Druid Fairy

Chapter 153 Dynasty War
The truth about Li Yuanhu and Senior Sister Sun was finally revealed.

Speaking of this Senior Sister Sun, she was not from a prestigious family, but the daughter of a blacksmith in the West Market of Pantao Town, named Sun Zhi.

Her father was an honest and hardworking craftsman whose greatest wish in life was for his daughter to live a safe and peaceful life.

However, Sun Zhi's personality was just like her mother's, who had been a镖师 (bodyguard/escort) and was born with a chivalrous heart. She couldn't stand seeing others being bullied.

She had been practicing martial arts at the martial arts school since she was a child. Although her talent was not top-notch, she worked harder than anyone else and occasionally sparred with Li Yuanhu.

Li Yuanhu fell in love with her, a situation reminiscent of a story from a Chinese folktale.

That day, the town's hooligans bullied the old man. Although there were many onlookers, no one dared to step forward.

Sun Zhi happened to be passing by. Without saying a word, she grabbed a carrying pole and rushed over. With a series of swift punches and kicks, she beat the hooligans until they were crying for their parents and running away in a panic.

Li Yuanhu happened to witness this scene.

In the afterglow of the setting sun, the girl held a carrying pole, her figure lithe and her eyes bright. For a moment, he was mesmerized by her beauty.

Since then, Li Yuanhu has frequently "bumped into" Sun Zhi.

He might offer her a freshly baked pastry, or "happen" to pass by her martial arts practice area and awkwardly offer some pointers.

The feelings of young people are pure and passionate.

Sun Zhi was naturally aware of Li Yuanhu's interest, but fearing that her junior brother's interest was just a passing fancy and that the Li family was too powerful, she did not agree directly.

When she heard that Li Yuanhu had rejected the Zhou family for her sake, she didn't say anything, but her heart was filled with sweetness. She shyly and straightforwardly accepted the Li family's marriage proposal.

The Li family was naturally delighted with this marriage.

Li Pingfu and Jiang Ling'er also spoke highly of their future daughter-in-law.

She comes from a respectable family, is resolute, has no vanity, and is clear-headed; she is a good girl.

On the day of the wedding banquet, the Li family mansion was once again filled with distinguished guests.

The Sun family were just ordinary people. Seeing such a grand display, the old blacksmith was so excited that he didn't know what to do with his hands and feet. He kept pulling Li Rongzhou's hand and saying, "You're too kind of us, you're too kind of us."

Li Rongzhou laughed heartily and patted him on the shoulder: "What are you saying, in-law! It's Yuanhu's good fortune to marry such a wonderful wife as Zhi'er, and it's also a good fortune for our Li family!"

The wedding was lively and warm, without too many formalities, yet it was full of sincerity.

Li Yuanhu, dressed in a bright red wedding gown, looked at Sun Zhi beside him, who was also wearing a phoenix coronet and embroidered robe, and felt overjoyed, feeling like he was living the dream.

…………

Time flies, and years pass quickly.

Besides planting trees, Li Pingcan spends his days traveling between Lingshan Cave and his old house in Peach Blossom Village, sometimes going to the Dragon Palace's Five Elements Hall to comprehend the elements, and sometimes teaching his son and daughter. His days are fulfilling and peaceful.

With the help of his son, Li Mengjin, who acted as a "player," the terrifying tree-planting target was finally achieved, marking another milestone.

[You've successfully planted 100000 saplings, raising your Druid level to LV10!]

You have gained a new skill: Detection Spell (Level 1)

"Finally reached level 10!"

Li Pingcan let out a long breath, his eyes filled with emotion.

He walked this path from zero to ten for more than thirty years.

The hardships involved are beyond what outsiders can understand.

"To upgrade to level eleven, 120,000 trees are needed..."

Upon seeing the astronomical amount of experience required, Li Pingcan's lips twitched involuntarily.

"Forget it, I don't want to think about it anymore. There's always a way out."

He turned his attention to that brand-new skill.

[Detection Spell (First Ring): For the duration of this spell, you can sense supernatural powers. After sensing the presence of supernatural powers using this method, you can use actions to see the faint aura around any creature or object you can see, and discern its attributes and information.]

"Isn't this just 'authentication'?"

Li Pingcan's heart stirred, and he immediately activated the spell.

In an instant, the world before my eyes changed completely.

The spirit-gathering array inside the cave was no longer an invisible flow of energy in his eyes, but had transformed into array patterns radiating multicolored light.

The dozing azure dragon was surrounded by azure magical power and golden dragon energy.

As for himself, his magical power surged like the tide in his dantian and sea of ​​qi, while his physical body's qi and blood were like a blazing sun.

"It's really practical."

Li Pingcan was delighted.

With it, any array formations, restrictions, or magical artifact disguises will be exposed.

Whether it's treasure hunting or fighting against enemies, he can always gain the upper hand.

"Let's take a look at that Yin-Yang Mirror first."

He immediately thought of the ancient mirror that he had obtained from Zhao Wuyou but could never activate.

When he used the [Detection Spell] to look at the ancient mirror, in addition to the bloodline restriction, there were two extremely faint divine thought imprints hidden at the core of the restriction.

One was Su Huanuan's master from the Seven Star Sect, who wanted to be the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind; the other...

Li Pingcan frowned slightly. It seemed that this Yin-Yang Mirror was more complicated than he had imagined. It had been set with three divine thoughts, all of which were "bait"!
However, now that the problem has been identified, it's only a matter of time before it's resolved.

…………

Ordinary and peaceful days always come quickly and go quickly.

Good times are not long.

The news Li Ping'an sent back from the prefecture was worrying—war was imminent!
With grain and salt prices soaring, public discontent is rising.

Yunshui County, which used to be relatively peaceful, is now rife with undercurrents and people are filled with anxiety.

Public resentment quickly arose, and looting occurred frequently in the city.

This sense of panic gradually spread to Yunshui County and then to Taohua Village.

The villagers began to feel anxious and uneasy.

Their biggest worry was the Li family.

In their eyes, the Li family was now one of the wealthiest families in Yunshui County, with both money and manpower. If war broke out, would they, like the wealthy families in the prefectures, abandon this land and relocate to a safer place?
"Hey, do you guys think the Li family might leave?"

"Who knows? If I had a fortune as big as the Li family's, I would definitely leave too! Staying here, if the immortals come to attack, wouldn't that be like waiting to die?"

"But what will we do if the Li family leaves? It's so chaotic outside. If we don't have the Li family protecting us, won't those thugs tear us apart?"

"Yes, yes, now when people from our Peach Blossom Village go out, who doesn't look up to them? If the Li family leaves, we'll be back to how we were before, being bullied by everyone."

Immediately, the village was abuzz with discussion and people were filled with anxiety.

A few bolder villagers even mustered up their courage and went to the gate of the Li family mansion, hoping to find out what was going on.

"Fellow villagers, I know what you've been worried about lately."

Li family steward Zhou Yu said, "Today, I am here on the orders of my master and the young masters to reassure everyone."

"Our Li family will not leave."

“Not only will we not leave,” his voice suddenly rose, “but if anyone is having financial difficulties, each person can receive one pound of grain per day to help the villagers get through their difficulties.”

"Long live the Li family!"

"He's a living Bodhisattva!"

Countless people wept with joy, bowing and kowtowing repeatedly in the direction of the Li family mansion.

That simple gratitude stemming from the land transformed into invisible forces of thought, flowing into the Li family's fortune and quietly merging into that unknown jade dreamland.

Looking at the scene before him, Zhou Yu smiled with satisfaction.

As a storm was brewing, the Lord chose to stand with this land through thick and thin, proving that he had not misjudged the person and had followed the right Lord.

"...Big brother, father."

Inside the sealed room, the candlelight flickered.

Li Pingcan broke the silence, saying, "Something big is about to happen."

Upon hearing this, both Li Pingfu and Li Rongzhou felt a chill run down their spines.

Li Pingcan slowly read the contents of the letter: "The Dayu Dynasty and its western neighbor, the 'Daqian Dynasty,' are about to go to war."

"War?"

Li Rongzhou's brows furrowed instantly. "Why start a war out of the blue?"

"For a newly discovered 'Heavenly Grade Spirit Mine Vein'."

Li Pingcan explained, "The mine is located right on the border between the two countries. It is rich in a rare spiritual material called 'Haoyang Refined Gold,' which is the core material for refining high-level magic weapons."

"The Great Yu and the Great Qian have always had constant friction and long-standing grudges. This mine is just the last fuse that ignites the powder keg."

Perhaps the previous beast tide was just one of the means of a covert struggle.

Li Pingfu's face also darkened; he knew all too well the cruelty of war.

That wasn't the kind of chivalrous vendetta between warriors, but a meat grinder where blood and flesh flew everywhere.

"My second brother's letter also said," Li Pingcan's tone grew increasingly heavy, "that the prefectural government has issued a conscription order, requiring all those who have passed the military examinations but do not hold official positions to immediately enlist and rush to the border to serve as the first vanguard commanders! They also intend to forcibly conscript a million people..."

Before the words were even finished, Li Pingfu and Li Rongzhou's expressions instantly turned extremely ugly.

Passed the military examination...

Isn't that just...

"Yuan Hu!"

Li Pingfu's fists clenched so tightly they cracked, and Li Rongzhou's face was ashen.

Military orders are absolute; who dares to disobey them?
"Did Ping An mention in his letter that he could make an exception?" Li Rongzhou asked, clinging to his last hope. "The Mu family is based in the prefecture; surely they have some connections?"

Li Pingcan slowly shook his head, his expression solemn: "This matter is a military order of the highest level in the dynasty, issued directly by the Ministry of War, bypassing all the prefectures. Even the Mu family would not dare to provoke trouble at such a time. My second brother said in his letter that he had tried to subtly inquire about it, but was severely reprimanded by Doctor Chen, who told him not to ruin his future."

"So, there's no room for negotiation?" Li Pingfu's voice carried a hint of despair.

The sealed room fell into a deathly silence.

…………

It was late at night when Li Pingfu returned to his courtyard.

He pushed open the door and saw that the room was brightly lit by candlelight. His wife, Jiang Ling'er, was still awake and sitting under the lamp, mending a worn-out robe for him.

Hearing the noise, Jiang Ling'er looked up and a gentle smile appeared on her face: "Husband, you're back."

But when she saw her husband's gloomy face, her smile froze.

"what happened?"

She put down her needlework and quickly got up to greet him, her voice tinged with worry, "Have you encountered something troublesome again?"

Looking into his wife's concerned eyes, Li Pingfu opened his mouth, but didn't know how to speak.

He was afraid that if he opened his mouth, his forced composure would crumble.

Seeing that he remained silent, Jiang Ling'er became even more anxious. She took his hand and asked softly, "Husband, what happened? Tell me. We are husband and wife, and I will stand by you no matter what happens."

Li Pingfu could no longer hold back and pulled his wife into his arms.

“Ling’er,” his voice was terribly hoarse, “Yuan Hu… Yuan Hu is going to be drafted into the army and go to fight on the border.”

Jiang Ling'er's body stiffened abruptly, as if struck by lightning.

"What? Tiger is going to fight in a war?"

When Jiang Ling'er heard the news, the teacup in her hand fell to the ground with a "crash" and shattered.

No! I won't allow it!

She stood up abruptly, gripping her husband's arm tightly until her knuckles turned white. "Pingfu, how could you let him go to a place like that! That's a battlefield! People can die there, and he just got married!"

Her voice was shrill and tearful, completely devoid of its usual gentleness.

"Ling'er, listen to me..."

"I don't listen! I don't listen!"

Jiang Ling'er shook her head desperately, tears streaming down her face like broken beads. "I don't care about dynasties or military orders! I only know that he is my son! He is the son I carried for ten months and gave birth to with great difficulty! I can't just watch him go to his death!"

She collapsed into Li Pingfu's arms, sobbing, her shoulders trembling violently. "Pingfu, please, please talk to Father, talk to Second Brother and Third Brother. They must have a way, right? Can't our family even save one child now?"

Li Pingfu held his wife tightly, feeling her body trembling, his heart breaking.

How could he not want that?
But he knew even better that under the weight of this mighty nation, any resistance seemed so pale and powerless.

He could only comfort her in a hoarse voice: "Ling'er, don't worry, Huwa is going to command, he doesn't need to be on the front line, so he has a great chance of survival."

Jiang Ling'er cried her heart out and finally fainted in his arms.

Li Pingfu carried her back to the room. Looking at her tear-stained sleeping face, this upright man couldn't help but have tears well up in his eyes.

He stepped out of the room, looked at the lonely moon in the courtyard, and clenched his fist.

This night is destined to be sleepless.

…………

The atmosphere in the Li family was so heavy it was suffocating.

Li Pingcan's study was brightly lit by candlelight.

Since there's no way to escape it, we can only face the challenge head-on.

Now is not the time to act on emotions; we must remain calm and seek a way to save our nephew's life.

He unfurled a huge map, on which the border terrain between the Great Yu Dynasty and the Great Qian Dynasty was marked in detail with vermilion ink.

These were all copied from the state government's confidential archives at great cost by Li Ping'an.

"The Great Qian Dynasty reveres military might, and its most elite force is the 'Crimson Flame Iron Cavalry,' where both riders and mounts are clad in heavy armor, making them unstoppable in a charge. Our Great Yu, on the other hand, excels in infantry formations and long-range archery..."

As for why it wasn't a battle between immortals right from the start, immortals are extremely precious, and no dynasty would want to deplete their immortals first, so they used "miscellaneous troops" instead.

Li Pingcan's eyes darted rapidly across the map, his mind racing as he considered all sorts of possibilities.

"We must find a way to get him into a relatively safe team."

He then thought of the "treasures" he had accumulated over the years in his storage bag.

That breastplate, modified from the heavy armor of the warriors, and those talismans seized from cultivators...

"The equipment must be fully upgraded!"

"We can't afford to lose any of these life-saving tools!"

He then took out a blank bamboo scroll and began to write rapidly.

"The follow-up mental cultivation techniques of the Five Elements Body Forging Technique, the Battlefield Survival Manual, and the Thirty-Six Stratagems: The Escape Chapter..."

"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. It's not enough to just have equipment; you also need to make him stronger and smarter."

They gave Li Yuanhu special training, turning him into a "sixth brother" who understood tactics, knew how to survive, and could even outmaneuver others in critical moments.

By the time all this was done, the sky was already beginning to lighten with the first hint of dawn.

Li Pingcan rubbed his slightly sore eyes, but there was no sign of fatigue on his face.

"war?"

A cold smile curled at the corner of his lips. "It's nothing more than a game of distributing power and resources among immortals. Unfortunately, all that's left for the lower classes are bullets, not any sugar coating."

"But even a salted fish can turn its life around. Until the very end, no one knows who the winner will be!"

(End of this chapter)