After the Immortal Disappeared

Chapter 390: Chapter 389: Coming to the Door

Many shops and restaurants were closed. The footsteps of pedestrians were no longer as relaxed as before, and even the laughter of children had diminished.

When Hee Lingchuan appeared at the inn, Shi the Second’s expression clearly relaxed. ”You’re finally back! With the sudden outbreak of Emperor’s Liquid, we were all worried you’d run into big trouble out there!”

Hee Lingchuan looked up and saw a large hole in the roof of the inn’s second floor, which artisans were halfway through repairing. ”What happened here?”

”A few days ago, when the Emperor’s Liquid erupted, two Demons got into a fight and punched a hole right through the roof.” Shi the Second also looked up. ”There are too many damaged places in the city and not enough craftsmen. They only just started on ours today.”

”Was anyone hurt?”

”One of the clerks was hit. He’s still laid up in the apothecary.” Shi the Second shook his head. ”Fufeng City only announced the Emperor’s Liquid half a day in advance, telling commoners to stay home and not go out, or they’d face the consequences. There was even a Demon Army on patrol that night, but the city still descended into chaos. Countless acts of smashing, looting, robbery, and murder... The air reeked of blood.”

’So the officials only gave half a day’s notice?’ A thought struck Hee Lingchuan. ’It seems the Grand Tutor’s Mansion did me a huge favor by informing me three days in advance.’

”It’s about the same everywhere. On my way back, I saw towns and villages cleaning up the aftermath.”

”Our whole group stayed together, with doors and windows tightly shut. A few of the younger lads couldn’t resist the aroma of the Emperor’s Liquid and tried to rush out multiple times. We had to knock them out.” Shi the Second said, still shaken. ”Outside, it was a cacophony of wails and howls. We gripped our weapons and didn’t sleep a wink all night. When we went out at dawn to check the cargo, thankfully, it was mostly still there. We’re lucky we were in Fufeng City. If we’d been out in the wilderness or staying in some village, we’d have been in for some serious trouble.”

”A lot of people couldn’t hold back. They rushed out to receive the Emperor’s Liquid, and ended up losing their lives. *Sigh*.”

He looked at Hee Lingchuan, feeling that something about the young man was different, though he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Finally, he said:

”You should go take a bath. Have you been rolling around in the mud for the past few days?”

Hee Lingchuan grinned. ”Sorry, I’m late.”

”No worries.” Shi the Second waved his hand. ”The original plan has changed. We’ll be staying in Fufeng City for a few more days, waiting for things to quiet down outside before we set off again.”

With the Emperor’s Liquid just passed, New Demons were cropping up everywhere. It was too dangerous to be on the road now.

”Oh, right. That Wu Jingsong came looking for you once.”

Hee Lingchuan nodded. He returned to his room and ordered two large buckets of hot water to wash off all the fungal threads and dust from his body. After drying his hair and changing his clothes, he went downstairs and slurped down a huge, steaming bowl of tomato and egg gravy noodles, adding two sesame oil flatbreads on the side.

The cook was quite skilled, managing to make a simple flatbread with several flaky layers.

Just as Hee Lingchuan was enjoying his meal, a dozen or so people walked in, all of whom looked vaguely familiar.

They sat down to eat, and Hee Lingchuan glanced over inadvertently.

The leader of the group happened to look over at the same time. Their eyes met, and the other person offered a faint, very friendly smile.

Hee Lingchuan returned the smile, though he was secretly alarmed:

’What a coincidence.’

These dozen or so people were none other than the youth in black and his subordinates, except their leader had changed into a set of light cyan brocade robes, giving him the air of a dashing young nobleman.

From the way they walked in, it didn’t seem like they had specifically tracked him here.

’Fufeng City is huge. How did they end up in this exact place?’

Fuu Jiu was saying to the youth, ”Young Master, don’t you love donkey meat? Don’t be fooled just because this is an inn. Their cook’s flatbreads and braised donkey meat are excellent!”

”Is that so?” the youth said nonchalantly. ”Bring a plate for me to try.”

The clerk had just left when a crow flew in through the window and landed on the back of the leader’s chair.

The crow’s tail feathers were slightly scorched. It looked familiar to Hee Lingchuan.

The leader didn’t even look up. ”Why are you still following me? You lost the person you were chasing.”

The crow cocked its tail and said, ”I have a new lead!”

”Oh?”

”The scent of the Marsh Warden from Three-Heart Plateau is very strong. It can’t be washed off with a simple bath!” the crow said proudly. ”I can smell it, and it’s right here in this inn!”

Hee Lingchuan’s brow furrowed.

The leader and his subordinates exchanged a look.

The Marsh Warden on Three-Heart Plateau had exploded, sending fungal threads and spores flying everywhere. Anyone, human or Demon, who came from there would be stained with its scent.

The crow flew a half-circle around the dining hall as if pinpointing the source of the scent, then folded its wings and landed on Hee Lingchuan’s table.

”You! You have the smell too!”

Hee Lingchuan shooed it with his chopsticks, letting out a ”SHOO” as if driving away an ordinary bird.

The signal could not have been clearer. The leader walked over and asked Hee Lingchuan with a smile:

”May I sit here?”

Hee Lingchuan refused. ”No.”

The man acted as if he hadn’t heard, pulling out a chair and sitting down. ”Thank you.”

”Why were you still lingering on Three-Heart Plateau the day after the Emperor’s Liquid erupted?”

Hee Lingchuan slurped a mouthful of soup. ”Speak plainly.”

”Humans don’t usually stay there for long,” the man said with a smile. ”Are you hiding something?”

”I don’t know what you’re talking about, and I don’t want to know,” Hee Lingchuan said lazily. ”Judging by your appearance, you’re not from Fufeng City, are you?”

”What gave it away?”

”If you were from Fufeng City, you’d be in the Residence Hall right now, not running around everywhere.” Hee Lingchuan pointed to his temple. ”People with problems up here are sent to the Residence Hall to live out the rest of their days in peace.”

That was Fufeng City’s asylum for the mentally ill, a fact he’d only learned a few days ago.

A large man abruptly stood up and started walking over, but the leader pressed down on his wrist, signaling him not to act.

He whispered to Hee Lingchuan:

”I recognize your aura. That move at Wild Boar Cave... Nicely done!”

SLUUURP. Hee Lingchuan sucked up a noodle.

”Celestial and Earthly Treasures belong to the capable,” the youth said, watching him with a smile. ”How about we become friends?”

Before, during the chase, he only thought this guy was fast on his feet. Meeting him today, he realized Hee Lingchuan was no simple character.

He wasn’t sure where this feeling came from. The man was clearly just eating his noodles at a leisurely pace.

When he asked this, the burly men behind the youth were all a little surprised. The Young Master had killed people in the street over a single disagreement more times than they could count, and he always got away scot-free. Why the sudden change of heart this time?

Hee Lingchuan put down his wooden chopsticks, slowly looked at the youth, and suddenly broke into a smile. ”Sure. What’s your name?”

Both of them knew that the Emperor’s Liquid they had fought over a few days ago had already been converted into the other’s Cultivation. There was no point in fighting to the death now.

”I’m Fushan.” The youth crossed his arms. ”And you are?”

”Hee.”

Fushan smiled. ”So we’re good now?”

Hee Lingchuan smiled back without a trace of resentment. ”We’re good.”

Fushan invited him warmly, ”Why don’t you join us for a meal?”

Hee Lingchuan waved his chopsticks. ”No, no, I’m almost finished here.”

Their attitudes were so abruptly friendly that the large men behind Fushan were a bit stunned. They had thought the Young Master was about to flip the table.

Fushan continued, ”Since I’ve found you, there’s something else I want to ask...”

Just then, the inn’s entrance darkened as someone else walked in. He looked left and right, and upon spotting Hee Lingchuan, walked straight over.

It was Wu Jingsong.

”Brother Hee, you’re finally back! Oh, are you with friends?” His sharp eyes immediately sensed that something was off about the scene.

’Why do those guys standing around look so murderous?’

Hee Lingchuan said leisurely, ”That’s right. I met these gentlemen in the outskirts a few days ago. We had a small misunderstanding.”

”Oh?” Wu Jingsong immediately understood the implication. ”And is that misunderstanding ongoing?”

’In the outskirts, a few days ago? Aren’t those the kind of ”friends” you make fighting over Emperor’s Liquid?’

He crossed his arms and looked down at Fushan. ”Is that so? Where are you people from?”

He spoke with an interrogating tone. Across from him, a bearded man glared and was about to talk back, but Fushan raised a hand to stop him. Fushan then put on a sincere smile. ”We won’t disturb you two any longer. We’ll be going now.” With that, he cupped his fist in a brief salute and quickly left with his men, not forgetting to take the freshly sliced braised donkey meat with them.

Once in a deserted alley, Fuu Jiu asked in a low voice, ”Young Master, that person?”

”Keep a close watch on him.” Fushan’s expression darkened slightly. ”The morning after the Emperor’s Liquid erupted, that man named Hee was the first to leave the lakeside, yet he knew I was chasing him. I think he must have left some surveillance measures behind at the lake. He might even know who we killed.”

”Who didn’t get some blood on their hands that night?”

”Who cares if some Mountain Demons and Wild Beasts die? The problem is that idiotic Python Demon!”

They had killed the Envoy from the Waling Kingdom. That was a problem, especially for their future missions.

...

The moment those people left, Hee Lingchuan flicked his chopsticks toward the crow.

The bird, clearly traumatized by such a motion, let out a loud ”CAW!” and flapped its wings, flying out of the inn in a panic.

With the spy gone, Hee Lingchuan pointed a finger toward the departing group. An Eye Spider crawled out of his sleeve, scurried on its eight little legs, and leaped onto the belt of the last large man to leave, hiding itself away quietly.

Wu Jingsong hadn’t stopped them either. He shook his head and said, ”Causing trouble here? They’ve got a death wish.”

The city and its surroundings had been chaotic these past few days. He didn’t want to make more trouble for himself; scaring them off was good enough.

Hee Lingchuan gave him a thumbs-up. ”Truly worthy of being Lord Wu. You solved my problem without even lifting a finger.”

Wu Jingsong was a Guard of the Grand Tutor’s Mansion, making him a Local Bully of sorts in Fufeng City. If Hee Lingchuan could leverage the might of the Grand Tutor’s Mansion, why would he rely on himself?

”Brother Hee, don’t tease me.” Wu Jingsong knew what he was capable of. Looking at him more closely now, he was suddenly taken aback. ”Huh, did you have some kind of breakthrough?”

He was a Martial Artist himself, and he could see that Hee Lingchuan’s eyes held a divine light, his spirit was complete and his energy abundant. His entire bearing was different from before.

The noodles were getting a bit cold. Hee Lingchuan put down his chopsticks. ”Thanks to my good fortune, I’ve opened my Ren and Du Meridians.”

”Congratulations, congratulations!” Wu Jingsong was astonished. The two most difficult of the Eight Extraordinary Meridians to open, and this man had breezed right past them? ’Then the rest won’t be a problem; it’s just a matter of time and effort.’ The man wasn’t even twenty, which was truly remarkable for his age. ”It seems Brother Hee has had a fortunate encounter.”

Hee Lingchuan asked him, ”You didn’t go out on the day of the Emperor’s Liquid?”

”I was on duty. Orders from above were to be on high alert.” Wu Jingsong’s resentment and envy were practically overflowing. ”If Fufeng City descends into chaos, what would become of us?”