Where Immortals Once Walked

The disciples were baffled, but they followed the order nonetheless.

The other groups also noticed the Jianyang Sect’s movements and began wondering to themselves. They had gone to all that trouble to get here, yet before even beginning their search, these people were already running away?

Ever since the Panlong Desert began changing, many had entered the desert hoping to unravel its mysteries, but very few had been fortunate enough to approach the ruins.

Zhang Lianhai also saw what the Jianyang Sect was doing, and his brow furrowed.

He had heard that these Jianyang Sect people had entered the Panlong Ruins more than ten days ago and emerged unharmed, so he now could not help but wonder if they had learned something crucial from that experience.

Still, his lamp spirit had already flown out to search in every direction, and he had no intention of recalling it.

The lamp spirit could seek out treasure, and it was far more reliable than humans.

* * *

By the time the He father and son approached the Chipa Highland, night had long since fallen.

The Panlong City ruins stood ahead. Looking up from below, the mighty city resembled some colossal aberrant creature sprawled atop the highland, its cavernous maw hanging open as it waited for people to crawl inside.

And quite a few people had already entered ahead of them.

He Lingchuan let out a long breath. “We’re back again.”

The last time they came to Panlong City, they had viewed it from almost exactly this distance and angle.

Zhao Qinghe suddenly said, “There are people on the battlements.”

He Lingchuan and the others looked up.

Two men from the State of Baling stood atop the wall, gazing into the distance. They were familiar faces.

They were evidently exploring the city wall as well, and their relaxed expressions suggested that nothing strange had happened inside.

He Chunhua relaxed and dismounted first, then walked through the imposing southern gate.

He Lingchuan had passed through this gate countless times in the Panlong World, often accompanied by cheers and applause.

Yet now, the only thing still capable of making any noise here was the desert wind.

He Lingchuan sighed softly.

The others followed onto the land bridge, crossing the deep moat. Amid repeated exclamations of wonder, they passed through Panlong City’s southern gate.

Standing in South Gate Square, He Chunhua turned to his son. “Chuan’er, this place seems different from last time.”

The whole group looked around in every direction. That was almost everyone’s standard reaction the first time they entered Panlong City.

He Lingchuan walked over to the river, looked down, and even scooped up a handful of clear water. “There’s water here now.”

The river ran shallow and clear for the first time in more than a century.

He Chunhua had also noticed the Heavenly Palace’s lamp spirit flying everywhere and searching every corner. He fell silent in thought.

He Lingchuan moved closer and shook the water from his hand. “Old man, where are you planning to start searching?” They had already come all this way. They could hardly stand around doing nothing.

He Chunhua turned the question back on him. “What do you think?”

He Lingchuan looked genuinely baffled. “How would I know? This is a major expedition, old man. Did you not do any homework beforehand?”

He Chunhua smiled faintly. “You always seem to have good ideas these days. Far better than your father’s.”

He Lingchuan’s face was the picture of innocence. “Right now... I really don’t.”

“Last time we came here, we found the entrance in the temple pool.” He Chunhua thought for a moment. “Let’s go there first.”

He Lingchuan pointed toward the lamp spirits fluttering in the distance. “Those things have probably already searched the temple and the pool. Do we really need to go?”

“Seeing is believing.”

And so, under He Chunhua’s lead, the group set out toward Mitian’s temple.

Just before leaving the square, He Lingchuan casually glanced back at the southern wall.

The black flood dragon relief was still there, but compared with last time, the horns on its head seemed to have grown longer, and it even seemed to have sprouted tiny branches?

He Lingchuan’s gaze sharpened.

Is it just my imagination?

The black flood dragon looked somehow newer.

It was not that there was no dust or sand on its surface. Rather, the relief itself seemed as though it had not endured much wind and weather at all.

He Lingchuan now had a good idea of what was happening. He immediately looked away.

Just as the group turned into an alley, a number of figures appeared dimly ahead, walking toward them.

Hm?

The He father and son looked carefully and realized that it was actually the Jianyang Sect.

Since they had fought side by side earlier, He Chunhua stepped forward with a trace more warmth than usual. “Everyone, has something happened inside the city?”

“Nothing. The others are all still inside too.” Ling Jinbao waved a hand. “I simply don’t want to spend the night in this ghost city. I’m planning to find somewhere outside to stay and come back tomorrow morning.”

He Chunhua gave an “Oh.” Everything Ling Jinbao had said was something the other explorers understood perfectly well.

They simply did not care.

Why had everyone come here in the first place? Without taking risks, how could anyone expect rewards?

Ling Jinbao was about to continue walking when he suddenly turned back. “Oh, right. Minister of War Dong Haoming’s men seem to be inside the city already. The man leading them carries a gold-inlaid saber.”

“The minister of war’s men?” He Chunhua’s expression immediately changed. “Thank you, Mr. Ling!”

Ling Jinbao waved to them and led his disciples outside.

They passed through the towering southern gate, crossed the land bridge, and continued for more than three hundred meters before finally reentering the Panlong Desert.

Only then did Ling Jinbao turn and look back at Panlong Ancient City beneath the night sky, letting out a long breath.

That damned place really did weigh heavily on a person.

One disciple said, “Martial Uncle Ling, you’re acting stranger and stranger.”

“What’s strange about it?” Ling Jinbao glared at him. “Something is wrong with that city. Most of the strange stories that I heard in Heishui City about Panlong City happened at night. Clearly, whatever unclean things lurk there only become active after dark. This time, I have no intention of being dragged into some inexplicable scene again.”

One Jianyang Sect disciple asked curiously, “Again?”

Another disciple laughed. “Before we even arrived, Martial Uncle once slipped into Panlong Ancient City alone at night. And then...”

“And then?”

Ling Jinbao took over. “And then I found nothing. That night, heavy rain suddenly fell over the desert, so I had no choice but to shelter among the ruins in the city. I had nothing else to do, so I drank a little wine and closed my eyes to regulate my breathing.”

Everyone laughed. “Of course, how could you not have wine?”

Ling Jinbao’s expression remained stern. “But before long, I heard voices.”

This was an empty city. Where could voices possibly have come from?

Ling Jinbao immediately opened his eyes. He found that he was still sitting beside the table, but everything around him had changed.

He seemed to be inside a post station. Tea sat on the table before him, while the surrounding tables were packed with people. Judging by their clothes, they were traveling merchants and carriage drivers.

The weather was hot, and everyone was busy wiping away sweat and drinking tea. Not a single person spared Ling Jinbao a second glance.

Outside, horses neighed. It was an utterly ordinary scene, yet Ling Jinbao felt his scalp crawl.

He had gone to sleep in a ghost city, only to open his eyes and see all this. So where exactly was he?

Then he caught the rich aroma of cooked food and smoke, and glanced toward the rear window. He saw that there was actually a small lake behind the post station. The lake’s surface was covered with lotuses, with elegant buds rising among them, poised to bloom.

Several sets of tables and chairs had been arranged around the lake, every seat occupied. The customers were eating grilled skewers.

The smell was incredible. Whoever’s tending the grill is definitely highly skilled. Ling Jinbao swallowed, but he did not dare touch any food from this strange place.

After all, could the living casually eat things from a ghost city?

Just then, hoofbeats thundered outside. More than twenty riders came racing toward the post station at tremendous speed.

Ling Jinbao leaned out for a look. Judging by their uniforms, they appeared to be a small unit of official troops. They looked energetic, their movements crisp and disciplined.

After arriving, the unit did not enter the post station to rest. Instead, they quietly washed their hands and faces and led their horses to drink, unlike the Heishui City troops, who would have made a racket without caring who was around.

Ling Jinbao noticed that they kept surveying their surroundings as though they had never once lowered their guard.

Beside the well stood a small azure cloth flag. He glanced at it in passing. It read: “Azure Wolf Post Station.”

Where in the world is this?

Ling Jinbao truly had no idea.

Several tables of travelers near the door had rested enough and rose to fetch their horses outside.

One of them accidentally dropped several copper coins.

The coins hit the ground, curved oddly as they rolled, and came to a stop directly in front of the soldiers.

The man smiled at the soldiers and bent down to pick them up. But as he straightened, his wrist suddenly twisted outward.

Whoosh!

A concealed sleeve arrow shot out!

The soldier took half a step backward and narrowly avoided it.

At the same instant, the other travelers lunged forward, blades already out.

“Enemy attack!”

A sharp whistle rang outside, and the two sides immediately erupted into battle. Everyone uninvolved shrank into the corners, not daring to even raise their heads, let alone watch the excitement.

Ling Jinbao glanced through the rear window, seeing that the lakeside had become a battlefield as well, and the fighting there was even fiercer than inside the post station.

Who would dare ambush official troops on an official trade route?

But then he was surprised to see several figures beside the lake move with astonishing agility. The attackers, disguised as merchants, could not withstand even a single exchange. Ling Jinbao was especially impressed by one man dressed as a farmer and wearing a conical hat. With a casual throw, the man sent his saber flying and pinned a huge, burly enemy directly to an earthen wall.

The battles unfolding all around him were dazzling.

At first, Ling Jinbao had watched merely for the spectacle. The longer he watched, however, the more solemn his expression became.

What extraordinary movement techniques, what vicious killing intent, could these men actually be the legendary soldiers of Panlong City?

Just then, one bandit rushed into the post station to escape the official troops and tried to leap through the window. Seeing Ling Jinbao standing directly in his path, the man swung his saber at him without a word.

Ling Jinbao kicked the table straight at him.

The force and angle of the kick were exquisitely controlled. The tabletop shattered apart in midair, sending splinters flying everywhere and nearly blinding the bandit.

Those two breaths of delay were enough. The pursuing soldiers stormed in from behind and hacked the bandit to death with two quick strikes.

They immediately hurried back outside to reinforce their companions, never even sparing Ling Jinbao a glance.

The fighting had begun without warning and ended just as abruptly. From start to finish, it lasted barely more than fifteen minutes.

The ambushed official troops won, and the bandits lying in wait were instead wiped out.

Their leader was also dragged to the small lake behind the post station for interrogation.

And the one questioning him was none other than the farmer in the conical hat.

Ling Jinbao had excellent hearing. He even heard the soldiers address the man as “Commander.”

Oh, so the soldiers had deliberately lain in wait here themselves, setting up a counter-ambush?

Just then, one soldier noticed Ling Jinbao peeking through the window.

He walked over and shut the bamboo shutters, then called out loudly, “The water bandits causing trouble have all been captured. Everyone may rest easy.”

Water bandits? Ling Jinbao turned to an old man beside him. “Sir, what water bandits is he talking about?”

The old man immediately looked wary. “Where are you from? You’ve come all the way here, yet you don’t even know about the Longchuan water bandits?”

“I don’t pay much attention to such things, and I’ve spent most of the journey drinking...” Ling Jinbao laughed awkwardly. “Where exactly are we right now?”

“Then you really have been drinking a lot.” The old man clearly did not believe him, but there was no harm in giving a place name. “We’re on the Jinan Trade Route. Ah, though it’s called the Longchuan Trade Route now.”

After that, no matter what Ling Jinbao asked, the old man refused to say anything more.

Just then, another burst of commotion came from outside. The official troops were escorting their prisoners northward.

Naturally, the commander rode at the very front.

Ling Jinbao watched his receding back. For some reason, the figure looked vaguely familiar, as though Ling Jinbao had seen him somewhere before.

No, I must be imagining things. Ling Jinbao shook his head to himself. If this really happened in the past, it was most likely 160 to 170 years ago. How could I possibly recognize anyone from back then?