Chapter 00023: The Lowly Must Be Cautious
# The Lowly Must Be Cautious
Chapter 23
Novel: After the Immortals Disappeared
Chapter 23: The Lowly Must Be Cautious
Ahead stood a half-peak, its slopes barren and desolate, with only a few sparse shrubs clinging to the nooks and crannies.
Yet, any traveler arriving here for the first time would undoubtedly be captivated by its unique shape.
The upper half of the mountain was missing, but it didn’t appear to have been eroded or broken naturally.
The cut was unnaturally smooth, as if someone had cleaved it in two with a single, precise slash of a blade.
The break was abrupt and decisive.
To think that an entire peak, millions of tons of rock and soil, had been severed so cleanly—unlike a cluster of bamboo that could be easily chopped down.
Locals had a legend about it: in ancient times, an immortal had fought here and, with a single sword strike, split the mountain in two.
Hence, this broken peak was known as the "Immortal's Cut."
Such tales were common in this realm, and their truth was hard to verify.
However, He Lingchuan’s original body had climbed the Immortal's Cut a few years ago and seen the smoothness of the break with his own eyes.
Over such a vast area, there wasn’t the slightest irregularity—something even the most meticulous craftsman couldn’t achieve.
Whether it was man-made or not, it was utterly baffling.
Sun Fuping gazed at the half-peak, as if sensing the lingering ferocity and sharpness of that ancient sword strike.
After a long while, he exhaled deeply and murmured, "The path of cultivation knows no bounds."
As they rounded the mountain pass, they came across an old poplar tree standing alone by the roadside.
Beneath its dry, gnarled branches hung two bodies, swaying in the wind.
A crowd of onlookers had gathered beneath the tree, pointing and whispering among themselves.
As Sun Fuping’s entourage drew closer, they noticed two white plaques hanging from the corpses, each bearing the words: "Courtesy" and "Reciprocity."
Nian Songyu and Sun Fuping’s expressions darkened instantly.
Their sharp eyes immediately caught sight of the transparent badges pinned to the corpses’ chests, each inscribed with the characters "Donglai."
These were two of the Donglai Prefecture guards who had been sent to track the Western Mountain Sand Leopard.
They had gone missing near Blackwater City.
Sun and Nian were aware of this, as they had personally assigned the men.
At the time, the Sand Leopard’s whereabouts had already been discovered, so they hadn’t pursued the matter further.
Now, these two men had become corpses, strung up along their path.
Nian Songyu quickly deduced that the two had been killed by having their necks twisted, and that they had been tortured before death.
Seeing Nian Songyu’s face flush red and the veins on his neck bulge, Sun Fuping quickly grabbed his shoulder and said, "Don’t act rashly! Isn’t this exactly what we expected?" The two guards had been missing for a long time, and they had already considered the possibility of their deaths.
"These men were assigned by us from Donglai Prefecture. That little bastard is retaliating against us!" Nian Songyu gritted his teeth.
He had killed a hawk demon, and now the other side had taken two of his men as revenge.
Donglai Prefecture was too far from the border, and the Grand Marshal had assigned his own guards to them for this mission.
Sun Fuping’s expression turned stern.
"The bigger picture is what matters! We can’t afford infighting now."
"Once we get the Grand Square Pot…" Nian Songyu clenched his jaw, knowing that He Lingchuan had calculated correctly—they still needed to rely on Blackwater City’s forces and couldn’t afford to turn hostile yet.
He turned and roared, "He Lingchuan!"
He Lingchuan, who had been riding leisurely at the back of the group, finally urged his horse forward, meeting Nian Songyu’s barely contained fury.
"Commander Nian, what’s the matter?"
"Do you recognize these two men?"
He Lingchuan took a closer look and felt a pang of unease.
Had Uncle Hao really vented his anger like this?
"Of course not. Blackwater City sees so many people coming and going—how could I possibly remember every single one?" He paused, then added, "Huh, they’ve got Donglai Prefecture badges. Such important figures, how did they end up hanging in this backwater?"
"Very well," Nian Songyu said with a cold laugh, abruptly changing the subject.
"What do you usually do when a companion dies on the Red Cliff Road?"
He had already guessed that the two guards had been killed by He Lingchuan.
The young man was trying to provoke him, and asking more questions would only lead to more mockery.
There was no point in further discussion.
"If we can’t take them back, we leave them for the sky burial," He Lingchuan shrugged.
"Since they didn’t meet a good end, let the desert creatures thank nature for its bounty."
He Lingchuan’s father, He Chunhua, interjected, "Most of the time, we bury them."
"Then we’ll bury them," Nian Songyu said.
After all, they were men from Donglai Prefecture—it wouldn’t do to leave their bodies exposed in the wilderness.
He Lingchuan chuckled.
"Such a trivial matter. Commander Nian, you should focus on the present. Don’t let this delay the team’s progress."
Finally, he had thrown that line back at Nian Songyu.
It felt satisfying!
A flash of venomous hatred crossed Nian Songyu’s eyes, but he quickly instructed Zeng Feixiong to have the two bodies taken down and buried on the spot.
The team couldn’t afford to wait and continued on its way.
The feeling of being watched by Nian Songyu was like having a venomous snake coiled on one’s back—utterly chilling.
He Lingchuan slowed his pace, pulling his father to the middle of the group.
A proud man like Nian Songyu would naturally lead the way.
He couldn’t keep turning back to glare at He Lingchuan, could he?
"What are you doing?" He Chunhua scolded his son in a low voice.
"Killing those two won’t solve anything. It’ll only deepen the enmity between us and Nian Songyu."
He didn’t know that it was Uncle Hao who had killed them.
"It’s about venting some anger!" He Lingchuan sneered, seeing how calmly his father scolded him.
"Those two schemed against us without any limits. Shouldn’t I be allowed to slap them back? Besides, he needs us right now. He can’t afford to turn hostile."
"If we make it back alive, in the future…"
"If we return with the treasure, the Grand Marshal will be overjoyed. He won’t care about such a minor incident," He Lingchuan said listlessly.
"Father, you’re not old yet, but you’ve already grown timid."
He Chunhua thought for a moment, his expression darkening.
"You’re right. I’ve been too cautious."
He had always been mindful of the fact that they would soon be serving in the capital together.
Especially since their family had just returned to the capital and their footing was still unstable, it was best to avoid making enemies.
His reasoning wasn’t wrong, but this mindset of being overly submissive and cautious in front of the powerful—how could one achieve great things with such an attitude?
As he silently admonished himself, he turned to He Lingchuan and said, "Lingchuan, you’re still upset that I dragged you along on this journey, aren’t you?"
What kind of question was that? Should he answer honestly with a "yes," or lie with a "no"? He Lingchuan could only chuckle.
"How would I dare?"
"As a father, all I want is for my son to live a safe and smooth life. But in this world, that’s impossible."
He Chunhua patted his son’s shoulder.
"Lingchuan, you’re not a child anymore. It’s time for you to gain some experience."
He Lingchuan couldn’t hold back.
"When others gain experience, the difficulty increases gradually."
Only his father had thrown him into the deep end right from the start.
Seeing his eldest son’s resentment, He Chunhua smiled.
"Don’t blame your old man for being harsh. With you here, our chances of returning home safely have increased by at least twenty percent. The Great Shaman’s words were no joke."
He Lingchuan rolled his eyes.
If the original He Lingchuan had truly been a lucky charm, why had he died so quietly, leaving his body to be taken over by an outsider like him?
But this retort could only remain in his heart.
Arguing now would be pointless.
Moreover, as the local governor and his father, He Chunhua didn’t owe him any further explanation.
(End of Chapter)