Chapter 29 — The Clean Snow and The Invisible Prison
The Shadow Investigation
The morning sun struggled to pierce the gray clouds over Black Rock Gorge.
The wind howled through the canyon, carrying a biting chill.
Three figures dressed in gray cloaks moved silently across the snow. They were the Shadow Scouts of the Zhou Clan. Men trained to track wolves and bandits.
"This is the location," the leader, a scarred man named Viper, whispered. He checked a small compass in his hand. "Captain Zhou Cang was scheduled to ambush the target here eighteen hours ago."
Viper looked around.
He expected to see blood. He expected to see shattered trees, broken armor, or at least the messy corpse of a peasant hunter.
Instead, he saw... perfection.
The snow was smooth and white, unbroken like a fresh sheet of silk.
"Dig," Viper ordered.
The scouts knelt. They used wooden spades to carefully lift the top layer of fresh snow.
They dug down to the frozen earth.
Nothing.
No blood soaked into the dirt. No metal fragments. No footprints.
"It's clean," one scout reported, his voice trembling slightly. "Too clean."
Viper narrowed his eyes. He walked to the edge of the deep ravine. He looked down into the dark abyss filled with ten feet of snowdrift.
"If bodies are down there, we won't find them until the spring thaw."
He stood up, brushing the snow from his knees.
"A peasant hunter with a bow and arrow leaves a mess," Viper analyzed cold logic. "He runs. He bleeds. He leaves tracks."
"But this? This is the work of a Ghost. Or a master assassin who knows how to scrub a crime scene."
"Report to the Young Master," Viper said, turning back toward the city. "Tell him the Captain didn't just die. He was erased."
The Wrong Conclusion
Meng City. The Zhou Estate.
The study was warm, smelling of expensive incense and old paper.
Zhou Ming, the Second Young Master, sat behind a mahogany desk. He was peeling a grape with long, delicate fingers.
"Erased?" Zhou Ming repeated softly.
Viper knelt on the floor, head touching the carpet. "Yes, Young Master. No bodies. No weapon fragments. It is as if they never existed."
Zhou Ming popped the grape into his mouth. He chewed slowly.
Suddenly, he swept the porcelain fruit bowl off the desk.
CRASH!
Shards of expensive china flew everywhere.
"The Yan Family!" Zhou Ming hissed, his handsome face twisting into a mask of rage.
"It has to be them. That fat pig Yan Bo... he knew I was making a move."
"Young Master," Viper hesitated. "Is it possible the Hunter, Long Tan, did it?"
Zhou Ming laughed. It was a sharp, incredulous bark.
"Use your brain, Viper. Zhou Cang was a 550 Jin warrior. The Black Guard was a 700 Jin elite with heavy plate armor. And you think a starving hunter killed them both without leaving a drop of blood?"
Zhou Ming stood up and walked to the window, staring at the distant tower of the Yan Trading House.
"No. The hunter is just a stepping stone. A lucky peasant who found a recipe."
"The Yan Family used him as bait. They hid their own High-Grade Assassins in the woods. They waited for my men to attack, then they slaughtered them to send a message."
Zhou Ming clenched his fist until his knuckles turned white.
"Yan Bo wants to play shadow games? Fine."
"Viper," he commanded.
"Yes, Young Master."
"Watch the Yan Trading House. Watch every caravan, every customer, every rat that goes in and out. If that Hunter tries to enter the city again... I want to know. But do not touch him yet. He is under the Yan Family's protection."
"We will starve them out first."
The Half-Healed Arm
Meng Village. Two Days Later.
While the city Lords plotted war, Long Tan was fighting a different battle: Itchiness.
He sat by the fire in his hut.
The heavy linen bandages on his right arm were loose.
"Don't scratch it," Su Lan scolded him gently, slapping his left hand away.
"It itches, Lan," Long Tan grumbled. "That means the skin is knitting."
Su Lan carefully unwrapped the bandages.
She gasped softly.
Two days ago, the arm had been a charred, purple ruin.
Now, the swelling was gone. The angry red burns had faded to pink scars. The skin looked raw and tender, like a newborn's, but the muscle underneath was firm.
[System Status]
[Recovery: 50%]
[Effect: Vital Peach Soup + Blood Clotting Paste]
"The medicine is a miracle," Su Lan whispered, applying a fresh coat of the red herbal paste. "Normal burns take months to heal. You are healing in days."
"It's the soil," Long Tan said, flexing his fingers. They moved stiffly, but they moved. "The herbs grown in the Vital Soil are ten times stronger than wild ones."
The Soap Problem
"We have a problem, Tan," Su Lan said, tying the bandage.
She pointed to the corner of the room.
The fat Long Tan had brought back—the "blood fat" from the ambush—was sitting in a pot.
"We have the materials. We have the herbs. But we have no stock."
"The Release Day is in three days," she reminded him. "You promised Yan Bo 200 bars for the Monday sale. If we don't deliver, we break the contract."
Long Tan looked at his right arm. He couldn't lift a heavy stirring paddle yet.
"I can't stir the mixture," he admitted. "And I can't chop the wood for the fire."
"Then I will do it," Su Lan said.
She stood up. She looked small in her rough cotton dress, but her eyes were determined.
"You taught me the recipe. I watched you every night."
She walked to the heavy iron pot. She picked up the wooden paddle.
It was heavy. The mixture of fat and ash became thick like clay when it cooled.
Usually, Long Tan used his brute strength to churn it.
Su Lan gritted her teeth. She pushed.
Scrape.
She pushed again.
Her arms trembled. Sweat beaded on her forehead. But she didn't stop.
Long Tan watched her. He saw the strength in her. The spirit food had improved her body more than he realized.
"Use your waist, Lan," he coached softly. "Don't push with your arms. Turn your hips."
She adjusted her stance. Swish. Swish. The rhythm improved.
Little San ran over. "I help too!"
The five-year-old boy grabbed a small stick and poked the fire, feeding it wood chips.
Long Tan smiled, but inside, his mind was racing.
The Invisible Prison
Later that night, as the soap cooled in the molds, Long Tan sat by the window.
He looked toward the city.
Zhou Ming thinks the Yan Family killed his men, Long Tan deduced. He didn't come to the village to burn my house. That means my deception worked.
But there is a consequence.
If Zhou Ming thinks the Yan Family is the enemy, he will be watching them. He will have spies on the road. He will have eyes on the shop.
Long Tan looked at the crate of fresh soap.
I cannot go to the city.
If I walk into the Yan Trading House now, Zhou Ming's spies will see me. They will wonder why the "Stepping Stone" is still alive. They might decide to kidnap me just to annoy Yan Bo.
He was trapped.
He had the goods. He had the money waiting.
But the road was blocked by invisible eyes.
"I can't go to them," Long Tan whispered, tapping his finger on the windowsill.
"And I can't let them come here."
He needed a proxy. He needed someone invisible.
His eyes turned to the neighbor's house.
Old Zhang.
"The Wolf is watching the Tiger," Long Tan formulated his plan. "So I will send a Mouse."
[System Notification]
[Strategic Update: Supply Line Compromised.]
[Objective: Establish a covert trade route.]
[AUTHOR'S NOTE]
The "Clean Snow" saved him! ❄️
Zhou Ming is too arrogant to believe a peasant could kill his elite squad. This buys Long Tan time to heal.
But now, the City is locked down. Long Tan can't sell his soap personally.
Recovery Status:
Right Arm: 50% Healed (Usable for light tasks).
Family: Su Lan is taking over production! 🧼
IMPORTANT:
I have applied for a contract! 📝
Please help me pass the review!
👉 Add to Library 📚
👉 Leave a Power Stone 💎
Your collection adds are the fuel that keeps this story going! Thank you!