Chapter 00159: No One Should Long for Anyone
# No One Should Long for Anyone
Chapter 159
Novel: After the Immortals Disappeared
Chapter 159: No One Should Long for Anyone
However, none of this was the main point; what mattered most at the moment was to greedily take more and occupy more!
He suppressed his excitement and soon felt something was off: it was too little.
After waiting for quite a while, he felt a slight chill on his face, as a drop of 帝流浆 fell onto his countenance.
At this rate, flowing all night, let alone filling half a wine jar, he couldn't even fill a snuff bottle!
He Lingchuan was greatly disappointed.
Suddenly, a dispute broke out in the field; it turned out that Wu Shaoyi's subordinates and the veterans from the support army were unwilling to yield to each other over the 帝流浆.
The object of their contention was a piece of 帝流浆 the size of a fingernail.
The treasures that fell from the sky were mostly fine like raindrops, but a very small number had congealed into a jelly-like form, half green and half white, resembling jade paste.
Initially, it was just a quarrel between two people, but in the face of the desire ignited by the 帝流浆, the soldiers became irritable, and soon it escalated into a commotion between two groups.
Zeng Feixiong and Wu Shaoyi had to waste precious time stepping in to mediate.
The night forest, which had been quiet, now became noisy; the previously sleeping birds spread their wings towards the sky and squabbled with their neighbors, hoping to snatch a bit more of the 帝流浆.
Around the farm, even the hibernating tree frogs and long snakes slithered out, rolling in the underbrush, trying to rub the 帝流浆 from the grass leaves onto themselves.
The mountains seemed to come alive.
In front of the 帝流浆, almost no living being could remain calm.
This bout of 帝流浆 lasted only a little over an hour before it ceased.
He Lingchuan leaped onto a high branch of a large tree, scraping leaves, collecting the 帝流浆 bit by bit.
During this process, he constantly competed with other creatures, and twice he nearly got bitten by snakes and scorpions.
Others soon followed suit.
The rain of 帝流浆 lasted just over an hour, but everyone stayed awake until morning, thinking of ways to collect it.
Fortunately, the discipline of the support army was relatively good among their kind, and Wu Shaoyi's subordinates were also strictly restrained, so no further disturbances occurred.
At the hour of the rabbit, the sun rose.
Once illuminated by sunlight, the remaining 帝流浆 instantly turned into white vapor and vanished without a trace.
The collective sighs of the crowd marked the end of the night's turmoil.
Everything was about to return to normal.
The cook began preparing breakfast, and soon He Yue came to call his elder brother for the meal, while asking him, "How much did you manage to get?"
"Alas, not enough for a single gulp."
He Lingchuan's luck had not manifested; the 帝流浆 he had worked hard to collect all night only filled half a small jade bottle.
By his estimation, it was at most ten milliliters.
"An opportunity that comes once in decades; being able to encounter it is already a blessing," He Yue was quite open-minded about it.
He Lingchuan asked him, "How do you plan to use it?"
"I've already swallowed it; the little bit left is for adding to my bath."
No wonder this kid looked radiant and full of energy; it turned out he had directly consumed the 帝流浆.
That was good, at least it prevented others from coveting him.
He Yue reminded him again, "The potency of the 帝流浆 lasts only twenty-four hours; it will lose its effect after that. Big brother, you need to manage your time well and not waste this precious treasure."
"I know," He Lingchuan hadn't thought of what to do yet; the most common practice should be to directly swallow it or use it in a bath like He Yue.
The occurrence of 帝流浆 was too rare, and its effective period was short, so there were almost no specific recipes targeting it.
However, the玄晶 formed after the 帝流浆 settled to the ground had more methods of preparation available to humans.
But using those methods on fresh 帝流浆, he was unsure whether it would enhance or diminish its effects.
Collecting 帝流浆 was not easy for anyone, and he didn't want to use his meager stock for experimentation.
He Lingchuan took this question to ask He Chunhua, who had already consulted the sorcerers in the army and similarly had no definitive answer.
In fact, after the rain of 帝流浆 ended, He Chunhua had repeatedly and sternly enforced military discipline, prohibiting theft, robbery, insults, and fighting among each other, with violators facing amputation of their hands.
He gathered everyone in the field to sit in rows, ordering the elite guards to keep a close watch, not allowing anyone to leave the area, which barely suppressed those with ulterior motives.
As soon as the sun rose, He Chunhua organized the entire army to collectively consume the 帝流浆 they had.
He Lingchuan also sat down and drank it with his head tilted back.
Though his movements were grand and his posture bold, he actually only drank a few drops, swiftly putting away the rest—he always felt reluctant to finish it like that.
Look, everyone drank it in front of witnesses; all were witnesses—this method aimed to dispel everyone's suspicions, to prevent future mutual distrust and theft, which would affect the morale of the army.
In fact, everyone knew the 帝流浆 was precious, but it had come so suddenly that there was no better way than to drink it directly; keeping it would only lead to it expiring.
So at this moment, most people tilted their heads back to drink it down, even those who had already finished had to raise their empty pouches and jars to drink again for others to see, dispelling the watchful eyes of others.
It must be said that this method was crude but effective.
After everyone finished the 帝流浆, the mutual gazes became much friendlier, no longer like wolves and tigers.
This sudden opportunity, or rather crisis, was decisively resolved by He Chunhua.
He never underestimated the allure of the 帝流浆, nor did he overestimate human nature.
He Lingchuan observed his methods of crisis management from the side and felt he had gained a lot.
For a leader, besides being adept at planning and layout, the ability to respond to emergencies and the necessary decisiveness were also crucial.
When a decision is not made, it will surely lead to disaster.
"The original plan has changed; we may have to stay here for two more days."
Facing the two brothers, He Chunhua sighed, "Last night's eruption of 帝流浆 has likely caused unrest in the entire Shuanghe Town, Fengling Ferry, and even in the rivers."
He Chunhua had prestige and means, swiftly suppressing the greed and unrest of his subordinates.
But this set of skills was not something everyone could learn or apply.
Sure enough, when the support army went to the town to check the situation, they discovered that after midnight last night until sunrise, unrest indeed erupted, with over forty people dying in the scramble for 帝流浆 and more than two hundred injured.
Travelers heading to Fengling Ferry would all stop in Shuanghe Town, where the crowd was mixed, and last night they had lost their minds in the scramble.
At that time, there were nearly seven hundred people in the town, with the number of injured approaching one-third, and nearly twenty percent of the buildings were damaged, with over ten houses on fire.
When the scouts of the support army arrived, some houses were still emitting black smoke, and the fire had not been completely extinguished.
The attraction of 帝流浆 to living beings was evident.
Going to the Fengling Ferry, whirlpools frequently appeared on the river surface, indicating that there were hidden currents beneath.
Upon closer observation, there were often large black shadows swimming beneath the water, unclear as to what kind of aquatic creatures they were, but they frequently attacked each other, clearly agitated by last night's 帝流浆, with heightened aggression.
In such circumstances, traveling by boat on the river was very unsafe.
He Chunhua also considered this point, which was why he requested the entire army to rest for two days.
At this time, the village chief also approached He Chunhua, hoping to use the support army's strength to quell the unrest in Shuanghe Town and temporarily maintain order here.
Last night, the entire town was in chaos; with casualties, those who had grievances wanted revenge, and those who had complaints wanted to voice them.
The self-established civil security team in Shuanghe Town was too small to maintain peace.
Since the local authorities sought assistance, He Chunhua readily agreed, dispatching three hundred support troops to patrol the town.
He Lingchuan, however, stayed put, immersing himself in cultivation at the farm.
In the morning, he gulped down a few drops of 帝流浆; it felt cool like mint upon entry, and after swallowing, his five organs warmed up, his mind invigorated, and he felt an abundance of energy with nowhere to release it, along with a sense of grandeur as if he could leap a thousand miles and ride the wind.
Of course, it was an illusion, primarily due to the effects of the 帝流浆.
One drop of 帝流浆 could equal ten days of cultivation, so he had effectively gained forty to fifty days of cultivation.
This was just the obvious benefit.
Such an opportunity was not to be missed, so he drank two mouthfuls of warm water and returned to his room to close his eyes and adjust his breathing, happily completing six large cycles and twelve small cycles.
He Chunhua knew that both of his sons needed to digest the benefits from the降临的帝流浆, so he stationed someone at the door to prevent others from disturbing them.
After finishing his adjustment, He Lingchuan stood up to stretch his limbs and yawned, feeling light and full of energy.
Aside from that, there was nothing particularly special.
How exactly would the effects of the 帝流浆 manifest?
He turned with questions in mind, wanting to see how He Yue was doing.
To his surprise, although the room was large, there was only the bed he had just gotten up from; the direction he was looking at had a set of tables and chairs, a low cabinet against the wall, and a bunch of mugwort hanging on the door.
But there was no second person.
Wait, wait a minute, this was definitely not the room he had entered before his meditation!
He Lingchuan strode outside and found himself at the edge of a village, with a small stream babbling in front, hens clucking at his feet, and a little yellow dog running by the fence, its tail wagging so fast it seemed about to fall off.
Not far away, children were playing, several women were washing clothes, and others were fetching water to return.
The support army was nowhere to be seen, and this was not the farm he had been at before.
Could it be?
He Lingchuan suppressed his emotions and asked a woman washing clothes by the river, "Sister, may I ask where this is?"
"Xingqian Village," the woman looked at him strangely.
"How did I get here?"
The woman looked even more puzzled, "How would I know?"
He Lingchuan pointed to the house behind him, "Then whose house is that?"
"That's Uncle Meng's; aren't you his son's friend he brought back?"
He Lingchuan had a rough idea in his heart: "Then, may I ask how to get to Panlong City?"
Yes, for over a month he had wanted to enter Panlong City but had been unable to do so.
Today, he had gained the impetus to cultivate from the 帝流浆, yet inexplicably found himself here.
The broken knife or the large pot was truly unreliable.
The woman indeed pointed east, "Just follow the road, it's two miles."
He Lingchuan thanked her and walked east.
The stream behind him continued to flow cheerfully, and a few laundry women were whispering:
"Is this young man out of his mind?"
"My cousin fell off a horse and also forgot who we were, asking everyone where his home was."
"What a pity, he looks so handsome!"
He Lingchuan: "……"
Before long, the magnificent Panlong City indeed appeared in his line of sight.
Following the main road, he encountered quite a few travelers.
He Lingchuan observed the expressions of those around him, fearing that the experience of being recognized and hunted down during his first entry into the Panlong Dream would repeat itself.
(End of Chapter)