Where Immortals Once Walked

Seated in the carriage, He Lingchuan asked Big-Mouth Zhao, “Last winter, did anyone in the township get injured?”

“Eh?” Big-Mouth Zhao blinked, unsure what exactly He Lingchuan wanted to know. “What kind of injury are you talking about? Are you asking if someone got frostbite? Slipped and fell? Or something more severe like getting crushed by a falling boulder?”

“...The kind that isn’t easy to treat.” Porcupine quills are no small matter.

Big-Mouth Zhao scratched his head and thought for a moment. “Haven’t heard of any.”

Jiao Yu cut in, “Anyone die of illness?”

“Oh, yes.” This time, Big-Mouth Zhao nodded briskly. “Old Xu from Youtian Town had tuberculosis for years. He didn’t make it through last winter...”

“I mean someone in the prime of life. Villagers and townspeople or travelers passing through, either count.”

“Oh...” Big-Mouth Zhao thought about it for a bit. “There was one. In Xu Family Village near White Pagoda Temple, Second Xu[1], who was in his thirties, lost his leg to frostbite up in the mountains. He came home, and within a few days, he ran a high fever and died.”

He Lingchuan nodded and made a mental note. “Anyone else?”

Big-Mouth Zhao thought hard again but came up blank.

A thought flickered through He Lingchuan’s mind. “What about seriously injured or dead monsters?”

“That I wouldn’t know.” Big-Mouth Zhao chuckled awkwardly. “Monsters don’t usually live with us. If something happened to them, how would I know?”

“They all live out in the wild?”

“Most of them. We hardly ever deal with them or even encounter them,” Big-Mouth Zhao added. “At least, other than monsters like cat monsters, ox monsters, or those bat monsters that like to roost under the eaves. Anyway, I don’t really pay much attention to the deaths of monsters.”

If a monster died, what did that have to do with humans?

Before nightfall, He Lingchuan returned to Youtian Town and split up with Jiao Yu to investigate separately.

He headed straight for the largest medicine hall in town. General Ling insisted on coming along, as though it had developed a taste for watching the fun.

Zhitian Township was the largest medicinal herb distribution center in Chiyan. Nearly one-third of the state’s medicinal materials were wholesaled from here. Naturally, apothecaries and clinics could be seen everywhere.

The one He Lingchuan entered had a clinic in front and a massive medicinal warehouse in the back. He went straight to the shopkeeper, took out the red powder scraped from the porcupine nest, and asked what it was.

The shopkeeper was clearly experienced. He examined it, sniffed it lightly, and frowned. Unable to identify it, he mixed some with medicinal powder and water, then summoned several physicians to study it together.

From the look of it, He Lingchuan knew they were unlikely to figure it out. At that moment, he deeply missed his medicine ape. At least Ling Guang would not be so unreliable.

Fortunately, the shopkeeper eventually summoned an old ape from the rear hall.

He Lingchuan’s eyes widened. “A medicine ape?”

“Indeed.” The shopkeeper smiled. “This is our chief alchemist, Mr. Lü.”

The medicine ape, Mr. Lü, had white fur around its chin and beard. Upon hearing that the origin of the powder was unknown, it took a pinch of the red dust between its fingers and spat lightly onto it.

To everyone’s surprise, including the four or five physicians, the red powder turned transparent.

“There’s no mistaking it, this is stonevein,” Mr. Lü declared. “It’s also called stone blood. Where did you obtain it, sir?”

“What is it used for?”

“It’s also known as the blood of stone and is considered the essence of mountain veins. It’s rarely used in ordinary medicine or pill refinement, so most apothecaries and pill masters don’t recognize it. But in certain obscure prescriptions, it’s indispensable,” Mr. Lü said with authority. “It’s also a material used in forging certain magical artifacts. If you take it to a craftsman or artisan, they may have recognized it more easily.” It paused, then added, “Stonevein is rare, and this batch is fresh. Did you extract it from somewhere nearby?”

“It’s mineral powder, not a plant. How can you tell it’s fresh?”

“It still carries the scent of mountain rock and a faint rot.” Mr. Lü was certain. “It must have been dug up not long ago.”

“Correct. I pried it out of a porcupine nest on Mount Yulun this afternoon.”

“Mount Yulun?” Mr. Lü was visibly startled. “Mount Yulun has stonevein?”

“Is there a problem with that?”

“I’ve been in Zhitian Township for eighty years. This is the first I’ve heard of stonevein on Mount Yulun.” It stroked its beard. “It’s extremely rare and certain powerful prescriptions absolutely require it, so it’s very expensive. A tael of refined stonevein powder can sell for five taels of silver!”

He Lingchuan lifted the small vial. “This hasn’t been refined. How’s the purity?”

Mr. Lü examined it again for quite a while before saying, “Very few impurities.”

He Lingchuan corked the vial and smiled casually. “Whoever finds a lode of stonevein would make a fortune, then?”

“If the reserves are rich enough.”

The shopkeeper could not help but interject, “Sir, mining and gathering herbs locally cannot be done recklessly unless that land belongs to you.”

He Lingchuan naturally knew this. He simply laughed and said, “Of course, mountains and rivers all have their owners. Who can mine freely? I was only speaking hypothetically.”

After thanking the medicine ape and leaving behind a small silver ingot, he departed.

Knowing Jiao Yu’s task would take time, he followed the aroma drifting through the street and found a small restaurant, though perhaps even calling it a restaurant was generous. It was little more than a makeshift shack or stall covered in snakeskin tarpaulin.

Yet seven or eight low tables inside were filled with customers, each hugging a clay pot and eating with gusto.

The specialty was claypot noodles.

Several clay pots simmered on the stove, each filled with medicinal soup. Customers chose a pot, and the vendor added noodles directly into it.

He Lingchuan ordered turtle dove soup[2] with fine local fine egg noodles. When the lid was lifted, a rich aroma wafted out. The broth was light brown with only a thin sheen of oil floating on top.

One sip and the flavor was deep and mellow. The medicinal herbs complemented the meat perfectly. The dove was braised until the bones were soft and the meat tender enough to chew and swallow whole.

The three drillwind beasts, not to be outdone, ordered food as well. In the monster state, it was commonplace to see monsters dining in town. To accommodate their large mouths, the vendor served them in wide-mouthed bowls instead of pots.

These sheep were truly omnivorous. They crunched through the little doves in a single bite, bones snapping audibly, and demanded extra dishes.

He Lingchuan finished one pot in short order, but the beasts had already downed three bowls. He ordered another flavor and paired it with freshly pan-fried sugar pancakes[3].

It was sweet and savory, a delightful combination.

Better still, the stall was directly across from the medicine hall he had just visited.

While chewing his second sugar pancake, he saw the head shopkeeper from the medicine hall hurry out and head down the street.

He Lingchuan smiled and casually raised his arm as though greeting someone.

To passersby, it looked like nothing. But from a nearby tree, a crow took flight and silently followed the shopkeeper.

There was a ready-made informant, so why not use it?

Crows were everywhere in Zhitian Township. No one would pay them any mind.

Only then did He Lingchuan ask the vendor, “Could you pack up two more sugar pancakes for me? By the way, do you know who owns Shuojin Hall over there?”

“Who in Youtian Town doesn’t know? It belongs to the Li Family.”

“Ah, the Li Family.”

After eating, he strolled through the medicine market.

It was rare to encounter a wholesale center for herbs, so how could he not restock? Unfortunately, Ling Guang was not with him, so quality control was less reliable.

By the time he returned to the inn, night had already fallen. He waited over two hours before Jiao Yu returned under the moonlight.

“Well?”

“I checked the township records. Excluding old age and illness, last winter there were seven deaths or serious injuries among young adults, three disappearances, and two merchant caravans reported employees dying suddenly of illness.” It paused before adding, “Those are the human cases.”

“What about monsters?”

“Only that nest of porcupine monsters. Two monsters entered the township seeking treatment and were recorded. As for the rest, there are no records.”

He Lingchuan shook his head. “Official records won’t reveal anything. No wonder Fushan Ji couldn’t solve this case. Whoever’s behind it knows the bureaucracy too well.”

He Lingchuan then recounted his visit to the medicine hall, to which Jiao Yu immediately said, “The porcupines’ territory has water, herbs, and now stonevein. It’s truly abundant in resources.”

“As the saying goes, a precious stone can cause its innocent possessor to be judged guilty[4].” He Lingchuan’s tone turned cold. “Our suspects may not be limited to the Li, Wang, and Tu families.”

He had already asked around and learned that all three families were in the medicine business.

Moreover, stonevein was scarcely known locally, with even the major families possibly being unaware of its existence.

As he got to this point, his brow furrowed. “There is one thing that puzzles me, however. If the attacker knew our movements, why ambush us here? Why not wait until we left Youtian Town or Zhitian Township?”

“Exactly, rushing to ambush us here and failing only exposes that they’re active nearby.” Jiao Yu then asked, “What do you plan to do?”

“Stir up muddy waters. Perhaps the big fish will surface on their own.” He smiled faintly. “Lord Jiao, please invite the head of the Li Family.”

“Now?” The sky’s already very dark.

“Yes, now.” He Lingchuan’s tone brooked no argument.

True to form, Jiao Yu returned in less than half an hour with Patriarch Li in tow.

The man had clearly been dragged from bed. Though properly dressed, his eyes were crusted with sleep, and he yawned repeatedly. At fifty-seven, even with careful upkeep, he no longer possessed a young man’s vigor.

Being summoned in the dead of night by the Crown Prince’s special envoy had set his heart pounding.

He kept probing Jiao Yu along the way, asking if anyone else was involved? A merchant of his stature inevitably had skeletons in his closet. If old matters were dug up...

Still uneasy, he arrived before He Lingchuan, who gave him a smile that did not quite reach his eyes, unfolded a slip of paper before him, and said, “Someone has accused you.”

* * *

The next day, just before dawn.

The magistrate of Baishi County was dreaming of promotion and celebratory feasts when his old servant shook him awake.

“My lord, the heads of the Li and Wang families request an audience.”

“At this hour?” The magistrate rubbed his eyes. The sky outside was still dark. “Have they gone mad?”

“They say it concerns the courier case.”

The courier?

The county magistrate sat on his bed in a daze before remembering the Lingxu City courier disappearance.

He had never believed Zhitian Township had anything to do with it, and had thus paid little attention to the matter these past two days, and was confused as to why the two families were in such a rush to meet with him.

“Have them meet me at the study.”

By the time he arrived half an hour later, the worthies surnamed Li and Wang had already drained a cup of tea each, anxiety etched across their faces.

1. Note that Xu is the person’s surname, while the “second” here just means that they were the second child in their family, or they could also be the second in seniority, so there’s some nuance to it. ☜

2. This should be referring to an oriental turtle dove, also known as a spotted dove, I think. ☜

3. This is 小糖饼, and I don’t think there’s a standard translation for it, but I think hotteok, which is either the same or largely similar, is more well-known internationally? If anything, it’s a lot easier for most of you to search up, :). ☜

4. The common saying is also commonly translated as “an innocent man gets into trouble because of his wealth” or “one’s only crime was only to carry a jade.” Anyway, it’s just saying that someone can be framed or treated unfairly for possessing wealth that incites the greed of someone more powerful. ☜