After the Immortal Disappeared

Chapter 157: Chapter 158: Heaven-sent Sweet Rain

As long as the war did not return, the plants and trees would reclaim this place. In time, it would be as if nothing had ever happened.

There had been street fighting in the Auxiliary City, so the houses here were riddled with holes, and entire city blocks had been burned to the ground.

As they walked through, the Supporting Army was silent. A heavy feeling settled in Hee Yue’s heart as he watched. He had never been to Panlong Ancient City, and this was his first time truly witnessing the cruelty of war and how cheaply life was held.

Just outside the Auxiliary City, a newly carved stone stele stood in the valley behind them.

The soldiers who died in the great battle of Woling Pass were buried here. Hee Chunhua ordered his men to present offerings and personally lit a stick of incense.

The scene was solemn.

Hee Lingchuan glanced around. He saw that everyone was present except for one person, and a thought struck him.

He quietly slipped away. After walking several hundred yards and getting directions from a few people, he finally found Wu Shaoyi under a large tree.

He was sitting cross-legged on the ground, his hands forming a mantra, his eyes closed and unmoving.

Above him, the canopy of a plane tree spread wide. Whenever the wind blew, golden and yellow leaves would drift down with a mournful RUSTLE.

Hee Lingchuan looked closely at the ground in front of him. A large area was covered in fresh soil, its color different from the surroundings. It had obviously been turned over not long ago, but green grass was already growing.

The grass shoots here even grew more vigorously than in other places, and they rarely yellowed even in late autumn.

’Why did Wu Shaoyi sneak over here? Could it be...?’

Hee Lingchuan sat down beside him, glanced at a strikingly vibrant touch-me-not flower, and sighed softly. "How many people are buried here?"

"At least twenty thousand," Wu Shaoyi said, slowly opening his eyes. "After they died, they didn’t even get a single gravestone."

The government soldiers who died at Woling Pass at least had a stele, but the people buried here had nothing.

Indeed, the ones buried here were all from the Rebel Army—Wu Shaoyi’s former comrades-in-arms.

Hee Lingchuan took a wineskin from his robes and handed it to him, then took out two wine cups.

Wu Shaoyi did not refuse. He filled a cup and slowly poured it onto the ground as a libation.

In that moment, Hee Lingchuan saw a trace of desolation and dejection in his eyes.

The people who once shared his ideals had either scattered and fled or were buried right here. As for himself, his very Origin had been damaged by a Secret Technique. Though he might live a few more years, his glorious days of fighting on horseback were over forever.

Even a man like Wu Shaoyi, sitting in this place of past heartbreak, felt utterly lost as he looked around, unsure of what the future held.

Hee Lingchuan filled both cups. "Here, I’ll have a drink with you all."

’All?’ Wu Shaoyi was silent for a moment, then raised his cup to him, tilted his head back, and downed it in one gulp.

After downing three cups in a row, he finally exhaled a fiery breath.

This was the first time he had drunk alcohol since his injury.

"Aren’t you afraid Mr. Hee will reprimand you for coming here, Eldest Young Master?" ’To think he’d accompany a former rebel like me to pay respects to the Rebel Army. Only Eldest Young Master Hee would dare do such a thing.’

"My old man scolding me? Isn’t that a daily occurrence?" Hee Lingchuan laughed. "Besides, the yin energy here is too heavy. You shouldn’t sit here for long."

The cleanup of the Woling Pass battlefield had been done by the government soldiers. They naturally buried their own comrades on the sunny side of the mountain while burying their opponents’ bodies on the shady side.

"I just came to see them. After we part today, we’ll likely never meet again." Wu Shaoyi nodded. "Life is as cheap as weeds. In a few months, or a few years, who will even remember them?"

Hee Lingchuan chuckled. "By that logic, no one will remember us in a hundred years either."

Wu Shaoyi stood up, his face flushed and his steps unsteady. Hee Lingchuan reached out to steady him.

Because of the Secret Art, the man’s Cultivation had been mostly destroyed.

’Hee Lingchuan understood now. This was probably the real reason Wu Shaoyi surrendered. Without his ferocious power, it would have been difficult to command respect in the Rebel Army based on past prestige alone. Besides, his body was far weaker than before. If he continued to live as a fugitive, he’d likely collapse within two years.’

’Though he had little choice, surrendering to Hee Chunhua had actually been his best option.’

The two walked back and caught up with the main group by the river.

The river water was crystal clear. There was a small wooden cabin on the bank with torn nets hanging from the front and back. The wooden door was closed.

Hee Yueqing let out a sound of surprise. "The ground in front of the door is clean. Someone must come here often." Otherwise, the area would be covered in fallen leaves and weeds.

After the group walked for a while longer, a Guard hurried over from behind and reported to Hee Chunhua, "In that riverside cabin, there’s a memorial tablet for Jiayuan Saint Master, and there are offerings on the table!"

Hee Lingchuan and his brother exchanged a glance. "Jiayuan Saint Master" was Hong Xiangqian’s full title!

’To think someone was still worshipping him in this desolate wilderness.’

Hee Chunhua paused slightly. "Blood offerings, or cooked food?"

"A steamed bun and three sour fruits. There are several bundles of incense burned to the bottom in the censer."

Hee Chunhua waved his hand. "Pay it no mind."

If he paid it no mind, the Supporting Army naturally wouldn’t bother with it either.

Zeng Feixiong whispered, "Sir, shouldn’t we remove that tablet?"

"Look at the surroundings. Who do you think would come here to worship him?"

Zeng Feixiong subconsciously looked around. "Simple country folk?"

"It’s just simple village men and women seeking a bit of spiritual solace. They’re no threat, so leave it be."

Wu Shaoyi, who had been keeping his head down, looked up at these words, only to see Hee Chunhua looking right at him. He was startled and quickly lowered his head again.

’Mr. Hee was being considerate of him.’

’Even though he had pledged allegiance to Hee Chunhua, the latter didn’t want to disrespect his former master in front of him.’

Only when Woling Pass had disappeared from view did Madam Ying let out a long breath. "The fighting here was too tragic. When my husband retook Black Water City back then, it was nowhere near this devastating. By the way, where are we staying tonight?"

"Woling Pass has been abandoned. Travelers and carriages will all stop at Frost Union Town now. The civilians have already moved there, and I hear a new city will be built."

Frost Union Town was less than fifteen li east of Woling Pass. Fengling Ferry was located right between the two places. Unfortunately, it was already late, so the Supporting Army planned to rest for a night in Frost Union Town and board the boats the next morning.

Frost Union Town was originally a small town of just over four hundred people, but now it had to take on the population and functions of Woling Pass. When the Supporting Army entered, they found massive construction projects and a hubbub of voices everywhere.

Woling Pass had always been a major trade route. Caravans from the south had to stop there and switch to boats at Fengling Ferry. Now that Woling Pass was abandoned, everyone had no choice but to stop at Frost Union Town.

The Supporting Army had expanded to six or seven hundred men, so there was no way they could all stay in the town. They had to make do with a grain-threshing ground and a manor east of town. Conditions in the town were poor, so the Hee Family also decided to spend the night at the manor. The owner took two taels of silver from them and moved out temporarily, leaving behind a row of four rooms and a threshing floor. By this time, the grain had already been stored, so the empty threshing floor served as a large courtyard.

Supplies in the town were scarce and difficult to purchase nearby, so the Supporting Army ate their own dry rations for dinner. However, Zeng Feixiong was craving meat badly and called on Hee Lingchuan to go hunting in the mountains.

They had also tried to persuade Hee Yue to go with them, but Madam Ying forbade it. Hee Yue could only watch wistfully as the small detachment of twenty or thirty men disappeared into the dense forest.

Hee Lingchuan’s luck was good. About a double-hour later, he had hunted two roe deer and four wild rabbits. On the way back, they encountered a huge black wild boar, weighing nearly four hundred jin.

The group set a trap. The wild boar was provoked into a frenzy by Fuzzy Peach, pursued him relentlessly, and fell into the trap, breaking its leg.

What happened next was simple:

The Supporting Army would be eating meat. It was a night where only the cooks were run off their feet.

Drinking was forbidden while marching, but the men ate meat, drank soup, and played finger-guessing games until the moon was high in the sky before they called it a night.

Hee Lingchuan returned to his room, took off his outer coat, and fell straight to sleep.

Because he had snuck a little wine, he slept more soundly than the others.

In the depths of his sleep, it seemed someone was muttering something in his ear.

Hee Lingchuan paid it no mind, wanting to sleep a little longer.

And then—

He was violently shaken awake.

The force was so great it seemed they wanted to shake his head right off his shoulders.

"Wake up!" someone roared in his ear. It sounded like Hee Yue’s voice. "...Get up, quick, quick, quick!"

He didn’t catch every word, but Hee Lingchuan heard the urgency in his voice and was instantly awake. He reached for his saber. "More bandits?"

Hee Yue rarely lost his composure like this. He subconsciously assumed something terrible had happened.

"No!" Hee Yue dragged him outside, his voice cracking with excitement. "Emperor’s Liquid! The sky is raining Emperor’s Liquid!"

Emperor’s Liquid!

Hee Lingchuan was stunned to hear those two words, unable to believe his ears. But his body reacted faster than his mind. With two great leaps, he was out the door, leaving Hee Yue behind.

His body’s original owner had been uneducated, but his knowledge about "Emperor’s Liquid" was firmly ingrained, so Hee Lingchuan knew exactly what it was the moment he heard the name:

A great eruption of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, so dense that it descended upon the Mortal World in liquid form!

To all living beings, it was a priceless treasure.

Every man in the Supporting Army was in a frenzy, holding every bottle and jar they could find—though basins and vats were of course better. They stood out in the open, and while catching the "rain," they didn’t forget to open their mouths and take off their shirts. Every little drop counted!

Hee Lingchuan stood outside and looked up at the sky. He saw a full moon, its silver light like water. At the same time, he felt a slight dampness on his face, a rain as fine as silk, and smelled a fresh, sweet fragrance.

The fragrance was indescribable, like sweet, ripe fruit, like osmanthus in the eighth month, like a smiling banana shrub in the morning sun, and like a mountain forest after a misty rain.

In short, it was refreshing to the heart and soul, a scent that made one forget their worries.

But a powerful craving grew in the depths of his heart.

It was a craving like someone who had starved for seven days suddenly seeing a feast of delicacies, or a desert traveler on the verge of collapse finally crawling to an Oasis...

It was a sincere cry from the depths of his body and soul:

’I need it!’

Hee Lingchuan dared not delay. He copied others, grabbing two wide leaves from a banana grove and spreading them neatly on the roof. Then he took a wine jar from his Storage Ring, poured out the wine, and used the empty jar to collect the Spiritual Dew.

He remembered with perfect clarity that Emperor’s Liquid was like Rootless Water. The moment it touched soil, it would seep in, sinking deep into the earth where, through the movement of earth veins, it would form Profound Crystal Veins. But that was a matter of pure luck; no one could predict its path. The only thing any living creature could seize was the present moment.

The last appearance of Emperor’s Liquid was several decades ago.

The fresh liquid was so precious that, as ancient texts said, a single drop was equivalent to ten days of Cultivation.

Besides Cultivation, it could also replenish one’s Origin and allow a living being to be completely reborn.

’Of course, talking about effects without mentioning dosage is just being a charlatan.’ Hee Lingchuan had no way to verify how many milliliters were in a "drop." ’And anyway, the quality of the Emperor’s Liquid must vary, right?’