Chapter 1635
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Chapter 1635 Approaching Stars
“Brother Seven Nights, who is he?”
In the distance, Wu Quan watched as Huo Qubing rode away on horseback, and couldn’t help but ask.
“Huo Qubing.”
“You mean… the Huo Qubing who was awarded the title ‘Wolf-Hunting General’?” Wu Quan asked in surprise. “Why do I sense the aura of [Emperor Dominator] from him?”
“He is indeed [Emperor Dominator], and also the first person in Da Xia’s history to break through to the human ceiling.” Lin Qiye explained, “At the same time, he is also the most ancient founder of the Night Watchers.”
Lin Qiye’s gaze fell on Huo Qubing’s back, and the words the other had spoken not long ago echoed in his ears again, making his expression somewhat complicated.
Although [Emperor Dominator] could help someone grow to a terrifying level in an extremely short time, the price was also enormous. Huo Qubing didn’t say how much longer he had to live, but judging from the urgency faintly revealed in his eyes, this Champion Marquis’s life was nearly at its end.
Hearing this series of titles, Wu Quan nodded in surprise, then seemed to think of something.
“Wait, isn’t this the Western Han Dynasty? Why aren’t they speaking in classical Chinese?”
Lin Qiye turned to look at the fifteen-year-old youth and explained with a light smile, “Classical Chinese with all those formal particles was a written form, a refined language that ancient people used specifically for recording events. In their daily communication, they used vernacular. However, vernacular language, being colloquial, easily develops regional and temporal differences. For example, in modern Da Xia, how many dialects are there? And the speech habits and patterns of 19th century Da Xia people are also different from modern ones.
Just a hundred years can create such huge differences. If separated by thousands of years and events were recorded in vernacular, it would be like an indecipherable text to modern people. Thanks to the fixed written form of classical Chinese, later generations can understand historical texts.”
Wu Quan suddenly understood.
But as if thinking of something else, he asked puzzlingly: “Brother Seven Nights, didn’t you say vernacular language changes over long periods of time? The Western Han Dynasty is more than two thousand years before our time, right? Why do I feel like their way of speaking isn’t much different from ours?”
Hearing this, Lin Qiye suddenly froze.
Yes… why do people from this era speak so similarly to modern people? Even without considering dialect differences due to geography, just the two-thousand-year time gap means Western Han people’s speech patterns should be very different from modern ones.
Before Wu Quan woke up, Lin Qiye hadn’t noticed this issue. He thought it was the language magic array that Merlin had left in his soul that was working, allowing him to communicate with Western Han people without barriers… but why could Wu Quan understand them too?
Lin Qiye frowned and pondered for a long time without finding an answer… After all, he wasn’t a professional scholar, so he could only put this question aside for now.
The army formation moved forward across the barren land. Since most soldiers were on foot, they didn’t move quickly. Lin Qiye didn’t know where they were, only that the sunlight in the sky was gradually setting in the west, and they seemed to be moving away from the desert area.
Wu Quan followed behind Lin Qiye, dozing off while riding his horse. He only became fully awake when the army suddenly stopped.
“Why are we stopping?” Wu Quan looked at the sky, it still seemed early.
Lin Qiye didn’t speak. After some time, a military officer rode up to Lin Qiye and respectfully said:
“Sir, the Marquis requests your presence.”
Lin Qiye raised an eyebrow and nodded: “Alright, I understand.”
Lin Qiye turned to give Wu Quan a few instructions, then headed straight toward the front of the formation. There, Huo Qubing, Zhan Yuwu, Yan Zhong, and several officers were gathered together, their expressions somewhat grave.
“Without black dog fangs, the effectiveness of the evil-repelling formation is greatly reduced… Now these evil spirits are becoming more rampant by the day. If we camp in the wilderness, it would be like sheep entering a tiger’s den!” an elderly general stroked his long beard and spoke solemnly.
“But what can we do if we don’t set up camp? The nearest city is dozens of miles away, and even if we rush there overnight, these thirty thousand soldiers couldn’t possibly enter the city. As long as we’re in the wild, we’re destined to be in danger.”
“Our scouts sent to the nearest city have returned, and they don’t have black dog fangs there either…”
Everyone fell silent.
“How many days’ journey are we from Chang’an?” Huo Qubing suddenly asked.
“In response to the Marquis, at least five days,” Yan Zhong answered.
“Five days…” Huo Qubing looked up at the gradually darkening sky, his brows slightly furrowed, “What if we march day and night?”
“Day and night? Marquis, there are numerous evil spirits out at night!” an officer reminded.
Huo Qubing didn’t answer, he just frowned and looked at Yan Zhong.
“If we march day and night, advancing at full speed without rest… we could reach Chang’an in three and a half days.”
“What if we abandon seventy percent of our supplies?”
Hearing this, all the officers’ expressions changed. “Marquis, what are you planning to do? The evil spirits in the wild are dangerous, but surely we don’t need to rush back to Chang’an so urgently?”
“Yan Zhong.”
“If we abandon seventy percent of our supplies… we could reach Chang’an in two days!” Yan Zhong gritted his teeth and answered.
Huo Qubing nodded, “Pass down the order: abandon seventy percent of supplies on the spot, set off at full speed immediately, and make sure to reach Chang’an before the third night falls!”
“Yes!” Zhan Yuwu didn’t hesitate at all and turned to relay the orders to the army.
The other officers stood stunned, seemingly unable to understand why Huo Qubing was in such a hurry to return to Chang’an.
“Marquis, what about the evil-repelling formation…”
“Continue with the formation. Even without black dog fangs, the other elements can still have some effect.” Huo Qubing turned to look at everyone, “After the army sets off, Yan Zhong, you go command the western flank, Song Qing the eastern flank, Yu Wu will lead the vanguard to clear the path, I will command the center, and as for the rear…”
Huo Qubing’s gaze fell on Lin Qiye, and he asked for his opinion:
“Lin Qiye, are you willing to guard the rear for me, to prevent evil spirits from following and ambushing us? If you are willing, after we return to Chang’an, I will personally seek rewards for you.”
All eyes turned to Lin Qiye. Except for Yan Zhong, everyone else looked surprised. They knew the Marquis had brought back a young man from Xue County, but they never imagined the Marquis would value this young man so highly.
The rear of the army was the weakest and most dangerous position. The Marquis asking him to guard it showed great confidence in his abilities.
Lin Qiye didn’t hesitate much before nodding, “No problem.”
Upon receiving Lin Qiye’s response, Huo Qubing’s expression visibly relaxed. He quickly issued a few more orders, and Lin Qiye immediately rode toward the rear of the army.
The dim sunset disappeared, and the world fell into darkness. Lin Qiye rode while looking up at the starry sky, his brows furrowing deeper as he spoke with uncertainty:
“…Are these red stars closer than they were yesterday?”
