Endless Winter: My Camp Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 414 Mu Longhe's Hope: Departure and New Discoveries

Upon hearing his son's words, Xiang Ping immediately understood.

The escort of Mu Longhe must not be taken lightly!

The cultivation process of humans in the Ice Abyss begins with improving the basic strength of the physical body after the formation of the five internal organs and meridians; after reaching the physical limit, which is 30,000 jin of basic strength, the process of reshaping the skin membrane is completed, and then the cold resistance level can be broken through.
The cultivation of the Cold Resistance level revolves around the flesh and blood in the body. The specific method is to use external force to stimulate and destroy the original flesh and blood tissue. This external force can be cold light or pills. In short, it is to force the flesh and blood to constantly reorganize and grow, so that the new flesh and blood can better adapt to the environment of the Ice Abyss.
The next level, Manifest Yang, is the skeleton. Although Xiang Ping has not yet reached this level, he had already seen it in the "Xia Li·Xiu Zhi Pian" (The Book of Rites of Xia), so he roughly understands what this level is all about.

This cultivation process ensures that the physical foundation of the Ice Abyss humans becomes increasingly solid as their cultivation level improves. Furthermore, because cultivation focuses on all-round improvement rather than concentrating on one point, the probability of a person with cultivation being completely crippled is extremely low.

Mu Longhe's so-called "crippled" status is in comparison to the Xianyang level. As long as his cultivation level does not drop, he will still be a strongman in front of the Yuhan level. Even without arms, he can still kill people by relying on physical collisions and leg skills.

Therefore, escorting him back to Xia City must not be taken lightly.

The fact that they took such a serious matter, assigning four Silver Order Wardens to escort him along with the Longyuan Army, suggests that Mu Longhe's cultivation level should not have declined.

"You'd better be careful then. When you set off, stay close to the army!"

Xiang Ping realized that Xiang Liang was going to be escorting Mu Longhe back to Xia City with the other three prison wardens, and he was naturally worried. He even suggested that his son stand with the army after they set off.

Although judging from Mu Longhe's reaction at dawn, he is unlikely to have any problems, but there is never a 100% certainty in such matters.
Hearing his father's reminder, Xiang Liang looked strange and smiled, "Father, don't worry, the four of us are just accompanying them on this mission to transport Mu Longhe."

Just accompanying them?
Xiang Liang was taken aback by what he heard, and was about to ask a question when he was interrupted by a voice.

"Brother Mu, I never imagined we'd be traveling together one day. It's truly a rare occasion!"

Two people slowly walked out of the government building. The one in front was an old man with white hair and beard. Before he arrived, his voice came first, and his words were full of sighs and lamentations.

"Lord Xiang is the main person in charge of escorting them this time!"

In fact, there was no need for his son to explain; Xiang Ping had already recognized the old man.

He was Xiang Fuhai, the former lord of Ba Shang, who has now switched allegiance to the Great Xia.

"That's good!"

Just as dawn broke, Xiang Fuhai, though he hadn't made a move, flew into the air with Xiahou Zhang and Murong Chui, so his injuries must have healed. He should be able to keep an eye on Mu Longhe, who had lost both arms. Thinking of this, Xiang Ping naturally relaxed.

“Indeed rare! The last time I dealt with Lord Xiang was seventeen years ago. If I remember correctly, it was for that white-haired water monster in the Nine Bends Water Region, right?”

On the other side, Mu Longhe also raised his head and responded to Xiang Fuhai with a wry smile.

The connections between the nine towns are limited to the chambers of commerce. In fact, the number of times these Xianyang-level individuals interact with each other is less than that of the Yuhan-level individuals below them.

Upon hearing Mu Longhe recount the old stories of the Nine Bends Waterway, a flash of reminiscence crossed Xiang Fuhai's eyes. It took him more than ten breaths to recover before he met Mu Longhe's gaze, and both of them smiled in unison.

Xiang Fuhai is 138 years old this year, and Mu Longhe is 135. The two are actually not much different in age. As they are both Xianyang-level experts, they were naturally the best in their respective camps when they were young. They had known each other since Ba Shang and Chui Shan had not yet developed into towns, so it has been at least a hundred years.

The relationship between the nine towns on the southern slope of Mo'ao is extremely delicate. Rather than saying they have known each other for over a hundred years, it would be more accurate to say they have been fighting and scheming for over a hundred years. Mu Longhe only mentioned their most recent interaction. If we trace back further, the two have actually had battlefield confrontations, life-and-death battles, and even sitting and drinking together.

Now that Ba Shang has been destroyed, Xiang Fuhai has led everyone from Ba Shang to join the Great Xia; Chui Shan has fallen, and Mu Longhe has been abandoned by Lord Duan Hong and become a prisoner of the Great Xia. From now on, there is no need for the two to fight anymore. At this moment, they completely let down their guard and recall the past. Their hearts are filled with a thousand feelings that cannot be expressed.

The smiles on their faces at that moment seemed to suggest that they were burying the hatchet!
Xiang Fuhai suddenly remembered something and waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "Brother Mu, you must remember to change your address from now on. I am no longer a lord."

Mu Longhe nodded and sighed slightly, "Actually, Lord Xia Hong doesn't need to be so cautious. I am already extremely grateful to have my life spared. How could I dare to cause any more trouble? Besides, even if I had the will, I would not have the ability. My arms are broken and my bones are too damaged. I don't even have the ability to fly anymore. These four young men can escort me. Why bother Brother Xiang?"

Upon hearing this, Xiang Fuhai's expression immediately turned strange. He smiled and said, "Brother Mu, do you think the lord sent me here specifically to escort you?"

Is not it?

Mu Longhe looked puzzled. He had heard the conversation between the young Silver Order Warden and his father in the army, but they didn't mention this. What other reason could there be for Xiang Fuhai to come with him personally?
"Brother Mu, you're overthinking it. Let me show you two things first!"

Xiang Fuhai didn't explain, but simply gestured to the other person who had just walked out of the Siya Building with him.

The man was dressed in a yellow outfit, holding a silver staff and carrying two boxes on his back. Upon receiving Xiang Fuhai's signal, he quickly took down the boxes, walked to Mu Longhe, and opened them one by one to show the contents.

When Mu Longhe saw the contents of the two boxes, his expression became somewhat complicated.

The box on the left contained two silver longswords, one with a blue hilt and the other with a red hilt—his own blue and red double-edged swords; while the box on the right was filled with solid ice that gleamed with black light, and within the ice were his two severed arms.

Mu Longhe quickly realized something, and the complexity on his face turned into anticipation. Then he suddenly noticed something, looked up at the young man in front of him who had opened the box, and his pupils suddenly contracted.

"Junior Xiang Wentian pays respects to Senior Mu!"

This young man in yellow was none other than Xiang Wentian, the grandson of Xiang Fuhai.

Mu Longhe stared at Xiang Wentian's arms for a while, the shock in his pupils gradually disappeared, and his face was filled with joy and shock.

"you…………"

In early May of this year, the rebellion at Dajue Temple ended, and the Six Garrisons divided up the Xiang family's treasury in Ba Shang City. At that time, a young man from the Xiang family was indignant and stood up to argue with the lord of the Six Garrisons. He accidentally offended Yang Zun with his words and was directly cut off by Yang Fa, the leader of Beishuo Garrison.

That young man was none other than Xiang Wentian standing before them.

Mu Longhe was also present at the time, and he knew very well why Yang Fa was so ruthless. It was because Xiang Wentian had the aptitude for a top-grade battle body. At just over forty years old, he had the strength of 48 bristles. At that time, among the remaining disciples of the Xiang clan, Xiang Wentian was in a class of his own in terms of both strength and talent. Yang Fa clearly intended to completely destroy the Xiang clan.

However, at this moment, Xiang Wentian not only had both arms intact, but his aptitude was also completely unaffected. In fact, Mu Longhe discovered that his strength had actually increased to 49, and even improved...

Mu Longhe suddenly realized what was happening and quickly turned his gaze to Xiang Fuhai, his pupils filled with both questioning and anticipation.

"Hahaha, Brother Mu, although I am not of high status in the Great Xia, I am not so low as to be ordered around to escort prisoners. The lord specifically asked me to bring Wentian to accompany you back to Xia City. Don't you understand what that means?"

Mu Longhe's body trembled slightly, the joy on his face quickly faded, and he fell silent.

Xia Hong was clearly using Xiang Wentian to deliberately demonstrate to him that the Great Xia Dynasty had the ability to reattach severed arms, so it was not hard to guess the purpose of sending Xiang Fuhai to escort him this time.

"Brother Mu, you must know that Duan Hong is no wise ruler. The fate of my Ba Shang Town is enough to prove that the lords of the three northern towns are not capable of great things. Today, in the battle of Hongmen, the six towns have lost face. In the entire southern foothills of Mo'ao, no town can compete with Lord Xia Hong. The six towns have basically no chance of a second alliance. Great Xia has already become the hegemon. Brother Mu, what is there to hesitate about?"

Seeing Mu Longhe fall silent, Xiang Fuhai immediately began to persuade him, but after he finished speaking, there was no response from the other party.

He only lowered his head to think for a moment before he immediately realized what was going on.

"Brother Mu, are you worried that since the Mu clan is still in the border mountains, if they were to switch allegiance to the Great Xia now, your Mu clan members would be purged by Duan Hong, right?"

Mu Longhe hardly needed to answer this question. Given Duan Hong's narrow-mindedness and vindictive nature, if he truly knew that Mu Longhe had switched allegiance to Xia Hong, it would be inevitable that he would purge the Mu clan.

That problem is very easy to solve!

Seeing the struggle and hesitation on Mu Longhe's face, Xiang Fuhai immediately smiled, but he didn't rush to say anything. Seeing that the Longyuan army had all left the city, he smiled and said, "Let's get going! There are only two hours left until dawn. I'll talk to Brother Mu in detail on the way."

As soon as he spoke, Xiang Liang and the other four Silver Order Wardens immediately went to lead the way. As soon as Mu Longhe moved, Xiang Fuhai quickly followed and walked alongside him, clearly intending to continue persuading him after they set off.

In the past, Xiang Fuhai would not have been so enthusiastic in helping Xia Hong and persuading Mu Longhe to switch sides to Da Xia, but times have changed.

His mindset has clearly changed a lot.

Of course, only Xiang Fuhai himself knows the reasons behind this.

Xiang Fuhai looked at his grandson who had walked ahead, his face full of smiles.

His injuries have not yet fully healed.

He took three Saint Vein Pills, and although he has recovered some of his Manifest Yang level cultivation, his strength is still less than half of what it was before.

To be honest, five days ago, after taking the three Saint Vein Pills given to him by Xia Hong, his cultivation level recovered by half. At that time, he was only slightly tempted, and the change was not as significant as it is now.

But later, when Xia Chuan reattached his grandson Xiang Wentian's arms in front of him, Xiang Fuhai gave up all other thoughts.

From that moment on, he not only completely accepted the fact that Ba Shang Town had been destroyed, but also made his final choice deep in his heart: to begin to integrate into the Great Xia and become a formal member of the Great Xia.

The direct descendants of Ba Shang have been almost entirely wiped out, and there are only about five hundred people of the Cold Resistance level in the entire town. Moreover, he is already old and would not have the energy to rebuild Ba Shang.

More importantly, after spending more than four months in Xia City and coming into contact with more and more things, he became increasingly convinced that as long as Great Xia continued to develop steadily, unifying the southern foothills of Mo'ao was only a matter of time.

Sunzi Xiang Wentian has recovered. He now has only two thoughts, or rather, two obsessions: one is to let the Xiang family take root and develop in Daxia and continue to be passed down; the other is to avenge the people of Ba Shang who died tragically in the Dajue Temple Rebellion, with the target of course being the three towns in the north.

Five days after making his decision, Xiang Fuhai had completely considered himself a member of the Great Xia Dynasty. The scene of Xia Hong leading the entire Great Xia Dynasty to intimidate the lords of the six towns at dawn undoubtedly made him even more determined in his decision.

Becoming a member of the Great Xia Dynasty was absolutely the right choice!

Persuading Mu Longhe to switch sides to Great Xia was the first task Xia Hong had officially assigned to Xiang Fuhai. Of course, Xiang Fuhai had to do his best to complete it, because it was very likely to determine what specific position Xia Hong would assign him later.

Xiang Fuhai, at 138 years old and having served as the lord of Ba Shang for so many years, could still glean a great deal of insight even after only four months in Xia City. Great Xia is truly young!
From the individuals themselves to the overall feeling that Xia City evokes, everything feels very young.

That feeling of everything thriving and full of vitality was something Xiang Fuhai had never experienced before, whether in Ba Shang or any other town.

Youth means huge development prospects, but it also means that many things inside are not yet fully formed. Judging from the current prosperity of Daxia, choosing to actively integrate is definitely a win-win situation.

"From Hongmen to Xia City, we have to cross the entire north bank of the Xinghe River, passing through seven outposts: Longhe, Jinbi, Qinghepu, Baiyang, Songyangling, and Wuyuan. The total distance is about two hundred kilometers. Brother Mu's injuries have not yet fully healed, so the seven of us don't need to travel that fast. It would be perfect to introduce Brother Mu to the situation of Daxia along the way, how about it?"

This trip was naturally led by Xiang Fuhai. After leaving the city gate, as soon as he made the arrangements, Xiang Liang and the other four silver-order prison wardens immediately nodded in agreement, and Mu Longhe had even less reason to object.

"By the way, young friend Xiang, I heard in Xia City that to move freely within the Great Xia territory, you need a travel permit. So, we..."

The four Silver Order Wardens were all recently sent by Li Tiancheng, and only Xiang Liang's name was mentioned among them, so Xiang Fuhai had no choice but to ask Xiang Liang.

Xiang Fuhai was a powerful expert at the Xianyang level. Even though he held no official position, Xiang Liang dared not be negligent and immediately smiled and cupped his hands in reply, "I didn't expect Lord Xiang to be so knowledgeable about the rules of our Great Xia, even knowing about travel permits..."

After he finished speaking, he patted the silver token at his waist and continued, "Don't worry, sir. Our prison wardens are often stationed outside to investigate cases. With this token, they can freely enter and exit various posts. As for Senior Mu's matter, Xia City has already made arrangements. There will be no problem entering the city."

Having just spoken to Fu Hai, Xiang Liang naturally understood that Mu Longhe would most likely eventually switch allegiance to Da Xia, so he also used a respectful title for him.

"Okay, let's go!"

Once Xiang Fuhai spoke, the seven of them officially headed towards the Hongmen Pass.

Hongmen City is only two kilometers away from Hongmen Pass, so there is no straight road. They have to walk there. The seven of them walked very fast and soon arrived at the entrance to the straight road inside Hongmen Pass.

Mu Longhe paused for a moment when he saw the entrance to the straight road. After walking in, he saw the coal stoves hanging on both sides of the road and his face was filled with curiosity.

"Brother Mu, isn't this straight road built by the Great Xia quite impressive? When I first saw it, I was also awestruck!"

Xiang Fuhai clearly intended to use the opportunity of introducing the situation of the Great Xia territory to continue persuading Mu Longhe, so when he saw the curiosity on Mu Longhe's face, he immediately spoke up.

"This straight road almost covers the entire territory of the Great Xia. Take the north bank of the Xinghe River as an example. The seven outposts I just mentioned—Longhe, Jinbi, Qinghepu, Baiyang, Songyangling, and Wuyuan—are all connected by straight roads. It's much more convenient than the bluestone roads of our eight towns..."

Knowing Xiang Fuhai's intentions, Xiang Liang and the other three naturally didn't interrupt him. They simply listened patiently to what he had to say, and when they encountered something that Xiang Fuhai didn't understand, the four of them would even offer their own opinions.

In order to save time, Xiang Fuhai deliberately slowed down his pace, and the other five people did not urge him. The group of seven slowly walked westward.

Based on the seven people's cultivation levels, they could actually avoid taking the straight path, but taking the straight path would be much more comfortable as they wouldn't have to brave the wind and snow. In addition, since Xiang Fuhai intended to show Mu Longhe things about the Great Xia Dynasty, the straight path was naturally not to be missed.

The seven of them continued their slow journey without stopping during the day, walking for more than two hours. When they were almost at Qinghepu, Xiang Fuhai suggested that they stop and rest.

"Qinghepu is about fifty kilometers away from Hongmen Pass. It was only officially established as one of the eight offices in June of this year. It is one of the two major outposts on the north bank of Xinghe River. The governor is Lord Hong Gang!"
Qinghepu was originally a place name. There were three villages here before: Qinghe Village, Heshang Village, and Hexia Village. In May, Yuan Sizheng, the commander of the garrison, personally came to inspect the area and established the Qinghepu administrative center in the original Qinghe Village. The other two villages were designated as small outposts, each headed by a garrison commander.

Even before the group of seven entered Qinghepu, the guide had already changed from Xiang Fuhai to Xiang Liang.

Xiang Liang had lived in Xia City for more than seven years, and his understanding of the Great Xia was far beyond that of ordinary people. After Xiang Fuhai discovered this, he was happy to have some free time and directly asked him to explain it to Mu Longhe.

Although Qinghepu was a newly established large outpost in June, the outpost was not deserted because the administrative center itself was the original Qinghe Village. It was just that the population was significantly less than before.

There are many rules within the Great Xia territory. All the people stationed at the post are divided into two categories: permanent residents and transit residents. Only permanent residents or those on business can move freely within the post station; transit residents can only move within the post station. If they have something urgent to attend to, they must first report to the prison warden.

Of course, you can break the rules and go inside the outpost. If you don't get caught, it's fine. But if the warden finds you and you can't give a legitimate reason, you'll be fined some contribution points at best, and at worst, you could be caned or forced into labor.

Therefore, within the Great Xia territory, generally no one dares to provoke this concern.

Although Xiang Liang and his three companions were Silver Order Wardens and had special privileges, they did not abuse them. Instead, they obediently arrived at Qinghepu Post Station, ordered some food, and planned to have dinner, rest, and then leave.

It's worth mentioning that Xiang Fuhai was quite wealthy. When Xiang Liang ordered some good food, he took out three jugs of Fengyang Wine from his bag and tossed two of the medium-grade jugs directly to Xiang Liang and his companions.

"I'm grateful for the trip you four young friends have taken care of. These two bottles of Fengyang Wine are just a token of my appreciation. Wentian, why don't you go and have a few drinks with the four young friends as well!"

"I got it, Grandpa."

Upon hearing this, Xiang Liang and the other three were stunned for a moment. They instinctively wanted to decline, but looking at the spirit wine in front of them, they couldn't bring themselves to refuse. All four of them stood up and bowed to Xiang Fuhai.

"Thank you so much, senior!"

Mid-grade spirit wine might just be a beverage for those at the Manifestation Yang level, but for those at the Cold Resistance level and the Earth Digging Realm, it's a precious cultivation resource. If sold in Hongmen City, it could fetch over 3000 taels of silver per pound. Even in the Supply Department, it would cost over 20000 contribution points to exchange for one pound.

These two pots from Xiang Fuhai must weigh a pound together, which is worth a lot of money.

Seeing that the four of them stood up and bowed to him, he waved to Fu Hai. This little bit of stuff was nothing to him.

He opened the remaining pot of fine wine, poured it for Mu Longhe, and then helped him pick up the wine cup and bring it to his lips.

"Brother Mu, this Fengyang Wine..."

Mu Longhe's eyes lit up as soon as he smelled the aroma of the wine. Before Xiang Fuhai could even speak, he eagerly leaned over and drank all the wine, leaving Xiang Fuhai stunned.

"Haha, Brother Xiang, you don't know yet, but I had the good fortune to taste this Fengyang Wine at the Hongmen Banquet in early May."

Xiang Fuhai then realized what was happening and said in a pretentious manner, "So Brother Mu has already tried it! Then I'll have to save this bottle. Never mind."

"No, no, no, we've already taken them out, what would it mean to take them back?"

"Ha ha ha ha……"

Seeing that Mu Longhe was so easily amused, Xiang Fuhai burst into laughter, quickly poured him another cup, and continued drinking.

With seven people in the group, the atmosphere became much lighter.

"There don't seem to be many people stationed at Qinghepu?"

After finishing his meal, Xiang Fuhai looked out the window of the post station and saw that there weren't many pedestrians at the Qinghepu post station. He couldn't help but ask Xiang Liang a question.

Xiang Liang immediately replied, "As you should know, Senior, at the end of April, Dajue Temple used the Yuanhun Pill to slaughter all the village camps within its territory. At that time, there was only Hexia Village on Qinghepu side. Because the entire village was brought under control by our Great Xia in time, it was spared from the disaster. But Qinghe Village and Heshang Village were not so lucky..."

After saying only a few words, Xiang Liang noticed that the expressions of Xiang Fuhai and his grandson had changed. Realizing that he was reopening old wounds, he quickly stopped and paused before continuing, "The people in Qinghepu now are mostly transferred from Xiacheng, so there aren't many. However, I heard from people in Hongmen City that the lord is about to come and develop the waters here. If nothing unexpected happens, the number of people here should increase soon."

The current Qinghepu outpost was formerly Qinghe Village, an ordinary village-level camp. The garrison command would not arbitrarily designate it as a major outpost.

The reason why Qinghe Village was able to become a major outpost is twofold: firstly, it is only 21 kilometers away from the Xinghe River to the south; secondly, it is located three kilometers east of Chilong Lake.

The fact that a crimson dragon is sleeping in Crimson Dragon Lake has already spread among the upper echelons of the Great Xia Dynasty, so Xiang Liang also knows about it.

Of course, Mu Longhe and Xiang Fuhai were even more aware of this matter.

"Lord Xia Hong is coming here to develop the waters? Could it be that..."

Mu Longhe instinctively turned his head to look at the east side of the outpost. Even though it was three kilometers away, a hint of fear still appeared in his eyes.

Having personally experienced the power of that Crimson Blood Demon Dragon, Mu Longhe still felt lingering fear when he recalled the battle in early May.

"Senior Mu is overthinking it, Lord..."

step... step... step...

Just as Xiang Liang was about to continue speaking, a series of footsteps suddenly came from the stairs. He stopped abruptly and turned to look behind him.

The Qinghepu Inn has five floors. The first and second floors are for eating and resting, while the third, fourth and fifth floors are all guest rooms.

The seven of them were having dinner on the second floor, so the people coming down from upstairs were naturally from the guest rooms.

Xiang Liang turned his head and saw six people coming down the stairs. After carefully examining them, a hint of curiosity rose in his eyes.

"Eek, not from the Great Xia!"

Of the six, four middle-aged men were at the Cold Resistance level, and their strength was probably a little stronger than his own. The two young men were at the Earth Digging level. Xiang Liang only glanced at them and then looked away.

Their cultivation levels weren't surprising; the key issue was that Xiang Liang had never seen the clothes these six people wore before, from the material to the style.

He lowered his head and pondered for a moment, then looked up again with even greater curiosity on his face.

"It's not even in the style of Bazhen! Could it be that it came from some small place in Bazhen, or is it not even from the southern foothills of Mo'ao?"

(End of this chapter)