The Divide Between Immortal and Mortal

Outside the Canglang Gang's Main Headquarters,

not a soul could be found within a hundred meters.

Yet beyond that distance, a sea of people had gathered.

In Dingzhou City, practically everyone who could come had come, from officials and powerful dignitaries to ordinary commoners.

They had packed the entire South District so tightly that not even a drop of water could have trickled through.

A momentous event like an immortal descending to the mortal world to carry out justice on heaven's behalf was a once-in-a-thousand-years occurrence, something one might not see in a dozen lifetimes.

They had not come to watch a spectacle. They had come on a pilgrimage.

The Prefect's yamen was the farthest from the South District. No matter how Prefect Su hurried, by the time he arrived, he was already behind everyone else and could see only the backs of heads and walls of people.

The South District, which he had once disdained to visit, was now so crowded that he could scarcely take a step.

But he was the Prefect, after all. With privilege clearing the way, he finally squeezed through the crowd and reached the front row.

At the front of the crowd,

the Thousand Commander Office and the Patrol Inspection Office were maintaining order.

When Left Thousand Commander saw Prefect Su arrive, he immediately stepped forward and saluted.

"This subordinate pays his respects, my lord."

"Where is the immortal? Where is the immortal?"

Prefect Su asked, looking around impatiently.

"My lord, the immortal is still inside that compound."

Left Thousand Commander pointed toward the Canglang Gang's Main Headquarters as he respectfully reported.

But the fighting inside the compound had already died down. Apart from a collapsed gate, Prefect Su saw nothing.

No, that was not quite right.

There was also a charred, stiff corpse.

"What is that?"

Prefect Su was somewhat disappointed that he had not caught a glimpse of the immortal's splendor, but the charred lump lying on the ground immediately aroused his curiosity.

"It... it is Sha Pingwei, the leader of the Canglang Gang."

Cold sweat ran down Left Thousand Commander's forehead, but he reported the truth nonetheless.

"Did the immortal do that?"

Prefect Su asked, his face filled with shock.

"My lord, it was the immortal's doing. A single bolt of heavenly lightning struck Sha Pingwei and turned him straight into charcoal," Left Thousand Commander replied, his heart still trembling with fear.

"Hiss..."

Hearing this, Prefect Su sharply sucked in a breath of cold air.

Although he had not witnessed the heavenly lightning strike a man, the mere thought of the scene made his heart tremble.

To summon a thunderbolt from a clear sky with a casual gesture—it was truly an immortal's Immortal Method, beyond any doubt.

"How many utterly conscienceless evils must this Canglang Gang have committed to bring an immortal here in person, carrying out justice on heaven's behalf with thunderous measures?"

Prefect Su exclaimed instinctively.

"My lord, the Canglang Gang bullied merchants and monopolized the markets, imposed exorbitant levies, exploited and oppressed the people, and committed violence and evil. The people of the South District have been crying out in grievance everywhere. Their crimes have angered both heaven and man, and are utterly unforgivable."

"This subordinate has already obtained evidence of most of the Canglang Gang's crimes and was planning to report it to you in a few days, my lord, then sweep them all into one net. I never imagined that even the immortal could no longer bear to watch and would personally intervene to mete out punishment with thunder."

Left Thousand Commander spoke with righteous indignation.

After hearing Left Thousand Commander's righteous words, Prefect Su remained silent and merely gave him a meaningful glance.

That single glance was enough to send a chill through Left Thousand Commander's heart.

No,

he had to make a clean break with the Canglang Gang.

Once he returned, he would immediately destroy the letters exchanged with them and hand over all the gold, silver, and jewels he had accepted to Prefect Su. He would also have to prepare a lavish gift.

Then he would root out every last fish that had slipped through the Canglang Gang's net. Perhaps that way he could preserve his official position.

At that thought, a glint of chilling murderous intent flashed through Left Thousand Commander's eyes.

"Look! Someone seems to be coming out!"

"Is it the immortal?"

"You there in front, move your head! I want to see the immortal!"

"Who the fuck is poking me with something?"

"..."

Suddenly, heads jostled all around as an uproar broke out.

Prefect Su's eyes lit up as well, and he stared ahead with his eyes wide open.

With all eyes upon it, a white figure suddenly swaggered out through the collapsed gate.

It was not the immortal.

It was an Immortal Crane.

Even so, the crowd was inexplicably stirred and filled with excitement.

This was an Immortal Crane!

An immortal's mount.

As the saying went, even a gatekeeper at a prime minister's residence was a third-rank official. Though this White Crane was only the immortal's mount, it was still an immortal bird that had descended from heaven.

"Graceful and carefree, aloof and untouched by worldly dust, far beyond the compare of ordinary birds. What a fine Immortal Crane!"

Prefect Su could not help stroking his beard as he praised it.

The Crane King held its head high and strode forward as though it acknowledged no one, its posture haughty and its gaze contemptuous. It paid these mortals no regard whatsoever.

It swaggered over to Sha Pingwei's charred corpse,

and, before the crowd's dumbfounded eyes, set upon the corpse with its beak and claws.

Its master had only told it not to hurt anyone. Its master had said nothing about desecrating a corpse.

If it did not avenge that arrow, its thoughts would not be at ease.

And so,

the corpse, though reduced to charcoal, had still been reasonably intact. Now it was torn apart and scattered in pieces.

At the sight of this brutal scene, Prefect Su pulled several hairs from his beard.

He had just praised this Immortal Crane as graceful and carefree, aloof and untouched by worldly dust, yet now it was committing such a savage and violent act right in front of him. He felt as though his face had been slapped with a resounding smack.

Th-this was really an immortal bird? Not a Demon Beast?

"Little White, stop playing. It's time to go."

Just as everyone was staring speechlessly at the sight of the Immortal Crane desecrating the corpse, a cool, ethereal voice suddenly came from inside the compound.

Through the collapsed gate, they could vaguely make out an immortal figure in white, radiating the light of the moon.

They heard an immortal's voice and glimpsed an immortal's form.

The crowd instantly became like water brought to a boil, hearts surging and emotions running high.

Yet not a single person dared step even half a pace beyond the forbidden boundary.

Those hundred meters were like an impassable chasm separating immortals from mortals, leaving them daring only to watch from afar, not approach.

Even Prefect Su, the highest authority in the prefecture, merely straightened his official robes and stood solemnly in place, respectful and strictly proper.

Hearing its master's summons, the Crane King, having vented its anger and taken its revenge, immediately spread its wings and flew back into the compound, an expression of complete satisfaction on its face.

"Scree..."

Then, under the crowd's fervent and excited gazes,

the Immortal Crane bore the immortal into the air from the compound and flew high into the sky, until it became a black speck and finally vanished entirely into the clouds.

The immortal had left.

Everyone gazed up at the heavens, and even after the immortal had disappeared from sight, they did not lower their eyes for a long time.

The immortal's descent was like a seed that had taken root and sprouted in their hearts, never to be erased.

"Look, someone else seems to be coming out."

No one knew who in the crowd had spoken, but upon hearing it, everyone immediately turned their eyes toward the compound gate.

They saw a little girl in coarse hemp clothes slowly walking out through the ruins of the gate.

"Sh-she looks like the little girl who descended on the crane together with the immortal."

Someone with sharp eyes recognized her.

The crowd immediately broke into an uproar again.

But as the little girl slowly approached, the uproar fell silent in an instant. Not a bird or crow could be heard.

All because the little girl held a round, translucent orb in both hands, its surface emitting a faint green glow.

It did not look like an object of the mortal world.