Where Immortals Once Walked

So Hu Bin really was Hong Chenglue!

No wonder his movement technique, saber technique, and those eyes practically blazing with hatred had all felt so familiar.

“He didn’t make a move these past two months because he had reservations.”

Hong Chenglue had recognized him as He Lingchuan in Dun Garden, but had not cut down his enemy on the spot because he was waiting for another chance to return to the battlefield and earn merit.

With greater matters before him, he could only set aside his private grudge for the time being.

Then, viewed another way, once Hong Chenglue finally won that opportunity, could he still suppress the hatred he had buried for so long?

“My guess is that before heading east, he wanted to settle old scores with me. Making a move in Lingxu City was too risky, and the Fu Realm was the perfect place.”

The mirror sighed. “I thought you’d already talked him out of seeking revenge back at Dun Garden.”

He Lingchuan found that amusing. “A man like him has a firm will. How could he change his mind just because his enemy said a few words?”

“But if he wants revenge on you...”

“He wanted revenge on me because he thought I would be easy to kill.” He Lingchuan finished washing his face and lay down on the bed. “He thought taking revenge on me would count as giving A’Jin an explanation. In truth, he only wanted peace for himself.”

Many parties bore responsibility for A’Jin’s death.

Beijia was responsible.

State Preceptor Shuang Ye was responsible.

Wu Qing, who had given A’Jin the Cold Dove Powder, was responsible.

The He father and son were responsible.

A’Jin herself was responsible.

And Hong Chenglue, of course, was responsible too.

If he did not avenge his beloved wife, then the guilt, rage, and agony in his heart would never settle. They would torment him day and night.

However, he could not take revenge on Beijia or State Preceptor Shuang Ye, and he could not draw his saber and cut his own throat either. That left only the remaining targets for him to vent his fury upon.

During their meeting in Dun Garden, He Lingchuan had heard that Wu Qing was already dead. That was the case simply because he had been easy to kill.

In Hong Chenglue’s original impression, He Lingchuan should also have been easy to kill. A few cuts, and A’Jin would have been partially avenged, at least in his mind.

Only then could his heart find peace.

So even if he understood all the reasoning He Lingchuan had laid out, he still would not spare He Lingchuan.

After listening to all this, the mirror immediately changed the subject, “He’s already left Lingxu for the front line. Is that good or bad for us?”

“Good, of course.” He Lingchuan did not even need to think to answer that question. “Someone who knows my background and has been watching me has left. That removes another layer of resistance from our plan.”

Great matters came first. The hatred and entanglement between him and Hong Chenglue could be set aside for now.

* * *

The next day, rumors spread throughout Lingxu City.

There were murmurs of State Preceptor Qing Yang having fallen, that she had been executed, and that the Lord Emperor was going to abolish the Spring Palace. There were even some saying that all of the Spring Palace’s disciples had been arrested and thrown into prison...

The more the rumors spread, the more detailed and convincing they became.

In reality, even Fushan Yue, the foremost victim in the elixir of youth case, could not pry out a single piece of news from Heaven-Reaching Palace.

Flying above the imperial palace was forbidden, and violators were executed. Thus, the goshawk could only return empty-clawed.

And at the very center of this storm, Heaven-Reaching Palace and the Heavenly Palace both remained strangely silent. Not a single word was released to the outside world.

Everyone inferred that the two sides were either negotiating or had already reached an agreement.

Then, near dusk, a squirrel leaped down from a tree and nearly landed on He Lingchuan’s face.

It brought an utterly unexpected message:

I have to leave Lingxu City. Immediately!

—Tong Wei.

He Lingchuan was stunned because “Tong Wei” was Dong Rui’s alias.

Why would this fellow suddenly need to leave for no reason, and in such a rush that it’s like his backside had caught fire?

In He Lingchuan’s plan, Dong Rui occupied important positions at both the beginning and the end. If he left, He Lingchuan’s Mount Xu Plan would die in the womb before it could even begin.

I can’t let him leave!

“Where is he?”

The squirrel said that when it went to the hidden meeting place this time, it happened to see Dong Rui packing his luggage. There was already a new batch of guards from the Tongxin Guard outside.

“Let’s go.” Without another word, He Lingchuan used the dim light to shake off the guards and quickly descended the mountain.

This brought up the matter of Dong Rui’s residence.

He had originally lived in Ground Willow Alley in the West Dui District. It was far too distant from Fleeting Thoughts Manor. Even riding the cliff ram at full speed, it would still take four hours. He Lingchuan often needed to discuss the plan with him, and spending eight hours going back and forth was far too inconvenient. Moreover, the residents of Ground Willow Alley looked at everyone as if they were thieves, so He Lingchuan had told him to move.

Dong Rui had originally been unwilling, but Young Master He had his methods. Dong Rui grew annoyed by his nagging and half-willingly, half-reluctantly agreed. The other residence he bought was only one kilometer from Fleeting Thoughts Manor. The cliff ram could reach it in just a few strides.

Xi Yunhe had also questioned Dong Rui about the move, but Dong Rui had confidently said that the house here was bigger and better. He had come to Lingxu City to work for State Preceptor Shuang Ye, so why should he curl up every day in a tiny broken courtyard that barely saw the sky?

Of course, he had placed the snail toad somewhere else near the outskirts ahead of time, saying that there were more wild self-heal herbs there and the dew was richer. Xi Yunhe had then been too lazy to bother further.

To him, Dong Rui was only the doctor treating the snail toad’s injuries. He did not need much attention. The elixir of youth case had reached a crucial moment and naturally consumed all of State Preceptor Shuang Ye’s and Xi Yunhe’s focus.

Now, however, the situation had changed again.

It was hard for He Lingchuan not to connect Dong Rui’s sudden departure with the major event that had happened in the city yesterday. The two were most likely related somehow.

Damn it. I’d been watching the show, only for the show to land right on my own head!

Beside the residence Dong Rui had bought was a carriage station. It had gone bankrupt because of poor management, and no one had yet taken over the property, so it had remained empty. Its rear courtyard was very large, its walls high, the ground muddy, and the weeds in the corners already grew past the knee.

Some of the grass blades had clearly been flattened. He Lingchuan also found a bit of mucus on the ground. It had dried completely and reflected light, looking somewhat familiar.

It was not hard to guess what this abandoned courtyard had been used for.

He Lingchuan lay on the wall of the carriage station and looked inside. There were three guards in Dong Rui’s residence. Their faces were indeed unfamiliar, and they stood around Dong Rui’s room either deliberately or casually, surrounding it in a triangular formation.

He changed angles and, through the window, saw Dong Rui pacing back and forth inside the room, his expression agitated.

If He Lingchuan wanted to sneak into the room, he would have to knock down at least one guard.

This was absolutely not a good time to start a fight.

He Lingchuan thought for a moment, then summoned the eyeball spider and whispered to it, “Go find Dong Rui.” After a guard patrol passed by, he threw the spider toward the window.

The little thing was too light, so he had no choice but to use a bit of true energy.

The spider landed on the outer wall, moved all eight legs, and slipped into the window in a few swift scuttles.

Dong Rui happened to stop and pour some water. Just as he picked up the cup, a voice suddenly sounded in his ear, “Dong Rui.”

He was so startled that his hand trembled, sending water sloshing from the cup. Yet when he looked left and right, how could there be anyone in the room?

“Over here.” The eyeball spider leaped onto the rim of the cup and waved its forelegs at him.

Only then did Dong Rui discover that this was not the one Zhu Erniang had given him.

“Throw your eyeball spider out to me! We can talk if we trade.”

These things can be used like that? Dong Rui paused, took out his own eyeball spider, murmured a couple of instructions, then walked to the window and threw it toward the opposite courtyard wall.

Soon, the little thing climbed over the wall and found He Lingchuan.

He held the spider to his ear. Inside the room, Dong Rui was doing almost the same thing.

Both men held the other’s eyeball spider. When one spoke, the other could hear him, and when the other spoke, he could receive it too. This way, they could hold a live conversation without alarming the guards.

“Can you hear me?” He Lingchuan tucked himself into a corner.

“We don’t have time for nonsense!” He had forcibly found a new way to use two perfectly good eyeball spiders, but Dong Rui was in no mood to praise him. “Things are bad! Xi Yunhe just came to me and said State Preceptor Qing Yang has accused me before the gods of being the source from which she obtained divine blood! I can’t stay in Lingxu City anymore. He told me to evacuate immediately!”

State Preceptor Qing Yang actually went and slandered Dong Rui? The news was so explosive that He Lingchuan’s head buzzed, and for a moment, he could not even respond.

It seemed State Preceptor Qing Yang had indeed escaped the Spring Palace yesterday, slipped into Tianxin Island, and met the Lord Emperor.

She only had one chance to persuade the Lord Emperor, and she actually dragged Dong Rui into it?

These two people were so unrelated that even eight poles could not connect them.

State Preceptor Qing Yang shouldn’t even know that Dong Rui exists!

Wait, wait!

In his view, the main reasons the heavenly gods cared about the elixir of youth case were, first, to uphold divine authority, and second, to find out the source of State Preceptor Qing Yang’s divine blood. This was something that could not be obtained even in Lingxu City’s black markets, which were said to have every wonder under the sun. Yet if State Preceptor Qing Yang wanted to refine and sell elixirs of youth, she could not avoid needing it.

Simply put, the orthodox gods, including Divine Majesty Lingxu, wanted to determine whether State Preceptor Qing Yang had secretly colluded with some god!

If State Preceptor Qing Yang really had done that, she could never admit it. In that case, the god behind her might still think of a way to fish her out.

If she gave that god up, it would not let matters rest either. After that, she might be attacked from front and back, and who knew how miserable her ending would be.

Therefore, she had to think of a way to muddle through.

The best method was to find some unlucky scapegoat who had ready-made divine blood in hand and frame him.

He Lingchuan could not help but scratch his head.

How does State Preceptor Qing Yang know that Dong Rui has divine blood?

An old tree has deep roots. That woman truly did prepare a fallback. I guess it’s to be expected that she wouldn’t be easy to bring down.

“Hey, did you hear me?” Hearing no reply, Dong Rui growled. He was in imminent danger right now. With his former temper, he would definitely have run without another word. This time, he had even notified He Lingchuan before leaving. That was already very righteous of him!

“Yeah.” He Lingchuan pressed his fingers against his temple and felt his brain aching. “How are you planning to leave? Using the snail toad?”

“Of course.” Dong Rui said it as if it were obvious. “With the snail toad in hand, I can go anywhere.” Lingxu City was so vast that it was impossible for the authorities to install anti-escape arrays throughout the city and keep them active at all times.

“Xi Yunhe has already gone to the outskirts to bring the snail toad over. Once it arrives, I’m leaving.” At this point, Dong Rui also felt slightly embarrassed. “Apologize to Zhu Erniang for me. I won’t be able to complete her commission.” His own life was more important, after all.

It was not just Zhu Erniang’s commission. If he left, He Lingchuan’s own little scheme would also be ruined.

Of course, He Lingchuan had never told Dong Rui his goal of stealing a divine artifact from Star-Plucking Tower—that is, the lid of the Generous Pot.

What should I do now? Once Dong Rui leaves, he’ll vanish to the ends of the earth, and it’d be nearly impossible to find him.

He Lingchuan’s eyes shifted, and he quickly said, “You can’t leave!”

“What?” Dong Rui immediately became wary. “Why can’t I leave? I can’t help you anymore!”