After the Immortal Disappeared

"Seeking riches and renown?"

"Otherwise, after suffering such a catastrophe, a person would either be utterly broken and live in obscurity, or be consumed by resentment, biding their time for revenge. Who would be this eager to serve as an official?"

By the time Dong Rui had managed to drag the Ghost Ape back from the Ghost Gate, the sun was already setting.

Hong Chenglu had just heard a report from a scout. The man had hidden in Xinhuang City for a night to gather intelligence on the enemy and had only just now rushed back to the mines.

"They plan to move out tomorrow morning?"

Hong Chenglu dismissed the man, tapped his fingers twice on the broken wooden table, and then asked, "What about the scout sent to Bailu Town? Has he returned?"

Xuu Yingxian immediately replied, "Not yet."

"We’re so close to Bailu Town. Why isn’t he back?"

"Well..." Xuu Yingxian was quick on the uptake. "I’ll send someone else right away!"

Hong Chenglu said nothing. Only when Xuu Yingxian had walked out the door did he call out, "Come back!"

"General?"

"Who did you send?"

"Liuu Si."

"Is he usually reliable?" After all, these were Xunzhou Rangers. A few days ago, he didn’t even know them. They weren’t the Beiga Army he used to lead. He had yet to gain a deep understanding of this unit’s combat style and capabilities.

"Liuu Si has always been punctual and cautious. This is the first time he’s ever been this late."

This was highly irregular. A chill ran through Hong Chenglu as he thought, ’This is bad. I lived in Bailu Town for several years. The tracks I left behind can’t be wiped clean in such a short time.’

"Don’t bother looking for him." This was his oversight. "Give the order to break camp! It’s no longer safe here. We’re relocating!"

This abandoned mine was known only to a few locals, making it an excellent hiding spot.

What a pity.

"Huh?" Tao Ze was stunned. The others had also heard. Xuu Yingxian immediately answered, "Yes, sir!" but two other generals stood up. "That’s not acceptable! Liuu Si might have just been delayed on the road. It doesn’t necessarily mean he ran into trouble in Bailu Town!"

"General Baili and so many of our brothers have just received treatment. They need to rest quietly right now; moving them would be dangerous. We can’t just assume Liuu Si was captured by the enemy and have everyone up in arms just because he’s an hour late."

"Yes, this is not right!"

These were all Xunzhou people, Nian Zanli’s subordinates. Even though Nian Zanli had appointed Hong Chenglu as the Main General for this operation behind enemy lines, they weren’t truly won over by him. In fact, they were closer to Baili Qing.

Even if there were other shelters, they couldn’t just openly travel on the Official Roads. The journey would inevitably be over the most difficult mountain paths. Even a healthy person would be riding until their backside went numb, to say nothing of the seriously wounded like Baili Qing, who needed to avoid being jostled at all costs. A few jolts could tear their wounds open and threaten their lives.

In this situation, they felt that Hong Chenglu was just Chasing Shadows, making a mountain out of a molehill.

Hong Chenglu didn’t get angry. He simply asked them, "Then what is your suggestion?"

"Send more men to Bailu Town and find out what’s going on."

Hong Chenglu had no objection, and even smiled. "Fine. We’ll do it that way."

The two generals felt that General Hong seemed rather amicable, not at all like the legendarily decisive and ruthless commander who tolerated no insubordination.

Hee Lingchuan and his group headed into the mountains, led by the old man.

The old man’s surname was Shan, and he was no good at riding horses. Hee Lingchuan had even hired a carriage for him, lest his old bones fall apart before they even reached their destination.

"That mine... I haven’t been there in ten years," Elder Shan said, leaning against the window to identify landmarks, afraid of missing the path. "Mr. Hong was known as a good man. My old woman used to filch things from his house, but he never made a big deal of it. He often went into the mountains to hunt game and would share some with us. I remember he once killed a huge wild boar, a real big one, must have been over five hundred pounds. He wasn’t stingy either, shared it all with the neighbors in the alley. Sigh, I never would have thought... that he’d actually be working for the Xunzhou people."

’Is Hong Chenglu just working for the Xunzhou people? No, he’s clearly their leader. Elder Shan just doesn’t know.’ Hee Lingchuan casually remarked, "You must have a lot of game here in the mountains."

"They used to be everywhere, but there’s been less and less in recent years. Nowadays, if you go into the mountains for a whole day and come back with a single rabbit, you can count yourself blessed by the heavens." Elder Shan shook his head. "One time, Mr. Hong went into the mountains for two days and came back empty-handed. Said the woods were completely empty."

"All eaten?" After walking for so long, they indeed hadn’t seen a single wild rabbit.

"That’s right. The harvests have been poor these past few years, and the Government Office is vicious with its taxes. When people can’t afford to eat, what else can they do but find other food?" Elder Shan suddenly pointed. "Right here! In we go!"

The place he pointed to had no path, only dense thickets of grass. Jiao Tai grabbed his machete and, with a few quick slashes, cleared away a patch of long blades, revealing what looked like a barely-there trail. It was crowded with small trees, all of which looked like they had sprouted in the last few years.

"This is it, I knew it! Look, I carved a mark on that big rock!" Everyone looked, and sure enough, on a black stone next to a short locust tree, there was a triangular mark scratched by a small knife. It was so covered in moss that it was barely recognizable.

"We used to take this shortcut back to town after work. Saved us a whole hour!"

The carriage could go no further. Shan Youjun lifted the old man onto his saddle in front of him, and the group continued on their way.

The path rose and fell, even forcing them to wade through rivers and cross streams. Without someone who knew the way to guide them, it would have been impossible to find the path.

A little over an hour later, Elder Shan pointed to a low mountain ahead. "Once we’re over that, we’ll be able to see the mine."

Fuzzy Peach crept to the summit and peered down, then nodded at Hee Lingchuan.

Hee Lingchuan immediately took out three taels of silver and pressed them into Elder Shan’s hand. "Thank you. This is your payment."

He had given one tael more than the agreed-upon amount. Greatly appreciative, Elder Shan wiped a cobweb from his forehead and said, "Do you want to know about the mine’s other exit?"

The group was taken aback. "The mine has another exit?"

"It didn’t originally." Elder Shan took a sip of water, deliberately keeping them in suspense. Hee Lingchuan reached out and gave him a few more pieces of broken silver. Only then did Elder Shan lead the group around to the back of the mountain.

’On this point alone,’ Hee Lingchuan thought, ’he and his old woman are a perfect match. Birds of a feather really do flock together.’

"Fourteen years ago, this was still an active mine. Nearly a hundred men worked here every day. I remember it was just two days before the New Year, and everyone was eager to finish up and go home. We were digging at a feverish pace when the tunnel suddenly collapsed."

"Four or five men died on the spot, and more than a dozen of us were trapped. We thought we were dead for sure. But who would have known? The blast had also shattered a rock wall deep in the mine, and a sliver of light shone through. The opening was just too small. We used our pickaxes to widen the fissure into a proper opening. The rocks kept sliding down and burying the crack, and we had to dig it out again and again. After untold hardships, we finally managed to escape."

"It’s been so long, though. I don’t know if that exit is still there."

After following the mountain slope downward for more than a li, Fuzzy Peach, who was up ahead, suddenly hissed, "Don’t move!"

The five of them were just passing between two giant boulders. Through the gap, they could see two men sitting around a fire outside a ravine ahead, weapons tucked into their belts.

They were guards.

Seeing this, Hee Lingchuan’s confidence grew. ’If the mine didn’t have a back exit, why would the Xunzhou people post two guards here?’

Sure enough, Elder Shan pointed in that direction, his meaning clear: "The exit is over there."

Hong Chenglu had clearly chosen this abandoned mine as his base with careful consideration, even preparing a route of retreat.

The five of them immediately tiptoed back the way they came, careful not to alert the two guards.

Once they were back near the main mine shaft, Elder Shan immediately said, "You Lord Officials have your business, so I’ll be taking my leave." This was clearly the prelude to a big brawl, and an old man like him couldn’t handle that. He needed to scram, and fast.

The carriage was waiting for him at the end of the path; he knew how to drive it.

Only after his figure had disappeared at the end of the path did Fuzzy Peach turn and sneak toward the mine.

The three of them waited patiently.

About a quarter of an hour later, Fuzzy Peach snuck back and whispered, "There are at least six sentries around the mine, all positioned on high ground with a view of the entire area. The open pit is about seventy to eighty zhang in diameter; it’ll be hard to hit the people below with arrows from here. Oh, and they’re cooking down there. Over a hundred men are sitting on the stone steps of the mine, waiting to eat. There are a dozen or so low buildings by the edge of the pit, with Xunzhou people going in and out. I saw someone come out to dump a basin of bloody water, so there are probably wounded men lying in the houses."

"I also heard a loud screech. Sounded like it was Dong Rui’s Strange Bird, preening its wings on a roof."

Indeed, the aroma of cooking rice drifted up to them on the wind. The others asked Hee Lingchuan, "What now?"

There were hundreds of enemy soldiers below, and only four of them. They couldn’t take them. Hee Lingchuan pointed to Jiao Tai. "You go back to Xinhuang and report to my old man. Let him decide what to do. The rest of you, stay here with me and gnaw on some dry rations."

Jiao Tai accepted the order and left.

Since Dong Rui’s Strange Bird was also here—and that thing had sharp eyes and ears, and could fly—they would have to be even more covert in their actions.

...

Hee Chunhua sat in a single-story building, staring at the military loss report on the table, lost in thought.

The Grain Transport Team had been routed at Bailu Town, with a loss of ten thousand shi of grain. The situation at Xinhuang was better, but they had still suffered over a hundred casualties, and more than four hundred jin of grain had been burned.

Given the Yuan Kingdom’s current situation, every effort to procure grain required tightening their belts and practically scraping the common people clean once more. Just this amount of grain would make Ke Jihai in the west drool. And yet, with Hee Chunhua personally escorting the shipment, half of the twenty thousand shi of grain allocated by the Royal Court had been lost before it even reached the front lines.

Now, when he met Zhao Pan, he would be at a significant disadvantage.

This left a very sour taste in his mouth.

At the same time, he was torn: should he halt their advance to hunt down the remaining Xunzhou cavalry, or should he prioritize getting the grain safely to the front lines?

Considering the bigger picture, he should choose the latter. They were the Grain Transport Team; the safety of the grain came first, as did the well-being of the soldiers at the front.

But even if he made that choice, there was no guarantee Hong Chenglu wouldn’t strike again, intending to burn the remaining grain as well. That would put his forces on the back foot.

If they took the initiative and attacked...

The surviving advisors had already discussed this with him twice. They all insisted on prioritizing the grain transport.

But Hee Chunhua had not yet made a decision.

He was unwilling to simply let this ambush be the final word on the matter. It would be difficult to explain himself when he returned.

Just then, a report came from outside:

"The Eldest Young Master’s personal attendant requests an audience."

’Finally, some news!’ Hee Chunhua’s spirits lifted. "Come in."

Jiao Tai rushed in, covered in dust from his journey. His lips were chapped, and he hadn’t even had time for a drink of water before hurrying to report his intelligence on Bailu Town and the mine to Hee Chunhua.