After the Immortal Disappeared

The "Full House" dish, therefore, was made with lake shrimp, beef stew, sliced fish, the plump and crunchy local specialty known as Jumping Mushrooms, and some assorted vegetables.

The dish received unanimous praise from everyone at the banquet, and Li Fubo declared he would be a frequent customer. Although the Master Craftsman couldn't handle spice very well—having to wash down every two bites with three gulps of wine—it was so addictively spicy that he couldn't stop. He had to wipe his nose several times with a soft handkerchief.

Madam Ying pulled Hee Lingchuan aside and whispered, "It's delicious, I'll give you that, but it makes the guests lose all their decorum." Every guest eating the dish had a flushed face and a runny nose. It was fine for a family meal, but for entertaining guests, it was a bit...

Hee Lingchuan nodded repeatedly. "You're right, Mother!"

He also saw stir-fried river snails in chili oil on other tables, a clear sign that the new dishes were a hit with the diners.

It had only been three days since the city reopened, but the Hesu Building was already packed again. He could almost hear the clinking of silver pouring into the coffers.

Speaking of which, ever since the army dispatched by Hee Chunhua had won its first battle, eighty to ninety percent of the civilians who had fled Dunyu City had returned. However, the original order had been almost completely disrupted. So many houses, shops, fields, and businesses had changed hands, and the prices of goods had swung from rock-bottom to sky-high. It would take time for such turmoil to settle down.

In truth, this had also inflicted immense trauma on Dunyu City. Incidents of theft, robbery, arguments, and brawls were rampant, to say nothing of everything else.

The State Government was prepared for this. Hee Chunhua issued one decree after another, all aimed at quelling the disputes.

As long as the people remained and had faith in their new Chief Steward, the city's wounds would eventually heal.

Everyone understood this.

***

Setting down the scroll, Hee Lingchuan rubbed his sore eyes and gave a long stretch. His joints all cracked and popped.

'To be studying this hard... I must be dreaming.'

That was right. He was currently in the Wenxuan Pavilion of the dream world's Panlong City—the largest library in the region. Over the past five days, he had already finished reading hundreds of books from its collection.

Yes, five days.

Before, his dreams would only last a day or two before he returned to reality. But Hee Lingchuan discovered this time was different. Day and night had already cycled five times in the dream world, yet he was still here.

He had dozed off a few times, thinking he would wake up in the real world, but each time he opened his eyes, he was still facing the bookshelves of the Wenxuan Pavilion.

'Having to study even in my dreams... What a hard life!'

But griping was one thing; Hee Lingchuan still opened the next book.

Reading with his Divine Sense was much faster than normal reading in reality; he only needed a second or two to scan each page. Besides, the books here were thin, with very few being massive tomes.

Panlong City seemed quite peaceful these days. The demon tide brought by the last arrival of the Emperor's Liquid had mostly passed. The newborn Demons were either smart enough to recognize who the real boss of the Chipa Plateau was, or the Panlong City Patrol Guards beat them into submission.

This whole operation repeated every few years, so everyone was familiar with the routine. Incidents of villagers being attacked and farmland being destroyed had basically vanished, and the Chipa Plateau had returned to its usual peace.

Under these circumstances, Hee Lingchuan's workload as a Patrol Guard was greatly reduced, and he hadn't been called out for days.

Skinny complained about this constantly.

In the past few days, aside from stocking up on necessities, buying food and drink, and getting into a few spars at Yuewu Hall, Hee Lingchuan had been spending his time at the library to "recharge."

Too much fighting could get tiresome, and with Meng Shan still recuperating and not yet back in action, Hee Lingchuan decided he needed a change of pace.

The Wenxuan Pavilion was crowded with people, all thirsty for knowledge. From time to time, he'd see people huddled in corners, quietly debating some point or another.

He heard that some scholars and Cultivators would even come to the Wenxuan Pavilion to give lectures at irregular intervals.

However, Hee Lingchuan was a little disappointed. The collection in the Wenxuan Pavilion didn't seem to be the vast ocean of books he had imagined.

It was a tall tower with six floors in total. Except for the top floor, which housed ancient texts and certain secret documents, the other five floors were open to the public. But there was one catch:

Nothing could be checked out unless you had a specially approved permit.

On every floor, the bookshelves stretched from floor to ceiling. To get a book from the higher shelves, you had to climb a ladder.

But—and it was a significant but—half the shelves were still empty.

Hee Lingchuan discovered that there were very few travelogues, encyclopedias, or books on miscellaneous subjects. The dozen or so volumes that did exist had been read until they were falling apart.

The most numerous books were on politics and military strategy. These included works documenting the politics, economies, and key figures of neighboring countries, as well as analyses of famous scenes from ancient and modern wars. The variety was truly dazzling.

He had spent the last few days reading mostly these military texts and had benefited greatly.

There were also various myths and strange tales from the Middle Ages, which were so esoteric and bizarre that reading them today felt incredible.

Yet, Hee Lingchuan had a nagging feeling that the specific content he wanted to find was missing from the Wenxuan Pavilion.

For example, books on divination and fortune-telling.

To be honest, he had collected some in the real world, but reading them either left him confused or feeling like something was missing. Or perhaps he simply wasn't cut out for studying that subject.

But here in Panlong City's Wenxuan Pavilion, there wasn't a single book of that kind.

He had strained his eyes looking through the entire collection catalogue.

Was it because he was unfamiliar with the place and didn't know how to search properly, or were the books he wanted locked away on the top floor?

He gathered the books he had finished, ready to return them. Just then, a figure flashed past in front of him. They looked somewhat familiar.

Thinking his eyes were playing tricks on him, he rubbed them and looked again. No, he was right.

Hee Lingchuan hurried over. Because he moved too abruptly, he was loudly shushed by the old man managing the books.

He reached the person's back and gave a soft cough. "Miss... Sun?"

The person ignored him.

Hee Lingchuan had to say her name more forcefully, "Sun Fuling!"

Only then did the young woman in front of him turn around.

It was the same snowy skin, red lips, and bright, almond-shaped eyes.

She let out a soft "Huh?" as if surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"Reading," Hee Lingchuan said, holding up the books in his hand. "I haven't seen you in days."

He had gone home occasionally over the past five days, and Sun Fuling's courtyard had been even more deserted than his.

"The Shumin Academy was holding its year-end exams, and I was one of the people writing the questions. So for the past few days, I couldn't leave the Academy Palace." This was to prevent the exam questions from being leaked.

"And now?"

"The exams finished today, so I was just about to head back." Sun Fuling let out a breath. "The children are getting a thirteen-day winter break, so I can finally get some rest."

"That sounds rough. Is it a paid vacation?"

"Nope. No class, no pay," Sun Fuling said with a laugh. "But the Academy Palace gave us some rice, oil, and about three pounds of mutton."

'Isn't that even better than cash? What an enviable winter break.' "Will you have to give the kids any private tutoring over the break?"

"Private tutoring?" Sun Fuling blinked, not quite understanding the term. "I don't know how to cook."

"..." 'Since arriving in this other world, this was the first time Hee Lingchuan had heard a young woman state so matter-of-factly that she couldn't cook.'

"I mean, will you be giving special tutoring to any particular students?"

Sun Fuling shook her head. "The Academy Palace forbids it. If you're caught, the punishment is severe."

"Why?"

"They're afraid we might hold back during regular classes and only teach the key material in private sessions. That would be unfair to the other children."

Hee Lingchuan went to return his books first. As the two of them walked out of the Wenxuan Pavilion, he noticed that Sun Fuling was carrying two books under her arm.

"You can check books out?"

"I can," Sun Fuling said, tucking a stray hair behind her ear. "I'm a teacher at the Shumin Academy."

'Privileges!'

The sun was bright today, and the snow on the steps was thick, crunching under their feet.

Outside the Wenxuan Pavilion were two long, colonnaded streets paved with smooth bricks. In the weather of seven or eight degrees below zero, street vendors were reluctant to man their outdoor stalls, but most of the shops were open, with some people even stepping out to attract customers.

From a distance, Hee Lingchuan caught the fragrant aroma of rice cakes wafting from a shop up ahead, and his appetite was instantly whetted. For the past few days, he had been eating mostly flatbreads filled with scallions and egg. They were fine either hot or cold, but he had grown tired of them.

He asked Sun Fuling, "Are you hungry?"

Sun Fuling exhaled a puff of white mist. "Starving. I've been eating at the Shumin Academy for the past few days, and it's always the same few dishes. I'm sick of it. Hmm, what should we get?"

"How about this place?" The smell of the rice cakes was just too tempting. When it was this cold, he needed plenty of carbs.

The two of them walked in. The shop was small, but it was filled with billowing white steam and was wonderfully warm.

It was a bun shop. Steamed twisted rolls, plain steamed buns, meat buns, scallion and sugar buns, and all sorts of other pastries were waiting in steamers.

But none of these were the source of the aroma Hee Lingchuan had smelled.

He took a deep sniff and walked over to a round steamer basket. Lifting the lid, he saw square, white rice cakes inside, as pure as freshly fallen snow, only piping hot and incredibly fragrant.

"Let's get this," Hee Lingchuan said after getting Sun Fuling's nod of agreement, and handed over a few Copper Plates.

"Right away! You'd like the Poria Cake?" asked the woman making the buns. Her face was so round she looked a bit like a white steamed bun herself.

"Er..." 'Poria Cake? As in, Sun Fuling's Fuling?'

Sun Fuling beat him to it and nodded. "Yes! Cut a big piece. Bigger. Make sure to get the dates on top."

And so, the two left the shop, each holding a brick-sized piece of Poria Cake. In the kind of weather where your breath turned to ice, the pastry was a comforting warmth in their palms.

Hee Lingchuan ate happily. The cake was fluffy, dense, and warm. Besides the unique fragrance of poria, there was a sweet aftertaste from the starch as he chewed. The shopkeeper had also added bits of longan pulp.

'Most importantly, it was really filling.'

Looking over at Sun Fuling, he saw her cupping the cake in her hands, taking small, quick bites. She reminded him of a chipmunk nibbling on a nut.

Just by the way she was eating, you could tell it was delicious.

Walking side-by-side with Sun Fuling through the bustling crowd, Hee Lingchuan felt, for the first time in Panlong City, a sense of leisure—one of those small, simple joys that belonged to ordinary people.

This city and its people were actually full of life and warmth.

He couldn't help but let out a long sigh of contentment.

Sun Fuling tilted her head and asked him, "What's wrong?"

"Have you ever been to the sixth floor of the Wenxuan Pavilion?"

Her voice was calm. "I've been up there with others, to move some materials."

"Is it full of secrets?"

"Of course. Maybe the officials have decided some secrets aren't suitable for the public, or maybe they're kept under lock and key for fear of enemy spies," Sun Fuling said with a smile. "Otherwise, why would that floor be locked and guarded?"

"Mm, why do you ask?"