I Want Both the Money and His Life

And he had just chopped down a vast swath of lotus leaves... He desperately wanted to roar, "Stop! How dare a mere lotus demon lay hands on an officer!" Yet underwater, a man could not open his mouth. Trapped within the net, he could only let the demon cinch its hold ever tighter around his neck. Ordinarily, would he ever have deigned to look twice at such a puny water spirit? At this moment, however, it was a deadly nightmare holding his life in its hands. *** The moment the gold-armored bronze automaton stepped onto the shore, it froze in place. Seeing it stand motionless for several long moments, Jia Yu asked, "Lord Special Envoy?" Had the puppet malfunctioned from being submerged in water? He Lingchuan pressed a hand against his chest. The divine bone necklace was growing slightly warm again. Did that mean the treasure it coveted was still in the water? Was it not the Overlord Lotus? He Lingchuan let out a long sigh. Thinking back, the Overlord Lotus grew every year; with the divine bone’s lofty standards, how could it possibly fancy such a thing? What should he do now? Jump back into the Lotus Palace, or keep pressing on? After hesitating for two breaths, He Lingchuan spurred the gold-armored bronze automaton forward. Matters had their priorities. He needed to head back to Chaohu Pagoda first to see what was happening. If his guess was correct, something monumental should have taken place there. As for whatever treasure lay within the Lotus Palace, he could always retrieve it another time if the opportunity arose. The farther south he went, the hotter the divine bone necklace grew, clearly displeased with his choice. He Lingchuan ignored it entirely. The thing was far too willful. Giving it the cold shoulder once in a while was for the best. The lake’s shoreline was winding and long, and it took the automaton over two quarters of an hour of running to reach Baisha Shoal. To He Lingchuan's surprise, the spectators had not scattered in panic. Instead, they lingered at the rear, craning their necks toward the shoal while maintaining what they considered a safe distance. If anything, there were even more onlookers than usual. The Lotus Fragrance Festival was an annual event, and many had long grown bored of it. But an esteemed Inspector from Lingxu City being swallowed by a monster was an unprecedented, earth-shattering spectacle never before heard of since Baishaqu was founded, well worth seeing. Only by witnessing this could they have juicy gossip to savor over dinner and wine tonight. By contrast, the prominent, wealthy guests valued their lives far more, and most of them had already evacuated. By the time He Lingchuan arrived, very few people remained in the pavilion. Carriages belonging to dignitaries departed one after another, and the authorities had already cordoned off the entire shoal. Commander Lu was leading troops to maintain order at the scene. Jia Yu leaped down to the ground to find his superior and report what had happened. He Lingchuan glanced around and found no trace of Cen Boqing. Instead, the County Magistrate of Baishaqu stood by the edge of the beach, looking utterly crestfallen. "Magistrate Tian, what happened?" As He Lingchuan approached, Magistrate Tian shuddered, as though grasping a pillar of support. "A monster surged up from beneath the earth, and Lord Zhongsun was... was swallowed whole!" He Lingchuan feigned great shock. "What monster?" "The one you mentioned before, the monster that looks like both a snail and a toad!" Magistrate Tian smiled bitterly. "It even carried a hard shell like a house on its back. After ambushing Lord Zhongsun, it immediately burrowed into the sand and vanished without a trace! Now... sigh, now I have no idea what to do!" In his despair, he had even stopped referring to himself deferentially. "So that snail-toad came to seek vengeance against Lord Zhongsun." With a single sentence, He Lingchuan established the nature of the sudden incident. "I told you long ago, this case wasn't so simple." He patted Magistrate Tian on the back. "What's done is done; panicking won't help. We must pursue this vigorously and strive to rescue Lord Zhongsun, giving Lingxu City a proper account." "R-Rescue Lord Zhongsun?" Magistrate Tian seized upon the words like a drowning man clutching a straw. "Is he still alive?" "That depends on the intent of the snail-toad's controller, Mai Xuewen. If he believes Lord Zhongsun is still useful, then this is an abduction." Magistrate Tian knew nothing of the snail-toad compared to him. Hearing this, hope rekindled in his heart. Taking a deep breath, he said, "I see! I'll go issue a bounty at once." Baishaqu had already posted bounties for Mai Xuewen; Magistrate Tian now intended to raise its priority. Just as he turned to leave, He Lingchuan grabbed him by the sleeve. "Magistrate Tian, what about the wager between Lord Zhongsun and me?" "The... the wager?" Magistrate Tian's mind had drifted far away. Startled by the question, it took him a moment to recall that the two men had placed a bet, and that he had been the witness. "Oh, right... you won." "Then may I go collect the winnings?" He held up the Overlord Lotus in his hand. Zhongsun Mou's life, he wanted it. Zhongsun Mou's money, he wanted that too! Neither life nor coin was slipping through his fingers. How could Magistrate Tian care about the Lotus Fragrance Festival now? He gestured vaguely toward the tall pagoda and offered a wry smile. "Congratulations, my Lord." He Lingchuan immediately bolted toward the pagoda. Presenting the Overlord Lotus, he retrieved his three profound crystals, then snatched up Zhongsun Mou's fifty thousand taels in banknotes and carefully counted them twice. Mhm, the amount was exact. The thick stack of banknotes carried the rich scent of wealth. Considering where it had come from, He Lingchuan found the scent even sweeter. With fifty thousand taels tucked into his pocket, he immediately felt his purse grow considerably heavier. Now he had a tidy sum of savings again, and his cultivation elixir needs were covered by the Hundred Virtues Pills. Mhm, it was time to scout some investment ventures to ensure a steady stream of liquid coin in the future. Amid such chaotic turmoil, he was probably the only person who could still ponder such things. Just as He Lingchuan emerged from the pagoda, the great tiger sprinted over from the distance. Spotting him, it exclaimed in delighted surprise, "You won! You actually made it back alive!" Its eyes did not fail to catch the Overlord Lotus in He Lingchuan's hand. The festival's grand prize was right here, He Lingchuan appeared lively and vigorous, and Fan Sheng was nowhere to be seen. Such an outcome completely exceeded its expectations. It had originally thought that He Lingchuan would be lucky just to escape with his life. "Where's Fan Sheng?" The tiger's head swung left and right. "Did he fail to show up, or could he not beat you? Wait, you're hurt." Though He Lingchuan had returned, his face and hands were covered in wounds. They looked like... bite marks? More specifically, tiny, sharp tooth impressions. There was also a wound at his waist that looked even more severe. "He ambushed me, so I dunked him in the water." He Lingchuan scratched his head. Fan Sheng possessed profound cultivation; soaking in the lake for half an hour shouldn't drown him. "While you were in the Lotus Palace, Zhongsun Mou was swallowed by the snail-toad." Jiao Yu's eyes were full of doubt. "Did you...?" It recalled Mai Xuewen, who had come knocking on their door the previous day. He Lingchuan met its gaze with a smile. "Did I what?" "Nothing." Having served as an official for many years, Jiao Yu had acquired plenty of shrewdness despite being a demon. In a moment like this, it understood that things that shouldn't be said must never leave one's mouth. Besides, it lacked the slightest shred of proof, so why meddle blindly? "After Zhongsun Mou was taken, Cen Boqing looked awful and left immediately. I tailed him all the way to the Cen residence before heading back. I'm worried—" Jiao Yu paused. "I'm worried he might try to flee back to Lingxu City. I had Commander Lu station men to watch both the front and back gates of his estate." Baishaqu lay within Chiyan territory. Once Cen Boqing returned to Lingxu City, he would hold the home advantage, and it would become far more than a notch harder for Chiyan officials to investigate him. He Lingchuan nodded, blew a whistle toward the sky, and waved his hand. Soon, a goshawk swooped down from above, landing on a nearby branch. "Deliver a verbal message, as fast as possible!" He whispered a few words into the hawk's ear. "You know who to find." The goshawk nodded, spread its wings, and flew eastward, vanishing into the horizon a moment later. By this time, the teams participating in the contest were rowing back one after another. He Lingchuan swept his gaze across them and found no sign of Fan Sheng, feeling amused. Suddenly, a resounding boom thundered from the northwest. Everyone turned their heads, unsure of what had transpired. Wasn't that the direction of the Lotus Palace? The lotus-gathering contest was already over, so what kind of trouble could possibly happen in the maze now? In all the past years of the Lotus Fragrance Festival, when had things ever failed to go smoothly? How could so many bizarre events be happening all at once? Magistrate Tian’s nerves were stretched taut. The moment he heard the explosion, he immediately dispatched men to investigate. Could it be related to the snail-toad? A short while later, he suddenly came to his senses and realized a heavyweight figure was missing from the scene: Fan Sheng. This Vice Commander possessed tremendous martial prowess and held a high rank. The magistrate had intended to consult him regarding rescue measures, only to find that Lord Fan was gone as well! Magistrate Tian hastily asked He Lingchuan, and upon hearing the answer, turned pale with fright. He immediately sent people into the maze to rescue Fan Sheng. In the blink of an eye, more than a quarter of an hour passed. Just as Magistrate Tian was beginning to wonder if Fan Sheng had perished as well, a lone boat finally drifted into view. Aside from the boatman, the man sitting in the back with a thunderous scowl was none other than Fan Sheng. He was dripping wet from head to toe, his hands and face covered in wounds just like He Lingchuan's, having clearly received an equally warm reception from the piranhas. Magistrate Tian rushed forward to fuss over him with anxious inquiries before asking, "Why was there an explosion in the Lotus Palace?" "The Water Spirit of Baishaqu has revolted!" Fan Sheng spat a mouthful of saliva onto the ground. "It actually tried to strangle me to death!" How utterly humiliating. That the lotus demon hadn't managed to strangle him after so long was ironically thanks to He Lingchuan's net... The netting was extraordinarily resilient, pulling taut around his throat so that no matter how hard the lotus stems constricted, they couldn't directly crush Fan Sheng's neck. Otherwise, he might well have capsized in a ditch. Magistrate Tian was horrified. Walking over, He Lingchuan remarked, "Who told you to chop down the lotus walls? You even cleaved half the Overlord Lotus away. The Water Spirit is a lotus demon, and that place is its lair. It would be stranger if it didn't teach you a lesson. So... what was the explosion about?" Seeing Fan Sheng looking so wretched and having suffered plenty, he felt completely at ease. "I had a few self-defense measures left, so I gifted one to it." Fan Sheng gave him a chilly glare. Seeing He Lingchuan's nonchalant demeanor made his back teeth itch with rage. "Consider yourself lucky. That was originally meant for you." Now that He Lingchuan was back in broad daylight surrounded by the public, Fan Sheng could no longer make a move. Once a chance slipped by, it was gone. He Lingchuan raised an eyebrow, only now noticing that Fan Sheng's back was a mangled mess of bloody flesh. He had known it: how could this fellow not possess a trump card? Fortunately, he hadn't forced him into a mutual destruction. What he did not know was that this measure had been given to Fan Sheng by his elder brother. It was a single-use treasure that carried a heavy cost. Who would have guessed it would end up being spent on a petty lotus demon? It was truly like using white marble to weigh down a pickle jar, and Fan Sheng’s heart bled with regret. "What about the lotus demon?" Fan Sheng said coldly, "Probably dead." Magistrate Tian let out a long, anguished gasp. If the lotus demon that served as the Water Spirit was dead, how was Baishaqu supposed to host its signature Lotus Fragrance Festival in the future? A tradition of so many years had been ruined in a single day. Moreover, without the lotus demon's aid, how could Baishaqu's aquatic bounty ever thrive as it once had? A wave of bitter sorrow washed over Magistrate Tian's heart. He Lingchuan stroked his chin and clicked his tongue twice. "What on earth did it do to you to force you to unleash such a devastating move?" Even when Fan Sheng lost to him, he hadn't used his final killing technique, yet a mere lotus demon had managed to draw it out... It seemed the lotus demon's methods were truly more ruthless. He Lingchuan was genuinely curious.