After the Immortal Disappeared

Chapter 19: Chapter 22: Token of the Commander-in-Chief

Hee Yue jumped back quickly, his voice sharp with anger. ”Captain Nian, have some decency!”

Far from having any decency, Nian Songyu reached out to yank the boy toward him.

Hee Yue’s face went deathly pale with fright.

Fortunately, someone shot out from the side, throwing a punch right at Nian Songyu’s face!

The heavy punch whistled with power. If it landed, Nian Songyu would be sent flying at least ten feet, his face a swollen, bruised mess.

But he was quick to react. He recoiled slightly, meeting the blow fist-to-fist while simultaneously kicking at his attacker’s chest. The kick was powerful; he was clearly enraged.

In doing so, however, he had to release Hee Yue.

The man’s punch, however, was a feint. The real killing blow was the short blade in his left hand, which he silently thrust toward Nian Songyu’s ribs. At the same time, he retreated two steps, dodging Nian’s kick with an uncanny foresight.

Only then did Hee Yue’s shout ring out. ”Stop! Don’t fight!”

The newcomer was none other than Hee Lingchuan.

Before Nian Songyu could say a word, Hee Lingchuan tilted his head, his face a mask of surprise. ”Captain Nian? Is that you!”

”I thought some shameless degenerate had snuck in to defile my little brother’s virtue,” Hee Lingchuan said, feigning surprise. ”Captain Nian, what are you doing standing in front of his outhouse?”

”I have trouble sleeping in strange beds. I couldn’t rest, so I went for a stroll. I happened upon Second Young Master Hee and we were just having a little chat.” Nian Songyu dusted off his sleeves. ”The Great Capital is a truly complicated place, full of all sorts. Coming from the countryside, you’ll need someone to look after you there.”

He gave Hee Yue a gentle, cultured smile. ”Second Young Master Hee, it’s rare to find someone you click with. How about I find you for another drink tomorrow night?”

Hee Yue’s face was ashen. He remained silent.

”Sounds great! My brother and I will be sure to keep you company. We won’t go home till we’re good and drunk!” Hee Lingchuan cut in. ”I just get a little carried away when I’m drinking and having fun. I hope you can handle it, Captain Nian.”

Nian Songyu let out a dry laugh. There was something sleazy about this fellow’s demeanor that made him not want to engage.

Hee Lingchuan added, ”Oh, by the way, have you found the person who leaked the news that I was gravely injured? Must have been a mole!”

Nian Songyu’s smile slowly faded. ”Not yet.” With that, he turned and strolled away.

The moment he was gone, Hee Yue bolted to the side of the pond and began washing his hands, as fast as a spooked rabbit.

Hee Lingchuan heard him mutter a rare curse, saw his pale face, and watched as he washed his hands again and again, as if trying to scrub the skin off. ”Big brother, thank goodness you were here.”

He was only fourteen, after all. No matter how mature he acted, at a time like this, he still needed his older brother to have his back.

”Seeing that punchable face of his, my own hands were getting itchy,” Hee Lingchuan comforted him. ”But even if I hadn’t shown up, he wouldn’t have actually done anything to you tonight.”

”He was pretending?” Hee Yue frowned. ”I’ve looked into Nian Songyu. It seems he really does have... that kind of preference.”

Several generations of Emperor Yuan had favored male companions, and it had become a trend in the Great Capital. It was common for high-ranking nobles to keep handsome young men. A youth with delicate features like Hee Yue was precisely the type of prey certain people hunted.

”Whether he was faking or not, I can’t say.” Hee Lingchuan chuckled. ”But by threatening you, he’s forced our family to speed things up for the sake of your virtue. Enticement in the afternoon, intimidation at night—it’s a two-pronged attack.”

He gave his younger brother’s cheek a hard pinch. ”Look at this soft, tender skin. No wonder you attract ill intentions. I told you to train with me, but you refused.”

Hee Yue slapped his hand away. ”They’re getting impatient. Is it because the change in the Panlong Desert is imminent?”

”Perhaps,” Hee Lingchuan said, turning to leave. ”Get some sleep. I’m going to find something to eat.”

”The low cupboard in the main kitchen usually has some pastries.”

”What is it today?”

”A tray of walnut cakes.” Hee Yue coughed. ”But there’s only half left.”

”Not the apple honey pastries?” A look of realization dawned on Hee Lingchuan’s face. ”No wonder I couldn’t find them sometimes! So you’re the one who’s been sneaking them!”

Once he had walked to a quiet, secluded spot, he finally shook out his left fist.

”HISS... damn, that hurts.” He looked at his reddened knuckles. The skin wasn’t broken, but they were starting to swell. ’That bastard Nian Songyu... he’s got some real skill.’

His fists were conditioned year-round with iron sand and Fire Stones, strong enough to easily shatter a log as thick as a bowl. Yet the force that had reverberated from his punch to Nian Songyu made his own knuckles ache.

* * *

「The next morning.」

The two guests were summoned to the main hall, where Hee Chunhua personally delivered the good news.

”The entire leopard carcass has been recovered.” Hee Prefect had been busy until late last night and had only slept for a single double-hour, but he was now glowing with vigor, looking more energetic than both his sons. ”However, I imagine the two of you are only interested in this Leopard Fang.”

He opened his palm, revealing the Leopard Fang.

Nian Songyu eagerly leaned in. ”Let me see!”

No one cared how the leopard’s carcass had been found. It was just a cover story, and everyone knew it.

But Hee Chunhua sighed. ”I had assumed some rival was working against me in the shadows. After all, Black Water City is on the frontier, surrounded by external threats. I never imagined there were so many internal complications. For delaying the National Preceptor’s important mission, I beg your forgiveness.”

What could National Preceptor Sunx say? He could only be magnanimous. ”It’s no matter. There’s no crime in ignorance. Besides, Young Master Hee was also gravely injured in the process.”

Hee Chunhua then took the Leopard Fang and emptied its contents onto a brocade platter. ”It’s all here. Please take a look, National Preceptor. Which one is the token?”

Everyone crowded around to look. Sunx Fuping asked for a cup of water and dropped a grass seed into it.

With just a couple of swirls, the seed began to sprout roots and grow at a speed visible to the naked eye.

In a little over ten seconds, it grew into a flowering plant. It produced a single, fluffy white flower with six petals, about the size of a fingernail.

Sunx Fuping picked up the items from the brocade platter one by one, holding each close to the small flower.

The flower showed no reaction, until—

—until Hee Lingchuan held the half of the broken comb near it. The white flower suddenly wilted. Its stem and leaves shriveled, and the entire plant dissolved into powder that dispersed in the water.

”This must be it.” Sunx Fuping started to reach for it, but Hee Chunhua snatched the comb first and examined it closely. ”Over a century has passed, yet the aura of resentment clinging to it is still this strong.”

Nian Songyu asked in surprise, ”The token of the great Commander-in-Chief of Panlong City... is a comb?”

Hee Lingchuan shrugged. ”He had a wife and daughter once.”

Hee Yue picked up the line of questioning. ”There’s something I don’t understand. Back then, when the Xianyou Kingdom finally managed to conquer Panlong City, why didn’t they take the Grand Square Pot? They suffered greatly at its hands, so they must have known its value.”

”According to the historical records of the Xianyou Kingdom, after the army conquered Panlong City, they sacked it. On the third day, the rivers and wells ran dry. Even the water in the moat vanished overnight. On the fifth day, all vegetation turned black and rotted away—crops and weeds alike. On the seventh day, all the livestock dropped dead.” National Preceptor Sunx took a sip of tea. ”The Xianyou Army saw this as a place of great misfortune and had to retreat as quickly as possible. Besides, with no food or water, they couldn’t have held on anyway. That same army unit was immediately redeployed to fight in the north, and they never used the Grand Square Pot. Not only that, but I’ve scoured the Xianyou historical archives and found no record of any battle where it’s suspected Mind-Bending Insects were used. If the Xianyou Kingdom had obtained such a Supreme Treasure, why would they not deploy it on the battlefield?”