After the Immortal Disappeared

Chapter 109: Chapter 110: This Woman Gets Stranger and Stranger

Boss Lui climbed out of the water, still dripping, and grinned at Hee Chunhua. "A peaceful resolution?"

Hee Chunhua nodded slowly. "A peaceful resolution."

Since they had torn off all pretenses, they might as well drop the act. The line from the boat dock to the village chief’s house became the central axis. The east side was assigned to the soldiers, the west side to the bandits. The threshing ground and granary were to be shared equally.

Within a quarter of an hour, everyone had to return to their designated side of the line.

From this moment on, as long as neither side crossed the line, they could coexist peacefully until the next morning.

The bandits waded back into the water and hoisted up the large fish. Boss Lui had them carry the fish to the eastern boundary and said to Hee Chunhua, "This one’s lively and delicious. A gift for Mr. Hee, to soothe your nerves!" With a shout, he and his men withdrew.

In an instant, the bandits had completely vanished from the village entrance.

Hee Chunhua watched their retreating figures, his expression grave. "These bandits aren’t your typical riffraff."

Hee Yue said guiltily, "I was reckless. I forced Vice General Zeng to act."

"Young and reckless! You acted without even knowing the first thing about that man, Lui?" Hee Chunhua glared at him, a hint of disappointment in his eyes. "You’ve alerted the snake in the grass. Now he’s on guard. We can only hope his offer of peace is genuine, or tonight will be a bloodbath!"

Hee Yue pressed his lips together and lowered his head.

’Poor child, a whole corner of his robe was torn off in that chaotic fight.’ Madam Ying raised a hand to wipe the blood from the corner of his forehead, her heart aching. "My lord, Yue’Er just wanted to help..." Her husband rarely spoke to their son with such harshness.

"Enough!" Hee Chunhua raised a hand, cutting her off. "Let’s go back first. We can make a plan from there."

* * *

Hee Lingchuan pointed at Mrs. Zhu and said to the fat man on the floor, "You two have absolutely no chemistry as a couple. She said the Water Spirit Altar was broken, and you didn’t show the slightest surprise."

The villagers worked outdoors during the day and only returned home at dusk. How could the people of Xianling Village, who depended on the water for their livelihood, remain so calm about a major event like the Water Spirit Altar being broken? Even if Mrs. Zhu hadn’t tipped him off beforehand, Hee Lingchuan could tell from this alone that Fatty Wang was suspicious.

Only then did Hee Lingchuan gesture to Mrs. Zhu. "Alright, tell me. What’s going on?"

Mrs. Zhu lowered her voice and spoke quickly. "This evening, these vicious bandits came to slaughter the village, but then you all showed up unexpectedly. So they stayed behind to pose as villagers, taking everyone’s children hostage to force our cooperation."

Hee Lingchuan sighed.

To be honest, before seeing Mrs. Zhu’s message written in blood, he had at most suspected he’d walked into a "robber village," where the villagers themselves were murderers, their bodies reeking of slaughter.

Just as there were robber inns, there were robber villages. They operated the same way: taking in travelers was just a pretense for murder and robbery. But this sort of thing usually happened in remote mountain hamlets. As the saying goes, "Treacherous mountains and fierce waters breed ruthless people."

Of course, Xianling Village, surrounded by mountains and rarely visited by caravans or travelers, fit the geographical description perfectly.

But he never would have guessed that his opponents were actually a group of bandits!

’That’s strange.’

On the Red Cliff Trade Road, he’d been dealing with Sand Bandits for more than a year or two. He knew that while they were utterly vicious toward commoners and merchants, they were as docile as lambs in front of regular army troops, having mastered the essential principle of not challenging the authorities.

’Have these vicious bandits who massacred the village lost their minds? Hearing that soldiers were entering the mountains, not only did they not flee, but they’re staying behind to pose as villagers!’

"What are they planning to do?" This was the very reason he had risked coming to find Mrs. Zhu.

Mrs. Zhu shook her head. "They didn’t say."

"Have bandits always been this rampant in your area?"

Mrs. Zhu nodded. "In the past three years, bandits have entered the village at least nine times, but they always just took valuables and left. The last time, they only injured two people. Not like this group today. They killed more than a hundred villagers, including the owner of this very house."

Hee Lingchuan was slightly startled. "Your husband is dead, too?"

Her expression was too calm. She didn’t look like someone who had just lost the pillar of her household. For an ordinary farmer’s wife, losing a husband was like the sky falling.

"Yes. He stole a small boat and tried to row out onto the lake, but it capsized after only a hundred feet or so. It seemed like something dragged him to the bottom." Mrs. Zhu’s tone was flat, as if she were talking about someone else’s tragedy, someone else’s husband.

"My condolences." She didn’t seem very sad, so there was no need for Hee Lingchuan to offer comfort. "Do you know where they’ve hidden the children?"

Mrs. Zhu shook her head. "The children aren’t in the village, which actually makes them safer. You’d be better off figuring out how to fight back. These bandits are not to be trifled with."

Hee Lingchuan studied her for a moment, unable to resist asking, "You’re laying all your cards on the table for me. Aren’t you afraid the bandits will kill your child?"

’The more I look at her, the stranger this woman seems.’

Mrs. Zhu didn’t even bat an eyelid. "After these murderous fiends finish off the soldiers, they won’t spare us either. If I say nothing, we all die. If I speak up, perhaps there’s a sliver of hope."

The logic was sound. What was remarkable was her ability to analyze the situation so calmly while in the enemy’s grasp.

People are naturally inclined to wishful thinking. Once taken captive, they cling to a kidnapper’s promise like a drowning man to a straw, fantasizing that they’ll truly be set free.

After all, for those in despair, a harsh reality is even harder to accept.

What’s more, with children involved, it would be difficult for any mother to think rationally.

Hee Lingchuan slowly sat back down, his right hand unconsciously resting on the hilt of his Broken Blade.

He could already smell the scent of danger. The Broken Blade was cool to the touch, as if it could help him clear his mind of distracting thoughts and think calmly.

Speaking of which, after fighting a fierce battle for two double-hours in his dream last time, he had felt a closer connection to the Broken Blade upon waking.

In other words, their compatibility had increased.

’The only thing to do now is to extract more information from the enemy.’

Hee Lingchuan thought for a moment, then flipped the fat man on the floor onto his back. He drew a dagger and pressed it to his neck. "I have some questions for you. If you dare make a sound, you die. Understand?"

The fat man nodded frantically.

Hee Lingchuan removed the flatbread stuffing his mouth and then asked, "How many of you are there?"

"Over... two hundred." As expected, the fat man didn’t dare speak loudly.

"Be specific."

"Two hundred..." The fat man seemed to be counting. "Thirty-five!"

He added quickly, "We mean no harm to the soldiers! We just hope for a peaceful night. Tomorrow morning, we’ll all go our separate ways, no strings attached!"

Hee Lingchuan tilted his head, looking at him. "Is that you talking, or your Boss Lui?"

"Boss Lui!" the fat man said hastily. "I heard him say it with my own ears, it’s the absolute truth!"

Mrs. Zhu suddenly interjected, "Are you sure you didn’t miscount?"

Fatty Wang looked at her. "It’s always been the same group of us. How could I miscount?"

Mrs. Zhu sneered. "But when I was locked in the Water Spirit Temple earlier, I overheard your companions talking nearby. It sounded like you’ve also taken over the nearby town."

’They even took down a town?’ Hee Lingchuan’s expression turned grave.

Usually, when bandits came down from the mountains, they would just rob homes, and at most, commit some sexual assault. They rarely even killed people. Even a country bumpkin understood the principle that you can harvest leeks again and again if you don’t pull up the roots. Slaughtering all the villagers was like ripping out the roots—who would be left to harvest next time?