Mo Chuan tossed the body into the Yellow River, flicking the brain matter from his hand before falling into thought.
The delivery of Huang Quan's head had been a great convenience for Mo Chuan; he didn't have to wait to go find them himself.
From Huang Quan's words, Mo Chuan understood a simple fact: everyone currently involved with the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, along with Sui Ren, had participated in the encirclement and suppression of Teacher Cha Zhu and Senior Xin Lei.
Revenge for past wrongs.
Mo Chuan chuckled self-mockingly, pulling out his pipe again. "As expected, hatred is the greatest driving force in life."
Mo Chuan deactivated [Hellwalker], taking slow puffs from his pipe as he waited for time to pass.
He watched the reactions of the soldiers on both banks with interest, much like a child observing ants digging and storing food.
However, after a short while, this tranquility was shattered by the sound of a loudspeaker from the south bank:
"Esteemed ability user on the bridge, I am Zhao Qingfeng, the current division-level commander of the Eastern War Zone. Could I trouble you for a moment of your time? Can we talk?" Zhao Qingfeng, seemingly still uneasy, added, "I will not be carrying any weapons. My ability is the S-class ability Bright Silver Spear. If you are unwilling to engage in close-quarters communication, I can air-drop you a spirit stone communication device for long-distance exchange. May I hear your reply?"
Mo Chuan's response to Zhao Qingfeng was to throw a lantern.
Upon seeing the lantern, Zhao Qingfeng's expression shifted to one of slight surprise and disbelief. He immediately caught the lantern, and Mo Chuan pulled him onto the bridge.
"Commander!" the adjutant exclaimed, growing anxious.
"I'm fine. Remain at your post!"
Approaching the bridge, Zhao Qingfeng steadied himself on the broken section and looked up at the figure sitting on the bridge, gazing towards the north bank, before tentatively speaking, "Mo family kid?"
"Uncle Zhao, have a seat. No need to stand," Mo Chuan said, patting an empty spot beside him.
Upon hearing Mo Chuan's voice, Zhao Qingfeng's first reaction was not joy, but a peculiar strangeness. He leaned down and sat on the bridge. Seeing Mo Chuan's pipe, his hand, which had been reaching for his own cigarettes, paused. He finally smiled wryly, shook his head, and lit his own cigarette.
They sat in silence, watching for any new movements from the soldiers on the north bank.
Finally, Zhao Qingfeng broke the silence. "Um... Mo kid, did you reach a cooperation agreement with Yao?"
Mo Chuan looked at Zhao Qingfeng in surprise. "No?"
"Then you..." Zhao Qingfeng gestured to the domain behind Mo Chuan, about to speak, but was cut off by Mo Chuan's words, "I am buying time for the refugees from Jibei City."
"..."
Knowing the answer, Zhao Qingfeng did not feel relieved; instead, his heart grew heavier.
For the sake of the people?
Having navigated the complexities of officialdom for so many years, Zhao Qingfeng's mind was filled with calculations of self-interest. It had been a long time since anyone had told him their actions were for the people.
Before the war, Zhao Qingfeng's mind was consumed with thoughts of battle and Xin Lei. He rarely considered the people of Jibei City. The only action he might have taken was issuing a notice to the public before the fighting.
"When do you plan to leave here?" After learning Mo Chuan's identity as a high-level ability user, Zhao Qingfeng's primary concern was not cooperation, but rather Mo Chuan's physical well-being and spiritual energy. "How much longer can you sustain a domain of this magnitude?"
"About two more hours... I'll hold on as long as I can," Mo Chuan replied, looking at Zhao Qingfeng. "When will the Southeast Alliance send you reinforcements?"
"I don't know... Even if reinforcements are sent, I don't know if they'll be from the Eastern War Zone. If they're from the Southern War Zone, that's when the trouble starts." Zhao Qingfeng dejectedly took out a small wine flask from his pocket and took a few sips—he never drank during battles.
"Why? Because the reinforcements won't follow your orders?"
"Follow my orders? I'll be thankful if they don't cause me trouble." Zhao Qingfeng handed the wine flask to Mo Chuan. "Care for some?"
Mo Chuan accepted the flask and took a small sip, finding the alcohol surprisingly potent. He returned it to Zhao Qingfeng.
The sky had completely darkened, and a period of silence ensued between them.
It was Zhao Qingfeng who broke it again, but this time, he seemed exceptionally conflicted. "Mo Chuan."
"Hm?"
"I have something to tell you, about your parents. Do you want to know?"
Zhao Qingfeng's words immediately captured Mo Chuan's attention. He turned his head and asked, "Elaborate."
"It's like this. The last time we met, I told you your parents died during the East Sea Monster Calamity."
"But I later recalled a problem."
"According to the regulations I issued at the time within the regiment, if your father, Mo Zihui, died first while covering his comrades' retreat, then your mother, Qin Xiao, should have immediately retired to take care of you."
"However, the records mentioned nothing about your mother's situation."
"Later, during the Longjing coup, the personnel responsible for managing the online archive database were short by one hour for maintenance and firewall settings, allowing my people to exploit a loophole."
"And I... learned the approximate truth."
"Your parents did not die during the East Sea Monster Calamity at all, or at least your father certainly did not."
"Later, during a gathering of comrades, I heard someone mention it—there were only two instances of being surrounded and pursued by East Sea monsters. The casualty statisticians at the time confirmed that no soldiers or officers of platoon leader rank or above were among the casualties."
"So, I used my influence within the Yao faction to secretly investigate many details of the East Sea Monster Calamity, until I finally found what I was looking for in a secret telegram."
Mo Chuan held his breath.
"Your parents, to be precise, the entire First Platoon of the Third Company of the First Battalion of the Third Independent Regiment," Zhao Qingfeng recalled, frowning. "Without my knowledge, they were transferred by higher-ups, no, by the central command, to a relatively sparsely populated area for normal monster investigations."
"I don't know the process, but I found the result," Zhao Qingfeng said. "At that time, more than ten people survived from the first platoon, but they all died in field hospitals later, with most reports citing severe injuries that proved fatal."
Mo Chuan took a slow puff from his pipe, contemplating the implications.
"That's all I could find," Zhao Qingfeng said, taking a sip of wine as if to drown his sorrows.
Actually, what Zhao Qingfeng didn't say was that his investigation was driven by a combination of curiosity and responsibility, and a sense of a vast, insurmountable fog. He feared that once the fog lifted, he might not even survive.
Mo Chuan tapped the ash from his pipe, put it away, and stood up. He turned to Zhao Qingfeng. "More than half the time has passed. I'll go check on the situation in Jibei City. Uncle Zhao, you should head back."
Zhao Qingfeng seemed to want to say more, but ultimately chose to remain silent.
"I am currently cooperating with the Yellow Emperor," Mo Chuan stated. "If Uncle Zhao does not wish to cooperate with these warlords, feel free to go there and see. If you don't want to get entangled in this mess in Long Country, you can also contact me, and I'll help you leave Long Country."
Zhao Qingfeng remained silent, perhaps agreeing, perhaps considering.