After the Immortal Disappeared

Far from the city, in this bitter cold, ’how dangerous must it be to give birth.’

"Where is she from?"

"She said Wenzhe Village, but I don’t think so."

Just then, Willow ran back and said to the group, "Come see, I’ve found something."

Hee Lingchuan strode after her to Old Ding’s house. The man had been a miner, single for nearly thirty years, and still lived in a mud-brick hut. The place was a total mess, littered with empty wine vessels—jars and pots all drained. The worst-smelling thing was a chicken-feather quilt. Fortunately, the door was open, letting the wind carry away some of the filth and odor.

But Willow leaped onto the roof of Old Ding’s house and started pulling at the thatch. "Look."

The wind and snow in the Northwest were always worse than in Panlong City, so the roofs here were steeper, covered with thick layers of bamboo tiles and thatch. They were woven and stacked layer by layer, and now, piled high with heavy snow, they looked like a man wearing a tall hat.

Just looking at the snow on these roofs, it seemed like it could crush the houses.

Willow had already pulled away some of the snow and thatch to create an opening. Now, she tore away more, revealing what was inside. Everyone gasped in surprise.

There was a person hidden inside.

A dead man, frozen solid.

Skinny hauled the Hu Village Chief onto the roof and pointed at the dead man’s face showing through the straw. "Isn’t this the one named Ding?"

The dead man’s eyes were wide open. The Hu Village Chief met his gaze and yelped, "It really is Old Ding! He... UGH!"

His gaze shifted, accidentally falling on Old Ding’s upper body, and he couldn’t help but bend over and retch.

The deceased had been ripped open. His heart, liver, spleen, stomach, and kidneys were all gone, with only a few segments of intestine left behind. The killer probably didn’t like the taste.

The truth was now clear. That night, Old Ding had barely stepped a few yards from his house before the killer snatched him up onto the roof. No wonder there was only a single line of footprints in the snow—the man-eating monster had been perched on the roof the whole time and never touched the ground.

Willow suddenly added, "Ding’s death was slow. Look at his throat. He was likely eaten alive."

A dark bruise circled Old Ding’s neck, and blood seeped from the corners of his mouth. The agony of his final moments was frozen on his face. The monster had held him by the throat while it feasted, preventing him from screaming.

In other words, he had watched, wide-eyed, as the monster devoured him alive.

The Hu Village Chief had just straightened up, but he started vomiting again when he heard this.

It was so cold that Old Ding’s body froze quickly. Hidden in the thatch, it didn’t attract any attention, which was why he had "disappeared."

Hee Lingchuan asked Willow, "How did you find it?"

"The smell," Willow said, sniffing. "I have a keen nose."

"..."

"This thing even buries its leftovers," Xuu Chun said, then asked the Hu Village Chief, "That morning, did you find any other strange tracks in the snow near your village?"

"Uh... I didn’t see any, and no one else reported anything," the Hu Village Chief hesitated. "Around here, we often get grouse, sika deer, and the like passing through."

"So, Old Ding died after the pregnant woman from out of town left?"

"Oh, it’s the other way around. Old Ding died, and the pregnant woman was scared out of her wits. She packed her bags and left immediately," the Hu Village Chief said with a wry smile. "She was heavily pregnant and moved so clumsily. How could we have ever thought she was connected to the murder?"

"Where did the pregnant woman stay?"

The Hu Village Chief led them to the last hut at the end of the street. "She stayed here for several days. I even had someone bring her charcoal and meals."

The hut was empty. The charcoal brazier was long since coated in frost, and the thin quilt on the heated brick bed was as hard as iron. Hee Lingchuan entered and scanned the room, seeing nothing out of the ordinary at first. After all, the furnishings were as simple as those in his own wooden cabin. But when he lifted the quilt, he found a bloody print on the mattress pad.

"Looks like a claw print," Willow said, holding her own hand up for comparison. "It’s only half the size of my palm."

The claw print was only the size of half a woman’s palm. The group exchanged glances. A gossipy old woman who had snuck in to watch couldn’t help but ask, "Could it be a little demon?"

"You’ve got it," another team member nodded. "It’s a Ghost Embryo."

The moment those two words were spoken, a chill ran down the old woman’s spine. "D-don’t tell me... the man-eating monster crawled out of her belly?"

All the Patrol Guards nodded. Panlong City had had a bounty on the Jindu Ghost Child for quite some time now.

The old woman was frightened and muttered, "I knew there was something strange about her. I always felt creeped out whenever I got near her."

The Hu Village Chief was about to speak again, but Willow gestured for him to be quiet, letting the old woman continue. "Did she have a grudge against Old Ding?"

"Old Ding was a drunkard. When he drank too much, he’d act crazy," the woman said. "On the third night after that woman came to town, Old Ding went and, BANG BANG BANG, pounded on her door, saying he wanted to be the godfather to the child in her belly. The woman was too scared to open the door, so he just threw up all over her doorstep. He didn’t even say a word about it the next day after he sobered up, just got a talking-to from the Village Chief."

"Oh, oh, and let me tell you—" The old woman recalled something else. "A few days ago, Azhen’s laying hen went missing. The six-year-old kid next door said he saw that woman steal it. We all thought it was impossible with her big belly, that she couldn’t bend down like that. But thinking about it now, why would it be impossible? She was carrying a Ghost Embryo!"

Another Patrol Guard ran a finger over the corner of the table and said suddenly, "There are a few pinches of ash on here... might be from incense."

"She burned incense here. If she also stole a chicken, she might have been making an offering to a god," Duan Xinyu said with a smile. "It’s getting late. Let’s head up the mountain. If we hurry, we can still make it home for dinner."

The group then took the mine cave map from the Village Chief’s hands, left the village, and set off for the mountain.

The Sand Leopard Marsh Warden was still lying on a rock. It said to the Patrol Guards, "The evil thing in that mine cave also attacks demon beasts. No demons are willing to go near it now. I have to supervise the work here, so I won’t be accompanying you inside."

By now, half a *li* of the mountain road had been cleared, but loose rocks still tumbled down from time to time. Carts and horses couldn’t pass, so the group had to proceed on foot.

The barriers of snow and rock were no obstacle for these agile Patrol Guards, let alone for the Marsh Warden.

Thus, the group quickly scaled the blocked section of the road and continued toward the mine.

Three *li* later, they reached the mine cave.

Its entrance was narrow, only about the width of two large door panels, hidden at the base of the mountain wall and shielded by a few old pine trees.

Next to the mine cave was a row of low buildings. The miners wouldn’t sleep inside the cave; these houses were where they usually rested.

But now, the single-story houses were all empty, and there were bloodstains on the ground.

Hee Lingchuan noticed a bloody claw print on a low wall, sunk an inch deep into the stone. The monster seemed to have only three toes.

"This thing’s claws are pretty sharp." Duan Xinyu saw it too. The houses were built from local materials, with stones. This particular piece of bluestone was quite hard. He drew his saber and scraped it against the stone, sending sparks flying. "Cut them off. See if they can be made into a Magical Artifact. A Hooked Rope would be best."

Seeing his relaxed demeanor, Hee Lingchuan reminded him, "Don’t get complacent. The later a Jindu Ghost Child is born, the stronger it is."

Panlong City had already captured and killed six Ghost Children, with only three remaining at large. According to Dong Rui, these last few were even more formidable.

Duan Xinyu looked at him and chuckled. "You’re certainly calm and collected. Don’t worry, I’ll take the lead for you." He turned to call to his teammates, "Let’s go, into the cave."

’What’s with this guy?’ Hee Lingchuan sensed hostility.

However, Duan Xinyu’s vice-captain, Wang Xu, hung back a few steps and whispered to Hee Lingchuan, "Sorry, please don’t mind him. Our captain has been in a bad mood lately; he’s been snapping at everyone."

His tone was very friendly. Hee Lingchuan returned the smile. "It’s fine."

Wang Xu gave an apologetic smile, nodded, and trotted off to catch up.

Xuu Chun also smiled and waved at Hee Lingchuan, then ordered his own squad into the cave.

Door Panel rubbed his chin. "You’ve been in the spotlight too much lately. No wonder that guy doesn’t like you."

Hee Lingchuan still hadn’t shed the reputation of being the No. 7 arena champion. He turned a lot of heads when walking down the street, and young girls especially liked to flock to his side.

When there’s admiration, there’s bound to be jealousy and disdain.

Hee Lingchuan had his team make a few more preparations before following.

The three squads entered the cave, all holding Fluorescent Grass Bundles high. Their light was more stable than a torch and just as bright, so Patrol Guards often kept them on hand for missions.

Mining tunnels were labor-intensive to build and usually narrow and short. A tall person like Hee Lingchuan could only move forward by bending over, and in some places, he even had to crouch.

Hee Lingchuan, however, was calculating how he would be able to fight if they encountered an enemy in such a cramped space.

They saw two minecarts on the way, both empty. One of them had bloodstains on its handle.

They had seen two pools of blood on their way in, which they confirmed was human, but they hadn’t found a single body.

This only heightened everyone’s vigilance. Even the previously nonchalant Duan Xinyu was now holding two poisoned darts in his hand. In the Panlong Wasteland, a careless Warrior wouldn’t live for long.

Fortunately, after walking a short distance, the path widened. It seemed they had entered a natural rock cavern, and water began to seep from the surrounding walls.

Seeping water was common in tunnels, and sometimes they’d even encounter subterranean lakes. The group wasn’t too concerned; after confirming the droplets weren’t poisonous, they pressed on.

Before long, Willow covered her nose and said, "It’s starting to stink in this cave."

Xuu Chun also said, "This intersection up ahead isn’t marked on the map at all."

A three-way fork appeared ahead. All three paths looked identical in size and width, disappearing into pitch-black darkness.

"Should we stick together or each take a path?"

Skinny immediately said, "The enemy would want us to split up so they can pick us off one by one. I don’t think we should give them what they want."

Hee Lingchuan shook his head inwardly. ’Isn’t this guy usually good at reading the room? Why is he so useless at a critical moment?’

Sure enough, Duan Xinyu pointed to the leftmost path. "I’ll take the Western Route. The rest of you can do as you please."

Xuu Chun frowned. "Are you really splitting up the operation?"

"It wouldn’t be good if the enemy wiped us all out in one go either," Duan Xinyu said seriously. "Look how narrow this passage is. If all twenty-plus of us go down one path, how are we supposed to maneuver when we encounter the enemy?"

That made sense. Hee Lingchuan gave his teammates a nod and, without saying much to the others, was the first to walk into the central passage.

Xuu Chun watched the glow from their team’s lights disappear at the end of the passage and shook his head. "Did he offend you somehow?"

Duan Xinyu just chuckled and led his team to the left.

...

Hee Lingchuan and his men went deeper and deeper, and soon all was quiet behind them.

Skinny whispered, "Why would the Hu Village Chief give us a wrong map?"

The Red Peak Mine Cave had been in development for some time, and many paths had been carved out inside. It was easy for anyone but a veteran to get lost, which was why a map was drawn in the first place.