After the Immortal Disappeared

Chapter 444: Chapter 443: Instant Revenge

Taozi whispered, ”After I drank that bowl of blood soup, I just got hungrier and hungrier, so I thought I’d go for a walk. But as soon as I came out, I smelled living people. It smelled so good, so I... I just followed the scent here.”

”You’re fine.” Fushan Yue took a sharp breath, a grin spreading across his face. ”It actually worked! HAHAHA, it really worked! You’re not an Earth Evil Child anymore.”

”What is she?” Hee Lingchuan asked on Taozi’s behalf. ”Did she become a Ba?”

Fushan Yue ruffled Taozi’s head. ”Exactly!”

He had only tried it on a whim, never expecting it to succeed on the first try!

He was thrilled.

Hee Lingchuan laughed in surprise. ”I thought all Ba were reanimated from corpses.”

The world is vast and full of wonders.

”There are exceptions, like me,” Fushan Yue said, scratching his chin. ”I was just born a Ba. Taozi, on the other hand, was a living person who absorbed the yin aspect of Evil Qi, then drank the Essence Blood of a Ba, forcing her transformation.”

”A living Ba?”

”You could say that.” Fushan Yue stroked Taozi’s hair. ”To think I actually made a little companion. This trip was worth it. Definitely worth it.”

”Was it because of the trip to the Thousand Star Ruins?”

”Probably,” Fushan Yue mused. ”She’s a descendant of the Yuanl People, but she absorbed too much of the yin aspect of Evil Qi. Without drinking human blood, she’d never have been able to suppress it. My blood acted as a catalyst, allowing her to transform rapidly with the help of the Evil Qi. It was a stroke of luck, really.”

He had just given it a shot, not really expecting it to work.

The two of them searched the corpse but found nothing useful, only some miscellaneous items.

Hee Lingchuan casually pocketed them and patted the Rock Sheep’s large horn. ”Did they want to steal you?”

The Rock Sheep walked to the edge of the cliff and peered down.

Hee Lingchuan frowned. ”They wanted to push you off?”

Yes.

Taozi reminded him again, ”They wanted to push me off, too.”

”Strange. If they failed to steal the sheep, they should have just run. Why resort to murder?” Hee Lingchuan looked at the Rock Sheep. ”Would you have just let them steal you?”

This creature dared to face down a Bear Demon and was incredibly agile. How could two humans have caught it so easily?

The Rock Sheep bleated a few times, embarrassed.

Hee Lingchuan couldn’t understand it.

Fortunately, the Soul-Catching Mirror in his robes served as a temporary translator. ”It says they used Sweet Red Grass to lure it.”

So that was it.

The Rock Sheep kept sniffing insistently at the corpse’s shoe soles.

They usually wouldn’t check such a place, but Hee Lingchuan leaned in for a closer look. He found the dead sheep-thief’s soles were covered in mud and grass, as well as some light red powder.

”Is there something special about it?”

The Rock Sheep couldn’t say, but it had a strong urge to lick them.

Hee Lingchuan simply took off the shoe and said to Fushan Yue, ”How about you give it a sniff?”

”Get lost!” Fushan Yue roared. ”What do you take me for?”

Hee Lingchuan shrugged, took out an empty bottle, and scraped the substance from the sole into it.

Fushan Yue had long since lost his patience. He kicked the corpse off the cliff. ”It’s almost dawn. Let’s go back.”

...

The next day, while buying breakfast, an attendant from the Stone Gate Commerce Association overheard other caravans complaining. A few Demons traveling with them had yet to return, forcing everyone to wait for two days.

”Traveling with them” meant paying to follow the caravan. It wasn’t just human travelers who did this; some smaller Demons or those not suited for long-distance migration also preferred this method.

The wrap-seller heard this and told them that Demons had gone missing here before, also on rainy nights.

Doesn’t the Government Office investigate?

They do, but when the investigations turn up nothing, they just let it go. Besides, only a few Demons go missing here and there. More than that die fighting each other in the wild every year, so who can really say what happened?

Upon hearing this news, Hee Lingchuan remarked, ”It seems my sheep wasn’t the only victim last night.”

The Big-horned Rock Sheep was just luckier.

But why would the perpetrators specifically target Demons and not humans?

Just then, Fushan Yue came over and demanded the caravan slow down.

”Why?” Before Shi the Second or Lil Qingge could react, Hee Lingchuan spoke up, displeased. ”You’ll delay their delivery. Are you going to cover their losses?”

Shi the Second silently praised him for his thoughtfulness. ’Young Master Hee has learned a thing or two traveling with the Commerce Association.’

The last thing Fushan Yue wanted to deal with right now was money, so he said, ”Then lend me your Rock Sheep for a few days. It’s fast. That’s the only way I’ll be able to catch up to the caravan later.”

Hee Lingchuan let out a sharp whistle, and the Big Horned Sheep came bounding over from a short distance away.

After last night’s incident, Hee Lingchuan wanted to help it calm its nerves. So for breakfast, it had alfalfa and oats, a large bucket of pea soup, and its master even gave it some extra dried meat. He had also booked it a full wash-and-scrub package at the post-house, which included a meticulous trim of the beard under its chin.

It was now feeling refreshed from head to toe, and last night’s unpleasantness was long forgotten.

”Take this guy where he needs to go,” Hee Lingchuan said, pointing at Fushan Yue. ”But you have to come back and find me in a few days, understand?”

The Rock Sheep nodded.

Fushan Yue then mounted the sheep. He suddenly remembered something and pointed at Taozi. ”You all look after this little brat. And remember, a bowl of pure blood every day.”

With that, he turned around and galloped back the way they came, quickly disappearing from sight.

Shi the Second asked in surprise, ”Where is he going?”

Hee Lingchuan shrugged. ”He’s off to take care of some personal business. Don’t worry about it. He’ll catch up in a few days.”

Lil Qingge beckoned, and Taozi obediently walked to her side, giving her a sweet and lovely smile.

”Huh?” Lil Qingge bent down to look at her. ”Open your mouth again, let me see.”

Taozi opened her mouth as requested.

Lil Qingge exclaimed in surprise, ”Your teeth grew back? So quickly?”

She had seen with her own eyes that Taozi was missing a few teeth yesterday, but now they had all grown back.

She had a mouthful of small white teeth, but her left and right canines were long, thin, and sharp, quite different from an ordinary person’s.

”Are you uncomfortable anywhere else?”

Taozi shook her head. ”It gets a little itchy sometimes.” She wanted to grind her teeth, but she had suppressed the craving for blood.

Hee Lingchuan took out the tree branch and examined it in the daylight.

The mucus had dried. It was a little hard, a little brittle, and reflected the light like a soap bubble.

’What on earth was at the bottom of that cliff last night?’

...

Several days later, the group arrived at the Chiyan Capital.

The journey was calm and uneventful. In fact, this was the norm for the Beiga Trade Road. Yet, both Hee Lingchuan and Shi the Second sensed the calm before the storm.

How could the massive upheaval in the King of Chiyan’s family have no effect on the kingdom?

They also traveled a stretch by water, disembarking at White Bow Inn. At the ferry crossing, four or five people were already waiting, their burning gazes fixed on every passenger getting off the boat.

Even after several boats had unloaded all their passengers, the men were still standing there, craning their necks. They clearly hadn’t met their distinguished guest.

Hee Lingchuan and the others paid them no mind and continued on their way.

But at the next post-house, it was the same situation.

Judging by their attire and bearing, the people waiting here were all prominent figures. They were also split into two or three groups, each minding their own business.

They were all waiting for someone.

By the time Hee Lingchuan and Lil Qingge left, the person they were waiting for still hadn’t arrived.

Even upon entering the Chiyan Capital, the situation was the same:

The local dignitaries and aristocrats had all sent people or were waiting by the roadside themselves.

Hee Lingchuan said to Shi the Second, ”I’ll bet you five taels they’re waiting for Fushan Yue.”

Lil Qingge overheard from the side and chimed in, ”I’ll bet you five taels the King of Chiyan is on his deathbed.”

Shi the Second was taken aback. ”Why do you say that?”

Lil Qingge smiled leisurely. ”If the King of Chiyan were in robust health, would they be so openly showing favor to Fushan Yue at a time like this? Do they have a death wish?”

Hee Lingchuan’s interest was piqued. ”The King of Chiyan is a powerful Ba. Why would you think his life is coming to an end?” ’Lil Qingge must know something more.’

”Of course his combat prowess is outstanding, otherwise how could he have founded the Chiyan Kingdom? But his health is failing. Rumors about it have been circulating in the Capital City for a while now.” Lil Qingge thought for a moment. ”I heard that in the battle of Thousand Star City and the battle of Panlong City over a hundred years ago, his contributions were immense. Otherwise, why would Lingxu City have carved out a piece of the former Yuanl Kingdom’s territory for him to establish a new nation?”

The color drained from Hee Lingchuan’s face. ”What? The battle of Panlong City?”

He never would have imagined that the King of Chiyan could have a connection to Panlong City.

They were thousands of miles apart.

But then he suddenly recalled the history of Panlong City that he had read.

In the final battle that led to its destruction, the Northern Demon Kingdom, at the request of Baling and Xianyou, directly dispatched a powerful force of Demon Armies and Demon Generals.

’Could the King of Chiyan have been one of them?’

Unfortunately, Lil Qingge said, ”That’s all I know. In that battle, Panlong City was of course utterly destroyed, and the other participating parties have remained tight-lipped about it. Even the history books only contain simple records.”

Hee Lingchuan took a deep breath.

Having grown accustomed to the Panlong Dream Realm, he always subconsciously ignored its eventual fate of destruction.

Lil Qingge smiled. ”You seem very interested in Panlong City.”

”Of course I am,” Hee Lingchuan chuckled. ”I’m from Black Water City. I’ve been neighbors with the Panlong Desert for over a decade.”

”That’s right. Your Treasure Saber is an heirloom from Zhong Shengguang. No wonder it’s so extraordinary.”

’His Treasure Saber is more than just an heirloom from Zhong Shengguang.’

The next time they encountered people waiting, Hee Lingchuan walked straight up to one and asked, ”Excuse me, who are you waiting for?”

The man glanced at him. ”None of your business.”

”Not Fushan Yue?” Hee Lingchuan muttered. ”Then it really is none of my business.” He then turned to leave.

The man immediately called out, ”Wait! You know the Eldest Prince?”

”Sure I do. I’ve been traveling with him this whole way.”

The man looked skeptical. ”Then may I ask where the Eldest Prince is?”

”He went back to take care of some personal business. He’ll catch up sooner or later.” Hee Lingchuan looked at him. ”And you are?”

”My surname is Qian. My father is the current Junior Minister of Justice.”

Hee Lingchuan smiled. ”He should be here in another three to five days. If you’re patient, you might as well wait here a bit longer.” He walked away without waiting to see if the man believed him.

...

Five days later, Fushan Yue did indeed return to the Capital City and knocked on the door to Hee Lingchuan’s room.

”I brought your sheep back. It’s in the back stable.”

Hee Lingchuan glanced down and noticed a small black stain on the corner of his clothes that looked like blood.

”You went back and killed someone?”

Fushan Yue grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth. ”Couldn’t let it go to waste.”

Hee Lingchuan knew that with Fushan Yue’s relentlessly vengeful nature, he would never have just swallowed his anger and let it go.

”All the Officials who were giving you and me trouble, I killed them.” Fushan Yue cracked his knuckles, which made a sharp CRACKING sound.

”You really do have enemies everywhere.”

”To not inspire jealousy is to be mediocre.”