After the Immortal Disappeared

Chapter 335: Chapter 334: Sudden Attack

”Keep this to yourself, and don’t mention it to anyone else,” Hee Lingchuan reminded Skinny. ”The officials haven’t made any announcements, so don’t even talk about it at home. Your family has too many loose lips.” A few days had passed since the Red Peak Mine Cave incident, and on the surface, Panlong City was as calm as ever, with no news of any major case being uncovered.

It must have been handled privately, kept from public knowledge.

Skinny sighed and nodded. ”You’re right. We’re just common folk with food to eat and water to drink, why should we care about this stuff? It’s not like they’re going to give us a share of the gold from the Mine Cave. Let Commander Zhong deal with the headache.”

”Didn’t you get a reward for reporting it anonymously?”

”I sure did.” Skinny looked smug. Just as he was about to brag about his Eyes of Golden Flame again, a sudden shriek and a howl came from outside!

The sound was like the howl of a wolf mixed with the wail of a ghost—decidedly inhuman, making anyone who heard it want to cover their ears.

Hee Lingchuan and Skinny exchanged a glance, their feet shifting as they dashed outside.

...

Wen Daolun stepped out of Yuewu Hall, and two guards immediately followed.

He felt his sleeve and realized he had forgotten something important. ”Ah, how could I forget my lecture notes?” He quickly pointed at one of the guards. ”Hey, you, go to my house and get my notes. They’re on the desk, the ones with ’Wenxian Hall’ written on the heading.”

The guard acknowledged the order and strode away.

”I’m getting old, I can’t even remember little things like this.” Wen Daolun pressed his forehead. ”Without my notes, how am I supposed to prattle on at Wenxian Hall for a whole double-hour?”

Wen Xing glanced back at Yuewu Hall, his heart filled with longing. ”The North Courtyard competition... I wonder when I’ll be qualified to enter.”

”Just focus on doing well in the Patrol Team for now.” Wen Daolun, however, was thinking of his old mother’s constant nagging. The Panlong Wasteland was too dangerous; she wanted him to just let Wen Xing serve as a Patrol Guard on the Chipa Plateau.

The old lady only ever thought about family matters. It didn’t matter if he achieved less; what mattered most was his safety.

Wen Xing stammered, ”My joining the Patrol Guard... it won’t cause people to criticize you, Father, will it?”

”Promoting family is not a taboo.” Wen Daolun patted his youngest son’s shoulder. ”You passed the martial examination and got in fair and square. What grounds do others have to criticize?” He let out a long sigh as he said this.

Wen Xing asked, puzzled, ”What is it, Father?”

Wen Daolun lamented, ”If only everyone had a pure heart, Panlong City wouldn’t have so many problems.”

The Wen Mansion was very close to the back gate of Yuewu Hall, so the father and son walked slowly along the riverbank, waiting for the guard to return with the lecture notes.

Panlong City had seven or eight inner rivers and numerous tributaries. Unlike the South Gate Square, which had hot springs, most of the rivers were frozen over in this weather, with a thick layer of ice on their surfaces.

The father and son passed a small bridge. Beneath the arch, near a pier, lay a gray stone larger than a millstone. Although its placement was a little strange, passersby paid it no mind.

Who would pay attention to a random rock under a bridge?

Yet, as Wen Daolun strolled past, the stone suddenly moved. In an instant, it sprouted arms, legs, a head, and a tail...

As if carried by a gentle breeze, the monster leaped from under the bridge arch in a single step, appearing before Wen Daolun and slamming right into him, immediately trying to twist his head off.

Its hands were like an eagle’s talons, the veins on their backs like steel bars. To finish off a Mage like Wen Daolun would only take a single SNAP.

Fortunately, though Wen Daolun was knocked off balance, a white light flashed in front of him. An illusion of frost flowers appeared in the air, and the monster was thrown back, slamming into the bridge with a THUD.

His Protective Spiritual Artifact had been triggered.

The surrounding pedestrians screamed and wisely scattered in all directions.

Solid ice had formed on the monster’s claws and mouth. Only now did they get a clear look at its form. It resembled both a monkey and a cat, but it was completely hairless. After touching the wooden bridge, its body naturally turned a dark brown.

This thing could change color and was skilled at camouflage.

The monster shook itself twice, and the solid ice instantly shattered. The remaining guard rushed forward to attack, while Wen Xing protected his father and retreated.

But the creature’s speed was astonishing, almost too fast for the naked eye to follow.

The guard managed to hold on for seven or eight breaths before being sent flying by a whip of its tail.

However, Wen Daolun seized the opportunity to throw five Bamboo Talismans. Four Yellow Talismans automatically positioned themselves around the monster, while the last one, a Cyan Talisman, hovered four feet above its head.

The monster knocked the guard away and charged at Wen Daolun again, but before it could take two steps, it was repelled by an invisible wall of air.

The wall of air showed a faint white mark where it struck. Then, solid ice quickly formed on the part of its body that made contact. If not removed quickly, the ice would spread over its entire body.

This was ”Drawing the Ground as Prison.” Wen Daolun had combined it with the Ice Condensation Technique for a more effective way to restrain his enemy.

The more frantically the monster rammed the wall, the more ice formed, making its body increasingly stiff.

But what no one noticed was that in the dark alley behind the Wen father and son, an insect was crawling out soundlessly.

It was called an insect, but it was actually larger than an adult man’s palm. It looked like a cricket, but its head was as sharp as an awl.

It hopped forward a few steps, aimed at Wen Daolun’s back, and shot out three sharp spines with a WHOOSH!

Wen Xing turned his head just in time to see it emerge from the shadows of a crack in the wall to strike. Without a second thought, he threw himself in front of his father.

With three soft thuds, the spines all struck Wen Xing.

Wen Daolun turned in shock and caught his son in his arms.

The cricket-like monster adjusted its angle, re-aiming at his forehead.

But just as it was about to fire again, a figure flashed out from behind. The person had yet to arrive, but the gleam of a blade came first.

Hee Lingchuan had arrived.

He saw the monster retract its head to fire its spines. They were over ten feet apart, and he feared he wouldn’t make it in time, so he unleashed a Wave Slash.

The branches on the ground in front of him didn’t even stir, but the monster’s head suddenly split open. The spine it was about to shoot from the tip of its forehead was also sliced in two by the faint gleam of the blade!

SQUIRT. A burst of green pulp erupted from it.

Having succeeded with one strike, Hee Lingchuan ignored everything else and rushed over to seal the acupoints near Wen Xing’s wounds.

”Wen Xing!” Wen Daolun’s focus was entirely on his son. The Drawing the Ground as Prison talismans immediately weakened, and with another ram, the trapped monster broke free from the talisman prison.

Just then, Great Wind Soldiers from Yuewu Hall rushed over and joined the fight, while the rest formed a protective circle around the Wen father and son.

The monster tried to lunge twice but was suppressed by the martial force of its opponents, accumulating numerous new wounds.

Trapped in the encirclement of fourteen or fifteen Great Wind Soldiers, it couldn’t use its abilities no matter how skilled it was.

Realizing it couldn’t win the fight, the monster stopped hesitating, turned, and leaped into the river.

The ice on the river was thick, but the water underneath was still flowing. With its talent for camouflage, it had a high chance of escape once it was in the water.

However, while the monster was still in mid-air, a long spear shot toward it like a bolt of lightning. It had no choice but to raise an arm to block.

It was an enraged strike from the arriving Xiao Maoliang.

With a solid THWACK, its left arm was pinned to the bridge.

The monster let out a great cry, twisted twice with all its might, and its left forearm actually detached on its own. It tried to leap into the river again, but the Great Wind Army had already fired three or four hooked ropes, forcefully dragging it back from the river’s surface.

”A Jindu Ghost!” Wen Daolun’s face was ashen. ”How can there be two of them!”

Panlong City had clearly killed nine of the Ghost Children in total!

Seeing the monster roaring ceaselessly while the wound on its left arm was gradually healing, Wen Daolun said to Hee Lingchuan, ”Take off its other arm and break its leg bones.”

Hee Lingchuan’s blade rose and fell. Amidst a splash of green blood, the monster lost another arm, and its legs were broken.

The Treasure Saber was so sharp that his companions clicked their tongues in amazement. One had to understand, this monster’s hide was incredibly thick; many of them, despite wielding Magical Artifacts, had been unable to break through its defense.

Wen Daolun immediately shoved a Crystal into its wound, ignoring the green blood corroding his fingers. He then took out a Bamboo Talisman and handed it to Xiao Maoliang. ”When a Jindu Cub is severely injured, it will return to its mother. Take this Tracking Talisman. It will glow when it gets close to the Crystal!”

Xiao Maoliang understood his meaning. He took the Tracking Talisman, and only after personally seeing it glow did he signal for the others to release the monster.

Regaining its freedom, the Jindu Cub let out a fierce howl at the crowd and leaped into the water.

Xiao Maoliang led his men in pursuit.

Meanwhile, Wen Daolun stuffed a few Life-Saving Pills into his son’s mouth, then picked him up and rushed into the Dulou of Yuewu Hall—the small building between the North and South Courtyards where Martial Artists usually rested.

It was the closest place with beds, medicine, and physicians.

The entire Yuewu Hall was thrown into commotion.

Aluo emerged from some corner, checked Wen Xing’s pulse, exchanged a few words with his colleagues, and then rushed outside, shouting as he went:

”Move, move! A life is on the line, get out of the way!”

He actually jumped onto a carriage and left.

When Hee Lingchuan saw the vacant look in Wen Daolun’s eyes, he knew the situation was dire.

By now, Wen Xing had fallen into a coma, and the blood trickling from the corner of his mouth was green. Wen Daolun wiped it away again and again, pressing a hand to his own forehead.

”Just now... thank you.” He actually had the presence of mind to thank Hee Lingchuan.

If it weren’t for this young man, he would have followed in his son’s footsteps. The father and son would likely be lying side-by-side right now.

There were too many people in Yuewu Hall. Annoyed, Wen Daolun shooed most of them out, leaving only Hee Lingchuan and two guards.

The three spines had been pulled out and placed to the side.

Hee Lingchuan observed the three weapons. They were about the length of toothpicks but had a wood-like grain and a spiraling, bark-like pattern of cracks on their surface.

The little monster that shot them was also lying on a tray. Based on the feel of his blade slicing through it, Hee Lingchuan judged that its defense was low; its abilities seemed to be entirely focused on sneak attacks.

The room suddenly fell silent. Wen Daolun kept watch by his son’s side, staring at him blankly, lost in a trance and occasionally muttering to himself.

He spoke so vaguely that Hee Lingchuan only caught a few intermittent words:

”Could it be... is this the time...?”

Before long, Aluo returned, and he had brought reinforcements—

his adoptive father, the Pill Bureau Chief Pharmacist, Helian Chen.

After entering Yuewu Hall, Helian Chen didn’t even have time to greet Wen Daolun before he went to treat Wen Xing.

When they opened his clothing again, the blood flowing from Wen Xing’s wounds was now pure green. The surrounding skin had also become hard and brittle, turning an iron-gray color with fine lines running through it—

To put it simply, his skin looked like it was turning into tree bark.

Of the three spines, he had blocked one by raising his arm, one had hit his abdomen, and the last had struck his leg.

Therefore, all three locations were showing signs of turning into bark, and the effect was slowly spreading outwards.

A peculiar fragrance also filled the air. Hee Lingchuan couldn’t quite place it; it was a bit like honey, and a bit like pine resin.

The fact that such a pleasant aroma was emanating from Wen Xing’s wounds made everyone feel even more unsettled.

When Helian Chen finally stepped back, Wen Daolun hurriedly asked him, ”How is he?”