After the Immortal Disappeared

’When Hong Chenglu left, there’s no way he would’ve taken all this rustic junk with him, right? He was invited by the Beiga Kingdom to return as a Main General, not to become a cook in some other town!’

Hee Lingchuan focused on the bedroom. "There’s blood on the floor in this room, and the whole place has been deliberately cleaned. Hong Chenglu didn’t want us to find any useful clues here. So, I want all of you to keep your eyes peeled and search carefully!"

The three men acknowledged and began a sweeping search.

However, Hong Chenglu was clearly a professional in this regard. The four of them worked together for half an hour, not even missing a single crack between the floor tiles. They even found a hidden compartment in the wall behind the headboard, but still couldn’t find any useful personal items.

"At the time, he’d already killed three Officials, had to clean this place up immediately, and then leave while carrying his paralyzed wife, hmm—" Hee Lingchuan suddenly saw Fuzzy Peach give him a look and nodded.

Fuzzy Peach then tiptoed to the courtyard gate and yanked it open—

"Whoa!" An old woman tumbled in from outside.

Her back was hunched and her mouth was toothless, but her movements were agile. She stumbled but quickly regained her footing and turned to flee.

Fuzzy Peach grabbed her by the collar and hauled her right in front of Hee Lingchuan.

Hee Lingchuan crossed his arms. "State Government business. You’re here to eavesdrop?"

"Huh?" The old woman cupped a hand to her ear, a bewildered look on her face, and shouted at the top of her lungs, "What’d you say?!"

"Do you live in this alley too?"

"Speak up!"

Fuzzy Peach chuckled and said to Hee Lingchuan, "Boss, this old lady is deaf and half-blind. Let’s just find someone else to ask."

Ten Copper Plates clinked in Hee Lingchuan’s hand. "It’s more sincere if you go with a reward."

The old woman’s eyes immediately locked onto the ten Copper Plates, and her voice became much softer. After all, this represented several days of full meals. "Oh, I can hear you, I can hear you! What do you want to ask?"

"Are you familiar with the Hong couple who lived here, Hong Chenglu and his wife?"

The old woman nodded. "Familiar. I often came over to visit. Ajin is bedridden and can’t move, so I’d often get her some water to drink. When the murder happened here a few days ago, it was me... I was the one who came in and found it first, and then I reported it to the officials."

"How did the murder happen? Do you have any clues?"

"Ah, I remember several things happened that day. First, those boys from the Liu Family got their heads chopped off, then the Government Office came knocking to search for grain, oh dear, even my..."

Hee Lingchuan cut her off. "Wait, why did the Government Office come to search for grain?"

"Liu Yalin must’ve borrowed his guts from the heavens. After stealing the military grain a few days ago, he went door-to-door handing it out. Who did he think he was, some kind of legendary heroic thief?" The old woman smacked her lips. "He got caught, and the Government Office said the military grain had to be returned, but then... hey wait, where did you say you folks were from again?"

"Xiazhou Prefecture."

"Bigger than our officials here?"

"Bigger," Jiao Tai boomed. "Much bigger."

"Oh, after those Officials came in, they searched for more than just grain! They took several of my rabbit’s feet. Sir, can you help me get them back?"

"Weren’t there several things that happened that day?" Fuzzy Peach reminded her. "What else?"

"After Hong Chenglu came back, I heard Ajin crying. Then suddenly, three more Officials showed up carrying shackles. Were they here to arrest someone? But after those three went into his house, they never came out again."

The old woman smacked her lips again. "A little while later, a horse-drawn carriage stopped at the Hong Family’s gate. The person who got out was wearing silks, looked like a merchant, and also went into the Hongs’ little courtyard. After more than a double-hour, the Hong couple got on that carriage and left. I asked Hong Chenglu where he was going, but he wouldn’t say."

"I thought it was strange, you know, why didn’t those three Officials come out? Later, I pushed the door open to take a look and saw a leg sticking out on the kitchen floor. I knew something was wrong, so I reported it to the authorities."

"So, you were the first one at the scene?"

"Uh, I suppose so."

Hee Lingchuan smiled. "Since you were the first one in, you must be the one who took the pots and pans from the kitchen, right?"

How could the old woman admit to that? "It wasn’t me! I didn’t do it!"

Fuzzy Peach clapped her on the shoulder, making her jump. "Hey, old woman, we need things from the Hong Family as evidence. If you dare to hide them, that’s sheltering a criminal. You’ll be charged as an accomplice, and they’ll break at least two of your fingers!" As he spoke, he pressed down on her fingers and made a "CRACK!" sound with his mouth, causing the old woman to shudder.

’But these kinds of bluffs work especially well on old women from small towns.’ The old woman stopped trying to be clever. "Th-they’re at my house."

So, the four of them followed her home.

The old woman lived diagonally across from Hong Chenglu. The only other person at her home was her husband, who was still out.

The moment Hee Lingchuan stepped into her house, he was hit by a greasy, musty smell, and then he saw her house and yard were piled high with countless miscellaneous items.

There were bottles and jars, rotten wood, long hemp ropes, and torn sacks everywhere... He thought he’d walked into a garbage dump.

’Has this old woman ever thrown anything away in her entire life?’

She led the four men into the house and started rummaging around.

Sure enough, all of the Hong Family’s pots and pans were here.

There were many other odds and ends, all of which she claimed belonged to the Hongs. Considering Ajin was bedridden and Hong Chenglu was often away, this old woman must have been pilfering from their house all along.

For Hee Lingchuan, this was an unexpected boon.

He sifted through the items and pointed to a comb among the clutter. "Is this Hong’s wife, Ajin’s? Have you seen her use it?"

"Yes, yes." The old woman had filched this as well.

"Have you used it yourself?"

"No, no." Most of the things she had taken, she hadn’t even started using yet.

Hee Lingchuan picked up the wooden comb and held it up to the light. "Then the hair tangled in this must be either Hong Chenglu’s or Ajin’s?"

"Well, it should be, right?"

Hee Lingchuan then placed ten copper coins on the table. "Is there anything else I should know?"

The old woman actually thought about it seriously for a moment before shaking her head. "Nope."

With that, the men swaggered off.

Hee Lingchuan sent Shan Youjun to the forest clearing north of Bailu Town.

There were indeed signs that many men and horses had been there—even the horse manure was fresh—but the place was now deserted. Apparently, Hong Chenglu had succeeded in his strike and led his team away, not giving them a chance to catch him.

A little over half an hour after they left, someone snuck into the alley, looked around to see if anyone was watching, and then vaulted over the wall into the old woman’s courtyard.

The old woman was in her courtyard, gathering firewood to cook, when a hand suddenly gripped the back of her neck. A low voice growled in her ear, "What did those men who were just here ask you?"

"Ah..." ’Why is someone else here?’ The old woman was terrified. "Th-they’re from the State Government, they wanted to ask about yesterday..."

Before she could finish, there was a dull thud from behind, and the hands gripping her neck went limp.

She turned around to see a man lying on the ground, and standing behind him was a grinning Fuzzy Peach.

’Just as I thought, he left a lookout in town.’ The Eldest Young Master was truly a brilliant strategist, having him secretly double back to wait for the prey to walk into the trap. And sure enough, a nice surprise delivered itself right to their doorstep.

Fuzzy Peach pointed to the man on the ground and asked the old woman, "Is this man from town?"

Still shaken, she shook her head vigorously. "Never seen him, never seen him!"

Next, Fuzzy Peach dragged the man back to Hong Chenglu’s empty house and stuffed a towel in his mouth.

When the captive was jolted awake by a splash of water, the first thing he saw was Shan Youjun cracking his knuckles and walking toward him with a menacing grin...

* * *

Less than half an hour later, the gate to Hong Chenglu’s courtyard opened without warning.

The old woman outside stumbled again, nearly falling in. And again, it was Fuzzy Peach who caught her.

’This old woman’s obsession with peeking through door cracks runs deep.’

"Oh my..." This time, even she was a little embarrassed, unsure what excuse to make up. At first, she had heard faint sounds from inside, like someone crying out with their mouth and nose covered, but then it went quiet. She’d strained her ears but couldn’t hear a thing.

But Fuzzy Peach didn’t press the issue. "Old woman, do you know about the mine to the northwest? The abandoned one."

"The mine?" The old woman’s eyes darted around. "I think I’ve heard of it?"

Fuzzy Peach held out his hand, another ten Copper Plates in his palm. "I just saved your life, you remember that, right?"

The old woman gave a sheepish laugh. "There’s only one small mine to the northwest. It hasn’t produced any ore for ten years. Are you going there?"

"We’re thinking about it."

The old woman stared intently at the Copper Plates in his hand. "That place is hidden in the jungle and very hard to find. How about you offer a little more money, and I’ll find you a guide?"

"Fine." Time was short, so Fuzzy Peach didn’t bargain. ’Doesn’t the boss have plenty of money anyway?’

"Then you wait here." The old woman scurried away on her bowlegs, her speed surprisingly fast.

A few dozen breaths later, she returned with an old man by her side. He was under sixty, gaunt and wiry, but his back was still straight.

"This is my old man. He worked in that mine for two years, so he knows the way!"

Hee Lingchuan invited them in. "Sir, what did you originally do in the mine?"

"A bit of everything." Compared to his wife, the old man seemed quite honest, answering every question. "Quarrying stone, digging ore, carving out paths, reinforcing tunnels, and also setting explosives."

Hee Lingchuan was taken aback. "You used explosives?"

’How modern.’ He had been to the mines in Qiansong County, and they relied purely on manual labor.

"Ah, yes. It saves a lot of effort. We’ve been using gunpowder for work around here for many years." In other words, it was an old local tradition. "When the mine was abandoned, there was still a lot of gunpowder left over."

Shan Youjun and the others couldn’t help but curse under their breath. Now they finally knew where the gunpowder used to kill the officials of the Dunyu Grain Transport Team had come from.

Hee Lingchuan, of course, had thought of it too. His eyes flickered as he immediately asked the old man, "You don’t happen to have any of that gunpowder left at home, do you?"

"No, no, none of that." The old man waved his hands frantically. "Why would I do something so stupid? It wouldn’t be worth it if I blew up my own house."

"Er..." The old woman beside him, however, looked awkward. "The gunpowder you’re talking about... it wouldn’t happen to be the stuff hidden in the black and white jar, would it?"

After decades of marriage, a single expression from her was all it took for the old man to understand. He exclaimed in shock, "Don’t tell me you hid gunpowder in the house! I know for a fact I threw that away!"

The old woman gave another sheepish grin. "It seemed like such a waste to throw it away."

Hee Lingchuan snapped his fingers. ’Heaven is truly on my side.’

"In that case, I’ll trouble you to find it for me." He looked at the men behind him. "We should have a little something to say to Hong Chenglu. A return of courtesy."