Chapter 85: North Tower

Chapter 85: North Tower

When the time was right, they left the salt mines and headed northeast to the Zun River. After rafting east, they turned into one of the main tributaries that headed almost directly north.

At one point on the journey upstream, they could see a mountain off to the west that was now the tomb of Li Buwei, the Timeless Master. The mountain loomed on the horizon for an entire day, casting a somber mood upon the leaders of the sect.

Eventually, the waters grew too shallow, and they disembarked, hiking through the trees and low lying foothills of Mount Hai’an until they were no more than a day’s walk from the Southern Fei River.

That was where they holed up, in some caves high on the cliffs of the north side of Mount Hai’an. Mao Yun and Tie Gangwen were the only ones to proceed onward. Mao Yun went north to Yu Zhing to lead the forces from there, while Tie Gangwen went east to Xuanlu. The appointed time had already been set for the departures from Yu Zhing, Xuanlu and Mount Hai’an. If the timing was right, the entire sect would reunite just below Heart’s Ridge.

Anxiety mounted with each day that went by. It was as if everyone could sense the friends and family being held captive only a few short days away on Heart’s Ridge.

Time went by both at a crawl and a flash. On the appointed day, they left the cliff caves and marched north, crossing over the Southern Fei River and then heading northeast. Their timing was perfect, and in the exact moment that they crossed the river, a large group of people appeared on the road from the southeast, led by Mao Yun.

For most of them, it was their first time seeing Bao and Sunan in almost two decades, making it a joyous and exciting reunion. For others, it was their first time to ever even lay eyes on Bao and Sunan. To them, the legendary Dragon Sovereign and Phoenix Sovereign were almost like gods whose stories they had heard recounted, sung, and even acted out. Despite the solemnity of the occasion, and the dire circumstances, it was still an amazing and almost surreal experience for everyone.

The formalities were kept to a minimum, and then they headed north.

Soon, Hearts Ridge rose up ahead, as well as the fortress prison built atop it.

Even as Sunan and Bao led the group north, Tie Gangwen appeared leading the rest of the sect south.

It was on the shore of the Yao Yun Sea, right at the base of the Banyan Mountains, that the Dragon-Phoenix Sect assembled in full for the first time in many years.

Dragon Sovereign Sunan and Phoenix Sovereign Bao stood at the head of the sect, flanked by Dragon General Tie Gangwen and Phoenix General Mao Yun. Behind them were arrayed the seven Dragon Lords and the seven Claws of the Phoenix leading the fourteen halls.

When in hiding in Xuanlu and Yu Zhing, the various members of the sect had worn random and nondescript clothing. But here, they donned their official robes. The Dragon Division was clad in gold, and the Phoenix Division in white. It was a splendid and grand sight as they stood in formation, the sun shining down on them, the sea wind at their back.

Off to the side was Sun Mai with his people, and next to them were Blackleaf and his red-robed Hen-Shi Sect disciples, as well as other famous martial artists such as Kind Devil Fuling with his flying crocodiles.

After everyone was assembled and they were prepared to march, Bao put her Phoenix Crown on her head, and Sunan pulled out his Wind Sabre, although he kept it sheathed. No one else could sense it, but as soon as the two objects were out in the open near each other, a resonance formed between them. To Bao and Sunan, it felt like tiny vibrations tugging between the two objects. During their many years in Nangu, they had experimented with the crown and the sabre, and knew how powerful they could be when used in unison. Now was the perfect time to draw upon that power.

Bao hoped that by using her Phoenix Crown, they would be able to simply walk into Heart’s Ridge Prison. But that wasn’t the only plan. Despite the sect having been disbanded for quite some time, over the years, Dragon Lord Sima Zikang had relentlessly trained the sect in their formations, and at the moment, they were ready for virtually any outcome.

If troops came out to meet them with spears and swords, they would use the Foxes in the Thicket formation. If arrows were loosed upon them, it would be Tiger Exploits the Boulder. If they needed to scale the outer walls, the sect’s top Qinggong experts would be utilized in Cloud of Bats. And those were only a few of the tricks Sima Zikang had up his sleeve.

The Dragon-Phoenix Sect was ready. They had come to take back their friends and family. And nothing could stop them.

**

Heart’s Ridge Prison was a hulking structure whose architecture was not the type normally seen in Qi Xien. It had four towers, one in each corner of the prison, all of which were facing in the cardinal directions.

The north tower was the tallest of the group, and the room at the very top of that tower was set aside for use by the prison warden.

At the moment, the warden was in that tower, but he wasn’t seated behind his table like he normally would be. That spot was occupied by none other than Bone General Geng Long, who was currently fiddling with four jade pendants laid out in front of him.

“Bone General, sir,” the warden said, “the Dragon-Phoenix Sect is assembling down below.”

Geng Long looked up. “Hm? Oh. Yes, as expected.”

“Er, Bone General, it’s quite a large group. Close to ten thousand from the look of it.”

“Yes. The largest sect in the land now that I slaughtered that bitch Li Buwei.”

The warden cleared his throat. “Sir, even with the Bone Slicers you brought, we don’t even have two thousand men in the prison. This structure was designed to keep people inside, not the other way around….”

“Yes yes. Have the men put up a good fight.” He waved his hand dismissively. “Be off with you. Bring me updates as necessary.”

As the warden hurried off, a slightly confused expression on his face, Geng Long picked up one of the jade pendants and held it up closer to his face. It seemed ancient, and one could imagine how the faded whitish-green had once been as vibrant as a field of fresh grass in spring. But now it was faded and dull, and there were even dark spots on the surface that looked like rot.

A creature was carved on the surface of the pendant, something that looked like half-snake, half-dragon, with two claws and a long tail.

“Flood dragon….” Geng Long murmured. “I really can’t wait to see what you look like.” A twisted smile slowly spread out across his face.

**

Just as the warden had said, the Heart’s Ridge Prison had not been designed with a siege in mind. There was no narrow path leading up to its main gate, nor any impressive barbicans or ramparts.

The Dragon-Phoenix Sect marched up the slope leading to the fortress, stopping just out of bowshot.

Then Bao, Sunan, Tie Gangwen, and Mao Yun approached the gate on foot.

As they walked out in front the sect, the gate opened and a young man in a suit of armor walked out, flanked by five soldiers. All of them looked very nervous, but were trying to put on a front of confidence.

The two groups stopped a few meters apart, whereupon the young man in armor frowned and said, “I am Lieutenant Xue Lihu of the Heart’s--”

Bao was in no mood for chatter.

“We are the Dragon-Phoenix Sect,” she interrupted. “Open the gates and let us in immediately.”

Lieutenant Xue’s eyes widened for a brief moment, and then he nodded. “We’ll open the gates right away.” Turning on his heel, he added, “Should we notify Bone General Geng that you’re here?”

Suddenly all the veins in Bao’s body ignited with fury. “What did you just say?”

Lieutenant Xue stopped in his tracks. “Ma’am?”

“Bone General Geng Long is here?”

“Why yes, ma’am. He arrived only a few days ago for an inspection.”

Bao’s eyes flickered with a cold light. After exchanging a glance with Sunan, she said, “Take me to him.”

**

Geng Long was carefully applying some poison to a wickedly serrated knife when the door burst open and the Warden hurried into the room.

“Bone General, they’re inside already!”

Geng Long looked up. “What?!”

“I don’t know what happened. The guards just opened the gate. None of them even put up a fight!”

“Spineless cowards!”

The warden shook his head. “Bone General, there must be some magic at work. Not even your Bone Slicers at the gate did anything. They simply dropped their weapons and sat down on the ground.”

Geng Long sheathed his dagger and rose to his feet. “Dammit, what other tricks do they have that we’re not aware of? Well, it doesn’t matter. This just means things will move a bit faster than planned.”

“Sir, should we activate the Krahang Door?”

“Fool!” Geng Long bellowed. “That door is worth a thousand times more than the lives of everyone here combined! It’s to be used only after the Dragon-Phoenix Sect has been wiped out!”

**

Bao couldn’t be everywhere at once, so there was some fighting as the Dragon-Phoenix Sect spread out through Heart’s Ridge Prison. But they had numbers on their side, as well as passion, and no amount of resistance could stop them for long.

No one interfered with Bao and Sunan at all as Lieutenant Xue led them through the corridors toward the north tower of the prison. They were joined by Sun Mai, Lin Cuirou and Ma Ge.

However, after making the long climb up the tower, and oh-so-cautiously entering the room at its top, they found no trace of Geng Long or the prison warden.

“I-I-I don’t know where they are,” Lieutenant Xue stammered. “They should be here!”

“That bastard probably ran as soon as he knew we were coming,” Bao spat. “No matter. Whether he turns up now or later, I’ll kill him. Let’s get back down to the main courtyard.”

At the bottom of the tower, just as they were about to head toward the main courtyard, Lin Cuirou said, “Dragon Sovereign, according to my man on the construction crew here, there’s a secret storage chamber not too far from here. It might contain some items we could use in our fight.”

“Sounds interesting,” Sunan replied, looking over at Bao.

She nodded. “You go with Lin Cuirou, I’ll take charge of the evacuation.”

Lin Cuirou turned and headed down the corridor in the opposite direction, a slight smile on his face. Sunan hurried after him.