IDWBE -Chapter 165 Difficult March

Lin Yi woke up while the stars were still in the sky.

He had been woken up—by noise.

Looking at Mingyue and Zixia rummaging through boxes and packing, Lin Yi sighed helplessly. “Didn’t I already say? Travel light, don’t bring anything. Why are you making such a fuss again?”

He had warned them before, fearing they would pack dozens of large trunks and make it feel like a leisurely trip!

It wasn’t just the trouble—it also wasted manpower and wagons, which could have carried more supplies instead.

Mingyue smiled and said, “Prince, I thought about it. The farther south we go, the hotter the weather gets. We can’t not bring anything.”

“This is war, not a trip,”

Lin Yi said sternly. “Stop fussing. That’s it. Also, you two will stay behind and guard the house. No following me.”

“Prince,”

Mingyue smiled, “Zixia and I are already at the peak of the seventh rank. We can take care of ourselves; you don’t need to worry.”

“No, you misunderstand. I’m not worried about you—I’m worried about others,”

Lin Yi waved a finger. “If you two hang around there, everyone will be distracted by you. Who will focus on the battle? This affects morale! So, behave yourselves. Stay home and wait for me to return victorious on my white donkey.”

Riding a donkey didn’t make him any less of a prince.

“Prince,” Mingyue smiled, “We can disguise ourselves if needed.”

“Forget it. It’s decided. No more nonsense,”

Lin Yi stood and said to Xiao Xizi behind him, “If they dare follow, it’s on you.”

Then he left without looking back.

Xiao Xizi looked innocent. “Who did I offend?”

He turned to Mingyue and Zixia, bowing. “Sisters, you heard the Prince. Don’t put me in a tough spot.”

Mingyue pushed him away, grinning. “Xiao Xizi, won’t be three days without chaos in the house?”

Xiao Xizi stepped back, pleading. “Please spare me, Sisters. This is the Prince’s order.”

Zixia smiled. “Move aside, Xiao Xizi. We’ll sneak along the back. The Prince won’t even know. You won’t get blamed.”

“Really?”

A sinister voice suddenly appeared near them.

“Captain.”

Mingyue and Zixia’s faces changed.

They had no idea when the captain had returned from seclusion.

“You’ve got some nerve,”

Hong Ying stepped over the threshold, hands behind his back, and snorted coldly. “I’ve only been gone for a month, and you’re already lawless, ignoring the Prince’s orders?”

Mingyue hesitated, then bravely said, “Captain, we are concerned for the Prince. The journey is long. How can he not have someone to look after him?”

“Hmph,” Hong Ying said expressionlessly, “That’s not your excuse to disobey the Prince. This is the only time—don’t make it a habit. Listen to the Prince and stay home.”

Zixia couldn’t help but ask, “Then who will look after the Prince?”

Hong Ying said, “Do you think I’m helpless?”

Mingyue and Zixia lowered their heads. When Hong Ying walked away, they looked at each other, silently acknowledging that the captain had changed.

Lin Yi yawned at the gate and happily accepted the tea cup Hong Ying handed him. Sipping, he said, “Perfect timing. Otherwise, I’d have gone far already.”

“My crime, Prince.”

Hong Ying smiled obediently.

Consort Wen looked at Hong Ying in surprise. After he helped Lin Yi onto the carriage, she sighed, “I am no match for you anymore. I didn’t expect your cultivation to advance so quickly.”

“Consort Wen, you are too polite,” Hong Ying’s tone was calm, but his pride was clear. “My skill still has a long way to go.”

Ye Qiu beside him was equally astonished.

How much time had passed for this eunuch to surpass that old witch?

“Let’s go.”

Sun Yi, chief instructor, patted Ye Qiu, mounted the carriage, and held the reins. The army began moving.

This time, there was no cheering crowd lining the streets.

Almost all of Baiyun City had mobilized; few remained behind.

Lin Yi lay on the soft cushions, and the smooth road allowed him to sleep until the sun was high.

Stretching on the carriage, looking at the endless sea of soldiers ahead and behind, he felt a surge of pride!

After ten days, the army left Sanhe’s cement roads.

From then on, the path was cleared and guided by local Lian and Li tribes.

Mountains stretched endlessly, dense foliage blocked the sky.

Even though craftsmen had cleared the paths and built temporary bridges, the terrain was still rugged and steep.

Where passage was impossible, people carried loads on their shoulders.

Looking down, Baiyun clouds filled the view. Surrounded by peaks and mist, Lin Yi had to abandon the comfort of a carriage and ride a donkey.

Careful not to fall into a bottomless chasm, he understood what a difficult march truly meant.

After eight more days, he finally caught up with the craftsmen and the laborers and cavalry who had left a day earlier.

“Prince,” Bian Jing personally welcomed Lin Yi into a cave where the craftsmen were staying and handed him a cup of hot tea. “The conditions are simple. Please don’t mind.”

“Mind? Not at all,”

Sweating from the hot, humid weather, he dared not remove his outer shirt. Surrounded by dense forest and swarming insects, clothes felt safer. He sipped the tea and wiped his brow. “How did the Ayu army come through these mountains?”

The mountains were vast, peaks jagged, with countless connected ravines—paths impassable, no different from a primeval forest.

Bian Jing smiled. “That’s why the Ayu army has only passed Baiyun City once in recent years. At most, they occasionally crossed the Ten-Thousand Mountains to harass local Qian tribes.”

Lin Yi sighed.

At night, fires and explosives worked nonstop.

Thousands of craftsmen and tens of thousands of laborers rotated between rest and clearing paths, blasting, and building bridges.

Lin Yi watched anxiously—one forest fire and sixty to seventy thousand people could be roasted alive!

Against nature’s might, humans were insignificant.

Fortunately, nothing happened that night.

But smoke everywhere made him cough, and he slept poorly.

He stayed at the rear, trailing the main army.

The fires created more exposed areas, blackened and smoking. Occasionally, roasted wild animals littered the path.

The edible ones had long been eaten.

“This is truly an ecological disaster,” Lin Yi muttered, though he didn’t dwell on it—now was not the time for complaints.

By evening, it rained.

Following Hong Ying’s advice, Lin Yi stayed put for a day.

The next day, halfway through, they found newly repaired roads washed away by landslides.

Lin Yi had to rest another day while laborers repaired the roads.

Two days later, after descending a mountain, they finally reached a plain.

He saw a small patch of rice fields, but the weeds were taller and denser than the rice.

Curious, Lin Yi plucked some rice grains—they were dry and hollow, with no juice.

Now he understood why these tribes could starve even with fertile land stretching for miles.

“Are these Qian tribes?”

“Prince, these are also my Lian brothers!”

Kang Bao, the Lian leader who had once held craftsmen hostage for ransom, now led 300 tribesmen to join Baiyun City’s army.

The provincial administration promised them freedom to enter Baiyun City after the campaign.

Meanwhile, Wang Xing led a team, followed by a group of men and women covered in colorful paint.

He pointed to a strong man. “Prince, this is the Lian leader Chen Dashui.”

Kang Bao approached and hugged Chen Dashui. They spoke rapidly in a language no one else understood.

Kang Bao turned to Lin Yi. “Prince, Chen Dashui says, if you provide household stipends, they will bring five thousand capable fighters to assist you!”

“Household stipends?”

Lin Yi laughed. “You are from Sanhe. Whether you help me or not, you will have household stipends. That’s not a condition.”

Kang Bao spoke to Chen Dashui again, then returned. “They also want to enter Baiyun City to learn martial arts.”

Lin Yi laughed. “That’s it?”

Kang Bao nodded emphatically. “Prince, no other requests.”

Lin Yi had no reason to refuse.

After days of mountain travel, he intended to rest in the Lian tribe, but learning they lived up the mountain and he’d need to backtrack, he decided to stay put instead.

“Where is the Ayu army now?”

Lin Yi asked Wang Xing.

Wang Xing said, “Prince, yesterday’s report: 3,000 Ayu vanguard troops clashed with nearby Qian tribes. Some fled into the mountains, others joined Commander Chen Xinluo’s cavalry and agreed to guide him.”

Lin Yi nodded. “Only three thousand? What about the rest?”

“Along with the 3,000 vanguard are over 5,000 laborers. The Ayu people are fearless—even their laborers are formidable. Fierce barbarians, that’s why.”

“How is the road ahead? Easy to travel?”

Lin Yi finally removed his shirt, bare-chested.

Wang Xing laughed. “Prince, the road ahead is flat. Except for some marshes, it’s not as difficult as before.”

“That’s good.”

Lin Yi exhaled in relief.

This wasn’t war—it was climbing Mount Everest!