After the Immortal Disappeared

Chapter 352: Chapter 351: Second Madam Zhu’s Gift

”This nine-holed Xun can only be sounded once,” Second Madam Zhu reminded him. ”This is a grave matter. Do not act recklessly.”

The Xun was not quite gold, yet not quite clay. It was dark brown and completely unadorned. He tapped it with a finger. ”What is this made of?”

”It was forged from my older sister’s eye sockets,” Second Madam Zhu said eerily. ”In the Ancient Times, her Magical Power was greater than mine.”

Hee Lingchuan’s hand, which had been toying with the Ancient Xun, froze. ”Hm? Your sister?” ’Second Madam Zhu’s sister... could she be called... Aunt Zhu?’

”Of course.”

’Their mother was so lazy with names.’ The question then arose, ”Second Madam, how many siblings do you have?”

”There were seven hundred sixty-five of us at birth.”

”...” ’So prolific.’ ”And how many are alive now?”

Second Madam Zhu fell silent and changed the subject. ”You all can leave tomorrow. I need to rest for at least one night before I can grant you a Divine Technique.”

No one objected, so they spent the night in the ruins of the Jiana Race.

Steward Zhao knew his hope of leaving the swamp rested entirely on Hee Lingchuan, so he was exceedingly deferential to the two of them. Hee Lingchuan took the opportunity to ask him about the customs and conditions of the outside world.

After all, the world outside the Demon Nest Swamp was now a strange and completely new place to him.

A short while later, Second Madam Zhu came over again. She pulled out a Snake Skin Bag, upended it over an empty patch of ground, and startled everyone nearby:

What tumbled out was, shockingly, an entire Giant Python!

It was Lord Boshan.

Though it was just a corpse, its massive body still emanated a powerful, oppressive aura.

Second Madam Zhu had already extracted all the venom and requested the trading team’s help in processing the carcass, asking them to separate the skin, meat, and gallbladder. Human hands were so dexterous; it would be a waste not to use this free labor.

Steward Zhao readily complied. The Porters and assistants in the trading team were seasoned merchants who had spent years on the road. Catching wild boars, snakes, or rabbits to supplement their meals was routine for them. This snake, however, was just a bit bigger than usual, measuring seven to eight zhang (about twenty-five or twenty-six meters) long.

Prey killed by Second Madam Zhu usually showed no obvious wounds on the surface. Hee Lingchuan drew his Floating Life Blade and slit the Giant Python open, as no one else’s blades could pierce Lord Boshan’s hide.

While everyone was busy, Steward Zhao suddenly approached Hee Lingchuan. ”Young Master Hee, could we go and find the bodies of the other bandits? They plundered all our valuables before we entered the swamp.”

With Tuu Zhongli dead, they wanted to reclaim their belongings.

Hee Lingchuan saw no reason to refuse. He found a few Spider Guards who had participated in the battle to act as guides and entered Lord Boshan’s territory.

This area also had a typical swamp landscape, but it was only half the size of Second Madam Zhu’s domain. Prey like capybaras, deer, and rabbits were clearly not as abundant as in her territory. No wonder Lord Boshan was always trying to cross the border and even colluded with the Civilized King to raid the Earth Cave Spider Nest.

If their raid had succeeded, they would have obtained a Spider Shedding for research and could have used it to blackmail Second Madam Zhu into ceding territory.

Who could have predicted it would end like this?

Soon, they reached the battlefield where the spiders and snakes had fought.

There were tracks on the ground showing where giant creatures had passed, but overall, the destruction was not extensive, with only seven or eight trees knocked over. The battle between these two did not have the kind of earth-shattering visual spectacle one might expect.

However, the surrounding area was littered with snake carcasses of all sizes.

The fallen spiders had already been carried back by their own kind; only the bodies of their enemies remained.

As the group continued forward, a Spider Guard suddenly reared up its front half and let out a threatening CHITTER. Immediately after, there was a RUSTLE in the bushes, and several wild boars bolted out, disappearing into the distance in a flash.

The Wild Boar King really did want to expand his territory here.

Both the humans and the Spider Guards raised their guard, wary that the massive Pig Demon might charge out from anywhere.

But the surroundings remained quiet. Nothing of the sort happened, even as they left the battlefield.

Perhaps Lord Boshan’s death had instilled such fear of Second Madam Zhu’s power in the Civilized King that he wouldn’t dare cause trouble anytime soon.

Led by the Spider Guards, Hee Lingchuan and the others collected the bodies of the bandits.

The men had scattered while fleeing, and their bodies were strewn about where the spiders had caught and killed them.

Now it was the trading team’s turn to search their bodies. It was a perfect example of the tables turning.

Soon, someone let out a cheer—he had actually found two golden beans.

Hee Lingchuan wasn’t idle, either.

After leaving the Yuan Army and his old man, he was no longer Eldest Young Master Hee. From now on, he had to fend for himself.

’There were too many things that required money.’

Once the looting was complete, the group returned to the ruins. The spiders surprisingly came forward and handed Tuu Zhongli’s body over to Hee Lingchuan.

The unlucky bastard was wrapped tightly in spider silk, his bulging eyes filled with unwillingness to accept his fate.

Steward Zhao rummaged through the corpse and, sure enough, found quite a few valuables.

He didn’t dare get greedy. After taking a few items, he said to Hee Lingchuan, ”Young Master Hee, these are all your spoils of war.”

Hee Lingchuan saw that the steward was clever, having left the largest silver ingots and most valuable items for him.

He didn’t inspect them too closely, simply sweeping everything into his Storage Ring. However, among the items was a rabbit-shaped Cyan Jade Pendant. Just holding it made him feel much lighter on his feet, as if he’d suddenly lost dozens of pounds.

’Tuu Zhongli actually had a Magical Artifact like this?’ It was a pleasant surprise. He casually hung it from his waist.

With the boost from this item, combined with his Swallow Returning Body Technique, his speed could reach a whole new level. Sometimes, burying your head in arduous training might not yield any progress; you had to rely on the power of artifacts.

At that moment, a swarm of spiders emerged from the rear, preparing to occupy Lord Boshan’s territory.

With the jungle tyrant dead, Second Madam Zhu would naturally seize the opportunity to consolidate and expand her own domain.

Back when she was building her nest and running her operations in the Ghost Needle Stone Forest of the Panlong Wasteland, she had been glorious. All the major powers in the Wilderness had tried to curry favor with her. Now, her offspring numbered less than a fifth of what she had then, and her overall strength had dropped by more than a tier.

...

Before dawn the next day, everyone rose and packed their bags.

Second Madam Zhu had spent the night digesting the essence of Lord Boshan’s flesh and blood. Her movements were now much smoother, and her three injured legs could touch the ground as she walked.

She gave Hee Lingchuan three pieces of amber, each sealing a drop of red blood within.

”This is the essence of flesh and blood I extracted from Lord Boshan, mixed with my own Essence Blood,” Second Madam Zhu said solemnly. ”There are two ways to use it: If you are grievously injured, you can drink a drop to heal yourself. Even a severed limb will grow back within one double-hour. However, you can only drink one drop every twenty-four double-hours, and only on the condition that you are severely wounded. Otherwise, your body will explode, and you will die.”

She explained, ”It combines the Life Force of two Demon Kings. Even for a High Tier human Martial Artist, it is far too violent.”

Hee Lingchuan accepted it carefully. Second Madam Zhu had promised to give him a life-saving Divine Technique, and she had indeed kept her word. ”And the second way to use it?”

”As you crush the amber, silently recite the three words ’Blood Fang Guard’. This will summon three Blood Fang Guards, each specializing in offense, defense, or healing.” Second Madam Zhu summoned a Giant Spider the size of a small calf to demonstrate. ”A Blood Fang Guard is a size larger than this one, much sturdier and fiercer. They have their own Divine Techniques and will be excellent helpers in battle.”

She seemed to sigh. ”Spiritual Qi has waned since the Middle Ages, so I no longer produce such offspring. However, by borrowing my power and Lord Boshan’s, you can temporarily summon them to the Mortal World for two quarters of an hour at most.”

It was indeed a fine item. Hee Lingchuan put it away carefully.

Finally, she took out a Cloud Brocade Banner and gave it to Hee Lingchuan right under the noses of the Gan’s Trading Team. ”This is a specially made Passage Command. You can use it to leave the swamp. Remember, when passing through the Mirage Mist, there must be no loud talking, laughing, or fooling around. If you wake the Mirage Demon, this banner may not be able to protect you on your way out.”

She then turned to Steward Zhao. ”The Gan Family must wholeheartedly escort him to Lingxu City. Whatever he wants, you give him; whatever he tells you to do, you do.” Second Madam Zhu’s tone was ice-cold. ”Otherwise, you can forget about ever setting foot in the Demon Nest Swamp again!”

Steward Zhao and the others repeatedly answered, ”Yes.”

The spiders had already finished reloading the goods onto the trading team’s large carts. The group found their bearings and slowly drove away from Second Madam Zhu’s territory.

Further ahead, a white mist did indeed drift out from the depths of the jungle, reducing visibility to less than ten zhang. The croaking of frogs and chirping of insects sounded near one moment and far the next, their locations impossible to pinpoint.

Ordinary creatures who wandered in here would get lost, trapped in the dense fog forever.

Steward Zhao, experienced from many trips, had already ordered his men to tie the carts together in a line with ropes. Now, he asked Hee Lingchuan to plant the banner on the lead carriage.

The banner emitted a green light, and the thick fog within a fifty-zhang radius suddenly receded into the distance, revealing the true scenery.

The compass also began to work normally.

The trading team didn’t dare make a sound, advancing in silence. Along the way, they saw many dead beasts by the roadside, all of them having wandered into the Mirage Mist and been trapped until they died.

Steward Zhao whispered to Hee Lingchuan that in truth, all creatures both inside and outside the swamp feared the dense fog and usually stayed far away from it. Only newborns or clueless outsiders were so ignorant and fearless.

Within the dense fog, Hee Lingchuan thought he saw a blurry shadow. It looked like a rabbit, yet also like a fox, but it was quite large, with a tail swaying gently behind it.

But no matter how he strained his eyes, the figure remained indistinct and blurry, lacking any clarity.

Hee Lingchuan had no idea what it was, or even how far it was from the caravan.

He looked at Steward Zhao, who waved his hands repeatedly, signaling that there was no need to worry.

Before long, the figure disappeared.

There were no more incidents on the rest of the journey. After traveling for over a double-hour, the trading team finally emerged from the shroud of Mirage Mist and left the territory of the Demon Nest Swamp!

The moment the thick fog dissipated and their vision cleared, the men cheered.

They were safe!

They had finally returned to the familiar Mortal World.

”Are we in Fu Kingdom territory?”

”Not yet, not yet. This is a Three Non-Management Zone,” Steward Zhao said with a genuine smile. ”Another fifteen li ahead, and we’ll welcome you two as guests in our Fu Kingdom.”

Dong Rui, who had been silent the whole way, suddenly spoke up. ”Alright, I’ll see you in the Beiga Capital in four months. I’m leaving now.”

The two Spider Puppets immediately moved to his side.

Hee Lingchuan smiled. ”Not coming with us?” ’This guy was holding back before, claiming he only made one Spider Puppet when he actually had two.’ Seeing as he still had business to attend to, Second Madam Zhu hadn’t reclaimed them.

Dong Rui snorted. ”I have other matters to attend to. We’ll meet again.” With that, he leaped onto a Demon Puppet. The thing scurried away on its eight legs, SKITTERING into the jungle behind the trees and vanishing from sight.

The two of them had been enemies, yet they had spent more than ten days together, seemingly united but inwardly divided. Now that the pressure from Second Madam Zhu was gone, Dong Rui reverted to his taciturn self and took the first chance to slip away.