After the Immortal Disappeared

Chapter 227: Chapter 226: Old Faces

”Whether in Xiluo, Baling, Xianyou, or any other place the trade routes reach, they’re very popular. Just one of these snail shells can sell for at least one tael of silver in the market. If you ship them back to the Xiluo Kingdom, I’ve heard they can sell for two taels, no problem.”

Hee Lingchuan took out his fluorescent spores to illuminate it. The snail in Liu Tong’s hand was a bright yellow, the color of Shoushan tianhuang stone, but with hints of green and purple, as if it were dyed with complete abandon.

Carefree, yet possessing a spiritual beauty, as if every streak of color were a master’s finishing touch.

”These ’candy snails’ are only found in the caves of Smoke Mountain, and Panlong City has guards posted there to prevent anyone from taking them without permission,” Liu Tong said with a laugh. ”We performed great service in the Ghost Needle Stone Forest. This is a special reward.”

A spark ignited in Skinny’s eyes. ”This treasure is gorgeous!” ’One tael of silver is a thousand large coins!’ ”We each get to take six?”

”Right, but don’t even think about sneaking any more,” Liu Tong said seriously. ”If we’re caught, our squad will be fined ten taels of silver, and we’ll lose military merits!”

He stared at Skinny, his tone turning severe. ”Skinny, did you hear me?!”

He was most worried about this guy.

Skinny waved his hands repeatedly. ”Don’t worry, don’t worry! I never do anything out of line!”

With that, the group split up to search for snails in the cave.

It had just snowed heavily, so the cave was now warm and humid. Lichen and moss were even starting to sprout. It was practically a paradise for snails, so they were particularly active, crawling out from their hiding places to roam about.

In no time, everyone had gathered enough.

They touched their fists together, then opened their palms. Dozens of snails huddled there, their colors as brilliant as a rainbow after a storm.

Gold, red, blue, indigo, violet, yellow... You name a color, and they had it. Even the most skilled confectioner couldn’t create candy so vibrant.

”They’re just too beautiful!” Willow exclaimed. ”I’m not selling mine, I’m keeping them!”

’They could be made into bracelets, pendants, hair ornaments, or hairpins. Wouldn’t that leave common things like pearls and agates in the dust?’

Hearing this, Door Panel scratched his head. ”After we get out, you can have mine too.”

Willow was taken aback. ”Ah, okay, I’ll buy them from you, but you have to give me the teammate discount.”

”It’s just trinkets that girls like. You can just have them.”

Only then did Willow’s smile truly blossom like a flower.

Skinny and Hee Lingchuan looked at each other and both sighed.

The journey back to the city was uneventful.

Soon, the imposing main gate of Panlong City appeared in their view.

That mighty fortress always gave the firmest confidence to soldiers, civilians, and travelers alike. As Hee Lingchuan drew closer, however, he noticed an endless stream of people flowing out of the city, all carrying bedrolls, riding donkeys, or in carts.

It didn’t look like a merchant caravan; it looked more like a migrating column of refugees.

Door Panel asked in surprise, ”What’s going on?”

Panlong City rarely opened its gates wide to let so many people out at once—unless it was an army.

It was always civilians moving into the city with their families, baggage and all. It was rare to see them streaming out shoulder-to-shoulder.

Hee Lingchuan glanced over and, to his surprise, spotted some familiar faces in the crowd:

Liu Sanjiu and his wife, along with their son and daughter.

They were still leading that same donkey, which was still carrying a huge bundle of luggage, its eyes full of bitter resentment.

When Wei City fell, Hee Lingchuan had blended into a group of refugees, and the first people he met were Liu Sanjiu’s family. They had worked in a distillery in a small town near Wei City. Hee Lingchuan had even chatted with them for half the journey, right until the Baling People’s pursuit force arrived.

The events before and after that great battle were still vivid in Hee Lingchuan’s mind; of course he wouldn’t forget these people.

The few Patrol Guards were standing by the roadside. Liu Sanjiu spotted him and gasped, ”Ah,” before saying in pleasant surprise, ”It’s, it’s you...!”

He obviously recognized the helpful young lad who had helped him on the refugee road, but for the life of him, he couldn’t remember his name. He stammered for a moment before quickly asking, ”Are you doing well? Are you heading back with us?”

”Back?” Hee Lingchuan smiled. ”Where to?”

”To Wei City, of course,” Liu Sanjiu said, abashed. ”The Red General has recaptured Wei City, and the Sunx Prefect is taking us home.”

He clearly remembered the circumstances of their flight, so seeing Hee Lingchuan again now, his feelings were inevitably a little complicated.

Hee Lingchuan’s appearance seemed to be a reminder of how pathetic and humiliated he had been at the time.

Hee Lingchuan looked at the long column of people. ”Are all these people from Wei City?”

”Yes, yes,” Liu Sanjiu’s wife beamed. ”We never thought we’d be able to go back in our lifetime.”

Skinny looked at them and suddenly said, ”If it weren’t for Brother Hee risking his life to blow up the Spider Demon’s lair in the Ghost Needle Stone Forest, and if it weren’t for the Red General personally infiltrating Wei City to retake it, you’d all still be stuck farming in Panlong City—not that I think there’s anything wrong with that!”

The smiles on the faces of Liu Sanjiu and his wife froze slightly.

They didn’t know that much about matters at the front; they only knew that retaking Wei City was just one of the Red General’s many victories.

The Red General had won so many battles that the common folk had grown numb to the good news.

Liu Sanjiu gave Hee Lingchuan a deep bow. ”Thank you, Brother Hee!”

Hee Lingchuan waved his hand. ”Why do you want to go back to Wei City? Isn’t it safer in Panlong City?”

”Panlong City is a wonderful place, and the Chipa Plateau behind it is like paradise,” Liu Sanjiu said, exchanging a look with his wife. ”It’s just... we’re not used to it. There’s no place like home.”

”Why are the people of Wei City all moving together?” Liu Tong was thinking from another angle. ”Did someone organize this?”

”I heard that the Sunx Prefect petitioned Commander Zhong for permission to return, and Commander Zhong agreed,” Liu Sanjiu’s wife replied. ”The Sunx Prefect then posted a notice in the city telling any Wei City residents who wanted to go back to register at the Sub-prefecture Yamen first. We were told to gather at the South Gate today to depart, and we’d have a military escort too.”

Indeed, there were figures of Panlong Army soldiers patrolling near the column. It seemed Zhong Shengguang was a good man through and through, seeing to it that the people of Wei City were escorted home.

Liu Sanjiu looked at Hee Lingchuan, whose military armor was very conspicuous. ”Brother Hee, you joined the army?”

Hee Lingchuan nodded.

”In Panlong City, you’ll definitely make a name for yourself!” Liu Sanjiu said, clasping his hands. ”Please, be careful.”

The two parties waved goodbye, each heading toward their own future.

They all knew they would likely never meet again, which made their smiles all the more sincere.

”Alright, wipe that fake smile off your face.” Willow couldn’t stand it anymore and rolled her eyes at Hee Lingchuan. ”Don’t tell me you saved that family too?”

”Mmm...” He had participated in Captain Xiao’s rearguard action, which bought the civilians more time to escape, so, ”I guess you could say that.”

Willow scoffed. ”He couldn’t even remember your surname.” Liu Sanjiu’s hesitant expression hadn’t escaped her Dharma Eye.

”It doesn’t matter,” Hee Lingchuan said, turning his horse toward Panlong City.

’Who asked him to be a good person who seeks no reward?’

After entering the city and bidding farewell to his teammates, Hee Lingchuan returned to his small cabin, where another pile of gifts was stacked outside his door.

He moved everything inside. Half of the small yard was already taken up, and there was barely any room left for the water vat.

He casually heated some lukewarm water and washed off the dust and weariness from his journey.

Home—a home where you could afford to burn charcoal in the winter—was the best harbor for the human heart.

But just as he finished drying his hair, he heard a flurry of commotion outside. Something had been knocked over in the yard, accompanied by the tragic cry of a bird.

’What happened?’

He pushed the door open and stepped out to see black and white feathers flying around the small yard. The only piece of furniture, a stool, was overturned, and there was a small pool of blood on the ground.

Perched on the wall was a bird of prey with brown feathers and white spots. Pinned beneath its talons was a magpie. Its head was gone, but its body was still twitching.

The raptor was using its hook-like beak to pluck the feathers, which drifted down into Hee Lingchuan’s yard on the wind, stained with blood.

His yard had clearly become a hunting ground.

Hee Lingchuan let out a whistle, reminding the uninvited guest to mind its table manners and not cause too much trouble for its host.

’This bird looks familiar...’

The raptor saw him come out but didn’t flinch. Instead, it tilted its head, sized him up, and then suddenly spoke in a human voice, ”So it’s you.”

As soon as it spoke, Hee Lingchuan also let out a sound of realization. ”Oh, so it’s you.”

Wasn’t this the Sparrowhawk he had met in the Ghost Needle Stone Forest? Back then, this Demon had received orders from General Nanke and was carrying a Command Arrow Fire Bomb, intending to blow up the Spider Nest. Who knew that Second Madam Zhu’s Cloud-Glow Robe Spider Silk would be too tough, and the task had to be handed over to Sunx Jiayuan and Hee Lingchuan.

After that incident, they could be considered comrades-in-arms, but Hee Lingchuan hadn’t seen the Sparrowhawk since. He figured it had gone off with the main force to carry out another mission.

Hee Lingchuan pointed at the magpie under its talons. ”Thanks. That thing was always chirping and keeping me from sleeping.”

Once winter arrived, most birds disappeared from Panlong City. Only fat magpies remained, hopping about and often stealing grain from the residents. Spring hadn’t even arrived, yet the magpies were already this plump. If a raptor wasn’t going to hunt them, what else would it hunt?

Since fate had brought them together again, he righted the stool and placed a bowl of fresh water on it for the Sparrowhawk.

The Sparrowhawk flew down with its prize, landed on the stool, and took several sips of water.

”Been keeping well?”

”I just returned from the Ghost Needle Stone Forest with the Red General,” the Sparrowhawk said, pecking at the meat. It seemed very hungry. ”The round trip took two days.”

Hee Lingchuan was startled. ”The Red General went to the Ghost Needle Stone Forest?”

”Yes, to lead troops against Second Madam Zhu,” the Sparrowhawk said. ”The Red General said they had to settle the score from last time.”

The Baling People had schemed to use the Earth Cave Spiders of the Ghost Needle Stone Forest against the Panlong City Army. Second Madam Zhu had personally taken the field, and General Nanke’s troops had nearly been annihilated.

Afterward, Panlong City certainly couldn’t let it slide.

Moreover, the Ghost Needle Stone Forest was a vital passage to the southeast for Puxi Gully and other allied towns, so Panlong City had a duty to ensure their safety.

”What was the outcome?”

”We went fully prepared this time, specifically to make trouble for the Earth Cave Spiders. We burned seven or eight of their satellite nests alone, and killed more than half of Second Madam Zhu’s followers. The fight at the main nest was even more vicious. Second Madam Zhu, who spends all her time setting traps, fell into the General’s trap this time. More than half of her elite Spider Guards were killed, and she herself had two legs broken and her belly nearly pierced. The General threatened to burn her final lair to the ground, and Second Madam Zhu had no choice but to sue for peace.”

”HISS—” Hee Lingchuan had seen Second Madam Zhu with his own eyes. A Great Demon who had survived since Ancient Times was bound to have plenty of tricks up her sleeve, yet the Red General had beaten her so brutally.

’Truly worthy of a fearsome god of war.’