After the Immortal Disappeared

"I imagine Commander Zhong is also happy to see them go back." Sunx Fuling was annotating the last few words. "Now that Wei City has been reclaimed, the city needs people to defend it, and the land needs people to farm it. In three months, spring will arrive and the snow will melt. All the land outside Wei City is good farmland. It would be a shame to let it go to waste."

In the Panlong Wasteland, grain had always been a major problem.

"Will the Baling People try to take Wei City back?" In truth, Hee Lingchuan already knew the answer.

They would.

"They will," Sunx Fuling said faintly. "As long as the Baling Kingdom has not given up on destroying us, they will certainly attack Wei City again."

Hee Lingchuan couldn’t help but let out a long sigh. Then he heard Sunx Fuling say placidly,

"Such is the world. A good death or a wretched life—you always have to choose one."

She carefully blew the ink dry. "Alright, I’ve finished the annotations. Let’s begin our first lesson."

The Sparrowhawk by the brazier immediately tucked its head into its back feathers.

’Time to sleep.’

The sunlight hitting the window lattice grew more slanted and hazy.

Sunx Fuling explained very earnestly, but Hee Lingchuan was a little distracted. They were sitting very close, and from this angle, he could see the delicate line of her jaw and her perfect cupid’s bow. Though her complexion was pale, her nose was high-bridged, and her almond-shaped eyes were exceptionally lively and spirited. What was that saying again? Something about two spheres of black mercury floating in white mercury?

Other beauties had eyes like autumn waters, shimmering and brimming, full of liquid sentiment; Sunx Fuling’s eyes, however, held a light of their own, like the twinkling of cold stars in the night sky—captivating and soul-stirring.

How could such a gaze appear in the eyes of a young woman if she hadn’t lived a little?

Though he knew she was the young lady from Sunx Jiayuan, Hee Lingchuan’s questions about her only deepened.

"Are you following?" Sunx Fuling noticed his distraction and waved her brush in front of his eyes a couple of times.

"Y-Yes, I understand." Hee Lingchuan fought back the urge to yawn.

The lesson had gone on for two double-hours!

’How does she manage to talk nonstop for two double-hours without needing a drink of water?’

’A true professional.’

The Sparrowhawk beside them was already snoring. He was dying of envy.

He had managed to focus for the first double-hour, but by the second, the words on the page had started to crawl up and squirm into a mass of little tadpoles in his mind.

Sunx Fuling could see his guilt and stood up. "Let’s stop here for today. You won’t remember any more if I keep going."

"Yes, yes! Thank you for your hard work, Miss Sunx!" Hee Lingchuan scrambled to his feet, secretly stretching his stiff lower back.

"I’ll be going. You should get some rest." Sunx Fuling nodded at him and walked out.

’She was being so kind as to help him. Shouldn’t he show some appreciation?’ Hee Lingchuan’s gaze swept over the oil-paper-wrapped roasted chicken on the stove, and he suddenly remembered the new thing he’d acquired.

"Please wait!" He fumbled in the flowerpot and pulled out a candy snail.

After leaving the warm, damp caves of Smoke Mountain, it had frozen solid in the frigid air. Hee Lingchuan used a toothpick to pick out the snail meat, then quickly washed the shell before handing it to Sunx Fuling.

"I don’t have many possessions, so please accept this as my tuition payment."

"A candy shell?" Sunx Fuling took it and held it up to the light, her voice turning cheerful. "Are you really giving this to me? This is very expensive, you know. Enough to cover six months’ tuition!"

’So she knows its value.’

The one Hee Lingchuan gave her had a spiral center of grassy green, surrounded by a ring of pure black, and its outermost, largest ring was a vibrant, gradient apple-red. Its beauty was entirely natural.

Candy snails grew such colorful shells because of the different foods they ate, and sometimes even the order in which they ate them.

Hee Lingchuan shrugged. "A treasure sword for a hero, a precious gift for a beautiful lady."

Sunx Fuling tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. The light in her eyes shone even brighter, and her voice softened. "Thank you for such a generous gift. I love it."

The two said their goodbyes, and Sunx Fuling left, clutching the candy shell.

Hee Lingchuan couldn’t help but marvel at the powerful allure of jewelry to women. Even someone with a cool personality like Sunx Fuling couldn’t tear her eyes away from the candy snail shell.

He looked at the remaining snail meat and sighed.

’If only I could find a cave where these things grow in the real world, too. Then I’d have an endless source of income.’

When he walked back to the kitchen, he found that the packet of roasted chicken was missing from the stove, and the Sparrowhawk by the brazier was gone as well.

「The next morning」

The people of Dunyu City had just woken up when they heard two major pieces of news.

First, three more people from the Zhan Family had died during the night.

Strictly speaking, it was three and a half.

Two of them had been severely injured the day before and had clung to life until dawn, but ultimately succumbed to their wounds.

The last one and a half was the most tragic: Fourth Master Zhan’s pregnant wife was gone.

Fourth Master Zhan was already fifty. The wife he had remarried four years ago was a full thirty-two years younger than him.

It was only natural for an old man to dote on a young wife.

Yesterday, the Li Family’s private soldiers had stormed the Zhan Residence and knocked over his wife, who was seven months pregnant. Her belly struck a rockery hard, and she immediately started bleeding and lost consciousness.

The doctor summoned by the Government Office tried to save her immediately, but unfortunately, he failed.

By midnight, it was one body, two lives.

It was a baby boy, no less. Fourth Master Zhan nearly went insane.

Everyone who heard this news sighed and shook their heads in pity.

But in this day and age, the chances of a child dying in infancy were high; one or two out of every ten was common. Besides, the Zhan Family, as one of Dunyu’s four great families, didn’t have a very good reputation. The common folk would always follow up any mention of the matter with "the sins of the father are visited upon the son," and then use it as a topic for idle gossip.

The second piece of major news was that the Xunzhou Soldiers had broken through Hundred Car Ridge, tearing a long gap in General Zhao Pan’s defensive line.

In the past, when the Yuan High Ancestor attacked Xiazhou, his righteous cause won him much support. The wealthy gentry and clans near Dunyu sent supplies, clothing, and armor. Carts and horses often traveled along that ridge, sometimes a hundred at a time, hence its name.

But the current army of the Yuan Kingdom was clearly a shadow of its former glory. Lacking clothes and food, with morale shattered, this pass had also been seized by Xunzhou.

The fall of Hundred Car Ridge was Nian Zanli’s mockery of the Yuan Court.

More importantly, the terrain south of Hundred Car Ridge was flat with no natural defenses. The Xunzhou army could use this as a breakthrough point to advance southward.

When the news arrived, the entire city of Dunyu was shaken.

The straight-line distance from Hundred Car Ridge to Dunyu City was just over four hundred li. To make matters worse, from there, they could get on the Official Road, allowing their army to advance even faster.

For the first time, the dark clouds of war loomed so clearly over Dunyu City, and perhaps over the heart of every person in Dunyu.

As a result, the Dunyu People’s concern for the war surpassed their interest in tracking the case of the Zhan Family’s three and a half deaths.

While they were having breakfast, Madam Ying told Hee Chunhua the news about the Zhan Family. He couldn’t help but rap his knuckles on the table.

"Heavens..."

He had wanted to say, "Heavens are helping me!" but seeing Madam Ying’s stunned expression, he changed his tune mid-sentence: "...have unpredictable moods." His own expression, however, had lightened considerably.

The deaths in the Zhan Family would escalate the conflict on their own, meaning he wouldn’t need to use the more aggressive measures he had prepared.

Not long after, the steward, Old Mo, also came to report on the military situation in the north.

After listening, Hee Chunhua took a long, deep breath. It was like someone handing him a pillow just as he was getting sleepy. He could hardly believe his good fortune.

To him, these two major events were a true double blessing. What others saw as danger, he saw as a golden opportunity.

’My eldest son is truly a lucky charm.’

Facing the rising sun, Hee Chunhua couldn’t help but feel filled with ambition.

’A new Chapter, one that belongs to me, is finally about to begin.’

Just as he predicted, right after he finished breakfast, the Zhan Family Patriarch, Zhan Song, arrived at his door with several carts of expensive gifts. With red-rimmed eyes, he added to the list of the Li Family’s crimes, begging the Governor to uphold justice. Because the case of the Li Family using private soldiers to commit murder couldn’t be formally tried until the suspects turned themselves in two days later, the Zhan Family’s current plea was that the sentence, when it came, must be severe and strict!

Hee Chunhua put on a look of sorrow and pity, promising that he would certainly not let the perpetrators get away with it.

Now came the main event. Zhan Song was an old fox. He knew that since he was asking for a favor—and a favor to investigate the Li Family, Dunyu’s top hegemon, at that—the difficulty was maxed out. He understood that his own family would have to bleed a little. So, he took an Exchange Ticket from his robes and placed it on the table.

"Knowing there are tigers on the mountain, Mr. Hee still insists on facing the danger. The Zhan Family is deeply grateful and is willing to donate this Exchange Ticket to the State Government. With this ticket, the Government Office can collect five thousand shi of grain from the Zhan Family’s shops."

One shi was equal to one hundred and twenty jin, so five thousand shi of grain was about six hundred thousand jin, which would slightly alleviate the urgent needs at the front line.

Hee Chunhua smiled faintly. "The Zhan Family is too kind."

He was being reserved, and the Zhan Family Patriarch understood at once: he thought it was too little. General Zhao Pan had over thirty thousand soldiers under his command. Even if they weren’t fighting and just stayed put, five thousand shi would only last them ten days.

"If the heavens are watching and my Zhan Family receives justice, we are willing to donate another five thousand shi."

Hee Chunhua rose to his feet. "The net of heaven is vast; though its mesh is wide, nothing escapes it. The Zhan Family has only to wait for good news."

This was a clear acceptance. Zhan Song breathed a slight sigh of relief, paid his respects, and departed.

In the past, he never would have believed the Government Office could investigate the Li Family. But this new Governor Hee had just taken office. He’d heard that Hee had previously distinguished himself by garrisoning the western border and suppressing bandits, then used the credit from killing Sunx Fuping to secure a rapid promotion. He had few connections with the high officials in the court.

Walking out of the Hee Mansion, the Zhan Family Patriarch looked up at the sky and sighed softly. He had never been so desperate for the Government Office to handle a case impartially.

Of course, his actions were seen by spies waiting nearby, who quickly reported back to the Li Family.

As for the conversation between the Governor of Xiazhou and the Zhan Family Patriarch, Hee Chunhua didn’t even need to deliberately spread it. About two double-hours later, it reached the ears of the Li brothers.

Li Rong sneered repeatedly. "Ten thousand shi? The Zhan Family thinks they can put us to death with a mere ten thousand shi of grain?"

Despite his words, his face was as white as paper. He had barely slept for the past two days. The Li estate was all level ground, but from last night until now, he had stumbled at least three times, nearly falling over.

Just then, a servant came to report, "The Sixth Young Master has returned."

Li Rong shot to his feet. "Quick, quick, bring him in!"

...

The Beginning of Spring had long passed, but the lake outside Dunyu City was still frozen two chi thick.

Hee Lingchuan put on the airs of an Official’s Son. Instead of carrying a cage to walk a bird, he held a monkey and walked a wolf. Dressed in magnificent robes and a fine cap, with Fuzzy Peach and four or five other Guards following behind, he first went to Dunyu’s best restaurant for a grand meal, then headed to Xiangyun Garden to listen to music.

Wherever he went, it was a display of extravagance.

In terms of prices, Dunyu was quite a bit more expensive than Black Water City.