After the Immortal Disappeared

Chapter 6: Chapter 6-7: Can’t Spend Too Little

To Demons and some humans, this jerky was a delicious little snack.

The father-son duo, along with Uncle Hao and the housekeeper, searched intently but found nothing that caught their eye. In the end, they gave up.

Hee Lingchuan lowered his head and glanced furtively at the necklace around his neck.

This thing was different now, no longer the original. He had repeatedly considered whether to offer it up, but a voice deep inside him always warned him: ’Never show it to anyone!’

The premonition was so strong that after a long internal struggle, he decided to follow his instincts.

”Put these away. Have the Red and White Dao continue to watch over those two Guards. Right, I remember the Red and White Dao has a farm in the South Suburb. It’s the off-season for farming now, so there probably isn’t anyone near the estate. Lingchuan, do you understand? ...Mm, good. Go after dinner. Make it a clean job.” Hee Chunhua turned to Uncle Hao, ”Ahao, you stay for a moment.”

Hee Lingchuan accepted the order and left. Uncle Hao remained where he was.

Only after the figure of the Hee Mansion’s eldest son vanished behind the doorway did Hee Chunhua say to Uncle Hao, ”Tell me everything that happened today, from beginning to end.”

Uncle Hao recounted the events one by one, without adding or omitting anything.

After listening, Hee Chunhua nodded and dismissed him.

The mixing room fell silent. Hee Chunhua stared at the leopard carcass on the table, and was in a Trance for a good while.

Housekeeper Wu waited by his side until the time it takes for two incense sticks to burn had passed before speaking up to remind him, ”Master, it’s time for dinner.”

Hee Prefect grunted in acknowledgment. ”What do you think of this matter?”

”The Eldest Young Master may seem reckless, but he actually handled it quite well,” Housekeeper Wu said with a smile. ”He was right not to let those two Guards run loose in the city, asking questions.”

”The little rascal has finally learned a thing or two. It seems his serious injury this time was a blessing in disguise,” Hee Prefect let out a soft sigh.

”Master, you were originally worried about the Eldest Young Master’s sudden change in temperament for the better. You should be able to rest easy now.”

”Indeed,” Hee Prefect said faintly. ”Let’s go. Time for dinner.”

***

No matter how much Hee Prefect longed for his homeland, or how much the Hee Residence resembled the style of the Capital City, their three daily meals had to bow to reality; they ate more or less the same as the locals of Black Water City.

After all, you live off the mountains if you’re by the mountains, off the water if you’re by the water. And if you’re by the dirt, you eat dirt.

Hee Lingchuan was heartily feasting on half a boiled leg of mutton before him. It was truly just boiled in plain water, with at most a few chunks of ginger and knotted scallions to remove the gaminess.

The simple boiling brought out the meat’s original flavor. The mutton was already crisp and springy to the bite, and when dipped in spiced pepper and chili salt, it was indescribably delicious—Hee Lingchuan, wielding the knife himself, would cut a slice, dip a slice, and eat a slice, sighing in satisfaction.

The chefs hired by the Governor’s Mansion only used Big Horned Sheep under one and a half years old. These sheep liked to roam the Gobi, often eating medicinal herbs like dandelions and Baikal skullcap, which gave their meat a mellow and rich aroma, making it quite different from sheep elsewhere and a specialty of Red Cliff Road.

Beside Hee Chunhua sat a beautiful woman in fine clothes, who would gently blow on her spoonful of millet porridge twice before slowly sipping it. Her unhurried grace was a stark contrast to Hee Lingchuan’s ravenous consumption of meat.

This was Hee Chunhua’s first wife, the matriarch of the Hee Mansion, Ying Hongchan. She would occasionally sample a piece of mutton, but only after the housekeeper had carved it for her and arranged it pleasingly on her plate.

She listened to her husband and younger son’s conversation with a smile on her face, occasionally glancing over at Hee Lingchuan.

The four members of their family were all here, all together.

Hee Chunhua was currently discussing this year’s tax revenue for Qiansong County with his younger son.

Yes, tax revenue. It was one of the topics the residents of Black Water City loved to gossip about: that Hee Prefect’s most capable assistant was not a veteran accountant, nor a strategist from his staff, but his younger son who was not yet fourteen, Hee Yue.

This little prodigy started recognizing characters at three, could fluently recite three hundred poems by seven, and the following year, the Hee Mansion sent two of its accountants to jail—Hee Yue, with nothing better to do, had decided to audit the account books, uncovering several old, bad debts and digging out two fat, white rice weevils.

By the time Hee Yue was twelve, aside from being accomplished in chess, calligraphy, and painting, he began to point his fingers at Hee Prefect’s political affairs... oh, wait, that’s not right. He began to offer strategies and advice.

Hee Chunhua was no pedantic old scholar. His younger son’s proposals were logical, clear, and effective, so of course he encouraged him with open arms. The more Hee Yue worked, the more confident he became, to the point where he could even share some of his old man’s workload.

So, scenes like the one unfolding were quite common.

Hee Lingchuan didn’t join their discussion, not even a single word. He just needed to quietly enjoy his food, which was, after all, what the previous owner of this body used to do.

’He couldn’t get a word in edgewise anyway.’

Both Hee Brothers inherited their father’s good looks. Hee Lingchuan had sharp features and was tall and handsome, while Hee Yue had delicate features, taking more after Madam Ying.

But their personalities were completely different.

Hee Yue had a photographic memory, while Hee Lingchuan, the eldest son, was guaranteed to fall asleep within a quarter of an hour of opening a book—more effective than any sleeping potion.

The only thing more annoying than ”someone else’s kid” is when ”my own little brother is a child prodigy.”

’It was a complete and utter trouncing from every possible angle.’

”Alright, eat up!” Ying Hongchan interrupted the conversation between the big one and the small one. ”If you don’t pick up your chopsticks soon, the food will get cold.”

In reality, if they didn’t pick up their chopsticks soon, the food would be completely devoured by Hee Lingchuan.

As a martial artist, his appetite was more than double that of an ordinary person.

Seeing Ying Hongchan personally pick up a soft-fried river shrimp for Hee Yue, Hee Lingchuan wiped his hands on a cloth and said, ”Number Two, issue a Passage Document tomorrow for Liu Baobao’s Commerce Association. Their caravan is coming back soon, and we don’t want them getting stuck at Baitong Pass.”

”I told you not to call me Number Two!” ’It sounds so awful.’ Hee Yue genuinely hated the nickname. ”I was just about to tell you, the Liu Family Commerce Association is two years behind on their vehicle and horse tax. Including the late fees, it comes to over seven hundred taels. They get their Passage Command only after they pay up.”

”If that caravan doesn’t come back, they won’t be able to pay those seven hundred taels,” Hee Lingchuan said with a smile. ”They’re old acquaintances. Let’s be flexible this once. When the time comes, I’ll go and keep an eye on things for you.”

Hee Yue wanted to say more, but Hee Chunhua spoke first, ”It’s fine. Issue the Document.”

With his father’s final word on the matter, Hee Yue could only resentfully agree, shooting another glare at Hee Lingchuan.

’Flexible ”this once”? It’s been like this eight or ten times already! When has his lordship ever personally gone to ”keep an eye on things”? He always says he will and then forgets!’

’And Father always sides with Big Brother.’

Hee Lingchuan raised his glass of Sea Buckthorn Juice to him and flashed a toothy grin.

In truth, after this happened once or twice, he understood. This wasn’t about lining his own pockets; it was about doing work for his father. Hee Prefect, after all, held an Official Position. Sometimes it was inconvenient for him to get involved personally, so he had his son act on his behalf.

”Speaking of which, Big Brother, your expenses this past month have certainly dropped. You’ve only withdrawn a little over two hundred taels from the mansion’s accounts, when usually even nine hundred taels isn’t enough,” Hee Yue recited the figures as if listing his family treasures. ”However, after you were injured, what with seeing the doctor, taking medicine, and eating nourishing supplements, you’ve spent over three hundred taels of silver...”

Hee Lingchuan’s heart skipped a beat, and he quickly feigned impatience. ”I know, I know! Wasn’t I just stuck in bed for too long with no opportunity to spend? I know I spent too little. I’ll put more effort into it next month!”

’There were pitfalls everywhere.’ He’d never expected that spending less money would actually make him more suspicious.

’By a rough calculation, one tael of silver could be exchanged for a thousand wen. That meant Mr. Hee’s usual monthly expenses were nine hundred thousand wen!’