After the Immortal Disappeared

"What are our casualties?"

"Seven wounded. One is in bad shape, but no one died," the soldier reported. "The bandits were a disorganized mob, but the den is well-fortified and was tough to attack." These bandits' fighting skills were pathetic. With no Primordial Power to use, what else could they do against professional soldiers but lie down and wait for death?

Fu Xin spat. "But people still got hurt, didn't they? There are villages everywhere. Why not just take one? We'd have food and drink, which is a hell of a lot better than this poor, remote mountain."

It was always easier to attack common folk than to attack Mountain Bandits.

"This place is more concealed," Hong Chenglu said, walking out from a row house and casually answering the question. "And there's food and drink here as well."

When he was staying in Bailu Town, he had learned that this Bandit Den was the largest for a hundred li around, with a population of over three hundred. That many mouths needed to be fed every day; they couldn't possibly rely solely on raiding the lands below. Rumor had it these bandits colluded with merchants from the foothills, trading their plunder for grain.

Even with Hong Chenglu leading a surprise attack, it still took them four to five double-hours to capture the place. When they later opened the storehouses, they found no shortage of grain and all sorts of supplies, much to everyone's delight.

Every farmer knew that when the harvest was poor and you couldn't steal from your neighbors, it was worth checking the edges of the fields for voles. A vole's burrow could hold a pleasant surprise—at least enough food for several meals.

Clearly, the "voles" they had just exterminated were a frugal bunch, managing to have a surplus even in a year of famine.

"Hong!" The moment he saw him, Fu Xin's eyes turned red. He rushed forward and grabbed Hong Chenglu by the collar. "You left us in that mine pit to die! What was the meaning of that?!"

The Personal Guards behind him moved to intervene, but Hong Chenglu waved them off.

"I ordered everyone to retreat, but you refused," Hong Chenglu said coolly. "So you disobey a direct order, leading to the annihilation of our forces, and somehow that's my fault?"

"You never came down the mountain to intercept the state troops! Why not?!"

"We went down the mountain. We found no trace of their troops. We couldn't very well return empty-handed, so we proceeded to carry out the primary mission assigned by Marshal Nian: raiding and burning grain supplies behind enemy lines. Is there a problem with that?"

Fu Xin glanced around. He wasn't so consumed by rage that he didn't notice their numbers were off. "So, did you succeed? Hmm? You used us as bait, so tell me, did you kill the State Official? Did you burn the grain?"

His voice grew louder and louder, crescendoing into a roar that drew the soldiers out from the surrounding row houses.

Hong Chenglu seized his wrist, twisted it outward, and drove a fist into Fu Xin's chest. The blow sent him staggering back five steps, nearly knocking him to the ground.

The Personal Guards behind Fu Xin surged forward.

Hong Chenglu clasped his hands behind his back. "Where is General Baili? Worst case, you could have retreated through the mine tunnels at the back of the mountain, couldn't you?"

He hadn't left Baili Qing and his men with a dead end.

If he had been quick to seize the opportunity, Baili Qing would still have had a chance to escape.

Fu Xin remained stubbornly silent. One of his Personal Guards answered instead. "The Xiazhou troops circled around to the back of the mountain. They blew up the mine tunnel exit, then smoked them out. General Baili… was captured. We watched from our ambush position on the peak. The lead Xiazhou general killed everyone."

An uproar erupted throughout the den. Even Hong Chenglu felt a vein pulse in his forehead.

'The state troops killed General Baili and all the surrendered soldiers in the mine? How ruthless.'

'Then again, there's no good way to handle prisoners while marching and transporting grain. Killing them all is certainly the simplest solution.'

He stared at Fu Xin. "Then how did you survive? Don't tell me you were cowards, clinging to life?"

Fu Xin was enraged, but the icy glint in Hong Chenglu's eyes sent a chill down his spine. He stiffened his neck and retorted, "We caught the enemy off guard and fought a bloody path to freedom!"

"Abandoning your Main General to flee is a crime punishable by decapitation." Hong Chenglu's words struck a chill deep into Fu Xin's heart.

"However, we are short on men. I will give you a chance to redeem yourself." Hong Chenglu suddenly drew his blade. Fu Xin felt a cold sensation on the back of his hand, the pain following an instant later.

The tip of a little finger fell to the ground.

"AHH!" he screamed, clutching his left hand as blood gushed from the wound.

Only when his screams subsided did Hong Chenglu continue, "If you dare cause trouble again—be it through insolence, sowing discord, or cowardice—it will be your head that falls next."

Fu Xin lowered his head, avoiding his gaze, but ground his molars audibly.

Hong Chenglu's gaze swept over the crowd, and everyone bowed their heads.

With Baili Qing dead, the army had no choice but to follow Hong Chenglu's command. They had nowhere else to go; they were deep in Xiazhou, the enemy's heartland.

"Strip," Hong Chenglu added.

Fu Xin's head snapped up, his expression incredulous. "What?"

"Strip for inspection. We need to make sure you haven't been marked with a tracking Spell."

Stared at by hundreds of pairs of eyes, Fu Xin's face flushed crimson. "No, I… I…" 'Stripping naked in front of so many soldiers is worse than death.'

Vice General Xuu Yingxian quickly stepped in to smooth things over. "We could take him into one of the row houses for the inspection! General, that would work too."

Hong Chenglu nodded.

A few Personal Guards then stepped forward and led Fu Xin into a small hut nearby.

Hong Chenglu turned and walked away, his expression as cold as ice.

Wuu Qing, who had been observing from inside a row house, now emerged. "General Hong, what is your plan now?"

"We'll lie low and bide our time. Hee Chunhua's shipment of nearly ten thousand measures of grain is certain to reach the front lines now. We have no way to intercept it. We can only wait for the next chance to strike behind enemy lines."

"Send some men to move about in three or four of the north-central counties and towns. Have them gather intelligence," Hong Chenglu said, having already formed a plan. "Also, request another three hundred Rangers from Marshal Nian for me."

The two entered a row house. Seeing that they were alone, Wuu Qing lowered his voice. "General Baili's death, Fu Xin's escape back to us… this was no accident, was it?"

"Of course not," Hong Chenglu snorted. "The Xiazhou people let them come back specifically to cause trouble for me. Fu Xin has more than a dozen men, our raid on the Xinhuang Military Camp was a failure, and morale is low. Now is not the time to make a move against him."

He also lowered his voice. "When do my superiors want me to return to Beiga?"

"National Preceptor Frost Leaf says you are to hold out behind enemy lines for as long as possible. You are to pay close attention to the situation on the Hanhe River front."

'The situation on the Hanhe River front?' he mused. 'In other words, when I can return to Beiga depends on my performance there?' Hong Chenglu fell into thought. "I've been away for too long. Which National Preceptor leads our nation now?"

"Currently, National Preceptor Mianbing is on duty holding the seal." To hold the seal was to hold the power of decision. The four National Preceptors had always taken turns wielding it.

Hong Chenglu's pupils contracted slightly before returning to normal. "What a coincidence. She was holding the seal when I left as well." 'No wonder National Preceptor Frost Leaf's message lacked conviction.'

Wuu Qing offered a placating smile. "Yes, indeed." 'I'd long heard there was a rift between General Hong and National Preceptor Mianbing,' he thought. 'It seems the rumors were true.'

The two went on to discuss supply matters. Before long, a Personal Guard came to report:

"Fu Xin's inspection is complete. No tracking-related Divine Techniques or objects were found."

"Understood." Hong Chenglu waved him away. He knew that after this body search, Fu Xin would hate him to his very bones.

Furthermore, many soldiers in the den were already grumbling about him. After all, Hong Chenglu was from Beiga, while they were all Xunzhou Rangers. He had even personally overheard comments like, "The Beiga General doesn't give a damn about the lives of us Xunzhou people," during his patrols.

'It's never easy commanding soldiers who aren't your own.'

He then asked Wuu Qing, "How is Ajin doing? Is she settling in alright?"

Wuu Qing smiled. "Don't worry. The village is very well-hidden. The lady has two attentive old women to help her with meals and daily needs, and people to keep her company. She's far more comfortable than you are."

Hong Chenglu was still worried. "I was thinking… should I bring her here?"

"It would be best not to," Wuu Qing said frankly. "We have no fixed base and never know when we might have to move. For a… delicate woman to travel with the Rangers would be too arduous." 'And too inconvenient,' he added mentally.

Hong Chenglu let out a breath and nodded. Logically, he knew this was the correct course of action.

Wuu Qing continued, "These past few days, all the towns and villages have been rounding up bandits and spies, heavily interrogating any outsiders or unfamiliar faces. I heard the jail in Haotian Village is already full, and they've even dragged out dozens for public execution to make an example of them. There's a palpable sense of fear everywhere; the tension is unprecedented."

"Mr. Wuu, you won't get dragged into this, will you?"

"I'll be fine. My group has official credentials; they can't touch me. In a year of famine, merchants like us are more important than ever." Wuu Qing sighed. "The Village Officials are also dispatching men to scour the mountain villages, turning them upside down to root out any Xunzhou people. General Hong, you were truly farsighted. If you had randomly occupied a village to use as a base, you'd be in the middle of a frantic retreat right now."

"This must be an order from the State Official, which the local officials have no choice but to follow. I burned over ten thousand measures of Hee Chunhua's military grain. He must be livid."

Wuu Qing smiled. "Indeed. The bounty posters with your name are about to be plastered all over central and northern Xiazhou."

But Hong Chenglu wasn't worried about himself. "Is there a bounty on Ajin?"

"I haven't seen any for her."

Their discussion concluded, the two went their separate ways.

* * *

「Thunderbolt Village.」

The spring waters had begun to swell, and the stream gurgled softly.

Two peasant women were washing clothes by the stream. One looked up at the sky. "How is it about to rain already? It was perfectly sunny when we came out!"

A great mass of dark clouds had drifted in from nowhere, blocking out half the sky. While it was still bright and sunny directly overhead, the sky to the east was completely dark.

"Let's wash faster and get back quickly."

"That's spring for you. All it does is rain. We finally get a sunny day, and it only lasts a few double-hours," one of the women complained. "All the firewood's damp. It's a real pain to get a fire going, and the smoke is suffocating."

"Aunt Liu, can I ask you something?" the other woman said. "You help out in Village Chief Chen's kitchen, don't you? I heard he has several relatives visiting."

"Oh, that's right." Aunt Liu grabbed a piece of clothing and pounded it forcefully. "They say they're the womenfolk of a rich family from the south. One of them is sick and was sent to our village to recuperate in peace."

"But I heard it was a whole group of people?"

"It is. There are three or four old serving women alone, plus a few men who look like guards… or bodyguards? One is lean and wiry, the other is burly. The way they look at you feels like a glare. They have very fierce faces," Aunt Liu said. "All of them are here to serve that one lady."

The other woman was puzzled. "What kind of sickness does she have that they'd send her to the countryside instead of treating her in the city?" Everyone knew the city had better facilities. Even if a village had a doctor or two, they were just local healers. How could their skills possibly compare to the physicians in a major city?

"I don't get it either. All I know is that the Village Chief gave them his main house to stay in. The noble lady herself never leaves her room. Almost no one has even seen her."

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