[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-after-the-immortals-disappeared":3,"chapter-after-the-immortals-disappeared-after-the-immortals-disappeared-chapter-989":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},2284873,4468,"Chapter 989: Evasion","after-the-immortals-disappeared-chapter-989",989,"\u003Cp>Two men walked in from outside, both dressed in ordinary attire, but Inspector Wu noticed their spines were held straight and their gazes were steady; they did not look like people who spent their lives making a living on the sea. \"Are the two of you from Spirit Void City?\" Inspector Wu rose to welcome them, his expression pleasant. He had always been relatively polite to visitors from Beijia. \"How may the Maritime Trade Office be of service?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He then said to Assistant Commissioner Zhao, \"Come, bring tea!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes.\" Assistant Commissioner Zhao went out to fetch tea.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No need.\" The two men smiled. One pulled a scroll of yellow paper from his bosom and opened it, while the other took out an official token, which emitted a faint glow to prove their identities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We belong to the Black Tiger Army of Spirit Void City, and we have tracked a Beijia fugitive all the way to Blade Harbor. Does Inspector Wu have any impression of this monster fugitive?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inspector Wu took a look and saw that the yellow scroll was actually a wanted poster. The fugitive's portrait was a ferocious spider, and that entire row of eyes made his trypophobia flare up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"'Wreaking havoc in the Heavenly Palace, stealing secret treasures, fleeing to this day...'\" There were several striking red official seals on the wanted poster. \"'Fugitive Zhu... Erniang?'\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inspector Wu thought for a moment and shook his head: \"Never seen it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Have you heard anything?\" the two asked. \"It seems many new figures have arrived in Blade Harbor recently, and quite a bit of trouble has emerged?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inspector Wu was about to deny it when he suddenly remembered something: the fugitive on the wanted poster was a spider demon? Didn't the pirates of the Yangshan Archipelago brag all day long that Island Master He had a great demon by his side who was exceptionally good at fighting, catching Yin snakes like catching fish? That monster, it seemed, was a giant spider? Hiss, could it be...? But could such a coincidence really exist in the world, that the monster by Island Master He's side was the fugitive being hunted by Beijia? There were many spider demons in the world, after all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing his hesitation, the two men opposite him asked, \"Did Inspector Wu think of something?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hm, nothing, nothing at all.\" Inspector Wu steadied himself. \"What should I call you two?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"His surname is Wang,\" one said, pointing to his companion, then pointing to himself. \"My surname is Ye, Ye Qing.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This fugitive, Zhu Erniang, is ranked second on the Heavenly Wanted List. She is a heinous criminal whom we must bring to justice!\" Ye Qing said sternly. \"We hope the Blade Harbor Maritime Trade Office will cooperate in the capture!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Do you two know the specific whereabouts of this fugitive?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ye Qing noted his expression: \"Does Inspector Wu know?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inspector Wu asked: \"How big is this spider?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Comparable to a small house.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That big?\" Inspector Wu frowned. \"If it were parading through Blade Harbor, I should have heard of it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Should\" never equates to \"reality.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inspector Wu added a \"but\": \"Blade Harbor has busy passenger traffic; countless humans and monsters enter and exit every day, and the local residents are long since used to it. If this big fellow left by boat from the pier, there would be nowhere to chase it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ye Qing and his companion were somewhat helpless. This Inspector of the Maritime Trade Office was truly an old fox; not a single flaw could be picked from his words, yet every word was useless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cautious, careful, and watertight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They had no choice but to speak plainly: \"We have verified that this spider demon is currently hiding in the Yangshan Archipelago, under the protection of the island master surnamed He!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yangshan Archipelago?\" Inspector Wu gave a long \"Oh.\" \"No wonder. That sea area is vast; even if a spider demon several times larger hid in there, others still wouldn't be able to find it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing him playing tai chi again, Ye Qing was direct: \"Island Master He refuses to hand over the spider demon. We hope Inspector Wu can put pressure on the Yangshan Archipelago.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, Assistant Commissioner Zhao returned and personally served tea to the two men.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inspector Wu sighed: \"You two come from Beijia and don't know much about our situation here. Although the Yangshan Archipelago faces Blade Harbor across the sea, it is not within the territory of the Qing Kingdom and is not under the jurisdiction of Blade Harbor. If this Island Master He refuses to hand over the fugitive, we have no power to coerce him...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing him prevaricate, Ye Qing frowned: \"He has businesses in Blade Harbor, and you are the Inspector. You could find an excuse to make him come ashore. You won't need to worry about the rest.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was this a demand to use force with drawn blades? Inspector Wu was startled and hurriedly waved his hands: \"That won't do, that won't do.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was an Inspector, not a bandit or a kidnapper! Wasn't the prosperity of Blade Harbor built on its status as a free port? Wasn't it because the business environment here was relatively fair? If he, a government official, personally stepped in to act as a kidnapper, how would this place be any different from others? Would merchants still dare to trade freely and set up businesses in Blade Harbor?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inspector Wu understood deeply that the foundation of his family's wealth and prosperity was Blade Harbor. Even if he wanted to help the Beijia people, he could not undermine his own roots.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without rules or order, who would do business with you in the future?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Ye Qing open his mouth to speak, Inspector Wu hurriedly added: \"However, I can point out a method for you two.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What method?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The Yangshan Archipelago is not under the jurisdiction of the Qing Kingdom, but when it comes down to it, it is still Bailie territory. A private individual buying the entire archipelago from the Lu family does not mean the archipelago is independent; it must still be governed by Bailie laws.\" Inspector Wu smiled. \"It's like a merchant going to the Bailie capital, Qucheng, to buy land and build a house. The money is paid, the land is bought, and the house is built, but living in that house, he still has to abide by Bailie's laws and regulations. How could he be lawless?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ye Qing and his companion looked at each other: \"You mean, Bailie can control him?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Strictly speaking, that is the case.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ye Qing hesitated before saying: \"I heard that after Island Master He bought the island, he had frequent trade dealings with Bailie. Their relationship should be quite good, right?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Qing Kingdom had been flirting with Beijia these past few years, and Blade Harbor was a free port where anyone could come and go, and they could reveal their identities at will; but in Bailie... they feared the opposite would happen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Therefore, Yu Zecheng had them come to probe the Maritime Trade Office first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inspector Wu laughed heartily: \"That is all superficial. The Lu family is miserable inside! You two may not know, but the Yangshan Archipelago was shrouded in Yin malevolence for years and was always a forbidden zone; even ancient immortals were unwilling to approach it. Bailie viewed it as a burden and sold it to this current Island Master He for eighty thousand taels. But who would have thought that once the archipelago reached Island Master He's hands, the malevolence would fade away, and it would become habitable and arable? The barren island suddenly turned into a treasure land. The Lu family suffered such a huge loss that their guts are green with regret.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He maintained contact with Lu Zhensheng, so he was naturally very clear about the mindset of the Lu father and son.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Besides, the Yangshan Archipelago is recruiting people desperately and offering high wages, siphoning off a large amount of labor from within Bailie. As far as I know, in many places, entire villages have migrated south and moved directly to the island. Bailie had to issue a migration ban, but unfortunately, it had little effect. The population is still draining away to this day, and it has not improved.\" He sighed. \"With Yangshan poaching Bailie's foundation like this, do you think Bailie could have any good feelings toward them?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ye Qing asked: \"Does Bailie want to take this archipelago back?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They want to, why wouldn't they?\" Inspector Wu walked back behind the desk, spread out a sheet of paper, and began to write rapidly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1442,"2026-06-20T02:23:34.395Z",1,"Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite","27e382a5746d066d3a0429cde1f962e3442b24a36dc59a449b7a343692789a88","after-the-immortals-disappeared-chapter-990","after-the-immortals-disappeared-chapter-988",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fafter-the-immortals-disappeared-cover.jpg"]