Where Immortals Once Walked-Chapter 269: Red Light

The bottom of the gorge was pitch-black, the kind of darkness that swallowed light whole. After groping about for a while and realizing there was nothing more to discover, He Lingchuan and Shan Youjun made their way back toward the base of the cliff. Guided only by touch and the faint rasp of their boots against stone, they found the rope still hanging where their comrades had left it and climbed back up to the plateau.

The return trip went surprisingly smoothly.

* * *

By the time He Lingchuan reached the army encampment outside Xinhuang Town, the place blazed like daylight. Torches and lanterns flickered everywhere, soldiers and laborers hurrying through the smoke-stained air. The tension had not lifted in the least.

Fires still needed to be stamped out, the wounded needed to be bandaged, prisoners had to be locked up and interrogated, loot and provisions required to be counted, and dispatches had to be exchanged with the county yamen. Yet under He Chunhua’s command, all of it moved like clockwork.

When he spotted his son, He Chunhua broke off his conversation with a local official and came over at once. “How was it? Did you manage to take Dong Rui down?”

He Lingchuan shook his head and answered, “No. He managed to slip away again.”

That guy surnamed Dong is just too damn slippery a bastard. He’s practically made of mud—catch him, and he still manages to ooze right out of your grip.

“He’s a hard one to pin down.” He Chunhua’s expression tightened, but he clapped his son on the shoulder all the same. “Don’t bother with him for now. We have bigger headaches to worry about.” He knew that after the beating Dong Rui had taken, the man would be licking his wounds for a while yet.

He Chunhua drew a deep breath, then continued, “The county magistrate from the blast at the restaurant is alive, though he lost a leg. But Mr. Mozhe...” He sighed deeply. “He didn’t make it.”

He Lingchuan straightened up and said, “Father, my condolences.”

Mozhe Jingxuan had followed He Chunhua from Heishui City; he was loyal to the bone. Losing him here was a serious blow, especially when good people were so scarce.

“There’s more. The Xun Province riders who fled were met halfway by reinforcements. Our men had to pull back.”

They had chased the beaten enemy for over fifteen kilometers without reward. They received no bounty, no glory, just exhaustion.

Lord Baili’s life was too damn hard to take.

Still, the Xun Province roving cavalry had paid dearly. Out of three hundred, barely a hundred had escaped, and more than half of those were wounded.

He Lingchuan frowned. “Someone met them on the road?”

“They chased them all the way to Maming Slope when two hundred-odd troops burst out of the woods. They were strong and well-equipped. We had to halt the pursuit.” He Chunhua’s tone was clouded with irritation, the kind born not only of the enemy’s cunning but of his own soldiers’ shortcomings.

He Lingchuan asked, “Where did so many Xun Province men come from?” It clearly was not the same unit under Lord Baili. Otherwise, they would have attacked Xinhuang together.

“From the captives’ statements, the officer with his arm cut off by you was Baili Qing, a roving general under Nian Zanli. He’s fairly renowned, and he’s got a solid record. I didn’t expect someone like him to lose an arm to my son.”

“It’s a shame that he got away.” He Lingchuan exhaled through his nose. Baili Qing’s personal guards must have thrown themselves into the fray to cover his retreat.

At that moment, He Chunhua beckoned to a young soldier. This was the same soldier who had loosed that arrow using the Ghost-Eye Bow earlier. The young soldier could not have been more than sixteen or seventeen, about He Lingchuan’s age, and yet he had offered up a slice of his lifespan to fuel the shot that wounded the ghost ape. His face was bloodless, and his lips were tinged purple.

The Ghost-Eye Bow packed a punch, but the backlash was cruel.

He Chunhua rested a hand on his shoulder, his voice approving. “Well done, you’ve earned yourself merit.”

The young man broke into a trembling smile despite the sweat streaming down his forehead. “Thank you, my lord. Thank you!”

From his storage ring, He Chunhua drew out a jade talisman, its surface faintly aglow, and handed it over. “Wear this protective talisman. From today, you’re part of my personal guard.”

The youth nearly fell to his knees in delight.

He Lingchuan studied him curiously before asking, “What’s your name?”

“My name is Hu Xuan.”

He Lingchuan nodded. His father’s circle of confidants seemed to grow by the day; half the new faces in camp were strangers to him now.

By the time the fires were fully out and the wounded had been carried to nearby houses, there was not much left for him to do. He commandeered an empty tent, left the rock wolf to stand guard, and ordered that no one be let in.

After that, he went over the tent seams one by one, pressing them tight until not even a fly could slip through. Only when he was sure of his privacy did he light the oil lamp and draw out the prize he had taken from Dong Rui’s hiding place—the small glass vial.

The instant it appeared, the divine bone amulet at his neck began to pulse with heat. He Lingchuan could feel its hunger, which seemed almost palpable, almost human. It was as if it were a starving man gazing at a roast leg of lamb that was glistening with fat.

He Lingchuan hesitated, then unclasped the necklace and set it on the stool. Pulling the stopper from the vial, he held it close.

He dared not inhale for some poisons could kill on scent alone.

Interestingly, a soft hiss came from the amulet’s central hole, as though a tiny wind tunnel lay hidden within.

Very carefully, he tipped the vial slightly and let a single drop of that red liquid fall.

Just one drop.

The drop slid straight into the amulet’s round aperture, and then it vanished.

He Lingchuan turned the amulet over and over on the stool, searching for any trace of the drop, but the liquid was gone without a trace. This meant it had probably flowed somewhere beyond that hole, but to where exactly was anyone’s guess.

I already know that the amulet is the key to the Generous Pot illusion realm, but who or what had actually absorbed the liquid just now? Is it the amulet itself, or is it the... Generous Pot?

He thought back. The amulet had been “fed” twice before. The first time, it had fed on the cornerstone of an immortal’s cave dwelling, and the other time on Hong Xiangqian’s spirit talisman. Both had been extraordinary items.

If this red liquid caught its fancy, did that not in itself prove that the stuff was extraordinary too?

Yet after swallowing the single drop, the pendant cooled, the faint whistling ceased, and the object reverted to its usual, unremarkable self.

“Do you want more?” He asked the divine bone amulet out loud. Ever since discovering that Fleeting Life could respond to him, he had taken to addressing his artifacts directly. They mostly stayed silent, but who knows? It would not be the most absurd thing in the world if they gave him some sort of reaction as a reply.

However, the divine bone amulet ignored him as always.

He Lingchuan smirked. Guess it’s full then. It’s cheap to feed, at least.

He put both the amulet and the vial away, stepped outside, and soon found Ling Guang, the medicine ape, who was together with the rock wolf.

The medicine ape was working in a makeshift clinic, nimble hands moving among the cots faster than any army medic or surgeon. The patients adored it. Its fur-lined vest was heavy with gifts in the form of nuts and a few hard candies from grateful soldiers.

He Lingchuan grabbed some peanuts from his pocket and began eating them as he peeled them. “I picked up something interesting. Come take a look.”

Ling Guang replied, “I’ll be right there!”

However, it still took a full quarter hour before the last wound was bandaged, and Ling Guang finally scampered out to follow him back.

Inside the tent, He Lingchuan recounted the whole encounter—the failed pursuit of Dong Rui, the wounded ghost ape, and how the enemy had meant to use the vial. He Lingchuan then concluded, handing over the glass vial, “So, I suspect the liquid inside has a healing effect, but you’re the expert here, so help me figure it out.”

The medicine ape’s eyes lit up like two lanterns. It seized the vial and turned it this way and that, so entranced that it forgot all about its master standing right in front of it.

He Lingchuan chuckled and left it to its work.

Tonight, at least for those from Xia Province, would be a sleepless night.

Zeng Feixiong’s men had found the missing sentries’ corpses nearby, which explained why no alarm had been raised before Baili Qing’s attack. He Chunhua immediately ordered doubled patrols around the camp and accelerated the interrogation of captives. He was desperate to learn who had orchestrated the strike.

Later that night, Zeng Feixiong sat with his men by the fire, chewing on dry rations and drinking water. He Lingchuan wandered over and offered him a wine flask. “Care for a sip? After a night like this, we’ve earned it.”

Zeng Feixiong shook his head. “I’m going to be on watch in a while. I can’t drink right now.”

Zeng Feixion and He Lingchuan spoke about the battle and the pursuit for a while. Finally, lowering his voice, Zeng Feixiong muttered, “We’re fine against stragglers, but against hardened troops we crumble. The moment Baili Qing’s reinforcements showed up, our morale broke. Our Xia Province troops aren’t fit for the northern front.”

He had been promoted recently and shared He Chunhua’s worries. Xia Province simply lacked the time or money to train a true fighting force.

He Lingchuan was not surprised to hear this. “Then we train them. Most troops these days are thrown onto the field the same week they’re conscripted. There really isn’t much of a chance for them to be drilled that thoroughly. A few victories will do more for their courage than a month of training. The trick is choosing the right opponents.”

He knew from experience that Panlong City’s Gale Army owed half its legendary prowess to faith. The people believed they could not lose, and the soldiers believed it too.

Jiao Tai joined them, grumbling, “More than a hundred of them still got away. It’s really frustrating!”

That made Zeng Feixiong’s smile go stiff. He had led the chase, after all. He said with forced humor, “Most of those we let go were wounded. Also, it was the Lord Governor-General’s order.”

“Oh?” He Lingchuan arched an eyebrow.

Jiao Tai blinked, not following. “What for?”

He Lingchuan explained, “It should be because those of the roving cavalry of Xun Province are usually elusive devils. But right now, they’ve got dozens of injured men to care for. Wherever they go, they’ll have to stop and tend the wounded, and that means they’ll leave traces. Wounded soldiers are hard to hide.”

Father’s setting bait. They’ll lead us right to their burrow.

Cunning old fox.

Just then, from the western edge of camp, a flicker of red flashed across the night.

It was not bright, but in the deep darkness it stood out like the moon in the night sky.

What’s that?

As he looked in the direction of the light, several more flashes of red light appeared. They flashed then dimmed in the blink of an eye—almost like lightning, though they left no sound or smoke in their wake. The night remained eerily still.

He turned to look around and froze.

The soldiers nearby were chatting, eating, and polishing weapons as if nothing had happened. Not one of them even glanced that way.

Even Shan Youjun and Zeng Feixiong showed no reaction at all.

He Lingchuan ventured cautiously, “Did you see that?”

“See what?” Jiao Tai was puzzled.

“That.” He pointed toward the flash of light. “The red light.”

Blank stares met him on every side. “See what, exactly?”

So they really can’t see it.

He Lingchuan swallowed back a retort. “Never mind. What’s over there anyway?”

Zeng Feixiong glanced that way. “That section? That’s where the captives are.”

He Lingchuan clapped his hands, rose, and strode off toward the source of the red light.

To Zeng Feixiong and the other Heishui City officers, He Lingchuan had long since shed the image of a pampered noble brat. Tonight’s defense of the supply stockpiles had proven his worth again. None of them stopped him or asked questions. Everyone simply went on with their duties, while he did whatever he pleased.