Chapter 00161: I Burned Paper for You
# I Burned Paper for You
Chapter 161
Novel: After the Immortals Disappeared
Chapter 161: I Burned Paper for You
"Ah, it seems I was swept away by the water and woke up in a farmer's house."
He Lingchuan could only respond vaguely, "How long has it been since then? There are no days or months in the mountains."
"Almost a month, I suppose."
The Panlong Wilderness is vast, and it wouldn't be surprising for He Lingchuan to have been swept downstream and stayed there for ten or twenty days.
Hu Min didn't think much of it, "We all thought you were gone and even burned paper money for you twice. If you don't show up soon, we'll burn some for you again on the fifteenth of next month."
He Lingchuan patted his shoulder, "Thanks!"
"Did you hear it?"
"Hear what?"
"When we burned the paper money, I told you why Sun Junshou had to run away with the beast traps. Do you remember our agreement?" Hu Min was chewing on some pork cracklings.
"You didn't say anything?" He Lingchuan suddenly realized, "So that's why I always felt someone was nagging in my ear. It was you! But I really didn't hear clearly."
At that time, the reinforcements from the Pulling Ridge were arriving, and their last line of defense was about to be breached.
He Lingchuan had agreed with Hu Min that whoever survived would find out the reason why Sun Junshou ran away with the beast traps and burn paper money to inform the other.
It was just a spur-of-the-moment joke, but Hu Min took it seriously.
He Lingchuan didn't know how he felt about it; he had never experienced such feelings while coordinating with the army.
He grabbed his wine cup and downed it in one go, "What was Sun Junshou really after?"
Those two beast traps were no light matter; they were forged from solid iron, each weighing several hundred pounds.
When the city fell, Sun Junshou still had to expend manpower and horse power to drag these two heavy iron lumps on the road.
What was he after?
"Quite amusing!" The roasted goose legs were served, and Hu Min grabbed a piece to nibble on slowly, "After Sun Junshou arrived at Panlong City and counted his possessions, he found that those two beast traps were missing and refused to leave until we went to the river valley to retrieve them!"
"Heh, the city has fallen, and he still thinks this is his territory where he can act with authority! Commander Xiao didn't even bother with him, and I don't know if Sun Junshou eventually sent someone to look for those two iron lumps."
"However, I inquired with his subordinates, and it turns out Sun Junshou's family originally came from hunters. His grandfather caught two ferocious beasts with those two iron traps, one was a wolf demon, and the other was even more outrageous, the White Demon King that had roamed the western part of the Panlong Wilderness for many years!"
"The White Demon King?" He Lingchuan had no recollection of it.
"Sixty years ago, the White Demon King was a bear king that made people turn pale at the mention of it in the western part of the Panlong Wilderness. It was said to be a formidable monster that liked to eat people and had devoured several villages. The extermination teams sent out from Weicheng had gone three or four times, with only one or two people returning alive. When Sun Junshou's grandfather discovered the White Demon King, it was already dead, covered in wounds, clearly having received the final blow from the beast trap."
"The skin, gallbladder, paws, and teeth of the White Demon King were sold for a high price, and the Sun family made a fortune from it, starting to acquire land. The old man had someone calculate, saying their good fortune was all thanks to those two iron beast traps, so they kept the traps well hidden in the ancestral hall. Later, Sun Junshou's father bought an officially decommissioned abandoned mine, only to find that the iron ore extracted had a surprisingly high purity. You know, weapons and food are hard currencies in the Panlong Wilderness, so their family undoubtedly made another fortune; by the time it got to Sun Junshou's generation, he had even become a county magistrate. Just think about how lucky those two iron traps were!"
Seeing Hu Min's mischievous expression, He Lingchuan didn't dare to blurt out "lucky" and just smiled, "Indeed, they are two interesting items that also saved our lives."
If it weren't for the effectiveness of the beast traps, which broke Meng Shan's leg, they would have had to pay a heavy price to stop this fierce man.
"Exactly, so Sun Junshou took them with him when he fled, hoping that good luck would always follow his family."
Hu Min slapped his thigh, "Ah, maybe it was the loss of those two items that brought misfortune to Sun Junshou."
"How so?"
"He bought a very impressive mansion in the south of Panlong City, only to find out after moving in that the previous owner had offset a lot of money and ran away. Now the creditors are knocking on his door with the IOU, demanding payment, or they'll take him to court."
Hu Min took a sip of wine, "Also, he brought three or four hundred city guards with him, but Panlong City doesn't allow private individuals to have so many armed forces. They only left ten guards for the Sun family, and the rest had to be dispersed and integrated into the city defense forces."
He Lingchuan shook his head, "Sun Junshou must have sent people all over the river valley looking for those two iron traps."
"He keeps shouting to find Lord Zhong for justice, but unfortunately, this isn't Weicheng where he can just say whatever he wants."
Hu Min said lazily, "Over the years, many nobles nearby have moved to Panlong City seeking safety, and there are plenty who want to act with authority. Heh, they are just dreaming!"
"Isn't housing in Panlong City very expensive?"
The waiter brought over the pig's head meat, smoked and marinated, mixed with cilantro.
Hearing the two discuss, he proudly interjected:
"Of course! The entire Panlong Wilderness, only this place is the safest, and every year a large number of outsiders migrate here!"
Who wouldn't yearn for a peaceful and stable life?
Panlong City is the safest, so it naturally attracts the most people.
He Lingchuan was curious, "With so many people, can they all be accommodated?"
"Currently, yes. The city is already full, but the Chipa Plateau is vast, and having more people is good for reclaiming land and mining. Lord Zhong has said that if the population decreases, Panlong City will be in danger."
The first element of war is undoubtedly people.
Hu Min continued, "The houses in Panlong City are divided into fifteen grades. Among them, there are five grades of mansions, but even the first-grade mansion cannot exceed ten acres; there are nine grades of residential houses. These are basically for officials, soldiers, and common people, allocated by the government, and only the fourth and fifth grades of mansions can be freely bought and sold."
"What about the other kind?" He Lingchuan had only heard of fourteen types.
"There's another kind called a snail house, which is where slaves and war prisoners live."
He Lingchuan understood, after all, Panlong City had always been in a state of war, and the situation here was different from ordinary regions where people, money, and goods could flow freely.
The laws enacted here were mandatory and controlling.
He sighed.
It was not easy to be alive, and Panlong City had to choose a high-difficulty mode.
Hearing his sigh, Hu Min looked over, "I heard you are from the Tusu tribe?"
He had indeed mentioned it to Commander Xiao, and He Lingchuan nodded.
"You will settle in Panlong City in the future, right?" From Hu Min's perspective, there was no reason to say "no."
He Lingchuan took a sip of wine and a bite of meat, mumbling, "I have that thought."
Does entering a dream count as settling down?
"Then it's easy. You assisted the common people of Weicheng in retreating, and Commander Xiao mentioned it at the time—promotions, rations, and land! Panlong City has always been a place where rewards and punishments are clear, and these rewards are guaranteed. Later, I'll take you to collect them!"
Having drunk too much, the two began to get familiar, and Hu Min patted his chest, promising to handle it.
He Lingchuan was stunned, "I will also have a title and land here?"
A promotion and salary increase while buying land all at once? That's too fast, like a dream come true; this was his only pursuit in his previous life.
Oh wait, he was already in a dream.
Hu Min patted his shoulder, "In Panlong City, having military merit means having everything!"
Merit earned with one's life is certainly worth a great reward.
"Want to achieve great things? Fighting is the fastest way?"
"Of course!"
The two clinked their cups, and He Lingchuan suddenly thought of someone.
"By the way, what will happen to Meng Shan?" That guy had caused a lot of trouble for the Great Wind Army, but after being caught by the beast trap and breaking his leg, he couldn't move.
The Great Wind Army had disarmed him and left him alone, probably too busy to deal with him afterward.
"Did they chop him up?"
"Eh, not to that extent."
Hu Min laughed, "General Hong has seen him and believes he has potential, so he was locked up to recover. His leg was trapped for too long and almost had to be amputated, so recovery will take longer."
"Will he surrender?"
"Not willing for now, but who knows in the future."
Hu Min said, "Panlong City has taken in many surrendering generals, so they have their own methods."
"Has there been no further defection?" He Lingchuan asked curiously, "People's hearts are fickle; who knows if a three-surname servant might appear."
Hu Min laughed, "Not at the moment."
At this point, He Lingchuan had a question that he had been pondering for a long time: "By the way, when I entered the city, I noticed the guards were lax, and goods and wealth could pass through easily. Isn't Panlong City afraid of spies infiltrating?"
The most fortified fortress is often breached from within, and this point was at least proven twice by Woling Pass.
Yet Panlong City had stood firm for thirty-two years without such incidents.
Not only He Lingchuan, but people from various countries in later generations were curious about how it managed to do so.
"Not afraid."
Hu Min picked up a piece of pig head meat and chewed it slowly, "Those with ulterior motives towards Panlong City will reveal their true forms as soon as they pass through the city gate. What method is used, no one knows. Just know this: spies and scouts cannot enter through the front gate."
He Lingchuan let out a long "oh," appearing half-understanding.
Of course, what he thought of in his heart were three words:
Three Corpse Insects.
At this moment, Zhong Shengguang had successfully appeased the gods and received a large square pot as a divine blessing, so the Three Corpse Insects were indeed a powerful tool with various uses.
As long as they were used properly, Panlong City would be like a tiger with wings.
He Lingchuan's gaze shifted slightly, "By the way, when did General Hong appear?"
"Um... about three years ago."
That means the Panlong Wilderness had once again become a flying land three or four years ago.
If one were to count from the time Zhong Shengguang took control of Panlong City and began to resist foreign aggression, it should now be around the fifteenth or sixteenth year of the Panlong calendar.
He Lingchuan shook his head inwardly; his motherland was too weak, which was a great suffering and torment for the soldiers and civilians on the border.
Hu Min continued, "Speaking of which, many new regulations in Panlong City were also implemented three or four years ago, such as the land grading I just mentioned. Originally, there were only three or four grades, but now it has expanded to fifteen grades. There are many such regulations, and you'll gradually learn about them."
"I've always been curious about what kind of person General Hong is."
He diligently refilled Hu Min's cup, adopting a humble demeanor to listen.
Hu Min raised his cup and drank, "Can't really say. In any case, you'll know when you meet him."
(End of Chapter)