Free Web NovelChapter 226: Chapter 197: The Eighth Village Chief Has No Problem!
## Contextual Analysis
Literary genre: This is a Chinese web novel, specifically a cultivation/martial arts fantasy novel (wuxia/xianxia).
Language style: The text is written in a mix of narrative prose and dialogue, with some martial arts terminology and Chinese cultural references.
Tone: The tone is serious, sometimes tense, with elements of strategic planning and conflict.
Plot keywords: martial arts grandmaster, battle strategy, siege, ambush, food supplies, war planning
Characters:
- Wu Liangchen (武良辰): Male, protagonist, a powerful martial artist who fought to a draw with Situ Hao
- Pang Hao (庞豪): Male, seems to be a supporter or subordinate of Wu Liangchen
- Situ Hao (司徒浩): Male, a powerful Fourth Realm Grandmaster, antagonist
- Han Bin (韩斌): Male, one of the martial artists who understands Wu Liangchen’s strategy
- Yang San (杨三): Male, a supply officer for the Cyan Cloud Mountain forces who gets killed
- Pan Wei (潘威): Male, mentioned as someone who selected the North City as the stationing area
- Great Village Chief (大寨主): Male, seems to be a leader of the Cyan Cloud Mountain forces
The plot involves Wu Liangchen planning to defeat Situ Hao and the Cyan Cloud Mountain forces by cutting off their food supplies. The Chapter describes the beginning of this plan’s execution, with Wu Liangchen’s forces ambushing a supply convoy.
Now I’ll translate the text following all the specified guidelines:
## Integrated Translation and Polishing
First, I’ll handle the translation paragraph by paragraph, ensuring I use all glossary terms correctly:
Many people knew about his blunt personality, so they didn’t take it seriously.
After all, if a Martial Arts Grandmaster could be defeated simply by overwhelming numbers, they wouldn’t be called terrestrial immortals.
Pang Hao’s eyes flickered, and he suddenly asked, "Has anyone seen Master Wu?"
The gathered Martial Artists looked at each other before shaking their heads.
"No one has seen Master Wu since the banquet ended last night!"
"Indeed, could Master Wu be asleep and completely unaware of what’s happening outside?"
"Impossible! Even ordinary civilians noticed last night’s commotion, let alone a high-level Martial Artist like Master Wu!"
"Then where did he go?"
Just as everyone was discussing, a gentle breeze blew through the window, and a figure appeared before them.
"Master Wu!" Pang Hao exclaimed with delight, immediately rushing over.
"About Cyan Cloud Mountain..."
Before he could finish, Wu Liangchen interrupted him and said, "No need to explain. I already know everything. In fact, Situ Hao and I already fought outside the city last night."
"What?"
"What happened?"
Pang Hao asked in shock, "What was the outcome?"
"You could say it was a draw. I landed a cut on him, and he inflicted a shock injury on me. Neither of us gained an advantage," Wu Liangchen said calmly.
Everyone fell silent upon hearing this.
They all knew that a Fourth Realm Grandmaster was a terrestrial immortal, beyond what ordinary Martial Artists could hope to match.
Yet Wu Liangchen had fought such a powerful being to a draw, revealing just how extraordinary his strength was!
"So Master Wu, what should our next step be?" Pang Hao asked the question everyone present wanted to ask.
Wu Liangchen was silent for a moment, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes.
"At this point, our only option is to kill Situ Hao."
The hall fell completely silent.
Many people even forgot to breathe.
Wu Liangchen’s solution was simply too blunt and brutal.
Since everything started because of Situ Hao, the Martial Arts Grandmaster, they might as well eliminate him.
Even a three-year-old child could understand this logic, but the question was: how to accomplish it?
This was no ordinary person, but a top-tier Martial Artist who could single-handedly fight against an entire army.
So many people looked at Wu Liangchen with doubt in their eyes, wondering what his plan was!
Wu Liangchen, however, remained composed and even asked a question that surprised everyone.
"Is there any breakfast? I’m hungry!"
"Yes, yes, yes! I’ll have someone arrange it right away!"
Pang Hao immediately went to make preparations.
With over a hundred Martial Artists gathered together, daily meals were a significant challenge.
Fortunately, Pang Hao had extensive connections and had invited several chefs to set up a kitchen right in the theater building.
This way, they could prepare whatever food they wanted at any time.
Soon, steaming hot buns and fried dough sticks filled the entire table.
Wu Liangchen was genuinely hungry.
The night’s meditation had consumed a large amount of his blood energy, and he needed to replenish his strength.
He devoured the buns two at a time, quickly finishing more than twenty buns each the size of an adult’s fist, then drank two bowls of soy milk before putting down his chopsticks.
Everyone stared at him intently.
Wu Liangchen merely smiled and pointed at the bowls and chopsticks before him.
"If we want to break through Cyan Cloud Mountain’s army of ten thousand and kill Situ Hao, we must start with this."
Most of the Martial Artists present looked confused, but Han Bin’s eyes lit up.
"You mean... target their food supplies?"
"Exactly!"
The others finally understood, but someone still questioned, "But Cyan Cloud Mountain is stationed in North City, not an isolated area. Wouldn’t it be difficult to starve them out in such circumstances?"
"It is indeed difficult, but not impossible."
Wu Liangchen then laid out his ideas.
In truth, he only had a rough outline of a plan, but with everyone’s participation, the details were quickly refined.
Finally, a complete and executable plan was presented to everyone.
Wu Liangchen looked at everyone and said solemnly, "You all need to understand that this is no small matter. Once we begin, there will be casualties. If anyone wishes to withdraw, you may leave now, and I won’t stop you."
There was a brief stir among the crowd, but they quickly quieted down.
Even though some truly felt afraid, seeing that no one else was leaving, they could only steel themselves and stay.
"Good. Since that’s settled, we’ll begin executing the plan immediately!" Wu Liangchen said coldly.
...
As Wu Liangchen had mentioned, an army of ten thousand required astronomical amounts of food and water daily.
This was why Pan Wei had originally chosen to station their forces in North City’s garden area.
The location was adjacent to two man-made rivers, perfectly meeting their water needs.
As for food...
Although most of Dinghai City was empty, it was still a large city capable of feeding ten thousand people without issue.
They didn’t even need much effort; raiding a few large grain merchants would provide everything they needed.
Yang San was responsible for this task.
He was the leader of one of the grain transport teams.
It was a thankless job.
While others were busy looting valuables and taking women, he had to painstakingly gather food supplies. Though there was profit in it, it was still less desirable work.
So Yang San had been full of complaints.
But today, the situation had changed.
Because the Great Village Chief had arrived.
Under the pressure of this terrestrial immortal, the previously restless troops immediately settled down.
Even the most stubborn bandits now behaved themselves, not daring to make any trouble.
So Yang San, tasked with gathering food supplies outside, felt much more at ease.
Today, following his usual routine, he led a convoy of carts to a grain merchant’s shop in East City.
The shop was naturally deserted, with its doors tightly shut and sandbags piled inside to prevent break-ins.
But Yang San was well-practiced at this. He immediately ordered, "Break down the wall!"
In an instant, the men behind him attacked like wolves and tigers, using iron hammers and crowbars to tear down the wall.
In the blink of an eye, a section of the wall collapsed with a rumble, raising dust and creating a huge opening.
Yang San led his men inside and quickly broke open the warehouse door, seeing the storehouse filled with grains and oils. He couldn’t help but snicker.
"Load the carts!"
Soon, the warehouse was emptied, and after all the supplies were loaded onto the carts, Yang San cracked his whip.
"Move out!"
The convoy headed grandly toward North City, with Yang San sitting proudly in the lead cart, feeling that life was wonderful.
’Look how arrogant you all were before, and now you’re so obedient,’ he thought. ’With the Great Village Chief here, let’s see what trouble you can stir up.’
This thought was directed not only at his "colleagues" but also at the local Martial Artists of Dinghai City.
In Yang San’s view, with the Great Village Chief’s arrival, the likes of Wu Liangchen were nothing but paper tigers.
When Cyan Cloud Mountain conquered the world, he would surely become a magistrate at the very least.
Yang San thought gleefully, almost seeing himself flaunting his power as a magistrate.
But just then, he suddenly felt a chill at his throat, and his upper body felt as if it had been hit by a heavy punch, sent flying by an enormous force and pinned to the carriage behind him.
He clutched weakly at his throat, trying to pull out the feathered arrow that had pierced it, but the arrowhead was embedded too deeply, making all his efforts futile.
As he was about to fall into endless darkness, he vaguely heard a cold voice from outside.
"Take all the carts away. As for these lackeys... leave none alive!"
’Damn it, my magistrate position!’ Yang San cursed silently before losing all consciousness.
Meanwhile, Wu Liangchen directed his people to drive away all the horse carts.
Among his forces, only a small portion were Martial Artists; the majority were ordinary civilians.
This was organized by Pang Hao.
When they heard about the plan to attack Cyan Cloud Mountain, the men of Dinghai City, who had been seething with hatred, immediately became bloodthirsty and eagerly joined.
