[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-after-the-immortals-disappeared":3,"chapter-after-the-immortals-disappeared-after-the-immortals-disappeared-chapter-956":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},2284840,4468,"Chapter 956: Stifling","after-the-immortals-disappeared-chapter-956",956,"\u003Cp>That place has yin-evil, pirates, and even yin-serpents; even if an immortal came, they wouldn't be able to pull off any tricks. \"Over the past half-month, seven or eight towns in our southern Bailie, such as Yu County and Pan Town, have seen seven or eight hundred young, able-bodied people leave home and head south. Pan Town in particular saw over four hundred people leave; some even moved their entire families, and it looks like they don't intend to return. The authorities investigated and only then discovered that someone had come from Blade Harbor and was recruiting large numbers of laborers there to go to the Yangshan Archipelago, offering excellent wages.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The Yangshan Archipelago?\" Lu Qing'an laughed as soon as he heard it. \"That man surnamed He still hasn't given up? He still wants to make a big move?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By now, Young Master He should have discovered that the Yangshan Archipelago is uninhabitable, but does he still want to struggle and try to salvage the situation? According to the lessons passed down by the Lu family ancestors, the harder one struggles in that hellhole, the faster one goes bankrupt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It's already late autumn; what could he possibly do?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Your subordinate also heard rumors a few days ago that the pirates of the Yangshan Archipelago have already submitted to the new Island Master He. This news is already circulating in Qucheng with vivid details; some say this is 'black eating black,' but...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Qing'an raised a hand to interrupt him: \"Wait, the pirates surrendered? Which group of pirates surrendered?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was a bit surprised, but upon reflection, the pirate menace in the Yangshan Archipelago had existed for a long time, and the Lu family had to clean it up every few years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One cleanup would bring peace for several years, and then the pirate menace would emerge again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I heard that both the first and second routes surrendered, and they did so quite readily. The group led by Yue Ping was defeated by Island Master He, who then took the newly surrendered pirate groups of Min Tianxi and Huang Zhao to attack, and they took them down in less than half a day.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No wonder the people of Bailie think the man surnamed He is just a new pirate chief playing the \"black eating black\" game. In any case, the Yangshan Archipelago has already been sold and has no connection to Bailie for the time being, and Blade Harbor, which faces it, isn't theirs either. After his initial surprise, Lu Qing'an only found it interesting: \"I never would have guessed; this Young Master He is no good at business, but he's actually quite a hand at fighting.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Qucheng County Magistrate hesitated, wanting to say more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Qing'an saw this and waved his hand: \"Speak, what else is suspicious?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Qucheng County Magistrate looked solemn: \"It is currently the autumn harvest season; if too many laborers head south, the collection of grain from official fields might be affected.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Qing'an's smile diminished by three parts: \"Issue an order: farm laborers are not permitted to leave their local area without authorization; violators will be punished with forty strokes of the cane. The southern courier stations must strictly inspect and register those leaving the border.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Qucheng County Magistrate accepted the order, but he knew in his heart that this command would be difficult to enforce. The southern border of Bailie is only forty miles from Blade Harbor. Although Blade Harbor has been \"borrowed\" by the Qing Kingdom, it is, after all, a free port. Residents of southern Bailie often go there to visit relatives and friends, and merchants frequently transport goods back and forth; the bilateral ties are extremely close.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It is hard to say how much real effect this piece of paper with a prohibition order will have.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The person I sent to Blade Harbor to inquire for news just returned, and it is basically confirmed that the matter of Island Master He subduing the pirates is true. Several sea ruffians were drinking in a tavern in Blade Harbor, blowing the battle to attack Centipede Island out of all proportion.\" The Qucheng County Magistrate hesitated, thinking about how to phrase what came next. \"Additionally, additionally, there are one or two other matters that are also being hyped up in Blade Harbor. Even if I don't mention them, they will reach your ears in a few days anyway.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Qing'an frowned slightly, a bad premonition in his heart: \"Does it concern us?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It, it does,\" the Qucheng County Magistrate said in a low voice. \"It is rumored that Island Master He dispersed the evil aura of the Yangshan Archipelago and defeated the yin-serpents of Dragon Spine Island.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Impossible!\" Lu Qing'an cut him off, denying it. \"Absolutely impossible!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This was also revealed by the pirates. Some of them followed Island Master He deep into the archipelago and killed many giant serpents, and they claim that the yin-serpent corpses that kept drifting to the coast of Blade Harbor a while ago were all the result of Island Master He declaring war on the yin-serpent clan!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What result?\" Lu Qing'an sneered. \"How many men does the man surnamed He have under him? To dare to claim such heavenly merit as his own—absurd.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Are the pirates of this generation really this stupid, believing whatever a stranger tells them? Lu Qing'an felt some regret; if he had known it was this simple, couldn't the Lu family have gone to subdue them themselves?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Yangshan Archipelago is not entirely without value; the few islands not shrouded in yin-evil can still produce some output.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the past, the Lu family didn't manage the Yangshan Archipelago for two reasons: first, because pirates grew like weeds—one batch would be wiped out only for another to appear—making the cost of managing the islands higher than the profit. Second, after Blade Harbor was borrowed by the Qing Kingdom, there was a barrier between Bailie and the Yangshan Archipelago; to take a proper boat, one had to pass through Blade Harbor first, otherwise one would have to take a long detour, making travel inconvenient.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Qucheng County Magistrate shook his head: \"The pirates who participated in the great battle of Centipede Island said that when Yue Ping tried to escape by boat, Island Master He blew a flute to summon the yin-serpents, delivering the final blow to him.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Qing'an laughed heartily: \"You mean to say that yin-serpents can cooperate with the man surnamed He?\" Those monsters can communicate with humans? What a preposterous joke! They are only interested in human flesh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The pirates are adamant that the yin-serpents are taking orders from Island Master He.\" The Qucheng County Magistrate gave a bitter smile. \"Your subordinate also thinks it was just a coincidence; yin-serpents eat people regardless of time or place. But I went around to ask those close to Min Tianxi, and the answer I received was that Island Master He and a Great Demon landed on Dragon Spine Island, visited the Lord of the Yin-serpents, and subsequently reached an agreement with the yin-serpent clan.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"When he returned from Bai Yuan, Min Tianxi, Huang Zhao, and the others had all seen the contents of the agreement with their own eyes.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What contents?\" Regarding the joke of a rich young master buying an island on a whim, Lu Qing'an no longer found it funny.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A portion of Dragon Spine Island was allocated for the yin-serpents to inhabit, and the yin-serpents cannot come to disturb He Lingchuan's normal industries.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It couldn't be a fake agreement, could it?\" Lu Qing'an found it unbelievable. \"The person you asked, did he see the terms with his own eyes?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Uh, he saw them, but he couldn't understand them; it is said they were written in the language of the ancient immortals.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Qing'an laughed until he held his stomach: \"These pirates can't even recognize a few characters, yet they can recognize the language of ancient immortals? And they dare to speak with such certainty!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To the pirates, what is the difference between the language of ancient immortals and ghost-drawn talismans? They wouldn't recognize either anyway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man surnamed He took a piece of paper with ghost-drawn talismans and easily bluffed these uncultured, crude men.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It is said that some among the pirates can recognize it; Min Tianxi, the leader of the second route, knows the language of the ancient immortals,\" the Qucheng County Magistrate said. \"Since he said it was correct, his subordinates naturally believed it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Simply a farce!\" Lu Qing'an declared. \"If your previous words are true and the yin-serpent clan was truly slaughtered by him on a large scale, could the King of the Yin-serpents still reach an agreement with him?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He pointed out the suspicious point: \"Even if this agreement is real, there are no terms for the yin-serpents to assist in battle.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But the pirates are convinced, and now they view Island Master He as a god-like man,\" the Qucheng County Magistrate continued. \"The fishermen and boatmen of Blade Harbor also say that even when sailing on cloudy days, there is no longer any gray mist floating in the depths of the archipelago, and travel by boat is very safe.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Qing'an muttered to himself: \"Yin-evil, pirates, yin-serpents—has he really settled them all?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Reason told him this was absolutely impossible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Lu Qing'an immediately remembered that after He Lingchuan finished paying the final installment for the island, Chief Clerk Yang came to report that this Young Master He had turned a deaf ear to the pirates mentioned by Lei Ni and turned a blind eye to the yin-serpent corpses drifting on the sea; he was likely already in the know.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the time, he also felt that Chief Clerk Yang's deduction made sense, but the island had already been sold and the money received, so he was too lazy to think much about it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thinking about it carefully now, had the man surnamed He been planning this for a long time?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He must have been confident in solving the menace of the Yangshan Archipelago, which is why he came to Bailie to pressure the price and bought such a vast archipelago at a shockingly low price! If the Yangshan Archipelago is henceforth purged of all evil aura, how could the fertility of the land and the richness of the resources on those forty-plus islands not be covetous!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Qing'an felt a bit stifled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although the Yangshan Archipelago has yin-evil veins, it is different from other yin-evil forbidden lands. Those places are barren of vegetation and avoided by animals, having no value at all; the Yangshan Archipelago, however, lies exposed to the sun, and as long as the crops grown on the islands can be exposed to the sun, they will not be tainted by yin-evil aura, and humans and livestock will not fall ill after eating them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He composed himself before saying to the Qucheng County Magistrate: \"Don't tell my father about this.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Qucheng County Magistrate looked troubled: \"Ah, this...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Zhensheng is the head of the Lu family, after all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Qing'an realized it was inappropriate as soon as the words left his mouth, and he slapped his forehead: \"Ah, I was muddled. You can tell my father in the afternoon.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only then did the Qucheng County Magistrate respond with a \"yes\" and withdraw.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Near noon, father and son had lunch together.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Zhensheng chatted with his eldest son about the administration of the territory for a while before grabbing a thin, soft pancake, rolling up some fragrant slices of roasted meat, brushing on a layer of pear sauce, and squinting his eyes as he ate:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Qing'an, have you heard about the recent events in the Yangshan Archipelago?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Qing'an cursed inwardly; the old man's cunning only works internally—if only he were this quick-witted externally.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he had to put on a blank expression: \"What events?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That He Lingchuan who bought the archipelago seems to have come up with quite a few tricks,\" Lu Zhensheng continued to ask him. \"Didn't County Magistrate Liu mention it to you?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I've heard some baseless rumors, but I didn't take them seriously,\" Lu Qing'an scoffed. \"Dispersing evil aura, eliminating yin-serpents—if a rich kid had that kind of ability, where in the world could he not go? Why would he run over to manage the Yangshan Archipelago?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Didn't you send people to investigate his background?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I sent them, but how could they return so quickly?\" Lu Qing'an picked up a golden-fried soft-shell crab and crunched on it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So crispy!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This molting crab is soft; there is no need to peel it by hand at all, and one bite makes the roe burst. \"Fu Kingdom is on the side of Beijia; between taking a boat and traveling, a round trip takes at least half a year, not counting the time spent investigating there.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If they want to find out He Lingchuan's origins, just sending bird-demons back and forth isn't enough; they need people to go there in person to inquire and investigate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Besides, if he really had the ability to disperse yin-evil, why would he only reclaim a dozen or so islands?\" Lu Qing'an acted nonchalant. \"I think he's just trying to create some hype and build a reputation so he can sell the crops produced on the islands later.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hype, you say?\" Lu Zhensheng admitted that this guess made a lot of sense. What wouldn't a merchant do to promote and build momentum for himself? \"Then how did he subdue the pirates? Over the past month, those pirates haven't committed any more crimes.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",2268,"2026-06-20T02:23:34.395Z",1,"Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite","cba5fdf4a3fb2f7485d897feee1ebf3babaddeb79a493cfe8da15c08396bc694","after-the-immortals-disappeared-chapter-957","after-the-immortals-disappeared-chapter-955",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fafter-the-immortals-disappeared-cover.jpg"]