Where Immortals Once Walked

Chapter 681: Nian Zanli’s Final Journey

This place was not far from the government office. The moment word spread that “a massive monster carrying a snail shell” had appeared, the constables rushed over at record-breaking speed.

The man in the lead stood beside the wooden plank and took one look. Sweat immediately broke out across his palms. He quickly turned and barked orders.

“Have the spellcasters set up an escape spell prohibition field! Hurry, hurry!”

Isn’t this the legendary snail toad that brought disaster to Chiyan?

It actually appeared in Lingxu! This is a once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity!

As long as they caught it, promotion, noble rank, and soaring straight into the clouds would all come one after another.

They had specially brought several spellcasters with them. Upon receiving the order, the spellcasters scattered, heading to the four corners outside the warehouse to bury magical artifacts.

Word had it that this large aberrant creature was highly skilled at burrowing through the ground. In that case, they would cripple its signature ability, turning it into a turtle in a jar!

There were seven or eight versions of the snail toad story circulating in Lingxu City, but unfortunately, none of them covered all its abilities. For example, the special talent shared by frogs and chameleons—

A long-tongued strike!

The leader among the constables had just shouted a few orders at his subordinates and finished assigning tasks when a sound tore through the air behind him.

Before he could react, he was dragged back in.

The snail toad had found him too noisy. In full view of everyone, it flicked out its tongue, dragged him back, and swallowed him in one gulp!

There had been a full six meters between them. When the snail toad’s tongue shot out, it even smashed two wooden planks apart.

That speed shattered people’s stereotype that snails were slow.

Seeing that this thing actually had ranged attacks, the crowd cried out and fled in every direction.

The snail toad smacked its mouth, as if savoring the taste, then plunged headfirst into the ground and vanished.

The spellcasters had not even finished setting up the escape spell prohibition field before their prey slipped away.

One man died in the line of duty.

After nightfall, South Xinzhuang was still brightly lit.

The monster-hunting culprit of Baishajue had actually appeared in Lingxu City! As this sensational news spread, the south city government office immediately mobilized all its forces and questioned every eyewitness.

The children had long since vanished without a trace. Sister Liu, as the first person to discover it, was questioned over and over.

“My lord, I’ve said it so many times already!” She had gone from obediently cooperating at first, to dry-mouthed exhaustion, to growing somewhat impatient. “I don’t know when that aberrant creature came. Anyway, when I saw it, it was already lying in the warehouse. I accidentally bumped the plank, and when it turned around, there was still something hanging from its mouth! It looked like grass, or medicinal herbs.”

The constable showed her an herb. “Was it this kind of herb? Are you certain?”

“Probably?” Sister Liu scratched her head. “I’m not an herbalist or physician. How could I recognize it that carefully? Wasn’t the warehouse full of them?”

“What goods does White Pine Warehouse usually store?”

“How would I know? Carts come in, carts go out. Who pays attention to that?” Sister Liu looked blank. “They never invited me inside to watch the gate.”

That made good sense, so the constables took several warehouse guards back and interrogated them heavily.

Those guards were frightened half to death and insisted they had never seen the snail toad. During the heavy rain, they had all been sleeping soundly inside and had no idea the creature had even entered the courtyard.

“Then what’s with all the self-heal herbs in the warehouse? Where did they come from?”

“That was just... cargo.” They were responsible only for loading and unloading goods and guarding the place. Could they control where the owner had purchased the goods from?

Finally, the manager of White Pine Warehouse was found as well.

He flatly denied that the warehouse stored self-heal herbs, but on an inventory sheet the constables found inside the warehouse, the words were clearly written:

“Self-heal herbs, 780 kg... entered into storage.”

The date of storage and the source of the herbs had been soaked by water, blurring the ink into a mess and making the words impossible to read.

Since this involved the elixir of youth case, the south city government office did not dare delay and reported it upward at once.

For major cases like this, the efficiency could be quite impressive.

Very soon, the hidden owner behind White Pine Warehouse was also uncovered. It was none other than the surrendered general of Yuan, Provincial Governor of Xun Province, General Nian Zanli!

* * *

Before dawn, the Nian Residence received uninvited guests.

Court Commandant Huo Ji’an, Deputy Cloud Envoy Bai Ziqi, and the fully armed teams under their command.

Nian Zanli had always had the habit of rising early. He had only just finished washing up when he received word that these two high officials had come to his door. His heart could not help skipping a beat.

Why would these two visit me?

When the court commandant appeared, it was never for anything good, let alone when a cloud envoy was involved.

Nian Zanli did not dare neglect them. He went out to greet them. “Deputy Cloud Envoy Bai, Lord Huo, what wind has blown you two here?”

Huo Ji’an asked him, “Is White Pine Warehouse in South Xinzhuang yours?”

“...I bought it at the start of the year.” Nian Zanli’s heart sank. The residence on Sweet Wheat Street had only had an incident a few days ago, and officials had already come to him once over it. Back then, he had felt something was strange, but afterward, no one had come looking for him again. And now this?

He asked carefully, “Did something happen at White Pine Warehouse?”

“Lord Nian, please come with us.” Bai Ziqi smiled. “We can talk slowly on the way.”

“Ah? What—”

The silent Heavenly Palace guards immediately surrounded him.

It was early morning, and there were few people about, but with such a large formation assembled outside the Nian Residence, the pedestrians who came and went still stopped one after another.

There were taverns and inns that were open all night on the street right outside the Nian Residence.

He Lingchuan was sitting by the window on the second floor, drinking wine and eating small dishes, taking in everything below.

He had come after nightfall and claimed an excellent viewing spot precisely so he could watch the first wave of excitement.

Although the light was dim, with his eyesight, he could clearly see Nian Zanli being surrounded by the Heavenly Palace guards. The expression on his face shifted from confusion to shock, then from shock to helpless panic.

Bai Ziqi still left him some dignity, finding a carriage and inviting him to sit inside.

Nian Zanli seemed somewhat agitated, but the court commandant stepped forward and said a few words to him. Then Nian Zanli became like a punctured ball, glancing back every few steps as he climbed into the carriage.

The carriage then slowly started forward, heading northeast.

The guards surrounded it in the middle, making for a rather grand and imposing sight.

He Lingchuan swirled his cup and toasted at the carriage. “General Nian, may your final journey be smooth.”

He had come to see Nian Zanli off, and as he wished, he saw the carriage wheels rolling away, carrying off all of Nian Zanli’s ambitions.

There were still another two hours before sunrise. He hoped Nian Zanli would hurry up and enjoy it.

Perhaps Nian Zanli would not see many more sunrises in the rest of his life.

Whether it was the imperial prison or the Heavenly Palace’s prisons, neither seemed to see the light of day.

“Yuan’s great trouble has been resolved. Congratulations.” The Soul-Stealing Mirror on his chest laughed. “Can he still get out?”

“Probably not.” He Lingchuan’s mood lightened as well.

Once the Heavenly Palace set its eyes on someone, even if Nian Zanli did not die, he would lose a layer of skin. Attack Yuan? Hah, he should worry about keeping his own life first.

“Since he was so determined to recognize Beijia as his master, then thunder and rain are both heavenly grace. He has to accept them all.”

The Soul-Stealing Mirror sighed. “By dealing with Nian Zanli, you’ve blocked a disaster for Yuan. What a pity Yuan knows nothing about it!”

Nian Zanli’s attempt to borrow soldiers had failed at the final step, and Yuan had thereby avoided more than one military disaster.

For this frail state, perhaps it could now cling to life for a few more years.

“This trouble began because of me, and it ended because of me. That’s fair. Besides, whether Yuan knows or not, I don’t care.” He Lingchuan tilted his head back, drained the wine in his cup, tossed down a silver ingot, and stood to leave.

Of the four major tasks he had come to Lingxu City to complete, two had now been finished on time and as he wished.

Next, he would devote everything to the Mount Xu Plan!

* * *

Tourists who had visited the Heavenly Palace had all heard their guides mention in passing that there was also a prison on Tianshu Peak. Evil people who offended the heavenly gods were locked there, and it was called the Molten Palace.

Its location was behind the Star-Plucking Tower, off-limits to idle people. In truth, it was a cave-style prison hollowed out of the mountain’s belly, with only one passage in and out.

Of course, Beijia’s gods had a rather broad definition of the word “offend.” If ordinary people said a few disrespectful things in private, the gods ignored it. After all, Lingxu City’s main selling point was its free atmosphere. But if one took actual action, then one might be held accountable.

When the Molten Palace was first built, people said that all living beings were equal in the eyes of the gods, so there were no ranks and all prisoners were treated alike.

But as time passed, differences still appeared among prisoners. After all, some crimes were heavier, some secrets were greater, and some people... genuinely held higher status.

Thus, after all these years, the cells in the Molten Palace were still divided into several grades.

The highest-grade prison cell was located at the deepest part of the Molten Palace. In truth, one could see the light of day there, but not through a ventilation window. After all, divine techniques in this world were bizarre and varied. An ability or technique that would allow one to fit through a palm-sized window was hardly rare.

A large stretch of glazed windows separated this place from the outside world. Daylight could easily shine through, and prisoners sitting behind the windows could even see the magnificent mountain scenery behind Tianshu Peak.

Of course, this kind of treatment was not something ordinary prisoners could enjoy.

The person currently living in this cell was State Preceptor Qing Yang.

She was a top-level felon and enjoyed a single-person scenic cell of thirty square meters. Though this was the deepest part of the Molten Palace and carried the peculiar damp, fishy smell of a mountain cave, the floor was not damp at all. The cell had been cleaned before she entered, and there was no sign of rats or fleas.

No matter the reason, even in prison, State Preceptor Qing Yang’s treatment was different from others.

After being sent here from Heaven-Reaching Palace, State Preceptor Qing Yang followed the story she and the Monster Emperor had discussed and confessed everything to the Heavenly Palace one by one.

How she had hunted monsters all these years, how she had refined the elixir of youth, and how she had relied on Qingfu Temple to sell it, she told the truth about all of it.

What the Heavenly Palace wanted to know amounted to two things. The first was the source of the divine blood, which she pushed onto Dong Rui.

The second was the list of customers who had purchased the elixir of youth. State Preceptor Qing Yang only said the registry and account books had been destroyed in the fire at Qingfu Temple, and that no one had any backup copies.

Aside from that, she said nothing.

She had been personally escorted here by the Lord Emperor. The Heavenly Palace knew very well that the two of them must have fully communicated already. If State Preceptor Qing Yang said the account book was gone, then it was gone and could not be recovered.

Due to her exceedingly special status and the fact that she still carried weight with the Lord Emperor, the Heavenly Palace did not torture her.

No matter how turbulent and treacherous the outside world became, the Molten Palace remained lifeless and silent, cut off from the world.

In the afternoon, a Heavenly Palace attendant came over to deliver the meal.

He could only bring it to the door. The food box had to be taken by a prison guard and inspected to ensure there were no smuggled items or notes before it could be given to the prisoner.

“State Preceptor Qing Yang, it’s time to eat.”

Only after confirming that nothing was wrong did the prison guard open the little door and push the food box inside.