Chapter 4, the role interchange between the protagonists and antagonists

Hiding well in the tree, Zhao Ran held his breath and listened intently. He could only hear the shouts and cries gradually cease, and he knew that the battle was likely coming to an end. Considering that the summer troops were almost twice his own strength, it was probable that the Ming army and the forces involved had over a ninety percent chance of defeat.

The bloodthirstiness of the Ming army and the soldiers subdued Zhao Ran, and in that moment, he could not help but have the thought of rushing forward to fight. However, the innate ability of the time traveler to assess the situation quickly suppressed this thought—more soldiers from the Xia army surged forth from the opposite side.

Zhao Ran was dumbfounded, a surge of blood rushing to his head. He crawled out using all four limbs and dashed in the direction the Taoist had left, but after a few steps, he realized that no matter what, he could not catch up. He then shouted at the top of his lungs: "Immortal, please wait! Immortal, hold on a moment! Immortal! ... ... Help! ... ... Someone is going to die! ... ... "

Zhao Ran turned around and began to run backward, gradually leaving the small path in the mountains, specifically climbing up the slope where there was no road. To increase his speed, he simply threw away the horizontal sword—this thing was too cumbersome and hindered his movement; to run fast, he had to travel light

Zhao Ran temporarily did not have the time to carefully examine the items in the rope, so he tied the rope around his waist, replacing the tattered waist cord, and then went to remove the underpants from the corpse once again

In the midst of uncertainty, a Taoist priest appeared at the end of the mountain path. He appeared to be in his thirties or forties, dressed in a blue robe with flowing sleeves. In the blink of an eye, he arrived at this spot. The Taoist priest glanced around at the corpses scattered on the ground, then with a slight movement, he swiftly passed by Zhao Ran in an instant, coming and going with remarkable speed. When Zhao Ran peered again, he could only see the back of the Taoist priest.

Cautiously sliding down the slope, Zhao Ran finally arrived at the edge of the mountain path. Seeing that no one was around, he moved step by step back to the place where he had just fought with Xia Bing. The mountain path was strewn with corpses, both of the Ming army and Xia Bing's troops, interspersed with the laborers who had traveled along this route.

Songfanwei is a garrison located on the western frontier of the Ming Dynasty, under the dual control of the Sichuan Provincial Administration and the Sichuan Military Command. It is also supervised by the eunuch office of the Xichuan Pacification Commission. Songfanwei faces two major enemy nations, the Xia Kingdom and Tibet, with the southeastern military command of the Xia Kingdom and the northern and southern forces of the Tibetan Duogan faction forming a pincer movement against Songfanwei. Therefore, this area is directly managed by the military garrison and is considered a key frontline war zone of the Ming Dynasty

If placed in Zhao Ran's previous life before his time travel, Qingshan Mountain can be considered an exquisite landscape. The green mountains and lush trees, with streams and waterfalls abound. Along the path, the shrubs are dense and verdant, while large patches of wildflowers blanket the hillsides.

Regardless of what had actually happened, Zhao Ran's first instinct was to look for an escape route. He slowly tiptoed to the back of the line and began to search for a way out.

The encounter with the enemy was very sudden. Zhao Ran could vaguely see the opposing enemy dressed in white robes and black armor, which was clearly different from the red battle jackets of the Ming army. As both sides collided, several individuals from each side fell to the ground in an instant

After waiting for a while and seeing that there was nothing unusual around, Zhao Ran mustered his courage and quietly climbed down the tree trunk, intending to go back and take a look. He had already considered this while in the tree; if luck was on his side and Xia Bing was in a hurry while cleaning up the battlefield, perhaps he would not tidy up everything properly. If he could find some money or even travel permits and documents, he would then have the means to seek out the Daoist sects. Although going back was relatively risky, he understood that in life, there are no guarantees, and the principle of no risk, no reward was clear to him.

This incident is undoubtedly good news for Zhao Ran, as at least two of the bailiffs are now less daring to confront him openly. After setting off, the plump and thin bailiffs indeed restrained themselves considerably.

Immortal ?

Zhao Ran carefully analyzed the situation. He believed that if Jie Cha intended to harm him, the most likely method would be to strike when he was far from the team, such as during his moments of relief. This would allow Jie Cha to act under the pretense of Zhao Ran escaping, taking the opportunity to poison him. Therefore, Zhao Ran stayed close to the main group at all times, even when he needed to relieve himself, he would insist on having three to five people accompany him. If no one was available to join him, he would simply hold it in.

The natural scenery of this world is truly magnificent

Zhao Ran suddenly felt a shiver—this is bad, could it be that he has encountered bandits? But these bandits must be quite bold to dare to ambush and rob the imperial troops

Zhao Ran took a deep breath of the fresh air, feeling as if the concentration of negative oxygen ions was quite high, and thus he sighed, reflecting that there are indeed wonderful aspects to traversing through the dark passage.

The shorts had not yet been taken off when Zhao Ran suddenly heard a loud thunderclap, as if it had struck right beside his ear. He was so frightened that he lost control and scrambled away, rolling and crawling behind a thicket of bushes. His heart was racing wildly, and he thought to himself, "Goodness gracious, is there really gunpowder in this day and age? Is that a hand grenade or a cannon?"

However, Zhao Ran did not dare to let his guard down; he remained cautious and vigilant at all times

A sudden burst of noisy shouts erupted from the front of the team. Zhao Ran heard two sentinels turn around and shout, "It is the Xia people, brothers, charge!" The soldiers of the Ming army bravely advanced at the call of the sentinels, while a few feathered arrows occasionally whizzed over from the opposite side, one of which happened to embed itself in a tree trunk beside Zhao Ran, startling him.

After crawling through a patch of bushes, Zhao Ran climbed up a large tree on all fours. The tree was lush with foliage, perfectly concealing his figure within.

Due to his heightened concentration throughout the journey, Zhao Ran felt very tired; however, the exhaustion of both body and mind was exchanged for the safety of his life. He had passed through Shimenwei, and the two escorts had not found an opportunity to act against him. As long as he could cross Qingping Mountain, he would reach his destination, the Chuanling Copper Mine, at which point Zhao Ran would have temporarily preserved his life

While shouting with all his might, he suddenly saw a flash before his eyes, and a long, thin horse face abruptly appeared in front of him. Who else could it be but the Taoist priest from earlier?

Recalling the methods used by drug traffickers in that era to conceal drugs, he felt a surge of excitement and reached to untie the drawstring of his shorts. However, upon pulling it, he discovered something unusual hidden within the cord, as if it contained a very thin hard object, resembling a metal wire from later times, which he instinctively believed to be something valuable

Zhao Ran was stuffed with a broadsword by the stout constable, whose round and plump head was nearly pressed against Zhao Ran's nose. With a fierce expression, he shouted at Zhao Ran, "Charge forward with me!" The spittle flying from his mouth splattered all over Zhao Ran's face

The performance of the two officers, who were either fat or thin, was unexpectedly beyond Zhao Ran's expectations. According to the portrayals of villainous characters in film and television works prior to his time travel, these two officers should have been scared out of their wits and fled in panic. However, at this moment, they displayed courage that was at least greater than that of the protagonist. Together with several Ming soldiers, they distributed the weapons they had prepared to the laborers, and then raised their arms high, calling on the laborers to join the battle.

Knowing that they would soon arrive at Chuanling, Zhao Ran felt quite pleased and, while following the large group, developed an interest in observing the mountain scenery along the way

The word "and" shouted by the chubby constable left Zhao Ran in a daze for a moment. Soon after, Zhao Ran watched as the chubby constable shouted "For the Daoist sect, for the Ming Dynasty" and charged forward. As for the thin constable, who had been silent with a cold expression, at this moment he was gripping the neck of a summer soldier with both hands, his mouth open as he bit towards the soldier's ear.

Zhao Ran examined the corpse but found nothing. It seemed that Xia Bing was quite skilled at cleaning up the battlefield. He turned around and found the body of the eunuch who guarded the place. However, to Zhao Ran's disappointment, the luxurious satin outer robe worn by this person had been stripped away, leaving only the underpants wrapped around his waist. Zhao Ran cursed under his breath, feeling quite unwilling as he poked at the underpants, only to feel something unusual.

At the moment of reflection, the troop suddenly came to a halt. Looking up, I saw the two leading sentinels at the front signaling, while the soldiers under their command swiftly drew their swords and spears, and several archers removed their large bows.

Additionally, Zhao Ran deliberately sought opportunities to get close to the adopted son of the eunuch in charge, which led to him being scolded several times along the way and receiving a few lashes from the household slaves of the other party. However, Zhao Ran was quite pleased, as at least that prominent figure had developed some impression of him, and the soldiers of the garrison also noticed that there was someone like him in the ranks. That was enough!

Eshanwei is a garrison located within the jurisdiction of Songfanwei. A group of people stayed at Eshanwei for one day, where they met with a team of soldiers dispatched by Eshanwei, and then continued their journey westward. The garrison soldiers dispatched by Eshanwei totaled twenty-four, led by two sentinels. Their primary responsibility was to escort the adopted son of the eunuch Zhao De, who was stationed there, to oversee the work at the Chuanling copper mine. Upon hearing that the labor force from Shiquan County had arrived at Eshanwei, he requested that they accompany him on his journey.