Where Immortals Once Walked

Shan Youjun spoke from the side, “I heard that the State of Mian has been around for nearly a century. Their royal family can’t do much else, but they certainly know how to breed, fast and plentiful at that. After a hundred years of branching out, they absolutely don’t number just thirty or forty thousand.”

“I’m referring only to those of the royal family who died in the capital and its surroundings, along with their in-laws, servants, and the like.”

Right, I forgot that those with power and wealth reproduce faster than rats. He Lingchuan then said, “Your legs really do itch to run everywhere. You even attended the battle at Beijia?”

“This was an assignment from the state preceptor, so I had no choice.” The captive bowed his head. “Like last night’s fighting, it was between your men and the troops from Xun Province. I was merely sent here as Beijia’s envoy to collect nightmare qi. However, the amount I gathered was pitifully small.”

“So you think not enough people died?” Jiao Tai sneered and punched him in the gut. “You vile little scum!”

The captive doubled over, retching violently. Shan Youjun barked, “Knock it off! Master is still in the middle of questioning him!”

However, He Lingchuan was focused on the words pitifully small. “What do you mean when you say pitifully small?”

“Nearly two hundred people died last night,” the captive finally gasped out. “Ordinarily, I should’ve been able to collect at least a hundred streams of red light, but the amount I actually managed to collect was tiny, barely a dozen at most. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have stayed here so long!”

“So you collected much less than expected?” He Lingchuan’s eyes narrowed. “Has this ever happened before?”

The captive shook his head.

Does that mean that there’s something here that’s interfering with the Dragon Punishment Pillar’s ability to harvest nightmare qi?

From the outside, Xinhuang Town looked like any other small, unremarkable town.

He changed the topic. “Xun Province’s men don’t know your true purpose?”

The captive shook his head again.

“But they still let you tag along,” He Lingchuan remarked. Nian Zanli had defected to the northern monster state, Beijia, so he would naturally not refuse to cooperate with an envoy from Beijia. “So, you know which general led the sneak attack on Bailu Town?”

“He used to be a grand general under Beijia. His name is Hong Chenglue. He’s earned countless military merits. Some of the nightmare qi I collected came from battles he led.” The captive’s voice was now little more than a rasp. He motioned for water.

“Give it to him.”

After wetting his throat, the captive continued, “Later, he withdrew from warfare and went into seclusion. I didn’t hear a thing about him for a long time. I don’t know what prompted him to come out again this time and lead the roving cavalry of Xia Province.”

“He was the one who planned the ambush?”

“Yes. The Provincial Governor of Xun Province ordered all roving cavalry units here to obey his command.”

“You should know where their previous hideouts were, right?”

“I’ve been there, b-but I’m unfamiliar with Xia Province. Once I left, I couldn’t find my way back.” The captive hesitated. “I only know they have a stronghold north of Bailu Town, somewhere around what seems to be a logging ground. That’s where I met Hong Chenglue.”

“Did they discuss what to do if the ambush failed?” Any battle plan worth anything required a contingency.

“I, I don’t know. They didn’t let me participate in military discussions.”

“One more thing. Why was the monster puppet master, Dong Rui, acting together with Xun Province’s roving cavalry?” He Lingchuan asked in puzzlement. “Isn’t he a wanted criminal in Beijia?”

“Uh, I heard that as long as he participated in our operations, he would receive a pardon.”

One of He Lingchuan’s eyebrows rose. “Oh? He committed serious crimes. Even he can be pardoned?”

The captive hunched. “I don’t know the details...”

“Does Governor-General He know what you just told us?”

Before the captive could answer, Shan Youjun replied, “Only Master and the two of us heard his confession.”

He Lingchuan smiled faintly. Of course, Shan Youjun was declaring where his loyalty stood. “Good.”

Afterward, he left to find He Chunhua and repeated everything he had learned.

Hearing that Beijia had sent people to gather nightmare qi, He Chunhua gave a cold laugh. “Who are they trying to fool? Why would anyone do something that brings no profit?”

“I thought the same.” Truly, they were father and son. “However, these people Beijia sent seem to believe it wholeheartedly.”

“The smartest lies are the ones even their own people believe,” He Chunhua mocked. “Besides, after five hundred years of indoctrination, they can just say that something is their tradition, and no matter how foolish it is, Beijia folk won’t question it.”

He turned the treasured staff over in his hands several times, rubbing it thoughtfully. When He Lingchuan began recounting Hong Chenglue’s deeds, He Chunhua casually slipped the staff into his robe as naturally as he breathed.

He Lingchuan’s eyebrow twitched. Still, he had no grounds to object to his father taking the staff.

“Hong Chenglue? I’ve heard of him.” He Chunhua frowned as he fell into thought. “He’s a man good with troops. He comes and goes as swiftly as the wind. Such a foe is bad news for Xia Province. Hm, ideally, we’d drag him out and kill him during this campaign. If we leave him to roam the rear lines in the north, he’ll be a disaster waiting to happen.”

He looked at his eldest son and said, “Chuan’er, Mao Tao and Shan Youjun are both skilled at gathering intelligence. Take them and go to Bailu Town. I need more information on Hong Chenglue.”

The Xia Province troops would be staying here until morning, so he had plenty of time. He Lingchuan agreed readily and stepped out to gather his men.

Among them, Shan Youjun had shone most brightly lately, and He Lingchuan brought him everywhere. Mao Tao, feeling overshadowed, jumped in before assignments were given. “Take me! If we’re dealing with those from townships and villages, you’ll want me around.”

He Lingchuan chuckled. Add Jiao Tai, and there are now three solid pillars supporting him. When scouting unfamiliar territory, more hands were always better.

Ling Guang hopped up onto a horse’s rump, planting itself more steadily than most men. As for the fearsome rock wolf, it was best to leave it in camp.

And so, they headed west toward Bailu Town.

* * *

New faces appeared in Bailu Town, and the townsfolk eyed them with wariness.

Coming from the east, He Lingchuan’s group passed corpse after corpse, mainly those belonging to soldiers of Xia Province. Coyotes and other wild beasts had already gnawed some of these corpses.

Upon entering Bailu Town, they found the temporary encampment built by troops from Xia Province reduced to charcoal and ash, bodies strewn everywhere.

Wu Shaoyi had been routed and had never returned. Xun Province troops would never clean up after their enemies. Thus, the bodies of Xia Province soldiers lay exposed. Their arrival sent flocks of crows flapping away and startled scavenging stray dogs.

A sweep of the battlefield revealed no survivors. Several corpses had clearly been finished off with killing blows—proof that Hong Chenglue’s men had conducted a precise cleanup, leaving no one alive.

His tactics here mirrored Baili Qing’s strategies in Xinhuang. They targeted the leaders first with an explosion, then routed the disorganized mass. Wu Shaoyi had lost half his strength before he even understood what had happened.

As for the rest, given the disparity in the current quality of the troops from Xun Province and Xia Province, it was a miracle they lasted even that long.

According to the report that Shan Youjun and the others gave He Lingchuan, more than half of the dead had fatal wounds in their backs, meaning that they had been killed while they were fleeing. They had not even managed to form coherent resistance.

The grain had, of course, been burned to ash. Still, Mao Tao located fresh footprints by the grain wagons, prints that were left on top of the burnt charcoal, which meant that they were made after the battle.

Moreover, these prints seemed to come from commoners.

This meant that the townsfolk of Bailu Town had searched the battlefield for anything edible or useful before leaving.

With nothing new to glean from the battlefield, He Lingchuan entered the town proper.

To his surprise, aside from five or six houses near the camp that had caught collateral damage, Bailu Town was largely intact. The steamed bun shop was open for breakfast, with its owner even kneading dough as if it were just any other day. Street idlers strolled about their usual routines.

When He Lingchuan and his party arrived, the townsfolk kept well away, their faces cold and their eyes guarded.

He tipped his chin at Mao Tao. The latter immediately strode into the steamed bun shop.

The others spread out to investigate. After strolling around about half the town, Shan Youjun whispered to He Lingchuan, “All the doors and windows here are intact. No signs of looting.”

Those from Xun Province didn’t rob the commoners, did they?

These roving cavalry units operated deep in enemy territory with scant supplies. They always took from locals—poor and wealthy households alike—in the name of “living off the land.”

Yet Bailu Town was untouched. Did the Xun Province troops gorge themselves on Wu Shaoyi’s supplies and leave satisfied?

Jiao Tai pointed at a grand ebony gate in a side alley. “Who says they didn’t loot? Look there.”

The house clearly belonged to someone important. The plaque above the doorway had been smashed halfway through, and the double doors hung open. However, the courtyard was silent.

Jiao Tai slipped inside, then returned quickly. “It’s a mess in there. It’s been stripped bare. The cheap things were smashed for fun, and there are bloodstains and hair across the floor.”

He Lingchuan nodded and had his men scatter to gather intel.

He questioned the townsfolk himself, but they pulled away at his approach, saying that they neither knew nor saw anything before fleeing.

He touched his own face and wondered if he looked as terrifying as Lu Xin.

Later, he spotted a boy about six years old. The boy had a big head on his little body, and he was in the middle of scribbling on a wall in an alley. His “art” sprawled wildly in crooked black strokes drawn with thick, charcoal-black sticks.

Hmm? Charcoal?

He Lingchuan walked over with a kindly “wolf grandmother” smile. “Little one, where did you get that charcoal?”

The boy turned, eyeing him warily. The boy did not answer, but he did not run either.

“You want candy?” He Lingchuan nudged Ling Guang, who reluctantly pulled a wrapped candy from its pouch and held it out.

The boy snatched it, peeled it with sooty fingers, stuffed it into his mouth, and pointed toward the encampment. “From over there.”

“When the bandits came last night, did they come into town to steal things?”

The boy shook his head.

“Do you recognize those bandits?”

The boy fell silent, his eyes shifting as he clearly thought hard.

Ling Guang did not need instructions. It produced another candy and dangled it temptingly in front of the boy. The boy reached for the candy, but the ape easily kept it out of his reach.

Trying to snatch from an ape? Good luck.

“We’ve got plenty of candy,” Ling Guang said grudgingly. “Just tell the truth.”