Chapter 259: Back to One's Old Trade

Hong Chenglue’s eyes changed little by little. First, they widened in realization, then they darkened into bitter fury.

“So it was you!” His voice was cold. “For that alone, I ought to kill you where you stand.”

As killing intent surged through him, the air itself seemed to drop by several degrees. Wu Qing took an instinctive step back, feeling that invisible pressure bear down on him, but he did not beg for mercy. He knew the man before him well enough. If Hong Chenglue said he would kill, then kill he would. When facing someone like him, pleading would only make things worse.

But just as quickly as Hong Chenglue’s killing intent had flared, it drew back again. Hong Chenglue exhaled slowly and said, “Why did you go to my older brother? Why did you urge him to his death?”

Wu Qing shook his hands hastily. “Lord Hong’s conviction was one of the firmest I’ve ever seen, definitely among the top three out of all the men I’ve met in this lifetime. How could the likes of me ever sway him? He truly believed that the Royal Court of Yuan had decayed beyond repair, that only by tearing it down and founding a new state could the common people see a brighter future. My master merely offered him a little assistance along the way.”

“So his death had nothing to do with you?” Hong Chenglue’s gaze was like a knife.

“The Righteous Army was unstoppable for a time, their banners sweeping across the land. Who would have guessed that Mr. Hong would suddenly fall in battle? My master was deeply shocked as well.” Wu Qing bowed slightly as he spoke, his tone cautious.

“Is that so?” Hong Chenglue turned the folded letter in his hand, the faint crackle of paper sounding like thunder. “Then tell me, does your master know why the god my brother worshiped suddenly vanished from this world?”

Wu Qing froze. “This is the first I’ve ever heard of such a thing.”

“Mr. Hong... No, General Hong,” Wu Qing corrected himself quickly, stepping forward with solemnity. “My master wishes to invite you to take up arms again.”

“I’m not going.” The refusal came at once, calm and flat, as if Hong Chenglue had been waiting for that very line. “I swore a blood oath never again to use divine techniques, never again to lead men to kill others!”

Otherwise, what had all these years of hardship been for? What had his wife’s suffering been for?

Wu Qing hesitated, then said softly, “Forgive my bluntness, General Hong, but though you swore such a grave oath before Heaven itself, Heaven did not grant your wife and son peace. Perhaps that oath of yours was never accepted.”

Hong Chenglue fell silent.

When his wife had gone into labor, the delivery had turned against them. For two full days, she hovered between life and death. He had known his own hands were steeped in slaughter, that retribution might come for him, yet the chaos of the times had left him no other choice. In desperation, he had cast aside his seal of office and sworn a grave oath, hoping Heaven would spare them all. But Heaven showed them no mercy; his son had still been born dead, and though his wife had survived, her body was broken beyond repair. His wife’s vital essence had been drained, and her meridians had withered. She had slowly lost the use of her limbs until she lay paralyzed, wasting away year by year. He had scoured the land for physicians, and all had told him the same thing: she could not be cured.

From that angle, Wu Qing was not wrong.

You had prayed to Heaven, and Heaven had turned a deaf ear. What bond then remained between you?

Wu Qing pressed on, “And if the one you prayed to back then was not Heaven, but a god...”

Wouldn’t your wish have come true?”

Hong Chenglue said coldly, “Enough, I no longer meddle in matters of gods and ghosts.”

Wu Qing lowered his head, his tone deferential as he said, “I have heard Lord Hong express his sentiments on more than one occasion. If you were willing to join forces with him, then with his planning and your commanding united, there would be no rival under heaven. The fate of the state could be remade.”

𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Wu Qing then gestured toward the case on the table and said, “He also said that while you are unmatched in war, fortune has never favored you when it comes to worldly wealth. If you wish to live out your days in peace, these should be enough to keep you comfortable, so long as you spend them wisely.”

A bitter smile tugged at Hong Chenglue’s lips.

Indeed, no one understands me better than my brother.

“However...” Wu Qing’s gaze drifted toward the corpses sprawled on the floor. “This place is no longer safe for you. You’ll have to leave, regardless.” No matter where one was, killing a constable was no minor crime.

Hong Chenglue nodded slightly. He was aware that they had to leave.

“Pardon my impertinence, but Mr. Hong’s forehead is clouded, and your aura is shrouded in misfortune. You’ve likely been plagued by ill luck these past years, have you not?” Wu Qing said cautiously. “When you cast off your rank, you lose the protection of origin energy. The karmic debts of all those you killed, and the curses whispered behind your back, have been settling on you ever since.” He then pointed toward the case again. “Even your fortune flows like water. Your fate is in decline. Whatever wealth you gain will slip through your fingers. Give it a few years, and you’ll have nothing left.”

Hong Chenglue let out a soft breath. He already knew this.

When he had retired, he had been rich. Yet one by one, his homes had burned or flooded until he had been forced to move again and again. He had finally resettled in a new county, buying land and property, only for the bank holding his savings to collapse without warning. Its reputation had been sterling, its branches everywhere, yet it had fallen overnight, taking most of his silver with it.

He had thought that at least his real estate was safe, but no, his holdings were all in Ling Province, and when the northern monster state invaded, the whole region had fallen. His land deeds had turned to scraps of worthless paper.

After fleeing to Bailu Town, he had tried his hand at business, joining ventures with others, yet every trade he touched went sour. Losses followed losses until even his last coin was gone.

He had considered darker trades, the kind done on moonless nights and without capital, but even those windfalls vanished as if by curse.

Who said that skill guaranteed success anywhere? Who said that buying property was a sure way to preserve wealth? He wanted to hack off the heads of those liars who had fed him such nonsense!

A fortune of ten thousand taels could not withstand such ruin.

He had long suspected that someone had cursed him, and he had paid exorcists to lift it—three times, in fact. Unfailingly, the curse returned soon after. Eventually, he stopped wasting money.

Wu Qing drew a small jade bottle from his sleeve and placed it carefully on the table. “This is the Crimson Jade Pill, refined from my master’s own blood. Each pill is to be taken in three doses. Even a commoner will find their meridians cleared and their circulation restored. Take one dose every ten days, for ten doses, and old illnesses may fade away.”

A hundred days, slightly longer than three months of treatment—could it truly let his wife walk again? Hong Chenglue’s expression faltered. He finally understood that this was the other party’s real bargaining chip, the final card they held in reserve. Wu Qing had woven reason and emotion together beautifully, and when words failed, he had simply laid down two pieces of pure emotion: brotherhood and love. How could any man refuse?

“Fine. We’ll go with you.” Hong Chenglue let out a long, weary sigh. There was no fight left in him. “We’ll have to find a way out of town.”

Wu Qing smiled faintly and said, “The carriage is ready. It’s waiting right outside. Every household is afraid for its own life tonight, so no one will notice us. A merchant convoy sets off this afternoon; they can take us north out of Bailu Town.”

At that, Hong Chenglue suddenly thought of the three young men who had been beheaded that morning. The new provincial governor might have earned praise for his zeal, but Hong Chenglue knew better. From Haotian Township to the whole of Xia Province, nothing would truly change, no matter who sat in that seat.

The same was true for the entirety of Yuan.

Otherwise, why had his older brother Hong Xiangqian sacrificed himself to fire and blood?

With nothing left to lose, Hong Chenglue gathered his bundle, lifted his wife into his arms, and stepped onto the waiting carriage.

Wu Qing shut the gate behind them and locked it.

Down the alley, an old woman passing by stared in curiosity. “Mr. Hong, where are you off to?”

He answered her with a gentle smile, saying nothing. The curtain fell, shutting out her nosy eyes.

That old crone had always wandered into his yard to “take a stroll,” leaving with something missing each time.

Soon, the carriage rolled to the mouth of the alley. Hong Chenglue looked back once more. The cramped, cluttered alley that had been his home for six years grew smaller and smaller in the distance. There had been no tranquil “hidden life in the city” here—only the quiet, grinding misery of a man being worn down by life itself.

From this moment on, he was done with that misery.

Wu Qing handed him a sealed scroll and a metallic token the shape of a scale or a plate of armor.

The token was thick and heavy, its edges toothed like a saw. It might have been carved from tortoise shell or serpent scale, he could not quite tell. On the back were a few words, blood-red and gleaming:

Beijia.

Qingwu General.

He bit his finger and pressed the bloody mark onto the appointment scroll, then grasped the token. Instantly, golden light burst from Hong Chenglue’s body!

Thankfully, they were inside the carriage, so no outsiders saw it.

This was origin energy.

Hong Chenglue closed his eyes, savoring the familiar sensation as that warm, vital flow of origin energy coursed through his limbs again. At the same time, all the misfortune and curses that had clung to him for years were burned away like dust before the sun.

Before he even opened his eyes, he felt it. His body and mind had lightened, and his thoughts were now crystal clear. Troubles that had weighed on him for years melted like frost under the light of the spring sun.

Wu Qing clapped his hands, grinning. “Congratulations, General Hong! The shadows are banished, and you can once again spread your wings!”

Hong Chenglue exhaled deeply. Yes, such was the marvel of origin energy. No matter how mighty one’s divine techniques or how fearless one’s martial skill, true power still lay with the royal court. Once you had tasted its benefits, how could you ever let go?

His wife gripped his arm, nervous and uneasy. “You’re going back to your old trade again?”

He looked down at her and said quietly, “You must get better. Stand again.” He could not do that without the rest of the Crimson Jade Pills.

“But that divination said that you would...”

“Die in battle?” He smiled slightly. Light returned to his eyes. “A’Jin, I’ve had enough of hiding. You know as well as I do that the only thing I’m truly good at is taking heads on the battlefield.”

As he spoke, a long-slumbering aura awoke around him. It was the aura of a war beast roused from sleep, fangs bared once more. In that instant, he was no longer the weary old retiree, but the fearsome warrior of old.

“Well then. As long as you know your own heart.” His wife sighed long and soft, unable to argue. She then turned to Wu Qing and asked, “Where are we headed?”

“Fifteen kilometers north of Bailu Town lies an Wu Family Manor.” Wu Qing answered with respect. “Three columns of men will rendezvous there. Many have been waiting to see General Hong with their own eyes.”

Before long, their carriage merged into a merchant convoy heading north.

* * *

News from the north soon swept across the land.

General Zhao Pan had recaptured Songlin Pass within Xia Province.

The troops of Xun Province, who had invaded and attempted to seize fortified positions to secure their foothold, were repelled by his counteroffensive. Zhao Pan’s victory wiped out a key enemy stronghold and forced the Xun forces over ten kilometers back northward.

Here, Xia Province’s timely transportation of military supplies to the front line was one of the most important reasons for their victory. Because of the resupply, the frontline soldiers no longer had to endure hunger or starvation, and their morale naturally rose.

In fact, according to the report of the grain transport officer who returned to Dunyu, as soon as the grain reached the main camp at the front line, the camp erupted with cheers.

Xia Province naturally shared this good news with the people of Dunyu as soon as possible.

Having achieved victories in both battles, Dunyu’s morale was uplifted, the city gradually stabilized, and various industries returned to the right track.

This was of great benefit to He Lingchuan, as Ding Zuodong had already rented out the store he acquired a few days ago at a price 10% lower than the market price.

He originally specialized in acquiring prosperous shops in prime locations, and as the market prosperity increased, he naturally gained popularity. According to the report he gave He Lingchuan, the properties under his name now included: over six and a half hectares of fertile land, twenty-seven shops, a fishing ground, two restaurants, a pharmacy, a time-honored oil store, a business name, and six warehouses of varying size.

Two months ago, He Lingchuan would have had to spend at least twice as much money to purchase these high-quality assets.

Of course, these properties were all operated by Ding Zuodong.