Chapter 00208: The Beautiful Woman Appears in the Desolate Mountains
# The Beautiful Woman Appears in the Desolate Mountains
Chapter 208
Novel: After the Immortals Disappeared
Chapter 208: The Beautiful Woman Appears in the Desolate Mountains
Are the murderous bandits still hiding nearby?
He Chunhua naturally saw this as well.
He raised his hand in a defensive gesture, signaling the guards to draw their weapons and spread out.
Madam Ying and the other family members quietly retreated.
The atmosphere grew increasingly tense.
At that moment, the largest and brightest room suddenly creaked open.
A figure stood at the doorway and asked, "Who goes there?"
It was a woman, draped in a snow-white cloak, with a face like a lotus flower, willow-leaf eyebrows, and a fiery red coral hairpin in her dark cloud-like hair.
The officers were astonished; this was actually a beauty, her voice soft and slightly magnetic.
In the desolate mountains, in a dead village, a vibrant beauty appeared.
Lu Xin showed little reaction, but his companion, the Great Black Wolf, stepped in front of He Yue, baring its teeth and growling low at the beauty.
Clearly sensing a threat.
He Chunhua stood firm, furrowing his brow.
"This is a question I should be asking. Ambushers, come out; the smell of blood cannot be hidden."
The beauty wiggled a finger.
"When I arrived, the villagers were already dead; I did not kill them."
"And the corpses?"
"They were moved to the back and buried in a large pit."
The woman sighed, "I am not heartless."
He Chunhua exchanged a glance with Zhao Qinghe, who immediately circled around to the back of the village.
He then asked, "Who exactly are you? Please state your name to avoid any misunderstandings."
"My surname is Li, and I come from the capital. I am the head of Songyang Prefecture."
Upon hearing "Songyang Prefecture," both He Chunhua and his son were taken aback.
He Chunhua turned to look at He Lingchuan, his gaze questioning.
He Lingchuan could only shrug and gesture for Mao Tao to hurry and fetch someone from the team.
Before long, Zhao Qinghe returned, whispering to He Chunhua, "My lord, there are indeed dozens of corpses piled up on the back mountain, and there is a small pit that has been partially dug. Also, I searched the nearby mountains and forests and found no ambushers. Her people should all be in these houses."
If they were bandits, they would mostly kill without burying.
He Chunhua's expression improved, and his gaze towards the woman softened.
"I am He Chunhua, the governor of Xia Prefecture. I saw the lights and came to seek shelter. The scouts reported that the scene here was horrific."
At this moment, someone rushed from the rear of the guards, and upon seeing the beauty, immediately stepped forward to bow respectfully.
"Li Fubo pays his respects to the lord!" He then turned to He Chunhua and introduced, "Lord He, this lady is the lord of our Songyang Prefecture!"
It was indeed Li Fubo, the exclusive blacksmith of the Broken Blade.
He Lingchuan silently propped up his chin.
A lord?
Is this the Marquis of Songyang? The master of the Qi Sect's Songyang Prefecture?
Why had no one told him that the Marquis of Songyang was a woman?
With Li Fubo's identification, He Chunhua set aside his concerns and sincerely greeted, "So it is truly the Marquis of Songyang! I apologize for the offense."
After some polite exchanges, the Marquis of Songyang stepped forward, followed by two maidservants.
"I will take you to see the corpses; please follow me."
She knocked on the doorframe, "Everyone, come out."
Other rooms opened one after another, and over thirty people walked out, bowing to her.
He Lingchuan noticed that half of them had bright eyes, clearly possessing some cultivation or martial skills.
"These are my subordinates. I just instructed them to stay inside and not to cause trouble," the Marquis of Songyang said.
"We saw the lights of your convoy when you were coming up the mountain."
He Chunhua nodded, understanding that this was her polite way of saying "to avoid conflict."
The group walked to the back of the village.
On the ground lay over forty corpses, just as the scouts had said, with men, women, and children among them.
Madam Ying took one look and turned her head away, unable to bear it.
He Lingchuan, Wu Shaoyi, and others stepped forward to examine the bodies, discovering that the fatal wounds were mostly on the chest and throat.
"The hearts and livers are gone, and some even had their kidneys taken," Wu Shaoyi reported.
"The wounds are not from swords or knives; they look like they were made with a pickaxe."
The murderer had carved an opening in the victims' chests and removed their organs.
The Marquis of Songyang added, "The money and food in the houses have not been taken."
"Then it is likely not the work of bandits."
Bandits raid villages primarily for those two things.
He Lingchuan opened the clothing of one of the deceased, pointing out the wounds near the heart to everyone.
"There are four gouge wounds, all near the heart, and only the last one is directly in the center. This shows that the murderer is quite inexperienced."
Having served as a patrol in the Panlong Dreamland, he had some experience after catching seven or eight monsters.
A rookie murderer?
While it is true that bandits may go from inexperienced to skilled, it is unlikely that an entire group of bandits would all use pickaxes, right?
Compared to swords and knives, this is a rather unconventional weapon.
He Chunhua pondered, "Monsters?"
The Marquis of Songyang seemed to think of something.
"A few days ago, the Emperor's Flowing Jam appeared, and the mountains and fields have been restless since."
The appearance of the Emperor's Flowing Jam is a blessing for living beings, but blessings and disasters always accompany each other.
After the Emperor's Flowing Jam, new monsters become restless, easily causing havoc, and the order of human governance faces significant challenges.
Even the Panlong Wilderness was like this back then; how could the Great Yuan region avoid it?
Wu Shaoyi added, "The villagers were killed five or six hours ago; the murderer has likely already fled."
"We should stay in their houses tonight and give them a proper burial," the Marquis of Songyang waved her hand, and her subordinates brought over shovels.
He Chunhua nodded.
"That is only right."
The frozen ground was too hard, so Zeng Feixiong sent over a dozen soldiers to dig the graves and dispatched two groups of soldiers to patrol the area in shifts.
The Marquis of Songyang then returned to the village with He Chunhua and the others.
The open space outside the village was level, and the guards were setting up tents and starting a fire.
With over six hundred people, including family members, the village houses simply could not accommodate them.
This team had followed He Chunhua from the west to the north and had grown accustomed to eating and sleeping outdoors, using windproof sheep-skin tents that were more effective against the wind than cloth tents.
He Chunhua had also arranged for someone to purchase warm bags from the military supply in Shihuan City, which were similar to the sleeping bags He Lingchuan knew of, providing excellent warmth for sleeping outdoors in autumn and winter.
Of course, a bonfire was essential, and everyone went into the forest to gather firewood, quickly igniting a pile.
The arrangements for the remaining personnel's accommodations were left to the steward, Old Mo.
He Chunhua told him, "We will only occupy the three small rooms on the west side."
The Marquis of Songyang waved her hand.
"That won't do! The village houses belong entirely to the guards; we will have separate accommodations."
Where would the separate accommodations be? Would the Songyang Prefecture also set up tents?
The Marquis of Songyang walked to the east of the village, found an empty space, and turned around.
"This is just right."
Then, she took out a palm-sized model of a courtyard from somewhere, placed it on the ground, removed the talisman paper from the top, and stepped back a hundred paces before clapping her hands and shouting, "Grow!"
Under everyone's watchful eyes, this toy-like small courtyard rapidly expanded, like a balloon inflating.
In just a few breaths, it transformed into a normal courtyard, with high walls and a black door locking a two-story building, and a section of a pine tree protruding from within the walls.
The toy had become real.
The Marquis of Songyang stepped forward to push open the courtyard door and smiled back at He Chunhua.
"Let's go inside and talk; it's too cold outside."
This scene was too extraordinary, causing a stir among the crowd.
He Chunhua was also moved.
"To hide Mount Sumeru in a mustard seed, today I unexpectedly witness this divine skill!"
He Lingchuan explained to him, "Father, Sun Fuping's walnut boat came from the Marquis of Songyang. He borrowed it and never returned it, and in the end, it became yours."
He Chunhua realized, "So it is the unique skill of Songyang Prefecture. No wonder!" Why hadn't this kid mentioned it before?
The Marquis of Songyang shot a glance at He Lingchuan with a smile.
The He father and son entered the small courtyard, accompanied by Zhao Qinghe, Wu Shaoyi, and the guards.
"Madam, the charcoal in the house is ready," steward Old Mo wanted to lead Madam Ying into the village house to rest, after all, it had been a long journey.
However, Madam Ying looked at the small courtyard, then heard the laughter coming from inside, and immediately shook her head.
"I want to go in and take a look. Qian Ma!"
Everyone passed through the black door and saw that inside was a small courtyard of about eighty square paces, with a layered artificial mountain in the corner, wrinkled and porous, and beside it stood a gnarled and sturdy pine tree, its crown beginning to welcome the wind and snow.
Two palace lanterns cast a warm yellow glow, and the wind seemed to slow down as it entered.
In front of the eaves of the small building, a tree full of wax plums was blooming joyfully.
Snow fell silently, and the small courtyard was elegant, as if isolated from the world.
If one did not lean over the wall to look, who would know that outside was a desolate mountain village?
Upon entering the small building, warmth rushed over them, and the fire basins in the four corners kept the cold at bay.
Stepping from the icy world into this place, everyone let out a long sigh of relief.
Madam Ying smiled and said, "Carrying such a treasure with you, the Marquis of Songyang truly knows how to enjoy life."
"I am used to being on the road, and using this saves a lot of trouble."
The two maidservants behind the Marquis of Songyang came over to take everyone's cloaks and capes, and then served hot tea.
Only then did He Chunhua introduce the people beside him to the Marquis of Songyang.
When he introduced He Lingchuan, the Marquis of Songyang nodded.
"Thank you, young master; I have just acquired a spiritual tool."
"Exchanging a spiritual tool for a master blacksmith to accompany is not a loss."
The Marquis of Songyang smiled and said, "When the young master has time, I would like to see that broken blade."
He Lingchuan naturally agreed.
This person was the head of Songyang Prefecture; her skills in forging blades should not be inferior to Li Fubo's.
When He Chunhua introduced He Yue, the Marquis of Songyang smiled and said, "Two or three years ago, I heard the story of the little prodigy from Qiansong County; it is rare to have the fortune to meet him today."
He Yue's face turned bright red, speechless, no longer the calm and composed demeanor he usually had when meeting others.
He Lingchuan found it amusing.
Everyone took their seats, and He Chunhua asked about the Marquis of Songyang's destination.
After all, they were already over four hundred miles from Shihuan City, and the chance of encountering an old acquaintance was slim.
"I am going to Taobin City to handle some matters, and then I will head north to Yufen City to collect some treasures and discuss a business deal."
"Yufen City?" He Chunhua calculated the distance in his mind.
"That is already within the borders of Xia Prefecture."
It seemed to be in the central part of Xia Prefecture.
"Yes, this trip will take me into Xia Prefecture at the farthest point."
The Marquis of Songyang took a sip of hot tea.
"I want to establish a branch of Songyang Prefecture in Yufen City, so I need to discuss it with the local officials."
She continued, "The situation in the north is tense, and Songyang Prefecture also has a responsibility for weapon forging in the royal court. I want to get the branch up and running first, so that future military supplies can be transported flexibly, minimizing the use of the royal court's transport capacity."
"Good, very good!" He Chunhua clapped his hands.
"The lord is considerate; it would be better to establish the branch in the capital of Xia Prefecture, Dunyu, for easier coordination."
Madam Ying's expression changed slightly, feeling quite displeased.
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(End of this chapter)