He Lingchuan lifted his top to look, finding that the wounds clawed out by the werewolf last night were indeed healing, and they hardly hurt anymore—even the gash along his ribs that had nearly bared bone was now covered by a thick scab.
This was remarkably fast. Turning, He Lingchuan grabbed a handful of pear-syrup candies and offered them to it. "With Lingguang around, I'm spared a great deal of suffering."
Lingguang had intended to declare that proper demon apes did not eat candy, but the sweet scent of the pear-syrup candy proved irresistible. The paw outstretched to push it away shifted into a cupped gesture, and it silently accepted them after all.
He Chunhua had entered the palace before dawn and was not yet back.
Next, He Lingchuan washed his face and changed clothes, quickly devoured a dozen large meat buns along with two sea-sized bowls of peanut soup swirled with beaten egg, bringing himself to roughly sixty percent full before heading out the door.
Fixer Liu stood right outside the door. He had changed into fresh clothes, but dark circles sagged under his eyes, clearly showing he hadn't slept the rest of the night.
Upon seeing He Lingchuan, he bowed deeply, nearly touching the ground, and didn't straighten up for a long time.
He Lingchuan asked in surprise, "Why so overly courteous all of a sudden?"
"Eldest Young Master He saved my worthless life last night. This humble one cannot thank you enough!" In the face of mortal danger, He Lingchuan had yielded his horse to him first. Living well into his forties, Fixer Liu had never been treated this way by someone of noble standing. Even servants in the households of the rich and powerful, though calling him "Fixer" to his face, could barely bother to conceal their contempt.
"If it's a worthless life, then it isn't worth much, so what's the point of thanking me?"
"..."
He Lingchuan chuckled. "All right, stop being so melodramatic and just do your work well."
Before yesterday, Fixer Liu's deference toward him had been purely for money's sake; after yesterday, it came straight from the bottom of his heart. Glancing left and right to ensure the medicine ape wasn't around, he lowered his voice. "Eldest Young Master He, you hired Lingguang as your alchemist just yesterday morning, and last night you nearly lost your life! Do you think this ape brings immense ill omen?"
He Lingchuan blinked. If Fixer Liu hadn't brought it up, he would have forgotten all about it.
"When it brought disaster upon its previous masters, it at least took some time," Fixer Liu said, growing more frightened the more he thought about it—after all, he had nearly become a victim himself yesterday. "By your side, disaster struck in less than half a day!"
"Enough, don't let your mind wander into wild suspicions. Haven't you heard that joy follows when sorrow reaches its peak?" Recalling how Lingguang had looked at him last night and this morning, He Lingchuan realized the ape had indeed been uneasy. "I took a few wounds, but in exchange I gained a giant wolf companion from the North Star Tundra. Why do I feel my luck was actually pretty good?"
Climbing into the carriage, he told the woeful Fixer Liu, "Those who ambushed us last night have now been reduced to stray dogs, hunted down with nowhere to hide. What is there left for you to fear?"
Deep down, he knew Dong Rui likely wouldn't be captured so easily, but with one demon puppet lost, the other two injured, and the whole city scouring for him, the demon puppet master would have no time to settle scores with the He family for the time being.
Once they reached Xiazhou, on the He family's own turf, they would fear him even less.
Right now, in the north, General Nian Zanli was waiting to settle the blood feud over his slain son. All these old grievances had started before the medicine ape joined him. If anyone was a jinx, He Lingchuan himself was probably the biggest harbinger of calamity.
Thinking it over, Fixer Liu decided that made sense. Besides, who would go out of their way to target a pipsqueak like him?
"Then where are we heading now?"
"Take me to Jinghe Hall at the foot of Mount Bijia." He Lingchuan leaned back against the cushioned seat and yawned. "I want to visit the wounded."
The carriage rumbled along as He Lingchuan drew open the window curtain, marveling once more that Shihuan's bustling vitality was something Blackwater City could never match. The northern thoroughfare was shoulder-to-shoulder with people; Shihuan City's most vital livelihood lay at the northern docks, where goods traveling north and south had to be loaded and unloaded.
Only by marshaling the strength of the entire nation could Great Yuan sustain the opulence of its capital and companion capital.
Yet He Lingchuan was heading south in the opposite direction. After a few turns, the roads grew narrower and more uneven. Not only were there fewer people, but the buildings also lost their gleaming appearance, shrinking drastically in scale and layout, clustering tighter and tighter together.
He Lingchuan was reminded of his little shack in the Panlong dreamscape.
So humble single-story houses all over the world were much the same.
Soon, the carriage passed a tavern whose storefront had long faded. On its swaying signboard were two large, bold inky characters: Citron.
Maotao seemed to have mentioned that yesterday he and the brothers of the Auxiliary Army had drunk here at the Citron Tavern, where the wine was cheap, served in generous bowls, and not watered down. The pork head meat served with the drink was also plucked thoroughly clean of bristle.
After another hundred-odd zhang, the road ahead suddenly grew congested, bringing the carriage nearly to a halt.
He Lingchuan poked his head out and found a crowd encircling a single-story house three layers deep, packed tightly at the doorway and talking all at once.
Bodies covered with white cloth were being carried out of the house.
Two dead people.
The cloth wasn't wrapped tightly. A gust of wind blew past, lifting a corner of the sheet to reveal a woman's face.
Around twenty-four or five, neither fat nor plain, with a deep slash across her throat.
A fatal throat-slitting—clean and precise work. He Lingchuan deduced the murder weapon was a short blade or dagger. The killer had likely stood behind her, one hand clamping her mouth shut while the other drew the blade, drawing no notice from the neighbors.
With the door wide open, he glanced inside. Weeds sprouted from cracks in the floor, junk was piled high in the corners, and one leg of a square table was broken, propped up with half of a tattered book.
This household was dirt poor—so poor that even with the corpses carried out, onlookers poking inside could steal away nothing more than a few chipped ceramic dishes and pottery bowls.
He Lingchuan also noticed several middle-aged women quietly spitting toward the base of the wall.
Fixer Liu leaned in to take a look as well, remarking in surprise, "Isn't this Yao Erniang's place? It was just the couple living here, and now both have been carried out." He clicked his tongue. "I heard the authorities began hunting down fugitives before dawn, and quite a few civilians were hurt."
He Lingchuan pointed toward the crowd. "Then why did I hear people pointing and muttering, 'Sure enough, those two were bound to meet trouble sooner or later'?"
"That's because of their trade. Yao Erniang's husband went off to fight on the front lines and came back missing an arm, his temperament completely warped. He could neither read nor sell hard labor, and once he squandered what little compensation money he got, he forced his wife into the flesh trade, running business right in their home."
He Lingchuan understood. "An unlicensed brothel, then."
"Running that kind of trade while unwilling to pay kickbacks will always cross someone. Besides, Yao Erniang's husband often brawled with clients; the neighbors heard it many times."
Hearing this, He Lingchuan said nothing more. It was none of his business to begin with.
It was none of anyone's business.
Two insignificant commoners, two worthless lives akin to wild dogs. Even an eerie, violent demise would stir up few ripples; in seven or eight days, everyone would forget it completely.
...
Ever since the King stopped coming to Luming Garden to hunt, houses and marketplaces at the foot of Mount Bijia had steadily multiplied.
With more people came clinics and apothecary shops.
Jinghe Hall was a clinic chain operated by the Fu family. Though the one beneath Mount Bijia was merely a branch, a renowned physician was holding consultations in the front hall this month, drawing an endless stream of patients.
The rear hall was divided into a dispensary and patient wards, where those suffering severe illnesses or critical injuries could rest so the physicians could tend to them nearby.
After asking two people, Fixer Liu led He Lingchuan to their target—the commoner youth who had been rushed here last night by Ke Jihai's men for emergency treatment.
The youth was already awake. The dark taint between his brows had receded, leaving his complexion all the paler, his demeanor hollow and drained.
He sat on the bed, wrapped in a quilt, eating breakfast: a small jar of watery millet porridge, a small saucer of pickled melon rind, and half a steamed flatbread.
The flatbread must have been very hard, for after two bites, the youth hadn't managed to make a dent.
The ward was large, with quite a few patients, yet only a single brazier sat in the corner, offering noticeably meager warmth.
He recognized He Lingchuan as well. Setting down the flatbread, he did not attempt to get out of bed, simply cupping his hands. "Young Master He!"
"Go on and eat. How are your injuries?" He Lingchuan found the fellow rather intriguing; everyone else addressed him as "Eldest Young Master," yet this youth used the scholarly "Young Master."
The youth picked up the jar and slurped the porridge down noisily. "The doctor said I won't die."
"My mother is grateful that you shielded her and specifically instructed me to visit," He Lingchuan said, producing a sandalwood case, holding it out to him, and flipping it open. "A modest gift, hardly enough to express our thanks."
Neatly arranged inside the case were two luminous pearls the size of lychees, exceptionally round and flawless, alongside two slabs of premium mutton-fat white jade, lustrous, smooth, and gleaming like fine lard.
Anything Madam Ying gave to reward a lifesaver could hardly be shabby. These four treasures would fetch at least two hundred taels of silver on the market.
Even in Shihuan City, this sum was enough for a family of four to live comfortably for several years.
"It was merely a small effort. I, Sun, am ashamed to accept so much." The youth hadn't expected the He family's token of gratitude to be so lavish, unable to hide his astonishment for a moment. "How is Madam Ying?"
"She... was a bit shaken. She's still resting today."
"May I ask how things concluded last night?"
The youth had been struck by a poisoned arrow last night and passed out early, missing the finale.
At this moment, Fixer Liu stepped forward, set a full basket of fruit on the table, and took off the cover. He then left the clinic to attend to the other tasks He Lingchuan had assigned him.
Inside the basket were two large bundles of strawberries and one bundle of big red dates. In the dead of winter, fruit was more expensive than meat.
"Last night... well, it's a bit complicated," He Lingchuan rubbed his chin. "In short, both the werewolf and the ghost ape were brought under control, though the ghost ape was later rescued by its master, and we haven't found them yet."
"Were there casualties?"
"The injuries fell mostly on General Ke and me. One coachman took an arrow to the left eye and was beyond saving by the time he was brought here; your luck was better than his," He Lingchuan said. "My father has already sent a generous compensation to his family."
He truly was lucky to have survived. The youth let out a long sigh, and He Lingchuan noticed a touch of melancholy in his expression.
The youth then introduced himself: surnamed Sun, named Hongye. He had once been a study companion to the third young master of the He family of Fangtai, left the He household a few months ago, and was now working as an accountant at a rice shop.
"The Fangtai He family?" Why did that sound so familiar?
"The family of the current Censor-in-Chief, Lord He Liwen. You met the third young master of the He family yesterday."
"Oh!" He Lingchuan remembered. "He Su?"
Sun Hongye nodded.
"Then why did you go to Luming Garden looking for General Ke?"
"I..." The youth pressed his lips into a tight line, looking somewhat embarrassed. After hesitating for a good while, he said, "I went to recommend myself to General Ke."
He Lingchuan grew even more curious. "What kind of position were you seeking?"
"An aide, a strategist!" Having spoken the words, Sun Hongye simply cast caution aside. "Rather than languish in Shihuan waiting to be slaughtered, I would rather serve a wise master and make a name for myself!"
Chapter 181