Chapter 60 We Were All Deceived

He Lingchuan sneered, "Master Sun asked us to return to the South Gate as soon as we were done. He warned and threatened us, and also stipulated two hours. Don't you feel flattered? They only treat you like cattle and horses. When did they become so considerate?"

Mao Tao immediately remembered the two "remember" words that Master Sun said earnestly.

"But what if..."

"What if?" Sudden concern is often accompanied by ulterior motives, "What if something happens? What's the difference between being here and being at the South Gate? If you really need to rely on them, just rush over."

He also said earnestly: "Look at the two of them, do they seem to care about our life or death? In this case, why should we care about them?"

Mao Tao thought for a while and nodded: "You are right, I will listen to you!"

￥￥￥￥￥

He Yue was writing furiously in the government office.

The weather in Qiansong County is much better than Panlong Desert, but it is still very hot at the end of August. Everyone is waiting for thunderstorms to cool down Blackwater City.

Today is particularly irritable. While he is correcting official documents, he wipes the sweat off his forehead.

Seeing this, the officer behind him found a big cattail leaf fan and said, "Second Young Master, I'll do it."

After fanning twice, news came in from outside:

The Panlong Desert is showing its power, and the wild sand season has come early.

With a click, He Yue's pen fell on the table, staining several documents.

The wild sand season has begun, but his father and elder brother have not returned yet.

Real bad news.

The officer called him several times in a low voice, and He Yue came back to his senses and said in a hoarse voice, "Add more people to the security, the city has been uneasy these days."

Every time the wild sand season comes early, it will lead to loss of life and property. The disputes between the affected people, the victims' families, and the Chamber of Commerce team have risen sharply.

In previous years, He Chunhua often handled cases of provocation and fighting that resulted in death after the wild sand season arrived.

Thinking of his father, He Yue felt a chill in his heart.

Mrs. Ying waited for news at home every day. Should he report the bad news?

That afternoon, he stayed in the government office for several hours and was unable to handle more official business.

It was not until dark that the young man stood up listlessly and prepared to go home.

He had never resisted going home as much as he did this time.

But at this moment, a messenger suddenly came and presented him with eleven wrinkled letters with wax added:

"The east road is open. These are the letters that have been blocked at Jiaxin Pass, and they have been delivered all at once."

When He Yue saw so many letters, his heart skipped a beat: How many major events have happened in the east?

Qiansong County is located in a remote area, and there is no direct waterway from east to west. Letters from the capital must pass through Woling Pass and Jiaxin Pass to reach here.

The mountains along the way are steep and dangerous. If you take a detour, you will have to walk for three more months. The road conditions are also very bad, and generally no one does this.

Before He Chunhua went to Panlong Desert, he was always concerned about the situation in the east. Even if he fulfilled his last wish, He Yue had to finish reading these letters.

He opened one letter, looked at it for a while, frowned, and quickly opened another one.

Then the next one.

"How ridiculous!" He Yue slammed his fist on the table, and with a loud "bang", the nearby officials were shocked.

The second son of He was always gentle and elegant, just like a replica of the county magistrate. Why did he suddenly get so angry?

He Yue's eyes were red. For the first time in his life, he felt such grief and hatred.

"Father, elder brother, your death is not worth it!" He gritted his teeth and said, "We were all deceived!"

The young man stood up and walked out.

Now, he had two bad news to send back home.

￥￥￥￥￥

Nian Songyu carried the last box of crossbows to the top of the wall.

Each box here weighed hundreds of pounds. Even though he practiced martial arts, he felt his arms numb and his feet heavy after carrying forty boxes to the wall.

Sun Fuping had already stood on the top of the wall and looked down: "Are they all transported up?" He was old and of high status, so he naturally would not do such chores.

Without He Lingchuan and the others, these jobs fell to Nian Songyu.

"Well, they are gone." Nian Songyu panted, "I don't know where those two bastards are. They are so slow!"

After taking a break, he applied a special grease to the weapon, also known as kerosene.

Whether it is a long crossbow or a sling, its power will be doubled after it is ignited, effectively killing the enemy. And now, the two of them are interested in their ability to set fire to the city.

Nian Songyu opened a box casually, was stunned at first, and then overjoyed: "It's a nail bullet!"

Cannons have long appeared in the world, but their power is ordinary, and the interval between firing is long. They are okay for hitting people. At most, they can make a hole in the wall. Except for the deafening sound, they are not much better than crossbow carts.

But this box of "nail bullets" is to add tiny iron nails to the cast iron shells. After landing, they explode in all directions with flames, not only killing people, but also easily causing infection.

Nian Songyu loaded the nail bullet and dusted off the dust on his hands: "Two hours have passed, right?"

"Almost." Sun Fuping sat on the box and looked ahead, "The north has not caught fire."

"The north was assigned to the sand bandit. Did he escape?" Nian Songyu walked over and put his hands on the awning, "Or we should fire first."

"Wait a little longer."

The national teacher said to wait, so we must wait.

In a blink of an eye, another half hour passed.

The main street under the city was empty.

Nian Songyu gulped down a few sips of water: "What do you think?"

"Remind them?"

Nian Songyu shrugged his shoulders and shouted: "He Lingchuan, return to the South Gate as soon as possible!" There was also the sand bandit, but he didn't remember his name.

He shouted three times in a row, and the sound echoed throughout the southern city of Panlong.

Perhaps this place was too empty, and there was an echo. If He Lingchuan was on his way, he should be able to hear it.

After waiting for a long time, the city was still empty.

He shouted again: "Set fire to the south gate, life and death are at your own risk!"

If the fire is set later, let alone other accidents, the fire will burn these two guys to death!

After another half an hour, Sun Fuping finally stood up: "The sand bandit is with He Lingchuan, they are on guard and will not come over."

The fire in the north never started. If the sand bandit did not encounter an accident, he would go to find He Lingchuan to join up.

"That bastard from the He family has always been resentful towards me." Nian Songyu asked him, "What should we do now?"

"The houses on the east and west sides are on fire, and there is nothing unusual. So the key to breaking the deadlock is indeed in the south, which is consistent with my inference. Those two guys, no, the kid from the He family, is suspicious. He is not as straightforward as we thought." The fire in the distance seemed to be jumping in Sun Fuping's eyes, "Do you think it's safe like this? Naive! Light the fire."

The last three words were said to Nian Songyu.

Nian Songyu hesitated slightly: "What was your original plan for the Black Water City Army?"

"They are standing in my magic circle."

One sentence dispelled Nian Songyu's doubts and he lit the crossbow.