After the Immortal Disappeared

The child hesitated for a moment. "I know Mr. Hong. He told us not to be afraid."

"Hong Chenglu?"

"He lives in Yushu Alley. His is the only house that doesn’t have a blessing on its main gate."

This news came as a surprise to Hee Lingchuan. "You’re saying he already lived here in Bailu Town?"

The child nodded.

"What does he do?"

"He teaches at the schoolhouse." The child took the second piece of candy and started eating. "My dad says we don’t have money, so we can’t afford Mr. Hong."

’A Grand General who mows down men like grass, hiding out in a small town just to be a simple schoolteacher?’

The child took another candy from Lingguang’s hand. He ate it too quickly and hiccuped twice in a row.

Lingguang suddenly tilted its head.

Just then, a man rounded the corner of the alley. Seeing the child talking with Hee Lingchuan, he paled and rushed over, snatching the boy up. "What are you doing!"

"The Grain Transport Team was ambushed. We’re looking for clues." Hee Lingchuan opened his hand, revealing a piece of broken silver in his palm. "This is for your trouble."

That bit of silver reflected in the man’s eyes, practically glowing. But the greed on his face vanished in a flash, and he immediately shook his head. "I heard the shouts and sounds of fighting, so I hid at home. I don’t know anything!"

"Oh?" Hee Lingchuan said, surprised. "Hong Chenglu didn’t say anything to you?"

Hearing the name, the man’s mouth twitched. "No!"

Hee Lingchuan exhaled, then suddenly snatched the child away!

The man yelled, "What are you do—"

Before he could get the last word out, there was a flash before his eyes. The piece of broken silver was stuffed into his mouth, cutting off the rest of his sentence.

The child had just realized what was happening and was about to throw a tantrum when Hee Lingchuan flicked him on the temple, knocking him unconscious.

The man had just spit out the piece of broken silver when Hee Lingchuan placed the child on the ground, grabbed the man’s neck with one hand, and slammed him against the wall. "So you’d rather do this the hard way?"

Hee Lingchuan was taller than him, and the grip lifted the man’s feet off the ground. "Answer me honestly, and you’ll be fine—you’ll even get paid. But if you dare lie, it’s a dead end for both you and your boy. Understand?"

The man, unable to breathe or struggle free, nodded repeatedly.

Hee Lingchuan released him. "Your son said Hong Chenglu lives right here in Bailu Town. When did he move here, what does he usually do, and what happened a few days ago? Talk!"

The man clutched his throat and coughed several times.

"He and his wife moved to Bailu Town three years ago. They were nice people. I don’t know what they did for a living before, but Mr. Hong opened a schoolhouse in town. You know we’re poor here. We can barely afford to eat, let alone study, so his school never had more than a couple of kids. He couldn’t have made much money. Mr. Hong also worked at the rice shop at the end of the street. He could carry seven sacks of rice at once—he’s incredibly strong! Sometimes he’d do odd jobs to make ends meet. Recently, the war in the north started spreading south. Two of the wealthy families in town fled, and Mr. Hong lost his students."

"Wife?" Hee Lingchuan caught the key word. "What about her?"

"His wife’s name is Ajin. She’s paralyzed. In their first year here, she could still pull herself up and take a couple of steps by holding onto the wall, but later she became completely bedridden. Mr. Hong was always buying medicine for her. Their house smelled of medicine all year round!"

"How did she become paralyzed?"

"I heard it was from a difficult childbirth. The son died, and her body was ruined."

"If he was a schoolteacher, how did he become a bandit?"

"I have no idea. Suddenly, a few Officials were found dead in his house. By the time the Official Family found out, the couple had vanished. The Official Family searched and asked everywhere, but nobody knew anything."

Hee Lingchuan handed him another piece of broken silver. The man had secretly pocketed the first piece after digging it out of his throat.

One piece was worth taking, and so were two. The townsman’s lips loosened. "But I just remembered something. Right before Mr. Hong disappeared, the Patrol Officer had just dealt with Liu Yalin and two others on the charge of stealing military grain. That boy, Liu Yalin, was a former student of Mr. Hong. He’d studied with him for about half a year."

"Stealing military grain?" Hee Lingchuan’s expression flickered. ’That’s right,’ he thought. ’A Grain Transport Team did pass through Bailu Town a few days ago.’ "How is that crime handled?"

"Execution on the spot, no need to report to higher-ups." The townsman shivered. "I heard beheading would have been enough, but the Patrol Officer had the Executioner cut off Liu Yalin’s limbs first, and then his head."

Hee Lingchuan’s eyes darted. "Where is this Patrol Officer?"

"I-I don’t know."

He didn’t say the rest, but Hee Lingchuan read it in his eyes.

"Later, when Hong Chenglu returned to town with his men, killed the government soldiers, and seized the military grain, did he say anything to you?"

"N—" The townsman instinctively started to deny it, but Hee Lingchuan’s gaze suddenly turned sharp, sending a chill through his heart. He quickly changed his tune. "W-When they were killing the government soldiers, there was nothing we could do but hide. Later, when it got quiet outside, those Xunzhou people searched us out one by one and gathered us together. We were all surprised to see M-Mr. Hong. But he told us not to panic, that they would leave soon and wouldn’t harm us."

"That’s it?" Hee Lingchuan smiled. ’This censored version doesn’t sound right.’ "If they were just going to leave, why bother gathering you all up just to tell you that?"

"Th-They did kill people in town. The two wealthy families in the east of town, both with the surname Liu. One was in the grain and oil business, the other ran a pawnshop. Mr. Hong said those two families colluded with the Government Office to prey on the locals, so h-he executed them to let us vent our anger."

"He was that good to you?" ’This guy probably doesn’t realize he speaks smoothly when telling the truth but stutters when he lies, does he?’

"Mr. Hong said he was doing it for old times’ sake, since we’re from the same region."

Just then, figures flickered at the mouth of the alley. It was Fuzzy Peach and Shan Youjun, who had also returned.

Fuzzy Peach reported to Hee Lingchuan, "I went to the flatbread shop to ask questions. The guy kneading the dough played dumb, so when I saw no one was around, I gave him a little taste of pain. Only then did he say that after Hong Chenglu killed the government soldiers and drove them off last night, he gave them some grain. No wonder! The man himself wears rags and looks like a gust of wind could knock him over, yet he had two full bags of good grain under his kneading board!"

Shan Youjun added, "The Xunzhou people gathered all the townsfolk in the open ground at the town entrance last night. I took a look. There are traces of stones piled up to support a pot, and there were unburnt branches and charcoal on the ground."

"A pot?" Hee Lingchuan turned to the townsman. "Hong Chenglu treated you to a meal as well?"

"N-No!" The townsman shook his head so hard it looked like it might fall off. "Them eating had nothing to do with us!"

Medicine Ape Ling Guang, who had been perched on Hee Lingchuan’s shoulder, suddenly interjected, "The child’s hiccups earlier had a sour, gamey smell. I noticed his belly is a little bloated. It’s likely because he hadn’t eaten any rich food for a long time and then suddenly consumed a large amount, especially meat, causing indigestion."

"A large amount of meat?" Hee Lingchuan glanced at the unconscious child. A grotesque thought surfaced in his mind. ’Could it be?’

"You just said Hong Chenglu and the Xunzhou people took the two Liu families to the open ground and killed them. And then what?" Hee Lingchuan stared at him. "Where are the bodies?"

The townsman’s face went deathly pale, and he was rendered speechless.

Shan Youjun grabbed him by the collar. A short blade appeared from nowhere, its tip aimed at the man’s eyeball. "What did you have for your late-night meal yesterday? Speak!"

"We were forced! They said the Lius had preyed on us for years, so it was time for them to *become* our prey! So... so they forced every one of us to eat!"

"How could I dare?" The man actually burst into tears. "I only took one small bite and threw it up right after."

His child, innocent and unaware, had smelled the roasting meat and wolfed it down. And those vicious Xunzhou people had given the boy more whenever he asked.

Hee Lingchuan looked at him. "Did Hong Chenglu have a grudge against both of these Liu families?"

"I... I think so." The townsman thought for a moment. "The Liu Family that runs the pawnshop gives you especially low prices for your things. Sometimes, even if you scrape together enough money to buy your stuff back, they won’t return it. Lots of other dirty business too... They’re not good people."

"It seems Hong Chenglu suffered quite a bit at their hands too." Hee Lingchuan frowned. "Why would a man of his stature swallow his anger and keep quiet in this town?"

’The feeling was as bizarre as if I, myself, were to condescend to work as a handyman for the Black Water City merchant Liu Baobao, and for several years at that. Impossible!’

"I don’t know."

Shan Youjun let him go. Hee Lingchuan tossed him another piece of broken silver. "Keep your mouth shut, at least until we’ve left town."

Next, the four of them hurried to Hong Chenglu’s residence.

Everything they saw along the way was dilapidated. Most of the townsfolk were sallow and emaciated, their gazes cold. Even when facing a Xiazhou government soldier like Hee Lingchuan, they showed barely concealed vigilance and disgust.

Even without the Xunzhou people’s rampage, this place was poor enough.

Hee Lingchuan passed the town entrance, where he found the traces of the stone cooking setup Shan Youjun had mentioned, as well as a raised wooden platform.

There was still residual blood in the cracks between the planks, already turned black, but with his keen sense of smell, Hee Lingchuan could still detect the stench of gore.

A place like this, a platform like this, was usually used for public executions, to make an example of someone.

Hee Lingchuan suddenly recalled that Hong Chenglu’s student had been beheaded here for stealing military grain. A few days later, his teacher had also gone after military grain—not by stealing, but by openly seizing it.

’Why did Hong Chenglu distribute the grain to the townspeople?’

’Besides currying favor, was there also a bit of pity? After all, he once lived here and suffered greatly himself.’

’So when he forced the townspeople to eat the meat—the meat of the two wealthy families—was he doing it to vent his own anger, or to vent theirs?’

Pondering these questions, Hee Lingchuan soon found Hong Chenglu’s house.

The ground in this alley was uneven, and the cracks in the walls were overgrown with mold and moss. It wasn’t a long alley, but it housed at least a dozen families.

"It seems to be this one."

CREAK. Hee Lingchuan pushed the door open. Inside was a small courtyard with two low, single-story buildings.

The whole area was only a little bigger than his wooden cabin in Panlong City; the courtyard at least was about eleven or twelve square meters. A few wooden racks and two empty jars lay toppled in the yard, and there were blackened bloodstains on the ground.

The house wasn’t big. The four of them made a single loop and met up again. Fuzzy Peach sighed.

"Mr. Hong was really poor."

A Grand General of the Beiga Kingdom, living in hiding here, and his home could only be described as having four bare walls.

The bedroom contained only a bed and a low cabinet.

Shan Youjun, however, said, "The kitchen is as empty as if it’s been washed clean—not even a pot, bowl, or pan. But the stove shows signs of long-term use. That’s not normal."