After the Immortal Disappeared

At that moment, Tao Ze feinted with his halberd, pulled his reins, and turned to flee.

Hee Lingchuan raised his wrist and fired a Sleeve Arrow at him.

Tao Ze heard the sharp whistle of something flying at the back of his head. He turned and raised his halberd to bat it away. But what followed immediately was a flash of cold light—

The Floating Life Blade had arrived, spinning through the air.

Tao Ze ducked his head and barely dodged it.

Hee Lingchuan had thrown his saber almost at the same instant he fired the Sleeve Arrow.

’One of them was bound to hit.’

Sure enough, the Treasure Saber suddenly changed direction in mid-air, looping back from the most difficult angle. Tao Ze’s face went pale with fright. There was no escape. He barely managed to bend over and suck in his breath when he felt a sharp pain in his gut—

The Floating Life Blade had sliced across his belly, opening a wound a finger-width deep!

And that was with his armor blocking part of the blow.

His organs were damaged, and his intestines and everything were about to spill out.

Tao Ze screamed in agony.

Hee Lingchuan, meanwhile, had already run to the Soaring Dragon Spear. He reached out, pulled it from the tree trunk, and turned to thrust at Tao Ze.

In his soul-scattering pain, Tao Ze had just barely managed to parry Shan Youjun’s long saber. How could he have any strength left to defend himself?

Hee Lingchuan thrust his spear, and it went right into Tao Ze’s wide-open mouth.

The gleaming spear tip pierced through the back of his skull.

Hee Lingchuan simply hoisted the corpse onto his spear tip. Spurring his horse forward, he roared, "Those who stand in my way die!"

Their leader had been killed in less than two exchanges. The Xunzhou men in front of them were scared out of their wits. Who would dare block the path now? They scrambled desperately to the sides of the road, afraid that a moment’s delay would make them the next soul claimed by the spear.

Shan Youjun was quick-handed. He snatched up the falling Red Tiger Halberd and followed closely behind Hee Lingchuan.

After they had galloped for a little over a hundred feet, Hee Lingchuan flicked his spear tip, and Tao Ze’s corpse fell to the ground with a THUD.

When the Xunzhou soldiers rushed over to retrieve their leader’s body, all they saw was the trail of dust kicked up by the two distant riders.

Just a few dozen breaths later, the main force of the Xunzhou Rangers returned.

The successive whistles from just now had indicated an emergency, that they had run into an unusually tough opponent. That was why Hong Chenglu had personally turned back.

Seeing Tao Ze’s body and the brutal manner of his death by the spear, he fell silent before asking what had happened.

Tao Ze’s men quickly reported the events.

"So the man who injured General Baili was among the scouts tailing us?" Hong Chenglu frowned. "According to the intelligence from Xinhuang, this person is Hee Chunhua’s son."

’Which means Hee Chunhua sent his own son to Bailu Town to gather military intelligence?’

The Xun General, Xuu Yingxian, was a sworn brother to Tao Ze and their bond was deep. With red eyes, he immediately came forward to request a mission. "General Hong, give me twenty men! I swear I’ll grind that brat’s bones to dust!"

"He’s riding a Bo Beast; you won’t be able to catch him," Hong Chenglu said calmly. "Do you still remember our mission?"

Xuu Yingxian opened his mouth to argue, but Wuu Qing, who was beside him, tugged on his sleeve. The words on the tip of his tongue were swallowed back down.

"I remember." ’Assassinations behind enemy lines and raiding supply lines.’

"Then what are you waiting for?" Hong Chenglu tilted his head. "Time is short."

The group of Xunzhou Rangers moved east, advancing quickly.

Another half a double-hour passed. The rearguard cavalry galloped up to report that there were no longer any enemies in pursuit.

’Have those two given up the chase?’

Hong Chenglu’s expression, however, grew even more grave. He ordered the Rangers to accelerate again.

’It was my overconfidence that allowed those two Xiazhou scouts to escape. The second surprise attack was supposed to be a brilliant move, but now it seems uncertain.’

’I wonder if I can still seize this window of opportunity.’

...

Hee Lingchuan and Shan Youjun rode for a great distance. Seeing no pursuers behind them, they finally halted.

"They’re in quite a hurry. They didn’t even bother to chase us." Hee Lingchuan looked at the feathered arrow quivering in Shan Youjun’s back. "Let me pull that arrow out for you."

"Thank you, Master."

Hee Lingchuan used his saber to snap the arrow shaft, then helped him remove his outer armor. The movement aggravated the wound, making Shan Youjun grimace in pain. Hee Lingchuan poured out a bit of fine white powder for him. "Eat this."

This was Shituo Powder. It could be used externally or taken internally. Its ability to stop bleeding was average, but a few breaths after Shan Youjun swallowed it, the pain in his shoulder was gone.

Hee Lingchuan pressed a few points around the wound, first blocking the meridians, before taking out a small knife to dig out the arrowhead.

Shan Youjun watched his unusually skillful movements and sighed internally. ’Back when I was a private soldier for the Li Family, I saw it clearly. Old Sir Li was a capable man, but his children and grandchildren became progressively less competent. They read plenty of books and learned plenty of principles, but they were utterly useless when it came to practical matters. In contrast, look at Chief Steward Hee. His older son is fierce and brave, his younger son is intelligent; both have their strengths. It’s no wonder their family is destined to rise and prosper.’

When they were ambushed earlier, the Medicine Ape Ling Guang had zipped into its Master’s embrace. Now, it crawled out, clutching a Water Bag, and poured water to clean Shan Youjun’s wound before applying medicine and bandages.

With the Alchemy Master taking over, Hee Lingchuan was free to focus his energy on guarding their surroundings.

Night had fallen. The evening wind rustled, making the blades of grass whisper, as if there were ambushes lying in wait everywhere.

Hee Lingchuan plucked a few newly sprouted, tender leaves and used them to wipe the blood from his spear tip. As for the Floating Life Blade, he only needed to point the tip downwards, and in a moment, it was as clean as new.

He was unusually quiet, his expression calm, but Shan Youjun could feel the suppressed fury burning beneath that tranquility.

"Master," he said hoarsely. "You’ve already avenged Fuzzy Peach on the spot." To settle a score so immediately was a rare thing.

Most grudges formed on the battlefield were never avenged in a lifetime.

Hee Lingchuan’s brow was tightly furrowed. He nodded.

The archer who shot Fuzzy Peach and the enemy commander who led the ambush were both dead by his hand.

But the anger and grief in his heart had not subsided much.

Fuzzy Peach was an old follower who had been with him since the Coiling Dragon Illusion Realm. It hadn’t been long, but he had been unfailingly loyal.

After his death in this battle, there would be no one left to cheerfully call him "Eldest Young Master" all day long.

Ling Guang nimbly finished treating Shan Youjun’s wound. The latter carefully put his outer armor back on and asked Hee Lingchuan, "Are we going to continue the pursuit?"

"We continue," Hee Lingchuan said, having calmed down. "Our mission isn’t over yet."

The two turned their horses around and once again galloped after the Xunzhou Rangers.

As they neared the previous battle site, both grew vigilant, afraid of repeating their earlier mistake. But while traces of the fight were still everywhere, and bloodstains still marked the ground and grass, all the bodies were gone.

There were drag marks on the ground.

Hee Lingchuan followed them and found a nearby cave where the corpses had been piled up. A pungent Potion had been splashed at the cave’s entrance to keep scavengers away.

"They didn’t even have time to bury their own men," Shan Youjun murmured. "They’re in a great hurry."

"They might come back for them, but not right now." Hee Lingchuan mounted his Cyan Horse again. "Let’s go."

Night had fallen, and it wasn’t easy to find the trail of an army in the mountain forest. Fortunately, Hee Lingchuan had been a Demon Hunter Patrol Guard for a long time and had learned numerous tracking skills. Even without Fuzzy Peach, it just meant his tracking speed was a little slower.

Half a double-hour later, he realized something was wrong.

Judging from the tracks, the Xunzhou people had changed course.

They had turned east.

’What’s going on?’

’Could they be trying to mislead us?’ But Shan Youjun had also scouted the vicinity and found nothing out of the ordinary.

’East?’

’Why east?’

The two looked at each other in dismay. Even Shan Youjun, a veteran Ranger, was completely bewildered. Finally, he said, "Could it be... they’re planning to raid Xinhuang Town?"

"But..." ’But Baili Qing, Dong Rui, and all those wounded soldiers are recuperating here. Is Hong Chenglu just abandoning them?’

As this thought struck Hee Lingchuan, a sudden chill ran down his spine. He exclaimed, "You’re right!"

’This Hong... what a ruthless mind!’

’When it comes to his will to win and the methods he’ll use, he’s truly on par with Hee Chunhua.’

’But the problem is, I’ve already sent Jiao Tai to report to Xinhuang. Knowing Hee Chunhua, it would be strange if he *didn’t* send troops to annihilate the enemy!’

’I wonder where Hee Chunhua’s army is right now.’

"We’re not following them anymore!" he said decisively. "Back to the main road! We have to try and intercept my father’s troops!"

They had followed the Xunzhou men east, while Hee Chunhua was leading his army west. Both sides were on the move, but because Hong Chenglu had chosen a different, longer route, they wouldn’t cross paths.

The most important thing for Hee Lingchuan to do now was to take the Official Road, a shortcut, and deliver this news to Hee Chunhua, who was approaching from the west!

The two spurred their horses on and disappeared in a flash.

Traveling through an unfamiliar mountain forest at night was no easy task; even local mountain folk could easily get lost.

This was when Hee Lingchuan was thankful for his increasingly powerful Divine Sense, which allowed him to firmly commit the scenery he passed to memory. Otherwise, a few wrong turns here would have jeopardized a crucial military operation.

About half a double-hour later, they finally emerged from the mountains and galloped along the Official Road.

Speed is paramount in war. The Xiazhou Army would definitely choose the fastest, shortest, and easiest route.

Hee Lingchuan’s judgment was correct.

One double-hour later, the sound of hooves like rolling thunder echoed from the mountain pass ahead. A closer look revealed clouds of dust kicked up by a large contingent of troops.

Riding at the very front were Hee Chunhua and Jiao Tai, who was leading the way.

When the two parties met, Hee Chunhua showed not joy but worry upon seeing his son. "Chuan’Er, why are you here? What happened?"

Shan Youjun thought to himself, ’Like father, like son.’

"Hong Chenglu used the mining pit as bait to lure us here. He himself took the remaining Xunzhou Rangers to Xinhuang."

This bombshell stunned the generals, and Hee Chunhua’s brows nearly tied themselves into a knot. "Are you certain?"

"They took a circular route. The last tracks they left headed east, and they were marching in such a hurry they didn’t even have time to bury their dead."

"A feint to the east to attack the west... so that’s how it is." Hee Chunhua was also a clever man and understood in an instant. Xinhuang’s defenses were empty. He had brought most of the Elites with him, but the grain and fodder were still in the camp!

’If Hong Chenglu manages to pull the rug out from under me, this entire mission to transport provisions north will be a complete and utter failure!’

At this thought, a layer of cold sweat broke out on his back.

’But with so many eyes on me, I must remain calm right now!’

Hee Chunhua bit his tongue hard, using the pain and the taste of blood to forcibly compose himself. He suddenly asked for intelligence on the mining pit. Upon learning that only the old, weak, sick, and disabled, along with a garrison of less than a hundred, remained in the pit, he decisively ordered Zeng Feixiong to take a force of four hundred men: "Take the mining pit! Capture Baili Qing, dead or alive!"

Zeng Feixiong accepted the order. Just as he was about to turn, Hee Lingchuan pulled a ring from his hand and gave it to him. "Borrow this for now. There are a few jars of high-explosive powder inside. I remember you know how to handle this stuff."

"I do." Zeng Feixiong took the ring, a confused look on his face. "What for?"