After the Immortal Disappeared

Chapter 107: Chapter 108: The Sudden Fish Tide

The fatty’s vision blurred as a sharp pain shot through his eyes. He instinctively opened his mouth to scream, only to have a flatbread shoved in, muffling the sound completely.

A sharp pain then erupted in his chest and abdomen. The kid across from him had landed at least three punches in the span of half a breath!

All three punches landed on his diaphragm. The fatty’s vision went black, and he couldn’t draw a breath.

Still not satisfied, Hee Lingchuan followed up with a flying kick, striking him squarely in the groin.

The unique agony of a blow to the groin sent the fatty to the ground, clutching himself and twitching all over. In the face of such excruciating pain, the foul stench suddenly didn’t seem so terrible.

The Personal Guard was quick-witted. Fearing the man would topple over with a heavy thud and alert those outside, he quickly caught him and eased him to the floor.

Sweat poured down the fatty’s oily face like rain, but he couldn’t utter a sound.

Hee Lingchuan pulled a Silk Rope from his Storage Ring and swiftly bound the man’s hands.

This was the type of rope the City Guard Army used on suspects—light, pliable, and elastic. Not only had Hee Lingchuan stocked it in his Storage Ring, but he had also specifically learned the corresponding knot-tying techniques before leaving, allowing him to tie them at lightning speed.

By the time the fatty recovered enough to struggle, he found that the more he fought, the tighter the ropes became.

A flatbread was still stuffed in his mouth, so he couldn’t call for backup. What’s more, that spoiled rich kid pulled out a dagger and pressed it to his neck. "Struggle again, and I’ll cut off your ears before gouging out your eyes!"

The captive became much more cooperative.

Hee Lingchuan shot a look at his Personal Guard, who went to check the premises. He returned shortly and said, "There are two men in the courtyard. They asked about the noise. I told them the young master drank too much... They didn’t seem suspicious."

Hee Lingchuan kicked the captive on the floor. "Seems you’re a decent fighter. They have a lot of confidence in you." ’It’s probably because this fatty is here to hold down the fort,’ Hee Lingchuan thought, ’that the other bandits aren’t worried. They must believe he can handle me and two guards.’

’So my decision not to fight him head-on was the right one. The sound of a brawl would attract trouble, to say nothing of whether I could even win—this guy is clearly a desperate man. His counterattacks would have been powerful.’

Regardless, he and Mrs. Zhu finally had an opportunity to speak directly. Hee Lingchuan breathed a sigh of relief. He searched Fatty Wang, took everything of value, and didn’t forget to pry the Black Thorn Ring from his finger.

Hee Yue and Zeng Feixiong left the Prefect and his wife’s quarters and headed toward the lake.

Hee Chunhua had already laid out the situation for Zeng Feixiong, and the latter was about to go rally his men and make preparations in secret. "Second Young Master, why have you come out as well? It’s dangerous out here."

The lakeshore was dotted with bandits, standing in twos and threes.

After Hee Chunhua’s warning, everyone now looked like a bandit to Zeng Feixiong.

Hee Yue retorted, "My brother came out just a moment ago. Why did no one say it was dangerous for him?"

He, too, had two Personal Guards following him.

’Er... The Eldest Young Master clearly looks like he can take care of himself, unlike the Second Young Master, who seems so frail.’

Hee Yue waved his hand. "Don’t worry, I was just joking. I can’t stay cooped up with my parents the whole time—that would arouse suspicion. And I won’t stray too far from you."

He was a teenager, a restless age. It would be unnatural for a young man like him to stay shut in his parents’ room all day.

Just then, a few villagers walked past, and the two fell silent.

They continued walking to the edge of the lake, where they heard the sound of splashing.

Hee Yue glanced at the lake and couldn’t help but chuckle. "I hope this isn’t where the villagers get their water."

This section of Immortal Spirit Lake was quite narrow, partitioned into a smaller pool by the surrounding wetland. The bank had a gentle slope, and the water’s surface, once clean and calm with only a few fallen leaves, was now being churned by four or five soldiers splashing and roughhousing without a care.

It was October, and the chill was especially sharp deep in the mountains. But the company had been marching for a long time, and a thick layer of grime came off with a single rub. The sight of the clear lake water was simply too tempting to resist. Besides, these men were all hale and hearty—what was a little cold water to them?

Fuzzy Peach was among them. Despite his origins as one of the Sand Bandits, he was a sociable fellow and had clearly managed to blend in with the other soldiers. Seeing Hee Yue and Zeng Feixiong approach, he called out a hearty invitation, "Second Young Master, Boss, get in here! This is the life! There are little fish that nibble on you—it’s ticklish and feels great!"

As he spoke, he puckered his lips, making little smacking and sucking noises to imitate the fish.

The others roared with laughter and copied him, filling the lake with a chorus of strange noises.

Hee Yue asked, intrigued, "Do the fish eat people?"

Black Water City had streams and seasonal rivers, but no vast, seemingly endless lakes like this one.

"They don’t break the skin, there’s no blood, and it doesn’t hurt." With a quick motion, Fuzzy Peach scooped a tiny, finger-pad-sized fish out of the water. "See? I think they only eat dead skin."

"All right, that’s enough. Get out of the water. What kind of display is this, all of you carrying on like this?" Zeng Feixiong’s mind was weighed down with heavy thoughts, and he had no time for their antics.

But the words had barely left his mouth when Fuzzy Peach suddenly shushed them. "Everyone, be quiet! Listen!"

The others were about to laugh at him, but Zeng Feixiong’s face changed. "Quiet!" he barked.

Everyone immediately fell silent. And then, Hee Yue heard it too—a strange sound.

A rustling, whispering sound... SSSSHHH... It was strangely familiar, like the sound of wind-driven sand.

Fuzzy Peach pointed to the open surface of the lake not far away. "It’s coming from over there!"

And not only that—the sound was growing louder, moving from far to near, heading straight for the shore.

Now, everyone could see it. The surface of the water looked as if it were boiling, and a White Wave was rushing toward them.

Zeng Feixiong’s expression changed as well. "Everyone, get out of the water now!" he roared.

But it was too late.

Only two of the soldiers had managed to scramble out before the White Wave hit.

First, two palm-sized fish leaped out of the water and slapped against Fuzzy Peach’s face, leaving him stunned.

Then five, ten more fish leaped into the smaller pool.

Then twenty, thirty...

A hundred, a thousand...

As if jumping into the pool wasn’t enough, the fish began desperately flopping onto the shore.

Only then did everyone see clearly—it wasn’t a White Wave on the lake at all. It was a massive, frenzied school of leaping fish!

Several soldiers, overwhelmed, couldn’t shield themselves completely and yelped as the airborne fish poked and prodded them.

The fish flopping in were of all shapes and sizes, from as small as a pinky finger to as long as seven or eight feet.

But the others just laughed. "Looks like we’re eating well tonight! The midnight snack’s arrived!"

An enormous eight-foot fish flopped onto the sloping bank and got stuck, thrashing in the mud and sand and spraying everyone with dirty water. Instead of being alarmed, the soldiers were delighted. "Is that the king of fish? It’s big enough to feed dozens of us!"

On the bank and in the water, live fish flopped everywhere. It looked like there were at least a thousand or two pounds of them.

Villagers and other soldiers nearby heard the commotion and rushed over to watch. But while the soldiers waded in or crowded the shoreline to grab fish, the villagers all watched the spectacle from the sidelines, maintaining a distance of at least forty or fifty feet from the water.

Hee Yue’s keen eyes caught this detail, and his heart skipped a beat. ’Could there be some danger coming after?’

He suddenly recalled the blood-written letter and its mention of the shattered Water Spirit Altar.

’This crazy fish tide is obviously not normal. Could it be connected to that?’

He shouted at the top of his lungs, "Get back here! Stop grabbing the fish!"

Just then, a figure burst through the tall grass, charged down the slope to the lakeshore, and with a loud SPLASH, leaped into the water and sank out of sight.