After the Immortal Disappeared

Chapter 468: Chapter 467: Her Relics

Jiao Yu certainly wouldn’t object, and General Antelope spat on the ground. ”Fair enough! Even if that brat finds something, he won’t tell us.”

Hee Lingchuan flipped the booklet to the last page and suddenly noticed something different. ”This isn’t an account book.”

This one looked unremarkable from the outside, but inside were only a few thin pages. It no longer recorded the collection of Pulp Pearls, but rather some strange numbers, for example:

Seventy-six-four-eleven;

Two-eight-one.

And so on.

Three numbers separated by two hyphens formed a set, and there were only a few such sets on each page.

”It’s a code.”

The two demons looked at him expectantly. ”You can decipher it, right?”

”You’re giving me too much credit.” Hee Lingchuan stared intently. ”A code like this requires a cipher key to be translated into text.”

”A cipher key?”

”A book that serves as its counterpart.” Hee Lingchuan had attended a public lecture on Wenxian Platform where an old Teacher had explained code compilation. ”In other words, this code was designed to be used with that specific book.”

”We’re screwed!” General Antelope became instantly frustrated. ”Books, ledgers—anything on paper was taken by Zhongsun!”

”Then we’ll have to go to Zhongsun Mou,” Hee Lingchuan said objectively. ”He might have made some progress on his end.”

Jiao Yu said, ”I saw he assigned some of his men to disguise themselves as commoners and loiter around this courtyard. He’s probably hoping to get lucky and see if Mr. Mai returns.”

”He probably won’t.” Hee Lingchuan had no proof for this statement, just a baseless certainty.

He still had two Scrolls at hand, which he had also pulled from the vase in the study.

Hee Lingchuan tossed them aside. General Antelope eyed them a few times, and, unable to contain his curiosity, nipped at the cord’s end to pull it off. He then nudged the Scroll with his head, trying to unroll it.

’Not having hands really is inconvenient.’

Hee Lingchuan had no choice but to help it smooth out the Scroll. ’This old goat is way too fond of paper.’

The first Scroll was a landscape painting: high mountains under a small moon, a mountain stream striking against rocks. The artistry was good, but Hee Lingchuan wasn’t interested.

He was a man of simple tastes and couldn’t appreciate it.

When the second Scroll was unrolled, it revealed a portrait:

The subject of the painting appeared to be a noblewoman, dressed in brocade with an elaborate coiffure. Her features were elegant and refined as she stood by a lake, playing a flute.

Even the two demons, who had little artistic sense, could tell that far more care had been put into this portrait than the landscape. Every single brushstroke was dedicated to capturing her beauty.

Then they heard a CRACK and turned to look—

Hee Lingchuan had snapped off the edge of the table.

He was staring intently at the painting, his eyes wide but his pupils constricted. He looked as if he had seen a ghost.

The tiger quickly asked, ”What is it?”

Not even the still life painting with its hidden secret or the coded ledger had made him lose his composure like this.

It came closer for a look. It was just a portrait. ’Could it be that this person can also step out of the painting?’

’There’s no special signature or seal.’

Hee Lingchuan took a long, deep breath and shook his head. ”It’s nothing.” But his eyes remained fixed on the woman in the painting.

Strictly speaking, he was staring at the flute in the woman’s hands.

The front half of the flute was obscured by the noblewoman’s hands, but the latter half was painted in meticulous detail. It had jade-white sections, distinct nodes, and two eye-catching red rings!

The moment Hee Lingchuan saw that flute, the blood rushed to his head.

’This is Sunx Fuling’s Celestial Centipede Bone Flute!’

’She hadn’t just played it in front of him; she had even used it as a tool to teach him.’

’How could he possibly mistake it?’

’How did Sunx Fuling’s flute end up in the hands of the noblewoman in this painting?’

’The paper is slightly yellowed and hasn’t been specially preserved. The painting is probably no more than thirty or forty years old.’

Hee Lingchuan had enjoyed his time with Sunx Fuling in the Soul Village, always subconsciously ignoring her ultimate fate. The sudden appearance of this portrait was a stark reminder:

’All men must die, and all cities must fall.’

’But who collected her belongings in the end? And how did this woman get the flute?’

”Do you two recognize this woman?”

The tiger and General Antelope both shook their heads.

Hee Lingchuan silently rolled up the Scroll, a vein throbbing on his temple.

’The answers lie with Mr. Mai. I have to find him, no matter what!’

”What’s so special about this woman?” General Antelope asked. ”Is she the Special Envoy’s type or something?”

”Never mind. It’s nothing.” Hee Lingchuan composed himself and brought his thoughts back to the matter at hand. ”The old gatekeeper said Mr. Mai spent a lot of time in this courtyard. Given Wan Song’s knack for appearing and disappearing like a ghost, it’s likely Mr. Mai gave him his orders somewhere nearby, or even right here at home.”

General Antelope asked, puzzled, ”But Zhongsun Mou’s men have already searched the courtyard and found nothing.”

”They can do their search, and we’ll do ours.”

Mr. Mai’s residence was not large. The study was already bare, leaving only the bedroom, kitchen, side rooms, and the front and back courtyards.

Hee Lingchuan and the others began another search.

The Guards Zhongsun Mou had left behind stood at the doorway, watching them walk back and forth, their faces cold and their eyes filled with undisguised mockery.

Indeed, there was nothing to be found. The group from Lingxu City had already packed up and taken everything, useful or not. The bedroom was left with only a bed and a small table, the kitchen with only pots and pans.

The front and back courtyards had been turned over so thoroughly that they were nothing but mud.

General Antelope muttered as he inspected the area, ”What are we even looking for? We should at least have a target, right?”

”Clues related to the Demon Devouring Beast, of course,” Jiao Yu’s voice came from the back courtyard. ”Like this, for example.”

Everyone hurried over and saw him crouching beside a trellis in the back courtyard.

The courtyard had a small garden with some fruits and medicinal herbs. They should have been flourishing this season—gourds were already climbing the trellis, and the Prunella had bloomed with small purple flowers. But Zhongsun Mou’s men hadn’t spared this area either. The garden soil was completely overturned, the ground was covered in muddy footprints, and the plants were crushed.

If Mr. Mai had hidden anything in the ground, it would have been discovered.

Jiao Yu’s tiger head was pointed toward the base of the wall.

It was the north wall. The sun rarely reached it, so it was the dampest area, and the base of the wall was covered in moss.

It was here that Hee Lingchuan noticed a faint, oily glint.

”Slime, but the trail is very narrow. Probably left by an ordinary snail.” Just as Hee Lingchuan was about to stand up, he happened to spot a stone urn, about a foot tall, lying near the trellis.

This type of urn was carved from a single block of stone, polished smooth, and fashioned into various shapes. Ordinary families might display one in their home as a feng shui charm for good luck, place it among flowers as a pleasing decoration, or simply use it as a weight for a pickling jar. Its uses were many and varied.

This particular urn had likely sat peacefully under the trellis before being callously overturned by Zhongsun Mou’s men, leaving it half-buried in the dirt.

However, the side facing Hee Lingchuan was carved with a spiral pattern.

He reached out and brushed all the dirt off the stone urn.

The spiral pattern became clearer.

The two demons saw it too and came closer. ”Is that a conch shell? Or a snail shell?”

”A snail shell.” Hee Lingchuan had caught plenty of candy snails in the Panlong Dream Realm, so he could tell the difference.

’To be honest, it’s quite artistically carved. The artisan must have been skilled.’ But placed in Mr. Mai’s backyard, it felt significant, no matter how he looked at it.

There were even traces of moss on the stone urn, indicating it had been here for a long time.

After a moment’s thought, Hee Lingchuan simply stored it in his Storage Ring.

The courtyard had been turned upside down; there was nothing left to find.

...

「Nightfall.」

As the lamps were lit at the posthouse, Zhongsun Mou was also busy writing furiously.

”Guards.”

A Guard appeared instantly.

”Take this letter to the Chiyan Capital City and present it to the Monarch.”

The letter’s contents were simple: a complaint that the Special Envoy dispatched by the Chiyan Crown Prince, Fushan Yue, was boorish and uncivilized, and was obstructing his investigation.

He knew the King of Chiyan had never favored his eldest son. Receiving a complaint from the Inspector of Lingxu City was sure to prompt some action from him.

After the Guard departed with his orders, Zhongsun Mou began to enjoy his dinner.

He disliked hot food, so the personal chef traveling with him had prepared crystal sashimi for him tonight—thinly sliced raw fish and clam. To be acceptable, every slice had to be transparent. It was served with slivered peppers and garlic, and dipped in a sauce with mustard, just the way Zhongsun Mou liked it.

The demons and humans of Lingxu City had coexisted for centuries, becoming quite particular about food, shelter, and daily life, but they still didn’t share the human love for a hundred different flavors. Zhongsun Mou was considered quite open-minded; most Merfolk disliked human sauces.

As he ate, he examined the Ivory Ball in his hand.

’Fushan Yue’s Special Envoy snatched the ball first and was very reluctant to hand it over. Is there something unusual about it?’

He had studied it for a long time, even dripping some Potions on it, but had found nothing out of the ordinary.

He eventually had someone cut it open.

It was solid, with no hidden mechanisms.

The appraisal confirmed it was indeed ivory, and nothing more.

’What a waste of my time.’

After his meal, a thought struck him, and he summoned Mr. Mai’s old gatekeeper for further questioning.

This time, he focused on Mr. Mai’s daily routines and habits, trying to see if the old man was lying. He would ask the same question repeatedly at random intervals, choosing moments when the old man’s guard was at its lowest. If the answers were inconsistent, the old man would surely suffer for it.

If Hee Lingchuan had been present, he would have recognized a professional at work. Both Uncle Hao back in Black Water City and the Great Wind Army often interrogated prisoners this way.

But the old man never once gave a conflicting answer.

Finally, Zhongsun Mou asked about Mr. Mai’s diet.

The old man said that Mr. Mai preferred noodles over rice, and would order something soupy for a late-night snack. ”Every time he came to Frost and Dew Town, he’d bring a type of especially fine, white rice noodle for me to cook for him. The noodles would cook the instant they hit boiling water. When Mr. Mai ate them, he always specified that I add some dried shrimp.”

”Especially fine and white? Where are they from?”

”That I wouldn’t know.”

Zhongsun Mou dispatched a Guard to make another trip to Mr. Mai’s house and bring back the fine noodles.

The candle on the table happened to burn out.

As a Guard lit a new replacement candle, Zhongsun Mou caught a flash of green light in the corner of the old man’s eye.

”Hmm?” A thought struck him. ”Do your eyes often bother you?”

The old man blinked frequently, which Zhongsun Mou hadn’t found surprising before. After all, the elderly often have many ailments.

But now... Zhongsun Mou pinched out the candle flame with his fingers and had the Guard light it again.

He was the master; he could do as he pleased, and the Guard naturally had no objection.

When the candle was lit again, Zhongsun Mou indeed saw the green light flash in the old man’s eyes once more!

It was only for an instant, but it did not escape his Dharma Eye.

Zhongsun Mou let out a cold chuckle. He suddenly grabbed the old man by the neck, yanked him close, and with his other hand, snatched a soup spoon from a plate, pressed it into the man’s eye socket, and gouged!