This private room was clearly innocent. The three men left as soon as they finished their search, ignoring He Lingchuan, a living, breathing person, as if he were nothing. The owl followed them out.
He Lingchuan didn't take offense and simply leaned against the doorway to watch the spectacle.
The men searched room by room, throwing the place into complete chaos.
Because they were interfering with legitimate business, the bathhouse's enforcers quickly arrived.
Words quickly failed, and the two sides came to blows.
Pandemonium broke out.
He Lingchuan suddenly pulled the door half shut, crossed his arms, and looked into the room.
"Come on out."
No one made a sound.
He continued speaking to the empty air: "If you don't come out, I'll call those fellows back."
Only then did a figure step out from behind the folding screen, leaning against the wall and asking, "How did you know someone came in?"
Of course, He Lingchuan wasn't about to tell him that an eyeball spider had come out for some fresh air and happened to be perched on a beam, taking in the entire scene.
"Why are you in such a sorry state?"
Indeed, he recognized the man who had hopped in through the window—none other than Fu Shanyue, whom he had fought just days ago!
Only now, the fellow was covered in blood, his left arm twisted at a bizarre angle, devoid of any of his former dashing vigor.
Fu Shanyue moved sluggishly over to a chair and caught his breath, visibly exhausted. "Revenge isn't easy."
"Did you kill the mastermind behind it all?"
"Not yet, but soon," Fu Shanyue told him. "Shut the door."
He Lingchuan didn't budge. "Why should I help you?"
"They silence anyone seen with me," Fu Shanyue said in a low, somber voice. "Over the past three days, they've already killed two restaurant waiters, a woman, and a mother and daughter who shared a carriage with me. I suspect their orders are to kill anyone who appears beside me, without exception."
"Killing you might be a bit more troublesome, but don't you have a caravan?"
He Lingchuan frowned. "If I turn you in, they'd still kill me?"
Fu Shanyue flashed him a bloodstained grin. "You're welcome to try."
Downstairs, the outcome had already been decided: the bathhouse bouncers were no match for these men.
After searching every private room, they headed outside, seemingly making for the Red Pavilion Quarter across the way.
Pulling a stunt like this was dangerous; sooner or later, it would provoke the local powers.
He Lingchuan didn't call after them. Instead, he reached behind himself and shut the door.
Not that he particularly cared to help Fu Shanyue, but the gang downstairs was simply too arrogant and domineering.
"Your injuries look rather bad. Will ordinary medicine work?" Even by He Lingchuan's standards, Fu Shanyue's wounds were severe. Some looked inconspicuous, but one glance showed they were caused by an explosion.
Explosions generally damaged internal organs.
"Or do you heal faster by eating people?"
This fellow was a ba, after all; he likely had a unique diet and way of healing.
"Medicine works too; I count as human, in a sense. As for eating people, mortals have too many impurities—I'd have to eat at least three to five." Fu Shanyue looked at He Lingchuan and subconsciously licked his lips. This one looked intensely nourishing, but right now he couldn't survive the counterattack.
He lifted his broken arm. "Give me a hand?"
He Lingchuan ignored his drooling gaze, walked over, grabbed his forearm, and pressed down. "Huh? Part of it has already fused? When were you injured?"
"This morning."
This guy's self-healing was truly remarkable. "Pity it set crooked. I'll have to break it again and reset it. Bear with it."
"Could you maybe—AARGH!"
With a sharp snap, He Lingchuan snapped his arm again, then asked with an innocent look, "What did you say?"
Fu Shanyue exerted every ounce of strength to hold back a scream, his face turning paper-white from the agony. He couldn't even form a full sentence: "Numb..."
"Anesthetic?" He Lingchuan said regretfully. "You should have said so earlier, and I would have numbed it first." With that, his hands moved deftly to set the bone.
The splint was made from pieces stripped off the folding screen.
Fu Shanyue took a long, deep breath. Knowing He Lingchuan had seized the chance to get back at him and give him grief, he had no choice but to swallow his bitter grievances. "Do you have medicine? I'll take it."
He Lingchuan produced several wound medicines, covering both oral remedies and topical balms.
These were all top-grade spiritual medicines that Lingguang had made for him in the past; every time he used them, he remembered the monkey.
"These are very expensive. Use them sparingly." He couldn't brew such fine medicine himself.
"Stingy." This kid was remarkably skilled, so why was he so penny-pinching? Fu Shanyue gritted his teeth. "I'll repay you tenfold later."
"Why later? Pay now." He Lingchuan held out his hand. "I'll give you a twenty-percent friend discount—thirty taels of silver!"
"I don't have it now!" Fu Shanyue said through gritted teeth. "Didn't I give you all the money on me?"
Silver and land deeds alike—he hadn't been left with a single coin! A few days ago, when he went to get a wood carving made, he had even pawned off his black jade ring.
"You're an esteemed prince. How did you end up this broke?" He Lingchuan kept a nastier remark to himself:
Didn't your daddy give you any?
"I don't usually carry money on me," Fu Shanyue shot him a glare. "Besides, activating the mountain-moving array in Fufeng City a few days ago burned up my most valuable profound crystals. For that, I have you to thank!"
Back in Fufeng City, the two of them had agreed to make peace, only for this bastard to turn right around and report him. When the authorities raided the inn, he had to spend both life and coin to escape intact.
Heh, how does this He fellow have the face to demand money from me?
"You're welcome. We'll put it on credit for now, but remember you owe me tenfold." He Lingchuan stood up and stretched. "I'm going to order food. What do you want?"
"Whatever you're having is fine."
He Lingchuan stepped out the door and ordered meals from a waiter, asking casually, "Someone barged in while I was bathing. Is that just going to be brushed off?"
The aftermath of those men searching the Golden Spring Elegant Baths had just begun to settle, and the patrons were all cursing up a storm. He Lingchuan's tone was comparatively the friendliest, and he had ordered a lavish meal, so the waiter hurried to plaster on an ingratiating smile. "How about we halve your bath fee and throw in two pastries on the house?"
"Deal. And those fellows...?"
"Rest assured, sir. Someone will settle scores with them."
Before long, two massive bowls of shredded chicken noodle soup, six steamer baskets of pan-fried buns, and two refreshing side dishes were delivered. True to his word, the waiter also brought a complimentary plate of mung bean pastries and a serving of drunken pears.
The chicken broth was savory and rich, the noodles springy and chewy, and the filling of the pan-fried buns featured sand leeks in particular. This was prime season for sand leeks—pungent, tender, crisp, with a subtle sweetness. Once He Lingchuan started eating, he couldn't stop. He devoured six in a row, then took a hearty bite of drunken pear before letting out a long, satisfied breath:
"Glorious!"
Drunken pears were pear slices steeped in sweet liquor, brown sugar, and plums—perfect for cutting through grease.
Fu Shanyue had already changed into clean clothes and was currently digging into his noodles with bamboo chopsticks, eating with just as little decorum.
Rushing about for two or three days, he hadn't had a proper meal.
"So tell me, who's chasing you?"
"Uncle Da, the chief of my royal father's shadow guards," Fu Shanyue said. "I didn't expect Father to assign him to my second brother, along with an escort of seven or eight guards."
He Lingchuan swiftly caught onto the thread: "Is the mastermind scheming against you your royal father, or your second brother?"
"Perhaps both, but the one actually making moves is my second brother, so I didn't hold back against him either."
It seemed that a few days ago, he had gone to settle scores with his younger brother. "He isn't dead?"
"Not yet." Fu Shanyue gave a dry chuckle. "Just as I was about to finish him off at my leisure, Uncle Da arrived. Still, over the past few days, I managed to kill several of their guards."
So this fellow had actually been hunting and being hunted in turn? "What about your men?"
"All dead. Uncle Da isn't easy to deal with. But Fu Shanji was also stung twice by my woodification poison just now." The price had been the wretched state he was in now. "He shouldn't live to see tomorrow morning."
No wonder he seemed so unburdened; he had swept away the biggest obstacle to his succession.
"Why did you two brothers turn on each other in the first place?"
"Father favors my brother, but the gods favor me." Fu Shanyue shrugged. "Brothers are practically natural-born enemies, aren't they? Oh, do you have any brothers?"
Instead of answering, He Lingchuan asked, "The gods favor you?"
"That's right. An heir favored by the gods has far better odds of ascending the throne," Fu Shanyue smiled. "You're an outsider, so you wouldn't know—that's an ironclad rule in the demon kingdoms."
"So a demon king doesn't even have autonomy over his own successor?"
"You can't put it that simply, of course. But matters like this are too complicated to sum up in a few words." Fu Shanyue slurped his noodles. "Are you heading to Lingxu City?"
He Lingchuan nodded.
"Once we cross the Twilight Plains and head farther north, that's the Chiyan Kingdom. Give me a ride, won't you?"
"I'm afraid of getting dragged down with you." If the Ruler of Chiyan wanted someone dead and that person was in this caravan, would they be crossing the local hegemon?
"You won't be. They only dare to strike outside the country," Fu Shanyue said with supreme confidence. "I am the eldest son, and I have supporters both within the nation and at the royal court. They would never dare move against me in broad daylight."
"Why does your father care so much about who inherits the throne?" Great demons possessed immense lifespans far exceeding those of human monarchs; crown princes were often mere figureheads, and some kings didn't bother establishing heirs at all to avoid complications, like the Jeweled Tree King. Yet the Ruler of Chiyan was already contemplating who would succeed him. Which meant... "Could his lifespan be nearing its end?"
Fu Shanyue chuckled twice. "That cannot be spoken."
Cannot be spoken, but not denied either.
Fu Shanyue added, "My ascension may not be a sure thing, but I have at least a seventy to eighty percent chance. If you're a merchant with any foresight, you'll know this is a worthwhile investment."
He Lingchuan laughed. "I'll have to discuss it with Second Master Shi. This caravan is his, and he's the one responsible for dozens of lives."
Fu Shanyue shrugged, voicing no objection.
Given how poor the soundproofing was and how well light passed through, He Lingchuan had already shut the doors and windows, and the two kept their voices low. Just then, faint footsteps approached from outside. Then came a quiet tap-tap-tap on the window—three soft knocks, one long and two short.
He Lingchuan had just put down his chopsticks when Fu Shanyue said, "It's fine. Open it."
As soon as the window opened, a small head peeked in.
It was a little girl of six or seven with slightly dark skin, large eyes, filthy hair, and equally filthy clothes, thin as a skeleton. He Lingchuan didn't have time to observe anything else, because her mouth was simply too startling:
Her upper and lower lips were actually sewn together with sewing thread, like a ragdoll subjected to a cruel prank.
Ten crude, ugly stitches held them shut, sprawling across her lips like a centipede. The bloodstains had already blackened; this had happened at least three days ago.
With her mouth sewn shut, eating was naturally out of the question, and even drinking water had to be excruciatingly difficult. Consequently, her lips were cracked and bleeding, and she looked severely dehydrated.
Chapter 411