Hee Lingchuan threw a couple more rocks, but they met the same fate.

’Is this its way of saying it won’t receive us?’

It was true that everyone could get out after the Black Dragon died, but the passage to the Secret Realm closed at the same time.

A wave of frustration washed over Hee Chunhua.

They had gone through hell and back, losing men and high-ranking officers, and even killed a top official. Now, he had no idea how Qiansong County was going to face the wrath of the Xunzhou Governor and the Grand Commandant.

After all, Grand General Nian’s most favored son, Nian Songyu, was dead. So was Sunx Fuping, who for some unknown reason had lost his position as National Preceptor.

The Hee father and son had played no small part in their deaths.

’If this is investigated later, will the Royal Court hold us responsible?’

Just thinking about it made the future seem bleak.

"Chuan’Er, what wish did you make to the Black Dragon?"

"I didn’t even know I made a wish!" Hee Lingchuan said with a wry smile, pointing to the Official Army soldiers nearby. "You can ask them. Did I say so much as a single word to the Black Dragon?"

Those who had been on the city wall at the time, including Fuzzy Peach and Situ Han, shook their heads furiously. At such a critical moment, who would have the time or inclination to make a wish?

"Here’s a war trophy." Hee Lingchuan offered the Broken Blade. "Dad, you want it?"

Hee Chunhua replied listlessly, "You keep it." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

After more than ten heart-pounding hours, everyone was exhausted. The only good news was that the raging sandstorm outside the city had temporarily subsided, revealing the desert’s dark, somber colors once more.

Hee Chunhua ordered them to rest where they were and head back first thing in the morning.

The Great Wind Army had also left the Illusion Realm and was now patrolling Panlong Wasteland City. They ignored the humans but drove off or destroyed the Resentful Souls lingering within the city.

With these Heroic Spirits walking about, the humans actually felt much safer.

Hee Lingchuan pulled Hee Chunhua into a sheltered courtyard to rest, with Zeng Feixiong and Situ Han following automatically. Fuzzy Peach was still hesitating when he heard Hee Lingchuan call back to him, "Bring a pot in."

"Right away!" Fuzzy Peach was overjoyed. He procured a large pot from one of the Personal Guards and brought it into the courtyard.

Zeng Feixiong gave a wry smile. "Eldest Young Master, we poured all our water into the well. We can’t cook anything. I have about half a Water Bag left for you."

Hee Lingchuan crooked a finger at Situ Han. "Come on, fill this pot."

Situ Han looked slightly awkward, but as the other four watched, he took out a Water Bag and, GLUG GLUG, began pouring water into the pot.

Though the Water Bag had looked flat, the fresh water that poured out filled the pot eighty percent of the way.

Hee Lingchuan laughed. "Boss Situ was the leader of the Sand Bandits. You think it’s that easy to clean him out?"

Situ Han let out a hearty laugh. "The way you talk! I’m a proper member of the Border Army now, officially on the roster!"

So, Fuzzy Peach found some old furniture, smashed it up, and used it as firewood to boil the water.

Everyone pooled their supplies. They had plenty of rice cakes, flatbread, beef jerky, and dried fish strips, all of which they tossed into the pot. Besides salt, Fuzzy Peach had even managed to bring some pepper and chili powder.

After the vicious battle, everyone was ravenous and eager to feast.

Just then, a DRIP... DROP was heard from the eaves and the top of the wall. The sky had actually started to rain.

The rain came on fast and heavy, becoming a downpour in the blink of an eye.

Luckily, everyone was sitting under the eaves, spared the drenching. Zeng Feixiong heard the Official Army soldiers cheering outside, and his face broke into a smile. "It’s a Timely Rain! We can make it back to Black Water City alive!" With that, he stepped back into the downpour, letting the rain wash the dust from his face.

Even if the Resentful Souls and Three Corpses Insects were no longer hostile, and even with the Heroic Spirits to protect them on their way out of the Desert Zone, living people still needed water to survive. Sunx Fuping and Nian Songyu had made everyone empty their Water Bags to replenish the Pool Well, but the return journey would take more than ten days. How could they possibly survive without water?

Now that a blessed rain had fallen, solving their greatest worry, how could they not be ecstatic?

"Actually, if you think about it, it’s almost the rainy season." The rainy season in the Panlong Desert didn’t arrive until September. At this thought, Hee Chunhua paused. "By the way, what day of August is it?"

The other four men shook their heads. Time in the Secret Realm had been chaotic, and there was no frame of reference out here. Who knew how many days had passed.

’Maybe it’s already September. If so, wouldn’t this rain just be a normal occurrence?’

Hee Lingchuan instructed Fuzzy Peach to find all the intact bottles and jars to collect rainwater. Their hope of getting out of the desert depended on it.

Without needing their officers to tell them, all the Black Water City People were doing the same thing.

As Fuzzy Peach moved a heavy, eighty-jin water vat into the courtyard, Hee Chunhua told his son to take off his shirt so he could personally apply medicine.

Hee Lingchuan’s injuries weren’t severe, but they were shockingly numerous. Most were from the Hook Claws of the Silk Rope; there were two gashes on his nose alone, and a piece of flesh had been torn from the back of his hand.

Hee Lingchuan asked, already knowing the answer, "Sunx Fuping is dead?"

Although Sunx Fuping’s injuries had been healed by Nian Songyu, the Magical Power he had previously consumed wouldn’t just reappear out of thin air. He also had to fight the furious Heroic Spirits, Demon Birds, and the Black Water City Army. Hee Lingchuan didn’t think there was any way he could have survived.

"The Commander of the Great Wind Army gave him the final blow. It was the one who attacked us in front of the Divine Temple."

"And from start to finish, he never used the Society Command?"

"No." Hee Chunhua sneered. "You were right. He was stripped of his position as National Preceptor and couldn’t mobilize the state’s fortune at all. Otherwise, even with the Great Wind Army’s Heroic Spirits on the field, it would have been very difficult to deal with him."

With the state’s fortune protecting him, how could a Ghost Soul even get near? Even in a self-contained realm like the Secret Realm, that Law should have had some effect.

Without the Society Command, Sunx Fuping was merely a more powerful Mage, and their side had more than enough men to take him down.

Hee Lingchuan rubbed his hands together and chuckled slyly. "So, no last words or parting gifts?"

That greedy look of his was one Hee Chunhua knew well. "Didn’t you already get a war trophy? A gift from the Black Dragon."

"Just a Broken Blade, and I only found it thanks to my own Eyes of Golden Flame. If not for my flash of insight, we might have been swallowed one by one by the Black Dragon."

He had a point. The boy had been the number one hero of their escape. Hee Chunhua took out two spoils of war, both of them Magical Artifacts:

The Silk Rope, and the Beast Head Magic Staff.

"These are the main prizes. Which one do you want?" There were many other miscellaneous items, but he didn’t bring them out.

"A man messing with silk threads? Too girly." Hee Lingchuan chose the staff. "This beast head looks much better."

"It’s yours, then." Hee Chunhua took the Silk Rope and tied it around his own wrist.

When not in use, the Beast Head Magic Staff would transform into a short club, about a foot long, making it easy to carry. As Hee Lingchuan toyed with the club, he asked, "Sunx Fuping had both skill and cunning, so why was he stripped of his position as National Preceptor?"

If they hadn’t been so incredibly lucky, he, his father, and the Black Water City Army would never have escaped Sunx Fuping’s schemes. They all would have become sacrificial offerings.

"It seems many things have changed in the Capital City. Damn this poor intelligence flow, we still can’t get any news from the central and eastern regions," Hee Chunhua sighed. Without firsthand intelligence, they had no chance of advancing eastward, no matter how strong their army was.

Situ Han couldn’t help but interject, "But how could the Black Dragon be Zhong Shengguang? It’s unbelievable."