After the Immortal Disappeared

Chapter 222: Chapter 221: Brawl

Strangely, he seemed to recognize the woman but couldn’t recall where he had seen her before.

The girl was making hand gestures. Li Zhao squinted, his view partially blocked by trees, and after a moment he realized she was pointing frantically in one direction.

’There?’

Li Zhao turned his head and saw a great flood surging toward them from the distance. The towering, muddy waves crashed forward with the force of a thousand charging warhorses.

"The river’s flooding! Run!"

The other kids screamed and scrambled for the bank. But the Li brothers were standing in the middle of the river. The water was already past their navels—it would be too slow to walk back!

Before they could reach the bank, the violent torrent swept them away.

Water was everywhere, rushing into Li Zhao’s mouth and nose, thick with roots, mud, sand, and broken branches. He was occasionally thrown to the surface, where he could hear the horrified shouts of the people on the shore.

He thrashed desperately and his hand suddenly closed around a tree root.

It belonged to a dead tree that had been in the river for years.

This life-saving root was a damn sight better than a blade of grass. Li Zhao clung to it for dear life. A moment later, his older brother swept past and grabbed onto his leg.

Both boys’ lives now hung from that single dead tree.

On the bank, the Li Family’s servants were scrambling to find a way to rescue the two young masters.

After swallowing several mouthfuls of water, Li Zhao realized with terror that the root couldn’t hold against the current. It was starting to break.

’It’s about to snap.’

RRRRIP! The root tore away, taking a large strip of bark with it.

The two boys screamed in terror.

The strip of bark was still attached to the trunk, but it was no longer secure.

Li Zhao turned to his brother and yelled, "Brother, the root is breaking!"

But his usually clever brother wasn’t listening, only screaming, "Pull me up! Quick, pull me up!"

He tugged hard at Li Zhao’s leg, and with every pull, the bark tore a little more.

’If this goes on, we’re both going to die.’

Li Zhao looked at the bark, then back at his brother, and suddenly kicked his brother’s hands.

His brother shrieked, "What are you doing?! Save me!"

He stubbornly clung to Li Zhao’s leg, but Li Zhao kicked harder and harder, finally planting a foot on his brother’s forehead. Stunned, his brother swallowed a mouthful of water, and his grip slackened.

His brother was swept away by the water.

Li Zhao burst into tears, grabbing the strip of bark and trying to pull himself up onto the dead tree.

But he hadn’t climbed more than a foot when he felt a sudden, terrifyingly strong tug at his waist, as if someone was grabbing him and trying to pull him back down.

He looked back and saw his brother floating in the rapids, yanking hard on his belt.

His brother’s face and body were bloated and pale, his eyeballs hung from their sockets, and he was smiling at him.

"I’ve missed you every day. I couldn’t bear to leave you. I’m here to take you with me!"

Horrified, Li Zhao looked down to see that the belt his brother had given him had transformed into a water snake, its tongue flicking. Before he could react, the snake sank its fangs into his waist.

Li Zhao screamed in pain and let go.

Just then, a wave crashed over him, pulling him under.

He tried to struggle, but his brother held him in a tight embrace, dragging him straight to the bottom of the river.

He didn’t know how much river weed he swallowed, but the last thing he saw was his brother’s bloated, grotesque, smiling face.

"I’ve finally got you. We’ll be together forever now. Aren’t you happy?"

...

At the crack of dawn, a bed-warming maid drowsily heard a rattling sound—*hukk, hukk*—coming from Elder Master Li’s throat. At first, she paid it no mind. ’Old men make all sorts of strange noises when they sleep, don’t they?’

But the sound suddenly grew louder. The old man’s mouth was wide open, yet he couldn’t draw a breath, like a fish out of water.

"Oh dear, the old master is choking on phlegm again."

The two bed-warming maids played rock-paper-scissors. The loser pouted, dawdled for a good while, and finally bent down to suck the phlegm from Elder Master Li’s throat.

But it was no use.

Soon, the entire Li household exploded into chaos. His sons could only watch as their father’s face swelled to a deep, purplish-red, but no amount of first aid helped. Before a doctor could even be summoned, Elder Master Li stretched out his legs and was gone.

Just like that, he was gone.

Later, the Li Family specially requested a forensic doctor from the Government Office to perform an autopsy. He pulled a wad of green vegetables from the depths of the elder master’s throat.

"The Elder Master choked to death?" The Li Family members refused to believe it. Li Zhao’s sixth grandson had sharp eyes and suddenly noticed something unusual on the gauze canopy in front of his grandfather’s bed.

"The warding tokens are cracked!"

Everyone crowded over to look. Sure enough, both Copper Tokens had a fine crack running through them. The fissure wasn’t large, but it meant the tokens’ magical effect was gone.

"But these two Lovebirds are still alive. Aren’t they supposed to be eaten first if an evil spirit comes?" The two Lovebirds were hopping and flitting about in their cage, very much alive.

Just then, Elder Master Li’s eldest son, Li Zhi, took down the Sachet from the top of the bed and glanced inside. His face changed dramatically.

He emptied its contents onto the table:

A yellow sheet of Talisman Paper, soaked and ruined by water, the Vermilion script on it smeared into a single blob.

In short, this Protective Talisman was also useless.

"This was an Amulet personally crafted by Master Zhang, head of Lul Xiufeng’s Cloud-Piercing Pavilion!" Li Zhi said through gritted teeth. "No evil spirit could get near it. Someone must have poured water in here and chiseled the Copper Tokens!"

All eyes immediately fell on the two bed-warming maids. A nearby serving girl dropped to her knees. "Last night before bed, the Elder Master checked them himself. Both items were in perfect condition."

Elder Master Li was cautious and valued his life; indeed, he checked these two lines of defense every night before bed. Li Zhi looked at a nearby pageboy, who nodded vigorously. "That’s right, that’s right! I saw the Elder Master check them myself before he went to bed."

"Someone obviously destroyed the Protective Talisman and then used Evil Arts." Veins bulged on Li Zhi’s forehead. "Investigate! Investigate at once!"

"Could it be the Zhan Family?" The second son, Li Rong, had fury in his eyes. "They’re not on good terms with us. Lately, because of that low-price acquisition, they’ve been cursing us out, saying all sorts of nasty things. I personally heard Zhan the Seventh cursing the Elder Master, and it was vicious. Besides, one of the Zhan Family’s younger generation has become a Mage and learned a few Divine Techniques. It’s highly likely they assassinated the Elder Master!"

The other Li Family members’ grief turned to rage, and they started shouting, "Yes! Drag the Zhan Family over here to pay for the Elder Master’s life with their own!"

Li Rong, however, hesitated. "Wait. We still need some evidence to convict them."

"What evidence? They use Evil Techniques to harm people precisely because it leaves no evidence!" Li Zhi sighed in frustration. "Then what do you propose we do?"

Li Rong was not one for quick thinking. His mind was in a whirl, and he stammered, unable to form a coherent sentence. His most favored sixth son also happened to be away from Dunyu today, leaving him with no one to consult.

Someone else said, "Half of the Zhan Family has already fled the city! If we don’t go after them now, it’ll be too late."

The Zhan Family had begun relocating yesterday.

They weren’t going to be living in the same city as the Li Family anymore. It seemed perfectly plausible that they would strike a vicious blow before leaving, just to vent the malice they had harbored for years.

The Li Family members were in a frenzy, chanting, "A debt of blood must be paid in blood!"

Li Rong initially felt this course of action was improper and tried to calm everyone down, but Li Zhi shot him a sidelong glance and sneered, "Father was cursed to death, and you want us to be calm? So, everyone else is drunk on rage, and you’re the only sober one?"

Li Rong was left speechless. Li Zhi pointed at him and hurled a few more insults. Hearing this, the clansmen’s blood boiled, and they roared their support.

Seeing Li Zhi rally the clansmen with a single call, with even his own men ready to follow his brother, Li Rong had no choice but to change his stance.

Neither of them had the ability to command on their own, nor did they possess the prestige of Elder Master Li. If they dared to be a hindrance or show any weakness at a time like this—let alone try to stop the clan from seeking revenge—even uttering the word "calm" again would ensure their defeat in the inevitable power struggle to come.

The two brothers tried to outdo each other in their radical fervor.

In front of the entire clan, Li Zhi and Li Rong put on a show of streaming tears, each trying to appear more heartbroken and impassioned than the other. One-upping each other’s words and feigning ever-deeper emotions, they eventually managed to summon the family’s private soldiers amidst the Li Family’s earth-shaking cries of mourning.

The massive commotion naturally attracted the attention of the Government Office and the city’s residents.

By the time they arrived, the Li Mansion’s private soldiers had already stormed the Zhan Residence in the south of the city. They had seized the women and children and were brutally beating the men. The vast Zhan Residence was in shambles.

Some took the opportunity to fish in troubled waters, ransacking chests and cupboards for valuables.

The Zhan Family was, after all, a famous noble family in Dunyu City with an immense fortune. Anything the Li Family’s privately-kept soldiers grabbed could be sold later for a nice personal profit.

A contingent of the Li Family’s private soldiers also split off, heading south to pursue the fleeing Zhan clansmen.

Because the new Chief Steward had not yet arrived, affairs at the State Governor’s Mansion were being temporarily handled by the Chief of Staff and the Assistant Governor. When the two of them arrived on the scene, their scalps tingled with dread. They hurriedly ordered the constables forward to stop the chaos.

The Li Family were used to running rampant in Dunyu City, and now, consumed by rage and grief, they were in no mood to listen to reason.

The Zhan Family also had guards, but unfortunately, two fists are no match for four hands.

One clueless Official stepped forward to pull someone back, only to get a punch to the nose from Li Zhi, sending blood streaming down his face. The Official was new to the job and young; he didn’t recognize Li Zhi, so of course he fought back.

When Li Zhi was hit, the Li Family’s private soldiers rushed forward and rained down blows on the Official’s head.

The attackers, the peacemakers, and those attacking the peacemakers—the entire southern district of Dunyu City devolved into a boiling pot of chaos.

The local citizens surrounded them in layers three deep, all craning their necks to watch the spectacle.

This was the Li Family and the Zhan Family! These people were usually so high and mighty; who would have thought they’d be seen brawling in the mud like this?

So much for dignified nobles. When they fought to the death, it was just like watching dogs tear at each other.

"Where is Peng Ju’an?" With the situation out of control, the Chief of Staff desperately looked for help. "How could something like this happen? Where is that Military Officer of ours hiding?!"

A subordinate helpfully reminded him, "Lord Peng seems to be resting at home today."

"Go to Qingping Village and drag him back here!" The Chief of Staff was sweating profusely despite the cold. "And his thousand-plus men! Bring them all back immediately to suppress this riot!"

Xiazhou had sixteen hundred soldiers, and until the new Chief Steward arrived, all of them were under the command of the Military Officer.

The subordinate accepted the order and hurried off.

He left, and for the better part of the morning, did not return.

It was just over ten li from Dunyu to Qingping Village. Even without a horse, a man could have run there and back several times over in that amount of time.

The Chief of Staff grew even more anxious:

’Peng Ju’an hasn’t come, and the man I sent hasn’t returned. Could Qingping Village have been attacked by enemies?’

Small units of Nian Zanli’s forces from the north had slipped behind enemy lines to harass the border towns more than once. Although Qingping Village was a bit far from the northern front, the possibility couldn’t be ruled out.

’Their cavalry’s mobility is excellent, after all.’

During this chaotic interval, the Li Family’s private soldiers beat the Zhan Family members black and blue. Several of them were lying on the ground, barely able to move.

Inside the Zhan Residence, the women and children were a mess of tears, a truly miserable sight.

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