Bargaining

Li Qingge shook her head. "Still, Mao Qijun was a capable man. With his death, the internal strife in the Shanyu Kingdom could no longer be contained, which is how things spiraled into the present situation." He Lingchuan chuckled. "And those old clan ministers are just waiting around to die? Wouldn't striking first be the better move?" "Fu Shanyue has had an entourage swarming around him lately and never steps out alone—why do you think that is?" Li Qingge poured herself a cup of tea. "He's no fool. Once he gets through this period, power will be firmly in his grasp. Besides, he must have backers in the royal court." When someone fell on hard times, someone else was bound to profit. "No wonder so many people are scrambling to fawn over Fu Shanyue right now. Afraid they'll miss their chance if they wait too long?" He Lingchuan remarked thoughtfully. "The Ruler of Chiyan is letting it happen, but he's probably displeased deep down." "So what if he's displeased? Unless he plans to abdicate the throne." Li Qingge shook her head. "Even if he were willing to do that, Lingxu City and the deities probably wouldn't allow it. What happens when you defy Lingxu City—you've already seen it firsthand when you passed the ruins of Thousand Stars City on your way here, haven't you?" "Vividly," He Lingchuan said. The ruins of Thousand Stars City, the Twilight Plains, and the existence of the base slaves were like a glaring scar, constantly reminding the people of Beijia: Lingxu City possessed supreme might, never to be challenged. ... The next day, Fu Shanyue surprisingly showed up at the inn again. Second Master Shi and the others were already packing their luggage in preparation to continue their journey. He Lingchuan asked in surprise, "What brings you here?" Fu Shanyue had been riding high in recent days, busy receiving and seeing off guests and basking in the flattery of officials high and low, seemingly forgetting all about He Lingchuan and the others. Second Master Shi had even begun to worry that his three thousand taels would never return to him, yet Fu Shanyue suddenly arrived right at this moment. "Your three thousand taels." Fu Shanyue handed Second Master Shi a stack of banknotes. "Plus another three hundred taels to help calm your nerves." After all, three thousand taels in physical silver ingots would weigh a great deal; nobody would lug that around. With his greatest worry resolved, Second Master Shi beamed from ear to ear. "The Crown Prince is truly magnanimous!" Fu Shanyue also greeted Li Qingge. The two chatted and laughed for a few moments, both seeming in high spirits. Listening from the side, He Lingchuan suddenly realized the two were surprisingly familiar with each other. Fu Shanyue even cracked a few jokes with Li Qingge and told a witty anecdote, prompting her to cover her mouth with a soft chuckle. With his stubborn and aloof disposition, he usually wouldn't be this warm toward strangers. Yet now, he was actually inviting Li Qingge to visit the Chiyan capital again in the future. The pair had only met a few days ago, introduced by He Lingchuan himself. Just how many days had passed? Yet Li Qingge had already negotiated a deal or two with Fu Shanyue, projects that could be implemented in the near future—including Songyang Mansion opening a shop in the capital, modernizing the weapons of the Western Court Guard, and so on. Indeed, just as Li Qingge had said, the Crown Prince of Chiyan was an important connection well worth the great effort to cultivate. Moreover, she hadn't forgotten He Lingchuan either, naturally weaving a few remarks to him so he wouldn't feel left out. For a beauty to navigate between two men with such ease, keeping both delighted—such social finesse was truly formidable. Once the casual chatter ended, Fu Shanyue turned to He Lingchuan. "My royal father sent me a message telling me to run an errand for him." Overhearing this, Li Qingge stepped closer and asked, "Has the ruler granted you an audience?" "No, he merely sent someone to deliver word." Li Qingge promptly congratulated him. "Since the ruler has assigned you a task, it means his wrath has mostly subsided." Otherwise, official business could simply be delegated to others—why use Fu Shanyue? Fu Shanyue smiled. "That's what I think too. But my current situation is delicate, and I have several matters to take care of and can't leave the capital right away, as you know—" He turned toward He Lingchuan. "So, I'd like to entrust this matter to you." Having said that, he stopped and glanced at the two people beside them. Li Qingge immediately said, "Oh, I haven't packed my rouge case yet." Second Master Shi blinked in surprise, then quickly caught on. "I need to head downstairs to fetch some wine." Both were very perceptive, slipping away with flimsy excuses delivered without a shred of sincerity. With only the two of them left in the room, Fu Shanyue gave a chuckle. "Around two months ago, Lingxu City dispatched a courier here, but it went missing halfway and hasn't been heard from since. Lingxu City naturally won't let it slide, so the old man can't let it slide either. Fu Shanji was originally tasked with investigating, but he's dead now, so it officially falls to me." "Not interested," He Lingchuan refused flat out. "Handle your own business. Where would I find the spare time?" "I'll pay you: two mid-grade profound crystals." Fu Shanyue was well prepared, turning his palm up to present two glittering objects. These profound crystals were pale yellow and multifaceted, each about the size of a walnut, though the coloring was slightly uneven; the base of one graduated into a deep green. He Lingchuan possessed profound crystals of his own and knew this was how they naturally appeared. Natural profound crystals condensed underground; their color and quality varied by chance, and looking too flawless would make them suspect. Profound crystals of different grades differed vastly in the energy they contained. The quality of these two exceeded anything He Lingchuan had seen before; who knew which sycophant had gifted them to Fu Shanyue. They were definitely worth a pretty penny. So once this fellow was back on his own turf, he could actually be generous? He Lingchuan glanced at them with disdain. "You think two profound crystals are enough to buy me?" "Consider it doing a big favor for a brother and for the Chiyan Kingdom." Fu Shanyue reached out and stacked another profound crystal on top. It was also pale yellow, but larger in size. He Lingchuan suddenly changed the subject. "What kind of demon was the courier?" "An eastern imperial eagle." He Lingchuan smirked. "To ask for such a huge favor and only offer three profound crystals—you really don't treat me as a brother." Not that being this bastard's brother brought any perks anyway; it tended to cost one's head. Fu Shanyue said in bewilderment, "It's just tracking down an avian demon, not asking you to turn the tide of a war. It's a shame I can't leave, or I'd go handle it myself." He Lingchuan remained unmoved. "Is that so? Then let me ask you: what was Lingxu City dispatching a courier for?" "To deliver a message, of course." "What message?" "Uh..." Fu Shanyue hesitated before saying, "Fine, two months have already passed, so there's no harm in telling you—it was military intelligence concerning the eastern front." "Then at the time, that military intelligence must have been critically important, right?" "...Yeah." "That's why an eastern imperial eagle was used to deliver it," He Lingchuan said. "Eastern imperial eagles are birds of prey capable of long-distance migration, but their numbers are few. It so happens I know Lingxu City's couriers are divided into several tiers. Things like blue pigeons, wild geese, and cranes can all serve as messengers, but the most critical intelligence is carried by raptors that possess both top speed and endurance." Even if other countries could tame avian demons for long-distance deliveries, they never used them as frequently as the northern demon kingdom—this place was the demons' stronghold, after all. That was why Lingxu City could indulge in the luxury of ranking its couriers into tiers. He had gleaned this information from reading leisure books in Panlong City's Wenxuan Pavilion. Evidently, Panlong City had conducted considerable research into the Beijia Kingdom. Fu Shanyue didn't dispute it, which was as good as tacit agreement. "This eastern imperial eagle suddenly vanishing must have disrupted things significantly, right?" "Of course." Far more than just disrupted! "Messages are never sent in isolation," He Lingchuan asked. "For military intelligence this crucial, why dispatch only a single avian courier?" If something happened to a courier along the way, just as in this case, the consequences would be dire. "Uh... maybe they were short on raptor couriers?" Fu Shanyue scratched his head. "By standard procedure, a message is indeed dispatched in duplicate. The duplicate was delivered by a wild goose, but it arrived several days late, causing the Chiyan army to march east too late and miss the prime window for an assault." "What if the intel carried by the eagle fell into outside hands?" Feeling thirsty, He Lingchuan went back inside to grab a bunch of grapes to snack on. "Worst of all, its disappearance likely suggests that someone has mapped out the patterns of Lingxu City's dispatch system—such as departure times for the raptors, flight routes, resting spots along the way, and so forth. If someone could intercept it once, they could intercept it countless times in the future. I imagine that's the real reason Lingxu City is so desperate to investigate." Worse than the leak of the intelligence itself was the compromise of the transmission method. "Yet Fu Shanji couldn't solve it before he died." He Lingchuan gave him a sidelong glance. "Even with his resources and connections, he couldn't crack it. Do you really think it'll be easy for me?" Fu Shanyue stared at him, struck dumb. He had merely brought up the request offhandedly—how on earth had this fellow deduced all that! Only after quite a while did he manage to ask, "How did you figure that out?" "It's simple, really." He Lingchuan chuckled. "Your royal father is still fuming. What good assignment could he possibly hand you right now?" One had to learn to grasp the primary contradiction. Fu Shanyue's eyes gleamed, and he clapped his hands. "Fine, fine! You're clever, you're capable—which makes you all the more irreplaceable for this task! How about this: double the profound crystals, plus two jin of white-distilled silver. Don't you have a gold-armored bronze automaton? Wouldn't you like to upgrade it?" White-distilled silver was indeed one of the essential materials needed to upgrade the automaton. Only now did He Lingchuan perk up slightly. "Just one ingredient is far too stingy. Cover the rest as well." Calculating the cost, Fu Shanyue felt a shiver run down his spine. "Your appetite is even bigger than mine!" Even real brothers kept clear accounts, let alone two people bound by nothing more than superficial camaraderie. After a bout of ruthless bargaining, it was finally settled: Fu Shanyue had to procure three materials, all of which were major bottlenecks for upgrading the automaton and rare commodities that money alone couldn't buy. Not to mention that He Lingchuan had no money right now anyway. If he had tried to gather them himself, merely tracking down the ingredients would have run his legs off, let alone purchasing them... In the Chiyan Kingdom, white-distilled silver was not for sale at all! It was considered critical strategic material. Production within the Chiyan Kingdom was minuscule, and whenever any was produced, it was claimed by the Demon King or the National Preceptor; none entered civilian circulation, and it was exceedingly rare even on the black market. For an outsider like He Lingchuan to obtain it here was harder than ascending to heaven. He even suspected the stuff wasn't easy to buy anywhere in Beijia. Merit Officer Liu of Panlong City had been entirely right: the full name of this art was truly Bankrupting Gold-Armored Bronze Automaton Technique. Of course, with Fu Shanyue's help, things were different. He Lingchuan held up a single finger. "I have one final condition." "That's enough!" Fu Shanyue already had a short temper, and his face dropped at once. "Don't push your luck!" "Don't worry, for you it's as easy as lifting a finger," He Lingchuan said with a smile. "Remember the flood dragon pattern we saw in the illusion of Thousand Stars City? The one painted outside the official residence."