[{"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-15":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},2313138,4524,"Chapter 15: Chapter Fifteen: Fugitive","lord-of-the-immortal-food-chapter-15",15,"\u003Cp>Cheng Feng immediately dismounted, told the child without a mark to return to the city and hide, then ran over to help Pei Ye up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The face pulled from the mud was pale with blue lips, like a corpse dug from a grave; his eyes stared blankly, jaws clenched tight, drenched in fine beads of sweat and streaming raindrops.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing this ghastly visage, Cheng Feng for the first time truly felt the torment this once vibrant elder brother had endured over the past two years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stammered, “Pei… Pei Brother, did your injury flare up again… Do you have medicine… What should I do?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No need… to worry… it’ll pass… soon… you… go… it’s fine…” Pei Ye gasped out muffled words through clenched teeth, but Cheng Feng could not possibly believe he’d be alright.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cheng Feng stood up, frantically scanning the open fields—this situation was truly overwhelming for a fourteen-year-old boy. His reliable elder brother lay collapsed in the wilderness, seemingly on the brink of death; his own terrified younger brother’s forehead mark glowed like a ghostly flame; and the terrifying enemy who had bested even Shen Da Ren could appear behind them at any moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who should he save? Who could he save? How could he save them?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His riding skills were already poor; he’d nearly fallen off multiple times fleeing from the city, and the wet, treacherous mountain path behind was even more perilous—if he tried to carry both, they wouldn’t make five zhang before collapsing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In truth, the wisest choice was to abandon them all and flee alone. As Pei Ye had said, who did he think he was? He wasn’t a savior—he was just another rat beside the two pinned by a cat. Why not quietly tuck his tail and escape while he still could? Why dare play tug-of-war with the cat?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the boy’s heart clearly held no such option. He forced himself to calm down, scanned the fields once more, then fixed his gaze, bent low, and hoisted Pei Ye onto his back, gasping, “Pei Brother, I’ll hide you in the haystack… I’ll tie the horse to that tree over there, far from you. When you’re better, ride off yourself.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye gave a weak nod.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In truth, Pei Ye hadn’t lied to him—this injury did subside after the episode; with wine or medicine, it was merely a bout of pain; without them, it would violently recur within an hour, even causing fainting or suffocation, but he could still survive it, not die.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cheng Feng moved the haystack, laid the stiff, lifeless Pei Ye inside, then replaced the hay to cover his body, leaving only his face exposed. Finally, he propped up a small canopy over his mouth and nose to prevent suffocation if the rain grew heavier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“All set, Pei Brother,” Cheng Feng said, forcing calm into his voice. “I’m taking Zhang Xiaoyan into the mountains—I know the terrain well. Don’t worry.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye still wanted to urge him to abandon Zhang Xiaoyan and flee, but his mouth was utterly sealed shut; he could only stare with glazed, unfocused eyes, as if he hadn’t heard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cheng Feng cast one last worried glance at him, knew time was critical, and turned to run back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye watched blankly as the boy’s figure vanished. The world blurred and receded before his eyes—he saw the boy trudge back, tie the horse far from himself, then return again, lift Zhang Xiaoyan onto the horse’s back, and take the reins, preparing to mount.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Too much time wasted… Pei Ye thought helplessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if in response to this thought, a black robe emerged from the city gate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The robe was soaked through, torn in places; its hood completely shredded, revealing a pale, sickly young face. The deep red stains on his body were indistinguishable—were they from lantern light or oozing blood?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye saw him first at the city gate, second five zhang beyond it, third—like a ghost—he stood beside Cheng Feng.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only then did Cheng Feng finally realize something, his expression blank as he turned his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No flash of drawn blade—his head rolled to the ground like a ripe melon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The black-robed man lifted his foot and casually wiped the mud from his boot against the still-expressive face. When both boots were clean, he reached out, seized the stunned Zhang Xiaoyan, glanced at the fiery mark on his forehead, then crushed both his leg bones with his fingers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Xiaoyan’s shrill, distorted scream echoed across the fields—so the black-robed man slammed a pulse of true qi into him, destroying his vocal cords. A living boy became nothing but a twitching, grotesque shape that could only emit endless “huh-huh” gasps.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The black-robed man carried that twisted form and vanished westward, flickering like a shadow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Intense pain did not vanish because of emotional shock.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye clenched his eyes shut, enduring it in silence. After roughly fifteen minutes, the first wave of agony finally began to subside. He kicked aside the haystack, lay there breathing heavily for a moment, then propped himself up, swaying unsteadily toward Cheng Feng’s corpse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Blood spread widely across the ground, washed far by the rain; his face bore mud and boot prints; his once lively eyes were now utterly dull.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps due to the aftereffects of the agony, Pei Ye felt a difficulty breathing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, he understood the source of his irritation when Cheng Feng had said, “I’m following you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t because Cheng Feng stubbornly clung to him despite the looming enemy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye had endured countless annoying situations; he always concealed his emotions, handled them with tolerance. Compared to that, Cheng Feng was merely an ill-timed act of misplaced loyalty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What he had truly resented all along was himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he saw Lin Lin’s pained face, when he picked up Lin Jue’s stained undergarment, when he unfastened that sword tassel… how many moments that day had he burned with rage, wishing to carve the killer limb from limb with his own hands?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But reason had constantly reminded him: courage and hatred could not bridge the gap in strength. He should obey the elders’ orders, play his assigned role—even if that role meant nothing but endless hiding and fleeing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he chose reason to handle this, the suppressed self within him churned and roared without cease.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That self was another Cheng Feng.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So when the thing he had long suppressed was so casually, so thoughtlessly voiced by Cheng Feng, it ignited his fury—What do you know?! Do you think you’re brave? Noble?! Me and the elders play turtles and rats, even hope the killers escape unharmed, even if we never avenge six corpses—just so no more die tonight—and yet you dare throw your life away so lightly?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye silently wiped the face clean with his sleeve, wrapped the head in a tunic, lifted the corpse onto the horse, mounted, and galloped toward the county office.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After hiding all day, had he truly saved fewer lives? Or what difference did it make if one more died—himself?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No more crawling like a maggot into the dark, clinging to pitiful survival. At least—he would swing his sword forward, face to face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You filthy beast, kill me as you killed Cheng Feng—end me with a single slash! Or let me see—when the blade pierces your throat, will you scream in terror too?\u003C\u002Fp>",1227,"2026-06-20T13:17:09.438Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","03fadfa4be059bf019be42f3b5181a879873b1106c6b44a89dd7b4d86e16db30","lord-of-the-immortal-food-chapter-16","lord-of-the-immortal-food-chapter-14",771,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Flord-of-the-immortal-food-cover.jpg"]