"If they were posted locally as a county magistrate or commandery prefect, it would take far too long. A scion of an official family like Zhongsun Mou goes out under the title of Inspector to do a tour—overseeing the livelihood of the common folk while padding his credentials, killing two birds with one stone. Best of all, once the inspection tour ends, the title of Inspector is revoked."
He Lingchuan caught on immediately. "Gilding his credentials."
"That's an apt way to put it," Li Qingge said with a chuckle. "Even so, an Inspector still holds the right of direct memorial before the Emperor. A few years back in Zhuolu Commandery, I crossed paths with an Inspector from Lingxu City. He was treated with far grander fanfare than when the Chief Administrator of Xiazhou visits Xiazhou himself. Local officials along the route received him with the highest honors imaginable, fussing over his well-being more attentively than they ever did for their own parents. When the Inspector traveled, eight carriages cleared the way, and everywhere he passed was met with singing girls and dancing beauties."
He Lingchuan clicked his tongue. "All that just so the Inspector would put in a few good words for them before the Emperor?"
"No, you're mistaken." Li Qingge wagged two slender fingers. "It was so the Inspector would speak less ill of them before the Emperor."
He Lingchuan was left speechless.
"So in short, even in Lingxu City, Zhongsun Mou is just mediocre?"
"Not exceptionally great, not exceptionally awful—just middling," Li Qingge nodded. "Scions of official families like him are a dime a dozen in Lingxu City. True talents are always rare; even here, mediocre minds make up the vast majority."
"Good. Then I'd like to trouble Your Lordship to spread the word for me, focusing heavily on how Zhongsun Mou hit a brick wall at every turn against me and ended up thoroughly humiliated and helpless."
Li Qingge gave him a curious look. "Are you worried the water isn't muddy enough?"
He Lingchuan grinned. "Your Lordship understands me."
He had already come all the way to Lingxu City, so there was no point being timid. His current predicament was perilous anyway; he might as well go all out and stir up something massive.
Who knew? Perhaps detonating the situation would blast open a whole new path.
"Then you don't mind if the Minister of Agriculture and the Cen clan find out too?" Li Qingge's eyes shifted slightly. "They probably already know you helped the Chiyan Crown Prince capture Cen Boqing."
"The more who know, the better—and 'more' naturally includes the Minister of Agriculture and the Cen clan. Though strictly speaking, the one who captured Cen Boqing was the Duyun Emissary, which is another story altogether..." He Lingchuan rubbed his nose. "No matter. The news will reach their ears sooner or later anyway."
"A Duyun Emissary?" Li Qingge blurted out. "Don't tell me you provoked a Duyun Emissary as well!"
"I didn't."
Just as Li Qingge was about to breathe a sigh of relief, He Lingchuan added, "The Duyun Emissary provoked me."
"You..." She glared fiercely at him. "I need to seriously consider cutting ties with you."
"Don't do that!" He Lingchuan hurriedly cupped his hands. "Have mercy, my lady! I have no one else to rely on in Lingxu City. I'm counting entirely on your help!"
Li Qingge's delicate brows furrowed. "Duyun Emissaries are practically the earthly agents of the gods. Which one did you offend?"
"Bai Ziqi." He Lingchuan gave a slight cough. "I didn't offend him. In fact, I even helped him capture Cen Boqing. But the way he looks at me is always strange."
"Bai Ziqi?" Li Qingge's expression turned grave. "He is deeply favored by the gods and holds the Emperor's trust. What on earth did you do that caught his eye?"
"That's the whole problem—I didn't do anything!" He Lingchuan cried in grievance. "Yet he seems to be investigating another case, and he's treated both Fu Shanyue and me as suspects."
"Did you two actually commit a crime?"
"Of course not!" He Lingchuan said bitterly. "But you know how ruthless Lingxu City is. I'm afraid they won't care about right or wrong and will subject me to some torment first. Fu Shanyue has his status as a royal prince to shield him, but I'm in deep trouble. That's why—"
He rubbed his hands together. "The letter sent by the falcon—did you receive it?"
"I got it. You wanted to borrow something from me." Li Qingge retrieved a rectangular box from her robes and set it before him. "It's fortunate you sent word in advance. This item was stored at another branch; I had to travel over a hundred li back and forth to retrieve it."
He Lingchuan opened the box, took a glance inside, and closed it.
"Are there many people in Lingxu City who know of this, or know that it belongs to you?"
Li Qingge shook her head. "Hardly anyone."
"Thank you." He Lingchuan let out a long breath. "You've done me a huge favor." That was why back in Baishaqu, he had asked the falcon to fly ahead and deliver the letter to Li Qingge—so she could have this item ready in advance.
"What do you need this thing for?"
"To gain someone's trust," He Lingchuan said seriously. "I'll return it as soon as I'm done with it. As quickly as possible."
Li Qingge smiled. "Fine by me. Use it however you like."
"I owe you another huge favor this time."
Li Qingge said meaningfully, "Don't worry. You might get the chance to repay it sooner than you think."
"...?" Why did he have a bad premonition?
Whatever task Li Qingge had in mind for him certainly wouldn't be easy.
"Then... how about Your Lordship do me another small favor while we're at it?" When the debts are many, one stops worrying.
Amused, Li Qingge wanted to see just how shameless he could be. "Out with it."
"Please help me gather information on the Cen and Zhongsun clans," He Lingchuan said solemnly. "One must always be guarded against others."
And of course, one could also plot against others.
"A small matter." She had already helped him with several things; one more minor request made no difference. "Once it's compiled, I'll have someone bring it to Dun Garden and hand it over there."
"Dun Garden?"
"Five days from now, Dun Garden is holding an auction," Li Qingge smiled. "It's held twice a year on a grand scale, gathering rare treasures from across the realm, and it takes place right here in the Lower City. Wouldn't you like to go check out the excitement?"
He Lingchuan agreed at once.
Then she changed the subject. "Have you eaten yet? You've come a long way as a guest. How about I treat you?"
He Lingchuan hesitated. "Before long, both the Zhongsun and Cen clans will see me as a sworn enemy. If you and I are seen dining together in public and word gets out, it might negatively affect you."
Li Qingge had already picked up her cloak, but hearing this, she hung it right back up. "True enough. I didn't think it through."
She was a merchant; making enemies out in the open was something she avoided whenever possible.
"I was just so excited to see you here from afar." Her gaze fell upon He Lingchuan's waist, and her eyes suddenly narrowed.
"Wait, where is your saber?"
He Lingchuan had no scabbard at his waist.
"Er..." This woman's eye for detail was truly sharp.
A treasure like the Fusheng Saber was only safe kept on one's person. Thinking it over, Li Qingge understood. "Sheathed within your body, is that it?"
He Lingchuan scratched his head. "One night, all of a sudden, I just didn't need the scabbard anymore."
Using the body as the sheath—man and blade truly becoming one.
"That weapon of yours is truly remarkable. Every time I see it, it's changed," Li Qingge pursed her lips slightly. "I'd really love to take it back and study it again."
Anyone else might have said "take it" to win her favor, but He Lingchuan knew the secrets harbored within the Fusheng Saber were too momentous. He could only say with feigned regret, "I'd love to, but it's clung to me and won't let go. I can't give it away even if I wanted to."
"It's a quasi-divine artifact recognizing its master." Li Qingge let out a long sigh. "Why don't I ever have such good fortune?"
"Your Lordship keeps company with the world's spirit artifacts. Do you really need to worry about treasures not choosing you?" He Lingchuan stood up and pointed eastward with a smile. "Tonight I'll be staying across the street at Jinkui Inn under the alias Li Junyi. If anything comes up, just send word."
With that, he picked up the box, took his leave, and departed.
***
The accommodations at Jinkui Inn were far inferior to the first-class post-house, but staying here gave He Lingchuan much greater peace of mind.
He had already learned via the eyeball spider back at the post-house that Fu Shanyue had been summoned to the Heavenly Palace by an emissary.
The Heavenly Palace was not in the sky, but atop Mount Xu.
He Lingchuan had heard Shao Jian mention that the temple dedicated to Holy Venerable Lingxu was called the Heavenly Palace, built upon the summit of Mount Xu. The place where Holy Venerable Lingxu delivered divine edicts and communicated with the Emperor was called Zhaixing Tower.
So late at night, instead of meeting Fu Shanyue on the floating islands, the Demon Emperor was seeing him on Mount Xu. Why?
He Lingchuan found it intriguing: the Demon Emperor of Beijia, the most powerful ruler in the mortal realm, lived so close to the heavens, yet his residence could not be called the Heavenly Palace.
Once checked into Jinkui Inn, he did not venture out again. He simply had the kitchen send up two piping-hot bowls of shredded chicken mushroom noodles and a steamer of osmanthus cakes. Sitting in his guest room, he ate slowly while watching the bustling street outside.
Later, as he soaked in a large wooden tub washing away the dust of travel, the eyeball spider suddenly transmitted fresh images to his mind:
More than ten li away, outside his room at the first-class post-house, someone was knocking on the door!
Naturally, no one answered from inside.
The people outside even called out his name: "He Xiao."
So they had not mistaken the room.
After a couple more knocks, the door was shoved open. Several men rushed in and searched around. Finding the room empty, they craned their necks to look out the window.
The eyeball spider had long since retreated into a crevice in the wooden beam, thoroughly hidden.
"He's not here. How are we supposed to report back?"
"Search around and ask people. See where he went. He might have gone out to eat—go ask around the nearby eateries," another said. "The higher-ups ordered that we find that fellow named He before the Chiyan Crown Prince returns."
The men swept the area once more, confirmed He Lingchuan was nowhere nearby, and hurried away, not forgetting to pull the door shut behind them.
Seeing this, He Lingchuan exhaled softly.
Good thing he had the foresight to leave even earlier than Fu Shanyue.
He was a newcomer and did not recognize the uniforms of Lingxu City's officials and runners, so he could not tell where these men came from.
Had Bai Ziqi sent men to look for him, or was the Zhongsun clan coming to settle scores?
He had only just arrived in Lingxu, and the city was massive; the Zhongsun clan's intelligence shouldn't be that swift. What's more, these men moved through the post-house brazenly and freely, and the servants bowed and scraped when seeing them.
This was Lingxu City. Even the house servants of high officials had no right to storm into an official post-house to arrest someone. Anyone daring to do so had to have an official background and orders from higher authorities backing them up.
That meant it was Bai Ziqi.
Even soaked in hot water, He Lingchuan felt a chill run down his spine.
The man had traveled north with them the whole way, chatting and laughing like old friends, only to turn around and show his true colors the moment they reached Lingxu City?
Wait—Bai Ziqi had gone to report to the Heavenly Palace as soon as he entered the city.
In other words, hauling "He Xiao" in for interrogation as quickly as possible was the will of either the celestial god or the Demon Emperor.
They were moving against him this fast, unwilling to wait even a single night?
He Lingchuan realized that the importance the celestial god or the Demon Emperor placed on that "other case" surpassed even the immortality elixir affair.
Illicitly concocting and selling the elixir of immortality was already touching a celestial god's reverse scale. What could possibly be more important than dealing with that?
In his heart, He Lingchuan had the answer.
Chapter 550