Where Immortals Once Walked

With numbers like these, Wu Shaoyi and Pei Xinyong already held the advantage over the troops hidden at Whistle Rock. If they struck by surprise, the odds were even better.

Wu Shaoyi’s a thousand and one hundred men against Lu Yao and his state allies in Immortal Spirit Village; this was a fight that he could win. Divide and conquer, a standard tactic of war.

* * *

By the end of the third watch, the drinking bout had finally wound down.

Lu Yao’s face was flushed, the table littered with cups and scraps. He drained another cup of wine, wiped his mouth, and pushed himself to his feet. “Less than two hours until dawn. Now you can relax, can’t you, Lord He?”

He Chunhua blinked. “Relax about what?”

Lu Yao only chuckled and turned away. This official still doesn’t trust me. He actually dragged me into drinking half the night so I wouldn’t have time to plot an ambush, and all the while, I never had the slightest intention of moving tonight.

His belly uncomfortably full of wine, he wandered off to relieve himself, muttering to one of his subordinates, “What’s going on with Wu Shaoyi? Why hasn’t there been word from him?”

The man hurried to ask around, then returned with a scout in tow, panting from the run. “General Wu drank too much, Sir. They only set out once he sobered up, and his stomach was apparently giving him trouble along the way.”

Lu Yao frowned. “Seriously? No, something’s wrong.”

He glanced around sharply. “Where’s Fatty Wang? Where the hell has that fat bastard gone?”

Normally, all news was coordinated through Fatty Wang. Reports came to Lu Yao without him ever needing to ask.

But now his men only looked at each other, stammering that they had not seen him.

Lu Yao gulped down the sobering tea a villager brought and pressed a cold cloth to his face. The flush left his cheeks, but suspicion rose in his chest.

No, something seriously isn’t right. Fatty Wang is always eager to please me, so how could he have just suddenly vanished for half the night?

And then He Chunhua, out of nowhere, insisted on keeping me drinking for hours... Was that a cover for something?

His eyes narrowed. “Find him. All of you. If you don’t bring Fatty Wang back, I’ll eat you alive!”

The men scattered in terror. With their lives at stake, they worked fast. The brigands rounded up villagers from the east side and barked, “Who saw our fat brother tonight? The one staying at Mrs. Zhu’s house?”

Twice they asked. Yet both times, they received only silence.

Hence, they resorted to threats, “Whoever can tell us anything about his whereabouts gets their children back, right now!”

That broke them. Faces strained, minds racing, the villagers searched their memories.

At last, a woman in the back row bit her lip and said, “I... I saw him.”

“Oh?” The brigand in charge grinned at the thought of accomplishing his task. “Why don’t you step forward and tell us then?”

* * *

He Chunhua watched Lu Yao’s back recede into the dark, and only then did a thin smile tug at his lips.

Back in his own quarters, the state troops waited at the ready, blades close at hand. The villagers were restless, whispering uneasily.

He Yue sat beside Madame Ying, speaking softly to calm her. Zhu Xiu’er stood by the window, gazing out, lost in thought.

When Madame Ying saw her husband return, she finally exhaled and said, “Thank heavens, that wretch didn’t harm you.”

“As soon as he started drinking, he pretty much forgot himself. The louder the crowd is, the better,” He Chunhua muttered as he sat down. Seeing his face flushed red, Nanny Qian quickly brought water for him to wash up, then pressed a bowl of sobering soup into his hands.

A guard came in with a report, “Ever since I shot the warning arrow, Wu Shaoyi’s men haven’t advanced. Instead, he called up the rest of his troops from the base of the mountain. However, he keeps a spirit pet that’s unusually sharp. It looked like a marten monster[1]. When I tried to scout them a second time, it nearly caught me. I didn’t dare get any closer.”

He Chunhua’s eyes lit up. “Heaven itself aids me! With such a monster that’s better than any scout, Wu Shaoyi would find it easy to verify whether the message was real or false.”

He Yue grinned and said, “So all Father’s drinking wasn’t wasted after all.”

At that moment, He Lingchuan came out from the inner room, took one look at his father, and blurted, “Whoa, Dad, your face is bright red.”

He Chunhua hiccupped. “I haven’t drunk like that in years! I even took an alcohol-dissipating pill beforehand, but I still worried I’d babble nonsense and give the whole plan away.”

Madame Ying fussed at him in clear distress, “That Lu Yao’s a brute. How could you try to match him cup for cup?” Then her expression grew uneasy. “But now that we’ve taken the west side of the village, what if the other rebels come from that direction?”

“Wu Shaoyi’s coming from the east,” He Chunhua reassured her. “If he attacks, he’ll start from the east, straight at Lu Yao.”

He Yue added, “Wu Shaoyi’s probably waiting to join forces with Pei Xinyong. If he’s on the east, then Pei Xinyong will likely circle around and start from the west.”

Madame Ying blanched. “Wouldn’t that send him right toward us?”

He Lingchuan chuckled. “Whistle Rock is on the western side. Only if Pei Xinyong goes to deal with those seven hundred men hidden there will Wu Shaoyi dare make a move on Immortal Spirit Village. In other words, the western side of the village is the safest place to be.”

Madame Ying gave a faint “oh,” but only when He Chunhua nodded did she truly relax.

Zhao Qinghe spoke next, “Still, to be safe, I’ve set up a few crying vine dolls along the western path. If anything or anybody passes them, they’ll start wailing. If a whole army comes through, they’ll cry nonstop.” He tossed a few conical objects onto the table.

They looked like hazelnuts, except the husks bore faint human faces—eyes, a nose, and a tiny mouth, now clamped shut.

In the dead of night, if something stirred them into constant wailing, it could only be a marching army.

He Lingchuan picked one up curiously. “They look like hazelnuts. Are they edible?”

He only meant it as a joke, but the guard answered seriously, “They are, but they’re horribly bitter, and they give you the runs[2].”

He Chunhua gave the guard a sharp look. “These came from the grand shaman, didn’t they?”

“Yes, Lord.”

Hearing that, He Lingchuan’s heart gave a jolt. Grand Shaman Zhaomandu? Since waking in this world, he had heard of him but never once seen him.

Just then, a shout rang out from the eastern side of the village, “Mrs. Zhu! Zhu Xiu’er! Come out at once!”

At such a moment, the sudden call made everyone’s hearts sink.

Madame Ying looked at Mrs. Zhu in alarm. “Why would the brigands be calling for you?”

Zhu Xiu’er only shook her head, saying nothing.

He Chunhua stood at once. “Let’s see what this is about.”

They walked a few steps before realizing Zhu Xiu’er had not followed. Turning back, they saw her standing still, dazed, as if lost in thought.

“What’s wrong?” Madame Ying asked gently. Ever since learning of Zhu Xiu’er’s past, she had felt a special pity for the young woman who had once been sold away.

Zhu Xiu’er shook her head again, lowered her eyes, and silently trailed after them.

Outside, the brigands had already shouted three times before He Chunhua emerged. Standing on the western side of the dividing line, he called back, “What do you want?”

“I’ve nothing to say to you, you dog official,” one brigand sneered. “Which of you is Zhu Xiu’er?”

In truth, among the gathered, only three were women. Besides Madame Ying and Nanny Qian, every gaze naturally turned toward Zhu Xiu’er.

The brigand barked, “So you’re Mrs. Zhu!” He pointed a finger toward the heights. “Look up there, what do you see?”

The ground dipped low in the village, but toward the western slope, the land rose higher. He was pointing to the winding mountain road, a good fifty meters above, where the sheer rock face was bare and empty.

1. Note that sables are a species of martens. ☜

2. This might be a bit colloquial for some of you, but this is just diarrhea. ☜