Having cultivated myself into an immortal, all I want to do is raise female disciples.

If they retreat, the Guardian Army will not suffer any losses. It should take three or four days to evacuate the innocent people from Broken Wood City, thus turning Broken Wood City into a ghost town.

There will be no casualties.

But Broken Wood City... will fall into the hands of the Demon Dynasty.

Just as Zhang Ruoxue and Gu Xingzhuo were racking their brains for a solution, a clear voice suddenly rang out:

"It seems General Fang is still hesitant."

The speaker was a young man who stepped down from above, one step at a time, on the translucent bricks, and entered the purple array.

He looked to be no more than twenty years old, a little younger than Fang Yan, with silver, shoulder-length hair, fair skin, and a rather handsome face.

He wore silver military armor similar to but different from Fang Yan's, with a light and non-bulky style, and he was not wearing a helmet when he appeared in front of the three.

Fang Yan narrowed his eyes, looking at the silver-haired youth who was slowly walking towards him with a complicated expression.

"Lieutenant Lü, what brings you here?"

The young man surnamed Lü gazed into the distance at the bubbling, blood-red sea of ​​blood, his expression solemn: "Naturally, I have important matters to discuss with General Fang."

"If what you said earlier is true, I think we don't need to continue this conversation."

A chilling glint flashed in the young man's eyes. He stared intently at Fang Yan without replying, instead turning his gaze to Zhang Ruoxue and Gu Xingzhuo.

He seemed puzzled by Zhang Ruoxue's peculiar Taoist robe, frowned, and asked in a deep voice, "Who are these two people? I don't recall having anyone like them in my Guardian Army."

"They are my guests." Fang Yan stepped forward, shielding Zhang Ruoxue and the other person. "They are reinforcements from Sansang City, and also my friends."

"Sansang City, ah..."

The young man sneered, glancing at Zhang Ruoxue with amusement: "If we really follow General Fang's strategy, what difference does it make whether the cultivators from Sansang City come or not?"

"Besides... you've all seen that sea, and you should know what that means. Even if we escape this time, what about next time? If we want to take back Broken Wood City in the future, are we going to beg the Demon Dynasty to withdraw from Broken Wood City?"

indeed.

If we were to retreat now, not to mention what would happen if we were to retake Brokenwood City later—the fact that Brokenwood City had fallen into the hands of the Demon Dynasty was enough to be fatal.

Once Broken Wood City falls, the demonic cultivators of the Demon Dynasty will launch a massive invasion... and the Lantian Empire will be like a small hole has been opened, from which the forces of the Demon Dynasty will pour in madly.

This was undoubtedly an extremely serious blow to the empire.

Gu Xingzhuo had naturally considered these things as well. His expression remained unchanged as he calmly asked, "So what do you mean?"

Faced with Gu Xingzhuo's question, the young man looked at Fang Yan, whose expression was heavy and somewhat gloomy.

He puffed out his chest with confidence and said in a very assertive voice, "We have no choice, General Fang... As long as we push the front line forward and move it outside the range of the Four Blood Purgatory, even if the Demon Dynasty attacks, we can naturally fight them without restraint."

"I've said it many times—" Fang Yan looked at him with dissatisfaction and said coldly, "Your approach is too extreme. During the shift of the battle line, we must pass through the territory ruled by the Demon Dynasty. If we really want to advance the battle line, we must at least leave Broken Wood City and advance fifty miles towards the Demon Dynasty. Have you thought about how many demon cultivators we will encounter along the way?"

"Don't think of the Demon Dynasty as too stupid—Deputy Officer Lü."

The young man grinned and replied, enunciating each word clearly:

"Don't underestimate the Hulan Army—General Fang."

……

Their gazes clashed fiercely in mid-air, and for a moment, the air seemed to be filled with an inexplicable sense of tension.

In the end, Fang Yan seemed unwilling to provoke a conflict with the person in front of him, so he shook his head and said, "I will not agree to your approach, Lieutenant Lü."

"You've just won too many battles and are now afraid of losing."

The young man stared at Fang Yan with a dissatisfied expression, his tone tinged with resentment: "Although you are a general, you can't see reality at all, you're timid and cowardly... When you were a general charging into battle, you weren't like this, only able to run away in fear."

“That’s because I was a soldier before, and now I’m a general. The position is different, and the way I think and act is different.” Fang Yan calmly looked at his adjutant and said indifferently, “I am a general, so naturally I have to prioritize the overall situation. We still haven’t figured out how many troops the Demon Dynasty is hiding. If we force our way in, we will only be defeated due to insufficient intelligence. For the Demon Dynasty, it would be like us going there to our deaths.”

"That's why the Demon Dynasty thought we would only defend or retreat. Launching an attack now is a surprise move that they won't be able to react to."

"What if they realize what's happening, or what if they have far more troops than us? The risk is too great."

"So, are we just going to run away like a piece of trash?"

"This is for the greater good. If you go and never come back, so many brothers of the Guardian Army will have died, and Broken Wood City will not be able to be saved!"

"If we succeed, Brokenwood City can be saved."

"The odds are too low. We have too little intelligence on the Demon Dynasty. The chances of a blind raid are pitifully low."

"But we have to fight, this is our last chance!"

……

The two stood opposite each other, staring at one another.

The young man surnamed Lü had an aggressive demeanor, while Fang Yan remained calm and composed.

The two suddenly fell silent. Then, the young man, who was acting as the adjutant, pursed his lips, turned around, and stepped onto the semi-transparent jade steps again, slowly walking away.

Before disappearing from their sight, he glanced at Fang Yan and left a message.

"Fang Yan, you have disappointed me greatly."

After speaking, he said no more and left with heavy steps.

After he disappeared from sight—

Fang Yan, whose face had been gloomy, finally breathed a heavy sigh of relief, then turned to Zhang Ruoxue and the other person with a bitter expression: "I'm sorry, you must have found this amusing."

"That's not true." Zhang Ruoxue waved her hand, indicating that she didn't care about such things.

Gu Xingzhuo, meanwhile, gazed thoughtfully in the direction the young man had departed.

Fang Yan gave a wry smile and changed the subject: "Let's go back first. There are still some things to do in Broken Wood City. I'll tell you in detail when we get back to the Council Hall."

Upon hearing this, Gu Xingzhuo seemed about to speak, but after a moment's thought, he remained silent.

He simply nodded and said:

"Then I'll have to trouble General Fang."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Is it too late for me to say Merry Christmas now?

15. Solution

In fact, Zhang Ruoxue quite admired the current Yuan Yan... oh no, Fang Yan.

At least in the short term, she couldn't think of a way to perfectly solve the Four Blood Purgatory, which meant that this Protector of the Nation was likely to suffer a major defeat in his life. Even so, he was still able to introduce some of the situation of Broken Wood City to himself and Gu Xingzhuo without changing his expression.

—Although these are all not very good situations.

The current state of Shattered Wood City is like a critically ill person who is still clinging to life. If anything goes wrong, he will probably become a vegetable, if not die.

The streets were filled with wounded people staggering along, and the medicine shops were already in short supply. Broken Wood City was located on the border of the empire, nearly a hundred miles away from the nearest city, Sansang City. It was not easy to get a large number of reinforcements, not to mention that no one could guarantee that they would be intercepted by demonic cultivators on the way.

"The situation is bad in every sense of the word."

Sitting in the room Fang Yan used to rest, Zhang Ruoxue, with a stern face and one hand supporting her chin, sighed, "To be able to hold on until now in this situation, Fang Yan is indeed much more capable than before..."

"It is indeed very difficult, and even now he seems to be thinking about how to escape from the city and win."

It is clear that Gu Xingzhuo has a high opinion of Fang Yan.

In fact, after briefly introducing the situation in Broken Wood City and settling the two into his room, Fang Yan returned to the council hall. It seemed that he also summoned other cultivators from Sansang City to discuss countermeasures with them.

As a general, he naturally could not want to lose a battle, especially one where the soldiers fled in such a disheveled manner, abandoning the city and deserting like deserters. This was undoubtedly a great insult to the soldiers.

So he's still holding on, trying to find a solution.

But he doesn't have much time left. Evacuation also takes time. If he can't reach a perfect conclusion in the next few days, he'll probably have no choice but to order a retreat.

Even a little imagination can convey the immense pressure weighing on this national protector general at this very moment.

"So much time has passed, everyone has changed..." Zhang Ruoxue slowly took out the wine gourd from her waist, filled it with wine, and looked at the swaying liquid. Suddenly, she thought of someone: "If the teacher were here, he might come up with some strange and wonderful way to solve the problem..."

“Yes.” Gu Xingzhuo echoed with a faint smile. He was quite familiar with Yun Ping’s way of doing things. “As for the teacher, there will definitely be a way to solve it—but what method he will use is unknown.”

Looking back at the old rogue's methods, they were all stranger and more frightening than the last. Sometimes he would startle everyone, and other times he would act like a lunatic, flirting around. In short, he was never serious.

But now...

As if thinking of someone who was no longer there, Zhang Ruoxue lowered her eyelids slightly, took a sip of wine, letting the hot, intensely flavorful liquid linger in her mouth, and then swallowed it in one gulp.

Feeling a slightly burning warmth flow from my throat into my stomach, the intoxicating alcohol slowly evaporates over time.

A hint of infatuation filled her eyes. She took a deep breath and murmured softly, "If only the others were here..."

Lei Yu Sect is not her final destination. The village where she grew up was slaughtered and burned to the ground by demonic cultivators, and she can't go back to the courtyard house for the time being...

Zhang Ruoxue clenched the elixir hanging around her neck, her expression complex.

Even Xiaohan is gone.

For some reason, she suddenly felt as if she had been abandoned by the world, as if the concept of belonging did not exist. Like the drifting clouds in the sky, she was always at risk of being blown to pieces by a violent hurricane and scattered throughout the world.

Seeing the change in Zhang Ruoxue's emotions, Gu Xingzhuo lowered his head thoughtfully, staring at Zhang Ruoxue's rather heroic profile. After a moment's thought, he broke the silence.

"Junior Sister Ruoxue... must be a very courageous person."

"what?"

Gu Xingzhuo's sudden remark left Zhang Ruoxue somewhat confused: "What do you mean?"

“During the Great Wilderness Heavenly Flame Trial, I heard you tell a lot about yourself, including your brother, the village, the Thunder Feather Sect, and many, many more.”

"I feel... a little envious of your courage."

Zhang Ruoxue scratched her face, still looking puzzled: "Envious?"

"Because my teacher said I was a coward, especially when it came to matters of life and death."

That's all for now.

Gu Xingzhuo's expression also became much more complicated. His usually cold face rarely showed such an indescribable expression; most of the time, it should have been stiff.

He reached out and pushed the wine glass in front of him towards Zhang Ruoxue, his gaze silently fixed on the wine gourd in the girl's hand.

His intention was clear—he asked Zhang Ruoxue for a drink.

At the dinner table, Zhang Ruoxue was quite quick-witted. She quickly understood Gu Xingzhuo's intention, filled his glass with strong liquor, and then pushed it back to him.

But he still couldn't help but ask with concern, "Senior brother, can you drink alcohol?"