After the Immortal Disappeared

Chapter 154: Chapter 155: Corpse Liberation?

”After we escaped, everyone was really upset, but General Lui didn’t take it seriously. About ten men tried to stage a mutiny and seize power while he was drunk, but they failed, and it ended badly for them.” The prisoner swallowed. ”General Lui is at the end of his rope. Maybe some of our brothers will stick with him to the bitter end, but I... I don’t want to die.”

”Pathetic stray!” Zhao Qinghe kicked him. ”Report to my lord. Tell him about Lui Yao and the other rebels’ movements after they fled Woling Pass.”

The prisoner pressed his forehead to the ground. ”Please have mercy, Mr. Hee!” He then obediently divulged everything he knew.

After listening to the prisoner, Hee Chunhua and his sons learned what had happened. After Woling Pass was recaptured by the Yuan Royal Court, the Rebel Army lost its backbone. Seven or eight of its leaders had each gathered their remaining troops and fled. The fact that Lui Yao was able to muster over a thousand men was only because he had already absorbed another faction. He was now responding to Pei Xinyong’s call to rendezvous at Xianling Village, where he naturally intended to seize the position of commander-in-chief. After that, he planned to occupy a piece of territory near Shuitou to the west and gradually build up his power.

Hee Lingchuan was still puzzled. ”How is that any different from Wu Shaoyi’s original goal? Lui Yao mocked Wu Shaoyi for only wanting to be a Ragtag King, but isn’t he just planning to hole up and rule his own territory too?”

”It’s different,” the prisoner explained. ”General Lui hopes to use Shuitou as a base to gradually conquer the surrounding prefectures. He’s convinced the Yuan Kingdom is weak and distracted by trouble in the north, so its control over the west is bound to be lax. We—no, *he*—will have a great opportunity. Once his power and prestige grow, the Yuan Royal Court will have no choice but to acknowledge him. They might even grant him a title and beg us to send troops.”

”Maybe... maybe he could even declare himself a king or a marquis and receive the Nine Bestowments,” he added drily. ”General Lui said that’s how many great warlords of the past built their empires.”

Hee Chunhua couldn’t help but sneer. ”The Nine Bestowments? Is he even worthy?”

The father and his two sons now understood. Lui Yao’s plan was to seize a territory and force the central government’s hand.

In truth, Lui Yao understood the situation perfectly. When a kingdom’s fortunes decline, local warlords often rise. With their own armies and supplies, their power surges as the Royal Court’s wanes. Once the court becomes too weak to challenge them, its only recourse is appeasement, offering official titles or rewards. But even that might not be enough. As soon as the fancy strikes them, they’ll found their own kingdom and declare themselves king.

Hee Yue nodded. ”A man like Lui Yao can never go back once he’s tasted power. He has to see this dark path through to the very end.”

Hee Lingchuan picked a large wooden stump to sit on and said nonchalantly, ”This guy truly knows no bounds.”

Hee Chunhua glanced at him. ’Why does the boy’s tone carry a hint of envy?’

The prisoner added, ”Actually, after encountering the Lord Governor in Xianling Village, General Lui was overjoyed. He planned to seize your seal and the Society Command, then head to Xiazhou to become the Chief Steward himself.”

The father and his two sons were all taken aback by this. Hee Yue scoffed, ”What a foolish fantasy. Primordial Power is bestowed by the sovereign. How could he possibly wield it?”

The prisoner stammered, ”General Lui said... he has his ways. He can steal Mr. Hee’s birth chart and identity, and then usurp his official position to wield Primordial Power.” Seeing the expressions on the faces of Hee Chunhua and his sons, he quickly added, ”But as for how he’d do it, none of us know. General Lui refused to say.”

Hee Lingchuan slapped the wooden stump. ”No wonder Lui Yao was chasing us so relentlessly, as if we’d slaughtered his entire family! Turns out he was just harboring ambitions to be a monkey in a crown!”

A wave of fear washed over Hee Yue. ’So Lui Yao has been targeting Father ever since we arrived in Xianling Village.’

From the side, Zhao Qinghe pressed the prisoner. ”What else? Tell the lord what you said about the Saint Master again!”

The prisoner asked for a cup of water. After moistening his chapped lips, he began, ”Regarding the Saint Master, we don’t know the true story. However, right before the Celestial King Heap was breached, the Saint Master summoned General Lui for a private meeting.”

The Celestial King Heap was the Rebel Army’s final bastion at Woling Pass, and it was considered impregnable. Hee Chunhua had read the battle reports; he knew the Royal Court Army had paid a heavy price to take it.

”The four or five men General Lui brought with him, myself included, waited about twenty feet from the room. We couldn’t hear a single word of what was said inside. The battle outside grew more desperate, and the Celestial King Heap was on the verge of falling. Urgent reports from the front lines came four or five times, but on the Saint Master’s orders, no one could go through that door.”

”About a double-hour later, General Lui pushed the door open and walked out, his eyes red. He announced that the Saint Master had passed away.”

”Everyone was stunned. Several generals heard the news and rushed over, wanting to go inside to see what happened, but Lui Yao posted all his men to guard the private chamber, refusing to let anyone step inside. General Wu Shaoyi even got into a huge fight with Lui Yao over it. Then, suddenly, the fortress was breached. The Royal Court Army stormed the Celestial King Heap. Knowing the battle was lost, the other generals turned and fled.”

Hee Lingchuan thought about it. ’When your army is on its last legs, you’re counting on your main pillar of support to step up and turn the tide. But who knew the pillar itself would just snap? Instead of holding up the roof, it’s about to come crashing down on your head.’ He could understand why the Rebel Army felt so royally screwed.

He couldn’t help but ask, ”Based on this story, is it possible Hong Xiangqian isn’t dead and that was just a rumor spread to the outside?”

”He’s dead. Mr. Ke Jihai delivered Hong Xiangqian’s head to the Capital City. It was examined by countless people en route, and all of them confirmed it was Hong Xiangqian himself.” Hee Chunhua tapped his fingers on a stack of firewood. ”Unless he had a body double who was his perfect look-alike.”

Hee Lingchuan said nonchalantly, ”What’s so strange about a body double? I know plenty of people who keep them. They come in handy at critical moments.”

”Oh?” Hee Chunhua’s gaze intensified. ”Then tell me, who might they be?”

”Er...” Hee Lingchuan choked, quickly turning back to the prisoner. ”Everything you’ve told me so far is something I could find out from any other captured rebel. Have you got anything solid?”

”Y-yes, I do.” The prisoner swallowed hard. ”Actually, when General Lui had his men surround the private chamber, I went into the secret room with him. I... I saw the Saint Master’s remains on the floor, beheaded!”

Hee Chunhua was incredulous. ”Lui Yao killed Hong Xiangqian?!”

Hong Xiangqian held a lofty position within the Rebel Army. According to intelligence Hee Chunhua had previously gathered, Lui Yao was originally a street ruffian. As a youth, he had been arrested after brutally killing seven people and wounding nine others in public. He was tried and sentenced to be executed in the autumn, but Hong Xiangqian, recognizing his innate talent, personally intervened to save him. He then taught Lui Yao Martial Arts and military strategy. In a sense, he had given Lui Yao a new life.

’Why would Lui Yao suddenly turn on him?’

”B-but there wasn’t any blood on the ground. Not a single drop. It was spotless. Although the Saint Master was beheaded, the look on his face was serene, as if he were merely sleeping. Nothing in the secret room was disturbed; there were no signs of a struggle at all.” The prisoner swallowed. ”General Lui just called us in to tidy the room, so I don’t think he’d had time to clean up beforehand.”

Hee Chunhua listened, engrossed. ”And then?”

”By then, the Celestial King Heap had been breached, and large numbers of court soldiers were pouring in. We didn’t have much time, so we followed General Lui’s orders. We wrapped the Saint Master’s headless body, weighed it down with several large rocks, and sank it in the Mingtai River. As for the Saint Master’s head, I don’t know how General Lui handled it.”

Hee Chunhua spoke slowly. ”Lords Wu Di and Ke Jihai found Hong Xiangqian’s hiding place. It wasn’t heavily guarded. Instead, a brocade box sat on a table. Inside was Hong Xiangqian’s head. The box also contained a letter in his own hand, stating that he, the source of the calamity, was taking full responsibility and begging the court soldiers not to bring harm to the people of Woling Pass.”

Hearing this, Hee Lingchuan immediately remarked, ”So they didn’t behead him themselves. That casts doubt on its authenticity.”

But Hee Yue shook his head. ”The two lords were suspicious, but they used many methods to test it. It was truly Hong Xiangqian’s head, which is why they sent it to the Capital City. In reality, as long as the world is told that Hong Xiangqian was defeated and has died, it doesn’t much matter if he’s actually alive or not. Neither he nor his Rebel Army can ever regain their momentum.”

Hee Chunhua’s expression grew solemn. He said slowly, ”Listening to this man’s testimony has given me an idea. Perhaps Chuan’er wasn’t entirely wrong.”

Hee Lingchuan was instantly pleased with himself. ”So I was right after all? Haha! But right is right, and wrong is wrong. What’s this ’not entirely wrong’ business?”

”Hong Xiangqian may not be dead, but you couldn’t say he’s alive, either.” Hee Chunhua hesitated before speaking cautiously. ”I suspect... he had Lui Yao enter that secret room to perform the rite of Corpse Liberation on him!”

”’Corpse Liberation?’” This was the second time Hee Lingchuan had heard the term, and his mind immediately jumped to the Old Turtle Demon.

’Demons can undergo Corpse Liberation. Is it the same for humans, just with a different name?’

”Liberation via a weapon, to release the Primordial Spirit from its vessel,” Hee Chunhua said, enunciating each word. ”To put it simply, one has another person behead them as a means to free the Primordial Spirit!”

Hee Lingchuan glanced at his younger brother, whose brows were tightly knit. ’Looks like this topic is too obscure,’ he thought, ’even for our little scholar.’

”So you’re saying Hong Xiangqian’s Primordial Spirit escaped? This ’Corpse Liberation’ can’t be as simple as just getting your head chopped off, right?”

”Of course not. He would have had to concentrate all his body’s essence, qi, spirit, and blood into his head. Only then, at the moment Lui Yao’s blade struck, would Hong Xiangqian have a chance to escape the shackles of his physical form. The timing is critical. A moment too soon or too late, and it’s simply murder,” Hee Chunhua explained. ”The procedure must have succeeded, because the lack of blood proves that all the Essence Blood in his body had condensed into his head. At that point, Hong Xiangqian would have been paralyzed. He needed Lui Yao to swing the blade to seize the opportunity and release his spirit. Most importantly, Corpse Liberation can’t be self-inflicted. It requires the help of another.”

”So does that mean Lui Yao was Hong Xiangqian’s true confidant?” Hee Lingchuan asked curiously. ”And what can a Primordial Spirit do after it leaves the body?”

What he was really thinking was, ’If the Old Turtle Demon’s Corpse Liberation was this difficult and couldn’t be self-administered, did it use the Crocodile God’s power to do it?’

’The risk would have been considerable, but its old physical shell had reached the limits of its Cultivation, hadn’t it?’

’If that’s the case, what a masterful scheme.’

”Possession.” It was Hee Yue who answered this time. ”I’ve heard that a Primordial Spirit cannot remain exposed in the open for long. It must find a body to inhabit as soon as possible, and an unborn fetus is the ideal choice.”

Hee Lingchuan shrugged. ”So that means Hong Xiangqian won’t be making any trouble for at least ten years.”

”Not necessarily. Mr. Ke once said that Hong Xiangqian’s power was like that of ghosts and gods, rivaling even the National Preceptor’s. He may have already prepared a compatible body for just such a contingency.” Hee Chunhua turned to the prisoner. ”After Lui Yao left Woling Pass, did he have any contact with pregnant women, or with children under the age of three? The ones he ate don’t count.”