[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-after-the-immortals-disappeared":3,"chapter-after-the-immortals-disappeared-after-the-immortals-disappeared-chapter-997":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},2284881,4468,"Chapter 997: Pressure from Yu Zecheng","after-the-immortals-disappeared-chapter-997",997,"\u003Cp>\"It is still early; the Bailong people should not all have arrived yet. Go and verify the number of Bailong people at the pier.\" Qiu Hu responded and left.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Lingchuan asked Lei Ni again: \"What about our stone carvings?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They were settled long ago, and the profound crystals have been inserted.\" There was still plenty of preparation time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Has anyone noticed?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Every island has been undergoing major construction lately, so everyone is used to it.\" There are building materials and stones everywhere, and the sound of clanging is everywhere; who would want to take an extra look at a construction site that is dusty all day long? And Min Tianxi finally brought He Lingchuan a piece of good news:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We have found the Bailong people's kin.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Lingchuan's gaze sharpened: \"How did you find them?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This good news came at just the right time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I figured their families would be hard to settle and at least face food shortages. The Bailong people have to transport supplies there every few days, which is a trackable clue. So, I found two peddlers to go to Heiye Island to sell some household goods. After waiting for a long time, a Bailong man with a small braid at the back of his head finally bought a rattle-drum and two pearl hairpins. The peddler took the opportunity to crush a brood-bee pupa and smear it on them.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Men usually do not wear pearl hairpins; these must have been bought for his wife and daughter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yesterday morning, the brood-bee compass finally led us to the Bailong people's shore base. It turns out to be Baisha County by Daofeng Port. They are hiding in a deserted village by the sea, mostly women and children. The deserted village is surrounded by mountains; there is a water source, but the farmland has long been abandoned. That place actually faces the Yangshan Archipelago across the sea. Taking a boat north from Suoding Island, as long as you avoid the undercurrents, the straight-line distance is only about an hour.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Lingchuan felt a weight lift from his heart and said \"good\" twice in a row.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Living in a deserted village can only be a temporary measure; they must find a place to settle later. Based on this alone, he could infer that Wansong did not have good intentions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, having found the Bailong people's kin, he now had a grip on the opponent's weak point, and this battle now had a safety net.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Lingchuan patted Min Tianxi on the shoulder: \"Well done, I will record this merit for you!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He turned his head to ask Lu Qiuwei: \"What about Yu Zecheng?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"He is still in the guest room and hasn't moved,\" Lu Qiuwei said. \"He is well aware that we are monitoring him. He went downstairs to eat twice and even smiled at me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We both know where we stand,\" He Lingchuan said. \"Keep watching him.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes.\" Lu Qiuwei turned to leave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But He Lingchuan noticed his expression and suddenly asked: \"Are you feeling a bit uneasy?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Qiuwei immediately turned back and said: \"I am willing to go through fire and water for my lord.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Enough, there is no need for displays of loyalty at this time,\" He Lingchuan said with a suppressed smile. \"Be honest, are you feeling unsure?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Qiuwei hesitated for a moment, and seeing that no one else was nearby, he said: \"This subordinate just did not expect that we would be at odds with the Beijia people so soon.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was a disciple from Rongshan and had never had a good impression of Beijia. But his lord had just arrived overseas and had not even been established for two months before having to face the Beijia guests head-on; this was something he had not anticipated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most people would avoid such a conflict.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The struggle between Yu Zecheng and me began the moment I refused to hand over Zhu Erniang. Tonight is merely a continuation and intensification of that conflict. Heh, this day was bound to come.\" He Lingchuan patted his shoulder and said sternly, \"We are still far from being at war with Beijia. You tell the brothers to rest easy; this kind of relationship is safe and controllable, and I will handle the scale of it myself.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was nothing he had promised that he had not accomplished. Lu Qiuwei immediately nodded: \"This subordinate understands.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Beijia is Beijia, and Yu Zecheng is Yu Zecheng; he cannot represent Beijia. Remember, Beijia being powerful does not mean Yu Zecheng himself is powerful. Offending Yu Zecheng does not necessarily mean offending Beijia, understand?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Qiuwei did not answer immediately, but tried hard to think about it, then nodded in relief: \"Understood!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Go and get busy.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Lingchuan watched his back as he left, knowing it was normal for his subordinates to have doubts about such a confrontation; after all, the enemy's background was extraordinary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Facing Beijia directly—who wouldn't feel pressure or doubt?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this also reminded him that in the future, governing the army requires governing the heart first, and mobilization must be done before any action.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearts need to be united, and consensus needs to be forged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After being rejected by Zhu Erniang and He Lingchuan, why did Yu Zecheng still stay on the island? Naturally, it was to find an opportunity to scheme against\u002Fretaliate against them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The existence of this group of Beijia people was a pressure in itself; even a clever and knowledgeable Rongshan disciple like Lu Qiuwei was affected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Zecheng wanted to make He Lingchuan feel like he had thorns in his back, knowing that he was being watched and thought of by Beijia every day, every hour.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If He Lingchuan could not handle the pressure and reacted impulsively, let alone killing Yu Zecheng, even forcibly driving him away would offend Beijia.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Yangshan Archipelago was indeed not within Beijia's sphere of influence, and the latter could not send an army to wipe them out, but Beijia had more than just military means to influence the Yangshan Archipelago. As strong as the Mou Kingdom was, even while at war with Beijia, civilian interactions had never ceased. The children of high-ranking officials and nobles in the Mou Kingdom took pride in studying at Lingxu City, not to mention the frequent trade between the two countries; there was no businessman who did not want to do business with Beijia, and no businessman who wanted to offend Beijia.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As long as Beijia casually imposed a few bans on the Yangshan Archipelago, or asked the Qing Kingdom or Ya Kingdom to give Yangshan a hard time—just a little bit of interference like that could very likely affect the future operations of the Yangshan Archipelago.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Zecheng hoped even more that He Lingchuan would not be able to withstand the pressure and would submit; then his mission would be accomplished, cheap and efficient—this was the script that Beijia's foreign envoys most often received.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At first glance, the Yangshan Archipelago seemed to have suffered no losses on the surface. But from now on, for any request Beijia made, He Lingchuan would have to weigh and consider it, otherwise they would send someone else to watch him and keep him in their sights.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who told him to bow his head and admit defeat in this round of competition? Beijia's encroachment on small countries and small places had always been about following the snake up the stick.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, Yu Zecheng used the same tactics on Zhu Erniang: pressure + harassment + mobilizing surrounding forces.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Erniang had moved house several times and was forced to live a life of displacement; if not for the Yangshan Archipelago taking her in, she would have reached a dead end long ago.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beijia was known as the Northern Demon Kingdom, and it indeed had more ways to deal with various great demons than humans did, not even needing to directly dispatch powerful beings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The power of such a great empire against an individual, against a small place like the Yangshan Archipelago, was truly as overwhelming as a mountain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It had plenty of time, energy, and patience. You could beat away one of its subordinates, or a hundred of its subordinates, but it could still send the one hundred and first subordinate to pester you endlessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An ancient demon immortal like Zhu Erniang, despite having great abilities, could not even touch the edge of the enemy before being tortured to the point of exhaustion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Furthermore, did the other side really not have powerful beings taking action? Once the timing was ripe, once Yu Zecheng found He Lingchuan's weakness, this shadow war would escalate into an open war.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1448,"2026-06-20T02:23:34.395Z",1,"Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite","cdc373a4c04d331d498f735882de1989e7857a94b9da33ccedff03cfb7b11c27","after-the-immortals-disappeared-chapter-998","after-the-immortals-disappeared-chapter-996",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fafter-the-immortals-disappeared-cover.jpg"]