Chapter 00267: Medicine and Red Light
# Medicine and Red Light
Chapter 267
Novel: After the Immortals Disappeared
Chapter 267: Medicine and Red Light
In the pitch-black depths of the ravine, nothing could be discerned.
He Lingchuan and Shen Youjun carefully made their way back to the bottom of the cliff, gripping the rope that their companions had left dangling, and climbed back up to higher ground.
The return journey went smoothly, without any hiccups.
...
By the time He Lingchuan arrived at the military camp in Xinhuang Town, the place was brightly lit and bustling with activity.
There was no sign of relaxation in the atmosphere.
Extinguishing fires, clearing the camp, treating the wounded, detaining and interrogating prisoners, inventorying supplies, and communicating with the county government were all under He Chunhua’s command, and everything was running relatively orderly.
The moment He Lingchuan appeared, He Chunhua left the official he was conversing with and walked over. “How is it? Did you catch Dong Rui?”
“No.” He Lingchuan shook his head. “He slipped away again.”
It seemed the man named Dong was as slippery as an eel, evading capture with ease.
"This rascal is hard to catch," He Chunhua said with a look of disappointment, but he quickly patted He Lingchuan on the shoulder.
"Never mind him for now. We have more pressing issues at hand."
He knew that after suffering heavy injuries, Dong Rui wouldn’t pose much of a threat in the short term.
"Earlier, there was an explosion at the tavern. The local county magistrate survived but lost a leg in the blast. But Mr. Mo Zhe..."
He sighed deeply.
"He didn't make it."
He Lingchuan immediately responded, “Father, my condolences.”
Mo Zhe Jingxuan was an elder that He Chunhua brought from Heishui City.
His loyalty was beyond doubt, and his sudden demise was a significant loss for He Chunhua, who was already short on capable personnel.
“Furthermore, the cavalry that retreated from Xunzhou were intercepted en route, resulting in more of our men being cut off.”
The pursuers relentlessly chased for more than thirty miles, but no one managed to claim the bounty of gold, so they had to return in dejection —
Lord Baili was just too tough.
However, the Xunzhou cavalry suffered heavy losses; nearly three hundred had set out, but only about a hundred returned, and more than half of them were injured.
He Lingchuan felt even more uneasy after listening to this. “Someone intercepted them?”
“They were chased to Maming Slope, where over two hundred more soldiers emerged, all strong and well-equipped. We had no choice but to abandon the pursuit and turn back.” He Chunhua’s expression was grim, and he was angry at the incompetence of his subordinates.
He Lingchuan realized something was off.
"Where did these more than two hundred Xunzhou soldiers come from?" Clearly, they weren’t part of Lord Baili's men, otherwise, they would have attacked Xinhuang together a long time ago.
“According to the prisoners, the general whose arm you severed is named Baili Qing, a guerrilla general under Yan Zanli. He is quite well-known with impressive achievements. Who would have thought he would be defeated by you in one round?”
“It’s a pity. That big fish slipped away.” The guards around Baili Qing fought fiercely to protect him, risking their lives to help him escape.
At that moment, He Chunhua also summoned a soldier who had been shooting arrows to come over.
The soldier appeared to be only around sixteen or seventeen years old, similar in age to He Lingchuan.
Just earlier, without hesitation, he had sacrificed some of his lifespan to gain the power to injure the ghost ape, but now his face was pale and his lips were tinged with purple.
The Ghost Eye Bow, while powerful, had its drawbacks when used.
He Chunhua patted the young man's shoulder, his face showing appreciation. “Well done, you are deserving of merit.”
The soldier was covered in sweat, yet his joy was apparent. “Thank you, thank you, sir!”
He Chunhua took a jade pendant from his storage ring and handed it to him. “Wear this talisman. From today on, you will be my personal guard.”
The soldier happily accepted it.
He Lingchuan looked at him and asked, “What is your name?”
“I am Hu Xuan.”
He Lingchuan nodded; more and more unfamiliar faces were appearing around his father.
Now that he thought about it, he wasn’t even certain just how many trusted followers He Chunhua had.
The fire was extinguished, and the wounded had been settled in nearby civilian houses.
Seeing no more that required his attention, He Lingchuan took over a tent in the camp, instructing the rock wolf to stand guard, allowing no one to enter.
He secured the tent from the bottom, ensuring no flies could get in, before lighting an oil lamp and carefully inspecting the new glass vial in his possession.
As soon as the vial appeared, the Divine Bone Necklace around his neck began to radiate warmth again.
He Lingchuan could feel its thirst, like a person who had been hungry all day gazing longingly at a roasted leg of lamb dripping with oil.
After some thought, he took off the Divine Bone Necklace and placed it on the bench, then uncorked the glass vial and carefully leaned in closer.
He didn’t dare breathe in deeply; some medicinal smells could be deadly poison.
Interestingly, the circular hole in the center of the Divine Bone Necklace emitted a faint sound of wind, as if it housed a small wind tunnel within.
He Lingchuan carefully dripped a single drop of the red liquid from the vial into the hole.
Just one drop.
Then this drop of red liquid fell into the circular hole of the Divine Bone, and disappeared without a trace.
He Lingchuan picked up the necklace, searching the bench but finding no signs of the liquid.
It indicated that the red liquid had flowed through the hole, but he had no clue where it had gone.
However, He Lingchuan already knew that the Divine Bone Necklace was the key to entering the Great Vessel Illusion.
So, who had absorbed this liquid? Was it the Divine Bone Necklace itself, or… was it the Great Vessel?
He recalled the previous two instances when the Divine Bone Necklace "fed."
Once was with the cornerstone of the Immortal's cave, and the other time was possibly with Hong Xiangqian's spirit talisman, both were extraordinary items.
Now, the fact that this red liquid had caught the attention of the Divine Bone proved that it too was a rare treasure?
Yet after the Divine Bone Necklace consumed one drop, it ceased to radiate warmth.
The central wind tunnel disappeared, and it returned to being a rather ordinary pendant.
“Do you want more?” he asked the Divine Bone Necklace.
Ever since he learned that the Floating Life Blade could understand his questions, he assumed this object could as well; it just never conversed with him.
The Divine Bone Necklace remained unresponsive, as it always did.
This meant it had enough.
Just one drop was enough to nourish it.
He Lingchuan put away the necklace and the vial and exited the tent.
With the help of the rock wolf, he found the medicine ape Lingguang.
The monkey was busy treating injured soldiers in the medical ward, working diligently, and his skills surpassed those of the average military doctor, earning him the general admiration of the wounded.
When He Lingchuan found him, Lingguang had a pouch around his neck filled with nuts, already heavy and overflowing, all gifts from the patients.
He rummaged through the pouch, pulled out a few peanuts, and began to shell and eat them. “I acquired a trophy. Can you take a look at it for me?”
“Right away!”
In the end, He Lingchuan waited a full quarter of an hour before Lingguang finally emerged from the pile of patients and followed him back to the tent.
He narrated the entire process of failing to chase down Dong Rui but successfully obtaining the glass vial, then said to Lingguang, “Dong Rui initially planned to give this to the severely injured ghost ape, perhaps it could provide emergency relief. Since it’s a medication, I’ll leave it to you to analyze.”
Lingguang's eyes sparkled with excitement as he examined the glass vial repeatedly, delighting in his newfound treasure; he didn’t even spare a glance at He Lingchuan. “Great!”
Seeing him claim the tent without reserve, He Lingchuan shook his head and stepped outside.
Tonight was destined to be a sleepless night for the people of Xia Prefecture.
Zeng Feixiong had found the corpse of a sentry nearby, which explained why the sentry hadn’t raised the alarm during Baili Qing’s incursion into Xinhuang.
Therefore, He Chunhua ordered an increase in vigilance around the encampment and accelerated the interrogation of the prisoners.
He was desperate to discover who was orchestrating this operation.
After Zeng Feixiong returned from pursuing Baili Qing, he sat by the campfire with his subordinates, drinking water and eating flatbreads.
He Lingchuan strolled over and offered him a wine gourd. “Want a sip?” Tonight had been thrilling enough.
Zeng Feixiong shook his head. “I’ll be on watch soon; I can’t drink.”
He Lingchuan chatted with him about the battle and inquired about the pursuit of Baili Qing.
Zeng Feixiong lowered his voice to speak, holding the distance from his soldiers. “It’s fine to beat up on the weak, but when facing tough opponents, a single blow is enough to collapse.” As soon as Baili Qing’s reinforcements arrived, his pursuing troops wilted. “The troops we’ve pieced together here in Xia Prefecture can’t hold their ground on the Northern battlefield.”
He had received a promotion and was eager to help Governor He with his concerns.
For Xia Prefecture right now, raising a capable fighting force was truly a luxury; there was neither the time nor the resources to spare.
He Lingchuan was not surprised by Zeng Feixiong's assessment: “They’ll need some training. Just look at the soldiers in various regions and armies; how many can be recruited and sent straight to the battlefield without any preparation? There’s hardly any energy or leisure to train first. In fact, winning a few battles is far more important; you need to know how to pick your opponents.”
He had experienced this firsthand in Panlong City; the courage of the Great Wind Army came at least half from their confidence: the people of Panlong City had unshakeable faith in their every victory, and their overflowing self-assurance.
Jiao Tai chimed in, “We let more than a hundred escape. This battle has been frustrating!”
Zeng Feixiong did not take kindly to this comment; after all, he led the troops.
He chuckled. “Those we let go are mostly wounded soldiers, some are quite severely injured. That was the Governor’s order!”
He Lingchuan simply said, “Oh.”
Jiao Tai, with his straightforward nature, did not understand. “What do you mean?”
“We find the Xunzhou people difficult because their cavalry come and go, making them hard to track,” He Lingchuan explained. “Now they are burdened with a bunch of injured soldiers; they will need to find a way to settle them, which will make them vulnerable.” The Xunzhou troops conducting operations deep behind enemy lines would have great trouble receiving effective medical treatment when injured — that was a significant problem.
His father truly was cunning.
At that moment, He Lingchuan suddenly noticed a flash of red light not far to the west.
The light wasn’t strong, but it was sufficiently prominent in the dark of night.
What was that?
As he gazed, it seemed that several more streaks of red light passed through, somewhat resembling lightning, but there were no subsequent effects, and everything remained eerily quiet.
He Lingchuan glanced around, suddenly realizing a curious phenomenon:
Nearby soldiers were eating, drinking, chatting, and showed no interest at all in glancing over at the light.
Even Shen Youjun, Zeng Feixiong, and others seemed to turn a blind eye to it.
He Lingchuan tentatively asked, “What is that?”
“Huh?” Jiao Tai looked puzzled. “What?”
He Lingchuan pointed in the direction of the red light. “Can't you see it?”
Everyone looked confused. “See what?”
They truly couldn’t see it.
He Lingchuan felt a bit frustrated. “Never mind. What is that place nearby being used for?” The area where the red light arose appeared to be some simple houses.
Zeng Feixiong glanced over. “They are detaining prisoners there.”
He Lingchuan immediately clapped his hands and stood up, striding toward the red light.
At least in the minds of the commanding officers who had come out from Heishui City, he had already shed the image of a frivolous young master who learned nothing.
Even tonight, he had half the credit for preserving the military supplies, so no one questioned him as to what he intended to do.
They simply went about their own business, focused on their tasks.
(End of Chapter)