After the Immortal Disappeared

Hee Lingchuan looked up and saw an old woman. She was looking around everywhere as she walked, and her gait was a little pigeon-toed.

She was small, thin, and wizened, but her belly was slightly swollen, reminding Hee Lingchuan of a withered tree stump on a riverbank.

"Are you the Shopkeeper?"

The moment she spoke, her voice sounded much younger than her face. Hee Lingchuan then noticed she had a full set of teeth; perhaps she wasn’t as old as she looked.

"I suppose so," he said honestly. "I just got this shop back. It’ll probably be a while before it reopens."

"What are you going to sell?" The old woman rummaged around, touching this and flipping that, not standing on ceremony with him at all.

"It’s not clear yet." He didn’t have the Heart Power to manage a shop in the Dream Realm, so he planned to entrust it to the authorities to rent out and just collect the money each season. "And you are...?"

"I... I collect things." The old woman’s eyes scanned the piles of junk, looking high and low. Far from being blurry, they were sharp and alert.

For some reason, Hee Lingchuan thought she resembled an otter on a dry riverbed. Those creatures also loved to stay in piles of junk they had built themselves.

But she was too thin, and her eyes, somewhat bulging, were riddled with bloodshot veins.

"Do you still want this stuff?" the old woman asked in a dry voice. "If not, just give it to me, eh?"

"I don’t. Please, take it all."

The old woman immediately bowed with her hands clasped. "Kind sir, kind sir! The heavens will surely bless you!"

’She’s being a little too polite.’

Hee Lingchuan soon saw that the old woman had procured a pushcart from somewhere and parked it outside the shop, then went inside to move things.

First, she carried out a jar.

The jar was caked in a thick layer of yellowish mud and dust, hidden under two nested tables, which were themselves blocked by a screen. Hee Lingchuan hadn’t even seen it when he first took inventory; he had no idea how the old woman found it.

He couldn’t help but ask, "What’s this jar for?"

"For... for pickling vegetables."

The jar wasn’t very big; it could hold five to seven catties of wine at most. Every pickling crock Hee Lingchuan had ever seen was bigger than this one.

"Should I help you carry it?" he offered, purely out of kindness.

The old woman hugged the jar tighter, as if afraid he would snatch it. "No need, no need!"

Then she moved two Incense Burners, a few inkstones, and took a row of ceramic Puppets.

This row of Puppets was crudely made, and Hee Lingchuan always felt they were glaring at people with ill intent. The previous Shopkeeper probably felt the same way, which was why he had tossed them in the storeroom, out of sight and out of mind.

The old woman, however, loved them. She said cheerfully, "These are great. I’ll take them back for my son to play with."

Hee Lingchuan really wanted to ask how old her son was to still be playing with these, but suddenly, there was a loud CLANG outside. The pushcart had been knocked over.

The old woman cried out and rushed outside.

Several items from the cart had crashed to the ground, and the jar rolled over a few times.

Hee Lingchuan saw at a glance that a large chunk of the mud caked on the jar had flaked off, revealing the grayish-yellow material beneath.

’Jars of this color seem rare in Panlong City, don’t they?’

The old woman was distressed. She picked up the jar and turned it around twice to inspect it. Seeing no further damage, she finally let out a breath of relief.

Just then, someone else approached and greeted Hee Lingchuan.

"Aluo?" Hee Lingchuan was surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"Picking up a prescription from the apothecary up ahead." Aluo pointed behind him. "The order I placed a few days ago just arrived today. Is this your shop?"

"Yeah."

"Only cleaning it up today? Looks like you’re not short on cash." Every day the shop was rented out was a day’s worth of income.

As the two of them were talking, the old woman stood up.

Perhaps from squatting for too long, she swayed twice as soon as she stood and nearly fell.

Aluo reached out a hand and steadied her.

Once she was steady, the old woman grabbed the handle of the pushcart and began to push it away.

"Ma’am, is that all you’re taking?" The two men looked and saw there were only a few things in the cart.

"I can’t carry much more," the old woman said, sounding very practical. "Leave the rest for others."

Aluo’s expression and gaze were a bit strange. He asked the old woman, "Are you all right?"

"I’m fine." The old woman tried to leave with her cart.

Aluo pressed down on the cart’s handle. "You’re with child. You know that, don’t you?"

Those words gave Hee Lingchuan a massive shock.

’Pregnant? This old woman?’

The old woman was also stunned for a moment, but she immediately shot back, "It’s none of your business! Don’t be a busybody!"

She looked very angry and was clearly aware of her condition. Aluo had no choice but to let go and allow her to push the cart away.

Her figure quickly disappeared around the street corner, never once looking back.

Hee Lingchuan scratched the back of his head. "What did you just say? She’s pregnant?"

"Yes. I felt her pulse, though only for a moment."

"Could you be..." ’Mistaken?’

But seeing the look in Aluo’s eyes, Hee Lingchuan quickly changed his tune. "How many months along is she?"

He had noticed the old woman’s slightly protruding belly earlier, but many elderly people looked that way, so he hadn’t thought much of it.

Who knew it was something so bizarre.

"About four or five months."

The listener gasped. ’You can’t even tell.’

Aluo shook his head. "I only know that her pulse, while steady, is somewhat agitated. The fetuses in her womb are so active there’s even a risk of miscarriage. Fortunately, they’re still strong."

"’They’?" Hee Lingchuan was astonished. "She’s carrying more than one?"

"At least two," Aluo said. "You think I’m an Immortal? That I can tell you exactly how many she’s carrying with just one touch?"

Suddenly, someone nearby interjected, "Are you sure? Eldest Sister-in-law Ji is pregnant?"

The two turned their heads and saw the couple who owned the neighboring fur shop standing at their doorway, a look of disbelief on their faces.

"Sure of what?" Aluo had a short temper, especially when people questioned his medical skills. "Believe it or don’t. I don’t care."

The Shopkeeper was more amicable and hurried to apologize. "Please don’t be angry, Sir. It’s just hard for us to imagine. This is all too strange."

His wife was much more direct. "Did Eldest Sister-in-law Ji find another man? It just goes to show you can know a person’s face, but not their heart."

Hee Lingchuan brushed the debris off the steps. "An old tree sprouting new buds. What’s wrong with that?"

The Shopkeeper’s wife said bluntly, "She’s not that old, only four years older than me. But she’s been a widow for many years. After losing her sons, she was always acting unhinged. I never thought she’d find another man."

She looked to be under forty, which meant Eldest Sister-in-law Ji was only in her early forties—much younger than she appeared.

"Losing her sons?" Hee Lingchuan recalled the row of ceramic Puppets Eldest Sister-in-law Ji had taken. "How many children did she have?"

"Two sons. Both died on the battlefield."

Aluo’s gaze fell, and Hee Lingchuan sighed silently.

This was the fate of all the good young men of Panlong City. It was just that no one knew it until it came for them—except for Hee Lingchuan.

The pain of losing a child, and having to endure it twice. No wonder the old woman was a little mad, even saying she was taking the ceramic Puppets home for her sons to play with.

As for an old tree sprouting new buds, while it was a bit strange, it was not for others to question.

The Shopkeeper said in a solemn voice, "She used to be my neighbor. We could often hear her wailing loudly in the middle of the night. If it had been for a week or two, everyone would have sympathized and put up with it. But who could stand half a year of that? She grew more and more confused, even trying to take other people’s children. In the end, the neighborhood had no choice but to drive her out. I heard she moved to the outskirts."

Aluo suddenly asked, "How long has it been since you last saw her?"

"Uh..." The Shopkeeper and his wife glanced at each other. "About... three years?"

’She aged that much in just three years?’

After the conversation ended, quiet returned to the shop’s entrance. The neighboring shopkeeper couple retreated back inside, and Aluo said to Hee Lingchuan, "I’m on duty at Yuewu Hall today. Are you coming?"

"Sure, take me there to have some fun." Hee Lingchuan locked up the shop and put the recent incident to the back of his mind.

Panlong City had three Martial Arts Arenas. Yuewu Hall, located near the West Gate, was the largest and usually the most crowded.

It was a place for heroes to exchange skills. To put it nicely, it was "to befriend others through martial arts." To be more blunt, it was about the principle that "in martial arts, there is no second place."

Hee Lingchuan had been training arduously for several months, day and night without rest. It could be said he had put in three or four times the effort of an ordinary person. Naturally, he wanted to test his recent progress at the Martial Arts Arena.

Yuewu Hall was formerly a horse farm located in what was then the suburbs. Later, as Panlong City expanded outward, it quickly enveloped the area. Thus, the grounds were destined to be large and open. However, Panlong City built high walls to enclose it, leaving only one-fifth of the area exposed to public view.

The sign for Yuewu Hall was very large. The two words were written in a flamboyant, cursive script, and next to them, in smaller characters, was the signature: Zhong Shengguang.

So, it had been personally inscribed by Commander-in-Chief Zhong.

However, Hee Lingchuan was not well-traveled and this was the first time he had seen a sign with black characters on a white background. ’Huh, how solemn.’

Aluo led him inside. A Guard inspected their tokens before letting them pass.

This place was not open to the public; only registered soldiers of Panlong City could enter.

Once inside, Hee Lingchuan was struck by how huge the place was. He knew that Yuewu Hall was actually divided by the Dulou in the center, creating the North and South Courtyards. The South Courtyard, near the main gate, was for the common soldiers and Patrol Guards of Panlong City and had five arenas. The North Courtyard was open only to the Great Wind Army. The men in the South Courtyard could only look north through the fence, filled with secret envy.

The Dulou was a two-story building that separated the two courtyards and provided logistical support for the martial artists. Here, one could rest, sharpen weapons, change equipment, and there was even a physician on duty in case of emergencies.

Aluo was here to take over a shift as the on-duty physician. He needed money.

There were already several dozen people in the South Courtyard. The edges of the training ground were for solo practice, but the center of each area was cleared for sparring matches. Hee Lingchuan saw six men, paired off in three duels, tangling with one another. The swords and sabers in their hands were made of wood, their edges coated in red powder.

Anyone who was struck would be left with a red mark. If a bout ended without a decisive knockdown, the winner would be determined by the number and location of red marks on each person’s body.

Hee Lingchuan’s gaze shifted, and he was surprised to see another familiar face:

Skinny.

The fellow was waving a dozen or so slips of paper, standing beside a match and shouting himself hoarse.

But he didn’t stand out at all, because the shouts of the onlookers were as loud as a landslide!

THUD. A combatant in the arena was knocked unconscious by a shield and fell to the ground.

A wave of boos instantly erupted from the sidelines. Some people walked away dejectedly, while others howled, demanding money from Skinny: "I won, I won! Pay up!"

He absolutely could not afford to default on these debts. Skinny turned his back, batting away the hands reaching for him from behind, while hurriedly using a charcoal stick to cross things off his slips. "Don’t rush, don’t rush! One at a time!"