The first snowfall of the year came much earlier than usual.
According to the records of the army, this was the earliest year in the last three hundred years that Xuelao City had officially seen snow.
The snowfall did not mean that the weather would immediately turn cold, but it at least indicated a trend.
Even more frightening was that for both sides, already exhausted to the extreme, this psychological suggestion might directly alter the course of the battle.
In Xuelao City, where the snow might not melt for half a year, human soldiers fighting in this sort of environment was no different from throwing away their lives.
Everyone understood what this snowfall meant for this battle.
In order to destroy the confidence that the demon soldiers had reestablished, in order to shatter this inauspicious omen, even if it was just to make the human soldiers think less about this problem, Divine General He Ming had immediately launched another attack. The Western Army was also ordered to speed up the cleanup of the battlefield.
At the most crucial moment, the human race displayed extraordinary courage and decisiveness, especially the experts.
The Prince of Xiang had bravely gone to battle to make up for his mistake on Mount Nuorilang, but he was once more heavily injured.
Xiao Zhang also appeared. The kite could fly over Mount Yanzhi, but it could not fly over the city walls and once more disappeared.
Liang Wangsun finally appeared on the battlefield, his golden lotus blooming in front of Xuelao City.
In the end, he was heavily injured and unconscious, so he was carried back to Xunyang City.
Liang Banhu had died in battle, Liang Hongzhuang had died in battle, and Liang Wangsun had been heavily injured.
In this war against the demons, the Liang clan of the previous dynasty had disregarded their grudge with the Chen Imperial Dynasty and performed heroically.
If Liang Xiaoxiao, who had colluded with the demons back then, were still alive and seeing this sight, what would he think?
The solemn and stirring actions of the human experts and the mobilization of Divine General He Ming's troops somewhat alleviated the oppressive atmosphere brought about by this first snowfall.
But as the snow continued to fall and the siege weapons were sent back in vain, the morale of the human army continued to drop.
Just when Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong were prepared to act, something happened.
To put it more accurately, a carriage had arrived outside Xuelao City.
This carriage was not a carriage, an ox cart, or a mule cart. It was not pulled by any animal, but it could still move forward on its own. This was rather mystical.
The wheels crunched as they rolled over the snow and mud. It seemed slow, but they soon arrived at the barracks from the south.
What was even more miraculous was that the long journey from the south to this place was tens of thousands of miles long. Who knew how many wounded soldiers and fierce bandits they had encountered along the way, but this carriage was actually able to come out unscathed without the protection of a single cavalry.
Countless gazes fell on the car.
The curtain of the carriage was lifted and a young Daoist stuck his head out. When he saw the tens of thousands of people on the plains, he covered his mouth in shock and quickly retracted his head.
In a very short period of time, it was enough for many people to see clearly that the little Daoist was very good-looking. His skin was like jade, his eyes were like dots of paint, and he was full of spiritual qi.
…
…
"Am I stupid?"
Chen Chang Sheng retracted his gaze and looked at Xu You Rong. He hesitated for a while and said, "Also … it's not that nice?"
Xu Yourong knew what he was thinking and said, "You were prettier than him when you were young."
Chen Chang Sheng said, "When we were young, we only wrote letters, but we never met."
Xu Yourong said, "This is what Lord Crane said."
The cry of a crane came from the sky.
The White Crane was the witness.
…
…
The small carriage stopped on a small mountain outside the battlefield.
The curtain was lifted once more, and then it was hung up with a wooden hook.
The young Daoist jumped onto the ground and helped the person in the carriage out.
Countless gazes followed the movements of the small carriage, moving from the plains of the south to this small mountain.
Even the cursing of the tribal warriors outside Xuelao City had stopped.
When they saw that young Daoist boy carved from jade, many people had already guessed at who was in the carriage.
Just because it had secluded itself from the world for ten years did not mean that the people of the world did not know what was going on in the Monastery of Eternal Spring.
Many people knew that a young Daoist boy had appeared in the monastery.
As for whether or not that pair of master and disciple were venting their anger, who knew?
… …
… …
Shang Xingzhou still came.
Just when the morale of the Human race was at its lowest, at the most crucial and dangerous moment of this war …
After several hundred years, he once more came to Xuelao City.
Many people, including himself, had already guessed that this would be his last visit to Xuelao City.
Other than the injured Prince of Xiang, all the important figures of the army went to the small mountain to pay their respects.
In the plains outside Xuelao City, dust was constantly rising from the small mountain.
After living in seclusion in Luoyang for ten years, Shang Xingzhou's reputation had not diminished, perhaps even increased.
… …
… …
As he gazed at the dust rising from the plains, the worry on Linghai Zhiwang's face gradually deepened. He turned to Chen Changsheng, wanting to say a few words of advice, but he knew that now was not the right time.
Archbishop An Lin had returned from the most dangerous front lines, bringing back Guan Bai's body.
The hundreds of thousands of demon warriors outside Xuelao City had come from the various tribes. They could not obtain the complete trust of the Imperial clan, but they truly did possess terrifying killing power on the battlefield.
Chen Changsheng sat at Guan Bai's side for a very long time.
During the All-School Martial Exhibition, Guan Bai had glanced at him from the side of the street. This was their first meeting.
And then Wuqiong Bi had entered the capital and tortured the stray dogs to death, and then Guan Bai had lost an arm.
Because of this matter, no matter what Bie Yanghong said, no matter how miserable Wuqiong Bi ended up, Chen Changsheng had never forgiven her.
He felt that a person like Guan Bai was worthy of even more respect and had a better ending.
He had not expected it to be like this in the end, nothing more.
"Where's Liang Banhu?"
Chen Changsheng asked Archbishop An Lin.
He remembered it very clearly.
Because they had been the first to arrive at Xuelao City, the North Third Camp of the Eastern Army had always been a thorn in the side of the Demon armies. There were many times when they had almost been surrounded.
On a certain night a few days ago, ten-some major demon tribes had launched a joint counterattack, their target the North Third Camp.
The battle that night had been rather bitter. Guan Bai had led one thousand Orthodoxy cavalry to reinforce the enemy, and only at the final juncture was the danger averted.
But Guan Bai had died in battle, and Liang Banhu, one of the first three cavalrymen to arrive at Xuelao City … had also died in battle.
"Liang Banhu chose to self-detonate." Archbishop An Lin recalled the bitter battlefield, a sorrowful expression on her face. She hesitated for a while before saying to Chen Changsheng, "I don't know if it was because he wanted to atone for his brother's crimes, but I heard that he was especially valiant on the battlefield."
Chen Changsheng fell silent. He didn't know what he should say at this moment.
Archbishop An Lin added, "Guan Fei Bai's mood is somewhat unstable. We have to think of a way to have him retreat."
Chen Changsheng said, "You and Yourong go discuss it."
An Lin received the order and left.
Linghai Zhiwang asked, "Shouldn't we go over there and take a look?"
'Over there 'naturally referred to that small mountain, the mountain Shang Xingzhou was on.
Up until now, Chen Changsheng had not gone over, nor had Linghai Zhiwang and the other priests of the Li Palace.
In truth, there were already many priests constantly looking over.
Chen Changsheng was the Pope and had an esteemed status, but he was still a student. If they did not go and pay their respects, it would be rather inexcusable.
"There's no need."
Chen Changsheng pulled up the white cloth and covered Guan Bai's face.
He brought Linghai Zhiwang out of the tent and gazed at the distant small mountain. He wanted to say something, but in the end, he said nothing.
Just like this, Chen Changsheng was still in his own tent.
Shang Xingzhou was still in his carriage.
Teacher and student were separated by a hundred-some li, both silent.
Occasionally, Chen Changsheng would glance in that direction.
But Shang Xingzhou kept his eyes closed the entire time, allowing the not-so-warm demon sun to shine on his face as if he wanted to iron out some of the wrinkles on his face.
Everyone, including the demons in Xuelao City, wanted to know what Shang Xingzhou would do next.
It could be assumed that he would not just sit in a small carriage and watch the battle.
On the morning of the next day, the crowd finally saw what Shang Xingzhou had done.
He had hung a painting in the sky. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to cast a recommendation vote or monthly vote at Starting Point. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile-phone users, please go to M.)
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