The next morning.
There was no sunlight, only thick fog shrouding the blood-soaked snowy battlefield. Both sides had been locked in a deadly struggle for the entire night, and victory was within reach by dawn. Though the demon race possessed superior combat power, after the heavy price of over ten thousand souls being dispersed, they had managed to slaughter most of the five-thousand-strong demon cavalry. If the fight continued, the demons would face complete annihilation.
"We should retreat..."
A demon general frowned, "There's no point in fighting on. With just us, we won't reach Fusang Great Wall."
"Damn it!"
A female demon general, wielding a long spear, gnashed her teeth. "Lin Xingchu's strategy is truly detestable. A million heroic spirits guarding the land—how did she even come up with that!"
"Pass the order, retreat through the small mountain path in stages!"
"Yes!"
...
Northeast of Luoxia Valley, a very narrow mountain path was covered in snow. At its narrowest point, it could barely accommodate three cavalrymen. Along this very path, the weary demon elite, who had been fighting all night, was slowly retreating. However, a young man, who had just eaten his fill and rested, lay in ambush in the snow. As soon as the demon cavalry arrived, he struck.
"Bang!"
With a powerful punch infused with qi, an injured demon cavalryman was sent flying, his skull crushed.
He attacked with killing intent from the outset!
"There's a human martial artist!"
Several cavalrymen charged forward, their long spears thrusting.
The young man in the snow leaped up abruptly, throwing a punch in mid-air. Another demon cavalryman's head was smashed, sent flying to impact against the nearby mountain wall. The youth spun in the air, delivering another punch and a kick, killing two more demon cavalrymen.
"This is bad!"
Someone in the demon ranks roared, "This kid is a martial artist of the Middle Five Realms. Everyone, attack together! Fighting alone is suicide!"
But the mountain path was too narrow for a full-scale charge.
The young man dealt with them one by one, killing dozens of demon cavalrymen. His fists were already stained with blood, but it was all the enemy's. These exhausted demon cavalrymen, their true qi depleted, posed no real threat to him.
"No!"
A demon centurion gritted his teeth. "We cannot let this kid stop our retreat. The consequences would be dire. Send our warriors of the Middle Five Realms, kill him as quickly as possible!"
In the wind, a demon cultivator of the Sixth Realm arrived like the wind, swinging a fierce sword towards Lin Zhao's neck.
However, this person was a spiritual cultivator, not a sword cultivator.
The young man in the snow smiled faintly, activating the Zhen Ma Feng Chang style, and simultaneously burned a Speed Talisman. His figure suddenly appeared behind the opponent, and he landed a punch on the back of the opponent's head. The demon expert grunted, fell to the ground, and then swung his sword. But his vision blurred as a silver flying sword pierced his throat.
"Sword... Sword cultivator!?"
He was filled with shock in his final moments.
Lin Zhao recalled Ming Yue back into his Sword Lake and continued to punch, smashing every demon cavalryman trying to pass through the valley. He showed no mercy, aiming for fatal blows.
The young man had two things on his mind.
The first was to intercept this remnant demon cavalry. The more he could kill, the better. The four northern tribes were all mortal enemies of the human race, and there was no need for mercy. Every demon he killed might save one human life.
The second was that by intercepting the retreating demon cavalry on their escape route, Lin Zhao could prevent their escape. Today was overcast, and the heroic spirits of the Xia Dynasty soldiers in Luoxia Valley could pursue them, annihilating this demon army completely, leaving no survivors. This way, he could build some goodwill with the Xia Dynasty heroic spirits in Luoxia Valley, making the task entrusted to him by the Peach Blossom Demon Han Yu Rou easier.
...
Thus, he fought until late morning. Lin Zhao's fists were as if fished out of a pool of blood. Only a few hundred of the demon cavalry managed to escape by scaling the mountains on the flanks. Most were hunted down. As Lin Zhao was exhausted, a large number of Xia Dynasty heroic spirit cavalrymen galloped towards him.
The general, with a sword hanging from his waist, dismounted and bowed respectfully. "Deceased, Commander of the Yan Yang Legion of Bailu City, Xia Dynasty, Zhang Xicheng. Thank you, young hero, for your interception. Without your intervention, we could not have annihilated this demon army so completely. I, Zhang Xicheng, presume to ask, who are you, young hero, and where do you hail from?"
Lin Zhao also clasped his fists. "Lin Zhao, from Tianchi Town, on Xueyu Tianchi, a descendant of the Great Chen Dynasty."
"Oh?"
Zhang Xicheng's face was very blurry, but he still smiled heartily. "From the Great Chen Dynasty in Yan Prefecture? Then you are one of us~~~"
"Yes."
Lin Zhao nodded.
"There is nothing worthy of hospitality."
Zhang Xicheng chuckled awkwardly. "We are all Yin beings, unable to stay long with you, nor are we qualified to offer you wine and cooked meat. Please forgive us... we are truly sorry..."
Lin Zhao smiled faintly. "Sir, there is no need to be so polite. In fact, I had a personal motive for intercepting the demon army here, to do you a favor and then seek your help with a matter."
"Oh?"
Zhang Xicheng paused and said, "What is it that the young hero seeks?"
"Help me find someone."
"Who?"
"Someone..."
Lin Zhao frowned and lowered his voice. "Someone who knows a woman named Han Yu Rou. I heard she was a general who died on the battlefield and never returned. So Han Yu Rou waited for him until she too was killed, eventually transforming into a peach tree and becoming a peach blossom demon, refining a bronze mirror into a lake of bronze mirrors, still waiting in vain."
"..."
Zhang Xicheng was stunned.
Lin Zhao was surprised.
"You all..."
Zhang Xicheng waved to the armored soldiers behind him. "Return to the camp. I will speak with the young hero here for a while longer."
The heroic spirit soldiers turned and left.
...
Zhang Xicheng turned around, his blurry eyes seeming to be covered with a layer of mist.
Lin Zhao frowned. "You're not that person, are you?"
"Indeed."
Zhang Xicheng trembled. "She... she is still waiting for me?"
"Yes."
Lin Zhao said, "I met her when I passed by Copper Mirror Lake. I was almost harmed by two cultivators. It seemed they were looking for a sword of yours, a sword containing a general's gall. Is that right?"
"Yes!"
Zhang Xicheng's eyes were filled with tears. "Young hero, in which direction is Copper Mirror Lake?"
Lin Zhao gently pointed north.
Zhang Xicheng, a battle-hardened young general who had guarded the human territory for hundreds of years after his death, was now in tears. He turned north and knelt on one knee, crying, "Yu Rou, I... I can never go back..."
Lin Zhao couldn't help but feel a pang in his heart.
"Why?"
He asked, "Why can't you go back?"
Zhang Xicheng knelt on one knee, gazing north, and choked out, "We died in battle at Luoxia Valley. Our tens of thousands of bodies were scattered in chaos, long indistinguishable from each other. This place is thousands of miles from home. If I leave at night, I will return to my burial ground by day. Therefore... no matter how hard I try, I cannot reach her side..."
Saying this, Zhang Xicheng suddenly stood up and grabbed Lin Zhao's hand. "Young hero... young hero, I beg you... since I cannot go to her, can she come to me? Please, young hero... bring Yu Rou to my side. I have missed her dearly for these past few centuries..."
"I'm afraid that won't be possible either."
Lin Zhao shook his head. "People can move, but trees die when moved. Han Yu Rou is now just a peach blossom demon. Moreover... she has refined her life object, the bronze mirror, into a lake of bronze mirrors. Like you, she is rooted to Copper Mirror Lake and cannot travel far."
Zhang Xicheng clenched his fists, his spirit crushed.
"However..."
Lin Zhao frowned.
"However what?" Zhang Xicheng asked.
"Before, she didn't know if you were alive or dead, nor where you were. But now at least she knows."
He looked at Zhang Xicheng. "If you are willing, you can write a letter and give it to me when I return. I will deliver it to her."
"Good! Good!"
Zhang Xicheng said hurriedly, "I won't invite you into the camp. The main tent is filled with heavy Yin energy. I will write it now... right here..."
"Yes!"
For nearly half an hour, Zhang Xicheng wrote a stack of letters as thick as a pile of paper. For hundreds of years, who knew how many words he had accumulated to say to Han Yu Rou.
Lin Zhao placed the stack of papers into a bamboo box without looking at them. He clasped his fists at Zhang Xicheng and said, "I will definitely deliver it!"
Zhang Xicheng's eyes were tearful. "Young hero, I cannot go to her... If Yu Rou has any trouble, I can only entrust it to you. This world is dangerous, and she is a weak woman..."
"Rest assured, General."
Lin Zhao smiled faintly. "Nothing will happen on her end. I have already made arrangements. If you trust me, then set your mind at ease."
"Good!"
Zhang Xicheng knelt on one knee and clasped his fists at Lin Zhao. "I am a dead Yin being, how can I repay your kindness of a second life?"
Lin Zhao quickly helped him up and frowned. "In fact, the fact that you can still draw your sword to fight for the human world after death is the best repayment to everyone in this world!"
"Thank you, young hero!"
...
In the early morning, the clouds and fog gradually dispersed, and the sky was about to clear.
"The sun is about to come out."
Zhang Xicheng clasped his fists. "We Yin beings must avoid it. Young hero... take care on your journey!"
"You too!"
Lin Zhao also clasped his fists and turned to leave, resuming his journey.
After he had walked for hundreds of meters, Zhang Xicheng's voice came from behind him. "Young hero, wait! I almost forgot something important!"
"Hmm? Something else?"
Lin Zhao turned around.
"Yes."
Zhang Xicheng dismounted and reached into his embrace, taking out something the size of a golden pebble. He said, "This is the martial artist's general's gall I forged in my lifetime. This object is of no use to me anymore. I present it to you, young hero. If you can refine it to increase your cultivation, it will be a great opportunity. Please accept it, otherwise, Zhang Xicheng will not be at peace!"
Lin Zhao did not refuse and accepted it immediately. He might indeed need this item to break through his current realm.
"Thank you!"
Lin Zhao clasped his fists at him again. "It has been a pleasure meeting Zhang Xicheng on this journey!"
"The pleasure is mine, meeting Lin Zhao!"
The two turned away.
One headed south, towards Fusang Great Wall and Baidi City.
The other plunged into the snow forest, descending to the netherworld, guarding the land.
...
Xueyu Tianchi.
A woman also turned away, no longer looking south. She was clad in armor, her long, snow-white legs encased in boots. Frowning, she murmured, "Why isn't this guy back yet? If he doesn't return soon, the demon race will start a war..."