Chapter 51: The West Gate of the Main City

“Just two more miles to go,”

“Then we’ll reach the West Gate!”

Lily twitched her ears, excitement swelling in her heart.

Finally, she could reclaim her own body!

“It’s been locked away for months. Even if some old man arranged for mouse spirits to guard it…”

“There must be a smell by now…”

“So annoying! I need to take a bath as soon as I get out!”

“Better if I can soak in a bath of flower petals, hehe~”

“Don’t worry, once we reach my elder brother’s army,”

Dai Longmei urged the horse Chase Wind forward, speaking almost instinctively,

“I’ll help you wash.”

“Wh-what are you saying?”

“How… how would you help me wash my body?”

Lily’s cheeks flushed deeper.

Though she knew she shouldn’t entertain such thoughts,

She couldn’t help but imagine bathing in a pool of petals with this strong body…

“No! Don’t think about it, Lily! Don’t!”

“Ah~”

Dai Longmei wiped the dust from his face and suddenly realized he’d misspoken.

“No, Lily, I mean… uh…”

“I’ll wash you.”

“You pervert! Pe-pervert! How annoying, why say such things!”

“Ah, no, wait, I said I’ll wash you, that’s not right…”

Usually quick-witted, Dai Longmei found himself stammering over this slip.

Because, just like Lily, he had briefly imagined bathing with this lovely maiden.

On the galloping warhorse, the atmosphere between them turned ambiguous once more.

“Tsk tsk tsk~ This pair, although it’s not exactly love at first sight, it’s like a turtle eyeing a green bean~”

“Old Zhu, do you have time to come watch the show?”

“Hey, you brat~ Only that so-called Hero God is allowed to admire his precious Jade Dragon, but we can’t come watch?”

“Where’s Brother Zhao and the others?”

“Those Outer Spirits and Jade Spirit are fighting fiercely by the Jade Seal.”

“Old Zhao and King Qin are nearby, trying to mediate.”

“Helping Old Jade, or…”

“What? Help that pale-skinned guy? Are you crazy?”

“Has the Immortal Spirit gone back to his world?”

“Yeah… he said he’d come once that brat Lily enters the main city.”

The chatter, like popping corn, echoed clearly in Dai Longmei’s mind again,

This time clearer than before,

In the strange Tianyu dialect,

And with some hard-to-understand names.

But when it came to the Jade Spirit, Dai Longmei listened intently,

Silently confirming their identities.

They must be the gods within the Jade Seal realm.

One voice sounded particularly familiar.

Back when he traveled Tianyu as an escort swordsman,

He once passed through a strange world in his dreams.

There, the vast tundra was replaced by mountains, lakes, and seas,

Magnificent floating pavilions, with thousands of heroes roaming within.

In that world, he had walked shoulder to shoulder with a man in red, wielding a steel sword.

That man’s voice resembled this “Hero God.”

Lily had told him about the giant incomplete Jade Seal,

And the myriad worlds within the Void Sea.

The Jade Spirit seemed to mention the existence of gods as well…

Dai Longmei shook his head.

No more thinking about these for now!

He looked at Lily and said,

“It’s nothing, riding long makes your head dizzy.”

“Are you okay, Mei Zi? Want me to hold the reins while you rest…”

“Rest? What rest, Lil’ Lily~”

Dai Longmei looked up.

The household guards’ horse squad had already approached the grand West Gate.

---

“Stop the horses! Stop!”

Dai Longmei tightened the reins and halted Chase Wind.

They were now barely two miles from the imposing West Gate.

The asphalt road leading to the gate had been utterly destroyed by some powerful external force.

Scattered along the roadside were abandoned military vehicles, infantry fighting vehicles, and tanks.

Lily glanced at the immortal war machines worth millions of Jade Dragon coins,

Only to see the emblem of the Longteng Kingdom on them.

Some tanks bore bullet holes from stabilized tail-removed shells,

And turret pieces lying several meters away proved a fierce battle had taken place here.

But that was thousands of years ago.

“Fifth Master~ The gate is tightly shut. How do we get in?”

Long Zhu looked at the heavy alloy gate gleaming under the sun,

Clicking his tongue.

“A brother who knows tomb raiding told me the gate will open naturally when we reach it.”

Dai Longmei spurred his horse forward,

His sharp gaze sweeping over the gigantic gate like a giant.

“Mei Zi! Look at that gate…”

“Ether… it’s ether again!”

The thick gate was covered with a fine layer of white ether,

Which had prevented any rust for thousands of years.

“White ether… this city must have some connection to Zhen… my teacher…”

“I once heard him say in Dong Song that he was some kind of assault captain in the Immortal Nation Longteng…”

Lily still remembered all of Jade Spirit’s words back then, though not very clearly.

“Longteng Kingdom…”

Dai Longmei scanned the ancient battlefield before the gate.

The abandoned war machines looked even more desolate under the moonlight.

“Let’s get closer to the gate.”

Dai Longmei instructed Long Zhu and Dai You Sheng behind him.

“If the gate opens,”

“You, Uncle You Sheng, lead a team outside to support us—watch out for those white lion riders.”

“Zhu, take three squads and come in with me.”

“We find Lily’s body and get out quickly.”

“Then we head to the northern border of Longyou to join my brother and the main force!”

Before entering the West Dead Zone, Dai Longmei had learned via messenger crow that his older brother Dai Ru Song had already led 30,000 troops of the Liaodong army and 15,000 volunteers recruited from Jinchuan southward through the West Passage,

Preparing to strike the Drunken Fox army advancing on Jinzhou.

“This battle’s primary goal is to secure Miss Lily’s body and then crush the Drunken Fox bandits.”

“To secure Longyou and delay the star invaders’ advance into Liaodong.”

His brother’s words echoed in Dai Longmei’s mind.

“Lily, you’re about to get your body back. Aren’t you happy?”

To ease the tension of his mission,

Dai Longmei stroked Lily’s head.

This time, Lily didn’t protest.

“I’m happy!”

Her jade-green eyes pierced into Dai Longmei’s heart once more.

“Once I get my body back, the star invaders’ plot will fail!”

“That crazy witch and her mad followers will be the ones crying, hahaha!”

Lily laughed heartily, feigning cheerfulness,

But kept her true thoughts to herself.

“As long as I return to that beautiful maiden form, I can… sit behind you, holding…”

“Ah… don’t think about it!”

At twenty-seven, Lily was already an unmarried woman of a certain age,

But this tomb-raiding maiden, always among men, had developed feelings,

Thinking of what might happen with this handsome, strong man.

Which girl hasn’t experienced spring fever?

“Oh my~ Look how insincere you are~”

Fox, sitting behind, teased with a grin.

“You’re clearly thinking of sitting where I am, holding Mei Lang’s waist.”

Fox took the chance to hug Dai Longmei’s strong waist tighter.

“Then pressing your face against his broad back~”

“Shut up! Shut up! That’s not true!”

The tsundere Lily shouted adorably.

Dai Longmei wasn’t embarrassed,

But felt a trace of joy that Lily shared the same thoughts.

“Mei Zi…”

Just moments ago, Lily was hissing at Fox, but now she turned around,

Sensing something was wrong.

“Did you hear that?”

“Hear what?”

Dai Longmei signaled the squad to slow down,

Scanning the battlefield ruins around.

“A very fast… very fast buzzing sound,”

“Like voices talking.”

Just hearing the sound made Lily’s hairs stand on end.

“Not good!”

“Everyone, get down!”

“Rat-a-tat-tat!”

“Bang! Bang bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!”

Gunfire suddenly erupted around the ruins,

Bullets flew like a torrential downpour at the horse squad.

“Hit the ground!”

Chase Wind and Little Wolf had sensed danger earlier—animals do react faster than humans to ghost soldiers.

The two horses swiftly dropped to the side,

While Dai Longmei pressed Lily’s head down to protect her,

Pulling Fox down beside Chase Wind.

The rest of the guards quickly dismounted and took cover.

Their Liaodong warhorses, trained in battle, had already gone prone the moment the bullets came.

Hundreds of rifles and machine guns roared wildly,

Gunfire echoed recklessly before the West Gate.

Dai Longmei shielded Lily tightly, lowering his own posture.

Yet a doubt arose in his mind:

These bullets seemed fired from above,

They should be accurate, yet they kept shooting over their heads!

“Ah!”

Long Zhu screamed.

“What’s wrong, Zhu?”

“A bullet bounced off nearby and hit my leg. Damn, it hurts!”

“Didn’t expect my rusty old guns to hurt so badly.”

Long Zhu pulled out the bouncing bullet and tore off a piece of his shirt to bandage the wound.

“Bear it, don’t make a sound!”

Lily whispered to Long Zhu with telepathic sound,

“Ghost soldiers locate targets by sound. Nobody makes a noise.”

Dai Longmei quickly signaled with hand gestures to Dai You Sheng and the others,

“Stay silent, cover your breath.”

The guards obeyed immediately.

Some had been hit by bouncing bullets in the previous barrage,

But these tough men recovered quickly, acting as if nothing happened.

Their sturdy Liaodong horses were similarly resilient.

Lily saw one guard’s horse had five bullet wounds,

Yet only scraped skin and a little bleeding.

“I’ve heard Liaodong guards are like monsters,”

“Today I see even your horses are monsters!”

Dai Longmei smiled and nodded.

“Clatter, clatter!”

Urgent footsteps echoed from the ruins,

The sound of rubber-soled military boots stirring the sand.

“They’re coming.”