Had this fellow yielded a step? Fu Shanyue glanced at He Lingchuan and chuckled heartily. "Then I would be honored to accept."
The three strolled into Qianjin Lodge. The eatery's storefront was not large, but its interior was refined; even the tea served to guests was Lotus Fragrance Supreme.
The courier station housed many emissaries, so there were naturally upscale restaurants nearby where guests could gather over lunch or dinner.
This establishment served qinghong wine, a variety of rice wine. Mellow and lustrous as red amber, its flavor was smooth and lingering, making it ideal for friends to share over drinks.
Every dish was served in small, delicate portions.
Bai Ziqi picked up a crispy pangqi crab with his chopsticks, popped it into his mouth, and bit down with an audible crunch. "This lodge specializes in red wine lees. Give it a try—it has a unique flavor."
The lees from brewing qinghong wine could naturally be used in cooking. These small freshwater crabs, known as pangqi, were dry, hard, and had virtually no meat, but once deep-fried and cooked with red lees, they made the finest snack to accompany alcohol. Crispy and crunchy in every bite, munching through twenty or thirty of them was effortless.
There were also sliced conch in red wine lees and eel in red wine lees, each with its own distinct taste, which needed no further elaboration.
Fu Shanyue got straight to the point: "How is the investigation into the elixir of immortality case progressing?"
He knew that although Bai Ziqi had only just arrived in Lingxu City, the details of the investigation in Baishaqu had likely been sent back here by messenger bird long ago.
With such a vast bureaucratic system, the investigation couldn't possibly rely on Bai Ziqi alone.
"We're pursuing the leads tied to the actor. You might not know this, but while we were on our way back, two more fires broke out in Lingxu City's Xidui District, and a witness we uncovered died suddenly before even making it to prison," Bai Ziqi said leisurely. "The mastermind behind this is keeping tabs on the case very closely indeed."
He Lingchuan said, "In other words, the mastermind is indeed hiding in Lingxu City."
Otherwise, their responses wouldn't have been so prompt, cutting off leads in the nick of time.
Fu Shanyue sensed the trouble. "Can you still investigate further, then?"
"We can." Bai Ziqi took a sip of wine. "Furthermore, we have another lead that the other side cannot erase at all. Do you remember me mentioning that the giant shell on the snail-toad's back might be a magic artifact from an ancient demon immortal?"
Fu Shanyue had a good memory: "The Mud Palace? Also known as the Snail Dwelling, right?"
"Correct. And there's also that portrait He Xiao recovered from Mai Xuewen's study," Bai Ziqi said. "Both of these items are connected to the Azure Palace."
He Lingchuan spoke in a neutral, objective tone: "Judging by Mai Xuewen's past methods, this might be his deliberate attempt to point us toward the Azure Palace."
Back then, in order to guide him and Zhongsun Mou to pursue Cen Boqing, Mai Xuewen had often worn fabrics produced in Baishaqu and cooked Baishaqu specialties in his manor at Shuanglu Town.
The man was not only deep and scheming, but he could also keep up such pretense for years without slipping—a terrifying patience.
"Deliberate or otherwise, it proves he has ties to the Azure Palace, and that makes it a lead worth pursuing," Bai Ziqi said with a smile. "Besides, so long as we uncover the mastermind, what does it matter if we follow his breadcrumbs?"
Fu Shanyue took a bite of eel. "I recall that over a dozen years ago, a batch of treasures was stolen from the Azure Palace. It caused an uproar in Lingxu City back then, with rumors of insider theft, but in the end, hardly anything was recovered, and the matter simply faded away."
"Indeed. I intend to review the case dossiers from back then." Bai Ziqi gave a soft sigh. "It won't be easy. Back then, the Azure Palace handled the investigation internally."
"The Mud Palace is a highly recognizable magic artifact. A veteran of Lingxu City like you, Emissary Bai, knew of it the moment you heard its name. Mai Xuewen very likely used it intentionally to connect back to that old case from over a decade ago. Could he hold a grudge against the Azure Palace?"
Bai Ziqi nodded. "Several people died in that old case, all of them disciples of the Azure Palace. I have already begun looking into their pasts."
He looked toward He Lingchuan, shifting the conversation: "My reason for seeking out He Xiao today is still to resolve the doubts surrounding the case. I had originally wanted Cheng Yu to assist with another matter, yet he died abruptly after being captured. Therefore, I must ask you in all seriousness: how exactly did you escape Cheng Yu's ambush back then and even turn the tables on him?"
When he had raised this question in Baishaqu, He Lingchuan had brushed it off with excuses. But this was Lingxu City—the home turf of the Heavenly Palace and the Duyun Emissaries!
Even with Fu Shanyue by his side, if He Lingchuan refused to answer, Bai Ziqi could slap him with the label of "refusing to cooperate with an investigation"!
He Lingchuan exhaled and offered a wry smile. He knew he couldn't dodge it.
"Must you get to the very bottom of this, Emissary Bai?"
Bai Ziqi replied gravely, "I want an answer."
Although he had no evidence, he felt an inexplicable unease about this matter deep down. After years of handling cases, he had learned to trust his intuition. Sometimes, it was more reliable than evidence.
"At Cen Boqing's request, Cheng Yu dispatched a yin god to take my life."
"A yin god?" Bai Ziqi asked him. "Do you mean a shikigami?"
There was nothing unusual about a curse master commanding ghosts to kill. However, an apparition might have been a regional potentate, a prominent general, a renowned scholar, or even a formidable demon during its lifetime; its soul would be sturdy and adept in divine abilities, so it wouldn't necessarily disperse right after death. If a curse master could capture such a soul and refine it with secret arts, there was a small chance of forging a powerful yin god.
Yet such a yin god, having been mighty in life, would be haughty in death with a strong will of its own. It might not obey the curse master and might even require lavish worship and offerings before consenting to act.
Of course, in essence, it was still a ghost.
He Lingchuan had previously mentioned that Cheng Yu worshipped a gilded idol in that inn.
The two explanations aligned perfectly.
"Indeed." He Lingchuan pointed to his own eyes. "But he didn't know I was born with yin-yang eyes, capable of seeing ghosts and foul spirits. With such an enormous yin god lunging at me, how could I fail to see it?"
He did indeed possess yin-yang eyes, though not granted by heaven, but rather a perk conferred by the divine bone necklace upon its wearer.
Bai Ziqi listened attentively. "What kind of yin god was it?"
"Dozens of faces covered its body—men, women, old, and young. The moment it shrieked at me, my head spun," He Lingchuan said, rubbing his chin. "Oh, right, it could also split into several avatars."
"Dozens of faces? Had it devoured other ghosts and monsters?"
"Perhaps."
"And how did you repel it?"
He Lingchuan hesitated for a moment. Beside him, Fu Shanyue said with displeasure, "With me here, what are you afraid of?"
He didn't say "with Emissary Bai here."
Bai Ziqi glanced at him and smiled. "No need to worry. I only wish to get to the bottom of the matter; I harbor no ulterior motives."
He Lingchuan looked at Bai Ziqi and then at Fu Shanyue. Only then did he take something out of his storage ring and drop it onto the table:
"With this."
A dull thud rang out, heavy and solid. The two leaned in for a closer look; surprisingly, it was a purple-gold pestle. Carved at its top was a strange beast with bulging eyes and a gaping maw, its feet treading upon four hanging rings, while a shimmering glow flickered all around it.
Seeing this precious pestle, Fu Shanyue could barely keep a straight face. Good grief, this brat actually possesses a treasure of this caliber?
He couldn't help patting the beast carved onto the pestle's top. The creature suddenly let out a furious roar like that of a tiger or a bull, making their eardrums ache. Not only were Fu Shanyue and Bai Ziqi startled, but even the patrons outside the private room exchanged bewildered glances, wondering what kind of monster had thrown a fit.
Fortunately, Fu Shanyue was remarkably composed, preventing himself from snatching his hand back.
Bai Ziqi made no effort to hide his reaction, wearing an astonished expression. "A divine artifact? No, a quasi-divine artifact!"
What He Lingchuan had brought out was none other than Sun Fuping's purple-gold pestle.
Grand National Preceptor Sun had fallen in the Panlong Desert after being overwhelmed by the heroic spirits of Panlong City, and this treasure had become He Lingchuan's spoils of war. Later, he traded it to Songyang Mansion in exchange for materials to repair his broken saber. It was a quasi-divine artifact, and He Lingchuan had also noticed some past connection between Li Qingge and Sun Fuping, meaning Songyang Mansion was unlikely to sell the pestle casually.
He had decided to try borrowing it, and to his surprise, he actually succeeded.
Why hadn't he tried to pass off the soul-snatching mirror instead? Because the mirror spirit had confessed that it was originally the treasure of a noble in the Beijia Kingdom, quite well-known, and had later been stolen. If Bai Ziqi happened to know of it, He Lingchuan would be branded a thief, complicating things even further.
"Indeed," He Lingchuan said, pointing to the beast head on the pestle. "This is Yazi. It detests evil spirits and foul curses, driving them away on sight. Other saber pommels and sword hilts often cast Yazi purely for auspicious symbolism, but this staff is different. It is genuinely fused with a wisp of the ancient giant demon Yazi's soul, refined into an artifact spirit."
Back when he was in Blackwater City, he had lacked worldly experience; when Sun Fuping wielded this pestle to summon wind and rain, he had only thought it impressive. Later, as his experience broadened and his knowledge of magic artifacts and demon beasts grew, he realized just how extraordinarily powerful this pestle truly was. No wonder taking it to Songyang Mansion for appraisal had alerted Li Qingge back then.
Sun Fuping had brought this pestle on his search for the Dafang Pot precisely because the Panlong Desert was rife with resentful souls, which the pestle was perfect for countering. Otherwise, when forming a formation in the Panlong Ruins to fend off the heroic spirits of the Gale Army, how could He Chunhua's hundred-odd soldiers ever have held out?
The purple-gold pestle had played a major role.
A treasure of this stature had long transcended ordinary magic artifacts and could not be measured simply in gold and silver. Back then, He Lingchuan had traded it for wujin to repair his broken saber, one hundred thousand taels of silver, and three months of free blade-crafting by a Master Craftsman, believing he had struck a massive bargain. In reality, Li Qingge, working behind the scenes, must have viewed him as the ultimate sucker.
No wonder she smiled so brightly every time she saw him thereafter.
Who wouldn't be happy laughing at a fool?
"This pestle is purely yang and supremely rigid. It once belonged to the National Preceptor of an entire kingdom, steeped in origin power, making it the bane of ghostly abominations and foul specters." He Lingchuan let out a breath. "That yin god didn't know I could see it, so it strolled right up thinking killing me would be as easy as turning over its hand. Instead, I ambushed and wounded it. That battle was truly grueling, but in the end, it was forced to retreat in dejection."
Fu Shanyue glared at him. He Lingchuan interpreted the look as: You never brought this out before—were you worried I'd rob you?
Bai Ziqi made a reaching gesture. "May I?"
"Be my guest," He Lingchuan replied.
Bai Ziqi gently stroked the beast's head. The Yazi seemed to enjoy it, not uttering a single peep. The runes on the shaft even seemed poised to take flight, as if ready to soar into the air.
Doesn't this thing hate strangers touching it? He Lingchuan shot it a contemptuous look. So as long as someone opposes me, this pestle welcomes them?
The wretched thing had looked down on him in the past, and it still did.
With a single touch, Bai Ziqi knew it was an authentic quasi-divine artifact, and his expression shifted in awe. "What a magnificent treasure! The runes on the shaft are all powerful demon-subduing mantras!" It was truly an ancient treasure; even with his vast knowledge, he couldn't decipher it entirely right away. "To think you repelled the yin god with such an extraordinary relic... I certainly didn't expect that."
Chapter 557