After the Immortal Disappeared

The tall man next hurried to the pharmacy to fill a prescription. The resident doctor said that since the old medicine wasn't working, he should switch to a new formula and try it for ten days.

The new formula was more expensive, and he didn't have enough money, but he could only nod and agree.

The butcher shop was just ahead. He didn't want to go near it, so he took a long detour home.

As soon as he entered the alley, he heard cursing. Mr. Hong glanced over and saw a neighbor at the alley's entrance, holding a child and crying her heart out. The few furnishings in her yard were strewn about, as if they had just been ransacked.

'Could it be?' His heart tightened, and he rushed home.

All along the way, the sounds of weeping and angry curses from his neighbors filled the air.

Mr. Hong practically flew home. He pushed open the gate and saw that the stool in the courtyard was overturned, the bundles of firewood stacked in the corner were gone, and the door to the house was wide open.

He dashed into the room to find his wife and the quilt sprawled on the floor. Everything in the room had been turned upside down, and even the bricks in the corner had been pried up—

He had hidden some emergency change there, and now it was gone too.

"Are you alright?" He carried his half-paralyzed wife to the wooden bed. "Who would dare come in and steal from us?" Though he asked the question, he was already seventy percent sure of the answer.

His wife's lips were pale. She gripped his arm tightly but still managed to say clearly, "Soldiers came in to take back grain. They said we had to return it. I told them we never took any, but they just started grabbing everything!"

A helpless woman, unable to move, and suddenly several large men had burst into her home, turning everything over and even throwing her to the floor. The fact that she hadn't fainted from fright or broken down in tears was a testament to her strength.

Mr. Hong's lips pressed into a thin line.

'Of course.' The three young men who were beheaded had stolen military rations and distributed them to the villagers under the cover of night, thinking they were righteous thieves helping the poor and needy.

'Naive!'

Now that they had been caught and executed, the rations they had distributed to the town had become the perfect excuse for the soldiers to go door-to-door and seize grain!

'You think you can just take military rations? Hand them over!'

Mr. Hong had stored his family's grain in two places—half in the kitchen and half under the bed. Now, it was all gone. Moreover, anything in the house that might fetch a price, no matter how small, had also been taken by the soldiers, like the bundle of firewood in the courtyard.

There was no one he could even complain to.

Though his heart was heavy, he still whispered to comfort his wife, "It's alright. We didn't have anything valuable in the house anyway, so they couldn't take much. Oh, right, I got paid today. I'll go make you some congee."

His wife let out a chuckle, a bitter one. "Congee from where?"

After saying this, Mr. Hong's own face fell.

'The rice has all been stolen. How can I make congee?'

'Might as well be drinking the northwest wind.'

A surge of violent anger rose from the depths of his heart. 'Back then... back in my glory days, when would I ever have suffered such humiliation?'

His wife's eyes reddened, but she held back her tears and comforted him instead. "I'm not hungry. You should rest for a bit and calm down. Even if the soldiers hadn't come, the old woman next door would have come to steal things."

Mr. Hong looked at her sallow, emaciated face as she forced a smile, and his heart ached. He had once been determined to give her a good life.

But she had never enjoyed a single day of peace from beginning to end.

Mr. Hong first gave her some water to drink. Just as he was thinking about where to find some food outside, CLANG! The half-closed courtyard gate was violently thrown open, followed by the sound of chaotic footsteps.

He had just finished wrapping his wife in the quilt when three constables walked in from outside. They looked him up and down and asked, "Are you Hong Chenglu?"

Hong Chenglu slowly stood up. "What can I do for you three Lord Officials?"

The constable in the lead tilted his head at his two colleagues. "Take him!"

The two men rattled the Lock Chains in their hands and moved to restrain him. His wife's face turned pale with fright. Hong Chenglu held up a hand. "Wait. First, tell me what crime I've committed!"

"The higher-ups just found out your residency permit is a forgery!" the constable sneered. "I don't need to tell you what times these are, do I? Be smart and come with us. You'll suffer less that way!"

Da Yuan forbids the free movement of commoners. To register a new residence elsewhere, one needs a Document from their place of origin granting permission, known as a Residency Permit. With the great war having already broken out in the north, Xiazhou has become a warzone. The State Government has ordered a strict investigation for spies, starting with the official records.

For Hong Chenglu's Residency Permit to be found fraudulent at this critical juncture—what good could possibly come of it?

Knowing the nature of the local Government Office, if he were really taken away in chains, being thrown in a cell or sentenced to hard labor would be a light punishment. The most likely outcome was being conscripted into the army.

Just a few days ago, the State Government's recruitment order was posted in Bailu Town. Each village was required to provide five hundred men to go to Dunyu and be trained as part of the State Army.

The salary offered on the notice was quite high, and Hong Chenglu had been tempted for a moment. But then he thought of his bedridden wife who needed someone to care for her, and he dismissed the idea. Besides, weren't there countless examples of the Haotian Village Official going back on his word? When the salary was actually paid out, how much of it would ever reach the soldiers' families?

But if he was hauled off by the constables now, he'd likely be sent straight to the army without receiving a single big coin.

Hong Chenglu's expression was impassive. "My wife has been bedridden for years; she can't be left alone. Lord Officials, please do me a favor and pretend you never found me."

Heh, heh heh. 'A tiger stranded on the plains.' He flexed his right hand, making a few cracking sounds.

Of the three constables, one looked at the destitute home and showed a hint of pity, but the other two were unmoved. "These days, who doesn't have their own sob story? Let's go! Stop dawdling!"

With a rattle of the Lock Chain, one was thrown toward Hong Chenglu's neck.

The constables had used these to capture people for years and were as skilled as a herdsman roping a horse. With one swift motion, it would be looped and locked, and the suspect would find it nearly impossible to escape.

But Hong Chenglu shot out a hand and somehow grabbed the Lock Chain, yanking it back.

The constable lost his footing and was pulled forward, man and Lock Chain together, as easily as if his opponent were grabbing a chicken. Before he could react, Hong Chenglu's five fingers, like an eagle's talon, pressed lightly on his neck.

CRACK. His larynx was crushed.

The second constable subconsciously drew his blade and was about to shout when Hong Chenglu whipped the Lock Chain out, snaring him and pulling him close. It was too late to call for help. The Lock Chain tightened around his neck, the pain in his cervical spine intensifying...

With a soft SNAP, his neck bone broke.

The last constable, still standing in place, was stunned. They wore Official Tokens at their waists, blessed with Primordial Power; an ordinary strong man would be no match for them. But this tall, thin man...

It was only when Hong Chenglu's gaze swept over him that he snapped out of it and turned to flee.

Hong Chenglu hesitated for a moment, not wanting to deal with him.

However, just as the constable fled into the courtyard, he suddenly flew backward, flailing his arms and legs, and crashed with a THUD against the foot of the bed, his head splitting open.

He didn't even make a sound from start to finish.

Seeing the red and white matter spill across the floor, Hong Chenglu frowned and took two steps back to block the doorway.

Suddenly, someone outside knocked lightly on the courtyard gate. "Is Mr. Hong home?"

The gate was wide open. For this person to knock at a time like this was both polite and bizarre.

"Who is it?" Mr. Hong stepped outside to see. The visitor was a man in his forties with a round face and round nose, the kind of person who looked like his good nature brought him wealth. He carried a bundle on his back and looked like a Traveling Merchant.

And yet, this was the person who had just thrown the constable back inside and smashed him to death.

He closed the door behind him, bowed to Hong Chenglu, and then said with a solemn expression, "This humble one is named Wuu Qing. I was entrusted by another Lord Hong, before his death, to deliver his last effects to you!"

Hong Chenglu narrowed his eyes. "Another... Lord Hong?"

"He was your own brother, but his name is taboo, so I will not mention it. These are the things he asked me to give you." Wuu Qing took the bundle off his back and offered it with both hands.

Hong Chenglu opened the bundle. There wasn't much inside: just a thin-walled box, a stack of Talismans, a folding fan, and a letter sealed with wax.

The symbols drawn on the Talismans were familiar; they were indeed his brother's handiwork.

He first opened the box. Inside were ten folded silver notes of varying denominations. Any single one of them would be enough to lift him out of destitution and into the comfortable life of a landowner. The box also contained several Profound Crystals, their colors ranging from deep green to faint red.

These were concentrations of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, treasures that money could not buy. Even the newly appointed Chief Steward of Xiazhou couldn't boast a family fortune comparable to these few Profound Crystals.

But Hong Chenglu tipped them aside without a glance, because resting on top of the silver notes was a small wooden toad, barely larger than his fingertip. The Sword Technique was exquisite, carving out even the little bumps on the toad's back.

He lifted the wooden carving with his index finger and stared at it for a long while, seemingly in a Trance.

Wuu Qing did not make a sound to disturb him.

Only when Hong Chenglu had looked his fill did he close the box.

His wife, hearing nothing from the inner room for a long time, called out worriedly, "Mr. Hong?"

"I'm here," he replied. "My brother had someone bring some things over. Just a moment."

Silence fell in the inner room once more.

Hong Chenglu then picked up the letter, broke the wax seal, and unfolded it right there in the courtyard.

The handwriting was familiar, definitely from the brother he hadn't seen in so long. Furthermore, the letter was written in a code that only the two of them could understand.

As he began to read, his heart was filled with a mix of emotions. After all, their last meeting had been ten years ago; now, all he had was this "meeting on paper," for they were separated forever by death. But the further he read, the more his emotions churned.

The signature on the last page of the letter, when decoded, was two words: "Go forward!"

And next to the name, a lifelike toad had been drawn in Vermilion.

Hong Chenglu remembered when they were children. His older brother would take him to play by the river. He loved catching dragonflies and small shrimp, but he was clumsy and usually only managed to catch frogs...

"And he called this 'following the mandate of heaven'? Heh!" He scoffed, then sighed deeply. "Do you know what's in the letter?"

Wuu Qing shook his head. "Only you in all the world know."

"My brother is dead. Who is your master now?"

Wuu Qing bowed deeply, not daring to straighten up.

Hong Chenglu's gaze turned sharp. "What is the meaning of this?"

"Before I tell you the truth, I beg Mr. Hong to spare my life."

Hong Chenglu laughed instead of getting angry. "Fine, fine. Tell me everything."

"I came from the north. I was once ordered to serve at Lord Hong's side for three years."

'From the north?' Hong Chenglu scrutinized him more closely. "Are you one of Nian Zanli's men?"

Wuu Qing shook his head, his expression showing a hint of arrogance. "Nian Zanli? What is he? Just some third-rate nobody!"