Chapter 00301: The Sky Is High, Let the Birds Fly
# The Sky Is High, Let the Birds Fly
Chapter 301
Novel: After the Immortals Disappeared
Chapter 301: The Sky Is High, Let the Birds Fly
In other words, Hong Chenglüe had two choices: either to compromise with He Chunhua, or to put his bold words into action.
Either way, it was a passive position.
But after He Lingchuan figured this out, an even darker worry settled in his heart.
Hong Chenglüe knew very well he couldn’t prove his boasting on the spot, so why insist on a face-to-face talk with He Chunhua? What was he really planning here?
He Lingchuan lowered his head and shared his concerns.
But no sooner had he spoken a couple of words than He Chunhua nodded and cut him off: “Enough, I get it.”
From this, He Lingchuan saw the tight muscles in He Chunhua’s neck—obviously, He Chunhua wasn’t as calm as he appeared on the surface.
After a long pause, the Stone Man finally spoke again, “Let me see A Jin first.”
It wasn’t an unreasonable request.
He Chunhua tilted his head slightly and raised his chin.
The soldiers guarding the carriage immediately opened the door.
An old woman inside had propped a pillow behind A Jin’s back, allowing her to lean against the carriage wall comfortably.
A Jin’s eyes suddenly regained some spirit.
“Brother Hong.”
“How are you?” The Stone Man couldn’t help but take a few steps forward toward her. “Have they made things difficult for you?”
“I’m fine. It’s you who are being troubled.” A Jin sighed. “Looks like I’ve dragged you down again.”
The Stone Man said firmly, “You never have been a burden to me!”
In broad daylight, in front of more than a thousand people, these two were flaunting their love? He Chunhua cleared his throat and said to A Jin, “Lady Miao, don’t forget our promise.”
A Jin’s family name was Miao.
He Chunhua had sought her out several times in recent days, asking her to persuade Hong Chenglüe.
She had agreed, neither stubborn nor defiant.
A Jin didn’t even look at him, instead staring unblinkingly at her husband on the mountain peak: “Brother Hong, from now on, I don’t need you to worry about me. The sky is high, let the birds fly!”
As she said this, she smiled faintly at Hong Chenglüe, but blood black as ink trickled from the corner of her mouth.
He Chunhua and Hong Chenglüe both turned pale, almost shouting in unison, “What are you doing?!”
Hong Chenglüe was nearly shattered to pieces in spirit: “That’s impossible! I clearly took her medicine away!”
He Chunhua rushed over, no longer caring about appearances, and pried A Jin’s mouth open.
Her teeth were clenched tightly, her body shaking uncontrollably, and blood oozed from all seven orifices.
He Lingchuan pounced in as well, urgently ordering the Medicine Ape, “Ling Guang, save her!”
Ling Guang jumped into the carriage, sniffing the scent in A Jin’s mouth.
It somehow pulled out a gourd and poured water down her throat. “It’s a highly potent and deadly poison—‘Hanjiu Powder,’ used by death warriors.”
The liquid in the gourd was pale yellow, somewhat foul-smelling but clear.
A Jin’s throat muscles tightened so much she couldn’t swallow, so Ling Guang quickly pressed her throat twice.
Finally, she gulped it down.
She even choked on it, but Ling Guang didn’t stop—pouring more relentlessly.
After more than ten breaths, Ling Guang flipped A Jin over and squeezed her abdomen hard. “Spit it out, quick!”
A Jin vomited copiously.
Ling Guang then gave her more medicine to wash out her stomach, preparing to induce vomiting again.
At this point, no magical elixir could beat the basics.
However, this time, after just two gulps, A Jin didn’t react anymore.
No matter how Ling Guang manipulated her, it was no use.
“It’s no good.” Ling Guang was gasping for breath. “The poison is acting too fast.”
By the medicine pouring, Ling Guang could see her mouth was corroded—her innards, even more fragile.
This poison deserved the name “blood-sealing throat” totally without exaggeration.
In the Yuanguo and Beijia countries, Hanjiu Powder was infamous as the go-to poison to seal mouths forever.
“Try again!” He Chunhua’s face turned grim and sharp. “Think of another way!”
Hong Chenglüe was about to give in; his plan was about to work.
If A Jin died at this critical moment, his ace against Hong Chenglüe would be gone, and instead, he would earn deep enmity!
At this moment, he was furious, wondering why his men hadn’t searched the crippled woman thoroughly.
Was it because she was disabled that they let their guard down?
Ling Guang tried several more methods, but A Jin remained motionless.
He Lingchuan checked her pulse—there was none.
“Father, she’s dead.”
A Jin’s poison had erupted, and the Stone Man went mad, charging forward.
But it was only a voice transmitter; it didn't have much defense.
Surrounded by soldiers’ attacks, it shattered in seconds, leaving only scattered stones.
He Chunhua pressed down the chaotic nerves and sharply commanded, “Capture Hong Chenglüe, quickly!”
They had sworn mortal vengeance; they absolutely could not let him leave alive.
Zeng Feixiong blew a whistle.
The nearby soldiers emerged from their cover without hesitation and charged toward the small mountain peak.
He Chunhua’s eyes darted, and he shouted at Hong Chenglüe, “She’s not dead! Your wife has been saved!”
Ten or so yards away, many people crowded around the carriage, so he didn’t believe Hong Chenglüe could clearly see A Jin was gone.
As long as Hong Chenglüe wasn’t sure, there was still hope.
Hong Chenglüe, seeing blood trailing from his wife’s mouth through the Stone Man’s gaze, was terrified and tried to leap down at once.
Dong Rui grabbed his shoulder. “Are you crazy? You’re walking straight into a trap!”
Hong Chenglüe shook him off, but unexpectedly, a huge ghostly claw reached out and firmly grabbed his arm.
Hong Chenglüe couldn’t immediately break free.
“Let go! She’s poisoned!”
The ghost ape had manifested its true form to stop Hong Chenglüe.
But Hong Chenglüe’s strength was great, and the ape itself was wounded, barely able to hold on with all its might.
Dong Rui yelled into Hong Chenglüe’s ear, “Calm down! She took poison willingly, just not wanting you to die!”
The word “die” thundered in Hong Chenglüe’s mind.
He hesitated, seemed to remember something, and suddenly stopped struggling.
By now, the Stone Man was destroyed, and the Yuan army swarmed forward toward them.
The archers nearby had already drawn their bows, ready to fire.
“There’s no time left! Let’s go!” Dong Rui beckoned, and the monstrous bird behind him revealed its true form.
Its massive body could easily carry two people for a short flight.
Hong Chenglüe stared fixedly at the carriage not far away, eyes bloodshot, breathing fast.
Dong Rui jumped on the bird’s back, urging it nonstop. “Go! Hurry, fly!”
If they didn’t leave now, it would be too late.
Hong Chenglüe almost bit down on his steel teeth and turned to jump on the bird.
The ghost ape returned to a small monkey form and leapt into Dong Rui’s arms.
The giant bird spread its wings and took flight before the dozens of feathered arrows could reach them, soaring higher and higher through the rising smoke.
Afterward, Hong Chenglüe heard He Chunhua’s shout, and the muscles at his jaw twitched involuntarily.
Dong Rui, fearing Hong Chenglüe’s anger might make him rash, hurriedly said, “He’s lying to you, don’t trust him!”
Hong Chenglüe’s voice came cold and distant, as if from an ice cellar: “That’s Hanjiu Powder. An incurable poison!”
He had once distributed this drug to spies in the Beijia kingdom; a single glance was enough to recognize it!
It also went by another name: “Ten-breath Soul Seizing Powder,” so A Jin… was already—
Dong Rui, seated in front, trembled slightly, clearly sensing the fury radiating from behind, as if it might explode at any moment.
Suddenly, Hong Chenglüe unstrung his longbow from his back, nocked an arrow, and let it fly.
He wasn’t shooting at He Chunhua, but at the ground—
The sandy soil beneath the rushing Yuan soldiers’ feet.
He shot several arrows rapidly, “whoosh,” “whoosh,” “whoosh” — each arrow pierced more than a foot into the ground.
The sandy soil was loose, but this still showed how mighty his arm strength was.
Then, the wide and flat area erupted.
The explosion shook heaven and earth, scattering sand and stones wildly.
The dust cloud rose four or five meters high.
The first twenty or so Yuan soldiers charging forward were instantly shrouded by the dust, their fates unknown.
The followers halted at once, unwilling to continue forward.
Besides, their target had already taken to the air; what meaning was further pursuit on foot?
The explosives obtained from abandoned mines in Xunzhou once again played their role.
With sharpshooters waiting below, the monstrous bird dared not linger.
It used the rising smoke to fly higher and higher, quickly disappearing into the clouds.
He Chunhua looked up at the bird’s fading silhouette, realizing Hong Chenglüe was staring back at him as fiercely.
That glare was filled with hatred and malice, making him feel as if needles pricked at his skin.
Only when the bird vanished into the clouds did He Chunhua coldly order, “Withdraw the troops! Return to camp!”
The remaining soldiers hurried forward to clear the battlefield and tend to the wounded.
On the way back, the chill emanating from He Chunhua made everyone steer clear as if avoiding a poisonous snake.
…
Just as they reached the camp, He Lingchuan found a pretext to slip away and tend to the injured.
His father was furious; why tempt bad luck?
The earlier explosion had killed three Yuan soldiers outright, seriously wounded seven, and lightly injured twenty-one.
Ling Guang was also helping with medical care.
Then some soldiers came to ask He Lingchuan what to do with the woman’s corpse.
The carriage had been brought back, carrying A Jin’s lifeless body and two trembling old women.
He Lingchuan sighed. “Leave it to me.”
He left the carriage under the guards of his personal soldiers and was about to return to the tent when Zhao Pan walked toward him.
“How did the Bai Ming Valley trip go?” Zhao Pan looked at He Lingchuan’s expression, then at the troop’s morale, and his heart sank. “No deal?”
Though he didn’t agree with He Chunhua’s methods, he did hope Hong Chenglüe would leave Xiazhou.
“No. A Jin took poison and died, in front of Hong Chenglüe.”
Zhao Pan was greatly shocked.
Without asking more, he hurried off to find He Chunhua.
About an hour later, He Lingchuan heard that several soldiers were dragged out and flogged forty times, while the old women who attended A Jin were beheaded immediately.
Those soldiers had apparently been assigned to watch over A Jin but failed to discover the deadly poison she was hiding—gross negligence.
As for the old women, that was just He Chunhua taking his anger out on someone.
He Lingchuan also heard quarrels erupting in the main tent.
Who else could have been arguing there but He Chunhua and Zhao Pan?
At a time like this, He Lingchuan naturally had no wish to approach the enraged chief steward—it would be asking for trouble.
In the end, he survived until the early hours (around 9 p.m.), when He Chunhua seemed to remember him and finally sent someone to summon him.
When He Lingchuan entered He Chunhua’s tent, he saw the table and chairs overturned on the ground—clearly the work of the owner.
No one dared to touch them, showing that He Chunhua was still in a rage.
He reluctantly took a deep breath and stepped in to call out, “Father.”
He Chunhua had been standing with his hands behind his back, facing away.
Hearing the voice, he turned around and asked, “You saw A Jin a few days ago. Didn’t you notice any signs that she wanted to die?”
“No. She was very polite to her son,” He Lingchuan naturally wouldn’t admit the truth. “She didn’t look like someone planning suicide.”
He Chunhua swung his sleeve coldly. “You’ve no eye for such things at all!”
He Lingchuan thought to himself: aren’t you the same? You visited her three or four times yourself and saw no sign either.
A Jin had deceived everyone.
(End of chapter)