Where Immortals Once Walked

After two calls, there was a pause, and then two more calls came.

Of course, no one inside the inn answered.

After that, the outside fell quiet again.

Well, these guys are pretty cautious. He Lingchuan thought as he let out a slow breath. They’re probably going to just back off. The crow hadn’t flown out, which should tell them that something has changed inside the inn; they shouldn’t risk making a move.

That’s pretty smart of them. Otherwise, they would’ve flown straight into Fleeting Life.

He Lingchuan did not chase. With the King of Baoshu’s birthday ceremony just around the corner, Fufeng City had imposed a temporary curfew these last two days.

Picking a fight now would not be worth it.

Sure enough, a dozen or so breaths later, sharp urgent whistles sounded in the street, and shouts came from people who He Lingchuan assumed were constables, “Who goes there? Stop right there!”

At the same time came the roar of beasts.

It looks like the patrols aren’t all human. That bunch is in for it.

The noises grew fainter, suggesting pursuit and escape were already moving away.

Before long, the street settled back into silence.

* * *

At dawn, at another inn about 650 meters away.

Someone slipped into a guest room on tiptoe. A lamp was still lit, and Fushan sat by the window.

“Any news?”

“Yes. The target has checked into Willow Lodge. It’s the official residence Fufeng City assigns to foreign envoys.” The subordinate gulped and then added, “Everyone else is in position.”

“Call them back. Fufeng City’s guard is too tight. We do not make our move here.” Fushan adjusted the plan without hesitation. “But we still need to confirm where the item ended up.”

* * *

In only a few short days, the unrest Fufeng City had suffered from the imperial nectar had been guided back toward order.

Shuttered shops reopened one by one, and more and more people returned to the streets.

Trade quickly picked up again, and the city’s pulse returned as carts and wagons rolled and crowds moved once more.

As for the monster and humans who had already become the price for the order that had returned, they would never speak again, and so, little by little, they were forgotten. Whatever had happened, life still had to be lived.

Besides, the people of Beijia knew very well that compared to those of smaller states battered by war and displacement, their lives were already blessed.

At this time, Sha Xinghai returned to Fufeng City with his team. He did not even have time to change before he went to report to his father.

“The missing deputy envoy from the State of E’Ling has been found. His body was beneath a large tree on the west bank of Three-Heart Lake. The nearby monsters claim they never saw the killer.”

Grand Tutor Sha’s brow nearly knotted into a hard crease. “The State of E’Ling has been peaceful for more than ten years. We’ve been friendly neighbors. I haven’t heard of any recent rift.”

“Might it not be national hatred, but private resentment?” Sha Xinghai’s expression was troubled. “I’ve heard this deputy envoy was the son of General Yin Shan. He was skilled himself and had many attendants. General Yin Shan is notoriously brutal. If this reaches his ears, how would he ever let it go?”

“Whenever imperial nectar appears, there are always more of these incidents than usual. And it’s not only General Yin Shan’s son, but several delegations were also injured, and more than a dozen monsters went missing.” Grand Tutor Sha rubbed the space between his eyebrows. He sounded weary. “I just went to report to His Majesty. On the night of the eruption, His Majesty even used a divine technique to monitor major events in the city and its surrounding areas, and some of those incidents involved envoy groups taking the initiative to join in. What a mess.”

No matter how formidable Baoshu King’s divine technique was, it still had limits. It could monitor only so far. There was no way it could reach as far as Three-Heart Lake.

That was the kind of method only ancient monster immortals possessed. Those of today could only yearn for it.

“His Majesty’s birthday ceremony is tomorrow. Tonight, the curfew remains. There will be more patrols and tighter checks throughout the city.”

After Sha Xinghai withdrew, Grand Tutor Sha thought for a moment, then asked Wu Jinsong, who stood to the side.

“You reported yesterday that He Xiao went more than fifty kilometers northeast of the city to receive the imperial nectar?”

“Yes.” Wu Jinsong had always admired how Grand Tutor Sha could juggle a thousand affairs and still remember such small matters.

“That’s not far from Three-Heart Plain. He returned late, so he may have seen something. Go sound him out.”

* * *

Wu Jinsong picked up a few dishes to go with wine on the way, then went to look for He Lingchuan.

He knocked at the inn door, but he received no response.

Instead, a black cat’s head poked down from the roof. “Who are you looking for?”

“He Xiao.”

The black cat then asked, “Your surname?”

“Wu. I’m from the Grand Tutor’s residence.”

The black cat hopped onto Wu Jinsong’s shoulder and whispered into his ear, “Boss told us to tell you to look for him at Songhe Tavern.”

Wu Jinsong understood at once. He left the inn, doubled back, and headed for Songhe Tavern.

That tavern sat about four hundred steps from Grand Tutor Sha’s residence. It was close enough, but not too close, so its prices were likewise just right, neither cheap nor outrageous.

Wu Jinsong and the other guards often came here to drink.

He entered like he owned the place, said he was looking for a guest with the surname He, and the server did not take him to a private dining room. Instead, he led him to a guest room in the back row and knocked.

“Sir, you have a visitor.”

He Lingchuan sat inside. Wine was already set on the table.

Wu Jinsong walked in, sat down, and asked, “Why’d you move here?”

“I’m staying here so it’s convenient to drink with Brother Wu all night.”

Songhe Tavern had guest rooms in the back. Even with curfew, guests could still come and drink in the front area. As long as you were not wandering the streets, the constables did not care. The rooms here were just a little pricier than He Lingchuan’s old inn, about double the price.

Wu Jinsong set his food down. “I’ll add some dishes to your table.”

The curfew meant nothing to him anyway. He could run around any night he wanted.

Wu Jinsong acted like it was normal. He Lingchuan acted like it was normal, too. Neither of them brought it up.

He Lingchuan had the server bring a few extra plates and personally transferred the food Wu Jinsong brought into them. The two clinked cups. As soon as He Lingchuan spotted one dish, his eyes lit up, and he reached for it, already peeling it.

Wu Jinsong gave him a thumbs-up. “Brother He, you’ve got taste! I’ve brought that for tons of people, and they won’t even touch it.”

Among the dishes were: soy-braised beef, richly aromatic and sliced cleanly, each piece banded with glossy tendon; stir-fried river snails, slick with oil, spicy and fragrant. But the first thing He Lingchuan grabbed was a soy-sauce boiled fertilized duck egg.

This was something that those who feared it really feared it, while those who loved it really loved it.

He Lingchuan ate as he asked, “So what brings you here, Brother Wu?”

“Didn’t I say yesterday? Today I’m here to drink with you.” After saying that, Wu Jinsong thought to himself, You knew I was coming. You even hired a cat guard to pass your message.

He Lingchuan topped off his cup. “Nothing else?”

They were supposedly meeting to drink tonight, yet Wu Jinsong had shown up before noon.

“What else would there be?”

“Then tonight, we drink only, no official business.”

Wu Jinsong blinked, then cleared his throat. “Cultivation doesn’t count as official business, right?”

He Lingchuan looked entirely unbothered. “Fine. If you want to ask, ask. But first, you have to tell me what happened this time.”

This kid... Wu Jinsong had no choice. He had come to probe, only to get probed first. “It’s still about that night. It’s about what happened on the Three-Heart Plain.”

“Oh?” He Lingchuan leaned back slightly. “So who died this time?”

With curfew tonight and Baoshu King’s birthday ceremony tomorrow, Wu Jinsong would not come at this hour without something real.

He Lingchuan had saved him before, sure, but he knew exactly how much their “friendship” weighed.

“The deputy envoy from the State of E’Ling,” Wu Jinsong said. “Two days ago, the E’Ling envoy group filed a report. They passed through Three-Heart Plain and got caught in the imperial nectar eruption. The deputy envoy got separated and went missing. Young Master Sha led a search. In the end, they found the body by Three-Heart Lake. It was partially eaten by birds and beasts, but it was still recognizable.”

He Lingchuan already had the outline. “What kind of monster was this deputy envoy?”

If Fufeng City had already found the body, that made things simple.

“A Mount Yin Pythong.” Wu Jinsong shook his head. “He was also the son of General Yin Shan[1] of E’Ling. The python was about forty years old, so it was just about to be considered an adult. Supposedly, the general sent it with the delegation for experience, but this happened instead. The delegation asked the Grand Tutor to investigate and see if any of the general’s enemies also came to Fufeng City.”

“Oh?” He Lingchuan raised a brow. “So the Grand Tutor thinks it was an assassination?”

“For now, we can’t say. We only know that all its flesh and blood were drained. If it wasn’t a vendetta, who would do something that vicious?” Wu Jinsong grew serious. “These past two days, Fufeng City’s been swamped inside and out. If Brother He saw anything, please report it.”

He Lingchuan paused, then asked, “This Mount Yin Python, was it a gray-white snake, with fine black markings on its skin?”

Wu Jinsong jolted. “Yes, yes! That’s exactly it! You saw it?”

“That night, there were crows shouting that there was a lot of imperial nectar by the lake. I went over and saw monsters and martial artists killing each other by the shore. It was absolute carnage.” He Lingchuan’s tone stayed even. “In the end, two laozhi monsters won and were about to collect the spoils, but a group of more than ten people scared them off. The deputy envoy you’re talking about, that Mount Yin Python, was also there. He tried to sneak up on that group’s leader and strike, but the leader exposed him in one move, and they surrounded him and butchered him.”

Wu Jinsong stared. “What? The deputy envoy went to fight for imperial nectar and got killed?”

So the cause of death was that simple? Just like every other monster that died over imperial nectar?

“You just said several envoy groups lost people because they got dragged into imperial nectar fights,” He Lingchuan said lightly. Monsters are monsters. They don’t suddenly become restrained just because they’re envoys.

He Lingchuan shrugged. “I even heard those people say that they killed the wrong target.”

Wu Jinsong went rigid. “Killed... the wrong target? Who were they trying to kill?”

So the Mount Yin Python died by mistake?

“No idea.”

A chill ran through Wu Jinsong’s chest.

They killed the wrong target, so they might try again.

He Lingchuan added, “The python probably looked a lot like whoever they meant to kill. That’s why they misidentified him.”

In other words, their real target was likely another long-bodied serpent.

“The killers you’re talking about, you saw them yesterday too?”

“Mm-hm.” He Lingchuan picked up a slice of braised beef and chewed unhurriedly.

Hm, springy and deeply seasoned. As expected of Wu Jinsong, he bought from an old, respected shop.

Wu Jinsong’s eyes widened as his thoughts finally snapped into place. “Are you referring to those people at the inn yesterday? Damn it, why didn’t you say so sooner!”

He Lingchuan swallowed his bite and spoke calmly, “That night at Three-Heart Lake, monsters and martial artists were dying in heaps. You see too much of it, and it stops feeling rare. If you hadn’t brought up the Mount Yin Python, how would I know he had that kind of identity?”

That night, human lives were no different from grass, and it was the same for monsters. And afterward, how many people truly cared?

“The leader called himself Fushan. Last night, he crept near my inn. I’m guessing he wanted to kill me to shut my mouth.”

1. Note that the Yin in Mount Yin is the yin in Yin-Yang, while the yin in Yin Shan’s name is the yin for silver. ☜