Where Immortals Once Walked

Damn it, what am I even thinking about? He Lingchuan rubbed his face.

Perhaps it was the anxiety and fear provoking his mind, but suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck.

Maybe I need to go back to the question that the two of them had been puzzling over from the very start: where exactly did Zhong Shengguang live?

Why is the illusion that hides the Generous Pot tied to this particular moment in Panlong City’s history? The city had so many glorious eras to choose from, so why this point in time?

The only lead they—or rather, the Baling expedition team—could follow was Zhong Shengguang himself.

The bodies of the Baling people had been dumped in the cellar of the Chen Residence, which meant their original goal was just like theirs: to search the Zhong Residence for clues.

However, they had come up empty... or was that even truly the case?

In other words, as long as they found the Zhong Residence, they could find the rest of the members of the Baling expedition team.

He Lingchuan forced himself to recall every story, folktale, and rumor that he had ever heard about Panlong City, the Gale Army, and the Zhong Family.

Almost every historical episode seems to be tied to Zhong Shengguang. Could there be a hidden clue in those stories?

In this version of Panlong City, that elegant gray-brick mansion still belongs to the Chens, not Zhong Shengguang. If Zhong Shengguang had only acquired the estate from the Chens later on, then where did he live during this point in time?

At this time, he should still have been the Deputy Commandant, newly appointed by the King and arriving in Panlong City from the central region of West Luo. As a newcomer, he wouldn’t have had a place of his own in the city and would have probably needed somewhere to stay.

Would he have stayed at an inn?

He Lingchuan shook his head, dismissing the thought.

Only bachelors stay in inns. That was the case in some of those stage plays I watched recently. When Deputy Commandant Zhong was newly married, he reported for duty just a month later.

The rest of his life was spent here. He had children of his own, and those couldn’t possibly have come out of thin air.

So he must’ve come with his wife and family. In that case, there’s no way they would’ve stayed at an inn.

Inns are often dirty, noisy, and smelly, with walls as thin as paper. If the couple did anything at night, the guests next door could hear every sound they made.

So, where would Zhong Shengguang have settled his family?

He Lingchuan hopped down from the rooftop. “State Preceptor, did we pass by a government office a while ago?”

“We did. Why?” Sun Fuping replied. “I already checked it before you entered the city.” He had found no clues there.

“The Chen Residence—well, what later came to be the Zhong Residence—is some distance from the government office. But at this time, Zhong Shengguang had to go in and out of the office every day. In other words, he probably settled somewhere nearby. After all, he still had his family with him.”

Sun Fuping was quick to catch on. “You’re right! I only checked the office itself, not the area around it!”

Without another word, the two of them turned back the way that they had come.

Every city placed its government office in the best spot, and Panlong City was no exception.

Soon enough, the two reached a cluster of somber gray buildings by the river. In terms of grandeur, they did not compare to the inn a hundred meters away.

“This is it.”

Officials rarely spent money on fancy offices. They would only fix them up if something broke. Most government buildings were not resplendent, but rather neat and solemn.

However, the location was definitely prime.

He Lingchuan scampered up to the highest inn roof nearby and scanned the surroundings.

From above, he called down to Sun Fuping, “There are wetlands to the north, so nobody would live there. The marketplace is to the west, and it looks to be full of shops. Most of those have a storefront and living quarters behind. Small merchants aren’t picky, but I don’t think Zhong Shengguang would live there either.”

The environment within and directly surrounding the market was not exactly ideal, and considering Zhong Shengguang was newly married and a government official, he would have definitely wanted something better for his wife.

Looking south, He Lingchuan noticed several rows of houses across the water from the government office. Each of the houses was about the same size. Most of them were small, single or double-courtyard dwellings, and they were clearly built together. They were not mansions by any means, but being so close to the water, the area must have been quiet and peaceful.

“The south!” He pointed in that direction. “Those should be the official residences!”

Official residences were generally where the city’s officials lived, and such homes were usually grouped together near the government complex. The first time He Lingchuan saw such a block in Heishui City, he had immediately thought, “Isn’t this just like a government compound or communal dorm?”

However, Panlong City was different. The government office was surrounded on both sides by water, and space was tight, so the residences had been built across the river.

Out-of-town officials always needed a place to stay, and every state had its own rules about that. In Great Yuan, officials posted far from home were required to live in these official residences, and buying a private residence was forbidden. However, Qiansong Commandery was so remote, and with Yuan facing internal and external crises at the time, no one bothered to enforce those rules. In fact, there were plenty of officials like He Chunhua who had quietly bought up good farmland and fancy houses on the side.

As for Zhong Shengguang, that was even less of a concern. Once Panlong Wasteland became an enclave, he was the supreme authority here. West Luo did not even know this territory was technically still theirs, and no one dared question Zhong Shengguang’s actions in Panlong City.

But back in these peaceful, uneventful days, he had not yet become the all-powerful commander, so he should have been living in an official residence!

Sun Fuping came to the same conclusion, and his eyes lit up. “Let’s go!”

There were over forty official residences, but with a clear target, searching was not difficult.

Soon, Sun Fuping released a signal arrow from the second-to-last row, summoning the others to hurry over.

* * *

By the time the rest of the group arrived, they found Sun Fuping and He Lingchuan standing in the courtyard of one of the official residences.

In the courtyard stood a burial mound, marked by a wooden plank serving as a headstone.

The inscription was in a script even Nian Songyu could not read.

Sun Fuping read it out for everyone, “The grave of Loyal Friend Yu Qingyuan. This is in Baling’s script.”

Mao Tao was overjoyed. “We found it! We really found it! Ah, wait... we found... another Baling person?”

“But this was clearly not the last one to die. Otherwise, who would’ve buried him?” He Lingchuan pinched some of the soil. “What made this person special enough to deserve a proper burial?”

This expedition team had been ruthless enough to eat their own. The others, after all, had simply been tossed into the cellar. So why did this particular dead man get a grave?

Bear in mind, this was all an illusion. None of this was truly real, whether it be the courtyard or the dirt.

At the end, the Baling expedition team had resorted to cannibalism just to survive, so they must have been at the very end of their strength. So why spend precious energy digging a grave and performing a ritual in such a place?

Nian Songyu, meanwhile, was closely examining the wooden headstone. He even wiped it clean and brought it to his nose for a sniff.

“The ink was mixed with blood. They must have had no water left.” Without water, one could not grind ink, so blood must have been all they had.

“Dig it up!” They had to get to the bottom of this.

With just a word from Sun Fuping, He Lingchuan and Mao Tao got busy, shoveling away at the mound. Luckily, some farm tools were lying in the courtyard—who knew, maybe the Baling expedition team had used them back then.

The two of them dug with all their might under Nian Songyu’s supervision, while Sun Fuping simply stared up at the sky, lost in thought.

Before long, the grave’s occupant saw daylight again.

Mao Tao wiped the mud from his face. “We managed to dig him out. Phew, it’s just bones.”

“Well, it’s been buried for decades. It’d be odd if there weren’t only bones left.” He Lingchuan used his shovel to clear away the earth, revealing most of the skeleton beneath.