After the Immortal Disappeared

Chapter 418: Chapter 417: Picked Up a Person

The private room was obviously clear. The three men finished their search and left, treating Hee Lingchuan as if he didn’t exist. The owl went out with them.

Hee Lingchuan didn’t bother arguing with them, just leaning against the doorframe to watch the show.

The men went from room to room, their search stirring up utter chaos.

Since they were disrupting legitimate business, the bouncers were quick to arrive.

After a brief, heated exchange, a brawl broke out between the two groups.

All hell broke loose.

Hee Lingchuan suddenly pulled the door halfway shut, crossed his arms, and looked back into the room.

”Come on out.”

No one made a sound.

He continued to speak to the empty air. ”If you don’t come out, I’m calling those guys back in.”

Only then did a figure stroll out from behind the screen and lean against the wall to ask him:

”How did you know someone came in?”

Hee Lingchuan, of course, had no intention of telling him that his Eye Spider had come out for a breather and seen everything from its perch on a roof beam.

Instead, he retorted, ”Why are you in such a wretched state?”

Yes, he recognized the man who had climbed in through the window. It was Fushan Yue, the very person he’d fought just a few days ago!

Except now, the man was covered in blood, his left arm twisted at an unnatural angle. He possessed none of the valiant aura from their last encounter.

Fushan Yue slowly shuffled over to a chair and took a few gasping breaths. He looked completely drained. ”Getting revenge is hard work.”

”Did you manage to kill the mastermind?”

”Not yet, but he will be dead soon.” Fushan Yue told him, ”Close the door.”

Hee Lingchuan didn’t move. ”And why should I help you?”

”They’re silencing everyone who was seen with me,” Fushan Yue said grimly. ”In the past three days, they’ve killed two restaurant waiters, a woman, and a mother and daughter who were in my carriage. I suspect their orders are to kill anyone who appears with me, no questions asked.”

”It might be a hassle for them to kill you, but you have a whole merchant caravan, don’t you?”

Hee Lingchuan frowned. ”They’d kill me even if I turned you in?”

Fushan Yue gave him a bloody-toothed grin. ”You’re welcome to try.”

By this point, the fight downstairs was over: the bouncers were no match for the intruders.

After searching all the private rooms, they headed out, looking as if they were going to the Red Hall across the street.

That was a dangerous move. Sooner or later, they would provoke a Local Bully.

Hee Lingchuan didn’t call out to them. Instead, he simply swung the door shut.

It wasn’t that he particularly wanted to help Fushan Yue; it was just that the men downstairs were too arrogant and tyrannical.

”Those are some nasty injuries. Will regular medicine even work on you?” Even to Hee Lingchuan’s eyes, Fushan Yue’s condition was severe. Some of his wounds weren’t obvious, but they were clearly caused by an explosion.

Explosions typically damage one’s internal organs.

”Or does eating people heal you faster?”

The guy was a Ba, after all. He was bound to have his own special diet and methods of self-healing.

”Medicine works. I’m part human, you could say. As for eating people... mortals are full of impurities. I’d need to eat at least three or five of them.” Fushan Yue stared at Hee Lingchuan, unconsciously licking his lips. ’This one looks incredibly nutritious, but I can’t handle his counterattack in my current state.’

He gestured with his broken arm. ”A little help?”

Hee Lingchuan ignored his predatory gaze, walked over, and grabbed his forearm, probing it. ”Huh? It’s already started to knit? When did this happen?”

”This morning.”

’This guy’s healing factor is amazing.’ ”Too bad it’s setting crooked. I’ll have to break it again to set it properly. Brace yourself.”

”Could you just—AARGH!”

With a sickening CRACK, Hee Lingchuan snapped his arm again, then asked with an innocent expression, ”You were saying?”

Fushan Yue used every ounce of his willpower to stifle a scream. His face went white with pain, and he could barely get the word out: ”Anes...”

”...thetic?” Hee Lingchuan finished for him, feigning regret. ”You should have said so sooner! I would’ve numbed it for you first.” With that, he swiftly set the bone.

He used splints he’d ripped from the room divider.

Fushan Yue took a long, deep breath. He knew Hee Lingchuan was taking the opportunity to get a little payback, but he could only swallow his bitterness. ”Do you have any medicine? I’ll take it.”

Hee Lingchuan produced several types of wound medicine, both for internal consumption and topical application.

It was all high-quality Spirit Medicine that Lingguang had made for him in the past. Every time he used it, he was reminded of Monkey.

”This stuff is expensive. Use it sparingly.” He himself couldn’t produce medicine of such quality.

”Stingy.” ’How can someone so skilled be such a penny-pincher?’ Fushan Yue gritted his teeth. ”I’ll pay you back tenfold later.”

”Why later? Pay up now.” Hee Lingchuan held out his hand. ”I’ll even give you a friendship discount of twenty percent. Thirty silver taels!”

”I don’t have it now!” Fushan Yue said, struggling. ”Didn’t I already give you all the money I had?”

He’d given him the silver taels along with a land deed; he didn’t have a penny to his name! A few days ago, he had even pawned his Black Jade Ring for a wood carving.

”You’re a Prince. How’d you end up this poor?” Hee Lingchuan held back an even more malicious question:

’Didn’t your daddy give you an allowance?’

”I don’t usually carry much on me,” Fushan Yue shot him a look. ”Besides, I used up my most valuable Profound Crystals activating the Mountain-Moving Array in Fufeng City a few days ago. And for that, I have you to thank!”

’They had agreed to a truce back in Fufeng City, but then this bastard had turned around and reported him. When the Government Office raided the inn, he’d had to risk his life and spend a fortune just to escape.’

’Heh. And this Hee character still had the nerve to ask him for money?’

”You’re most welcome. We’ll put it on your tab, then. Just remember what you said about paying me back tenfold.” Hee Lingchuan stood up and stretched. ”I’m going to order some food. You want anything?”

”Just get me the same as you.”

Hee Lingchuan stepped outside, ordered food from a waiter, and added, ”Some people barged in on me while I was in the bath. Are you just going to let that slide?”

The Jinquan Bathhouse was still dealing with the fallout from the search, and the other customers were all cursing up a storm. Hee Lingchuan’s tone was by far the friendliest, plus he had placed a large order, so the waiter quickly offered a placating smile. ”How about we cut your bath fee in half and throw in two complimentary desserts?”

”Fine. And those guys...?”

”Don’t you worry, sir. Someone will be settling the score with them.”

Before long, two huge bowls of shredded chicken noodle soup, six steamers of pan-fried buns, and two refreshing side dishes were delivered. True to his word, the waiter also brought a complimentary plate of mung bean pastries and a portion of drunken pears.

The chicken broth was rich and savory, the noodles perfectly chewy. The filling in the pan-fried buns was particularly noteworthy, mixed with sand onions. It was just the right season for them—fragrant, piquant, crisp, and tender with a hint of sweetness. Hee Lingchuan couldn’t stop himself, devouring six in a row before taking a large bite of drunken pear and letting out a long, satisfied sigh.

”Amazing!”

The drunken pears were pear slices soaked in sweet wine, brown sugar, and plums—perfect for cutting through the richness of the meal.

Fushan Yue had changed into clean clothes and was now eating his noodles with bamboo chopsticks, his movements just as unrestrained as Hee Lingchuan’s.

After being on the run for the past few days, he hadn’t had a single proper meal.

”So, spill it. Who’s after you?”

”Uncle Da, the chief of my father’s Hidden Guard,” Fushan Yue said. ”I never expected Father to assign him to my second brother, along with a Guard Corps of seven or eight men.”

Hee Lingchuan quickly seized on the key point. ”So the one scheming against you from behind the scenes, is it your father or your second brother?”

”Maybe both. But my second brother was the one who acted, so I didn’t hold back either.”

’Looks like he went to settle the score with his little brother a few days ago.’ ”He’s not dead?”

”Not yet.” Fushan Yue chuckled. ”I was planning to take my time with him, but then Uncle Da arrived. Still, I managed to pick off several of their guards over the last few days.”

’So he’s not just being hunted; they’re hunting each other?’ ”What about your followers?”

”All dead. Uncle Da is not easy to deal with. But I did manage to stab Fushan Ji twice with Woodification Poison just now.” The price for that, of course, was his own wretched condition. ”He shouldn’t live past dawn.”

’No wonder he looks so relieved. He just eliminated his biggest rival for the throne.’

”So why did you and your brother have a falling out, anyway?”

”Our father prefers my younger brother, while the Deities prefer me.” Fushan Yue shrugged. ”What are brothers, if not enemies? Oh, do you have any?”

Hee Lingchuan ignored the question and asked one of his own, ”The Deities prefer you?”

”That’s right. An heir who receives the favor of the Deities has a much better chance of becoming king,” Fushan Yue said with a smile. ”You’re an outsider, so you wouldn’t know, but that’s an ironclad rule in the Demon Kingdom.”

”So when it comes to the succession, the Demon King has no autonomy?”

”You can’t really say that. But the whole thing is too complicated to explain in a few words.” Fushan Yue slurped his noodles. ”Are you on your way to Lingxu City?”

Hee Lingchuan nodded.

”Once you cross the Twilight Plateau and head further north, you’ll reach the Chiyan Kingdom. Take me with you.”

”I’m worried you’ll drag us into your mess.” ’The man the King of Chiyan wants dead would be traveling with their caravan. Did they really want to pick a fight with the ultimate Local Bully?’

”That won’t happen. They only have the guts to make a move outside the kingdom,” Fushan Yue said with an air of confidence. ”I’m the firstborn son. I have supporters in the country and at the Royal Court. They would never dare to act against me so brazenly.”

”Why is your father so concerned about his successor?” Great Demons have incredibly long lives, far exceeding those of Human Monarchs. The title of Crown Prince is often just a formality; some, like the King of Treasure Tree, don’t even name one to avoid complications. And yet, the King of Chiyan was already thinking about who would inherit his throne. That could only mean... ”Don’t tell me his lifespan is nearing its end?”

Fushan Yue chuckled. ”That’s a secret.”

’A secret, but not a denial.’

Fushan Yue added, ”I wouldn’t say my ascension is a sure thing, but I’d give it a seventy to eighty percent chance. If you’re a businessman with any foresight, you’ll recognize this is a worthwhile investment.”

Hee Lingchuan smiled. ”I’ll have to discuss it with Shi the Second. It’s his caravan, and he’s the one responsible for the dozens of lives in it.”

Fushan Yue shrugged, having no objection.

The room’s soundproofing was terrible, and light bled through the cracks, so Hee Lingchuan had shut the door and windows long ago. The two of them were speaking in hushed tones. Suddenly, they heard faint footsteps outside, followed by three gentle knocks on the window—one long, two short.

Hee Lingchuan had just set down his chopsticks when Fushan Yue said, ”It’s fine. Open it.”

The window opened, and a small head peeked inside.

It was a young girl, six or seven years old, with dusky skin and large eyes. Her hair and clothes were filthy, and she was painfully thin, little more than skin and bones. Hee Lingchuan didn’t have time to notice anything else, because her mouth immediately drew all his attention:

Her upper and lower lips had been sewn shut with common thread, making her look like a cruelly pranked rag doll.

There were ten crude stitches, which lay across her mouth like a grotesque centipede. The bloodstains had already blackened, meaning it must have been done at least three days ago.

With her mouth sewn shut, she obviously couldn’t eat, and even drinking water would have been a struggle. As a result, her lips were cracked and bleeding, and she looked severely dehydrated.