Unmoved

Hong Chenglüe's cheek twitched. "Shut your mouth!" Though Wu Qing's provision of the Hanjiu Powder had indeed come at A-Jin's desperate pleading, and though Wu Qing had promptly reported it to Hong Chenglüe afterward, just as He Lingchuan had pointed out, A-Jin knew nothing about poisons. Wu Qing could easily have brushed her off with a sugar pill; why had he handed over a genuine, lethal poison? Who had wanted A-Jin dead? "When two armies clash, disaster should not reach the family. That was poor conduct on my father's part—he was too pragmatic." He Lingchuan drew a soft breath. "I don't know what feud or grievance lies between you and whatever high-ranking figure in Beijia, but every wrong has its cause, every debt its debtor. My father only abducted A-Jin; he didn't kill her, nor did he ever wish to." He Chunhua had only wanted to use A-Jin to force the enemy to withdraw. What good would it do him to kill A-Jin and make a powerful enemy for nothing? Morals aside, if He Chunhua's tactic had successfully compelled Hong Chenglüe to pull back, the Battle of the Han River would have cost far fewer soldiers' lives. Wasn't that the optimal solution he had arrived at after weighing the pros and cons? Yet someone had not wanted to see that outcome. "The fact that you haven't drawn your blade right now means you know deep down that I'm not the one who drove A-Jin to her death," He Lingchuan continued. "It's just that the true culprit is too powerful—so powerful that even you are helpless to resist, leaving you no choice but to lay all your hatred at my father's feet. In that regard, you're no different from those numb, weak commoners in Bailu Town." Lacking the courage to resent the strong, one could only bully the weak. Hong Chenglüe rested his hand on his hilt, a sliver of cold gleam slipping from the scabbard. The young man's mockery stoked the fury in his chest even hotter. Yet He Lingchuan looked straight into Hong Chenglüe's eyes, devoid of fear. "You are welcome to broadcast my true name and background as much as you please. Every year, countless outsiders flee into Beijia—heinous criminals as well as citizens of enemy states. But Beijia has never cared. They all live here quite comfortably." He even smiled. "What makes you think Beijia would treat me any differently?" He Lingchuan's confidence was not unfounded. People had always gravitated toward mighty powers. Since Beijia was known as the God-Favored Realm, who knew how many demons and humans were clamoring to squeeze in? As far as He Lingchuan knew, Beijia never turned away capable individuals, nor did it scrutinize their origins too closely—even if they hailed from enemy nations. Such was the confidence that accompanied immense strength. He Lingchuan had known for a long time that Beijia couldn't care less about the war taking place within the Yuan Kingdom. In fact, when National Preceptor Shuangye allocated a portion of origin power to aid Nian Zanli, it had met with domestic opposition. In other words, Beijia simply looked down on the Yuan Kingdom, never even regarding it as a rival. So what fuss would there be over He Lingchuan, a mere son of the Chief Administrator of Xiazhou from the Yuan Kingdom, entering Lingxu City? Here, people with records far dirtier than his, backgrounds far more tangled, yet living far more lavishly, could be scooped up by the handful. What was so special about him, He Lingchuan, that would merit a single glance from Beijia? "Look around you. Who cares about the Yuan Kingdom to the west? Who cares about what you went through in the Yuan Kingdom? And who would care that your enemy from the Yuan Kingdom has turned up here?" All around them, guests chatted and laughed merrily amidst a scene of peace and revelry. This was Lingxu City. The people of the God-Favored Realm were entitled to disregard anyone. Hong Chenglüe remained silent, his gaze fixed on him. He Lingchuan met his stare openly, unperturbed. "As the Chiyan special envoy, I came to Lingxu City to assist in investigating the case of the elixir of immortality. Moving against me now will only invite needless trouble." A subtle shift crossed Hong Chenglüe's eyes. This kid... seems different from several months ago? "Oh? What trouble?" He gave a mocking sneer. "You certainly think highly of yourself." "General Hong," He Lingchuan said gravely. "Though you've been restored to your rank, right now in Lingxu City you're just an idle general waiting around. If you get dragged into some mess, you might not be among the candidates sent to fight on the eastern front." Right at that moment, an attendant hurried over and said to both of them, "Sirs, the auction is about to begin. The Chiyan Crown Prince requests your presence!" Fu Shanyue had noticed the situation over here. The murderous intent in Hong Chenglüe's eyes receded, and he said coldly, "Things between us aren't over." He Lingchuan smiled and raised a hand. "After you." Hong Chenglüe reached out, took a cup of wine from the little tree spirit's tray, and walked toward the hall without looking back. He Lingchuan strolled back at an unhurried pace, his expression calm, yet his back was already soaked in cold sweat. Was he not afraid of Hong Chenglüe exposing his past? He was scared to death! Bai Ziqi had been digging into his background, perhaps even sending agents all the way to Fu Kingdom to investigate. Once Bai Ziqi heard that He Lingchuan was a native of the Yuan Kingdom and hailed from the Panlong Desert, it would be all too easy to connect him to the Dafang Pot. With how much importance Lingxu City placed on the Dafang Pot, there would definitely be hell to pay. Fortunately, Hong Chenglüe didn't know any of that yet. He didn't realize that He Lingchuan's life was practically in his hands. He Lingchuan let out a quiet breath. This place, Lingxu City, was truly a path covered in thorns. How many enemies did he have in total? Practically all of them were here—enough to fill two mahjong tables if they sat down together. Bloody hell. Only now did he have the leisure to observe the little tree spirit— Sure enough, it was fake. In truth, it was just a crudely made puppet. Theoretically, it wasn't much different from his gold-armored bronze automaton or Wu Shaoyi's mechanical pigeons, but this thing actually required an operator. Circling behind it, He Lingchuan was surprised to discover that some creature of unknown true form was wearing the outer shell of a little tree spirit, shuttling through the hall to serve tea and wine, doing the work of an attendant. Clumsy though it was, its arrival earlier had indeed broken their momentum before blows could be struck, doing He Lingchuan a huge favor. And so he retrieved a silver ingot from his robes and placed it on the little tree spirit's tray: "Thank you." The little tree spirit immediately thanked him for the tip: "Generous guest!" But then a figure half a body shorter squeezed in from the side, unceremoniously snatching the silver from the tray while scolding, "What's with this 'generous guest'? Do you think you're still busing tables at a tavern? You should say, 'Thank you for your patronage!'" He Lingchuan looked down. Beside him stood a gibbon with white fur on its forehead. Uh... a few days ago, when he went on that one-day tour of Lingxu's outer suburbs, wasn't this fellow the tour organizer and guide, seemingly named Old Ge? What was he doing here at Dun Garden? He Lingchuan frowned. "That was a tip for it." The gibbon, Old Ge, grinned widely. "They all work for me, so I distribute whatever money they make! Don't you worry, guest, its share won't be shorted!" The little tree spirit landed on his shoulder, appearing not the least bit resentful. "Don't you run tour groups?" "I do any job that makes money," Old Ge chuckled. "For the Dun Garden auction, Chief Manager Fang said they were short a few eye-catching gimmicks, so I brought my people over." "People?" The little tree spirit lifted its veil, revealing its true form. It turned out to be a kind of praying mantis demon. They could fly, but their dark, ugly appearance was vastly improved once dressed in the puppet shell. He Lingchuan had a thought. "You really know your way around the Lower City." The Dun Garden auction seemed casual, but in truth, no one was admitted without an invitation, and no one entered who wasn't a dignitary; it wasn't a place just anyone could waltz into. This ape demon hadn't been boasting during that tour; he genuinely knew folks from every walk of life, high and low, making him something of a local fixer. Old Ge patted his chest. "Not just the Lower City! I can throw my weight around in the Upper City too." "Good." He Lingchuan exchanged contact details with him. "If I need anything, I'll look for you." "You got it, you got it." He Lingchuan walked slowly back and took a seat next to Fu Shanyue. On stage, the gavel had just fallen on another lot. "Next up, lot number one thousand one hundred and eleven: an unknown curiosity. Starting bid is three taels of silver." He Lingchuan was taken aback. "How is it still this one?" Before Hong Chenglüe pulled him aside to that corner for a private chat, the auction had already been bidding on this ox horn. How was it that after he finished talking with Hong Chenglüe and chatted with Old Ge the gibbon on his way back, the thing still hadn't been sold! The item the auctioneer was displaying on stage was indeed that ox-horn-shaped curio, identical even down to its luster. A petty item like this couldn't fetch much of a price and ought to take up very little auction time. For a big-name auctioneer like the one on stage, granting it twenty breaths was generous enough. Fu Shanyue rolled his eyes, clearly impatient as well. He was waiting to watch the bidding war over the boundless gold, only to be held up by this trifling junk. "Just as they were about to auction it earlier, the auctioneer realized the organizers had provided the wrong description, so they auctioned other things first." He Lingchuan raised an eyebrow and kept his hands firmly in check, refusing to pay any heed to the steadily warming divine bone necklace. Too many strange things had happened around these unknown curiosities: first, the display cases were being watched; then the ox horn was abruptly shifted from Tianyu Tower to Hanxiang Hall; and at the initial bidding, they claimed the details had been mixed up... It was almost as if it were waiting specifically for him! The moment that thought surfaced, a chill crept down He Lingchuan's spine. Upon his arrival in Lingxu City, Zhaixing Tower had tried to haul him in. He was now on high alert regarding everything around him. Whatever the divine bone necklace wanted, it wasn't worth risking his neck for right now. So he paid no attention whatsoever to the bidding for the ox horn, merely asking for a cup of wine and whispering with Fu Shanyue beneath the stage. Unknown curiosities were actually tough to sell. The auctioneer called twice, but no one responded. Seeing that the lot was about to go unsold, the auctioneer was just about to strike the gavel and announce the next item when someone in the audience unexpectedly raised a paddle: "Here." He Lingchuan glanced out of the corner of his eye. What a coincidence—it was that complaining customer from beside the display case earlier. His square-faced, large-eared companion was still sitting beside him. "Hey, you really want that thing?" "Might as well. It's cheap anyway." With a bid placed, the auctioneer had to restart the countdown. Fortunately, no one contested him for it. The gavel fell with a final rap, and the lot was sold for three taels of silver! The grumbling customer happily went up to pay and collect his prize. Inside He Lingchuan's robes, the soul-snatching mirror couldn't help chiming in, "Didn't you seem to want that?" He gave a quiet "mm." "Why didn't you bid?" He Lingchuan didn't reply. He was right beside Fu Shanyue, whose hearing was phenomenal; how could he casually chat with a mirror? "Then how about we knock that chatterbox out later and snatch it?" He Lingchuan gave a slight shake of his head. Forget it. Lingxu City was vast, filled with countless treasures. Was there any need for the divine bone necklace to feed on this ox horn in particular? Next time he'd just find it something more appetizing, and that would be that. By now, the guests below were already urging, "All right, all right, next item, next item!"