Where Immortals Once Walked

The county magistrate had, of course, already washed and dressed before coming out to receive the, though blood vessels in his eyes were slightly dilated from having been dragged out of bed before dawn even broke.

He took his seat in the study. A young attendant immediately stepped forward and set down two cups of hot tea.

The magistrate lifted his own cup, took a measured sip, and only then looked at the two men before him, “What is it that brings you running here at daybreak?”

Patriarch Li’s face was flushed with indignation. “That man surnamed Tu actually went to the Crown Prince’s special envoy and submitted a written accusation against us!”

The magistrate waved a hand dismissively. “Township disputes aren’t worth the envoy’s attention. You’re overthinking this.” In his mind, he scoffed. Why would someone of higher rank even care about the petty dealings of country merchants? Country bumpkins truly are country bumpkins; the slightest disturbance and they lose all composure.

Patriarch Wang abruptly changed tack. “Lord Magistrate, to whom did you assign the mineral rights in the porcupine territory?”

The magistrate blinked. “What are you talking about? What mineral rights? Since when was there a mineral deposit in porcupine territory?”

Patriarch Li had clearly been stewing all night. His eyes were bloodshot, more so even than the magistrate’s. He leaned forward. “The Crown Prince’s special envoy entered the mountains today to inspect the porcupine nest. He brought back a portion of mineral powder to my Shuojin Hall for identification, and it turned out to be stonevein! There is very likely a deposit of it near that nest!”

The county magistrate stared blankly. “Stonevein? Never heard of it. Is it important?”

“The medicine ape that my Shuojin Hall hired at a great expense, Mr. Lü, was the one to identify it! Stonevein is the very essence of mountain veins. Out of a thousand mountain ranges, you might not find even one stonevein! Do you call that precious or not?”

The magistrate frowned. “What is it actually used for?”

“It’s required in many secret prescriptions. It’s also used in forging magical artifacts.” Patriarch Li then lowered his voice and added, “And it’s said to be a catalyst for the elixir of youth, or even the elixir of immortality[1].”

The magistrate inhaled sharply.

The elixir of youth was a legend in Beijia. It was something whispered about in the common folk’s tales, hazy and half-believed. But among those at higher levels, its existence was no mere myth.

Anything connected to it would certainly be priceless.

“Are you certain it was taken from Mount Yulun?” the magistrate pressed. “Could it be that the special envoy brought it himself?”

“Send someone into the porcupine nest to take a look, and you’ll know!” Patriarch Li snapped. “That nest of porcupines died under suspicious circumstances. It was said before that they were killed by an avalanche or falling rocks, but the envoy says that doesn’t add up. Lord Magistrate, could it be that someone wanted to seize the stonevein and had them killed?”

Patriarch Wang chimed in smoothly, “That nest has been dead for over half a year. If someone’s been secretly mining stonevein there, it could have been going on for just as long. Lord Magistrate, you must intervene!”

“No one applied to me for a mining permit!” the magistrate retorted, his irritation flaring. “If I had approved it, would you not know?”

In the countryside, such news spread faster than wildfire, and concealing it would have been nearly impossible.

Patriarch Li cleared his throat loudly. It was time to present the conclusion he had labored over all night.

“Lord Magistrate, the only family who could dig and hammer away in the porcupine territory without attracting suspicion... would be the Wan Family!”

The county magistrate froze. “The Wan Family? You mean the ones who are building the lake and dam?”

“Mount Yulun is rarely visited by anyone except their work crews, who then make noise day and night. What better cover than claiming to be digging a lake while secretly mining the mountain?”

Patriarch Li shot Patriarch Wang a look. Patriarch Wang caught it and picked up the thread and added, “The lake project is behind schedule. Originally, they promised completion by the end of this year. Now they claim the geology is unstable and have pushed it back to next summer.”

“Exactly.” Patriarch Li nodded vigorously. “My medicine ape, Mr. Lü, said stoneveins are limited in reserve. They’re nothing like copper or iron, where you strike a rich vein and can mine endlessly. By next summer, the Wan Family could have extracted it all. Then they could just fill the pit, and no one would be the wiser!”

Patriarch Wang gave a cold laugh. “They make a fortune in silence and expect us, who’ve worked hard trading medicinal herbs, to shoulder the blame? That’s hardly appropriate.”

They were major local players in the medicinal trade. The Wan Family was not. If the Wan Family reached into this domain to scoop up profits and let them take the fall, how could that be tolerated?

The thought that stone blood might lie beneath his jurisdiction left the magistrate first stunned, then displeased. Still, he was cautious by nature and said evenly, “I’ll send men into the mountains to investigate at once. We’ll speak once there’s solid evidence. In the meantime, keep this matter strictly confidential.”

Both patriarchs agreed readily.

None of them noticed the crow perched quietly beneath the eaves outside, head tilted as it listened.

* * *

By evening, the Baishi County magistrate’s men returned from Mount Yulun, and they brought with them a small pouch of red powder scraped directly from the porcupine nest.

They had also secretly observed the Wan Family’s lake project. Though the laborers were indeed digging within a massive cavern, small chunks of dark red ore would occasionally emerge. Each time, the foreman would hurry over to collect them personally.

The county magistrate was furious. He immediately dispatched constables to summon the head of the Wan Family, Wan Xianneng.

They returned soon enough, not with Wan Xianneng himself, but with a letter clutched in hand.

“My lord, Wan Xianneng has already been interrogated by the special envoy. Both of his legs were broken, and he had just summoned a physician...”

The magistrate’s face drained of color. “What? The special envoy has already questioned him?” He then snatched the letter from their hand. “Was this left by the special envoy?”

“Yes, the special envoy had especially handed it to the chief steward of the Wan Family to be given to us. He has already left for Shuanglu Town?”

As he read the hundred-odd words inside, his hands began to tremble, and sweat began to trickle down his back.

* * *

In truth, that very morning, He Lingchuan had stormed straight into Wan Xianneng’s residence with Jiao Yu.

The crow had kept watch through the night, so He Lingchuan was sure that the head of the Wan Family was home.

Wan Xianneng was still having breakfast, not having even set down his chopsticks, when a massive tiger burst through the doorway and stared him down.

Behind the tiger, He Lingchuan stepped in calmly, hands clasped behind his back, smiling faintly as he said, “Wan Xianneng, your affair has come to light.”

Clatter.

The chopsticks fell to the floor.

Recognizing the special envoy, the steward, servants, and guards dared not intervene.

He Lingchuan asked coolly, “How did that nest of porcupines on Mount Yulun die? Will you confess voluntarily, or shall we proceed with the torture first?”

Cold sweat streamed down Patriarch Wan’s temples. He knew confession meant death, but silence meant suffering.

“Lord Envoy, I know nothing of this! Those who had grudges with the porcupine monsters, you saw them at the banquet two days ago! I wasn’t among them!”

He Lingchuan did not waste breath arguing. He glanced at Jiao Yu.

“Lord Jiao?” He dared not let General Ling intervene. He was afraid the drillwind beast might trample Wan Xianneng to death by accident.

Jiao Yu answered with action.

The tiger pounced.

Screams erupted, then pleas mixed with agonized howls.

The tiger toyed with Wan Xianneng mercilessly. He Lingchuan turned away, covering his face as even he found it hard to watch.

He addressed the stunned servants in the courtyard, “While I conduct my investigation, anyone who steps one foot outside the Wan Residence will be treated as Wan Xianneng’s accomplice and flayed alive!”

The servants fell silent, trembling where they stood.

Several household guards had been itching to act, but when three enormous sheep strode in behind the tiger, they abandoned that thought entirely.

Commoners do not fight officials; that was a lesson that had been etched into their bones.

The scene inside was too bloody, so He Lingchuan had a chair brought out and waited in the courtyard.

Not long after, the goshawk circling above suddenly dove down.

A human scream rose from the west side of the compound.

Moments later, a man stumbled into the courtyard, his shoulder punctured by several bloody holes.

He collapsed before He Lingchuan. “Lord Envoy, please! I only followed orders!”

The goshawk alighted on a branch behind He Lingchuan. “I saw him grabbing a bundle and trying to sneak out the back gate.”

He Lingchuan asked the house steward, “Who is this?”

“The chief steward under Master Wan, surnamed Lu.”

After a brief exchange, He Lingchuan knocked on the blood-spattered door.

“Wan Xianneng, your Steward Lu is ready to confess. If you speak after him, I promise you’ll suffer double.”

Before he even finished speaking, Wan Xianneng’s sobbing voice rang out, “I’ll talk! I’ll talk! Please stop!”

Jiao Yu’s methods were too ruthless. He had reached his limit.

“In Zhitian Township, the herb business was failing, so I turned to road building, bridge construction, and mining. Then last summer’s flood destroyed one of my bridges. The townspeople and villagers lost faith, and my business collapsed.” Patriarch Wan then gulped hard before continuing, “Then someone reported that there was a vein of stone blood on Mount Yulun. I knew it was valuable, but the land wasn’t mine. Coincidentally, my nephew specializes in disciplining wild monsters and beasts, so I asked him to frighten the porcupines away. I never meant to kill them!”

“How did he do it?”

“I don’t know!” Patriach Wan cried. “Soon after I made the request, he simply told me that it was handled. In spring, when the snow melted, the porcupines were found dead in their nest.”

“And with them gone, the lake project faced no resistance, and the county magistrate assigned it to me, so I... I simply...”

Simply mined the ore, eh?

“So your involvement was minor?” He Lingchuan asked coolly.

“Yes, minor! Truly! I didn’t kill them!”

“You’ve done such shameful deeds only once?”

“Once! Only once!”

“Oh?” He Lingchuan dragged Steward Lu forward. “Steward Lu said you sent him to Shuanglu Town several times.”

“N-nine times!” Steward Lu blurted, glancing fearfully at Patriarch Wan’s broken form. “Including yesterday!”

“So Wan Xianneng maintained contact beyond his nephew?”

“Yes! He kept sending me to Shuanglu Town with blood beads!”

At the words “blood beads,” Wan Xianneng swallowed hard. It’s over.

“What are blood beads?”

Steward Lu lowered his head and answered, “They’re red beads about the size of a pellet or pill. I don’t know their purpose or origin. I only followed orders!”

He Lingchuan shot Wan Xianneng a dark look. “Once he finishes speaking, you’ll be useless.”

Sweat ran down Patriarch Wan’s chin. Suddenly, he clenched his teeth and said, “Lord Envoy, pursuing this matter brings no benefit to either you or the Crown Prince!”

1. This may just refer to an elixir that grants a very long life rather than actual immortality. ☜