Where Immortals Once Walked

“And what else?” Lu Han prodded. “If I wanted to cast a spell or a curse against you, what more would I need to know? There are plenty of people with the same name. What if I curse the wrong one?”

“Uh... The date and hour of birth, or the Four Pillars of Destiny[1]”>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Pillars_of_Destiny.[/ref] that come with it?”

“Exactly. What makes you you are your Four Pillars of Destiny and the name given to you by your parents.” Lu Han laughed. “So all I need to do is have the registry changed. I merely have to rename myself as He Chunhua, and replace the information of my birth with his. Then, when I go to Xia Province as the new governor-general, once I lift a Yuan Coin, that cursed thing will light right up! Well, changing one’s birth record isn’t simple, as I will have to undergo the Ritual of Rebirth and Transformation[2] in order to fool Heaven’s eyes, but it’s been done before, and I’ve got just the connections needed to go through with it.”

He snapped his fingers, then continued, “One way or another, we need to get hold of his official seal and his appointment papers. Once we reach Xia Province, you may all have to call me—”

In unison, his men said, “Lord He!”

Laughter rang out all around. Then, one of the underlings ventured timidly, “So, should we move tonight?”

Originally, General Lu said that they would let these soldiers go, parting ways in the morning.

“No!” Lu Han threw out a great wave of his arm, his voice booming with confidence. “Hold your positions. No one is to strike first!”

The crowd blinked in surprise. Aren’t we supposed to seize the seal and papers? Why are we going to wait then?

But one of his most trusted subordinates quickly caught on and said, “General Lu wants to push the battle to tomorrow. That way, Wu and Pei’s teams can join in as well.”

“The men that dog official brought along must have been carefully picked. They’re all definitely hardy fighters with real experience on the battlefield. Furthermore, with a mandate token, their troops will be supported by origin energy, meaning that three hundred of them can easily fight with the might of four hundred,” Lu Han said coolly. “Even if we wiped them out, we’d bleed heavily. If we then had to turn around and face Wu and Pei, we’d be the ones at a loss. So, it’s better to wait until everyone gathers, and then take these dog official’s troops as the blood sacrifice to raise our banner. Wouldn’t that be better?”

The men voiced their agreement at once.

Just then, noise erupted outside. The sound of many people shouting rang aloud.

The last thing Lu Han wanted at that moment was an accident. He tossed aside the duck leg, wiped his greasy hand on his trouser leg, and strode out.

* * *

Fatty Wang pushed his way into the house and plopped down into a bamboo chair.

Creak!

The bamboo chair groaned miserably beneath his bulk, looking and sounding as though it might collapse.

Before men of rank, such behavior was brazenly rude, but he no longer cared. He glared at Mrs. Zhu and snapped, “Have you gone stupid? Hurry and pour me... and the young master both a cup of water.”

He could not lash out at that damn brat, but scolding his “own” woman was still on the table.

Mrs. Zhu turned silently toward the kitchen. She had barely taken two steps when the fat man slapped her on the hip. “Move it!”

She looked back, and the brute force in his eyes made her skin crawl.

He Lingchuan chuckled and said, “So you’ve had a few years of schooling, at least enough to say ‘your presence lends brilliance to my humble, little home.’”

“Ah, yes.” Meanwhile, Fatty Wang repeated inwardly to himself, Stay calm, stay calm. Later, I can rip this kid’s tongue out. As for whether I’ll roast it or pickle it spicy, that’ll be up to my mood.

He Lingchuan changed the subject. “So, do you work under Boss Lu?”

“What?” Fatty Wang was startled. “Ah, n-no.”

“Then, does that mean that Boss Lu’s been gone a few years and only just returned?”

Fatty Wang froze. He did not have a prepared answer for that. “I don’t remember. Why are you asking so much?”

“I just think Boss Lu must have quite a story,” said He Lingchuan with a shrug. “Well then, let’s change the topic. How long have you and Mrs. Zhu been married?”

Years of toil under the sun and wind had darkened Mrs. Zhu’s skin, and her cheeks were ruddy from labor. But if one looked closely, her features were actually quite delicate, her figure trim and graceful.

“Her?” The question caught Fatty Wang off guard, and he blurted, “We’ve been married many years.”

“How did she end up with...” He Lingchuan looked up and down at the man’s bulk before continuing, “You? No offense, but the two of you don’t exactly... match.” It was like a pretty flower stuck in dung, or a gem buried in mud.

Fatty Wang’s face flushed—not with shame, but with swelling rage.

He barked, “Out of all the men in the village, she chose me! Said she wouldn’t marry anyone else! Why shouldn’t she?”

“Of course, of course,” said He Lingchuan lightly. “I just can’t figure out what she saw in you. Was it your snoring? Or your habit of skipping baths?”

“I have money!” Fatty Wang spat the words through gritted teeth. “I went out years ago to make my fortune, then came back with it!”

He Lingchuan gave a soft sigh and muttered something that sounded like “a bright pearl covered with dust.” Then, he asked, “And how many children do you have?”

“...Two.” Why is this brat deliberately picking at me? Has he taken a liking to Mrs. Zhu? Or has he already made contact with her somehow?

Fatty Wang had been fuming so hot a moment ago that he had not thought much of it. Now that his temper cooled, suspicion began to creep in.

“And where are the children?” He Lingchuan cast a glance toward the inner room. “I don’t hear them.”

The house beyond was silent.

The fat man clearly had the temper of a powder keg, yet despite the repeated jabs and insults, he had not blown up. That, to He Lingchuan, was telling. These fellows must be saving themselves for a late-night strike.

Fatty Wang faltered. The boy’s questions came like cannon fire, one after another, fast and hard, impossible to fend off.

Fortunately, he had some wits about him. “We sent them to some relatives in town. We wanted to let them play for a few days before coming back.”

He dreaded the next question being, “Which relatives?”

Thankfully, the question never came.

At that moment, Mrs. Zhu emerged with a kettle of hot water and two wooden cups, pouring some water for them both.

Neither man touched the drink.

Fatty Wang avoided drinking the water as he suddenly remembered that farmhouses often kept rat poison hidden away. And people said that the most venomous of hearts was those of women, so he could not fully trust that she had not slipped something into the water.

“You can enjoy the drink. I’ll be heading back to my room. Just call out if you need anything.” Still simmering, Fatty Wang turned and snapped at Mrs. Zhu, “Come on, come with me.”

He meant to vent his anger on the little woman first. Now that he was the “head of the household,” what he did to his own wife on his own turf was none of the brat surnamed He’s concern.

When he stood, the bamboo chair gave a long groan, like it was grateful to still be in one piece. Mrs. Zhu looked at the chair, knowing full well her fate in the bedroom would be worse than its creaking strain.

What should I do?

Her only hope lay with the young master of the He Family sitting in the room, as well as his two guards.

She was drowning in desperation when He Lingchuan’s voice came lazily from behind Fatty Wang, “Oh, by the way, Mr. Wang, I heard something about the Water Spirit Tablet?”

The question was far too pointed. Fatty Wang had no choice but to turn back. “What of it?”

“Live by the water, worship the water. The Water Spirit you worship should be the lake’s spiritual being, right?” He Lingchuan gestured toward the expanse outside. “So, tell me, what exactly is the Water Spirit’s true form?”

“Ah, yes...” Fatty Wang floundered. He did not know how to answer the young man, while the woman behind him kept her mouth clamped shut like a clam. “Well, why do you want to know?”

Since there was a Water Spirit Shrine built here, it meant the local lake god had been officially registered and enshrined. But as for what kind of monster it had once been—well, there were thousands of strange creatures in the world. Without the locals to say, no outsider could possibly know for sure.

1. The Four Pillars of Destiny, also known as “bāzì”, which means “eight characters” or “eight words” in Chinese, is a Chinese astrological concept that a person’s destiny or fate can be divined by the two sexagenary cycle characters assigned to their birth year, month, day, and hour. The lines before this were taken from Wikipedia, you can read more about this here: ☜

2. The wording used in the raws implies more of a “casting one’s old self off and taking on a new self,” rather than actual rebirth. ☜