Chapter 00056: My Son, No Regrets
# My Son, No Regrets
Chapter 56
Novel: After the Immortals Disappeared
Chapter 56: My Son, No Regrets
Even though the city had oil shops, wine breweries, and charcoal stores, and the buildings were mostly made of wood, burning down an entire city with just a handful of people was still a massive task.
They needed to find as much flammable material as possible.
After the others had left, He Lingchuan made a quick turn and sneaked back into the Zhong residence.
He quietly jumped into an empty room.
The room wasn’t small.
It had two beds—one large and one small—two stools, and a dressing table.
Earlier, after the State Preceptor had fired the signal arrow, He Lingchuan had taken the opportunity to explore the official residence while the others were gathering.
At the time, he hadn’t found anything useful, but after the group’s discussion, he suddenly felt the urge to take another look.
The official residence wasn’t large and had a simple layout—just a place to eat, sleep, and live.
This room was likely the bedroom of Zhong Shengguang and his wife.
The large bed had clean bedding, neatly folded, and on the wall above the bed hung a treasured sword with a dragon’s head swallowing a ring.
Only a military man like Zhong Shengguang would hang such a weapon above his and his wife’s bed.
As for the smaller bed next to it—that must belong to their daughter, Zhong Wuhuan.
The small bed was only three feet long, too short for an adult to lie down on even if they curled up.
At the head of the bed were a small wooden horse, a wooden soldier waving a sword, and a fierce-looking stuffed tiger—no, a stuffed leopard, modeled after a sand leopard, complete with its round spots.
These three items together told a story.
He picked up the leopard and saw a few small characters embroidered on its belly: "My son, no regrets."
At the foot of the bed, there was also a small cloth doll.
He Lingchuan walked over to the large bed.
On the dressing table were a set of cosmetics and a bronze mirror, all neatly arranged.
He picked up each item to inspect them and noticed a comb tucked behind the bronze mirror.
It turned out to be a set.
What’s this? His eyes lit up as he held the comb up to the light and murmured, "So this is where it is."
It was a simple wooden comb, plain and functional, with only a small light blue flower painted on the handle.
The pigment for the flower came from finely ground shellfish powder, which could produce a sky-blue color.
Just from this small decoration, He Lingchuan could tell that this was the very comb the sand leopard had taken as a keepsake when Panlong City fell years ago.
It was also the item that had caused the feud between the He family and the Grand Marshal’s residence.
However, this comb hadn’t been burned yet.
"Zhong Shengguang’s wife passed away shortly after giving birth to their daughter. He must have kept this comb as a memento," He Lingchuan muttered to himself, glancing at the small bed.
"Wait, no. At this point, Zhong Wuhuan hasn’t been born yet. Zhong Shengguang didn’t know whether his wife would give birth to a boy or a girl, but he already prepared a crib."
Otherwise, the commander wouldn’t have placed a few boy’s toys at the head of the bed—toys that looked like they were carved by his own hands.
"This must have been the happiest time of his life," He Lingchuan thought.
His career was on the rise, and his beloved wife was about to give birth.
He casually opened a hidden compartment in the dressing table.
Inside were a few pieces of jewelry, all made of ordinary materials.
But when He Lingchuan’s gaze fell on one particular item, he froze.
It was a necklace with a crescent-shaped pendant.
It looked familiar.
He instinctively pulled out the necklace he was wearing.
They were the same! Except one was in the illusion, and the other was in reality, and even their appearances had changed.
In other words, before his daughter was born, Zhong Shengguang had been the owner of this divine bone necklace.
He Lingchuan felt a flash of understanding.
He carefully placed the comb back in its original position and left the room.
As soon as he stepped out of the official residence, he saw someone standing outside.
It was Mao Tao.
He Lingchuan was startled and couldn’t help but curse, "You scared the hell out of me! Why didn’t you make a sound?"
"Young Master, let me go with you. I’ll do all the work," Mao Tao said with a smile.
"It feels like someone’s watching me, waiting for me to be alone to make a move."
"Even if there is, it’s not human," He Lingchuan replied.
He had also felt that prickling sensation on his back.
It was safer for the two of them to stick together.
Mao Tao pointed, "I remember there’s a big restaurant over there."
He Lingchuan glanced back at the Zhong residence.
"This place is too close. Leave it for the city’s military equipment. Let’s go further out."
Both of them knew some martial arts, so they picked up their pace and ran quickly.
After about half an hour, the road narrowed, and the buildings became sparser.
Larger structures like warehouses, inns, and even grain-drying fields appeared.
These places were far from any city gate.
Even if the city’s military equipment could reach them, it wouldn’t be able to set a large area on fire with a single shot.
This was where manpower was needed.
The two of them broke into a workshop, found a cart, and loaded it with a dozen barrels of tung oil.
They also grabbed a couple of wooden planks to use as torches before pulling the cart out.
As they went, they set everything on fire, splashing oil on wood, cotton quilts, straw, and anything else that could burn.
After traveling a few miles, they looked back and saw flames shooting into the sky.
Mao Tao pointed to the west.
"Look at that black smoke. The State Preceptor must be working hard too."
He Lingchuan only glanced at it before continuing his work.
"That place isn’t the key either."
Mao Tao was puzzled.
"The key? What key?"
"We decided to burn the entire city because we couldn’t find the key to breaking the illusion. Otherwise, a single fire arrow would’ve been enough," He Lingchuan explained clearly.
"On the other hand, burning other places won’t work. Only by burning the key point can this illusion be dispelled."
Mao Tao shook his hand and sighed.
"How much longer will this take?" He was tired because He Lingchuan had made him pull the cart like a donkey.
Even a real donkey would collapse after pulling a cart full of oil barrels for ten miles.
The thought of burning down an entire city made his whole body shiver.
"You should be happy," He Lingchuan said darkly.
"The key point isn’t in our area. That’s a blessing from your past life. Think about what happened to Tao Bo. Can you handle the consequences if the illusion breaks?"
Tao Bo’s end hadn’t been much better than his teammates—he had been completely obliterated.
Mao Tao shuddered.
"Then let’s hurry and meet up with the State Preceptor."
He Lingchuan chuckled.
"Thanks to you, it’s not going to be that quick."
Since Mao Tao had slipped away to find him, the northern part of Panlong City hadn’t been burned yet.
"Now, tell me, why did you really come looking for me?"
Mao Tao was taken aback.
"I… I was just scared."
He Lingchuan didn’t want to waste time.
"Get back to the north."
"Wait, I’ll tell you! I just couldn’t make up my mind earlier," Mao Tao said, wiping his sweat with a towel.
"Earlier, when the State Preceptor was reading Tao Bo’s notes, he didn’t know that I had lived in Tongcheng in the Baling Kingdom for twelve years with Boss Situ. I even attended school there, until my stepfather was killed in a business deal…"
"Stop, get to the point!"
"... I can understand a bit of Baling script."
He Lingchuan stopped in his tracks.
"What is the State Preceptor hiding?"
He knew it! That old man was keeping secrets!
(End of Chapter)