The battle on Gu Zhan's side was also gradually coming to an end.
The army below the city gate was not the main force of the Xiongnu, and coupled with the fact that it was late at night and everyone was exhausted, many of them lost their lives in their daze.
The enemy on the other side of the river dared not cross the moat at night. The river meandered and there were only five or six stone arch bridges in sight.
In the pitch-black night, even with a lantern, it's difficult to predict where those starving creatures might jump out, bite your throat, and drag you into the river.
So they could only watch as their comrades were killed or captured by Gu Zhan and his men.
Aside from standing on the shore and angrily cursing and shouting, they couldn't do anything meaningful.
"There are so many crocodile dragons, how are we going to cross this river in the future?" Xu Nian, having dealt with the earthbound spirit, walked out of the mountain path and saw Gu Zhan standing next to the magic array.
The crocodile, awakened by the firelight, lurked in the water, staring intently at the two people on the shore.
Some who couldn't contain themselves even started to attack the magic array. Although they couldn't break through, their ferocious appearance still frightened many soldiers into retreating.
When the old city lord was raising these things, he certainly didn't think about how to get them to recognize him as their master.
[Was it even useful? Don't you guys think the eyes of these crocodiles look terrifying?]
[They've eaten people before, so they probably think everyone, including the streamer, is their food now.]
“These crocodiles have been tainted by evil spirits. They are not easy to tame, and there are too many of them, so it’s simply impossible.”
Xu Nian looked at the things in the river, her expression unreadable.
She glanced at the sky; the flames behind her had gradually died down after burning out. For the first time, she took Gu Zhan's hand and said, "Don't think about it anymore. There's always a way out. Let's go back and deal with these people first."
Marshal Gu knew that now was not the time to worry about these things, and glanced at the moat again.
He held Xu Nian's hand tightly and, in full view of everyone, led her on the journey home.
At three-quarters past dawn the next day, Xu Nian practically dragged herself out of bed with sheer willpower. The bed beside her was warm, but the person was nowhere to be seen.
I don't know how Gu Zhan did it.
He went to bed later than me yesterday, how come he was able to get up so early?
She yawned as she dressed, rubbed her throbbing temples, casually tied her hair into a bun, and went out.
People had been waiting outside the city lord's mansion for a long time. When they saw her come out, they hurriedly got up and went forward, fearing that if they were a moment late, they would miss their chance to see the doctor that day.
"Has everyone eaten yet?" Xu Nian sat down and chatted with everyone while tidying up her things.
The first in line was a little child, who excitedly replied, "I've eaten! The porridge the older brothers made was so delicious. And the pickled vegetables too! I've never eaten anything so good before."
"From now on, we'll be able to enjoy all the good food. Okay, let's get started."
She was busy all morning, and had lunch with the residents.
They talked about what Cangque City looked like before, and then somehow the topic turned to the crocodiles in the moat.
"If you ask me, the last thing the old city lord should have done was buy that thing. That crocodile dragon is too ferocious; it has no enemies in this river, and it's having litter after litter of offspring,"
"You wouldn't believe it, back when these things weren't this big, it was fine. As long as you walked quickly, you'd usually be alright on the bridge. But who would have thought that once they grew up, they could jump so high!"
"If you ask me, we should just poison them and kill them all."
Xu Nian sat quietly to the side, listening without saying a word.
However, he felt that poisoning was absolutely unacceptable. Although the people did not rely on the water of the moat for survival, there was no guarantee that someone would not accidentally get contaminated or something.
However, if poison is not used.
Those crocodiles are so ferocious; once they step inside the formation, they'll likely be surrounded and attacked...
The old city lord probably never imagined that his supposedly excellent method of protecting the city would actually imprison the people inside.
Xu Nian hadn't figured out how to cross the moat yet, but now there was another thing troubling her.
While Gu Zhan was busy interrogating the captured prisoners, Gu Zhan, after five days of providing free medical care, began distributing seeds to everyone and planting vegetables with them.
Although Cangque City is built on a mountain, the land is exceptionally suitable for growing medicinal herbs.
Crops could naturally be grown there, and in order to test the land first, Xu Nian led everyone to set up an experimental field next to the city lord's mansion.
As for the terraced fields above, the water for irrigation by waterwheels comes from the moat.
It's just that because those crocodiles ate many people, the water in the moat is now undetectable when protected by a formation, but once the waterwheel is in use, the smell is absolutely foul and unpleasant!
They only went up for one look before they couldn't stand it and hurriedly came down the mountain.
We still need to get rid of those things.
Xu Nian looked at the thriving vegetables and fruits in the experimental field, then glanced towards the moat. After a moment's hesitation, she put down her hoe and, taking advantage of the crowd's inattention, stepped out of Cangque City.
The number of Xiongnu people who came back then is unknown, but many were bitten by crocodiles.
Now they dared not send anyone over again, and stood on the riverbank gazing at those people's camps for a long time.
Suddenly, a thought flashed through her mind: how did these people have the guts to come here in the first place?
That day it was night, and even with a fire, you couldn't see clearly what was in the river from the bank. Now it's broad daylight, and you can see it clearly from here.
Xu Nian then realized just how many crocodiles there were in the river. It's said that two tigers cannot share one mountain, and crocodiles aren't exactly solitary creatures. They still need to define their territories and waterways.
But right now, this is where her gaze is fixed.
The crocodiles were so numerous that it was no exaggeration to say they were a plague, huddled together in the water.
Their cold gazes were fixed on her without blinking. Some of them had explosive tempers, and you could even see two or a group of crocodiles fighting in the distance!
This thing is even more creepy than those koi fish in the park!
With such a high density, unless the Xiongnu send over a hundred people at once, it would be very difficult for anyone to escape from the mouth of the fish.
But yesterday alone, we caught dozens of people. At this rate, we might lose an entire army!
Her eyes flickered, and before she could go back, she was pulled into a warm embrace. "It's so windy here, why didn't you wear more clothes?"
When Gu Zhan heard that she had come to the riverbank alone, his heart inexplicably tightened.
Although he knew that there was a formation in place and that the crocodile dragon could not harm Xu Nian, he still couldn't sit still and rushed over immediately.
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