Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!-Chapter 636 - 635 The Great General’s Memories

"Enough talking, we’ve wasted so much time," said the Great General. "Let’s hurry on our way, or we really won’t be able to get back tonight."

It was indeed a serious matter, so Tian Peng stopped talking too and started patrolling with the Great General.

The place they had come from was the starting point. From there, if they headed west until they reached another boundary marker, they could then head back.

This group of men and horses also had to come over every day. Although the nearby tribes would be on guard, they wouldn’t constantly follow them.

The Turkic tribes were scattered. Along their patrol route, they would have to pass through three tribes, and as they passed by each one, the patrolmen from those tribes would watch over them until they reached the jurisdiction of the next tribe.

Besides observing the Turkic tribes, Tian Peng also inspected the territories of the Great Tang.

The snow from the previous days had mostly melted, but there were still many places where the sun hadn’t reached, which hadn’t thawed. These places weren’t much of a concern, it was the snow-free areas that were actually worrisome.

"There are often marshes hidden in these grasslands, they might look unassuming but once you step on them, it’s over. It’s even more dangerous when you’re alone. In the grasslands, you should always walk in the footprints of those who came before you. Never wander around carelessly; if you really run into trouble, then even praying to the heavens won’t help," the Great General warned.

Since the grassland had nothing much to look at besides grass, Tian Peng, who had been an Immortal before, had hardly set foot on the grasslands. Now, after hearing what the Great General said, he suddenly became more curious about them.

"I thought the grasslands were all flat. There are marshes too?"

"Indeed, not only marshes but there are also rivers and snow-capped mountains, though the mountains aren’t here—they are far from this place. We don’t have to worry about avalanches here; otherwise, we would not only be dealing with an avalanche but also have to guard against the Turkic," said the Great General.

What the Great General said made sense. Tian Peng was certain that if there really were an avalanche here, the Turkic tribes would surely take the risk and make their move during the disaster.

Fortunately, such concerns were groundless here. There were no snow-capped mountains, nor would the imagined scenario take place.

"So, is there a river around here?" Tian Peng asked spontaneously, looking around. It seemed that besides some remaining unthawed snow, there was nothing in the vicinity but grass.

"Of course, it’s nearby," the Great General pointed towards where the snow lay thick.

"Although I say ’nearby,’ it’s not exactly close; it’s about a hundred li from here. But hardly anyone goes there. People usually fetch water from the downstream part of that river."

"Why is that?" Tian Peng was puzzled, feeling it odd that here, unlike elsewhere, people preferred to fetch water downstream.

"That’s a long story," the Great General replied. "That river is called the Golden Sand River. The villagers nearby say there’s a monster living in the upper reaches that devours humans. Many have lost their lives in the river, so ever since then, the villagers dare not draw water from the upper reaches. They’d rather walk the extra distance than go upstream for water."

"So you’re saying the monster in this river is really quite mysterious."

The Great General, even though he had never actually seen the creature, had heard stories. Back when he was not yet the Great General and they had just established the military camp, the nearby villagers came seeking their assistance.

Previously, it was only the local county official who had any authority here and no one had set boundaries.

Once their military camp was set up here, word somehow got out that the soldiers, with their strong yang energy, could surely suppress the monster in the Flowing Sand River and put it to good use.

The villagers were afraid they wouldn’t dare to come if they knew about the monster, so they just said someone had fallen into the river and asked for their help.

Upon hearing that someone had fallen into the river, they quickly sent a few men to retrieve them. Unfortunately, the soldiers who went ended up lost in the river and could not be found.

After all, these were soldiers; one couldn’t just watch as they fell into the river, leaving not even a corpse behind.

Besides, the soldiers were originally here to guard the frontier. Yet, before they even started guarding it, they fell into the river while trying to rescue others. What kind of situation was this?

So, when the camp heard that the soldiers who went to retrieve the bodies had fallen in, the Great General immediately dispatched more men to search, and yet, just like before, they too fell into the river.

Later, the Great General realized something was amiss; this matter couldn’t just be left unresolved—the bodies of the soldiers still had to be searched for.

If they could not be found upstream, then the search should be conducted downstream. It was impossible for so many people to fall into the river without finding a single one.

In the end, the Great General sent people to search downstream, but even after several days, they found no one.

It was then that the Great General realized something was seriously wrong. This could not just be any ordinary river for such things to happen. He returned to question the villager to find out what exactly had happened.

At first, the villager dared not say anything. After all, they were the ones who lied first, and their lies had cost the lives of several soldiers. They only claimed they truly knew nothing.

Although it was clear there was deception involved, without their admission, nothing could be done to them. After all, they were but villagers, weak and powerless.

However, the question was eventually answered, and it was a child who slipped up.

The child said there was a monster in Flowing Sand River that ate people, and the Great General realized something.

Even though the villagers felt guilty, they were concerned that the soldiers wouldn’t help them,

and in the end, not only was no help rendered, but it had also caused a loss to the others.

Among those lost was a good friend of the current Great General. Ever since his friend fell into the river, guilt weighed heavily on the Great General’s heart.

Originally, he was supposed to go himself, but having just arrived on the grasslands, he suffered from an acute case of acclimatization, with severe vomiting and diarrhea, rendering him unable to carry out the mission. So, his friend went in his place.

This guilt would forever haunt the Great General. He would never forget this friend of his.

After he became the Great General, he compensated his friend’s family greatly, yet it still couldn’t make up for the guilt he felt.

But there was no helping it; this was the best he could do within the scope of his abilities.

"Anyway, Flowing Sand River is extremely dangerous, so you must not approach it," the Great General warned Tian Peng.

Actually, whether he said it or not, it made no difference to Tian Peng, because he was certainly going to take a look at Flowing Sand River—not now, but when he found the time.

After giving his advice, the Great General carefully observed Tian Peng’s expression.

He hoped to see a look of fear on Tian Peng’s face, which would assure him that Tian Peng wouldn’t go out of curiosity.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t in Tian Peng’s nature to know fear. The Great General saw no sign of it on Tian Peng’s face and thus was very disappointed.