Back in Dunyu, he had even seen drunks clambering onto the drainage ditches to pee.
The downside of covered culverts was the enormous labor required to build them, but the Beijia Kingdom had plenty of burrowing demons, so it was hardly a troublesome feat here in Fufeng City.
What surprised him even more was that running water was piped straight into homes.
By hollowing out the interior nodes of bamboo poles and linking them into conduits, spring water drawn from Mount Baiyun north of the city could be piped directly into residences, sparing households the hassle of queuing up to haul or buy water.
Of course, those privileged enough to use Mount Baiyun's spring water were by no means ordinary folk.
Besides wholesaling, the Shimen caravan also conducted group-buying business, and at this time they were heading to the market to open shop. He Lingchuan knew their main goods were sandalwood and an aromatic balm called "Lover's Tears." The balm was an amber-like resin harvested from a fragrant tree unique to the Fu Kingdom. Blending it with just two other natural spices produced a deep, lingering fragrance. Crucially, the scent lasted an exceptionally long time, making it ideal for pomanders and scented pendants.
Leaving aside the market's bizarre variety of wares, there were also many demon-run shops and stalls.
Demons running storefronts was a rare sight elsewhere; when He Lingchuan encountered the monkeys of the Qianxin Sect performing street tricks in Shihuan City, he had thought it quite novel. But in the demon kingdom, this was entirely natural and expected.
He spotted a weasel demon hawking packets of pest repellent, claiming it could exterminate every mosquito, bug, mouse, and ant in a house in a single go, all while being completely harmless to humans. Yet a prominent, bolded warning note read:
Close all doors and windows tightly. Puncture packet and leave immediately.
The packaging bulged plumply, filled with gas inside a pig bladder.
Good grief. The moment He Lingchuan saw that familiar packaging, he knew exactly what was inside.
The marketplace also hosted a labor exchange, where the job seekers included numerous demons.
Bear demons and giant apes were common laborers, possessing several times the strength of humans when hauling heavy loads. Many merchant caravans hired them for short-term work. He Lingchuan even spotted two massive elephants among the crowd...
Many lesser demons were also waiting to be hired. For instance, He Lingchuan saw two cat demon couples who had brought their kittens along to look for work. Their specialties were catching mice, driving away snakes, and guarding courtyards, with a minimum contract of one year.
Hiring long-term or permanent laborers here required standard letters of employment issued by Fufeng City. The documents followed a uniform template detailing meals, job duties, working hours, and other terms, taking legal effect once stamped with a handprint—or a paw print.
He Lingchuan marveled at the sight, missing his medicine ape all the more.
On his way back, he noticed several shrines pasted with fresh crimson couplets. Stages were being erected outside their gates, all meant for performances celebrating the Jeweled Tree King's birthday.
He Lingchuan could not help but wonder: with so many stages putting on operas simultaneously when the time came, how many could the Jeweled Tree King actually watch?
The ancient roadside trees were hung with vibrant red cloth strips to court good fortune.
Finally, he set about his own urgent business, purchasing the ingredients to refine the God-Slaying Pill at a large pharmacy near the inn.
According to Grand Master Alchemist Helian Chen's recommendation, he could first process the supplementary ingredients into semi-finished components. Once he obtained the Emperor's Flowing Dew, a simple blending and finishing step would yield the pill, greatly boosting the chance of success.
Fewer final steps meant fewer unexpected mishaps.
He made no attempt to conceal his movements, striding openly into the pharmacy.
Less than half a day later, the list of medicinal ingredients he had selected was forwarded to the Grand Preceptor's Manor. Due to its bizarre contents, it was presented directly before Grand Preceptor Sha.
Taking a moment from his packed schedule to glance over it, Grand Preceptor Sha's brow furrowed.
"Why is there arsenic in here?"
This list shared only a few ingredients with the formula he had instructed Wu Jinsong to pass to He Lingchuan; everything else had been swapped out. Most absurdly, over thirty percent of the items were deadly toxins, with arsenic prominent among them.
Was this a formula for Emperor's Flowing Dew, or was he planning to poison everyone in the inn?
Moreover, He Lingchuan's shopping list was exceptionally long, even including—"He wants skunk glands too?"
What on earth was he playing at?
Grand Preceptor Sha naturally had his own alchemist on hand. The man took the list, looked it over, and chuckled. "This fellow is probably refining several kinds of medicine and bought all the ingredients together, wouldn't you say? Leaving everything else aside, skunk glands can never be ingested."
Grand Preceptor Sha glared at him. Did that even need to be stated?
"Furthermore, quite a few of these medicinal properties directly clash; they couldn't possibly be used in a single formula," the alchemist added. "If he isn't concocting multiple medicines at once, then he's using this list to throw us off."
Grand Preceptor Sha grunted in acknowledgment. "He's on his guard?" Had the He kid realized he was being observed in secret?
"Whatever he plans to compound, none of it matches the formula we gave him," the alchemist reminded him. "The formula you provided was the standard recipe for Emperor's Flowing Dew, correct? That at least requires earth spirals, bitter-eye lotus, and the like, none of which appear on this list."
Grand Preceptor Sha let out a soft exclamation of surprise. "He can formulate another one himself?"
Without absolute confidence, no sane person would tamper recklessly with a formula for Emperor's Flowing Dew—that would be courting death.
The alchemist spread his hands. "That, I cannot say."
Grand Preceptor Sha fell silent in thought before turning to Wu Jinsong. "Did you tell him there are no spots left to gather Emperor's Flowing Dew in the immediate outskirts?"
"Yes!"
Grand Preceptor Sha remarked, "This lad has no small ambition."
"Grand Preceptor?" Why say that?
"The territories around Fufeng City's outskirts have all been divvied up. If He Xiao only intended to stay in the city to catch the dew, he wouldn't need to go through all this trouble," Grand Preceptor Sha smiled. "Only if he intends to venture far afield would he make so many preparations."
Then they would wait and see.
With a mountain of daily affairs to handle, the Grand Preceptor soon put this minor matter out of his mind.
For the entire next day, He Lingchuan stayed behind closed doors at the inn, focusing on refining his supplementary ingredients and attending to odd chores.
Refining medicine was not his strong suit. Restricted to a small furnace bought from the pharmacy, he ruined four or five batches of raw materials before getting the hang of it and finally producing a semi-finished mixture to his satisfaction.
Fortunately, the refining process itself was not overly difficult; otherwise, he would have had to seek another way.
Second Master Shi claimed to know the area surrounding Fufeng City like the back of his hand. He Lingchuan chatted with him for about an hour, mentioning that he would soon head out of the city to explore and would return in three days.
Fufeng City was an essential stop for any caravan. The Shimen Merchant Guild had originally planned to unload, sell, and settle accounts here, requiring an extended stay. Fufeng City produced many specialties needed by the Fu Kingdom, but since the Shimen caravan had to press northwest, they were not buying spot goods for now. Instead, they placed advance orders for suppliers to prepare the stock, intending to settle the balance and haul the goods back on their return trip from Lingxu City, much like futures trading.
Now, with the Jeweled Tree King's birthday approaching, Second Master Shi was so busy his feet barely touched the ground. How could he spare the time to care where He Lingchuan went?
Before long, he received wonderful news:
A major trade deal originally handled by the Gan Merchant Guild had been reassigned to the Shimen Merchant Guild by the Grand Preceptor's Manor, in consideration of He Xiao's favor.
The size of the deal itself hardly mattered, nor did the profit the brothers stood to make. What mattered was that the Shimen Merchant Guild had established a connection with the Grand Preceptor's Manor and earned their trust!
What an immense honor, what an incredible boon!
This was the career turning point the Shi brothers had yearned for all their lives.
His elder brother's judgment had indeed been spot-on—tying themselves to He Xiao brought immense benefits.
Ecstatic at the news, Second Master Shi went looking for He Lingchuan to share a drink, only for the young man to chuckle. "I'm busy." He did not even let him through the door.
Second Master Shi poked his head in and saw the room filled with women spanning almost every age bracket, leaving him utterly baffled about what He Lingchuan was plotting.
He Lingchuan kept busy until that afternoon before finally riding out of the city alone, heading steadily northeast.
According to the Grand Preceptor's Manor, the Emperor's Flowing Dew would appear tomorrow night at the earliest.
Fufeng City truly lived up to its name as the capital of the Jeweled Tree Kingdom. The surrounding towns and villages were bustling and prosperous, filled with farmlands, orchards, timberlands, and workshops, where the figures of demons and humans toiling side by side were everywhere. One could hardly find an empty spot.
He Lingchuan rode farther and farther out, observing his surroundings closely along the way.
Gradually, signs of human habitation dwindled, replaced by wild woods.
He attempted to steer his horse toward a small mountain. It looked like an unclaimed wilderness devoid of any human presence.
Yet before he even reached the foot of the hill, a rustle came from the trees, and several massive blackwater deer strode out to block his path, speaking in human tongue:
"By order of the Prime Minister: this ground is temporarily designated territory of the Black Horn Clan. No outsiders may approach for three days."
The huge deer looked down at him menacingly, poised to kick him senseless if things went awry.
He Lingchuan did not linger, wheeling his horse around and departing immediately.
Next, he tested several other locations, but all were occupied—sometimes by demons, sometimes by humans. It seemed Wu Jinsong's information had been entirely accurate.
As a newcomer and an outsider, he naturally had no wish to clash with the local powers. Thus, He Lingchuan continued northeast, camping in the wilderness overnight and riding from dawn until past noon the next day.
At last, he arrived at his destination.
This spot lay more than two hundred li from Fufeng City, an open expanse by a lake.
In truth, he had already left Fufeng City's outskirts and the territories staked out by various factions the previous night. But to be safe, he had traveled an extra half-day, deliberately staying far from the official post roads.
This area was sparsely trodden, more than forty li from the nearest human settlement, with virtually no traces of human activity. As for whether demons prowled here, this was demon territory, so who could say for sure?
However, demon packs in the wilderness possessed limited influence, nothing like those in Fufeng City.
Of course, Zhu Erniang and the other great demons of the Demon Nest Swamp were an exception.
He Lingchuan had chosen this place deliberately. The shimmering body of water before him was named Three Hearts Lake, referring to its three separate surfaces—one large and two small—that normally connected with one another.
The largest lake spanned several hundred hectares, while the smallest covered only about four mu, a stark contrast.
Second Master Shi knew of this place because once, while rushing his trade caravan by night, he had drifted further and further off course and stumbled right into it. He had spent two whole days finding his way back to Fufeng City afterward, leaving him with a deep impression.
Standing beside the smallest lake, He Lingchuan looked around and silently praised the heavens for their help.
It had not rained here in a long time, causing the water level to drop drastically. The channel connecting it to the main lake was nearly blocked by mud and sand, forming a natural low weir.
Barring a deluge of torrential rain, fish from the main lake would not be swimming over.
As the saying went, deep waters harbor great fish, and profound pools breed flood dragons. What demon of any stature would care to dwell in a petty four-mu pool?
Moreover, a band of squelching mire ringed the small lake, sinking knee-deep with a single step, while the woods receded dozens of yards away.
No one would ever wish to catch the Emperor's Flowing Dew here.
Chapter 374