He Lingchuan thought, You obviously want to go to the Panlong Ruins, so why bother pretending to ask me? Outwardly, however, he wore a serious expression. “We’ve been to the Panlong Ruins before. That place is a deathtrap and shouldn’t be approached lightly. Old man, once the sun comes out, we’ll be able to get our bearings. We should return to the city.”

He answered so decisively that He Chunhua was momentarily taken aback.

A nearby officer immediately said, “The sky is thick with clouds. Who knows when the sun will come out? Waiting around in the desert isn’t a solution either. Our most urgent need is to find water.”

They had set out in a hurry to pursue the enemy and brought little food or water. After an entire night, both men and horses were badly parched.

They could manage without food for a while, but the same could not be said about water.

Zhao Qinghe reminded them, “Travelers who entered the desert recently mentioned an oasis near the Panlong Ruins. We should head there first and get some water.”

He Chunhua nodded. “Then we’ll go straight for the water.”

At his command, the Heishui City army began moving toward the direction where the red light had appeared. Most of the men had no objections, aside from a few grumbles.

They had no sense of direction in the desert anyway. They might as well head toward somewhere known to have water...