Tang Dynasty Demon Suppression Division

"Speaking of which, it's been seven years since we graduated, hasn't it?" Chu Yunhe sighed. "Although we've kept in touch all these years, due to various circumstances, we've never seen each other even once."

In the past seven years, Chu Yunhe has only returned to Chang'an once, but Li Yuan happened to be away on a mission that time.

Shen Lian's home was originally in Yumen Pass, so he had not been to the capital once in the past seven years.

"I heard you've been promoted to the rank of Langjiang?"

"It's nothing. You know, my dad dotes on me. There's a bit of family face involved."

Chu Yunhe waved his hand and chuckled, "Shen Lian is the real deal. He started from the bottom and rose through the ranks to become a deputy general, in charge of three thousand men."

He turned to Shen Lian and asked, "Don't you think you should treat us to a meal?"

Shen Lian said calmly, "When you return alive from the Demon Court, I'll treat you to three days of meals."

Chu Yunhe laughed heartily: "You said it yourself, it's a deal!"

Wu Yu was amused by him: "By the way, how are all our classmates from back then doing now?"

He has been busy all these years, and has lost contact with everyone except a few close friends.

Chu Yunhe's smile faded, and after a moment of silence, he said in a low voice, "Cheng Zhao... sacrificed himself."

"Cheng Zhao? What happened?"

Li Yuan's heart sank.

Chu Yunhe sighed.

"Three years ago, Cheng Zhao was a centurion. Once, when the demons attacked the village, he led his men to rescue it. However, the enemy had several demon kings. In order to cover the villagers, he led a dozen men to cover the retreat and was burned alive. In his dying moments, he even took a demon king with him."

Cheng Zhao was a calm and composed person, and his relationship with him in the Tian Shu class was fairly good. I never expected him to die so tragically.

"The imperial court posthumously conferred upon him the title of Loyal and Brave Colonel, so it can be said that he died a worthy death."

Li Yuan remained silent for a long while before asking, "Where are the others?"

"Zhou Mo is doing quite well now. That guy is full of tricks and serves as a lieutenant general in the Northwest Army."

They were both soldiers, and they had long since become indifferent to life and death. Chu Yunhe immediately cheered up again. "I met him once last year when I passed by his post. He had gained a lot of weight and spoke with an official tone, but he was still as warm-hearted as ever."

"Jin Duoduo is now in charge of transporting supplies in the rear. Although he is not as glamorous as he is on the front lines, he is still a powerful figure in the region."

Chu Yunhe was cheerful and had a wide social circle. He knew almost all of his thirteen classmates from back then, except for Yu Ling'er.

"Only the squad leader's fate remains unknown."

"She is in the Demon Court, in the Demon Emperor Mo Lin's palace."

Li Yuan said calmly.

"What? She's really still alive? Is the news confirmed?"

Chu Yunhe gasped in shock, and even Shen Lian held his breath.

"I'm certain. I will definitely bring her back from this mission to the Demon Court."

"That's great."

Along the way, the three chatted and drank, occasionally sparring, as if they had returned to the time at Shenwu Academy.

During this period, Wang Shu kept his distance from them and did not deliberately get close to them. He also strictly controlled his subordinates and had little interaction with them.

At first, Li Yuan sent people to keep an eye on them, worried that they might do something sneaky on the road, but seeing how cautious he was, they became even more wary.

This man is cunning and shrewd, with a deep and calculating mind. His forbearance suggests he has grand ambitions, so it's best to be cautious.

Privately, Li Yuan exchanged opinions with Liu Hongyan, and Liu Hongyan also agreed with his thoughts on Wang Shu.

"The Wang faction has always advocated peace. Back then, their family tried to win you over but were rejected, which created an enmity between the two sides. They will never let it go easily. But now we need to put aside our grudges for the time being and unite against external forces."

Li Yuan understood Liu Hongyan's meaning: "As long as he doesn't cause trouble, I don't want to create any unnecessary complications."

More than ten days later, the mission had left the Gobi Desert and entered the mountains. The roads became increasingly difficult to travel, and their speed slowed down.

That day, as Li Yuan rode his horse through a treacherous canyon, his gaze swept across the mountain walls on both sides. He sensed a faint demonic aura and immediately glanced at Liu Hongyan.

Their eyes met, and they understood each other perfectly.

As the group continued forward, when they reached the narrowest part of the canyon, hundreds of dark figures suddenly burst forth from both sides, their momentum fierce, and pounced down towards the group.

"kill!"

A large number of demon soldiers poured out of the canyon, blocking the way.

"There's an ambush!"

Wu Yu roared, drew his sword, and leaped into the air.

Liu Hongyan transformed into a red shadow and swept towards the rear of the group, echoing Li Yuan from the front and back.

Shen Lian silently spurred his horse forward, facing the demon soldiers. He drew his long sword and with one stroke, cleaved the demon general at the forefront, armor and all, in two.

As the battle began, Li Yuan's divine sense enveloped the entire area. He remained still, but his brows furrowed.

This group of demon soldiers came with great force, but they were led by only two demon kings. It didn't seem like they were there to rob us, but rather like they were testing us.

Or perhaps it's simply to create more disturbance for them and to show their stance.

Liu Hongyan clearly realized this as well, and also chose not to join the battle, glancing back from time to time, worried about an ambush.

The ambush came quickly and retreated just as fast.

In the short time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Chu Yunhe and his men had slaughtered them without any chance to fight back. They left behind more than a dozen corpses, turned around and ran away in a panic, disappearing without a trace.

Li Yuan frowned, confirming again and again that there were no other ambushes, but he was even more puzzled. This ambush was being carried out like a child's play.

He rode back to the group and checked on everyone. Fortunately, apart from one guard who was grazed by a stray arrow, the rest were all unharmed.

"Is Lord Wang alright?"

Out of politeness, he still greeted her.

"Thank you for your concern, Lord Li. We are all fine."

Wang Shu had a broad smile on his face.

"That's good."

Li Yuan nodded to him, then turned and walked back to the front of the line.

"Why is this battle being fought like a joke?"

Wu Yu couldn't help but curse.

"I have the same feeling. If they really wanted to take action, they wouldn't have sent so few people," Shi Yong replied.

"Damn it, they're already causing trouble before even reaching the Demon Court. Who sent them?"

Chu Yunhe cursed and swore.

"The Demon Court is a complex place with many factions. Not everyone wants to end the war and make peace. It's possible that someone is deliberately trying to antagonize us."

Liu Hongyan said seriously.

"No matter who it is, we may all be being watched, and the road ahead is probably not going to be peaceful."

Li Yuan nodded, turned around and instructed everyone, "Everyone be careful, especially protect the civil officials in the delegation."

"Yes."

Everyone readily agreed.

After a brief discussion, the group continued their journey, except for Leng Ningshuang, who remained silent throughout, as if it were none of her business.

They continued on like this for several more days without incident, only occasionally sensing some prying eyes.

Soon, they entered the snow-capped mountains.

The weather changed abruptly that day. The once clear sky quickly turned gloomy, with low-hanging leaden clouds that made it hard to breathe. The cold wind, carrying fine snowflakes, stung the face like a knife.

The mountain path was already covered in snow, and we could only rely on the guide to find our way and move slowly through the heavy snow.

Li Yuan looked up at the sky and frowned slightly.

The snow came too suddenly and too fiercely, unlike any ordinary weather phenomenon. Just as we were about to remind everyone to speed up, we suddenly heard a muffled sound.

"Boom!"

At first, it sounded like thunder, but it quickly grew louder and louder, and it was continuous, which was terrifying.

Immediately afterwards, the earth began to tremble violently.

"It's an avalanche!" the guide roared. "Run!"

avalanche?

Li Yuan was shocked. The cultivators could escape by riding the wind, but what about the civil officials in the group?