Chapter 441: A Fallen State, an Extinct People

He Lingchuan’s voice had been thunderously loud. And just as he had spoken, a gust of wind swept past, carrying his words downwind for several hundred meters.

Every single group waiting at the checkpoint heard it, and heads turned in unison.

Disputes at border checkpoints were nothing unusual. Whenever there was clearance to be had, there was bound to be friction. However, scenes on this scale were rare.

The others immediately wondered which official, this time, was trying to take advantage of their authority.

He Lingchuan had stopped his men from unloading the cargo partly for safety reasons. With more than a hundred pairs of eyes fixed on them, it would be far harder for these yamen runners or constables to tamper with the goods or plant evidence the way they had before.

Sure enough, he noticed several soldiers’ gazes flickering uneasily. They kept trying to sidle over to block the cargo, but each time, a member of the caravan stepped in to glare them down, leaving them no opening.

Zhongsun Mou, of course, had heard everything. He sized He Lingchuan up and sneered. “And who the hell are you?”

“Me? I’m nobody,” He Lingchuan replied with a shrug. “I sit straight and walk upright. I don’t rely on framing others to climb the ladder.”

A touring commissioner’s duty was to inspect officials and rectify misconduct. Yet this man’s very first move after appearing here had been to plant false charges. That told you all you needed to know about how he usually met his performance quotas.

Zhongsun Mou’s gaze sharpened. “You dissatisfied?”

“Of course not.” He Lingchuan bared his teeth in a grin, meeting his eyes head-on. “This is Lingxu City’s territory. Naturally, we submit.”

“It’s good that you know your place.” Zhongsun Mou acted as though he had not heard the mockery. He strode forward a few steps, his tone light and casual. “Otherwise, under Lingxu City law, slandering a high official of the royal court earns you tongue-cutting. At the very least, you’d have to slice off that troublesome tongue of yours before you’d be allowed past this checkpoint.”

Just then, a soldier suddenly shouted, “There’s more! We found something else!”

Found what?

Everyone turned to look. The soldier was holding up a small bottle containing several crystalline shards.

“Fragments of a heart of ancient rock!”

The caravan members could no longer hold back as curses erupted on all sides.

The bottle was only palm-sized. It was obvious that under everyone’s watchful eyes, the man could not slip anything into the larger cargo. All he could do was sneak in a small vial to complete his task.

“Heart of ancient rock!” Zhongsun Mou ignored the outcry and beckoned a clerk over. “What is the punishment for this?”

“Smuggling six fragments of a heart of ancient rock... Uh, with the tenfold penalty, that comes to five hundred taels!”

An uproar broke out.

Planted evidence, and then the maximum punishment on top of it!

The clerk added helpfully, “If we find two or three more items, it’ll count as malicious smuggling. That’s a heavier charge, and we can even detain them.”

Fushan Yue suddenly spoke up, “With behavior this ugly, has no one in Lingxu City ever impeached you?” He looked toward the checkpoint interior. “Where’s the border commander who usually watches over this place? Why isn’t he out here? Instead, they’ve let you play watchdog?”

He had passed through this checkpoint at least ten times. If the regular border commander dared to pull stunts like this, who knew how much chaos would have erupted already?

“What business is it of yours?” Zhongsun Mou drawled. “Last chance. Beg properly on their behalf, or else—”

Second Boss Shi stopped struggling. He went to gather money from the steward and the men.

After handing over three thousand taels, his pockets were completely empty.

Fushan Yue’s face darkened. Suddenly, he strode straight toward Zhongsun Mou.

The guards behind Zhongsun Mou immediately stepped forward to block him, only to be waved back by their master.

Fushan Yue lowered his voice and said, “I hear that in three months, the Zhongsun Family is hosting a grand event in the Xiling Grass Sea. Plenty of great families will be attending. You’d best be careful, things haven’t been very peaceful there lately.”

Zhongsun Mou’s expression shifted. “You dare?”

Fushan Yue smiled coldly and said, “In times like these, there are bandits and ferocious monsters that simply can’t be suppressed. What do you think can be done?”

Zhongsun Mou snorted, but the smug confidence from earlier was gone.

After hesitating for a few breaths, he finally waved his hand at the constables, signaling them to let it go and allow passage.

He was the highest-ranking official present. Once he nodded, none of his subordinates dared object.

The caravan members lifted the goods and loaded them back onto the carts, then rejoined the line.

Half an hour later, they finally passed the checkpoint and set foot on the territory of the State of Chiyan.

The Stone Gate Merchant Caravan and Fushan Yue’s guards all let out long breaths of relief.

They were through at last!

The lead constable turned and ordered his men to withdraw.

He did not forget to drag along the pariah slave. After walking a dozen meters, he smacked the man hard on the head and snarled through clenched teeth, “Look at the mess you caused!”

The slave’s teeth chattered uncontrollably. “I, I don’t know what happened! The girl was clearly in their carriage.”

The constable kicked him hard in the backside, nearly knocking him flat. “Just you wait. We’ll deal with you once we’re back at the government office!”

No one spared a thought for what would become of that slave.

These constables had lost face in public. Once back, they would surely vent all their fury on that unfortunate scapegoat.

Fushan Yue smiled coldly.

Zhongsun Mou had thought that the slave was a good card, believing that he could be used to cause trouble for Fushan Yue. However, Peach was not even in their caravan. It was only after Zhongsun Mou realized that he had missed his chance that he activated his backup plan and hastily planted contraband.

It was clear that the other party had been set on butting heads with him.

When Fushan Yue turned back, he saw He Lingchuan staring at the figures receding into the distance. “What is it?”

He Lingchuan sighed softly. “Nothing, I was just thinking about the King of Yuān. What a figure he was. And the people of the State of Yuān were all iron-boned and unyielding. Who would’ve thought that a hundred years later, their descendants would turn out like this?”

That slave’s words and actions drove home the misfortune weighing on this land.

One person’s conduct was a microcosm of an entire people.

Fushan Yue said flatly, “Anyone with even a shred of backbone was slaughtered back then. The only ones left are cowards. You can trample them however you like. The one thing they absolutely cannot do is straighten their backs and walk like human beings.”

He Lingchuan recalled the King of Yuān’s resolute words: “I would rather my children die awake than live in craven submission!”

On the eve of the State of Yuān’s destruction, the king and ministers had upheld righteousness, laughing as they marched to their deaths. Their faces and voices still seemed vivid.

But now?

The descendants of the State of Yuān had long since had their spines broken and their spirit ripped out. They lived like maggots in the dirt, daring only to vent all their pent-up hatred on fellow slaves who were even weaker and more innocent than themselves.

They and their forebears were like two entirely different species.

Who would have imagined they were the same people from the same land?

It was only a hundred years apart.

He Lingchuan could almost hear Lingxu City’s resounding, triumphant laughter echoing beneath the heavens: “This is what happens when you oppose Beijia, when you defy the gods. You dare rebel against the Heavenly Gods, dare oppose Beijia? Then I will destroy your state, exterminate your people, and grind your descendants into the dirt! I’ll make your progeny suffer scorn and curses for all eternity. I’ll make them wish their calamity-bringing ancestors had never existed at all!”

If Beijia could be that cruel and ruthless toward its own subjects, would it show any restraint toward other states and other peoples? Would it spare even a shred of mercy?

The thought sent a chill through He Lingchuan. He instinctively pressed a hand against the divine bone amulet hidden beneath his robes, cold sweat spreading across his back.

Just what kind of colossal entity will I be facing in the future?

What sort of madmen?

How am I supposed to contend with something like that?

Zhongsun Mou still stood behind the checkpoint, his gaze dark as he looked their way.

Fushan Yue raised a middle finger at him.

He had picked up the gesture from He Lingchuan a few days ago. Supposedly, it conveyed disdain, contempt, and malice all at once.

Now that he had entered the State of Chiyan, which was his own territory, what did he have to fear from that bastard?

Even if he released Peach on the spot and let her bounce around a few times, Lingxu City’s people could not just cross the border to chase them.

He Lingchuan glanced back as well. “You’re letting it go just like that?”

Given what he knew of Fushan Yue, the man was not the type to let grudges lie.

Otherwise, the two of them wouldn’t have become enemies in the first place.

“Like hell I am.” Fushan Yue snorted. “Once I’ve rested a few days, I’ll sneak back and get real cozy with them!”

There it is. That sounds a lot more in line with who he is.

He then added to He Lingchuan, “I’ll make it up to you. Don’t worry!”

He Lingchuan could not care less. “I’m only thinking about the three thousand taels. When are you paying me back?”

“Once I get home!” Fushan Yue said helplessly. He had handed over his last copper coin just now. He truly had nothing left. “Whatever you want, you’ll get!”

Then he glanced back toward the checkpoint, grinding his teeth. “That Zhongsun Mou is like a rabid dog. Once he bites you, he won’t let go. Unless you kick him to death, he’ll keep coming back to disgust you.”

Why plant evidence so blatantly? Was it not just to spite Fushan Yue?

He Lingchuan rolled his eyes.

Is this guy talking about Zhongsun Mou or himself?

“I honestly thought that Lingxu City’s high officials would be more... refined when framing someone.” He had expected verbal sparring, hidden blades in smiles, killing a thousand times without showing a drop of blood. Instead, reality had been more like someone flipping the table and charging in with a cleaver.

Fushan Yue let out a snort of laughter. “You don’t understand Lingxu City. And you don’t understand these monster officials.”

“Mm, I don’t,” He Lingchuan said humbly.

“Monsters and humans are fundamentally different in temperament,” Fushan Yue said, his words loaded with meaning.

“So monster officials are brute-force bullies, while human officials are sly schemers?” He Lingchuan chuckled. “Then what are you? Are you human or monster?”

Fushan Yue replied leisurely, “Strictly speaking, a ba is still human.”

Fair enough. That checks out.

He Lingchuan cleared his throat. “By the way, what kind of monster is that touring commissioner, anyway?”

“You don’t know?” Fushan Yue looked surprised. “You’ve never seen a merman[1]?”

“That was a merman?” He Lingchuan scratched his head. “I thought they all lived near water.”

He had read plenty of records on strange beasts, monsters, and aberrations back in Panlong City. Merfolk were always described as dwelling in the shallows.

The nearest major river was five kilometers away. Zhongsun Mou had come all the way from Lingxu City, detouring through the Twilight Plains, yet he did not look to be particularly short of water.

“Oh, merfolk do need water,” Fushan Yue explained, sharing some Beijia common knowledge. “But they all carry water-gathering array tokens. They can draw moisture from the air to sustain themselves, so staying away from large bodies of water for half a month is no problem. Lingxu City is half mountain, half sea. It’s vast and expansive. There are plenty of aquatic races that live there.”

“So are merfolk all that petty, or is it just that you’ve drawn way too much resentment from him?”

“He’s just a piece of work,” Fushan Yue said dismissively. He clearly would not say anything nice about Zhongsun Mou.

Since he had already agreed to front the money, the incident was considered settled. Even Second Boss Shi stopped mentioning it.

Only the Stone Gate Merchant Caravan members continued cursing under their breath.

The group traveled on, finally stopping to rest at the second small town along the road.

1. Note that the original word for this in Chinese is literally fish person, though it’s commonly translated as merman/mermaid or even merperson or merfolk. ☜