"What about it?" Fu Shanyue naturally remembered.
"You said you saw it in your father's study," He Lingchuan said. "My final condition is that you find those records and bring them to me. And if other books have anything relevant, I want all of those as well!"
Ever since that night, he had been unable to stop thinking about the secret behind the black flood dragon emblem, wanting to get to the bottom of it. But sneaking into the royal study of the Ruler of Chiyan carried far too much risk; it was far better to let the crown prince of Chiyan take the chance instead.
Besides, with an ocean of books in there, heaven only knew which obscure corner held the ones he needed.
"Hey? What do you want those books for..." Fu Shanyue's gaze flicked to the hilt at He Lingchuan's waist, and sudden realization dawned on him. "Do you think the royal study, a restricted sanctuary, is that easy to walk into?"
"For you right now, it should be child's play, shouldn't it?"
Fu Shanyue was reluctant, but after thinking it over, he had no choice but to agree.
After all, it was just spending some time, and he had plenty of that.
So the three profound crystals served as a deposit, with the rest to be collected once He Lingchuan finished the job.
That is to say, once the task was done, Fu Shanyue would have to give He Lingchuan three rare materials as well as the texts regarding the black flood dragon emblem.
Even with Fu Shanyue's noble status, it still stung a bit.
Yet this was the very first task his royal father had assigned him after he killed Fu Shanji. He had to complete it; otherwise, his competence would surely be called into question.
He Lingchuan was right—if this were an easy job, his furious old man wouldn't have handed it to him.
He Lingchuan swept up the profound crystals, stowed them away, and then smiled. "Why haven't you found someone else? Don't tell me the grand crown prince has no men at his disposal."
From the Demon Nest Swamp until now, he had only spent money with virtually nothing coming in. He was flat broke, his pockets practically rattling.
Naturally, what he lacked even more was profound crystals—treasures that money couldn't buy. They had countless uses, the most fundamental being:
His gold-armored bronze automaton could finally be powered up.
Although he could have borrowed money from Li Qingge, looking at the way the woman smiled at him, he didn't doubt for a second that if she showed her ruthless side, she would skin him, strip his bones, and swallow him whole.
And so, he loved a deep-pocketed, blunt employer like Fu Shanyue!
Fu Shanyue hesitated before saying, "My own men are already deployed. As for the ones who just defected to my side, I don't trust them.
"Truth be told, the disappearance of this messenger caused critical opportunities to be lost on the eastern front. The fallout hasn't been cleared up to this day, and word is the Emperor has flown into a furious rage twice now. Because of that, this matter must be investigated thoroughly—there's no brushing it under the rug."
"And where did this messenger disappear?"
"Unclear."
"..."
"This eastern imperial eagle also has a tuft of white feathers on its chest," Fu Shanyue said, also finding it troublesome. "The last place anyone saw it was Tai'an City to the north. As it happens, you'll be passing through there on your way north anyway.
"You might run into some obstacles as well." He sighed. "Please make sure to... get to the absolute bottom of it! Those words were my royal father's exact order."
"Obstacles?" He Lingchuan caught the implication. "Such as?"
"The flight path of the eastern imperial eagle was top secret; very few people knew it... at the time, even I didn't." Since He Lingchuan had already agreed and Fu Shanyue knew he kept his word, Fu Shanyue no longer hid anything. "I'd like to hope it was an accidental casualty, but if not, the traitor is very likely in Lingxu City. In that case, if I used officials from Chiyan to investigate, their hands would inevitably be tied."
Lingxu City loomed over all the vassal demon kingdoms. Who didn't know that the powerful elites of Lingxu City were not to be crossed?
The subordinate must not challenge the superior—that was a universal truth.
"But you're different! You can investigate boldly and without reservation—whatever consequences follow, I'll shoulder them."
He Lingchuan rolled his eyes at him.
No wonder this rascal insisted on having him serve as the special envoy. He had set his sights on He Lingchuan precisely because he was an outsider with no vested interests in the Beijia Kingdom.
"And what if you can't shoulder them either?"
Fu Shanyue burst into laughter. "If I can't shoulder them, it means the Chiyan Kingdom can't shoulder them, and Lingxu City will have to think very carefully about that."
He Lingchuan said at an unhurried pace, "I'm just worried that when you can't hold up under the pressure, you'll sever the tail to save the head—and I'll be the tail."
"Don't worry." Fu Shanyue reined in his laughter and said solemnly, "As long as I'm fine, you'll be fine. No matter who tries to obstruct you, just invoke the name of the Ruler of Chiyan. As for the rest of the pressure—" He thumped his chest. "I'll bear it!"
He Lingchuan smiled without humor. "You really just want to make a big splash, don't you?"
Fu Shanyue slung an arm over his shoulders. "Brother, you get me!"
He Lingchuan sighed. "I really shouldn't have waded into this muddy water."
Could he not see it by now? There was clearly friction between the Chiyan Kingdom and Lingxu City. As a vassal demon kingdom, Chiyan wanted to seize a pretext to stick a thorn in Lingxu City's eye and register its dissatisfaction.
Between superior and subordinate, sovereign and subject, there was always a delicate balance.
"If I'm to conduct an investigation, I need authority." He Lingchuan held out his hand. Having asked for money, he now wanted power.
Fu Shanyue had anticipated this and handed over a blood-red medallion. "This is a special envoy medallion made with my blood, responsive to origin power. Whenever you run into officials along the way, high or low, you can present this as if I were there in person. If necessary, you can even mobilize a few troop detachments, though numbers are limited. Mobilizing a full army requires a marshal talisman."
He Lingchuan was not a Chiyan native and held no official post here, so he could not wear an official plaque from the kingdom; hence, Fu Shanyue opted for this compromise.
"And I'll give you a guard." Fu Shanyue pushed open the window and snapped his fingers. A tiger's head poked up outside the window, eyes wide as brass bells, glaring at He Lingchuan.
"This isn't Uncle Da, is it?" He Lingchuan recalled that Uncle Da had been injured by him; moreover, the tiger before him had darker fur, a larger build, and bulging tufts of white whiskers on its jowls.
"Nope, this is Uncle Da's son, Jiao Yu." Fu Shanyue snapped his fingers at the tiger demon. "This is He Xiao—your old man lost to him!"
"..." Isn't this just fanning the flames?
To his surprise, the tiger Jiao Yu stared fixedly at He Lingchuan for a few moments, then leaped through the window and came to a halt, showing neither resentment nor anger.
"The Baishan clan respects the strong; there's no need to worry. With him around, you can act at your discretion anywhere within our borders," Fu Shanyue continued. "I can also let you see the materials Fu Shanji gathered. Any other requests?"
He Lingchuan pondered for a moment. "Do you have any avian demons?"
He had wanted an avian demon for a long time.
...
After Fu Shanyue left, He Lingchuan instructed the inn attendant to buy twenty jin of fresh beef. "Boneless, preferably flank."
This was dinner for his new subordinate, Jiao Yu.
Of course, Jiao Yu received a stipend and would pay for it himself.
The fresh meat brought back was still dripping with blood, and the tiger tore into it heartily.
While He Lingchuan watched the tiger eat, the door to the adjoining room opened, and Li Qingge stepped out.
"Young Master Fu Shan has gone back?" Leaning against the doorframe, she also watched the tiger feast. "You didn't get yourself into any trouble, did you?"
"Why do you ask?"
"He is already the crown prince. Anything he seeks you out privately to discuss is bound to be classified."
This woman was extraordinarily sharp. He Lingchuan glanced at her, and seeing her radiant smile, he chuckled and said, "An eastern imperial eagle messenger sent by Lingxu City vanished within Chiyan's borders. Fu Shanyue wants my help looking into it."
Li Qingge stiffened, her smile fading. "Involving Lingxu City? Don't you think you should give that some serious thought?"
"I've already taken the job." He Lingchuan spread his hands. "He offered far too much, and I'm short on cash. What else could I do?"
"If you were short on cash, why didn't you ask me?" Li Qingge cast him a sidelong glance, her gaze shimmering like water, stirring the depths of the heart.
Yet she knew He Lingchuan was only joking offhandedly.
"The eastern imperial eagle only transports confidential intelligence; this is no trivial matter," Li Qingge said solemnly. "Anything or anyone tied to Lingxu City must be handled with utmost caution. You're an outsider—why bother wading into this murky pool?"
If he were merely a drifting traveler, he naturally would steer clear of such a vortex. Nor could He Lingchuan tell her that when he heard Fu Shanyue's request, he had remembered General Red's words:
If a powerful enemy is destined to be unavoidable, then while it still pays you no heed, observe it and study it. The more you understand it, the stronger you yourself become.
His thoughts went one step further:
Join it!
He Lingchuan did not believe an empire that had lasted six hundred years could be free of deep-seated maladies.
Yet as a passerby merely skimming the surface, one would only ever see appearances.
Fu Shanyue's commission was precisely that opportunity. He Lingchuan needed to dive beneath the surface, using the privileges granted by Chiyan's royal authority as an amulet to test the turbulent undercurrents.
What was more, although his day-and-night cultivation had progressed rapidly, he had already begun to vaguely sense the presence of a bottleneck.
This was a hurdle every martial artist had to face.
What he practiced was "Wave Slash"; only by facing roaring waves and crashing tides would he find the chance to break through barriers and forge fiercely ahead. This did not just mean physical opponents, but even more importantly, the tempering of his state of mind.
He had to strike the water midstream and stem the flying currents.
"It's precisely because I'm an outsider that I have to seize this opportunity." He Lingchuan scratched his head with the casual indifference typical of youth. "Fortune favors the bold. If one wants to make a name for oneself, isn't Beijia the best place to do it?"
To work for royalty and climb into the ranks of the elite—how many young talents dreamed of such an opportunity?
Li Qingge gave him a searching look.
Given his age, the answer seemed beyond reproach. Hot-blooded youth—who among them didn't yearn to rise swiftly through the ranks? Besides, Young Master He had always had an impulsive, bold temperament.
Yet would the crown prince of Chiyan entrust such an important case to someone with that kind of temperament?
There were far too many contradictions in this young man.
"All right then, I wish you luck." Li Qingge's eyes flickered, and she asked seemingly in passing, "By the way, are you ever going back to the Yuan Kingdom?"
"Ah, it looks like I won't be heading back anytime soon."
"Do you want me to pass a message to your family?"
"Well..." He Lingchuan thought about it. "That would be wonderful. I'll have to trouble Your Lordship, then."
How could he possibly say "no" or "don't bother"?
This woman was truly something. Having just run into a soft rebuff from him, she immediately countered with another probe.
Li Qingge smiled. "A minor favor, nothing more."
He Lingchuan had a sudden thought and asked, "Right, what was Your Lordship going to Lingxu City for again? I drank too much last time and completely forgot."
"To find someone."
"Your Lordship truly has acquaintances all across the realm."
"This person... you might have met them as well."
He Lingchuan was thoroughly astonished. "Who?"
Chapter 440