"What's so hard about that?" Fu Shanyue said dismissively. "Next time I head back to my kingdom, I'll take you along."
"Wonderful, thank you! I've truly longed to behold the Demon King's presence in person." Fu Shanlie had fought in the Battle of Panlong as well; he had to know the ins and outs of that conflict better than almost anyone.
"A trivial matter—who are you and I to stand on ceremony?" Fu Shanyue waved it off. "The old man ought to take a liking to you."
He Lingchuan smiled. "I imagine your father and I will hit it off right away, too."
Upon returning to Suoding Island, He Lingchuan ordered his servants to prepare wine and dishes. Fu Shanyue took Taozi back to their quarters and went to change his clothes.
Taking advantage of his absence, the mirror asked He Lingchuan, "Aren't you angry about what Fu Shanyue did?"
"Angry about what? I knew his temperament long before we became friends." He Lingchuan closed his eyes. "National Preceptor Shuangye sent him here specifically to put me in an awkward spot."
If National Preceptor Shuangye had sent any other subordinate to garrison the Yangshan Archipelago, there was no telling if they wouldn't end up like a second Yu Zecheng—after all, He Lingchuan's ruthless methods were plain to see.
Yet dispatching Fu Shanyue both tied He Lingchuan's hands and drove a wedge between their friendship, while allowing Shuangye to vent a bit of the resentment he harbored over being outmaneuvered earlier.
Men like him always struck down several birds with one stone.
"Besides, Fu Shanyue pulling such an obnoxious stunt out of nowhere was ninety percent likely a deliberate test to see how I'd react." He understood Fu Shanyue quite well. "Now that the test is done, it probably won't happen again."
"Look at how interested he clearly is in the fiend beads, yet he never even asked how I made them. Because he knows I wouldn't tell him," He Lingchuan remarked. "The man actually possesses his own sense of propriety."
"Then how do you plan to counter the National Preceptor's move?"
"Nothing special—just treat Fu Shanyue with sincerity. He looks like a reckless demon of chaos, but he carries a scale in his heart and knows good from bad." He Lingchuan stretched his neck, producing a few crisp cracks. "If my heart is as clear as the sun and moon, open and aboveboard, would he have the nerve to harbor sneaky intentions? Hmm, the same goes for Fang Canran, in fact. They both have independent character and refuse to follow blindly."
In his view, neither of these two was an ungrateful ingrate; both were figures worth winning over.
Fu Shanyue, in particular, was different from his father.
Fu Shanlie had risen through military merit and was inextricably bound to the grand Beijia Empire. Fu Shanyue, however, merely needed to inherit the royal throne in the future. He Lingchuan could sense that he felt no sense of belonging toward Beijia, and harbored even less goodwill toward Lingxu City.
In the past, he had been entirely out of place among Lingxu's high society and nobility.
Now, did Fu Shanyue really lack the wits to tell who welcomed him sincerely and who only wanted to exploit him?
"What is 'character'?" The mirror had only ever heard of godhood.
"Nothing. And taking a step back, even if I'm mistaken, it's no big deal." He smiled. "The Yangshan Archipelago sits right here. Now that it has stepped onto the world stage, plenty of people are bound to spy on it; two more or less won't make a difference."
By then, the wine and food were prepared, and the servants carried everything onto a pleasure boat. Fu Shanyue arrived as well.
And so, the two steered the small boat out onto the sea and drank heartily beneath the bright moon.
It felt as if they had returned to Pianxiang Villa in Lingxu City.
Back then, they had likewise rowed across the small lake in the back hills, drinking wine and reveling in carefree delight.
Just as he had done in those days, Fu Shanyue became half-drunk, slapped the table, and began cursing his old man, listing Fu Shanlie's various misdeeds.
He Lingchuan sat beside him, listening.
Well, it seemed Fu Shanlie had the very same personality in reality, showing little difference from the Panlong World.
The Dafang Pot was truly a marvelous treasure, capable of deducing even a figure like Fu Shanlie so close to the reality.
Fu Shanyue suddenly clapped He Lingchuan on the shoulder and exhaled a breath of wine. "Rest easy! I won't make things difficult for you while I'm here!"
He Lingchuan swirled the wine in his cup. "Where did that come from?"
He hadn't anticipated Fu Shanyue being so straightforward.
Yet it suited Fu Shanyue's nature, so He Lingchuan was hardly surprised.
"Lingxu City ordered me here, so I couldn't very well refuse. Besides, I wanted to come myself," Fu Shanyue chuckled. "If I didn't come, Lingxu City would just send someone else to do the dirty work anyway. So, better me than anyone else."
Though he had downed plenty of wine, his tongue wasn't tied in the least; if anything, he rattled off the twisty phrases even more smoothly.
Yet every word made sense.
Even if Fu Shanyue hadn't taken the job, Lingxu City and National Preceptor Shuangye would have found other ways to pry into the Yangshan Archipelago.
Thinking of Shuangye's methods gave He Lingchuan a bit of a headache; rather than having the man plot against him from the shadows, having Fu Shanyue played as an open hand was vastly preferable.
"As for the news Lingxu City wants, you just tell me what to report, and I'll submit periodic updates to muddle through," Fu Shanyue said. Though his breath reeked of liquor, his eyes were clear. "That way, I don't break a sweat, you don't wear yourself out. Isn't that great?"
He Lingchuan looked at him, moved. "You really plan to do that?"
"Why not?" Fu Shanyue added, "Though I must warn you: don't give me intelligence that's too outrageous. If National Preceptor Shuangye can tell it's fake at a glance, this trick won't work anymore."
"Deal. Guaranteed authentic."
The two looked at each other and burst into hearty laughter.
Everything was understood without another word.
He Lingchuan secretly admired him. Truly worthy of Fu Shanyue—right after arriving, he had broken free from an awkward position and situated himself right where he was most comfortable.
In this regard, Fang Canran wasn't nearly as unrestrained.
National Preceptor Shuangye's calculation to drive a wedge between their brotherhood had fallen through.
Shuangye had still underestimated Fu Shanyue.
After all, he had never truly spent time with Fu Shanyue or gotten a deep look into the Chiyan Crown Prince's authentic nature.
Only when the bright moon sank in the west did the two return, thoroughly contented.
The summer breeze was gentle, blowing and blowing until it swept He Lingchuan and his companions all the way to Julu Port.
The journey took only six and a half days, sailing with favorable winds almost the entire way. For once, Dong Rui enjoyed a comfortable ocean voyage, disembarking refreshed and invigorated.
They traveled aboard one of the Yangshan Archipelago's own large vessels. The cabins were spacious, allowing one to stretch out their legs to sleep at night; the meals were good, and when digging into a bowl of rice, there was no fear of uncovering some unfamiliar bug.
At most, the cured meat stored in the galley developed a thin layer of white mold, which could simply be scraped, rinsed, and eaten.
Having traveled to Blade Harbor frequently, Dong Rui knew all too well never to take a deep breath when stepping ashore, lest the stench choke him to death.
Seeing other passengers pinching their noses and crying foul, some even retching over the gunwale from the foul odor, he mocked them with an air of nonchalance: "Heh. Ignorant fools."
Lingguang had accompanied them on this trip as well, specifically crafting aromatic scent pellets for the two men. Plugging them into their nostrils rendered them immune to the pier's fishy, foul onslaught.
Only Dong Rui actually used them, however.
He Lingchuan disliked dulling his senses.
The longer Dong Rui spent around him, the more he felt this kid possessed traits that went against human nature.
"This place..." After getting off the ship, Dong Rui voiced his first impression. "This place really isn't much."
The Yangshan Archipelago ran its own ports and shipping businesses; though Dong Rui didn't participate in operations, even if he hadn't eaten pork, he had seen pigs run.
"This harbor is too small, and the roads in and out of the docks are completely dilapidated." Too busy looking around, he didn't watch where he stepped, and his foot sank into a black puddle with a squelch, soaking his boots in foul water. "Whoa! There are so many potholes even on the main thoroughfare!"
His conclusion: "Compared to Yang... compared to our place, this falls way short."
People were coming and going all around, so he didn't want to broadcast their origins.
The roads on Suoding Island were always wide and straight, and wherever damage appeared, it was patched that very night. Although freight traffic was heavy, the docks never smelled foul because the fishing pier was on the eastern shore, completely separated from the cargo docks. Everything was neat and orderly, with goods rarely left exposed to the open air—unlike here, where piles lay scattered haphazardly, and he even heard someone shouting in exasperation:
"Where the hell are my goods? Which holeless-assed cur dared to steal my stuff?!"
Looking around the docks, the buildings were drab, decrepit, and ancient. A pillar by the entrance of an adjacent warehouse had tilted so badly it was barely propped up by two wooden slats.
Previously, Dong Rui had taken coming and going from Suoding Island for granted; only now, making this comparison, did he realize the disparity. Had their Yangshan Archipelago really been developed so well?
He Lingchuan was also making a cautious assessment. "This place is hardly bustling."
While many laborers hauled and unloaded cargo along the pier, and there were plenty of boats, the harbor was indeed somewhat cramped.
Though it was clearly a fine deep-water harbor, ocean-going vessels rarely berthed here.
That indicated Julu Port dealt mostly in local regional commerce, receiving few distant voyagers.
Sticking only to local commerce meant petty profits, as the surrounding lands were merely small nations that weren't particularly wealthy.
Around the pier, the buildings were uniformly old, run-down, and sparse; who knew how long it had been since a new house was erected.
If the busiest pier of a commercial port looked like this, how could one expect the rest of the harbor to be any better?
Broadening the picture, if an essential hub linking land and sea was in such a state, what could one expect from the rest of the Shanjin Plain?
"Let's go. We'll find a place to stay first, then search for our contact."
Tattered, half-naked beggars crowded near the pier—young and old alike—either staring blankly or darting their eyes over every passerby. By the base of a wall, several big-headed, frail-bodied children sat basking in the sun, picking fleas from their ragged clothes, looking more like monkeys than Lingguang perched on He Lingchuan's shoulder.
Coming closer, a rank stench wafted from them.
Two children were roughhousing through the streaming crowd, and in the blink of an eye, they barreled straight toward He Lingchuan.
He Lingchuan and Dong Rui clearly looked like travelers fresh off the boat, and Dong Rui carried a bulging bundle on his back.
Having traveled far and wide for years, how could He Lingchuan fail to see through such a ruse? His gaze flickered, and he whispered something to Dong Rui, who nodded.
The two children giggled as if playing hide-and-seek, but just as they were about to bump into He Lingchuan, an object plummeted from above with a thud right onto the little boy.
The thing was furry, squirming, screeching, and tugging at his hair!
The boy shrieked in terror, only then realizing that the one scamming him was actually a chubby monkey with yellowish-green fur!
As soon as he screamed, the fat monkey bared its mouth and screeched back at him, displaying enormous, needle-sharp canines.
Though barely two feet tall, the deafening racket it unleashed easily drowned out both children.
The two kids didn't dare linger and turned on their heels, fleeing at top speed.
Only then did the fat monkey shut its mouth, leaping onto Dong Rui's shoulder to scratch its ear before handing him a small, patched coin pouch.
Dong Rui took it and gave it a shake, hearing the jingle of copper coins colliding inside.
Chapter 1099