Chapter 80: That Day Will Come
There was a temple called the "Transcendence Temple" in the capital city. It was situated on the Heavenly Treasure Mountain on the outskirts of the capital city. It was incredibly prosperous. But to reach Transcendence Temple, one had to first cross Eternal Cemetery.
The cemetery housed the souls of countless soldiers who had fought for Grand Xia in the past five hundred years. The vast majority of soldiers who died on the battlefield with no place to return to were laid to rest in the Eternal Cemetery.
There were many names inscribed on each monument.
Er Gou. Zhang San. Li Ya.
One after another, hundreds of monuments recorded countless names, representing the brave soldiers who had once fought valiantly for Grand Xia.
Their blood had birthed the flesh and blood of Grand Xia, and their souls had shaped its backbone.
At that moment, many soldiers were transporting the collected bodies of their fallen comrades to the cemetery. Those that had families were claimed by them, but many soldiers only had themselves for family, and the family of many others lived thousands of miles away from here, which left them no choice but to be buried here, away from home.
Fang Chen stood with his hands behind his back. By his side was Abbess Qinghe and General You Longchang, who was covered in blood.
"General You, have you finished counting how many soldiers we lost this time? " Fang Chen asked.
General You Longchang immediately took out a scroll, opened it, and took a look at it. With a solemn expression, he said, "We lost 8,306 soldiers."
Hearing this number, Fang Chen fell into silence. Over eight thousand people...
When the soldiers nearby saw Fang Chen, they couldn’t but cast him glances full of awe and admiration. But as quick as they peered at him, they diverted their focus back to their tasks; they didn’t let themselves be distracted from their work. After all, they were burying their brethren, they had to do it properly and respectfully, this was neither the time or place for one to be distracted.
"Brother, why did you bring the body of that Longdu cavalry here? We can’t possibly be burying that scum here, right?” said one of the soldiers in the distance. Following his voice, everyone looked over and saw a Grand Xia soldier tightly hugging a Longdu cavalryman. The cavalryman had already lost his head, but he held a sword in his hand that went through the Grand Xia soldier’s chest and into his heart.
Remembering his father's instructions, Fang Chen spoke up, "That soldier sacrificed himself by trapping that cavalry, a Qi Manipulation martial artist, giving my father the chance to behead the martial artist with a single strike."
Upon hearing this, the surrounding soldiers instantly showed respect. He had helped kill a Qi Manipulation martial artist from Longdu! That was a big achievement!
"Bury them together; that is his merit," Fang Chen said.
"Yes, Divine General Fang!"
The soldiers nodded. Since Fang Chen had said his word, they didn’t care about any rules. Moreover, this comrade, as a mere mortal with no cultivation, had bravely assisted Fang Canghai in killing a Qi Manipulation martial artist from Longdu. That was a monumental achievement. If they were buried together, it would be akin to a significant inscription on the monument.
"Are they here, Abbess Qinghe?" Fang Chen suddenly whispered.
Abbess Qinghe had kept her eyes closed all along, but when she heard Fang Chen's voice, she slowly opened them. Her face turned pallid momentarily, and she nodded slightly. "They are."
She saw herself by many towering figures with overwhelming bloodthirstiness. However, these figures were not as violent as some of the ghosts she had seen before.
There were no grievances, no wailing against the heavens. They were just watching Fang Chen quietly, a hint of longing and reluctance in their eyes.
Fang Chen cupped fists. "Take care, everyone," he said.
The countless souls of the fallen soldiers bowed back slowly and then walked step by step toward the Eternal Cemetery.
Ye Qinghe and the others happened to witness that scene, and a faint trace of disdain flashed in Tao Yu's eyes.
"Divine General Fang, thank you for last night's events," Ye Qinghe said as he reluctantly stepped forward to express his gratitude.
"No problem." Fang Chen nodded offhandedly, then turned his gaze elsewhere.
When Ye Qinghe saw that Fang Chen had given him the cold shoulder and answered him with such disregard despite his sincerity, a hint of anger flashed in his eyes. However, before he could open his mouth again, Tao Yu took the initiative and said, "Divine General Fang, are you here to personally bid farewell to these fallen soldiers?"
Fang Chen looked at Tao Yu with his dull, lifeless gray eyes. “Which of us should be the blind one here? Can’t you see what I am doing?”
Tao Yu sneered. "I feel that your actions are only a show meant for the populace."
Usually, many commoners would come to offer incense. With the failed attack of Longdu, there ought to be a flock of people coming here today. When they passed by here, they would inevitably stop and stay for a while to show respect to the fallen soldiers.
Tao Yu's words instantly drew the attention of the crowd toward Fang Chen.
Seeing that he had attracted everyone’s attention, Tao Yu immediately continued, "Even though you appear deeply saddened by the loss of the soldiers, have you ever wondered why the remains of the six hundred thousand soldiers who died at Three World Mountain were never returned to Grand Xia?”
The expressions of the onlookers changed.
Since the day of that incident five years ago, it had been the most heartbreaking incident in the hearts of the people. Six hundred thousand sons of Grand Xia had died at the Three Realms Mountain and their remains couldn’t be brought back.
General You Longchang furrowed his brows slightly, and he said in a deep voice, "Lord Tao, if you don't understand the carnage of battle, please refrain from making such baseless remarks. Don't talk about Grand Xia, even the Qingsong martial artists who had died at Three World Mountain couldn’t return to their land.
“Hundreds of thousands of corpses—how much manpower and resources do you think it would take to bring them all back? Moreover, there would undoubtedly be ambushes and assassinations during the transportation. Even if we had won that battle, the fallen soldiers would have been buried on the spot at Three World Mountain!"
"Is that the only reasoning you can provide? Ridiculous, ridiculous. All I know is that the people brought out to war by Fang Chen had died, and even in death, they couldn’t return to Grand Xia.”
Tao Yu sneered. "So, instead of mourning here, I think it’s better for him to think about how to bring the souls of our six hundred thousand fallen soldiers back to their homeland.”
You Longchang wanted to speak but Fang Chen waved his hand, stopping him. Then, Fang Chen smiled. “You’re right, regardless of your intentions, what you said makes sense, and I agree. So, that day will come.”
Tao Yu was taken aback, not expecting Fang Chen to agree with him. However, he quickly reacted and pressed, "When is that day?"
“What’s it to you? Do you plan to go to Three World Mountain with me?" Fang Chen said with a light smile.
Tao Yu was momentarily speechless. He couldn't possibly agree to accompany Fang Chen to Three World Mountain; there was no guarantee he could return alive.
Tao Yu sneered. “I can only hope that you live up to your words.” Then, he turned around and left.
Many people had heard Fang Chen’s confident words just now. That’s why, if he couldn't stay true to his words, gossip would definitely spread, tainting his reputation once more. At that time, Tao Yu’s goal would be achieved.
"Divine General Fang, don't take his words to heart. Six hundred thousand corpses... It’s just impossible. Moreover, Qingsong won’t just stand by and watch.” You Longchang pointed out.
Fang Chen reached out and gently patted You Longchang's shoulder. "Nothing is impossible as long as you’re willing to put in the effort. Everything is possible.”
With those words, Fang Chen and Abbess Qing He walked away briskly. You Longchang stood rooted in place, mulling over Fang Chen’s words. However, in the end, he was still unconvinced that Fang Chen could find a way to bring back the six hundred thousand corpses from Three World Mountain. It wasn’t just a matter of distance, it also involved significant manpower and resources.
Those corpses were like bait thrown by the Qingsong Empire, waiting for Grand Xia to take it and fall into their trap.
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