[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-after-the-immortals-disappeared":3,"chapter-after-the-immortals-disappeared-after-the-immortals-disappeared-chapter-109":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","After the Immortals Disappeared",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2283993,4468,"Chapter 109: This Woman, the More You Look at Her, the Stranger She Becomes","after-the-immortals-disappeared-chapter-109",109,"\u003Cp>He Chun slowly nodded: \"Peaceful coexistence.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since the facade was torn away, there was no point in pretending anymore. The two sides took the line from the boat dock to the village head's house as the central axis; the east side was allocated to the government troops, the west side to the bandits, and the grain-drying ground and granary were split equally.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Within one quarter of an hour, everyone had to return to their respective sides of the boundary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Counting from this moment, as long as both sides did not cross the line, they could coexist peacefully until tomorrow morning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The bandits went back into the water to carry the large fish. Lu the Boss told them to move the fish into the eastern territory, then said to He Chun: \"This catch is fierce and tastes quite good, consider it a gift for Lord He to calm his nerves!\" After saying this, he gave a shout, and the group of bandits retreated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In an instant, the open space at the head of the village was completely cleared of bandits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Chun watched their retreating backs, his expression grave: \"These bandits don't look like ordinary rabble.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Yue said with shame: \"It was my rashness that forced Deputy General Ceng to act.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Young and reckless! You didn't even figure out the background of that man surnamed Lu, yet you dared to strike?\" He Chun glared at him, somewhat disappointed. \"Now you've alerted the enemy, and he is on guard. I hope the proposal for peaceful coexistence is true, otherwise there will be a bloodbath tonight!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Yue pursed his lips and lowered his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This child, even the corner of his robe was missing a large piece from the chaotic fight. Lady Ying raised her hand to wipe the blood from his temple, unable to bear it: \"Master, Yue'er only wanted to help...\" Her husband rarely spoke to their son with such harshness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Enough!\" He Chun raised his hand to interrupt her. \"Let's go back first and discuss this at length.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>￥￥￥￥￥\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Lingchuan pointed at the Zhu woman and said to the fatty on the ground: \"You and your wife really have no rapport at all. She said the Water Spirit tablet was broken, yet you weren't surprised in the slightest.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The villagers went out to work during the day and only returned home in the evening. How could the people of Spirit Immortal Village, who lived off the water, remain indifferent to such a major event as the breaking of the Water Spirit tablet? Even if the Zhu woman hadn't tipped him off beforehand, this alone was enough for him to see that Wang Pangzi was suspicious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only then did He Lingchuan beckon to the Zhu woman: \"Speak, what is going on here?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Zhu woman lowered her voice and said urgently: \"These fierce bandits came in to slaughter the village this evening, but they didn't expect you all to arrive suddenly. They stayed behind to impersonate villagers and snatched away everyone's children, threatening us to cooperate.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Lingchuan sighed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To be honest, before seeing the Zhu woman's blood-written letter, he had at most assumed he had entered a den of thieves, where the villagers had committed too many sins, which was why they carried such a thick aura of blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Where there are black-hearted shops, there are black-hearted villages; they all run the same business. Taking in travelers is a facade; murder and robbery are the reality. But this situation usually happens in remote mountain villages—so-called poor mountains and treacherous waters breed treacherous people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, Spirit Immortal Village was surrounded by mountains and rarely visited by merchant caravans, which also satisfied these geographical conditions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he never expected that his opponents would actually be a group of bandits! That was strange.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the Red Cliff trade route, he had been dealing with sand bandits for years. He knew well that these guys were vicious toward civilians and travelers, but acted like sheep in front of regular troops, deeply understanding the essence that the people should not fight the officials.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Had these fierce bandits who slaughtered the village gone insane? Hearing that government troops were entering the mountains, not only did they not flee, but they stayed behind to impersonate villagers! \"What are they planning to do?\" This was his purpose in risking a visit to the Zhu woman.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Zhu woman shook her head: \"They didn't say.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Is banditry always this rampant in your area?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Zhu woman nodded: \"In these three years, bandits have entered the village at least nine times, but they always left after grabbing wealth. Only last time did they injure two people. Unlike this group today, who killed over a hundred villagers and even killed the owner of this house.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Lingchuan was slightly startled: \"Your husband is dead too?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing her expression was too calm, she didn't look like someone who had lost the pillar of her family. For an ordinary farm woman, if her husband died, the sky would collapse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes, he stole a small boat and wanted to row into the lake, but he had only gone ten-odd yards when the boat capsized. It seemed like something dragged him to the bottom of the lake.\" The Zhu woman's tone was flat, as if she were speaking of someone else's disaster, someone else's husband.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My condolences.\" Since she wasn't very sad, He Lingchuan didn't need to offer comfort. \"Do you know where they are hiding the children?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Zhu woman shook her head: \"The children are not in the village, which is actually safer. You had better think about how to fight back; these bandits are not easy to deal with.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Lingchuan looked at her carefully for a moment and couldn't help but say: \"You came to me to reveal the truth, aren't you afraid the villains will kill your children?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This woman, the more he looked at her, the stranger she seemed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Zhu woman didn't even blink: \"After these murderous demons finish off the government troops, they won't let us go either. If I don't speak, everyone dies; if I speak, perhaps there is a glimmer of survival.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The logic was indeed sound; what was rare was that she could still analyze things calmly while in the clutches of the enemy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One must know that humans are born with a tendency toward wishful thinking. Once they become prisoners, they grasp at the kidnappers' promises like a drowning man clutching at a straw, fantasizing that the others will really let them live.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, for those in despair, the cruel reality is even harder to accept.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not to mention that children were involved; as a mother, it is very difficult to think calmly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Lingchuan slowly sat back, his right hand subconsciously pressing against the hilt of his broken blade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had already caught the scent of danger. The broken blade was slightly cool, as if it could help him clear his mind and think calmly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Come to think of it, last time he had fought in his dreams for two hours, and after waking up, he felt the broken blade was even more intimate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In other words, the compatibility between the two had increased.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The only plan now was to extract more intelligence from the enemy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Lingchuan thought for a moment, flipped the fatty on the ground face-up, and pulled out his dagger to press against his neck: \"I have questions for you. If you dare to shout, you die. Understand?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fatty nodded hurriedly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Lingchuan removed the piece of flatbread stuffing his mouth and asked: \"How many of you are there?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Two... hundred-plus.\" The fatty indeed didn't dare to speak loudly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Be specific.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Two... hundred,\" the fatty seemed to be counting, \"thirty-five people!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He said quickly: \"We have no malice toward the government troops. We only hope for peace tonight, and tomorrow morning we will each go our own way, with no interference!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Lingchuan tilted his head to look at him: \"Is this what you said, or what your Lu the Boss said?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Lu the Boss!\" the fatty said hurriedly. \"I heard him say it himself, it's absolutely true!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Zhu woman suddenly said: \"Are you sure you didn't count the number wrong?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Pangzi looked at her: \"We are always this same group coming and going, how could I count wrong?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Zhu woman sneered: \"But I was previously locked in the Water Spirit Shrine and heard your companions talking by the shrine; it seems you have also occupied the nearby towns.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They even took down a town? The expression on He Lingchuan's face turned grave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ordinary bandits coming down from the mountains would at most rob a house or two, maybe commit some lewd acts, and rarely even killed people. Even a bumpkin knows the principle that if you cut the leeks, they can grow back; killing all the villagers is like cutting the roots of the leeks—who would be left to harvest next time?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1507,"2026-06-20T02:23:30.219Z",1,"Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite","a565261c0198f8f2a40dd5bccd12c52d40682067b2200dcde550a0ba663d1166","after-the-immortals-disappeared-chapter-110","after-the-immortals-disappeared-chapter-108",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fafter-the-immortals-disappeared-cover.jpg"]