[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-lord-of-the-immortal-food":3,"chapter-lord-of-the-immortal-food-lord-of-the-immortal-food-chapter-12":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Lord of the Immortal Food",{"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},2313135,4524,"Chapter 12: Chapter Twelve: The Blue Bird","lord-of-the-immortal-food-chapter-12",12,"\u003Cp>Fenghuai County lies buried within the Xin Cang Mountains, nearly cut off from the world, with extremely limited channels for information flow; the most effective way to learn of major events across the land is through circulating official bulletins.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Usually there are two copies: one issued by the local prefectural government, called the “Prefecture Bulletin,” published every half-month to convey local news; the other issued by the Imperial Academy, called the “National Bulletin,” distributed monthly, compiling major events from across the realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the past, these bulletins were circulated solely among government offices at all levels, until the previous emperor revised the system, ordering mass publication to the populace and making drastic changes to their content.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From then on, slightly confidential information ceased to be printed; instead, they published universally known political news, easily understandable interpretations of edicts, splendid essays by high-ranking court officials, and guarantees of the bulletin’s accessibility—world news, martial world upheavals, and serialized legendary tales on the final two pages.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Logically, bulletins are not scarce, but as the saying goes, Fenghuai is far too poor and remote; even when the two bulletins arrive, the county lacks any printing workshop to reproduce them, and in truth, the number of literate people in the entire county may not even reach a hundred—there is simply no space for bulletin circulation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, these bulletins pile up in the county office, and Master Huang precisely draws his stories from them, then vividly recounts them to the children.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So often it is not that he deliberately withholds the next part to tease the children, but that the author of “Mirror’s Blue Bird” simply stopped here, and the next issue has yet to arrive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thanks to Lin Lin’s convenience, Pei Ye entered the official office multiple times and discovered these “treasures.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon this revelation, the boys all grew excited and eager; Pei Ye whispered, “The August bulletin should have just arrived—you’ve surely never heard this one. Wait for me to fetch it for you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A small chorus of cheers broke out in the room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye took a candle and entered the official office; as he pushed open the door, the scent of ink struck his nose.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Newly arrived bulletins are typically passed among the civil clerks first; sure enough, after a quick glance at the desk, Pei Ye spotted the thin booklet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye walked over, gazing at the neat, dignified characters on the cover—【Great Tang National Bulletin】—and was momentarily lost in thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This familiar cover stirred long-buried anticipation and excitement, as if still clinging to those pure, joyful days, both of which Pei Ye had long since lost.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gently opening it, muscle memory took over; before Pei Ye could react, his hand had already skipped past the dull political news and landed directly on the final pages.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye smiled knowingly and leaned down to read.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This page contained world news and martial world developments; the most prominent item was that last month, envoys from the southern states arrived at Divine Capital, paid homage to the Sage, and their young talents engaged in amicable exchanges with Tang’s youth in both literary and martial arts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A quick glance revealed several familiar names, causing him to pause briefly; but this was no time for close study, so he turned the page.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next page carried the ink of “Mirror’s Blue Bird”; the current serial was a tale called “The Hero’s Remnant Bones,” entirely unrelated to what Pei Ye had read two years prior. He glanced at the chapter title: Chapter Twenty, “Eighteen Years as a Withered Ghost—When Will I Soar to the First Tower?” Generally, this author’s stories concluded by the twentieth chapter; this one should be no exception.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye closed the booklet and tucked it under his arm; on the desk lay another, a July National Bulletin. He picked it up and flipped through it, only to find the final pages had been cut away—someone must have taken them to amuse the children, leaving only the dull, unloved official content. He tossed it back onto the desk and picked up the much thinner Prefecture Bulletin instead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Prefecture Bulletin had the same layout, but its political section was far briefer, and the stories that followed were of inferior quality, since the province had no dedicated author—instead, they directly photocopied storytellers’ scripts as filler. The martial world news section noted that recently, a white-clothed man had arrived in the province to challenge swordmasters, possibly a registered hero of the Crane-Frog Register. Pei Ye sneered; this style of wild speculation was consistent as ever.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye tucked it under his arm as well and carried the candle deeper into the office.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beyond retrieving the bulletins, Pei Ye’s main purpose was to see if he could find the book from his memory that had made him familiar with the character “chun.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the very back of the office stood two rows of bookshelves; though not overflowing with texts, they were neatly arranged. For years, Pei Ye had often sat cross-legged on the floor, leaning against the shelves, reading a book for an entire afternoon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, holding the oil lamp, he scanned the shelves; historical texts and classics he passed over entirely—he had never touched them; the topmost shelves required no close inspection—he had been too short to reach them then. His gaze focused on the lower shelves, on interesting notes and unofficial histories; he did find a few volumes he had once read with great delight, but upon flipping through them, none matched his memory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He carefully flipped through each book, pulling out any that stirred even a faint recollection, turning page by page. Yet after scanning the entire shelf, he found no trace of that familiar feeling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But if not here, then where?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since arriving here, the sense of familiarity had grown clearer; he could almost recall the scene: himself leaning by the window, holding the book toward the sunset, reading by the last sliver of light, when the character suddenly appeared—he did not recognize it, stared at it several times, memorized it, then went out to ask a civil clerk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But where was that book now?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye furrowed his brow and went over the entire shelf again, then searched every corner of the room—on and under every desk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Night deepened steadily; rain began to patter again. It had been nearly an hour since Chang Zhiyuan left; if the “Divine Favor” were to arrive tonight, it would not wait much longer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye straightened up, forced to accept that he had failed to activate the so-called “Chun Head.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps the book had been lost or taken by someone; there was nothing he could do now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If it was not meant by fate, then there was nothing to be said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye exited the office, clutching the two bulletins; as he passed through the courtyard, he glanced toward the main hall—the broad, armored back still sat motionless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if sensing his gaze, Chang Zhiyuan waved him in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon entering the front hall, Pei Ye felt the suffocating tension in the air, starkly contrasting the liveliness of the children’s room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As someone who knew the truth, Pei Ye fully understood the suppression and torment in the hearts of the three elders.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were powerless, forced to sit and wait, yet they had to appear dependable—like the earthen dam at the entrance of an ant colony, facing the coming storm, their sole purpose being to make the ants inside believe they were still protected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The outcome they awaited could only be one of two extremes: either Commander Jing arrives to sweep away all threats, or this small county office is first obliterated by the criminal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye stepped in and asked softly, “Any news?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chang Zhiyuan shook his head heavily. “What did you bring?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Two bulletins. The children like the stories.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...” Chang Zhiyuan’s expression twisted, as if delivering news of a child’s death—his eyes closed briefly, then reopened, steady and reliable. “Hmm... I was just about to find you. The county has thirty-seven armed constables, all deployed at street intersections to block pursuit. There are seven horses in the back courtyard—distribute them. Let those who can ride take those who cannot, and scatter in different directions...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye froze, then realized he meant the boys in the room; he bit his dry lips, voice hoarse: “Is... something wrong?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shen Yanping stepped forward and whispered, “The soul-bird has not returned.”\u003C\u002Fp>",1404,"2026-06-20T13:17:09.438Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","3f570652d43b1642abefc2cac8cf5886f30c2b99272df4fd31efa9dfd7a72985","lord-of-the-immortal-food-chapter-13","lord-of-the-immortal-food-chapter-11",771,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Flord-of-the-immortal-food-cover.jpg"]