After the Immortal Disappeared

Chapter 134: Chapter 135: The Water Spirit’s Sacrificial Offering

After advancing a few miles, Zhao Qinghe and the other Personal Guards were startled to see several bodies on the road ahead, the ground spattered with blood.

The men dismounted to inspect the bodies, only to find they were all strangers. They didn’t recognize a single one.

There were weapons on the ground, but it was impossible to tell who they belonged to.

Zhao Qinghe was frantic. ”Mount up! Hurry!” he commanded in a grim voice.

The dozen or so riders whipped their horses, racing ahead until they finally caught sight of their convoy.

’There are still civilians with them. Everything looks... okay?’

Zhao Qinghe and Fuzzy Peach were puzzled, but their anxiety began to subside.

The convoy appeared to be in good order. The Official Family’s carriages rolled on, and the commoners helped the old and young along. Madam Ying, being soft-hearted, had allowed the elderly who could no longer walk to ride in the carriages, both to save their strength and to avoid slowing the group down.

The entire convoy tensed at the sound of approaching hooves, only relaxing when they saw it was their own men.

The father and son, Hee Chunhua and Hee Yue, rode out to meet them. The joy on their faces faded when they saw Zhao Qinghe’s small group, replaced by grim expressions.

’Over thirty men stayed behind to cover our retreat, but only a handful returned?’

Hee Lingchuan was not among them.

Hee Chunhua’s voice was hoarse. ”Where’s Chuan’Er?”

At the same time, Hee Yue demanded, ”Where’s my brother?”

”I have failed you.” Zhao Qinghe glanced at Fuzzy Peach. ”As we were retreating, the Eldest Young Master was struck by an arrow. He and his horse fell from the cliff.”

The Hee father and son froze.

A gust of mountain wind blew past, chilling them to the bone.

Hee Chunhua stared in disbelief, muttering, ”That’s not right! How is that possible?”

Jolted from his stupor, Hee Yue shouted, ”Nonsense!” He spurred his horse, ready to charge back the way they came.

Fuzzy Peach grabbed his reins. ”Second Young Master, you can’t! There are still pursuers behind us!”

”Let go!” Hee Yue roared.

Fuzzy Peach refused to let go.

Hee Yue struck his hand with his whip.

Zeng Feixiong hurried over, caught Hee Yue’s whip, and urgently asked Zhao Qinghe, ”We need to see him if he’s alive! Did you... did you see the Eldest Young Master at the bottom of the cliff?”

”No.” Fuzzy Peach shook his head. ”I had them lower me down on a rope to search. I only found the horse’s corpse, not the Eldest Young Master.”

Zeng Feixiong breathed a sigh of relief. ”If he’s dead, there should be a body. With no body, maybe the Eldest Young Master is still alive. Immortal Spirit Lake is at the bottom of that cliff!”

Hearing this, a flicker of hope returned to Hee Yue’s eyes.

”It’s a Stone Beach down there. The horse was smashed to death...” Zhao Qinghe nudged Fuzzy Peach, who quickly corrected himself. ”...But the Eldest Young Master is much lighter. Maybe the wind blew him farther out, into the lake? It’s... it’s possible, right?”

”That must be it!” Hee Yue said resolutely. ”There’s a path back, isn’t there? I’m going to find him!”

Hee Chunhua grabbed his shoulder. ”We must consider the bigger picture. Your brother is fine!”

”Father?” Hee Yue was stunned.

Hee Chunhua’s face was ashen, but he gritted his teeth. ”Your brother was born under a lucky star. His fortune will turn. There’s no need to worry! Don’t run off. You are needed here.”

”Just because Zhaomandu the Great Shaman said he was fortunate, that means he doesn’t need our help? Father...?” Hee Yue’s retort died in his throat when he saw the cold sweat beading on Hee Chunhua’s forehead and his ragged breathing. He was startled.

’My brother fell from a cliff. I can’t let anything happen to my father, too.’

Hee Chunhua grabbed his arm, his voice sharp. ”He is fine! Do you hear me?”

The Lord Governor’s facial muscles were twitching. ”He will turn this misfortune into a blessing. Do you understand?”

He practically shouted the last three words.

It was the first time Hee Yue had ever seen his father lose his composure like this, and he nodded instinctively.

Hee Chunhua pointed toward the convoy, his voice squeezed through clenched teeth. ”Go back!”

Hee Yue had no choice but to turn his horse around, looking back again and again as he rode away.

Hee Chunhua remained facing the road, and all Hee Yue could see was his father’s back.

Meanwhile, Zhao Qinghe was gulping down water. He’d been so busy fighting all night he hadn’t had a moment to wet his throat. When Zeng Feixiong approached, he quickly asked, ”Why were there dead bodies on the road?”

”The Lui Bandits,” Zeng Feixiong said in a low voice. ”Mr. Hee predicted that Pei Xinyong might not be able to stop all the ambushers at Whistle Rock, so he sent us to head them off and prevent them from slipping east to cause you more trouble.”

At the time, Eldest Young Master Hee had been leading his men to block West Mountain Road. If a group of bandits had suddenly appeared from behind, all their efforts would have been for naught. Zhao Qinghe sighed. ”Mr. Hee’s foresight is truly godlike.”

”I took over a hundred men and circled around behind Whistle Rock. Sure enough, we caught those twenty or thirty bastards in the woods and cut down the last of them on the mountain path. They were already spooked and not hard to kill.” Zeng Feixiong added bitterly, ”What a waste, though. The Eldest Young Master... sigh!”

Back in the convoy, Madam Ying asked Hee Yue, ”What was that about? Have Chuan’Er and Zhao Qinghe returned?”

”Mother...” Hee Yue felt as if a thousand-pound weight was crushing his chest, leaving him without the strength to even speak.

***

When Wu Shaoyi, lying nearby, finally regained some strength and slowly opened his eyes, he saw Hee Lingchuan climbing out of the turtle’s belly, covered in blood and grime.

The moment he was out, he began to gasp frantically for breath.

The inside of the Turtle Demon’s belly was no place for a human. It was stuffy and foul, and he could barely breathe.

As Hee Lingchuan approached, Wu Shaoyi asked, ”Did you get them?”

”Yeah.” While inside the turtle’s belly, deep within its guts, Hee Lingchuan had found eight perfectly round, spherical objects. By candlelight, a sliver of bright white shone through the caked-on blood and filth.

’If it were *that* kind of orb, there should only be two. So I’m pretty sure these are the ”beads” the Crocodile Demon mentioned.’

Besides the Eight Beads, he had also cut off a few chunks of meat. ’This Turtle Demon lay in the lake absorbing the Essence of Sun and Moon for who knows how many years. Its whole body must be a treasure, right?’ For now, though, he had no idea what it could be used for.

’The Crocodile Demon ate the Turtle Demon’s flesh, as did the crabs and water rats, so of course he could take some too. All living things are equal, after all. He shouldn’t be discriminated against.’

’My thanks to Mother Nature for her gift, and to the magnanimous Water Spirit for sacrificing its body for the greater good.’

After a moment’s thought, Hee Lingchuan went around to the turtle’s tail and began carving away again.

’You are what you eat. For certain people, this part would be a true delicacy, and they’d surely pay a high price for it.’

’He was already scheming to take everything. The shell shouldn’t be wasted either; he’d have to come back for it when he had the chance.’

”The turtle’s head contained a Demon Core, but the Crocodile Demon ate it,” Wu Shaoyi said quietly. ”Scaled beasts produce pearls. You’re quite lucky.”

The so-called ”scaled beasts” include turtles, snakes, lizards, and crocodiles. It’s said that carp can transform into dragons, but with the right opportunity, scaled beasts can also become Flood Dragons, and eventually true dragons.

Like dragons, they can form Primordial Pearls within their bodies.

Primordial Pearls are different from Demon Cores. Every accomplished Demon has a core, but only scaled beasts, clams, and other shellfish can produce Primordial Pearls.

Hee Lingchuan took a closer look at Wu Shaoyi’s wounds. ”They’ve stopped bleeding. Your color looks a bit better, too.”

Wu Shaoyi’s face was even a little rosy. On the one hand, it could be the Pill taking effect. On the other, it could be the final burst of vitality before death.

”I need to recover more of my strength before I can head ashore with you.”