After the Immortal Disappeared

Chapter 334: Chapter 333: The Wen Father and Son

Of course, Second Madam Zhu didn’t reply.

Once her figure vanished, the two men sat by the water, staring at each other blankly.

Hee Lingchuan desperately wanted to smash the wine jar on his stupid face. ”Are you insane?”

Dong Rui hung his head.

He had just gotten carried away.

”Please tell me you’ve already thought of another way to escape.”

Dong Rui shrugged. ”This was bound to happen sooner or later. If Second Madam Zhu truly wants revenge, she’ll come around.”

’This pig-headed teammate really is unreliable.’

”For an ancient demon like Second Madam Zhu, nothing matters besides life and death. She couldn’t care less about revenge. If she doesn’t end up eating you, it can only be for that treasure.” The moon was no longer visible from the Celestial Pit. Hee Lingchuan tilted his head back, drained the last of his wine, and headed back to the Demon Nest to sleep.

***

Standing on a fighting ring in Yuewu Hall’s North Courtyard, Hee Lingchuan rubbed his aching shoulder joint while cupping his fist in salute to his opponent. ”Thank you for the match!”

This was his first ring match since his promotion to the Great Wind Army. He won.

His opponent, another Great Wind Soldier, had been knocked to the ground by one of his chopping strikes. The man now clutched his chest, got up, shot him a look, and left the ring.

It wasn’t a public tournament, just a personal sparring match in the North Courtyard.

Only the Great Wind Army were qualified to trade blows in the North Courtyard, and Hee Lingchuan could clearly feel the increase in difficulty.

His gaze swept over the fence separating the North and South Courtyards. He saw many Patrol Guards standing there, watching and applauding, and felt a wave of nostalgia.

In the past, he too had stood there, dreaming of the day he could enter the North Courtyard.

Skinny was also standing outside the fence, waving at him.

Actually, due to his good performance in the Red Peak Mine Cave, the guy had even earned an extra merit and a chance to be promoted to the Great Wind Army. But after careful consideration, he voluntarily gave up the opportunity and remained in the Patrol Team.

His reasoning was simple: the Great Wind Army was high-risk, high-reward, but he had a large family with several younger siblings who weren’t yet grown. As the eldest brother, his responsibilities were great, so he sought stability above all else.

He was different from a bachelor like Hee Lingchuan, who only wanted to advance bravely and relentlessly. Of course, Hee Lingchuan respected his choice.

Hee Lingchuan smiled at Skinny and was about to go over and chat for a bit when someone called out from behind him, ”Broken Blade, that was a beautiful fight.”

He turned around and said in surprise, ”Mr. Wen?”

The newcomer was none other than Wen Daolun, the trusted advisor to Commander Zhong. Many in the city called him a military strategist.

A boy of about fourteen or fifteen stood behind him.

Hee Lingchuan had last met Wen Daolun after an introduction by Sunx Fuling, and had asked him for a fortune-telling session.

The prophetic phrase, ”Flee upon encountering water,” had come from him.

Although Hee Lingchuan hadn’t dared to give him his full birth chart, his own experience by the Hanhe River had given him a favorable impression of Mr. Wen.

”Mr. Wen, what brings you here?”

”Deputy Commander Lord Zhao was supposed to come for an inspection today, but he was busy, so I’m filling in for him.” Wen Daolun said with a smile, ”I have to head to Wenxian Hall in a bit.”

”Oh?” Hee Lingchuan’s interest was piqued. ”Is it your turn to lecture today, Mr. Wen? May I ask the topic?”

”Many people are curious about the Beiga Kingdom,” Wen Daolun chuckled. ”So today, I’ll be speaking about this Northern Demon Kingdom.”

This was exactly what Hee Lingchuan wanted to hear. ”Excellent. I’ll go grab a good seat in the front.”

Wen Daolun nodded. ”Good, good. Are you coming with the Sunx Girl?”

”Uh, I haven’t seen her for quite a few days.”

”The students at Shumin Academy are always keeping the teachers tied up. And the Sunx Girl is still the most popular one.”

Sunx Fuling had a rather cool and aloof personality; Hee Lingchuan found it hard to imagine her mingling freely with her students.

’Don’t children usually prefer the smiling female teachers who radiate a motherly glow?’

”Oh, right. This is my humble son, Wen Xing.” Wen Daolun finally pointed to the youth behind him. ”He has always wanted to join the Great Wind Army. Next month, he’ll be starting his training with the Patrol Team.”

He then introduced Hee Lingchuan to the boy, ”Xing’er, this is Broken Blade, Hee Lingchuan. Blew up the Spider Nest in the Ghost Needle Stone Forest, killed the Divine Son in the Red Peak Mine Cave. You’ve heard all about his exploits.”

Wen Xing immediately stepped forward, and the two exchanged salutes with cupped fists.

Wen Daolun laughed. ”This boy of mine talks about your achievements nonstop. If you have the time, please give him some pointers.”

Hee Lingchuan readily agreed. ”I wouldn’t dare presume to give pointers, but Brother Wen is welcome to come find me for a spar anytime.”

Wen Xing was overjoyed and thanked him. ”I’ll definitely come and ask for your guidance!”

The young man’s gaze was bright and fervent. Looking at him, Hee Lingchuan was reminded of Hee Yue. He was about the same age, with the same vibrant and energetic spirit.

’Sigh, I wonder how busy Old Second is in Dunyu. With the defeat on the Xia Bei front, the Hee Family must be having a hard time.’

Wen Daolun stroked his beard. ”Alright, let’s meet at Wenxian Hall.”

He wasn’t skilled in Martial Arts; coming to Yuewu Hall was just a formality for him.

Hee Lingchuan went backstage to wipe off his sweat and retrieve and re-equip his weapons and gear.

There weren’t many people in the North Courtyard today. The Red General had led over two thousand Great Wind Soldiers out of the city to battle.

His promotion orders came late; otherwise, he might have had to go with the army.

Afterward, he walked over to the South Courtyard to chat with Skinny.

The latter complimented his impressive Great Wind Army uniform, but Hee Lingchuan was unmoved, simply holding out his hand. ”How much did you win? Where’s my cut?”

Skinny cheerfully tossed him a dozen or so Copper Plates. Hee Lingchuan frowned. ”That’s it?”

”You’re the champion of Ring Seven now. You beat Meng Shan and kicked the Jindu Boy’s ass. The odds are terrible, tsk tsk! You’re lucky anyone’s betting at all.” Skinny then asked, ”Hey, you seem to know Mr. Wen pretty well?”

”We’ve met once. I asked him to interpret a prophecy for me,” Hee Lingchuan said casually. ”The young man with him is his son, Wen Xing.”

”Oh, I know. Wen Daolun has three sons. The eldest died on the battlefield, and this Wen Xing is the youngest. I hear he’s very promising. Mr. Wen had him late in life, so the whole family spoils him rotten, but he’s always wanted to be a soldier.”

”How do you even know all this?”

”It’s all over the Patrol Team. Mr. Wen’s son is joining up, and no one knows which squad he’ll be assigned to.” Skinny chuckled. ”Liu Tong’s planning to go pray to Lady Mitian that the kid isn’t placed in our squad.”

Wen Daolun was currently Commander Zhong’s right-hand man, so his son would inevitably receive some special treatment upon enlisting. Even the most disciplined troops couldn’t avoid such things. And the Patrol Guards didn’t like these ”important figures” who required special attention in battle—it was a thankless, troublesome job.

Hee Lingchuan shrugged. It had nothing to do with him anyway.

”Liu Tong’s been grumbling these past few days that as soon as you three left, the squad fell apart.”

Besides Hee Lingchuan, the other two were Door Panel and Willow.

Xiao Maoliang wanted him to form his own small squad of five to ten men. He could select the members, who would then be approved by the higher-ups. Being promoted directly from a Patrol Guard to a Great Wind Army Fire Chief wasn’t unheard of in Panlong City, which valued talent regardless of background. Besides, with Hee Lingchuan’s outstanding military merits, no one else had any objections.

So, he had requested Door Panel and Willow.

The higher-ups reviewed their files and found that both had solid combat records, lacking only the rank of ”Squad Commander” to meet the enlistment requirements. But Hee Lingchuan had described them as comrades with whom he had ”perfect coordination, who had been through life and death” and could be entrusted with his life. Such comrades were more precious than any resource on the battlefield. Therefore, his request was approved, but Door Panel and Willow would be listed as candidates for the time being, to be officially confirmed after a probationary period.

Hee Lingchuan smiled. ”To each their own.”

Liu Tong wasn’t as frank as Skinny, but Hee Lingchuan could sense that he didn’t want to be promoted to the Great Wind Army either.

In this world, while some people strive to advance and brave the fiercest storms, others are content to lie flat and cling to their small, certain happiness. There was no right or wrong in it, just different choices.

The longer Hee Lingchuan stayed in Panlong City, the more he felt the sheer variety of human life here, as vivid and real as anything in the outside world.

People were people. They had their own little schemes. What difference was there between a hundred years ago and a hundred years from now?

Skinny was looking around again. Every time Hee Lingchuan saw him do that, he knew some gossip was about to be spilled.

Sure enough, after making sure no one was around, Skinny lowered his voice. ”Deputy Commander Zhao Xianhe—Lord Zhao—hasn’t been seen for days. He was supposed to be the one visiting Yuewu Hall today, but Mr. Wen came instead. Isn’t that strange?”

Commander Zhong originally had two adjutants. A few years ago, he promoted another one himself. All were called Deputy Commanders. Hee Lingchuan seemed to have heard of this Lord Zhao that Skinny mentioned. He was once a Military Officer with distinguished merits and one of the old guards who had followed Commander Zhong from the very beginning. But Hee Lingchuan’s time in Panlong City was spent either on missions or practicing martial arts, or perhaps listening to lectures at Wenxian Hall, with the occasional bit of free time spent chatting with Sunx Fuling. When would he have the mind to pay attention to these high-ranking military and political officials?

”Now you’re worrying about Lord Zhao?” Hee Lingchuan crossed his arms. ”You have too much free time. Go find a couple more side hustles to make money.”

”Do you remember Hu Village Chief sending people to secretly mine gold in the Red Peak Mine Cave?” Skinny coughed twice. ”He wouldn’t dare do that on his own, even if you gave him ten times the guts, right?”

Hee Lingchuan’s heart skipped a beat.

Thanks to Skinny’s report, the Great Wind Army had found charcoal furnaces, kilns, and small water carts inside the Red Peak Mine Cave that very night, proving that gold was indeed being mined secretly. Hee Lingchuan didn’t know what truths Hu Village Chief had revealed after being taken in for interrogation, but the gold mining had certainly been going on for more than a day or two.

The Red Peak Mine Cave was one of Panlong City’s most important sources of iron ore. The raw materials for one out of every seven sets of Panlong City’s armor and weapons came from it. There was no doubt about the official importance placed on it; routine inspections and sampling must have been frequent. So why had no one discovered that it also produced gold?

’To hide it for so many years, just how big and tight was the protective umbrella over Hu Village Chief and his ilk?’

’Who was lining their pockets with the gold that flowed out?’

’If not for the Jindu Boy occupying the Mine Cave this time, which led to the accidental exposure of the whole affair, how much longer would these parasites have fed on the gold?’

”Quite the bold scheme,” Hee Lingchuan said with a smile. ”Are you trying to say Lord Zhao did it?”

”Lord Zhao is in charge of mountains, rivers, and mineral resources. Even if he didn’t take the money himself, he can’t escape responsibility,” Skinny whispered. ”Remember how Hu Village Chief delayed reporting the avalanche for two days, and during that time, someone sent forty or fifty skilled fighters into the Mine Cave to hunt monsters? Who do you think could mobilize those people?”

If it weren’t for the unexpected avalanche on Red Peak Mountain, Hu Village Chief probably wouldn’t have reported the mining disaster at all. If he’d managed to hide it for another ten or fifteen days, the Sadist’s Flesh Fortress would have fully formed, and it would have been much harder for Panlong City to pull out that thorn.