in through the Ten Thousand Miles Bamboo Sea, but rather to do the unexpected and make use of the bamboo sea themselves.

The plan wasn’t put forward by Zuo Yuliang. It was drawn up, repeatedly studied, and then handed down by the Ministry of War to the South Military Affairs and Road Supervision Office, with a command for Zuo Yuliang to execute as ordered.

The fact that the Ministry of War made such a decision—and that Zuo Yuliang, as the South Military Daoist Master, didn’t refuse upon receiving it—shows that it’s not an unfounded, reckless order. On the contrary, on paper, the decision had a good chance of success.

As early as the beginning of July, this plan had already started its preliminary operations under the joint oversight of the Ministry of War and the Southern Border Army—mainly to test feasibility.

The results satisfied everyone.

Truth be told, the foundation of this plan still traces back to the "Ma San Case," which had shaken the whole court and completely changed the Ministry of War’s power structure. Besides people like Zhou Qing, the highest official arrested back then was Vice Minister Xu Hong of the Ministry of War.

Xu Hong was interrogated on Jiang Cheng’s side. Shen Hao hadn’t taken part, not being accustomed to those scenes where family members are threatened. Later, it was said Xu Hong was sent to the Ministry’s prison, where he ultimately died.

What exactly did Xu Hong confess to? Outsiders didn’t know the details, but this present military strategy of "passing through the Ten Thousand Miles Bamboo Sea" was directly tied to some of Xu Hong’s confessions.

Subsequent hush-hush probes confirmed the truth of Xu Hong’s disclosures, which is what led to the "Bamboo Sea Passage" plan taking shape.

Most of the thirty thousand troops at Xiaochuan, including Zhang Qian and Gan Lin, knew nothing about these inside stories.

That’s right—just as Shen Hao had worried, those two veterans who’d clung to the Gui Mountain Cultivation Institute for support, thinking they’d be going to the front lines, hadn’t gone to Zhuo Huo Pass but had been thrown into Xiaochuan’s assembly instead.

"Damn it! Don’t tell me they really expect us to crawl through the bamboo forest?" Gan Lin finally ended up in the same unit as Zhang Qian and opened his mouth to curse, pissed off by the new orders.

Zhang Qian was just as upset, but unlike Gan Lin, he was better at holding it in. Pouring Gan a cup of water, he sighed, "You guys got that ointment this morning, too, right? Smells awful, but they say it keeps insects away—put it on and you won’t get sucked dry by mosquitoes. If we weren’t going into the woods, why give it out?"

"That’s the friggin’ Ten Thousand Miles Bamboo Sea! Even taking a stroll inside is a near death sentence—let alone crossing through! And most of our troops are just ordinary men, maybe with a bit of martial arts, but no cultivators—once inside the bamboo forest, we’d be living on a knife’s edge every day. If anything goes wrong, how many will die?"

Did the people at the General Manager’s Office even think about this?"

"Shut up! Are you out of your mind, mouthing off about the General Manager’s Office?" Zhang Qian put down his cup, face stern. He clearly didn’t like Gan Lin’s loose tongue—no matter if it was just the two of them, speaking carelessly could become a habit, and saying something in public would mean losing your head.

Gan Lin understood he’d crossed a line, smacked his lips but stayed silent, though his face still showed plenty of resentful qi.

Frankly, after stewing for so long, all he wanted was to get on the battlefield and have a good fight with the Barbarians—so his years in the army wouldn’t have been wasted. And now? He hadn’t even seen the enemy but had to charge into the bamboo forest instead. Given the reputation of the Ten Thousand Miles Bamboo Sea, Gan Lin seriously doubted he’d come out alive—never mind killing anyone.

"Enough. You can grumble to me, but you still have to do your job. And don’t play dumb with the stuff in those booklets we got!"

"Hmph, play dumb my ass. It might be odd in that booklet, but those things are survival tricks for the bamboo forest. It’s not just for the rank and file—hell, I stayed up all night reading it too. Old Zhang, do you think Marshal Zuo planned all this because he’s already figured out the Bamboo Sea’s secrets?"

"They definitely ran some tests first, or they wouldn’t have handed out those ointments and manuals ahead of time. My guess is it came up in that border army smuggling case—maybe they finally got a barbarian to spill the secret safe routes through the Ten Thousand Miles Bamboo Sea?"

"Heh, hearing you say it, maybe you’re right! But there’re too many people—tens of thousands going in at once? That’s just begging for trouble."

Inside the bamboo sea, besides all kinds of deadly traps, there were countless terrifying fierce beasts, some so fearsome even regular cultivators would be hard pressed to survive. Rumor even had it there were savage packs of beasts; if you ran into them, even a Profound Sea Realm strong person would have to retreat.

A small group might be manageable, but tens of thousands crossing the bamboo sea... well... Gan Lin still found it hard to believe.

"No way all thirty thousand are going in together. Did you notice our camp layout? There’s a pattern—looks like they’re lining us up. The whole military camp’s arranged like a long snake."

"Right, and you mean?"

"Most likely, when it’s time to head into the bamboo forest, only two battalions go at a time, with some staggered timing between each group." Zhang Qian had been pondering this since arriving, and now that he sensed they were going into the bamboo sea, he’d been trying to find ways to boost his own odds.

"If that’s the case, our camps being next to each other means we can keep an eye out for each other. Just, who knows if it’ll actually work."

"Whether it works or not, we’ll see. Just remember—once in the forest, don’t go too fast, but don’t lag either, or we could get separated from the main force and something bad could happen. It’d be best if we figured out a reasonable distance together, then each picked a squad of elites to act as a separate unit, using Summoning Talismans as signals. If either of us needs help, we can reinforce immediately. What do you think?"

"That’s best. Come on, let’s not waste time; we each grab our deputies and iron out the details, get it settled before the sudden order to march."

The two didn’t dawdle, calling their deputies in a hurry to work out the specifics.

Two days later, as Zhang Qian had guessed, the thirty thousand assembled at Xiaochuan began entering the Ten Thousand Miles Bamboo Sea in batches, with a day between each group. Every two battalions entering together were escorted by a group of Golden Sword Cultivators as a vanguard. This surprised most, but also eased many minds.

When they received the Orders, Zhang Qian found he was in the fifth batch, Gan Lin in the next.