After the Immortal Disappeared

Chapter 104: Chapter 105: How to Prove You Are You?

She looked utterly terrified, her body trembling. For a moment, the man couldn’t tell if she was genuinely stupid or just playing dumb; after all, he’d seen his share of village women with bizarre ways of thinking. He had no choice but to threaten her more harshly, ”Listen up. We have both your children! If you dare get close to that family again, I’ll kill one of the brats right in front of you!”

Mrs. Zhu’s voice trembled, ”Don’t... don’t hurt them!”

”Just do as you’re told, and we’ll let you all go tomorrow morning!” After the threat, the lure had to follow swiftly.

Mrs. Zhu nodded frantically.

Just then, the crunch of gravel on the village path sounded as a few people approached. The one in the lead waved at Mrs. Zhu. ”Well now, Lady Zhu, what a coincidence?”

The two turned to look and saw that it was none other than the eldest son of that Hee Gouguan, followed closely by two Personal Guards, putting on quite a show.

Seeing his cheeky grin, a surge of joy washed over Mrs. Zhu, and tears nearly came to her eyes. Still, she had to force herself to smile back at him. ”Young Master Hee.”

”I came out for a stroll after dinner and just found myself here.” Hee Lingchuan approached naturally. ”Your village has beautiful scenery. Would you have time to walk with me?”

”I...” Just as Mrs. Zhu was about to speak, the fatty couldn’t stand it anymore and pulled her into his chest. ”This is my wife.”

Hee Lingchuan pointed at him and asked Mrs. Zhu, ”And this is an outsider?”

Mrs. Zhu’s eyes crinkled in a smile, but she said nothing.

Before the fatty could blow up, Hee Lingchuan laughed it off. ”Just a joke, don’t take it seriously. What’s your name, brother?”

”Wang.” The fatty remembered Lui Han’s instructions and forced a twitch of his lips. ”Young Master Hee’s presence brings light to my humble home.”

”You get a direct view of the lake from your house. Very nice.” Hee Lingchuan turned to appraise the view, then suddenly tossed something shiny over.

Fatty Wang instinctively caught it, only to find it was an ingot of broken silver weighing five coins. ’What’s this?’

”It’s your lucky day. I’m staying here tonight.” Hee Lingchuan clasped his hands behind his back and tilted his chin up. ”Aren’t you going to make the bed?”

Fatty Wang’s eye twitched, and he froze on the spot. ’Given his usual temper, he would have likely flown into a rage and lopped off the dog’s head with one swing!’

’But Boss Lui said I had to endure!’

He forcefully suppressed his anger. ”Hasn’t your lodging already been arranged?” Boss Lui himself had arranged it.

”It’s too far. Not convenient for chatting with family.” Ever since he realized this fellow before him was also a bandit, Hee Lingchuan had paid attention to the lodging arranged for him in the village. He discovered it was the furthest possible from Hee Chunhua and his wife’s quarters, one on the west and one on the east, a perfect diagonal.

’These guys are planning to divide and kill.’

”What, not enough?” Seeing the fatty just standing there, Hee Lingchuan grabbed a few more coins of broken silver and shoved them heavily into his hand.

It was exactly how one would tip a server in a theater. With that shove, the veins on the fatty’s forehead throbbed twice.

Hee Lingchuan grew secretly vigilant, but the man clenched his jaw, clearly suppressing his anger once again, and said hoarsely, ”Come in.”

’He wanted to drag this brat inside and beat him senseless, but the two Personal Guards were following closely behind. He wasn’t afraid he couldn’t win the fight, but he feared causing too much of a commotion.’

’When will I finally get to kill all these bastards!’

He turned and entered the house. Mrs. Zhu glanced at Hee Lingchuan and followed him inside. Only then did Hee Lingchuan see the undisguised worry, fear, and anger in her eyes.

’If these men pretending to be villagers are bandits, then she must be an innocent civilian, right?’

Hee Lingchuan looked around and saw idle men everywhere. Some were wolfing down food from their bowls, others sat by their doors picking their feet and enjoying the breeze, all of them staring at him, whether intentionally or not.

* * *

Boss Lui was sitting in the village chief’s house, gnawing on a duck leg.

The free-range ducks by Immortal Spirit Lake grew up eating local water plants and snails, developing a thick layer of white fat under their skin. When roasted over a fire, glistening golden grease and a fragrant aroma would soon emerge. Sprinkle on some spiced pepper, rub on some salt, and it’s time for a hearty feast.

As he ate, Boss Lui sized up the village chief’s family. The old man, the old woman, and the few stinking men weren’t much to look at, but the grandsons and granddaughters who had already been taken away by the bandits were only three to five years old, so tender you could practically squeeze water from them.

The thought of those children made the meat in his mouth taste even more delicious.

He was thoroughly enjoying his meal when a lackey slipped in and said to him, ”Boss Lui, I’ve found something out! That dog official surnamed Hee is going to Xiazhou to take up his new post as Governor.”

”What Governor?” Lui Han didn’t pay much attention at first, but then the meaning sank in, and his eyes lit up. ”You mean, the Governor of Xiazhou?!”

”Yes, I think so,” the man said. ”I heard it from the female relatives of their soldiers.”

On this long journey, some members of the Hee Family’s Personal Guard Corps had brought their families along. After all, it was a journey of over a thousand miles, and they might never have a chance to return to Black Water City.

Lui Han’s mouth slowly stretched into a grin, and he threw his head back and roared with laughter.

After just one laugh, he suddenly remembered that sound traveled far in the quiet mountain night, and it wouldn’t do to scare the prey. He forcefully stifled the rest, causing a dull thud to reverberate in his chest.

His trusted confidants standing beside him exchanged glances, not understanding what the boss was so happy about.

”General, could this be a top-grade fat sheep?”

”More than just fat?” Lui Han’s face lit up with excitement. ”When he announced his name earlier, it came back to me! This guy is the Governor of Qiansong County. He’s been in that borderland for over a decade; probably few people in the inner political circles would even recognize him. Heh, the distance from Qiansong County to Xiazhou is well over a thousand miles. Do you know what that means?”

The men shook their heads.

”The people of Xiazhou have never seen their new Governor!” Lui Han finally couldn’t help but laugh out loud. ”If I take his Documents and Official Seal to Xiazhou, then *I’ll* be the newly appointed Governor!”

”Heaven never seals off all paths! I was just thinking tomorrow would decide my life and death, my entire future, and now the heavens have delivered me an escape route!” Lui Han tutted twice. ”I’m taking that official post! His wife looks soft and tender, and those two little bastards look soft and tender too!”

He licked his lips, and his men chuckled along with him. But a question was soon raised: ”That dog official also has the Society Command. If you want to imper— no, *take* his position, what will you do if you can’t produce the Society Command?”

”Who says I can’t produce it? Do you know the basis of the Society Command?”

His underlings, of course, shook their heads. They all knew the Society Command was typically designated by the Royal Court, and the officials and generals who held it could command Primordial Power. This was precisely why government soldiers had a natural advantage when fighting Floating Bandits and rebels—not that they were guaranteed to win.

”Designate the official post, then designate the person,” Lui Han said methodically. ”Getting his Documents and Official Seal is equivalent to getting his official post. As for the person... that’s a bit more troublesome, but not impossible. Today, I’ll let you in on a Secret Technique.”

He patted his subordinate’s shoulder. ”How do the heavens determine that you are you?”

’How do the heavens determine that I am me?’ The subordinate thought for a long while, then pointed to his own nose and asked, ”My name?”