Chapter 60

Yinshan County, named for its location at the foot of the Yin Mountains, truly gained its fame because of one person.

This person was named Meng Chuan!

Seven years ago, the Southern Barbarians launched a large-scale invasion from the Yin Mountains, conquering three major border camps in succession, and pushed into the northern foothills of the Yin Mountains. The entire nation of Heishui was shaken, and the thirteen northern counties were in a state of panic.

The Southern Barbarians were naturally cruel and skilled at commanding demonic beasts, delighting in blood and often engaging in cannibalism or feeding humans to demonic beasts. Each time they invaded the territory of Heishui, the areas they passed through were left in ruins, with no living beings spared and rivers of blood.

If the Southern Barbarians were to break through the Yin Mountains, the thirteen northern counties would immediately turn into a living hell. Moreover, the Southern Barbarians were adept at hiding in the mountains and forests. Once they broke through the Yin Mountains, the disaster would last for more than a decade.

Every time the Southern Barbarians broke through the Yin Mountains, it was always like this.

At that time, when the news of the three major border camps being flattened by the Southern Barbarians spread, the thirteen northern counties immediately fell into chaos. Many civilians, with their families and elderly, fled south to avoid the disaster, and the entire nation of Heishui was on the verge of turmoil.

At that time, a wandering knight named Meng Chuan gathered 800 warriors and 3,000 remnants of the army, and fought a bloody battle for seven days and nights at the Yinshan Gorge, the only route the Southern Barbarians could take to break through the Yin Mountains.

With 800 warriors and 3,000 remnants of the army, they managed to hold out for seven days and nights against the encirclement of 100,000 Southern Barbarians. Among the 100,000 Southern Barbarians, there were over a hundred Spirit Practitioners, more than ten Spirit Masters, and it was said that there was even a Spirit Venerable present.

The Spirit Practitioners of the Southern Barbarians had cultivation levels equivalent to the Spirit Induction stage of warriors, while the Spirit Masters were equivalent to the Spirit Transformation stage of warriors.

In addition, the Spirit Practitioners of the Southern Barbarians could command human-level demonic beasts, and powerful Spirit Masters could even command earth-level demonic beasts.

Such a terrifying lineup almost required the entire nation of Heishui to respond. With the 800 warriors and 3,000 remnants of the army gathered by Meng Chuan, it was impossible to withstand the attack.

However, Meng Chuan managed to hold them back.

It was said that by the sixth day, all 800 warriors and 3,000 remnants of the army gathered by Meng Chuan had died, leaving only Meng Chuan himself.

Even so, Meng Chuan, driven by his passion, held back the Southern Barbarians for another night, until the Heishui reinforcements arrived.

It was said that when the Heishui reinforcements arrived, Meng Chuan stood at the entrance of the Yinshan Gorge, holding his sword, while the gorge was filled with thousands of Southern Barbarian troops.

However, none of the thousands of Southern Barbarian troops dared to take a step forward, all of them trembling with fear!

Because within a thousand meters in front of Meng Chuan, there were nearly a hundred exquisitely dressed Southern Barbarian corpses and over a hundred demonic beast corpses scattered around.

These corpses were all the elite of the Southern Barbarians—Southern Barbarian Spirit Practitioners and Southern Barbarian Spirit Masters.

Seeing the reinforcements arrive, Meng Chuan turned his head slightly and smiled. In that moment, his body turned to ashes, and only a beam of spiritual light flew out from his body, heading straight for Yinshan County.

At that time, the Heishui reinforcements launched a massive counterattack, and the Southern Barbarian troops, like startled birds, were pursued for a thousand miles, suffering heavy casualties, and were completely driven back beyond the Yin Mountains.

It was said that this battle left the Southern Barbarians without their elite forces, and the most direct benefit was that the thirteen northern counties of Heishui had been very peaceful in recent years.

The Yin Mountains, which had been plagued by constant warfare, had not seen a major conflict in recent years, and the border troops were even starting to complain about the lack of action.

Peace, so much peace that even military achievements were hard to come by.

This battle saved the thirteen northern counties from a great disaster and prevented a national catastrophe for Heishui. This battle also made Meng Chuan's name known throughout the land.

This battle also made Yinshan County, a remote county near the Yin Mountains, known to the world—because Yinshan County was Meng Chuan's hometown.

Since then, Meng Chuan became a hero of the entire nation of Heishui. When Ye Zhen was around ten years old, he heard the heroic deeds of Meng Chuan and was very excited.

After this battle, the people of the thirteen northern counties, including Wuan County where Ye Zhen lived, even enshrined Meng Chuan in their family shrines. In Ye Zhen's family shrine, there was a memorial tablet for Meng Chuan.

Since then, various legends about Meng Chuan have spread, with some saying he was a reincarnation of a heavenly deity, and others saying he was the incarnation of the guardian deity of Heishui.

Ye Zhen, now, stood at the gate of Yinshan County, covered in dust.

The four large characters "Heroic Spirit Returns" above the gate of Yinshan County, even under the heavy clouds, shone brightly, as if they had a strange power that always attracted people's attention.

It was said that these four large characters "Heroic Spirit Returns" were written by the current head of Qiyun Sect, Guo Qijing, when he heard the news of Meng Chuan's death, with tears streaming down his face.

Now, seven years have passed, and these four large characters "Heroic Spirit Returns" have not faded at all, still shining brightly.

At that time, Meng Chuan was still an inner disciple of Qiyun Sect.

As for why Meng Chuan, as an inner disciple of Qiyun Sect, could hold back such a powerful enemy for seven days and nights, Ye Zhen found it hard to believe.

But seven years have passed, and the 800 heroes and 3,000 brave warriors have all turned to ashes, making it difficult to verify.

With a sense of melancholy, Ye Zhen rode into the city.

Seven years of peace have made Yinshan County quite prosperous, with bustling streets and contented faces, all of which were brought about by Meng Chuan.

From Wuan County to Yinshan County, a distance of over a thousand miles, Ye Zhen rode his silver-horned horse at a fast pace. Due to the rugged mountain roads, it took him three days to reach.

After entering the city, Ye Zhen did not rush to find the Meng family but decided to go to an inn first, wash off the dust, and then pay respects to Meng's mother.

The mother of a hero definitely deserved Ye Zhen's respect.

He casually entered a somewhat grandiose tavern, threw a ten-tael silver ingot, and the waiter quickly led Ye Zhen to a high-class room. Soon, hot water was delivered.

After a comfortable hot bath, washing off the dust, and using a sharp knife to shave the new beard that had grown on his upper lip, the seventeen-year-old Ye Zhen, who had quietly grown a beard, was now clean and tidy.

Dressed in new clothes, Ye Zhen entered the second floor of the tavern, ordered a large table of food and drink, and after a satisfying meal, he snapped his fingers to call the waiter.

"Waiter, I have a question. How do I get to the old lady Meng's house?"

"The old lady Meng's house?" The waiter was taken aback for a moment and then said, "I don't know."

This answer also made Ye Zhen pause, and the silver he had taken out to reward the waiter remained in his hand. Ye Zhen had planned to reward the waiter for showing him the way, but he didn't expect the answer to be "I don't know."

Liao Jiaoxi had said that within Yinshan County, anyone asked about the old lady Meng's address would know.

"Even you don't know the old lady Meng's house?"

"I don't know!" The waiter shook his head like a rattle drum and added, "There are many people surnamed Meng in Yinshan County, and there are many old ladies Meng."

Ye Zhen's brows furrowed, "You must know about the great hero Meng Chuan, right? Where is the great hero's hometown?"

"The great hero Meng Chuan, I definitely know. But I don't know where his hometown is." As Ye Zhen stared at the waiter, he noticed a flash of something strange in the waiter's eyes.

Just as Ye Zhen was about to ask more, the waiter responded and quickly left.

"This shouldn't be the case!"

Ye Zhen felt that perhaps the waiter was new or too young, and the older generation would definitely know about the Meng family's old house.

"Boss, you are a local, right? I see you've been doing business here for quite a while."

"Sir, you have a keen eye. I've been running this shop for fourteen years." The boss gave Ye Zhen a thumbs up.

"That's great. Boss, I have a question to ask you." After inquiring about the boss's situation, Ye Zhen asked.

"Sir, what do you need to know?"

"Here's the thing, I want to visit the old lady Meng and need to know where the Meng family's old house is." Ye Zhen asked.

At the end, Ye Zhen added, "The old house of the great hero Meng Chuan."

Upon hearing Ye Zhen's question, the boss's face changed abruptly, and he immediately waved his hands, saying, "Sir, you should ask someone else. I really don't know!"

"Seven years ago, the great hero Meng Chuan shed his blood at the Yin Mountains, and the first prince of the empire personally visited Yinshan County to comfort the old lady Meng. You, a local, don't know about this? Tell me, what's going on."

Feeling something was wrong, Ye Zhen suddenly grabbed the boss by the neck and lifted him up, angrily demanding an answer.

"Sir, sir, I... I really don't know... I really don't know..."

Just as the boss was being choked by Ye Zhen, four martial artists in tight-fitting clothes stomped up the stairs. The boss's eyes lit up, as if he had seen a savior.

"Sir, ask those gentlemen. They are the city patrol officers, who walk the streets every day. They definitely know, they definitely know what you're asking."

Ye Zhen looked at the boss suspiciously, feeling something was off, but the boss was right. The city patrol officers of Yinshan County would most likely know about this. Letting go of the boss, Ye Zhen went straight to them.

"Gentlemen, according to the boss, you are the city patrol officers and are very familiar with the situation in Yinshan County. I have a question to ask."

The four men in official uniforms had bulging temples and sharp eyes, with a faint crystalline light in them. From this, Ye Zhen estimated that their cultivation levels had reached the fifth level of Blood Cultivation.

Ye Zhen was somewhat surprised. A fifth-level Blood Cultivation practitioner could at least be a centurion or even a chiliarch in the army. Why would they be city patrol officers, and there were four of them?

"Correct!" The leading man looked Ye Zhen up and down and nodded.

"Old lady Meng, the Meng family's old house, the old house of the great hero Meng Chuan. Gentlemen, can you tell me where it is?"

As soon as Ye Zhen said this, the faces of the four city patrol officers changed. They did not answer Ye Zhen's question but exchanged glances with each other.

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PS: I'm sorry for yesterday. I didn't expect it to take two days, as I only had one day's worth of drafts prepared. I owe you two chapters, and I will make up for them over the next two days.

That means I will update three times today and tomorrow.

Finally, I need to ask for some recommendation votes for the new week.

The recommendation votes today are really poor.

Please be kind!

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