Chapter 161: Don't Worry About Anyone

However, that was not the point. What mattered most now was greed—grabbing as much as possible!

Suppressing his excitement, He Lingchuan soon realized something was wrong.

There’s far too little.

He waited for a long time before feeling another faint, cool touch on his face. This faint, cool touch was a single drop of imperial nectar.

At the current rate it was falling, even if imperial nectar were “pouring” all night, he would not even be able to fill half of the wine jar he had just brought out. In fact, he might not even be able to get enough to cover the bottom of a snuff bottle!

Disappointment hit him hard.

Suddenly, a commotion broke out on the threshing floor. Wu Shaoyi’s men were quarreling with veterans of the Coordinating Army, shoving and shouting as they fought over a portion of imperial nectar.

Their prize, this portion of imperial nectar that they were fighting over, was no bigger than a fingernail.

Most of the treasure from the heavens fell as threads as fine as rain, but a rare few coalesced into gelatinous drops, partially pale green and partially milky white, like jade ointment.

What began as a squabble between two men quickly spiraled into a shouting match between whole groups. Desire made soldiers short-tempered; imperial nectar made them feral.

Zeng Feixiong and Wu Shaoyi had to waste precious time personally stepping in to calm things down.

The mountains at night were normally silent, but now the uproar spread like wildfire. Birds startled awake and wheeled into the sky, squabbling with one to compete for a share of the nectar.

Around the farmstead, even hibernating tree frogs and snakes slithered out of their hiding places, writhing through the brush to rub their bodies against nectar-laden grass.

It was as though the entire mountain had come alive. Before imperial nectar, no living thing could remain indifferent.

This rain of imperial nectar lasted scarcely more than an hour before tapering off.

He Lingchuan climbed to the high branches of a tree, scraping nectar from every leaf, drop by drop. Twice, he nearly got bitten by snakes lunging for the same prize.

Others soon imitated him.

The downpour of imperial nectar may have lasted only a short while, but no one slept until dawn. They spent half the night scheming how to collect every last drop.

Fortunately, the Coordinating Army’s discipline was among the best of its kind, and Wu Shaoyi kept his men under strict control. After that first scuffle, no more incidents occurred.

At daybreak, the sun rose in the east.

The moment its rays touched, the remaining nectar turned into white vapor and vanished into the air.

The chorus of sighs that followed marked the end of the night’s frenzy.

Life had to return to normal.

The cooks began preparing breakfast. Not long after, He Yue came to fetch his older brother, asking as he did, “How much did you get?”

“Not even enough for one good gulp,” He Lingchuan groaned. Despite all his efforts, his supposed luck had failed him. After half a night of scrambling for every bit of the nectar, he had barely netted himself half a tiny jade vial. By his own estimate, it was no more than ten milliliters.

“Well, it’s still an opportunity that only comes once in decades. Just being here to witness it is fortune enough.” He Yue, at least, was philosophical.

He Lingchuan asked, “And how do you plan to use yours?”

“I already swallowed most of it. As for the little that I have left, I plan to mix it into a bath.”

No wonder this brat’s face is glowing, so he drank it straight down. Well, that’s for the better, I guess. At least this way, no one will be tempted to steal from him.

He Yue warned him, “Imperial nectar’s potency lasts only twenty-four hours before it dissipates. Brother, don’t waste it. Make the most of this treasure when you can.”

“I know.” He Lingchuan still had not decided how exactly he was going to use his imperial nectar. The most common methods were just what He Yue had done, which were either to swallow it or to bathe in it. Imperial nectar appeared too rarely, and with its short shelf life, hardly any alchemical formulas existed for it. By contrast, when it sank underground and crystallized into profound crystals, mankind had developed far more ways of harnessing it.

But whether those methods would amplify or diminish the effects of fresh nectar was anyone’s guess.

No one wanted to gamble their hard-earned, pitifully small share on an experiment.

He brought the question to his father. He Chunhua had already asked the army’s spellcasters, but they, too, had no definite answer.

Ever since the rain of imperial nectar ended, He Chunhua had been enforcing strict military discipline. He thundered orders forbidding theft, robbery, insults, or brawls over nectar. The penalty for breaking the rules was amputation. He herded the entire army onto the threshing floor, seated them in strict rows under the eyes of his elite guards, forbidding anyone from leaving. It was only then that he could barely suppress the eagerness of those with malicious intentions.

At sunrise, He Chunhua gathered the entire army and ordered everyone to swallow their share of imperial nectar together.

He Lingchuan sat down and tilted his head back as well. His movements were bold, his posture full of bravado, but in truth, he only drank a few drops. The rest he whisked away in a flash. To gulp it all down in one go left him feeling far too reluctant.

Still, with so many eyes on him, this was the only way. Everyone witnessed him “finish” his portion. That was precisely the point: to dispel suspicion, prevent jealousy and theft, and keep the army’s morale intact.

Everyone knew that imperial nectar was priceless, but it had descended so suddenly that there was no better way to use it than to drink it straight. Hoarding it was pointless, since it would expire soon.

So most men simply raised their heads and drained their portion in one swallow. Even those who had already finished their harvest the night before made a show of holding up empty skins and jars to their mouths, pretending to drink again just to reassure their comrades and ward off covetous glares.

It was crude, perhaps, but effective. Once everyone had “emptied” their supply, the fierce, hungry stares softened. Suspicion gave way to camaraderie, and wolfish hostility faded.

This sudden stroke of fortune—or perhaps crisis—was quelled on the spot by He Chunhua’s decisive hand.

He did not underestimate the attraction of imperial nectar, nor did he overestimate human nature.

Watching from the side, He Lingchuan felt he had learned a valuable lesson. For a general or commander, strategy and foresight mattered, but so did the iron nerve and authority to respond to emergencies.

Hesitation breeds disaster.

“Our plans have changed. We’ll likely need to stay here for two more days.” Facing his two sons, He Chunhua sighed. “After last night’s imperial nectar outbreak, Shuanghe Town, Fengling Port, and even the river itself must all be in chaos.”

He Chunhua’s prestige and methods had quelled greed and disorder within his own ranks, but such control was not something every leader could command.

Sure enough, when the Coordinating Army scouts visited the town, they found that from midnight until dawn, riots had indeed erupted. Over forty had been killed in fights over imperial nectar, with more than two hundred injured.

Shuanghe Town was always crowded with travelers passing through to board ships at Fengling Port. Last night, the town was bedlam. Among the seven hundred people there, nearly a third were injured, close to twenty percent of the buildings were damaged, and more than a dozen houses were set ablaze. When the scouts arrived, some roofs were still smoldering, the fires not yet put out.

Such was the attraction of imperial nectar.

At Fengling Port, whirlpools had formed across the breezy river surface, signs of hidden currents below. Closer inspection revealed huge, dark shapes swimming back and forth, species unknown. They frequently attacked one another, stirred to frenzy by last night’s imperial nectar, their aggression heightened.

In such conditions, river travel was unsafe.

This was why He Chunhua ordered the army to rest here for two days.

By then, the local headman also sought him out, begging the Coordinating Army to help restore order in Shuanghe Town. After the night’s chaos, with its deaths and injuries, grudges were already flaring into vendettas. The town’s meager militia could not cope.

Since the locals asked, He Chunhua agreed at once, dispatching three hundred troops to patrol the streets.

As for He Lingchuan, he did not set foot outside the farmhouse. He secluded himself to cultivate.

That morning, he swallowed a few drops of nectar. It was cool on the tongue, a bit like mint. Once it slid down, his organs glowed with warmth, his mind sharpened, and energy surged through him, itching for release. For a brief moment, he felt as though he could take a single step and cross a thousand miles, soaring aloft on the wind.

Of course, it was an illusion, nothing but the rush of the drug.

Still, if a single drop of imperial nectar equaled ten days of cultivation, then those few swallows had earned him forty or fifty days’ worth of progress, and that was only the most apparent benefit.

An opportunity like this was not one He Lingchuan could afford to waste. He drank a couple of mouthfuls of warm water, then returned to his room, sat cross-legged, and closed his eyes to circulate his breath. He carried out six major cycles and twelve minor cycles, allowing energy to course through his body in a rush.

Knowing both his sons needed time to absorb the gift from the heavens, He Chunhua ordered guards to stand watch outside, allowing no one to disturb them.

* * *

When his meditation ended, He Lingchuan rose, stretched his limbs, and rolled his shoulders. His body felt light, and his spirit felt refreshed.

But aside from that? Nothing remarkable.

Where’s the power of the imperial nectar supposed to manifest?

With that question still in mind, he turned, intending to see how He Yue was faring. However, the spacious room contained only his own bed. In the direction he looked, there was just a table and chairs, a low cabinet against the wall, and a sprig of mugwort hanging over the door.

There was nobody else with him.

Wait, this isn’t the same room I was in before I entered meditation!

He strode outside and found himself on the edge of a village. A brook gurgled merrily past the houses. Chickens clucked at his feet, and a small yellow dog bounded over, tail wagging so hard it looked like it would fall off at any moment.

Children chased one another in play not far away, while several women rinsed laundry in the stream, drawing water into their wooden buckets to carry home.

The Coordinating Army was nowhere to be seen. This was not the farmstead where he had been.

Could it be?

Holding down his unease, He Lingchuan approached one of the women washing clothes. “Miss, may I ask where this is?”

“Xingqian Village,” she replied, giving him a puzzled glance.

“How did I get here?”

Her expression grew even stranger. “How would I know that?”

He pointed at the house behind him. “Then whose home is that?”

“Uncle Meng’s, of course. Aren’t you the friend his son brought back?”

So that’s it.

A rough guess began forming in his mind. “Then, could you tell me how to reach Panlong City?”

Indeed, after more than a month of being unable to find a way in, today, after cultivating with imperial nectar, he had inexplicably been drawn straight into it once more.

The broken saber—or is it the Generous Pot? Either way, they’re both damn unreliable.

The woman obligingly pointed east. “Follow the road, it’s a kilometer away.”

He Lingchuan thanked her and set off.

Behind him, the stream still babbled merrily, while the laundry women whispered to each other:

“Is that young man not right in the head?”

“My cousin fell off a horse once. After that, he didn’t recognize us either, always asking strangers where his home was.”

“Oh, what a pity. He’s even got such a handsome face!”

He Lingchuan: “...”

Before long, the majestic silhouette of Panlong City appeared on the horizon.

Along the main road, he soon encountered other travelers.

All the while, he studied their faces carefully, wary of a repeat of his first entry into the Panlong Dreamscape and ending up getting hunted down.