Chapter 00256: Is Mr. Hong Home
# Is Mr. Hong Home?
Chapter 256
Novel: After the Immortals Disappeared
Chapter 256: Is Mr. Hong Home?
The tall man hurried to the pharmacy and picked up a prescription.
The attending physician said, "If the old medicine is ineffective, then we will change to a new formula. Take it continuously for ten days and see how it goes."
The new medicine was more expensive, and he didn't have enough money, but he could only nod in agreement.
In front was a butcher shop, which he didn't want to approach.
He intentionally took a long route to get home.
As soon as he entered the alley, he heard cursing.
Mr. Hong turned his head to see a neighbor at the alley entrance holding a child and crying sadly.
The few pieces of furniture in the yard were toppled in disarray, as if they had just been turned upside down by someone.
Could it be? His heart tightened, and he hurried home.
Along the way, the cries and curses of the neighbors were incessant.
Mr. Hong rushed home, and as soon as he pushed the door open, he saw that the bench in the yard was overturned, the stack of firewood against the wall was gone, and the door of the house was wide open.
He ran into the house and saw his wife rolling on the ground with the bedding.
The items in the room had been turned upside down, and even the bricks in the corner had been pried open.
He had hidden some emergency coins in there, but they were gone now.
"Are you alright?" He helped his incapacitated wife onto the wooden bed.
"Who dared to come in and steal things?" Although he asked this, he already understood seven parts of the situation in his heart.
His wife's lips were pale, and she grasped his arm tightly, yet she spoke fluently, "The officials came in to steal grain and said we have to return the grain. I told them I had never taken any, but instead they stole everything!"
She was a weak woman who could not move, and suddenly a few strong men barged into her home, rummaging around, and even threw her to the ground.
The fact that she did not faint or cry out loud could be considered strong enough.
Mr. Hong's lips were pressed into a straight line.
Indeed, after those three boys were executed for stealing military grain, they distributed it among the villagers at night, thinking they were chivalrous heroes helping the poor.
Naive!
Now that they had been caught and executed, the military's excuse to search every household for grain had been justified by the grain they had distributed to the village.
Do you think you can take military grain? Hand it over!
The grain in Mr. Hong's house was stored in two places, half in the kitchen and half under the bed.
Now it was all gone.
Moreover, anything in the house that could fetch a good price, even the smallest bit, had also been ransacked by the officials, like that stack of firewood in the yard.
There was nowhere to vent his grievances.
Though his heart was blocked with anger, he had to comfort his wife in a low voice, "It's alright. There was nothing valuable in the house. They couldn't steal anything. By the way, I received my wages today, and I will go cook some porridge for you."
His wife let out a forced laugh, "Where is the porridge from?"
After he said that, his own face fell.
The rice had been stolen; where could he get porridge from?
It would be better to drink the air.
A surge of resentment rose from the bottom of his heart.
In the past... when he was full of ambition, he had never suffered such humiliation.
His wife's eyes were slightly red, but she held back her tears, instead comforting him, "I'm not hungry. You should rest for a while and catch your breath. Even if the officials don't come to steal, the old lady next door would come to steal something."
Mr. Hong looked at her pale face and forced smile, and his heart ached.
He had once vowed to give her a good life.
But she had hardly enjoyed a few days of peace.
Mr. Hong first fed her some water and was thinking of going out to get some food when, with a loud bang, the half-closed yard door was violently swung open, and noisy footsteps echoed from outside.
Just as he wrapped his wife in the bedding, he saw three constables walking in, scanning him from head to toe.
"You are Hong Chenglüe?"
Hong Chenglüe slowly stood up, "What business do you three officers have?"
The leading constable tilted his head to his two colleagues, "Take him away!"
The two men shook the chains in their hands and moved to lock him up.
Mrs.
Hong was frightened, and Hong Chenglüe waved his hand, "Wait, first clarify what law I've broken!"
"Just found out that your household registration certificate is forged!" The constable sneered.
"What more do I need to say? Be smart and come with us; you can avoid worse punishments!"
The Dagu clan prohibit civilians from moving freely, and if one wants to register residence in another place, they need to obtain permission from their original place of registration, known as "registration certificate."
Currently, a great war has erupted in the North, and Xiangzhou has become a war zone.
The state government ordered thorough investigations into spies and first needed to check the registers.
At this critical moment, Hong Chenglüe’s certificate being found to be fake was a sure portent of disaster.
Given his understanding of local officials, if he was really taken away, punishment would consist of being thrown into a cell, subjected to forced labor.
The worst possibility was being conscripted into the army.
Just a few days ago, a recruitment notice from the state government was released in Bailu Town, stating that each township needed to send five hundred troops to Dunyu to undergo unified military training.
The notice promised a high salary, and Hong Chenglüe had been a bit tempted at that time, but upon considering that his wife was bedridden and needed care, he decided against it.
Moreover, who in the bureaucratic world had ever kept their word? How much of the salary promised would genuinely reach the families of soldiers?
But now, if he was taken away by the constables, he would likely be conscripted directly into the army and would get nothing at all.
Hong Chenglüe maintained a stoic expression: "My wife has been bedridden for many years; she cannot be left alone. You officers should have mercy and just pretend you haven’t caught me."
Ha, ha.
A tiger fallen into the lowlands.
He moved his right hand, making a few cracking sounds.
One of the constables looked at the bare house with pity, while the other two remained indifferent: "In these times, which household doesn't have unspoken difficulties? Let's go, don’t dawdle!"
As soon as the chains jingled, they snapped around Hong Chenglüe's neck.
The constables had long used them to apprehend people and were as skilled at it as herdsmen capturing horses; with just that one set of skills, it was difficult for the suspect to escape.
However, when Hong Chenglüe reached out, for some reason, he caught hold of the chain and pulled back.
The constable lost his footing and was yanked over, as easy as grabbing a chicken.
Before he could react, Hong Chenglüe's fingers gripped the man’s neck lightly.
Crack! The throat was crushed.
The other constable instinctively drew his sword and was about to shout, but Hong Chenglüe swung out the chain, pulling him closer.
By the time he thought of calling for help, it was already too late; the chain tightened around his neck, causing more and more pain at his cervical spine…
With a crack, his cervical vertebra broke.
The last constable standing still was dumbfounded.
He knew they wore official badges and had enhanced strength; a regular strongman was no match for them.
But this skinny, tall man before him...
Until Hong Chenglüe's gaze swept over him, he finally came to his senses and turned to flee.
Hong Chenglüe hesitated for a moment, not wanting to deal with him.
Yet just as this constable fled into the yard, he suddenly flew back, flailing and crashing directly into the bed leg with a thud, his head exploding.
Not a single sound had escaped his lips from beginning to end.
Watching the blood and brain matter spilling upon the ground, Hong Chenglüe frowned and took two steps back to block the door.
Suddenly, someone lightly knocked at the yard door: "Is Mr. Hong home?"
The yard door was wide open; this person knocking at this moment was both polite and unusual.
"Who is it?" Mr. Hong stepped outside and saw that the visitor was a man in his forties, with a round face and a round nose.
He looked like a friendly figure, carrying a bundle on his back, resembling a traveling merchant.
Yet this very person had just thrown the constables back and killed one.
He closed the door behind him and, after saluting Hong Chenglüe, he adopted a serious demeanor: "My name is Wu Qing, entrusted by another Lord Hong on his deathbed to deliver his belongings to you!"
Hong Chenglüe squinted his eyes: "Another Lord Hong?"
"He is your elder brother, but it is taboo to mention his name, so I will not speak it. This is what he entrusted to you."
Wu Qing took off the bundle from his back and presented it with both hands.
Hong Chenglüe opened the package and saw that there were not many items inside: a thin box, a stack of talismans, a folding fan, and a letter sealed with red wax.
The drawings on the talismans were very familiar; they indeed came from his elder brother's hand.
He first opened the box; inside were folded ten silver bills of varying denominations.
Any one of them would be enough for him to escape from his impoverished state and rise to the level of a comfortable life with land and a home.
There were also several dark crystals inside, varying in color from deep green to light red.
These were the gathering of spiritual energy from heaven and earth; treasures that money could not buy.
Even the newly appointed governor of Xiangzhou could not match the wealth of these few dark crystals.
However, Hong Chenglüe tipped them aside, not even glancing at them, for resting on top of the silver bills was a small wooden toad sculpture, slightly bigger than a fingertip, exquisitely carved, even with the little bumps on the toad's back detailed.
He pinched the wooden carving and stared at it for a long while, seeming to be in a daze.
Wu Qing remained silent, not interrupting.
Only when Hong Chenglüe had seen enough did he close the box.
His wife in the inner room had not heard a sound for a long time and was a bit worried: "Hong Lang?"
"I'm here," he answered, "My brother sent some items over through someone. Just wait a moment."
The inner room fell silent.
Hong Chenglüe then picked up the letter, broke the red wax seal, and unfolded it in the yard.
The handwriting was very familiar; it definitely came from his elder brother, whom he hadn't seen for a long time.
Moreover, the letter used a coded language that only the two brothers could understand.
As he unrolled the letter, a mix of emotions stirred within him; after all, the last time they met was a decade ago, and now, he can only "see you through the letter," eternally separated from this world.
However, the more he read on, the more his emotions surged.
The final page of the letter bore a signature, translatable in code to two words:
Move forward!
Beside the name, a toad was drawn in red, artfully done.
Hong Chenglüe remembered when he was a child, his elder brother would take him to the riverbank to play.
He loved catching dragonflies and shrimp, but his clumsy hands would often only manage to catch frogs…
"Still claiming to follow the will of heaven? Ha!" He snorted and sighed deeply, "Do you know the content of the letter?"
Wu Qing shook his head: "Only you know alone."
"My elder brother has died; who is your current master?"
Wu Qing bowed deeply, too afraid to straighten his back.
Hong Chenglüe’s gaze turned sharp: "What do you mean by that?"
"Before I speak the truth, please spare my life."
Hong Chenglüe smiled instead of getting angry: "Alright, tell me then."
"I came from the north and served under Lord Hong for three years."
From the north? Hong Chenglüe scrutinized him more closely: "You are under the command of Nian Zanli?"
Wu Qing shook his head, his attitude showing a hint of arrogance: "Nian Zanli is nothing, just a minor character!"
(End of this chapter)