After the Immortal Disappeared

Chapter 155: Chapter 156: Three Verses to Define a Life

This time, the prisoner thought for a long while before slowly shaking his head. ”I don’t recall. But General Lui often went out alone and wouldn’t let us follow. It was a habit he’d formed a long time ago.”

Hee Chunhua stood up. ”Alright. Qinghe, treat his wounds and get him something to eat and drink. Since he’s cooperating, he’s earned it.”

The father and his two sons walked out of the woodshed.

Hee Lingchuan asked him, ”Dad, should we report this to the Royal Court?”

”Yes, but we’ll wait ten days. The prisoner is our witness. We’ll hand him over then.”

Hee Yue nodded.

Hee Lingchuan asked, puzzled, ”Why ten days?”

”If we report it now, the Royal Court’s reply might order me to stay at Woling Pass to investigate,” Hee Chunhua said with a smile. ”What’s our most urgent priority?”

”To get to Xiazhou and take up your post, of course!”

Calling anything else urgent was just talk. For Hee Chunhua, the single most important matter at hand was to plant himself firmly in the position of Governor of Xiazhou!

’So that’s it.’ Hee Lingchuan finally understood. ”Dad, you’re so sly!”

In five to seven days at most, they would board a ship and head north. Ten days later, they would almost be at Shihuan City, and from there it was just a few more days to Xiazhou. By the time the Royal Court received the report, they would have to send someone else if they wanted to investigate Hong Xiangqian’s Corpse Liberation.

With everything settled, Hee Lingchuan yawned and stood up. ”I’m heading back to sleep. You should get some rest too, Dad.” After all, it had been a long and busy day.

However, he and Hee Yue had only taken a few steps when their father called out to stop them. ”Chuan’er, you were very brave this morning, staying behind to cover our retreat. I am very proud.”

Hee Lingchuan turned around, grinning, ready to soak up a few more compliments, but Hee Chunhua immediately added, ”But don’t do it again.”

”Huh?” Hee Lingchuan was stunned. ”Dad, weren’t you just praising me?”

”The Supporting Army has three hundred men. There are plenty of capable people to cover a retreat; the eldest son of the Hee Family doesn’t need to take to the field himself,” Hee Chunhua said gently. ”What use is courage alone? You’re a lucky general, but luck can fail you. It’s not something to be relied on. You’re sixteen now. A man must know not only what he can do, but also what he shouldn’t. Before you put yourself in harm’s way, think more of your mother and your younger brother.”

Hee Lingchuan was dumbfounded for a moment before replying with a simple ”Oh.” ”Got it.”

With that, he turned and walked away.

Back in the small courtyard where they were staying, Hee Yue said to him, ”After you fell from the cliff, Zhao Qinghe brought the terrible news. Father was heartbroken, but he still had to manage the safety of several hundred people. There was no blame in his words, so don’t take it to heart.”

Hee Lingchuan shrugged. ”Do I look like I’m taking it to heart?”

That night, the two of them shared a room.

’Actually, something felt off.’ If the original Hee Lingchuan were here, he would probably be furious. ’He finally gets a moment in the spotlight, only to get a lecture from his dad.’

But as soon as he lay down, his mind was filled with the verses the Old Turtle Demon had left him:

Seek life in death, hide your blade and play the fool.

Seek the real within the illusion, ...

’That old bastard really loved his riddles. Hee Lingchuan wished he could just scramble its eggs.’

He wanted to live.

He wanted to live a full and exciting life in this chaotic world of monsters and gods, where life was cheap.

But first, he had to solve a riddle.

The old turtle had said its own power was insufficient and that the secrets of heaven were distorted, so it could only glimpse this much. Hee Lingchuan had better just accept it, as there was no other choice.

The first two lines of the verse were easy to understand. To survive, he had to hide his abilities and keep a low profile. He had been doing exactly that ever since he transmigrated, so at least he knew he was on the right track.

’If I acted like one of those spiky-haired village punks, all reckless bravado and fighting for the spotlight, thinking that life was all about gratifying Vengeance and that the world’s heroes should just step aside for my plot armor, my ashes would have been scattered to the winds by now.’

However, he occasionally slipped up, like when he showed off his skills in Xianling Village and on West Mountain Road for all to see. That was definitely a mistake. In the future, he had to lay even lower.

The key was the last line.

’What does ”Seek the real within the illusion” mean?’ For some reason, Hee Lingchuan recalled his two experiences entering the Panlong Dream Realm.

’Could that be what it means?’

And he always felt that these three lines were somehow incomplete, as if they were missing a final, concluding line.

’Look at the structure. It needs a fourth line to sound right, doesn’t it?’

But the old turtle had said, quite embarrassed, that it couldn’t deduce the fourth line for the life of it and told Hee Lingchuan to add it himself if he ever thought of it in the future.

’Are you kidding me? I’m supposed to add it myself?’

Hee Lingchuan thought for a long time but couldn’t make any headway, and he couldn’t discuss it with anyone else.

He couldn’t speak of these experiences at all. Besides, the Old Turtle Demon had warned him that these verses could only be kept in his mind and must never be written down.

’Sigh. This is so frustrating.’

But in any case, he knew his future would likely be turned upside down because of these three lines of verse.

This wasn’t a curse but a prophecy. A curse could be broken, but a prophecy... ’I’d better just play along and stay alive for now, then look for a chance to flip the script.’

After two consecutive, heart-pounding days, Hee Yue was mentally exhausted, yet he couldn’t fall asleep.

As he tossed and turned, he heard his older brother’s snores gradually begin. He wondered if he was kicking up a storm in Dreamland.

’So carefree.’ Hee Yue sometimes envied his uncomplicated brother.

* * *

The next morning, Hee Lingchuan was mercilessly woken up.

A visitor had arrived, and Hee Chunhua called for him to come over quickly.

The other bed was empty, the bedding already neatly folded. Apparently, Hee Yue had gone out at the crack of dawn to run errands for their father.

Hee Lingchuan had a good idea who it was. He hastily washed his face and rushed over, only throwing on his outer coat on the way.

Upon entering the hall, he saw that it was indeed Wu Shaoyi, who was speaking with Hee Chunhua.

Both men were smiling. As soon as Wu Shaoyi saw Hee Lingchuan, he said, ”Young Master Hee, I’ll be in your care from now on!”

”Hey, don’t mention it. I was worried about you all last night,” Hee Lingchuan lied through his teeth. ”How are you feeling now?”

Wu Shaoyi sighed. ”A deficiency of qi and blood isn’t something that can be healed in a day or two. I’ll just have to endure.” He had used a Secret Art to transfer his injuries, but he had lost too much blood before, and even his organs were showing slight signs of failure. Without careful recuperation for ten days to half a month, he wouldn’t recover.

”The doctor in my retinue is highly skilled. He will arrange your medicine and diet; you just focus on recuperating.” Hee Chunhua was beaming, then turned to Hee Lingchuan. ”Along with General Wu, three hundred elite soldiers have also come to join us. They must all be properly settled!”

As Hee Chunhua was heading to Xiazhou, the more talented people under his command, the better. This man had a general’s talent and troops, both ready-made. Although he himself could no longer fight on the battlefield, his joining would be a massive boost to the Supporting Army’s strength.

Wu Shaoyi shook his head and smiled. ”What general? I’m the Vice General of the Supporting Army now.”

Hee Chunhua had indeed given him the position of Vice General, according to the terms his eldest son had negotiated.

Everyone laughed.

Taking advantage of the relaxed atmosphere, Hee Lingchuan quickly asked about the battle at Desheng Town.

It turned out that after Wu Shaoyi arrived at Desheng Town by waterway, he had conducted guerrilla-style harassment against the Lui Bandits stationed there, with a particular focus on their horses. Stealing horses wasn’t easy, but killing them wasn’t hard.

As it happened, the horses were being kept not far from the creek. Because there were too few water troughs in the town, the Lui Bandits hadn’t had time to bring them back in, so the Crocodile God and his minions took the opportunity to eat a dozen or so of them.

Hee Chunhua sighed. ”It’s a pity Pei Xinyong won’t join us.”

Pei Xinyong didn’t want to surrender, nor did he want his whereabouts to be known, so of course he would leave as soon as possible after the battle of Desheng Town.

In fact, it wasn’t just Pei Xinyong. Wu Shaoyi had summoned all his subordinates, explained his future plans, and told any of his brothers willing to join the government troops to stay.

In the end, half of the men left.

”I tried to persuade him, but unfortunately, to each their own. He said he would never return to officialdom.” Wu Shaoyi spread his hands. ”I asked him about his future plans. He just said he’d take it one step at a time and wouldn’t tell me where he was going.”

Although they were old brothers who had fought side-by-side, one was now eating the government’s grain while the other had to continue as a bandit. They were destined to part ways.

Hee Chunhua sighed. ”What a pity.”

The three of them chatted a while longer before Hee Chunhua got up and left.

His work was never done.

Hee Lingchuan poured Wu Shaoyi a cup of water. ”I have some good wine here. When you’re healed, we’ll have a couple of drinks.”

Wu Shaoyi readily agreed.

”A moment ago, what did you mean when you said Pei Xinyong wouldn’t return to officialdom?” Hee Lingchuan’s hearing was sharp. ”He was an official before?”

”He worked at the Longxia Zhichong Prefecture for six years and became a Commandant of Resolute Valor. In the year of the Chun River flood, the Longxia Zhichong Prefecture was ordered to help transport disaster relief supplies. Back then, Old Pei was young and straightforward. He couldn’t stand the official habit of skimming off the top at every level. He heard the Monarch was going to enforce discipline and clean up the government, so he was greatly inspired and reported his superior for corruption and selling off supplies, bypassing the chain of command.”

’So that’s Old Pei’s story?’ Hee Lingchuan was intrigued. ”And then what happened?”

”And then he was a mayfly trying to stop a chariot. His superior was completely fine, and the crime was pinned directly on him, complete with both witnesses and material evidence, leaving him unable to defend himself. Without even a trial, he was stripped of his post and thrown in prison. He suffered every kind of torture; his ass was a mess, and he almost died in there. When others rescued him from prison, there were still maggots crawling in the wound on his lower back. Although the wound healed later, it left him with a chronic weakness.”

Wu Shaoyi shrugged. ”So Old Pei often says that Da Yuan is Da Yuan. He’s not interested in officialdom, and he’s not interested in Mr. Hee’s offer of amnesty.”

Hee Lingchuan didn’t know what to say.

After a long moment, he had another question for Wu Shaoyi:

”There’s one more thing I don’t understand. From what you’ve all said, this Hong Xiangqian person sounds quite remarkable. Why would he place such importance on a notorious Ogre like Lui Yao? Wasn’t he afraid of ruining the reputation of the, er, Rebel Army?”

”Actually, in the Saint Master’s eyes, Lui Yao and the rest of us were no different,” Wu Shaoyi let out a soft sigh. ”We’re all just blades for killing. His might have even been faster and sharper.”

Hee Lingchuan mulled over this sentence, and the more he thought about it, the more sense it made.

’A blade isn’t good or evil. What matters is the hand that wields it.’

Those who achieve great things don’t sweat the small stuff. Lui Yao’s little hobby of eating people, that small stain on his character, was perhaps not even considered a small detail in Hong Xiangqian’s eyes.

Then again, Wu Shaoyi didn’t know that the Saint Master had undergone Corpse Liberation to cling to existence, and Hee Lingchuan had no intention of telling him.

’Lui Yao was often dead drunk later on. Was that after he had properly taken care of Hong Xiangqian’s Primordial Spirit?’

How long a soul can exist after death depends on the strength of its Primordial Spirit. For an ordinary person, it’s within about seven days. A strong Primordial Spirit can last a while longer, but only a while.