After the Immortal Disappeared

Wuu Qing choked. "My lady, how would I dare?"

"For all these years, Mr. Hong never said it, but I know he misses the days of commanding a vast army. Finally, he has a chance to be a dragon in the great sea again." Ajin let out a breath. "I've held him back long enough. I can't do it again and again. If you refuse, I'll just come find you every single day."

Wuu Qing paced on the spot for a long time before finally giving in with a sigh of resignation. "Alright, alright, I'll get it done. Just don't you let it slip."

By the time the Grain Transport Team arrived in Xinhuang Town, the setting sun was already grazing the mountain peaks, about to disappear at any moment.

The timing was perfect.

Xinhuang Town was merely a small settlement of about a thousand people. The several hundred grain wagons that rumbled in, a vast and mighty procession, completely filled the open ground west of town. Counting both the laborers and the Guard Team, the newcomers outnumbered the townsfolk.

The convoy had been on the road all day, and both men and horses were exhausted. The moment they stopped, they needed food, water, and rest, sending the entire town into a state of chaos.

A small place has limited capacity to host visitors, so word of a grain transport team's imminent arrival was meant to be sent more than ten double-hours in advance to give the townsfolk time to prepare. That way, the troughs could be filled with fresh water, the roots and dust could be removed from the fodder ahead of time, and the men would have a hot meal waiting for them.

When you're exhausted and famished, nothing boosts morale like a hot meal. Although the laborers only received coarse grain buns, at least they were steamed scalding hot and came with a bit of bean paste for dipping.

The soldiers, in addition, received some stewed beans. A few even got pickled cabbage to stuff inside their buns.

Hee Chunhua and his son, both in plainclothes, dismounted and handed their steeds to their personal guards. Hee Lingchuan wore only simple armor.

Although Xinhuang Town had hosted many grain transport teams before, its capabilities were limited. As Hee Chunhua inspected the troops' mealtime, he saw the usual chaos of an overwhelmed supply line.

His only source of relief was that the army medics had carried out their orders properly. The food and water for both humans and livestock had been spot-checked for poison, and nothing unusual was found.

In truth, the soldiers, protected by their Primordial Power, had a much higher resistance to common poisons. The ones who would suffer were the laborers and livestock. But Hee Chunhua was meticulous. Fearing the enemy might be plotting in secret, he insisted on the poison tests. What if their foes slipped some croton powder into the provisions? Wouldn't his men and animals spend the whole journey with a bad case of the runs?

After two laps around the camp, Hee Lingchuan clutched his stomach and whined, "Dad, it's our turn to eat." A man is made of iron, but food is made of steel. He was starting to feel faint from hunger.

The Medicinal Ape, on the other hand, had no problem with the buns. The Rock Wolf also had its own rations, so it wasn't being shorted. Hee Lingchuan had only just learned on the road that the wolf could eat apples and miscellaneous grains!

Hee Chunhua pointed at the buns. "Want a couple?"

"We've been eating this stuff the entire trip. Haven't you had enough?" Hee Lingchuan's eyes darted about. "Dad, didn't you want to observe the local conditions? What the hell can you observe cooped up with the army? We need to go into town. We can eat and look around at the same time."

Hee Chunhua smiled helplessly. "Alright, then."

Just then, the County Magistrate arrived to invite the commanders of the Grain Transport Team to a banquet he had arranged at the town's tavern to welcome them.

Xinhuang Town was under the jurisdiction of White Cloud County. The County Yamen wasn't located here, but the arrival of the Grain Transport Team was a matter of utmost importance, so the County Magistrate had rushed over nonetheless.

Hee Chunhua was traveling incognito on this trip north to observe the local conditions, so he kept a low profile. As such, the nominal commander of the Grain Transport Team was Mozhe Jingxuan, his former aide and now the Assistant Governor of Xiazhou.

When the County Magistrate extended the invitation, Mozhe Jingxuan happily accepted. A small place like this wouldn't have any delicacies, but a banquet for honored guests was sure to have plenty of meat. While he got to feast at the tavern, Hee Chunhua had to sort out his own dinner.

The father and son slipped out of camp, leaving the two Demons behind, with Fuzzy Peach, Shan Youjun, and Jiao Tai following in their wake.

The town was tiny. All told, there were just over two hundred buildings—houses, shacks, and shops included. The main street was a paltry hundred meters long; you could walk its length in moments. Everything was caked in dust, and the buildings were a dreary, uniform gray.

There was only one tavern in town, and the County Magistrate was currently using it to host Mozhe Jingxuan. The father and son had no desire to join that party.

After a quick tour, they noted the scarcity of shops and pedestrians. The only signs of activity were the long lines at the water wells. Seeing the grim look on his father's face, Hee Lingchuan asked, "What is it?"

"It's pitch black. Barely any homes have their lamps lit." 'Lamp oil and candles cost money,' Hee Chunhua thought. 'How could the poor afford them? The Dunyu People, at least, wait until after mealtime to extinguish their lights. The people here must eat earlier and go to sleep as soon as night falls.'

"The people here are just too poor."

Hee Chunhua sighed, his expression grave. "The farther north we travel, the worse things seem to get."

Only by making this journey did he truly understand how Dunyu's prosperity was tens, if not hundreds of times greater than elsewhere. The farther north he traveled, the poorer the commoners, the fewer the households, the more barren the fields, the more corrupt the officials, and the more desperate the people's lives became.

He had seen peasants in the marketplace selling their own sons and daughters, with signs posted on their backs. They would praise their children to any who would listen—'they eat little and work hard'—begging someone, anyone, to buy them. The families were all skeletal, and the children themselves were blank-faced, even as they were being sold.

He had even heard whispers from the locals of the army "killing civilians to claim military honors." The various signs of chaos and decay were utterly shocking.

Poverty breeds chaos.

Without a doubt, if he wanted to govern Xiazhou properly, he had a long and arduous road ahead.

"Dad, you can worry about the state of the nation after you've eaten." Hee Lingchuan pointed. "How about that place?"

Light spilled from an eatery up ahead, carrying with it the fragrant aroma of cooked food.

Three horses were tied up outside.

Only then did Hee Chunhua notice his own stomach rumbling. "Let's go in."

They lifted the heavy cloth flap covering the entrance and stepped inside. The eatery was spartan, with shabby tables and chairs. At least it was spacious, large enough for seven or eight square tables. One table was already occupied by diners.

The five of them took a seat, and Fuzzy Peach shouted, "Proprietor! Bring us some food!"

The proprietor looked miserable. "We only have sour noodles and mixed-grain buns."

Hee Lingchuan had already noticed the other customers slurping away at their noodles, and his own mouth watered. "We'll have it all! And add whatever toppings you've got!"

It was all practically ready-made. In the time it takes half an incense stick to burn, five large bowls were set down before them.

A bowl of these sour noodles consisted of just three things: coarse noodles, pickled cabbage, and roasted peanuts.

The local area produced mung beans, so the noodles were made from bean flour. The cabbage, having been pickled for half the winter, was plenty sour on its own—perfect for mixing with the noodles without needing a rarity like vinegar.

As for the peanuts, they were simply roasted over a fire; deep-frying them would have been an unthinkable luxury. The entire bowl of noodles contained not a single trace of meat, not even a slick of oil.

The men were ravenous. They raised their chopsticks, took a loud slurp, and found it surprisingly satisfying.

Fuzzy Peach saw what the other tables were doing and asked for a few cloves of garlic. They all took a slurp of noodles followed by a bite of raw garlic. The combination was sour, spicy, and sharp.

It really hit the spot!

The eatery also offered Sliced Noodle Soup, which was just flat noodle slices boiled in plain water with a few strands of pickled cabbage and some beans, served with a side of bean paste for dipping the mixed-grain buns.

With no meat in the meal, Hee Lingchuan still felt hollow after a large bowl of sour noodles, so he ordered two bowls of Sliced Noodle Soup and four large buns.

The prices were cheap, but it was still more than the locals could likely afford.

As he ate, Hee Chunhua asked the proprietor, "Do you usually get much business?"

The proprietor waved his hand dismissively. "Can't make any money! None at all!"

Fuzzy Peach chimed in, "This is a major north-south thoroughfare. I've seen some trade caravans pass through. It must be better than those villages further inland." 'Those places are so poor you might as well eat dirt.'

The proprietor's face twisted in disgust. "The taxes are too high! Any money I make just goes to someone else, to the Official Family!"

Hee Chunhua asked, "How much do you have to pay in taxes?" Tax and rent—unavoidable for any shop owner.

"For every ten Copper Plates I earn, I have to turn over eight. You tell me how I'm supposed to make a living," the proprietor said with a self-mocking laugh as he stirred a pot of soup. "I'm just scraping by. At least I haven't had to sell my daughter."

A customer at a nearby table suddenly spoke up. "Don't listen to him complain. Other people couldn't open this shop even if they wanted to. When the big convoy arrived today, all the town's water carts were sent to serve them, leaving the rest of us high and dry. See the lines at every well? Well, he's got a well out back, and no one dares compete with him for it."

If selling noodles could earn you enough to eat, why wasn't anyone else doing it?

Hee Lingchuan wanted to laugh, but found that he couldn't.

The other table had three customers, all dressed as traveling merchants. Hee Chunhua asked them, "What sort of trade are you all in?"

"Textiles, lamp oil, that sort of thing. On the return trip, we'll pick up some local specialties to sell."

All essential goods. "And how's business?"

The three of them sighed in unison. "Bad. Very bad. It's not even forty percent of what it used to be. We won't be coming back next year."

They looked over Hee Chunhua and his men. "Are you lot soldiers, too?"

Hee Chunhua immediately denied it. "We're headed north. Just following behind the army for safety."

"What's up north?"

Hee Chunhua replied smoothly, "Hoping to purchase some sugar."

Hearing this, the proprietor chimed in, "It'd be a wasted trip. You won't find any of the good stuff."

"And why is that?"

"Thirty, maybe forty years ago, this very Xinhuang Town was famous for its brown sugar, renowned throughout all of Xiazhou. The fields around town were filled with sugar beets, stretching as far as the eye could see. The old-timers say they never had to worry about selling it back then. The moment a batch was ready, people from all the surrounding villages would be fighting for it. They even sold it all the way to Dunyu."

Hee Chunhua grunted. "We didn't see any sugar beet fields on our way here."

"Those have been gone for ages. Now, most of Xiazhou uses yellow sugar from the Northern Demon Kingdom. I heard it's one of the terms of the treaty between Da Yuan and the Northern Demon Kingdom—we have to buy hundreds of thousands of catties from them every year. *Sigh*!"

Hee Lingchuan said, "I've had it. It tastes good and keeps well."

The Eldest Young Master Hee had, in fact, never tasted brown sugar. Whether in Shihuan or Dunyu, the pastries he ate were all made with yellow sugar. In Black Water City, he had eaten the local raw sugar.

"Exactly. And the yellow sugar isn't even expensive. After it appeared, no one would buy the brown sugar from Xinhuang Town anymore. Slowly, people stopped making it and switched to growing grain instead. But this land isn't very good for grain, either."

The merchant at the next table added, "You have no idea how capable the Northern Demon Kingdom is. Their annual sugar production is in the tens of millions of catties!"

The proprietor seethed. "It's infuriating!"

Just then, Shan Youjun clapped Hee Lingchuan firmly on the back. His voice was just loud enough to be heard. "Hey, I'm stuffed. I need to find a place to take a crap. You coming?"

He was never so disrespectful to his superiors. Hee Lingchuan blinked, understanding immediately. "Sure. Let's go."