Chapter Seventy-Five: Ambushed (1/5)

Could it be...

He Song forced himself to suppress the urge to ask the reason behind all this. Instead, he stared unblinkingly at Zhao Lin, eager to hear what he would say next.

Ahead of him, Zhao Lin cupped his hands in a respectful salute, his face heavy with sorrow.

"I have broken my promise. The person I entrusted has died a few days ago, and your spiritual field has been left unattended for several days."

During the half month since he left the Immortal Market, everything had been fine at first. The person Zhao Lin found, enticed by the thirty spirit stones reward, had diligently managed He Song’s spiritual field. But a few days ago, things changed. That person was suddenly murdered. Zhao Lin only learned the truth upon his return today, discovering that He Song’s field had gone untended for days.

Upon hearing this dreadful news, Zhao Lin was overwhelmed with guilt for failing He Song’s trust, prompting him to come and make amends. Unexpectedly, as he hesitated outside He Song’s house, he was spotted by He Song, who had just returned home. Thus, this scene unfolded.

However, as Zhao Lin saluted and apologized, He Song, after listening, breathed a sigh of relief.

A spiritual field left untended means insufficient spiritual energy supply, and yields naturally decrease. If ten days or half a month passed with inadequate spiritual energy, the loss would be irreparable. Luckily, only a few days had passed; replenishing the energy in time would prevent any harm.

He had feared something worse.

So it was just this?

“This is no matter—just a few days. I’ll go shortly and spend an extra hour performing Spirit Rain Technique; the energy will be restored, and no loss will occur. You are worrying too much, my friend,” He Song said, waving his hand dismissively.

Since there was no harm done, the death of the previous caretaker was unrelated to He Song. Naturally, he felt little concern for it. In his eyes, Zhao Lin’s reaction seemed excessive.

“Ah, but I truly entrusted the wrong person. If any consequences do arise, please come to me—I will make up for any losses,” Zhao Lin hurriedly promised. Though He Song was unconcerned, Zhao Lin could not disregard the matter. Since it was caused by him, he would shoulder any losses.

He Song, seeing this, could only shake his head in resignation. But soon, he recalled something Wei Fan had mentioned.

“If you truly feel uneasy about this, my friend is helping me apply for the position of herbal garden manager. If you could speak well on my behalf, let’s consider the matter settled.”

Wei Fan had brought this up before. Although Wei Fan was a steward and a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator, he belonged to the Spirit Construction Pavilion. Helping He Song apply for a management position in the Spirit Herb Pavilion wasn’t impossible, but if Zhao Lin, already a manager in that pavilion, also applied, He Song’s chances would greatly increase. Now was the perfect opportunity to settle things.

“Very well, leave it to me,” Zhao Lin agreed at once. He Song had made it clear that his friend was already assisting with the application; the identity of the friend didn’t matter—what mattered was that someone was leading the way and he only needed to submit the application. Whether He Song succeeded or not, he would owe Zhao Lin a favor, and the matter would be settled.

With the issue resolved, the atmosphere between them softened.

Inside He Song’s house, the two raised cups, not of wine, but fragrant tea. Time flowed gently by.

After the law enforcement team from Immortal City arrived and departed from the Immortal Market, He Song returned to his peaceful routine. Soon, he learned from others in the market what the law enforcement team had actually done during their half-month stay.

At first, when the Law Enforcement Team from Immortal City arrived at Bamboo Mountain Immortal Market, most cultivators had no inkling of what was about to happen—just like Zhao Lin, who hadn’t thought to flee. Some even believed the team's arrival would improve the market's atmosphere.

However, once the Law Enforcement Team took over the local enforcement, ordered a self-investigation, and successfully rooted out several evil cultivators from within, everything changed.

When the Law Enforcement Team completely took charge and purged the rot from the local enforcement, the next target was the cultivators themselves. Under their direction, the market’s own enforcers scattered to arrest people. One notorious figure after another was taken away; any resistance was met with lethal force.

Beyond that, some regular cultivators—even wandering ones—vanished without explanation. Among them were wealthy market cultivators and freelance cultivators who profited from their skills. Some of their residences became ruins, others remained untouched, but all had one thing in common: the Law Enforcement Team from Immortal City had visited their homes.

All this was done quietly, until one day, the Law Enforcement Team and local enforcers mobilized en masse, killing a steward and two managers in the Spirit Herb Pavilion on the spot, then scrutinizing everyone present. The guilty were executed immediately; the innocent were allowed to leave. Those who had previously disappeared were brought out one by one and executed.

That day, outside the Spirit Herb Pavilion, heads rolled and blood flowed like rivers.

Simultaneously, a message spread: a steward and two managers from the Spirit Herb Pavilion had colluded with evil cultivators, deliberately letting them infiltrate the market. The Law Enforcement Team from Immortal City had come by order to wipe out this group.

The Law Enforcement Team was about to leave, using this as a warning.

The news and the slaughter at the pavilion ensured that all in the market would remember this day.

Just as He Song learned of these events, another explosive piece of news shook all of Qingyuan Immortal City.

The Law Enforcement Team, having just left Bamboo Mountain Immortal Market, was ambushed on their way back to Qingyuan Immortal City. Two mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators were killed outright; one late-stage Qi Refining cultivator was surrounded and slain; the remaining two late-stage cultivators, seeing the danger, used their escape techniques to barely survive.

(End of chapter)