Chapter 358: Chapter 322: Terms for Withdrawal

The Grain Officer took Sang Que to the grain warehouse where the rations were stored in the city. He Buning followed, as did the two Daoists, and a whole group of people followed along, leaving Sang Que uncertain of how to act in the next moment.

Upon reaching the warehouse, Sang Que asked Xia Chan to guard the door while she entered alone.

He Buning wanted to follow, but Xia Chan blocked the way with her hands on her hips. “You can’t go in, hmph!”

Meow!

Xuan Yu perched on Xia Chan’s shoulder and meowed fiercely as well.

He Buning asked, “I can’t go in either?”

Xia Chan nodded, “No, you can’t!”

He Buning’s face fell, and Xiao Liu chuckled quietly behind him; it was at this moment that he still retained a bit of his former self.

Seeing the two curious Daoists peek from behind, He Buning suppressed his curiosity and retreated with Xiao Liu to the opposite side of the warehouse, leaning against a wooden box.

The two Daoists and the Grain Officer remained standing in front of the warehouse door, curious about how Sang Que managed to transport so much grain. Was it with the help of some kind of yin object or a special ghost?

If there are yin objects that can store things, they do exist in this world. For example, the Evil Ghost Bureau of Wangshan City once contained a ghost vat. A ghost lived in the vat, which could hold over a hundred people, but over time, they would all turn into meat paste.

Such objects are mostly unique and precious, difficult to control, and costly to use.

But their curiosity was of no use. After Sang Que entered, wisps of black mist seeped out of the warehouse door, and in an instant, a Ghost Realm enveloped the entire warehouse.

Eerie red lines emerged from the darkness, pushing back the two Daoists and the Grain Officer and sealing the warehouse doors and windows.

After that, apart from the occasional sound of babies crying, no other noise emitted from the Ghost Realm.

Xia Chan and Xuan Yu, like guardians, stood on either side of the warehouse door.

Inside the warehouse, Sang Que took out a painting to drive away the zombie horde and leisurely transported the grain.

As soon as Qiao Ling entered the city, she had someone take her to where the injured soldiers and civilians were treated, continuing her duties as a healer. She also instructed Xia Chan to help out later.

Sang Que stayed in the warehouse for an entire hour before dispelling the Ghost Realm and coming out.

When the warehouse door opened, everyone saw the stacks of grain bags inside and expressed shock, wanting to figure out how Sang Que did it, but before they could ask, Sang Que cut them off with a “No comment.”

Earlier outside, the two Daoists had already learned from Qin Ze about Sang Que’s basic situation, knowing she was the renowned Female Night Wanderer Sang Mulan from Wangshan City.

As for why she wasn’t dead, there were many possibilities. After all, in a world rampant with ghosts, strange occurrences were not surprising.

“Great, now Dongyang County can hold out for a while longer.” The Grain Officer was overjoyed and immediately called in a few soldiers to help check and register all the grain.

Although Qin Ze was happy that Dongyang County had replenished its grain, he also harbored some concerns. He asked He Buning, “Captain He, we have seized nearly all of the Qianshou Army’s grain reserves. Without food, will the Qianshou Army retreat or launch an all-out attack on Dongyang County?”

He Buning frowned, and Xiao Liu answered on his behalf, “Based on previous experience, the Qianshou Army will definitely launch an all-out assault on Dongyang County before their grain runs out. If they capture Dongyang County, they can alleviate their grain crisis and advance further. If they can’t capture it, they will naturally retreat temporarily and wait for reinforcements from the rear.”

He Buning said, “In any case, hold on for another twenty days.”

In twenty days, the army from Jingzhou is bound to arrive.

“Sang Mulan, come with me for a moment.”

Sang Que knew He Buning would definitely have many questions for her, so she instructed Qin Ze to take Xia Chan to find Qiao Ling and followed He Buning alone, without even Xiao Liu accompanying them.

Walking from the city gate through the streets of Dongyang County, Sang Que noticed that the shops on both sides of the street were still open for business, but with few customers. Every household had an Eight Diagrams Mirror hanging on their door, with a yellow talisman attached to it.

From time to time, squads of armored guards patrolled the street, and every thirty meters, there was a water vat with a chicken with its neck cut, dripping blood into the vat.

Many free-roaming roosters scoured the street for insects, and households with black dogs tied them at their doors.

Not far along the way, Sang Que saw a coffin shop with a line of people waiting to buy coffins and funeral items at the entrance.

“We’re really sold out of coffins and burial garments, and there’s no opportunity to leave the city to find wood to make coffins. Can you come back another day?”

The shopkeeper of the coffin shop was tall and thin, with a slightly humped back, sweating profusely from anxiety.

It was Skinny, and he was still alive. Sang Que saw him, but he didn’t notice Sang Que walking by outside.

Not far from the Funeral Shop, there was a two-story restaurant newer than the surrounding buildings. Red lanterns hung at its entrance, bearing the words ’He’s Jade Juice.’ At the bottom of the lanterns, there was a silhouette of two gentle-faced women holding hands and smiling at passersby, very much resembling Ming Wanxi and Huilan.

In front of the restaurant, a shed was set up with a long line of elderly, women, and children holding bowls.

Under the shed was He Baosheng, Qin Fangru, He Shouhui, and He Shou’an’s whole family. He Baosheng was adding firewood under the large pot, while He Shou’an was marking the cards in people’s hands, and Qin Fangru and He Shouhui scooped a full bowl of porridge for each person with their large ladles.

“The Jade Juice from this family is just like the Ming’s Jade Juice from back then.”

He Buning glanced to the side and spoke to Sang Que.

Sang Que didn’t hide it, “They ended up in Ming Mansion with me back then and might have had the chance experience there to obtain Ming’s Jade Juice recipe.”

He Buning nodded and said nothing further, leading Sang Que to the county government, finding a quiet room where they wouldn’t be disturbed.

He Buning personally poured tea for Sang Que, and the two sat face-to-face at the round table.

“Where have you been all this time? Yu Da… is he still alive?”

Sang Que briefly recounted the situation as much as she could, “Yu Da has been fighting with the Zhuangyuan Ghost, sustained some injuries but is otherwise safe, currently recuperating in Jinzhou. As for the Zhuangyuan Ghost, through an unexpected turn of events, he was controlled by a friend of mine named Liu Tianyou, who, by the way, stayed at my place for a period before and is now with Yu Da.”

He Buning was quite surprised. He hadn’t interacted with Liu Tianyou, but knowing he was close to Xia Chan and Sang Que, he had him investigated and knew he was a scholar, about the same age as Sang Que, and both were from Black Mountain Village.

“Black Mountain Village is indeed a place blessed by feng shui.”

Sang Que agreed with this, as it was the place chosen by her biological mother in the end, and certainly, it was more special and conducive to nurturing talent than other places.

Originally, He Buning wanted to ask Sang Que about their biological mother, but as Sang Que transported the grain, he had pondered a lot and felt that it was better to maintain the status quo, keeping the matter unspoken. Once broken, issues of stance and positions would arise.

“What are your plans next?” He Buning asked.

Sang Que didn’t answer directly, instead asking, “When do you think this war will end?”

He Buning contemplated for a moment and shared a piece of news with Sang Que, wanting to see how she would react to it.

“The reason the various rebel armies in Qinzhou have been able to make such rapid progress, capturing cities and lands, is all thanks to the assistance from the Gu Masters and Ghost Witches in Yunzhou. The clans in Yunzhou originally had ancestral rules that prohibited their people from leaving Yunzhou. They violated these rules this time because the Evil Suppression Bureau captured Yunzhou’s ’Gu Master.’ That ’Gu Master’!”

Sang Que was shocked; He Buning was referring, of course, not to an ordinary Gu Master, but to that ’Gu Master’ from the Nine Songs.

“I only found out about this recently too. I received no prior notice of this operation, which was personally devised by the Prime Minister, who secretly dispatched two Yin Walking Generals and many experts from Jingzhou to execute it. Now, the ’Gu Master’ has been escorted to Shengjing and is personally guarded by the Prime Minister.”

“The withdrawal and truce conditions from Yunzhou’s divisions include the return of the ’Gu Master.’

He Buning paused and looked up at Sang Que.

“And, the return of the ’Five Spirits Saintess.’

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep