After the Immortal Disappeared

A large termite hole gaped in the roof beam. A dozen or so of the insects scurried in and out, head to tail, as if about to commit some shameful act. Hee Lingchuan stared at them for a good long while before realizing he was dreaming again.

Nowadays, his dreams had only one destination:

Panlong City.

He tried to get out of bed, but his arms and legs were stiff and unresponsive, like trying to restart a classic car that had been sitting idle for five or six years.

As soon as Hee Lingchuan sat up, he noticed a stool in the room was overturned quite unnaturally.

After taking a walk around his small house, he discovered that all his firewood was gone, and the two plump fish in his rainwater barrel had also vanished. He hurried back to the bedroom, pried away two bricks in the corner, and took a look.

Thankfully, the medicine and silver he had hidden there were still in place.

In short, he’d been robbed. The thief who’d swiped his fish would probably spit on the ground in disgust, cursing how dirt-poor the place was and how there was nothing worth stealing.

However, his personal saber was still leaning brazenly against the side of his bed. The petty thief hadn’t dared to touch it.

It was clearly a military-style saber, complete with an inscription and serial number. According to the laws of Panlong City, stealing military property was punishable by having one’s hands chopped off. Even if the thief had stolen the blade, he wouldn’t have been able to sell it.

Just as Hee Lingchuan was scratching his head, the courtyard gate opened with a CREAK, and Hu Min walked in.

Seeing Hee Lingchuan standing in the doorway, he was startled for a moment, then his face broke into a wide grin. "You’re awake?"

Judging by his expression, Hee Lingchuan knew this was no ordinary question. He blinked. "I am. What happened to me?"

"You’ve been unconscious for three days! The army medic treated your wounds and said the spider venom in your system was so potent it would take three to five days to clear. Just how many times did those Earth Cave Spiders get their fangs into you?"

’I was poisoned, too?’

Seeing his confused expression, Hu Min rubbed his hands together. "What’s the last thing you remember?"

"Falling into Second Madam Zhu’s nest," Hee Lingchuan mumbled. "I thought I was a goner. How am I still alive?"

"Everyone thought you’d died a hero’s death. The Military Merits Bureau even sent out your death benefits, but there was no one to claim them. As it turns out, you must have fallen into an underground river in the spider’s den and been washed all the way to Baiyang Inn. It wasn’t until three days ago that a horse herder found you. He saw you were wearing a Great Wind Army uniform and clutching your saber for dear life, so he hurried to report it. Mr. Xiao guessed it was you and personally went to bring you back."

"The Ghost Needle Stone Forest is a good twenty or thirty li from Baiyang Inn. If you hadn’t washed up on the shallows, no one would have ever known that river connects to the one under the Ghost Needle Stone Forest!" Hu Min clapped him on the shoulder. "You lucky devil! You must have nine lives!"

What could Hee Lingchuan say? He could only look to the heavens and sigh. "When it’s not your time, I suppose even the gods lend a hand."

Deep down, he knew this was just another Blinding Technique from the Panlong Dream Realm. The last time, when he’d abruptly "logged off" at the end of the battle in the River Valley, the Dream Realm had arranged a similar "washed away by the river" conclusion for him.

’Can’t you be a little more creative? Think of a new excuse, maybe? Do I really give off such a "lacks water in his five elements" vibe?’

Hu Min asked, puzzled, "What was that?"

"Nothing!" Hee Lingchuan laughed it off. "Anyway, how did that huge battle finally end?"

"That was eight days ago! And hey, you made a huge contribution. I heard you torched the Earth Cave Spiders’ main nest, which scared Second Madam Zhu so badly she abandoned the fight and rushed back. That’s what allowed General Nanke’s troops to escape the Ghost Needle Stone Forest and join the reinforcements from the city to beat back Hua Mucuo."

Hee Lingchuan knew there were two fronts to the battle. "What about the other one?"

"While General Nanke was luring away Wei City’s main force, the Red General led us on a surprise attack to take the city. It was a complicated affair with plenty of setbacks, but in the end, Wei City fell into our hands." Hu Min had also taken part in the battle for Wei City, so he launched into a full account of what he’d witnessed.

The battle on the Red General’s flank had been just as complex as the one in the Ghost Needle Stone Forest. Hee Lingchuan was completely absorbed and asked without thinking, "Why did the Baling Kingdom suddenly send a huge army to the Panlong Wasteland?"

For the past fifteen years, the Baling and Xianyou Kingdoms had been Panlong City’s old rivals. The course of the war had ebbed and flowed, its pace quickening and slowing. There were even frequent periods of truce, where both sides would refrain from aggression and even engage in trade.

Panlong City was a thorn in the side of both kingdoms, one they’d grown accustomed to. After failing to remove it for over a decade, they’d more or less given up and left it alone. Even the frequent border skirmishes were met with a lukewarm response.

But Hee Lingchuan now understood that this situation had most likely occurred because either the Baling Kingdom or the Xianyou Kingdom was dealing with internal problems. Unable to manage conflicts both at home and abroad, they had loosened their grip on the Panlong Wasteland.

So why had the Baling Kingdom suddenly stirred again, dispatching a forty-thousand-strong army in one fell swoop?

Hu Min shrugged. "That’s beyond me." He was just a soldier; his job was to fight. It took a long time for information from the top to trickle down to his level.

"But Hua Mucuo wasn’t ready to give up. After gathering the remnants of Shao Yingyang’s forces, he turned right around and attacked Wei City. The Red General had us dig in and defend. There wasn’t much Hua Mucuo could do—after all, he’d personally overseen the reinforcement of the city’s defenses. No one knew better than him how tough it was to assault." Hu Min roared with laughter at this point. "And then a massive blizzard swept over the Wilderness for three days and three nights—with hail!"

"The Baling People were frozen stiff, without food or proper clothing. With nowhere to take shelter, they were like stray dogs in the Wilderness—a truly pathetic sight! Oh, and it seems one of their contingents slipped away early, probably due to infighting among the top brass. That’s when the Red General ordered a night raid on the Baling Military Camp and won a decisive victory. Hua Mucuo finally dropped the pretense, tucked his tail between his legs, and ran for home." Hu Min’s grin stretched from ear to ear. "They’re still not done retreating, even now. You’ve never seen such a dejected-looking bunch of losers!"

Hee Lingchuan smiled too.

With Wei City lost, the Baling People no longer had a foothold in the eastern Panlong Wasteland. How could an army of forty thousand men survive by eating the wind and drinking the dew? Their retreat was a foregone conclusion.

For the past year or so, both sides had been engaged in guerrilla warfare. The harsh conditions of the Wilderness limited the forces in any given battle to a few hundred, or at most a couple thousand, troops. Both sides had grown accustomed to this rhythm. But with Shao Yingyang’s arrival, the plan was to catch Panlong City completely off guard. He would set a trap, strike with overwhelming speed, and crush Panlong City’s smaller squads with a massive, heaven-sent army.

The key was to capitalize on the information gap.

According to his plan, by the time Panlong City could react, the Great Wind Army’s Elite would have been annihilated. The Red General might even have been captured. That would have shaken Panlong City to its very core.

However, such strategies are always high-risk, high-reward. If you fail to gobble up the prize when it’s right in front of you, the logistical shortcomings become glaringly obvious. Even Wei City couldn’t have supported that many troops, let alone an army of forty thousand men now wandering the plains.

After that, you lose every advantage—timing, terrain, and morale. The entire Panlong Wasteland itself would turn against you.

"So, we took back Wei City." Hu Min sighed wistfully. "Your home is yours again."

Home? Hee Lingchuan felt no connection to the word. "What happened to Shao?"

"Dead. The Red General finished him off himself."

Hee Lingchuan, however, was thinking about the information Hu Min had just revealed.

’Those words Shao Yingyang said to the Red General... What did he mean by "the former Lady Mitian"? And what’s a "Divine Envoy"?’

’Mitian is the Deity who protects Panlong City. What’s the difference between a former one and the present one?’

’Ultimately, I have far too little information about the Deities.’

’A Divine Envoy is easier to grasp. Does it refer to the person who undergoes a Divine Descent? A vessel, in other words?’

’I’m very curious. Does the invincible Red General completely submit to Mitian’s will, or does he still possess his own consciousness and thoughts?’

’To put it another way, is it Mitian fighting these battles, or the Red General?’

Just then, Hu Min pulled out several silver ingots and handed them to Hee Lingchuan. "Here are your winnings."

"My winnings?" He had no recollection.

"Didn’t you place a bet with the squad before the battle at the Ghost Needle Stone Forest?" Hu Min said with a laugh. "Your teammates came by a couple of times, but you were still out cold. In the end, a skinny fellow called Monkey gave me the money to pass on to you."

He went outside to ladle some water to wash his hands. Glancing in the rain barrel, he saw it was empty. "Huh? Did you eat the fish?"

Hee Lingchuan shook his head. "Looks like I was robbed. The fish and the firewood are gone, but my saber’s still here."

"Even the most clueless thief wouldn’t dare steal a military saber," Hu Min chuckled. "Are you going to report it?"

"Think they’d actually get it back?"

"Honestly, I doubt it," Hu Min said matter-of-factly. "The city laws are harsh on thieves, sure, but you were unconscious for three days. Anyone could have come in. The culprit would be hard to find."

Besides, all you lost was a bit of firewood and two fish. The value is so low, the Officials probably wouldn’t bother with the case.

"And here I thought Panlong City was a paradise," Hee Lingchuan lamented. "Turns out there are petty crooks everywhere."

"Well, that’s people for you," Hu Min said, trying to console him. "It can’t be helped. You’ve earned great merits again this time; you should move. Get a place in a better neighborhood. You won’t have thieves showing up at your door there."

Hee Lingchuan glanced around the tiny courtyard—it was barely three steps from the gate to his bedroom door. "You’re right. I should get a new house."

Training his martial arts here was getting more and more inconvenient. He could barely stretch out his limbs, let alone practice his throws.

Stepping out of his courtyard, Hee Lingchuan froze.

The area just outside his gate was piled high with gifts: jars, pots, and bundles of all sizes. He could barely find a place to put his feet.

"What’s all this?" He casually picked up a jar, brushing a layer of fresh snow from its mouth. He saw the yellow mud seal was perfectly intact. Leaning in for a sniff, he murmured, "That smells amazing. Is it wine?"

The jar of wine weighed at least thirty jin, and the two words "Spring Terrace" were visible on the mud seal.

Hu Min took a look and laughed. "That’s Spring Terrace Wine, from the old winery in the south of the city. It’s incredibly smooth, and not cheap at all."

He also helped Hee Lingchuan check a few other clay pots. Prying one open, he immediately clamped a hand over his nose. "Whoa, that’s potent!"

These pots were filled with pickled vegetables—cucumbers, cabbage, radishes... Judging from the smell alone, they’d been fermenting for a good long while.

If the Spring Terrace Wine was a store-bought gift, then these jars of pickled vegetables were clearly homemade.

Hee Lingchuan lifted the cloth off another basket to find five large fish, frozen solid. Their eyes were still bright. Lying on top of them was a note that stank of fish, with a few words scrawled crookedly across it:

"My son came home alive. Thank you."

It was signed: The Zhu Dapang family, Five-Finger Lane.

Another large bundle held cured meat, golden and fragrant. It was wrapped in countless layers of oil paper, tied tightly with straw rope. Written directly on the outermost layer were the words: "Good deeds are rewarded. When you finish it, I’ll bring more."

Although both messages were written with charcoal sticks, at least they had left a note. Most of the other items came with no message and no name, so he had no idea who sent them, but the heartfelt sentiment was palpable.