The Fallen Nation System, Turning the Tide - Chapter 65: Urgent Ink

Chapter 65: Urgent Ink

“This is Ji Mo.”

Zhang Keqian planned to leave one team behind to rescue the Western Rong civilians, ordering the captain to lead the rest to find He Chongguang.

The captain hesitated, “Since we’re already lost, it would be better to have the Western Rong people guide us.”

Their provisions were nearly exhausted, and lacking experience surviving in Western Rong territory, they feared accidentally encountering and consuming poisonous substances.

Everyone agreed it would be wiser to have Western Rong guides, unanimously choosing to rescue themat the very least, they could safely lead their troops out of Western Rong lands.

After achieving their objective, Gedeng fled north toward the Northern Barbarians. The Western Rong Khan, temporarily unable to pursue them, expressed grief over Aguhun’s betrayal before swiftly appointing a replacement to take command of the border troops and counterattack the Jin Kingdom. However, with Aguhun’s death, the soldiers had lost their fighting spirit.

He Chongguang found trembling wounded Western Rong soldiers on a hillside. From them, he learned the crossbow arrows had been confiscated by Aguhun. While pursuing them, he suddenly heard news of Aguhun’s rebellion. When he next engaged the Western Rong forces, he encountered surprisingly weak resistancethey surrendered after brief resistance, allowing him to finally recover the missing arrows.

The Western Rong suffered successive defeats.

When Wang Qiu’s group reached the vast Gobi desert, the extreme temperature differences between day and night finally forced Niu Pengnan to admit he had misremembered the route. Fortunately, they encountered a Hu merchant caravan. Just as bandits were attacking them, the Women’s Army intervened in time to help.

The caravan included multilingual members, enabling smooth communication between the two groups. The caravan leader claimed he could lead them to Western Rong.

Overjoyed, the Women’s Army followed the caravan into the desert. Wang Qiu grew increasingly suspicious, but the sincere expressions of the caravan members dispelled her doubts.

The caravan was filled with incomprehensible chatter. One member glanced furtively at the Women’s Army and whispered, “Leader, isn’t it wrong to deceive them into going to Ji Mo? They wanted to go to Western Rong.”

The leader waved dismissively, “It’s not deception. They never specified a timeline. We’ll take them to Western Rong after we deliver our goods to Ji Mothat doesn’t count as lying.”

He couldn’t pass up free escorts. They could only blame their own bad luck for encountering such a shrewd merchant.

The arid climate brought frequent sandstorms, scorching days and bitterly cold nights after sunset. The caravan generously provided headscarves to Wang Qiu’s group. Niu Pengnan initially refused to wear one, until a slap to his forehead dislodged visible sand grains, prompting him to hastily wrap all his hair in a scarf.

“Just hang on a bit longerwe’ll reach Western Rong soon.”

Noticing Niu Pengnan’s despondency, Wang Qiu tried to encourage him.

Yet their detour seemed excessively long. After so many days still not reaching Western Rong, they wondered how the imperial court was faring.

The court had received victory reports: Western Rong was collapsing, with even Zhang Keqian leading infantry deep into their territory, tearing open their defenses and advancing toward the Western Rong royal tent. Xu Ying’s hands trembled slightly as she held the victory dispatch.

Had it been He Chongguang, she could understandhe had experience. But Zhang Keqian was a frail scholar who couldn’t even restrain a chicken… this she couldn’t comprehend.

Despite the victorious news, Xu Ying frowned deeply. The celebratory atmosphere in the court gradually dissipated as officials stole glances at her expression, exchanging meaningful looks before falling silent.

He Chongguang was cleaning his crossbow by the river. The bloodstains had set over time and couldn’t be washed out. He sighed inwardly at the pity of it.

His subordinate complained indignantly on He Chongguang’s behalf: “General, it was clearly our forces who defeated Aguhun’s army, so why has all the credit been given to Zhang Keqian?”

He Chongguang finished wiping his arrows unhurriedly, then with difficulty bent his aged body to soak the soiled cloth in the clear river water, watching as the murk rapidly spread through the current.

“Let them assign those fancy honors to whomever they wish. My original orders were to hold back Aguhun – what concern are other matters of mine? When the war concludes, the reckoning of merits won’t overlook any of you. Substantial rewards are what truly matter.”

Those who climb too high risk a hard fall.

As Zhang Keqian advanced to their very doorstep, the Western Rong Khan urgently dispatched troops. Yet when the Western Rong soldiers saw the elderly, weak, women and children whom Zhang Keqian had rescued, they halted in silent contemplation. Zhang Keqian sent his captain and interpreter to negotiate, returning the Western Rong civilians and allowing the soldiers to depart peacefully.

The two armies entered an unusual truce. As Zhang Keqian prepared to return along his original route, the young girl he had saved came running over, clutching a green-striped round melon in her arms – a fruit Zhang Keqian had never seen before.

In a clear, bright voice, the girl pushed the spherical fruit into Zhang Keqian’s embrace. Startled by her speech, Zhang Keqian’s eyes widened in surprise: “You can speak?”

The interpreter also paused in momentary confusion before quickly comprehending: “She says the supervising commander saved them, and they’re deeply grateful. This melon was brought by merchants from the Western Regions. They’ve learned to cultivate it themselves, and theirs is even sweeter. She insists you must accept it.”

Flustered, Zhang Keqian awkwardly caught the melon. Looking up, he saw the Western Rong woman standing before their soldiers, smiling toward them. Others too were pressing these strange melons into the Jin army’s hands.

The peace proved brief. Zhang Keqian soon led his Jin troops away.

Only after Zhang Keqian’s departure did the Western Rong civilians disperse from before their soldiers, curiously asking one another: “Do you know the name of that commanding general?”

“I asked – he’s called Zhang Keqian…”

“Heavenly spirits, may you protect General Zhang Keqian’s safe return to Jin.” The Western Rong people closed their eyes, offering sincere prayers.

On his return journey, Zhang Keqian encountered He Chongguang, who had received imperial orders to search for the missing Women’s Army but found nothing. When He Chongguang asked if Zhang Keqian had encountered them, Zhang Keqian likewise reported seeing no trace.

A strange situation developed: Zhang Keqian had penetrated deep into Western Rong territory without meeting the Women’s Army, while He Chongguang repeatedly combed the border regions without discovering any clues. Even captured Western Rong soldiers claimed they hadn’t pursued them either.

Not in Western Rong lands, yet not returned to Great Jin – where could they have gone?

From spring campaigning through summer, over such an extended period, even if misfortune had struck, surely some remains should have been found. Yet they had utterly vanished as if evaporated from the world, leaving no trace.

During this stalemate between Western Rong and Great Jin, Wang Qiu’s group successfully reached Ji Mo. Niu Pengnan watched the passing crowds with curiosity – their deep-set features, dark pupils, and everyone possessing remarkably thick eyelashes.

Han Chinese rarely appeared here. Whenever Han merchant caravans arrived, it caused considerable excitement. While Niu Pengnan observed them, the people of Ji Mo were equally scrutinizing Niu Pengnan.

“Have we infiltrated Western Rong territory?” Niu Pengnan wondered, uneasy. His knowledge of Western Rong people was minimal, and the staring eyes unnerved him.

Wang Qiu sensed something amiss and hurried to find the caravan leader who was overseeing unloading. But after searching around, he couldn’t locate him. Wang Qiu stopped one of the workers unloading goods, gesturing as he asked: “Where has the leader gone?”

The man was utterly confused, failing to grasp Wang Qiu’s meaning, so she had no choice but to give up and quietly wait for the team leader to return.

Little did she know, she waited until the merchant caravan had dispersed, with no sign of the leader, before realizing they had been deceived.

Wang Qiu shared her suspicions with the others. Niu Pengnan exclaimed in panic, “Then where are we now?”

Heaven knew where the caravan had tricked them into going. The only silver lining was that they hadn’t been sold offotherwise, Wang Qiu would have hunted that merchant to the ends of the earth.

Stranded in an unfamiliar land with a language barrier, the group was sinking into despair when two troops suddenly surrounded them. The leading official spouted a stream of unintelligible words.

Wang Qiu made exaggerated gestures, pointing to her ears and rapidly waving her hands, then gesturing toward her mouth. “I don’t understand, I don’t understand! I can’t comprehend what you’re saying. Is there anyone who speaks Han language here?”

The official rattled off another long speech, eyeing them suspiciously as he circled around. Curious vendors gathered by the roadside, one even climbing onto a dirt wall while kneading dough for flatbreads. Others watched with fascination, and children, nimble as monkeys, shimmied up smooth tree trunks to secure the best view.

Soon, a lean but agile man squeezed through the crowd. After the official whispered to him, the man nodded and approached Wang Qiu, speaking in broken Han language: “Where you from? This Ji Mo.”

Though his accent was thick, Wang Qiu was relieved to find someone who understood her. She replied eagerly, “We’re from Great Jin, separated from our merchant caravan.”

“Great Jin?”

Wang Qiu nodded vigorously.

The man trotted back to confer with the official, whose eyes narrowed with clear hostility as he pointed at Wang Qiu and barked what sounded like accusations.

The translator soon relayed the message: “You carry military gear on your backs. Why hide in Ji Mo?”

Remembering the insignia on their gear, Wang Qiu confessed helplessly, “We were ordered to attack the Western Rong but lost our way and ended up here. If you could direct us to the Western Rong, we’d be deeply grateful and leave immediately.”

During the translation, someone in the crowd suddenly collapsed. Fear swept through the onlookers as they retreated several steps, pressing against the walls.

The female physician rushed to check the man’s breathing, drawing the official’s attention. Wang Qiu quickly explained, “She’s our military doctor, once served by our Emperor’s side administering medicine. Please, rest assured.”

The official’s wary expression shifted to one of intrigue, his brow twitching slightly as he watched in silence.

After diagnosing the condition, the physician unrolled a cloth bundle from her medical kit, revealing a set of clean, fine needles. She selected one and calmly administered acupuncture.

The unconscious middle-aged man groaned softly, his face contorting in pain. The official frowned, his gaze shifting back to Wang Qiu.

Soon, the man stirred awake, clambering to his feet. He jumped in place, twisted his neck, andrealizing he could even dance joyfullystared at the physician as if beholding a deity, chattering excitedly.

The crowd buzzed with astonishment. The impromptu translator, both shocked and delighted, asked Wang Qiu, “How did she do that?”

Those who had been walking perfectly fine but suddenly collapsed and closed their eyes would never wake again. What kind of wizardry did they use to bring the dead back to life?

Having saved this person and finally dispelled their hostility, Wang Qiu secretly breathed a sigh of relief and replied, “This is the medical skill of our Great Jinit can cure illnesses and save lives.”

The interpreter immediately ran over to the official and said, “She claims this is their miraculous wizardry that can revive the dead. Let’s keep them here!”

Author’s Note:

Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or provided nutrient solutions between 2023-05-23 18:27:00 and 2023-05-23 23:42:14~

Special thanks to the nutrient solution contributors: groggy (10 bottles); Icepoint Cream (1 bottle).

I’m deeply grateful for everyone’s supportI’ll keep working hard!