After the Immortal Disappeared

Chapter 229: Chapter 228: On-the-Spot Lesson

”Hmm, he said the token was a Turtle Shell Token. Do you have it?”

”Yes.” He had a small piece of a Turtle Talisman in the ring he had pulled off Master Dongli’s hand.

”As thanks, you may take anything you wish from inside the Guihua Tower.”

’That’s more like it. Shouldn’t there be a reward for running an errand?’ ”What’s in there?”

”He didn’t say.”

The Great Returning Sect had been deserted for many years; Master Dongli probably wasn’t sure how much was left inside. But then Sunx Fuling added, ”Master Dongli studied Divination Skill under the Venerable Wood Spirit. This was originally the Great Returning Sect’s specialty.”

A thought struck Hee Lingchuan, and he recalled the Turtle Demon’s prophecy. ”But I heard that after the cataclysm, Divination Skills became unreliable, didn’t they?”

”The Great Returning Sect was renowned for this art; Master Dongli couldn’t have been its only practitioner,” Sunx Fuling said with a smile. ”That Immortal Sect was once teeming with talent. If Master Dongli could recalibrate the Divination Skill, couldn’t others do the same?”

Her words brought him to a realization.

’The Turtle Demon’s Divination Skill came from the lineage of the Great Returning Sect. To break this prophecy, given the current lack of information and methods, wouldn’t the best course of action be to visit the Great Returning Sect and look for clues?’

’Besides, Master Dongli did say there would be a reward for returning his belongings to the sect.’

’It’s been so long. I just hope the ”reward” is still there.’

”Where is Shou’an Mountain? I don’t think I’ve heard of it.”

”Have you heard of the Six Sects of the Kaiyuan Era?”

Hee Lingchuan shook his head honestly.

”The Great Returning Sect was one of the Six Sects of the Kaiyuan Era. It was situated on Shou’an Mountain, which is now known as Ruins Mountain!”

”Ruins Mountain?” The name sounded vaguely familiar. ”Wait, isn’t that in the Northern Demon Kingdom’s territory?”

’Right, he’d heard it mentioned in the plays at Black Water City. So does that mean he’ll have to find a way to travel to the Demon Kingdom later?’

”That’s it. The final note ends there.”

Hee Lingchuan took back the copy he had made. ”Thank you so much. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have known where to find someone to interpret it.”

”The Magic and Divine Techniques that exist today were first improved by Immortals before being passed down,” Sunx Fuling said softly. ”Newly discovered Immortal relics sometimes contain new Divine Heart Methods or long Mantras, so mastering the Immortal Language is essential. If you want to learn, I can teach you.”

Hee Lingchuan was overjoyed. ”Wonderful! I’ll have to trouble you then, Miss Sunx!”

”Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. Once you learn, you won’t have to trouble me anymore. You can go look up books in the archives yourself.” Sunx Fuling looked down at him from her perch on the wall. ”When do you plan to start?”

”Now?” Hee Lingchuan thought for a moment. ’No time like the present.’ ”If you’re not busy with anything else.”

Sunx Fuling pulled back out of sight, and only then did Hee Lingchuan realize they had been talking over the wall for so long.

He heard the sound of her climbing down a wooden ladder to the ground. The Sparrowhawk didn’t fly away but stood on the roof tiles, preening its feathers.

Hee Lingchuan asked it, ”Don’t you have a mission to carry out?” ’Is there nowhere else you can go?’

The Sparrowhawk let out a full burp. ”I just completed a high-intensity mission. I need to take a nap.”

It had killed three fat magpies today and was too full. It needed a rest.

Only today did Hee Lingchuan discover that Sparrowhawks could actually roll their eyes.

’Flapping your wings to follow the Red General for a trip around the Ghost Needle Stone Forest is what you call a high-intensity mission?’

A few moments later, the sounds of a door opening and then knocking came in succession.

Hee Lingchuan invited Sunx Fuling in, offering a habitual pleasantry, ”Water? I have some Xiluo tea, a gift from some other Patrol Guards.”

Tea from the Xiluo Kingdom was a top-grade commodity here, the kind only brought out for guests at major restaurants.

Sunx Fuling had already removed her face veil and said cheerfully, ”Sure.”

When Hee Lingchuan opened the door, she saw the half-filled courtyard and the mountain-like pile of gifts. ”People really like you.”

Hee Lingchuan scratched his head. ”Sorry.”

Sunx Fuling’s older brother, Sunx Jiayuan, had also sacrificed his life in the battle at Ghost Needle Stone Forest and was posthumously honored as a hero, but her doorstep was deserted, with no gifts to be seen.

”Sorry for what?” Sunx Fuling gave him a strange look.

”...Nothing.”

”Oh, are you talking about my brother?” Sunx Fuling realized, shrugging. ”His address isn’t here, so people wouldn’t send gifts to this place. I’ve been to his home a couple of times to pack up all the gifts and donate them.”

”Donate?” A thought occurred to Hee Lingchuan. ”I have too many things in my courtyard to ever use, and it would be wrong to sell them. Is there a place to donate them?”

”Of course. In a place like Panlong City, is there any shortage of widows, widowers, orphans, and the childless? The families of fallen soldiers also need special care.” Sunx Fuling picked up a wind chime made of polished seashells and shook it gently, producing a pleasant jingle. ”If you’re willing, I can help you donate them.”

”Wonderful.” Hee Lingchuan was delighted. ”Then I’ll have to trouble you, Miss Sunx. Please pass on everyone’s goodwill.”

Sunx Fuling nodded.

Hee Lingchuan finished preparing the tea and served it. Neither of them spoke.

WHOOSH. A cold gust of wind blew past, swirling the leaves on the ground.

’Uh, why did he ask Sunx Fuling to come over again...?’

Hee Lingchuan rubbed his hands together, breaking the awkward silence. ”So, what should we do now?”

Sunx Fuling placed a thick book from her hands onto a stool with a THUD. ”This is a comparative reference for the ancient and modern scripts. Memorize it all.”

”...”

’It’s so thick! As thick as the width of his palm!’

’He’d finally gotten past the age of daily memorization, and now he had to revisit old lessons and bury his head in books in a dream?’

’A... a recurring nightmare?’

”Your expression is exactly the same as my students’.” Sunx Fuling couldn’t help but laugh, her almond eyes curving into crescents. ”Don’t worry, it’s not difficult. The modern script evolved from the old characters, so there are patterns to follow. I’ll teach you. If you’re diligent, you can master it in two or three months at most.”

’Like the difference between semi-cursive and seal script?’

”Sit down. Take out that rubbing. We’ll start by annotating it for comparison.”

Hee Lingchuan led her into the kitchen.

The main room was too small and the courtyard was too cold. Only the kitchen had a small table.

He quickly added charcoal to the brazier, then dutifully took out the rubbing.

Before the door closed, the Sparrowhawk also took the opportunity to fly in. It shook the chill from its wings and perched by the brazier to warm itself.

’When there’s a brazier to toast by, who would want to stand outside and freeze?’

”Don’t touch my stuff!” Hee Lingchuan warned it. Hidden in a basket on the stove were two bags of roasted chicken, each weighing a good four pounds, which he had bought on his way home to have with drinks.

Hmph. The Sparrowhawk ignored him completely and went back to preening its feathers.

Sunx Fuling breathed on her hands. ”Paper, ink, and brush?”

”Uh...” ’I don’t have any.’ He either practiced his martial arts or bathed in this room; when would he ever have the chance to use a brush?

Sunx Fuling produced the three items from somewhere, and just as she was about to grind the ink, the perceptive Hee Lingchuan said, ”Let me.”

He poured a little clear water onto the inkstone and began to gently grind the ink stick.

Just as Sunx Fuling spread out the rubbing, she heard him ask, ”When I entered the city, I saw the Prefect of Wei City leading his people out of the South Gate to return to their homeland. There were at least thirty thousand of them.”

”I know, I saw them too. It’s a major event in Panlong City today; everyone in the streets is talking about it.” Sunx Fuling picked up her brush, dipped it in ink, and began her annotations. ”This is just the first group. More residents of Wei City should be returning home in succession.”

”I asked an old acquaintance from Wei City why he was going back. He just said he wasn’t used to it here.”

”Different lands nurture different people. Master Dongli also asked you to return his belongings to the Great Returning Sect. People are like that—they yearn for their homeland and hope to return to their roots.” Sunx Fuling changed the subject. ”Are you getting used to living in Panlong City?”

”Of course,” Hee Lingchuan answered without hesitation. ”Life is straightforward and easy.”

’In the dream, he could be himself. He either trained or fought, and in his spare time, he could chat and shoot the breeze with his friends. It was far more relaxing than reality, and he didn’t have to deal with Hee Chunhua and the others.’

”That’s because you chose the fastest path to advancement: throwing yourself into battle and accumulating military merit,” Sunx Fuling said softly. ”In Panlong City, military merit is almost everything. Conversely, for those who can’t earn military merit, or earn it too slowly, life is not so pleasant.”

Hee Lingchuan thought of Liu Sanjiu and his wife, and the bitter smiles on their faces.

’They weren’t skilled in combat; they were typical city commoners who could only exchange their hard but stable labor for living supplies. To save up more to exchange for military merit?’

’Calling it ”difficult” would be an understatement.’

’But Panlong City wasn’t a place where you could argue that ”to each their own.” If you couldn’t provide what it needed most, then sorry, you could just get to the back of the line.’

’Living in this cruel land, the city’s laws of survival were equally cruel.’

”I heard some Panlong City residents even tried to take advantage of the chaos and leave with them, but they were turned away when they tried to register at the Sub-prefecture Yamen.”

”That’s a bit foolish,” Hee Lingchuan said, shaking his head. ”Life is hard for the poor and lower classes no matter where they are. At least Panlong City offers security.”

”They’ll find that out once they leave,” Sunx Fuling continued. ”The Prefect of Wei City... he’s a Sunx, too?”

”He is. Back then, Captain Xiao went to receive them, but the Sunx Prefect was fleeing with thirty or forty chests of his family’s wealth. He even blocked the ramp, so the refugees behind him couldn’t get through.”

Without looking up from her annotations, Sunx Fuling seemed to smile. ”This Sunx Prefect may be rich, but according to Panlong Law, the most he could buy in the city is a Gold House. The three higher tiers of mansions all require military merit to exchange for, which is beyond his reach. If I remember correctly, the army he brought with him was disbanded long ago.”

’The mansions in Panlong City were divided into four tiers. The lowest was the Gold House, which was also the only one that the wealthy could purchase with money alone. Many rich merchants had already bought Gold Houses. The Sunx Prefect lived in the same district as them, surrounded by the nouveau riche and crooked businessmen, which probably didn’t sit well with him.’

’Moreover, Panlong City did not permit private armies, personal soldiers, or other armed forces. The Sunx Prefect could, at most, keep a few household guards. Worst of all, he couldn’t even afford servants here!’

’That’s right—even the right to employ servants had to be exchanged for military merit! For rich people like him, living in Panlong City was far too inconvenient.’

’Of course, there was another way: making more ”contributions” to Panlong City could also be converted into military merit. The definition of ”contribution,” of course, was quite broad, and the Sunx Prefect’s purse was in peril.’

Hee Lingchuan nodded. ”Better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix.”

’Rather than stay in Panlong City as a third-class citizen, the Sunx Prefect would prefer to return to Wei City and continue to lord over everyone.’