Where Immortals Once Walked

Even though the city had oil shops, distilleries, and coal stores, all the buildings were made of wood. Still, with just a handful of people, burning down an entire city would be no small feat. No matter what, they had to gather as much kindling as they could.

Once the others had left, He Lingchuan doubled back and quietly slipped into the Zhong Residence, landing softly in an empty room.

The room was spacious, with a large and a small bed, two chairs, and a dressing table.

After Sun Fuping had fired the signal arrow earlier, He Lingchuan had used the commotion of summoning everyone to take a look around this official residence, searching every corner of it.

He had not found anything useful at the time, but after their recent discussion, something made him want to check it out again.

Each official residence was small and simple, providing just enough space to eat, sleep, and live. This particular room was Zhong Shengguang and his wife’s bedroom.

The large bed was neatly made, the bedding folded just so, and above the headboard hung a treasured saber, its hilt shaped like a flood dragon swallowing a ring.

It definitely required the temperament of a hardened military man to hang such a deadly weapon above the bed one shared with their wife. As for the small bed right next to the large one, it should have been for their daughter, Zhong Wuhan.

The small bed was only a meter long, so an adult could not even curl up on it. On the headboard were a little wooden horse, a wooden soldier waving a sword, and opposite them, a fierce-looking cloth tiger.

No, wait, it should be a cloth leopard, modeled after the sand leopards. It even has its distinctive round spots.

Just those three toys together told a whole story.

He picked up the leopard and saw a few small words embroidered on its belly: “My child, Wuhan.”

At the foot of the bed, there was even a small cloth doll stuffed away.

He Lingchuan walked over to the dressing table, where he found a set of cosmetics and a bronze mirror. Everything was laid out in perfect order.

He picked them up one by one to inspect them and found that the back of the mirror held a comb.

His eyes brightened as he held the comb up to the light and murmured, “So it’s here.”

It was an unadorned wooden comb, simple in design, and on the back was painted a single pale blue flower.

The pigment likely came from finely ground shellfish, which is what gave the flower its distinctive sky-blue hue.

Just the flower alone allowed He Lingchuan to immediately recognize that this comb was the very keepsake that the sand leopards had carried away when Panlong City fell.

This was the very object that had sparked conflict between the He Family and the Minister of War’s household.

But for now, the comb was whole, utterly untouched by fire.

“Zhong Shengguang’s wife died not long after giving birth to their daughter, so of course, he kept the comb as a memento.” He glanced at the small bed and muttered to himself, “But that can’t be it... Zhong Wuhuan shouldn’t have been born yet at this point. Zhong Shengguang wouldn’t know if it would be a boy or a girl, but he’d already prepared the baby’s bed.”

If Commander Zhong already knew what gender his child would be, then he wouldn’t have put several boyish toys at the head of the bed. It even looks like he had carved them himself.

“This must have been the happiest time of his life,” He Lingchuan thought. A promising career ahead and a beloved wife about to give birth.

He idly pulled open a hidden drawer in the dressing table. Inside were a few pieces of jewelry, all simple in material, but one thing caught his eye.

It was a necklace with a crescent moon-shaped amulet.

It looked so familiar that He Lingchuan instinctively tugged out the amulet hanging at his own neck.

It’s the exact same thing! One exists here in the illusion, and the other in reality! Even if their forms have shifted, they’re still essentially the same!

This means that even before his daughter was born, Zhong Shengguang was already in possession of the divine bone amulet!

Something clicked for He Lingchuan. He carefully put the comb back and slipped out of the room.

As soon as he left the residence, he found someone waiting outside.

It was Mao Tao.

He Lingchuan jumped. “Would it kill you to make a sound? You nearly scared me to death!”

“Young Master, let me go with you. I’ll do all the work!” Mao Tao grinned, looking a little too eager. “It really feels like someone’s watching me, waiting to pounce the moment I’m alone.”

“If there is, it isn’t a person,” He Lingchuan replied, not rejecting his claim. That prickling, watched feeling was something that he had been feeling as well. It really was probably safer to move together.

Mao Tao pointed ahead and said, “I remember there’s a big restaurant over that way.”

He Lingchuan glanced back at the Zhong Residence. “It’s too close. Leave that for the defensive artillery on the city wall. We should head further out.”

Both of them knew a bit of martial arts, so they ran swiftly, moving with ease.

After about half an hour, the road narrowed and the buildings grew sparse. In the area they currently were, there were sprawling warehouses, relay stations, and even open threshing grounds. These places were far from any city gate, so even if the wall-mounted defensive artillery could reach them, a single volley would likely fail to set it all ablaze.

This was where manpower was needed.

They climbed into a workshop, found a handcart, and loaded up a dozen barrels of tung oil[1]. They also grabbed a couple of sturdy planks to use as torches, then wheeled their loot outside.

Wherever they went, they splashed oil on wood, bedding, thatch, or anything flammable before setting them ablaze.

After traveling several kilometers and setting fires as they went, they looked back to see flames lighting up the night sky.

Mao Tao pointed west. “See that black smoke? It looks like the state preceptor’s working hard too.”

He Lingchuan glanced over, then kept at his task. “But that’s not the real target.”

Mao Tao was puzzled. “Target? What target?”

“We decided to burn down the city only because we couldn’t find the real key to breaking this place, so we’re relying on brute force. Otherwise, a single firebolt would have been enough.” He Lingchuan was perfectly clear-headed. “On the flip side, setting fire to random places is pointless. Only when we hit the real target will this illusion unravel.”

Mao Tao swung his arms and sighed. “How much longer do we have to keep this up?” He was worn out. He Lingchuan had made him play pack mule, hauling the oil cart around.

Even a real donkey would drop dead after hauling a full cart of oil for five kilometers.

The thought of having to burn down the whole city made his skin crawl.

“You should be grateful,” He Lingchuan said with a sinister grin. “The real breaking point isn’t in our sector. This should be your good luck from a past life. Think about Tao Bo’s fate. If the illusion shatters, could you handle the consequences?”

After all, Tao Bo had not had a much better end than his companions. His bones were not even left behind. Mao Tao shivered. “Let’s hurry up and meet back up with the state preceptor.”

He Lingchuan chuckled. “Thanks to you, we won’t be finishing so soon.”

Because Mao Tao had come looking for him, the entire northern section of Panlong City was still untouched by fire. “Now, tell me the real reason you came looking for me.”

Mao Tao froze. “I... I was just scared.”

He Lingchuan had no patience for him. “Then head back up north.”

“Wait, I’ll talk! I just hadn’t made up my mind.” Mao Tao wiped sweat from his brow. “Earlier, when the state preceptor was reading Tao Bo’s journal, he was unaware that I actually lived in Tong City in the State of Baling for twelve years before following Boss Situ. I even went to school there, up until my stepfather was killed in a business dispute...”

“Enough. Get to the point!”

“...Baling’s script, I can actually read some of it.”

He Lingchuan stopped in his tracks. “Are you saying that the state preceptor tried to hide something from us?”

Just as I thought, that old fox was keeping things from us!

1. Tung oil or China wood oil is a drying oil obtained by pressing the seed from the nut of the tung tree. ☜