Where Immortals Once Walked

What followed was unremarkable. Huyan Zhao led everyone out of the city to formally surrender, while the Red General personally dug out the founding stone of the State of West Ji.

The state fell with startling efficiency.

Because the Panlong army had already taken de facto control of the capital, everything inside the city continued as usual. There were no upheavals, no dramatic scenes.

Strictly speaking, Zhong Shengguang was merely an official of West Luo. He had no authority to bestow titles or rewards upon Huyan Zhao. Even claiming to be “acting on the monarch’s behalf” would have been improper, since West Luo had never authorized him to send troops to attack West Ji in the first place. However, no one present bothered to raise the issue, not even Huyan Zhao himself, who shamelessly asked when he might depart for the Lugua River.

“Not yet,” the Red General replied flatly. “You’ll stay in the capital for a while longer.”

Two days later, Huyan Zhao finally learned why. The forces that had come to West Ji’s aid had not been entirely wiped out. Several remaining armies within the state tried repeatedly to break through the Panlong army’s encirclement, but all failed.

However, the news of Huyan Zhao’s capture and West Ji’s destruction had already spread days earlier. Once those troops realized that the throne had changed hands and that their new opponent was the formidable Panlong City, they quickly lost the will to fight.

At the same time, as Panlong City advanced, unrest erupted across many regions of West Ji.

The West Luo people, who had been trapped within the borders of the State of West Ji and oppressed for years, rose up in rebellion.

This force soon joined with the Panlong Army, together hunting down and eliminating the last pockets of resistance.

* * *

After leaving the ruins of Qianxing City, the group traveled north for another two days. The Stone Gate Merchant Caravan was about to reach the border of the State of Chiyan.

The journey had been peaceful, and Second Boss Shi finally regained the familiar feeling of traveling for trade. Honestly, if every business trip were this thrilling, no amount of profit would persuade anyone to transport goods.

Ahead lay the checkpoint leading into Chiyan. The line of caravans stretched endlessly. Fushan Yue’s attendants tossed a string of copper coins to the pariah slave traveling with the carts, intending to dismiss him.

“You’re done here. Get lost.”

The slave was forbidden to leave the Twilight Plains and had to stop here.

One step past the checkpoint, and it would mean death by beheading.

“Thank you for your generosity, honored sirs!” The slave picked up the coins, bowing and scraping as he did so, while sneaking a glance toward the carriage.

These men had actually been quite generous, even giving a little extra. Normally, he would have been overjoyed and gone to a wine stall to buy half a measure of cheap liquor to reward himself.

But now, he could not spare the thought.

The girl lying motionless inside the carriage, the girl waited on by others, was not the daughter of any wealthy or powerful family at all. Like him, she was a pariah slave by birth!

Yet Young Master Fushan intended to take her across the border.

From this moment on, she would escape a life of degradation and run toward freedom.

Why?

Just because she happened to save Young Master Fushan’s life once? If he had been given that chance, he could have done it too, and done it better!

“What are you doing?” Another guard passed by and saw him standing there dazed. He kicked the slave sharply. “Get lost! Why are you still standing here?”

“Yes, yes, I’m going, I’m going!” The slave turned his head and caught sight of Fushan Yue standing diagonally behind him, watching with cool indifference. His heart leaped in fright.

Plastering on a smile, he scurried away at once.

He Lingchuan stepped out from behind the carriage and watched his retreating figure. “That guy’s carrying a lot of resentment.”

“How can you tell?” Fushan Yue let out a surprised sound. “You can smell it too?”

“Smell my ass, I’m not a dog!” He Lingchuan snapped. “I saw him a few days ago by the river washing basins. He was smashing them like mad and shouting ‘Die, you little bitch,’ probably thinking no one was around.”

After venting like that by the river, the man had gone back to fetch water and resumed his obsequious smiles toward Fushan Yue and the others, all respectful and ingratiating.

“Hah, why bother with him?” Fushan Yue dismissed it entirely. “What can a slave possibly stir up?”

At that moment, Second Boss Shi returned from the front with bad news. “This isn’t good. Three or four official merchant caravans just showed up and cut in line at the checkpoint. There are more than four thousand people in total. It looks like we won’t make it through today.”

Official caravans had priority passage. Civilian caravans like theirs could only wait.

With less than two hours until nightfall, passing the checkpoint would have to wait until tomorrow.

With no other choice, they would spend the night at an inn.

The slave, on his way back, also heard other merchants sighing about being unable to cross.

Passing a high-end tavern, he slowed his pace. The attendant saw the slave bracelet on his wrist and immediately came out to drive him away. “Hey! Get lost! Don’t interfere with our business!”

Ordinary inns and taverns did not allow slaves inside. High-end ones did not even permit them to linger nearby unless they entered alongside the masters they served.

The only places they could patronize were crude food stalls and communal bunks run by other slaves, usually tucked away in the darkest, most remote corners of town.

Soon after, he sat in a dim little wine shack, downing half a measure of cheap, cloudy liquor.

The wine was harsh, scraping his throat, but it got you drunk fast.

“Endure it, endure it,” he muttered under his breath. “An egg smashing against a stone will only get itself killed.”

Yet fueled by alcohol, the more he thought about it, the angrier and more indignant he became. “I can’t endure it. I can’t! Why does she get a good life while I live like a pig or a dog?”

Several times he stood up, only to sit back down again. Sobriety and reason seesawed on the scales of intoxication.

In the end, he gritted his teeth, stamped his foot, and charged straight into the government office without looking back.

The clerks inside were startled when a red-faced slave rushed in. One immediately barked, “You—yes, you! Where do you think you’re going? Get out!”

The slave did not leave. Instead, he staggered closer, blasting the clerk’s face with his alcoholic breath. “I want to report something! I want to make a report!”

* * *

As expected, the slave received a savage beating.

Just as the clerk was about to call guards to throw him out, a voice spoke from behind. “Wait.”

The speaker was tall, with an unusual-looking face.

The clerk turned around and immediately bowed in respect, about to speak, but the man cut him off, “He came to report a case. Why didn’t you take it?”

“Huh?” The clerk froze. “Sir, he’s a slave, and he’s drunk out of his mind! You can’t trust a word he says.”

The man walked over to the slave. “Hey.”

The guards kicked the slave several times at once. “The lord is speaking to you! Get up and stand properly!”

The slave staggered to his feet, hunched and cowed, one eye already swollen shut.

“Come with me.”

They moved into the rear corridor of the government office. Once they were alone, the tall man asked quietly, “You said that the one secretly harboring a slave girl and planning to take her through the checkpoint is Young Master Fushan Yue of the State of Chiyan?”

After the beating, the slave was mostly sober and already regretting his actions.

Had he gone mad? How could he dare storm into a government office?

But it was too late. The man before him was someone he absolutely could not offend. He lowered his head and said, “Y-yes!”

“How do you know she’s a slave?”

“I served her for several days. She has a mark on her left wrist from wearing a slave bracelet for a long time.” He raised his own left hand to show the deeply embedded ring mark. “It’s like this. But she doesn’t have the bracelet anymore! That’s a capital offense!”

The bracelet had cut into his flesh. It was the mark of a slave. Removing it privately was punishable by death, and even deliberately covering it up was subject to severe punishment.

“Interesting.” The tall man turned to the clerk. “Send people to keep watch. Verify it when they cross the checkpoint tomorrow.”

Checking now would not do. After all, not bringing a slave through the checkpoint wasn’t illegal.

The clerk was alarmed. “Sir, if that really is Young Master Fushan of the State of Chiyan—”

“Even a young master such as himself is subject to the law,” the tall man said with a chuckle. “You’re on Lingxu City soil. Are you really afraid of someone from Chiyan?”

The words hit hard. Cold sweat broke out on the clerk’s back. Internally, he cursed the slave a hundred times over, but outwardly he bowed repeatedly. “Understood. I’ll see to it at once.”

The tall man added, “First, confirm whether the girl is still there. Be clever about it and don’t alert Fushan Yue. Tomorrow, we catch them red-handed at the checkpoint.”

* * *

He Lingchuan was drinking alone at a tavern, seated at a table by himself.

People moved around him, but he rested his head in his hand, staring blankly out the window, his gaze unfocused.

Footsteps approached from behind, but he paid them no mind.

Someone called out, “Hey!”

He Lingchuan did not respond or turn around.

Then the voice said, “He Lingchuan.”

His heart jolted violently.

He was alone in Beijia. He was a foreigner here, so how could someone call out his real name so casually?

Yet with growing experience, he managed to forcibly suppress the instinct to turn around. Even his posture did not change, as though he had not heard a thing.

Only he knew that his waist and leg muscles had tensed, ready to explode into action at any second.

Then he recognized the voice.

Its owner stepped around to the front, clicking his tongue. “So it really is you! Young Master He, why didn’t you answer? I almost thought I’d mistaken the blade!”

“Shh—” He Lingchuan smiled and raised a finger. “I go by a different name now. Come, sit!”

“Fancy meeting an old friend in a foreign land.” He waved to the waiter. “Bring more dishes!”

* * *

That night, several constables reported back to the clerk. “All the caravans’ vehicles are parked together, with guards on rotating shifts. It’s not easy to get close, but one carriage kept its lamp lit the whole time. We had one man distract the driver while the others snuck up and lifted the curtain a bit. Sure enough, there was a little girl asleep inside, about six or seven years old.”

“Any mark on her wrist?”

“Hard to see,” the constable admitted. “Someone came to move goods right away.”

“Why didn’t you check directly?” The clerk snapped. These men are usually fearless bullies, so why are they so cautious now?

The constable scratched his head. “Didn’t you say to do it quietly and not make a scene?”

“...” The clerk waved him off. “Alright, that’s enough, I’ll report it myself.”

* * *

The next day, at the border checkpoint.

The line waiting to pass through once again stretched beyond sight.

This checkpoint was stricter than those in the State of Baoshu, mainly focusing on searches for contraband.

For example, slaves.

Slaves were a specialty of the Twilight Plains. Every year, countless slaves tried to escape. Without strict inspections, how could the imperial mandate be enforced?

Fortunately, the line moved quickly. There were no mishaps or emergencies today, so the Stone Gate Merchant Caravan reached inspection more than a quarter hour earlier than Second Boss Shi had expected.